Conquistadors

Today, Rolling Loud &amp; The Crew League, announce&nbsp;the premiere of The &ldquo;We Got Next&rdquo; - 3 Point Contest. &nbsp;The Crew League&nbsp;&amp; Rolling Loud partner to present is a first-of-its-kind, unscripted basketball 3 point competition series held backstage on the grounds at&nbsp;Hollywood Park&nbsp;for Rolling Loud California 2024.
Kicking off on Monday, May 6th, the &ldquo;We Got Next&rdquo; 3 pt contest&nbsp;will feature artists from Rolling Loud California&rsquo;s lineup such as, Luh Tyler, Veeze, NLE Choppa, 310babii, 2Rare, Kaliii, That Mexican OT, Jeleel!, Rob49&nbsp;and so many more,&nbsp;along with surprise special guests like AdamW, Jabari Banks, Quincy, Adam22 and so many more, as they compete for bragging rights, a $50,000 cash prize, a custom diamond bracelet designed by Eric the Jeweler &amp; a custom one of one jacket by Jeff Hamilton. &nbsp;
In typical TCL fashion, humor will be at the center of the show. With more than fifty (50+) digestible episodes in the series hosted by comedy star, Ben Da Donnn, &nbsp;music superstar SuperDuperKyle, &amp; Treasure Wilson aka Stat Baby, this competition is sure to entertain all. &nbsp;
Talent List:
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/tcl-3pt_690w.png" alt="" />
Quotes:
&ldquo;We are excited to partner with Rolling Loud on such a disruptive concept! &nbsp;Most rappers think they can outshoot everyone from the 3pt line&hellip; &nbsp;Now we have a place for them to prove it&hellip; &nbsp;Excited for what's to come from our partnership&rdquo; &nbsp;- Elie Maroun (Commissioner &amp; Co-Founder of The Crew League)
<a href="https://next.frame.io/share/7842e3d2-68b6-4026-8006-6a605bceaa95/view/cc63fa52-0c07-4519-967b-58f435e66252">Check out the video here.</a>
<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6Xn0LySkdA/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14">
<div style="padding: 16px;">
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="padding: 19% 0;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="padding-top: 8px;">
<div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div>
</div>
<div style="padding: 12.5% 0;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;">
<div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 8px;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: auto;">
<div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6Xn0LySkdA/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Basketball News (@basketballnews)</a>
</div>
</blockquote>

<script src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

About Rolling Loud:
Founded by 7-time Billboard Hip-Hop Power Players Matt Zingler &amp; Tariq Cherif as a one-day Miami show, Rolling Loud has grown into a global festival phenomenon, putting on shows on both coasts and in multiple countries across four continents. Rolling Loud is the premier festival brand in hip-hop, known for its expert curation of wide-ranging lineups that reflect the state of the genre. In 2023, Rolling Loud expanded its empire even further, hosting a series of star-studded festivals in all corners of the globe, including debuts in Thailand and Germany, plus its flagship affair, Rolling Loud Miami, which offered its most diverse and wide-ranging lineup to date.
Throughout 2024, Rolling Loud commemorates "10 Years Of Rolling Loud," celebrating the festival's rise from humble origins to world dominance. Since the first Miami festival, Rolling Loud has evolved into a major force in hip-hop, providing a massive stage for rap's biggest names, giving early exposure to future superstars, including Travis Scott, Juice WRLD, and Ice Spice, and inspiring some of the most memorable moments in the genre's recent history. Now, Rolling Loud is hip-hop&rsquo;s biggest stage, with star-studded festivals on four continents and more milestones to come.
Stay tuned for announcements about Rolling&nbsp;Loud's 2024&nbsp;World Tour, including upcoming festivals in Los Angeles, Europe, and more.

The Crew League & Rolling Loud partner to present is a first-of-its-kind, unscripted basketball 3 point competition series held backstage on the grounds at Hollywood Park for Rolling Loud California 2024.

The Crew League 3PT Contest

The NBA today announced Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo as the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award winner for the month of December.&nbsp;
Antetokounmpo is being recognized for his efforts throughout Season of Giving &ndash; an annual five-week celebration beginning in mid-November that runs through December when NBA teams and players give back by supporting and uplifting youth, families, and organizations in their communities. Antetokounmpo will receive the David Robinson trophy and the NBA will donate $10,000 to the Charles Antetokounmpo Family Foundation.&nbsp;
Throughout December, Antetokounmpo hosted special events to give back to Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin. On December 14, he hosted 100 youth from the Boys &amp; Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee for a special movie night and holiday shopping experience. Antetokounmpo provided transportation, food and beverages and rented two movie theaters for a screening of the film &ldquo;Wonka." After the movie, each child received a gift card to Target to spend on gifts for themselves and family members. Antetokounmpo spent time shopping with the children and helping them pick gifts for their loved ones. He also helped to provide basic clothing, winter accessories and other household items for the youth. More than 90% of the children from the Boys &amp; Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee qualify for free or reduced lunch, furthering Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s passion to provide a special experience that many kids could not typically afford. On December 16, Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks hosted seven youth from Make-A-Wish Wisconsin, with three families coming from Greece to meet him. As part of the experience, the youth signed one-day team contracts with the team, watched practice and met Antetokounmpo prior to the game.&nbsp; He signed jerseys, shoes and basketballs for all the kids from Make-A-Wish.
Also in December, Antetokounmpo and his family hosted their third annual Christmas event, where the family hosted 300 Milwaukee foster families for a night of holiday cheer and celebrations. Children in foster care were able to enjoy an evening of balloon artists, face painting, dance parties and other games and crafts. Each child received a photo with Santa and the Milwaukee Bucks mascot, Bango.&nbsp; The foster parents were also able to visit a holiday gift shop to pick out toys and clothes for the children.&nbsp; Volunteers helped wrap presents so each family could go home with wrapped gifts to put under their Christmas tree.&nbsp;
In addition to Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s Season efforts throughout December, he tipped off Season of Giving with his family by spending Thanksgiving Day serving dinner to 86 men living in shelter at Guest House Milwaukee. The family paid for a catered meal and served dinner to the residents. Antetokounmpo also ensured each resident received new blankets and socks, which are critical necessities for individuals in shelter as they face winter in Wisconsin. In October, Antetokounmpo hosted The Big Give Back, a diaper and fundraising drive for the Milwaukee Diaper Mission. The Big Give Back raised over $180,000 and provided more than 10,000 diaper donations.
&ldquo;I am fortunate to be in a position where I can give back to the communities that have raised me,&rdquo; said Antetokounmpo. &ldquo;Building my legacy on the court has been fun these past 10 years, but being able to take the next step in my career and build a legacy of giving back with my family is what has been truly rewarding.&rdquo;
Antetokounmpo will be recognized in-arena as the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award winner during pre-game of the Jan. 27 Pelicans-Bucks game. Bucks General Manager Jon Horst and Bucks and Fiserv Forum President Peter Feigin will present him with the David Robinson trophy.
The NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award honors Bob Lanier, an NBA League Office executive and NBA Cares Ambassador for more than 30 years. He had an enormous influence on the NBA family and young people globally, traveling the world to teach the values of the game and making a positive impact through his kindness and generosity.&nbsp;
Each monthly winner receives the David Robinson trophy and the NBA makes a donation to the charity or foundation of the player&rsquo;s choice.&nbsp;

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award winner for the month of December.

