Golden Grizzlies

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Some might say Stan Kroenke and his family would be pulling off the impossible by bringing a long-awaited NBA title to Denver.
Less discussed &mdash; at least these days &mdash; was their willingness, in 1999, to dive into a messy acquisition process for a largely irrelevant franchise that had been considered a relocation prospect as the 21st century approached.
All of the talk of them relocating no longer exists.
Now, the conversation is about how the Nuggets were able to reach their first NBA Finals thanks to the stubborn patience displayed by the Kroenkes, who have taken an unorthodox route toward assembling an unorthodox winner. Denver hosts the Miami Heat in Game 2 Sunday night after&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-heat-denver-nuggets-nba-sports-755531bae7f944958c4225f8d5f54bad">winning the Finals opener</a>.
Kroenke&rsquo;s deal to purchase the Nuggets, along with the Colorado Avalanche and their home arena for $450 million, included a clause that tethered the NBA franchise to Denver for the ensuing 25 years. These days, the Nuggets are estimated by Forbes to be worth $1.93 billion.
&ldquo;One thing I know about Stan is that when he sets his mind to doing something, and when he thinks he&rsquo;s right, he&rsquo;s going to fight for that,&rdquo; said Wellington Webb, who was Denver&rsquo;s mayor in 1999 and helped broker the deal that closed a year later between Kroenke and the Nuggets.
Though Kroenke married into money &mdash; he wed Walmart heiress Ann Walton in 1974, a few years after meeting her during a ski trip to Aspen &mdash; he had already honed his business chops. His first deal: Taking a $1,500 loan at 6% interest from his dad so he could buy part of a clothing shop with his friend.
Not long after, he got into the real estate business, building shopping centers with a developer who was tight with Walmart founder Sam Walton.
Real estate and sports are, these days, almost intertwined &mdash; a reality Kroenke grasped quickly.
&ldquo;I always thought I&rsquo;d enjoy (owning a sports franchise) because the professional sports business is part business and part sports,&rdquo; Kroenke told the Columbia (Missouri) Daily Tribune in 2022, &ldquo;and I love both of them.&rdquo;
Kroenke&rsquo;s representatives did not return messages left by The Associated Press seeking an interview.
His first major jump into sports was his partnership with Rams owner Georgia Frontiere. In the mid-1990s, Frontiere was chafing at the inability of Los Angeles to build a new stadium, She was looking for partners to bankroll a move to St. Louis. Kroenke bought in, and when Frontiere died in 2008, he exercised his right to purchase a majority stake in the team.
The sad irony is that it was Kroenke, the Missouri native, who moved the Rams out of St. Louis and back to LA where they are the main tenant in his $5.1 billion stadium. His connection with Denver &mdash; much different.
&ldquo;One of my dreams was to be involved in a professional basketball team,&rdquo; Kroenke told The Denver Post, shortly after closing the deal for the Nuggets. &ldquo;This is a dream I&rsquo;ve had for a long time.&rdquo;
There is, in fact, a strong argument that the basketball trophy might be the most meaningful for a family that has amassed three Stanley Cup trophies with the Avalanche, a Super Bowl trophy with the Rams and is still looking for glory with Arsenal, the Premier League soccer team it has had a controlling interest in since 2011.
Kroeke&rsquo;s son, Josh, was a standout basketball player in high school and played at University of Missouri. He now runs the Nuggets.
&ldquo;I thought that you could bring a championship to Denver,&rdquo; Josh said in a recent interview on team-owned Altitude Sports Radio. &ldquo;Trying to do something that&rsquo;s never been done before, it&rsquo;s not always easy, and it&rsquo;s usually met with a lot of resistance. ... We&rsquo;re mostly excited for the city to get to experience this. But the job&rsquo;s not done.&rdquo;
The Nuggets were parked squarely in NBA purgatory when the team went on the block in 1999, having not sniffed relevancy since their mid-80s heydey, when the teams were highlighted by coach Doug Moe&rsquo;s uptempo offense. Their situation off the court wasn&rsquo;t much better. In the late &rsquo;80s, then-owner Sidney Shlenker had toyed with the idea of moving the team to Memphis.
His sale to a media conglomerate that was never truly hot on owning sports teams did nothing to tamp the idea that the Nuggets were a team that might be available to move. And teams were moving; Between 2001-08, Memphis (from Vancouver), Oklahoma City (from Seattle) and New Orleans (from Charlotte) all adopted existing franchises in a flurry of NBA reshuffling.
When Denver went on the block, the highest bidder, billionaire businessman Donald Sturm, came in with a $460 million offer, but balked at the idea that he couldn&rsquo;t move the team.
In stepped Kroenke, who had no problem with the arrangement. A side note: To close the sale, Kroenke had to outmaneuver another group fronted by none other than John Elway.
&ldquo;It was clear Sturm wasn&rsquo;t going to work out,&rdquo; Webb said. &ldquo;And my only question was, &lsquo;Is the new guy going to be supportive of the team winning?&rsquo; Because if the arena is full, not only do the owners make money, but city makes money, as well.&rdquo;
The Kroenkes have answered Webb&rsquo;s question with their willingness &mdash; increasingly rare in pro sports &mdash; to play the long game, both on the roster and on the bench.
The roster was built in workmanlike,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-nuggets-jokic-murray-malone-18329e13dfecae50834ebc06d409027c">no-drama fashion</a>,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-nikola-jokic-denver-nuggets-mvp-lebron-lakers-8e668572f9f43942175ded63e7a61832">highlighted by Nikola Jokic</a>, who entered the league as an unheralded second-round pick from Serbia. The coach, Michael Malone, was hired in 2015, and there was never much talk of making changes after disappointing finishes to their seasons in 2018, 2019 and even last year.
Today, Malone sits behind only Gregg Popovich (Spurs), Erik Spoelstra (Heat) and Steve Kerr (Warriors) &mdash; who have a combined 11 championships on their coaching resumes &mdash; in terms of longevity among the NBA&rsquo;s 30 head coaches.
&ldquo;That has a ton to do with where we are today,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t be more thankful for working for an ownership group that is not impatient and is not trying to find the next great thing, but is saying &lsquo;Hey, listen, let&rsquo;s let this grow and marinate into something special.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Despite his family&rsquo;s large role in the Denver sports scene &mdash; the Kroenke business also owns the MLS Colorado Rapids, and the National Lacrosse League&rsquo;s Colorado Mammoth, who lost the deciding game in that league&rsquo;s title series Saturday &mdash; Kroenke has still taken his fair share of criticism around town.
It&rsquo;s a byproduct of his 2004 move to bundle his teams&rsquo; TV rights and air them on company&rsquo;s new regional television network, Altitude.
In 2019, the region&rsquo;s biggest cable operator, Comcast, stopped carrying Altitude due to a disagreement over fees the cable giant was charging to carry the network. The ensuing legal battle has kept the Nuggets off the local airwaves in millions of homes for the last four seasons. The battle between billion-dollar companies has left many average Nuggets fans feeling like the only real losers in the equation.
But whatever bitterness lingers from the cable dispute has mostly been set aside over the past few months. All the playoff games have been on national TV.
Meanwhile, Kroenke stays firmly in the background. He can make it from his apartment at the top of Ball Arena through some back passageways and into his luxury suite to watch games in less than two minutes. Sometimes he brings his German Shepherd along.
&ldquo;I think that not only is he a good businessman,&rdquo; Webb said, &ldquo;but he also feels he has something special in Denver. And I think it&rsquo;s always been his goal to do right by Denver.&rdquo;

