Eagles

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme&nbsp;of Gonzaga is one of five finalists for the John R. Wooden Award as the men&rsquo;s college basketball player of the year.
He&rsquo;s joined by Zach Edey of Purdue, Trayce Jackson-Davis of Indiana, Houston&rsquo;s Marcus Sasser <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-auburn-houston-71fdd7fe1b3336cec5b544bf12d30e83">Marcus Sasser</a>&nbsp;and Jalen Wilson of Kansas.
Timme took his team farthest in the upset-riddled NCAA Tournament with Gonzaga losing in the Elite Eight. Sasser helped Houston reach the Sweet 16. Purdue lost in the first round, while Indiana and Kansas were beaten in the second round.
The winner will be announced April 4 on ESPN. All five players have been invited to Los Angeles for the 47th annual presentation on April 7.
Also among the top 10 vote getters were: Jaime Jaquez Jr. of UCLA, Brandon Miller of Alabama, Penn State&rsquo;s Jalen Pickett, Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky and Arizona&rsquo;s Azuolas Tubelis.
Voting took place from March 13-20.
South Carolina&rsquo;s Dawn Staley will receive the Legends of Coaching Award during the ceremony at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Drew Timme of Gonzaga is one of five finalists for the John R. Wooden Award as the men’s college basketball player of the year.

Gonzaga’s Drew Timme among 5 finalists for men’s Wooden Award

I'll never forget Game 5 of the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals.
On a personal note, it was one of the best days of my professional life. The arena itself was buzzing in anticipation of a series-shifting game. For a fan base that's (mostly wrongfully) berated for not being on time, the arena filled up pretty quickly with Miami Heat fans.
Before the game, I got to meet the legendary duo of Doris Burke and Mark Jones, Yahoo's Chris Haynes and other giants in the industry. It was a surreal stretch of meet-ups considering my wild journey to this point.
And then there was the game itself: a knock-out, drag-out fight until the Boston Celtics turned up the sliders late in the third quarter. A 59-58 Celtics lead with 2:44 left in the third turned into a 77-60 lead with 9:35 left in the fourth. A work of mid-range mastery from Jayson Tatum pushed the lead to 17, forcing Erik Spoelstra to call timeout at the 9:35 mark. Poor Max Strus couldn't do much about it.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/zbb3m6" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
I found myself marveling at Tatum's game that night. It wasn't his most efficient scoring outing; he finished with 22 points on 20 shots (5-of-12 from two, 2-of-8 from three). He coughed up the rock five times &mdash; two offensive fouls, two (tough) passes that went out of bounds, and a live-ball turnover where he tried to thread a needle into paint congestion.
But I quickly found the fun of a young superstar figuring things out on the fly against an elite defense.&nbsp;
Here was Tatum, a natural bucket-getter, not just being forced to make playmaking reads. No, no, no. He had to set up the chessboard. Because of the Heat's personnel, and because of their aggressive help principles and occasional pre-switches, Tatum was often tasked with setting up a pick-and-roll before actually running what he wanted.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/znqljl" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Tatum starts the possession defended by Caleb Martin. A handoff between Tatum and Jaylen Brown invites Jimmy Butler into the fray. A ball screen, this time with Al Horford, calls up Bam Adebayo. Tatum calls for&nbsp;another&nbsp;ball screen to target Duncan Robinson, his ultimate goal from the beginning.&nbsp;
The Heat don't want to switch this one, so Robinson executes a show-and-recover. Derrick White slips into open space with Robinson and Adebayo focused on Tatum. But because Adebayo is involved above the break, the Heat's backline help is pretty small.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screenshot_2022_06_18_18_43_09_690w.png" alt="" width="578" height="325" />
Butler is an All-World defender, but he's stuck between two players in the paint. Robinson hasn't gotten back to White, so Butler has to hold. The issue becomes Horford. Martin can't drop down to pick up Horford like he normally would because Brown is in the weakside corner.
Tatum simply waits to see who Butler commits to. Butler drops back to Horford once he senses Robinson is nearly back to White; in that moment, Tatum fires a bounce pass to White for a layup.
All of that happens within an eight-second span.&nbsp;
To be frank, Tatum wasn't nailing&nbsp;all of that,&nbsp;to this degree, at the beginning of the season. He certainly wasn't doing it with a level of consistency last year. But strides have continued to be made. Even when the result wasn't great, you could see the process improve. He became smarter. The decisions were made quicker, and with more nuance.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Tatum had seen a little bit of everything through that Game 5. He saw a version of that switch-with-help-behind-it defense during his first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets. In the next round, the Milwaukee Bucks flowed between sending two to the ball and daring Tatum to beat them in drop coverage.
The drop coverage bet was a poor one on the surface &mdash; Tatum is a dynamite pull-up shooter &mdash; but the Bucks knew there was refinement needed from Tatum inside the arc.
The floater wasn't consistent yet. If the easy pull-up wasn't there, Tatum sometimes struggled with driving&nbsp;too&nbsp;deeply into the pocket, either turning drop coverage into a late switch or allowing his own defender to recover. That led to some ugly late-clock possessions.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/e3hplg" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
The Heat were a juiced-up version of both. They occasionally rushed Tatum with two defenders like the Bucks did. They gave up switches, but packed the paint with helpers like the Nets attempted to do. Through the mix of coverages, Tatum thrived, struggled, and ultimately thrived again.
I asked him about his comfort level against, well, everything after that Game 5 against Miami.
"Comfort level? From a scale of 1-to-10?" Tatum quipped with a smile before answering. "I'm very comfortable. Each series presents different challenges. Miami guards differently than Milwaukee did. Watching film from game to game, that's the key. Seeing what you did well, what you can improve on, what adjustments they might make and seeing what to be ready for."
Tatum couldn't quite crack the final boss in the Golden State Warriors.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
His series averages were fine &mdash; 21.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.7 blocks &mdash; but not up to superstar standards. For every bonus, there seemed to be an annoying negative. Seven dimes from your star wing is dope, but nearly four turnovers a game isn't what you want. He shot a robust 45.5% from three on 7.3 attempts per game, but those inside-the-arc struggles &mdash; 31.6% from two on 12.7 attempts &mdash; popped up in a big way.
The Warriors deserve credit for never letting Tatum get comfortable. They made sure he saw a healthy dose of switches (74 picks), drop coverage (45 picks), and a mix of hedges and blitzes (42), per Second Spectrum. And regardless of what the initial coverage was, the Warriors had a way of varying their help defense behind it.
Sometimes, they'd pinch the help in early to restrict driving lanes. Other times, Tatum would have early access to the rim, only to be met by late helpers converging into the paint. That cat-and-mouse game ultimately decided the half-court battle in this series.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/oubk1k" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Add in the bodies he saw &mdash; Andrew Wiggins, Klay Thompson, Gary Payton II and others got a taste of the Tatum assignment &mdash; and it should come as no surprise that this was Tatum's worst playoff series as a driver. On possessions where Tatum shot or passed to someone who shot after a drive, the Celtics generated 0.77 points per possession (PPP). It ended a streak of stark improvement from Tatum in that area:
<ul>
<li>Brooklyn: 0.89 PPP on 52 direct drives</li>
<li>Milwaukee: 0.96 PPP on 74 direct drives</li>
<li>Miami: 1.08 PPP on 64 direct drives</li>
<li>Golden State: 0.77 PPP on 77 direct drives</li>
</ul>
It wasn't always pretty. Not that they need&nbsp;my&nbsp;permission, but Celtic fans and NBA enthusiasts are within their right to be disappointed in Tatum's output during the Finals.
All I ask is that we don't lose the plot.&nbsp;
Tatum didn't struggle on his own; remember, before Draymond Green missed a chunk of games during the regular season, it was the Warriors who held the NBA's best defensive rating. They pinpointed what Tatum's weaknesses were and poked at him. And this is on top of what Tatum was asked to do defensively &mdash; often navigating the Green assignment so he could switch onto Stephen Curry when necessary, or dealing with drives from Wiggins on the ball.
Beyond that, look at the growth Tatum has made as a scorer and playmaker over the past year-and-a-half. Heck, look at the growth he made this postseason. Defenses keyed in on him, threw different schemes at him within the same&nbsp;quarter,&nbsp;and he was mostly able to figure it out.&nbsp;
This is a sour end to the season, but it's a season in which Tatum was an All-Star once again, earned All-NBA First Team honors, finished sixth in MVP voting and led his team to the NBA Finals for the first time.
This was a darn good year, and now Tatum has to stew in this Finals loss for a bit. His history already suggests he'll get better heading into next season; with this frustrating finish, I'd bet the house on Tatum making a substantial leap over the summer.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com. <a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

