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Timberwolves

After a recent chatter following a controversial NBA ballot amongst the players, Tyrese Haliburton wanted to shake out a shadow that has been cast over him.
&ldquo;Overrated.&rdquo;
Some people say, Haliburton is too unselfish, too pass-first, not a &ldquo;killer&rdquo;, and not a &ldquo;real&rdquo; No. 1 option.
But on a loud night in Cleveland, with the result all but raining down and the Indiana Pacers securing a second straight trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, Haliburton didn&rsquo;t have to say a word. The scoreboard, the series tally, and the stunned expressions on the 64-win Cleveland Cavaliers&rsquo; team and crowd spoke loudly enough.
The Pacers have won in 5 games against a team that was supposed to outclass them. This wasn&rsquo;t just an upset &mdash; it was a dismantling. And it was proof that Haliburton&rsquo;s style, and this Pacers team, are not just good enough. They&rsquo;re built the right way, and they&rsquo;re built to last.
A system that works, a star that believes
Haliburton didn&rsquo;t need 40-point nights to make his impact felt. He orchestrated, he read the floor two steps ahead, and he elevated everyone around him. In the closeout Game 5 win, his stat line &mdash; 31 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 6 threes &mdash; was a masterclass in control. What he did was subtle, surgical, and suffocating for Cleveland.
Indiana picked apart the Cavaliers with relentless pace, smart spacing, and constant movement. Kenny Atkinson&rsquo;s squad, known for its defensive tenacity during the regular season, looked overwhelmed trying to keep up. Evan Mobley was stretched thin. Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell were hunted. The Cavaliers had no answers for the tempo.
And it wasn&rsquo;t just Haliburton. Andrew Nembhard&rsquo;s two-way brilliance, Myles Turner&rsquo;s timely rim protection, Pascal Siakam&rsquo;s veteran calm, and Obi Toppin&rsquo;s injection of energy all contributed to a five-game win that felt like a statement. Indiana is not just fun anymore. They are contending.
The blueprint of a contender
This isn&rsquo;t a superteam. This is a team that became great through vision, patience, and precision, led by brilliant veteran head coach Rick Carlisle.
The foundation was built through the draft: Turner, the lone holdover from the Paul George era, grew into a versatile anchor. Nembhard, Sheppard, Mathurin &mdash; all young players with composure beyond their years.
They traded smartly: getting Haliburton in exchange for Domantas Sabonis felt controversial at first, but it&rsquo;s now one of the most lopsided deals in recent memory. Adding Siakam at the deadline was a masterstroke &mdash; he brought championship pedigree without disrupting the flow. He didn't just buy into the system; he elevated it.
And their free agent signings were understated but vital. TJ McConnell remains the heartbeat off the bench. Aaron Nesmith has become a true 3-and-D weapon. Thomas Bryant and Obi Toppin give this team depth and versatility.
There&rsquo;s no ego here, there is just cohesion and belief.
&ldquo;We know what we have,&rdquo; head coach Rick Carlisle said after Game 5. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got guys who care more about the next pass than the last shot. That&rsquo;s special.&rdquo;
Tyrese Haliburton&rsquo;s rise wasn&rsquo;t fueled by noise. It&rsquo;s been built quietly, piece by piece, through reading defenses and manipulating tempo, through making stars out of role players and rhythm out of chaos.
He&rsquo;s not a flamethrower like Steph. He&rsquo;s not a bulldozer like Giannis. He&rsquo;s something rarer: a point guard who makes everyone better without needing to dominate. And for some, that doesn&rsquo;t fit the mold of a superstar.
But to call him overrated? That&rsquo;s lazy.
The Pacers are an elite team this season when Haliburton hits double digits in assists. He led the NBA in transition assists. He&rsquo;s made Nembhard and Mathurin look like seasoned playoff guards. He&rsquo;s allowed Siakam &ndash; a two-time All-NBA forward &ndash; to shine even more.
In Game 4, when Cleveland tried blitzing him high to take the ball out of his hands, Haliburton calmly hit roller after roller. In Game 5, when they sat back in drop, he punished them with floaters and kick-outs. Every adjustment they made, he countered not with bravado but with brilliance.
The overrated label was never about him. It was about people misunderstanding the kind of greatness he brings.
The road back to the Eastern Conference Finals
A year ago, Indiana reached the Eastern Conference Finals and ran headfirst into a Boston Celtics juggernaut. They seemed like they weren&rsquo;t ready after faltering multiple times in the clutch in the series. The moment felt too big, and the lights were too bright.
But this year, it&rsquo;s different.
They&rsquo;re deeper, smarter, and hungrier. And perhaps most importantly, they know exactly who they are.
Back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals appearances might not come with parades, but in a small market like Indianapolis, it&rsquo;s validation. This is a franchise that didn&rsquo;t bottom out or chase shortcuts. They stayed the course, invested in character and chemistry, and trusted a 6-foot-5 guard with a quirky jump shot and a genius-level basketball brain to be their face of the future.
And Haliburton has delivered splendidly, and he continues to strive for more.
In an era where teams try to fast-track success with star pairings and flash, the Indiana Pacers remain the outliers. They&rsquo;ve built a contender by doing the little things right, over the years, not months.
This win over Cleveland &ndash; a team with one of the league&rsquo;s best records, a suffocating defense, and a very good team with three all-stars &ndash; isn&rsquo;t just an upset. It&rsquo;s a coronation of the Pacers&rsquo; philosophy, and it's a resounding reminder that basketball is still a team sport.
Tyrese Haliburton may never be the kind of player who drops 50 on any given night or leads the league in scoring. But he&rsquo;ll control the game, he&rsquo;ll lift his teammates, and he will try to win.
That&rsquo;s his style, and that will be his greatness. Overrated? Maybe to those who only see box scores. But to those watching closely &ndash; the coaches, the peers, the Pacers&rsquo; faithful &ndash; Haliburton is redefining what it means to be a superstar.
And as Indiana marches back to the Eastern Conference Finals, it&rsquo;s clear: You can doubt Tyrese Haliburton if you want. Just don&rsquo;t bet against him.

Tyrese Haliburton leads the Pacers past the 64-win Cavaliers in five games to reach their second straight Eastern Conference Finals.

Tyrese Haliburton silences critics as Pacers dominate Cavs to reach ECF again

In a strategic move to strengthen their frontcourt, the Los Angeles Lakers have acquired center Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets, according to ESPN&rsquo;s Shams Charania. In exchange, the Lakers sent rookie guard Dalton Knecht, forward Cam Reddish, an unprotected 2031 first-round pick, and a 2030 pick swap to the Hornets.&nbsp;
Trade Details:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Los Angeles Lakers Receive:</li>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Mark Williams</li>
</ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Charlotte Hornets Receive:</li>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Dalton Knecht</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Cam Reddish</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Unprotected 2031 first-round pick</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">2030 pick swap</li>
</ul>
</ul>
ANALYSIS: Mark Williams, 23, has been a standout performer for the Hornets this season, averaging 16 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game over 22 appearances. His addition addresses the Lakers' need for a dynamic presence in the paint, complementing their recent acquisition of Luka Doncic.&nbsp;
The Lakers get a good young center to enhance their roster following the departure of Anthony Davis. Williams is a 7-foot-2 rim-running 5 who can catch lobs, roll to the rim, and screen. All he needs is to stay healthy following a multitude of injuries early into his NBA career.
This move allows the Lakers to field a competitive lineup around LeBron James and Luka Doncic, and this positions themselves as strong contenders in the Western Conference this season.
For the Hornets, this could be seen as a possible questionable move as they no longer have any centers in their lineup. They recently dealt backup C Nick Richards to the Phoenix Suns, and with Williams gone, they will now be scrambling to find a center to play with star LaMelo Ball.&nbsp;
However, this bodes well for their draft pick tally moving forward. According to ESPN&rsquo;s Bobby Marks, the Hornets own several future picks, including:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Own first in the next 7 years</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Top-14 protected first from Miami (2027, unprotected in 2028)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Top-2 protected first from Dallas (2027)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Right to swap firsts with LA Lakers (2030)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Unprotected first from LA Lakers (2031)</li>
</ul>
In addition, Charlotte added rookie Dalton Knecht, who&rsquo;s had a promising freshman season in Los Angeles. A knockdown shooter with sneaky athleticism, Knecht is a good piece moving forward for this young Hornets squad. They also get Cam Reddish, a long forward that can hit threes and defend opposing wings.
With the deal in place, the Hornets could focus on continuing to rebuild around young stars Ball and Brandon Miller.

In a strategic move to strengthen their frontcourt, the Lakers have acquired center Mark Williams from the Hornets.

Lakers obtain center Mark Williams from Hornets

With just days left until the 2024-25 NBA season tips off, the Eastern Conference teams are settled, prepped, and ready for action. The offseason moves are done, rosters are set, and almost everyone&rsquo;s locked in for what&rsquo;s shaping up to be an intense race. From title contenders to dark horses, the East is packed with teams ready to make noise. So, let&rsquo;s dive into the top 15 teams in the East as we gear up for this brand-new season&mdash;no fluff, just what you need to know.
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">New York Knicks The Knicks made significant moves this offseason, adding Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges while retaining key pieces like Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby. With depth, defense, and firepower, they look primed for a deep playoff run. After a 50-win season in 2023-24, they now have realistic championship aspirations and could be the biggest threat to the Celtics in the East.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Boston Celtics The defending champions kept their core intact, extending Jayson Tatum and Derrick White. With Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Jrue Holiday leading a formidable lineup, the Celtics are aiming to repeat as NBA champions. Despite concerns about Al Horford&rsquo;s age and frontcourt health, Boston remains the favorite heading into the 2024-25 season.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Milwaukee Bucks The Bucks didn&rsquo;t make major changes but added depth with Gary Trent Jr., Taurean Prince, and Delon Wright. After an injury-plagued season from Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, Milwaukee looks to bounce back under returning head coach Doc Rivers. With questions surrounding Lillard&rsquo;s form and Middleton&rsquo;s durability, the Bucks remain playoff contenders, but how far they go will depend on health and chemistry.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Philadelphia 76ers The 76ers had a big offseason, adding Paul George, Andre Drummond, and Caleb Martin to support Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Maxey&rsquo;s rise as a star solidifies Philly&rsquo;s title hopes, and Embiid&rsquo;s MVP-level play is crucial for their success. With an improved supporting cast, the Sixers could be serious challengers in the East, but Embiid&rsquo;s health remains the key.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Cleveland Cavaliers After a solid 48-win season, the Cavs focused on continuity by keeping their core of Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen. New coach Kenny Atkinson brings fresh leadership, and Cleveland hopes to build on last season&rsquo;s playoff run. With a healthier roster and improved coaching, the Cavs could reach 50 wins and challenge the top teams in the East.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Indiana Pacers The Pacers had a quiet offseason but retained Pascal Siakam and made a key addition in James Wiseman. Tyrese Haliburton&rsquo;s breakout season makes Indiana a team to watch, and they&rsquo;re looking to build on their deep playoff run. With improved chemistry and young talent, Indiana could surprise as a top-five team in the East.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Orlando Magic The Magic are banking on internal growth, led by Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. After winning 47 games and making the playoffs last season, they added veteran Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for shooting and leadership. With a young core developing, Orlando could win 50 games if they continue their upward trend and improve their perimeter shooting.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Miami Heat The Heat had a quiet offseason, adding Alec Burks while re-signing key players like Bam Adebayo. With Jimmy Butler&rsquo;s future uncertain and health concerns for both Butler and Tyler Herro, Miami could face challenges in a competitive Eastern Conference. However, Adebayo&rsquo;s All-NBA-level play will keep them in the playoff hunt.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Atlanta Hawks The Hawks overhauled their roster after a disappointing 36-46 season, headlined by trading Dejounte Murray and acquiring the No. 1 pick, Zaccharie Risacher. With Trae Young remaining the focal point, the Hawks are banking on Risacher&rsquo;s development and contributions from new additions like Larry Nance Jr. and Dyson Daniels. This team looks poised to contend for a Play-In spot but lacks the co-star power needed for a deep playoff run.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Charlotte Hornets The Hornets enter the season with fresh energy, thanks to the hiring of new coach Charles Lee and the re-signing of Miles Bridges. With LaMelo Ball back healthy and Brandon Miller continuing to impress after an All-Rookie season, Charlotte&rsquo;s young core could surprise many. If Ball stays on the floor and their youth develops quickly, the Hornets might find themselves contending for a Play-In spot and shaking off years of underachievement.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Detroit Pistons The Pistons are looking to turn the page on a tough 2023-24 season and have made moves to fast-track their rebuild. With Cade Cunningham healthy, new leadership under J.B. Bickerstaff, and rookie Ron Holland adding spark, Detroit could outperform expectations. If Cunningham returns to form and the team gels quickly, don&rsquo;t be surprised if the Pistons emerge as a dark horse in the East.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Toronto Raptors The Raptors are in transition, keeping their young core of Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, and Immanuel Quickley intact. After a poor finish to last season, Toronto is betting on Barnes&rsquo; continued growth and the addition of Davion Mitchell to improve their fortunes. While their ceiling might be a Play-In appearance, the Raptors are hoping their trio can take a big step forward.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Chicago Bulls The Bulls traded DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso, adding Josh Giddey and Jalen Smith to the mix. Zach LaVine&rsquo;s injury history remains a concern, but the Bulls are counting on Coby White&rsquo;s emergence and the potential of lottery pick Matas Buzelis. Chicago is likely to be a competitive team some nights, but they may struggle to rise above the Play-In threshold.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Brooklyn Nets The Nets are entering a rebuild after trading Mikal Bridges and Lonnie Walker. With a young roster led by Nic Claxton and Cam Thomas, Brooklyn&rsquo;s focus is on player development. Ben Simmons remains a question mark, but the team&rsquo;s recent moves set them up for future success with significant draft assets. A playoff berth seems unlikely as they look to position themselves for a high draft pick.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Washington Wizards The Wizards continue their rebuild with the addition of Alex Sarr, the No. 2 overall pick. With Malcolm Brogdon and Saddiq Bey joining the squad, Washington hopes to see growth from young talents like Bilal Coulibaly. However, they&rsquo;re still far from playoff contention and will likely be looking at another lottery-bound season.</li>
</ol>

Let's dive into the top 15 teams in the East as we gear up for this brand-new season.

