Lions

Howard Beck is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated who was front and center during NBA Commissioner Adam Silver&rsquo;s press conference on Wednesday. His direct question to Silver about the difference in behavioral standards and accountability for Robert Sarver vs. any other employee in the NBA went viral, as many were shocked by the Commissioner&rsquo;s answer.&nbsp;
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"There are particular rights here to someone who owns an NBA team as opposed to somebody who is an employee." Adam Silver answered <a href="https://twitter.com/HowardBeck?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HowardBeck</a>'s question as to why there is a different standard held for Robert Sarver as an owner in the NBA (via <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBATV</a>) <a href="https://t.co/ndmwDr7rkN">pic.twitter.com/ndmwDr7rkN</a>
&mdash; Sports Illustrated (@SInow) <a href="https://twitter.com/SInow/status/1570142214042288136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 14, 2022</a></blockquote>
On Thursday morning, Beck <a href="http://archive.wpfwfm.org/mp3/wpfw_220915_100000collision.mp3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joined my show with Dave Zirin</a> ("The Collision, Where Sports And Politics Collide&rdquo;) to discuss how the Sarver situation differs from the Donald Sterling investigation.
Dave Zirin: What was the mood at that presser? Did you feel like you were alone in having this concern, this question of the hypocrisy at play?&nbsp;
Howard Beck: "Yeah, I mean, just to set the scene a little bit... This is at a Midtown hotel that the NBA uses often, and so this is a very ornate ballroom that is always set up for Adam Silver's press conferences following a Board of Governors' meeting. It feels pretty formal in those rooms. It's interesting to think about Donald Sterling, which we'll get to, I'm sure, but eight years ago that had to be moved to a massive hotel ballroom at a different hotel because of obviously the international interest. I mean, CNN was there and I think Inside Edition or one of those [shows] and all the TV entertainment shows, like TMZ, everybody. There were hundreds of people in the room for the Sterling thing because of the nature of that and because of how public it was in the wake of the tape. This was a much more scaled down, kind of sedate, very formal news conference.
"It was a smaller group, maybe a dozen of us, and we're there to ask Adam, I think, just questions about the process, how they reached it. Clearly by my question and some others', we're also bringing to the table, 'These are the concerns, if not our own necessarily, but the things we know are out there. This is how the public is reacting.' People would like to know why this is different to Donald Sterling. To the point of my question to him, why a team owner can do things and still hold his position that the average employee would be fired for within seconds. It's not an emotional back and forth. It's a fairly standard press conference where you're just looking to see where Adam Silver's rationale is... trying to get the best explanation for the public and to inform whatever pieces we may be writing about it. There's not a tone in there. It's just a back-and-forth standard press conference in the way I felt it."
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Etan Thomas: I want to ask you specifically about his explanation of how it's so different than the situation with Donald Sterling.
Howard Beck: "If you want to drill down, and listen, we should remember this throughout our discussion today and anybody's discussion of any of this: Adam Silver's a lawyer by trade. He's been the Commissioner for eight or so years now. He's worked in the NBA for a couple decades, 20 maybe closer to 30 years. He's a lawyer by training, and the people who wrote this report on Robert Sarver are lawyers. It was a law firm that was hired to do it.
"Keep that in mind when we talk about the differences between Sarver and Sterling, because I think the facts that are on the table and viewing it through the prism of, if you're a lawyer processing this and you're thinking about what you can prove versus what is clear, what you can accomplish versus what you would like to accomplish, which may be different things... Look at it through the lens of a lawyer. I think sometimes that's helpful to understand how the league got to where it did.
"Donald Sterling, when it happened, there was a tape. There's that. Smoking gun right out the gate. No smoking gun when Baxter Holmes' story for ESPN first comes out last November. There was this wait and see. We got to have an investigation. We got to hire this law firm. They're going to interview hundreds of people. The law firm has finished its work. We now have that in hand. There's still no smoking gun that is comparable to Donald Sterling being taped by his mistress surreptitiously saying a bunch of horrendously offensive things, racist things that the whole world then got to listen to together repeatedly. That's the first piece. The second piece is that when the Sterling..."
Etan Thomas: Wait, wait, wait. Before we go to the second piece, let me just follow that up. Was it more about the court of public opinion or is it more of the legal court? Because if they interviewed all the people, they never said &mdash; and you correct me if I'm wrong &mdash; that the interviewees didn't coincide with the allegations.
Howard Beck: "Right."
Etan Thomas: They didn't have any of that, so there was no dispute on if he actually said what he was accused of saying, correct?
Howard Beck: "Yeah, for the most part. When Sarver responded to the report and to the suspension the other day, his quotes for his statement that he put out basically were like, 'I accept this and I'm sorry, but I don't agree with all of the chapter in verse.' There was a little bit of quibbling still even as he was accepting the results. We don't know which of those things there were. But yes, you're right, largely everything that had been alleged has now been corroborated through hundreds and hundreds of interviews by the law firm. Yes, but I'm saying... You asked the right question, of course, which is, 'Are we talking about court or court of public opinion?' I think it's both.
"To go back to Sterling for a minute... Here's the full scope of what happens with Sterling. There's a tape, so everybody can be appalled by hearing it themselves. It's not just reports of what somebody said or witnesses heard. We are all hearing it, so there's that shock value. Then on top of that, it happens during the playoffs. It happens involving Donald Sterling's team during the playoffs, and now they're going out to the court with their jerseys on inside-out as a form of quiet protest, but talking amongst themselves [about not playing] and surely the league, of course, was aware that. You've got a threat of a player strike. You've got sponsors fleeing. You've got the whole world saying, 'NBA, what are you going to do? How can you have this guy in your midst?'