Some might say Stan Kroenke and his family would be pulling off the impossible by bringing a long-awaited NBA title to Denver.

Kroenke bought Nuggets, kept team in Denver, now hoping to deliver title

A few months after Zion Williamson was left entirely out of Pelicans promotional material regarding ticket renewals, the injury-riddled star forward was back to being celebrated Wednesday as a supremely influential figure in New Orleans&rsquo; future.
&ldquo;The last few months were a roller-coaster of emotions,&rdquo; Williamson said. &ldquo;The world just ran with narratives, and so when my family was going out in public, they&rsquo;re getting harassed by people about why we don&rsquo;t like New Orleans or why we don&rsquo;t want to be here, when that&rsquo;s not the case at all.
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t able to play because my foot was broke,&rdquo; Williamson continued. &ldquo;Every time I checked my phone it&rsquo;s always something negative. Even when you&rsquo;re trying to make positive of the situation, it was very tough.&rdquo;
So the Pelicans used the occasion of Williamson signing a $193 million, five-year contract extension &mdash; which could be worth up to $231 million if the explosive, 6-foot-6, 280-pounder lives up to the potential he&rsquo;s displayed when healthy &mdash; to try to dispel past notions of distrust and start a new narrative.
&ldquo;This is a really momentous occasion for all of us,&rdquo; said David Griffin, the Pelicans&rsquo; executive vice president of basketball operations. &ldquo;This is an opportunity for us as an organization to really put to bed a lot of things that were said.
&ldquo;So many things that are talked about are just words,&rdquo; Griffin continued as Williamson nodded in agreement beside him. &ldquo;What Zion Williamson did today is express his commitment to this team and to this city and to this community. ... So the noise that&rsquo;s on the periphery of all of that is completely irrelevant.&rdquo;
Williamson appears healthy now, cleared by the club to engage in basketball activities without restrictions. Recently, he and his stepfather, Lee Anderson, have been running basketball camps for kids at a New Orleans YMCA, where Williamson formally signed his contract while campers stood behind him and applauded.
It also was Williamson&rsquo;s 22nd birthday, and he commented, while grabbing Griffin&rsquo;s shoulder and smiling, that it was his best birthday yet.
&ldquo;Thank y&rsquo;all for really sticking with me the past year,&rdquo; Williamson said to the Pelicans&rsquo; brass. &ldquo;It was a tough year, and then for the Pelicans to come give this birthday gift, I&rsquo;m not going to let &rsquo;em down. I&rsquo;m not going to let the city down, I&rsquo;m not going to let my family down, and most of all, I&rsquo;m not going to let myself down.&rdquo;
Now the 2019 No. 1 overall draft choice out of Duke, who has played in just 85 games in his first three seasons, is primed to see how much his return could help a squad that improved dramatically late last season and made a surprisingly competitive playoff showing without him.
Griffin, meanwhile, sees his vision for building a young team set up for sustained success coming together under Willie Green, who in his first season as an NBA head coach shepherded the team from a 1-12 start to postseason qualification, two play-in victories and two more victories in a first-round series against top-seeded Phoenix.
&ldquo;We feel like with the team we have assembled, with Zion as an enormous part of that, coach Green and his staff are going to be able to put together an incredible run,&rdquo; Griffin said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re young, we&rsquo;re talented and most importantly we are very hungry.&rdquo;
Williamson played in just 24 games as a rookie because of a preseason right knee injury (lateral meniscus). In his second season, he played in 61 of 72 games, averaging a team-high 27 points and becoming a first-time All-Star during what was his lone NBA campaign not mostly or entirely wiped out by injuries.
&ldquo;Zion is a huge part of what we want to accomplish,&rdquo; Green said, noting that Williamson will periodically initiate the offense handling the ball as he did successfully in is second season. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not necessarily him fitting in. He can do that with any team in the league. It&rsquo;s about maximizing the group that we have when we had him to it. And, frankly, I think it&rsquo;s going to be scary for the rest of the NBA.&rdquo;
Williamson said he is focused on adopting strategies meant to preserve his health and promote career longevity &mdash; but cutting down on vigorous, high-flying dunks in favor of lower-impact layups probably won&rsquo;t be one of them.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a competitor, so when I&rsquo;m on the court, I&rsquo;m not thinking about, &rdquo;Let me lay this ball in; hopefully my career will last longer,&rsquo;&rdquo; Williamson asserted with a playful grin. &ldquo;No, I&rsquo;m thinking about putting that person through the rim. So, as far as me dunking, that&rsquo;s going to always happen. That&rsquo;s going to stay happening, no matter what (team trainers and management) are talking about. I&rsquo;m always dunking. Come on, man!&rdquo;