2024-2025 NBA Eastern Conference Power Rankings: A new number one arises at the top

The champions of each continent are set to compete for a global basketball title when the annual FIBA Intercontinental Cup 2024 commences in Singapore on September 12-15.
A historic FIBA Hall of Fame Class of 2024 enshrinement ceremony will also take place in the same island country with several basketball legends from different countries honored for their national team contributions and basketball performances.
Representing the USA is NBA G-League United, a team comprised of select G-League prospects &amp; stars who will represent the G in domestic and international competitions. The roster is yet to be revealed in the coming days as the competition draws near.&nbsp;
The FIBA Intercontinental Cup will be played at the Singapore Sports Hub in Singapore and will feature clubs from all five FIBA regions for the first ever time.
This would be the tournament&rsquo;s 34th edition and will comprise 6 teams including Unicaja (Spain, Europe); Petro de Luanda (Angola, Africa); and Al Riyadi (Lebanon, Asia) in Group A while United (USA, North America); Quimsa (Argentina, South America); and Tasmania Jackjumpers (Australia, Oceania) make up Group B.
The three teams in each group will play in a round-robin format with the champions facing off in the Final on September 15, while the runners-up for each group battle for third place.
The FIBA Hall of Fame Class of 2024 enshrinement ceremony will take place on the eve of the Final, on September 14 with USA's Reggie Miller and Serbia's Predrag Stojakovic headlining the 2024 inductees. The list also includes fellow former players Miao Lijie of China, Danira Nakic-Bilic of Croatia, Kirk Samuel Penney of New Zealand, Romain Sato of Central African Republic, Skaidrite Smildzina-Budovska of Latvia, and Italian-American coach Dan Peterson.
In a press release by FIBA, FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis expressed his delight in the historic event. &ldquo;The FIBA Intercontinental Cup is a unique global experience in club basketball, but the 34th edition will set a remarkable milestone in basketball history,&rdquo; Zagklis said.
&ldquo;It's only fitting that Singapore, which ushered in the new era of the competition last year, will also provide the stage for its expansion to Oceania and for the FIBA Hall of Fame induction ceremony,&rdquo; Mr. Zagklis added.

The champions of each continent are set to compete for a global basketball title in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup 2024.

NBA G-League United set to compete in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup 2024

Team USA players came inside the Kerry Sports basketball facility one by one, each sporting their preferred and comfortable gear from the blazing heat of the Philippine weather they were not so accustomed to. They were about to hold their first practices in Manila for the FIBA World Cup 2023, the sport&rsquo;s world championship meet.
Anthony Edwards was one of the last ones to enter the gym along with fellow NBA no.1 overall pick Paolo Banchero. He had his Adidas Adilette comfort slides put on with black Team USA jogger pants and an Adidas triple-colored hoodie. Edwards was fixated on his phone, walking past whispering reporters onto the team&rsquo;s huddle at center court, clearly being the center of attraction for the young Team USA squad.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s who they call the Ant-Man.&rdquo;
Once upon a time, Edwards&rsquo; name was held in a much lower regard. The 22-year-old is considered to be one of the best and brightest young players in the league but has yet to establish himself as one of the staples and premier superstars with an iconic and deep playoff performance that cements him in that tier.
Until these playoffs.
Edwards has separated himself from the pack of young superstars leading their teams and entered the upper echelon of basketball royalty in the NBA. With the league anticipating the &lsquo;changing of the guard&rsquo; as current faces LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant eventually diminish their shining glories as the league&rsquo;s best of the best, Edwards comes in as one of the hopefuls to take the mantle when that inevitable day comes.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been saying that he (Edwards) is the face of the league but he hates it when I say it &ndash; but it&rsquo;s true. The future&rsquo;s so bright you gotta put the sunglasses on when you&rsquo;re walking around him,&rdquo; Karl-Anthony Towns said, in their post-game interview after their first-round series with the&nbsp;Phoenix Suns.
Edwards glanced briefly at Towns, who was beside him at the podium. He had that little smile on his face while bowing down his head as his teammate praised him in front of the listening reporters. He looked at Towns again, this time shaking his head in disbelief, but it had the element of confidence. There was obviously a focus on what Towns was talking about but with Edwards&rsquo; elite level-headedness through it all.&nbsp;
&ldquo;You&rsquo;re a young superstar in the league and you have to face it,&rdquo; the statement emphasized on Edwards as he&rsquo;s trying to soak it all in.
Ever since Edwards has been adamant about not calling himself anything until he wins in the playoffs. Now that his Wolves beat the Suns to win the franchise&rsquo;s first playoff series since 2004, Edwards certainly has all the right in the world to give himself even the tiniest bit of praise.
He thought for a good three seconds, glancing at the reporter and the horizon for a moment. He was just asked if he was now able to give himself some grace in that regard when people call him that &lsquo;young superstar&rsquo; label. A small grin emerged onto his face, clearly oozing with confidence albeit a controlled one. He looked back with that smile on his face while nodding, he said:
&ldquo;Nah, not yet a man. Not yet.&rdquo;
Behind this usual brash, confident, and charismatic Edwards is a hungry side that never gets contented and satisfied until he achieves his ultimate goal: winning a championship. Maybe he&rsquo;ll have the guts to call himself one when they reach the Finals and end up going all the way. But that remains to be seen.
He&rsquo;s got the swagger, the personality, and the charisma to be marketable by the league. Edwards mentioned wanting to go kill everybody that&rsquo;s in front of him, and boy, he did.&nbsp;
Edwards swept the Suns featuring his childhood idol and favorite player of all time Kevin Durant, who he has been jawing back and forth at several times in the series. This was him going at his childhood hero, taking on the challenge and never backing down. However, the play of the series happened in Game 4 when Minnesota was trying to put the nail in the coffin for Phoenix.&nbsp;
With 2:18 left on the clock in the 4th quarter, Edwards blew by Beal and rose through the air as high as he could. Durant made the right business decision by not going up together with a rampaging bull as he should For a brief moment, he looked like the second coming of a certain Michael Jordan &ndash; yet again &ndash; after he&rsquo;s been labeled as such throughout the course of the season after each jaw-dropping spectacular play. Edwards threw down a ferocious poster slam dunk that might have literally blown the roof over the Footprint Center as the play signaled the beginning of the end for the Suns.
Durant and Edwards will play together in Team USA in August for the Paris Olympics, and these two for sure would go head to head making their practice sessions much more interesting. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely a good feeling because he&rsquo;s my favorite player of all time, and I can tell him that I was the one who sent him home. It&rsquo;s gonna be a fun summer for sure,&rdquo; Edwards said.
First game of the Western Conference Finals and up against the Nuggets, Edwards scored a playoff career-high 43 points. He dissected their entire defense, scoring in all types of ways imaginable for a superstar. Edwards hit threes, blown by some of the toughest defenders in the NBA Aaron Gordon, and hit fadeaway mid-range jumpers reminiscent of Jordan. More importantly, Edwards displayed the level of maturity a superstar has to make in the playoffs &ndash; playing off of your teammates and playmaking for the entire team. He has done it so far with relative ease and that&rsquo;s why the Timberwolves have found their early success in this postseason.
He&rsquo;s doing it against supposedly their biggest challenge &ndash; the defending champions &ndash; who sent them home a year ago. &ldquo;Last year we didn&rsquo;t have Jaden (McDaniels) and Naz (Reid) against them so it was quite frustrating. Now that we have both I think we can definitely do better,&rdquo; Edwards said about their biggest thing in this rematch series vs Denver is being healthy.
Before the season started, Edwards was this up-and-coming 22-year-old star leading his nation at the World Championships for a chance at glory. Although the Americans ended up not medalling after losing to eventual world champions Germany in the semifinals and to neighboring Canada in the third-place game, Edwards was clearly the best player on the team filled with young American talent. He led Team USA in scoring, and at 22 years old, this was only the start of a big year ahead.
Edwards then was the clear-cut best player for the third-best team in the West, with Minnesota having a 56-26 record. Those 56 wins were the most since 2004 when they had 58 and went to the Western Conference Finals. They were led back then by legend Kevin Garnett but that was also their last time seeing the playoffs.&nbsp;
20 years later, Edwards is now shouldering all the burden by taking this Wolves team back to relevance, basking in all the glory he&rsquo;s worked so hard to attain. He&rsquo;s one of the bonafide young rising superstars in the league, and he intends to take them all the way.
Edwards&rsquo; huge season and ascension to superstardom could be attributed back to something you see coming even from a mile away. And it all started in that summer lengthy yet productive summer in 2023.
While most players use their summers to recuperate, have a vacation somewhere, and spend time with families and loved ones, Edwards took a privileged yet opportunistic route: play with the National Team at the FIBA World Cup. Usually, NBA superstars all express their willingness to play with the National Team at the Olympics. For no definite reason, somehow the FIBA World Cup does not seem appealing to play for the older/senior superstar guys, so it&rsquo;s usually the juniors/young guys who represent Team USA. Anthony Edwards took up that challenge and became the best player for the team and in turn, he&rsquo;s reaping the benefits of it in the playoffs.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve put in work this summer. Big shoutout to the USA team, man. They got me ready for the season.&rdquo;
That killer mentality that Edwards has is something that&rsquo;s never seen often and has been with only a select few in the history of the game, particularly Jordan and Lakers great Kobe Bryant. Behind all that bold and tough personality, however, is a side of himself that genuinely enjoys playing with his teammates.
When asked about the prospect of having his Wolves&rsquo; teammates, the first thing out of his mouth was how he was excited to meet them while playing for their respective countries (Rudy Gobert for France, Karl-Anthony Towns for Dominican Republic, Kyle Anderson for China, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker for Canada). He looked forward to playing against them, citing how much fun he would have once it happened.
Despite his clear burgeoning superstardom, however,&nbsp; Edwards still deflected every credit thrown towards him. When asked what he feels as one of the guys being billed as one of the next faces of the league, Edwards dismissed the idea faster than a Math teacher dispersing students after giving out a tough assignment due &ndash;&nbsp; immediately answering without hesitation that he does not make anything of it.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just gonna keep working, man. I make nothing of it, yeah. I just hope that I keep getting better.&rdquo;
It was clear all along among all the people in the gym that fateful day: Edwards had the most aura out of them all. It was just oozing, something you can feel when you&rsquo;re around certain people. It&rsquo;s kind of intimidating, but only to a certain extent. You can just feel the energy brewing and that certain look when you come across one of the ones. The underlying factor before the season was Minnesota only having five national TV games all season long. With most of their games out of the eyes of the majority, Edwards assured one thing going into the season sternly and convincingly.
&ldquo;We just gonna try to keep playing, man. We&rsquo;re not really worried about the national TV games. As long as we win, we&rsquo;ll be on TV when we make it into the playoffs. The world will know about us.&rdquo;
As their playoff mantra suggests, the Timberwolves have been waiting for this moment since 2004. From the annals of the great Kevin Garnett&rsquo;s era to ushering this new one paved by superstar-in-the-making, young Anthony Edwards, the Minnesota Timberwolves have arrived.

The underlying factor before the season was Minnesota only having five national TV games all season despite having Anthony Edwards.