"The pressure on the league at that moment was intense. Thus the hundreds and hundreds of media members in a ballroom for Adam Silver's press conference versus the dozen yesterday. The circumstances were so different that, I think, when you ask about the court of public opinion versus what you can prove in court or what the NBA can prove if they need to, to justify ousting an owner, it all kind of merges a little bit, because you need the groundswell of support. You need the public support. You need the players to be pushing in a certain direction. You need to get enough of the other NBA owners to support you as Commissioner, because Adam Silver cannot unilaterally oust anybody. He doesn't have that power.
"Because of the groundswell of outrage that happened with the Sterling case and how immediate it was and how intense it was, Adam Silver had all of the backing in the world, all the political capital, if you want to put it in those terms, to make the tough decision and say, 'He's done, he's out.' Plus, Donald Sterling had an estranged wife, Shelly Sterling, who was a part owner of the team and could wrest control from him, which helped the NBA immensely in that whole process. When you ask why it's different... Listen, racism is racism, sexism is sexism, misogyny is misogyny, and hostile workplace environment and everything else that's happened under Sarver is what it is. But the political reality of trying to remove an owner, that's why it's different than Sterling. It's the things I just laid out. Those things make, I think, the path to trying to resolve this in the same fashion much more difficult."
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Dave Zirin: I think the key element there, Howard, is the idea of a player revolt during the playoffs as opposed to an offseason where it's difficult to get comment. Chris Paul weighed in, LeBron James weighed in. But it's not the sort of thing where there are cameras in the faces of players after every game asking their opinion. Did you see that as a vital difference in terms of the court of public opinion?
Howard Beck: "This is one of the things that's interesting to me. If the NBA... Now listen, I'm not going to say the NBA had complete control over the timing of the investigation. That's always kind of a murky thing to try to assess, but all along we've been going, 'What's taking so long? What's taking so long?' I asked Adam that question multiple times at multiple press conferences over the last year. The NBA's best option in this case would've been to have this investigation, this report, come out like a month or a month-and-a-half ago in the dead of the offseason so that by the time Media Day comes along and training camps open, we've all kind of forgotten about it.
"This is now fresh in everybody's minds. It's mid-September. Everyone's reporting to training camp within the next two weeks, and Chris Paul and LeBron James, who came out very strongly on Twitter last night, are going to be asked about this on Media Day as will players on probably every team... Certainly all the veteran players who we usually go to for the big-picture type stuff or anybody who's been a very strong social-justice activist in the last few years... the Jaylen Browns of the world. We're going to be asking them all two weeks from now, 'What'd you think of the Sarver conclusion and the fact that he was not banned for life or do you think it was strong enough?' This is going to be front and center, I believe, when training camps open in a couple of weeks.
"There will be at least the possibility of more pressure on the league, more publicity around this story that maybe pushes this thing along. I can't predict that it's going to ever escalate to the level of the Sterling case. I want to caution on this note too: it's not fair for the players to have to bear the burden of adjudicating this or making the league do the right thing, but the players also have the most powerful collective voice on this by far. If Adam Silver can't act without the owners, if the owners don't want to act because they're the other owners and they just don't want to have to do this, because they're worried a bit somebody may be coming for them one day... who has more influence than anybody? It's the 450 players. It's LeBron and Chris Paul as the leaders of that Association.
"They cannot be ignored, and we cannot underestimate how big a deal it was. Dave, you said it, and I was alluding to it earlier... The threat of a player strike or any player action during the playoffs during the Donald Sterling saga was a huge leverage point or a pressure point for the league. I don't think we're going to get to that point in this case, but if the union keeps pushing on this and the players keep pushing on this, I don't think that the NBA can just say, 'Well, we've already resolved it. It's over. We've made our decision.' No. You can always tell a guy, 'You know what? We think it's time to sell.' If he doesn't want to sell, then you can use whatever leverage you've got. You can try to coerce, convince, whatever, and if he doesn't get there, then maybe you take the next step.
"Any given day, Robert Saver can just decide to step out. He doesn't have to own the team. He could also just reduce to minority-owner status, sell the majority share and not be the face of it anymore. Maybe that would be enough for a lot of us who think that this has fallen short to resolve it, but the idea of him still being in that seat courtside in about a year from now when the suspension's over seems like a bad look for the NBA."
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Etan Thomas: Let me ask you this, because you gave a path that could possibly happen with training camps opening and players being more vocal about the situation and the possibility that could apply more pressure, but I want to talk to you about the difference in the Adam Silver that we saw yesterday compared to the one we saw eight years ago with Donald Sterling and the language that he used. Now, correct me if I'm wrong at any time in this. When Donald Sterling happened, he pretty much said, "I'm going to urge all of the governors to get on board with this." Something to that effect. Whereas here, it was kind of like, "Well, I work for them, and this is kind of what they want. I feel remorse and I'm sorry to all the victims and people, employees and everything like that, but this is kind of what we have to go with." Totally different, right?
So if Adam Silver had a different tone and approach, could that have changed things a little bit? Because after he did that with Donald Sterling, then immediately you saw Mark Cuban come out in support. The same Mark Cuban who before that was saying that we should be cautious because of the possibility of opening up Pandora's box, but when he set the tone, then the tone changed. You saw Ted Leonsis right after that come out in support. So my question is, in theory, could Adam Silver have set the tone a lot more than he did yesterday?"
