Panthers

PASAY CITY, PHILIPPINES &ndash; The Philippines&rsquo; San Miguel Beermen and Meralco Bolts will face the KT Suwon Sonicboom and the Macau Blackbears in the 2024-2025 East Asia Super League (EASL) season in the league&rsquo;s Tip-Off event today at the Mall of Asia Arena here.
This is the opening act of the tournament dubbed the Champions League in East Asia, with champion teams from each of the participating countries gunning for the crown of the best team in the region.
With that being said, let&rsquo;s dive into what to expect from the slate of games today.
How will the Beermen and the Bolts adapt to the international style of play?
Over the past few days, San Miguel and Meralco have been in the thick of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) playoffs as both teams are battling hard to get out of the quarterfinals. And now they would have to be up to the challenge of transitioning and adjusting their play when they meet international counterparts from Korea and Macau.
This seems like a tough task ahead for the Beermen and the Bolts as they have been accustomed to playing the Filipino brand of basketball for over a whole season, and the little turnaround time could present some issues along the way.
The Koreans have always been known to be shooters and ball movers, utilizing their speed and team chemistry to damage their opponents. The Black Bears employ a similar playstyle, offering a variety of their shots from three as well as relying on production from their imports.
Nevertheless, San Miguel and Meralco are two of the best teams the Philippines has to offer, so it will be a fun matchup regardless as they showcase their brand of basketball to the visitors.
San Miguel Beermen and KT Suwon Sonicboom: The three-point game
According to stats from EASL, the Beermen and the Sonicboom are both great three-point shooting teams. Throughout the Beermen&rsquo;s 2023-24 PBA Commissioner&rsquo;s Cup run, they hit 10.8 3&rsquo;s per game at a 34% clip. In contrast, KT hit 9.2 3&rsquo;s per game last season in the KBL, scoring 35.2% of their shots from deep.
San Miguel sharpshooter Marcio Lassiter, who became the PBA&rsquo;s all-time 3-point leader with 1,251 career 3-pointers on Sep. 15, will lead the way for the Beermen, while Heo Hoon, who averaged 3.6 threes in the KBL Finals last season, will do the same for Suwon.
This will be a very interesting thing to monitor as the Beermen have had to deal with the newly implemented 4-point line in the ongoing PBA season, and this has led to interesting results. Teams have been playing less zone over in the country&rsquo;s scene so we might see the Sonicboom play some tough 1-on-1 defense throughout the game.
Meralco Bolts and Macau Black Bears: Bounce back or good start?
After a tough EASL season last year, the Bolts aim to improve and increase their wins this EASL season. Meralco has also bowed out of the current PBA playoff season, and now they shift their focus onto their EASL campaign hoping for better results.&nbsp;
On the other hand, the Black Bears come into the 2024-2025 season as an expansion team and are looking to start good and hot. They will make their debut in the East Asian League full of hope and optimism but armed with lofty expectations.
According to EASL&rsquo;s scouting report, the Black Bears are equipped with a fast-paced and free-flowing offense. Macau also runs most of its sets through floor general Damian Chong Qui, who just at 5-foot-9, operates well off of ball screens but can also pop out and hit an open 3. Jenning Leung, a sharp-shooting 6-foot guard out of Canada&rsquo;s McGill University, makes up an elite Black Bears&rsquo; backcourt and together these two are for sure going to give the Bolts a lot of problems.

The Philippines’ San Miguel Beermen and Meralco Bolts will face the KT Suwon Sonicboom and the Macau Black Bears in the EASL.

EASL Tip-Off Preview: San Miguel, Meralco go up against neighboring Korea, Macau

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

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic got a triple-double in his NBA Finals debut, Jamal Murray scored 26 points and the Denver Nuggets had little trouble with the cold-shooting Miami Heat on the way to a 104-93 win in Game 1 on Thursday night.
Jokic finished with 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who waited 47 years to make the finals and didn&rsquo;t disappoint. Aaron Gordon added 16 points and Michael Porter Jr. scored 14 for Denver, which trailed for all of 34 seconds and eventually led by as many as 24.
Bam Adebayo finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds for Miami, which shot 41% for the game &mdash; 33% from 3-point range. Gabe Vincent scored 19, Haywood Highsmith had 18 and Jimmy Butler added 13 for the Heat.
Game 2 is in Denver on Sunday night.
Miami opened the fourth quarter on an 11-0 run, cutting an 84-63 deficit to start the final period down to 84-74. The Heat actually got within nine on a 3-pointer by Highsmith with 2:34 left, but no closer and there wasn&rsquo;t any doubt, either.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone gave his team a pop quiz in shootaround Thursday morning, peppering them with questions about the game plan and what had to be done in the most important game to date in franchise history.
They had all the answers then. Had them all at game time, too. They were the team with minimal NBA Finals experience, only two players having been to the title round before, and yet they looked right at home before the home crowd in Game 1.
Jokic became the second player in the last 25 years &mdash; LeBron James was the other, in 2017 &mdash; to have 10 assists by halftime of a finals game. He had 10 points and 10 assists by the break, and Denver was up 59-42 after the first two quarters.
That wasn&rsquo;t good for Miami. Nor was this: The Nuggets were in full control and Jokic had taken only three shots.
And this part was worse: The Heat just couldn&rsquo;t shoot. At all. Or at least, not until Denver was too far ahead to catch. Max Strus was 0 for 10 through three quarters, 0 for 9 on 3-pointers. Caleb Martin &mdash; who narrowly missed out on winning the MVP award of the Eastern Conference finals &mdash; was 1 for 7.
TIP-INS
Heat: Miami fell to 1-6 all-time in Game 1s of the NBA Finals. The Heat lost the series opener in each of their title years &mdash; 2006, 2012 and 2013 &mdash; and the only win came in 2011, a series they eventually lost to Dallas. &hellip; Adebayo&rsquo;s 25 shots were a career high. He became the third player to score at least 24 points for Miami in a Game 1 of a finals. James did it three times for the Heat and Dwyane Wade did it in 2006.
Nuggets: Jokic became the eighth player to have a triple-double in Game 1 of a finals. None of the others were accompanied by 27 points; Dave Cowens had a 25-point triple-double to open the 1976 finals. ... Bruce Brown, who played his college ball at Miami, scored 10. &hellip; Denver got to the foul line 20 times to Miami&rsquo;s two.
CELEB WATCH
Among those in the sellout crowd: Grammy winner H.E.R., NFL legend and former Denver quarterback Peyton Manning, current Denver quarterback Russell Wilson, Broncos coach Sean Payton and actor-comedian Ken Jeong.

The Denver Nuggets had little trouble with the cold-shooting Miami Heat on the way to a 104-93 win in Game 1 on Thursday night.

Jokic gets triple-double, Nuggets beat Heat 104-93 in Game 1 of Finals

PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Brittney Griner won the opening tip and ran to her familiar spot in the low post.
There was nowhere else the ball was going to go on the Phoenix Mercury&rsquo;s opening possession of the season &mdash; not after what Griner had gone through to get here.
Her back to the basket, Griner faked as though she would shoot a turnaround, spun the other way and put up another up-fake. Chicago&rsquo;s Elizabeth Williams fell for the deke, Griner absorbed the contact and hit the shot to begin a three-point play.
After all the emotional buildup, Griner got off to the perfect start in her first regular-season home game since being released after more than&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-wnba-mercury-russia-aeec9996a12eff831db54039a5e20545">10 months in a Russian prison</a>.
It didn&rsquo;t end quite the way she wanted.
Griner finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots, but the Chicago Sky held on for a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/497be3792e2cf7f689f0bdb1d488a0cb">75-69 win on Sunday</a>.
Griner received a warm reception in her lone preseason game and again in&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-wnba-mercury-russia-e3fe291486d48676e512ca6352f3a974">the Mercury&rsquo;s season opener</a>&nbsp;at the Los Angeles Sparks.
Her home debut had an entirely different vibe.
Many fans wore Griner&rsquo;s 42 jersey and some waved small black towels with &ldquo;BG&rdquo; on the front. One young fan held a sign that said &ldquo;We (heart) BG. Welcome home!&rdquo;
During warmups, Griner shared hugs with her teammates, Sky players and Chicago coach James Wade, who had coached her overseas. Just as warmups were winding down, Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham grabbed a microphone near midcourt and addressed the crowd.
&ldquo;Last year, all we wanted was to get BG home. We did that and we&rsquo;re all together now,&rdquo; Cunningham said, drawing roars from the crowd.
Just before player introductions, a poet paid tribute to Griner while being surrounded by the Mercury&rsquo;s dancers. Once introductions started, the fans gave each of the Mercury players loud cheers before Griner came out last.
The 6-foot-9 forward walked out from behind a wall and, surrounded by flashing lights, stepped into the bowel of the arena, drawing a massive ovation.
Griner had an immediate impact against the Sparks Friday night, finishing with 18 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots in the 94-71 loss.
She opened with the three-point play against Chicago, blocked a shot on the Sky&rsquo;s second possession and dropped a nifty bounce pass to Diana Taurasi for a backdoor layup.
Griner swatted another shot and sprinkled in some trash talk as she turned up the floor. She added another three-point play late in the second half to pull the Mercury within seven points.
Griner drew a laugh from the crowd early in the third quarter when, after fouling Courtney Williams, forcefully helped up Williams, who flew through the air to accentuate it.
The support turned into a roar when Griner hit a 3-pointer, the fans rising from their seats and to match the two-handed, three-fingered gesture she flashed while screaming on the court.
Griner scored on a three-point play to pull Phoenix within 69-67 with just under two minutes left, but it was hers and the Mercury&rsquo;s last gasp.
Phoenix had a couple of sloppy turnovers, Chicago&rsquo;s Dana Evans scored on a running bank shot and the Sky held on for the win.
Griner ended her home debut by hugging Sky players and Wade again before heading to the baseline to hug her wife Cherelle.

In her home debut, Griner finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks, but the Chicago Sky held on for a 75-69 win on Sunday.

Brittney Griner gets warm welcome in first home game since Russia

Jim Boeheim enrolled at Syracuse in 1962. Played there until 1966. Started coaching there in 1969. Took over the program as head coach in 1976.
Put simply, he was Syracuse basketball.
Until now.
The Basketball Hall of Famer&rsquo;s 47-year tenure as coach at Syracuse came to an awkward end on Wednesday, with the university saying Orange associate head coach and former Syracuse player Adrian Autry has been promoted to the job. The Orange moved quickly, making the announcement less than three hours after&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wake-forest-syracuse-dcb7b6ea899dfee2b805972b1ba60897" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Syracuse lost to Wake Forest</a>&nbsp;in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. And if Boeheim knew the announcement was coming, he didn&rsquo;t let on at what was his final postgame news conference.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s up to the university,&rdquo; Boeheim said. &ldquo;They have to make their decision, and it&rsquo;s up to them.&rdquo;
The university didn&rsquo;t wait long before making the decision public, saying in part: &ldquo;Today, as his 47th season coaching his alma mater comes to an end, so too does his storied career at Syracuse University. Associate head coach Adrian Autry &rsquo;94, one of Boeheim&rsquo;s former players and longtime assistant, has been named the program&rsquo;s next head coach.&rdquo;
Autry has been on Boeheim&rsquo;s staff since 2011, and held the title of associate head coach since March 2017.
&ldquo;There have been very few stronger influential forces in my life than Syracuse University and Jim Boeheim,&rdquo; Autry said. &ldquo;They have both played such important roles and without either of them, I am certain I would not have this incredible opportunity before me.&rdquo;
The 78-year-old Boeheim&rsquo;s record in his 47 seasons, officially, was 1,015-441. That reflects 101 wins taken away by the NCAA for violations between the 2004-07 and 2010-12 seasons.
Whether the count was 1,015 or 1,116, only now-retired Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski had more wins than Boeheim at the Division I level. Boeheim led the Orange to the 2003 national title &mdash; Carmelo Anthony&rsquo;s lone season in Syracuse &mdash; and saw 46 of his players get taken in NBA drafts. Among them: Anthony, Derrick Coleman, Rony Seikaly, Dion Waiters, Billy Owens, Sherman Douglas and Pearl Washington. Boeheim also was a USA Basketball assistant under Krzyzewski on the teams that won Olympic gold medals in 2008, 2012 and 2016.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been very lucky to be able to coach my college team, to play and then be an assistant coach and then a head coach, never having to leave Syracuse,&rdquo; Boeheim said in that postgame news conference, one in which he hinted at retirement, then hinted at returning. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great university.&rdquo;
He has, in many ways, been the face of that university. Boeheim and his wife Juli, through their family foundation, have raised millions for children&rsquo;s causes across Central New York. He helped champion what became known as the &ldquo;Coaches vs. Cancer&rdquo; phenomenon with the American Cancer Society.
The 2-3 zone defense he used almost exclusively caused opponents fits for decades. His dedication was unwavering; the best examples were how he returned to work earlier than doctors wanted after he was treated for prostate cancer in December 2001 &mdash; the team was struggling and needed him, Boeheim said at the time &mdash; and how he went to work at 12:01 a.m. on the day his nine-game suspension for NCAA violations was lifted during the 2015-16 season.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s given his heart and soul to that school,&rdquo; said Washington coach Mike Hopkins, a former Boeheim assistant. &ldquo;Still surprised they don&rsquo;t have a statue made of him in the middle of campus. When you think of Syracuse University, you think of Jim Boeheim and you think of the Carrier Dome, and now both of those will be gone, which is very sad.&rdquo;
The dome still stands, just with a different name. The program will continue, just with a different coach. For the first time since 1976, someone other than Boeheim is now the head coach of the Orange.
&ldquo;Jim has invested and dedicated the majority of his life to building this program, cultivating generations of student-athletes and representing his alma mater with pride and distinction,&rdquo; Chancellor Kent Syverud said in a statement distributed by the school.
Boeheim has been synonymous with Syracuse for more than six decades. He was born in the central New York town of Lyons, not far from Syracuse. He enrolled at the school in 1962 as a walk-on, eventually becoming a captain of the then-Orangemen along with Dave Bing.
In 1969, he was hired at Syracuse as a graduate assistant. And on April 3, 1976, he took the program over after Roy Danforth left for Tulane. Boeheim has led the program since; even the court at the dome where Syracuse plays its home games has bore his name since 2002.
&ldquo;There will never be another Jim Boeheim,&rdquo; Buddy Boeheim, one of Boeheim&rsquo;s sons who played for him at Syracuse, tweeted Wednesday. &ldquo;The greatest coach, father, and mentor I could ever ask for. A man that gave a city, program, and university everything he had his whole life with countless accomplishments. Excited for a lot of golf in our future, love you pops.&rdquo;
The Orange were 17-15 this season and will miss the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive season. That led to criticism, which led to questions about Boeheim&rsquo;s future, and what the school would ultimately decide.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an honor to play for Coach Boeheim,&rdquo; Syracuse&rsquo;s Benny Williams said after the loss to Wake Forest.
A low point came in November 2011. Bernie Fine, then Syracuse&rsquo;s associate head coach, was fired after being accused of sexual abuse by two former Syracuse ballboys. Boeheim initially called the ballboys liars out to get money, then apologized for being insensitive to victims of abuse and took responsibility. Fine was never charged.
Syracuse reached the NCAA Tournament 35 times under Boeheim, went to the Final Four in five of those appearances, won 10 Big East regular-season titles and five more titles in that conference&rsquo;s tournament.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been just so lucky to be able to coach at Syracuse, a place I love, I place I love to live,&rdquo; Boeheim said. &ldquo;People keep wondering about that, but maybe that&rsquo;s a flaw I have. But I&rsquo;ve lived in Syracuse my whole life, and I&rsquo;ll live there hopefully a long time into the future. I think it&rsquo;s a great place.&rdquo;
Reaction was mixed when word of the coaching change reached the Syracuse campus.
Chris Davis, a freshman, wondered if a coach change will hurt the Orange.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s disappointing to be honest,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;It hurts the students who are here. To see him gone is heartbreaking.&rdquo;
Senior Gracie Carrigan was surprised by the move, saying, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s shocking. He had such a great career. You almost thought he&rsquo;d be here forever, so it&rsquo;s shocking that it&rsquo;s actually happening.&rdquo;
Added freshman Benjamin Perle said: &ldquo;Obviously, massive shoes to fill. I have faith in coach Autry and the coaching staff.&rdquo;
Syracuse clearly has faith in Autry as well.
He played in 121 games in his four seasons for Boeheim, then spent more than a decade on the bench with his former coach.
&ldquo;I have spent much of my time in the game of basketball learning from Jim and am so grateful to him for preparing me to carry on the winning tradition that is Orange Basketball,&rdquo; Autry said.