“The last few months were a roller-coaster of emotions,” Zion Williamson said.

Zion Williamson, Pelicans aim to end 'negative' narratives

In the Golden State Warriors&rsquo; 104-94 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the 2022 NBA Finals, a few themes prevailed, powering them one win shy of their fourth title in eight seasons. Broadly, the formula was an elite defense once again reminding everyone that Boston is not the lone menacing unit in the Finals, along with timely shot-making and star-powered contributions.&nbsp;
Rather than laser in on a singular storyline and highlight every play connected to it, let&rsquo;s touch on an assortment of different sequences that help summarize all of these prevailing themes.&nbsp;
1. Draymond Green&rsquo;s renewed offense
Draymond Green&rsquo;s offense has justifiably drawn prominent ire in this series. Prior to Game 5, he recorded 17 points on 26 shots and his lack of scoring prowess, particularly as a spot-up shooter, constantly bogged down the offense.&nbsp;
Yet on Monday, he scored 8 points on 6 shots, handed out 6 assists and committed only 2 turnovers. He&rsquo;d turned in some excellent defensive showings to this point, but Game 5 was easily his most well-rounded of the series.&nbsp;
His first assist of the night previewed the next couple hours. Sometimes, Green&rsquo;s dismal offensive performances are partially defined by erratic, undisciplined passing, but that wasn&rsquo;t the case in Game 5. To kick off the festivities, he lofted a perfect feed into Otto Porter Jr.&rsquo;s bread-basket for the bucket.
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Porter slipping the screen was emblematic of Golden State deciphering just enough openings in the crannies of Boston&rsquo;s fortress to complement its own imposing defense. A 107.5 offensive rating is quite poor, but this club&rsquo;s formula for a title has always been shepherded by the defense.
Al Horford hugging Stephen Curry along the baseline, removing him entirely from any chance of helping on the pass, laid the foundation for a game where the superstar&rsquo;s gravity regularly opened up chances for others. His own 7-of-22 line was unremarkable scoring-wise, though the manner in which the Celtics tethered themselves to him created space elsewhere instead.&nbsp;
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2. Andrew Wiggins, the All-Star starter
Three days after gobbling up a career-high 16 rebounds, Andrew Wiggins returned to score the second-most points of his playoff career with 26. With Curry marred in an uncharacteristic shooting slump and Boston still successfully limiting Klay Thompson&rsquo;s scoring volume, somebody had to prop up the Warriors&rsquo; attack.&nbsp;
That man was Andrew Wiggins, who repeatedly exposed the single coverage he faced, using his size and physicality to launch off the bounce.
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He particularly flourished in the final frame, when he scored 10 of his 26 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Wiggins&rsquo; handle can be robotic and leave him susceptible to stunts or digs. As the Celtics often face-guarded Curry and Thompson (look how they&rsquo;re defended in that clip), the Canadian wing enjoyed added space to operate and wield his self-creation chops. Nearly 70% of his baskets have been assisted during the playoffs, whereas that mark fell to 50% in Game 5.&nbsp;
All series, Boston's defense has appeared content funneling shots to Wiggins. He capitalized monumentally on Monday&rsquo;s pivotal stage.&nbsp;
3. Jaylen Brown and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad offensive experience
Overwhelmingly, Jaylen Brown&rsquo;s 2022 NBA Playoffs have been sensational. He&rsquo;s endured some hiccups, including Game 2 of the Finals, but they&rsquo;ve merely been hiccups and haven't become the norm. Monday was another hiccup.
He logged 18 points on 5-of-18 shooting and committed 4 turnovers. Golden State continually forced him left as a driver and pull-up scorer, which is assuredly not his preference. His handle and ball control are precarious as is, let alone when he&rsquo;s guided away from his dominant hand.
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To further eliminate the right side as a driving lane, both for Brown and Jayson Tatum, the Warriors loaded the gaps and invited middling shooters to bomb beyond the arc. Derrick White entered Game 5 drilling 50% of his triples in the Finals, yet Green helped one pass away and prevented Brown from frequenting the paint. The result is a midrange pull-up Golden State will likely accept, which occurred after Green initially walled off the middle for Brown around the screen.&nbsp;
4. Golden State making Boston get comfortable with the uncomfortable
At the point of attack, Golden State&rsquo;s most lucrative defensive approach in this series has been to apply pressure on the catch, and extend the Celtics&rsquo; offense well away from the hoop. Boston&rsquo;s scheme involves considerable side-to-side movement, with flare screens or other subtle actions designed to create small advantages that morph into sizable ones.&nbsp;
The Warriors refused to let that be commonplace in Game 5, swarming virtually everyone immediately on the catch. Hardly anything Boston achieved felt seamless. Arduous was the defining term of their experiences. On a giveaway midway through the second quarter, Golden State&rsquo;s pressure arrived at every turn.