Howard Beck: "Yeah, I think that's a really fair point. It's a weird relationship. Adam Silver's the Commissioner, he is the face of the league in a lot of ways politically... the figurehead. He is the lead executive for policy matters and all kinds of just general public relations and business deals and all kinds of stuff, but he doesn't actually lead the NBA. He works for the 30 teams, for the Board of Governors, and so they employ him, not the other way around. That said, yes, in that position, you have the ability, because you've got the bully pulpit and you've got the public's attention... you can lead on the messaging. You can say that, 'I, Adam Silver, the Commissioner of the NBA, believe that this is the kind of conduct that should not exist in our league, and I am urging our Board of Governors to go down this road.'
"The problem is, if you don't think that support is there, you just put yourself out on an island, and the Board of Governors may not be real appreciative of it. They might say, 'We're not there. Sorry.' Now you've suffered a massive public loss where some majority of the 30 owners has voted not to go down this path that you wanted to go, that you have now staked a public claim on. You have to be... Again, I hate putting these things in political terms, but there's an aspect of it. Just like you don't go make some major policy proclamation before you think you've got the votes, you got to count the votes first.
"My guess would be, and then I'm only speculating, but that if Adam Silver doesn't believe he's got the votes and won't have the support to banish somebody for life, which is again a very drastic step that's only been done once... then he is not going to go there. We can criticize it as, 'Well, that's a failure of leadership. If you believe this, you should push it this direction and tell the board to follow you.' But if the board doesn't follow you, now you're out on an island, and you've just lost a lot of capital publicly and with the board. I don't know what that does for your effectiveness in the role. Maybe it's the end of your role."
Etan Thomas: But he did do that with Donald Sterling, and we saw it be effective.
Howard Beck: "Again, I've said this, and Etan, you and I may have even discussed this at some point along the way here. I think that on the one hand, Adam rightly got all the praise that he got for making the bold decision that he did on Sterling swiftly and decisively &mdash; within days after that tape became public, I think it was. That said, it was really the only decision he could make because of all the things we talked about earlier &mdash; because the possibility of a player revolt, because of sponsors fleeing, because of the intense public attention and backlash that just did not exist in this case.
"We can sit here and say, 'Well, if we put everything down on paper, here's all of Donald Sterling's offenses against society. Here's Robert Sarver's offenses against society.' We put them both on paper, and we go, 'Yeah, I think those things equal about the same punishment in our view.' We could do that, but that's not the reality. The reality is, how is the world responding to this and what does that provide the league in terms of the momentum or the support or the cover to try to do something that's really difficult?
"Again, never underestimate the fact that Donald Sterling's wife, Shelly Sterling, as a part owner of the team, played a really influential role in being able to wrest control of the Clippers away from him. There's just not that same element in this case. You can stand on conviction and say that we are going to hold the line. This is the principle. We're applying the same principle broadly, even if these cases are somewhat different. But if you can't follow through, because it's really hard to remove an owner and because you're now introducing a lawsuit that is not going to be a suit against Adam Silver. It's going to be against the whole league. Now all the other owners are having to deal with the legal battle, the financial strain, all the stuff that goes with that. That's a lot that you have to consider before you go down that path."

Howard Beck opens up about the NBA's one-year suspension of Robert Sarver and why he isn't banned for life like Donald Sterling.

Howard Beck explains differences in Donald Sterling, Robert Sarver cases

LeBron James, one of the most celebrated and accomplished basketball players in the history of the sport, has never been shy about revealing his off-court ambitions.&nbsp;&nbsp;
In 2016, during an episode of UNINTERRUPTED's "Open Run" podcast, <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/lebron-james-says-his-dream-is-to-own-an-nba-team/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James declared</a>: "My dream is to actually own a team." While it may have seemed somewhat fantastical at the time, that dream is far closer to reality nowadays.&nbsp;
In the six years since making that statement, James has continued to grow his financial empire. Last week, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2022/06/02/lebron-james-is-officially-a-billionaire/?sh=45be91f0453e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forbes reported</a> that James' net worth has reached $1 billion, making him the first active NBA player to hit this milestone.&nbsp;
James has pocketed nearly $350 million in on-court earnings throughout his career, making him the second-highest-paid athlete in the world behind only soccer superstar Lionel Messi. However, LeBron has also made massive sums of money via his investments in companies such as Lyft, Tonal, Blaze Pizza and SpringHill Entertainment as well as his endorsement deals with Nike, AT&amp;T, PepsiCo and Walmart among others. Forbes estimates that James has netted $500 million from his investments.
Speaking with reporters after a game last season, <a href="https://www.nba.com/lakers/video/teams/lakers/2021/03/16/178126/1615963311578-webpostlbj-178126">James reaffirmed his desire to own an NBA franchise someday</a>. 
"I've always said that my goal was to own a team, own an NBA team," James said. "I've got so much to give to the game. I know what it takes to win at this level. I know talent. I also know how to run a business as well, and so that is my goal. My goal is to own an NBA franchise, and it'll be sooner than later."
At around the same time that James made those comments, it was announced that he had become a partner in Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club of the English Premier League among other properties. Earlier this week, James shared interesting specifics related to his future ownership objectives.&nbsp;
"Yeah, I wanna buy a team, for sure. I want a team in Vegas," James said in a clip from the latest episode of his show, "The Shop," which will debut Friday.
