Nittany Lions

Two weeks after winning the women&rsquo;s NCAA national title, Paige Bueckers has taken her act to the WNBA.
The Dallas Wings picked the historic UConn guard to be their 1st overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft Monday night at The Shed in New York City.
Bueckers, who led the Huskies to their 12th national title, becomes the sixth player from the school to get drafted no.1 overall. She joins Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Maya Moore, and Breanna Stewart in the exclusive list.
Now, Bueckers will be teaming up with WNBA All-Star Arike Ogunbowale to form a dynamic backcourt for the Dallas Wings as they try to rebuild and get back to championship contention as soon as possible.
The draft also highlighted the league's growing international presence, with French center Dominique Malonga selected second by the Seattle Storm and Lithuanian guard Justė Jocytė picked fifth by the expansion team Golden State Valkyries.​
USC star Kiki Iriafen and Notre Dame mainstay Sonia Citron rounded up the top 5 picks of the first round after they were selected by the Washington Mystics.
Check out the complete recap of the draft below:
<h4>First Round</h4>
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Dallas Wings &ndash; Paige Bueckers (G, UConn)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Seattle Storm &ndash; Dominique Malonga (C, France)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Washington Mystics &ndash; Sonia Citron (G, Notre Dame)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Washington Mystics &ndash; Kiki Iriafen (F, USC)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Golden State Valkyries &ndash; Justė Jocytė (G, Lithuania)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Washington Mystics &ndash; Georgia Amoore (G, Virginia Tech)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Connecticut Sun &ndash; Aneesah Morrow (F, LSU)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Connecticut Sun &ndash; Saniya Rivers (G, NC State)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Los Angeles Sparks &ndash; Sarah Ashlee Barker (G, Alabama)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Chicago Sky &ndash; Aj&scaron;a Sivka (F, Slovenia)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Chicago Sky &ndash; Hailey Van Lith (G, TCU)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Dallas Wings &ndash; Aziaha James (G, NC State)​</li>
</ol>
Note: The Las Vegas Aces forfeited their first-round pick due to a league rules violation.
<h4>Second Round</h4>
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Las Vegas Aces &ndash; Aaliyah Nye (G, Alabama)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Dallas Wings &ndash; Madison Scott (F, Ole Miss)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Minnesota Lynx &ndash; Anastasiia Olairi Kosu (F, UMMC Ekaterinburg)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Chicago Sky &ndash; Maddy Westbeld (F, Notre Dame)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Golden State Valkyries &ndash; Shyanne Sellers (G, Maryland)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Atlanta Dream &ndash; Te-Hina Paopao (G, South Carolina)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Indiana Fever &ndash; Makayla Timpson (F, Florida State)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Indiana Fever &ndash; Bree Hall (G, South Carolina)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Los Angeles Sparks &ndash; Sania Feagin (F, South Carolina)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Chicago Sky &ndash; Aicha Coulibaly (G, Texas A&amp;M)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Washington Mystics &ndash; Lucy Olsen (G, Iowa)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Minnesota Lynx &ndash; Dalayah Daniels (F, Washington)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Connecticut Sun &ndash; Rayah Marshall (F, USC)</li>
</ol>
<h4>Third Round</h4>
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Los Angeles Sparks &ndash; Serena Sundell (G, Kansas State)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Dallas Wings &ndash; JJ Quinerly (G, West Virginia)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Los Angeles Sparks &ndash; Liatu King (F, Notre Dame)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Seattle Storm &ndash; Madison Conner (G, TCU)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Golden State Valkyries &ndash; Kaitlyn Chen (G, UConn)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Dallas Wings &ndash; Aaronette Vonleh (F, Baylor)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Washington Mystics &ndash; Zaay Green (G, Alabama)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Indiana Fever &ndash; Yvonne Ejim (F, Gonzaga)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Seattle Storm &ndash; Jordan Hobbs (G, Michigan)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Las Vegas Aces &ndash; Harmoni Turner (G, Harvard)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Atlanta Dream &ndash; Taylor Thierry (G, Ohio State)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Minnesota Lynx &ndash; Aubrey Griffin (F, UConn)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">New York Liberty &ndash; Adja Kane (F, Landerneau Bretagne Basket)​</li>
</ol>

The Dallas Wings picked Paige Bueckers to be their 1st overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft Monday night at The Shed in New York City.

2025 WNBA Draft: Paige Bueckers goes no.1 to the Dallas Wings

The women&rsquo;s NCAA Tournament field is set and now the fun begins with 68 teams vying for the national championship and cutting down the nets in Dallas.
There&rsquo;s a new format to March Madness, with two regionals in Seattle and Greenville, South Carolina, instead of the usual four. Here&rsquo;s a look at what could happen over the next few weeks. This guidance will be 100% accurate &mdash; until the first round tips off on Friday.
CHALK RULES
A No. 1 seed has won the national championship the past 10 tournaments and 14 of 15. The only time that didn&rsquo;t happen was in 2011 when coach Gary Blair led Texas A&amp;M to the title as a No. 2 seed. Since 2005, at least two of the No. 1s have made the Final Four every year except for 2016. This year&rsquo;s overwhelming betting favorite is top-ranked and defending national champion South Carolina, the only undefeated team in the tourney.
LACK OF MAJOR UPSETS
There is a feeling that parity continues to find its way into women&rsquo;s basketball with 19 losses by top 10 teams in the AP Top 25 poll to unranked schools. Still, it&rsquo;s hard to pick against the top teams in the tournament as no 14 or 15 seed has ever won a game (the women&rsquo;s tournament was the first to see a 16 seed upset a top seed when Harvard beat Stanford 71-67 in 1998). Two came close last season with Jackson State falling late to LSU and UT Arlington hanging tough with Iowa State.&nbsp;
BEWARE THE 12
No. 12 seeds have had success, just like in the men&rsquo;s bracket the last few seasons, beating some of the 5s. At least one 12 has made it out of the first round in four of the last five tournaments, including two last season.
And now the picks:
GREENVILLE REGION 1
Analysis: South Carolina won&rsquo;t have to leave the state to reach the Final Four if it wins, playing its first two games at home and then traveling 90 minutes to Greenville for the regional. The Gamecocks (32-0) have been tested this season and still found a way to win every game. Dawn Staley&rsquo;s squad is looking to be the 10th team to finish a season unbeaten by winning a national championship. Second-seeded Maryland and No. 4 UCLA both played South Carolina during the season, giving them familiarity if there&rsquo;s a rematch.
Players to watch: Aliyah Boston, South Carolina; Cherita Daugherty, Southern Utah; Diamond Miller, Maryland; Charisma Osborne, UCLA.
Bracket Buster: Sixth-seed Creighton is the team most likely to spoil brackets. Last season as a 10-seed the team made the regional final before falling to South Carolina. Host Notre Dame is missing star Olivia Miles and the third-seeded Irish could fall to the Bluejays.
First-round picks: South Carolina, South Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Creighton, Notre Dame, Arizona, Maryland.
Second-round picks: South Carolina, UCLA, Creighton, Maryland.
Regional semifinal picks: South Carolina, Maryland.
Regional champion pick: South Carolina.
GREENVILLE REGION 2
Analysis: Indiana has been the second-best team most of the season behind South Carolina and earned the first No. 1 seed in school history. Led by Mackenzie Holmes in the middle and a dominant defense, the Hoosiers will be looking to reach their first Final Four. There&rsquo;s a lot of star power in the region including Villanova&rsquo;s Maddy Siegrist, LSU&rsquo;s Angel Reese and Utah&rsquo;s Alissa Pili.
Other players to watch: Leigha Brown, Michigan; Kaitlyn Chen, Princeton; Charlisse Leger-Walker, Washington State.
Bracket Buster: UNLV is one of three 30-win teams in the country, yet the Lady Rebels haven&rsquo;t faced many teams as good as Michigan this year. Florida Gulf Coast knocked off Virginia Tech as a 12 seed last season and could do it again this time if they beat Washington State.
First-round picks: Indiana, Oklahoma State, Florida Gulf Coast, Villanova, Michigan, LSU, Princeton, Utah.
Second-round picks: Indiana, Villanova, Michigan, Utah.
Regional semifinal picks: Indiana, Utah.
Regional champion pick: Indiana.
SEATTLE REGION 3
Analysis: No one had a worse string of injuries than UConn this season and yet Geno Auriemma has the Huskies playing their best basketball heading into the tournament. They&rsquo;ve made every Final Four since 2008 and there&rsquo;s no reason to think that streak can&rsquo;t continue if star guard Azzi Fudd keeps getting healthier. Virginia Tech is the one seed and has had a stellar year behind Elizabeth Kitley.
Other players to watch: Ashley Joens, Iowa State; Myah Selland, South Dakota State; Jacy Sheldon, Ohio State.
Bracket Buster: No. 9 seed South Dakota State ran through the Summit League and also beat Louisville and Kansas State this season. The Jackrabbits have enough talent to put a scare into the Hokies in the second round. No. 12 seed Toledo beat Michigan earlier this season and has won its last 16 games. Iowa State could be victim No. 17.
First-round picks: Virginia Tech, South Dakota State, Iowa State, Tennessee, North Carolina, Ohio State, Baylor, UConn.
Second-round picks: Virginia Tech, Iowa State, North Carolina, UConn.
Regional semifinal picks: Virginia Tech, UConn..
Regional champion pick: UConn.
SEATTLE REGION 4
Analysis: Stanford is in its usual spot as a No. 1 seed but has looked vulnerable this season, struggling on offense at times. The second-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes have had no problem scoring and are one of the hottest teams after winning the Big Ten Tournament behind star Caitlin Clark. No. 4 Texas was picked in the preseason top five before struggling with injuries and fitting transfers in. Vic Schaefer has had a lot of success in March and this could be another one of his great coaching jobs.
Other players to watch: Cameron Brink, Stanford; Rori Harmon, Texas; Ta&rsquo;Niya Latson, Florida State; Hailey Van Lith, Louisville.
Bracket Buster: No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee has won 10 straight games and had an early season victory over Louisville so Colorado should beware. Drake has been playing well lately, sweeping its way to a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title. Louisville has been playing better lately, but needs to be sharp against the 12th-seeded Bulldogs.
First-round picks: Stanford, Gonzaga, Louisville, Texas, Middle Tennessee, Duke, Florida State, Iowa.
Second-round picks: Stanford, Texas, Duke, Iowa.
Regional final picks: Stanford, Iowa.
Regional champion pick: Stanford.
THE FINAL FOUR
Analysis: There should be some familiarity in the Final Four, which will likely see three teams from last season&rsquo;s national semifinals returning. South Carolina will likely face Stanford in a rematch of a November game that the Gamecocks won in overtime while UConn will likely face Indiana.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Pick: South Carolina and UConn will meet again and the Gamecocks will win back-to-back titles.
Analysis: The teams played in February and the Huskies gave the Gamecocks one of their stiffest tests of the season. UConn didn&rsquo;t have Fudd for that game (knee injury). Fudd is back, but she won&rsquo;t be enough for the Huskies to stop the Gamecocks from becoming only the fourth different school to win consecutive titles (USC, UConn and Tennessee).

