Billikens

Jaden Ivey is expected to miss most of the 2024-25 season after sustaining a broken left fibula in a collision with Cole Anthony, according to ESPN&rsquo;s Shams Charania.
The Detroit Pistons guard sustained the injury during the fourth quarter of the team's 105-96 victory over the Orlando Magic. The injury occurred when Ivey collided with Magic guard Cole Anthony while pursuing a loose ball, resulting in an awkward fall that left Ivey in visible pain on the court.&nbsp;
Ivey was immediately attended to by medical personnel and subsequently stretchered off the court. He underwent successful surgery the following day at Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital and will be re-evaluated in four weeks.&nbsp;
The Pistons announced Thursday that the promising guard will be reevaluated in four weeks.
Ivey, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 draft, has been enjoying a career-best season, averaging 17.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game for the resurgent Pistons.
Though Detroit remains open to Ivey&rsquo;s return depending on their postseason prospects, the team is committed to prioritizing his recovery and long-term health.
Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff expressed confidence in Ivey's resilience, stating, "There's no better person or teammate than J.I. and no one cares more about this than he does."&nbsp;
The Pistons, currently holding a 15-18 record, will look to other players to step up in Ivey's absence as they aim to maintain their competitive edge in the Eastern Conference.

Jaden Ivey is expected to miss most of the 2024-25 season after sustaining a broken left fibula.

Pistons' Jaden Ivey undergoes surgery for broken fibula, out indefinitely

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced today at NBA All-Star Weekend 2024 the selection of 14 finalists from the following committees: North American, Women&rsquo;s, Men&rsquo;s Veterans, Women&rsquo;s Veterans, International, and Contributors.
The finalists will then be put forward to the Honors Committee to be considered for election as members of the Class of 2024. The new class will be announced in Phoenix on April 6 at the NCAA Men&rsquo;s Final Four.
North American Committee Finalists (in alphabetical order):
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Chauncey Billups</li>
<li>Vince Carter</li>
<li>Michael Cooper</li>
<li>Walter Davis</li>
<li>Bo Ryan</li>
<li>Charles Smith</li>
</ul>
Women's Committee Finalists:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Seimone Augustus</li>
<li>Marian Washington</li>
</ul>
Men&rsquo;s Veteran Committee Finalist:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Dick Barnett</li>
</ul>
Women's Veteran Committee Finalist:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Harley Redin</li>
</ul>
International Committee Finalist:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Michele Timms</li>
</ul>
Contributors Committee Finalists:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Doug Collins</li>
<li>Herb Simon</li>
<li>Jerry West</li>
</ul>
"Being named a Finalist for the Class of 2024 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is a testament to the highest echelons of achievement in the sport,&rdquo; said Jerry Colangelo, Chairman of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. &ldquo;It's an honor that reflects not only individual greatness but also the long-lasting impact on the game itself. From the strategic brilliance of coaches to the unmatched abilities of players and the influential roles of a coach/broadcaster, an esteemed owner, and a dynasty-building executive, each Finalist embodies the pinnacle of basketball excellence. Their inclusion underscores the diverse contributions that have shaped and enriched the sport, making this recognition truly exceptional."
The Class of 2024 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, Mass., on August 16-17. VIP packages for the 2024 Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend are now available. Single-event tickets will go on sale on April 6, following the 2024 Class Announcement.
North American Committee Finalists:
CHAUNCEY BILLUPS&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash; Nicknamed "Mr. Big Shot" for his ability to deliver crucial plays in pivotal moments, Billups was a five-time NBA All-Star and the 2004 Finals MVP after leading the Detroit Pistons to their third NBA championship. During his 17-year career, Billups&rsquo; averaged 15.2 points and 5.4 assists per game, while his&nbsp; 89.4&nbsp; free throw percentage is sixth best in NBA/ABA history. Billups was drafted third overall in 1997 by the Boston Celtics after earning Second Team All-American honors at Colorado. He is the current head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.
VINCE CARTER&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash; Renowned for his high-flying dunks, the former North Carolina standout was an eight-time All-Star in his 22 NBA seasons (1998-2020). Carter, who won the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest, was named the 1998-99 Rookie of the Year and is the only player in NBA history to play in four different decades. Carter averaged 16.7 points per game (21.3 as a starter) and also played a pivotal role in the success of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, clinching a gold medal with the U.S. Men's Basketball Team. He currently holds the single-season franchise scoring record for the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors.
MICHAEL COOPER&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Cooper was named to eight NBA All-Defensive Teams, taking home First-Team accolades five times and winning Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1987. The former third-round draft pick (60th overall) out of the University of New Mexico spent his entire 12-year NBA career (1978-90) with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning five championships while routinely matching up with the opponent&rsquo;s top shooter. Following his playing career, Cooper entered the coaching ranks and earned WNBA Coach of the Year accolades in 2000 with the Los Angeles Sparks before winning back-to-back WNBA titles in 2001-02.
WALTER DAVIS&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;The all-time leading scorer in Phoenix Suns&rsquo; history was a six-time All-Star (1978-81, &lsquo;84, &lsquo;87) during his 15-year NBA career with the Suns (1977-88), Denver Nuggets (1988-92) and Portland Trail Blazers (1991). Before Phoenix chose Davis with the fifth pick in the 1977 draft, the standout player from North Carolina won a gold medal in the 1976 Summer Olympics. He then averaged 24.2 points per game in his first NBA season and was named the 1978 Rookie of the Year. The late Davis had&nbsp;his No. 6 retired by the Suns, and in 2004, he was enshrined in the team's Ring of Honor.
BO RYAN&nbsp;[Coach] &ndash;&nbsp;Ryan went 747-233 (.762) in 32 seasons as a collegiate head coach with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (1984-89), University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1999-2001) and University of Wisconsin (2001-15), including a 364-130 (.737) ledger in 14-plus seasons in Madison. Ryan, honored four times as the Big Ten Coach of the Year, led Wisconsin to unprecedented success, clinching four Big Ten regular-season titles, winning three Big Ten tournament championships, and making back-to-back Final Four appearances (2014-15). The four-time Division III champion (1991, &lsquo;95, &lsquo;98-99) was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.
CHARLES SMITH&nbsp;[Coach] &ndash; Smith is Louisiana's all-time winningest high school head coach, surpassing the previous mark of 1,071 in 2020. With eight state championships to his name, Smith&rsquo;s coaching tenure at Peabody Magnet High School began in 1985 after starting as a math teacher in 1975. He guided the Warhorses to a pair of perfect seasons, going 41-0 in 2004 and 2010 and earning national top-five rankings. Smith, ESPN&rsquo;s National Coach of the Year in 2010, was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2019 and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2021. In addition, Smith served as a head coach at the McDonald&rsquo;s All-American game in 2020.
Women&rsquo;s Committee Finalists:
SEIMONE AUGUSTUS&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Augustus, who was selected first overall in the 2006 WNBA Draft, was a four-time champion and eight-time All-Star during her 15-year WNBA career (2006-2020). The cornerstone player for the Minnesota Lynx, where she spent 14 of her 15 seasons, averaged 15.4 points per game and was named the 2006 Rookie of the Year and 2011 Finals MVP. At LSU, Augustus led the Tigers to three straight Final Four appearances and won the Naismith College Player of the Year and Wooden Awards in back-to-back campaigns (2005-06).
MARIAN WASHINGTON&nbsp;[Coach] &ndash; Washington led the University of Kansas women&rsquo;s basketball team for 31 seasons (1973-2004) and recorded a school-record 560 wins. The Jayhawks made 11 NCAA tournament appearances under her guidance, including two trips to the Sweet 16 (1996, &lsquo;97). Washington, who also served as Kansas&rsquo; director for women&rsquo;s athletics from 1974-79, was named her conference&rsquo;s Coach of the Year on three occasions (Big Eight: 1992, &rsquo;96; Big 12: 1997). She was a pioneer on the international stage, becoming one of the first two African American women to compete in basketball internationally at the 1971 World Championships and the first black woman to coach a United States team in international play at the 1982 R. William Jones Cup. Washington, who was the first female president of the Black Coaches Association, was inducted into the Women&rsquo;s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004.
Men&rsquo;s Veteran Committee Finalist:
DICK BARNETT&nbsp;[Player] &ndash;&nbsp;Barnett first gained prominence at Tennessee A&amp;I University, where he led the Tigers to three straight NAIA national championships (1957-59), the first historically black school to claim a men&rsquo;s basketball title. The &ldquo;Skull&rdquo; played 14 NBA seasons with the Syracuse Nationals (1959-61), Los Angeles Lakers (1962-65) and New York Knicks (1965-73), winning a pair of titles in the Big Apple (1970, &lsquo;73) and making his lone All-Star team in 1968. The Knicks retired his No. 12, and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame honored his 1957&ndash;59 Tigers squad in 2019.
Women&rsquo;s Veteran Committee Finalists:
HARLEY REDIN&nbsp;[Coach]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Redin went 431-66 in 18 seasons leading Wayland Baptist&rsquo;s women&rsquo;s basketball program and captured six AAU National Championships. He coached the Flying Queens to two undefeated women&rsquo;s seasons (1956, &lsquo;57), 17 top-five finishes, and went 110-2 during his first four campaigns at Wayland Baptist. Redin also coached the Women&rsquo;s U.S. National Team in 1959, the 1971 Pan-American Games, and the 1963 World Tournament in Peru. He was the recipient of the Jostens-Berenson Service Award by the Women&rsquo;s Basketball Coaches Association for his lifetime of service to women&rsquo;s basketball in 1992, inducted into the Women&rsquo;s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999, and honored with the Naismith Award for Outstanding Contribution to the game of women&rsquo;s basketball in 2000.
International Committee Finalist:
MICHELE TIMMS&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;A trailblazer in Australian women&rsquo;s basketball, Timms became well-known as one of the best point guards in the world, representing the Australian national team throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Timms won a pair of Olympic medals with the Opals, winning bronze in 1996 and silver in 2000, and was the first Australian, male or female, to play professional basketball internationally when she suited up for Lotus M&uuml;nchen in Germany. In addition, Timms spent five seasons with the Phoenix Mercury, guiding the team to a berth in the 1998 WNBA Finals and earning an All-Star selection in 1999. The Sport Australia Hall of Fame inducted her in 2003, the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008, and the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2016. The Mercury retired her No. 7 jersey in 2002.
Contributor Committee Finalists:
DOUG COLLINS&nbsp;[Coach/broadcaster]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Collins' versatile career in basketball is marked by significant achievements in roles ranging from player to coach to broadcaster, underscoring his wide-ranging impact on the sport. Following an NBA career where he was a four-time All-Star with the Philadelphia 76ers, he transitioned into coaching and accumulated over 400 wins with the Chicago Bulls (1986-89), Detroit Pistons (1995-98), Washington Wizards (2001-03) and 76ers (2010-13). Collins, who coached Hall of Famer Michael Jordan in both Chicago and Washington,&nbsp;also served as an analyst for various NBA-related broadcasts for CBS, NBC, TNT, TBS, and ABC/ESPN, along with working for NBC at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.
HERB SIMON&nbsp;[Owner] &ndash; Simon, the longest-tenured governor in the history of the NBA, purchased the Indiana Pacers, along with his late brother Mel, back in 1983. Under Simon&rsquo;s stewardship, the Pacers won numerous Central Division titles and made the franchise&rsquo;s first NBA Finals in 2000. Throughout his ownership period, the Pacers have been home to legendary players like Jermaine O&rsquo;Neal, Rik Smits, and Reggie Miller (Class of 2012). Beyond ownership, Simon's influence extends deeply into the heart of the Pacers&rsquo; organization, shaping its identity and impact both on and off the court through his philanthropic endeavors and civic engagement.
JERRY WEST&nbsp;[Executive] &ndash; Enshrined as a player in 1980, West then went on to establish himself off the court as one of the most successful executives in the sport&rsquo;s history. West played a pivotal role as the architect of a pair of Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; dynasties during the 1980s and 2000s, drafting key players like Magic Johnson and James Worthy, acquiring Kobe Bryant, signing free agent Shaquille O'Neal, and hiring head coach Phil Jackson. He totaled eight NBA championships in Los Angeles (1980, &lsquo;82, &lsquo;85, &lsquo;87-88, 2000-02) and was named Executive of the Year twice (1995, 2004). Following his time in the Lakers&rsquo; front office (1979-2000), West served as GM of the Memphis Grizzlies from 2002-07 before earning two additional NBA championships as an executive with the Golden State Warriors (2015, &lsquo;17).