The Hall-of-Famer’s 47-year tenure as Syracuse's head coach came to an end on Wednesday, with Adrian Autry replacing Boeheim.

Jim Boeheim’s long career at Syracuse ends, Adrian Autry takes over

Syracuse University will honor the 2003 championship team this weekend. It is the 20th anniversary of the title and many of the championship team&rsquo;s players will make their way to upstate New York to celebrate. The guest list includes Carmelo Anthony, Hakim Warrick, Gerry McNamara, Kueth Duany and more.&nbsp;
I caught up with Warrick, who will also be honored with his jersey officially being retired alongside his teammate McNamara. The jersey retirements will take place on Saturday, March 4, when Syracuse hosts Wake Forest at the Carrier Dome. Warrick&rsquo;s jersey will be hoisted into the rafters, joining Syracuse legends such as Dave Bing (22), Roosevelt Bouie (50), Louis Orr (55), Derrick Coleman (44), Sherman Douglas (20), Dennis DuVal (22), Billy Gabor (17), Vic Hanson (8), Lawrence Moten (21), Billy Owens (30), Rony Seikaly (4), Carmelo Anthony (15), Wilmer Sidat-Singh (19), Pearl Washington (31) and John Wallace (44).
Needless to say, he is in some very good company.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/gettyimages-2923620-1.jpg" alt="" width="706" height="523" />
Etan Thomas: Syracuse is going to honor you on Saturday night, a member of Syracuse's only championship team. They&rsquo;re going to retire your jersey and G-Mac&rsquo;s jersey. There will be a lot of guys from your team going back for this special occasion. How does it feel?&nbsp;
Hakim Warrick: "It feels great. It&rsquo;s definitely an honor. Like you said, this is going to really be a special night. To have my name up there with some of the Syracuse greats, it&rsquo;s definitely an honor."
Etan: Let's talk about how special that 2003 team was. Y&rsquo;all were such a deep team. Y&rsquo;all had so many different weapons coming off the bench.&nbsp;
Hakim: "It was a really special team. I think one of the things that made us so tough to beat was that everyone knew their roles and played them to the best of their ability. We also had a situation where everyone knew that at some point, it was going to be their night, and we were so selfless that we would just feed the hot man. It didn&rsquo;t matter who it was. We went like nine or 10 deep. And you know, that&rsquo;s not regular for Syracuse (laughing). Coach Boeheim has been notorious for cutting that rotation real short, but we had a lot of guys who could really play."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Etan: Of course, Carmelo got a lot of the attention, but y&rsquo;all were definitely not a one-man show. Y&rsquo;all had a lot of different pieces.&nbsp;
Hakim: "Sure, we knew Melo was the focal point and we knew that a lot of teams were going to be keyed in on him. We had guys like Gerry, who kept everyone honest in spacing the floor. He could knock down the three from anywhere. Kueth was our senior leader who provided guidance and picked us up when we were down and motivated us and played with passion. We had bigs in Craig Forth and Jeremy McNeil, who both brought a different element to the center position. Craig was more of a passing big, screen-setter [whereas] Jeremy could block shots like you and was athletic and strong, so they complemented each other really well. We had guys like Josh Pace and Billy Edelin, who would run the team and keep the offense moving and put people in their spots. They really were both floor generals. We just always played as a team and some nights it would be Melo&rsquo;s night, some nights it would be my night, some nights it would be G-Mac&rsquo;s night, and we just piggy-backed off each other."
Etan: Can you talk about how competitive your practices were? I&rsquo;ve heard people talk about that quite often because you guys were so deep and every position had a lot of competition, so you guys really pushed each other and made each other better.
Hakim: "Yeah, we definitely went at each other, but it started in the offseason when everyone first got up to school that year and there was so much hype around this freshman from Baltimore (Carmelo). And I remember looking at him the first day like, 'Who is this little chubby dude that everyone is hyped about?' (laughing) But I knew from those first pick-up games that we were going to be a special team."
Etan: You know, I&rsquo;ve heard people talk about those early pick-up games, so what was it specifically about those runs that made you feel that this was going to be a special team?&nbsp;
Hakim: "I mean, I&rsquo;m not saying I knew we was gonna be a championship team, I&rsquo;m not saying all that. I mean, at that time, we weren&rsquo;t even ranked nationally. People from the outside looking in didn&rsquo;t have high expectations for us. But there was something about when we were working out, the chemistry and how competitive we were, I knew we were gonna surprise a lot of people, and that&rsquo;s exactly what we did."
Etan: Now, during the season, you all took a few bumps. There were a few spots where things weren&rsquo;t going well, like all teams have throughout the course of the season. But how did you all bounce back from those bumps? Because what happens with a lot of teams, especially young teams, is that they crumble. They don&rsquo;t get over those humps, but that didn&rsquo;t happen with you guys.
Hakim: "We just believed. I think the fact that we were all young and naive probably helped us as well. We didn&rsquo;t listen to any outside noise and we believed in each other no matter what happened. Like you said, we had some bumps, but our confidence and our swag never stumbled. Also, having someone like Kueth as our leader, he had been through the ringer. He was the wise old veteran, and he did a great job of making sure nobody ever got down &mdash; even when things weren&rsquo;t going well. We just learned from every experience, whether good or bad, and as the season went on, we just kept gaining even more and more confidence in each other and in ourselves. We had a lot of comeback victories that year, and we never thought that we was out of a game &mdash; no matter how much we got down. It&rsquo;s like we just knew we would be able to come back, and a lot of times we did just that."
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Etan: Okay, so I gotta ask you about &ldquo;The Block&rdquo; against Kansas in the championship game. Every Syracuse fan knows of this block, and many fans have the poster of this amazing play that you made. That really was a game-winning play because I think that three from the corner was gonna go in if you didn&rsquo;t block it. Walk me through that play.&nbsp;
Hakim: "So right before that, I missed the free throw, so I&rsquo;m already like, 'Man, I could&rsquo;ve ended the game right there with the free throw, but I missed it,' so I knew I had to do something to make up for that. We were not going to lose this championship because of me. I just remember them swinging the ball, and I remember Kueth closing out way past the three-point line, but he had to because they had shooters. And I knew that as far stretched out as he was, there was no way that he was going to be able to get all the way down to cover the corner three. I just sniffed out the play before it happened and pre-rotated out there, but I was all the way under the rim, so I didn&rsquo;t really think I would be able to get all the way out there to actually block it. I wanted to at least contest it and make it a tough shot for him.
"But as I jumped and was in the air, I thought, 'Man, I may be able to block this!' So I stretched out my arms as long as I could and turned my body so I didn&rsquo;t get the foul after I got the block, and I was able to get a piece of the ball and there was only a couple tenths of a second left, and we won the game. I really couldn&rsquo;t believe it. All of the hard work, all of the hours of practice and ups-and-downs of the season finally came into fruition. Absolutely amazing feeling."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Etan: Well, it was a play that will always be etched in stone in Syracuse history. Not just for Syracuse, but also in March Madness and Final Four history. So last question: there are so many guys coming back to Syracuse from that '03 championship team this weekend. How much are you looking forward to seeing all of your teammates again, being in the Dome and feeling the love from the crowd?
Hakim: "I&rsquo;m really looking forward to it. There are a lot of guys that I haven&rsquo;t seen in years. This will, in fact, be my first game back at the Dome since my senior night, so I&rsquo;m really looking forward to that. I&rsquo;ve seen the team, I was there when they went to the Final Four; in fact, I saw you there. I caught them down in DC a couple of times. But I haven&rsquo;t had the chance to actually be back at the Dome, so I&rsquo;m super excited to feel the love and that magical atmosphere and be able to share all of that with my teammates. I&rsquo;m really looking forward to it. It&rsquo;s going to be a special weekend."
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Etan Thomas catches up with fellow Syracuse legend Hakim Warrick to discuss his jersey retirement, the 2003 championship team, more.

Hakim Warrick Q&A: 2003 Syracuse championship and jersey retirement

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Michigan State women&rsquo;s basketball players wiped away tears as they stood shoulder to shoulder during a moment of silence before losing to No. 8 Maryland 66-61 on Saturday, less than a week after three students were killed in a shooting on campus.
Diamond Miller scored 29 points and helped the Terrapins (22-5, 13-3 Big Ten) hold on for the win after leading by 16 points in the second half.
The Spartans (13-13, 5-10) rallied to have a chance at pulling off an upset, coming up short after DeeDee Hagerman missed a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left.
Michigan State players wore white shirts with &ldquo;Spartan Strong&rdquo; and the school&rsquo;s logo in green during warmups while coaches, support staff, administrators, cheerleaders and mascot sported the tops all afternoon.
The victims, and survivors, were honored with pregame remarks as athletic events resumed on a campus and community reeling from the tragedy. On Saturday, four of the wounded students remained in critical condition at a Lansing hospital and one was still hospitalized in stable condition.
No. 6 UCONN 60, No. 14 VILLANOVA 51
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) &mdash; Lou Lopez S&eacute;n&eacute;chal scored 22 points, including a crucial rainbow jumper late in the fourth quarter, to lead No. 6 UConn to a victory over Maddy Siegrist and Villanova.
Dorka Juh&aacute;sz added 14 points and 10 rebounds and Aaliyah Edwards had 13 points and 14 boards for the Huskies (24-4, 16-1 Big East).
Siegrist, the nation&rsquo;s leading scorer, had 21 points for the Wildcats (23-5, 14-3). Villanova lost just its second contest in the last 16 &mdash; both to the Huskies.
The game was close throughout the first three quarters; the Huskies entered the final quarter leading 44-39 and were up 12 before the Wildcats came roaring back, scoring the next 10 points over 3:49 to make it 52-50 with 3:55 to play.
Edwards ended UConn&rsquo;s 4:39 scoring drought with a layup to make it 54-50. Then S&eacute;n&eacute;chal nailed her high-arching shot from close range to give the Huskies a five-point advantage that proved enough cushion.
No. 7 IOWA 80, NEBRASKA 60
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark scored 30 points, Monika Czinano added 20 and Iowa pulled away in the second half for a win over Nebraska.
The Hawkeyes (22-5, 14-2) moved a game behind Big Ten-leading Indiana with two regular-season games left.
Jaz Shelley had 19 points and nine rebounds and Alexis Markowski had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Cornhuskers (14-13, 6-10), who lost their fourth straight.
Clark and Czinano combined for 15 of the Hawkeyes&rsquo; 21 points in the third quarter, when they stretched their 40-33 halftime lead to 61-47.
Iowa, which beat the Huskers 80-76 in Iowa City last month, has won eight in a row in the series.
No. 20 GONZAGA 65, SAINT MARY&rsquo;S 51
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Yvonne Ejim scored 25 points and Kaylynne Truong hit four 3-pointers and added 14 points to help Gonzaga beat Saint Mary&rsquo;s nd extend its win streak against the Gaels to six.
Ejim hit a jumper and Truong followed with a 3-pointer to make it 5-0 and the Bulldogs never trailed. Brynna Maxwell was fouled as she hit a 3-pointer and made the and-1 free throw to cap a 10-2 run and give Gonzaga a 19-10 lead with 6:13 left in the second quarter. Maxwell, who finished with nine points on 2-of-9 shooting, has made at least one 3-pointer in each game this season.
Gonzaga (25-3, 15-1 West Coast Conference) has won four in a row and 19 of 20 since an 84-63 loss at then-No. 2 Stanford.
Ali Bamberger led Saint Mary&rsquo;s (12-16, 6-11) with 13 points and Taycee Wedin scored 10.
No. 22 IOWA STATE 81, BAYLOR 77, 2OT
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Ashley Joens scored 27 points and Iowa State got double-digit scoring from all five starters, defeating Baylor.
Lexi Donarski hit a jumper and Joens added a 3-pointer to put Iowa State up 76-71 in the second OT. In the final minute, first Jaden Owens and then Ja&rsquo;Mee Asberry scored to get Baylor within 78-77 with 10 seconds left. Joens was fouled and made both free throws with nine seconds left. Her steal with seven seconds left, followed by her made free throw, sealed the win for the Cyclones (17-7, 9-5 Big 12).
There were four lead changes and two ties in overtime, the last tie coming at 71-all on a 3-pointer by Iowa State&rsquo;s Lexi Donarski with 27 seconds to go. Baylor called timeout, worked the clock down, and Asberry missed a 3-pointer as time ran out.
Three players had double-doubles for Baylor (16-10, 7-7). Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, a part-time starter who did not start in this one, had 19 points and 12 rebounds; Bella Fontleroy had 19 points and 11 rebounds; and Caitlin Bickle had 13 points and 12 rebounds. Owens added nine points and 10 assists.

A recap of Saturday's games in top-25 women's college hoops.