Here’s a look at what could happen over the next few weeks in the 2023 Women's NCAA Tournament.

Chalk rules in women’s March Madness bracket picks

Keep track of where the top 2022 undrafted free agents are headed after draft night.

2022 NBA UDFA Tracker: Latest news on undrafted free agents

Following last year's inaugural Tampa Bay Pro Combine, several participants &mdash; including Terry Taylor, Brandon Williams, Micah Potter and Jordan Goodwin &mdash; turned their dreams into reality by signing deals and playing in the NBA in their rookie season.
Now, the Tampa Bay Pro Combine is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/tampa-bay-pro-combine-returns-with-24-nba-draft-prospects" target="_blank" rel="noopener">back for another year</a>, and our new group of participants is looking to find the same level of success. The TBPC will be held from April 26 to April 29 at Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus in Wesley Chapel, Florida.
We are providing 24 draft-eligible prospects an opportunity to audition in front of NBA scouts, compete in a slam-dunk contest and three-point shootout on April 28, and play in a doubleheader on April 29.
NBA scouts and personnel will be allowed to attend workouts on April 26 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST and April 27 from 9:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. EST.
Here is the list of participants:
Alex Barcello, BYU
Evan Battey, Colorado
Luka Brajkovic, Davidson
Savion Flagg, Sam Houston State
Michael Flowers, Washington State
John Fulkerson, Tennessee
John Harrar, Penn State
Noah Horchler, Providence
Nate Johnson, Xavier
Abu Kigab, Boise State
Kimani Lawrence, Arizona State
Kalob Ledoux, Santa Cruz Warriors
Davion Mintz, Kentucky
Taze Moore, Houston
Justyn Mutts, Virginia Tech
Tyler Polley, UConn
Taz Sherman, West Virginia
Jaylen Sims, UNC Wilmington
Mark Smith, Kansas State
Amadou Sow, UC Santa Barbara
Au'Diese Toney, Arkansas
Davion Warren, Texas Tech
Marcus Weathers, SMU
Jacob Young, Oregon
In addition to the 24 invitees, we will also be welcoming 12 additional draft-eligible prospects who will participate in workouts and games. Our video partner, <a href="https://event.veo.co/">Veo</a>, will record the action and distribute it via BasketballNews.com's YouTube channel, and <a href="https://instatsport.com/basketball">InStat</a> will also provide video and data from the event.
The 2022 Tampa Bay Pro Combine is presented by Florida's Sports Coast.

The 2022 Tampa Bay Pro Combine will be held from April 26 to April 29 at Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus in Wesley Chapel, Florida.