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Gary Payton II bothered Tatum on the inbounds. White hardly has room to collect himself before Curry is fastened to his hip. Horford caught the ball with Porter draped on him. Tatum generated a bit of space, but even if Horford&rsquo;s delivery wasn't errant, Green rotated over to complicate matters.&nbsp;
The Celtics committed 18 turnovers in Game 5. Although some were unforced, many unfolded similarly to the one above, with Golden State&rsquo;s defense making every brief opening feel fleeting and spurring hurried decisions.&nbsp;
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5. Succumbing to the orbit of Stephen Curry&rsquo;s gravity
<a href="https://twitter.com/StephNoh/status/1536455023214960641?s=20&amp;t=wC1_R7ObuwiuIpGVx1veHg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">On the clinching possession of Game 4&rsquo;s defeat</a>, Boston twice brought two defenders to Curry. The second time, it led to a bucket that pushed the Warriors&rsquo; edge to five with roughly a minute remaining. In Game 5, the Celtics didn&rsquo;t necessarily blitz Curry each play, but their defense afforded him extra attention more often &mdash; on and off the ball.
Previously, they&rsquo;d predominantly stomached dropping and switching against him, but the coverage skewed more extreme Monday. This isn&rsquo;t to say Boston&rsquo;s defense was the culprit of its loss &mdash; the offense is the prevalent issue. Yet the game-plan clearly shifted and the burden of scoring responsibility didn&rsquo;t almost exclusively rest on Curry&rsquo;s shoulders anymore.&nbsp;
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As a response to that heightened concern, Curry countered with his finest playmaking production of the series, dishing out 8 assists to 1 turnover. Helping to ease the impact of Curry&rsquo;s cold shooting spell was Payton, who scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting to tie a playoff career-high.&nbsp;
Neither Green nor Kevon Looney can even approximate a similar finishing punch to Payton. He&rsquo;s not a roller the defense can entirely abandon and his screening induced favorable switches or opportunities for Golden State&rsquo;s offense.&nbsp;
Porter struggled defending in space, while Looney battled foul trouble all evening. So, Payton stepped up for a postseason-best 26 minutes and crafted necessary interior-scoring verve in addition to his steadfast defensive versatility.
6. Jayson Tatum and his fourth quarter struggles
Through three quarters, Tatum had 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-6 inside the arc. The last number was an absolutely welcomed sight for the 24-year-old superstar, who began Game 5 having converted a paltry 27.4% of his two-point attempts (14-of-51) in the Finals.
Twelve minutes later, he ended with 27 points on 10-of-20 shooting, including 5-of-11 inside the arc &mdash; a good, not great overall outing. The leading candidate behind the demise of a five-point, 1-of-5 shooting fourth quarter was Wiggins, whose length, mobility and physicality perturbed Tatum into plays like this.
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Golden State is closing off many drives to Tatum&rsquo;s right all series, so he aimed to take advantage of an early offense opportunity. Instead, Wiggins slid alongside him and swiped down *just* as Tatum began to gather for a finish. That swipe extinguished Tatum&rsquo;s rhythm, provoked an extra, illegal slide of the back foot and he was called for traveling.&nbsp;
7. Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and a synergistic defense
Green&rsquo;s Game 5 defensive brilliance extended beyond help on the perimeter and guiding Brown away from right-hand drives; he was sensational as an interior helper. During his 35 minutes, the Celtics&rsquo; took just six shots at the rim. When he sat for 13 minutes, they took four. Their rim frequency was 10.9% with him on the floor and 20% without him, according to NBA.com.&nbsp;
Boston could hardly score in the paint when he was involved. Shooting and passing near the hoop were chores around him.
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Tatum wiggled into the key, with Green awaiting him. Green jutted out his right arm to deter a drop-off to Robert Williams III, swiveled his left arm up and contested a challenging fadeaway jumper.&nbsp;
Wiggins and Payton gave help on the drive, which muddied Tatum&rsquo;s passing vision as he simply worked to avoid being stripped. Once Green committed to Tatum, Wiggins peeled into Williams, stuck a body on the bouncy big man and ensured any sort of lob would be incredibly challenging to execute or corral.&nbsp;
All 10 of Williams&rsquo; points came in the first half, largely due to Golden State neutralizing him as a release valve after intermission. He&rsquo;s Boston&rsquo;s lone aerial threat and best means of generating shots around the rim.&nbsp;
There&rsquo;s simply scant space to function inside the arc against this harmonic Warriors defense. Those efforts grow increasingly laborious when Green and the entire unit are enforcing the rim like they did Monday.&nbsp;
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Following the Warriors' Game 5 win over the Celtics, Jackson Frank breaks down the film and examines what worked for Golden State.