Michigan State plays in first game since shooting tragedy

With the Brooklyn Nets&rsquo; win at Miami on Sunday, they have won a franchise record 18 of their last 20 games, which represents the best 20-game stretch at any point in a season in the organization's history.
Kyrie Irving is leading the Eastern Conference guards in All-Star voting, and Kevin Durant is having an MVP-level season, averaging 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.
But unfortunately, last night, Durant had to exit the game in the third quarter after Jimmy Butler fell into Durant. On Monday morning, the Nets announced that he was diagnosed with an isolated MCL sprain of the right knee and that he'll be out for at least the next two weeks before being reevaluated. It's devastating news for Nets fans, as the team has been taking the league by storm for the past 20 games.&nbsp;
To discuss Durant's injury, Irving's strong play and more, I sat down with Nets great and Basketball News contributor Kenyon Martin to discuss his former team.&nbsp;
Etan Thomas: The Nets are on a great run. They&rsquo;ve been proving a lot of people who had completely written them off wrong. How do you think they&rsquo;re playing overall right now?&nbsp;
Kenyon Martin: "I think they&rsquo;ve been playing great. Once you get your two stars on the same page in KD and Kyrie &mdash; and they&rsquo;re playing off each other and going to each other when the other one is hot and they&rsquo;re healthy &mdash; they are a tough team to beat. I saw KD went down last night and I&rsquo;m hearing he may be out for a few weeks, which definitely hurts, but he&rsquo;ll bounce back. They&rsquo;ll just have to hold down the fort until he gets back, and when he returns, they&rsquo;ll take off again just like they did when Kyrie returned.
"And Kyrie is playing as free as I&rsquo;ve seen him since he was with Cleveland in the Finals. It's like he&rsquo;s playing with no pressure and nothing holding him back from being one of the top guards in the league. And the team is benefiting from that relief."
Etan: Let me ask you this, because I think Jacque Vaughn has done an excellent job since he&rsquo;s taken over, and I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s being talked about as much as it should be. No knock on Steve Nash because I don&rsquo;t know the ins and outs of why it wasn&rsquo;t working with him, but there is definitely a visible difference. Would you agree?&nbsp;
Kenyon: "Let&rsquo;s be honest, E &mdash; Steve Nash is a hell of a basketball player and had great athletes around him. I&rsquo;ve never thought of Steve Nash as a vocal guy, never thought of him as that kind of a leader. I&rsquo;ve never heard him get after anybody. I&rsquo;ve never heard him put anybody in their place or call anybody out or chastise anyone who needed to be chastised. I just heard of him as a nice guy who is a great pass-first point guard who guys really enjoyed playing with. That&rsquo;s not to say that he couldn&rsquo;t have done a good job coaching; I just think it was a little premature to put him in that position.
"Jacque Vaughn, on the other hand, has proven that he could be a head coach down in Orlando. He just got a bad deal. But he showed that he could do all of the things that a head coach needs to do in order to be successful in this league. He&rsquo;s not afraid to be honest with guys, to call guys out or to challenge guys, but still not turn into the enemy. But (he'll) be like, 'We&rsquo;re in this together, but this is how we have to do things.' He wasn&rsquo;t a two-time NBA MVP, he wasn&rsquo;t an All-Star year-in and year-out, but he commanded a respect from the jump."
Etan: That&rsquo;s very true. One person who has <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-feature-interview-nic-claxton-approach-reaping-rewards-with-surging-brooklyn-nets-kevin-durant-jacque-vaughn-kyrie-irving-royce-oneale-georgia-bulldogs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">really stood out this season is Nic Claxton</a>. He won&rsquo;t get the praise that KD and Kyrie get of course, but he has been doing a tremendous job and is really vital to this team.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "I&rsquo;ve been a big fan of his since he got to the Nets. I love the energy he plays with, his effort, his motor, his athleticism, his defense, (he's a) rim protector. And when you have a guy who is surrounded by superstars, understands and embraces his role, and plays it to the best of his ability, the team is going to be successful, and that&rsquo;s what he does night-in and night-out."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
"He&rsquo;s a big piece for us and we need him every night." Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and Jacque Vaughn reflect on Nic Claxton's impact on the Nets and his development into an everyday starting center. STORY: <a href="https://t.co/U1odBzLCHT">https://t.co/U1odBzLCHT</a> <a href="https://t.co/v4Meeb8B7V">pic.twitter.com/v4Meeb8B7V</a>
&mdash; Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpinDavies/status/1607867619347931137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Etan: I always admit I do have big-man bias, and I know the game has transitioned into a more of a guards game &mdash; more people play small ball &mdash; but I&rsquo;m surprised players like Dwight Howard and (DeMarcus) Boogie Cousins aren&rsquo;t in the league right now. But specifically with the Nets, couldn&rsquo;t they use them? Especially in the playoffs when they have to face Milwaukee or Boston, or Philly with Joel Embiid and Montrezl Harrell off the bench?
Kenyon: "I&rsquo;m a big fan of both of those guys and their entire body of work. The way Boogie has adjusted his game and what people have thought of him over the years, he&rsquo;s channeled the energy that people were saying was negative into his game and on-court passion, tenacity and physicality that every team needs.&nbsp;
"And what Dwight brings to the table is similar to what we were talking about before with Nic Claxton. He knows his role and does it to the best of his ability. Shot-blocker, rebounder, physical play, athletic, rim-protector, and we all know he&rsquo;s strong as hell. Why wouldn&rsquo;t you want someone like that on your team? (Think about) what the Lakers got out of the combination of him and JaVale (McGee) a couple of years ago."
Etan: Uh huh, when they won the championship.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "Yup, I just think more teams should follow that. If you don&rsquo;t have a dominant Joel Embiid or a dominant (Nikola) Jokic, you need to play by committee at that position. And I think what a lot of teams are missing is exactly that. I think either one of them could be that missing piece for a lot of teams. But yes, specifically for the Nets this season."
Etan: I even <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-los-angeles-lakers-anthony-davis-etan-thomas-injury-achilles-recovery-heal-patient-robert-griffin-III-rgIII-frank-vogel-lebron-james" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote about it</a>. I was surprised, going back to JaVale and Dwight, that the Lakers didn&rsquo;t keep them. I&rsquo;m not a GM, but If it ain&rsquo;t broke and just won you a championship, don&rsquo;t fix it, right?
Kenyon: "Who&rsquo;d they get, Marc Gasol?"
Etan: Yeah, that&rsquo;s who they got.
Kenyon: "Yeah I just have a problem with the league as a whole when you have guys that have proven what they can bring to the table, talking about Dwight and Boogie Cousins. It makes no sense for them not to be on an NBA roster right now."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Etan: Another player I&rsquo;ve really been impressed with is Royce O'Neale. I don&rsquo;t know if people were expecting him to play as well as he&rsquo;s been playing this season. Was he a pleasant surprise for you or did you foresee that?
Kenyon: "Honestly, I thought it was a little weird of a trade at first because of the position that he plays. But you can never have enough guys that you can count on. I think Royce is a solid pro. He&rsquo;s proven that he can be successful in this league and you can count on him. And here&rsquo;s the thing &mdash; when players are surrounded by greatness and a role is asked of you, it should be easy for you to fill that role. You know what I mean? It shouldn&rsquo;t be a hard thing for professionals to do. People can really find success on good teams by simply doing what&rsquo;s asked of you."
Etan: (Laughing) Doesn&rsquo;t seem like a hard concept.
Kenyon: (Laughing) "Shouldn&rsquo;t be hard at all."
Etan: It&rsquo;s interesting with Kyrie, because really just a few weeks ago &mdash; after the entire fiasco when he shared the documentary "From Hebrews To Negroes," got suspended, had backlash, was assigned six steps to return and everything that transpired after that &mdash; there was this loud uproar among the media and fans on social media proclaiming definitively that the Nets would be better off without Kyrie Irving, and even that he may be out the league soon.
Kenyon: (Laughing) "How crazy is that?"
Etan: It&rsquo;s crazy, but that was the overall sentiment, especially from a lot of the media for a while. So he comes back and they are playing great. They go on a 5-0 winning run and Kyrie is averaging 30, then a 10-0 run, then a 14-1 run. Now, they&rsquo;ve won 18 of 20 games, setting a franchise record. Kyrie&rsquo;s hitting game-winners and shining, and you've seen all of those people just get quiet. None of those people have offered any retraction to their previously loud statements. They just act like they weren&rsquo;t just saying the Nets were better off without him. And I&rsquo;m just like, keep that same energy you had to demonize someone to also praise them when they are doing well.
Kenyon: "But the key word in what you just said is the media. Who cares what the media says? I took all that criticism and uproar and outrage the media had as all performative. They were just putting on a show and jumping on a bandwagon, which many of them get paid to do. I didn&rsquo;t buy into any of that. It&rsquo;s not like he wrote the book or made the doc. He said he didn&rsquo;t agree with all of it and was sharing it for the information. But if those media people who were saying the Nets were better off without Kyrie don&rsquo;t know how special of a player he is &mdash; aside from the documentary and whatever else &mdash; then they don&rsquo;t need to be writing or commenting on anything.
"It&rsquo;s like a fumble in football. Everybody in the media, fans (and) social media started jumping on top of the dog pile, and Kyrie emerged from the bottom of the pile carrying the football and holding it high in the air for everyone to see. The backlash didn&rsquo;t break him. The team still needs Kyrie Irving. They wouldn&rsquo;t be where they are without him. And if anybody thought the Nets didn&rsquo;t need him, they just don&rsquo;t know the game."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Kyrie Irving scored 29 PTS &amp; the Nets have won 18 of their last 20 games! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NetsWorld?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NetsWorld</a> <a href="https://t.co/6SobtaV7MI">pic.twitter.com/6SobtaV7MI</a>
&mdash; Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1612422254607958016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Etan: I hear you, but the piling on just bothered me. I was like... y&rsquo;all are making him out to be Hitler himself. He <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dns9B0ypwk0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">specifically said</a>, like you mentioned earlier, "I don&rsquo;t agree with everything in this documentary, I&rsquo;m sharing it for the information, I don&rsquo;t hate anyone, I respect all religions." And they wanted to make him Public Enemy No. 1. and the face of antisemitism.
Kenyon: "Yeah, that&rsquo;s exactly what they tried to do, but it didn&rsquo;t work because that&rsquo;s not who he is and (he) has never been that. You can&rsquo;t make someone be something they&rsquo;re not, and that&rsquo;s not who he is."
Etan: But what was really bothering me is that I was seeing a lot of media people who look like me and you literally running to jump on that bandwagon and bashing him the most. That really bothered me.
Kenyon: "One-thousand percent. That bothered me as well seeing that because that&rsquo;s not the way it&rsquo;s supposed to be. And we&rsquo;re talking about Black media who are in high positions."
Etan: Yes, the ones you see if you turn on ESPN or FOX Sports or HBO Sports or the main Black sports journalists. And I don&rsquo;t have to single anyone out in particular because they all were doing that. It was really disappointing to see.
Kenyon: "For them to do that... I know you don&rsquo;t want to call names and I&rsquo;ll respect your platform, but some of them are some high paid."
Etan: Don&rsquo;t even say it.
Kenyon: (Laughing) "I won&rsquo;t say it but you know what I&rsquo;m thinking." (laughing)
Etan: (Laughing) Yes I do.
Kenyon: "And the guy you expected to join the piling on actually took up for Kyrie &mdash; talking about Jason Whitlock."
Etan: Him and Candace Owens did. How crazy is that? It was like we were in the Twilight Zone.
Kenyon: "They usually can&rsquo;t wait to say something negative about a Black athlete, or a Black person or the entire Black community."
Etan: They made an entire career out of it.
Kenyon: "Absolutely, and they are where they are because of that."
Etan: One-hundred percent.
Kenyon: "So yeah, I&rsquo;m with you, it was definitely disappointing to see the piling on from Black media people in particular on the platforms they have and not one guy said something even remotely in this man&rsquo;s corner. They were calling for his career."
Etan: And very loudly too. Jay Williams did say something, so shout out to him.
Kenyon: "Yeah that&rsquo;s right he did, but he was the only one, at least that I saw. But let me say this &mdash; you&rsquo;ve done a great job in providing perspective on this whole topic. I&rsquo;ve been following everything you posted. The interview with your guy from your show (Dave Zirin), you <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rematch/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-60-rabbi-harry-rozenberg-on-antisemitism,-kyrie-irving-s-suspension,-nets-6-steps-to-return,-adl,-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sat down with a Rabbi</a>, you had the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rematch/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-61-former-nba-players-craig-hodges-and-mahmoud-abdul-rauf-discuss-the-kyrie-irving-backlash,-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">convo with Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Craig Hodges</a>. Even how you <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-nike-employs-adl-tactics-as-they-officially-drop-kyrie-irving-etan-thomas-torraine-walker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote about Nike after they dropped him</a>.
"That&rsquo;s why what you do is important, for that very reason of what we saw all the other media do with the piling on and one-sided bashing. You actually had discussions about it."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Etan: Thanks. Well, shout out to Basketball News for giving me the flexibility to cover different aspects of this topic in different ways. Most platforms wouldn&rsquo;t have allowed that. They would&rsquo;ve shut all that down.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "Censorship is crazy. Not even to have a discussion?"
Etan: Sometimes, media platforms want you to follow a script and you have to stick to the talking points. And with this, the script was: Bash Kyrie, label him antisemitic, denounce, condemn and bash some more.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "That&rsquo;s just wrong, but I&rsquo;m happy that Kyrie can put all of that behind him and the team&rsquo;s playing well, and he&rsquo;s rolling and being the Kyrie we all know him to be on the court. And you have to give a shout out to his teammates, who also didn&rsquo;t buy into all of the bashing and the talk of them being better without Kyrie. Because if you saw, they were trying to get them to co-sign that, but none of them did. They didn&rsquo;t say a bad word about Kyrie, and that&rsquo;s also a reason why they are playing so well right now. Because that kind of stuff can ruin the entire chemistry of a team if you let the outside noise seep into the locker room."
Etan: That&rsquo;s a great point. Last question: The Nets are playing really well, clicking on all cylinders and they have a rhythm with each other. They also have so many weapons we didn&rsquo;t even talk about like Seth Curry, Joe Harris, Ben Simmons, Yuta Watanabe and TJ Warren. How well can the Nets do this season?&nbsp;
Kenyon: "I would like to see them go out and get another big because you might have to play Philly. I love Nic Claxton, but dealing with Embiid by yourself for a whole playoff series is a lot to ask. But other than that, they have enough shooting, enough playmakers &mdash; they have a solid shot, they are definitely a contender. (It's about) learning how to win now, and win consistently like they have been doing &mdash; close games, ugly games, games where your main people are off because everything isn&rsquo;t going to be clicking every game. But still finding ways to win consistently, they are really preparing themselves for a very good playoff season."

Etan Thomas speaks with Kenyon Martin about the Nets' surge, Kevin Durant's latest knee injury and Kyrie Irving's recent play.

Kenyon Martin talks Nets, Kevin Durant's injury, Kyrie Irving backlash

Paul Silas, a member of three NBA championship teams as a player and LeBron James' first coach in the league, has died, his family announced Sunday. He was 79.
The family revealed the death through the Houston Rockets, for whom Silas' son, Stephen, is a second-generation head coach. The Boston Globe first reported Silas' death, and no official cause was immediately announced.
&ldquo;Our heartfelt thoughts are with Stephen and his family during this difficult time,&rdquo; the Rockets said in a statement.
Paul Silas began his career as a head coach with a three-year stint leading the then-San Diego Clippers starting in 1980. After spending more than a decade as an assistant, he returned to being a head coach and spent time with the Charlotte Hornets, the New Orleans Hornets, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Charlotte Bobcats.
He took four of those teams to the playoffs, winning exactly 400 games &mdash; 387 in the regular season, 13 more in the postseason.
&ldquo;Paul made a huge contribution to the game of basketball and will be sorely missed!&rdquo; Hall of Fame guard and Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson wrote on Twitter.
The Rockets were playing host to Milwaukee on Sunday night. It was not immediately clear how long Stephen Silas would be away from the team; the Rockets were planning to have John Lucas lead the team on an interim basis while the Silas family grieves.
Stephen Silas got into the NBA world when his father was coaching in Charlotte, starting as an advance scout and eventually serving as an assistant on his father's staff with the Hornets in 2000. It took Stephen Silas two decades to get a chance to be a head coach, that coming when Houston hired him in 2020.
&ldquo;My dad, obviously, he was my No. 1 mentor, someone who I could lean on, ask questions and he asked questions of me,&rdquo; Stephen Silas said in a 2021 documentary produced by the Rockets about his coaching journey. &ldquo;He really valued my opinion, which was kind of weird to me, me being so young and not having much experience.&rdquo;
Stephen Silas persevered for a long time before getting his big chance. He saw his father wait a long time for the job he wanted as well. Paul Silas was fired by the San Diego Clippers in 1983 and wouldn't have a head coaching opportunity again until 1999 &mdash; coming when Dave Cowens, for whom Paul Silas was an assistant, stepped down in Charlotte after a 4-11 start to the shortened 1998-99 season.
&ldquo;I was known as not a hard, hard, hard worker and it really hurt me when I was an assistant coach, for about 10 years, when I couldn&rsquo;t get a head job,&rdquo; Paul Silas told the Rotary Club of Charlotte while giving a speech there in 2013. &ldquo;I really talked to teams about being a head coach, but I didn&rsquo;t get one. What happened is I stayed positive. I had a positive attitude. Even though I couldn&rsquo;t get the job, I said, &lsquo;No, I&rsquo;m not going to be negative. I&rsquo;m going to be positive.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Eventually, Silas would take over in Cleveland. He got there in 2003, the same year the Cavaliers drafted James.
&ldquo;I coached LeBron for two years, his first two years, and LeBron was unbelievable," Paul Silas said. &ldquo;At 18 years old, he knew about Bill Russell, he knew about a lot of players who came through that most players his age don&rsquo;t even know. And he understood the game. I made LeBron a point/forward because I didn&rsquo;t have one when he first started. He didn&rsquo;t say a word to me. He just took over the game and we did well.&rdquo;
In time, James would become a champion. It took Paul Silas a few years to get to that level as a player as well.
He was a five-time All-Defensive team selection who averaged 9.4 points and 9.9 rebounds in 16 seasons with the St. Louis and Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix, Boston, Denver and Seattle. Silas won two titles with the Celtics &mdash; the first coming in his 10th season as a player &mdash; and claimed a third with the SuperSonics. He averaged 12.8 points and 13.8 rebounds in the 1976 Finals for Boston against the Suns.
&ldquo;Paul Silas was a giant in basketball circles," former NBA player Rex Chapman wrote Sunday on Twitter. &ldquo;A great man. Was fortunate to spend a couple of seasons with Paul when he was an (assistant) coach with the Suns. I don&rsquo;t know anyone with a bad word to say about him &mdash; ever. A sad day."
Paul Silas played his college basketball at Creighton, averaging 20.5 points and 21.6 rebounds in three seasons. He was voted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.
&ldquo;I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Creighton legend Paul Silas," Bluejays coach Greg McDermott said. &ldquo;His illustrious career as a player and coach will be matched by few."