2022 Tampa Bay Pro Combine announces list of participants

Hey yo. You know exactly what time of year this is. Now, for the purposes of this adventure, let&rsquo;s clarify a few things.
<ol>
<li>This is not a top-10. The headline does not read Top-10 &ndash; just 10.</li>
<li>Additionally, this is not necessarily a ranking of said 10. Just 10 awesome moments that&rsquo;ll make you nostalgic for previous NCAA Tournaments that may project what we we&rsquo;re about to endure with this month&rsquo;s March Madness. Not everything needs to turn into a Twitter-replies-section debate for us to have a good time.</li>
<li>If your favorite moment isn&rsquo;t here, it&rsquo;s gonna be OK. Life will go on.</li>
</ol>
Good? Good! Now, let&rsquo;s play with some emotions.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
March 20, 2010: Ali Farokhmanesh💦 It&rsquo;s been 11 years since Northern Iowa (+11) took down Kansas to reach the Sweet 16! &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t be serious with that shot!&rdquo;<a href="https://t.co/Qf3MWNY4xH">pic.twitter.com/Qf3MWNY4xH</a>
&mdash; PointsBet Iowa (@PointsBetIA) <a href="https://twitter.com/PointsBetIA/status/1373262014554894339?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2021</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t be serious with that shot!&rdquo;
Kansas has made literally every NCAA Tournament since 1990, and every single time, they&rsquo;ve been the higher seed in round one. As a result, they&rsquo;ve had some embarrassing losses, and because they&rsquo;re a blue blood, some of us laugh at them every time. Arguably the best and ballsiest example of this came in 2010.
Kansas was a No. 1 seed in their region &ndash; as they normally are &ndash; facing ninth-seeded Northern Iowa in round two. Northern Iowa led 63-62 while breaking Kansas&rsquo; press with 42 seconds to go. Northern Iowa quickly broke said press, landing the ball in the hands of a senior guard named Ali Farokhmanesh.
As 37 seconds remained &ndash; with 30 on the shot clock &ndash; you&rsquo;d figure he&rsquo;d hold and either get fouled or just milk the clock. But his eyes made love to the net about 24-feet-away, and once Kansas realized he was actually going to take the shot, it was too late. Northern Iowa won 69-67, reaching the Sweet Sixteen for the only time in program history.&nbsp;
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Five years ago today, RJ Hunter knocked his dad (and coach) off his stool with a game-winning three 🔥 (via @MarchMadness)<a href="https://t.co/XpbMLrFxVM">pic.twitter.com/XpbMLrFxVM</a>
&mdash; Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1240712661957931008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2020</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;What are they doing?&rdquo;
Baylor led Georgia State 56-54 with 14.1 seconds to go in 2015. Ron Hunter, Georgia State&rsquo;s head coach, tore his Achilles while celebrating the team's Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship days before the NCAA Tournament, so he had been coaching from a stool. His son, RJ Hunter, was the best player on the team and, naturally, had the ball in his hands for the team&rsquo;s last possession. It was an objectively terrible possession, which caused the commentator to ask aloud, &ldquo;What are they doing?&rdquo;
Hunter basically pulled a near 30-foot three-point-attempt with around four seconds left, and made it, giving the 14th-seeded Panthers an upset win over the third-seeded Baylor Bears in round one. More importantly, the stool-sitting Ron Hunter fell on his face in celebration on the sideline.&nbsp;
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On this day 24 years ago, No. 16 Harvard upset No. 1 Stanford. This was the first major upset in tournament history!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarchMadness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MarchMadness</a> <a href="https://t.co/ij0qnl4oiz">pic.twitter.com/ij0qnl4oiz</a>
&mdash; NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessWBB/status/1503434534854926336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The Real First Time
Before UMBC stunned Virginia in 2018, becoming the first No. 16 to defeat a No. 1 in the men&rsquo;s tournament, the Harvard women&rsquo;s squad made history 20 years earlier. The Crimson went 22-4 during the regular season, and ran into a Pac-10 heavyweight in Stanford, who had been in the previous three Final Fours and won two national championships earlier in the decade.
The win was not only impressive because Harvard matched Stanford blow for blow all night long, but they won in Stanford.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Craziest comeback in March Madness history? In 2016, Texas A&amp;M rallied back from down 12 with 36 seconds left to force OT vs Northern Iowa Final: Texas A&amp;M 92 UNI 88<a href="https://t.co/awYiihgB9K">pic.twitter.com/awYiihgB9K</a>
&mdash; Barstool Bench Mob (@stoolbenchmob) <a href="https://twitter.com/stoolbenchmob/status/1443291894302318593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2021</a></blockquote>
Alright, let&rsquo;s play for real
As great as Northern Iowa&rsquo;s win over Kansas was in 2010, their 2016 loss against Texas A&amp;M was equally as impressive. Northern Iowa, as the No. 11 seed, led third-seeded A&amp;M 69-57 with 44 seconds to go en route to another Sweet Sixteen. And then, an A&amp;M squad, led by a couple seniors you may recognize named Alex Caruso and Danuel House, made the most ridiculous comeback you may have ever seen in such a short span, forcing overtime, and eventually winning 92-88 after multiple OTs.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
DUNK CITY! 8 years ago today No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast made its <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarchMadness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MarchMadness</a> debut &amp; beat No. 2 Georgetown! <a href="https://t.co/HL83ubO7qm">pic.twitter.com/HL83ubO7qm</a>
&mdash; Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1374026020756537344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2021</a></blockquote>
Dunk City
The first time some of us heard of Florida Gulf Coast was during their 2013 NCAA Tournament run, which earned them the nickname Dunk City. Why? Because these dudes were catching bodies on a seemingly improbable run to the Sweet Sixteen. FGC wasn&rsquo;t even a Division I school until 2007, but as a 15-seed in 2013, they tomahawked their way to a 78-68 victory over No. 2 Georgetown &ndash; Otto Porter&rsquo;s last college game &ndash; and continued raising hell against No. 7 San Diego State, alley-ooping their way to an 81-71 win.
They lost to No. 3 and inner-state foe Florida 62-50, but made a memorable enough run that people still call them Dunk City to this day. They even pissed off Joakim Noah, who was in attendance, before bowing out gracefully. Thankfully, Kevin Harlan was the perfect broadcaster to take us on this experience. If there&rsquo;s anything to bring in the casual observer, it&rsquo;s a bunch of dudes you&rsquo;ve never heard of just unexpectedly yamming on people.
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Three years ago today, Mississippi State stunned unbeaten UConn in overtime at the Final Four. The Huskies had won 111 straight games 🤯 <a href="https://t.co/D39SdrhdnW">pic.twitter.com/D39SdrhdnW</a>
&mdash; ESPN (@espn) <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/1244991741431857153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2020</a></blockquote>
No room for 112
UConn had 111 straight wins heading into the 2017 Final Four, including the previous four-straight NCAA titles. A team including future WNBA&rsquo;ers Kia Nurse, Gabby Williams, Katie Lou Samuelson, Napheesa Collier, Crystal Dangerfield and Saniya Chong led UConn to wins of 116-55, 94-64, 86-71 and 90-52 heading into their match-up with Mississippi State. The Bulldogs had just gotten by Baylor in overtime in their Elite Eight game.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Mississippi State &ndash; highlighted by future WNBA first rounders Teaira McCowan and Victoria Vivans &ndash; not only kept it close, but dragged UConn into overtime for the first time all season. Tied at 64 with 12 seconds left, Dominique Dillingham brought the ball up the floor, and when met with a double team, found guard Moran William around 30-feet from the basket at the top of the key with less than five seconds left. William faked a pass left, quickly knifed toward the right elbow, pulled up from outside the paint and splashed the game-winner, ending UConn&rsquo;s streak and sending Miss. St. to the national championship, where they lost to South Carolina.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
A GAME FOR THE AGES! Jalen Suggs drains a heave for No. 1 Gonzaga to take down No. 11 UCLA and advance to the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NationalChampionship?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NationalChampionship</a>! (via <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSSports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CBSSports</a>) <a href="https://t.co/j5IYwYHZsL">pic.twitter.com/j5IYwYHZsL</a>
&mdash; Sports Illustrated (@SInow) <a href="https://twitter.com/SInow/status/1378546005839282183?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Insert your bad bank pun here
Last year&rsquo;s tournament had a different vibe due to the lack of crowds, but one of the most memorable moments came in the Final Four. No. 1 seed Gonzaga and No. 11 seed UCLA were in overtime during their national semifinal matchup. Johnny Juzang, who is back with UCLA this season, made a game-tying layup with 3.3 seconds left, putting this at 90 each.
Current Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs quickly got the inbound, sprinted the ball up the floor, pulled from a couple steps beyond half-court and banked in the game-winner to send them to the National Championship game with a 31-0 record. Like Mississippi State, they lost in the title game, but hell, at least they got there.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Kris Jenkins called game 🤯 Four years ago today, Jenkins gave Nova its first national championship since '85 <a href="https://t.co/B1uopP2I84">pic.twitter.com/B1uopP2I84</a>
&mdash; Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1246463363539963905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2020</a></blockquote>