Giannis Antetokounmpo wins Bob Lanier Community Assist Award for December

Joel Embiid is the latest superstar to commit to Team USA for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
In recent weeks, Team USA managing director Grant Hill had been recruiting Embiid, who was born in Cameroon and also has French citizenship. Ultimately, Embiid decided to represent the United States.
"After talking to my family, I knew it had to be Team USA," Embiid <a href="https://twitter.com/JoelEmbiid/status/1710067831339884793" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>. "I want to play with my brothers in the league. I want to play for my fans because they&rsquo;ve been incredible since the day I came here. But most of all, I want to honor my son, who was born in the US. I want my boy to know I played my first Olympics for him.
"I&rsquo;m really proud and excited about this decision. It was not easy. I am blessed to call Cameroon, France and the USA home."
Embiid will join a star-studded squad that could also include Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, Bam Adebayo, Donovan Mitchell and Jimmy Butler &ndash; all of whom have said that they will play for Team USA if selected.
"It's exciting for USA Basketball that Joel Embiid wants to represent the United States," Hill <a href="https://www.espn.com/olympics/basketball/story/_/id/38574625/joel-embiid-commits-team-usa-2024-olympics-sources-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement. "Joel and I have had several conversations about his goals and I'm looking forward to continuing that dialogue knowing that one of those goals is to represent USA Basketball next summer in Paris. As I've said before, I'm looking forward to the process of building the 2024 USA Basketball Men's national team roster over the next several months."
Team USA failed to medal at this summer's FIBA World Cup in the Philippines, and a major reason was their lack of size of rebounding. The only big men on the World Cup roster were Jaren Jackson Jr. and Walker Kessler (who barely played), with Paolo Banchero and Josh Hart serving as small-ball 5s.
By the end of the World Cup, Team USA head coach Steve Kerr found himself turning to five-guard lineups that featured Hart at center. Hart led Team USA in rebounding with 5.1 boards per game, followed by Anthony Edwards' 4.6 rebounds per game.&nbsp;
Now, Team USA will be able to turn their biggest weakness into a legitimate strength after adding Embiid, who averaged an absurd 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 blocks, 1.0 steal and 1.0 three per game last season with the Philadelphia 76ers.
It's worth noting that this is a huge blow to France, the reigning Olympic silver medalist. The French national team would have been much scarier if they entered the Paris Olympics with Embiid, Victor Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum, Bilal Coulibaly and Evan Fournier among others.
To recap, Embiid's commitment means that Team USA added the NBA's reigning Most Valuable Player, filled their biggest need and kept him from joining arguably their biggest competitor in the 2024 Olympics.
Other news from around the web: <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/dress-to-impress-why-barbie-and-ken-are-the-hottest-couples-costume-this-halloween/ar-AA1iaTEh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barbie and Ken are the hottest couples costume this Halloween</a>

Joel Embiid is the latest superstar to commit to Team USA for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Joel Embiid is latest superstar to commit to Team USA for Olympics

SlamBall co-founder Mason Gordon spoke to Alex Kennedy about the sport's return, the new season on ESPN and much more.

The return of SlamBall: Co-founder Mason Gordon discusses new season

SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; As Victor Wembanyama took the stage for his first news conference inside his new home arena, he couldn&rsquo;t help but notice an accessory that the San Antonio Spurs commissioned for the occasion.
It was a replica of the Eiffel Tower &mdash; made from Legos. Hundreds of them.
Wembanyama loves Legos. He looked down at the 4-foot replica when he saw it and smiled. And then he sat next to Spurs general manager Brian Wright and started to talk business.
The scene was a perfect microcosm of Wembanyama&rsquo;s world right now. He&rsquo;s still a teenager, albeit a very big one, at 19 years old and not averse to saying that he enjoys building things with Legos. And he&rsquo;s also the player, who seems incredibly mature for his age, on a world stage that the Spurs are betting on to change their fortunes and help them return to championship contention.
&ldquo;I feel like they&rsquo;ve already started to take great care of me,&rdquo; Wembanyama said.
They have to. The world is watching.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/spurs-wembanyama-draft-nba-11b2b43bc27076ab5036769bf5d4160b">And the hype level</a>&nbsp;is already incredibly high.
The notion of basketball being a global game and the NBA being a global league is not new, with roughly one out of every four players in the league born outside of the United States. But there&rsquo;s never been an international player coming into the NBA with the hubbub that Wembanyama has; he&rsquo;s already a global brand and global phenomenon even without playing an NBA game.
Not even LeBron James had this much global attention when he came into the league 20 years ago.
The Kid from Akron, as he still calls himself, is one of the biggest success stories in the history of sports &mdash; grew up with almost nothing, instantly found fame and fortune as a teenager thanks to an enormous Nike contract that he signed when he entered the league, now is a billionaire, the all-time scoring leader in NBA history and still going strong.
LeBron was a big, big, big deal in the U.S. in 2003.
Wembanyama is a big, big, big deal globally right now. That&rsquo;s the difference.
Stories have been written about him in English, French and Spanish over the weekend. He speaks English just about perfectly, and now that he&rsquo;s in San Antonio he wants to learn Spanish as well. If he plays for France in the Basketball World Cup this summer &mdash; something he wants to do, but time will tell if the Spurs are on board with that plan &mdash; he&rsquo;ll be playing games in Indonesia and the Philippines.
And if he plays on that world stage, he will be getting&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/san-antonio-spurs-wembanyama-nba-draft-da32970a5781abdb0a65daa46203de7a">as much attention</a>&nbsp;as any player in the tournament. Same goes for&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-summer-league-spurs-wembanyama-las-vegas-b2189fccb53a75428056b55cb43330a2">when he plays at Summer League</a>&nbsp;next month. And it&rsquo;ll be the case when the NBA season opens; Denver will raise a banner and get championship rings on opening night, some free agents that&rsquo;ll start agreeing to new deals in the next few days will be in new cities, but every storyline to start the season will have Wembanyama&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wembanyama-height-nba-draft-2023-07e21352ac2405385b7f3be2d0cfd7c4">7-foot-plus shadow</a>&nbsp;looming somewhere around it as well.
&ldquo;Because of all the hype, he&rsquo;ll have a target on his back,&rdquo; Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. &ldquo;So more than Os and Xs to begin with, we&rsquo;ll be most interested in setting a framework in an environment where he&rsquo;s comfortable, where he can be Victor. He&rsquo;s not LeBron or Tim (Duncan) or Kobe (Bryant) or anybody else. He&rsquo;s Victor and that&rsquo;s who we want him to be.&rdquo;
His presence just adds to the level of international stardom in the league right now.
The reigning NBA Finals MVP is Denver&rsquo;s Nikola Jokic of Serbia, the reigning league MVP and scoring champion is Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joel Embiid of Cameroon, and the top three finishers in that MVP race this season were all international players &mdash; Embiid, Jokic and Greece&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee. That trio has combined for the last five MVP awards; Dallas&rsquo; Luka Doncic of Slovenia should be in the MVP mix for years to come as well.
There&rsquo;s even talk of a World vs. the U.S. format to the All-Star Game before long. That might be a heck of a challenge for the American side.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re really seeing the ongoing continued growth of this league,&rdquo; Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this year. &ldquo;I know David Stern, who unfortunately is no longer with us, but it was so much of his vision to turn this into the global game it&rsquo;s become today. If he&rsquo;s looking down on us, I know he&rsquo;d be incredibly proud of those numbers.&rdquo;
Stern would have loved Wembanyama.
The teenager &mdash; already being mentored by past Spurs great big men like Duncan and David Robinson, along with French Spurs&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wembanyama-parker-spurs-nba-draft-e80020c26ed10361e60c4e329cb475d1">Tony Parker</a>&nbsp;and Boris Diaw &mdash; is worldly, mature, engaging, funny and somehow has stayed humble even with all the attention. His family shuns the spotlight. They want no part of the attention. Wembanyama&rsquo;s parents are almost always around, but never meddling.
&ldquo;To my family, it&rsquo;s got to be weird sometimes,&rdquo; Wembanyama said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s got to be strange. There&rsquo;s a lot of new stuff. But they&rsquo;re really smart and grounded people. Whenever I need to find stability, I can go to them.&rdquo;
He&rsquo;s going to need those bits of normalcy. The challenge that awaits him is as tall as he is and the world is watching.

LeBron James was a big deal in the U.S. when he was drafted in 2003. Victor Wembanyama is a big deal globally.