Breaking down 7 plays that define the Warriors' Game 5 victory

March Madness is underway!
Across the country, teams are competing in conference tournaments and trying to punch their ticket for the NCAA Tournament. Selection Sunday is just three days away, and then the tourney starts next Tuesday.
If you missed any of the Day 1 action, here's a recap of what went down on Wednesday.
Tickets Punched
Colgate defeats Navy 74-58, Patriot League Championship
Jack Ferguson: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals
Greg Summers: 18 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals
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SEC
Missouri defeats Ole Miss 72-60, faces No. 5 LSU
Kobe Brown: 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists&nbsp;
Matthew Murrell: 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists&nbsp;
Vanderbilt defeats Georgia 86-51, faces No. 6 Alabama
Scotty Pippen Jr.: 14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
Braelen Bridges: 15 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17862620_lg.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="468" />
Big Ten
Northwestern defeats Nebraska 71-69, faces No. 5 Iowa
Boo Buie: 16 points, 3 assists&nbsp;
Alonzo Verge Jr.: 21 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗖 𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗦 😼 This is March ‼️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoCats?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoCats</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/NU_Sports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NU_Sports</a> <a href="https://t.co/9dBLxaSHDW">pic.twitter.com/9dBLxaSHDW</a>
&mdash; Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) <a href="https://twitter.com/NUMensBball/status/1501729758111019012?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Penn State defeats Minnesota 60-51, faces No. 6 Ohio State
Jalen Pickett: 22 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
Jamison Battle: 19 points, 6 rebounds
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ACC
Virginia Tech defeats Clemson in OT 76-75, faces No. 2 Notre Dame
Keve Aluma: 19 points, 10 rebounds
PJ Hall: 16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛!!!! <a href="https://t.co/hBrAMmBl4P">pic.twitter.com/hBrAMmBl4P</a>
&mdash; Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/HokiesMBB/status/1501744888651653122?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Boston College upsets Wake Forest 82-77 in OT, faces No. 4 Miami (FL)&nbsp;
DeMarr Langford Jr.: 19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Jake LaRavia: 21 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks
Syracuse defeats Florida State 96-57, faces No. 1 Duke&nbsp;
Cole Swider: 28 points, 13 rebounds, 9-15 FG
Joseph Girard III: 16 points, 4 assists
Virginia defeats Louisville 51-50, faces No. 3 North Carolina
Jayden Gardner: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 7-12 FG
Maliik Williams: 11 opints, 13 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks <img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17862474_lg.jpg" alt="" width="701" height="467" />
Big 12
West Virginia defeats Kansas State 73-67, faces No. 1 Kansas
Sean McNeil: 21 points, 6 rebounds, 7-10 FG
Nijel Pack: 18 points, 6 rebounds
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Big East
Butler defeats Xavier 89-82, faces No. 1 Providence
Chuck Harris: 29 points, 2 assists
Simas Lukosius: 27 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 11-13 FT
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DOWN GOES X‼️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ButlerWay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ButlerWay</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Team124?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Team124</a> <a href="https://t.co/CAHgoom1CY">pic.twitter.com/CAHgoom1CY</a>
&mdash; Butler Basketball (@ButlerMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/ButlerMBB/status/1501712938033463298?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2022</a></blockquote>

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St. John&rsquo;s defeats DePaul 92-73, faces No. 2 Villanova
Julian Champagnie: 26 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals
Javon Freeman-Liberty: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists
Seton Hall defeats Georgetown, faces No 3. Connecticut
Jared Rhoden: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Aminu Mohammed: 12 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists
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Pac 12
Stanford defeats Arizona State 71-70, faces No. 1 Arizona
Spencer Jones: 26 points, 6 rebounds, 6-12 (3PT)
DJ Horne: 21 points, 8-17 FG
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Heck of a comeback, <a href="https://twitter.com/StanfordMBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StanfordMBB</a> 😳🤯 <a href="https://t.co/AqCzhETS30">pic.twitter.com/AqCzhETS30</a>
&mdash; Stanford Athletics (@GoStanford) <a href="https://twitter.com/GoStanford/status/1501697971083116544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Oregon defeats Oregon State 86-72, faces No. 4 Colorado
Jacob Young: 23 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds
Jarod Lucas: 22 points, 2 rebounds, 6-10 FG
Washington State defeats California 66-59, faces No. 2 UCLA
Efe Abogidi: 19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals
Jordan Shepherd: 16 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists
Washington defeats Utah 82-70, faces No. 3 Southern California
Terrrell Brown Jr.: 22 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds
Marco Anthoy: 18 points, 2 assists
&nbsp;
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March Madness is underway! If you missed any of the Day 1 action, here's a recap of what went down during Wednesday's games.