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Okay, maybe this is &ldquo;The Shot&rdquo;
If anything deserves to be dubbed &ldquo;The Shot,&rdquo; it might be this one. It was so good and timely that we&rsquo;ve forgotten how sick Marcus Paige&rsquo;s was seconds before.
Villanova and North Carolina faced off in the 2016 National Title game, which had one of the illest finishes ever. Paige, with nine seconds left, barely received a pass while on the right wing. With seven seconds, he rose up, while double teamed, and double clutched, making a game-tying three, forcing a 74-74 score.
Villanova, with 4.7 seconds left, inbounded the ball to Ryan Arcidiacono, who found Kris Jenkins open at NBA-range above the key, and drilled home a game-winning three as time expired to win the title. Additionally, we got the best-timed confetti shot in sports history (PTSD warning).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
March 30th, 2018 🗓 Two years ago today, Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale hit this CLUTCH game-winner with 1 second left in OT to end UConn's undefeated season 🔥 (via <a href="https://twitter.com/espn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@espn</a>) | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OTD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OTD</a><a href="https://t.co/X3IoK4dvw0">pic.twitter.com/X3IoK4dvw0</a>
&mdash; FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) <a href="https://twitter.com/FDSportsbook/status/1244655717929357313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2020</a></blockquote>
Mamba Mentality&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s really hard to have a better Final Four than Arike Ogunbowale did in 2018.
Many of the same UConn women mentioned earlier were back for their 2018 run, which included a match-up with Notre Dame in the Final Four. Ogunbowale missed a free throw in overtime to make it a 90-86 game, allowing for Crystal Dangerfield to hit a game-tying three. Notre Dame struggled to find Ogunbowale due to UConn&rsquo;s pressure, but eventually did with eight seconds left. She dribbled right, got the mismatch with the bigger Naphessa Collier, crossed over, had enough space and sunk the game-winner with one second to spare. Notre Dame won 91-89.
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ARIKE OGUNBOWALE CALLED GAME. FOR THE TITLE. (via @ncaawbb) <a href="https://t.co/EtY7HHq41z">pic.twitter.com/EtY7HHq41z</a>
&mdash; Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/980600569373982720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Then, in the National Championship, Notre Dame drew Mississippi State. Tied 58-58 with eight seconds left, Ogunbowale forced a turnover and began pushing up the floor before Notre Dame regained possession with five seconds left, and called a timeout with three seconds to go. Off the inbound, the Fighting Irish found Ogunbowale, who hit the game-winner as time expired from a very similar spot to the one from two days prior. It&rsquo;s one of the coldest weekends a ballplayer could ever have.
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Lorenzo Charles' game-winning dunk gave <a href="https://twitter.com/PackMensBball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PackMensBball</a> a National Championship and left Jim Valvano looking for a hug. <a href="https://t.co/lXyyNyyiUS">pic.twitter.com/lXyyNyyiUS</a>
&mdash; CBS Sports (@CBSSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSSports/status/1503404336524668929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2022</a></blockquote>
The Dunk
Younger generations might be more familiar with Jimmy V the week as opposed to Jimmy V the coach, but Jim Valvano and the North Carolina State Wolfpack shocked the world around this time nearly 40 years ago. NC State was a sixth-seed and opposite of a top-seeded Houston team that was engineered by Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.
Tied at 52, NC State was dribbling out the clock to hold for the final possession. As Houston inched closer to forcing a turnover, guard Dereck Whittenburg had to heave one with three seconds left well beyond 30-feet. Noticing it was going to be an airball, Lorenzo Charles got into position, rose up, caught and dunked the ball as time expired, giving NC State their first and only title.&nbsp;
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As basketball fans get pumped for March Madness, Bryan Fonseca looks back at some epic moments from past NCAA Tournaments.

March Madness: 10 historic moments you'll want to watch again

70+ former and current Suns employees have come out against Robert Sarver for being racist and misogynistic during his 17+ years as owner of the team.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/baxter/status/1456290365791559686?s=21">Baxter Holmes/ESPN</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;The report from Holmes is a scathing account of alleged racism and sexism throughout the Suns' workplace, with specific instances of poor conduct from Sarver. Sarver and the Suns, including general manager James Jones, have <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-reportedly-preparing-story-accusing-suns-owner-robert-sarver-of-racism-sexism-and-sexual-harassment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denied the allegations</a>.
Holmes writes that the Suns owner used racial slurs towards former head coach Earl Watson, as well as other members of the organization. He also details accounts of misogyny and sexual harrassment from Sarver himself, and a widespread neglect of the work environment. When female employees reported complaints of sexual harrassment and abuse to HR, the organization often did little or nothing in response.
"It wrecked my life," said a female former employee. "I was contemplating suicide."
The NBA will no doubt take this matter intensely seriously and will investigate whether action against him is required.

70+ former and current Suns employees have come out against Robert Sarver for being racist and misogynistic during his 17+ years as owner of the team.