Facing immense pressure, Spurs' Victor Wembanyama is up for the challenge

DETROIT (AP) &mdash; For much of the spring, finding an NBA coaching job was the last thing Monty Williams cared about.
After being fired by the Phoenix Suns following their elimination from the postseason, Williams had talked to a few teams when his family got some upsetting news &mdash; his wife, Lisa, was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Williams was introduced Tuesday as the new coach of the Detroit Pistons, and he discussed his wife&rsquo;s health in an attempt to help others.
&ldquo;The reason that I bring it up is to not talk about my family, but to make it more of an emphasis that women need early detection testing. We had genetic testing done and then scan after scan after scan and then we found it early, and that may have saved my wife&rsquo;s life.
&ldquo;It can save others.&rdquo;
Williams had been in contact with Pistons general manager Troy Weaver, but dropped out of contention for the Detroit job when his wife was diagnosed.
&ldquo;As we navigated all of that, I was talking to Troy and telling him man, I couldn&rsquo;t, you know, right now because I gotta take care of my family,&rdquo; he said.
Williams, whose first wife, Ingrid, died in a car crash in 2016, was ready to take at least one season off to spend more time with his wife and kids. He&rsquo;s also helping his son Elijah &mdash; a top recruiting target for schools across the country &mdash; deal with that aspect of his life.
&ldquo;After we got the good news about Lisa, I was with my kid at a tryout when I got a text from Troy out of the blue,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I thought everything was totally off the table, but things went quickly after that.&rdquo;
Williams flew to Los Angeles to meet with owner Tom Gores.
&ldquo;I had met with Troy for about five days at my house, and I told him we had a critical responsibility to get this right for our players,&rdquo; Gores said. &ldquo;They have literally trusted us and they are even holding their own practices. I wouldn&rsquo;t say it was a yelling match, but we talked about how it was important to deliver for those young men.&rdquo;
Williams coached New Orleans from 2010-15, going 173-221 and losing twice in the first round of the playoffs.
Things were different in Phoenix. Taking over a team that had gone 19-63 in 2018-19, Williams led the Suns to a 34-39 record in the pandemic-affected 2019-20 season, then 51-21 and a berth in the NBA Finals in the compressed 2020-21 schedule. They lost in six games to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Phoenix went 64-18 and finished as the West&rsquo;s top seed in 2021-22. Williams was named Coach of the Year, but the Suns were knocked out in the second round by the Dallas Mavericks.
This season, they slipped to 45-37 and another second-round loss, this time to the championship-bound Denver Nuggets.
Now he&rsquo;s going to have to restart that process in Detroit.
The Pistons had the worst record in the league at 17-65 but were unlucky in the draft lottery, getting the fifth pick. They&rsquo;ve gone seven years without a winning season and haven&rsquo;t won a playoff game since Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals.
Detroit has a promising young core in Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren, but Cunningham missed most of last season with a stress fracture.
&ldquo;You can see the talent of this group and you see the size, but what I&rsquo;m really impressed by is the people,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;When I talk to them, they look me in the eye, which is impressive. When I text them, they get right back to me. There&rsquo;s a hunger and a desire there.&rdquo;

Williams was introduced Tuesday as the new coach of the Pistons, and he discussed his wife’s health in an attempt to help others.

Wife’s cancer almost prevented Monty Williams from taking Pistons job

PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Brittney Griner won the opening tip and ran to her familiar spot in the low post.
There was nowhere else the ball was going to go on the Phoenix Mercury&rsquo;s opening possession of the season &mdash; not after what Griner had gone through to get here.
Her back to the basket, Griner faked as though she would shoot a turnaround, spun the other way and put up another up-fake. Chicago&rsquo;s Elizabeth Williams fell for the deke, Griner absorbed the contact and hit the shot to begin a three-point play.
After all the emotional buildup, Griner got off to the perfect start in her first regular-season home game since being released after more than&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-wnba-mercury-russia-aeec9996a12eff831db54039a5e20545">10 months in a Russian prison</a>.
It didn&rsquo;t end quite the way she wanted.
Griner finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots, but the Chicago Sky held on for a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/497be3792e2cf7f689f0bdb1d488a0cb">75-69 win on Sunday</a>.
Griner received a warm reception in her lone preseason game and again in&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-wnba-mercury-russia-e3fe291486d48676e512ca6352f3a974">the Mercury&rsquo;s season opener</a>&nbsp;at the Los Angeles Sparks.
Her home debut had an entirely different vibe.
Many fans wore Griner&rsquo;s 42 jersey and some waved small black towels with &ldquo;BG&rdquo; on the front. One young fan held a sign that said &ldquo;We (heart) BG. Welcome home!&rdquo;
During warmups, Griner shared hugs with her teammates, Sky players and Chicago coach James Wade, who had coached her overseas. Just as warmups were winding down, Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham grabbed a microphone near midcourt and addressed the crowd.
&ldquo;Last year, all we wanted was to get BG home. We did that and we&rsquo;re all together now,&rdquo; Cunningham said, drawing roars from the crowd.
Just before player introductions, a poet paid tribute to Griner while being surrounded by the Mercury&rsquo;s dancers. Once introductions started, the fans gave each of the Mercury players loud cheers before Griner came out last.
The 6-foot-9 forward walked out from behind a wall and, surrounded by flashing lights, stepped into the bowel of the arena, drawing a massive ovation.
Griner had an immediate impact against the Sparks Friday night, finishing with 18 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots in the 94-71 loss.
She opened with the three-point play against Chicago, blocked a shot on the Sky&rsquo;s second possession and dropped a nifty bounce pass to Diana Taurasi for a backdoor layup.
Griner swatted another shot and sprinkled in some trash talk as she turned up the floor. She added another three-point play late in the second half to pull the Mercury within seven points.
Griner drew a laugh from the crowd early in the third quarter when, after fouling Courtney Williams, forcefully helped up Williams, who flew through the air to accentuate it.
The support turned into a roar when Griner hit a 3-pointer, the fans rising from their seats and to match the two-handed, three-fingered gesture she flashed while screaming on the court.
Griner scored on a three-point play to pull Phoenix within 69-67 with just under two minutes left, but it was hers and the Mercury&rsquo;s last gasp.
Phoenix had a couple of sloppy turnovers, Chicago&rsquo;s Dana Evans scored on a running bank shot and the Sky held on for the win.
Griner ended her home debut by hugging Sky players and Wade again before heading to the baseline to hug her wife Cherelle.

In her home debut, Griner finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks, but the Chicago Sky held on for a 75-69 win on Sunday.

Brittney Griner gets warm welcome in first home game since Russia

CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; Brandon Miller was a little more than three weeks from being born when LeBron James made his NBA debut for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003.
Two decades later, James is still near the top of the league Miller is about to enter.
&ldquo;Twenty years is a lot of years. I&rsquo;m 20, myself. I feel old,&rdquo; Miller said in jest.
Prospects who gathered in Chicago this week for the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-combine-scoot-henderson-brandon-miller-a55811da32a6f58cafde246b0e602152">NBA draft combine</a>&nbsp;still see James as the gold standard, 20 years after he made the jump from St. Mary-St. Vincent High School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.
They see a player who entered the league when they were in diapers &mdash; or not even born -- still going strong at age 38. He has a chance to cap a season in which he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA&rsquo;s scoring king by being crowned champion for the fifth time, with the Lakers facing the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals.
They see the results of the work he puts in to keep himself in top condition, the contributions he makes away from the court as well as on it. And they take notes.
&ldquo;I feel like as long as I&rsquo;m taking care of my body &mdash; and that&rsquo;s the biggest thing that LeBron has done,&rdquo; Scoot Henderson said. &ldquo;He made a name for himself off the court as well. ... Everybody knows LeBron because of how dominant he is as a player. But as a person, he&rsquo;s powerful. I see that a lot in myself. I think I can be on that level of greatness.&rdquo;
Widely projected along with Miller as a top-three pick behind Victor Wembanyama, Henderson is well aware of the opportunities that await him.
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/stephen-curry-scoot-henderson-nba-draft-20cc165a9d8516ad940cc519a5494072">He has formed a partnership with Stephen Curry</a>&nbsp;that is helping him build his own business brand and giving him access to shooting coaches and a training team. As role models go, the Golden State Warriors star is obviously a good one.
Henderson said he has tried to cut fried foods from his diet, eat more fruit and get plenty of rest, particularly as he goes through the draft process. He&rsquo;s been active in the community, holding Thanksgiving food drives, and plans to keep that up. Though he&rsquo;s working with Curry, he&rsquo;s also following a similar example set by James.
Miller, coming off the most productive season by an Alabama freshman, envisions himself playing in 20 years. That&rsquo;s because he is dedicating himself to staying in top condition.
&ldquo;I think I will still be in the league,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;I think the biggest thing with LeBron, he takes care of his body. That&rsquo;s the biggest thing with being in the NBA &mdash; the body. It plays a big part of the career you build in the league.&rdquo;
Gonzaga star Drew Timme grew up near Dallas rooting for Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks. But in his mind, James is &ldquo;the GOAT.&rdquo;
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a testament to the amount he pours into his own body,&rdquo; said Timme, whose earliest memories of him are with Miami. &ldquo;To play for 20 years in the league is crazy. Not many people get to say they&rsquo;ve done that. I&rsquo;m sure he adds so much into himself in terms of the proper nutrition, strength and conditioning.&rdquo;
But to Timme, James&rsquo; example extends beyond that.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a good family man,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He makes sure his family is good. I feel like I&rsquo;m pretty family-oriented as well. My family&rsquo;s pretty strong like his.&rdquo;
UConn star Adama Sanogo said the NBA hopefuls all can &ldquo;definitely learn from&rdquo; James when it comes to conditioning and nutrition. But they can also follow his example in the community.
Sanogo wants to open a school in his hometown of Bamako, Mali, just as James did for at-risk children in Akron. He said many of his friends growing up didn&rsquo;t have a chance to get an education.
&ldquo;To go to school in Africa, you have to pay for it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Some of my friends had to work to help their family. They were like 10, 11, 12. They had to work to help their family. They played no sports. They couldn&rsquo;t play basketball, they couldn&rsquo;t play soccer, because they had a job to do.&rdquo;

Two decades into his NBA career, LeBron James continue to set an example for the incoming class of NBA prospects.

