Commodores

On Friday afternoon, the NBA G League announced the field of 45 prospects from the 2023 NBA Draft who will participate in the 2023 NBA G League Elite Camp, which will take place May 13 and 14 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
The NBA G League Elite Camp gives draft prospects an opportunity to display their skills in front of NBA and G League scouts, coaches and front-office executives by playing in five-on-five games and participating in strength-and-agility drills.
Based on performance, select players from the NBA G League Elite Camp will be invited to participate in the NBA Draft Combine, which will be held May 15-21 at Wintrust Arena.
NBA players who have participated in past G League Elite Camps include New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado, Indiana Pacers forward Oshae Brissett, Memphis Grizzlies forward Kenneth Lofton Jr. (who won the 2022-23 G League Rookie of the Year award), Los Angeles Clippers guard Terance Mann and Miami Heat guard Max Strus.
Below is a list of attendees for the 2023 NBA G League Elite Camp (although its subject to change):
Bediako, Charles (Alabama) Black, Leaky (North Carolina) Bridges, Jalen (Baylor) Broome, John (Auburn) Bryant, Joe (Norfolk State) Burton, Tyler (Richmond) Campbell, Tyger (UCLA) Castleton, Colin (Florida) Da Silva, Tristan (Colorado) Davis, Antoine (Detroit) Davis, Johnell (FAU) Davis, Kendric (Memphis) Doss, Shaun (Arkansas Pine-Bluff) Evbuomwan, Tosan (Princeton) Fudge, Alex (Florida) Gortman, Jazian (Overtime Elite) Hall, PJ (Clemson) Hart, Hakim (Maryland) Hauser, Joey (Michigan State) Hodge, D&rsquo;Moi (Missouri) James, Josiah-Jordan (Tennessee) Jones, Dillon (Weber State) Kinsey, Taevion (Marshall) Larsson, Pelle (Arizona) Lawrence, Tyrin (Vanderbilt) Martin, Jaylen (Overtime Elite) Mayer, Matthew (Illinois) McConnell, Caleb (Rutgers) Miller, Emanuel (TCU) Murrell, Matthew (Mississippi) Newton, Tristen (Connecticut) Nkamhoua, Olivier (Tennessee) Nolley II, Landers (Cincinnati) Nowell, Markquis (Kansas State) Omier, Norchad (Miami) Omoruyi, Clifford (Rutgers) Peterson, Drew (USC) Reeves, Antonio (Kentucky) Rice, Sir&rsquo;Jabari (Texas) Rodgers, Spencer (Kennesaw State) Sears, Mark (Alabama) Sharavjamts, Mike (Dayton) Stevens, Isaiah (Colorado State) Tyson, Hunter (Clemson) Watson, Anton (Gonzaga)

The NBA G League announced the field of 45 prospects from the 2023 NBA Draft who will attend the 2023 NBA G League Elite Camp.

NBA G League announces 45 prospects competing in G League Elite Camp

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

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

The madness of March: It&rsquo;s as exhilarating as it is exhausting, as mesmerizing as it is memorable. The abrupt ending of an entire career, a legacy defined in two to three seconds. It almost seems unfair, but that&rsquo;s the beauty of the win-or-go-home tournament.&nbsp;
Every game is a Game 7. The unpredictability, the passion, the tears, the celebration. The NCAA Tournament is one of the few sporting events that&rsquo;s more defined by the incomparable upsets than the eventual champion.
Even non-basketball fans get in on the fun each year, with office pools and bracket challenges. While college sports and amateurism are under a drastic transformation, &ldquo;The Tournament&rdquo; still has a nostalgic feel to it. The incredible buzzer-beaters are one of the many reasons why.
Narrowing this list down was a tall task, so before we get started, it&rsquo;s important that we establish the criteria:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">It has to be a game-winning or game-tying shot in the final seconds.&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">It has to be in the &ldquo;modern era&rdquo; (i.e. since the three-point line and shot clock).&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">The later in the tournament, the higher the stakes, the more the shot means.</li>
</ul>
With that being said, here are the 11 most memorable buzzer-beaters in modern men's NCAA Tournament history.
11. Michigan State vs. Maryland, Korie Lucious (2010 Second Round)
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In one of the rare times Tom Izzo didn&rsquo;t call timeout in the waning seconds of a game, it paid off for him big time. You might recognize that big fella bringing the ball up the court; that&rsquo;s a slightly heavier Draymond Green, doing what he&rsquo;s been doing for the last decade in the Bay, pushing the tempo, drawing attention and then getting the ball to a knockdown shooter.&nbsp;
Maryland never properly matched up, and Korie Lucious only needed one rhythm dribble to send the Spartans to the Sweet Sixteen.
10. Wisconsin vs. Xavier, Bronson Koenig (2016 Second Round)
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The Musketeers had the ball in a tie game but turned it over, which led to one of the smoothest walk-off game-winners you will ever see.&nbsp;
Looking like he was in the gym shooting all by himself, All-Big-Ten guard Bronson Koenig caught the ball on the sideline, smartly took an escape dribble and hit the corner three that sent the Badgers to the Sweet Sixteen.
9. Connecticut vs. Washington, Richard Hamilton (1998 Sweet Sixteen)
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This entire sequence was amazing. I love how the refs swallowed their whistle on the first two attempts. Those may have been foul calls earlier in the game, but not with the championship on the line. Washington had a huge frontline that year, but ultimately ended up one rebound short.&nbsp;
Also, this is good coaching by Hall-of-Famer Jim Calhoun. In college, you have to go early because the opposing team cannot advance the ball to halfcourt with a timeout, so there&rsquo;s no point in waiting too long and eliminating the chance of getting an offensive rebound.&nbsp;
Rip Hamilton would go on to win both an NCAA championship and NBA championship with the Detroit Pistons.&nbsp;
&nbsp;8.Valparaiso vs. Ole Miss, Bryce Drew (1998 First Round)
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This is definitely the most schematic of any buzzer-beaters on this list. The son of the coach coming through in the clutch seems perfectly scripted for a Disney movie.
As with most of these incredible shots, it involves missed free throws and an underrated pass. The defense on this play was phenomenal (which can&rsquo;t be said for another historic shot that we&rsquo;ll get to in a bit).
7. Michigan vs. Houston, Jordan Poole (2018 Second Round)
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Long before he was a spark plug off the bench for the world-champion Golden State Warriors, Jordan Poole was hitting big shots in Ann Arbor. He drove Coach John Beilein crazy with his shot selection, but one of the reasons he earned such a long leash was his uncanny ability to hit shots from anywhere and at any angle.&nbsp;
6. UCLA vs. Mizzou, Tyus Edney (1995 Second Round)
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Every national champion has one of &ldquo;those&rdquo; games where despite having the superior roster, they probably should have lost. The Bruins were loaded! This roster featured eight guys who eventually played in the NBA. But the longer the game stays close, the more the pressure shifts to the No. 1 seed.&nbsp;&nbsp;
5. Michigan vs. Kansas, Trey Burke (2013 Sweet Sixteen)
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In 2013, Trey Burke was named the National Player of the Year and he carried the Wolverines all season long. The debate of whether to foul when up three points is for another column, but this was a Damian-Lillard-range three, and no one wants to risk a foul that far from the basket.&nbsp;
4. Kansas vs. Memphis, Mario Chalmers (2008 NCAA Championship Game)
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Mario Chalmers is a legend in Lawrence for as long as he lives. The Memphis Tigers were led by soon-to-be-first-overall-pick Derrick Rose and the silky smooth Chris Douglas-Roberts, and they had the game won until &ndash; and stop me if you have read this before &ndash; crucial free-throw misses opened the door for Kansas. This allowed Chalmers to force overtime, and the rest is history.&nbsp;
Coach Cal has gone on to win a national championship at Kentucky, but I bet if you caught him in a hotel bar on a recruiting trip, he would admit that he should have fouled Kansas before Chalmers even had the opportunity to hoist up this miracle three-point attempt.&nbsp;
3. Gonzaga vs. UCLA, Jalen Suggs (2021 Final Four)
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Gonzaga truly seemed like a team of destiny after Jalen Suggs hit the running bank shot against UCLA to remain undefeated and advance to the national championship game. While they would ultimately fall to Baylor two days later, the shot was ridiculous.&nbsp;
And unlike many of the plays on this list, UCLA didn&rsquo;t really do anything wrong. They didn&rsquo;t miss a free throw or look confused on defense. They lost on a straight-in bank from half-court, which even seemed to cause Gonzaga head coach Mark Few to feel a bit guilty.
2. Duke vs. Kentucky, Christian Laettner (1992 Elite Eight)
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Kentucky fans, look away. Hate him or really hate him, Christian Laettner was one of the greatest college players of all-time.&nbsp;
This game was one for the ages. Duke was the defending national champion. They were led by the aforementioned Laettner, All-American pest/point guard Bobby Hurley and budding superstar/future Hall-of-Famer Grant HIll.&nbsp;
Somewhat lost in the dramatic ending is the fact that Laettner was literally perfect on the night. He shot 10-of-10 from the field and 10-of-10 from the free-throw line, and he finished with a state line of 31 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
1. Villanova vs. UNC, Kris Jenkins (2016 NCAA Championship Game)
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The dream of all dreams. This is the scenario that every boy or girl who has ever played basketball at any level has imagined hundreds of times. A few seconds left. The ball in your hands. A title on the line. Three, two, one&hellip; You drill the game-winner and become a champion.&nbsp;
On April 4, 2016, Kris Jenkins turned this dream into reality. The timing is an underrated aspect of this play. The pass was right on time, and right on target &ndash; soft and chest-high. This let Jenkins shoot in rhythm &ndash; a shot that he had made thousands of times before. You gotta love how Jay Wright showed the emotion of John Wick as he walked to shake Roy Williams&rsquo; hand.&nbsp;
HONORABLE MENTION
Connecticut vs. Clemson, Tate George (1990 Sweet Sixteen)
Duke vs. Connecticut, Christian Laettner (1990 Elite Eight)

With March Madness upon us, Basketball News revisits 11 of the most memorable buzzer-beaters in NCAA Tournament history.