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the 14 finalists for the class of 2024 including Vince Carter and Chauncey Billups.

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announces 14 finalists in class of 2024

Earlier this summer, the Golden State Warriors turned heads when they acquired Chris Paul from the Washington Wizards in exchange for Jordan Poole, Patrick Baldwin Jr., Ryan Rollins, a 2023 first-round pick, 2027 second-round pick and cash considerations.&nbsp;
After averaging 13.9 points, 8.9 assists and 4.3 rebounds last season, the 38-year-old Paul is looking to add a championship to his resume and prove that he can still produce at a high level.&nbsp;
This might be the most unique role of Paul's 19-year career. Not only do the Warriors already have a Hall-of-Fame-caliber backcourt with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, Draymond Green regularly handles floor-general duties. This means the Point God will have to adapt.
Given Golden State's personnel, many have considered the possibility of Paul coming off the bench, including Warriors coach Steve Kerr. Back in August, Kerr said Paul's role is something that would be decided during training camp.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I think that&rsquo;ll be a case where you get three weeks of training camp before that first game," Kerr said, according to <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/38136099/steve-kerr-warriors-adding-chris-paul-look-all-kinds-starter-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Tim Bontemps</a>. "We&rsquo;ll just look at all kinds of different combinations.&nbsp;The main thing is we know all those guys are going to play a lot of minutes. 
"But the luxury of having Chris Paul to add to this group that we've been lucky enough to have for a decade [is] pretty remarkable. He is one of the great competitors in the game. He's one of the great point guards of all-time. I think he's a great addition for us, because of his ability to control games, control tempo, take care of the ball."
When Paul was asked about potentially coming off the bench, he seemed irritated and asked the reporter his own question: &ldquo;You coaching?&rdquo;&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Chris Paul responds to potentially coming off the Warriors&rsquo; bench: <a href="https://t.co/FbDd0SGqLm">pic.twitter.com/FbDd0SGqLm</a>
&mdash; Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSWarriors/status/1678234187982327809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

The 12-time All-Star has never been a reserve. Counting the regular season and playoffs, Paul has played in 1,363 NBA games and he's started every single one. Paul&rsquo;s hesitation may be enough to prevent the Warriors from bringing him off the bench to start the season. Regardless, inserting Paul into the starting lineup could prove beneficial if done correctly. 
Yes, Paul will have to adjust and learn how to play alongside Golden State's other starters. However, he has shown that he's willing to make sacrifices and give someone else the keys to the offense. During his stint with the Houston Rockets, Paul shared play-making duties with James Harden. While Paul and Harden were unsuccessful in their quest for a title (thanks in large part to the Warriors), Paul proved he could be effective in that role &ndash; splitting creation duties and playing off-ball at times.
However, Paul's best days are clearly behind him, and it's possible that the Warriors will ask him to accept a sixth-man role. Some legends have a difficult time transitioning to a lesser role as they get older, while others are fine with coming off the bench. Last season, there was a lot of discussion surrounding Russell Westbrook's role with the Los Angeles Lakers, and the future Hall-of-Famer ultimately came off the bench in 49 of his 52 games with the Lakers before getting traded in February.
Paul has a history of accelerating the development of his young teammates, and Golden State's second unit features a number of talented prospects who could benefit from his tutelage (including Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski). 
With all this in mind, it will be interesting to see how Kerr and his staff decide to utilize Paul entering opening night and whether he remains in that role for the entirety of the season.

Will Chris Paul start next to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson or will Paul have to come off the bench for the first time in his career?

Breaking down the new-look Warriors: Will Chris Paul start?

Entering the 2022-23 NBA season, the Golden State Warriors were determined to defend their title.
However, after a season full of ups and downs, the Warriors ultimately earned the sixth seed in the Western Conference and were eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the playoffs.
This has been a busy offseason for the Warriors, and the franchise will look different (on and off the court) next year. General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. took over the front office after the departure of Bob Myers, and he didn't wait long to start putting his fingerprints all over the roster.
While the core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green will be back, the Warriors added veterans Chris Paul, Cory Joseph and Dario Saric as well as rookies Brandin Podziemski (No. 19 overall) and Trayce Jackson-Davis (No. 57 overall). Jordan Poole was dealt to the Washington Wizards (along with Ryan Rollins and Patrick Baldwin Jr.), and Donte DiVincenzo signed with the New York Knicks.
The Warriors made it clear that their top priority this summer was retaining Green, and they gave him a four-year, $100 million contract. While the Warriors could have gone younger, they instead decided to add veterans and chase their fifth championship in 10 years.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr recently opened up about what went wrong last season, taking some of the blame for the team's struggles.
&ldquo;I will say that I feel like I failed last year in connecting the group,&rdquo; Kerr told <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/07/20/steve-kerr-shares-thoughts-on-mike-dunleavy-jr-s-offseason-chris-paul-and-personal-goals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shayna Rubin of the San Jose Mercury-News</a>. &ldquo;I have taken a lot of time this summer to think about last year, things I could have and should have done differently. I really believe that sometimes losing sort of forces you to reassess and reevaluate and I&rsquo;m excited about coming back next year with a renewed focus and energy and spirit from the entire group. And that starts with me, and I can&rsquo;t wait.&rdquo;
Green punching Poole during training camp likely had a significant impact behind the scenes. Kerr's comment also lines up with a recent report from Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area that Green and Jonathan Kuminga don't have a relationship, but the Warriors hope that can be resolved.
"[Green and Kuminga not having a relationship] is a problem and it can only be fixed by Draymond," Monte Poole <a href="https://twitter.com/957thegame/status/1682129190450253825?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said on 95.7 The Game</a>. "The new contract implies the Warriors believe he can fix it, but around the league there are a lot of people saying, 'I don't know.'"
Kerr also opened up about Golden State's recent additions. When asked if Paul will start (as he's done throughout his whole career), Kerr said that the decision will come later.
&ldquo;All of that will happen in training camp,&rdquo; Kerr <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/07/20/steve-kerr-shares-thoughts-on-mike-dunleavy-jr-s-offseason-chris-paul-and-personal-goals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Rubin</a>. &ldquo;Until we get everyone on the floor, we won&rsquo;t be able to assess what&rsquo;s best for our team and how everything is going to look. But I&rsquo;m very confident that it&rsquo;s going to work out. We got great guys and we got champions, great competitors. There&rsquo;s one goal next year, and that&rsquo;s to win at the highest possible level. Everything else will unfold as the season does.&rdquo;
Kerr seems excited about the additions of Joseph and Saric as well.
&ldquo;We needed guys like Saric and Cory Joseph who have been through the NBA rigors and understand what it means to be a leader from the middle of the roster and how important that is,&rdquo; Kerr <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/07/20/steve-kerr-shares-thoughts-on-mike-dunleavy-jr-s-offseason-chris-paul-and-personal-goals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Rubin</a>, later adding, &ldquo;Mike really recognized that was an area we needed help, so he went out without many resources and fortified our roster and put us in position moving forward...
&ldquo;He understands that we have a window that&rsquo;s still open. I think he&rsquo;s fortified our roster with some really good veteran players and veteran leaders and balanced out the roster to where we have a better ratio of vets to young guys.&rdquo;
The Warriors can never be counted out as contenders, and it's certainly possible that their dynastic run will continue.

Steve Kerr recently took some of the blame for the Warriors' recent struggles, saying that he failed "in connecting the group."

Steve Kerr opens up about new-look Warriors, what went wrong last year

Brendan Malone, whose coaching career spanned six decades, is the recipient of the 2023 Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact award, the National Basketball Coaches Association announced today.
&ldquo;Brendan Malone has been a name synonymous with NBA success for many decades,&rdquo; said Rick Carlisle, Indiana Pacers head coach and NBCA president. &ldquo;He's helped develop players and young coaches, and been a multiple NBA champion on Chuck Daly's Detroit coaching staff in 1989 and 1990. Congrats to Coach Malone on this prestigious recognition.&rdquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;I want to thank the National Basketball Coaches Association for this award,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;Tex Winter was a man I got to know and respect. I also want to thank all of the head coaches that I enjoyed working with during my 29-year career in the NBA, in particular Hubie Brown who brought me into the league; Chuck Daly and our two championships; the Van Gundys, Stan and Jeff, and Don Chaney. Lastly, I want to thank my wife Maureen and our six children for sharing my journey.&rdquo;
Wetting his whistle with a few years of coaching CYO basketball, Malone began his coaching career in 1967 at the legendary Power Memorial Academy in New York City where he won three city championships and three Coach of the Year awards.
He then moved to the college ranks in 1976 as an assistant coach at Fordham, then Yale, and then Syracuse. At Syracuse, the Orange went to the NCAA Tournament four times. Malone was a Syracuse assistant for the first five years of the Big East. He left Syracuse to become head coach at the University of Rhode Island (URI) in 1984.
While at URI in 1986, Hubie Brown recruited Malone to join him as an assistant for the New York Knicks, the beginning of his 29-year NBA career. Malone had three different tours with the Knicks, the most notable of which was the four years with head coach Jeff Van Gundy. From 1996 to 2000, the Knicks went 177-119 with two Eastern Conference Finals appearances, as well as a trip to the 1999 NBA Finals.
Malone was an assistant coach for Stan Van Gundy for five years (2007 to 2012) in Orlando. The Magic won 50-plus games four straight years, went to the Eastern Conference Finals twice, and to the 2009 NBA Finals.
Malone was also an assistant coach for Bob Hill and Rick Pitino in New York, Don Chaney in both Detroit and New York, Isiah Thomas in Indiana, Paul Silas in Cleveland and Stan Van Gundy in Detroit. He was also a scout for the Detroit Pistons.&nbsp;
But it was in Detroit with Chuck Daly that Malone made his name, orchestrating the Jordan Rules defense that helped propel the Pistons to back-to-back NBA championships in 1989 and 1990.
Malone was the first head coach of the Toronto Raptors in 1995-96 and also served as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers for 18 games in 2004-05.
In 27 seasons of NBA coaching, teams that Malone coached went to the playoffs 20 times, to the Conference Finals seven times, and to the NBA Finals four times, winning the title twice. His teams compiled a 1165-1001 record (.538).
Brendan and his son, Michael, who is the head coach of the 2023 NBA champion Denver Nuggets, are the only father-son coaching duo to have both won an NBA championship.
&ldquo;I want to thank the NBCA Selection Committee for acknowledging my father&rsquo;s impact and career in the NBA,&rdquo; Michael Malone said. &ldquo;His work ethic, his love of the game, and his passion for teaching were the foundation of my coaching career. This is a well-deserved honor and I feel very fortunate to be a part of this celebration.&rdquo;
Brendan Malone was enshrined in the New York Catholic High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 1993. In 1997, he was inducted into the Basketball Old-Timers of America Hall of Fame (which recognizes and honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to New York City basketball). He is a 2017 enshrinee in the Power Memorial Academy Hall of Fame.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Assistant coaches generally operate behind the scenes and almost never receive enough public recognition for their team&rsquo;s success. However, any head coach will tell you that they are an indispensable part of the team equation,&rdquo; said David Fogel, NBCA Executive Director and General Counsel. &ldquo;Coach Malone&rsquo;s contributions to the accomplishments of his teams are well known inside the NBA and his contributions to the game continue through his son Michael&rsquo;s tremendous success. Congratulations to Brendan on this well-deserved honor.&rdquo;
The NBCA Tex Winter Lifetime Impact Award honors the tremendous achievements and commitment of Hall-of-Famer Tex Winter, who set a standard of innovation, integrity, competitive excellence, loyalty, and tireless promotion of NBA basketball throughout the course of his outstanding NBA coaching career.
The award is selected annually by the NBCA Selection Committee, comprised of some of the most respected coaches and executives in the game, including Rick Adelman, Hubie Brown, Doug Collins, Wayne Embry, Danny Ferry, Mike Fratello, George Karl, Doc Rivers, Rod Thorn and Lenny Wilkens.
This year&rsquo;s nominees included assistant coaches Bob Beyer, Dan Burke, Jeff Bzdelik, Gordon Chiesa, Carroll Dawson, Hank Egan, Jim Eyen, Brian Hill, Jim Lynam, Bob McAdoo, Brendan Suhr and Bob Weiss.
Prior recipients of this award are Ron Adams (2022), Dick Helm (2021), Bill Bertka (2019), Tim Grgurich (2018), Ron Rothstein (2017) and Phil Johnson (2016).