On Thursday, James <a href="https://twitter.com/KingJames/status/1534940135967510533?s=20&amp;t=i-pFnJOA7Au_G32vhfkPHQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted the clip</a> alongside the caption, "Speaking it into existence!"
The first major obstacle in the way is the fact that the NBA does not currently have a team in Las Vegas. However, many league insiders firmly believe that the NBA will announce plans to expand in the near future and that Vegas is all but a lock to land one of the coveted slots.&nbsp;
In a press conference before Game 1 of the NBA Finals last week, commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that "at some point, this league invariably will expand," before adding, "it's not at this moment that we are discussing it."
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When the NBA officially expands, it is assumed that they will add two franchises simultaneously to keep the league balanced with an even number of teams. Along with Vegas, Seattle is the other city considered a heavy favorite to secure the rights to a new franchise. Seattle served as the home of the SuperSonics from 1968 through 2008 before the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City, leaving basketball fans in the Pacific Northwest heartbroken. In the years since, there has been a concerted effort from fans, players and coaches to bring a team back.&nbsp;
When asked about Las Vegas specifically, Silver noted that the city is the home to the NBA Summer League and that Vegas "has shown itself to be a great sports market." Last October, in an interview with Sports Business Journal, <a href="https://www.si.com/fannation/nba/fastbreak/rumors/nba-rumor-could-a-team-be-coming-to-las-vegas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Silver acknowledged</a> that when the league starts seriously exploring expansion, there is "no doubt Vegas will be on the list."
With sports betting becoming legal in more and more states, propelled by the windfall of profits mobile wagering has generated, pro sports teams are no longer afraid to lay down roots in Sin City. Las Vegas is currently home to the NFL's Raiders and NHL's Golden Knights. In 2017, the NBA and WNBA approved the sale of the San Antonio Silver Stars to MGM Resorts in Las Vegas.
Earlier this year, the Oak View Group <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2022/03/30/las-vegas-nba-arena-rumors-sports-entertainment-district-oak-view-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it had purchased 25 acres of land in Vegas to build a $3 billion sports and entertainment district that will include a 20,000-seat arena.
"The arena will be world-class," <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2022/03/30/las-vegas-nba-arena-rumors-sports-entertainment-district-oak-view-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said CEO Tim Leiweke</a>. "It will be for music, it'll be for sports, it'll be for cultural activities, and should the NBA decide to come &mdash; and by the way, there's no certainty or no guarantees that the NBA is ever coming to Vegas but should they come &mdash; we certainly will be NBA-ready and make sure that we hit all of their standards."
The arena will be located 10 minutes from the strip and it's expected to break ground sometime in 2023.
When attempting to speculate how much a new franchise might be worth, it should be noted that the most recent NBA team to go on the market was the Minnesota Timberwolves. In April, former MLB star Alex Rodriguez and former Walmart e-commerce CEO Marc Lore agreed to purchase the Timberwolves for $1.5 billion. Like Rodriguez, James would need to recruit a partner or form an ownership group to make a competitive bid. Last week, Nike founder Phil Knight<a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/34026351/sources-nike-phil-knight-dodgers-alan-smolinisky-make-offer-buy-portland-trail-blazers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a>offered to pay more than $2 billion to purchase the Portland Trail Blazers.
It's also important to note that, per the league's collective bargaining agreement, James would be unable to purchase any stake in an NBA franchise while he is an active NBA player. And although he turns 38 years old later this year, James is still playing at an incredibly high level. This past season, James averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.2 assists and a career-high 2.9 made three-pointers per game.
In an <a href="https://theathletic.com/3138844/2022/02/19/could-lebron-james-return-to-cleveland-again-the-doors-not-closed-on-that-he-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview with The Athletic</a> published in February, James stated definitively that he plans to play long enough to share the floor with his oldest son, Bronny.
"My last year will be played with my son," James said. "Wherever Bronny is at, that's where I'll be. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year. It's not about the money at that point."
Bronny won't be draft-eligible for another two years under the NBA's current CBA.&nbsp;
Regarding the league's potential timeline, it has been rumored that Silver and Co. plan to hold off on formally announcing serious steps toward expansion until after the NBA's current media rights deal expires in 2024. It's possible that the NBA's timeline and James' long-term plan could perfectly align.
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LeBron James says he wants to own an NBA team in Las Vegas. Tommy Beer breaks down James' goal and whether it's feasible.

Examining LeBron James' goal of owning an NBA team in Las Vegas

Prior to last month&rsquo;s NBA trade deadline, the Dallas Mavericks and Washington Wizards pulled off arguably the most surprising deal of the week, swapping Kristaps Porzingis for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans.
Porzingis hadn&rsquo;t been mentioned in any trade rumors leading up to the deadline, so it was shocking to see the 26-year-old former All-Star on the move.
Dinwiddie, on the other hand, was very clearly on the block. Multiple reports suggested that he was available, and Kevin O&rsquo;Connor of The Ringer <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2022/1/31/22910354/los-angeles-clippers-nba-trade-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> that Dinwiddie&rsquo;s &ldquo;teammates don&rsquo;t want him there.&rdquo; The 28-year-old guard even <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dinwiddie-says-his-leadership-wasnt-necessarily-welcomed-by-wizards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke out</a> about how his vocal leadership &ldquo;wasn&rsquo;t necessarily welcomed" in the Wizards' locker room.