‘WOLVES BACK’: Anthony Edwards introduces the Timberwolves back to the world

The article was initially published on BasketballNews on April 6, 2022.
Anyone else love going back and looking at old box scores and falling down afternoon-long rabbit holes, or am I the weirdo?
You might&rsquo;ve read the headline and either recalled this event actually happening, or are befuddled at how such a thing could take place, even in that NBA.
This article, published on April 6, 2022, marks 25 years since the Del Harris-led Los Angeles Lakers held Jim Cleamons and his Dallas Mavericks to 2 points in the third quarter of a regular-season game.
The contest was held at the LA Forum, where a 50-24 Laker team met a 22-53 Mavs squad with two weeks remaining before the playoffs started. Staples wasn&rsquo;t that big yet, and Crypto didn&rsquo;t exist. (Some might say it still doesn&rsquo;t, but you can fight about that amongst yourselves.)
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
A large-ass, Biggie verse-having, All-Star center named Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal had been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/14/sports/injury-to-o-neal-is-a-blow-to-lakers.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">out with a knee injury</a> suffered that February, which he returned from five days later. Something tells me, if you made it here, you&rsquo;ve heard of him. Also on the Lakers, quite famously, was a talented rookie named Kobe Bryant, who had been playing regular rotation minutes at 18 years old, but wasn&rsquo;t yet Kobe.
The Mavericks had traded a controversial-but-talented point guard in Jason Kidd earlier in the season &mdash; along with Tony Dumas and Loren Meyer &mdash; to the Phoenix Suns for a package highlighted by Michael Finley, Sam Cassell and A.C. Green. They also dealt Jamal Mashburn to the Miami Heat several weeks later for Kurt Thomas, Sasa Danilović and Martin M&uuml;&uuml;rsepp.
And right before the deadline, Dallas rerouted Cassell as part of a five-man package including Jim Jackson, George McCloud (who wound up on the Lakers retroactively), Eric Montross and Chris Gatling for Shawn Bradley, Khalid Reeves, Robert Pack and Ed O&rsquo;Bannon &mdash; famously the Most Outstanding Player of the 1995 Final Four, and <a href="https://www.primerus.com/business-law-articles/ed-obannon-shines-a-light-upon-student-athletes-right-of-publicity-624201.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">killer of EA's NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball video game franchises</a>. This move not only cemented Dallas&rsquo; rebuild, but it officially made way for a <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2018/06/06/flashback-jamal-mashburn-on-what-really-happened-between-jason-kidd-jim-jackson-and-toni-braxton/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toni Braxton-less future in Texas</a>.
The Mavericks, <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DAL/1997_games.html">who came in as losers of 10 straight heading into this game</a> &mdash; a lengthy skid that never saw the team score more than 92 points &mdash; went into Hollywood and started Pack, Finley, Green, Bradley and Derek Harper. Without Shaq, the Lakers began with Derek Fisher, Eddie Jones, Jerome Kersey, Corie Blount and Sean Rooks, who played a game-high 43 minutes (33 over his season average).
<a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199704060LAL.html">The Mavericks led 30-17 after the first quarter and 51-37 at halftime</a>. The teams combined to attempt 12 threes in the first half, which most teams would typically combine to do in a quarter today. The Mavericks shot 21 of 44 from the field and outrebounded the Lakers 24-16 while holding L.A. to 12 of 32 shooting.
Bryant and Robert Horry went a combined 2 of 9 off the bench, and Rooks had logged 10 points and 7 boards to that point. Harper and Finley combined for 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting, while Bradley had 9 points and 9 rebounds.
Okay, now let's get to why you&rsquo;re here.
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Not only did the Mavericks score 2 points in the entire third quarter, but the points came from a pair of Harper free throws with 1:51 left in the quarter. So it took over 10 minutes to even get on the board in this period.
Anyway, the Mavericks shot 0 of 15 from the field for the quarter and missed all 4 of their three-balls. They also had 9 turnovers and only made one substitution over the entire 12 minutes, removing Pack for Sa&scaron;a Danilović about halfway through the third. That meant Green, Harper, Finley and Bradley were each a minus-25 for the quarter, and Pack was a minus-20.
For good measure, the Mavericks third quarter could be summed up like this:
<ul>
<li>Points: 2</li>
<li>Fouls: 3</li>
</ul>
The Lakers outscored the Mavericks 27-2 and still just led 64-53 after three. L.A. shot 10 of 17 in the quarter, made 5 of 7 triples, only needed to pull down 8 rebounds and turned the ball over just twice.
The Mavs outdid their horrific third quarter only 48 seconds into the fourth with two layups. They even cut their deficit to as close as 7 points in garbage time before the Lakers pulled away with a 87-80 win.
Fisher scored 21 points &mdash; not even close to a career-high for him &mdash; but to that point, his highest point tally had been just 14. In fact, the 21 points would remain a career-best mark for Fisher until he netted 26 points on March 13, 2001 in a win over the Boston Celtics four years later.
Sean &ldquo;2019 Bam Adebayo&rdquo; Rooks ended the night with 15 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. Bryant logged about 22 minutes off the bench, netting 13 points on 3 of 9 shooting, also finishing with 3 steals and going a perfect 5 of 5 at the free-throw line.
Harper led the Mavs with 18 points on 6 of 15 shooting. Finley only put up 9 shots in over 34 minutes of play. The next time he put up just 9 shots in that many minutes? <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200203310WAS.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">March 31, 2002</a>.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
So, what ended up happening to these two teams? Glad you asked!
The Lakers finished 56-26 and fourth in the Western Conference, sweeping the Kenny Anderson, Isaiah Rider, and Rasheed Wallace-led Portland Trail Blazers in Round 1. Then, in the West semifinals, L.A. fell to the No. 1 seed Utah Jazz, who eventually lost to the Chicago Bulls in the 1997 NBA Finals. The Lakers still had a few more years of Harris before Phil Jackson eventually came to clean things up prior to the 1999-2002 three-peat era.
The Mavericks finished 24-58 and were actually still fourth in the Midwest Division among seven teams, completing 1996-97 with only the sixth-worst record in the league. Unfortunately, they didn&rsquo;t own their own draft pick, but fortunately, the Celtics &mdash; who had it at No. 6 &mdash; used it on Ron Mercer, so it wasn&rsquo;t an egregious miss.
Tracy McGrady did go No. 9 overall, and the Mavs did settle on Kelvin Cato at No. 15, but they landed with a kid named Dirk Nowitzki in the 1998 NBA Draft after another 20-win season.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
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Bryan Fonseca revisits when the Mavericks only mustered a measly 2 points in the third quarter against the Lakers.

Revisiting the time the Mavericks scored just 2 points in a quarter

Most NBA teams have a young core of some sort, but some are better than others.
Each year, teams try to add to their young nucleus through the draft. The 2023 NBA Draft just featured the most highly-anticipated prospect since LeBron James in Victor Wembanyama, plus a number of other talented rookies like Scoot Henderson, Brandon Miller and the Thompson twins.
Entering the 2023-24 season, which team has the best young core? Today, we'll rank the five best cores from around the league. The criteria is simple: players must be age-25 or younger to be considered.
5. Orlando Magic&nbsp;
The Magic landed young star Paolo Banchero with the No. 1 overall pick last season, pairing him with 2021 lottery pick Franz Wagner to form a nice one-two punch. Cole Anthony had high expectations entering the league, but he hasn't quite become the player that fans wanted him to be. One player who has exceeded expectations is Wendell Carter Jr. After a shaky start to his career with the Chicago Bulls, Carter has found his place on the Magic and is considered one of the better young starting centers in the NBA. He isn't the only player who turned his career around after landing in Orlando, as Markelle Fultz is playing his best basketball and has a nice redemption story of his own. Other young players who have an opportunity to make an impact going forward are Orlando's recent lottery picks Anthony Black and Jett Howard, both of whom are 19 years old. Orlando has consistently been one of the worst teams in the league for several years now and while their rebuilding roster is solid, it isn&rsquo;t quite as good or enticing as some of the other teams on our list.
Notable Players: Paolo Banchero (20), Franz Wagner (23), Wendell Carter Jr. (24), Anthony Black (19), Jett Howard (19), Markelle Fultz (25), Cole Anthony (23), Jalen Suggs (21), Jonathan Isaac (25), Caleb Houstan (20)
4. New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans are the only young core on this list with postseason experience, as they made the playoffs in 2021-22 and made the play-in tournament last season. Their young core is largely carried by four players: Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones. Ingram has become a terrific scorer, and he's coming off a season in which he averaged career-highs in points (24.7) and assists (5.8). While Williamson has been one of the best players in the NBA when healthy, we haven&rsquo;t seen him on the court very much since he was drafted in 2019. Murphy is a terrific shooter and Jones has had a very solid start to his career as well, making a name for himself as a lockdown perimeter defender. New Orleans has a few other young players with potential including Dyson Daniels, Jordan Hawkins and Kira Lewis Jr., but they have yet to prove themselves. Ingram, Williamson, Murphy and Jones are the main reason why the Pelicans are ranked here.
Notable Players: Brandon Ingram (25), Zion Williamson (23), Trey Murphy III (23), Herb Jones (24), Dyson Daniels (20), Jordan Hawkins (21), Kira Lewis Jr. (22)
3. Houston Rockets
The Rockets have one of the more underrated young cores in the NBA, as their lack of success has prevented them from getting much recognition. Fortunately for the Rockets, their main issue has been lack of experience, and the team addressed it this offseason. They had money to spend and they brought in some veterans to help lead the team, most notably Fred VanVleet. That said, their young core is still extremely talented and got even better through this year&rsquo;s draft. The key for this Rockets team to succeed is to make sure these young players continue to develop at a high rate, which is where new head coach Ime Udoka and his staff come in. They have multiple players on their roster with All-Star potential, and it's possible they'll compete for a play-in spot by the end of the season.
Notable Players: Jalen Green (21), Jabari Smith (20), Alperen Sengun (21), Amen Thompson (20), Tari Eason (22), Kevin Porter Jr. (23), Cam Whitmore (19)
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/vw2.jpg" alt="" width="711" height="400" />
2. San Antonio Spurs&nbsp;
The Spurs undoubtedly have one of the NBA's best young cores. No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama has made San Antonio the team to watch this season. That said, they likely won&rsquo;t be a playoff team for at least another year. While it's possible that they'll shock everyone, it will be difficult for Wembanyama to lead them to the postseason as a rookie. He will likely need at least a year to adjust to the NBA and develop before taking that next leap in his career. Wembanyama isn&rsquo;t the only young star on the Spurs, as they have already started developing fellow cornerstones Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson, who have made quite an impression. Throw in Tre Jones, Jeremy Sochan, Malaki Branham, Romeo Langford and Blake Wesley, and it's clear why the Spurs are this high. Other young players who have shown promise are Charles Bassey and Julian Champagnie, both of whom came over from the Philadelphia 76ers&rsquo; organization. These two players have displayed a ton of potential, particularly in the G League and Summer League, and they could be solid contributors for years to come.&nbsp;
Notable Players: Victor Wembanyama (19), Keldon Johnson (23), Tre Jones (23), Devin Vassell (22), Jeremy Sochan (20), Malaki Branham (20), Romeo Langford (23), Zach Collins (25), Blake Wesley (20), Julian Champagnie (22), Charles Bassey (22), Dominick Barlow (20), Sandro Mamukelashvili (24)
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
The Spurs were a hard core to beat but, to nobody&rsquo;s surprise, the Oklahoma City Thunder have the best young core in the NBA. Not only do they have the youngest starting lineup in the league, it is filled with young stars. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has emerged as one of the best guards in the league, while Josh Giddey and Rookie-of-the-Year runner-up Jalen Williams just had a terrific season. Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 overall pick in last year's draft, hasn't played yet but he will undoubtedly make an immediate impact and could give OKC a Rookie-of-the-Year finalist for the second year in a row. Despite how young the Thunder are, they could make a serious playoff push this season, with Shai at the steering wheel. Perhaps what's scariest about the Thunder is that they have 35 draft picks over the next seven years, including 15 first-rounders, so their already-impressive young core is still a work in progress.
Notable Players: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (25), Chet Holmgren (21), Josh Giddey (20), Jalen Williams (22), Cason Wallace (19), Luguentz Dort (24), Aleksej Pokusevski (21), Isaiah Joe (24), Tre Mann (22), Jaylin Williams (21), Ousmane Dieng (20), Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (22), Keyontae Johnson (23)

Entering the 2023-24 season, which NBA teams have the best young core? Hunter Simpson ranks the best cores from around the league.