Paul Silas, a member of three NBA championship teams as a player and LeBron James' first coach in the league, has passed away.

Paul Silas, 3-time NBA champion and longtime coach, dies at 79

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Olivia Miles had 21 points and eight rebounds for No. 7 Notre Dame, and UConn star Azzi Fudd was injured in a collision with a teammate as the Fighting Irish handed the third-ranked Huskies their first loss of the season, 74-60 on Sunday.
Fudd, who came in averaging 24.0 points per game, exited in the final minute of the first quarter following a collision with teammate Aaliyah Edwards. She returned midway through the second period to play four minutes, but sat the rest of the day, going scoreless on two shots over 13 minutes.
Maddy Westbeld added a season-high 17 points and nine rebounds for Notre Dame (7-1), which bounced back from a 74-72 loss to No. 20 Maryland three days earlier.
Lou Lopez Senechal led UConn (6-1) with 21 points. Edwards added 14.
No. 2 STANFORD 84, No. 23 GONZAGA 63
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Cameron Brink had 14 points and a season-high 16 rebounds and Brooke Demetre made five 3s and scored 17 points, leading Stanford past Gonzaga.
The Cardinal (10-1) have now won five straight games after falling to top-ranked South Carolina in overtime on Nov. 20.
Hannah Jump hit four 3s and scored 14 points and Haley Jones had 12 points for Stanford.
Short-handed Gonzaga (7-2), limited to seven players because of illness and injuries, had won three in a row.
No. 4 OHIO STATE 82, RUTGERS 70
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Rebeka Mikulasikova scored a career-high 31 points and Taylor Mikesell added 30 to help Ohio State beat Rutgers, a day that the Scarlet Knights honored former coach C. Vivian Stringer.
The school dedicated the court to Stringer, who retired after last season.
Buoyed by the return of their Hall of Fame coach, Rutgers played its best game of the season against a ranked opponent. Ohio State (8-0) jumped out to a 20-6 lead after one quarter, but the Scarlet Knights (4-6) wouldn&rsquo;t go away.
They were down 18 near the end of the half before Kaylene Smikle hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to get within 43-28. Rutgers continued that momentum in the second half and made it 53-45 with 3:25 left in the third quarter.
Mikulasikova and Mikesell then scored the next six points for Ohio State to restore the double-digit advantage, and Rutgers couldn&rsquo;t recover.
Smikle led Rutgers with 21 points.
No. 5 INDIANA 65, ILLINOIS 61
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Mackenzie Holmes scored 23 points, including a go-ahead layup with 37 seconds left, and Indiana got past Illinois in their Big Ten opener.
Indiana (9-0) had not trailed in the second half of any game this season before going back and forth in the closing minutes with Illinois (3-7).
Makira Cook scored 33 points to lead the Illini.
The Hoosiers were coming off an 87-63 win over No. 6 North Carolina.
No. 9 VIRGINIA TECH 59, TENNESSEE 56
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Kayana Traylor scored 18 points and Virginia Tech held off Tennessee in a Jimmy V Women&rsquo;s Classic matchup.
Jordan Horston led Tennesssee (4-5) with 26 points and 11 rebounds, but missed a pair of late shots that would&rsquo;ve tied it.
Trailing 58-56 with 3 seconds left, Horston was off on a jumper. Down three with 1.1 seconds remaining, her 3-point try from the top of the key bounced off.
Cayla King scored 11 points and Georgia Amoore and D&rsquo;asia Gregg each had 10 for the Hokies (8-0).
Tennessee played without leading scorer and rebounder Rickea Jackson, who was absent because of a coach&rsquo;s decision.
No. 10 IOWA 102, WISCONSIN 71
MADISON, Wis. (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for her seventh career triple-double to break the Big Ten record in Iowa&rsquo;s win over Wisconsin.
Clark surpassed the record of six career triple-doubles set by former Iowa player Samantha Logic, who achieved the feat from 2012-2015.
Iowa (6-3) stopped a two-game skid and beat the Badgers (3-7) for the 26th straight time.
No. 11 LSU 85, TULANE 72
NEW ORLEANS (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds and Jasmine Carson scored 21 and LSU beat Tulane.
The Tigers (9-0) are off to their best since winning their first nine in the 2009-10 season.
LSU led 27-20 in a first quarter in which it made 11 of 16 shots and Tulane 9 for 17. The Tigers extended their lead to 40-27 at halftime before the Green Wave unloaded with a 30-point third in which it shot 12 for 16 including 6 for 7 from 3-point range. Dynah Jones scored 16 of her team-high 25 points for Tulane in the quarter and the Green Wave closed to 61-58.
Reese made 1 of 2 foul shots for the Tigers and Kahia Warmsley responded with a layup for Tulane to get it within two, but LaDazhia Williams made a layup and Carson a 3 and LSU kept Tulane at bay from there. Reese made two foul shots with 5:01 left to extend the lead to 73-62.
Marta Galic scored 21 points for Tulane.
ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 66, No. 13 CREIGHTON 62
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Jayla Everett scored 20 points and St. John&rsquo;s remained unbeaten by handing Creighton its first loss.
The Red Storm had a 47-32 lead in the middle of the third quarter before the Bluejays got it down to a one-possession deficit in the final 90 seconds.
After Emma Ronsiek&rsquo;s basket pulled Creighton within 61-59 with 1:27 to play, the Bluejays had a possession to tie or take the lead but couldn&rsquo;t score.
Kadaj Bailey and Unique Drake had 13 points apiece for St. John&rsquo;s (8-0, 2-0 Big East Conference).
Lauren Jensen scored 21 points for the Bluejays (7-1, 2-1) but couldn&rsquo;t get the tying jumper to fall with 13 seconds to go.
No. 14 ARIZONA 77, NEW MEXICO 60
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) &mdash; Jade Loville made 10 of 13 shots, including a career-best six 3-pointers, and scored 27 points to lead Arizona to a win over New Mexico.
Shaina Pellington added 19 points for the Wildcats (7-0), who had their lowest output of the year and won by less than 20 for only the second time this season.
Paula Reus scored 14 points for the Lobos (4-4).
No. 17 MICHIGAN 77, NORTHWESTERN 66
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Emily Kiser and Laila Phelia scored 18 points each and Michigan shut down Northwestern with an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter.
Leigha Brown added 10 points and 11 assists for Michigan (9-0), which won its Big Ten opener.
Jillian Brown had 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals for Northwestern (4-4, 0-1 Big Ten). Caileigh Walsh had 12 points and four blocks, and Sydney Wood scored 10 points.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 67, No. 18 LOUISVILLE 49
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Savannah Wheeler had 23 points, six rebounds and five assists, Courtney Whitson added 16 points and 10 rebounds and Middle Tennessee beat cold-shooting Louisville.
Middle Tennessee (5-2) won its first home game against a ranked opponent since the Lady Raiders beat No. 6 Kentucky 70-58 on December 28, 2011.
Kseniya Malashka added 15 points for Middle Tennessee (5-2).
Olivia Cochran scored a season-high 14 points for Louisville (5-4).
NEBRASKA 90, No. 20 MARYLAND 67
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) &mdash; Jaz Shelley scored 29 points, Nebraska dominated the second half and the Cornhuskers surprised Maryland in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams.
Allison Weidner had 13 points and 15 rebounds for Nebraska (6-3). Isabelle Bourne had 18 points and Alexis Markowski added 14. Shelley had six 3-pointers, five assists and three steals.
Two free throws from Diamond Miller drew Maryland (7-3) to within 77-67 points with 4:03 remaining, but the Terrapins would not score again while Nebraska scored 13.
No. 21 BAYLOR 79, HOUSTON CHRISTIAN 35
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Freshman guard Bella Fontleroy came off the bench to score 17 points and grab 11 rebounds and Baylor romped to a victory over Houston Christian.
Fontleroy sank 6 of 10 shots with three 3-pointers for the Lady Bears (6-2) and notched her first double-double. Jaden Owens added 14 points and six assists. Kendra Gillispie scored 10 on 5-of-6 shooting.
Marilyn Nzoiwu was the lone bright spot for the Huskies (3-4). She finished with 13 points and five rebounds, sinking 6 of 9 shots from the floor. Her teammates made 8 of 40 shots, including 2 of 15 from beyond the arc.
The Lady Bears played a fifth straight game without injured leading scorer Aijha Blackwell.
No. 22 TEXAS 92, SOUTHERN 43
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Shaylee Gonzales scored 22 points, Sonya Morris added 20 points, and Texas routed Southern.
Aaliyah Moore scored 11 points and DeYona Gaston had 10 for the Longhorns (4-4). Rori Harmon had nine points and 10 rebounds.
Freshman guard Sirviva Legions led the Jaguars (2-5) with 13 points off the bench.
The Longhorns rolled to a 29-10 lead through the first quarter after making 10 of 14 shots. They scored 11 points off seven Southern turnovers. Texas went on to lead 46-16 at halftime.
SETON HALL 82, No. 24 MARQUETTE 78
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Lauren Park-Lane scored 17 of her 31 points in the fourth quarter, Sidney Cooks added 23 and Seton Hall knocked off Marquette.
Kae Satterfield added 12 points for Seton Hall (6-4, 2-0 Big East Conference), which has won four straight. The Pirates last beat a ranked team, No. 24 DePaul, in January 2019.
Chloe Marotta scored 30 points and had 12 rebounds for the Golden Eagles (7-2, 1-1). Jordan King added 14 points and Liz Karlen had 12 points and nine rebounds.
No. 25 VILLANOVA 79, PROVIDENCE 54
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Maddy Seigrist scored 20 of her 29 points in the first half and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Villanova past Providence.
Seigrist was 12-of-18 shooting, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. The Wildcats (7-2, 1-1 Big East Conference) made 12 of 28 behind the arc and shot 52% overall (33 of 63). Lucy Olsen added 14 points and Bella Runyan 10.
Janai Crooms led the Friars (6-4, 0-2) with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

A recap of Sunday's women's college basketball slate features a top-10 battle.