Brendan Malone is the recipient of the 2023 Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact award, the NBCA announced today.

Brendan Malone given Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact award

<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/chris-paul-trade-golden-state-jordan-poole-d26c307001fd0cc6ce5835bdb09b0030" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Paul has already been traded</a>&nbsp;twice this offseason, ending up with Golden State.&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/wizards-suns-trade-bradley-beal-55adab5fa31d5dfbc35b83223743d9c6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bradley Beal</a>&nbsp;is now with Phoenix,&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/hawks-jazz-trade-collins-gay-a6567f15f798ebf9fc99612ad00e4a7f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Collins</a>&nbsp;was sent to Utah, and&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/celtics-wizards-kristaps-porzingis-marcus-smart-grizzlies-94e7fa907d2523a354665b8c6ce0908c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kristaps Porzingis</a>&nbsp;is about to start anew with Boston in a deal that sent Marcus Smart to Memphis.
They have new places to call home. It&rsquo;s time to see if&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/mavericks-kyrie-irving-luka-doncic-nico-harrison-9a3d80b6c325195faedde1a6324a4e51" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kyrie Irving</a>,&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/draymond-green-option-nba-482b28f097e3c99a934fff1ea46137b8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Draymond Green</a>,&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-milwaukee-bucks-khris-middleton-197ecec12092f80f9988bf6d6670680e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Khris Middleton</a>&nbsp;and dozens more will be on the move in the next few days.
As proven by the run of trades in recent weeks, and big news from James Harden on Thursday, NBA teams aren&rsquo;t waiting for free agency to make moves. The window of offseason player movement begins Friday at 6 p.m. EDT, when teams are permitted to start talking to free agents &mdash; with the caveat that most deals cannot become official until July 6.
&ldquo;Obviously, money&rsquo;s a thing. I mean, that&rsquo;s just for anybody,&rdquo; said Miami guard Max Strus, a free agent who&rsquo;s in line for a big payday, going from $1.8 million last season to potentially $12 million a year or more. &ldquo;These are moments that you work for, and these are opportunities that could be life-changing &mdash; so you can&rsquo;t ever take that out of it. But I love playing basketball and that&rsquo;s always going to be the first thing for me.&rdquo;
Money and fit. That&rsquo;s what players like Strus will be seeking, and that&rsquo;s what teams will be weighing over the next few days &mdash; especially with a new&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-labor-players-0cf524b13e459eeb5853dad9a455e0e0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Collective Bargaining Agreement</a>, and new rules designed to at least slightly curb spending by the deeper-pocketed teams, set to go into effect on Saturday.
That&rsquo;s part of the reason some trades have been made in recent days and more are almost certainly coming. The Warriors gave up Jordan Poole to get Paul from Washington in part because Paul&rsquo;s contract expires in a year and Poole is on the books for four years (at more than $30 million annually on average), and Atlanta sent Collins to Utah for Rudy Gay for similar reasons.
Harden could be the next big name on the move. He decided not to enter free agency and exercised his $35.6 million option for the coming season Thursday, with Philadelphia now likely to trade the 10-time All-Star and three-time scoring champion,&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/76ers-james-harden-free-agency-d9f9a6fa001d68e58f04cd60251802ab" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.</a>
&ldquo;I think a lot can be made of all the challenges that are coming our way, whether it be aging roster, the new CBA with some of the limitations there, anything else you can bring up,&rdquo; Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re aware of all those things. But we also feel like we&rsquo;re in a great, great place, because we&rsquo;ve got a competitive owner willing to spend ... so we feel confident we can navigate it.&rdquo;
Another potential trade: Plenty of eyes remain on Portland and whether Damian Lillard will ask to be dealt elsewhere &mdash; to Miami or Brooklyn, specifically &mdash; or remain with the Trail Blazers for a 12th season.
In the interim, there will be some massive deals struck &mdash; some possibly reaching $200 million.
Green turned down a $27.5 million option with Golden State to seek a longer deal. Milwaukee has decisions to make with both Middleton and Brook Lopez, two key members of their championship in 2021.
&ldquo;Both of those guys specifically are core to who we have been,&rdquo; Bucks general manager Jon Horst said. &ldquo;Ultimately, what matters is we&rsquo;re hopeful to have them back. We&rsquo;ve been really good and they&rsquo;re a big part of that and we want to try to keep them.&rdquo;
There&rsquo;s also intrigue in Dallas with regard to Irving&rsquo;s future.
Irving&rsquo;s talent is unquestioned. He averaged 27 points in 20 games with the Mavericks after getting traded there for the stretch run last season. For his career, he&rsquo;s averaged 23.4 points, is an eight-time All-Star and won a title alongside LeBron James in Cleveland in 2016.
He and Luka Doncic could form one of the league&rsquo;s most powerful 1-2 punches. Irving also is coming off a season where he was suspended by Brooklyn for eight games after the team said it was dismayed by his repeated failure to &ldquo;unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs.&rdquo; And that saga came after many others involving Irving, who has raised eyebrows for things ranging from saying the Earth is flat to not getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
Still unclear: How many years, and how much money, Dallas will commit to keep him.
&ldquo;Obviously, he&rsquo;s someone that we&rsquo;ve already told everybody that we want to re-sign and we&rsquo;re excited about,&rdquo; Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison said.
The new champions have a big decision looming as well.
Denver&rsquo;s biggest free agency issue is versatile guard Bruce Brown, who was tremendous off the bench for the Nuggets during their run to the NBA title. All the Nuggets can offer Brown is one year at $7.8 million; other teams, such as the Los Angeles Lakers, may be prepared to offer more. Denver can give Brown a longer, richer deal next summer &mdash; so it&rsquo;s up to Brown to decide whether to bet on himself or get more money now.
At the team&rsquo;s championship parade, Nuggets coach Michael Malone made clear that Denver intends to keep Brown.
&ldquo;Is Brucie B going anywhere? Hell no,&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://youtu.be/oqwc1vg1mCY?t=242" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Malone shouted, as the crowd roared in approval.</a> &ldquo;Hell no. Hell no. We&rsquo;re running this ... back.&rdquo;
The next few days will tell if Malone is right.

It’s time to see if Kyrie Irving, Draymond Green, Khris Middleton and dozens more free agents will be on the move in the next few days.

Busy NBA offseason continues with free agency starting today

One year ago, Jeremy Sochan walked across the stage at Barclays Center and shook Adam Silver&rsquo;s hand after the San Antonio Spurs selected him with the No. 9 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Now, after an terrific season that earned him an All-Rookie Second-Team selection, Sochan is returning to New York and attending the NBA Draft once again&nbsp; &mdash; this time as a media correspondent for the NBA&rsquo;s app and social-media accounts.
Sochan will conduct red-carpet interviews with this year's top prospects, including No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama, who will soon be Sochan&rsquo;s teammate. Wembanyama is the most hyped-up prospect since LeBron James, and all eyes will be on San Antonio next season after adding the potential superstar.
The Spurs will have one of the most promising young cores in the NBA, and the pieces fit together incredibly well. Sochan, Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell will perfectly complement Wembanyama&rsquo;s skill-set, and all four players are age-23 or younger. It&rsquo;s an exciting time to be a Spurs fan, and it certainly seems that San Antonio has found its next franchise cornerstones.
As a rookie, Sochan turned heads with his dyed hair and one-handed free throws. However, he also proved he belongs in the NBA and flashed glimpses of brilliance throughout the campaign.&nbsp;
The 19-year-old averaged 11.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 stocks while shooting 45.3% from the field, 24.6% from three and 69.8% from the free-throw line. Over the final month of the season, Sochan was even better, averaging 16.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals, while shooting 48.3% from the field and 76.9% from the charity stripe.
Before Sochan transitions to interviewer mode, he spoke to Basketball News&rsquo; Alex Kennedy as the interviewee and discussed Wembanyama&rsquo;s game, his advice for the incoming rookies, the Spurs&rsquo; terrific young core, his interest in broadcasting, his one-handed free throws and more.
After a successful rookie season that culminated in an All-Rookie Second-Team selection, what advice would you give to this incoming class of rookies?
Jeremy Sochan: &ldquo;Stand your ground, but also listen, be open to [feedback] and be coachable. Just be able to go into an organization and show them that you want to work hard and that you want to be there. Also, listen to your elders &ndash; your coaches and your vets &ndash; because that&rsquo;s going to help you. The other thing is consistency. They&rsquo;re coming from a season where they&rsquo;ve played 30 or 40 games, and now they&rsquo;re going into a season where they&rsquo;re playing 82 games (plus the playoffs, if you make it). Just try to be consistent because it&rsquo;s a lot of games and it wears down on your body, so try to do everything to help that.&rdquo;
Victor Wembanyama is one of the most hyped-up prospects in NBA history. His size and length are obviously crazy, but what aspects of his skill-set impress you and what are some things that should help him in the NBA?&nbsp;
Sochan: &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s just the footwork for his size, the mobility for his size and the touch for his size. I think that all adds up into him being an all-around player, and his height just gives him so many advantages, for real. I think [his skill-set] is really exciting and it&rsquo;s going to be really good for him.&rdquo;
I&rsquo;ve talked to scouts and executives who believe that you and Victor will complement each other really well. Do you feel that your skill-sets are a good fit? And how can you guys help each other on the court?
Sochan: &ldquo;Of course, if it happens&hellip;&rdquo;
Oh, right. Assuming he&rsquo;s a Spur, how would you guys help each other on the court?
Sochan: &ldquo;Yeah, assuming it happens, I think we both have a lot of versatility, especially on the defensive side. He&rsquo;s a rim protector and he&rsquo;s very lengthy, and then I&rsquo;m very destructive and I can play 1 through 5, so I think there&rsquo;s a lot of potential there. And then offensively, I feel like I&rsquo;ll be able to get him into good spots and be able to play-make for him and make the game easy for him. I think we complement each other&rsquo;s games really well and I think it&rsquo;s really exciting if, potentially, that happens.&rdquo;
Again, assuming Wembanyama is the pick, he&rsquo;ll join this young core in San Antonio that already consists of you, Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, Tre Jones, Zach Collins, Malaki Branham, Romeo Langford and Blake Wesley among others. What do you think of all this young talent, and where does this group rank among the best young cores in the NBA?
Sochan: &ldquo;I think the thing about our young core is that we all want to be around San Antonio, we all want to work together and we all want to be better. I think we&rsquo;re all very motivated to just work. We have [the opportunity] to be around the Spurs and just work, and I think that really helps. Personally, I think we&rsquo;re one of the best young cores in the league. I&rsquo;m not a guy that likes to rank [teams] and stuff, but I definitely think we&rsquo;re up there."
Gregg Popovich is arguably the best coach in NBA history and the Spurs are known for getting the most out of players. Sometimes, legends like Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili will stop by to work out with you guys. What can you share about your experience in the Spurs&rsquo; organization and how they help players realize their full potential?
Sochan: &ldquo;I think they&rsquo;re just really keen and want to help us with opportunities, and it&rsquo;s all very team-based. They&rsquo;re always communicating with the players and showing us the way. The Spurs have a winning culture; they&rsquo;ve won for so long so they know the blueprint. They give us that blueprint and try to find players who actually want to work for that. That&rsquo;s what they&rsquo;re really good at, finding those kinds of players [who will buy in]. They help us a lot.&rdquo;&nbsp;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/pop_sochan.jpg" alt="" width="748" height="373" />
You and Victor played against each other back when you were 15 and he was 14. Your team won, and you <a href="https://twitter.com/JeremySochan/status/1658907669879574528">joked on Twitter</a> that neither of you were good back then. Do you have a relationship with Victor and when did you realize he could be a special player?
Sochan: &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t really have a relationship like that, but I&rsquo;ve talked to him a couple times. And like you said, we played against each other so there is a relationship in that sense, but it&rsquo;s nothing crazy. But yeah, I played against him back then, and he already had a lot of potential, so it&rsquo;s exciting to see how he grew and how popular he got over the years. I think he&rsquo;s a very exciting prospect and he&rsquo;s going to do a lot of good stuff for himself.&rdquo;
Paolo Banchero, Walker Kessler, Bennedict Mathurin and Jalen Williams served as media correspondents during the NBA Finals, and now you&rsquo;re going to be the league&rsquo;s NBA Draft correspondent tonight. I know you&rsquo;ve done some interviews before, like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT9CQNvQvyw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">your chat with Tony Parker</a>. Are you hoping to do more broadcasting or media stuff in the future?
Sochan: &ldquo;Potentially! If I get the opportunity to do it, then why not? I feel like I&rsquo;m pretty good at it; I&rsquo;m natural. So yeah, if there&rsquo;s an opportunity, I&rsquo;ll do it.&rdquo;
Did you do any research about the players or prepare any questions? What kind of prep goes into being an NBA Draft media correspondent?
Sochan: &ldquo;(laughs) Yeah, I&rsquo;ve been able to prep a bit and do some research on the players. I&rsquo;ve talked to the people around me who know a bit more than I do. And sometimes it&rsquo;s just on the go too and just being able to do it [on the fly]. But yeah, I&rsquo;m excited to be here for the draft. It&rsquo;s kinda cool to come back here after a year and still remember everything [from my draft night], just all of the emotions and stuff. And [it&rsquo;s fun] just to be here for all of this year&rsquo;s draft prospects too.&rdquo;
You let fans <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1671237507634147332" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vote on what color you&rsquo;ll dye your hair</a> for tonight&rsquo;s NBA Draft. When did you start dying your hair and using that as a way to express yourself?
Sochan: &ldquo;I probably started two years ago or two-and-a-bit years ago. It was just something that I always wanted to do, just to be able to showcase [who I am] and be myself. And it shows people that you can do whatever with your body and be proud of it. Just be confident!&rdquo;
Your one-handed free throws really worked and improved your free-throw percentage over the course of the season. I actually <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/will-onehanded-or-underhand-free-throws-ever-catch-on-in-the-nba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote an article</a> about how it could influence other players to make the same change. Would you recommend shooting one-handed to players who want to improve their free-throw percentage?
Sochan: &ldquo;Yeah, why not? The thing is, if it&rsquo;s working and it helps your shot, why not do it? When I started doing it, I feel like a lot of people were like, &lsquo;Why are you doing that? or, &lsquo;It looks weird,&rsquo; or whatever. Or they&rsquo;d ask like, &lsquo;How did you do it mentally?&rsquo; But I&rsquo;m going to do anything [to improve] my game and help me. If that helps, I&rsquo;m going to do it. And who cares if people laugh at you? Who cares if there are critics who talk about it? It is what it is at the end of the day and if it&rsquo;s helping me, I&rsquo;m going to do it.&rdquo;