Ranking the NBA's top-5 young cores entering the 2023-24 season

The Charlotte Hornets are building around point guard LaMelo Ball and view him as their franchise centerpiece. If this was ever in doubt, look no further than the maximum five-year, $260 million extension that the Hornets recently gave Ball.
Last season, Ball averaged 23.3 points, 8.4 assists, 6.4 rebounds, 4.0 threes and 1.3 steals, while shooting 41.1% from the field, 37.6% from three-point range and 83.6% from the free-throw line. However, injuries kept him sidelined for much of the season, as he only appeared in 36 games last year.
Ball said he's now 100% healthy, and he's excited about the future in Charlotte.
&ldquo;Where we at, I feel like we are all growing together,&rdquo; Ball <a href="https://apnews.com/article/hornets-lamelo-ball-contract-extension-0b4ef16c02c801b7c613ed7ec5c74579" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told the Associated Press</a> on Wednesday. &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s just a great position and I think we are all going the right way now...
&ldquo;All my years here, I&rsquo;ve had a good time. Life wasn&rsquo;t bad. The basketball aspect, if that&rsquo;s not really going well, then you want to just live your life and have fun. You want to be living well, and in Charlotte I&rsquo;m doing that. It all just felt like a great choice."
Ball is grateful for his big payday. He was one of four players from his draft class to earn a max extension this summer, joining Minnesota's Anthony Edwards, Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton and Memphis' Desmond Bane.
&ldquo;Growing up, my pops always said pressure was finding your next meal, finding where to sleep, stuff like that. I&rsquo;m pretty much blessed," Ball <a href="https://apnews.com/article/hornets-lamelo-ball-contract-extension-0b4ef16c02c801b7c613ed7ec5c74579" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told the AP</a>. "I just have to worry about playing good. Really no problems. I&rsquo;m straight.&rdquo;
The next step for the Hornets is to make the playoffs and eventually become a contender.
&ldquo;We have not had great success as a team, which is something that will change,&rdquo; Hornets GM Mitch Kupchak <a href="https://apnews.com/article/hornets-lamelo-ball-contract-extension-0b4ef16c02c801b7c613ed7ec5c74579" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told the AP</a>. &ldquo;To have a player like him back with us, just to come back to us, it&rsquo;s exciting...
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not thinking we necessarily have to add more talent. I think the talent we need to get where we want to go is already in the system. Now, it&rsquo;s just going to take a little time to get everybody up to speed and get to where we want to get to. I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s a major area that needs to be addressed.&rdquo;
Last season, Charlotte went 27-55, which was the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference. They won the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, selecting Brandon Miller (likely because he fits better alongside Ball moving forward than No. 3 overall pick Scoot Henderson would have).

LaMelo Ball addressed the media for the first time since signing his five-year, $260 million contract extension with the Hornets.

LaMelo Ball excited about Hornets' future after inking max extension

It&rsquo;s the easiest call of the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-2023-wembanyama-b3449d1a5f7a7de5906bb1979ffb2a26">NBA draft</a>: The San Antonio Spurs won.
That&rsquo;s not to say other teams didn&rsquo;t do very well on Thursday, when 58 players were selected as the league&rsquo;s newest members. But the Spurs being able to take generational French talent Victor Wembanyama puts them at the head of the class.
Some of the teams that also did well: NBA champion Denver, Golden State, Toronto &mdash; even with just one pick &mdash; and Orlando, which might now be closer to returning to the postseason mix.
A breakdown of which teams had Excellent drafts, those that had Good drafts and others that will have to Wait and See:
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h2 Component-p-0-2-71">EXCELLENT</h2>
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">DALLAS MAVERICKS</h3>
Picks: Dereck Lively II (12, via trade); Olivier-Maxence Prosper (24, via trade).
Dallas got the big man it wanted and created opportunity by moving Davis Bertans. Hard to argue that it wasn&rsquo;t a good night. And now free agency awaits. Prosper is another player with big potential and was extremely hard to guard at Marquette.
Picks: Julian Strawther (29), Jalen Pickett (32, will be acquired via trade), Hunter Tyson (37),
Pickett should have gone in the first round. He&rsquo;s that good, and the NBA champions just got another do-it-all guy who will also serve as insurance should Bruce Brown leave in free agency.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">DETROIT PISTONS</h3>
Picks: Ausar Thompson (5), Marcus Sasser (25, via trade), James Nnaji (31)
No matter what, the Pistons were going to get better and deeper on Thursday night. Thompson is incredibly athletic (even by NBA standards) and plays defense with a ton of energy.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS</h3>
Picks: Brandin Podziemski (19), Trayce Jackson-Davis (57, via trade)
Play to your strength, and the Warriors got another shooter to add to the mix with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Podziemski could add something right away, and came to Golden State on the same day that the Warriors swung a deal for Chris Paul by sending Jordan Poole to Washington.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">HOUSTON ROCKETS</h3>
Picks: Amen Thompson (4), Cam Whitmore (20)
Thompson is a great move and gives Detroit another great option as it builds. If Whitmore is healthy, then Houston got an absolute steal by getting the Villanova forward at No. 20.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER</h3>
Picks: Cason Wallace (10, via trade), Keyontae Johnson (50)
Wallace was great for Kentucky in his lone college season and played perhaps his best game in the Wildcats&rsquo; finale in the NCAA tournament. He can score; he didn&rsquo;t look to score quite often enough at times in college.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">ORLANDO MAGIC</h3>
Picks: Anthony Black (6), Jett Howard (11)
Paolo Banchero got a couple more shooters to help him out, and the young and talented Magic got more young talent. An excellent night again and it&rsquo;s time to start thinking about Orlando as a team that should make a run at the play-in &mdash; at minimum.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">SAN ANTONIO SPURS</h3>
Picks: Victor Wembanyama (1), Sidy Cissoko (44).
Their grade was secured at the very moment that the last ping-pong ball appeared at the lottery last month. Wembanyama was a no-brainer, and now it&rsquo;s up to the Spurs to start the real work &mdash; get him into the gym, see how he fits, and figure out what the plan is going forward.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">TORONTO RAPTORS</h3>
Pick: Gradey Dick (13)
Dick showed up to the draft in a red-and-black jacket &mdash; a nod to Dorothy from &ldquo;The Wizard of Oz&rdquo; and his Kansas roots. The color scheme will work in Toronto as well. Dick is a pure shooter, and no team can have too many of those. The jury&rsquo;s still out on what the Raptors will be this coming season, but this kid will be a rotation piece.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">UTAH JAZZ</h3>
Picks: Taylor Hendricks (9), Keyonte George (16), Brice Sensabaugh (28)
Hendricks is what an NBA big pretty much is now; a power forward who can also defend centers. George was the Big 12 rookie of the year at Baylor and is a proven scorer. He&rsquo;s good from the line, has 3-point potential and can get to the rim. There&rsquo;s some work to do, but he&rsquo;s a serious prospect.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h2 Component-p-0-2-71">GOOD</h2>
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">BROOKLYN NETS</h3>
Picks: Noah Clowney (21), Dariq Whitehead (22), Jalen Wilson (51)
Clowney is an athletic big from Alabama whose game is still a bit unfinished. Whitehead has enormous potential and was highly recruited by Duke, but foot issues are a concern. Wilson was the Big 12 player of the year at Kansas. The Nets likely didn&rsquo;t choose three elite programs accidentally. Lot to like here.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">CHARLOTTE HORNETS</h3>
Picks: Brandon Miller (2), Nick Smith Jr. (27), Amari Bailey (41).
Miller made sense over Scoot Henderson because the Hornets have a point guard already. But Henderson might be the more NBA-ready player.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">INDIANA PACERS</h3>
Picks: Jarace Walker (8, via trade), Ben Sheppard (26), Julian Strawther (29), Mojave King (47, via trade), Isaiah Wong (55)
Walker plays hard on both ends, and this is rare to say, but he might play harder on defense than he does on offense. And getting Wong &mdash; the ACC player of the year &mdash; so late is a steal.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS</h3>
Picks: Kobe Brown (30), Jordan Miller (48)
Brown is a strong player, addicted to rebounding, and probably needs to improve considerably on the offensive end. Miller did a little of everything for the Miami Hurricanes in their run to the Final Four.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">LOS ANGELES LAKERS</h3>
Picks: Jalen Hood-Schifino (17), Maxwell Lewis (40, via trade).
Hood-Schifino got NBA coaching in college last season; Indiana is coached by Mike Woodson. He&rsquo;s a winner; his high school teams won, his Indiana team went to the NCAA Tournament and he&rsquo;ll obviously benefit from time with LeBron James.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">MIAMI HEAT</h3>
Pick: Jaime Jaquez Jr. (18)
A four-year college player whose game got more complete each year, Jaquez has a notorious work ethic that should fit in quite well with the Eastern Conference champions.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">NEW ORLEANS PELICANS</h3>
Pick: Jordan Hawkins (14)
Hawkins was a big part of UConn&rsquo;s team that won the national title last spring, earning his way onto the All-Tournament team. New Orleans got a winner.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS</h3>
Picks: Scoot Henderson (3), Kris Murray (23), Rayan Rupert (43).
Henderson has shown that he&rsquo;s NBA-ready. The Blazers drafted well. But really, the only question now is whether Damian Lillard is happy or not. Murray is the twin brother of Sacramento&rsquo;s Keegan Murray and had a big season for Iowa &mdash; averaging just over 20 points per game.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">WASHINGTON WIZARDS</h3>
Picks: Bilal Coulibaly (7, via trade), Tristan Vukcevic (42)
The Wizards are starting over, and on the day they also agreed to acquire Jordan Poole from Golden State they just happened to get a French player. (No, not that one.) But Coulibaly is highly touted by No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama, and that&rsquo;s enough of an endorsement for us.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h2 Component-p-0-2-71">WAIT AND SEE</h2>
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">ATLANTA HAWKS</h3>
Picks: Kobe Bufkin (15), Mouhamed Gueye (39, via trade), Seth Lundy (46)
Bufkin had a great second half of the season at Michigan, and left-handers always provide defenses with an extra challenge. The best way to describe his game is this: He doesn&rsquo;t do much wrong. Very solid, can help the Hawks in a lot of ways.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">BOSTON CELTICS</h3>
Picks: James Njaji (31, via trade), Jordan Walsh (38, via trade)
Still only 18, Njaji started playing the game about seven years ago and is not even close to reaching his potential yet. Big prospect.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">CHICAGO BULLS</h3>
Pick: Julian Phillips (35, via trade)
The Bulls had to forfeit what would have been their pick because of free-agency violations last summer, and swung a deal with Boston to land the Tennessee wing.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">CLEVELAND CAVALIERS</h3>
Pick: Emoni Bates (49)
He was touted as a star since basically middle school, had more than his share of promising moments in college, and now has to really prove himself.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES</h3>
Picks: Gregory Jackson II (45), Tarik Biberovic (56)
Prospects. They&rsquo;re not expected to provide any real help anytime soon.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">MILWAUKEE BUCKS</h3>
Picks: Andre Jackson (36, via trade), Chris Livingston (58)
Jackson was a big part of UConn&rsquo;s national championship. He&rsquo;s only going to benefit from being around Giannis Antetokounmpo every day.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES</h3>
Picks: Leonard Miller (33, via trade), Jaylen Clark (53)
Miller had a lot of big moments playing with Scoot Henderson and the G League Ignite this past season. Athleticism is tough to ignore.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">NEW YORK KNICKS</h3>
No picks.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">PHILADELPHIA 76ERS</h3>
No picks.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">PHOENIX SUNS</h3>
Pick: Toumani Camara (52)
Given the trades that they&rsquo;re making, this might be one of their last picks for quite some time. There&rsquo;s nothing wrong with not valuing the draft, but giving up on it entirely is a dangerous game to play too often.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">SACRAMENTO KINGS</h3>
Picks: Colby Jones (34, via trade), Jalen Slawson (54)
Jones has skills the Kings crave; great shooter, great passing and great vision. A young Kevin Huerter-type in those regards.

Which teams came away from the 2023 NBA Draft as big winners? Check out the AP's draft report cards.