It was a surprising turn of events. Just a few months earlier, Bradley Beal made it clear to the Wizards&rsquo; front office that he wanted Dinwiddie and even helped recruit him, as general manager Tommy Sheppard <a href="https://twitter.com/SiriusXMNBA/status/1429130174617079818" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has discussed</a>. This played a significant role in Dinwiddie signing a three-year, $62 million contract with Washington.&nbsp;
The Wizards ultimately traded Dinwiddie, Bertans and Montrezl Harrell. Shortly after, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope <a href="https://twitter.com/ChaseHughesNBCS/status/1491998119713779730" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attributed</a> the team&rsquo;s pre-deadline struggles to &ldquo;agendas and egos,&rdquo; adding that players &ldquo;were complaining about minutes [and] not getting the ball.&rdquo;
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Dinwiddie was understandably bothered by these reports and comments, which insinuated that he was disliked and causing problems in the Wizards&rsquo; locker room.
&ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s what hurt the most. I&rsquo;ve never bashed Washington. I&rsquo;ve never said an ill thing about the team," Dinwiddie told reporters. "I thanked the owner, Ted [Leonsis]. I thanked Tommy Sheppard, the GM, for collectively deciding to give me my contract. They didn&rsquo;t have to pay somebody coming off an ACL [injury]. I appreciate that. Wes [Unseld Jr.], being a first-time head coach, has a wealth of basketball knowledge. So to be bashed on the way out the door hurt my feelings, for sure. I&rsquo;m human, of course.&nbsp;
&ldquo;And you got to remember: When we were [10-3] and everybody was going crazy and we had all those clutch games, I was the one hitting the game-winners. Look at the Indiana game, the two Boston games, I was the one doing that. And that was back when I wasn&rsquo;t playing back-to-backs. When the role changed and they wanted me to pass more, they thought I was scoring a lot, I did that. I took my foot off the gas for a while because that&rsquo;s what they felt the team needed. So to get kind of kicked out the door was a wild feeling. I hadn&rsquo;t really experienced that before. But I still have nothing ill to say other than, yes, it hurt my feelings. But like anything else, you become cautious. And so far it&rsquo;s a great fit [in Dallas]. I love what they ask me to do here, which is get in the paint, and I&rsquo;m going to continue to do that and try to be of service.&rdquo;
Dinwiddie has been thriving with the Mavericks through seven games, averaging 17.6 points, 5.1 assists, 2.3 rebounds, 1.7 threes and just 1.4 turnovers, while shooting 56.3% from the field and 41.4% from three-point range. And in his first start with Dallas, Dinwiddie contributed a season-high 36 points to go along with 7 assists and 2 rebounds in a 114-113 win over the Sacramento Kings.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Spencer Dinwiddie was balling for <a href="https://twitter.com/dallasmavs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dallasmavs</a> dropping 36 PTS while shooting 50% from the field in the comeback victory! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MFFL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MFFL</a><a href="https://twitter.com/SDinwiddie_25?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SDinwiddie_25</a>: 36 PTS (11/22 FGM), 7 AST <a href="https://t.co/lvgltC2xTS">pic.twitter.com/lvgltC2xTS</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1500471290490195969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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During his 44 games with the Wizards, Dinwiddie averaged 12.6 points, 5.8 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 threes per game on inefficient .376/.310/.811 shooting splits.
The Mavericks have won six of seven games with Dinwiddie in the lineup.
&ldquo;I knew I had a couple of friends here in [Reggie] Bullock, Theo [Pinson] and JD (Jared Dudley) on the coaching staff. You still approach the situation with kiddie gloves to see what&rsquo;s going on,&rdquo; Dinwiddie said of his fit with the Mavericks. &ldquo;Everything they said to me so far has been authentic, and everybody has bought into doing what they need to do to win. They encouraged me to be aggressive.
&ldquo;I missed my first three layups [against the Kings] and I felt like those were good shots. They aren&rsquo;t mad. It&rsquo;s not like Bullock and Doe-Doe (Dorian Finney-Smith) are like, &lsquo;Man, why am I not shooting? Like, what are you doing?&rsquo; They&rsquo;re like, &lsquo;No, bro, if you get another layup, shoot it! Until they stop you, if you can keep getting layups I don&rsquo;t care if you missed 20 of them, we believe in you to be aggressive.&rsquo; That&rsquo;s the culture of the group, and I&rsquo;m going to stay in attack mode.&rdquo;
Pinson has helped his former Brooklyn Nets teammate get acclimated in Dallas.
&ldquo;Theo is the best hype man, culture guy, whatever you want to call it, in the NBA,&rdquo; Dinwiddie said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been in the NBA eight years &mdash; I&rsquo;ve been on like five teams or something like that &mdash; Theo is the best. I&rsquo;ll take him on a team any day. The mood is instantly lighter. It&rsquo;s instantly better. You going through some tough times? He&rsquo;s going to make you laugh. You going through some good times? He&rsquo;s going to make you feel great&hellip; I&rsquo;ll take him on my team any day. I promise you that.&rdquo;
Dinwiddie seems excited about his future in Dallas. He's meshing with his teammates, and he appreciates that everyone knows their role.
&ldquo;I just think our commitment to the collective and to winning games is all that matters,&rdquo; Dinwiddie said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re not going to catch me out here picking up De&rsquo;Aaron Fox 94 feet; that would be out of character. I&rsquo;m not a ball-pressure guard. I&rsquo;ll sit there and guard you 1-on-1, but it&rsquo;s not my role and I&rsquo;m not going to do that. My job on offense is to get in the paint and make plays. I&rsquo;ll shoot the three when I have the switch and when I&rsquo;m open, but I&rsquo;m not just casting 30-footers like I&rsquo;m Steph Curry. I do what I do, and I don&rsquo;t do what I&rsquo;m not supposed to do. That goes 1 through 15. Everybody here follows that type of mentality because we understand that to not just win basketball games in the regular season, but in the playoffs, you need that.&rdquo;
It certainly seems like this change of scenery has been beneficial for Dinwiddie. Not only is he succeeding individually, but he&rsquo;ll also get to return to the playoffs (barring a collapse) since the Mavs are 39-25 and currently stand as the Western Conference's fifth seed. 