Jeremy Sochan opens up to Alex Kennedy about his rookie year, Victor Wembanyama's game, San Antonio's young core and more.

Q&A: Jeremy Sochan on Victor Wembanyama, Spurs' young core, more

LAS VEGAS (AP) &mdash; The NBA Finals could&rsquo;ve featured glamour teams like the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, and conventional thinking before the NHL playoffs stated the dominant Boston Bruins and star-studded Edmonton Oilers were on a near-collision course to meet in the Stanley Cup Final.
All four teams are out, and what could&rsquo;ve been enormous betting interest has largely waned.
On the NBA side, No. 8 seed Miami Heat will face an NBA Finals newcomer in the Denver Nuggets, an enormous minus-460 favorite, according to&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba?tab=nba-finals" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">FanDuel Sportsbook</a>.
Christian Cipollini, BetMGM trading manager, said a Celtics-Lakers matchup would have created much more betting action, but the sportsbook was on the hook for many futures bets on those teams.
&ldquo;A Celtics-Lakers series is nine times out of 10 going to be a losing series for the book,&rdquo; Cipollini said. &ldquo;Everyone bets the Lakers-Celtics. Our Lakers money was bad. We didn&rsquo;t want the Lakers to go any farther than they did.&rdquo;
A Celtics appearance in the Finals, however, wouldn&rsquo;t have been bad for all sportsbooks. David Lieberman, who oversees NBA betting for Caesars, said the Celtics didn&rsquo;t attract a lot of futures action, limiting the book&rsquo;s liability. Like BetMGM, though, a Lakers championship would have proved a nightmare scenario.
&ldquo;It would&rsquo;ve been quite the sweat if they had the chance to win it all,&rdquo; Lieberman said.
The Stanley Cup Final matches up the last team into the Eastern Conference playoffs in the Florida Panthers against a Vegas Golden Knights team that, in six short years, is making their second championship appearance.
Adding Las Vegas to the NHL was an initial betting boost for the league, but that effect is less noticeable with the spread of legalized sports betting. The Knights are minus-125 favorites, according to&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nhl?tab=stanley-cup" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">FanDuel</a>.
&ldquo;People kind of fell off this Golden Knights bandwagon this season,&rdquo; Cipollini said. &ldquo;We take a little bit less bets than we have in the past. When they started, people were all over them.&rdquo;
Minnesota-based Alex B. Smith, one of the top NHL handicapping experts, said the Knights&rsquo; effect on elevating the league&rsquo;s standing among bettors should not be minimized. The NHL is noticeably behind the NFL and NBA in betting interest, but is in the next tier, largely thanks to the Knights&rsquo; run to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final.
&ldquo;Now it&rsquo;s something they&rsquo;re really watching and kind of follow, especially from a betting aspect,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;That started off of the back with that season of Vegas. That season really kind of changed the way the betting landscape would open up and adapt.&rdquo;
OT, REGULATION DRAW THE SAME, NOT THE SAME
Smith said NHL bettors should be aware that many books offer bets on whether games will go into overtime or have a regulation draw, which is the same thing. Because bettors tend to look for the prop bets offering whether a game will reach OT, the other better-priced wager is often ignored.
He took Saturday&rsquo;s Game 1 at plus-320 to end in a regulation draw, and said that prop can go as high as plus-345, while an overtime bet tends to be around plus-300 or plus-305.
&ldquo;You short yourself anywhere from 20 to 40 cents on a given day,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s literally no difference. It&rsquo;s just how it&rsquo;s worded. I don&rsquo;t know how the books are allowed to do this.&rdquo;
SOUTH FLORIDA SUCCESS
First, it was Miami Hurricanes making college basketball&rsquo;s Final Four, and now that region&rsquo;s NBA and NHL teams are playing for championships in those leagues.
It would make sense for some kind of South Florida proposition bet to tap into the excitement there, but sports betting is still not legal in that state. Hard Rock Sportsbook is owned by the Seminoles tribe and had a monopoly in Florida, but a federal judge tossed that agreement in 2021.
THE VEGAS NONEFFECT
When legalized sports betting was limited to Nevada during the Knights&rsquo; first Stanley Cup Final run, the lines were skewed to Vegas because locals jumped in on the action.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re in so many states now, we have to go with what we think will be the right line for for everyone,&rdquo; Lieberman said. &ldquo;Sometimes we&rsquo;ll take a little more action on certain teams from certain states. Like New York, there are quite a few bettors there that bet with us, so some New York teams are usually popular on daily games or futures prices and stuff like that. But, ultimately, we&rsquo;re trying to put out the best odds and not worry as much about that.&rdquo;
HISTORY LITTLE GUIDE
Comparing betting numbers on the NBA and NHL championships from year to year is tricky because legalized sports wagering has moved far beyond Nevada&rsquo;s state lines.
The COVID-19 pandemic also skewed the numbers because it forced both leagues to alter their playoff schedules to be in more direct competition with other sports.
&ldquo;I expect (the betting handle) to be slightly down,&rdquo; Cipollini said. &ldquo;But there&rsquo;s also perspective that we&rsquo;ve gone into more than states, so the numbers might tell me that it&rsquo;s up from last year when really realistically, it might not be.&rdquo;

Without marquee matchups in the NBA Finals and NHL Finals, betting interest is expected to wane a bit.

Betting interest waning with NBA, NHL Finals lacking marquee matchups

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

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

BOSTON (AP) &mdash; His team trailing by a point and its season on the brink, Hawks star Trae Young got all the encouragement he needed in the huddle during his team&rsquo;s timeout.
&ldquo;I just had to trust in what I&rsquo;ve done my whole life and shoot it with confidence,&rdquo; Young said.
He did, and kept Atlanta&rsquo;s season alive.
Young had 38 points and drained a long go-ahead 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key with 2.8 seconds left to help the Hawks cap a late comeback and beat the Boston Celtics 119-117 Tuesday night.
The victory trims Boston&rsquo;s lead in the first-round playoff series to 3-2 and sends the teams back to Atlanta for Game 6 Thursday.
Young had 16 points in a frenetic fourth quarter, getting support from his teammates who collectively knocked down a series-best 19 3-pointers.
John Collins added 22 points for Atlanta, who played without Dejounte Murray, who was suspended for one game for bumping official Gediminas Petraitis after the end of Game 4.
With Murray out, Young picked up the offensive slack and helped Atlanta keep pace early, scoring nine of Hawks&rsquo; first 13 points. By the time the final quarter arrived, Collins got a sense of familiarity watching his teammate.
&ldquo;I know what time it is. It&rsquo;s Ice Trae time. He&rsquo;s clutch. He wants to be in that moment. He wants the big shot,&rdquo; Collins said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s what he does.&rdquo;
Jaylen Brown scored 35 points and Jayson Tatum added 19 for the Celtics, who were outscored 37-25 in the fourth quarter. It came after Boston had dominated for three quarters. For the game the Celtics held a 60-38 scoring edge in the paint and 24-8 in transition.
A sloppy finish made it all for not.
&ldquo;We had some boneheaded plays, some fouls. Gave them some opportunities to get going,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;We just gotta finish the game.&rdquo;
Derrick White put the Celtics in front 117-116 with 7.3 second remaining, setting up a final possession for the Hawks. The ball went to Young in the backcourt, who dribbled into the front court and knocked down a 29-footer over Brown.
The Celtics bobbled their initial inbounds pass and had another chance with 0.5 seconds left, but Tatum&rsquo;s fading 3-point try found only air as time expired.
Brown, who has been recovering from a late-season facial fracture, went unmasked for most of the Celtics&rsquo; victory in Game 4, saying he found energy after taking it off during a 31-point scoring night.
He wore it again for Game 5 and maintained the same intensity, leading all scorers with 23 first-half points.
Atlanta trailed by 13 before tying the game at 111 on a 3-pointer Young.
As the Hawks began to mount their run, fans inside TD Garden began peppering him with expletive-laced chants.
&ldquo;When people do that I think that&rsquo;s just total respect. I mean, they aren&rsquo;t doing that to everybody,&rdquo; he said.
Boston pushed the ball up the court and got the ball to Robert Williams, who dropped in a layup. He was fouled but missed his ensuing free throw.
The score was still 113-111 when Young drove and was fouled by Al Horford. Tatum took issue with the call and was whistled for a technical foul. Young hit all three free throws to put the Hawks in front 114-113.
Brown turned it over, then misfired on a driving layup. Atlanta&rsquo;s next possession ended in a jump ball that was controlled by Boston. Williams scored on a layup to put the Celtics back in the lead with 25 seconds left.
Young was fouled again with 15.8 seconds remaining and connected on two more free throws.
The Celtics called a timeout. The ensuing play wound up with White driving to the basket. He was fouled and went to the line for what appeared to be the game-winning free throws.
Young had other plans.
&ldquo;You can tell, you look in his eyes and there was a calm,&rdquo; Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. &ldquo;Sometimes that happens in the middle of a storm.&rdquo;
MR. 4TH QUARTER
Young now has 60 fourth-quarter points in the series.
TIP-INS
Hawks: Started collectively better from 3-point range, hitting 6 of 11 in the opening 12 minutes to take a 30-27 lead into the second quarter. But they shot just 3 for 10 from beyond the arc in the second period as Boston nudged in front.
Celtics: Had a two-point jumper by Horford upgraded to a 3 after review with 8:07 left in the second quarter to tie the game at 41. Boston then outscored Atlanta 25-17 the rest of half and led 66-58 at the half.