NBA draft report cards: Spurs, Rockets among teams that hit it big

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; There was plenty of debate in the weeks leading up&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-2023-wembanyama-updates-00f52206057df4b872898010243d3bd8">to the NBA draft</a>&nbsp;over whether the Charlotte Hornets preferred Alabama&rsquo;s Brandon Miller or the G League Ignite&rsquo;s Scoot Henderson with the No 2 pick.
In general manager Mitch Kupchak&rsquo;s mind there was never a debate.
&ldquo;Brandon was our favorite all along,&rdquo; Kupchak said. &ldquo;There was a lot of spirited discussion in the last three days, which I welcome. ... But I think he&rsquo;s the player that is the best player.&rdquo;
Miller gives the Hornets&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F7obl-vfp4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an athletic 6-foot-9 wing</a>&nbsp;with a smooth shooting stroke who can knock down shots from the perimeter. He averaged 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game last season for the Crimson Tide, who entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed before making an early exit.
But the Southeastern Conference&rsquo;s player of the year as a freshman comes with some baggage.
Miller is tied to a case that led to former Tide player Darius Miles and another man&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-darius-miles-fatal-shooting-indictment-jamea-harris-887b6419c4b576da778b710a58b8acf7">being indicted</a>&nbsp;on capital murder charges.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/Nate-Oats-Brandon-Miller-Alabama-Basketball-4efc92362b106b01ab0d0a2ee9a4ea6c">A police investigator testified in February</a>&nbsp;that Miles texted Miller to bring him his gun that night. Miller hasn&rsquo;t been charged with wrongdoing, though&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-darius-miles-murder-charge-533386c46d0822a56878b3d3d07717c9">the ongoing case</a>&nbsp;brought&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-alabama-crimson-tide-top-25-college-basketball-today-darius-miles-a32a922ed4e9a483dde15bd24445ce83">intense scrutiny</a>&nbsp;during the second half of the season for&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brandon-miller-alabama-ncaa-tournament-security-guard-7104ab515dfaf81ae09abf94f0bd3165">Miller and the Alabama program</a>.
Kupchak said the Hornets conducted an extensive background check on Miller, including a trip to Alabama about two weeks ago.
&ldquo;We are comfortable with Brandon on and off the court,&rdquo; Kupchak said.
Miller has said he can&rsquo;t discuss the case.
On much a lighter note, Miller made news last week when he said he considered Paul George his personal GOAT, or the greatest of all-time.
He didn&rsquo;t back off that Thursday night even after being drafted by&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/charlotte-hornets-sale-michael-jordan-527087d134136ef38cae1da8d1c95b01">outgoing Hornets majority owner and six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan</a>, considered by many the best player ever.
&ldquo;I think I made it clear that Paul George is still my GOAT, but Mike is definitely up there when in his prime,&rdquo; Miller said with a laugh. &ldquo;Mike does everything. We wear his shoes and he jumps from the free throw line. But Paul George is my GOAT.&rdquo;
Miller appears to be a better positional fit for the Hornets than Henderson, who would have joined a crowded backcourt that includes LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier, last year&rsquo;s leading scorer.
As a wing, Miller has a good chance to see significant playing time.
Gordon Hayward, who has struggled with injury issues, is in the final year of his contract and it&rsquo;s unclear if the team will try to re-sign restricted free agent Miles Bridges, who missed all last season while dealing with a domestic violence case. Bridges will&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/miles-bridges-suspension-charlotte-hornets-ca37e404209b6298ced4c1a46d5d59d6">serve a 10-game suspension to start the season</a>&nbsp;after&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/charlotte-hornets-nba-sports-los-angeles-miles-bridges-cfb86b443b52ad43038886363feeedc4">pleading no contest last November</a>&nbsp;and being sentenced to serve three years of probation.
Miller feels he should benefit from playing with Ball, who is an above-average ball distributor.
&ldquo;Melo is my guy,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;I think with Melo, as good of a point guard as he is, I just kind of fill in the place (on the court). And I know he is going to be the big brother for me away from home.&rdquo;
The 20-year-old Miller is also considered a much better shooter than Henderson, addressing an area of concern for Charlotte.
The Hornets finished 29th in the league last season on 3-pointers at 33%. Miller shot 38.4% from beyond the arc at Alabama. Henderson shot just 27.5% from deep last season for the Ignite, although the 3-point line is deeper in the G League.
At the Spectrum Center in downtown Charlotte, the Hornets&rsquo; decision to take Miller over Henderson was greeted with a mixed reaction by about 5,000 fans gathered for a draft party.
Before the pick, fans cheered loudly when Henderson was shown on the big screen.
Miller joins a Hornets team that hasn&rsquo;t reached the postseason in an NBA-worst seven straight seasons and finished with the fourth-worst record in the league last season at 27-55. Charlotte managed to move up two spots in the lottery, barely missing out on the No. 1 pick and Victor Wembanyama.
Kupchak said a handful of teams showed significant interest in trading up to the No. 2 spot, but added &ldquo;we never got to the point where we seriously considered moving the pick.&rdquo;
The Hornets selected 19-year-old guard Nick Smith Jr. from Arkansas with the 27th overall pick. Smith had been projected as a potential top-five pick before a knee injury caused him to miss 19 games last season.
Charlotte also added James Nnaji, a 6-foot-11 center from FC Barcelona, and UCLA guard Amari Bailey in the second round.

The Charlotte Hornets preferred Alabama’s Brandon Miller over the G League Ignite’s Scoot Henderson with the No 2 pick.

Hornets select Brandon Miller with the No. 2 pick in NBA Draft

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Victor Wembanyama is the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, headed to San Antonio with enormous expectations to become basketball&rsquo;s newest sensation.
The selection of the 19-year-old from France that had been a foregone conclusion for months was announced by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Thursday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, followed by chants of &ldquo;Wemby! Wemby&rdquo; from a group of Spurs fans waving signs from the first row of seats.
Wembanyama arrives with far more height and hype than most No. 1 picks. Listed at 7-foot-4, he dominated his French league in his final season there, leading all players in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots.
Now he makes the move to the NBA, perhaps as the best prospect since LeBron James came out of high school in 2003. Wembanyama brings a package of skills that seem perfect for the modern NBA and too vast for one player, with the size of a center and the shooting and ballhandling ability of a guard.
&ldquo;Hearing that sentence from Adam Silver, I&rsquo;ve dreamed of it so much,&rdquo; Wembanyama said, tears in his eyes as he left the stage with his Spurs cap on and hugged his siblings. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to cry.&rdquo;
Wembanyama was the center of attention throughout the draft process and sat in the middle of the green room &mdash; for the short time he was there, anyway. He smiled for young fans who screamed &ldquo;Victor!&rdquo; as he walked around the arena, even encouraging one to throw him a basketball that he signed and tossed back up into the stands.
The Charlotte Hornets took Alabama freshman forward Brandon Miller with the No. 2 pick.
Scoot Henderson of the G League Ignite, whose bling-filled jacket stood in sharp contrast to Wembanyama&rsquo;s solid green look, was the No. 3 pick by the Portland Trail Blazers.
It was during a two-game series between teams featuring Wembanyama and Henderson last October in Las Vegas that Wembanyama solidified himself as the main man in this draft, scoring 37 and 36 points in front of scouts and some future opponents.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/spurs/status/1672036147663613952?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">His highlights</a>, such as a follow dunk of his own missed 3-pointer, became can&rsquo;t-miss content for basketball fans during the past season.
Wembanyama is the Spurs&rsquo; third No. 1 pick and the first since Tim Duncan in 1997, which led to a stretch of five NBA championships through 2014 before they struggled in recent seasons.
He became the first international player drafted No. 1 without playing any college basketball since Andrea Bargnani in 2006.
Draft history was made with the Nos. 4 and 5 picks. Twins Amen and Ausar Thompson of Overtime Elite became the first brothers to be selected in the top 10 of the same draft, with Amen going to the Houston Rockets and Ausar following to the Detroit Pistons.
Anthony Black of Arkansas was taken sixth by Orlando, ending the run of three straight players who hadn&rsquo;t gone to college. But then it was right back to the international ranks when Indiana picked Bilal Coulibaly, Wembanyama&rsquo;s teammate with Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 whose stock soared in the postseason as the team reached the finals in the Pro A League.

Victor Wembanyama is the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, headed to the Spurs with huge expectations to become the NBA's next sensation.

Victor Wembanyama is No. 1 pick in NBA draft, with huge expectations

Purdue&rsquo;s Zach Edey decided it was the right call to go back to school instead of staying in the NBA draft. His predecessor as national player of the year, Kentucky&rsquo;s Oscar Tshiebwe, is sticking with his pro pursuit.
And Connecticut&rsquo;s reign as NCAA champion will begin with multiple starters having left for the NBA draft and one returning after flirting with doing the same.
The 7-foot-4 Edey and UConn guard Tristen Newton were among the notable names to announce that they were withdrawing from the draft Wednesday, the NCAA&rsquo;s deadline for players who declared as early entrants to pull out and retain their college eligibility.
Edey&rsquo;s decision came Wednesday night, in social media posts from both&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/zach_edey/status/1664075497490227202?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the center</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/boilerball/status/1664076605637947392?s=12&amp;t=srroTo7kpdGXnm7-atvQSA" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Boilermakers program</a>&nbsp;that earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-player-of-year-edey-97210ca64c44cd64ca0120406dcc969a">behind Edey, The Associated Press men&rsquo;s national player of the year</a>.
But Tshiebwe&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs7A_lVv4CC/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced late in the afternoon that he would remain in the draft</a>&nbsp;after a college career that included&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-st-peters-peacocks-mens-basketball-sports-oscar-tshiebwe-johnny-davis-7174341881f37ac8750f8f9119a6fce8">being named the AP national player of the year in 2022</a>.
For the current champions, Newton (10.1 points, 4.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds)&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/D1Tristen/status/1663887976647237632?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">is returning</a>&nbsp;after being one of four Huskies to declare for the draft after a run&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/final-four-uconn-san-diego-state-1de224560610defcbc4eb9c40cbb588a">to UConn&rsquo;s fifth national championship in early April</a>. He scored a game-high 19 points to go with 10 rebounds in the victory over San Diego State in the title game.
The others were&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ncaa-championship-uconn-san-diego-state-782bd15323bda90f2b664653cae99e6e">Final Four Most Outstanding Player Adama Sanogo</a>, wing Jordan Hawkins and versatile guard Andre Jackson Jr. Sanogo (17.8 points) and Hawkins (16.3) have made it clear they have closed the door on their college careers, while team spokesman Phil Chardis said Wednesday night that Jackson (6.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists) would remain in the draft.
The Huskies have 247sports&rsquo; No. 3-ranked recruiting class for next year to restock the roster, led by McDonald&rsquo;s All-American point guard Stephon Castle.
The NBA&rsquo;s withdrawal deadline is June 12, but is moot when it comes to college players returning to school due to the NCAA&rsquo;s earlier timeline to retain playing eligibility.
STAYING IN SCHOOL
TREY ALEXANDER:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/TrickyTrey23/status/1664070367982280707?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Creighton gets back</a> a 6-4 guard who averaged 13.6 points and shot 41% from 3-point range in his first full season as a starter.
ADEM BONA: The 6-foot-10 forward and Pac-12 freshman of the year&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/UCLAMBB/status/1663947898332286976?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">is returning to UCLA</a>&nbsp;after starting 32 games as a rookie and averaging 7.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks &mdash; with coach Mick Cronin praising his toughness for &ldquo;competing through multiple injuries for as long as he could&rdquo; in a statement Wednesday.
EDEY: He averaged 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.5 assists while shooting 60.7% from the field. His presence alone helps Purdue be a factor in the Big Ten race.
JOSIAH-JORDAN JAMES: The 6-6 guard went through the NBA G League Combine and had workouts with multiple teams&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://utsports.com/news/2023/5/31/mens-basketball-james-set-to-rejoin-vols-for-fifth-year.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">before opting to return</a>&nbsp;to Tennessee for a fifth season alongside teammate Santiago Vescovi.
JUDAH MINTZ: The 6-3 freshman averaged 16.3 points and 4.6 assists&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://cuse.com/news/2023/5/31/mens-basketball-hes-back" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">for Syracuse</a>, ranking third among Division I freshmen in scoring behind only Alabama&rsquo;s Brandon Miller and Lamar&rsquo;s Nate Calmese.
OWLS&rsquo; RETURNEES: Florida Atlantic got good news after its surprise Final Four run with the return leading scorers Johnell Davis (13.8) and Alijah Martin (13.4).&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/37768605/johnell-davis-alijah-martin-withdraw-nba-draft-return-florida-atlantic" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ESPN first reported</a>&nbsp;their decisions, while Martin later&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/martin_alijah/status/1664007891882328066" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">posted a social media statement</a>.
TERRENCE SHANNON JR.: Illinois got a big boost with Shannon&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/Sn1per_T/status/1664063397468438530?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announcing his return Wednesday night in a social media post</a>. The 6-6 guard is returning for a fifth college season after averaging 17.2 points.
SPARTANS&rsquo; RETURNEES:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/MSU_Basketball/status/1663931468761169926" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Michigan State announced</a>&nbsp;that guards Jaden Akins and A.J. Hoggard have withdrawn from the NBA draft. Standout guard Tyson Walker had previously withdrawn in April, setting up Tom Izzo to have five of his top scorers back.
GOING PRO
KOBE BROWN: Missouri&rsquo;s 6-8 swingman&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/TheKobe24Brown/status/1664041800917729281" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">opted against returning for a fifth college season</a>&nbsp;after being an&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/all-sec-team-brandon-miller-tshiebwe-taylor-aa366b637e7352bacaab5e7cd4e5dd9e">AP first-team all-Southeastern Conference pick</a>&nbsp;averaging 15.8 points last season.
JAYLEN CLARK: The third-year UCLA guard averaged 13.0 points and 6.0 rebounds while leading the Pac-12 with 2.6 steals en route to being named Naismith national defensive player of the year. Cronin called him a winner with strong intangibles who made UCLA &ldquo;a better program because he chose to be a Bruin.&rdquo;
BRICE SENSABAUGH: The Ohio State freshman averaged 16.3 points and 5.4 rebounds in 31 games before missing his final two in the Big Ten Tournament due to a knee injury. He&rsquo;s a potential first-round prospect.
TSHIEBWE: The 6-9, 260-pound forward is a tough interior presence who led the country in rebounds for two straight seasons (15.1 in 2022, 13.7 in 2023) while racking up 48 double-doubles. But he faces an uncertain next stop and is projected at best as a second-round prospect.