Notre Dame tops UConn as Azzi Fudd gets hurt

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Jeremy Roach scored 16 first-half points to help seventh-ranked Duke open Jon Scheyer&rsquo;s coaching tenure with a 71-44 win over Jacksonville on Monday night.
Freshman Mark Mitchell had a team-high 18 points for the Blue Devils, who used a 25-4 run spanning halftime to blow the game open.
It was a quality start to a season of massive change for the Blue Devils, starting with Scheyer taking over for retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski. Duke has 11 new players, including the nation&rsquo;s No. 1-ranked recruiting class and two power-conference transfers. The Blue Devils didn&rsquo;t have top freshmen Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead for this one as they recover from preseason injuries.
Mike Marsh scored 15 points to lead the Dolphins, who shot 34% and missed 18 of 19 3-pointers before making two meaningless 3s late.
NO. 1 NORTH CAROLINA 69, UNC WILMINGTON 56
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Caleb Love and RJ Davis scored 17 points apiece and North Carolina began a season of grand expectations by pulling away from UNC Wilmington.
Armando Bacot added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Tar Heels, who were perhaps most impressive at the defensive end. UNCW shot 29.8% from the field.
The Tar Heels, who were the NCAA Tournament runner-up in April, began the new season with the top ranking for the first time in seven years. It&rsquo;s a record 10th time that North Carolina has been ranked No. 1 to start a season &mdash; one more than rival Duke.
Trazarien White scored 19 points for UNCW, which faced a top-ranked team for the first time in program history.
NO. 2 GONZAGA 104, NORTH FLORIDA 63
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 22 points, Julian Strawther added 16 and No. 2 Gonzaga used a big first-half run to beat North Florida in both teams&rsquo; opener.
Anton Watson had 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and five steals for Gonzaga, which won its 68th consecutive home game, the nation&rsquo;s longest such streak.
Carter Hendricksen scored 16 points, Jadyn Parker 13 and Jose Placer 12 for North Florida, a veteran-laden team from the Atlantic Sun Conference that returned its top four scorers from last season.
NO. 3 HOUSTON 83, NORTHERN COLORADO 36
HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Marcus Sasser scored 21 points, J&rsquo;Wan Roberts added 12 points and six rebounds, and Houston opened the season by beating Northern Colorado.
Sasser, a preseason All-American, scored 11 points in the first half. He finished 7 of 14 from the field and made 4 of 8 3-pointers. The senior guard missed the second half of last season and all of Houston&rsquo;s run to the Elite Eight with a toe injury.
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson won his 700th career game and 200th with the Cougars.
Matt Johnson II, Riley Abercrombie and Caleb Shaw each scored eight points for the Bears.
NO. 4 KENTUCKY 95, HOWARD 63
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Antonio Reeves scored 22 points, CJ Fredrick had 20 and Kentucky beat Howard with All-American Oscar Tshiebwe and two other players sidelined.
Tshiebwe had a procedure last month on his right knee. Point guard Sahvir Wheeler (right leg) and sophomore forward Daimion Collins (personal reasons) were also out, but the Wildcats still shot 55% against the overmatched Bison.
Jacob Toppin and freshman Cason Wallace each added 15 points for Kentucky.
Kobe Dickson scored 17 points and Elijah Hawkins had 14 for Howard, which shot 34%.
NO. 5 KANSAS 89, OMAHA 64
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Gradey Dick added 23 points in his debut, and Kansas began defense of its national championship without suspended coach Bill Self by routing Omaha.
Bobby Pettiford Jr. added 13 points, Dajuan Harris had 11 points and eight assists, and Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar Jr. scored 10 for the Jayhawks, who broke open a close game in the second half with two big runs.
Self served the first of a four-game punishment along with assistant Kurtis Townsend as part of the fallout from a 2017 federal investigation into college basketball corruption.
Jaeden Marshall scored 13 points and Luke Jungers had 12 for the Mavericks.
NO. 5 BAYLOR 117, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 53
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Adam Flagler scored 21 points to lead six players in double figures as Baylor won the opener of its 20th season with coach Scott Drew.
Flagler, a preseason All-Big 12 pick who also was the Bears&rsquo; leading scorer last season, also had eight assists and one of his four 3-pointers started a 24-0 run midway through the first half.
LJ Cryer had 16 points and Dale Bonner, another returning guard, had 14.
Alvin Stredic scored 14 points and Terry Collins 10 for Mississippi Valley State in its first game for new coach George Ivory.
NO. 9 CREIGHTON 72, ST. THOMAS 60
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Baylor Scheierman made back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the second half to give Creighton the lead for good.
Arthur Kaluma scored 17 points, Trey Alexander had 12 and Scheierman added 11 as the Bluejays won their 25th opener in 26 years.
St. Thomas, a Summit League member beginning its second season in Division I, gave the Bluejays all they could handle until the last few minutes. Andrew Rohde had 15 points to lead the Tommies.
NO. 10 ARKANSAS 76, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 58
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) &mdash; Trevon Brazile had 21 points and 12 rebounds in his debut as Arkansas won its season opener.
Brazile, a sophomore transfer from Missouri, scored six straight points during an 11-0 run early in the second half that gave Arkansas a 16-point lead with 15 minutes left.
Wichita State transfer Ricky Council led the Razorbacks with 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting.
Grant Nelson and Boden Skunberg had 17 points apiece to lead North Dakota State.
NO. 11 TENNESSEE 75, TENNESSEE TECH 43
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Tyreke Key came off the bench to score 17 points and Tennessee beat Tennessee Tech in both teams&rsquo; opener.
Key, an Indiana State transfer, connected on 4 of 8 3-pointers to ignite a sluggish Volunteer offense. Zakai Zeigler scored all but two of his 12 points in the second half.
Brett Thompson led the Golden Eagles with 15 points.
NO. 12 TEXAS 72, UTEP 57
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Tyrese Hunter scored 18 points to lead Texas past UTEP in the debut of its new arena.
Hunter, a transfer from Iowa State, was 6-of-8 shooting and added five rebounds. Ze&rsquo;Ri Onyema led UTEP with 10 points.
Texas this season moved to the $375 million Moody Center on the edge of campus, leaving behind the old Frank Erwin Center after 45 years.
NO. 13 INDIANA 88, MOREHEAD STATE 53
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Preseason All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis and freshman Malik Reneau each scored 15 points, helping Indiana beat Morehead State in the season opener for both teams.
The Hoosiers have won all six matchups in the series and are 26-0 all-time against Ohio Valley Conference foes.
Mark Freeman led the Eagles with 14 points, and Drew Thelwell had 11 for the OVC favorites.
NO. 14 TCU 73, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 72
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Mike Miles hit a 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining to finally put TCU ahead to stay against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which built an early 20-point lead in the season opener for both teams.
Miles, the preseason Big 12 player of the year, hit from deep beyond the top of the key for a 71-68 lead.
Emanuel Miller had 15 of his 19 points in the second half, and Miles finished with 15 points for the Horned Frogs. They returned all five starters and five other scholarship players after winning their first NCAA Tournament game since 1987.
Shaun Doss had 25 points with four of Arkansas-Pine Bluff&rsquo;s 13 3-pointers.
NO. 15 AUBURN 70, GEORGE MASON 52
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Wendell Green Jr. scored 16 points while K.D. Johnson and Johni Broome each had 12 to lead Auburn to a season-opening win over George Mason.
The Tigers weren&rsquo;t really challenged much in their first game since losing NBA first-round draft picks Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler.
Ronald Polite III led George Mason with 10 points, and Victor Bailey Jr. had nine.
NO. 16 VILLANOVA 81, LA SALLE 68
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) &mdash; Caleb Daniels scored 24 points to make coach Kyle Neptune a winner in his Villanova debut.
Neptune replaced Hall of Famer Jay Wright, who retired in the offseason. The Wildcats returned three starters (a fourth, Justin Moore, was injured) from the team that lost a national semifinal game to Kansas. Eric Dixon added 20 points for Villanova.
Daniels made his first five 3-pointers and the Wildcats used an early 10-0 run to put away their city rival and spoiled 74-year-old coach Fran Dunphy&rsquo;s return to the bench.
Josh Nickelberry scored 22 points to lead the Explorers.
NO. 17 ARIZONA 117, NICHOLLS STATE 75
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Azuolas Tubelis scored 23 points and Arizona went on a massive opening run to begin its second season under coach Tommy Lloyd with a rout.
Ballo scored 18 points, helping Arizona set a school record with 71.7% shooting from the floor against the reigning Southland Conference regular-season champions. The Wildcats opened the game with a 30-4 run.
Micah Thomas led Nicholls State with 20 points.
NO. 18 VIRGINIA 73, NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL 61
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman sparked a 15-2 second-half run, and Virginia beat North Carolina Central after blowing a 16-point first-half lead.
Armaan Franklin led Virginia with 21 points in the season opener for both teams, and Francisco Caffaro had 10.
Justin Wright scored 20 and Eric Boone had 18 for the Eagles, who used a 12-0 run just after halftime to go ahead. But Clark hit a 3 and Beekman followed with a steal and a breakaway.
NO. 19 SAN DIEGO STATE 80, CAL STATE FULLERTON 57
SAN DIEGO (AP) &mdash; Darrion Trammell hit three 3-pointers during a 29-10 run to open the second half and finished with 18 points as San Diego State beat Cal State Fullerton.
Fellow newcomer Jaedon LeDee and Lamont Butler scored 11 points apiece and Nathan Mensah had 10 for the Aztecs, who won their 10th straight season opener and their 17th in 18 seasons.
Vincent Lee scored 11 and Jalen Harris 10 for the Titans, the defending Big West Conference champions.
NO. 20 ALABAMA 75, LONGWOOD 54
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Freshman Brandon Miller had 14 points and 13 rebounds in his debut as Alabama beat Longwood.
Fellow freshman Rylan Griffen also scored 14 for the Crimson Tide, and point guard Mark Sears had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Freshman guard Jaden Bradley added 11 points and six boards.
Alabama held Longwood to 27% shooting and blocked nine shots. Michael Christmas led Longwood with 12 points.
NO. 21 OREGON 80, FLORIDA A&amp;M 45
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) &mdash; N&rsquo;Faly Dante had 16 points and 10 rebounds as Oregon opened with an easy win over Florida A&amp;M.
Keeshawn Barthelemy added 13 points for the Ducks, ranked to start the season for the ninth straight year. Will Richardson scored 11.
Jordan Tillmon and Jordan Chatman had eight points apiece for the Rattlers, who have 11 new players. Florida A&amp;M coach Robert McCullum was on Oregon coach Dana Altman&rsquo;s staff from 2014-17.
NO. 22 MICHIGAN 75, PURDUE FORT WAYNE 56
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Hunter Dickinson had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and freshman Jett Howard added 21 points in Michigan&rsquo;s season-opening win.
After Purdue Fort Wayne opened an 8-4 lead, Michigan went on a 20-0 run to take control.
Quinton Morton-Robertson scored 15 points and Bobby Planutis added 13 for the Mastodons.
NO. 23 ILLINOIS 87, EASTERN ILLINOIS 57
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) &mdash; Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 24 points and Coleman Hawkins had 23 points and 12 rebounds as Illinois cruised past Eastern Illinois.
Dain Dainja added 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Illini, who outrebounded the Panthers 53-30 in the opener for both teams.
Kinyon Hodges scored 14 points and Yaakema Rose added 10 for Eastern Illinois.
NO. 24 DAYTON 73, LINDENWOOD 46
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Mustapha Amzil scored 14 points, DaRon Holmes II and R.J. Blakney each had 13 and Dayton beat Lindenwood in a sluggish opener for both teams.
Dayton was without injured point guard Malachi Smith and didn&rsquo;t play particularly well until late, but it had a large margin for error against Lindenwood, which was playing its first game after moving up to Division I.
Chris Childs had 15 points for the Lions, who shot 33% from the field.
NO. 25 TEXAS TECH 73, NORTHWESTERN STATE 49
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash; Daniel Batcho had 12 points and 10 rebounds as Texas Tech rolled past Northwestern State in both teams&rsquo; opener.
Texas Tech broke it open late in the first half and led 42-23 at halftime.
Isaac Haney led Northwestern State with 16 points.

It was a quality start to a season of massive change for the Blue Devils, starting with Jon Scheyer taking over Duke's program.

Roach leads No. 7 Duke past Jacksonville in Scheyer’s debut

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Zia Cooke scored 17 points, Aliyah Boston had the 61st double-double of her career and defending national champion No. 1 South Carolina opened with a dominating 101-31 victory over East Tennessee State on Monday night.
Boston finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds in 20 minutes.
The Gamecocks celebrated their 2022 NCAA Tournament title with championship rings and a banner unfurled in the arena rafters to the cheers of a boisterous, happy crowd at Colonial Life Arena.
South Carolina held its opponent to 4-of-28 shooting in the first two quarters. ETSU missed 15 straight shots during one stretch.
East Tennessee&rsquo;s Jiselle Thomas, a first-year transfer from Temple, led East Tennessee with seven points on 2-of-20 shooting.
NO. 2 STANFORD 86, SAN DIEGO STATE 48
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Kiki Iriafen had a team-leading 16 points and six rebounds, sending Stanford past San Diego State to open the season.
Iriafen was one of four players who had double-digit points for the Cardinal, including Elena Bosgana (15 points), Cameron Brink (13) and Indya Nivar (13). Alex Crain and Meghan Fiso each had nine points for the Aztecs, who were held to 31.6% shooting (18 of 57) by the Cardinal defense.
NO. 4 IOWA 87, SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY 34
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark scored 20 points as Iowa opened the season with a win over Southern.
Clark, a junior guard who was a unanimous Associated Press preseason All-American, shook off a couple of early injuries to finish with a 6 of 10 shooting night.
Iowa center Monika Czinano, back for a fifth season after leading the nation in field-goal percentage the last two seasons, scored 10 points on 3 of 4 shooting.
Amani McWain led Southern with eight points.
NO. 7 LOUISVILLE 87, CINCINNATI 68
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Hailey Van Lith scored 28 points to lead Louisville to a victory over Cincinnati in the season opener for both teams.
The Cardinals broke the game open with a 15-0 first-quarter run and led 46-25 in the final minute of the first half. The Cardinals shot 51.7% and outrebounded the Bearcats 39-27.
Sophomore Braylyn Milton led the Bearcats with a career-high 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Milton was perfect on five 3-point shots. Mya Jackson and A&rsquo;riel Jackson added 12 points apiece.
NO. 8 IOWA STATE 87, CLEVELAND STATE 54
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Ashley Joens had 28 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and Iowa State opened the season with a victory against Cleveland State.
Joens, a preseason All-American, nearly recorded a double-double in the first half with 24 points and nine boards. She has 50 career double-doubles.
Stephanie Soares added 15 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks for the Cyclones. Gabriella Smith led Cleveland State with 16 points and Brittni Moore added nine.
NO. 9 NOTRE DAME 88, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 48
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Olivia Miles had 17 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and six steals to help No. 9 Notre Dame rout Northern Illinois.
Transfer post players Kylee Watson (Oregon) and Lauren Ebo (Texas) made their Notre Dame debuts. Watson started and scored nine points, while Ebo added 10 points off the bench.
Janae Poisson led NIU in scoring with 14 points.
NO. 10 NC STATE 82, QUINNIPIAC 45
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Jada Boyd scored 14 points as North Carolina State led wire-to-wire in a season-opening victory over Quinnipiac.
Boyd shot a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. The junior forward also had five rebounds, a block and two steals in just 20 minutes of play. Quinnipiac was led by Cur&rsquo;Tiera Haywood&rsquo;s eight points and five rebounds. Jackie Grisdale also had eight points for the Bobcats.
NO. 13 VIRGINIA TECH 101, MOUNT ST. MARY&rsquo;S 45
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) &mdash; Cayla King made a school record nine 3-pointers and scored a career-high 33 points, All-American Elizabeth Kitley added 17 points and Virginia Tech rolled over Mount St. Mary in both teams&rsquo; season opener.
Virginia Tech never trailed thanks to King&rsquo;s opening 3-pointer and after Mount St. Mary&rsquo;s answered with a basket the Hokies reeled off 20 straight.
Michaela Harrison scored 15 points for Mount St. Mary&rsquo;s, which shot 27% and was outrebounded 45-23.
NO. 15 OKLAHOMA 105, ORAL ROBERTS 94
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Madi Williams scored 19 points, Skylar Vann added 18 and Oklahoma opened the season with a win over Oral Roberts.
The Sooners finished at 47.6% shooting after hitting 60% of their shots in the first half.
Oral Roberts outscored Oklahoma 24-6 in the final 5:18 to get the margin down to 11. Tirzah Moore scored 25 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds for the Golden Eagles.
NO. 16 LSU 125, BELLARMINE 50
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese scored 31 points on 11-of-14 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds in her debut with LSU and the Tigers coasted past Bellarmine in the season opener.
The transfer from Maryland, where she was an All-American, had 14 points in the first quarter when the Tigers took a 31-8 lead and went on to a school record for points in a game.
West Virginia transfer Jasmine Carson added 17 points and Alexis Morris 16 for LSU, which returned only one starter (Morris) and five players from Kim Mulkey&rsquo;s first team, which had the greatest turnaround by a first-year coach in Southeastern Conference history.
Hayley Harrison scored 19 points for the Knights.
NO. 17 MARYLAND 88, GEORGE MASON 51
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) &mdash; Abby Meyers scored 19 points in her debut for Maryland as the retooled Terrapins defeated George Mason.
Meyers, an AP honorable mention All-American at Princeton and one of nine new Terrapins, made 5 of 6 from 3-point range.
Taylor Jameson scored 15 points for George Mason, which was 5 of 22 from 3-point range and had 18 turnovers.
NO. 18 BAYLOR 88, LAMAR 50
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash;Jaden Owens had a career-high 12 assists to go with 11 points for her first career double-double and Baylor pulled away for a season-opening win over Lamar.
Missouri transfer Aijha Blackwell and freshman Bella Fontleroy both added 17 points for the Bears, who used a 7-0 run early in the second quarter and a 9-0 late to go up 47-31 at halftime.
Lamar shot 32% in the second half and finished just 3 of 12 behind the 3-point line. Akasha Davis led the Cardinals with 13 points and eight rebounds.
NO. 20 OREGON 100, NORTHWESTERN 57
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Freshman Grace VanSlooten scored 20 points and Oregon downed Northwestern for the Ducks&rsquo; 10th straight season-opening win, and ninth straight under coach Kelly Graves.
Jennah Isai added 17 for the Ducks, who went 20-12 overall last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament but lost in the first round to Belmont.
Caileigh Walsh had 15 points and six rebounds for Northwestern, which went 17-12 last season.
NO. 21 CREIGHTON 73, NO. 23 SOUTH DAKTA STATE 64
BROOKINGS, S.D. (AP) &mdash; Lauren Jensen scored 17 of her 30 points in the fourth quarter and Creighton pulled away from South Dakota State in the only Top 25 matchup on the opening day of the season.
Creighton, the surprise team of the NCAA Tournament last year when they beat No. 8 Iowa and No. 10 Iowa State, made 10 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Myah Selland scored 22 points to lead South Dakota State, which won the WNIT last season.
NO. 22 NEBRASKA 100, OMAHA 36
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Isabelle Bourne had 21 points and nine rebounds, leading Nebraska to the runaway victory in its season opener.
Allison Weidner added 19 points and nine rebounds, and South Dakota transfer Maddy Krull had 18 points with four 3-pointers. Alexis Markowski had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Cornhuskers.
Elena Pilakouta had 10 points and eight rebounds for the Mavericks.
NO. 24 PRINCETON 67, TEMPLE 49
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Kaitlyn Chen scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Ellie Mitchell added 12 points and 15 boards, and Princeton defeated Temple to spoil the debut of Owls coach Diane Richardson.
Princeton won its 16th straight regular-season game dating to last season. Prior to the game, the Tigers honored its 2021-22 campaign with a banner unveiling and ring ceremony. The Tigers pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the NCAA Tournament, upending Kentucky in the first round.
Jasha Clinton scored 15 points and Tiarra East had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Temple, which was just 18-of-62 shooting.

Opening night for women's college hoops was highlighted by Aliyah Boston and the defending-champion South Carolina Gamecocks.

Defending women's national champs, No. 1 Gamecocks, rout ETSU 101-31

In his "Blazing the Trail" series, Mat Issa analyzes the offensive splendor of Dirk Nowitzki and the dramatic evolution of his career.