March Madness: Ranking the top-11 men's NCAA Tournament buzzer-beaters

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

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

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

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Tyrin Lawrence knocked down a 3-pointer from the right corner at the buzzer as the Vanderbilt Commodores snapped an 11-game skid against its in-state rival by upsetting sixth-ranked Tennessee 66-65 on Wednesday night.
Students rushed the court and joined the Commodores (12-12, 5-6) in celebrating easily the biggest win in coach Jerry Stackhouse&rsquo;s fourth season.
Tennessee (19-5, 8-2) had a chance to finish off the win after Olivier Nkamhoua knocked down a 15-foot jumper with 50 seconds left for a 65-63 lead. Liam Robbins missed a turnaround jumper with 27 seconds for Vanderbilt, and Zakai Zeigler grabbed the rebound.
Lawrence finished with a team-high 19 points. Robbins added 14 and nine rebounds, and Jordan Wright had 12.
Santiago Vescovi and Tyreke Key each had 14 to lead Tennessee. Nkamhoua and Julian Phillips added 10 apiece.
NO. 2 HOUSTON 80, TULSA 42
HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Marcus Sasser scored 25 points and had five 3-pointers, Emanuel Sharp added 13 points and Houston earned its fifth straight win.
Sasser scored 19 points on 8 of 13 shooting in the first half as the Cougars (23-2, 11-1 American Athletic Conference) built a 46-18 halftime lead. The senior guard had the first 12 points in a 24-2 run that gave Houston a 31-12 lead with six minutes remaining in the first half.
Tim Dalger scored 13 points, and Sam Griffin added 11 points for Tulsa (5-18, 1-11).
NO. 3 ALABAMA 97, FLORIDA 69
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Miller scored 24 points and made 4 of 8 3-pointers to lead No. 3 Alabama over Florida.
The Crimson Tide (21-3, 11-0 Southeastern Conference) raced to a 29-point halftime lead against the Gators (13-11, 6-5), who had knocked off then-No. 2 Tennessee a week earlier.
Miller added nine rebounds and three assists for the Tide. Mark Sears made 4 of 6 3s and scored 19 for Alabama, which buried 15 shots from long range. Jahvon Quinerly had 11 points.
Colin Castleton led Florida with 29 points and 10 rebounds. He accounted for 13 of his team&rsquo;s 23 in the first half and made 11 of 14 free throws. Riley Kugel added 15 points and Will Richard scored 11.
WEST VIRGINIA 76, NO. 11 IOWA STATE 71
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) &mdash; Kedrian Johnson tied a career high with 22 points, and West Virginia held off Iowa State.
Emmitt Mathews added a season-high 20 points for the Mountaineers (15-9, 4-7 Big 12), who have won five of seven to get their season moving in the right direction after they dropped five in a row during one stretch.
Jaren Holmes led the Cyclones (16-7, 7-4) with 18 points. Freshman Tamin Lipsey had a season-high 16 points and Caleb Grill added 13.
NO. 14 BAYLOR 82, OKLAHOMA 72
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Keyonte George had 23 points, Adam Flagler scored 20 and big man Johnathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua made a couple of key 3-pointers as Baylor held on to beat Oklahoma.
Langston Love added 19 points for Baylor (18-6, 7-4 Big 12), which has won eight of nine overall since losing its first three league games.
The Sooners (12-12, 2-9) lost their sixth consecutive conference game, the last three since a still-hard-to-explain 93-69 win over then-No. 2 Alabama in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Grant Sherfield had 15 points, including four 3-pointers, for the Sooners, and Milos Uzan added 11 points. Otega Oweh and Joe Bamisile both scored 10.
NO. 20 PROVIDENCE 74, GEORGETOWN 62
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Bryce Hopkins scored 17 points and Providence won for the fourth time in five games.
Devin Carter and Ed Croswell had 12 points apiece as the Friars (18-6, 10-3 Big East). Noah Locke added 11 points, shooting 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
Bradley Ezewiro paced last-place Georgetown (6-19, 1-13) with 19 points and Primo Spears added 18. Brandon Murray scored 16 as the Hoyas dropped their fourth straight.
NO. 23 CREIGHTON 75, SETON HALL 62
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Baylor Scheierman had 19 points and nine rebounds, Ryan Nembhard added 15 on 6-of-7 shooting and dished out four assists, and Creighton fended off a feisty Seton Hall.
Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 13 points and Arthur Kaluma had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Bluejays (16-8, 10-3 Big East).
Seton Hall (15-10, 8-6) opened up the second half with an Al-Amir Dawes 3-pointer to take the lead before Kalkbrenner quickly tied things up at 42. Tyrese Samuel drilled a 3-pointer in the corner to give Seton Hall a 49-43 lead &ndash; its largest of the game &ndash; with 16:49 left.
Dawes had 19 points, Samuel had 11 points and Kadary Richmond added 10 points for Seton Hall.
NO. 25 SAN DIEGO STATE 63, UTAH STATE 61
LOGAN, Utah (AP) &mdash; Matt Bradley scored 18 points and San Diego State held on to beat Utah State.
Bradley made his first seven shots and went 7 of 9 from the field overall to help keep the Aztecs (19-5, 10-2 Mountain West Conference) atop the conference standings. Jaedon LeDee had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Micah Parrish added 12 points for San Diego State. The Aztecs&rsquo; top three scorers grabbed a combined 22 rebounds.
Steven Ashworth had 18 points, six assists and five rebounds for Utah State (19-6, 8-4). Taylor Funk added 11 points and eight rebounds for the Aggies, who lost at home for just the second time this season.&nbsp;

A recap of Wednesday night's action in men's college hoops includes two top-15 upsets, most notably the Commodores downing the Vols.

Vanderbilt’s late three-pointer stuns No. 6 Tennessee 66-65

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson remembers every slight. Every criticism. Every chip that&rsquo;s landed on his shoulder.
You can bet the Kansas forward remembers watching Kansas State fans storm the court after beating the Jayhawks.
So with revenge on their mind, Wilson and his pals jumped on the seventh-ranked Wildcats in the rematch Tuesday night. He finished with 20 points, Kevin McCullar Jr. had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the No. 8 Jayhawks rolled to a 90-78 victory that also tightened the Big 12 standings at the midway point of conference play.
&ldquo;It was like a big rub in our face, them storming the court,&rdquo; Wilson admitted. &ldquo;I always remember stuff like that.&rdquo;
Dajuan Harris Jr. added 18 points for the Jayhawks (18-4, 6-3), who built a 12-point halftime lead before coasting to their 17th straight home win over K-State. They also won their second straight after a three-game skid, and made sure to avoid taking back-to-back losses inside Allen Fieldhouse for the first time since the 1988-89 season.
&ldquo;Hey, their guys are hard to guard. They&rsquo;ve got a good team,&rdquo; Kansas coach Bill Self said. &ldquo;I actually thought we did a good job, for the most part, and our bench was terrific. That was the best our bench has played so far.&rdquo;
Markquis Nowell scored 23 points and Keyontae Johnson had 22 points and 12 boards to lead the Wildcats (18-4, 6-3), who were trying for their first regular-season sweep of their biggest rival in four decades.
Nae&rsquo;Qwan Tomlin added 11 points for Kansas State. David N&rsquo;Guessan had 10.
&ldquo;They play at a fast pace. You know they play better at home,&rdquo; Nowell said. &ldquo;They started early with turnovers. They got out in transition. They got the crowd involved. They had a huge first half and I feel like we dug ourselves a hole.&rdquo;
In their first meeting on Jan. 17, the Wildcats raced to a big early lead and controlled the game until late in the second half, when the Jayhawks forced overtime &mdash; only for Kansas State to win on Johnson&rsquo;s alley-oop dunk.
It was the Jayhawks who controlled the rematch.
They used a 16-7 run early in the game, built by speeding up the Wildcats and controlling the tempo. At one point, Kansas State coach Jerome Tang picked up a technical foul, and the Jayhawks stretched their lead to 32-19 in a blink.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want to get a technical. I didn&rsquo;t mind getting a technical, though,&rdquo; Tang said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been in here too many times where I feel like the crowd impacts the referees. And they&rsquo;re human beings, and this is no knock on them. I just wanted them to know I did not feel like the calls were being even on both ends.&rdquo;
The Wildcats answered with a run of their own, closing within 37-32. But that&rsquo;s when Wilson hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Zach Clemence, forced onto the court due to foul trouble among starters, added one of his own.
Kansas eventually led 49-37 at the break. And while the Wildcats briefly got within six in the second half, the outcome never seemed in jeopardy. The Jayhawks stretched their lead to 16 before cruising to the finish.
&ldquo;I thought we had a bunch of self-inflicted wounds,&rdquo; Tang said. &ldquo;Part of it was the environment, part of it was the scheme and how we tried to attack them. We&rsquo;ll go back and look at it.&rdquo;
OFFICIATING OOPS
Johnson had to sit with two fouls just 2 1/2 minutes into the game. Only problem? The crew of John Higgins, Kip Kissinger and Marques Pettigrew gave one to the wrong player. By the time they corrected their mistake, the Wildcats&rsquo; leading scorer had unnecessarily ridden the bench for several minutes.
SELLOUT ... AND THEN SOME
For the first time in more than 15 years, more Kansas students redeemed tickets than there was space available inside Allen Fieldhouse. The overflow had to watch the game on screens in the adjacent Horejsi Family Athletics Center, where the Jayhawks play volleyball games. Those students also got refunds and concessions vouchers.
BIG PICTURE
Kansas State&rsquo;s three losses in league play have been to ranked teams on the road: TCU, Iowa State and Kansas. And with a more forgiving second half to the Big 12 schedule, the Wildcats remain firmly in the conference title hunt.
Kansas got its mojo back with its win at Kentucky last weekend. This victory over another bunch of Wildcats was crucial because the road doesn&rsquo;t get any easier for the Jayhawks, who are in the midst of three straight games against ranked teams.
UP NEXT
Kansas State returns home for another top-10 showdown Saturday against No. 10 Texas.
Kansas hits the road for the third time in four games against No. 13 Iowa State on Saturday.

“It was like a big rub in our face, them storming the court,” Jayhawks forward Jalen Wilson admitted. “I always remember stuff like that.”

No. 8 Kansas avenges earlier loss to No. 7 K-State, 90-78

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Freshman Brandon Miller scored 30 points as fourth-ranked Alabama beat Vanderbilt 78-66 Tuesday night for their seventh straight victory two days after a teammate was charged with capital murder.
Reserve junior forward Darius Miles was charged Sunday, a day after Alabama already had announced he would miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury. Coach Nate Oats said Monday that the Tide was going through a &ldquo;kind of grieving process.&rdquo;
The Crimson Tide (16-2, 6-0 SEC) rebounded well against a team that beat them in the conference tournament last March. All six SEC wins have come by double digits, though Vandy threatened late with a 13-2 run.
Jordan Wright missed a 3 with 36 seconds to go with Vandy down 70-62. The Crimson Tide finished off the win at the free throw line knocking down all eight attempts, and Miller had six of those.
Jaden Bradley and Noah Gurley each added 12 points as eight Alabama players scored. Gurley capped the win with a dunk in the final seconds.
Vanderbilt (9-9, 2-3) now has lost three of its last four &mdash; all against ranked opponents. The Commodores now are 3-15 against Top 25 teams overall in coach Jerry Stackhouse&rsquo;s fourth season.
Tyrin Lawrence led Vanderbilt with 20 points, Wright added 15 and Ezra Manjon had 11.&nbsp;
Alabama opened the game scoring the first six points and went up 13-3 on a free throw by Noah Gurley. Vanderbilt answered back and took its lone lead at 22-21 on a 3-pointer by Malik Dia. Then the Crimson Tide took control, finishing the half on a 15-4 run for a 36-26 lead at the half.
The Tide just kept scoring. Miller capped a 32-8 run with a 3-pointer with 12:44 remaining for Alabama&rsquo;s biggest lead at 53-30. Vanderbilt couldn&rsquo;t have been much colder, missing 10 of its first 11 shots for the half. Wright&rsquo;s 3 with 12:28 to go was the Commodores&rsquo; second made bucket of the second half.
BIG PICTURE
Alabama showed off its speed and shooting to remain undefeated in league play. This is just the Tide&rsquo;s second 6-0 start in the SEC under Oats in his fourth season. Alabama had not opened SEC play undefeated this far into league play since a 5-0 start in the 1986-87 season.
Vanderbilt wasn&rsquo;t helped by not having fifth-year forward Liam Robbins out with an injured ankle. He had 18 points in last weekend&rsquo;s win over then-No. 15 Arkansas. Robbins will miss four to six weeks. The 7-footer ranks fifth nationally blocking an average of 2.94 shots per game and was eighth with 50 total blocks. He saved a pair of victories blocking potential game-winners at the buzzer against Temple and Pittsburgh and is a big reason the Commodores rank 19th averaging 5.3 blocked shots a game.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The Crimson Tide positioned themselves to potentially gain more votes winning their first game since Miles&rsquo; arrest.
UP NEXT
Alabama continues a two-game road swing Saturday at Missouri.
Vanderbilt visits Georgia on Saturday.&nbsp;

Freshman Brandon Miller scored 30 points as fourth-ranked Alabama beat Vanderbilt 78-66 Tuesday night for their seventh straight victory.