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Spencer Dinwiddie felt like he was "bashed on the way out the door" by the Wizards. Now, after a change of scenery, he's thriving.

Spencer Dinwiddie thriving with Mavs after messy exit from Wizards

Long overdue for a makeover, the Portland Trail Blazers became sellers at this year&rsquo;s trade deadline. CJ McCollum, Norman Powell and Robert Covington are all gone in place of more youth and future cap flexibility.
With Damian Lillard presumably out for the rest of the season, this provided Portland the ideal opportunity to hit the reset button. The main question, though, always circles back around to Lillard&rsquo;s long-term future with the Blazers.
Is Lillard seriously going to sit through an extended rebuild through his mid-30s? With three years remaining on Lillard&rsquo;s contract in 2022-23, here&rsquo;s the current core group to move forward with: Anfernee Simons, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nassir-little-sheer-will-intensity-gives-portland-trail-blazers-a-boost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nassir Little</a>, Josh Hart, Keon Johnson, Justise Winslow, Didi Louzada, Greg Brown III.
Simons has proven to be a real building block during his full-fledged breakout campaign, but there are many questions outside of him. Little has <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/qa-nassir-little-on-blazers-struggles-his-development-gm-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flashed some improvements</a>, but consistency for him was still needed before going down with an injury. Hart and Johnson were the primary pieces returned in the Blazers&rsquo; midseason roster remake.
In the end, will that crop of young players be enough to keep Lillard content while also competing within an actual championship window? That answer remains murky at best, particularly a Finals appearance being close to feasible.
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Portland created oodles of flexibility this summer via free agency or the trade market to improve rapidly around Lillard. If the next disgruntled star wants out this summer, the Blazers can at least have a seat at the table as potentially realistic destinations. They are set up well with future draft capital, plus multiple young players and a large, soon-to-be expiring contract with Eric Bledsoe.
The franchise can get into many discussions simply based off the variability of its asset collection. They could&rsquo;ve gotten more in both deals &mdash; which could loom large if they swing-and-miss this offseason &mdash; but the idea on paper makes sense.
The Blazers' last roster makeup was based around the dynamic high-usage backcourt of Lillard and McCollum. The backcourt's defensive abilities, or lack thereof, limited its potential ceiling. In the next chapter for Portland, what will be necessary to build an instant contender?
With it being unlikely that the Blazers land a star-level player, the NBA Draft is their best bet to reshaping on the fly while also achieving another chapter post-Lillard. In the McCollum trade, Portland received a 2022 first-round pick from the Pelicans where it&rsquo;s likely to convey this season (protected 1-4, 15-30).
With two top-10 picks at its disposal, Portland has the artillery to make some splashy moves on draft night, whether it be acquiring two young prospects or a seismic blockbuster trade.
Lillard seemingly is fine on the surface signing another record-breaking contract with the Blazers, but, deep down, when will this reach a level of discontent where lines are drawn? When will Lillard make the pressure too hot for the Blazers to handle? For a scorer of Lillard&rsquo;s caliber, he deserves to legitimately chase championships during the second half of his prime years. At the moment, that destination isn&rsquo;t realistically in Portland.
Building a team around young players and maybe a re-signed Jusuf Nurkic isn&rsquo;t going to make even a noticeable dent in the Western Conference. Sure, Simons is a fun backcourt partner with Lillard, but it keeps Portland in the same position it was with McCollum all these years already.
This is what makes the Jerami Grant rumors so interesting around the Blazers entering such an important offseason. As said on <a href="https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1mrxmaWXOqwxy?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com's Trade Deadline Twitter Space</a>, HoopsHype&rsquo;s Michael Scotto relayed Grant to Portland was generating the most buzz before the deadline with less than 24 hours to go. Grant&rsquo;s fit with Lillard and the Blazers would be excellent, finally providing a real two-way wing next to his offensive profile.
Grant, Lillard and Simons is something to build around, but it&rsquo;s again another roadblock when seriously considering a real Finals push. If we&rsquo;re being honest, Grant is the likely move Portland makes to push more chips in with Lillard. How it plays out is a completely different story though.
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For both Lillard and the Blazers, the realization that it might be time for a split is closing in. As we just saw in the Super Bowl with Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, staying loyal forever doesn&rsquo;t always lead to the ultimate prize. Stafford <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/matthew-stafford-trade-rams-send-two-first-round-picks-a-third-round-pick-and-jared-goff-to-lions-for-qb/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">requested a trade</a> from the lowly Detroit Lions and instantly won a championship with Los Angeles.
Lillard is the NBA&rsquo;s version of Stafford, so loyal to a fault and always putting the team on his back. Stafford eventually knew the time arrived to make a change for his legacy's sake. Lillard has to be envisioning this when canvassing Portland&rsquo;s future outlook.
It&rsquo;s again slowly bubbling under the surface, but the Blazers remain one of the most intriguing teams in the league for yet another offseason. How Portland maneuvered at the deadline gave a sneak peek into what should be a summer with gigantic stakes.