Still the standard: LeBron sets example for 2023 NBA Draft prospects

Spencer Davies speaks with Taqwa Pinero about his life journey and how he's preparing both the future and current hoop generations.

Taqwa Pinero's knowledge is its own currency, and he's paying it forward

Here's the list of NCAA players who have as of April 6 filed for consideration as a candidate for the 2023 WNBA Draft

2023 WNBA Draft: Full list of prospects who have entered

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Stephen Curry scored 34 points, Jordan Poole dazzled down the stretch to score 30 and the Golden State Warriors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 136-125 on Tuesday night in their final regular-season home game to move into fifth place in the Western Conference standings.
For a day, that is. The winner of the Clippers-Lakers game Wednesday jumps to fifth and will drop Golden State to sixth.
On a night Klay Thompson was a late scratch with low back tightness, Poole and his backcourt mates came through. Poole raised his hands to make a 3 sign while celebrating his big make from deep with 3:17 to play that put the Warriors up 131-120. He added a 360-degree layup the next time down off Draymond Green&rsquo;s steal.
Green contributed 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists with a pair of blocked shots and steals.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points, 21 in the first half, for the Thunder. Jalen Williams added 19 points but the Thunder lost their third in a row and fourth of five.
Moses Moody&rsquo;s dunk with 4:57 left in the third pulled the Warriors within 92-91 after they trailed by 10 at halftime. He finished with 13 points and five rebounds in his first game scoring in double figures since Jan. 13.
Donte DiVincenzo added 16 points and Kevon Looney grabbed 11 rebounds as the Warriors held a 54-38 advantage on the boards.
The defending champions got a nice lift before the game seeing Andrew Wiggins back with the team after he had been away since mid-February dealing with a family matter, though he won&rsquo;t be ready to play immediately as he works to get his conditioning back. Wiggins received a warm ovation when announced during the first quarter and he grinned ear to ear.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Warriors won their final three at home and finished the regular season 33-8 at Chase Center and with their 471st consecutive sellout.
WIGGINS RETURNS
Wiggins has rejoined the team after being away for six weeks dealing with a family matter and is working his way back to being able to play again. That won&rsquo;t be in the next few days, coach Steve Kerr said.
&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re in a certain situation and your family needs you, it requires your attention and your love, that&rsquo;s my first priority,&rdquo; Wiggins said. &ldquo;My career, everything, family&rsquo;s always first for me. It will always be that way. I felt like I was in a safe space to come back. We&rsquo;ve got everything settled, not fully settled, but in a safe place where I can come back.&rdquo;
Wiggins missed his 23rd straight game and hasn&rsquo;t played since Feb. 13 versus Washington. He has missed 43 games in all &mdash; three more with left foot soreness, 10 because of a strained adductor in his right thigh, and seven games with a non-COVID illness.
TIP-INS
Thunder: Oklahoma City shot 15 for 26 in the opening quarter and 59.6% in the first half. ... The Thunder lost the season series 3-0 last year and 3-1 this season.
Warriors: Golden State has won five straight against the Thunder at home and hasn&rsquo;t lost on its home floor in the series since a 100-97 defeat on Nov. 25, 2019, in Chase Center&rsquo;s initial season.
UP NEXT
Thunder: At Utah on Thursday night looking to snap a four-game skid on the Jazz&rsquo;s home floor and win the season series.
Warriors: At Sacramento on Friday night looking to win the season series against the playoff-bound Kings and former top assistant Mike Brown.

Golden State moved into fifth place in the Western Conference standings with the victory.

Curry, Poole combine for 64 as Warriors beat Thunder 136-125

If there is any singular number that has defined basketball in 2023, it might be 9.9 million &mdash; the viewership of Sunday's NCAA Tournament championship game between LSU and Iowa.
The figure isn't just the largest ever for a women's college game; it also flew past other audiences for some of American sports' marquee events.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The NCAA Women's National Championship's 9.9 million viewers are more than: ▪️ Any Women's CBB game ever ▪️ Any MLS game ever ▪️ Any Stanley Cup game since 1973 ▪️ The 2023 Orange Bowl ▪️ The 2023 Sugar Bowl ▪️ 2023 Thursday Night Football ▪️ The 2021 NBA Finals ▪️ The 2020&hellip; <a href="https://t.co/X6MGXYkflQ">pic.twitter.com/X6MGXYkflQ</a>
&mdash; Front Office Sports (@FOS) <a href="https://twitter.com/FOS/status/1643051889846525953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

To say the game has "arrived" is disrespectful to the illustrious history of women in basketball. But Sunday was a stage unlike any other, and those who watched on TV or <a href="https://www.nola.com/sports/lsu/womens_basketball/ticket-prices-for-lsu-iowa-national-championship-jump/article_8f541656-d0d6-11ed-83a2-7fb0a63f33b8.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paid hundreds to attend</a> were awestruck by the outpouring of deserved fan support.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
I&rsquo;m completely blown away. The direction our game is going and the excitement surrounding it- I personally have never been more proud to be a part of it. ❤️ <a href="https://t.co/WjNZii3Vg1">pic.twitter.com/WjNZii3Vg1</a>
&mdash; Rachel Galligan (@RachGall) <a href="https://twitter.com/RachGall/status/1642976923193331713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

A poorly-officiated contest (Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic had <a href="https://theathletic.com/4377949/2023/04/03/womens-basketball-officials-clark-reese/?source=emp_shared_article" target="_blank" rel="noopener">some important thoughts on this</a>) and the trash-talking discourse that followed are problematic, but they won't taper our excitement for the trajectory of women's basketball. An influx of new, casual, uninformed fans are swarming into the sport, and we're ready for them because we've learned two important lessons in the last week.
One: This generation's stars are glimmering in the spotlight.
Two: The sport's core of diligent media members and passionate fans won't take any B.S.
Angel Reese surpassed a million Instagram followers after winning the national title, a result of her superstar season and her "Bayou Barbie" persona. But her name also dominated headlines because of her John Cena and ring-me gestures towards Caitlin Clark in the closing minutes of LSU's win, earning critical labels like "classless" and others that hinted at more serious racist undertones.
Reese didn't hold back in her initial response.
"I don&rsquo;t fit in the box that y&rsquo;all want me to be in. I'm too hood, I'm too ghetto, y'all told me that all year. When other people do it, y'all don't say nothing. This was for the people that look like me," Reese <a href="https://twitter.com/sportingnews/status/1642671282767507456" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>