Suns owner Robert Sarver accused of racism and misogyny

Aaron Nesmith&rsquo;s rookie season didn&rsquo;t end the way he wanted.&nbsp;
Downed at the hands of the star-studded Brooklyn Nets in five games, the Boston Celtics were a first-round exit, leading to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-boston-celtics-unprecedented-front-office-overhaul-gives-brad-stevens-the-keys" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a number of organizational changes</a> this offseason. But nine days after the team was eliminated from contention, the 21-year-old made sure that his summer got off to an uplifting start &ndash; buying a new car for his mother, Erine.&nbsp;
He got the idea during the Celtics' game against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Jan. 25, while taking a quick walk on the sidelines.
&ldquo;It was when we had no fans, and there was a Kia on the floor,&rdquo; Nesmith told BasketballNews.com in a phone interview. &ldquo;I remember I checked out of the game, and I was walking to the designated area they had for us where we could take our masks off. And they had the white version of the Kia Sorrento there. I think that is a really nice car. It was the model that my mom likes.&rdquo;
Nesmith&rsquo;s mother had been driving the same vehicle for the past 15 years, so Aaron decided to buy her that same Kia Sorrento he laid eyes on, but in Crystal Beige. Setting up the surprise wasn&rsquo;t too difficult, especially since he was able to get his father, Bernie, in on the fun.
By the time Kia brought the car to the family&rsquo;s hometown of Charleston, SC, Aaron had it all planned out. After grabbing a bite to eat, he dropped her off at home, while he and his dad secretly went to the dealership to get a decorative bow. Bernie returned to the house early and told Erine that Aaron was going to meet them to go to dinner, and when Aaron pulled up, she went outside and saw that there was a brand new car in the driveway.
&ldquo;It was a dream come true,&rdquo; Nesmith said. &ldquo;Growing up and wanting to play basketball, every kid also wants to do something special for their parents. Everything that my mom's done for me, she doesn't really get any gifts... It's really awesome. To see her smile puts a smile on my face.&rdquo;
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This is awesome. Celtics rookie Aaron Nesmith surprised his mom with a new car 🙏 <a href="https://twitter.com/aaronnesmith24?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@aaronnesmith24</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSCeltics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBCSCeltics</a><a href="https://t.co/5ZM7giLRyC">pic.twitter.com/5ZM7giLRyC</a>
&mdash; Dime (@DimeUPROXX) <a href="https://twitter.com/DimeUPROXX/status/1403423583636910083?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Nesmith felt indebted to her. An early-riser, Aaron woke up at 6 a.m. to work out when he was in high school, and this continued when he was going through the pre-draft process less than a year ago. Erine would always roll out of bed 45 minutes earlier, just so that he could eat a homemade breakfast instead of a bowl of cereal.
&ldquo;She's always on me about taking my vitamins and making sure I eat healthy,&rdquo; Nesmith said. &ldquo;She's always on me to try to help me be the best person that I can be, and same goes for my brother (Eddie) with academics and what he wants to achieve, so I just wanted to be able to give back to the effort that she puts in for her boys.&rdquo;
The Nesmiths are a family that values higher education. Eddie just finished studying Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University, while Aaron majored in Human and Organizational Development at Vanderbilt, a program focusing on business and marketing. Growing up, however, Aaron had a passion for math.
&ldquo;It was always a direct answer &ndash; you either get it right or you get it wrong &ndash; so I always kinda liked math for that,&rdquo; Nesmith said. &ldquo;There was no room for interpretation (laughs).&rdquo;
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The 2020-21 NBA season, on the other hand, was very open to interpretation &ndash; especially for a rookie class that was thrown into the fire instead of going through the usual months of preparation with a summer league and proper preseason. Nesmith joined a Celtics team that would go on to battle setback after setback.
&ldquo;When the season started, Coach Brad Stevens told us to be ready to hit curveballs. Because the way the season was set up, anything could happen,&rdquo; Nesmith said. "For my rookie class, we had to hit a couple curveballs before even making it to the NBA. The draft got pushed back twice, two separate days, we didn't have a normal pre-draft process... From the get-go with this NBA journey, it was pretty much hitting curveballs.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I was pretty much ready for anything that could be thrown at me. My team individually, we got hit pretty hard by COVID and had a almost a week stretch where we had only seven players available. So really, just waking up and expecting anything, [it was about] being ready for that... Whenever I work out early in the morning, it's so that when my name is called, I'm ready and I'm not caught off guard. [I was] just pretty much waiting for my name to be called.&rdquo;
Going into Year 2, Nesmith has had more curveballs hurled at him &ndash; initially in the form of former Celtics president Danny Ainge&rsquo;s dismissal and the subsequent promotion of his first-year head coach, Stevens, assuming Ainge&rsquo;s position.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I mean, I definitely didn't see it coming,&rdquo; Nesmith said. &ldquo;But I think it was great for Brad Stevens and his journey going forward. He's a great basketball mind. I think the Boston Celtics are in great hands with him moving up into the position that he took.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I owe [Danny] a lot. He believed in me, and he picked me in last year's draft, so I'll be forever grateful for that. Even after the last game, he came to me and congratulated me on the season and the turnaround that I had from the beginning to the end. So I thank him for believing in me, even in the beginning where I had a rough start and he continued to believe in me, continued to give me advice even 'til when it started to turn around for me.&rdquo;
Stevens&rsquo; promotion meant a vacancy at head coach, and in turn led to the hiring of Brooklyn Nets associate head coach and longtime assistant Ime Udoka. Though the conversations have been brief, Nesmith has gotten to know him, and learned that Udoka lived in Charleston at one point of his life.
&ldquo;[He&rsquo;s a] players coach. He seems like he's a big development guy, really cares for his guys,&rdquo; Nesmith said of Udoka. &ldquo;He wants to win. He's out there coaching with Team USA because he loves developing guys and he loves being around high-level basketball players. So, I'm excited to get to work with him just 'cause you can see how much he loves the game.&rdquo;
In addition, since Kemba Walker was dealt to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Nesmith will have some new teammates in Boston. Budding big man Moses Brown is coming to town along with veteran forward Al Horford, a Celtics fan favorite who will be back for his second stint with the franchise.
&ldquo;(Laughs) Mhm, that's what I've heard,&rdquo; Nesmith said. &ldquo;I'm excited to meet him... I watched him growing up some, but the thing that I think will help me the most is just being able to watch how he conducts himself and the way that he approaches the game mentally more than anything. He's been in the NBA for so long. He seems like he's a really good leader, so I'm really excited to be able to work with him.&rdquo;
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This was another good game from Aaron Nesmith. He's figuring things out. He hit three triples, but this was my favorite play. Nesmith misses from deep in the corner. Then watch him bust back to make sure Zach LaVine doesn't get an easy layup. This is part of how he'll earn time. <a href="https://t.co/d7WSc3L7hH">pic.twitter.com/d7WSc3L7hH</a>
&mdash; Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/KeithSmithNBA/status/1354084314963714050?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Making up for lost time, Nesmith is excited to be playing for the Celtics in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in a few weeks. He sees it as an opportunity to keep his individual momentum from last year going, and a chance to expand on some of the work he&rsquo;s put in over this current offseason.
&ldquo;To be able to play five-on-five again, in a game setting, bringing out the competitive juices &ndash; I just love playing and winning,&rdquo; Nesmith said. &ldquo;Even though it's not a ring ring, we still get a tournament and we still have to declare the winner at the end, so now that's the current objective: to win that.&rdquo;
When asked to evaluate his rookie year, Nesmith considered himself &ldquo;definitely happy.&rdquo; He is grateful that he had the opportunity to compete against Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and the high-level players the Celtics had, and credits all the veterans who were on the team for their advice and passing knowledge onto him.
&ldquo;I'm ready to do it again,&rdquo; an eager Nesmith said of his upcoming second season. &ldquo;The thing that sticks with me the most [from my rookie year] is just how much you have to give 110% every day, mentally and physically &ndash; 'cause everybody's really good at this game. Everybody works to perfect their craft, so how hard can you outwork the person next to you or in the room that you can't see?&nbsp;
&ldquo;So every day, you've got to go in and give it your all. Even on an off-night &ndash; we play so many games &ndash; you still have to get up just like everybody else does, tie your shoes just like everybody else does and go out there and play as hard as you can. Or else, you're not gonna win.&rdquo;
Nesmith quickly learned to expect the unexpected at the pro level, with &ldquo;the roller coaster of playing and not playing&rdquo; acting as his most difficult adjustment. On the court, his role with the Celtics was much different than it was with the Commodores, too.
A standout at Vanderbilt, Nesmith led the team in scoring (23.0 points per game) his sophomore year prior to a season-ending foot injury. He touched the ball a ton, and put it in the bucket with ease, notably with his scorching 52.2% clip from deep on over eight attempts per game. The &lsquo;Dores depended on him to be their primary team leader in many different facets.
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When he got to the pros, that was no longer the case. Coming off the bench in a much-reduced role than what he was used to in Nashville, Nesmith had to find other ways to make an impact for his new squad &ndash; going hard on the defensive end, diving for loose balls, making hustle plays &ndash; when the starters needed an extra push. &nbsp;And in those times where he was on the floor with Tatum and Brown, he picked up on their tendencies.
&ldquo;It definitely helps that they're on my side. I would rather be playing with them than against them,&rdquo; Nesmith said. &ldquo;They were our best scorers last year, and you&rsquo;ve got to be able to play off of them and off the ball [and] learn where their spots are. If Jayson and Jaylen shoot a pretty good percentage in *this* area, if they have the ball, you probably don't want to shoot it [there]. For me, that's how I was able to get a lot of my offensive rebounds, based on where they were on the floor and if they had the ball, and whatever dribble combinations they were putting together.
&ldquo;Just doing whatever the team needs to win. Basketball's a team sport, so you have to put the team first. Playing in the NBA and playing with such a talented team, everything that I did at Vandy is not what I need to do here on the Boston Celtics. I have to be able to adapt and change my game in order to help my team win games.&rdquo;
Luckily for him and the Celtics, Nesmith has the instincts and a natural motor to help him do those things. At an early age, his father instilled an outwork-everybody attitude that Aaron still carries with him on the floor and in life.&nbsp;
Nesmith put those qualities to use in arguably his signature performance as a rook. In the midst of a four-loss-in-six-game stretch, Boston came out flat in front of its home fans on April 30 against the San Antonio Spurs. The C&rsquo;s trailed 77-48 at halftime, and even plummeted into a 32-point hole... but the guys in green did not fold. In fact, Nesmith was a catalyst to one of the most unlikely comebacks of the year (and the third-largest in league history).
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He scored all 16 of his points in the second half and overtime, knocking down clutch threes, ball-hawking for easy opportunities inside and helping Tatum&rsquo;s 60-point night come in a victory. Nesmith admits that the moment was a proud one for him. He legitimately affected the outcome of the game and played 30 minutes that night.
And the day before, in a win at Charlotte, Nesmith became the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-aaron-nesmith-is-first-boston-celtics-rookie-with-15-points-3-steals-and-blocks-since-paul-pierce" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first Celtics rookie since Paul Pierce</a> to record 15 points, 3 steals and 3 blocks in a single game.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It was just part of the journey. That's not the last thing I want my name next to, either,&rdquo; Nesmith said. &ldquo;So I'll chalk that up, put that up next to some of my other awards I've gotten and just keep moving forward, and try to get some more... an NBA championship, first and foremost. And then hopefully a couple years down the line also be able to make the All-Star game, and everything that comes with that as well.&rdquo;
Reflecting on his own pre-draft process happening so recently, Nesmith said it&rsquo;s crazy to think about the next class entering the league in just six days.
&ldquo;It really did fly by; I think about it all the time,&rdquo; Nesmith said. &ldquo;I got to Boston on November 19, I left in early June after we lost to the Nets, and that's at least seven months. Those seven months flew by like they were two.&rdquo;
Falling to the Nets in the opening round of the postseason left a bad taste in Boston&rsquo;s mouth, but Nesmith believes that experience will prove to be a positive one heading into the 2021-22 campaign.
&ldquo;We learned a little bit more about resilience and having to really fight and win it on the defensive end, especially against a team like the Brooklyn Nets, who have so much offensive firepower,&rdquo; Nesmith said. &ldquo;It's pretty tough to keep up with a team on that offensive level. But if we can buckle down on the defensive side and we can limit those options &ndash; we're also a very potent offensive team &ndash; that'll take care of itself. I think we learned that our identity going forward needs to be a defensive-minded team. Because even in years past, if you look at the Boston Celtics before I joined the team, they were pretty much a top-five, top-seven defense in the NBA, and it served them well in the postseason. So I think we got away from that a little bit last year, and going back to that next year will serve us greatly.&rdquo;
For Nesmith and the Celtics, the slate is now clean.
&ldquo;We got a new coach, new systems to learn, new guys to play with. And with the old guys, it's just fun being around them, fun competing with them every day,&rdquo; Nesmith said. &ldquo;I'm excited to take what we learned from last year playing in the first round of the playoffs, taking that into next season and putting it to use throughout the regular season, and then making a deep postseason run as far as we can. For me, I'm excited to expand my role, get a more consistent role with my team,and be able to help my team win games any way I can.&rdquo;