Trae Young had 38 points and drained a long go-ahead 3-pointer to help the Hawks cap a late comeback and beat the Celtics 119-117.

Trae Young’s long 3 lifts Hawks to 119-117 win over Celtics

ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; Trae Young returned after missing one game with the flu and scored 25 points and had 16 assists to help the travel-weary Atlanta Hawks overwhelm shorthanded Washington 134-116 on Wednesday night.
With the win, the Hawks achieved a modest milestone as they prepare for the postseason. The Hawks (41-39) ended a streak of 33 games being within 1 game of .500.
The Nets defeated the Pistons and guaranteed that the Hawks cannot finish as the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference and will be in the conference play-in tournament for the second straight season. Atlanta holds the No. 8 seed and has a one-game lead over No. 9 Toronto.
The Hawks overcame travel issues that forced the team to fly from Chicago on Wednesday morning after plane difficulties caused the team to stay in Chicago on Tuesday night. Arriving in Atlanta at 2 p.m., the Hawks hit the court five and half hours later.
&ldquo;It was definitely an unusual schedule,&rdquo; AJ Griffin said. &ldquo;Coach (Quin Snyder) handled it well. He set the tone. We knew we just had to play hard and get through the day.&rdquo;
John Collins had 23 points and put the Hawks in control with a stellar sequence in the third quarter. Collins scooped up a loose ball before throwing down a reverse jam, then buried a 3-pointer on the next possession that gave the Hawks an 85-71 lead.
The Hawks did not trail for the game&rsquo;s final 29 minutes and shot 43.3 percent from 3-point range.
Wizards center Daniel Gafford had a career-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Hawks reserve Jalen Johnson continued his recent string of strong play, matching his career high of 16 points, set the previous night in a win over the Bulls. Johnson also had 8 rebounds.
The Wizards played without out six of their top eight rotation players, including 20-plus point scorers Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma as they play out the string following their elimination from playoff contention.
&ldquo;I thought offensively, we did some good things,&rdquo; said Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. &ldquo;We moved the ball with pretty good pace. We were sharing the ball as best we can. We had some good looks that didn&rsquo;t go down, but I&rsquo;m more concerned with the defensive stuff.&rdquo;
BENCH BOOST
Snyder talked about his &ldquo;deep&rdquo; bench prior to Wednesday&rsquo;s game, and the group backed up his assessment right away. Led by Johnson, Atlanta had 15 points from its bench in the first quarter after the Hawks got off to a sluggish start in the opening minutes. Johnson and Griffin finished with 16 points apiece.
&ldquo;We have a lot of guys who are prepared,&rdquo; Snyder said. &ldquo;There are limited minutes and some tough decisions have to be made. One of the tings about our bench is the acceptance of a role. To put the team first is not something you take for granted.&rdquo;
Snyder inserted guard Aaron Holiday for Young just six minutes into the game. The Hawks responded with a quick burst.
Holiday, who played just two minutes on Tuesday, had eight points and four assists in 21 minutes.
TIP-INS
Wizards: First-round pick Johnny Davis started his third straight game and has averaged 18.7 points in his three starts. Davis scored 20 points each of his past two games. The rookie from Wisconsin averaged 11.6 points in 19 G League games and has played 26 games with the Wizards.
Hawks: De&rsquo;Andre Hunter missed his fourth straight game with a knee injury. Hunter has started 65 games this season. ... Bogdan Bogdanovic did not play due to right knee injury management. He led the Hawks with 26 points in Tuesday night&rsquo;s win at Chicago. ... The Hawks scored over 100 points for the 55th straight game, extending their team record.
UP NEXT
Wizards: Host Miami on Friday night.
Hawks: Host Philadelphia on Friday night.

The Hawks ended a streak of 33 games being within a game of .500. They hold the eighth seed with a one-game lead over No. 9 Toronto.

Young has 25 as Hawks gain momentum, beat Wizards 134-116

<div>
It's almost play-in and playoff time, folks!
This season has felt more jumbled than ever, which has led to more teams in some sort of contention. Naturally, most conversations around the league will focus on the contenders and the various seeding battles still happening.
It's easy for the teams at the bottom to get lost in the shuffle. They generally reach a point where lottery odds take precedence; in some instances, important young pieces are getting shut down like veterans.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/views-from-the-bottom-young-players-to-keep-an-eye-on" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Much like last year</a>, I wanted to take a moment to highlight some players who are likely flying under the radar. You have to take post-All-Star break stretches with at least two grains of salt, but this is a time for unheralded players to stretch themselves. In a best-case scenario, they wind up showing you something that transfers to the next season.
</div>
<div>
Here are a few players &mdash; just a few! &mdash; who have caught my eye recently.
All stats are updated through games played on April 4.
JALEN GREEN, HOUSTON ROCKETS
The Stats: 23.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists (2.2 turnovers) since the All-Star break&nbsp;
The Skill: Foul-Drawing Craft
For the second year in a row, Jalen Green is popping off the screen after the All-Star break.&nbsp;
He represents a rare blend of athleticism &mdash; slippery and explosive &mdash; and skill. Watching him try to harness that has been equal parts fun and frustrating, depending on how invested you are in his growth.&nbsp;
Drives from Green have been an adventure since he set foot in the league. He's blessed with a handle that can get him most places, a first step that only a handful of guys can slide with and vertical pop that nobody can really deal with if he has a launching pad.&nbsp;
Green hasn't had much issue accessing the paint in his career. How he's gotten there, and what he does once there, has been the work in progress.
Quietly, he's become a little more selective with the turbo button when putting his head down. He's taking advantage of defenders scrambling to stay attached to him. He's feeling out the defender more in a literal sense; if he senses a defender out of position or leaning towards him, he's going right into their shoulder or chest, absorbing the blow and getting a shot up.&nbsp;
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Green is living at the line these days. He's averaging nearly seven free throw attempts per game since the break. Per Cleaning The Glass, Green is drawing fouls on 14.5% of his shot attempts during this stretch, a mark that ranks in the 97th percentile among his position group.
Filter specifically for drives, and Green is still drawing shooting fouls on 14.5% of them &mdash; 10th among 100 players with at least 100 drives, per Second Spectrum.
There's still growth to be had inside the arc. There's a little Anthony Edwards there, where he feels like he can defeat anyone &mdash; or any amount of bodies &mdash; at the rim when easier kicks are available. There's more comfort to be developed as an inside-out passer versus the interior feeds he likes.&nbsp;
But, man, being able to generate freebies at this rate is a welcomed sight. We're not that far away from teams not having a real answer for him as a scorer.
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SVI MYKHAILIUK, CHARLOTTE HORNETS
The Stats: 16.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists (1.5 turnovers), 1.3 steals over last six games&nbsp;
The Skill: Avoiding Danger
Mykhailiuk is in the midst of one of his most productive stretches. He's provided a healthy dose of shooting, converting 44.4% of his threes (6.0 attempts) over his last six games. Due to the injuries around him, he's gotten to do more with the ball in his hands. Nothing particularly wild on the playmaking front, but he's proven compentent as a second-side creator.&nbsp;
None of the offensive productivity surprises me. The fact that we're even getting to see it to this degree speaks to his work on the other end. I am not here to argue that Mykhailiuk is an elite defender; in fact, most of the numbers I'd use to highlight defensive growth don't paint him in a favorable light. As <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-film-breakdown-charlotte-hornets-defense-steve-clifford-dennis-smith-jr-theo-maledon-gordon-hayward-jt-thor-mark-williams-nick-richards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I wrote recently</a>, the Hornets aren't afraid to switch-and-double against matchups they deem unfavorable to them; they've done so with Mykhailiuk.
I'd just like to say that man is&nbsp;working&nbsp;defensively. He's had to take up defensive assignments well above his pay grade as of late: Zach LaVine, Scottie Barnes, some Luka Doncic possessions during their two-game series and it hasn't been a disaster.
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The shift from "obvious weak link" to "best option to attack available" is a subtle, yet important mark of growth. It feels like he's starting to land in the latter camp. All the Hornets, or any team moving forward, needs from him is for him to hold his own. If he can do that, he'll have more opportunities for the shooting and ball skills to pop.&nbsp;
SANDRO MAMUKELASHVILI, SAN ANTONIO SPURS
The Stats: 13.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists (1.9 turnovers), 2.8 steals over last eight games&nbsp;
The Skill: Passing Chops
I am an absolute sucker for tall players with passing ability. I gravitate towards playmaking wings, and I especially enjoy watching actual big men dice up defenses with nifty feeds.&nbsp;
Insert Mamu, whom the Spurs have thankfully given room to do stuff with the ball in his hands.
That simply wasn't going to happen in Milwaukee, who needed Mamu to either space or defend &mdash; preferably both, of course &mdash; at a certain level in order to garner consistent playing time. He isn't there yet on either end, and the rest of the roster was too good to justify letting him run things with the second unit.
Because that isn't the case with the Spurs, we've gotten to see stuff like this:
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For those keeping track at home, that was:
<ul>
<li>a transition push after a board, then a kick to a three-point shooter on the move</li>
<li>a slip against a switch, followed by a no-look pass to the corner in an attempt to manipulate Steph Curry's weakside responsibilities</li>
<li>a leaping lay-down pass to Zach Collins</li>
<li>a quick feed to Collins versus a fronting defender, conveniently timed as Talen Horton-Tucker is leaning the wrong way</li>
<li>A pass fake into a skip to Tre Jones for a three</li>
<li>A pump-and-drive, followed by a Haliburton-esque jump-pass for a dunk</li>
<li>A baseline drive against&nbsp;Brook Lopez,&nbsp;puncutated by a kick to the corner</li>
</ul>
There's still plenty of work to be done, particularly on the non-glamour end of the floor. The Spurs, or whoever commits to him moving forward, has to find a coverage for him, have a strong defensive infrastructure around him or both.&nbsp;
If nothing else, though, there's some Hartenstein-lite potential here as a second-unit hub. The passing pops. The screens are good. Being able to credibly drive as a 5 is valuable stuff. More Mamu, please!
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MARKELLE FULTZ, ORLANDO MAGIC
The Stats: 16.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists (2.4 turnovers), 1.5 steals since the All-Star break&nbsp;
The Skill: Big Man Things
It's been a joy watching Markelle Fultz graduate from the "really good redemption story" arc to the basic reality that he's good at basketball. Period. Full stop.
A smooth operator in ball screens; a crafty finisher at the rim; he's quietly reliable as a pull-up option inside the arc &mdash; did you know he's canned <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1628365/shots-dash?Season=2022-23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">45.1% of his pull-up 2s</a> this season? He remains a dogged point-of-attack defender.
&nbsp;What's popped for me in a few matchups &mdash; against the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards, in particular &mdash; is his willingness to do the little things. Or rather, the "big" things. Both teams stashed their centers on Fultz &mdash; the Jazz with Walker Kessler, the Wizards with Kristaps Porzingis &mdash; in a way to keep them near the basket.
Fultz countered by setting screen, after screen, after screen, creating opportunities for his teammates and himself.&nbsp;
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Fultz has set 131 on-ball screens this season, after setting 77 over his first five seasons combined, per Second Spectrum.&nbsp;
STRAY THOUGHTS
<ul>
<li>Though the Jazz are techincally still in the play-in hunt, It's worth noting the heater that Talen Horton-Tucker has been on since becoming a starter after the All-Star break. He's averaging 31-5-7 over his past four games, shooting 36% from deep on a heavy diet of pull-ups and getting to the line nearly nine times per contest. It's still hard to have faith in the jumper, and he remains a little tunnel vision-y for my sensibilities, but this has been a nice stretch for him. </li>
<li>Corey Kispert has slotted in nicely as a starter. I've enjoyed his usage under Wes Unseld Jr., running him <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1638566356005146626?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">through staggers</a> or, when spaced, often being the <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1638567273832095747?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">only player on his side of the floor</a> to stress out help defenders. It helps that Kispert's been shooting the leather off the ball too: 21.3 points while converting 49.1% of his threes (9.2 attempts) over his last six games is nothing to sneeze at.&nbsp; </li>
<li>Hawks legend Skylar Mays is averaging 17 points and 7.3 assists across three starts with the Blazers. Not quite sure what it means, but I've enjoyed his pacing inside the arc. I also don't think I've seen him miss a floater or a pull-up middy, so that's fun.</li>
</ul>
</div>

Before focusing on the NBA playoffs, Nekias Duncan breaks down young players on lottery teams who have caught his eye lately.

