Gold Rush

Exciting finishes and clutch performances highlighted EASL Game Day action on October 23, as teams from across Asia battled to gain an edge in the group stage.
New Taipei Kings 97, Macau Black Bears 109&nbsp;
The Macau Black Bears delivered a stunning upset, beating the New Taipei Kings on the road in a tightly contested matchup.&nbsp;
Despite both teams dealing with short rotations&mdash;each bringing only nine players&mdash;Macau took control from beyond the arc, shooting a remarkable 51.5% from three (17-for-33).&nbsp;
Jeantal Cylla led the way, posting a game-high 32 points with impressive efficiency, hitting 12 of 18 shots and grabbing six rebounds. Jenning Leung also contributed to Macau's deep shooting success, going 5-for-8 from three.&nbsp;
This historic win marks the Black Bears' first EASL victory, positioning them as a potential dark horse in Group B.
Taoyuan Pauian Pilots 91, Suwon KT Sonicboom 70
In another hard-fought game, the Taoyuan Pauian Pilots managed to narrowly defeat Suwon KT Sonicboom, with key plays in the fourth quarter sealing the victory.&nbsp;
The Pilots executed a balanced offensive strategy, with contributions from multiple players, allowing them to pull away late and secure their first win of the season. Sonicboom&rsquo;s efforts, led by Rayshaun Hammonds, fell short despite a strong start and a high-scoring performance from their leading scorer.
The October 23 games provided thrilling moments and showcased each team's resilience as the EASL group stage continues to unfold.

Exciting finishes and clutch performances highlighted EASL Game Day action on October 23.

EASL Game Day #3 recap: Macau Black Bears and Taoyuan Pauian Pilots Capture Victory

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Aly Khalifa scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half, Montre&rsquo; Gipson made three 3-pointer in the second half, and No. 3 seed Charlotte held off No. 8 seed Eastern Kentucky 71-68 on Wednesday night in the championship game of the College Basketball Invitational.
Charlotte (22-14) finished the season with its most wins since the 2000-01 campaign, when it took down Tennessee in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The 49ers were appearing in the postseason for the first time since earning an at-large bid to the 2013 NIT.
Charlotte made eight of its first nine shots and led 18-5 as Eastern Kentucky only made two field goals in the opening eight minutes. Khalifa made all six of his shots in the first half to help the 49ers build a 42-24 lead at halftime after shooting 72% (18 of 25) from the field. EKU had five scoring droughts of at least 90 seconds in the first half.
It was the fourth time in the tournament the Colonels trailed at halftime &mdash; before rattling off three straight overtime wins to reach the title game.
Cooper Robb, who played at Charlotte from 2018-20, made two 3-pointers during EKU&rsquo;s 12-5 run to open the second half. But Charlotte kept its double-digit lead until the 8:44 mark when EKU scored 13 unanswered points.
Robb made a steal and raced the other way for a long 3-pointer to get EKU within 69-68 with 47.4 seconds left. Isaiah Folkes answered with a layup, off a nice pass by Gipson, for a three-point lead with 16 seconds left. After a timeout, Robb had a 3-point attempt blocked by Brice Williams and Tayshawn Comer had another attempt for EKU but it came up short.
Williams, averaging a team-high 14 points per game, finished with six points, five rebounds and two blocks for Charlotte. Gipson added 13 points, Lu&rsquo;Cye Patterson had 11 and Folkes scored 10.
Robb made five 3-pointers and scored 17 points for Eastern Kentucky (23-14), which had the third-most wins in program history. Michael Moreno added 14 points and Devontae Blanton, averaging a team-high 17.4 points, was scoreless in the first half and did not play after halftime.
Isaiah Cozart was held to 10 points and four rebounds after securing a double-double in Eastern Kentucky&rsquo;s opening three tournament games. Cozart set a career-highs for points (20) and rebounds (17) in the opener, and he scored a career-best 31 points in the semifinals.
The CBI trophy remains in the state of North Carolina after UNC Wilmington defeated Middle Tennessee last season.

Charlotte (22-14) finished the season with its most wins since the 2000-01 campaign.