Celtics wing Aaron Nesmith spoke to Spencer Davies about his rookie season, Boston's changes, gifting his mother a car and more.

Aaron Nesmith is ready for whatever else the Celtics throw at him

Katherine Evans is joining the Washington Wizards as the first woman to head the research or analytics department of an NBA franchise.
Monumental Basketball announced the hire Friday, saying Evans would oversee its research department, supporting the Wizards, the WNBA's Washington Mystics, the G League's Capital City Go-Go and Wizards District Gaming. Her new title is vice president of research and information systems.
&ldquo;Dr. Evans is an exceptional talent with a true passion for the game of basketball and is widely respected within the league and academic circles,&rdquo; said Sashi Brown, Monumental Basketball's chief planning and operations officer. &ldquo;She brings innovative approaches and perspectives and will be a great leader of our research department, which is charged with identifying competitive advantages for all of our athletes and our athlete care and performance team.&rdquo;
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Some personal news<a href="https://t.co/EsIv7n4Kk8">https://t.co/EsIv7n4Kk8</a>
&mdash; Katherine Evans (@CausalKathy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CausalKathy/status/1400853026307547137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Evans previously was director of strategic research for the Toronto Raptors. She oversaw data sources to build a draft prospects database and helped analyze methods and build models for player evaluation and on-court strategy.
&ldquo;I am looking forward to contributing to all the Monumental Basketball teams and to helping expand their analytics capabilities,&rdquo; Evans said.
Evans has a doctorate in biostatistics from Harvard. She spent two years as a data scientist with Verily Life Sciences.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

Katherine Evans is joining the Wizards as the first woman to head the research or analytics department of an NBA franchise.