Purdue’s Zach Edey decided it was the right call to go back to school instead of staying in the NBA draft.

Purdue’s Edey returning to school; Kentucky’s Tshiebwe stays in NBA draft

On Tuesday afternoon, the NBA announced the 78 players who are expected to attend the 2023 NBA Draft Combine, which will take place at the Wintrust Arena and Marriott Marquis in Chicago from May 15-21.
Players will have interviews with NBA teams and participate in five-on-five games as well as shooting and strength-and-agility drills. Coverage of the 2023 NBA Draft Combine will begin May 17 on ESPN2 from 2-6 p.m. ET and continues May 18 from 4-8 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
The NBA Draft Combine will also be available on the ESPN App. Strength-and-agility drills and shooting drills will be broadcast live on the NBA App on May 15 from 3-5 p.m. ET.
Additionally, a select number of standout players from the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-g-league-announces-45-draft-prospects-competing-in-g-league-elite-camp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2023 NBA G League Elite Camp</a>, which takes place May 13-14 at Wintrust Arena, will be invited to participate in the NBA Draft Combine.
Unfortunately, projected No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama won't be in attendance at the 2023 NBA Draft Combine as he has yet to finish his season overseas with Metropolitans 92.
Below is a list of expected attendees for the 2023 NBA Draft Combine:
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Trey Alexander (Creighton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Seth Lundy (Penn State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Amari Bailey (UCLA)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Kevin McCullar (Kansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Emoni Bates (Eastern Michigan)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Mike Miles Jr. (TCU)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Reece Beekman (Virginia)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Brandon Miller (Alabama)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Anthony Black (Arkansas)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jordan Miller (Miami)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Adem Bona (UCLA)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Leonard Miller (G League Ignite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Kobe Brown (Missouri)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Judah Mintz (Syracuse)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Kobe Bufkin (Michigan)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Dillon Mitchell (Texas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Toumani Camara (Dayton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Omari Moore (San Jose State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Sidy Cissoko (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Kris Murray (Iowa)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jaylen Clark (UCLA)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Grant Nelson (North Dakota State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Noah Clowney (Alabama)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
James Nnaji (Barcelona [Spain] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Ricky Council IV (Arkansas)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Julian Phillips (Tennessee)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Gradey Dick (Kansas)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jalen Pickett (Penn State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Nikola Djurisic (Mega [Serbia] )
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Brandin Podziemski (Santa Clara)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Zach Edey (Purdue)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Olivier-Maxence Prosper (Marquette)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Adam Flagler (Baylor)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Rayan Rupert (New Zealand Breakers [Oceania] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Keyonte George (Baylor)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Adama Sanogo (Connecticut)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Mouhamed Gueye (Washington State)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Marcus Sasser (Houston)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Coleman Hawkins (Illinois)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Brice Sensabaugh (Ohio State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jordan Hawkins (Connecticut)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Terrence Shannon Jr. (Illinois)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Scoot Henderson (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Ben Sheppard (Belmont)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Taylor Hendricks (UCF)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jalen Slawson (Furman)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
DaRon Holmes II (Dayton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Nick Smith Jr. (Arkansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jalen Hood-Schifino (Indiana)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Terquavion Smith (North Carolina State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jett Howard (Michigan)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Julian Strawther (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Andre Jackson Jr. (Connecticut)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Amen Thompson (Overtime Elite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
GG Jackson II (South Carolina)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Ausar Thompson (Overtime Elite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Drew Timme (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Keyontae Johnson (Kansas State)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Colby Jones (Xavier)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Tristan Vukcevic (Partizan [Serbia] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jarace Walker (Houston)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Arthur Kaluma (Creighton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Cason Wallace (Kentucky)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Mojave King (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jordan Walsh (Arkansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Bobi Klintman (Wake Forest)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Dariq Whitehead (Duke)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Maxwell Lewis (Pepperdine)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Cam Whitmore (Villanova)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Dereck Lively II (Duke)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jalen Wilson (Kansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Chris Livingston (Kentucky)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Isaiah Wong (Miami)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

The NBA announced the 78 players who are expected to attend the 2023 NBA Draft Combine.

NBA announces 78 Draft Combine participants, but no Victor Wembanyama

The NBA announced that 242 players have filed as early-entry candidates for the 2023 NBA Draft. Here is the complete list.

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

Here's the list of NCAA players who have as of April 6 filed for consideration as a candidate for the 2023 WNBA Draft

2023 WNBA Draft: Full list of prospects who have entered

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Nobody was guarding UConn&rsquo;s best player. So Adama Sanogo spun the ball to get his fingers just right, set his feet behind the 3-point line and splashed in the shot. Then, less than a minute later, he did it again.
It was as much basketball clinic as highlight video &mdash; and all of it perfectly fitting for the Huskies, who are methodically steamrolling through a March Madness bracket that has been a free-for-all everywhere else.
UConn doled out another drama-free beatdown Saturday, getting 21 points and 10 rebounds from Sanogo to dispatch Miami 72-59 and move one win from the school&rsquo;s fifth national title.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of teams that want to play Monday,&rdquo; Sanogo said. &ldquo;It means a lot to us.&rdquo;
Jordan Hawkins overcame his stomach bug and scored 13 for the Huskies, who came into this&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">most unexpected Final Four</a>&nbsp;as the only team with any experience on college basketball&rsquo;s final weekend and with the best seeding of the four teams in Houston &mdash; at No. 4.
Against fifth-seeded Miami, they were the best team on the court from beginning to end. Starting with three straight 3s &mdash; one jumper from Hawkins and two of those set shots from Sanogo &mdash; UConn took a quick 9-0 lead and never trailed.
&ldquo;This is something that I worked on all summer, especially shooting,&rdquo; Sanogo said.
On Monday in the title game, the Huskies will face San Diego State, which became the first team to hit a buzzer-beater while trailing in a Final Four game&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/san-diego-state-beats-fau-at-the-buzzer-advancing-to-title-game" target="_blank" rel="noopener">for a 72-71 victory</a>&nbsp;over Florida Atlantic.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">UConn was an early 7 1/2-point favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.</a>
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re one of the best teams in the country,&rdquo; UConn coach Dan Hurley said of the Aztecs. &ldquo;And I think it&rsquo;s fitting that both of us kind of earned our way into this title game.&rdquo;
But while the early game was an all-timer, the nightcap was simply more of the same from the Huskies (30-8).
The 13-point win was UConn&rsquo;s closest since the brackets came out. The Huskies are the sixth team since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 to reach the title game with five straight double-digit victories. It&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/DavidWorlock/status/1642366358917660683" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an impressive list</a>&nbsp;of behemoths with a knack for closing: Four of the first five went on to win the championship.
Some thought Miami (29-8), with the nation&rsquo;s fifth-ranked offense and four players who have scored 20 points at least three times this season, might be the team to slow this Huskies juggernaut. Not to be.
Isaiah Wong led the &rsquo;Canes with 15 points on 4-for-10 shooting. Harassed constantly by Sanogo, 7-foot-2 Donovan Clingan and the rest of Connecticut&rsquo;s long-armed, rangy perimeter players, Miami, which came in with the nation&rsquo;s fifth-best offense, shot 25% in the first half and 33.3% for the game.
&ldquo;Obviously what we tried to do not only didn&rsquo;t work, I couldn&rsquo;t even recognize it,&rdquo; Miami coach Jim Larranaga said. &ldquo;Offensively we were out of sync, but defensively we were too.&rdquo;
Not that UConn was all boring. The Huskies enjoyed their own sort of buzzer-beater in the form of a 3 from Alex Karaban that sent the Huskies jogging into the locker room with a 13-point lead at halftime.
They built it to 20 before the first TV timeout of the second half. By then, Jim Nantz, calling his last Final Four, could start saving his voice for Monday.
Miami did get it under double digits a few times, but this never got interesting.
Not helping: Hurricanes guard&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/final-four-miami-uconn-shoes-14ac37b4d89825ecdea1b1374ad74b0c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nijel Pack</a>&nbsp;missed about five minutes after managers had trouble locating a substitute for a busted shoe. Pack finished with eight points, and Jordan Miller, who hit all 20 shots he took from the floor and the line in Miami&rsquo;s Elite Eight win, went 4 for 10 for 11 points. Only one Miami player made more than half his shots.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a defensive guy first and foremost,&rdquo; Hurley said. &ldquo;I just love the way we guarded them. They&rsquo;re one of the best offenses in the country, and we really disrupted them.&rdquo;
UConn had five blocks, including two from Sanogo, and 19 assists, led by eight from Tristen Newton &mdash; both signs of the sort of all-around effort the Huskies have been putting in since the start of February, when they began the bounce back from a six-loss-in-eight-games stretch that halted their momentum.
That cold stretch is a big reason they were seeded only fourth for March. Now, it&rsquo;s April and the number UConn is thinking about is &ldquo;5&rdquo; &mdash; as in, a fifth title that will come if it can keep this up for one more game.
&ldquo;Maybe it was a little bit delusional,&rdquo; Huskies guard Andre Jackson Jr. said, &ldquo;but we always knew we were the best team in our mind.&rdquo;

Adama Sanogo had 21 points and 10 rebounds as UConn defeated Miami 72-59 and moved one win from the school’s fifth national title.