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

This is different from Reese "not caring" about the critics. She does care and is aware of her own aura, which she says has been criticized since high school. Reese cares that her image as a powerful, talented, confident Black woman resonates with younger girls who can relate to her, and that for so long, that combination of traits has been met with hate.
That Reese continues to quote tweet and subtweet, and take additional interviews on ESPN days after the game, shows she's not backing down from who she wants to be.
Clark is similarly aware of her standing as a figurehead for the sport. On Tuesday, she went on ESPN's Outside the Lines and basically ended the trash-talking discussion.&nbsp;
"I don't think Angel should be criticized at all," Clark <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/1643311621861949441" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. "No matter which way it goes, she should never be criticized for what she did. I'm always one that competes, and she competed. I think everyone knew there was gonna be a little trash talk the entire tournament; it's not just me and Angel."
Just as important was her full response on the importance of showing passion as an athlete:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
"Men have always had trash talk. ... You should be able to play with that emotion. ... That's how every girl should continue to play." Caitlin Clark discussed if women are held to a different standard than men on <a href="https://twitter.com/OTLonESPN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OTLonESPN</a>. <a href="https://t.co/JY7MWlOuVq">pic.twitter.com/JY7MWlOuVq</a>
&mdash; ESPN (@espn) <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/1643309736572616704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Clark is arguably the biggest trending name in basketball right now and a truly generational talent who helped drive this year's record-shattering ratings. For her to jump on ESPN two days after a heartbreaking loss and be explicit with her opinions shows that she recognizes the gravity of her voice.
The Iowa sharpshooter rightfully captured the country's attention for her NCAA Tournament heroics. According to one Google search analysis from World Sports Network, Clark's name saw a 476% search increase in the last week of March Madness.
New fans were quick to label her a "best-ever" of some sort. The social media response: Familiarize yourselves with the college careers of Cheryl Miller, Sheryl Swoopes, Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart, Brittney Griner, Maya Moore, Kelsey Plum or Sabrina Ionescu.&nbsp;
And when some <a href="https://twitter.com/KeithOlbermann/status/1642649593140637706" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pretty loud voices</a>&nbsp;took aim at Reese on Sunday, the community quickly let them know it was unacceptable.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
As women's basketball has continued to rise, deserved passionate media coverage has reached the foreground.&nbsp;The Next Hoops, Winsidr,&nbsp;and Just Women's Sports&nbsp;are three of my personal go-to's, but these smaller (yet growing) independent outlets have helped legitimize and drive quality coverage. ESPN's television coverage is spectacular and&nbsp;The Athletic&nbsp;is another outlet with high-level storytelling. Arielle Chambers delivers phenomenal energy for HighlightHER, Mark Schindler does an amazing job at WNBA.com, and while I'm biased, our own Nekias Duncan's WNBA coverage is top-tier (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/south-carolina-dared-caitlin-clark-to-beat-them-and-she-did-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as was his Clark film dive!</a>).
We collectively know more about media and narrative than ever in our history. It allows these writers to make sure the sport is covered fairly and accurately at the college and pro levels, holding new, influential fans accountable.&nbsp;
The players and coaches have stories to share, personalities to gravitate towards and electric talent to entertain with. The WNBA still has so much growth potential; it logged a 20% increase in regular-season viewership on ESPN last year, and this spring's March Madness momentum can be a springboard for another leap. And with NIL-driven branding soaring at the college level, more players and teams can place themselves in front of new audiences.
Sunday felt like the quantitative peak for women's basketball in the national conversation &mdash; what's exciting is that there's so much mountain still left to climb.

Nearly 10 million people watched the national championship game, signaling that women's basketball is ready for a popularity explosion.

Women's basketball is well-equipped to shape its own narrative

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; LaMarcus Aldridge announced Friday he is retiring again from the NBA.
Aldridge, 37, initially retired in 2021 after experiencing an irregular heartbeat in the last of five games he played for the Brooklyn Nets that season. He rejoined the Nets five months after announcing his retirement.
The seven-time All-Star was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome &mdash; an abnormality that can cause a rapid heartbeat &mdash; as a rookie in 2007.
Despite the diagnosis, Aldridge was among his era&rsquo;s premier big men. As the second pick out of Texas in the 2006 draft, he averaged 19.1 points and 8.1 rebounds in his career.
Aldridge played his first nine seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers before five years with the San Antonio Spurs and his short time with the Nets.
&ldquo;In the words of TB12, you only get one big, emotional retirement&hellip; so, on that note&hellip;I&rsquo;m thankful for all the memories, family and friends I made throughout my career. It was one hell of a ride and I enjoyed every min!&rdquo; Aldridge wrote on Twitter.
A five-time All-NBA selection, Aldridge was praised by San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich when he first retired as a &ldquo;consummate professional with a unique skill set and a deep respect for the game.&rdquo;

Aldridge was among his era’s premier big men. He averaged 19.1 points and 8.1 rebounds in his career.

LaMarcus Aldridge, 7-time NBA All-Star, announces retirement

They are the five letters no No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed ever wants to see: Upset.
Thursday marks the five-year anniversary of University of Maryland-Baltimore County &mdash; the tiny school few fans had ever heard of, let alone picked in their bracket &mdash; pulling off the biggest upset in college basketball history by beating the tournament&rsquo;s top seed in Virginia.
UMBC&rsquo;s lasting legacy became this: If you don&rsquo;t watch out, No. 1 can mean one-and-done.
While there were some close calls before 2018, No. 1 seeds had gone 135-0 before UMBC routed Virginia 75-54 at Charlotte&rsquo;s Spectrum Center. Now they are 1-147. Like the men, the women&rsquo;s side of March Madness has seen only one 16 knock off a 1: Harvard over Stanford in 1998.
On Thursday, three more No. 1 seeds &mdash; Alabama, Kansas and Houston &mdash; take the court looking to avoid what the Cavaliers endured five years ago, while their respective opponents Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi, Howard and Northern Kentucky look to capture that &ldquo;One Shining Moment&rdquo; and etch their name in history alongside the Retrievers.
Ryan Odom, the Retrievers coach that season, said after the game &ldquo;these are the moments that you dream of.&rdquo; while his players celebrated in a cramped locker room after shocking the world. Diminutive 5-foot-8, 140-pound guard KJ, Maura and his teammates joked about there being &ldquo;no more perfect brackets&rdquo; and possibly becoming the focal point of a future ESPN &ldquo;30 for 30&rdquo; episode.
Some players struggled to process the enormity of the moment, hugging each other long and hard.
&ldquo;It felt like my soul left my body, man,&rdquo; UMBC guard Jourdan Grant said that day.
Odom, now the head coach at Utah State, a No. 10 seed in this year&rsquo;s tourney, said Wednesday it was &ldquo;a memory that will last a lifetime.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Will a 16 ever beat a 1 again? I have no idea,&rdquo; Odom said. &ldquo;It takes a special group. It takes a lot of luck in order to have a chance to win any game in the NCAA Tournament.&rdquo;
Former UMBC guard Joe Sherburne said it remains the single greatest day of his life.
&ldquo;You can measure my life by this: before that day, and after that day,&rdquo; Sherburne said Wednesday. When friends introduce him to people, the first thing they say is &ldquo;Joe played for UMBC.&rdquo;
Sherburne, who works as a financial adviser, remembers the day well.
As UMBC&rsquo;s lead over Virginia grew to double digits in the second half he sensed something special, something miraculous was happening. He struggled to concentrate on the next play call while sitting on the bench during TV timeouts: &ldquo;I felt like I was in shock.&rdquo;
Could this really be happening? Could a 20 1/2-point underdog really beat the No. 1 team in the nation in the NCAA Tournament?
But it happened &mdash; and everyone suddenly wanted to know their story.
Sherburne stayed at the arena until 1 a.m. doing interviews before returning to the team hotel where he was greeted by overwhelmed fans, friends and family members. He and his teammates watched &ldquo;Sports Center&rdquo; on repeat and ate pizza, basking in the moment.
&ldquo;We were all still running on adrenaline,&rdquo; Sherburne said. &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t eat or drink. I can usually eat a whole Domino&rsquo;s pizza by myself, but I couldn&rsquo;t that night. I might have had two or three slices.&rdquo;
Sherburne still wishes the celebration had gone on for days longer, but UMBC lost a close second round loss to Kansas State two days later.
Still, there will always be the satisfaction of accomplishing something that had never been done before. Sherburne is hoping it stays that way for awhile.
After the final 16 seed lost in last year&rsquo;s NCAA Tournament, he toasted UMBC&rsquo;s legacy with a shot of whiskey.
Two years ago, he attended Game 6 the 2016 NBA Finals where he watched former Virginia big man Mamadi Diakite win a championship ring. Diakite was one of six Virginia players from that team to play in the NBA; UMBC had none.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sitting in the arena that night, in the second row from the top, thinking to myself, &rsquo;You know, just a couple of years ago I was making this guy and his teammates cry,&rsquo;&rdquo; Sherburne said.
UMBC players haven&rsquo;t had an in-person reunion, but Sherburne said players remain in touch on group texts.
Last week, Odom opened one of those texts to find players and assistant coaches reminiscing about star guard Jairus Lyles&rsquo; buzzer-beater to beat Vermont in the 2018 America East Conference Tournament championship game &mdash; a dramatic win that earned the Retrievers an automatic bid to the Big Dance.
Odom&rsquo;s eyes swelled up with tears as he scrolled through the comments and pictures.
&ldquo;Each team that we&rsquo;re fortunate enough to coach has one life to live,&rdquo; Odom said. &ldquo;That particular team lived a great life. The joy that that team experienced was unlike any other. Certainly the memories that we&rsquo;ll all take from that particular season will last a lifetime. This is what all coaches and players want: they want to be a part of March Madness and the upset.&rdquo;.

Thursday marks five years since the University of Maryland-Baltimore County had the biggest upset in college basketball history.