March Madness: Conference tournament Wednesday recap

Arizona (16-1, 16-0 Pac-12) has been firing on all cylinders, with the team winning its last five contests in a decisive fashion. Sophomore Bennedict Mathurin has the makings of a top-10 pick in the 2022 NBA draft. Standing at 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds, he is an explosive athlete that is capable as a slasher and finisher. He's averaging 17.1 points per game. Following Mathurin in points per game are Azuolas Tubelis and Christian Koloko with 15.1 and 12.8 points respectively.&nbsp;
The Golden Bears (9-10, 2-6 Pac-12) entered this contest on a very different note. Having lost four in a row, they have struggled to put enough points on the board to keep games competitive. Jordan Shepherd and Andre Kelly have been the bright spots for Cal this season, both averaging 14.0 points per game.
Shepherd led all scorers in this one with 21 points on 7 of 19 from the field. Meanwhile for the Wildcats, it was the junior center, Koloko, that led the way. He posted 19 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks.&nbsp;
Right from the jump, Arizona took control and ran out to an early 24-10 lead. Mathurin hit some big three-pointers to get rolling, ending the game with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. The Wildcats had scoring runs of 17-3 and 15-3 in the first half alone, as they secured a 48-27 lead at the break. On the other side, Cal head coach Mark Fox was ejected in the first half after getting called for two technical fouls.&nbsp;
The second half didn't look much different, as the Golden Bears weren&rsquo;t able to make enough headway to even pull within striking distance. Cal&rsquo;s bright spots today were Shepherd, Kelly who posted 8 points and 8 rebounds, as well as Grant Anticevich &mdash; he scored 7 points while securing 7 rebounds.&nbsp;
Arizona&rsquo;s Kerr Kriisa shot well, finishing with 13 points on 4 of 9 shooting from deep. Gonzaga transfer Oumar Ballo scored 14 points on 4 of 5 shooting from the field and 6 for 7 accuracy at the foul line.&nbsp;
Arizona has two games against No. 9 UCLA and one against No. 16 USC on the docket. If they&rsquo;re able to take care of business, they should secure a No. 1 seed come March Madness.
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UPCOMING
Both teams will face No. 9 UCLA next week. Arizona visits on Tuesday, Cal on Thursday.
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Arizona (16-1, 16-0 Pac-12) has been firing on all cylinders, with the team winning its last five contests in a decisive fashion.