UConn puts Final Four beatdown on Miami 72-59

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Madison Scott hit a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left that gave Mississippi the lead for good, Angel Baker scored 13 points, and the Rebels delivered on their declaration to get defensive, stunning top-seeded Stanford 54-49 on Sunday night to reach the NCAA Tournament&rsquo;s Sweet 16 for the first time in 16 years.
Behind the entire game, Stanford called timeout with 28 seconds left then Hannah Jump turned the ball over and Scott converted. Haley Jones lost the ball out of bounds on the Cardinal&rsquo;s last possession with a chance to tie then again in the waning moments.
Marquesha Davis hit a pair of free throws with 15.4 seconds to play as Ole Miss overcame not making a field goal over the final 5:47, going 0 for 8.
These upstart Rebels (25-8) advance to the Seattle Regional semifinal next weekend, while Tara VanDerveer&rsquo;s Stanford team (29-6) is eliminated far earlier than this group envisioned &mdash; the season ending on the Cardinal&rsquo;s home floor.
GREENVILLE 1 REGION
No. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 76, No. 8 SOUTH FLORIDA 45
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Zia Cooke scored 21 points and Aliyah Boston had her 81st career double double as South Carolina shook off a slow start to power past South Florida.
The Gamecocks improved to 34-0 with their 40th straight win overall and moved four victories away from a second straight national title. They&rsquo;ll head to Greenville, where they won the Southeastern Conference Tournament two weeks ago, to play for a spot in the Final Four.
Boston, the program career record holder for double doubles, finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds, coming out of her final game at home to a huge ovation.
South Florida (27-7) entered looking for a program-record 28th win this season and its first berth in the Sweet 16, but after a feisty start, couldn&rsquo;t hang with the Gamecocks.
No. 2 MARYLAND 77, No. 7 ARIZONA 64
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) &mdash; Diamond Miller scored 13 of her 24 points in the third quarter to help Maryland to a victory over Arizona.
The Terrapins (27-6) advance to the Sweet 16 for a third straight year and the 11th time under coach Brenda Frese. Maryland trailed by a point after two quarters but ran past the Wildcats (22-10) in the second half.
Shyanne Sellers scored 15 points and Faith Masonius gave the Terps a lift with 12.
Frese was coaching against her alma mater. She played at Arizona and graduated in 1993.
Cate Reese led Arizona with 19 points.
No. 3 NOTRE DAME 53, No. 11 MISSISSIPPI STATE 48
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Lauren Ebo had 10 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks to help Notre Dame beat Mississippi State.
Maddy Westbeld added nine points and 15 rebounds for the Irish, who blew an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter before making the plays down the stretch for the win.
Mississippi State scored eight straight points to open the fourth quarter and tie the game at 41. Ebo scored the first Irish basket of the final period on an offensive putback with 4:38 remaining.
The Irish regained the lead for good on a pair of KK Bransford free throws with 3:49 left in the game, which gave Notre Dame a 45-43 advantage. The Irish held onto the lead the rest of the way.
GREENVILLE 2 REGION
No. 2 UTAH 63, No. 10 PRINCETON 56
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Alissa Pili had 28 points and 10 rebounds to lead Utah to a win over Princeton.
Jenna Johnson added 15 points for the Utes, who made only one 3-pointer but still advanced to their first Sweet 16 since 2006.
Kaitlyn Chen scored 19 points, Grace Stone had 16 and Ellie Mitchell finished with 18 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive end, for Princeton (24-6).
Down the stretch, the game turned into an old-fashioned rockfight. The teams combined to miss 15 consecutive field goal attempts at one point, but Utah (27-4) got to the free throw line to advance and face No. 3 seed LSU.
No. 3 LSU 66, No. 6 MICHIGAN 42
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese dismantled Michigan on both ends of the court with 25 points, 24 rebounds, six blocks and three steals to help LSU beat the Wolverines.
Reese, a 6-foot-3 All-America forward, did most of her damage with gauze wedged under her upper lip after a shot to her mouth drew blood in the opening minutes of the game.
Alexis Morris scored 11 and LaDazhia Williams had 10 points and 10 rebounds for LSU (30-2), which never trailed and held Michigan (23-10) to its lowest point total of the season.
SEATTLE 3 REGION
No. 1 VIRGINIA TECH 72, No. 9 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 60
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) &mdash; Georgia Amoore scored 21 points and Virginia Tech held off South Dakota State.
Elizabeth Kitley added 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Hokies (29-4), who won their 13th consecutive game, to advance to the Sweet 16 for just the second time in program history. They will play the winner of Monday&rsquo;s matchup between No. 12 seed Toledo and No. 4 seed Tennessee.
Virginia Tech also set a school record with its 29th win, breaking the mark of 28 set by the 1998-99 squad &mdash; the only other team in school history to advance to the Sweet 16.
Myah Selland led South Dakota State (29-6) with 17 points and nine rebounds.
SEATTLE 4 REGION
No. 2 IOWA 74, No. 10 GEORGIA 66
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark had 22 points and 12 assists while Monika Czinano added 20 points to help Iowa beat Georgia.
The Hawkeyes (28-6) advance to the ninth Sweet Sixteen in program history.
Gabbie Marshall added 15 points and McKenna Warnock had 14 for Iowa, which erased the memory of last season&rsquo;s second-round home loss to No. 10 seed Creighton.
Clark, a first-team Associated Press All-American, was held scoreless for 13 minutes in the first half, but scored 14 second-half points as the Hawkeyes finally shook off the 10th-seeded Lady Bulldogs (22-12). She made just 6 of 17 shots, but either scored or assisted on nearly every point by the Hawkeyes in the second half.
Georgia, a No. 10 seed, got within 68-66 on a 3-pointer from Audrey Warren with 2:17 left in the game, but the Lady Bulldogs would not score again, committing three straight turnovers and missing a layup.
Diamond Battles led Georgia with 21 points. Brittney Smith and Javyn Nicholson each had 12 points.

A recap of Sunday's slate of women's March Madness includes the Rebels upsetting the top-seeded Cardinal.

Ole Miss stuns Stanford, reaches first Sweet 16 in 16 years

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Jamal Shead scored 16 points, including the winning basket as time ran out, and top-ranked Houston won its 11th straight game, escaping a second-half rally to beat Memphis 67-65 in the teams&rsquo; regular-season finale.
Shead beat the buzzer with his jumper from just inside the 3-point line. Nine seconds earlier, Memphis&rsquo; Kendric Davis drove to the basket and tied the game at 65. Houston chose not to call timeout, and Shead gave the Cougars (29-2, 17-1 American Athletic Conference) the win.
Tramon Mark matched Shead&rsquo;s 16 points, while Marcus Sasser finished with 13 for Houston.
Davis led Memphis (23-8, 13-5) with 26 points, while Chandler Lawson added 10.
NO. 5 PURDUE 76, ILLINOIS 71
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Newman scored 19 points, Zach Edey added 17 and Purdue held on to beat Illinois and become the first team to win the Big Ten title by three or more games since 2014.
Braden Smith added 15 points for the Boilermakers (26-5, 15-5), who led by 24 early in the second half before the Illini rallied.
Matthew Mayer led the Illini (20-11, 11-9) with 16 points, followed by Terrence Shannon Jr. with 13, Sencire Harris with 11 and Luke Goode with 10.
The Boilermakers shot 62% for a 47-26 lead at halftime, but cooled to 29% in the second half. Mayer tied the game at 67 with 1:17 to go, but Edey&rsquo;s layup gave Purdue a 69-67 edge.
NO. 15 INDIANA 75, MICHIGAN 73, OT
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Trayce Jackson-Davis had 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists in his final home game, and Indiana forced a steal on Michigan&rsquo;s final possession of overtime.
The Hoosiers (21-10, 12-8) clinched a double bye in Friday&rsquo;s Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals by rebounding from their most lopsided home loss since 2017.
Hunter Dickinson had 24 points and 14 rebounds for Michigan (17-14, 11-9). Kobe Bufkin added 19 points and six rebounds, but the Wolverines wound up getting swept in the season series. It was the second straight overtime loss for Michigan.
Seniors Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson and Miller Kopp scored all six Indiana points in overtime.
PENN STATE 65, NO. 21 MARYLAND 64
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) &mdash; Camren Wynter made a layup with less than a second remaining to lift Penn State over Maryland.
Jalen Pickett scored 16 points, Andrew Funk had 14 and Myles Dread had 11 for the Nittany Lions (19-12, 10-10 Big Ten), who trailed by as many as 16 late in the first half.
Jahmir Young scored 14 of his 26 points in the second half for the Terps (20-11, 11-9), who entered the afternoon looking to earn the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament. Julian Reese had 12 points for the Terps, while Don Carey and Ian Martinez added 11 each.

A recap of three games in top-25 men's action Sunday includes a game-winner from the top team in the country.

No. 1 Houston nips Memphis 67-65 for 11th straight win

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Jahvon Quinerly scored 24 points, Brandon Miller made the clinching free throws with six seconds left and No. 2 Alabama rallied from a 17-point deficit before beating archrival Auburn 90-85 in overtime Wednesday night.
The Crimson Tide (26-4, 16-1 Southeastern Conference) clinched outright their second regular-season SEC title in three years but continued to live on the edge over a troubling eight days that included courtroom revelations in a capital murder trial.
Miller rebounded teammate Jaden Bradley&rsquo;s missed dunk and drew a foul, making both free throws. Noah Clowney had blocked K.D. Johnson&rsquo;s layup attempt on the other end.
The Tigers (19-11, 9-8), who had three key players foul out, couldn&rsquo;t close it out after leading almost the entire way in regulation. They were up 17 with under 11 minutes left.
Alabama won its fourth straight but the past three have gone down to the wire since courtroom revelations tied freshmen Miller and Bradley to the scene of a murder. Neither has been charged or accused of a crime, but then-teammate Darius Miles and another man are facing capital murder charges.
Police said Miles texted Miller asking him to bring the gun.
NO. 22 TCU 75, NO. 9 TEXAS 73
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) &mdash; Damion Baugh scored a career-high 24 points, Emanuel Miller had 20 and TCU denied Texas a chance to play for a share of the Big 12 title in its upcoming regular-season finale.
Baugh scored on a breakaway layup off the opening tip and the Horned Frogs (20-10, 9-8 Big 12) never trailed. It was the second loss in a row and third in five games for the Longhorns (22-8, 11-6), who haven&rsquo;t won a regular-season conference crown since 2008.
Texas hosts third-ranked Kansas (25-5, 13-4) on Saturday. The Jayhawks had already clinched at least a piece of the Big 12 title Tuesday night, and now know they won&rsquo;t have to share it.
Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice scored 16 points for the Longhorns, and Tyrese Hunter had 15.
NO. 10 GONZAGA 104, CHICAGO STATE 65
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 17 points in what&rsquo;s expected to be his final home game at Gonzaga, and the Bulldogs trounced Chicago State in a postseason tune-up.
Timme made his 99th start at Gonzaga. The senior forward ranks second on the school&rsquo;s career scoring list, 21 points behind Frank Burgess (1958-61).
The 6-foot-10 Timme has played four seasons at Gonzaga but could return for a fifth because of extra eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has not announced any definitive plans.
Fellow senior Rasir Bolton added 15 points for the Zags (26-5), who won their seventh straight game. Malachi Smith scored 14.
Jahsean Corbett led Chicago State (11-19) with 22 points and seven rebounds.
Gonzaga added the game to avoid going more than a week without playing before the West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas.
NO. 11 KANSAS STATE 85, OKLAHOMA 69
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Desi Sills flirted with a triple-double in his Bramlage Coliseum farewell and Kansas State held on to beat Oklahoma.
Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell also had big senior send-offs for the Wildcats. Sills finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, while Johnson had 16 points and Nowell added 11 points and 10 assists to help Kansas State (23-7, 11-6 Big 12) snap a three-game skid against the Sooners.
Nae&rsquo;Qwan Tomlin scored 19 points for Kansas State, which led by 20 early in the second half before the Sooners (14-16, 4-13) made a late run. Milos Uzan had 20 points to lead Oklahoma.
NO. 14 UCONN 88, DEPAUL 59
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Adama Sanogo scored 26 points to lead five UConn players in double figures and the Huskies closed out their home schedule in emphatic style with an easy win over skidding DePaul.
Andre Jackson filled up the stat sheet for Connecticut (23-7, 12-7 Big East) with 11 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Tristen Newton added 12 points for the Huskies, who have won four straight and seven of eight.
Nick Ongenda tied a career high with 17 points for DePaul (9-21, 3-16), which has lost 11 in a row.
UConn put the game away early, opening on a 29-2 run.
NO. 19 XAVIER 94, NO. 20 PROVIDENCE 89
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Souley Boum scored a season-high 33 points and Colby Jones added a career-best 29 to help Xavier beat Providence and clinch the No. 2 seed in the Big East Tournament.
Ed Croswell had 17 points with 13 rebounds, and Bryce Hopkins also scored 17 for Providence, which cut a 22-point first-half deficit to two in the second half.
It was the Friars&rsquo; first loss at home in 16 games this season.
With one game remaining, Xavier (22-8, 14-5 Big East) has a one-game lead over Providence (21-9, 13-6) and controls the tiebreaker, having swept their two regular-season matchups.
OHIO STATE 73, NO. 21 MARYLAND 62
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Felix Okpara had 12 points and 12 rebounds to help Ohio State finish its home schedule with a win over Maryland.
Justice Sueing had 16 points to lead six Buckeyes in double figures. Ohio State (13-17, 5-14 Big Ten) jumped ahead early with a 12-0 run and didn&rsquo;t give up the lead the rest of the way.
Julian Reese had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Terrapins (20-10, 11-8).
VANDERBILT 68, NO. 23 KENTUCKY 66
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Jordan Wright hit a go-ahead fall-away jumper in the lane with 2.6 seconds remaining to finish with 23 points, and Vanderbilt topped Kentucky for its first win at Rupp Arena since January 2007.
The surging Commodores (17-13, 10-7 Southeastern Conference) earned their seventh win in eight games and are 7-3 since losing to Kentucky 69-53 last month in Nashville.
Wright&rsquo;s drive tied the game with 42 seconds left, and Tyrin Lawrence grabbed Antonio Reeves&rsquo; missed jumper with 20 seconds to go.
Reeves&rsquo; 3-point attempt missed the rim altogether as time expired. Kentucky had won its previous four and re-entered the rankings on Monday for the first time in seven weeks.
Oscar Tshiebwe had 21 points and 20 rebounds for the Wildcats (20-10, 11-6).
NOTRE DAME 88, NO. 25 PITTSBURGH 81
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Marcus Hammond and Cormac Ryan each scored 20 points as Notre Dame beat Pittsburgh to win longtime coach Mike Brey&rsquo;s final home game.
Nate Laszewski and Trey Wertz each added 14 points for the Fighting Irish (11-19, 3-16 Atlantic Coast Conference), who snapped a seven-game losing streak.
Brey, stepping down at season&rsquo;s end, received warm ovations from the crowd before and after the game. He improved to 315-76 at Purcell Pavilion over 23 years as Notre Dame coach.
Jamarius Burton, Nelly Cummings and Nike Sibande all scored 19 points for Pittsburgh. Blake Hinson added 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Panthers (21-9, 14-5), who lost for only the second time in 10 games. They were playing their first game since moving into the AP Top 25 for the first time in seven years.