UMBC’s legacy: No. 1 can mean one-and-done in March Madness

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

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

Chalk rules in women’s March Madness bracket picks

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi guard Trevian Tennyson got a taste of the pomp and star treatment at last year&rsquo;s First Four and wanted more.
The Islanders lost their 2022 play-in game to Texas Southern, which notched its second First Four victory in a row.
&ldquo;We had meetings at the beginning of the year, and the only thing I told them was, my goal this year was to get back to March Madness,&rdquo; said Tennyson, who led the Islanders with 15.7 points per game and hit 41% of his 3-pointers. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re here, so that&rsquo;s really it.
&ldquo;Anything can happen really because it&rsquo;s March Madness,&rdquo; Tennyson said Monday. &ldquo;Last year we started off on a really good trail. We (were) up, I think, almost 15, and we didn&rsquo;t end up coming up with the win. Really, just anything can happen.&rdquo;
Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi (23-10) has won 12 of its last 13, including the Southland Conference tournament. This time in the First Four, they face the Redhawks of Southeast Missouri State, a team that had a losing record before winning the Ohio Valley Conference tournament for the first time in 23 years.
For the Redhawks, it was the first winning season in nine years.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s basketball Christmas. It really is,&rdquo; Southeast Missouri State coach Brad Korn said. &ldquo;Every time you turn the corner, you smile at something else. We had a guy playing bagpipes at the hotel today, so what else could you ask for?&rdquo;
The winner moves on as the 16th seed to face top-seeded Alabama in the first round at Birmingham on Thursday.
THESE GUYS AGAIN
Texas Southern is as close to a First Four regular as the annual play-in event can claim.
The Tigers return to the event for the third straight year and fifth time overall, facing off Wednesday night against Fairleigh Dickinson (17-15), the New Jersey school that won a First Four game in 2019 and is just a year removed from a 4-22 finish.
Texas Southern&rsquo;s fifth-year coach, Johnny Jones, is 3-0 in the First Four since taking over in 2018. The Tigers come to Dayton this time with a losing record (14-20) but earned the postseason berth by sweeping through the Southwest Conference tournament, beating second-seeded Grambling State in the final.
The winner of the Texas Southern-Fairleigh Dickinson game will jump on Interstate 70 for the hour&rsquo;s drive to Columbus, where it will slot in as the 16th seed in the East and play top-seeded Purdue on Friday.
DIFFERENT STYLES
Mississippi State and Pitt should be an intriguing matchup because their strengths are so different.
Mississippi State (21-12) is the worst 3-point shooting team in college basketball. Expect the Bulldogs, just 8-10 in the SEC, to try to get to the rim and try to clamp down on Pitt with excellent perimeter defense.
The Panthers (22-11) can make the mid-range and long jumpers but don&rsquo;t play as well inside, and they aren&rsquo;t as good defensively.
&ldquo;One of the things that&rsquo;s difficult is that we can&rsquo;t simulate their size and their strength and athleticism in what we&rsquo;re doing in practice,&rdquo; Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. &ldquo;So we really have to be totally dialed in to the little things that add up to big things.&rdquo;
The winner of the late Tuesday night game advances to Midwest Regional as the 11th seed, facing sixth-seeded Iowa State on Friday.
FAMILIAR FACES
Arizona State (22-12) beat Oregon State and USC in the Pac-12 tournament before being routed in the semifinal by No. 8 Arizona, a team the Sun Devils had bested Feb. 25.
They did so in no small part because of forward Warren Washington and Desmond Cambridge Jr., a fifth-year guard who led the team with 13.7 points per game.
Both players transferred from Nevada &mdash; the team Arizona State will face in Wednesday&rsquo;s late game.
Nevada lost four of its last six games to finish 22-10 but still got picked off the bubble for the play-in game. Guard Jared Lucas leads the way, averaging 17.3 points and hitting 38% of his 3-point shots.
The winner moves on as the 11th seed in the West and a Friday matchup with TCU.
MOVING ON
For bracketeers looking for a Cinderella to come out of Dayton, it could happen.
In fact, at least one First Four team has gone on to win another game in the tournament every year except 2019. The event has been played in Dayton every year since 2011, except for 2020, when it was canceled because of the pandemic, and 2021 when it was moved under the COVID-19 bubble in Indianapolis.
In 2011, No. 11 seed VCU got on a roll and went all the way to the Final Four, beating No. 1 Kansas in the regional final.

For bracketeers looking for a Cinderella to come out of Dayton, it could happen.

Returning Texas teams, first-timers make up First Four field

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; &ldquo;The Freshies&rdquo; have had a winning impact on South Carolina, one coach Dawn Staley believes will last long after they leave campus.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had leaders leave a legacy of leadership,&rdquo; Staley said Sunday after her top-ranked team&rsquo;s 73-63 victory over Georgia. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s still intact.&rdquo;
And has more yet to accomplish.
The group of five led by reigning AP national player of the year Aliyah Boston and high-scoring Zia Cooke (they&rsquo;ve called themselves &ldquo;The Freshies&rdquo; since arriving as the country&rsquo;s No. 1 recruiting class) has helped the Gamecocks win three Southeastern Conference titles, two league tournament crowns and last year&rsquo;s NCAA championship.
Boston had her 78th career double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Cooke had 10 of her 12 points in the first half as the Gamecocks (29-0) completed a perfect, 16-0 SEC season.
The quintet, which also includes Brea Beal, Laeticia Amihere and Olivia Thompson, has a 122-8 record the past four years and has won 35 straight games since its last loss to Kentucky at the SEC Tournament a year ago.
Boston and her teammates hope to avenge that and add to their trophy collection this coming week.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s definitely no relief&rdquo; after their flawless regular season, she said. &ldquo;Now, were into the season where winning is the only option.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Kamilla Cardoso, the Gamecocks&rsquo; 6-foot-7 reserve, also had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Georgia (20-10, 9-7) kept things uncomfortably close into the second quarter before the Gamecocks pulled away for their 17th straight victory in the series.
Georgia frustrated South Carolina nearly two months ago, holding Boston to four points and five boards in a 68-51 loss on Jan. 2.
The Bulldogs defense was at it again, this time limiting just about every other Gamecock besides Boston to stay within arms length of the defending national champions. Diamond Battles&rsquo; basket with 5:58 to go before the half tied things at 25.
South Carolina dialed up its own defense for a 10-2 run the rest of the half to take control. The Gamecocks forced three turnovers and Georgia missed its five attempts during the four-minute span.
Cooke opened the surge with a driving bucket and closed it with a three as the Gamecocks lead 35-27 at the break.
South Carolina used its dominating height advantage &mdash; Cardoso scored all her points the final 20 minutes &mdash; to maintain a double-figure lead for much of the second half.
Georgia came in with a five-game win streak, but fell to 0-4 this season against ranked opponents. Battles led the Bulldogs with 20 points.
Bulldogs first-year coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson was proud of her team&rsquo;s fight and said this doesn&rsquo;t diminish in how they&rsquo;ve gelled the past month.
&ldquo;Their personality is now becoming my personality,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Which I love that. They&rsquo;ve got to be fighters and they&rsquo;ve got to be tough.&rdquo;
BIG PICTURE
Georgia: The Bulldogs had no offensive rebounds in the first 20 minutes against South Carolina, which is second nationally in grabbing its opponents misses with more than 31 a game this season. Georgia entered this game fifth in SEC offensive rebounding per game at 13.3.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks were stunned by Kentucky in last year&rsquo;s SEC Tournament finals. But it&rsquo;s hard to imagine South Carolina&rsquo;s versatile, talented roster letting up after the way they&rsquo;ve handled the challenges of being No. 1 and remaining undefeated.
SENIOR TEARS
Aliyah Boston had her emotions on display as South Carolina&rsquo;s seven seniors were celebrated at Senior Day. Boston cried several times, including on video as she discussed her time at school in a taped message to fans. When Boston cried in the tunnel before the ceremony, she got a bit of coaching from Staley, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s too early,&rdquo; Boston recalled.
UP NEXT
Georgia starts SEC Tournament play on Thursday.
South Carolina, the top seed, begins play in Friday&rsquo;s quarterfinals.

“We’ve had leaders leave a legacy of leadership,” Dawn Staley said Sunday after her team’s 73-63 victory over Georgia. “It’s still intact.”