Blazing the Trail: Dirk Nowitzki, the unicorn that became world champion

Najee Garvin played at three different colleges, the last being an HBCU. Being on an NBA court and wearing the NBA logo sometimes didn&rsquo;t seem realistic.
He dealt with adversity after being arrested on an assault charge that was ultimately dropped. He went nearly two full years without playing a game. Garvin even became a cook at Chili&rsquo;s to pay the bills.
On Monday, he wore that NBA logo after all.
Garvin was one of 28 players invited to the inaugural HBCU Showcase at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. With a few dozen scouts in the stands, and four former NBA players &mdash; all of them now at historically Black colleges and universities &mdash; doing the coaching, Garvin ran through drills and played in scrimmages, getting an audition like no other in his career.
&ldquo;A job,&rdquo; Garvin said, when asked what would make the day a success for him. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just authentic. A job. Nowadays, it&rsquo;s hard to get a job. You&rsquo;ve got to be put in the right place, around the right people, who know the right stuff.&rdquo;
The NBA is hoping that it put that combination of right place, right people and right stuff together &mdash; with this showcase the latest way the league hopes to give HBCU players opportunities.
There&rsquo;s only one player from an HBCU school currently in the NBA, that being Robert Covington of the Los Angeles Clippers. No HBCU player has been drafted in a decade. Of the 30 rosters for teams in Las Vegas, only five featured an HBCU alum.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a visionary,&rdquo; said Mo Williams, the former NBA guard who now coaches at Jackson State. &ldquo;We have a lot of talent at the HBCU level that don&rsquo;t get those invites to the NBA Combine, to Portsmouth, the G League Combine now, to things like that. We feel like those kids are talented enough to be professional athletes. This is a start.&rdquo;
HBCU football players haven't been left out of the spotlight. Some got the opportunity to showcase their talents in early February <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nfl-college-football-sports-jackson-deion-sanders-fa50c854b34cd633c3cc588541ef1837">when the NFL hosted its first HBCU combine</a> during Senior Bowl workouts.
The NBA has made strides for basketball players in recent years to address areas where it feels changes were needed. There are a record 15 Black coaches in the NBA right now, eight of those hires coming in the last year or so.
The 2021 NBA All-Star Game generated at least $3 million for HBCUs through donations to scholarship funds &mdash; and the exposure those schools got during the game was worth even more. The league has started a paid fellowship program that places HBCU students in jobs with the league office and with NBA and WNBA teams. And this past season, All-Star weekend included a game between Howard and Morgan State.
And now, the attention turns to individual players.
&ldquo;The showcase is a chance for us to continue creating opportunity for the world&rsquo;s best talent,&rdquo; said Morgan Cato, an NBA vice president who is about to become an assistant general manager with the Phoenix Suns. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a perception of HBCU programs not necessarily being able to turn out talent. But all of our investments from the league office are about creating opportunity, creating access, and letting great players really have the opportunity to be seen by teams.&rdquo;
Many NBA players have spoken out in the last couple years about the need to help HBCU programs and improve the college experience for those players.
But there&rsquo;s also a clear belief that if a player is good enough to play in the NBA -- whether that player is at a Power 5 school, or overseas, or at a low-major school -- someone from the league will find them.
&ldquo;One thing that is undeniable is this is the best league in the world,&rdquo; said <a href="https://apnews.com/article/portland-trail-blazers-nba-sports-damian-lillard-las-vegas-79c76345f0ff7a3623777d8ded6d13c6">Portland guard Damian Lillard</a>, who played his college ball at Weber State and was still a lottery pick. &ldquo;We want HBCUs to get more recognition. We want them to have better funding, better facilities and resources. It could be a lot better. I think that&rsquo;s what has to happen.&rdquo;
The showcase lasted a few hours and was basically an NBA practice: Williams, Bethune-Cookman coach Reggie Theus, Fisk coach Kenny Anderson and LeMoyne-Owen coach Bonzi Wells broke the groups into four teams, and after some drills, the players went through scrimmages.
It&rsquo;s still a longshot that any of the 28 makes the NBA. But Monday might have been a step in the right direction toward getting another HBCU player to the league.
&ldquo;Why hasn&rsquo;t it happened? Let&rsquo;s call a spade a spade: They&rsquo;re not looking,&rdquo; Anderson said. &ldquo;The kids are not getting looked at.&rdquo;
Wells said he has yet to see a pro scout at any of his team&rsquo;s home games. But he presses on, insisting that he must keep trying to do his part to raise the HBCU profile at both the college and pro level, much in the same way that Deion Sanders has done with football at Jackson State.
&ldquo;If we don&rsquo;t do this, who will?&rdquo; Wells said. &ldquo;Who will? This is a blessing for us to be coaches. It&rsquo;s tough for former NBA players to get jobs, and be head coaches. This is a blessing for us to have the platform that we have.&rdquo;
There might be a G League opportunity for some of these players; that was the path Covington took on his way to the NBA after going undrafted. Playing internationally is another option. Former Prairie View A&amp;M player Jawaun Daniels said he&rsquo;d even listen if the Harlem Globetrotters came calling.
&ldquo;My mind is always open to everything,&rdquo; Daniels said.
All 28 of the players are dreamers. And maybe Monday got them one step closer to where they want to ultimately be.
&ldquo;Today is the opportunity of a lifetime,&rdquo; said Garvin, who played at Charlotte, Nicholls State and Hampton. &ldquo;No matter where, no matter what level, it&rsquo;s all about getting a job. We&rsquo;ve all been overlooked, all at the bottom of the pole, and today reminds us that we can still find our way to the top.&rdquo;

There were 28 players invited to the inaugural HBCU Showcase at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

HBCU players at NBA summer league seeking opportunities

Boy, is there a lot going on with the Phoenix Mercury this season.
(You're welcome for avoiding the very obvious "Mercury in Retrograde" joke.)
Following a Finals appearance last season, expectations were high for the Mercury. The wrongful detainment of All-Star and future Hall-of-Fame center Brittney Griner in Russia has thrown things for a loop. The defense, in particular, has fallen apart in Griner's absence, dropping from seventh last season (101.3 DRTG) to 11th this year (104.4 DRTG).
But the team's struggles go beyond the absence of Griner &mdash; on and off the court.
Their premier free-agent signing, another former All-Star and future Hall-of-Fame center in Tina Charles, is no longer on the team; she joined the Seattle Storm after agreeing to a contract divorce with the Mercury. Also, the relationship between Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins-Smith has been, well... let's say rocky.
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Further complicating matters is a recent controversy surrounding Taurasi, Diggins-Smith and new head coach Vanessa Nygaard.&nbsp;
Diggins-Smith has been excellent this season, earning All-Star honors by posting averages of 19.1 points (fourth in the W), 5.0 assists (ninth), 1.8 steals (fourth) and 1.0 blocks (first among guards). Taurasi hasn't consistently hit that level, averaging 15.5 points and 4.1 assists while not defending nearly as well as Diggins-Smith has. She did not earn All-Star honors, something that rubbed Nygaard the wrong way.
"There will be a game played in Chicago," Nygaard said recently. "But it won't be an All-Star game without Diana Taurasi playing."
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It's easy to understand the sentiment. Taurasi is one of the greatest players in basketball history. Even in a down year, she's proven capable of turning a game on its head with her deep-range shooting. But it's hard to argue her All-Star candidacy this season with how deep and talented the guard group is. More importantly to this discussion, Nygaard making those comments, with&nbsp;Diggins-Smith being selected to play in the game, wasn't a wise move.&nbsp;
The Mercury's Twitter account posted video of Nygaard's comments. Diggins-Smith quote-tweeted the video with a clown emoji (before eventually deleting it).
Oof.&nbsp;
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With this much turmoil surrounding the team, it's fair to argue that changes are needed. According to the always-excellent <a href="https://twitter.com/howardmegdal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Howard Megdal</a> of The Next, the Mercury have put Diggins-Smith <a href="https://www.theixsports.com/basketball/nygaard-diggins-smith-mercury-clown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on the trade block ($)</a>.&nbsp;
<blockquote>
To a certain extent, this could have ramifications for Diggins-Smith, who has asked out of one organization, worn out her welcome with another, and has left many others around the league wary of adding her. And Phoenix is shopping her, multiple teams confirmed to me.
</blockquote>
It goes without saying, but a trade featuring Diggins-Smith has the potential to shape this year's title race. Heck, if a move is made, it could affect the next couple. She is arguably the best point guard in the W &mdash; an MVP-caliber talent due to her blend of slashing, playmaking, pull-up shooting and fiestiness on the defensive end.
Finding a trade partner for Diggins-Smith could be tough. She's making max money, and there isn't a team flushed with cap space to absorb her deal. Beyond that, the pool would almost certainly be limited to contending teams. You're likely not bringing her into a rebuilding situation like Atlanta or Indiana, lest she becomes frustrated with the lack of championship equity surrounding her.
But among the contending teams, nearly all of them have high-level point guards and/or tight-knit groups that they may have to talk themselves into breaking up.
The Chicago Sky are likely content with Courtney Vandersloot; Sue Bird is hanging up her sneakers after this season, but it's hard to find a package that would land Diggins-Smith in Seattle. Several members of the Las Vegas Aces have highlighted the leadership that Chelsea Gray, yet another former All-Star, has provided since joining the team last season.
Maybe there's a conversation to be had with the Conneticut Sun, who are currently trucking along with sharp-shooting Natisha Hiedeman at point guard with Jasmine Thomas out for the season with a torn ACL. Owen Pence of Winsidr <a href="https://twitter.com/OwenPence/status/1544734219246735360?s=20&amp;t=3ktGRjR_GYkvNKLqqjmZKw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggested a package</a> around All-Star big Brionna Jones. It's worth a phone call at least.&nbsp;
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Megdal briefly mentioned the Los Angeles Sparks as a potential suitor. While they're not in the contender tier right now, the roster does have a great deal of talent headlined by Nneka Ogwumike. The guard room is also a bit crowded; as Megdal alluded to, maybe there's a package to be built around Chennedy Carter.
Of course, the possibility exists that cooler heads prevail. Maybe the market isn't there, or there's some sort of come-to-Jesus moment that leads to the season being played out with hopes of evaluating everything in the offseason.
For now, this becomes the most important on-court situation to track in the WNBA.

The Mercury have reportedly put Skylar Diggins-Smith on the trade block. Nekias Duncan digs into whether Phoenix should move her.

Should the Phoenix Mercury trade Skylar Diggins-Smith?

It&rsquo;s the most wonderful time of the year. The days are long, the nights are warm and the NBA Finals have come back around.
The Finals stage is where legacies are made. The entire season leads up to this series.
But with the good comes the bad; such is the nature of life. For those with allergies, like myself, June also brings about itchy eyes and a runny nose. And for basketball purists, the bad comes in the form of recycled cliche talking points that, at times, dwarf the discourse surrounding the game itself.
The Finals are where we finally find the answers to season-long, and sometimes career-long, questions.
Can Dirk Nowitzki lead a team to a title?
Did Kobe Bryant need Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal?
Is LeBron James clutch?
This season is no different.
Today's question du jour: Does Stephen Curry need a Finals MVP and another championship sans Kevin Durant to shore up his legacy as one of the 10 best to ever play the game?
One might think the Golden State Warriors would be impervious to these conversations. After all, they won an NBA championship in 2015, the same year they entered the upper echelon of the league before questions could even emerge. And yet, here we are &mdash; eight years, six Finals runs and three titles later &mdash; questioning Curry&rsquo;s greatness and ultimate legacy.
So, what is the answer to that aforementioned question?
First, let&rsquo;s take a look at Curry&rsquo;s legacy. In short, he is an all-time great who's responsible for revolutionizing the Three-Point Era.
It is too simple to reduce Curry to just "the greatest shooter of all-time&rdquo; and limit his skills to only one facet of his game. Because not only is Curry the greatest shooter ever, he is also an elite finisher with both his right and left hand, and he sports one of the best handles we&rsquo;ll ever see. And yet, despite all of his on-ball skills, he is even deadlier off the ball.
In the words of Warriors president and general manager Bob Myers, who joined The Morning Roast on 95.7 The Game on June 7: &ldquo;This guy is a made-man. Forget about this Finals; it's already been done. He's already done it. He's already proven it. I don't know what else he has to continue to prove.&rdquo;
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Bob Myers believes Steph Curry has nothing left to prove in the NBA Finals 🐐 <a href="https://t.co/JXkLpiRj4b">pic.twitter.com/JXkLpiRj4b</a>
&mdash; 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) <a href="https://twitter.com/957thegame/status/1534234887221219328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Myers is correct. Curry has cemented himself as an all-time great.
But all titles matter, and winning this one is important for Curry&rsquo;s legacy. Just as the fourth title mattered to LeBron. Just as the fourth and fifth mattered to Kobe. Just as the fifth and sixth mattered to Michael Jordan.
They all matter when cementing your legacy.
And that&rsquo;s because, unlike other accolades, championships are not debatable. Being the last team standing is a matter of fact, and not decided on by a select group of media.
Players aren't awarded titles. They win them. Curry&rsquo;s greatness is shown by reaching this objective season after season. With each new ring, it cements what should never be up for debate.
Finals MVP, however, is a subjective award. And when it comes to subjectivity, Curry&rsquo;s greatness regularly gets called into question. Being a pioneer in any industry means having your name etched into the history books, but with that comes some bad: you&rsquo;re ahead of your time. And, as a result, people often can&rsquo;t keep up with your greatness as it happens.
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Take the 2015 NBA Finals, for example, Curry&rsquo;s impact was not immediately visible on the box score; although, he was no slouch there either. Curry finished the series averaging 26.0 points, 6.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game on .443/.385/.885 shooting splits. (An efficiency dip from the regular season, where he averaged 23.8 points, 7.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game on a .487/.443/.914 slash line.)
They were numbers that paled in comparison to LeBron, who finished the series with averages of 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists per contest, leaving many to believe Curry failed in the role of a superstar on the biggest stage.
Dominance in the form of counting stats is easy to quantify, but dominance in creating an ecosystem that benefits those around you &mdash; is not. Thus, the true value of Curry is hard to measure.
And that&rsquo;s why, of the 11 votes for Finals MVP, LeBron received four, Andre Iguodala received seven and Curry received headlines calling Matthew Dellavedova his kryptonite.
That&rsquo;s right. Curry received no votes, and Iguodala won the 2015 Finals MVP.
Many voters point to the tides turning after Game 3. The Cleveland Cavaliers had taken a 2-1 series lead, and the Warriors adjusted by swapping Iguodala in for Andrew Bogut in the starting lineup &mdash; a rare move that offered major benefits on both sides of the ball.
At a distance, the case for Iguodala over Curry for Finals MVP is such:
Iguodala guarded the best player in basketball and limited LeBron&rsquo;s impact to sub-40% shooting, the Warriors never lost a game once he entered the starting lineup, and, as a starter, he averaged 20.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. He also shot 47.8% from the floor and 40.9% from three, numbers that closely resembled Curry&rsquo;s with much better efficiency.
Take a closer look, and we can see how that&rsquo;s all the more reason Curry deserved the Finals MVP. Without taking anything away from Iguodala, who was a valuable piece that allowed the Warriors to unlock this lineup, Steph made it unstoppable.
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Introducing Iguodala into the starting lineup in place of Bogut allowed the Warriors to play a five-out lineup with passing.
Curry, being the best shooter ever, gets the most attention, and the way he moves off-ball &mdash; constantly in motion and always a threat to shoot &mdash; opens the floor up for all of his teammates in ways that are not yet quantifiable. Curry running by two defenders and pulling them towards him is not a screen assist, but it still opens up a driving lane or a shot in a similar way.
Iguodala directly benefited from that gravity. According to NBA.com, 46% of the shots Iguodala took were considered &ldquo;wide open&rdquo; with the closest defender at least six feet away, and 20% were considered open with a defender four-to-six feet away.
With Bogut on the floor, the Cavs could tilt their defense toward Curry without any blowback. With Iguodala&rsquo;s passing and shooting in Bogut&rsquo;s place, the Cavaliers' defense was forced to make a choice. More often than not, their decision was to dare Iguodala to shoot, and to his credit, he knocked them down.
Curry&rsquo;s court vision and decisive actions create excellent opportunities for teammates, as he led the Warriors in assists. Iguodala was the prime beneficiary, accounting for nearly 40% of his points as a starter in catch-and-shoot situations, according to NBA.com. (That includes all of his made field goals in the deciding Game 6.)
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Decades from now, when people think back on the Warriors&rsquo; first championship, losing Finals MVP to Iguodala won&rsquo;t be an indictment on Curry and his game, but instead on our ability to appreciate what doesn&rsquo;t show up in the box score.
It&rsquo;ll be a capsule in time, defined by our limited scope.
The predicament is similar to the NBA's 2007 Defensive Player of the Year award.
Marcus Camby won the award, given to the best defender in a season, over Tim Duncan, who finished third behind San Antonio Spurs teammate Bruce Bowen.
Despite being one the greatest defensive anchors of all time, Duncan never won the honor &mdash; a gaffe on the part of voters and a result of our limited ability to measure defense.
In 2007, after finishing with his second blocks title in what would be a three-year reign, Camby was awarded Defensive Player of the Year instead.
Over time, we&rsquo;ve come to learn that blocking shots, though flashy and easily quantifiable, is far less a marker of a great defender than one who deters opponents from even attempting a drive.
NBA.com can track how well opponents shot against you in various areas on the court, and despite Camby&rsquo;s higher blocks-per-game average of 3.3 to Duncan&rsquo;s 2.4, players shot 8.3% worse when met by Duncan over Camby in the restricted area.
Blocks per game also remains the sole stat that favors Camby over Duncan defensively. The Denver Nuggets even performed better defensively with Camby on the bench.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 67.1558%; height: 132px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 29.0771%; height: 22px;">Defensive Metric</td>
<td style="width: 16.18%; height: 22px;">Marcus Camby</td>
<td style="width: 13.7594%; height: 22px;">Tim Duncan</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 29.0771%; height: 22px;">Defensive Efficiency</td>
<td style="width: 16.18%; height: 22px;">105.6</td>
<td style="width: 13.7594%; height: 22px;">96.5</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 29.0771%; height: 22px;">Defensive Win Shares</td>
<td style="width: 16.18%; height: 22px;">5.1</td>
<td style="width: 13.7594%; height: 22px;">6.8</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 29.0771%; height: 22px;">Defensive Box Plus-Minus</td>
<td style="width: 16.18%; height: 22px;">3.9</td>
<td style="width: 13.7594%; height: 22px;">3.2</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 29.0771%; height: 22px;">Opponent FG% in RA</td>
<td style="width: 16.18%; height: 22px;">60.5%</td>
<td style="width: 13.7594%; height: 22px;">53.2%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 29.0771%; height: 22px;">Defensive Pts Per Poss.</td>
<td style="width: 16.18%; height: 22px;">+2.5</td>
<td style="width: 13.7594%; height: 22px;">-8.8</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
And though not one of these stats alone is a clear indicator of which player is a better defender, all of them together make it pretty obvious that Duncan was better than Camby in 2007.
Then, there are other factors that can&rsquo;t be measured, like how often the presence of a defensive force such as Duncan prevents teams from even passing to a guy guarded by the stalwart.
Defensive Player of the Year awards began in 1982-83. Ten of the first 28 winners led the NBA in blocks. Since then, no player who led the league in blocks has gone on to win DPOY. Nowadays, it would be laughable to base a defensive argument on something as basic as blocks.
I think this is how we&rsquo;ll understand Curry not winning a Finals MVP in his first three chances, namely in 2015. The Finals MVP is supposed to highlight the most valuable player during the most important stretch of basketball all year. That was undeniably him.
The mark of a great offensive player is that teams would prefer to play 4-on-3 versus 1-on-1, and in 2015, Iguodala benefited from being the man open. But that&rsquo;s entirely thanks to the gravity of Stephen Curry.
Because, at the end of the day, every NBA defense is trying to get the ball out of Steph's hands.
And, in the words of Max Kellerman, they want Iguodala.&nbsp;
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Imman Adan details how Stephen Curry's impact can't be quantified by looking back on the 2015 NBA Finals.