Views from the bottom: 5 young NBA players to keep an eye on

PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Devin Booker scored 27 points and the Phoenix Suns never trailed, beating the depleted San Antonio Spurs 115-94 on Tuesday night to clinch a playoff spot.
The Suns (44-35) won their sixth in a row, the longest current winning streak in the NBA. With one more victory in the final three games, Phoenix would assure itself of at least the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference and home-court advantage in the first round.
Chris Paul scored 22 points, while Deandre Ayton had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Durant scored 18 points and reserve Torrey Craig added 15.
The Suns are 7-0 when Durant has been in their lineup.
Malaki Branham led the Spurs with 21 points. Tre Jones scored 20, while Keita Bates-Diop and Sandro Mamukelashvili each had 13.
The Spurs (20-59) only dressed 10 players. They were without their top two scorers, Keldon Johnson (right foot sprain) and Devin Vassell (left knee). Also out for San Antonio were Zach Collins (finger), Jeremy Sochan (right knee soreness) and Romeo Langford (left adductor).
And during Tuesday&rsquo;s game, Doug McDermott played six minutes and limped off with an apparent knee injury. Dominick Barlow was hurt in a fourth-quarter collision, and starter Devonte&rsquo; Graham was helped to the locker room late in the game after hurting his leg.
San Antonio entered the night ranked last in scoring defense, having allowed 122.8 points per game. Phoenix came out roaring, shooting 63% in the first quarter in building a 42-25 lead. That&rsquo;s the most the Suns have scored in the first quarter this season, passing the 40 points against Chicago on March 3.
Booker had 14 points in the first quarter.
The Suns led by as many as 31 points in the second quarter and were up 69-51 at the half. Paul made 7 of 8 shots in the half to lead the Suns with 18 points. Phoenix shot 56% and San Antonio 38 percent, with the Suns outrebounding the Spurs 30-20.
The Spurs got within nine in the third quarter, but by the end of the period Phoenix was back ahead 97-76. Booker scored 13 in the quarter to lead Phoenix.
MUTUAL ADMIRATION
Suns coach Monty Williams played for Gregg Popovich with the Spurs and coached under him as well.
&ldquo;I just enjoy seeing him and I&rsquo;m grateful for the history I have with him,&rdquo; Williams said before the game. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m grateful that I get to tell people outside of basketball that I know Gregg Popovich as a man, as a mentor, as a friend.&rdquo;
Popovich may not have enjoyed Tuesday&rsquo;s result, but he too admires what Williams and the Suns have done.
No matter who&rsquo;s playing, Popovich said of Williams, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s gonna coach. He&rsquo;s going to do the same things, have the same standards, the same accountability. Kick &rsquo;em in the butt when necessary, put an arm around them and love &rsquo;em when necessary. He&rsquo;s a good man.&rdquo;
DURANT, TOO
Popovich coached the Olympic gold-medal team in 2021 and saw Durant from the same bench.
&ldquo;He was great. I love him,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;How do you stop him? You can&rsquo;t. There&rsquo;s no way you can stop him. Now you can double-team him, and he&rsquo;s smart enough to give it up. No matter what happens, they&rsquo;ll figure out what they need to do.&rdquo;
NEXT
Spurs: Play Portland on Thursday in Austin, Texas.
Suns: Host Denver Thursday.

The Suns (44-35) won their sixth in a row, the longest current winning streak in the NBA.

Suns clinch playoff spot, rout injury-riddled Spurs 115-94

Zach Edey spent the days following Purdue&rsquo;s historic NCAA Tournament&nbsp;loss lying low, his phone turned off, along with the rest of the outside world.
The disappointing finish did little to diminish the season the Boilermakers big man had.
Dominating at both ends of the floor during the regular season, Edey was a near-unanimous choice as The Associated Press men&rsquo;s college basketball player of the year. Edey received all but one vote from&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-college-basketball-player-of-year-b2820fee259952b664327b49a112f193" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a 58-person media panel</a>, with Indiana&rsquo;s Trayce Jackson-Davis getting the other.
&ldquo;The season ended in disappointment, which really sucks, but it&rsquo;s always nice to win individual accolades,&rdquo; Edey said. &ldquo;It kind of validates your work a little bit. The last three years I&rsquo;ve played here, I&rsquo;ve seen my game grow every year. AP player of the year is a great feeling, it just kind of stinks the way the season ended.&rdquo;
That ending came in the NCAA Tournament&rsquo;s first round, when Purdue lost to Fairleigh Dickinson, joining Virginia in 2018 as the only No. 1 seeds to lose to a No. 16.
Before that, Edey dominated.
The 7-foot-4 Canadian was named&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/all-america-mens-basketball-team-aa5e6381567b1d4732a0f0e17e60036b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a unanimous AP All-American</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/all-big-ten-team-edey-collins-painter-67d40b744325f41456e1e33de758ebcf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Big Ten player of the year</a>&nbsp;after finishing sixth nationally in scoring (22.3), second in rebounding (12.8) and first in double-doubles (26).
Edey also shot 62% from the floor and averaged 2.1 blocked shots per game while leading Purdue to its first outright Big Ten regular-season title since 2017. He is the first player since Navy&rsquo;s David Robinson in 1985-86 to have at least 750 points, 450 rebounds and 50 blocked shots in a season.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s kind of a one of a kind,&rdquo; Purdue guard David Jenkins Jr. said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never played with someone like him, probably never will again.&rdquo;
And to think, Edey didn&rsquo;t want to play basketball when he was younger.
A hockey and baseball player growing up in Toronto, Edey resisted basketball at first. He was 6-2 by the sixth grade and the natural inclination by the adults was to push him toward basketball, where his size would be a massive advantage.
&ldquo;It was something I kind avoided all my life.,&rdquo; Edey said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t like people telling me what I should be doing with my life and it felt like that&rsquo;s what people were doing with basketball. When I started playing competitively, that&rsquo;s when I really fell in love with the sport.&rdquo;
Edey developed his game quickly. He played at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and proved himself against some of the nation&rsquo;s best high school players, drawing attention from college coaches. He ended up at Purdue, where coach Matt Painter had a proven track record of developing big men.
Edey had a limited role as a freshman, then averaged 14.4 points and 7.7 rebounds last season on a team that had talented big man Trevion Williams and future NBA lottery pick Jaden Ivey.
Already a tireless worker, Edey put in even more time during the offseason, spending extra time after practice and taking better care of his body. His already solid footwork got better, he added quickness and developed more patience with the constant double teams he faced &mdash; not to mention the barrage of physical play teams tried to employ against him.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s not really any kind of cool, sexy answer,&rdquo; Edey said. &ldquo;I came in every day, I worked hard, I stayed after practice &mdash; stayed a long time after practice. I took care of my body and was able to steadily improve. There was nothing revolutionary I did. I just worked hard.&rdquo;
It certainly paid off, even if the season ended with a huge disappointment.

Dominating both ends of the floor, Zach Edey was a near-unanimous choice as the AP men’s college basketball player of the year.

Purdue’s Zach Edey named AP men’s player of the year

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Jordan Miller took 20 shots in the regional final for Miami and made them all, helping the Hurricanes rally their way into the Final Four. The personification of clutch.
Fitting.
A guy named Clutch is why he&rsquo;s at Miami, why Miller has become one of the stars of March Madness &mdash; and why the Hurricanes are one of the four men&rsquo;s teams lucky enough to head to Houston this weekend and see their season stretch into April.
It was around this time two years ago when Miami then-assistant coach Bill Courtney&rsquo;s phone rang with news that Miller had entered the transfer portal and was leaving George Mason. Courtney dove into some tape and began looking into Miller&rsquo;s background. Turns out, one of Courtney&rsquo;s old pickup-game buddies from Virginia &mdash; Clutch, real name Gary Collins &mdash; was Miller&rsquo;s AAU coach.
&ldquo;The recruitment got pretty simple from there,&rdquo; said Courtney, now the Hurricanes&rsquo; associate head coach.
Good thing that recruitment went the way it did, because Miami has needed Miller this season &mdash; never more than it did on Sunday. Miller was 7 for 7 from the field and 13 for 13 from the foul line in Miami&rsquo;s 88-81 win over Texas, a victory that sent the Hurricanes (29-7) into Saturday&rsquo;s national semifinals against UConn (29-8). For the season, Miller is averaging 15.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, second-most for Miami in both categories.
He helped the Hurricans get to the Elite Eight last season &mdash; and at least one step further this season.
&ldquo;That loss sat with me for a really, really long time,&rdquo; Miller said of the defeat to eventual national champion Kansas in last year&rsquo;s tournament. &ldquo;I had to put it in the past because it was a new season, but having the opportunity to kind of right your wrongs almost and get past something that stumped you previously is a great feeling.&rdquo;
The 20-for-20 combined shooting effort from the field and the line against Texas matched Christian Laettner&rsquo;s historic game for Duke against Kentucky in a regional final in 1992. Laettner &mdash; who went 10 for 10 from both the field and the line in that game &mdash; tweeted congratulations to Miller on Monday; Miller responded with &ldquo;Appreciate you! Glad to join some elite company.&rdquo;
There is rich irony in that Miller came to Miami from George Mason &mdash; as did Hurricanes coach Jim Larra&ntilde;aga, who took that school to the Final Four in 2006 and got Miami to the Final Four on exactly the 17th anniversary of that win.
&ldquo;I just asked Jordan to ask the people at George Mason who know what kind of coach I am if he&rsquo;d fit in my program,&rdquo; Larra&ntilde;aga said. &ldquo;And a lot of them told him, &lsquo;Yeah, you should go play for Coach L.&rsquo; I was so impressed with him as an individual. You know, the basketball ability is one thing but his personality, his work ethic, his basketball IQ made me feel like &lsquo;OK, this kid will fit in really, really well.&rsquo; I had no idea he was this good.&rdquo;
The Hurricanes were even talking to other players &mdash; frankly, with better numbers &mdash; than Miller had when he entered the portal. Had it not been for Clutch, it&rsquo;s extremely likely that Miami would have gone in a different direction. And then who knows how this season would have turned out for Miller or the Hurricanes.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if anyone expected this,&rdquo; Courtney said. &ldquo;Clutch was the only one who told me he could be this.&rdquo;
Larra&ntilde;aga doesn&rsquo;t think many people know how good Miller is. He calls the 6-foot-7, 195-pound wing &ldquo;the most underrated player in the country.&rdquo;
That moniker might not hold up anymore, especially not after the show Miller put on on Sunday. The 27 points might be a breakout of sorts; it was the second-best scoring effort of his 141-game collegiate career, and by far the most points he&rsquo;s managed in a postseason game at either George Mason or Miami.
Larra&ntilde;aga essentially challenged Miller when last season ended to be this guy.
&ldquo;I sat down and talked to Jordan before this season began. I just said to him: &lsquo;Your role is going to completely change. We&rsquo;re going to expand it,&rsquo;&rdquo; Larra&ntilde;aga said. &ldquo;He asked me one question: &lsquo;Hey, if I get a defensive rebound, can I push it in transition, dribble it up the court?&rsquo; I asked him one question: &lsquo;Are you going to turn the ball over?&rsquo; And he said &lsquo;No.&rsquo; I said, &lsquo;Then you can do it.&rsquo;&rdquo;
They chart everything in every practice at Miami, as is the case at many schools, and Larra&ntilde;aga quickly became enthralled by the idea of Miller getting his way &mdash; grabbing a rebound like a big guy, then heading downcourt like a guard. For every turnover he had in scrimmages, he had seven assists. Such a ratio is absurd for point guards; for wings and combo players like Miller, it&rsquo;s unheard of. During the season, it&rsquo;s still a very respectable 2:1.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s underrated because he&rsquo;s under been under the radar,&rdquo; Larra&ntilde;aga said. &ldquo;People just haven&rsquo;t seen him to understand how good he is. I think he showed the country how good he is these past two weeks.&rdquo;
Indeed, thanks to Clutch, he&rsquo;s been clutch. And Clutch is heading to Houston this weekend, to see if Miller and Miami can grab a national championship. The underrated kid might end up standing tallest of all.