Miller scores 30 points as No. 4 Alabama beats Vandy 78-66

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; The Vanderbilt Commodores leaned on their experience and trust in coach Jerry Stackhouse after an emotional end to a very chippy first half that led to an ejection of a teammate.
The result? A very big comeback.
Tyrin Lawrence scored 22 points as Vanderbilt rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half and beat No. 15 Arkansas 97-84 on Saturday to snap a two-game skid. The Commodores outscored Arkansas 63-42 after halftime.
&ldquo;In that second half, they did exactly what we&rsquo;ve been talking about,&rdquo; Stackhouse said. &ldquo;They led by example. No rah rah. Nothing but going out there and executing and being the veteran team that we are and playing like the veteran players that they did. I mean, it was on them. They they just competed.&rdquo;
Vanderbilt (9-8, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) trailed 50-40 before the 3s started falling, and Jordan Wright&rsquo;s 3 put Vandy ahead to stay up 59-56 with 12:40 left.
The Commodores kept scoring for a 33-9 run and a 73-59 lead with 7:43 left on a pair of free throws by Liam Robbins. The fifth-year forward scored all 14 of his points in the second half after playing only a minute in the first half with two fouls.
Arkansas (12-5, 1-4) lost its third straight and never got closer than seven down the stretch as the Commodores knocked down all 12 free throws in the final 1:57.
&ldquo;I just think we got a lot of guys still trying to figure out how to win on the road, how to win in conference,&rdquo; Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said. &ldquo;I mean, I&rsquo;ve coached a lot of games and I can&rsquo;t remember a defensive team giving up 63 points in a half.&rdquo;
Wright finished with 17 points for Vanderbilt. The senior also helped limit Arkansas freshman Anthony Black to three of his 18 points in the second half.
&ldquo;We put him on the best guy all the time,&rdquo; Robbins said of Wright. &ldquo;We trust him with everything on defense when he&rsquo;s guarding their guy, they get flustered, they get out of sorts. And we&rsquo;re able to go out in transition run. It all starts with him. He&rsquo;s our leader. He&rsquo;s our catalyst and we won because of him.&rdquo;
Myles Stute had 15, and Trey Thomas added 13 in a chippy game that featured three reviews with a Flagrant 1 for Arkansas and Vanderbilt guard Ezra Manjon ejected before halftime.
Ricky Council IV led the Razorbacks with 24 points. Davonte Davis had 17 and Makhi Mitchell finished with 11.
BIG PICTURE
Arkansas is used to slow starts in league play starting 1-3 each of the past two years only to finish in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. But the Razorbacks needed this win badly. This is their third of four road games to start the SEC slate, and they finish with two of their final three on the road at Alabama and Tennessee.
Vanderbilt had come close, losing by three at then-No. 20 Missouri and by nine at No. 5 Tennessee on Wednesday night. The Commodores showed just how dangerous they can be when their 3-point shot falls. ... The Commodores beat Arkansas in back-to-back games for the first time since March 2013 after losing 11 of the previous 13 in this series.
The Commodores now are 1-2 against ranked teams this season. Stackhouse now is 3-16 against Top 25 teams in his fourth season, and this was Vanderbilt&rsquo;s first win over a Top 15 opponent since Feb. 4, 2016, against No. 8 Texas A&amp;M.
EJECTION AND TECHNICALS
Manjon was immediately ejected by official Doug Shows with 49.8 seconds left for pushing Black as he tried to step over Quentin Millora-Brown. A review upheld the Flagrant 2 for Manjon. Stackhouse drew a technical before tossing his clipboard and later said he didn&rsquo;t think Manjon deserved to be ejected.
Black hit his free throw for his three-point play, then Council hit four of six free throws off the Vandy technicals to pad a 42-34 halftime lead.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
This loss coming on the heels of back-to-back losses by double digits definitely will drop the Razorbacks.
UP NEXT
Arkansas: Visits Missouri on Wednesday night.
Vanderbilt: Hosts No. 4 Alabama on Tuesday night.

The Commodores outscored Arkansas 63-42 after halftime.

Vanderbilt rallies from 10 down, beats No. 15 Arkansas 97-84

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Marcus Carr scored 19 points and made two free throws with 10 seconds left as No. 2 Texas held off No. 7 Creighton&rsquo;s furious late-game rally and beat the Bluejays 72-67 on Thursday night.
Texas led by 11 points in the second half, but Creighton got within three points a few times in the final minutes.
Tyrese Hunter scored 15 points for Texas (6-0), which got its second win over a top 10 opponent in its new arena. The Longhorns beat then-No. 2 Gonzaga on Nov. 16.
Ryan Kalkbrenner had 20 points and 13 rebounds for Creighton (6-2), and Ryan Nembhard scored 17 points. The Bluejays were 4 of 27 on 3-pointers, but found a late shooting touch in the final seconds to stay close.
UTAH 81, NO. 4 ARIZONA 66
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Branden Carlson scored 22 points and Utah handed No. 4 Arizona its first loss of the season in the Pac-12 opener for both teams.
Carlson went 5 of 9 from 3-point range. Rollie Worster had 12 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Utes (6-2), and Gabe Madsen and Ben Carlson scored 11 points apiece.
Oumar Ballo led Arizona (6-1) with 22 points and seven rebounds. Azuolas Tubelis added 20 points for the Wildcats, who trailed wire to wire and didn&rsquo;t resemble the high-flying team that won the Maui Invitational.
The Utes forced 11 turnovers in the first half that they converted into 15 points.
NO. 8 UCONN 74, OKLAHOMA STATE 64
STORRS, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Jordan Hawkins scored a career-high 26 points to lead UConn past Oklahoma State in the Big East-Big 12 Battle.
Adama Sanogo added 20 points and Andre Jackson scored 11 for the Huskies (9-0).
It was the smallest margin of victory for UConn so far this season. The Huskies&rsquo; next closest was an 82-67 win over then-No. 18 Alabama last Friday at the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Oregon.
Kalib Boone scored 15 points to lead the Cowboys (5-3). Avery Anderson III added 14.
NO. 9 KANSAS 91, SETON HALL 65
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Kevin McCullar Jr. returned from an injury to score 17 points and grab 10 rebounds, Jalen Wilson added 15 points and 13 boards, and Kansas rolled past Seton Hall in the big East-Big 12 Battle.
KJ Adams had 11 points, DaJuan Harris Jr. had 10 with seven assists and Ernest Udeh Jr. also scored 10 for the Jayhawks (8-1), who now have more than a week off before visiting bitter rival Missouri for the first time in a decade next Saturday.
Kadary Richmond had 17 points but also turned the ball over seven times for the Pirates (4-4), who were 4 of 19 from the 3-point arc in losing their third straight game. Tyrese Samuel added 16 points.
NO. 21 UCLA 80, STANFORD 66
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 27 points to help UCLA open up Pac-12 play with a win over Stanford.
The Bruins (6-2, 1-0 Pac-12) have won three straight after dropping back-to-back games to No. 6 Baylor and No. 16 Illinois in Las Vegas.
Tyger Campbell had 17 points and was two assists shy of a double-double, while Amari Bailey scored a season high-tying 19 points.
The Cardinal (3-5, 0-1) outscored the Bruins 37-30 in the second half, starting with three straight baskets within 90 seconds from Spencer Jones, who set a season high and led the team with 18 points.&nbsp;

A recap of Thursday night men's college hoops includes a close battle between two top-10 teams in Texas and Creighton.

Carr scores 19 as No. 2 Texas outlasts No. 7 Creighton 72-67

Over the past four seasons, the Cleveland Cavaliers have gone for the long play in the NBA Draft.
Koby Altman hasn&rsquo;t been afraid to take the proverbial big swing at the plate since he&rsquo;s been in charge of the front office, selecting a one-and-done freshman in each of the four years the wine and gold possessed a draft pick &mdash; Collin Sexton, Darius Garland (and Kevin Porter Jr.), Isaac Okoro and Evan Mobley. That was as Cleveland&rsquo;s general manager.
On Thursday night, in Altman&rsquo;s first draft as team president along with recently promoted general manager Mike Gansey, recently promoted assistant Brandon Weems, Brendon Yu and Co., the organization shifted its philosophy. With the No. 14 overall slot in the field, the Cavs got their guy in Kansas senior Ochai Agbaji to further accelerate their ascension.
&ldquo;To keep (the pick) actually brought a lot of energy to our scouting department. &lsquo;Let&rsquo;s go after it and see who we can bring in.&rsquo; Definitely different than the last three or four years in terms of what we&rsquo;re looking for,&rdquo; Altman said. &ldquo;This was more about who can come in and really help us and help this team achieve. A different process in terms of trying to find the most upside swing talent versus who can be the best fit. It was certainly a luxury to have that draft pick this year, and I guess that is a silver lining of just missing the playoffs&hellip;
&ldquo;...We really like his makeup, and he's solid. He knows he's gotta defend and make shots to make it in the league, and I think he brings that right away. Just excellent fit and super accomplished. You talk about a national champion and brings a skill set that we don&rsquo;t necessarily have to the table. We did a lot of due diligence, we had a lot of guys come in and we liked a lot of players at this pick. But where we were standing and with him on the board, we were super excited to bring Ochai in. That skill set is going to be utilized, we hope, right away.&rdquo;
Think about the most important phrase: Right away. The Cavs, who at this point last summer were hoping to nail another franchise cornerstone piece (and it appears they have successfully done so with Evan Mobley), feel like they are ready to surround those pillars with a ready-to-go prospect in Agbaji after coming up one win short of making the 2022 playoffs.
&ldquo;It means a lot, coming from Coach J.B. [Bickerstaff] and the whole staff and obviously what they think about me, and why they brought me here to this organization means a lot. I&rsquo;m just ready to start working and start working for Coach J.B. and the city,&rdquo; Agbaji said in his introductory press conference from Cleveland Clinic Courts on Friday afternoon.
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The 22-year-old is set to join a Cavs roster with teammates who are younger than him, yet have more NBA experience. At the same time, Agbaji boasts a list of accolades and high-stakes collegiate encounters, most notably in his final season with the NCAA Champion Jayhawks this past April.
&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s great for where we are now. We&rsquo;re trying to win basketball games,&rdquo; Altman said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a part of his makeup and he&rsquo;s coming to a team that wants to win. He&rsquo;s going to bring some unique ingredients to that. You&rsquo;re seeing national champions kind of sprinkled in these Conference Finals most recently. They definitely bring a chip with them. We hope he brings that to us.&rdquo;
Bickerstaff is thrilled that Cleveland was able to add Agbaji to the mix.
&ldquo;I thought he could be a weapon. He&rsquo;s got a skill that no matter where you are in the NBA, you need it,&rdquo; Bickerstaff explained. &ldquo;He has the ability to put the ball in the basket and it&rsquo;s not just the ability to stand in a spot and make a shot. When we watched him play, it was his ability to move and catch and shoot off of screens, off of handoffs, where he knew how to make himself difficult to guard.
&ldquo;And you know at this level, shot-makers are a premium &mdash; not only as a young player, as a role player, as a star; his responsibility is to help his teammates. Obviously, with the steps that Darius [Garland] took, Jarrett [Allen] took, those guys are going to need help to keep eyes off of them. That was one of the things we saw was a lot of people just would stare that pick-and-roll down. Now, when you throw in another weapon that can create shots like that off the move and makes defenses shift, now that frees up those guys as well. So he&rsquo;s a great fit as a complement to those guys. And then our expectations are for him to grow into that role as well.&rdquo;
Hearing that Bickerstaff is prepared to find a spot for him off the rip excites Agbaji, who is admittedly anxious to get to work with his new teammates, as Garland and Okoro have already reached out to the soon-to-be rookie. Coming into a new situation, Agbaji plans on being a sponge, soaking in all the advice from both the veterans and the younger talent.
Altman referred to Agbaji as a &ldquo;late bloomer&rdquo; who is &ldquo;self-made,&rdquo; no pun intended for who Ochai was coached by in Lawrence. (Altman repeatedly gave credit to Bill Self for the job he did in helping further Ochai&rsquo;s development though.) That assessment certainly checks out.
In four years with the Jayhawks, it wasn&rsquo;t until his junior and senior seasons that Agbaji blossomed into an NBA lottery pick. He stuck to the script and stayed for every season he was eligible to grind away at his craft, and in the final go-round, the work showed.&nbsp;
The 6-foot-5, 210-pound upperclassmen averaged 18.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists on a career-best 59.5% True Shooting percentage. He cashed in on 40.7% of his triples to boot (and on a high volume of nearly seven perimeter attempts per contest).
&ldquo;My mindset going back into my senior year was different than the past three years. What I've learned in that pre-draft process (where he tested the waters) was, I had a whole level of my work ethic that I could take it to a different level and what if I apply that to my senior season?&rdquo; Agbaji said. &ldquo;And that's what I did, mentally, physically putting more effort into my mind, my body, all that stuff, and just seeing where the cards play out.
&ldquo;You learn a lot. You go through ups and downs and in those four years, I went through a lot of ups and downs. Not everything&rsquo;s going to be perfect, you&rsquo;re going to have off days, but your off days, you want them to be better than some other people&rsquo;s off days in a way. You go through ups and downs and you learn those experiences. In those four years, that&rsquo;s what it&rsquo;s taught me.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Day one as a Cav ✔️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CavsDraft?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CavsDraft</a> <a href="https://t.co/YvTxBehxCa">pic.twitter.com/YvTxBehxCa</a>
&mdash; Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) <a href="https://twitter.com/cavs/status/1540421653137707009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2022</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