Understanding Stephen Curry's gravity and a 2015 NBA Finals MVP gaffe

The New Orleans Pelicans are a team on the rise.
Despite stumbling out of the gates this season (losing 12 of their first 14 games), the Pels were able to right the ship and advance to the postseason. Over the second half of the 2021-22 campaign, New Orleans finished in the top 10 in both Offensive and Defensive Efficiency. Their Net Rating of plus-4.7 in the 23 games played after the All-Star break was tied with the Miami Heat for the sixth-best mark in the NBA.
After beating both the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers in the Play-In Tournament, the Pelicans gave the Phoenix Suns a battle in the first round of the playoffs before bowing out in six games.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The addition of CJ McCollum at the trade deadline paid immediate dividends for New Orleans, as he averaged over 24 points per game to go along with 5.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 made three-pointers after coming over from Portland. McCollum also quickly established himself as a team leader on and off the floor. Jonas Valanciunas is another respected veteran still producing at a very high level as well.
The rest of the roster is teeming with promising young players. Brandon Ingram, who is still just 24 years old, was a beast in the postseason, averaging 27.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists while shooting over 40% from downtown in the series vs. Phoenix. The team's three rookies &mdash; Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy III and Jose Alvarado &mdash; were all significant contributors too.
Jones exceeded even the loftiest of expectations, immediately establishing himself as an elite defender. The 35th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, he led all rookies in total steals with 130 (50 more than Scottie Barnes, who ranked second) and was third in blocks. According to Basketball-Reference, he is the only rookie in New Orleans franchise history and just the seventh first-year pro in league history to tally more than 125 steals and 50 blocks. Jones' terrific all-around play earned him a spot on the NBA's All-Rookie Second Team.&nbsp;
Jaxson Hayes, who just celebrated his 22nd birthday last month, is coming off the best year of his young career. Despite an up-and-down season with different roles, Devonte' Graham still averaged double-figures.
And, remarkably, 14 of the 15 players on the Pels roster to end the season are under contract for at least one more season. The only free agent on the team is Tony Snell, who didn't log a single minute for New Orleans in the playoffs.
So, it'll be a stress-free summer for the Pelicans front office, as they don't have any significant decisions to make this offseason, right?&nbsp;
Wrong.&nbsp;
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On the contrary, the Pels have to make one of the most important determinations in the history of the franchise. As of next month, Zion Williamson will be eligible to sign a five-year, $181 million max rookie extension, which could increase by an additional $36 million, all the way up to $217.5 million, if he were to be named to an All-NBA team next season.
Let's start by recognizing that, dating back to high school, Williamson has been utterly dominant on both ends of the floor whenever he's been healthy enough to step foot on a basketball court.&nbsp;
During his lone season at Duke, Williamson was the consensus National Player of the Year. He tied for the ACC lead in scoring with 22.6 points per game, was third in rebounding (8.9 rebounds), second in steals (2.1) and fifth in blocks (1.8) on average. He also shot 68.0% from the floor, which led the ACC and was second nationally. Zion is the only NCAA player ever to average over 20 points a night and tally at least 70 steals and 50 blocks in the same season.
As a rookie in New Orleans, Williamson averaged 22.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, and gave glimpses of the enormous potential he possesses thanks to his almost unimaginable combination of size, strength and athleticism.&nbsp;&nbsp;
In 2020-21, his age-20 season, Zion averaged a whopping 27.0 points (including over 20 points per game in the paint &mdash; the most since Shaquille O'Neal in 1999-00), 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists, while shooting over 61% from the floor. In the process, he became the first player in NBA history to average at least 27 points on 60-plus% shooting for an entire season. Williamson tallied ​​20 or more points in 25 straight games, which is the longest streak in NBA history for a player under 21 years old.
He was named to the 2021 NBA All-Star Game, becoming the 10th player in league history to earn All-Star recognition before celebrating his 21st birthday and becoming the fourth-youngest player in NBA history behind only Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Magic Johnson.
Through his first 60 career games, Williamson scored 1,457 points, trailing only Michael Jordan (1,664) for the most in the last 40 seasons.
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Zion Williamson will go off next season! NBA career stat line: 25.7 PPG (60.4% FG) 7.0 RPG, 3.2 APG <a href="https://t.co/oGRNIQXYt7">pic.twitter.com/oGRNIQXYt7</a>
&mdash; Courtside Films (@CourtsideFilms) <a href="https://twitter.com/CourtsideFilms/status/1532019142718640130?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2022</a></blockquote>

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So, given this nearly unprecedented production, signing him to a max contract in order to lock him up immediately is a no-brainer for New Orleans, right?&nbsp;
Wrong.
While Zion has been unguardable when he's on the floor, his inability to stay on the court has been a recurring concern.&nbsp;
Since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2019, Williamson has appeared in just 85 out of a possible 226 games. He missed the first 44 contests of his rookie season after tearing his meniscus, dealt with a thumb sprain, a fractured left ring finger and right knee soreness as a sophomore&nbsp;and sat out the entire 2021-22 season following surgery to repair a broken foot.
Over the last 30 years, the only top pick to play fewer games over his first three years in the league is former Portland Trail Blazer big man Greg Oden.&nbsp;
In addition to the injury issues, there have been reports about Williamson's unhappiness in New Orleans. Yet, when he was asked back in April if he would agree to sign a max offer from the Pels, <a href="https://twitter.com/FletcherWDSU/status/1520095546752516096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1520095546752516096%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnba.nbcsports.com%2F2022%2F04%2F29%2Fzion-williamson-says-hed-sign-contract-extension-if-pelicans-offer-of-course-i-couldnt-sign-it-fast-enough%2F" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zion responded</a>: "Of course, I couldn't sign it fast enough."
However, Pelicans executive vice president David Griffin acknowledged that contract-extension talks with Williamson would be difficult.
"Obviously, that conversation is going to be one that will be a challenge," <a href="https://www.nola.com/sports/pelicans/article_043ffe96-c7fd-11ec-a2e1-a7e798041444.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Griffin said</a> early last month. "When it's time to have that, we'll have it. And right now what we're focused on is him being healthy, and (being in) kind of elite condition to play basketball, and we'll start there."
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Williamson has one year left on his rookie-scale deal, which will pay him $13.5 million in 2022-23. If Zion and the Pels don't agree on an extension this offseason, he will be a restricted free agent next summer. In that scenario, both sides would be carrying considerable risk. Williamson would be gambling on not having his future earning power crippled by a career-altering injury, while, at the same time, the Pels would risk potentially losing a franchise-altering talent via free agency.
Meeting in the middle probably makes the most sense for both parties. When discussing the parameters of a compromise, the agreement between the Philadelphia 76ers and Joel Embiid back in 2017 provides a blueprint.
After sitting out the entirety of his first two NBA seasons due to a devastating foot injury, Embiid suited up for only 31 games in his third year. Although Embiid looked fantastic when he was finally cleared to play, the Sixers were understandably hesitant to commit massive sums of guaranteed money to the injury-prone big man.
Thus, that offseason, Philadelphia and Embiid agreed to a five-year, $148 million extension, but the deal included offset language that protected the team if the player could not stay healthy. If Embiid missed 25 or more games or played fewer than 1,650 minutes in any of the final four seasons of the extension, Philadelphia had the right to waive him and get out of paying the remaining years of his contract.
As it turned out, Embiid avoided the injury bug and established himself as one of the league's premier players, finishing second in MVP voting in each of the past two seasons. Last summer, he inked a four-year, $196 million supermax pact that will keep him with the 76ers through the 2026-27 season. His entire salary is fully guaranteed.&nbsp;
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In late May, <a href="https://twitter.com/FletcherWDSU/status/1530212975310667776" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported</a>:
<blockquote>
From what I have been told, the Pelicans, at this point, are not willing to offer a full five-year guaranteed deal. A lot of it is flowing down from ownership. Gayle Benson, the owner, is also the owner of the New Orleans Saints. And I have been told they're going to take a football-style, Saints-style mentality with this contract negotiation. They will offer him a huge contract, but will not guarantee all of it.
</blockquote>
It's possible such an approach by the Pels could offend Zion and lead to a standoff between the two parties. But the alternative (signing a max deal with no protections) seems like a non-starter for New Orleans ownership. So, even if the Pels front office were willing to gamble with the team's cap space, Benson likely wouldn't be willing to roll the dice.&nbsp;
Again, a compromise appears to be the most reasonable and plausible outcome. In this scenario, Zion would still bank north of $90 million if he was unable to stay healthy.
It's difficult to imagine a player who hasn't set foot on an NBA court during an actual game in over 13 months turning down that type of payday.&nbsp;
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Tommy Beer ponders how the Pelicans should handle Zion Williamson's extension-eligible period and weighs their options.

Should the Pelicans sign Zion Williamson to a max contract?