Nekias Duncan reflects on the improvement that Jayson Tatum showed throughout the season and postseason.

Enjoying the journey, through the lens of Jayson Tatum

<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/big-board/players/jalen-green" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jalen Green</a> could make history on Thursday night.
The projected top-3 pick in this year's NBA Draft is on track to be the first (and highest) draft pick out of the G League Ignite program. After making a name for himself as a dynamic scorer in the G League, Green thinks he can translate quickly to the top level.
"I just feel like G League is one step ahead of college," Green said to reporters on Monday. "You learn how to become a pro on and off the court early, so that's how I think it can prepare you."
With the Ignite, Green averaged 17.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game across 15 starts, dazzling viewers with a deluxe scoring package that seemed well beyond his years. For Green, the season gave him a chance to learn the ins and outs of NBA-caliber systems.
"[I was] learning terminologies, learning offenses, learning the pace and the speed of the game... I think that was the biggest thing, is picking up on it early, because it's hard to learn the terms coming in," he said.
Green has the reputation of being one of the purest scorers and highest leapers in the 2021 class. It's what has catapulted him up draft boards, as he's currently projected to go No. 2 overall pick to the Houston Rockets in BasketballNews.com's <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest mock draft</a>.
"Although known mostly as a high-flyer, Jalen Green showed a more versatile offensive repertoire this past season for the G League Ignite," our Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/big-board/players/jalen-green" target="_blank" rel="noopener">writes</a>. "His explosiveness and ability to create space off the dribble, along with his improved outside shooting, have made him one of the most-coveted prospects this year. Green is perhaps the most athletic and dynamic prospect in the entire draft."
Green says he has studied some of the Association's legendary scorers: Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Dwyane Wade. But the G League also gave him an opportunity to learn off-ball responsibilities. He feels much more well-rounded as an offensive player compared to high school.
"I wasn't really as ball-dominant, [not] as much as I was in high school," Green said. "So, it gave me a chance to really learn how to play off the ball and play from the corners."
Green has only worked out with two franchises: the Rockets and Detroit Pistons, who own the draft's top pick.&nbsp;
"[The top two] is where I'm trying to go... I feel like I'm one of the best players in the draft, or the&nbsp;best player in the draft, so with that being said, I feel like I should work out for the highest teams," Green said.
Whichever squad lands Green is adding a day-one bucket-getter. As he did in the G League, the young guard hopes to hit the ground running with his on-court impact.
"I'm trying to be Rookie of the Year," Green said. "So I think that speaks for itself as far as what type of impact I'm trying to have."

Jalen Green is a projected top-five pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.

Jalen Green already setting sights on NBA Rookie of the Year

Nekias Duncan previews the Southeast Division (the Hawks, Hornets, Heat, Magic and Wizards) ahead of the 2020-21 NBA season.