Now, we wait and see how it all unfolds for an organization with change occurring on all levels.
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After a roster overhaul, which direction will the Portland Trail Blazers pursue? Damian Lillard's long-term future depends on it.

As Blazers begin makeover, does Damian Lillard staying even make sense?

When&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kings-making-buddy-hield-richaun-holmes-harrison-barnes-available" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seeing the report late last week</a>&nbsp;of the Sacramento Kings making Richaun Holmes available for trade, there should&rsquo;ve been several NBA teams channeling a 1980 Muhammad Ali saying, &ldquo;I want Holmes! I want Holmes!&rdquo;&nbsp;
(Couldn&rsquo;t find the clip, but I remember watching it long ago.)
Of course, Ali was talking about former World Heavyweight Champion Larry Holmes, whom he lost to later that year &mdash; 42 years later, we&rsquo;re talking about an underrated Kings center, but the point stands. Nothing, not even 50-year-old <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFK9zh2yHO4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Johnny Knoxville being in this week&rsquo;s Royal Rumble</a>, is less surprising than the Kings looking to revamp their roster in some form. That basketball team in Sacramento rebuilds more often than Griselda releases music.&nbsp;
But, again,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/sacramento-kings/richaun-holmes-17865/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">less than five months after signing a four-year, $46 million extension</a>, including a $12.9 million player option for 2024-25, Holmes is possibly available. At just $10.3 million this season, he&rsquo;s very affordable by NBA standards. Having turned 28 years old in October and playing in year seven, he&rsquo;s in the prime of his career. Given where he currently is, he might indeed be better off elsewhere.&nbsp;
Holmes has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/kings/richaun-holmes-commits-goggles-recounts-scary-eye-injury" target="_blank" rel="noopener">battled an eye injury</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sacbee.com/sports/nba/sacramento-kings/article256988807.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID</a> this season, but has been productive despite a drop in playing time, logging 25.8 minutes through his 32 games (all starts) compared to last year, where he was at 29.2 minutes. He&rsquo;s posting 12.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game this season while shooting a career-best 70% from the floor. Per 36-minutes, he&rsquo;s at 17.1 points, 1.5 blocks and a career-best 11.3 boards. Holmes is a distant first in win shares per 48 minutes at .179 (second is .111). He&rsquo;s also second in team box plus-minus (1.3) behind Tyrese Haliburton&rsquo;s 2.5 and ahead of Harrison Barnes&rsquo; 0.5; everyone else is in the negative. (Yes, that means De&rsquo;Aaron Fox, for whatever that&rsquo;s worth.)&nbsp;
Ideally, if you&rsquo;re the team making this move, you&rsquo;d look to solidify your center position while prepping for your playoff push. The good news is that all of the following teams are in the playoff hunt &mdash; so don't worry, my fellow rec spec-wearing friend, let's get you outta there.&nbsp;
Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets are (quietly?) 27-22 as of this writing, and are seventh in the Eastern Conference. At least they're quiet for a team run by a rising star in LaMelo Ball, his underappreciated backcourt mate Terry Rozier, Most Improved Player candidate Miles Bridges and steady swingman Gordon Hayward&nbsp; That&rsquo;s four-fifths of their starting five, with the center spot being occupied by Mason Plumlee. Kelly Oubre Jr. and PJ Washington play significant minutes off the bench, meaning the Hornets &mdash; who are 21st in rebounding and allow the third-most rebounds per game &mdash; are often playing small.&nbsp;
PJ Washington, in particular, is a&nbsp;<a href="https://hoopshype.com/storyline/pj-washington-trade/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trade piece that&rsquo;s been rumored to be available</a> and likely has to be included in the deal, since his minutes and production have declined since last season, where he was an everyday starter. It should be added that, entering the last of his rookie-scale contract next season, it&rsquo;s likely the Hornets won&rsquo;t extend him by 2023.&nbsp;
The trade logistically couldn&rsquo;t be PJ for Holmes straight up since Washington only makes $4.2 million this season. The Kings also are rumored to be shopping others on their team, so there&rsquo;s a potential for this to extend beyond Holmes arriving from Sacramento by himself in this hypothetical &mdash; your simplest route is to pair Washington with Plumlee&rsquo;s $8.1 million, which mathematically makes this work straight up. Plumlee has a partially guaranteed $8.5 million coming to him next season, and the Kings should also receive a couple of second-rounders or a first coming back to them, both of which the Hornets <a href="https://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Future/Hornets.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have enough to entice with</a>.&nbsp;
A Ball-Rozier-Hayward-Bridges-Holmes lineup sounds fun as hell.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Richaun Holmes is dunking all over the Lakers 😤 <a href="https://t.co/y9fO2OprSI">pic.twitter.com/y9fO2OprSI</a>
&mdash; NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1465891771489996805?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Dallas Mavericks
Between Dwight Powell, Moses Brown, Maxi Kleber, Willie Cauley-Stein, Marquese Chriss and Boban Marjanović, the Dallas Mavericks have had what&rsquo;s felt like a 💩 ton of bigs this season. Even so, as our Nekias Duncan wrote last week, without a true anchor, the Mavs have recently <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-do-the-mavericks-have-an-elite-defense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">become one of the league&rsquo;s best defenses</a>.&nbsp;