Altman and Bickerstaff believe that, while he&rsquo;s a plug-and-play type of player, there should be no his-development-is-over talk when it comes to the more seasoned Agbaji.
&ldquo;I mean, you have four years of data. You've seen him get better each year,&rdquo; Altman said. &ldquo;Now, I will say I don't want to put a ceiling on him because he has at every pass from high school to his senior year of high school, being under-recruited, goes to Kansas, they redshirt him his freshman year, they lift the red shirt because he's doing so well in practice because he can compete and play. Grows his way to becoming first team All-American, Big 12 Player of the Year, a number of accolades that he grew towards.
&ldquo;So does he figure out the NBA and have some upside? I think he does. But I think immediately we know what he's going to be able to do. He's going to defend, he's gonna compete, and I know JB wants to run him off a lot of stuff and get him some shots. So certainly more of a finished product than what we've drafted in the past.&rdquo;
Self vehemently called such an assumption "a bunch of crap," and less hostily, Agbaji echoes that sentiment.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s just more motivation to get better,&rdquo; Agbaji said. &ldquo;I think as my progression, my years have gone by, I feel like I&rsquo;m only getting better. That last summer, what I learned, applying that to my career moving forward is even more motivating to me.&rdquo;
As the league continues its shift into positionless basketball, there are many wondering how Agbaji figures into a guard room occupied by Garland, Okoro, Caris LeVert and possibly Sexton (a restricted free agent), if he is brought back into the fold.&nbsp;
Bickerstaff insists that the Cavs will find a way to put him on the floor, and that the work will start before training camp in September as it did last season before a terrific ensuing campaign. Cleveland&rsquo;s coaching staff does not like putting players in a box, as we saw with their jumbo lineups featuring Lauri Markkanen, Mobley and Allen among other unorthodox combinations.
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And while Altman concedes that Agbaji is probably more of a 2-guard, the Kansas star possesses a completely different tool kit than the rest of the bunch.
&ldquo;There's a need for that shooting piece. And not just standstill shooting, but really guys that can sprint off pindowns, and even if they're not getting the ball, you have to account for their movement away from the ball,&rdquo; Altman said. &ldquo;He does several different actions that create meaningful offense. We got a little bogged down last year, a little stagnant at times. And so maybe he can sort of turn it up and make us harder to guard right away... He can really shoot. He&rsquo;s got a really quick trigger. You can run him off screens...
&ldquo;The fact he can play wing, the fact he can guard wing is great. I don&rsquo;t know if that went into it so much as the need for shooting. I don&rsquo;t want to put him on a pedestal and say, &lsquo;This is the next great wing that we draft,&rsquo; but maybe it is. I do know that he fits a need right away and he&rsquo;s going to compete, and he has that winning pedigree that we really like.&rdquo;
(In a related note, Altman and the Cavs are hoping to get Sexton back for his cultural importance, stating that the Agbaji addition &ldquo;is not a duplicate.&rdquo;)
This morning, Agbaji woke up as a Cavalier, and he felt the love from the city when he landed in Cleveland on Friday morning. Going into draft night, he was already feeling blessed: a national champion, waiting to realize his dream of playing in the NBA. Then, a team came calling and proved they believed in him.
To Agbaji, this is where he is supposed to be.&nbsp;
&ldquo;From the moment I got here, from my workout &mdash; I just felt that home feeling,&rdquo; Agbaji said. &ldquo;Coach JB and Koby and Mike, they gave me that home feeling the first second I walked in here. So I mean, that's why I said I felt right at home here. I was here just like a week-and-a-half ago but it actually really does feel like home, so I'm glad to be here.&rdquo;
As we know, this lengthy, rangy Cavs defense creates a lot of turnovers. Agbaji is a tremendous pick-and-roll defender against ball-handlers (teams scored just 0.43 points per possession in such situations, per InStat), and can &ldquo;shoot the gap&rdquo; well with his 6-10 wingspan, according to Altman.
But in turn, a terrific transition player in his own right, Agbaji is poised to throw it down in the open floor as a result of those giveaways.
Is he already thinking of that moment at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse? You bet.
&ldquo;I'm really excited. I'm really excited for the first dunk at home and for the fans to go crazy,&rdquo; Agbaji said.
&ldquo;I'm old, we'll just take the two points,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said with a laugh.
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Spencer Davies recaps the Cavs picking Ochai Agbaji in the 2022 NBA Draft and why it shows they're in a different stage as a team.

Cavs prepared to throw Ochai Agbaji in the fire with present-day focus

BasketballNews.com's Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock presents a series that will peel back the curtain from his time as a sports agent, giving a glimpse at some of his personal experiences working in the sports agency business for over a decade.
In the second entry of the series, Babcock outlines his summer internship at high-powered sports agency Wasserman Media Group before the 2006 NBA Draft. 
When I was 22 years old, I was an intern at Wasserman Media Group's sports agency in Los Angeles, California. The internship not only had me doing typical intern-type tasks, but most importantly to me (because I had ambitions of being a coach), it had me working on the court daily with the company's newest clients &mdash; Shelden Williams, Brandon Roy, JJ Redick (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-dunker-spot/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-105-young-man-the-three" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who guested on The Dunker Spot this week</a>), Jordan Farmar and Joel Freeland &mdash; as they prepared for the 2006 NBA Draft. It was an exciting summer!
At that time, I was admittedly horrible with basic tasks in the office that were typical responsibilities asked of interns. Besides being a ball boy, working basketball camps and helping out at the NBA Draft Combine a few times, I had never had a real job before, as I'd always been busy being a basketball player. Anyway, my low-point while at Wasserman as an intern was being made responsible to send basketballs via FedEx for the agency's players and designated coaches to use at a pro-day workout in Florida that NBA scouts would attend.
I sent the basketballs out just fine. However, I sent them "ground," and they didn't arrive until days after the workout had happened. Greg Lawrence, who was in charge of managing the interns at Wasserman, had every reason to let me have it on that one, but fortunately for me, he didn't &mdash; thanks, Greg! In all honesty, I had some growing up to do. Luckily I did, eventually.
Despite my challenges in the office, I was right at home on the court, which was the main reason I was there from my perspective. I assisted Dave Joerger in working out and preparing all of Wasserman's new clients for the NBA pre-draft process. (Joerger was a D-League head coach at the time and eventually became the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings. He's currently an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers).
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Former NBA player and current Wasserman agent BJ Armstrong (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rex-chapman-show/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-41-episode-40-bj-armstrong" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who was recently a guest on The Rex Chapman Show</a>) also worked with the players occasionally. Darren Erman volunteered to help us with the workouts as well. (Erman, a corporate lawyer at the time, went on to have a successful career as an NBA assistant coach, and he is currently an assistant coach for the New York Knicks). An impressive group of coaches &mdash; I was lucky to have had the opportunity to work with them.
I worked on the court with the coaches and players a lot, but I spent a lot of quality time with the players off the court too. We routinely had lunches and dinners, and watched NBA playoff games together. I became close with Shelden, "B-Roy," and JJ; I got along with Jordan Farmar too, but because he had already lived in L.A. &mdash; being from there and attending UCLA &mdash; he wasn't around as much as the other guys, so I didn't get to know him quite as well. But, all in all, we had a great group of guys, and we had a good time together.
After 15 seasons in the NBA, JJ concluded a successful career and is now a rising star in the media. But in 2006, his fame was at its peak. A star at Duke, JJ generated a ton of media attention and was even on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He was treated like a rock star anywhere he would goShelden (JJ's teammate at Duke) once told me that fans would regularly avoid getting autographs from him and his teammates if JJ had already signed the item. Supposedly, if anyone else would sign the memorabilia, it would decrease the value. Think about that for a minute. Shelden was a consensus first-team All-American and one of the top NBA prospects in the country while at Duke!
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2019-12-12-at-10-01-03-am_lg.png" alt="" width="405" height="536" />
While in Los Angeles, JJ and I had a couple of nights out on the town (with the approval of his agents and my bosses, of course). One night, we went to an exclusive nightclub in Hollywood. We stood in a long line just like ordinary people; me, who was not famous, and JJ, who looked like the typical college frat boy. After standing in a hopeless line, I decided to talk to the bouncer to see if I could somehow get us in; I told him I was with JJ Redick. Within moments, we were taken into the club and seated at a table next to reality TV star Kristin Cavallari and former boxer and heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.
Hanging with JJ was a lot of fun.
After a month or so of us establishing a steady daily routine with the players, agent Thad Foucher let Coach Joerger and I know that he had a client named Joel Freeland from England who would be joining our workouts. Thad decided to have Joel enter his name in that year's draft. We needed to get him polished up for a showcase workout that we would be hosting the following week &mdash; every team in the NBA would be in attendance.
Every player we worked with up to that point was well-known. Joel was from England and played for a small team in Spain, so he was virtually unknown by NBA folks. However, at 6-foot-10, Joel was athletic and skilled for a player his size. After working with him, Coach Joerger and I agreed that he was a worthy prospect. Thad knew this already, of course; he wouldn't have signed him otherwise. We thought Joel might make a big splash at the showcase workout, and he did.
Following the workout in front of the entire NBA, Thad called me into his office and explained that Joel's draft stock had suddenly erupted, and he had more teams wanting to bring him into workout than days left until the draft. Therefore, he needed to be aggressive in organizing his schedule. It was the first time Joel had visited the United States, so Thad asked me to accompany him as he traveled around the country visiting different NBA teams. I essentially served as Joel's manager from that point until draft night. I remember vividly walking out of Thad's office to call my dad to tell him the good news. I was so excited to get that opportunity.
Before I knew it, Joel and I were off to Portland for his first team workout with the Trail Blazers. Joel and I shared a hotel room, and the team gave him per diem to cover his dinner. We ate at the hotel that night and had breakfast there the following day. While Joel was at the Blazers' practice facility for his workout, I stayed at the hotel killing time because the team didn't allow me to attend. Following his workout, we flew back to L.A. for one day so Joel could work out for the Lakers. Altogether, the trip to Portland was pretty uneventful for me. However, our journey was just getting started. Our next stop was Phoenix.
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When we landed in Phoenix, we were greeted by a car service: a gentleman in a black suit and tie with a fancy black car. He took us to the hotel, where Joel and I were given our own rooms at The Ritz Carlton. I felt like I was big time. Upon settling into our hotel rooms, the Suns' director of player personnel at the time (and current executive vice president of basketball operations for the New Orleans Pelicans), David Griffin, called to invite Joel and I to dinner at a steakhouse within walking distance from the hotel. He also asked me to attend the workout the next day. I must say that I am very appreciative of the first-class treatment David and the Suns gave me considering I was just a young guy trying to find my place in the business. "Griff" is undoubtedly a class act.
After a terrific trip to Phoenix, Joel and I continued our hectic travel, making stops in Houston, Dallas and Memphis. Aside from the Suns, no other teams allowed me to attend the workouts. Although it was perhaps a bit overzealous, it didn't stop me from trying.
While we were in Memphis, I casually walked into the practice gym with Joel and quietly took a seat, hoping no one would take too much notice of me where I could watch the workout. Shortly after I sat down, Ryan West, a scout with the Grizzlies and the son of the general manager and Hall-of-Fame player Jerry West, told me he wasn't sure if I'd be able to stay for the workout, but that he'd check.
Ryan and I were friends, and his dad and my uncle Pete had a close relationship, so I thought maybe I'd get the Griff/Suns treatment. The next thing I knew, Jerry was making his way toward me. My heart began to race; it wasn't that big of a deal to me whether I watched the workout or not, but the fact that "The Logo" was about to speak to me &mdash; that was a big deal!
As he approached me, he stuck out his hand and introduced himself; a really classy man with such an incredible presence. I'm not even entirely sure what I did or said. I'm not even sure if I responded at all initially. Ironically, I choked when meeting "Mr. Clutch." Anyway, the rest of our brief conversation went something like this:
Jerry West: Matt, would you like to watch the workout?
Me: Yes, I would like to, but it's not that big of a deal if it's an issue.
Jerry West: Do you speak to your father? (My dad worked for another NBA team).
Me: Well, of course, I do but...
(And before I could finish&hellip;)
Jerry West: It's nice to meet you, but we will have to ask you to wait for Joel in the locker room.
And that was my experience meeting Jerry West.
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Following the Memphis trip, we made our way to New York so Joel could work out for the Knicks the morning of the NBA Draft. Because I planned to pursue coaching jobs for the following season, the NBA Draft was when my internship would wrap up, as I prepared to attend Summer League in Las Vegas to hunt for coaching opportunities in July.&nbsp;
So just like that, my time with Wasserman was suddenly coming to an end &mdash; but first, we needed to see how the draft unfolded.
Although I was just an intern who had only known these players for a few months, we collectively put some real work together and created a bond. I cared about those players &mdash; I was invested. I especially cared for Joel, who quickly became like a little brother to me during our travels together as he chased his dream to play in the NBA.
So, our moment of truth was upon us. NBA Commissioner David Stern approached the podium, and the NBA Draft began. I anxiously watched, waiting to hear our guys' names called. Here's how it played out:
<ul>
<li>Shelden Williams &mdash; drafted No. 5 overall by the Atlanta Hawks</li>
<li>Brandon Roy &mdash; drafted No. 6 overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves and traded to the Portland Trail Blazers</li>
<li>JJ Redick drafted No. 11 overall by the Orlando Magic</li>
<li>Jordan Farmer drafted No. 26 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers</li>
<li>Joel Freeland drafted No. 30 overall by the Portland Trail Blazers</li>
</ul>
All of our players were selected in the first round (yes, even my "little brother," Joel Freeland)! I couldn't have been happier for all of the guys, especially for Joel, who played in the NBA for several years and had an incredibly successful career overseas.
The night of the 2006 NBA Draft, Shelden Williams, Brandon Roy, JJ Redick, Jordan Farmar, Joel Freeland, their families, the Wasserman agents and I celebrated the fruits of our labor. It was undoubtedly a great night and a terrific summer, which I will never forget.&nbsp;
Little did I know at that time that it was just the beginning of my involvement in the sports-agency business.
Stay tuned for the next entry of this series: "My past life as a sports agent: The 2006 NBA Draft." 
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/my-past-life-as-a-sports-agent-going-to-california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read the last entry of this series</a>: "My past life as a sports agent: "Going to California."
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.babcockhoops.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BabcockHoops.com</a>.
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Matt Babcock recounts his summer internship at high-powered sports agency Wasserman Media Group before the 2006 NBA Draft.