Wizards hire Katherine Evans, first woman to run an NBA team's analytics

I have had more than two dozen parents and players reach out to me and ask for my advice on whether their children should play youth sports this year. I&rsquo;ve received calls, emails, messages and tweets about this (and so has my manager, Nyles). This is a topic that parents all over the country are dealing with: What do we do with our children who love sports and want to play?&nbsp;
Some places are pushing to open up; some have been open since the summer. Others have tried to open and then had to close back up due to outbreaks of COVID-19. I understand the dilemma that parents are currently in. I can&rsquo;t tell anyone what to do with their children, all I can do is explain what we are doing with ours.&nbsp;
We are a sports family. My wife, Nichole, and I both played basketball at Syracuse University. Our children have played multiple sports throughout their childhood - baseball, lacrosse, tennis, soccer and basketball. We love sports. It teaches them responsibility, how to work together as a team, how to push yourself individually, how to accept constructive criticism, how to follow directions, how to overcome adversity, the agony of defeat, the thrill of victory and so on.&nbsp;
My son, Malcolm, was looking forward to his freshman year at DeMatha High School as a two-sport athlete, playing soccer and basketball. 
My daughter, Imani, has shined for Metro Volleyball (which is the premiere club in the DMV) and was looking forward to trying out for the travel team this fall. 
My youngest daughter, Sierra (who I still call Baby Sierra), has been playing up for two years so that she wouldn&rsquo;t dominate her age group and she was on the practice squad for her big sister&rsquo;s team. They were all learning, being challenged and getting better.&nbsp;
They all were looking forward to a big fall season of sports. But as we kept an eye on the second surge of coronavirus cases currently sweeping across America, we had to take these facts into consideration. Our decision was based on data.
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Public health experts have not only been consistently cautioning Americans of a possible second wave of new coronavirus cases in the fall and winter, but they have been forewarning that it could be worse than the wave of infections from earlier this year.
John Brownstein, a Harvard Medical School professor and ABC News contributor, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/americans-brace-2nd-wave-covid-19-experts-predict/story?id=72817318">explained</a>, "As the fall approaches, you have drier conditions. More people are spending more time indoors, so generally the virus is more efficient."
Brownstein also pointed out that students who return to in-person classes will not be "practicing the same level of social distancing and mask wearing" as they were during the initial wave of the pandemic, which could cause a spike in infections.
In addition, for months, public health experts have been <a href="https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2020/08/27/flu-season">sounding alarms</a> of a "nightmare" that could occur if the United States sees its traditional flu season mixed with high rates of coronavirus transmission.
According to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-says-we-re-rounding-turn-covid-19-spreading-faster-n1244942">NBC News</a>: &ldquo;COVID-19 infections are spreading across the United States at the fastest rate since the start of the pandemic. The 71,000 new cases per day that the U.S. averaged over the past week was the most in any seven-day stretch since the crisis started and stood in stark contrast to President Donald Trump&rsquo;s repeated claims that &lsquo;<a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1321078919924207617?s=20">we are rounding the turn&rsquo; </a>on the pandemic.&rdquo;
I understand how confusing this situation is for parents because we are constantly being bombarded with misinformation - even from the President of the United States. We can have our own opinions, but the facts are the facts.&nbsp;
And just to be clear: this isn&rsquo;t a political issue for me, it&rsquo;s a safety issue. If Barack Obama, Joe Biden, my pastor, my mother or anyone else provided false information that I felt would work to the detriment of my children&rsquo;s safety, they would face the same opposition from me.&nbsp;
We value sports, we love sports, and we are a sports family. However, we value our children&rsquo;s safety much more and have decided to hold them out of all fall sports activities no matter what their teams, schools, counties or programs decide.&nbsp;
Because our children are no longer participating in sports, we&rsquo;re working out at home as a family. We do basketball drills outside, volleyball bumps and setting, jump rope in the backyard, and footwork drills on the driveway. They even have a drill where they chase our dog, Marley, around the backyard like Rocky chasing the chicken in Rocky IV.&nbsp;
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It&rsquo;s important to note that my 11-year NBA career has afforded me the luxury of having a court in my backyard, a weight room in my basement and a gym with cardio equipment, so I do recognize the privilege I sit in.&nbsp;
With that being said, we will revisit everything in the spring and see where the numbers are with COVID-19. If the cases continue to spike (as they are now) and this second wave turns into a third wave, we will have our children sit out the entire year from youth sports.&nbsp;
Now, there are quite a few realities that have to be considered.&nbsp;
I understand that since the pandemic started, over two-thirds of high-school athletes reported anxiety and depression when all sports were shut down.
According to <a href="https://www.uwhealth.org/news/more-than-two-thirds-of-high-school-athletes-report-anxiety-and-depression-since-pandemic/53429">this study</a>: &ldquo;Exercise and physical activity are powerful anti-depressants and anti-anxiety interventions and we strongly encourage public health experts and school administrators to thoughtfully consider both the benefits and risks of prolonged school closures and sport cancellations. We hope that any plan moving forward addresses not only our kids physical health and safety, but their social development and emotional well-being as well.&rdquo;&nbsp;
My response would be that my kids can get the physical activity they need in the safety of our backyard and basement (and, again, I recognize my privilege).&nbsp;
The alternative is to put our faith in school systems and youth-sports leagues to devise COVID-safe environments to protect our children. It&rsquo;d be one thing if they were going to duplicate the NBA bubble, which is a format that has proven to be successful (shout out to Adam Silver). But if they are just talking about the janitor, Otis, spraying some extra disinfectant and telling kids to wash their hands or use a little extra hand sanitizer and then let the games begin, that&rsquo;s gonna be a hard pass for me.&nbsp;
What we are currently seeing is schools and youth leagues essentially using kids as guinea pigs and gambling with their health to test if their coronavirus protocols will be effective. You actually had school and youth leagues having virtual meetings to finalize plans for resuming games (which is absolutely ridiculous).
This is all while so much remains unknown when it comes to the long-term effects of testing positive for the coronavirus on a young athlete&rsquo;s heart, lungs and other vital organs. I know proponents of resuming youth sports like to ask, &ldquo;Well, how many kids have died?&rdquo; But that can&rsquo;t be the only barometer we use.&nbsp;
According to <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-long-term-effects/art-20490351">this article</a> from the world-renowned Mayo Clinic:&nbsp;
&ldquo;Organs that may be affected by COVID-19 include:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Heart. Imaging tests taken months after recovery from COVID-19 have shown lasting damage to the heart muscle, even in people who experienced only mild COVID-19 symptoms. This may increase the risk of heart failure or other heart complications in the future.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Lungs. The type of pneumonia often associated with COVID-19 can cause long-standing damage to the tiny air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs. The resulting scar tissue can lead to long-term breathing problems.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Brain. Even in young people, COVID-19 can cause strokes, seizures and Guillain-Barre syndrome &mdash; a condition that causes temporary paralysis. COVID-19 may also increase the risk of developing Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Liver and Kidneys. COVID-19 can also weaken blood vessels, which contributes to potentially long-lasting problems with the liver and kidneys. COVID-19 can make blood cells more likely to clump up and form clots. While large clots can cause heart attacks and strokes, much of the heart damage caused by COVID-19 is believed to stem from very small clots that block tiny blood vessels (capillaries) in the heart muscle.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
"Organ damage [from COVID-19] may increase the risk of long-term health problems.&rdquo;
If that&rsquo;s not enough to create pause, White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci warned parents who were trying to decide whether they should send their children back to school that, contrary to what they&rsquo;ve been told, kids over 9 years old can spread the coronavirus just like adults.
"It's been shown that children from 10-to-19 can transmit the virus to adults as well as adults can," Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/29/dr-fauci-says-kids-over-9-years-old-can-transmit-the-coronavirus-as-well-as-adults-as-some-schools-reopen.html">said during an interview Wednesday on MSNBC</a>.
But wait, there&rsquo;s more. 
A<a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/10/20-1315_article"> recently published study</a> in South Korea indicated that although kids under the age of 9 were less likely than adults to transmit the virus to their families, teenagers were at least as likely to transmit the disease as adults. Members of the Infectious Disease Society of America have previously <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/23/coronavirus-infectious-disease-experts-warn-against-reopening-schools-in-florida-texas.html">pointed to the study and warned against reopening schools</a> in states where coronavirus cases are surging.&nbsp;
Now, I understand why it&rsquo;s tough to keep kids home, especially when parents have to work. But data like this does present a major dilemma for parents wrestling with the decision of whether to allow their children to return to school or return to sports.&nbsp;
I know for a fact that many AAU, youth volleyball and youth soccer programs (because those are the ones our children are currently involved in) pushed to have youth sports resume during the summer and fall, and many are playing in tournaments right now as we speak. There has been a mixed reaction throughout the youth-sports community. Some coaches elected to play in tournaments all summer as various red states (mainly Florida, George and Texas) opened up back in June and July.
I&rsquo;ve heard AAU coaches express that they would be doing their players a disservice by not letting them play because they need the exposure to college coaches. (Although the rules have changed and colleges can only see AAU players during live periods).&nbsp;
I&rsquo;ve seen AAU coaches try to have massive training sessions, but then they&rsquo;re forced to shut them down due to a COVID-19 outbreak.&nbsp;
I&rsquo;ve seen youth-soccer programs attempt to conduct socially distanced games, which were an epic failure.
I&rsquo;ve seen volleyball tournaments move to red states that were open and reschedule entire fall seasons.
I&rsquo;ve seen some places (like my hometown of Tulsa, OK) have regular high-school football games with fans in the stands and everything.&nbsp;
But it just isn&rsquo;t worth the risk, in my opinion.&nbsp;
That&rsquo;s why I decided to cancel my team&rsquo;s AAU season and pull my kids out of youth sports during the summer. I love coaching my team and seeing my guys develop and improve - and I was really looking forward to this AAU season, just like my daughters were looking forward to volleyball. But we just didn&rsquo;t feel comfortable risking their health.&nbsp;
And just like the summer, we are currently witnessing an onslaught of outbreaks all across the country on the collegiate level. <a href="https://www.si.com/college/florida/football/florida-gators-football-lsu-tigers-postponed-coronavirus-covid19-outbreak">Florida</a> and <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/10/12/vanderbilt-missouri-game-postponed-coronavirus">Vanderbilt</a> have (at least) a combined 60 players out for virus-related reasons, resulting in postponements of their games against LSU and Missouri, respectively. <a href="https://www.si.com/college/olemiss/football/ole-miss-football-experiencing-covid-19-issues-but-could-play-game-today">Ole Miss is battling an outbreak as well</a>,
Across the country, at least 29 NCAA football games (about 10 percent of those played) have been postponed or canceled because of a virus that has killed more than 200,000 people in America and nearly 1.1 million worldwide. Nick Saban became the seventh FBS head coach to reveal that he&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/10/15/college-football-covid-19-travel-nick-saban">tested positive</a>, and his diagnosis sends a chilling reminder of what medical experts have cautioned throughout the summer.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/usatsi_15019192_lg.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="AUTO" /> 
Trevor Lawrence, who coincidentally was the voice and face of getting back on the field and playing college football, just <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/30219463/clemson-dabo-swinney-expects-trevor-lawrence-go-nfl-never-know">tested positive</a> for COVID-10. He is the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy and is considered a lock to be the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Wisconsin's football team will suspend all activities after head coach Paul Chryst and 11 other players and staff members <a href="https://www.nbc15.com/2020/10/28/uw-badgers-to-pause-football-activities-for-at-least-7-days/?fbclid=IwAR3pporIfpiIb6crKSpCPiNYxrUCHt9PYl7wUXWSPYIOQ8B9Qf9E1vVDaA0">tested positive</a> for COVID-19. At least 30 LSU football players and 25 Notre Dame players have tested positive too.
And this is all at the collegiate level. The NCAA, in theory, should have better protocol than high-school, middle-school or elementary-school sports. When even they are having consistent outbreaks and non-stop positive tests, why would anyone think youth sports (with nowhere near the same funding of universities) can keep kids safer?&nbsp;
I have been outspoken and consistent in my position that I am wholeheartedly against any sports at any level resuming play until we get a hold on this COVID-19 outbreak. I held that position in March when I decided not to have my team, the FBCG Elite Dynamic Disciples, participate in AAU over the summer. My position hasn&rsquo;t changed.&nbsp;
Once the numbers change, then we can talk. But as we have seen, the numbers are getting worse, so my kids will be working out in the backyard and in our basement for now. Again, I can&rsquo;t tell anyone what to do with their children; but, for me, it&rsquo;s just not worth the risk.&nbsp;

Etan Thomas explains why he decided to hold his three children out of fall sports and cancel his AAU team's season amid the pandemic.