No. 3 Arizona takes care of business, beats California 96-71

The Boston Celtics spent much of the offseason restructuring the landscape of their organization and solidifying the pillars of the roster.&nbsp;
Brad Stevens swapped out the sidelines for the corner office to replace the retiring Danny Ainge as president of basketball operations. Robert Wiliams inked a four-year, $54 million extension; Marcus Smart followed suit at four years and $77.1 million. Evan Fournier left for New York. Josh Richardson came to town via trade. And Kemba Walker, a 2019-20 All-Star signed to a max contract two summers prior, was dealt to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Al Horford, who returns to Boston after a three-year stint between 2016 and 2019.
During Horford&rsquo;s tenure as a Celtic, he made an All-Star game and All-Defensive Team, and helped shepherd Boston to consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearances. But Horford and the Celtics are in different spots now. Jayson Tatum is a budding superstar. Jaylen Brown notched his first All-Star berth last season. Horford, once the best (healthy) player on that 2017-18 team, is no longer the star of yesteryear.
This, however, does not mean he isn&rsquo;t any good. Determining where exactly aging stars exist across the NBA&rsquo;s hierarchy can be a clouded endeavor. This is especially the case for someone like Horford, who spent one year with the clunky-fitting Philadelphia 76ers and the other with an in-and-out-of-the-lineup situation &mdash; the tanking-not-tanking Thunder &mdash; before ultimately sitting out the final 26 games of the season.
The truth is that expecting shades of 2017-18 Horford or even a player close to 2018-19 Horford is far-fetched. His physical decline is noteworthy, but he&rsquo;s still a quality player in the proper role and can certainly aid Boston, whose frontcourt rotation has been underwhelming since he left.&nbsp;
Over the second half of his career, Horford has emerged as a premier stretch big, drilling 36.6% of his 1,362 triples since 2015-16. That remains the case. A season ago, he notched a career-high three-point rate of .422 and holstered a speedy trigger, bombing from deep amid defensive pressure or immediately off of pick-and-pops. The Celtics haven&rsquo;t rostered a legit stretch 5 in his absence.&nbsp;
Head coach Ime Udoka is <a href="https://twitter.com/ByJayKing/status/1445796200372858882?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seemingly entertaining</a> the notion of starting both Horford and Robert Williams. If that&rsquo;s the case, lots of Double Drag should be part of the Celtics&rsquo; offense. Even if Horford comes off the bench like he did Monday against the Orlando Magic, it&rsquo;s still possible by inserting Brown (or Tatum if he&rsquo;s not handling) as the popper. In lineups where Horford is the 5, let Brown be the roller.&nbsp;
The University of Florida product is going to provide welcome spacing, particularly for Brown and Tatum on handoffs and ball-screens, and track-star slasher Dennis Schroder. Despite some newfound athletic limitations surfacing in recent years, Horford is still capable of leveraging his jumper into driving lanes off the catch. Because of his quick release and willingness, defenders often hastily close out, and last year, he proved adept at capitalizing.
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Horford also boasts decisiveness as a passer and shrewd spatial awareness. He&rsquo;ll flash to openings off the ball and provide a release valve, or help facilitate a pass that someone else can&rsquo;t make. He keenly identifies when to slip screens, which will pair well with the pull-up gravity of Tatum and spot-up gravity of both Jays because he&rsquo;s a useful short-roll playmaker. &nbsp;
Sound, prompt decision-making is typically a hallmark of good complementary players, and Horford meets that criteria. Given the likelihood of Tatum, Brown and Schroder (and Smart?) all commanding significant on-ball usage, Horford will amplify their talents.
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In the Celtics&rsquo; preseason victory Monday, they also employed much <a href="https://twitter.com/jackfrank_jjf/status/1445461445047566336?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more off-ball screening</a> than what was present during Stevens&rsquo; tenure. Along with impromptu picks, Horford is an artist of the subtle moving screens that avoids the ire of officials, and he applies his size well to carve out space for others. It&rsquo;s yet another way he can boost the offense in a background role.
While his jumper has remained effective in recent seasons, his athletic decline has severely hamstrung his interior scoring, which ripples into his capacity for serving as a post or elbow hub &mdash; as he did during his elongated prime. From 2013-14 to 2018-19, he shot 55.5% on twos and yielded a True Shooting percentage of 57.2%, the latter of which was always above league average. Over the past two seasons, he shot 51.4% on twos and yielded a TS% of 53.7%, the latter of which was at least 2.9 points below league average both times.
He&rsquo;s not as spry or fluid as he&rsquo;s used to be, and poor vertical explosion dramatically hinders his ability to finish over like-sized length or strength. Whereas his quickness and mobility once compensated for that final issue, they&rsquo;ve tapered off enough to shrink his margin of error. In consecutive seasons, he&rsquo;s posted career-low rim frequencies of 24% (2019-20) and 22% (2020-21).&nbsp;
Nowadays, many of his post or interior touches result in contested hook shots or jumpers that don&rsquo;t resemble ideal possessions. There&rsquo;s just not much self-creation equity remaining in his game, which is workable if recognize,&nbsp; but must be priced into his usage &mdash; so as to not overextend him and bog down the offense. The occasional exploitation of a mismatch is viable, but consistent production out of the post probably can&rsquo;t be banked on these days.
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Some of these physical deficiencies manifest defensively too. Once a premier defensive center, Horford has transitioned to adequate &mdash; which should still be looked upon fondly for a 35-year-old entering his 15th season &mdash; but nonetheless noted when projecting his second run as a Celtic. In conjunction with declining movement skills, his lack of vertical explosion has become a much more prominent limiter as a rim-protector.&nbsp;
The NBA&rsquo;s database for defensive field goal percentage &mdash; which, in part, measures the difference between what players shoot on average and what they shoot when a given player is the primary defender &mdash; spans back to the 2013-14 season. It&rsquo;s an unreliable stat when cataloguing all attempts, but is fairly useful when solely analyzing attempts near the rim.&nbsp;
On shots within six feet of the basket, Horford&rsquo;s recorded two of his three lowest defensive field goal seasons over the past two years. In 2019-20, players shot a career-low 1.2% worse than average with him around. Last year, they shot just 3.1% worse with him around, the third-lowest clip of his eight-year sample. Even when in the proper position, he&rsquo;s susceptible to being bowled out of the way or failing to meet scorers at their apex near the cup.
He&rsquo;s also not the mobile, do-it-all, switch-heavy center anymore, devoid of the footspeed and nimbleness to contain ball-handlers regularly. Horford said he thinks he&rsquo;ll <a href="https://twitter.com/ByJayKing/status/1445210393186557957?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defend &ldquo;a lot&rdquo; of guards</a> this year, but I&rsquo;m not sold on that being his optimal role defensively. Playing him near the level of the screen rather than in pure drop coverage in pick-and-rolls strikes me as suitable, but asking him to switch routinely is a bridge too far. He&rsquo;s capable in a pinch, but it shouldn&rsquo;t be the norm.&nbsp;
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Horford is not without exploits defensively. His positioning and awareness are valuable, even if he&rsquo;s not capable of rotating with the haste of the mid-2010s. He brandishes lively hands to shrink passing lanes, alter scoring angles and generally function as a paint pest, reflected in his 1.4% steal rate (68th percentile among bigs, according to Cleaning The Glass).&nbsp;
Because of his awareness and positioning, he also rarely commits fouls. According to Cleaning The Glass, he&rsquo;s ranked in the 88th percentile or better in foul rate (the lower, the better) every season besides his rookie year. At the very least, he&rsquo;s a substantial defensive upgrade, and in general, for Boston from last year&rsquo;s center options (Williams aside). There&rsquo;s absolutely still facets of his defense that help craft plus impact.
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The Celtics should be a notably improved team from last year. Between injuries and a lackluster supporting cast around the team's stars, the 2020-21 version of Boston failed to build upon its East Finals run from months earlier. While I wasn&rsquo;t enthused by the Horford-Kemba swap, I can understand it and recognize why it occurred.&nbsp;
Despite no longer being an All-Star, Horford brings a welcome and varying skill set that aptly complements the Celtics&rsquo; most important players and fits into an array of lineups. Knowing who exactly he is after playing just 28 games a season ago and entering his 15th year at age 35 is challenging.
But Horford has some juice left, which Boston has largely missed in its big men since his departure, and will benefit from getting it back this season.