Charlotte wins CBI title, holds off Eastern Kentucky 71-68

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Manhattan fired head basketball coach Steve Masiello two weeks before the start of the season on Tuesday, the school announced.
He has been replaced on an interim basis by assistant RaShawn Stores, a former Manhattan player under Masiello.
&ldquo;We thank Coach Masiello for his service and wish him well,&rdquo; Manhattan athletic director Marianne Reilly said in a statement. &ldquo;As we look to building successful teams for the future &mdash; and with recruiting season beginning soon and Coach Masiello&rsquo;s contract ending in April 2023 &mdash; we determined that it was the right time to begin rebuilding from the top down.&rdquo;
Manhattan had been picked to finish second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in the preseason coaches&rsquo; poll. Jose Perez, a fifth-year senior, was chosen as the preseason Player of the Year.
Masiello coached for 11 seasons at the New York school, making the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and 2015. The Jaspers failed to finish over .500 the past season seasons.
&ldquo;This has been a very tough day for me and, honestly speaking, coach was the most caring person I ever met,&rdquo; tweeted Perez. &ldquo;He cared so much for his players and honestly speaking it would (be) very difficult for me to put on a jasper&rsquo;s uniform again if coach ain&rsquo;t on those sidelines. Love you coach!&rdquo;

Manhattan fired head basketball coach Steve Masiello two weeks before the start of the season on Tuesday, the school announced.

Manhattan fires men’s basketball coach Steve Masiello

Being a consensus top-five recruit in the country and playing for perhaps the biggest brand in college basketball bears a massive amount of pressure and scrutiny.
For Brandon Boston Jr., it was no different.
The one-of-a-kind level of attention that exists only at Kentucky was bestowed upon Boston, just as it has John Calipari&rsquo;s high profile one-and-done&rsquo;s over the past decade, for better or worse. While both Boston and Kentucky fell wildly short of the preseason expectations that came with a top-10 ranking, we shouldn&rsquo;t be quick to forget what made BJ such a highly regarded, surefire lottery talent coming into the season.
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Being a part of one of Kentucky&rsquo;s worst seasons in over 30 years and registering a 44.7% True Shooting percentage are certainly causes for concern, but it still shouldn&rsquo;t be enough to throw out Boston&rsquo;s entire body of work to this point. Jaden McDaniels -- the No. 7 recruit in the 2019 RSCI and 28th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft -- also struggled during his lone collegiate season at Washington, and has found his footing in Minnesota. With that in mind, let's take a look back on Boston&rsquo;s decorated high school career to see why it&rsquo;s too early to judge his future based on a subpar 25-game stint in Lexington.&nbsp;
Boston&rsquo;s amateur career began in Georgia at Norcross High School, a hotbed for athletic talent both on the hardwood and the football field. The school has seen Al-Farouq Aminu, Jeremy Lamb and WNBA All-Star Diamond DeShields all join the pro ranks over the past decade.
As a freshman, Boston was a part of a star-studded Norcross team that featured high-major talent in the form of RayShaun Hammonds (Georgia), Jordan Goldwire (Duke), Kyle Sturdivant (USC/Georgia Tech) and Lance Thomas (Louisville/Memphis). The Blue Devils registered a 26-6 record and earned the No. 1 seed in their region. At 6-foot-4 with an underdeveloped 165-pound frame, Boston was far from the rangy wing he is today. And on a loaded Norcross team, he played a smaller role -- unrecognizable from the one he would grow into. A strong grassroots summer with Georgia Stars on the Nike EYBL, coupled with Norcross appearing in state finals, helped bring Boston to the Nike Elite 100 and a spot in the ESPN Sophomore 25, debuting at No. 15. Heading into his sophomore season, Norcross graduated Hammonds, Goldwire and Thomas, which would force BJ to step into a much larger role, playing sidekick to Sturdivant.