To play or not to play? The dilemma facing parents of young athletes

SiriusXM&rsquo;s Tony Bruno was <a href="https://awfulannouncing.com/radio/tony-bruno-siriusxm-show-nba-players-cant-read-deadspin.html?fbclid=IwAR3RtvHP5GDqjC1xMeQEJbatGUlQ7qFJv2d0jFfVdvkA3qkmMAykvZ-1hEw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently fired</a> after saying that most NBA players can&rsquo;t read.
&ldquo;I don't care about the politics of these players&hellip; most of these guys can't even read, for God's sake,&rdquo; Bruno said. &ldquo;You wanna give me lessons on what matters and what&rsquo;s important?
&ldquo;LeBron&rsquo;s not focused on the game right now. He&rsquo;s talking about the situation that went on with the police shooting over the weekend and ignores everything else. He only talks about the lives he thinks matter, but other lives don&rsquo;t matter. That&rsquo;s why I despise LeBron James and I despise the NBA&hellip; There are a lot of people who are tired of this.&rdquo;&nbsp;
These are the words of Tony Bruno, who was a national broadcaster with Sports Map Radio and the afternoon voice on SiriusXM&rsquo;s Dan Patrick Radio before he was recently relieved of his duties by both companies. Robin Austin, Bruno&rsquo;s executive producer, <a href="https://barrettsportsmedia.com/2020/08/28/tony-bruno-calls-deadspin-clickbait-dirtbag-site/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Barrett Sports Media</a> that "Bruno was being flippant&rdquo; and that his comments weren&rsquo;t as malicious in context.
Here are both segments where he went after NBA players (and James in particular):
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lVpzpSUctHc" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>&nbsp;
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9gfHG9HIlWY" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
There is so much wrong with his on-air comments, I don&rsquo;t even know where to start.&nbsp;
For those who are &ldquo;tired of this&rdquo; athlete-activism, imagine how exhausting it is to deal with these things every day and fight for justice and equality.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Last week, I interviewed Eric Garner Jr. His father, Eric Garner, was murdered by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo, who received no jail time or even an indictment for the murder. When LeBron James and the NBA use their platform to speak out about these senseless killings, it&rsquo;s not a political issue, it&rsquo;s a human issue. It&rsquo;s also much appreciated by those who are directly affected.&nbsp;
&ldquo;To see LeBron and everyone wearing the &lsquo;I Can&rsquo;t Breathe&rsquo; T-shirts, it&rsquo;s a sign of hope - like they hear us and understand our pain,&rdquo; Garner said on <a href="https://www.fli.tv/eric-garner-jr-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">my show, The Rematch</a>. &ldquo;My first protest, back in 2014, was actually outside the Barclays Center when they all wore the shirts.&rdquo;&nbsp;
For those who are &ldquo;tired of this,&rdquo; imagine having your loved one taken from you and then broadcasters, writers and people on social media justify your relative&rsquo;s death and list reasons why they deserved to die.
Every time Garner sees a policeman, he said he feels &ldquo;scared&rdquo; and &ldquo;afraid.&rdquo; He said that he definitely has PTSD.&nbsp;
So while it may be an &ldquo;inconvenience&rdquo; for some sports fans to hear players expound on issues beyond the court, you see how much the support of athletes means to these people who are suffering and mourning. It shows them that their life and the life of their loved one who was murdered actually matter.&nbsp;
To add further insult, Bruno also proclaimed very matter of factly that, &ldquo;Most of these guys can&rsquo;t even read, for God&rsquo;s sake.&rdquo; This took me back to my sophomore year at Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, OK. My English teacher, Ms. Ennox, read my first writing assignment for her class and told me, &ldquo;This was great work for a basketball player.&rdquo;&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s one of those compliments (like &ldquo;You speak so well!&rdquo;) that's really an incredible insult disguised as positivity. I remember looking at her perplexed and then she said, &ldquo;Well, you know, most basketball players can barely read.&rdquo; Those were her exact words to me. 
The sad thing is that wasn&rsquo;t my first or last time having an exchange like that.&nbsp;
Unfortunately, I went on to have multiple experiences like this throughout my time in high school. Yes, I was a basketball player and we had an amazing team; we were back-to-back state champions (if we&rsquo;re being specific). But while we were winning state championships in basketball, we were also winning state championships in speech and debate.
During my senior year, I actually took one speech that I wrote all the way to the final round at Harvard. The notion that athletes are illiterate consistently came up. Sometimes, it was in jest. Other times, there was venom behind the words, as someone tried to prove their point that an athlete (particularly a Black basketball player) should not be taken seriously when discussing anything outside of basketball. This is the same context that Tony Bruno used.
And, if that wasn&rsquo;t enough, Bruno added, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why I despise LeBron James and I despise the NBA.&rdquo;
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/bron222_lg.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="AUTO" />
Bruno took to Facebook to appeal to his following with a lengthy apology (as expected). However, in his &ldquo;apology,&rdquo; he just couldn&rsquo;t help painting himself as a victim - even while simultaneously saying, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not a victim.&rdquo; (Bruno hasn't responded to a request for comment).
&ldquo;Being labeled a racist is the worst thing possible and there is nothing I can say or do to appease the jubilant mob,&rdquo; Bruno <a href="https://www.facebook.com/63028180736/posts/10157573017135737/?extid=YSwDxieCjwdnjnkG&amp;d=n" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.
Apparently, simply saying that he was wrong and he&rsquo;s sorry and leaving it at that was too difficult.
I got in contact with Caleb Yarling, who was Tony Bruno&rsquo;s intern, to get a sense of who he is as a person. I told him that I was writing an article about this situation and asked if he would speak on the record. Needless to say, Yarling didn&rsquo;t mince words at all.
&ldquo;When I joined Tony Bruno as an intern for the SiriusXM reboot, I had no idea what I was getting myself into,&rdquo; Yarling said. &ldquo;I tried to get in contact with them about the hate speech that was being thrown around in the Twitch chat. I was ignored every time. Then, Tony would commend TrumpGuy69 and claim Antifas were terrorists. He, in fact, called me an Antifa terrorist too many times to count. I knew I had to get out [of] there. I quit in July, knowing that the end of the show was near. I just didn&rsquo;t expect it to be so obviously racist. I, myself, am no longer scared of Tony, and I&rsquo;m glad the world now sees him for who he really is." 
Yarling saved photos of the hate-speech comments from the show's Twitch chat and shared them with BasketballNews.com.
 It sounds like Tony Bruno is exactly who I thought he was. And his claim that he has always been about &ldquo;fairness" and "justice for all&rdquo; appears to be just as disingenuous as his apology.&nbsp;&nbsp;
What Bruno said is racist and shouldn&rsquo;t be acceptable on any platform. This is not &ldquo;liberal censoring&rdquo; or &ldquo;the PC police coming to take away your freedom of speech&rdquo; as many of his supporters are currently claiming. We all agree that freedom of speech is important, but media outlets have their own rules and standards that their employees must follow too.
Let&rsquo;s be clear: Tony Bruno is no victim. He very foolishly said something that he shouldn&rsquo;t have and was reprimanded for it.&nbsp;
Now, I don&rsquo;t have an illustrious career in the media that spans decades like Tony Bruno does, but I am fully aware of the rules and he should&rsquo;ve known better. Sometimes, when someone gets away with something for an extended amount of time, they begin to believe they are untouchable.&nbsp;
And instead of being a man, putting on his big-boy pants and taking responsibility for what he said, what did he do? He blamed an imaginary &ldquo;jubilant mob&rdquo; that is out to get him, like some type of social-media boogeyman or something. Bruno has nobody to blame but himself for no longer being employed. He foolishly threw his 40-year career down the drain in a disgraced manner. Kudos to SiriusXM and Sports Map Radio for having the moral courage to set the standard that racist comments will not be tolerated on their platforms. Every company should follow suit.

Tony Bruno was recently fired from SiriusXM for saying that most NBA players "can't even read." Etan Thomas is sick of hearing that.

John