My past life as a sports agent: The 2006 NBA Draft

BasketballNews.com's Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock presents a series that will peel back the curtain from his time as a sports agent, giving a glimpse at some of his personal experiences working in the sports-agency business for over a decade.
In the first entry of the series, Babcock outlines his move to Los Angeles to begin his lifelong dream of working in basketball.
In the spring of 2006, I packed up my car, moved out of my apartment in Tucson, Arizona, and hit the road. In my rear-view mirror was the University of Arizona and my unavailing playing career; however, I wasn't looking back. In my mind, I was destined to follow in the footsteps of my dad and uncles &mdash; working in basketball. It was time for me to turn the page and start my next chapter.
On the other end of that road trip was a summer internship in Los Angeles where I'd be working at one of the biggest agencies in all of sports: Wasserman Media Group. At the helm of the agency's basketball division was famous sports agent Arn Tellem, who is now vice chairman of the Detroit Pistons.
(Before becoming a sports agent, Tellem worked as general counsel for owner Donald Sterling and the San Diego Clippers. Tellem was also instrumental in the team's move to Los Angeles in 1984. In addition, my uncle, Pete Babcock, had been the vice president of basketball operations for the Clippers while they were in San Diego. So my family had a long-standing relationship with Tellem dating back to the early 1980s before I was even born. Likely due to my family's relationship with him, I was offered a summer internship at Wasserman &mdash; and of course, I accepted).
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Having previously worked in the agency business for over a decade, many people ask me how I got started. Many assume I went to law school and had a sophisticated, well-thought-out plan to pursue a career as a sports agent. Well, that wasn't the case at all. Contrarily, I had always wanted to work directly for an NBA team, even as a child. I thought I'd start my career as a coach and eventually transition into scouting &mdash; just like my dad did. I'll elaborate on all of that later.
While working for Wasserman, I had typical intern-type responsibilities, like sending faxes to teams or making airport runs for players and staff members. However, Bob Myers and Greg Lawrence (both agents) explained that my primary responsibility would be to assist in player workouts on the court and helping prepare their new clients for the NBA pre-draft process. It was the perfect starting point for a young, aspiring coach.
I was ready to begin my career working in basketball &mdash; a dream come true. But there was a big problem: where was I going to live? It was a paid internship, but like most internships, it was only entry-level pay, and L.A. is a costly place to live. My dad worked in the NBA for years and my family did well, but I assure you I was not on any "gravy train." I needed help!
To some people's surprise, although I grew up in an NBA family, I was never given access to much money to spend on my own. Still, I have greatly benefited from my family's connections within basketball, especially early on in my career. My first stop in L.A. might have been the best example of that.
After tapping into my family's network and trying to find somewhere to stay for the summer, our family friend, Sam Goldfeder &mdash; an agent for Excel Sports Management and, ironically, a competitor of Wasserman's &mdash; graciously offered to let me stay in his mother-in-law's guest house for the summer &mdash; free of charge!
So I drove my car west on the I-10 across Arizona and into California. Cell phones didn't have GPS yet, so I grabbed my printed MapQuest directions and made my way into the L.A. area. Before I knew it, I was in Beverly Hills &mdash; one of the world's most prestigious neighborhoods. I passed the Beverly Hills Hotel, and it dawned on me that I was at the final steps of the directions:
<ul>
<li>Head east on N Crescent Dr toward Sunset Blvd.</li>
<li>Sharp right onto Sunset Blvd.</li>
<li>Slight right onto Benedict Canyon Dr.</li>
<li>The destination will be on the left.</li>
</ul>
Sam hadn't told me any details about the house or the setup other than that I would simply be staying in the guest house. I was relieved and thankful that I had a place to stay, but I was still curious to see where I'd be living for the summer.
When I finally pulled up to the house, I couldn't believe it &mdash; the place was incredible! It was like a house I imagined where a movie star would have lived. Eyes wide open, I pressed the button at the security gate, and an unfamiliar voice answered, "Hello?" I responded by telling the person who I was and that I was supposed to be staying in the guest house for the summer. Subsequently, the gate opened, and I pulled my car into the wrap-around driveway.
I was greeted by several women who worked for Sam's mother-in-law at the house. They said they would make me dinner, buy groceries and have my dry cleaning taken care of whenever I needed it. They then showed me to the guest house in the back. The whole situation was a bit surreal. I felt lucky, and I was lucky! It was perfect!&nbsp;
I was a young, 22 year-old kid who was fresh out of college, set to spend the summer living in the heart of Beverly Hills among the rich and famous &mdash; all while working for one of the biggest agencies in the sports industry. Finally, after a disappointing playing career that weighed on me heavily, I had a chance to start fresh and pursue my ambitions of having a presence in basketball &mdash; separate from my family.
The following day, I began my first day at Wasserman and my first day working in basketball. With high hopes, I had a world of endless possibilities ahead of me.
Stay tuned for the next entry of this series: "My past life as a sports agent: The 2006 NBA Draft." 
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.babcockhoops.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BabcockHoops.com</a>.
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To begin his eight-part series, Matt Babcock tells the story of his move to L.A. to begin his lifelong dream of working in basketball.

My past life as a sports agent: 'Going to California'

The story of college basketball can be traced largely from the base of Mount Oread on the campus of Kansas, where the inventor of the game was also the school&rsquo;s first coach, and across the heartland and down Tobacco Road to North Carolina, where so much of its history has been made.
Among those coached by Dr. James Naismith, who famously tacked up those peach baskets at the Springfield YMCA, was an irascible youngster named Forrest Allen, who would later go simply by the nickname &ldquo;Phog.&rdquo;
Phog Allen would later take over the Jayhawks and coach a young man from southeast Kansas named Dean Smith, who delivered him a national championship before beginning his own coaching career.
Smith would become a Tar Heels&rsquo; legend during his tenure in Chapel Hill, leading North Carolina to a pair of national championships. And one of his disciples, that dadgum Roy Williams, would not only lead the Jayhawks to four Final Fours but the Tar Heels to three titles of his own.
On and on it goes, the ties binding two of college basketball&rsquo;s bluebloods forming a rich tapestry over time, and another layer to come Monday night when the schools square off for the national championship at the Superdome.
&ldquo;Both teams are as blue as you can get when you talk about bluebloods,&rdquo; said Kansas coach Bill Self, whose Jayhawks are chasing a third national championship. &ldquo;But to play a Carolina program that&rsquo;s intertwined with Kansas history, in large part because Coach Smith played at Kansas and won a national championship in &rsquo;52 and then he goes on and is thought to be as good a basketball coach that&rsquo;s ever coached the sport over a period of time &mdash; I think that&rsquo;s special. &rdquo;
Self has his own ties to the Tar Heels.
He was just an eager young college student trying to make a buck as a camp counselor at Kansas in the early 1980s when he caught the eyes of the Jayhawks&rsquo; coach. It turned out to be Larry Brown, who two decades earlier had played for Smith and the Tar Heels before embarking on his own coaching career as an assistant in Chapel Hill.
&ldquo;So I&rsquo;m very proud to be a part of this game,&rdquo; Self said.
So is his North Carolina counterpart, Hubert Davis, who also played for Smith in the late 1980s and early &lsquo;90s. After his own college career, and more than a decade spent in the NBA, Davis returned to North Carolina as Williams&rsquo; assistant, then was picked to take over the Tar Heels when the Hall of Fame coach retired last spring.
Davis ruefully remembers playing against Williams and the Jayhawks in the 1991 national semifinals, when he went 9 of 16 from the field and scored 25 points in a losing effort. Kansas later lost to Duke in the title game.
&ldquo;Prior to us winning the national championship in 2017, from 1991 to 2017, I had watched that game at least once every year. It was the best team I ever played with,&rdquo; Davis recalled Sunday. &ldquo;And we really felt like we had a chance to win the national championship and we came up short. And that was a game that Coach Smith got two technical fouls and got kicked out, and it was an emotional game and an emotional end to a season.&rdquo;
Davis still considers that 79-73 defeat in Indianapolis &ldquo;the toughest loss that I&rsquo;ve ever experienced in my entire life.&rdquo;
&ldquo;And playing at Carolina, the thing, for me, that I always wanted was to cut down those nets as a player,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and we were so close and weren&rsquo;t able to be able to have that experience.&rdquo;
Davis ultimately had that experience as an assistant coach, though never at the Jayhawks&rsquo; expense. Kansas has won four of their six meetings in the NCAA Tournament, including a second-round matchup in 2013 with Davis in his first year on the Tar Heels&rsquo; bench.
And then there&rsquo;s Williams, who retired a year ago Friday after a Hall of Fame career. His first 15 seasons came at Kansas, along with a very famous &ldquo;no thanks&rdquo; when his alma mater first came calling for him to come home in 2000.
Three years later, Williams couldn&rsquo;t disappoint Smith a second time and returned to save a program in turmoil. He spent the next 18 seasons in Chapel Hill and claimed the national titles that had eluded him in his stellar tenure in Lawrence.
&ldquo;I loved it, loved the people, loved the players, loved Allen Fieldhouse, and I wanted them to win every single game,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;But (Monday) night&rsquo;s a little different.&rdquo;
He&rsquo;s been attending UNC games all season to support Davis and his former players after &ldquo;pushing so hard&rdquo; for Davis to be his successor. That includes Saturday&rsquo;s win against Duke here at the Superdome.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen people on Bourbon Street and they say &rdquo;Rock Chalk!&rdquo; and I&rsquo;ll say, &rsquo;Go KU&rdquo; because that is my love for that school, and that&rsquo;ll never change,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s a different story tomorrow night, and it&rsquo;s an uncomfortable one for me.
&ldquo;But at the same time, the connections with Coach Smith and myself and KU and the relationship we&rsquo;ve had over the years between those two great basketball program is something that&rsquo;s extremely special. And Roy Williams is extremely flattered to say that I was able to coach at both schools.&rdquo;
Despite their intertwined history and all the games they have played &mdash; 6,394 to be exact &mdash; Monday night will be just the 12th meeting between them. This will be the sixth postseason meeting to come in a regional final or later.
By comparison, the Jayhawks have played Kentucky 34 times.
The first meeting between the Tar Heels and Jayhawks was a triple-overtime NCAA title game in 1957, with UNC capping an unbeaten season by outlasting Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas 54-53. After Davis&rsquo; painful loss in &rsquo;91, the Tar Heels won a rematch in the national semifinals on the way to Smith&rsquo;s second championship.
But the Jayhawks have won the past three meetings, all in the tournament, most notably in the 2008 Final Four on the way to Self&rsquo;s lone national title.
Most of the players that ultimately will decide the latest showdown between the historic programs know only of the past through stories and memories. Some of them weren&rsquo;t even born when Williams was coaching at Kansas, let alone Davis playing for the Tar Heels, and it&rsquo;s been up to their coaches to instill upon them the importance of this moment.
Kansas and North Carolina for the national championship.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve told them this: The best experience that I have had as a player, hands down, was going to the Final Four,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;I told them, &lsquo;I played 12 years in the NBA and that was my finest as a basketball player, finest moment, just being part of the Final Four.&rsquo; I was trying to convey to them how special it is to be here. Now that they&rsquo;re being able to experience it is great.&rdquo;