A guy named Clutch is why Jordan Miller is at Miami, and is a big reason why he has become one of the stars of March Madness.

A ‘Clutch’ tip helps Miller, Miami reach first Final Four

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Karl-Anthony Towns hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 11 seconds to play after Kyle Anderson stole a pass by Draymond Green, and Minnesota held off Golden State.
Jordan Poole gave Golden State the lead on a 3 with 1:28 left, moments after Towns had connected from deep. Poole had a game-high 27 points.
The Warriors had a chance with 9.9 seconds left but Stephen Curry couldn&rsquo;t corral Poole&rsquo;s errant pass, then Curry missed a contested 3 from the baseline just before the final buzzer.
Towns had 14 points and five rebounds in his second outing following a 52-game absence with a strained right calf.
The Warriors had their nine-game home winning streak snapped and missed a chance to boost their playoff positioning. A victory also would have clinched Sacramento&rsquo;s first postseason berth since 2006. The Kings will try to end the longest playoff drought in NBA history Monday night at home against Minnesota.
BULLS 118, LAKERS 108
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; LeBron James scored 19 points off the bench in his return from a monthlong injury absence, but Zach LaVine had 32 to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 118-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
DeMar DeRozan added 17 points for the Bulls, who easily overcame James&rsquo; return with an impressive performance in their seventh win in nine games. LaVine hit 11 of his first 14 shots to lead an offensive effort that snapped the Lakers&rsquo; three-game winning streak despite the return of the NBA&rsquo;s career scoring leader.
James sat out 13 games with right foot soreness, missing four weeks during the Lakers&rsquo; run at a playoff berth.
For only the second time in his 20-year, 1,958-game NBA career, James wasn&rsquo;t a starter. He came in midway through the first quarter.
The Lakers still were without D&rsquo;Angelo Russell, who missed his second straight game with a right hip injury. Los Angeles went 8-5 in James&rsquo; absence.
CAVALIERS 108, ROCKETS 91
CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Jarrett Allen had 24 points and 14 rebounds, Donovan Mitchell scored 22 and Cleveland beat Houston to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2018.
It&rsquo;s also the first time Cleveland has made the playoffs without LeBron James on the roster since 1998.
The Cavaliers are closing in on locking up the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference &mdash; and home-court advantage in the first round. They&rsquo;ve won 9 of 11.
Evan Mobley added 19 points and Darius Garland had 17 for Cleveland.
Jalen Green scored 30 to pace the Rockets, who have lost five straight.
GRIZZLIES 123, HAWKS 119
ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; Ja Morant scored 27 points in his return to the Memphis starting lineup and the Grizzlies held off Atlanta for their sixth consecutive win.
Desmond Bane added 25 points for Memphis, twice delivering fourth-quarter baskets after the Hawks pulled within one.
Memphis is second in the Western Conference despite a 15-22 road record. But the six-game winning streak, the NBA&rsquo;s longest active streak, includes two victories away from home.
Morant received a big cheer from the Atlanta sellout crowd during pregame introductions. He came off the bench in his first two games after serving an eight-game NBA suspension for posting a video in which he was shown waving a gun at a Denver-area strip club.
Trae Young led the Hawks with 28 points and 10 assists, one day after he was ejected for throwing the ball at an official during a 143-130 win over Indiana.
CELTICS 137, SPURS 93
BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Jaylen Brown scored 41 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Boston over San Antonio.
The Celtics were without star forward and leading scorer Jayson Tatum, who was sidelined with a bruised left hip. But they still moved within 1&frac12; games of Milwaukee for the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s best record with their seventh victory in nine games.
Malcolm Brogdon added 20 points and nine assists for Boston, and Derrick White had 19 points with eight rebounds.
Zach Collins had 21 points with seven rebounds for the Spurs, who finished an 0-4 road trip.
CAVALIERS 108, ROCKETS 91
CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Jarrett Allen had 24 points and 14 rebounds, Donovan Mitchell scored 22 and Cleveland beat Houston to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2018.
It&rsquo;s also the first time Cleveland has made the playoffs without LeBron James on the roster since 1998.
The Cavaliers are closing in on locking up the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference &mdash; and home-court advantage in the first round. They&rsquo;ve won 9 of 11.
Evan Mobley added 19 points and Darius Garland had 17 for Cleveland.
Jalen Green scored 30 to pace the Rockets, who have lost five straight.
RAPTORS 114, WIZARDS 104
TORONTO (AP) &mdash; O.G. Anunoby scored 29 points, Fred VanVleet had 28 and Toronto never trailed in a win over Washington.
Pascal Siakam had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Jakob Poeltl added 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Ninth-place Toronto clinched the three-game season series with the Wizards and maintained a three-game lead over 11th-place Washington in the Eastern Conference standings. Both teams have seven games remaining.
Scottie Barnes scored 13 points in his return to the starting lineup after missing two games because of a sore left wrist as Toronto won for the ninth time in 10 home games.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 26 points for the short-handed Wizards, who have lost four straight road games. Washington played without guard Bradley Beal (left knee) for the third straight game, while forward Kyle Kuzma (right ankle) sat out for the fourth consecutive game. Washington was also without guard Monte Morris (left groin).
HORNETS 110, MAVERICKS 104
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; The Charlotte Hornets overcame a 40-point outing from Luka Doncic for their second win over Dallas in three days, another costly blow to the Mavericks&rsquo; playoff hopes.
Gordon Hayward scored 22 points and P.J. Washington added 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Hornets, who have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Doncic picked up his 16th technical foul of the season in the third quarter, meaning he will face a one-game suspension Monday night unless the technical is rescinded by the league office.
Kyrie Irving had 18 points for Dallas.
MAGIC 119, NETS 106
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Cole Anthony had 21 points to lead eight Orlando scorers in double figures, and the Magic overcame Mikal Bridges&rsquo; 44 points in a victory over Brooklyn.
Franz Wagner added 19 points and 10 rebounds for Orlando. Wendell Carter had 18 points and six rebounds, and Jalen Suggs returned from an injury with 16 points to help the Magic win their third straight. Paolo Banchero finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Bridges came up one point short of his career high. Cam Thomas added 18 points for the Nets, who lost for the sixth time in seven games.
THUNDER 118, TRAIL BLAZERS 112
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points and Oklahoma City beat depleted Portland.
Jalen Williams had 23 points and Isaiah Joe added 20 off the bench for the Thunder (37-38), who moved into a tie for ninth place in the Western Conference with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Shaedon Sharpe led the Trail Blazers with a career-high 29 points, and Nassir Little scored a season-best 28 off the bench. The loss was Portland&rsquo;s eighth in 10 games. The Blazers (32-42) are four games back of 10th place in the West and the final spot in the play-in tournament.
Portland was playing without four of its five regular starters as guards Damian Lillard (right calf) and Anfernee Simons (right foot), forward Jerami Grant (left calf) and center Jusuf Nurkic (right knee) all sat out.

A recap of Sunday's action in the NBA includes Karl-Anthony Towns burying a clutch triple to snap Golden State's home winning streak.

Towns makes two late three-pointers, lifts Timberwolves over Warriors

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic had 31 points and 11 assists, Jamal Murray finished with 26 points and nine assists, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Milwaukee Bucks 129-106 on Saturday night in a late-season showdown of the NBA&rsquo;s conference leaders.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 19 points for West-leading Denver (50-24), which outscored East-leading Milwaukee 68-40 in the second half.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 31 points -- just seven in the second half -- and grabbed nine rebounds for the Bucks (53-20).
The battle of the top teams in each conference -- and two strong MVP candidates -- was more competitive than the teams&rsquo; first meeting, won by the Bucks 107-99.
SUNS 125, 76ERS 105
PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Devin Booker scored 29 points, Bismack Biyombo added 17 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks, and the Phoenix Suns snapped a three-game losing streak.
Phoenix got good minutes from most of their bench players, particularly Terrence Ross and T.J. Warren. Warren finished with 16 points, while Ross had 15. Booker shot 9 of 18 from the field and hit all nine of his free throws.
The Suns won despite a huge game from Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey, who finished with 37 points on 14-of-19 shooting, including 7 of 11 from 3-point range. Joel Embiid added 28 points and 10 rebounds.
KINGS 121, JAZZ 113
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Kevin Huerter scored 27 points, had seven rebounds and four assists and Sacramento beat Utah.
Domantas Sabonis finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists for his NBA-leading 60th double-double of the season. Harrison Barnes added 18 points. Keegan Murray scored 14 of his 22 total points in the first quarter and knocked down six three-pointers for the Kings.
Jazz rookie Walker Kessler scored a career-high 31 points for the Jazz. Kessler added 11 rebounds and finished 14 of 16 from the floor. Kelly Olynyk finished with 17 points and 10 assists, Ochai Agbaji scored 20 and Jarrell Brantley added 13 off the bench for Utah.
NETS 129, HEAT 100
MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Mikal Bridges scored 27 points, and the Brooklyn Nets opened the third quarter on a 31-6 run on the way to rolling past Miami and leapfrogging the Heat back into the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference.
Cam Johnson added 23 points and Spencer Dinwiddie scored 15 for the Nets (40-34), who snapped a five-game slide. They&rsquo;re only a half-game up on Miami (40-35) in the race for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff berth, but swept the Heat 3-0 this season and would also own a head-to-head tiebreaker.
Max Strus scored 23 for the Heat, all of them in the first half. Tyler Herro scored 23, Jimmy Butler had 18 and Bam Adebayo finished with 16 for the Heat. Miami was outscored 64-31 after halftime.
HAWKS 143, PACERS 130
ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; John Collins led eight Atlanta scorers in double figures with 21 points and the Hawks overcame Jordan Nwora&rsquo;s season-high 33 points and protected their shaky hold on the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff standings
Trae Young was ejected in the third quarter after firing an unusually hard pass to referee Scott Wall during a timeout. Wall caught the ball. Young was immediately called for a technical foul and ejected. Young had 14 points and five assists. Dejounte Murray had 20 points in his return after missing two games with a non-COVID illness. Saddiq Bey led Atlanta&rsquo;s bench with 18 points.
Tyrese Haliburton scored 19 points and Buddy Hield had 16 for Indiana.
PELICANS 131, CLIPPERS 110
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Trey Murphy III scored 32 points, Brandon Ingram had 32 points and 13 assists, and the New Orleans Pelicans never trailed against the Los Angeles Clippers.
C.J. McCollum had 21 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Pelicans, who have won four in a row.
Bones Hyland scored 18 points and Kawhi Leonard added 12 points and six rebounds for the Clippers, who have lost three of four.
At risk of falling out of the play-in tournament with a loss, the energized Pelicans started out hot, scoring the first eight points, and never let up.