With their growing success and Boston&rsquo;s growing recruiting profile, Norcross now played a national schedule with trips to the 2017 Holiday Hoopsgiving Tournament and Farm Bureau Insurance Classic on the docket. At Holiday Hoopsgiving, Boston squared off against 5-star recruit and future LSU Tiger Trendon Watford. Boston&rsquo;s blend of slashing and mid-range pull-up scoring was pivotal to Norcross&rsquo;s 28-4 record and repeating as the top team in the region. In the GHSA playoffs, Boston and Norcross saw fellow future Kentucky Wildcat and Georgia Player of the Year Ashton Hagans as an opponent. During the game, Boston made Hagan&rsquo;s life difficult, playing solid defense throughout the contest. With the game in the balance and momentum up for grabs, BJ hit a three to spark the Blue Devils and finish the game on a 38-19 run before Boston was subbed out. In the state championship, Norcross was stunned by Meadowcreek, a team they beat three times in the regular season, by a final score of 56-43.
Despite the loss, Boston&rsquo;s sophomore season was wildly successful, as he accrued offers from Florida, Florida State, Alabama and Clemson while being named Second Team All-State. During his grassroots season the summer before his junior year, Boston switched teams. Going from the Georgia Stars to the rapidly growing Athletes of Tomorrow (AOT) program, he would join forces with future Auburn Tigers Isaac Okoro and Sharife Cooper. Stemming from the change, BJ enjoyed a breakout campaign playing up against older competition. After averaging just under 20 points per game in the spring session, he picked up offers from USC, Mississippi State and Rutgers, as well as Villanova, Texas and Kansas later into the summer; Boston also was invited to attend a Team USA mini-camp. His blend of smooth shot-creation and scoring led to a climb from being recognized as a top-20 player in the country to a near-top-10 player by recruiters.&nbsp;
In his junior season, Boston posted 18 points and 5 rebounds per game while leading Norcross through another national schedule and stop at Holiday Hoopsgiving. Norcross went 22-9 with a run to the semifinals of the GHSA playoffs. Boston was forced to face off against undefeated McEachern and his AOT teammates Okoro and Cooper. Boston contributed 11 points and 15 rebounds in the overtime loss. At the end of his junior year, Coach Calipari and Kentucky came calling, offering him a scholarship in February of 2019. Boston would again gain massive ground in the summer. In his final U-17 EYBL season, Boston finished fifth in scoring at 23.6 points per game. At the Peach Jam, against eventual champions Mokan Elite, he registered 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists while shooting 50% from 3. Following EYBL, Boston took his official visit to Kentucky, committing on the spot before taking official visits to any of his other final four schools (Auburn, Duke, and Florida).&nbsp;
Prior to his senior year, Boston heavily considered playing for McEachern with AOT teammate Sharife Cooper. He instead opted to transfer to Sierra Canyon School (CA) -- which featured Ziaire Williams, Amari Bailey and Bronny James -- in order to help give his sister a better education. BJ had a massive senior season for Sierra Canyon. The school played a multitude of televised games, and was followed by LeBron James&rsquo; Uninterrupted for a documentary in one of the most heavily publicized high school seasons in recent memory. Boston put on a show worthy of such attention, as he averaged 20 points per game and 7 rebounds en route to a 30-4 record in a COVID-shortened season. For his efforts, BJ brought home California&rsquo;s Mr. Basketball award and earned First Team All-State honors. He also was named a McDonald&rsquo;s All-American and Jordan Brand Classic participant despite the games not being played.
Brandon Boston Jr. left California with a clean sweep of all the accolades he could achieve and shipped off to Lexington, and the rest is history.
BasketballNews.com currently has Boston listed No. 22 on <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">its 2021 NBA Draft Big Board</a>.