Boston, No 1 Gamecocks take SEC title, top Georgia 73-63

Aliyah Boston scored 23 of her 26 points in the second half, including 14 in the fourth quarter, to help No. 1 South Carolina beat fifth-ranked UConn 81-77 on Sunday.
The Gamecocks (23-0) have won 29 consecutive games since losing to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament title game last year. They&rsquo;ve also won four of the past five meetings with the Huskies, including a victory in the NCAA championship game last season.
South Carolina used its size again to top the Huskies. The 6-foot-7 Kamilla Cardoso and Boston, the reigning AP Player of the Year helped the Gamecocks have a 42-30 advantage on the boards, including grabbing 25 offensive rebounds.
Boston finished with 11 rebounds for the 76th double-double of her career.
Aaliyah Edwards led UConn (21-3) with 25 points.
WASHINGTON 72, NO. 2 STANFORD 67
SEATTLE (AP) &mdash; Elle Ladine scored 21 points and Dalayah Daniels made two key free throws with 8 seconds left, helping Washington knock off Stanford.
Washington (13-9, 5-7 Pac-12) closed the game with a 9-2 run. Lauren Schwartz made two foul shots before Ladine put the Huskies in front with a layup with 1:41 left.
Daniels had 15 points in Washington&rsquo;s first victory over a ranked opponent this season. Haley Van Dyke scored 14.&nbsp;
Haley Jones scored 18 points for Stanford (22-3, 10-2), and reserve Brooke Demetre had 15. Cameron Brink finished with 14 points and six rebounds.
NO. 3 LSU 72, TEXAS A&amp;M 66
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese had 26 points and 22 rebounds to help LSU outlast Texas A&amp;M.
Alexis Morris added 22 points before fouling out late to help LSU (23-0, 11-0 Southeastern Conference) remain undefeated ahead of next week&rsquo;s showdown with top-ranked and undefeated South Carolina. It was Reese&rsquo;s 23rd consecutive double-double.
An 8-0 run by Texas A&amp;M (6-15, 1-10) cut the lead to 66-62 with less than two minutes to go. Reese made two free throws before Kay Kay Green made 1 of 2 free throws on the other end to leave LSU up 68-63 with less than a minute left.
Last-Tear Poa added two free throws for the Tigers to push it to 70-63 seconds later. LSU forced a turnover and Reese added a basket to make it 72-63 with 17 seconds left to secure the victory.
Sahara Jones had 14 points for the Aggies, who lost their third straight.
NO. 4 INDIANA 69, PURDUE 46
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Sydney Parrish and Mackenzie Holmes each scored 15 points and Indiana won its 10th straight game, pulling away from Purdue in front of a record Boilermakers crowd.
The announced attendance of 14,876 was the largest for a Purdue women&rsquo;s home game. It marked the first sellout for a women&rsquo;s matchup at Mackey Arena since 2000 and third in program history.
Sara Scalia had 14 points and Chloe Moore-McNeil had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Hoosiers (22-1, 12-1 Big Ten).
Lasha Petree scored 13 points and Abbey Ellis had 10 to lead the Boilermakers (15-7, 6-6).
NO. 6 IOWA 95, PENN STATE 51
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark had 23 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds to lead Iowa over Penn State.
Monika Czinano scored 14 points and Kate Martin added 11 for the Hawkeyes (19-4, 11-1 Big Ten), who took the lead midway through the first quarter and pulled away in a lopsided second half to win their eighth straight game.
Taniyah Thompson led Penn State (13-11, 4-9) with 11 points while Leilani Kapinus had 10. Kapinus, Makenna Marisa and Shay Ciezki, all averaging double figures this season, combined to go 2 for 15 from the floor in the first quarter.
NO. 7 UTAH 100, OREGON 92
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Alissa Pili scored a season-high 30 points, and Utah moved into a tie for first place in the Pac-12 Conference.
Jenna Johnson added 19 points and Kennady McQueen scored 16 as the Utes (20-2) shot 62.3% from the field. Utah improved to 10-2 in the conference to tie for the top spot with Stanford, which lost 72-67 at Washington earlier in the day.
Endyia Rogers scored 35 points to lead Oregon (14-9, 5-7). Chance Gray added 18 points and fellow freshman Grace VanSlooten had 16 for the Ducks, who shot 50% from the field and made nine 3-pointers two days after going 0-for-16 beyond the arc in a loss to Colorado.
NO. 8 MARYLAND 90, NO. 10 OHIO STATE 54
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) &mdash; Diamond Miller scored 16 of her 29 points in the third quarter, and Maryland earned its most lopsided win over a top-10 opponent.
Abby Meyers added 22 points and Shyanne Sellers contributed 19 for the Terrapins (19-5, 10-3), who rebounded emphatically from their loss at No. 6 Iowa on Thursday night with a 36-point win.
Taylor Thierry scored 21 for Ohio State. The Buckeyes (20-4, 9-4 Big Ten) have dropped four of five since starting the season 19-0.
NO. 16 DUKE 57, NO. 9 NOTRE DAME 52
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Celeste Taylor scored 14 points in Duke&rsquo;s come-from-behind victory at Notre Dame.
Trailing for most of the game&rsquo;s first 28 minutes, the Blue Devils (20-3, 10-2 ACC) took the lead for good in the final two minutes of the third.
Maddy Westbeld led Notre Dame (18-4, 9-3) with 15 points and Sonia Citron scored 14.
LOUISVILLE 62, NO. 11 NORTH CAROLINA 55
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Chrislyn Carr scored 11 of her 17 points in the third quarter and Louisville ended North Carolina&rsquo;s eight-game winning streak.
Hailey Van Lith also had 17 points for the Cardinals (17-8, 8-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who made 9 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter of a game that was mostly a defensive struggle.
Deja Kelly scored 13 points but was just 3-of-16 shooting for the Tar Heels (17-6, 8-4), Paulina Paris added 12 points and Anya Poole had 10.
NO. 14 UCLA 82, ARIZONA STATE 63
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Charisma Osborne had 23 points, Londynn Jones added 20 off the bench, and UCLA pulled away in the second half to snap a three-game losing skid.
Gabriela Jaquez added 14 points off the bench for the Bruins (18-6, 7-5 Pac-12), who had a 42-6 advantage in bench scoring.
Tyi Skinner scored 28 points, Treasure Hunt 18 and Jaddan Simmons 10 for the Sun Devils (7-14, 0-12), who have lost 12 straight &mdash; the fifth-longest active streak in the nation.
NO. 18 MICHIGAN 77, MICHIGAN STATE 67
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Leigha Brown scored 19 of her 29 points in the second half and finished two assists shy of a triple-double to lead Michigan over rival Michigan State.
Brown scored 10 in the fourth quarter, eight from the foul line, and Maddie Nolan had two big 3-pointers in the fourth and scored 22 points for the Wolverines (19-5, 9-4 Big Ten Conference). Michigan pulled out a second-straight win without leading scored Laila Phelia, who has a lower leg injury.
Matilda Ekh and Moira Joiner both had 12 for the Spartans (11-12, 3-9), who lost their third straight since coach Susy Merchant had a medical issue and a minor car accident on Jan. 28. Dean Lockwood is the interim head coach. DeeDee Hagemann added 11 points and a season-high nine assists.
NO. 22 ARIZONA 81, SOUTHERN CAL 75, 2 OT
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Cate Reese scored a career-high 33 points, including four free throws in the last 7.5 seconds of the second overtime, to give Arizona the win over Southern Cal.
Shay Pellington and Jade Loville both had 17 points for the Wildcats (18-5, 8-4 Pac-12 Conference), who picked up a critical sweep in Los Angeles after beating No. 14 UCLA 71-66 in overtime on Friday.
Helena Pueyo had her only two points from the foul line with 15 seconds to go for a 77-73 Arizona lead, the first time it became a two possession game in the second overtime.
Destiny Littleton had 21 points for the Trojans (17-6, 7-5), playing all 50 minutes, as did Kadi Sissoko, who scored 15 points. Rayah Marshall had 17 points, 20 rebounds and six blocks in 48 minutes. Doumbia, a senior transfer from Purdue, had a career-high 17 in 28 minutes off the bench before fouling out in the first OT.

A recap of Sunday's action in women's college hoops includes a star-studded meeting between the Gamecocks and UConn Huskies.