A recap of Wednesday's top-25 action in men's college hoops includes the Crimson Tide winning the regular-season SEC title.

No. 2 Alabama rallies from 17 down to top rival Auburn in OT

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Miller scored 24 points and Mark Sears made seven of eight free throws over the final 1:04 to help No. 2 Alabama top Arkansas 86-83 on Saturday.
Miller delivered his second straight huge game for the Crimson Tide (25-4, 15-1 Southeastern Conference) since police alleged in courtroom testimony that he brought a gun to former teammate Darius Miles, who is charged with capital murder in a fatal shooting.
The week&rsquo;s details cast a different light on Miller&rsquo;s regular pregame introduction, which is a Tide staffer giving him a pat down. Coach Nate Oats said after the game that intro for Miller is now over.
Fellow freshman Nick Smith Jr. of Arkansas (19-10, 8-8), another potential NBA draft lottery pick who helped keep the Razorbacks in it with a late 3-pointer, scored 24 points. Davonte Davis added 21 points for Arkansas, Council scored 20, and the rest of the team combined for 18 points.
Jahvon Quinerly had 16 points and seven assists for the Tide, and Noah Clowney had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
NO. 1 HOUSTON 76, EAST CAROLINA 57
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Marcus Sasser scored 22 points to help Houston clinch outright possession of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title.
Tramon Mark added 20 points for the Cougars (27-2, 15-1), while J&rsquo;Wan Roberts had 17 points and 12 rebounds in Houston&rsquo;s ninth straight victory.
East Carolina (14-14, 5-10) had an energetic home crowd for the first-ever visit from a No. 1-ranked team to Minges Coliseum, as well as the program&rsquo;s first game against a top-ranked opponent in more than 31 years. But the Cougars never trailed and led for all but 56 seconds. Ezra Ausar scored 15 points to lead the Pirates.
NO. 3 KANSAS 76, WEST VIRGINIA 74
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Dajuan Harris was one point shy of a career high, scoring 17 points to help lift Kansas over West Virginia.
The Jayhawks&rsquo; stifling defense kept West Virginia from attempting a shot in the final 20 seconds. The Mountaineers&rsquo; Joe Toussaint traveled on their final possession of the game. Baskets by K.J. Adams and Kevin McCullar extended the Jayhawks&rsquo; lead to 75-68 late as they grinded out the victory.
Harris led Kansas (24-5, 12-4 Big 12) with 7-of-9 shooting from the field and had six assists and six steals.
Erik Stevenson led West Virginia (16-13, 5-11) with 23 points. Tre Mitchell scored 20, Kedrian Johnson scored 15 and Emmitt Mathews Jr. had 13.
NO. 17 INDIANA 79, NO. 5 PURDUE 71
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Hood-Schifino scored a career-high 35 points and Trey Galloway added 10 of his 13 in the second half to lead Indiana over Purdue.
The Hoosiers (20-9, 11-7 Big Ten) snapped a seven-game losing streak in West Lafayette and pulled their first season sweep in this bitter rivalry since 2012-13.
Zach Edey led the Boilermakers with 26 points and 16 rebounds and Fletcher Loyer added 14 points. Purdue (24-5, 13-5) has lost three of four and blew a chance to clinch a share of the conference crown in front of its home fans, who stood outside in chilly temperatures and snaking lines for hours before tip-off.
NORTH CAROLINA 71, NO. 6 VIRGINIA 63
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Pete Nance scored 22 points to lead North Carolina past Virginia.
Nance shot 7 of 10 from the floor and was 4 of 4 from behind the arc, the most 3-pointers the fifth-year forward has made in ACC play. He added two assists and four blocks.
R.J. Davis notched the fourth double-double of his career with 16 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina (18-11, 10-8 Atlantic Coast Conference), which got a much-needed boost to its NCAA Tournament resume with a Quadrant 1 win &mdash; the first of the season for the Tar Heels.
Jayden Gardner had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead Virginia (21-6, 13-5), which lost its second in a row. Armaan Franklin added 14 points.
ARIZONA STATE 89, NO. 7 ARIZONA 88
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Desmond Cambridge Jr. hit a 60-foot shot at the buzzer and Arizona State rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Arizona.
The Wildcats (24-5, 13-5 Pac-12) built a 10-point lead midway through the second half before going more than six minutes without a field goal as Arizona State pulled ahead by one.
The Sun Devils (20-9, 11-7) went up 86-85 on Warren Washington&rsquo;s layup with just a minute left, but Pelle Larsson put Arizona back up on a layup with 29 seconds left. Arizona State&rsquo;s DJ Horne missed a jumper with 4 seconds left and the Sun Devils had a final shot after Oumar Ballo hit one of two free throws.
Catching the ball with 2.4 seconds left, Cambridge launched a shot from beyond half-court to finish with 19 points and give the Sun Devils a big boost in their bid to make the NCAA Tournament.
NO. 9 BAYLOR 81, NO. 8 TEXAS 72
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Jalen Bridges had 17 points for ninth-ranked Baylor, which overcame a huge deficit with an impressive run right after freshman standout Keyonte George left injured early and beat Big 12 co-leader Texas.
Adam Flagler had 14 points for the Bears (21-8, 10-6). Dale Bonner added 13 points, including seven in an quick spurt after halftime while Flo Thamba had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Dylan Disu had a season-high 24 points for Texas (22-7, 11-5), which twice got even early in the second half but never could regain the lead.
NO. 10 MARQUETTE 90, DEPAUL 84
MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Kam Jones and Tyler Kolek each scored 22 points while helping Marquette clinch a share of its first Big East regular-season championship in a decade.
Kolek also had 14 assists as Marquette (23-6, 15-3) rolled to a 49-28 halftime lead and hung on after DePaul (9-20, 3-15) got close down the stretch. Marquette has won nine of its last 10, while DePaul has lost 10 straight.
This is Marquette&rsquo;s first conference title in 2013, when the Golden Eagles shared the Big East crown with Georgetown and eventual national champion Louisville.
Umoja Gibson led DePaul with 20 points and eight assists. Nick Ongenda added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
NO. 11 TENNESSEE 85, SOUTH CAROLINA 45
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Josiah-Jordan James came back from missing four games with an injury to score 18 points to lead Tennessee to a rout of South Carolina.
James, who suffered an ankle injury against Vanderbilt on Feb. 8, shot 4 of 7 on 3-pointers for the Volunteers (21-8, 10-6 Southeastern Conference). Jahmai Mashack scored 14 points, Zakai Zeigler had 13 points and 11 assists, and Olivier Nkamhoua and Uros Plavsic scored 10 each.
Hayden Brown led the Gamecocks (10-19, 3-13) with 18 points.
NO. 12 GONZAGA 77, NO. 15 SAINT MARY&rsquo;S 68
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 19 points and Gonzaga earned a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title with a win over Saint Mary&rsquo;s.
Anton Watson had 17 points and Malachi Smith added 13 off the bench for the Bulldogs, who have won or shared the conference title in 11 straight seasons. Gonzaga (25-5, 14-2) also reached the 25-win mark for the 16th season in a row &mdash; and avenged a loss to the Gaels earlier this month in Moraga.
Logan Johnson led the Gaels (25-6, 14-2) with 27 points.
Because the teams shared the regular-season title, the WCC will use the NCAA&rsquo;s NET rankings to determine the top seed for the conference tournament.
FLORIDA STATE 85, NO. 13 MIAMI 84
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Matthew Cleveland&rsquo;s 3-pointer as time expired capped Florida State&rsquo;s comeback from a 25-point second-half deficit and a win over Miami.
Jordan Miller had given Miami the lead on a 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds left. But Cleveland let fly from about 25 feet and the ball swished to give the Seminoles (9-20, 7-11 Atlantic Coast Conference) their best moment of the season.
Cleveland and Darin Green Jr. each had 20 points for Florida State, which also got 13 from Caleb Mills and 11 from Jalen Warley.
Miller led Miami (23-6, 14-5) with 21 points. Norchad Omier had 15, Isaiah Wong scored 14 and Bensley Joseph added 12 for the Hurricanes, whose seven-game winning streak and perfect home season were ended.
NO. 18 UCONN 95, ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 86
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points, Adama Sanogo added 18 points and nine rebounds, and UConn beat St. John&rsquo;s.
Andre Jackson Jr. had 15 points, Joey Calcaterra also scored 15 to lead a strong effort by Connecticut&rsquo;s bench and the resurgent Huskies (22-7, 11-7 Big East) avenged an 11-point loss to St. John&rsquo;s at home last month.
UConn won for the sixth time in seven games, closing in on a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament.
AJ Storr had 20 points and Posh Alexander added 18 for the Red Storm (17-13, 7-12), who had won three of four.
NO. 14 KANSAS STATE 73, OKLAHOMA STATE 68
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell had 22 points, eight assists and four steals in Kansas State&rsquo;s third straight win, beating Oklahoma State.
Keyontae Johnson added 17 points for the Wildcats (22-7, 10-6 Big 12), who swept the regular-season series.
Kalib Boone scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half on Senior Day for Oklahoma State. Caleb Asberry scored 13 points and John-Michael Wright added 12 for the Cowboys (16-13, 7-9), who have lost four straight.
VILLANOVA 79, NO. 19 CREIGHTON 67
PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Eric Dixon scored 18 of his career-high 31 points in the first half, Cam Whitmore added 17 and Villanova defeated Creighton.
Dixon also set a career high with six 3-pointers for Villanova (15-14, 9-9 Big East), which has won five of six.
Arthur Kaluma scored 19 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner had 18 for Creighton (18-11, 12-6). The Bluejays have lost three of four following an eight-game winning streak.
NO. 22 SAN DIEGO STATE 73, NEW MEXICO 71
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) &mdash; Lamont Butler&rsquo;s 3-pointer at the buzzer gave San Diego State a win at New Mexico.
After Jaelen House&rsquo;s steal and end-to-end run for a layup with 5.6 seconds left gave New Mexico a 71-70 lead, Butler unhurriedly brought the ball up court before dropping his shot, giving him 10 points for the Aztecs (23-5, 14-2 Mountain West).
Darrion Trammell scored 18 points to lead the Aztecs. Matt Bradley added 11 as San Diego State won its sixth straight.
Jamal Mashburn Jr. finished with 20 points for New Mexico (20-9, 7-9) and House had 15.
OKLAHOMA 61, NO. 23 IOWA STATE 50
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Jacob Groves led Oklahoma with 16 points as the Sooners knocked off Iowa State.
The Sooners (14-15, 4-12 Big 12) had lost nine of their previous 11 games but erased an early 11-point deficit and seized control with a 17-2 run in the second half.
Groves shot 4 of 5 from the 3-point line. Tanner Groves added 9 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
The Cyclones (17-11, 8-8) shot just 31%. Gabe Kalscheur led Iowa State with 12 points.
NO. 24 TCU 83, TEXAS TECH 82
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash; JaKobe Coles made two free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining, and TCU beat Texas Tech despite blowing a 12-point lead in the final eight minutes.
After De&rsquo;Vion Harmon&rsquo;s steal and layup put the Red Raiders in front by one with 12 seconds remaining, Coles caught a pass from Emanuel Miller in the lane and was fouled by Fardaws Aimaq going up for the shot. The Horned Frogs (19-10, 8-8 Big 12) weren&rsquo;t in the bonus.
Harmon&rsquo;s desperation 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded wasn&rsquo;t close, ending a four-game winning streak Texas Tech (16-13, 5-11).
Mike Miles Jr. scored 24 points for the Horned Frogs, who had lost five of six and were coming off a loss to No. 3 Kansas at home. Miller had 14 points and 12 rebounds for TCU.
Aimaq scored 19 points, Harmon had 18 and Kevin Obanor finished with 17 points and nine rebounds for Texas Tech.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 69, NO. 25 TEXAS A&amp;M 62
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Tolu Smith had 17 points and Shakeel Moore had 14 as Mississippi State knocked off Texas A&amp;M.
Cameron Matthews had 11 points for the Bulldogs (19-10, 7-9 Southeastern Conference), who held the Aggies to one field goal in the final 14 minutes and outscored them 34-18 during the same time period.
Wade Taylor IV led Texas A&amp;M (21-9, 13-3) with 21 points, including four 3-pointers, and Henry Coleman III and Andersson Garcia each had 11.

A recap of Saturday's slew of action in top 25 NCAA men's college hoops.