A recap of Saturday's slate of NBA hoops includes the East and West's best going head-to-head.

Conference leaders clash as Nuggets top Bucks 129-106

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Ochai Agbaji scored a career-high 27 points, including six 3-pointers, to lead the Utah Jazz to a 128-120 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.
Kelly Olynyk had 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Jazz. Kris Dunn added 18 points and a season-high 10 assists. Udoka Azubuike chipped in with a career-high 13 points and a season-best eight rebounds.
Eight players scored in double figures for the Jazz, who shot 52% from the field.
Agbaji&rsquo;s offensive outburst underscored the progress he&rsquo;s made from earlier in his rookie season when he had stints in the G League.
&ldquo;I kind of saw that as my own race, starting there,&rdquo; Agbaji said. &ldquo;My expectations were a little bit different coming in, but starting there, I had to be fine with it, had to go with it, had to give it my all and have a positive attitude while I was doing it.&rdquo;
De&rsquo;Aaron Fox had 37 points and seven assists to lead Sacramento. Keegan Murray added 22 points for the Kings. Fox and Murray combined to make 12 3-pointers.
Harrison Barnes scored 16 for Sacramento, and Malik Monk added 15.
Olynyk put the Jazz ahead for good on a 3-pointer with 1:34 left to break a 118-all tie. Dunn, Agbaji, Walker Kessler and Olynyk combined to make seven free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.
Sacramento trailed by double digits throughout the first half before erasing the deficit during the third quarter. Fox and Murray led the charge, combining for 33 points in the period.
Fox scored five baskets to fuel a 19-5 run that cut Utah&rsquo;s lead to 76-74 midway through the quarter. The Kings tied it three times on 3-pointers from Monk, Murray and Fox but did not go in front until early in the fourth quarter.
Chimezie Metu completed a 3-point play to give Sacramento its first lead at 100-98 with 9:15 remaining.
&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t trick a trick defense,&rdquo; Kings coach Mike Brown said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve just got to just run your stuff. If you run your stuff, somebody&rsquo;s going to get an open shot.&rdquo;
Playing without the team&rsquo;s top three scorers &mdash; Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton &mdash; did not slow down Utah&rsquo;s offense in the first quarter.
The Jazz shot 60% from the field and made five 3-pointers to build a 40-19 lead by the end of the period. Utah showed offensive balance while coasting to a double-digit advantage. Five players scored two or more baskets in the quarter. Olynyk and Agbaji led the way with three apiece.
&ldquo;We lost this game in the first quarter,&rdquo; Fox said. &ldquo;We shot ourselves in the foot. Obviously we fought back, but you don&rsquo;t want to be in that type of position.&rdquo;
Utah did not cool down much through the second quarter. The Jazz extended their lead to 24 before halftime, going up 59-35 when Olynyk capped a 7-0 run with a corner 3.
&ldquo;We were able to use our pace. It&rsquo;s been a huge emphasis for us since the trade deadline to try to play faster,&rdquo; Jazz coach Will Hardy said. &ldquo;We fed off our defense. We did a good job of getting stops and it allowed us to get out and run.&rdquo;
BLOCK PARTY
Kessler blocked five shots for the 10th time this season. None were more clutch than his final swat on a layup attempt by Domantas Sabonis with 1:20 remaining that would have cut the deficit to one. Kessler secured the rebound, and the Kings never got a chance to draw closer.
&ldquo;A lot of teams want to attack inside in the last moments just because you&rsquo;re trying to foul,&rdquo; Kessler said. &ldquo;I happened to be there. I liked my chances to block the shot.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Kings: Sabonis led the Kings in rebounds (12) and assists (nine) and finished with 11 points. &hellip; Sacramento scored zero fast-break points in the first half.
Jazz: Simone Fontecchio made his second career start in place of Markkanen, who sat out with back soreness. Fontecchio finished with 12 points. &hellip; Utah allowed a season-high 43 points in the third quarter.
UP NEXT
Kings: Host Boston on Tuesday night.
Jazz: Host Portland on Wednesday night.

Eight players scored in double figures for the Jazz, who shot 52% from the field.

Agbaji scores 27, Jazz hold off Kings for 128-120 victory

SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; Christian Wood had 27 points and 13 rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks overcame a series of blunders at the end regulation to beat the San Antonio Spurs 137-128 in overtime Wednesday night without injured All-Stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Dallas&rsquo; Maxi Kleber threw an inbounds pass out of bounds on a full-length heave with 1.8 seconds remaining in regulation. Keldon Johnson, who missed a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds, tied it 121 on an alley-oop dunk off an inbounds pass from Malaki Branham.
Wood had five points in overtime as Dallas fights to remain in the top 10 in the Western Conference. The Mavericks entered the game in ninth place with the same record as the 10th-place Los Angeles Lakers and a game ahead of the Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans.
Dwight Powell and Jaden Hardy had 22 points each and Josh Green added 21 points for Dallas, which snapped a three-game skid.
Johnson had 27 points to lead the short-handed Spurs.
Playing the second game of a back-to-back, the Spurs were without starters Devin Vassell Jeremy Sochan and Zach Collins along with Keita Bates-Diop and Charles Bassey. But as they did in setting a franchise record with 22 3-pointers in a rousing victory over Orlando on Tuesday night, San Antonio responded with a balanced scoring effort.
Branham had 20 points, Romeo Langford had 17 points and four others scored in double figures.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Dallas has won six straight against San Antonio. The Mavericks&rsquo; previous loss to the Spurs was April 11, 2021, in San Antonio. &hellip; Doncic and Irving were both in attendance, sitting at the end of the Mavericks bench. &hellip; Jaden Hardy has scored 20 points in all three of his career starts for the Mavericks. In a back-to-back set against Memphis, Hardy had 22 points on March 11 and 28 points on March 13.
Spurs: San Antonio confirmed that C Charles Bassey suffered a non-displace fracture in his left patella. The injury occurred at the close of the first quarter of Tuesday&rsquo;s victory over Orlando. Bassey will miss the remainder of the season. &hellip;. San Antonio is 2-1 during its six-game homestand. &hellip; Of the 13 games the Spurs have remaining, 10 are against a team in the playoffs or play-in tournament if the season ended today. &hellip; Johnson made his 200th career start in 219 career games with the Spurs. Only Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Tony Parker, Willie Anderson and Sean Elliott have 200 starts in fewer games for the Spurs.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: At Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
Spurs: Host Memphis on Friday night.

Christian Wood had 27 points and 13 rebounds as the Mavericks beat the Spurs 137-128 in overtime on Wednesday night.

Christian Wood has 27 points, 13 rebounds in Mavs’ OT win over Spurs

ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; Georgia Tech moved quickly to put a new leader in charge of its struggling men&rsquo;s basketball program, hiring longtime NBA guard Damon Stoudamire as the new Yellow Jackets coach on Monday.
The 49-year-old Stoudamire comes to the Atlantic Coast Conference school from the Boston Celtics, where he had been an assistant coach since 2021. The Celtics were in Atlanta this past weekend to play the Hawks.
Stoudamire&rsquo;s only previous head coaching experience was at Pacific, where he compiled a 71-77 record over five seasons. He was the West Coast Conference coach of the year in 2020.
Georgia Tech didn&rsquo;t take long to replace Josh Pastner, who was fired on Friday after the Yellow Jackets capped a 15-18 season with a second-round loss to Pittsburgh in the ACC Tournament.
Stoudamire now heads a program that has made only one NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 13 years.
&ldquo;Coach Stoudamire&rsquo;s success and credibility as a player and coach at both the collegiate and professional levels make him a great fit to lead our program,&rdquo; athletic director J Batt said in a statement. &ldquo;He will serve as an outstanding mentor on and off the court and will attract talented student-athletes to the Flats.&rdquo;
Stoudamire was a collegiate star at Arizona, helping lead the Wildcats to the 1994 Final Four. He was selected No. 7 overall in the 1995 NBA draft by the Toronto Raptors and earned rookie of the year honors.
He went on to average 13.4 points and 6.1 assists per game over a 13-year pro career that included stints with the Portland Trail Blazers (1998-05), Memphis Grizzlies (2005-08) and San Antonio Spurs (2008).
Stoudamire said he was &ldquo;humbled and honored&rdquo; to land a job with the Yellow Jackets, who won the ACC title two years ago but have largely been a non-factor on the national stage for more than a decade.
That&rsquo;s a far cry from the powerhouse program that Bobby Cremins built in the 1980s and &rsquo;90s, featuring stars such as Mark Price, Kenny Anderson, John Salley, Stephon Marbury and Dennis Scott.
The Yellow Jackets reached the Final Four for the first time in 1990, and made it all the way to the national championship game in 2004 under Cremins&rsquo; successor, Paul Hewitt.
&ldquo;It is an incredible honor to be entrusted with leading such a tradition-rich program,&rdquo; Stoudamire said. &ldquo;I am excited to get to work with the goal of consistently having our team compete at the championship level that we all know we can and should compete at.&rdquo;
The Yellow Jackets managed only two winning seasons and one NCAA Tournament win over Hewitt&rsquo;s final six seasons. After he was fired in 2011, Brian Gregory failed to make the NCAAs during a largely forgettable five-year tenure that resulted in his dismissal.
Pastner left Memphis to take over the Yellow Jackets in 2016, bringing the reputation as a top-level recruiter. But Georgia Tech was barely noticed by the nation&rsquo;s five-star prospects, and the lack of talent showed up in the record.
Other than that surprising run to the ACC Tournament title and a one-and-done appearance in the NCAAs in 2021, Pastner&rsquo;s program showed little signs of progress over his seven-year stint.
The Yellow Jackets plummeted to 12-20 last season, finishing next-to-last in the ACC with a 5-15 mark. This season, they started 1-12 in conference play &mdash; including a nine-game losing streak &mdash; before a late run left them with a 6-14 mark and 13th-place finish.
Pastner finished with a record of 109-114 at Georgia Tech, including a 53-78 mark in the ACC.
The Yellow Jackets have fired their two most prominent coaches as well as its athletic director in the past six months. Football coach Geoff Collins and AD Todd Stansbury were dumped after a dismal start on the gridiron last season.
Batt replaced Stansbury and presided over searches that led to interim coach Brent Key remaining on as Collins&rsquo; full-time successor and the hiring of Stoudamire.
Collins was owed a buyout of more than $11 million, while Pastner will get some $2.5 million over the final three years of his contract, putting an additional strain on an athletic department that has struggled financially in recent years.
But Georgia Tech President Angel Cabrera expressed hope that Stoudamire can turn things around on the court.
&ldquo;His impressive track record as a coach in college and the NBA, and his own experience as a student-athlete and professional player, will be invaluable assets for the institute&rsquo;s men&rsquo;s basketball program and our student-athletes,&rdquo; Cabrera said.
In an interesting twist, Stoudamire was an assistant at Memphis from 2009-11 after Pastner took over as head coach for John Calipari, and returned to the Tigers for Pastner&rsquo;s final season at the school in 2015-16.
Stoudamire also has been an assistant with the NBA&rsquo;s Memphis Grizzlies as well as a two-year stint at his alma mater.
In his only head coaching job, he took over at Pacific in 2016 with the program coming off an 8-20 campaign. His best season was a 23-10 mark in 2019-20, when the Tigers won a school-record 11 WCC games and he was named conference coach of the year.
But he finished with a losing record overall and never guided the Tigers to a postseason berth.
Now, Stoudamire will get a chance to improve on his resume in the ACC.

Stoudamire now heads a program that has made only one NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 13 years.

Yuri