Grant Aqui looks back on BJ Boston's journey from Norcross High School in Georgia to Sierra Canyon and Lexington, Kentucky.

Brandon Boston Jr. maintains solid draft stock despite tough year at Kentucky

Throughout the entire NBA and WNBA restart in the bubble, player after player has verbalized the importance of arresting the officers who killed Breonna Taylor. They wore shirts with her name and redirected all questions during their media sessions to the importance of this case. Coaches discussed it during their press conferences and called for justice too.&nbsp;
L.A. Clippers forward Paul George <a href="https://twitter.com/bengolliver/status/1286051772998586374?s=21" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told reporters</a> that he would not answer any basketball questions and would only address questions specifically involving the Breonna Taylor case.&nbsp;Denver Nuggets forward Jerami Grant <a href="https://youtu.be/MdKBh8czLdw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">did the same</a>.
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray wore a tribute to Breonna Taylor and George Floyd on his sneakers.&nbsp;
&ldquo;In life, you find things that hold value to you - things to fight for,&rdquo; Murray told TNT during the first round of the playoffs. &ldquo;We found something worth fighting for as an NBA, as a collective unit. I use these shoes as a symbol to keep fighting. These shoes give me life. Even though these people are gone, they help me find strength.&rdquo;
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Nuggets head coach Mike Malone told reporters: &ldquo;I just put myself in Breonna Taylor&rsquo;s boyfriend&rsquo;s shoes. I&rsquo;m in my apartment, wherever I am living. Somebody breaks into my house at 2 or 3 in the morning. I am going to feel like somebody should not be there. &hellip; I know we&rsquo;ve been using our platform down here to try to bring about education and a voice in a lot of players on our team, especially speaking out on justice for Breonna Taylor. We have not gotten that justice. That&rsquo;s a shame. Hopefully that will change at some point.&rdquo;
The Breonna Taylor case was on the hearts and minds of just about everyone in the bubble, and players and coaches were using their platforms to make sure the world knew about this case as well.
Then, the moment finally arrived that a verdict was given.&nbsp;
The decision was announced on Wednesday that a Louisville grand jury would indict officer Brett Hankison on three felony charges of wanton endangerment in the killing of Taylor. So, for those who don&rsquo;t know, that means the cop was charged not for firing the bullets that took the life of Breonna Taylor, but rather for the bullets that missed and endangered people in other apartments.&nbsp;
And, as one would imagine, this news hit the entire NBA world hard.&nbsp;
Los Angeles Lakers guard Danny Green told reporters on Wednesday that LeBron James texted the grand jury&rsquo;s findings to the entire team as they were preparing to have a team meeting between Games 3 and 4 of the Western Conference Finals.&nbsp;LeBron took to Twitter to comment:
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On Thursday night, after the Lakers&rsquo; win against Denver that put Los Angeles up 3-1 in the series, James told reporters, &ldquo;We want justice, no matter how long it takes. We lost a beautiful woman in Breonna. I have a daughter at home and a wife and a Mom and thinking about if they were gunned down&hellip; it&rsquo;s a tragedy. Our hearts are with that family.&rdquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t surprised,&rdquo; Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/1308998798782476290?s=21">added</a>. &ldquo;I think that this society &mdash; the way it was built &mdash; its intentions was to never protect and serve people of color initially.&ldquo;
Many other players took to Twitter to vent such as <a href="https://twitter.com/boogiecousins/status/1308841443998433280?s=21">DeMarcus Cousins</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/jcrossover/status/1308830980820676608?s=21">Jamal Crawford</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/isaiahthomas/status/1308838617008218112?s=21">Isaiah Thomas</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/monstatrezz/status/1308834656058511360?s=21">Montrezl Harrell</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/lexiekiah_4/status/1308850095593598976?s=21">Lexie Brown</a> of the Minnesota Lynx, <a href="https://twitter.com/t_hawk21/status/1308826732733100034?s=21">Tianna Hawkins</a> of the Washington Mystics, <a href="https://twitter.com/layshiac/status/1308827159067205632?s=21">Layshia Clarendon</a> of the New York Liberty and many others.
The collective NBA and WNBA family was heartbroken at yet another instance of the justice system failing to value a Black life. NBA games ironically resumed with the words Black Lives Matter painted on the court, but absent from reality. In fact, Michael Vick&rsquo;s dogs received more justice than Breonna Taylor.
Then came Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal and Charles Barkley&rsquo;s comments on TNT&rsquo;s &ldquo;Inside The NBA&rdquo; on Thursday night.&nbsp;
Barkley <a href="https://twitter.com/gifdsports/status/1309288231167561728?s=21">proclaimed live on air</a> that you can't put the Breonna Taylor case in the same sentence as the death of George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery because her boyfriend shot at the police. He are his exact words:
"I don't think this one was like George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery and things like that," Barkley said. "I feel sad that this young lady lost her life. I think this one was &mdash; the no-knock warrant is something we need to get rid of &hellip; across the board. But I am worried to lump all these situations in together.