Al Horford has some juice left, which Boston has largely missed in its big men since his departure, writes Jackson Frank.

Al Horford brings back varying skill set to complement Celtics stars

PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Scott O&rsquo;Neil, the CEO of the parent company that owns the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, has resigned after an eight-year run in which he shepherded The Process and the Prudential Center.
O&rsquo;Neil announced Wednesday he was leaving Harris Blitzer Sports &amp; Entertainment after he helped lead scores of projects under the HBSE banner such as the Grammy Museum at the Prudential Center and the creation of a state-of-the-art Sixers complex, both in New Jersey. O&rsquo;Neil, who previously led Madison Square Garden Sports, said he did not have another job lined up. HBSE did not immediately name a successor.
O&rsquo;Neil replaced Adam Aron, now the CEO of AMC Entertainment, in 2013 and worked under Sixers and Devils owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer. The owners merged their holdings in 2017 and formed HBSE. HBSE expanded into ownership with other sports and entertainment companies.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m leaving because it&rsquo;s time,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Neil said by phone. &ldquo;I remember what it was like when we first walked in here, and to think we&rsquo;ve grown this business, over $2 billion in value over six times in eight years, that&rsquo;s what I do. Hypergrowth, super growth. I think that the right person coming in here will be a wonderful steward of this brand for years. But I think I&rsquo;ve done what I came here to do.&rdquo;
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O&rsquo;Neil, who recently wrote the motivational book &ldquo;Be Where Your Feet Are,&rdquo; said he decided around January that he wanted to leave HBSE and he maintains a strong relationship with Blitzer and Harris.
&ldquo;I cannot overstate how much we value Scott&rsquo;s enormous contributions to the company and how grateful I am for his leadership and partnership in creating a best-in-class culture at HBSE,&rdquo; Harris said. &ldquo;We know he will find great success in whatever he chooses to accomplish in the future, and we will always be among his biggest advocates.&rdquo;
O&rsquo;Neil, a Villanova graduate, also has local ties from a previous job as vice president of sales with the Philadelphia Eagles. He started his career as a marketing assistant for the New Jersey Nets.
The Sixers were eliminated in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs after they earned the top seed. The Devils have missed the playoffs for three straight seasons.
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O&rsquo;Neil said in 2014 that &ldquo;we don&rsquo;t use the 'T&rsquo; word in this organization,&rdquo; referencing tanking, when the Sixers were in the early days of their scrutinized rebuild known as The Process.
The Sixers at the time ranked 29th in attendance, had a minor league facility in a private medical school and no stars, and they soon underwent a metamorphosis that saw them open a swanky new complex in Camden in 2016, draft All-Stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons and shoot to the top of NBA attendance. The Sixers also became the first team in the NBA to put a sponsorship logo on player uniforms.
&ldquo;I think a total transformation in growth of the business, brand and relevance in the city, the country is probably the biggest thing,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Neil said. &ldquo;I want people to know that Josh and David care about this organization, care about winning and they put the resources into it.&rdquo;

Scott O’Neil, CEO of the parent company that owns the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, has resigned after an eight-year run.

76ers CEO Scott O'Neil resigns after 8 years leading HBSE

Former Georgetown coach John Thompson Jr. has died, according to friends of the Thompson family.
Thompson was 78 years old, and there is no word on a cause of death yet.
Georgetown released a statement on Monday morning on behalf of the Thompson family:
&ldquo;We are heartbroken to share the news of the passing of our father, John Thompson, Jr. Our father was an inspiration to many and devoted his life to developing young people not simply on, but most importantly, off the basketball court. He is revered as a historic shepherd of the sport, dedicated to the welfare of his community above all else. However, for us, his greatest legacy remains as a father, grandfather, uncle, and friend. More than a coach, he was our foundation. More than a legend, he was the voice in our ear everyday. We will miss him but are grounded in the assurance that we carry his faith and determination in us. We will cherish forever his strength, courage, wisdom and boldness, as well as his unfailing love. We know that he will be deeply missed by many and our family appreciates your condolences and prayers. But don&rsquo;t worry about him, because as he always liked to say, &lsquo;....&rdquo;Big Ace&rsquo;&rdquo; is cool.&rdquo;
Source: <a href="https://wjla.com/news/local/former-georgetown-coach-john-thompson-dies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC 7 WJLA</a>
The Hoyas legend is a member of both the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and College Basketball Hall of Fame. He was a two-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics and won the 1984 NCAA Championship as a head coach, becoming the first Black coach in history to win the NCAA title.
At Georgetown, Thompson coached star players such as Allen Iverson, Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo.
BasketballNews.com extends its deepest sympathies and condolences to Thompson's loved ones at this difficult time.

BasketballNews.com extends its deepest sympathies and condolences to Thompson's loved ones at this difficult time.