There'll be another layer added to these school's rich histories when Kansas and UNC square off in the national championship in NOLA.

Tar Heels, Jayhawks enter NCAA title tilt with common roots

The Little Guy From Bendigo doesn&rsquo;t quite roll off the tongue like Just A Kid From Akron, but like LeBron James, G League Ignite guard Dyson Daniels is trying to make his hometown famous.
It&rsquo;s apropos that Daniels is channeling his childhood hero, though his country neighborhood in Victoria, Australia is more rural and smaller than that of LeBron&rsquo;s well-known abode in Northeast Ohio. It&rsquo;s also located on another continent in another hemisphere, a place that many people in the United States have never heard about.
From news articles to funding to general support, Daniels has felt the love from his local community. So what better way to return the favor than to make it to the NBA?
&ldquo;I try not to take it as pressure, but I'm trying to do everything to get Bendigo and Australia on the map,&rdquo; Daniels told BasketballNews.com in a Zoom video interview. &ldquo;Just be the best version of me I can and do my best."
He&rsquo;s chosen to do that with the Ignite in America, as opposed to committing to college or signing with the popular National Basketball League Next Stars program close to home, a route he was extremely close to picking.
&ldquo;I was almost certain on it before I got offered to go play on the G League Ignite squad. I was almost certain on going to the NBL,&rdquo; Daniels said. &ldquo;That's obviously a very good pathway as well. We've seen it with [Josh] Giddey and a few other players.&nbsp;
&ldquo;But I think just the overruling factor was talking, having a few Zoom calls with [former Ignite] head coach Brian [Shaw] and [G League president] Shareef [Abdur-Rahim], and them telling us about the development you're gonna get on and off the court. You're gonna be busy all day doing basketball things and helping to get better life skills and stuff like that. But yeah, I think I made the right decision and I'm ready to get started."
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Just over a week ago, Daniels made the trek to America to begin a new chapter of his basketball journey in California. He&rsquo;ll be one of the standout prospects joining the likes of Michael Foster, Jaden Hardy, Scoot Henderson, MarJeau Beauchamp and Fanbo Zeng as a part of a highly-regarded Ignite squad.&nbsp;
In one of his first workouts following his arrival, Daniels got to exchange pleasantries with Jason Hart, the team&rsquo;s new head coach following Shaw&rsquo;s departure to the Los Angeles Clippers.
&ldquo;It was good to catch up with him,&rdquo; Daniels said. &ldquo;That's the first time I've ever seen him in person, but he believes in me. You've gotta earn your playing time, so when training [camp] starts, I'm gonna put in [the work] and I'm gonna make sure I earn it."
Fans and even front office decision-makers may be unfamiliar with Daniels and his skill set, as there&rsquo;s little film and box-score research that can be done on the 18-year-old. For some, that unknown factor might be cause for hesitation. Daniels, however, sees that as a golden opportunity to show what he&rsquo;s made of.
&ldquo;I try not to get in my head [and be] too involved in the mock drafts and things like that, but I guess being there, people haven't really seen me as much as some of the other guys,&rdquo; Daniels said. &ldquo;That's good for me, and I'm just here to show 'em that I'm gonna put in the work and try to get my name up top once they see me more. But yeah, ultimate goal is to go No. 1.&rdquo;
Daniels describes his game as &ldquo;unlike anyone else&rsquo;s.&rdquo; He doesn&rsquo;t model it after anybody, instead taking bits and pieces from multiple pros. Using his favorite NBA player, Russell Westbrook, as a blueprint, Daniels emulates a similar mentality. He likes to interrupt passing lanes and intercept the ball to get out into transition as his fellow Aussies, Ben Simmons and Matisse Thybulle, often do.&nbsp;
Defense leading to transition chances, he relays, is a signature tool in his arsenal.
&ldquo;That's how I generate a lot of my offense. I like to think of myself as just 'smart' defensively, being able to get steals, being able to guard 1-through-4, some 5,&rdquo; Daniels said. &ldquo;Get steals, play smart, rotate and generate offense then. But I'm a playmaker, I'm a big point guard, 6-foot-6, so I like to make plays off the dribble for my teammates and myself. Get into lanes and use my floaters is one of my keys.&rdquo;
Basketball News Lead NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock provided his own scouting report on Daniels:
Dyson Daniels has positional size, can create with the ball in his hands and is a terrific slasher and capable outside shooter. He has a lot of upside and is a high priority on our watch list for this upcoming season.
Once Daniels acclimates to the Ignite environment in Walnut Creek by getting to know his teammates and running through a few practices, he&rsquo;ll set more short-term objectives for himself. For now, he&rsquo;s been in the gym with trainer Jordan Lawley in L.A. to address some areas of his game that can be refined.
&ldquo;Just become a more consistent shooter, just tweaking a few things in my shot preparation that I need to do better,&rdquo; Daniels said. &ldquo;But I'm sure that's gonna come. It's come along nicely already. But that, and then tightening up my handle. I'm a bit taller [of a] point guard... some of those little guards can get in underneath you, so I'm sure that's what's gonna happen this year in the G League. Just tightening up my handle and being ready for anything are some things I'm trying to improve on.&rdquo;
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While he may have solid size and length now, it wasn&rsquo;t always that way for Daniels. Now at 6-foot-6, he argues that having to pick up skills when he was little helped him become the player he is now.&nbsp;
Daniels remembers being a small six-year-old kid playing point guard for a Division III team in a U-10 league, erratically sprinting on the floor and turning the ball over frequently. But from the day he touched a basketball, Daniels knew he was &ldquo;made for it.&rdquo; He would watch the NBA, NBL and any other hoop programming that would hit his television screen.
His father, Ricky, played two years at NC State and starred for the Bendigo Braves when he was younger. While his mom, Brikitta, has gotten Dyson right in terms of manners and keeping him in line, Ricky has helped Dyson from a young age in the backyard.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Both my parents have helped me a lot just to become the person I am,&rdquo; Daniels said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s really good to have them and I get pointers off them... My biggest support system is my family, my close friends, close coaches and things that I have like that.&rdquo;
Daniels never stopped progressing, though, and began to make Division I teams in his pre-teens. Once that started happening, it caught the eyes of coaches near and far.
When he was 15, Daniels followed in his dad&rsquo;s footsteps by joining the Braves for a season at home in 2019. It was his first taste of semi-professional basketball, and matching up with bigger bodies was advantageous. But Daniels&rsquo; stock began to soar as soon as he moved to Canberra with the NBA Global Academy later that year.
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He&rsquo;s thankful for the entire staff, from NBA international director of basketball operations Chris Ebersole and content/program development lead Marie-Laurence Archambault in New York, to the coaches, trainers and everybody involved for the chance to be a part of the program. Competing in tournaments in Europe and America was paramount to his development, and he learned crucial off-the-court lessons in addition.
"I've changed so much &mdash; the person I am, the confidence I have now, the coaching that I was able to get there was phenomenal. We had the [Centre of Excellence] coaches as well. Going in there as well [at 6-foot-2], I was a little scrawny kid. Coming out, I've got a much bigger body... I had a huge growth spurt, 6-6. That helped me 'cause I was a point guard and already had those skills; it helped me, being 6-6, to still being a point guard.
&ldquo;So just building my body, building my life skills, building my basketball. They've helped me be able to see the floor better. I think IQ's something I've always had, but they've helped me to use it more and use it to my strengths. I've just learned so much from them.&nbsp;
Daniels is poised to become the second player in NBA Academy history to be drafted. The first was fellow Aussie Josh Giddey, whom he&rsquo;s been tight with since the duo&rsquo;s U-12 days playing for Victoria. They keep in touch and congratulate one another on their successes, so Daniels was thrilled when the Oklahoma City Thunder selected Giddey at No. 6 in the 2021 NBA Draft.
&ldquo;It was huge, man. I've known Josh for a while and seeing him put in the work when I was with him in the NBA Academy and then, get the opportunity to play in the NBL with the [Adelaide] 36ers and he excelled there, and he deserves every bit of it. It was really good seeing him [get drafted] and it was really good being able to play alongside him as well. That's my boy and I'm happy for him.&rdquo;
The progression for Daniels at the Academy paid off this past February, as the Australian senior national team brought him in to be a part of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers. In his only game, Daniels led the team over New Zealand with 23 points, 6 steals, 4 assists and 3 rebounds.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
🇦🇺 17-year-old <a href="https://twitter.com/DysonDaniels?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DysonDaniels</a> put on a show for the Boomers in their win over New Zealand <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIBAAsiaCup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIBAAsiaCup</a> 📊 23 PTS | 4 AST | 3 REB | 6 STL <a href="https://t.co/5iuKo09tK7">pic.twitter.com/5iuKo09tK7</a>
&mdash; NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA_AU/status/1363271752948744193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2021</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

&ldquo;That was really big for me as well. Being able to play for the Boomers in the Asia Cup Qualifiers at such a young age, some people don't get that opportunity,&rdquo; Daniels said. So obviously to be able to play, but to be able to have a really good game, that got me world looks and it helped me get to [be noticed]. [I'm] grateful for the opportunity from Adam Caporn to be able to play for the Boomers."
His momentum didn&rsquo;t stop there, either. He was a critical contributor for the Boomers&rsquo; U-19 squad in FIBA Basketball World Cup play, averaging 14.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.3 steals over seven games.
Spending time with the Boomers, Daniels has developed a relationship with former NBA veteran Matthew Dellavedova. It&rsquo;s ironic because he remembers being eight years old attending a Peak event where both ended up doing basketball drills together. Fast-forward to today, and they&rsquo;re teammates representing Australia, and Daniels gets advice from the champion guard when he asks for it.
The Little Guy From Bendigo hasn&rsquo;t done too bad for himself, and the fun part has just begun. Daniels is preparing for his first season at the professional level, which is step one toward Daniels finding himself in NBA threads come this time next year.
&ldquo;I always want to be in the gym. I always want to be the best I can. I'm sure some people have them about 'em as well, but I don't want anyone to outwork me. I want to be the hardest worker there is,&rdquo; Daniels said.
&ldquo;It's a great feeling. I think in terms of feeling ahead of people, I wouldn't say I do. There's options for everyone that they can choose, like what they want to do with their careers and that. But choosing a professional career for me, I think was the right choice, and I'm ready for it. So yeah, I'm ready to get started and I'm very excited for it.&rdquo;

Spencer Davies chats with Dyson Daniels about the upcoming G League Ignite season, his development in Australia and more.