May 5, 2006. That was the last time the Sacramento Kings <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200605050SAC.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">played in a playoff game</a>. That contest took place 5,863 days ago.&nbsp; To put that into context: During that 2005-06 season, Chris Paul was a rookie and Bruce Bowen, who was born in 1971, was named to the NBA's All-Defensive First Team. Steve Nash won his second consecutive MVP award and Boris Diaw was named the league's Most Improved Player.
The Kings made history last month, the type of history that no organization wants to be known for. Sacramento, who finished the 2021-22 campaign with a 30-52 record, failed to qualify for the postseason for the 16th straight season, breaking the NBA record for the longest playoff drought. (The Kings had been tied with the Buffalo Braves and Los Angeles Clippers prior.)
So, while <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-draft-lottery-teams-who-should-trade-to-win-now-or-at-least-sooner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">many teams in this year's draft lottery</a> are rumored to be interested in potentially trading their pick, arguably no team is more motivated to add an established player (as opposed to an unproven rookie) in hopes of avoiding a return trip to the all-too-familiar lottery dais next May than the Kings.
As proof of their urgency to win now, the Kings shocked pundits back in February by trading away Tyrese Haliburton, one of the league's most promising young point guards, to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for a package that included Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb and two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis.&nbsp;
Thus, it isn't shocking to learn that Sacramento, who jumped up to land the No. 4 overall pick in last week's lottery, is reportedly willing to wheel and deal if presented with the right offer.&nbsp;
<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10036369-nba-draft-buzz-insiders-explain-why-chet-holmgren-makes-sense-at-no-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report</a>, "there's a strong belief among rival teams that Sacramento will explore trading the fourth selection, either out of the draft entirely for an impact veteran or down later in the lottery to net a contributing rotation player in the process."
The other issue likely factoring into the Kings' thought process is that the top tier of the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft</a> consists of three players (Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero), with a bit of a dropoff after those elite prospects. Nonetheless, "the uncertainty of the fourth selection could prompt eager teams to leap up to secure their prized prospect" which puts the Kings' front office in a "<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10036369-nba-draft-buzz-insiders-explain-why-chet-holmgren-makes-sense-at-no-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strong trade position</a>," per Fischer.&nbsp;
Additionally, Mike Scotto of HoopsHype recently <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/aggregate-nba-mock-draft-lottery-jabari-smith-chet-holmgren-paolo-banchero-trade-rumors/">reported</a> that NBA executives "are monitoring the Sacramento Kings" as a team that could trade their pick "in search of player(s) that can help immediately." Scotto added that after acquiring Sabonis, the Kings have "made it clear the goal is to end the franchise's playoff drought" and that "rival teams are keeping an eye on Sacramento to trade this pick."
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So, let's examine some deals that might make sense for both the Kings and a potential trading partner.
Detroit Pistons send Jerami Grant, Saben Lee, Isaiah Livers and a second-round pick (No. 46 overall) to the Kings in exchange for the No. 4 overall pick, Richaun Holmes, Maurice Harkless and Alex Len
Earlier this offseason, Sacramento general manager Monte McNair <a href="https://account.sacbee.com/paywall/subscriber-only?resume=260358905&amp;intcid=ab_archive">conceded</a> that the team needs to add players who can knock down shots and fit in alongside the franchise's cornerstones, Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox.
"I think shooting, we can clearly acknowledge, will be a huge priority," McNair declared. "Length, athleticism, versatility &mdash; we've talked about all that as well. Obviously, you want the whole package, but shooting will be a big priority for us."
Grant most certainly checks those boxes. During his two years in Detroit, he has averaged 20.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.0 made treys and 1.1 blocks per game. He has shot over 37% from downtown on 4.5 attempts over the past four seasons and is a versatile, plus defender. As a stretch-4, Grant &mdash; who just turned 28 and is in the heart of his prime &mdash; could conceivably fit in well in the frontcourt alongside Sabonis, who likes to operate on the low block and is a good passer from the post. Moreover, Fox-Grant pick-and-rolls would be difficult to defend.&nbsp;
The issue in this potential trade is that Grant has just one season left on the three-year, $60 million deal he signed in 2020. However, as long as Grant is traded before Aug. 9, he is eligible to sign an extension with his new team for up to $112 million over four years. After previously spurning the Nuggets to sign with the Pistons, we know that Grant is not afraid to join a team that hasn't enjoyed recent success. Would he be willing to commit to Sacramento long-term? If so, a Big Three of Fox, Grant and Sabonis might be talented enough to finally push the Kings into the postseason.&nbsp;
For the Pistons, they would add Holmes (a quality center on a team-friendly contract) and enter next month's draft with 2 of the top 5 picks, which would allow them to add a pair of promising prospects to a core centered around Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes. 
Washington Wizards send Kyle Kuzma and the No. 10 overall pick to the Kings for the No. 4 pick, Justin Holiday and Terence Davis
After a disappointing end to his tenure as a Los Angeles Laker, Kuzma bounced back with a very productive season for the Wizards in 2021-22. He averaged 17.1 points and 1.9 made three-pointers while setting career-highs in rebounds (8.5), assists (3.5) and blocks (0.9) per game. He led the Wiz in double-doubles with 24 (which ranked tied for the sixth-most among all forwards in the NBA). Adding Kuzma's offensive versatility would provide Sacramento with some much-needed depth at forward. In addition, the Kings would still have a lottery pick, dropping back just six spots, which would allow them to add another young asset to the roster.&nbsp;
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The Wizards would likely entertain such a deal if they fell in love with a prospect &mdash; such as Keegan Murray, Jaden Ivey or Shaedon Sharpe &mdash; whom they feel relatively sure won't still be on the board at 10.
Kuz has two years left on his current contract but can opt out in the summer of 2023. However, he will be eligible to sign a four-year extension for up to $70 million this October if his $13 million player option for 2023-24 is declined.&nbsp;
A similar package featuring one of the Wizards' other young forwards (Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija or Corey Kispert) instead of Kuzma might also be feasible, depending on the value the Kings/Wizards place on the respective players.&nbsp;
Houston Rockets send the No. 3 overall pick and Eric Gordon to the Kings for the No. 4 pick, a (protected) future first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick, Richaun Holmes and Justin Holiday
Is it possible that Sacramento views Smith, Holmgren or Banchero as talented enough to make a substantial impact as a rookie? If so, would the team be willing to pony up sufficient capital to move up one spot?
The Kings would snag one of this draft's three most prized prospects in this hypothetical scenario. The 7-foot Holmgren is one of the most versatile prospects to enter the draft in recent history. Banchero possesses a freakish combination of size, strength and athleticism. Smith projects as a lethal stretch-4 who could fit in nicely alongside Sabonis.&nbsp;
Gordon is a respected, established veteran with just one year of guaranteed money left on his contract. He shot a scorching 41.2% from three-point territory this past season, the second-best mark of his career.&nbsp;
Such a deal would make sense for the Rockets if they feel whichever of the top-tier prospects that falls to them isn't significantly better than the next highest-ranked player on their board. During a post-lottery press conference last week, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone said Houston is <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1526739178557517824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1526739178557517824%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Farticles%2F10036145-rockets-open-to-trading-3rd-pick-in-2022-nba-draft-if-a-deal-makes-sense-gm-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">open to trading the No. 3 pick</a>.
"I'm definitely not gonna block them out," Stone <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1526739178557517824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1526739178557517824%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Farticles%2F10036145-rockets-open-to-trading-3rd-pick-in-2022-nba-draft-if-a-deal-makes-sense-gm-says">told reporters</a>. "If they wanna talk, I'm always available to talk... If it's the case that they're interested in doing something, we're always available to listen. If there's something that makes sense for both teams, something will get done."
Adding a quality young center in Holmes would give the Rockets leverage in negotiations with Christian Wood, or potentially enable them to trade him out of Houston.&nbsp;
New York Knicks trade Julius Randle and the No. 11 overall pick to the Kings for Harrison Barnes, the No. 4 pick and a second-round pick (No. 37 overall)&nbsp;
Randle playing alongside Sabonis could be viewed as a clunky fit, but Sabonis did play 80% of his minutes at center for Sacramento after arriving via the midseason trade. The pairing would undoubtedly be problematic defensively, but the duo would be dynamic on the offensive end. Over the past two seasons, Randle and Sabonis were 2 of only 4 NBA players to average double-digit boards and more than 5 assists per contest. (The other two players in this club were Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo.)
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After being named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2020-21, Randle's offensive inefficiency regressed dramatically this past season. In addition, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/julius-randle-and-the-knicks-should-part-ways-this-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the relationship between Randle and Knicks fans turned toxic</a> at various points during the year. Yet, even in a "down year," he averaged 20.1 points, 9.9 boards and 5.1 dimes per game. A fresh start in California might help Randle regain his All-Star form. Also, he is under team control for at least three more years (he has a player option for 2025-26), which means the Kings wouldn't have to worry about their key players entering free agency anytime soon.&nbsp;
From the Knicks' perspective, this move would allow them to jump up and snag a highly-touted prospect, possibly combo guard Jaden Ivey, who New York was rumored to be interested in. And, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/julius-randle-and-the-knicks-should-part-ways-this-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as I wrote last month</a>, moving Randle would enable the Knicks to insert Obi Toppin (who averaged 27.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.8 made three-pointers per game in April) into the starting lineup while also clearing Randle's contract off their books. Barnes will celebrate his 30th birthday next week, but is still playing at a high level and has just one year left on his current deal.&nbsp;
Atlanta Hawks trade John Collins and the No. 16 pick to the Kings for Harrison Barnes and the No. 4 pick
After signing a massive five-year contract worth $125 million last summer, Collins struggled with injuries and inconsistency in 2021-22. His disappointing production was one of the reasons Atlanta failed to meet lofty expectations this season. One year after advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hawks spent much of this past season below .500 and were easily eliminated by the Miami Heat in the first round.
Would they be willing to part way with Collins (and his contract) to jump 12 spots in the draft?&nbsp;
Much like the aforementioned Randle/Knicks deal, the Kings would have to decide if Collins could mesh with Sabonis and Fox.&nbsp;
Charlotte Hornets trade Gordon Hayward, the No. 13 pick and the No. 15 pick (via NOLA) to the Kings in exchange for Harrison Barnes, Maurice Harkless, Alex Len and the No. 4 pick
Attempting to determine Hayward's value league-wide is difficult. When healthy, he's been remarkably productive throughout his career. However, he's been plagued by injury issues and has missed 58 games since signing a four-year, $120 million pact with the Hornets in 2020. He has two years and $61.5 million left on his current contract, which also contains a 15% trade kicker.&nbsp;
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Tommy Beer highlights a number of possible trades that the Kings could execute to improve their roster this summer.

Breaking down 6 hypothetical trades for the Kings' No. 4 draft pick

HBO has renewed drama series "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty" for a second season.
Based on the book &ldquo;Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s&rdquo; by Jeff Pearlman, the series chronicles the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers. The 10-episode first season will conclude on Sunday, May 8.
This past Sunday&rsquo;s fifth episode delivered a series viewership high of 1.2 million viewers across platforms on premiere night, a 37% increase from the first episode.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a thrill to bring 'Winning Time' to life with Adam McKay, Max Borenstein, our phenomenal producing team, and this incredible cast," said Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming. "This series not only tells the riveting story of the Lakers&rsquo; rise, but is also a look back at a transformative era in basketball, celebrity, and the city of Los Angeles. We can&rsquo;t wait to see how this team will tell the next chapter of this dynasty.&rdquo;
The show has <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kareem-abduljabbar-bashes-hbos-winning-time-not-worth-watching" target="_blank" rel="noopener">received some criticism from former Lakers</a> such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mitch Kupchak and Gary Vitti, mainly over the inaccurate portrayal of Jerry West.
"I don't think it's worth watching," Abdul-Jabbar told BasketballNews.com last weekend. "That's all I have to say. It really depicts people that I know in a very negative light that is not accurate. I wouldn't bother watching it if you're a fan of the Lakers."
"Winning Time" has also drawn the ire of the NBA since HBO never got permission to use the league's trademarks (such as team logos).
&ldquo;Clearances to use NBA trademarks were not sought or granted and the league objects to any unauthorized use of its intellectual property,&rdquo; NBA spokesman Mike Bass told&nbsp;<a href="https://theathletic.com/3171879/2022/03/09/nba-objects-to-winning-time-trademark-use-but-legal-options-would-be-messy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic</a>.
The Lakers also put out a statement distancing themselves from the show: &ldquo;The Lakers have no comment as we are not supporting nor involved with this project.&rdquo;

HBO has renewed drama series "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty" for a second season.

HBO renews 'Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty' for Season 2

On March 18, 1995, Michael Jordan shocked the sports world by announcing that he was coming out of retirement and returning to the Chicago Bulls with a short-and-sweet fax that read: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m back.&rdquo;
Almost exactly 27 years later, Tom Brady gave us the 2022 version of this fax, announcing that he was coming out of retirement and returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a short-and-sweet tweet that concluded: &ldquo;Unfinished business LFG.&rdquo;
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These past two months I&rsquo;ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it&rsquo;s not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I&rsquo;m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business LFG <a href="https://t.co/U0yhRKVKVm">pic.twitter.com/U0yhRKVKVm</a>
&mdash; Tom Brady (@TomBrady) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomBrady/status/1503147141795045378?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Jordan sent his fax on a Saturday afternoon, taking attention away from the 1995 NCAA Tournament that had tipped off two days earlier. Brady sent his tweet on a Sunday afternoon, stealing the spotlight from the 2022 NCAA Tournament's Selection Sunday.
Rather than leaking the news anonymously or holding a press conference, both players took breaking the news of their return into their own hands. Jordan&rsquo;s agent, David Falk, has <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/12501628/michael-jordan-famous-back-fax-25-years-later" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that he wrote up several different press releases for Jordan to choose from, but MJ &ldquo;didn&rsquo;t like the feel of them... He said, &lsquo;I&rsquo;ll do it myself.&rsquo;"
Email wasn&rsquo;t popular yet, so Alyson Sadofsky, Falk's director of media services, couldn&rsquo;t send out a mass message; each fax had to be sent individually (which entailed making a cover sheet, sending the fax and waiting for a confirmation receipt). The fax was sent to local media in Chicago as well as national outlets such as the Associated Press, ESPN, The New York Times and The Washington Post, and it took two hours to inform every publication.
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Last month, Brady was frustrated when reporters leaked news of his (short-lived) retirement before he could announce his plans, so it&rsquo;s no surprise that the seven-time Super Bowl champion chose to speak directly to his fans when it came time to announce his return.
Using his iPhone, Brady posted the message on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, racking up more than 3.2 million likes combined. Immediately, it became the top story on ESPN. And just like Jordan&rsquo;s announcement transcended the sports world, Brady&rsquo;s tweet was covered by basically every major media outlet (including <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/tom-brady-returning-tampa-play-23rd-season-nfl-83427086" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC News</a>, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/13/sport/tom-brady-returns-tampa-bay-buccaneers/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a>, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/sports/tom-brady-coming-return-tampa-bay-weeks-after-retirement-announcement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/sports/football/tom-brady-returning-buccaneers.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/14/1086395502/tom-brady-called-an-audible-and-is-not-retiring-after-all" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NPR</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/american-football/60185291" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BBC</a> and <a href="https://apnews.com/f6d646a9109b591183836fbf593c0f2b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Associated Press</a>).
Jordan was retired for 528 days, missing the entire 1993-94 NBA season and most of the 1994-95 campaign as he played minor league baseball for the Birmingham Barons. Brady was retired just 40 days, and he started dropping hints about a possible comeback less than a week after he announced that he was hanging up his cleats.&nbsp;
Neither comeback announcement came as a complete surprise. After all, Jordan had resumed practicing with the Bulls in the weeks before his fax, and there had been rumblings about a possible comeback. Brady was asked about the possibility of playing again on his <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-go-with-tom-brady-larry-fitzgerald-and-jim-gray/id1584409759" target="_blank" rel="noopener">podcast</a> and responded: &ldquo;You never say never.&rdquo; This led to rampant speculation about a possible return, but it was far from certain. Even Bucs head coach Bruce Arians <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/bruce-arians-would-be-shocked-if-tom-brady-returned-to-nfl-in-2022-i-dont-see-it-happening/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">didn't think</a> Brady was coming back just a few weeks ago, saying, &ldquo;That would shock me&hellip; I don&rsquo;t see it happening.&rdquo;&nbsp;
All things considered, Brady&rsquo;s news was probably more shocking. Not only was his retirement so short-lived, but he&rsquo;s also 44 years old, whereas Jordan was 31 when he walked away. Like Brady, Jordan found it difficult to remain retired. After sitting out three seasons (from 1998 to 2000), a 38-year-old Jordan came out of retirement for a second time to join the Washington Wizards for two seasons.&nbsp;
In both sports, we&rsquo;ve seen that it's very difficult for legends to walk away from the game they love. In the NFL, Brady joins Brett Favre, Randy Moss, Deion Sanders, Reggie White, Ricky Williams, Randall Cunningham and his buddy Rob Gronkowski as players who came out of retirement. In the NBA, that list includes Jordan, George Mikan, Bob Cousy, Dave Cowens, Sidney Moncrief, Brandon Roy, Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Johnson among others.
On Sunday, Bucs fans got a taste of how Bulls fans must have felt in 1995. Few individuals have the ability to completely reverse a team&rsquo;s fortunes, but Jordan and Brady are obviously on that short list. Tampa fans were trying to talk themselves into Kyle Trask or Blaine Gabbert under center, but now they get a bonus year from the greatest quarterback of all-time and one more shot at a championship.&nbsp;
Following Brady&rsquo;s announcement, Tampa Bay&rsquo;s odds of winning the Super Bowl&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/gregauman/status/1503156153794113543" target="_blank" rel="noopener">went from</a> 25/1 to 8.5/1, giving the Buccaneers the third-best odds in the NFL behind only the Buffalo Bills (7/1) and Kansas City Chiefs (7.5/1). In 2021, Brady and the Bucs defeated the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, becoming the first team in NFL history to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy in their own stadium.
Last season, Brady was the NFL MVP runner-up, and he finished the year with 5,316 passing yards, 45 total touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He led the Bucs to a franchise-best 13-4 record and nearly pulled off a miraculous 24-point comeback win against the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round of the playoffs. However, the Rams kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired and went on to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl.
This will be Brady&rsquo;s age-45 season and his 23rd year in the NFL, as if this situation didn&rsquo;t have enough ties to Jordan. Now, Brady gets his own version of The Last Dance.

Alex Kennedy explores the similarities between Tom Brady's comeback tweet and Michael Jordan's legendary "I'm back" fax.