&ldquo;And I just feel bad that the young lady lost her life. But we do have to take into account that her boyfriend shot at the cops and shot a cop. So like I say, even though I am really sorry she lost her life, I don't think that we can put this in the same situation as George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery. I just don't believe that."
Shaq weighed in and said, "I have to agree with Charles, this one is sort of lumped in. You have to get a warrant signed and some states do allow no-knock warrants. And everyone was asking for murder charges. When you talk about murder, you have to show intent. A homicide occurred and we're sorry a homicide occurred. When you have a warrant signed by the judge, you are doing your job, and I would imagine that you would fire back."
Barkley <a href="https://twitter.com/gifdsports/status/1309289936315715584?s=21">went on to say</a>, "Who are Black people supposed to call, Ghostbusters, when we have crime in our neighborhood? We need to stop the defund or abolish the police crap."
It would be nice if these two respected and beloved commentators would fact-check their positions before they used their incredible platform to give out inaccurate information. Their entire exchange is incredibly inaccurate and it would take two articles to break down the misinformation they spewed, but here are a few points of contention:
1. Barkley, when describing why the Breonna Talylor case differs from other cases he mentioned, simply says &ldquo;because he shot at the police&rdquo; without providing any context. 
According to the testimony of Breonna Taylor&rsquo;s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker: &ldquo;Walker told investigators he heard banging at the door and assumed it was Taylor's ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover. Taylor, who had awoken, shouted, &lsquo;Who is it?&rsquo; but Walker said there was no response. He said he and Taylor scrambled to get dressed and that he grabbed his gun, which his attorney has said he legally owns. He said both he and Taylor were yelling, &lsquo;Who is it?&rsquo; but received no response. As they made their way toward the front door, Walker said, the door flew off its hinges. &lsquo;So I just let off one shot,&rsquo; he said. &lsquo;I still can't see who it is or anything.&rsquo;" 
This is very different than saying, &ldquo;He shot at the cops first.&rdquo; Now, I&rsquo;m not expecting Charles Barkley to go into this level of detail during his &ldquo;Inside The NBA&rdquo; segment, but if he is going to comment on this, he has to at least give proper context.&nbsp;
2. Barkley repeats the often-expressed false narrative of &ldquo;defund&rdquo; and &ldquo;abolish&rdquo; being synonyms. Again, if he is going to comment on this, he needs to be fully educated on the subject or at least the English language. The fact is &ldquo;defund the police&rdquo; means &ldquo;reallocating or redirecting funding away from the police department to other government agencies funded by the local municipality.&rdquo; That&rsquo;s it. So, the police are responsible for areas they are trained to be responsible for. For example, issues involving mental health can be left to people trained to handle mental-health challenges.&nbsp;
Dr. Rashawn Ray, a Professor of Sociology and Executive Director of the Lab for Applied Social Science Research (LASSR) at the University of Maryland, College Park, recently explained in detail what defunding the police actually means in an article titled &ldquo;What does defund the police mean and does it have merit&rdquo; (which <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/06/19/what-does-defund-the-police-mean-and-does-it-have-merit/">you can read in full here</a>).
&ldquo;Advocates for the defund movement like Phillip McHarris and Thenjiwe McHarris argue that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/opinion/george-floyd-police-funding.html?referringSource=articleShare">shifting funding to social services</a> that can improve things such as mental health, addiction, and homelessness is a better use of taxpayer money,&rdquo; he writes. &ldquo;This approach further enhances the push to decriminalize and destigmatize people with mental-health conditions and addiction problems.&rdquo;
Again, I&rsquo;m not expecting Barkley to go into this level of detail during his &ldquo;Inside The NBA&rdquo; segment. But if he is going to comment on this, he needs to be well-informed of the facts.&nbsp;
The NBA and its players hold the entire crew of TNT's "Inside The NBA&rdquo; in high regard. They have become must-see TV for the majority of NBA players and fans. And I, for one, am all for the exchange of different opinions and discussions and debates. That&rsquo;s not the issue here.&nbsp;
But giving an accurate and factual portrayal when discussing a topic that is near and dear to the entire NBA world should be a requirement given the platform that O&rsquo;Neal and Barkley have. Spewing false narratives and giving inaccurate information and drawing conclusions based on those inaccuracies is not only irresponsible but disrespectful to Breonna Taylor, her loved ones, activists fighting for justice, NBA players who took up her cause and everyone else involved.&nbsp;

NBA veteran Etan Thomas vents about the misinformed comments from Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley on Breonna Taylor's death.

Rayshawn

EASL Game Day #3 recap: Macau Black Bears and Taoyuan Pauian Pilots Capture Victory

Charlotte wins CBI title, holds off Eastern Kentucky 71-68

Manhattan fires men’s basketball coach Steve Masiello

Brandon Boston Jr. maintains solid draft stock despite tough year at Kentucky

Shaq, Barkley's misinformed comments were disrespectful