The Little Guy From Bendigo: Dyson Daniels is unlike anyone else

Phoenix Suns general manager James Jones was the guy who would routinely hold court at his locker a half-hour before games and engage in all sorts of conversations in his playing days. Books he was reading, what the financial markets were doing, current events, political matters, the nuances of the NBA&rsquo;s collective bargaining agreement. It was all fair game.
He was smart. He knew it, too.
These days, the rest of the NBA &mdash; if they didn&rsquo;t know previously &mdash; has figured that out as well.
The eight general managers left in the NBA playoffs all had success stories to tell long before their postseason runs of 2021 started. For the team that winds up winning the NBA title, it&rsquo;ll be a breakthrough since none of the remaining franchises have won a championship since 1983. And for the winning GM, it&rsquo;ll be another breakthrough -- since none of them have won rings in their current capacities either.
&ldquo;I took this job saying this would be a challenge for me to help young guys who are here in Phoenix, trying their hardest to see success and to live their dream,&rdquo; Jones, a three-time NBA champion as a player in Miami and Cleveland, said recently on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak3_PCD13bQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">former NBA guard Rex Chapman&rsquo;s podcast</a>. &ldquo;That became my motivation. So, when we started the work of changing the culture, it was more like, &lsquo;Hey, this isn&rsquo;t about us going to try and find the players that can get us back. It&rsquo;s about taking the players we have and helping them move forward.&rsquo;&rdquo;
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The structure of front offices differs a bit from team to team; GMs simply have more power in some places than others. But the role is vital, no matter how it gets defined in each city.
Atlanta&rsquo;s Travis Schlenk built through the draft, then spent on free agents last summer and this season made the tough call to fire Lloyd Pierce and promote Nate McMillan. Now, the Hawks are in the second round.
Brooklyn&rsquo;s Sean Marks swung for the fences and landed Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving, then got Steve Nash to coach them.
Elton Brand in Philadelphia is with a team that kept Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons together, surrounded them with shooting, brought Daryl Morey in basically to mastermind matters and hired Doc Rivers to coach.
Utah's Justin Zanik has been a right-hand man for Jazz Executive Vice President Dennis Lindsey for some time, and now has a more hands-on role in decisions like the trade for Mike Conley &mdash; a key part of this team finishing with the NBA's best regular-season record.
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Michael Winger with the Los Angeles Clippers, a team with Lawrence Frank running the front office, has been widely regarded around the league for a decade over his salary-cap management techniques.
Jon Horst in Milwaukee already has been Executive of the Year, and that was before he got Giannis Antetokounmpo to sign his supermax and acquired Jrue Holiday.
Denver GM Calvin Booth has worked with Nuggets President Tim Connelly for years and is finishing his first year with a club that now has an MVP in Nikola Jokic and is clearly in a championship-aspiration window that should last a few years.
And Jones, all he did was hire Monty Williams to coach, then swung a deal for Chris Paul. The Suns are on their best run in 11 years as a result.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s so important for a coach to have a really good relationship with the front office, because if that&rsquo;s not there, then whatever you&rsquo;re trying to do isn&rsquo;t going to work,&rdquo; 76ers coach Doc Rivers said this season.
There are 22 teams already in their offseason, so for the final eight teams and their GMs things are apparently working.
It shouldn&rsquo;t be a surprise. They all got some good educations along the way.
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There are ties to Pat Riley; Schlenk, like Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, started in the Miami video room and Jones was part of the Heat for years. There are ties to Gregg Popovich; Marks won a title as a player in San Antonio and another there as an assistant.
Some learned from the best in their fields; Brand went to Duke where he learned from Mike Krzyzewski, Winger broke into the sports world learning from renowned agent Ron Shapiro, and Zanik&rsquo;s first job out of college was with agent Mark Bartelstein.
And there are rise-up-the-ladder stories; Horst won a pair of national titles at the relatively unknown USCAA level in college, and Booth was a 3.3-point-per-game scorer yet still carved out a 10-year NBA playing career.
A month or so from now, one of them is going to have his hands on the Larry O&rsquo;Brien Trophy. If the Suns pull it off, Jones &mdash; who has to be a frontrunner for executive of the year &mdash; would have his fourth championship in 10 seasons, for three different franchises, in two different jobs.
Makes sense. After all, his nickname is Champ. Kevin Love called Jones in an Instagram post after the 2016 championship run with the Cavaliers &ldquo;the best teammate I ever had.&rdquo;
&ldquo;In order to lead,&rdquo; Love wrote, &ldquo;sometimes you have to learn to follow.&rdquo;
___
Tim Reynolds is a national basketball writer for The Associated Press. Write to him at treynolds(at)ap.org&nbsp;

There are eight teams left standing in the NBA playoffs, and each of the general managers deserve credit for building a contender.

Examining the NBA GMs who assembled the remaining playoff teams

Spencer Davies talks with Patrick Patterson about the Clippers' title aspirations, roles throughout his career and his love for Kentucky.

One-on-One: Patrick Patterson opens up as Clippers begin playoff run

When a team hits the reset button, there is no singular goal.&nbsp;
The obvious focal point is development, as their young talent gains invaluable experience on the floor against legitimate professional competition and an unfamiliar roster jells with one another. Wins are few and far between usually because of it, which means it&rsquo;ll more-than-likely take a bit of time to build winning habits back up and get back into (or stay in) the postseason hunt.&nbsp;
Unlike many teams after moving on from (multiple) star players, the Los Angeles Clippers didn&rsquo;t really have to go through a rebuild; the franchise simply retooled. First, in the summer of 2017, they shockingly traded Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets for seven players, including Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell and Patrick Beverley. Then, they brought in Danilo Gallinari from the Denver Nuggets. Finally, before the following season&rsquo;s trade deadline, LA dealt Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons for Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic and Avery Bradley.
Just like that, Lob City was out and a new breed was in. Under the same coaching staff led by Doc Rivers, 2017-18 and 2018-19 saw perhaps the most enjoyable year-and-a-half of Clipper basketball than we&rsquo;d seen in quite some time. Guys were just on the same page. Williams enjoyed All-Star-caliber efforts as the league&rsquo;s best sixth man. Harris and Gallinari put together the best scoring campaigns of their respective careers. Harrell broke out as a ferocious competitor who only needed an opportunity, and Beverley set the tone as far as the culture. Not to mention, they had a then-blossoming rookie in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who was impressing in all facets with his mature skill set. It was all clicking.
But with a star-studded free-agent class then on their minds, the Clippers began to change things around in the middle of that 2018-19 season. Tobias Harris was in a contract year and expected to be paid for the best year of his career (did he EVER), so the team traded him, Marjanovic and Mike Scott to the Philadelphia 76ers for Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler and Mike Muscala.&nbsp;
That would be the first of many dominoes to fall in LA. With plenty of roster room and cap space, Jerry West and Lawrence Frank went to work by signing reigning NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and acquiring an All-Star in Paul George to pair with him. They had to part ways with Gilgeous-Alexander, Gallinari and an unheard-of amount of first-rounders to acquire George (and land the package deal), completely mortgaging any kind of future they had; but to their credit, the job got done to give Steve Ballmer&rsquo;s ball club a win-now, championship roster&hellip; on paper.
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Pick things up on Dec. 3, 2020 -- that joyous, tight-knit Clipper group seems like a distant memory. The team parted ways with Rivers and will continue his career in Philadelphia, while his lead assistant and 2016 NBA champion head coach Tyronn Lue will take over the reins of a reportedly divided bunch. Harrell hopped to the other locker room and will play at Staples Center in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform. JaMychal Green jumped at the opportunity to sign with the Denver Nuggets, who stormed back from a 3-1 playoff deficit to defeat the Clippers just a few months ago, citing that their heart made it an easy decision to choose them over his former team. The Athletic&rsquo;s Jovan Buha wrote<a href="https://theathletic.com/2222210/2020/12/02/kawhi-clippers-chemistry-nba-title/?source=user-shared-article&amp;redirected=1"> an article</a> about how the Clippers&rsquo; culture eroded due to preferential treatment that Leonard and George received (such as letting them determine the practice schedule and when to sit out games, giving them personal security and trainers, etc.).
It all seems like a mess in Clipperland right now, and by no means is the story over with; Year 1 rarely goes swimmingly when a team of stars links up for the first time, and I firmly believe they&rsquo;re going to be better this upcoming year. However, when considering what happened to the Clippers, is it possible we could see a similar situation arise with the Brooklyn Nets?
Hear me out.&nbsp;
We all know how awful it got for the Nets after the early 2010s. Aside from late-round firsts and seconds they would acquire later, there was no path to a rebuild once the post-Boston Celtics holdover era was over because every draft pick was essentially out of the picture. It was damn near impossible for the Nets to not only bring in NBA talent, but also develop their own since there wasn&rsquo;t a whole lot of promise outside of Brook Lopez, Joe Johnson and Deron Williams (Lopez lasted the longest and was gone after the 2016-17 campaign). For a significant period of time, Brooklyn&rsquo;s roster was filled with journeymen, cast-offs and undrafted young guys. They simply had no chance.
Until head coach Kenny Atkinson came along.&nbsp;
Then-newly-acting general manager Sean Marks found a way to bring in some fresh faces without draft capital to help Atkinson as much as he could in the 2016 offseason.
In exchange for Thaddeus Young, Brooklyn got a rookie Caris LeVert back from the Indiana Pacers. The franchise took a shot by signing Joe Harris (who had played just 56 total games) to a multi-year contract. Trevor Booker was a well-respected veteran who brought toughness to the locker room. In December of that season, the Nets brought in a recently-waived Spencer Dinwiddie, who hadn&rsquo;t been able to stick with the Detroit Pistons or Chicago Bulls.&nbsp;
That set the foundation for the next offseason, when they traded for D&rsquo;Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov on draft night, ending Lopez&rsquo;s career in Brooklyn and sending Kyle Kuzma with him to the Los Angeles Lakers; the team also selected Jarrett Allen at No. 22 in 2017 with a pick that used to belong to the Washington Wizards. DeMarre Carroll was acquired from the Toronto Raptors to provide leadership and a steady presence on both ends of the floor; Allen Crabbe came aboard via a separate trade with the Portland Trail Blazers soon after.&nbsp;
Regardless of the talent on the roster, Atkinson always got the most out of his squad. While you can look at the Nets&rsquo; record over his first two seasons with a perplexed expression as much as you want to (48-116), those players bought into what he was selling. They were playing hard, they were playing tough and they were playing together.
Like the Clippers, maybe the most fun seasons we saw in Brooklyn happened almost organically in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Russell ascended to All-Star heights and consistently ignited Barclays Center, firing off clutch shot after clutch shot and taking a major step with his vision. Harris took a massive leap, becoming the NBA&rsquo;s top three-point shooter in the second year of his contract. Dinwiddie exploded onto the scene with his aggressiveness as the Nets&rsquo; second-highest scorer. LeVert showed us flashes of brilliance before (and after) his foot was dislocated. Allen wowed the world with his hops and refusal to let the opposition score in the paint. Treveon Graham earned playing time with his hustle and commitment on the defensive end of the floor. Unsung heroes like Carroll, Crabbe, Shabazz Napier, Ed Davis and Jared Dudley (acquired from the Phoenix Suns in the summer of 2018) really set a great example for the team to follow. Brooklyn made it to the postseason that second year, which was the culmination of a long road back.
When I thought of the Nets, I didn&rsquo;t think of a team that tanked its way back to relevancy; I thought of a team that kept digging itself out of a never-ending hole and refused to falter -- regardless of the position it was originally left in. But things changed in the blink of an eye when the 2019 offseason came about.
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With the team environment and outlook revamped -- and plenty of cap space to boot -- Brooklyn struck gold, landing Kyrie Irving as a free agent and Kevin Durant in a sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors (Russell, Napier and Graham went back in the deal). They added DeAndre Jordan as well. They also acquired Taurean Prince from the Atlanta Hawks for Crabbe and then-rookie Nickeil Alexander-Walker (who was flipped to the New Orleans Pelicans). In came more veterans at small prices afterward: Wilson Chandler, Garrett Temple, Lance Thomas and Iman Shumpert a few weeks into the season.
The team at its core was completely altered, unarguably for the better from a talent standpoint -- however, a far cry from what Atkinson was used to and a whole lot more pressure, despite Durant&rsquo;s Achilles injury keeping him out for all of last season. He still had Irving (albeit a banged up one) who only played 20 games in his debut campaign with the Nets. But true to his nature, Atkinson trudged along with the newer pieces, trying to make it work; it just didn&rsquo;t. On March 7, Marks announced that Atkinson had mutually agreed to part ways with the team.&nbsp;
Now, on Dec. 3, the Nets have brand-new leadership in the building. Steve Nash, a respected Hall-of-Fame player and basketball mind, is going to take hold of a roster full of high expectations. He&rsquo;ll have his former Suns coach Mike D&rsquo;Antoni and teammate Amar&rsquo;e Stoudemire with him to help the transition, as well as long-time NBA assistants Ime Udoka and Jacque Vaughn (who coached the team at the end of last season).
With a recovered Durant and a fresh Irving, there shouldn&rsquo;t be any major issues with the roster; it&rsquo;s literally built to win. For all intents and purposes, this Brooklyn team has a good mix of veteran specialists and up-and-coming players and big-named staff&hellip; on paper. We get so excited about these colossal transactions because it&rsquo;s like a video game, where you can pair up your favorite superstars with each other and stack a bunch of 90-overall guys. It works in a simulation scenario every time, but in reality you have to factor in chemistry and personal relationships, and that takes a while to establish. This isn&rsquo;t to say it can&rsquo;t work (look what the new-look L.A. Lakers and Miami Heat were able to do in Year 1 last season); this very well could be the next great team in the league in due time. But the Nets should take heed because those Clippers were in almost this same exact spot last year.
Which brings me to my point: I know you&rsquo;re supposed to cash-in on assets and young guys can only get you so far in this league. You&rsquo;re in this business to win championships and put fans in the stands. It&rsquo;s run by stars who make the show worthwhile on the court. With that, though, comes sacrifice, right or wrong; it can range anywhere from accepting lesser roles to destroying what you built to get there to handling stars who want preferential treatment.
Should Jarrett Allen be coming off the bench for DeAndre Jordan? All due respect to DJ, who&rsquo;s paid his dues, but no -- not at the expense of an athletic, developing big man who could start for literally any team in this league. But Allen knows what&rsquo;s coming because of where the team is at now.
You&rsquo;re probably thinking, &ldquo;Who cares how Allen feels? He&rsquo;s not a star,&rdquo; and you&rsquo;re correct with the second statement.&nbsp;
My gripe is with the first question, one that most franchises forget to ask when they enter the spotlight with their big acquisitions -- leaving behind the players who got them there.