South Carolina wins rematch of NCAA final to stay undefeated

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Kihei Clark may never top his biggest highlight in Virginia basketball lore, but having the 5-foot-10 point guard in the No. 10 Cavaliers&rsquo; lineup could certainly give him another chance.
In 2019, during an Elite Eight battle with Purdue, the then-freshman chased down a tapped-out missed free throw well past the midcourt line, wheeled around and fed Mamadi Diakite for a buzzer-beating jumper that sent the game into overtime. The Cavaliers won, then went on to earn the first national championship in program history.
&ldquo;The Shot&rdquo; was only possible because of &ldquo;The Pass.&rdquo;
Now in his fifth season, Clark is taking advantage of an extra year of eligibility to climb several of Virginia&rsquo;s career lists and possibly lead them on another deep tournament run. He&rsquo;ll continue that pursuit on Saturday when the Cavaliers (14-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) play at Wake Forest (14-5, 6-2).
Clark on Wednesday moved to the top of the Cavaliers&rsquo; career victories list for players with 111, one more than Diakite. His 65 ACC wins are also the most in program history.
Those milestones, and others, almost didn&rsquo;t happen. After last season, Clark posted a farewell message to Virginia fans on Twitter, then changed his mind.
With Reece Beekman seemingly poised to take over the lead role in the Cavaliers&rsquo; backcourt, coach Tony Bennett knows Clark&rsquo;s value.
&ldquo;A guy his size doesn&rsquo;t get to where he is without having a fierce side of him, a competitor, and he wants to win. And that&rsquo;s what he&rsquo;s done most of his career but he&rsquo;s still coachable,&rdquo; Bennett said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s good to have him back for sure. I&rsquo;m glad he made that decision.&rdquo;
Bennett often uses bigger guards to play in the high post, though he&rsquo;ll use Clark there, too, and gives him lots of playmaking freedom.
&ldquo;You sometimes want some of your better decision-makers or guards in that high post &hellip; I thought he had a real nice game,&rdquo; Bennett said after winning at Georgia Tech 74-56.
&ldquo;He had command of his game. Sometimes you watch somebody and they have command of their game, and he just had it when he was in the lane, the decisions he was making,&rdquo; Bennett said.
Virginia Tech&rsquo;s Mike Young saw it firsthand in a 78-68 loss on Wednesday night.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s waiting on you,&rdquo; Young said, recalling several passes Clark made in the lane on his way to a season-high 20 points and five assists. &ldquo;He is waiting for somebody to blink.&rdquo;
Young will face Clark one more time when Virginia goes to Blacksburg. Other coaches have used the postgame handshake lines to share their admiration.
&ldquo;I told him last year after we played him in Harrisonburg, I told him he&rsquo;s one of my favorite players to watch in college, and I thought that was the goodbye. And then sure enough, he comes back this year,&rdquo; said James Madison coach Mark Byington after Virginia&rsquo;s win this year in which Clark had 18 points and seven assists. &ldquo;So I told him this time ... &lsquo;Look, I better never see you in college basketball again.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Florida State&rsquo;s Leonard Hamilton said after getting beat 62-57 that Clark is &ldquo;almost flawless as a point guard ... and he&rsquo;s one of those guys that don&rsquo;t come along very often.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I told him as I shook his hand, &lsquo;I&rsquo;ll be glad when you go.&rsquo;&rdquo; Hamilton said. &ldquo;He smiled.&rdquo;
Clark has appreciated the kind words.
&ldquo;Obviously, you&rsquo;re doing something right if they don&rsquo;t want to play against you,&rdquo; he said.

Clark on Wednesday moved to the top of the Cavaliers’ career victories list for players with 111, one more than Mamadi Diakite.

Kihei Clark making history for No. 10 Virginia — again

PARIS (AP) &mdash; <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-basketball-las-vegas-6f4ac3d44f624ef36ddb00e314cf0401">Victor Wembanyama was sitting courtside,</a> the 19-year-old French phenom and presumed No. 1 NBA draft pick watching some of the players he&rsquo;ll go up against next season.
And a guy with a French surname put on quite a show.
Zach LaVine &mdash; who said his great-grandfather was French &mdash; scored 30 points and the Chicago Bulls never trailed in a 126-108 win over the Detroit Pistons at the NBA Paris Game on Thursday.
&ldquo;Maybe the air up here was good for me,&rdquo; LaVine said.
DeMar DeRozan added 26 points for the Bulls, and Nikola Vucevic finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds and six assists.
Bojan Bogdanovic led the Pistons with 25 points. Killian Hayes, the only French player on either roster, scored four points for Detroit on 2-of-13 shooting, but had a game-high eight assists.
Hamidou Diallo had 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting for Detroit, while Saddiq Bey and Jaden Ivey each scored 16 for the Pistons.
&ldquo;It was a bit frustrating to not be the winners tonight," Hayes said.
It was the capper to several days of celebrating the NBA in France, after both teams took part in clinics, touristy events like visits to the Eiffel Tower, some upscale dinners and even a private show for the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/chicago-bulls-nba-sports-detroit-pistons-rodney-mcgruder-268c20ad7406e6f162bc0dc0f5a3a410">Pistons at the Paris Opera House</a>.
And while the game counted &mdash; Chicago (21-24) stayed in 10th in the Eastern Conference and what would be the last play-in spot with the win, while Detroit fell to 12-36, the second-worst mark in the NBA &mdash; it also was no mundane middle-of-the-season regular-season matchup.
The celebrity list included NBA greats like Magic Johnson, Richard Hamilton, Ben Wallace and Tony Parker; <a href="https://apnews.com/article/chicago-bulls-nba-sports-detroit-pistons-richard-hamilton-8002bc599b1b4e27789f6624d61de0cc">a Bulls legend and native French son in Joakim Noah;</a> the rising star that everybody can&rsquo;t stop talking about in Wembanyama; WNBA players like Gabby Williams; even Grammy winners and Formula 1 drivers.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to quite compare this to All-Star,&rdquo; <a href="https://apnews.com/article/chicago-bulls-nba-sports-france-government-africa-efc212a60bce5820d7673a54fd4bea5b">NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said,</a> &ldquo;but it&rsquo;s the closest thing to a European All-Star Game that we have.&rdquo;
It was also a celebration of the continued strength of the international footprint on today&rsquo;s NBA game. When the Bulls and Michael Jordan &mdash; along with B.J. Armstrong, then a Bulls guard, now an NBA agent who was at the game Thursday &mdash; played in Paris during the preseason in 1997, about 1 of every 14 NBA players was born outside the U.S.
Now, that&rsquo;s about 1 in 4.
&ldquo;It is special because we&rsquo;re representing not only Detroit, but the NBA,&rdquo; Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. &ldquo;And we&rsquo;re trying to put the brand in a good place &mdash; in a place where basketball is taking off.&rdquo;
<a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1616197195878830089?s=20&amp;t=gIeSQODhSY64TYUk1bgQew">Wembanyama and his family</a> made their way to courtside seats about 15 minutes before tip-off, immediately attracting a huge crowd. When the camera found him and he was shown to the French fans on the big in-arena screens in the second quarter, he clapped and smiled, as did his mother seated one row back over his right shoulder &mdash; as the crowd positively roared in delight.
Both teams are flying home Friday.
&ldquo;It's great for people here in Paris to get an up-close look at the NBA," Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. &ldquo;It makes you realize that the sport is followed so closely around the world. It was amazing. The place was sold out."
TIP-INS
Bulls: Derrick Jones Jr. had 12 points for Chicago, <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1616196916945031181?s=20&amp;t=gIeSQODhSY64TYUk1bgQew">including four highlight-reel dunks</a> &mdash; no surprise for a former NBA dunk champion. ... Ayo Dosunmu scored 13 for the Bulls. ... Chicago shot 54%.
Pistons: Jalen Duren had an imperfect start to the trip &mdash; he misplaced his passport &mdash; then got that settled and had a perfect shooting game, 4-for-4 from the field on his way to a 11-point, 12-rebound effort. ... Isaiah Stewart grabbed 11 rebounds.
GLOBAL GAME
The NBA has teams in the U.S. and Canada, of course, and this game in France pushed the list of nations where the league has played or practiced this season to seven.
Mexico played host to a game between San Antonio and Miami last month. The Heat also had training camp in the Bahamas, and the league went to two other countries for preseason games &mdash; Golden State and Washington played twice in Japan, while Milwaukee and Atlanta played twice in the United Arab Emirates.
ROAD TRIP
It was a &ldquo;home&rdquo; game for the Pistons, even though Paris is about 4,000 miles from Detroit. As the home team, the Pistons got to bring a slew of staffers on the trip &mdash; including some game operations workers and members of the stat crew that works at the scoring table.
James Capers, Karl Lane and Natalie Sago got sent to officiate the game. All three referees had games Saturday in the U.S., then traveled to Paris.
UP NEXT
Bulls: Host Atlanta on Monday.
Pistons: Host Milwaukee on Monday.

Zach LaVine scored 30 points and the Chicago Bulls never trailed in a 126-108 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Yamil