The Clippers' culture attracted Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to LA but their arrival ultimately changed things. The Nets should take heed.

The Nets should tread carefully, learn from Clippers’ mistakes

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.
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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

As it became clear that the Los Angeles Lakers would win their 17th championship in franchise history in the final minutes of Game 6, LeBron James embraced an emotional Anthony Davis. 
What did James say to his teammate, who was on the verge of winning his first title?
&ldquo;He was [teasing] me, saying, &lsquo;You're soft. Oh, you crybaby!&rsquo;&rdquo; Davis said with a laugh. &ldquo;It was an unbelievable feeling, and just an emotional moment for me&hellip; I just started to cry, I couldn't hold it in. This is something that I&rsquo;ve wanted my entire career, and it's only the first one."
James said that seeing Davis&rsquo; excitement and shock reminded him of his reaction when he won his first championship back in 2012. LeBron was 27 years old at the time, just like Davis is now.
In June of 2019, the Lakers made a high-risk, high-reward move when they mortgaged their future in exchange for Davis, who&rsquo;s one of the NBA&rsquo;s most talented superstars. Davis was disgruntled and had requested a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans, but that didn&rsquo;t lower his cost very much (since other teams, including the Boston Celtics, were pursuing him too).
To land Davis, the Lakers traded Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, the No. 4 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft (which became De&rsquo;Andre Hunter), a 2021 first-rounder (top-eight protected, then unprotected in 2022), the right to swap first-rounders in 2023 and an unprotected 2024 first-round pick (which New Orleans can defer to 2025).&nbsp;The Pelicans ultimately flipped the No. 4 pick to the Atlanta Hawks for No. 8 pick (Jaxson Hayes), the No. 17 pick (Nickeil Alexander-Walker), the No. 35 pick (Marcos Louzada Silva) and a 2020 first (top-10 protected).
Following the trade, the general consensus was that the Lakers gave up too much, especially since Davis could hit unrestricted free agency after the 2019-20 season. David Griffin, New Orleans&rsquo; executive vice president of basketball operations, was praised for the move. Pelicans guard E&rsquo;Twaun Moore, who had played alongside Davis, even told me that he was shocked by the haul that New Orleans received.
&ldquo;It was like, &lsquo;Wow, I didn&rsquo;t know we were going to get all of that back!&rsquo; Moore <a href="https://hoopshype.com/2019/07/15/rumors-pelicans-etwaun-moore-anthony-davis-lonzo-ball-ingram-zion-williamson-trade-playoffs/">admitted</a>. &ldquo;I just thought we&rsquo;d get a couple young guys and that would be it, but we got a whole lot of young guys and draft picks. David Griffin did a great job with the transaction. I don&rsquo;t think it could&rsquo;ve been done any better&hellip; Man, that was exciting!&rdquo;
This swing-for-the-fences move just paid off, as the Lakers left the NBA bubble with the Larry O&rsquo;Brien trophy and Davis played an enormous role in the team&rsquo;s success every step of the way.
During the regular season, Davis helped the Lakers post the best record in the Western Conference (52-19), averaging 26.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.3 blocks, 1.5 steals and 1.2 threes while shooting 50.3 percent from the field, 33 percent from three and 84.6 percent from the free-throw line. 
He was even better in the playoffs, contributing 27.7 points, 9.7 boards, 3.5 assists, 1.4 blocks, 1.2 steals and 1.1 threes per game on 57.1/38.3/83.2 shooting splits. During the Finals, Davis averaged 25 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2 blocks, 1.3 steals, 1.3 threes while shooting an insanely efficient 57.5 percent from the field, 48.3 percent from three and 95.2 percent from the free-throw line.
&ldquo;You know, it's interesting, a lot of people think that trades are easy in the NBA,&rdquo; said Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka. &ldquo;If you talk to any of the other 29 GMs - and there are some really, really good ones that I get to work alongside - any trade, especially for a superstar, is incredibly difficult and challenging and filled with intricacies and issues that the general public might never really understand. The dynamics of pulling off superstar trades are very, very challenging. They take weeks of hard work, and we were thankful when we acquired Anthony, but we knew the work wasn't done once we paired LeBron and AD together.&rdquo;&nbsp;
After acquiring Davis, the Lakers tried to land a third star during the 2019 free-agency period, pursuing Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler and Kemba Walker among others. However, the team struck out on these players and had to go with a more well-rounded approach to their roster.
&ldquo;In free agency last year, obviously we made a run to acquire a max free agent, but we had a counter, a backup plan, and I knew we had a way to pivot and build a team with the other players we were able to acquire,&rdquo; Pelinka said. &ldquo;It worked out. It worked out well, obviously. But it was hard work. It wasn't just happenstance [like], &lsquo;Oh, let's go sign a bunch of guys.&rsquo; I can't take credit because we have a front office of a lot of incredibly hard-working, bright people in our basketball operations department, and it takes a village to have success, and all those people helped with that plan. It came together and here we are.&rdquo;
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After winning his first-ever championship, Davis reflected on his journey to this point.
&ldquo;It's just part of your legacy, to say you're a champion; not everybody can say that,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;I wanted to do the same thing in New Orleans. I was there for seven years. You want to go out there and compete for a championship every time you step on the floor. [We] got close, going to the second round. We thought we had a chance before DeMarcus [Cousins] got hurt.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The last, what, two months, maybe, in New Orleans, it was obviously rocky. We were going back and forth at each other and getting booed, and everything like that. I think being there in that moment while I was still part of the team, going out there playing, kind of got me ready for a moment like this. Obviously, it was a tough environment and tough situation for me. But being to handle all that and withstand all that and bring that same energy and confidence I had, even when I was playing then, to come out here and be with these guys who want nothing but the best for you and want you to win and get it done, it's a special feeling. It just makes it all worth it. It was tough times, but like I said: I'm a champion. When I got traded, that's all I wanted - to be a champion, to be able to compete, be able to win.&rdquo;
From day one, Davis and James got along well and set the tone for the rest of the roster as the team&rsquo;s leaders (as Lakers guard Quinn Cook <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-rumors-lakers-quinn-cook-la-los-angeles-lebron-james-anthony-davis-playoffs-chemistry-bubble-leadership">wrote in his BasketballNews.com piece</a>). Davis and James have developed a special bond over the last year and a half.
&ldquo;You guys ask me about my relationship with AD and the first thing I think about is the respect, the [lack of] ego, the challenging each other,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;We want each other to be better than ourselves. I want AD to be better than me; AD wants me to be better than him. Every single night, every single day. And we challenge ourselves. I think that's a part of it.&rdquo;
Davis added: &ldquo;Respect. True friendship. We're close on the court, but you've got to see us off the court; it's unreal. I'm always at his house. He's always at my house. This is true the entire season. There's no jealousy. No one is envious of each other. Guys don't have personal agendas. We're just two guys who just want to win for various reasons. We were able to do it tonight&hellip; We put a lot of pressure on ourselves. I challenge him. He challenges me. It's not always sweet and smooth, but it gets the job done. You're going to have confrontations and arguments throughout the season to win a championship. We had our fair share. But at the end of the day, we respect one another. We respect what each one is trying to do. I respect his game, he respects my game and we just put it all together.&rdquo;
Entering the 2020 offseason, Davis can become an unrestricted free agent. He has a player option worth $28,751,775 for the 2020-21 season, so he could hit the open market. All season, Davis has seemed like a lock to re-sign with the Lakers (even if he opts out in order to sign a new, multi-year deal).&nbsp;
However, when asked about his potential free agency, Davis was noncommittal.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I have no idea... I had a great time in L.A. this first year,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;This has been nothing but joy, nothing but amazement. Over the next couple of months, we'll figure it out. I mean, I'm not 100 percent sure. But that's why my agent is who he is and we'll discuss it and figure it out." 
It&rsquo;s worth noting that Davis and James are represented by the same agent: Rich Paul, who helped Davis get traded to Los Angeles.
At other times, Davis sounded like he was already thinking ahead to next year with the Lakers.
For example, on Quinn Cook&rsquo;s <a href="https://twitter.com/TopBallCoverage/status/1315582682764517378">IG Live</a>, Davis said, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re gonna run it right back.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The champagne from the Lakers' celebration hadn't even dried yet, but Davis was already turning his attention to how he could improve this offseason and what next season might bring.
&ldquo;This just puts a bigger target on your back, honestly. Teams are going to come after you next year, especially when you're one of the top players,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;Guys want to take out the champion. The next four or five years, [I] have to get better and better. I have to keep improving my game and, hopefully, I can have this feeling again.&rdquo;
Blockbuster trades are typically judged on whether the superstar player delivers a championship. Take the Los Angeles Clippers, for example. If Kawhi Leonard and Paul George help the franchise win their first-ever championship, the trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder is viewed as a huge success and Lawrence Frank is a genius. 
If the team fails to win a title and loses Leonard and George, the focus suddenly shifts to the fact that Los Angeles gave up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and seven first-rounders (Miami's 2021 unprotected first-rounder, LA's 2022 unprotected first-rounder, LA's 2024 unprotected first-rounder, LA's 2026 unprotected first-rounder and the right to swap firsts with LA in 2023 and 2025) as part of this experiment.
Fortunately for Pelinka and the Lakers, the Davis trade worked out and they are vindicated. Now, the next step is re-signing him and seeing if Davis and James can turn this into a multi-championship run.

The Los Angeles Lakers mortgaged their future and gave up a ton of assets to acquire Anthony Davis, who proved to be worth it.