Still, on the roster, there isn&rsquo;t a clear long-term answer there as you continue to build this around the already extended Luka Dončić and, for now, the seemingly bought-in Kristaps Porziņģis. Enter Holmes, who is signed through at least the 2023-24 season. Powell and Kleber, who generally eat the lion&rsquo;s share of minutes next to KP, are both signed through 2022-23 before they&rsquo;d each become unrestricted free agents. Though Kleber makes $8.9 million this season and Powell is at $11 million, both work for Holmes mathematically straight up. Obviously, Dallas would attach at least one or two second-round draft picks, if not a protected first, to either guy (Powell more likely) and make it nearly a straight-up trade.&nbsp;
There&rsquo;s room to open this up further. Buddy Hield makes $22.5 million this season, and his contract descends to $20 and $18 million until it expires in the summer of 2024. Tim Hardaway Jr., who Dallas extended this past summer and <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33148625/dallas-mavericks-tim-hardaway-jr-ruled-game-left-foot-injury" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is now out with a fractured left foot</a>, makes $21 million this year but is also on a descending deal that drops to $19.6, $17.9, and $16.1 million through the 2024-25 season. Both struggling shooting guards probably aren&rsquo;t long for their organizations, even as they were both recently extended. Hardaway Jr. was also moved to the bench for Jalen Brunson, who&rsquo;s facing a contract situation of his own given his pending free agency (keep him, Dallas).&nbsp;
So there&rsquo;s a path to this becoming a Powell and Hardaway plus draft picks for Holmes and Hield exchange. Holmes is the type of hustling, dirty-work, efficient and quality center that the Mavericks could use. Unlike in 2K, you can trade injured players in real life &mdash; sorry Tim. Just imagine the push shots off Luka feeds.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
death, taxes, and richaun holmes hitting 62.5% of his push shots (20-of-32) <a href="https://t.co/iGH0xuA7Gn">pic.twitter.com/iGH0xuA7Gn</a>
&mdash; Dan Favale (@danfavale) <a href="https://twitter.com/danfavale/status/1465715242952900614?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Toronto Raptors
I mean, could you think of a more Raptor-ass center than Holmes? Who better be run with Fred VanVleet, Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam and Gary Trent Jr.?&nbsp;
Now, how do you make this happen? First, with that being the Raptors&rsquo; starting five, where does Holmes fit? Well, it&rsquo;s really their starting five out of necessity because Precious Achiuwa hasn&rsquo;t had the second NBA season they&rsquo;d been hoping for. Ideally, you&rsquo;d still want an actual center in that mix as one of your top six minutes getters so that you have a bit more reliable size. The Raptors don&rsquo;t currently have a true center you could trust for extended periods, and Holmes fills that void.&nbsp;
Now, regarding trade pieces, Chris Boucher is on a $7 million expiring contract, and Khem Birch is on the first of a three-year, $19 million contract, which lands him at $6.3 million this season. Combining those two does work, and it would obviously have to come with considerable draft capital, but even the Kings would probably ask wtf are they going to do with that and have a point.&nbsp;
Remove Birch and insert Achiuwa? That works &ndash; would the Raptors already want to move off the centerpiece of their Kyle Lowry trade, who is just due $2.8 million next year with a $4.3 million team option the season after? I mean, maybe? It would certainly help preserve some draft capital in a hypothetical Holmes trade and, you figure, if you&rsquo;re acquiring a center Achiuwa would have a tougher time seeing minutes anyway. But that&rsquo;s generally what you&rsquo;d be looking at moving if you&rsquo;re Toronto: Boucher and Birch, Boucher and Achuiwa; Boucher, Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn, along with some combination of picks or a first-rounder, for Holmes.&nbsp;
And if I&rsquo;m Holmes, I&rsquo;m down for whatever, as long as I could leave Sacramento.&nbsp;
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Bonus: Golden State Warriors
Okay &hellip; here we go.
There&rsquo;s really only one way to do this, and it&rsquo;s using James Wiseman&rsquo;s $9.1 million salary this season straight up. Y&rsquo;all could determine what picks may or may not go where, but these are the two names because the Golden State Warriors don&rsquo;t have much middle-class salary to use, nor do they probably want to shake up their roster a ton, including even this. But if they determine that Wiseman, who hasn&rsquo;t played since Apr. 10 of last year due to a torn meniscus that <a href="https://theathletic.com/news/warriors-james-wiseman-needed-additional-knee-surgery-in-december-sources/DyEHJgzTblrO/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">required additional arthroscopic surgery in December</a>, isn&rsquo;t worth waiting for, then there you have it.&nbsp;
Wiseman showed flashes, but struggled defensively as a rookie while only logging 39 games (though he posted 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds on 52% percent shooting in 21.4 minutes per contest). He&rsquo;ll turn 21 in March, and because of NCAA nonsense, we were only able to see him three times in college. Wiseman&rsquo;s due $9.6 million next year and will likely bank another $12.1 million, assuming his option gets accepted.
I&rsquo;m still a Wiseman stockholder, but I&rsquo;m also pro going for a championship now in this seemingly wide-open NBA season &mdash; an immediate upgrade at center might be what Golden State sees as a necessary step. It makes something like a possible Holmes deal reasonable to think twice about. Just sayin&rsquo;.
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Bryan Fonseca ponders a handful of teams who could be a good fit for Kings big man Richaun Holmes.

Examining potential trade destinations for Richaun Holmes

The first topic raised with Washington Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard the day after the team's season ended was the topic that will hang over the offseason until a decision is announced: Will coach Scott Brooks be back?
&ldquo;We're not doing anything about that today,&rdquo; Sheppard replied during a video conference with reporters on Thursday, before praising Brooks for &ldquo;keeping this team together through some of the most difficult, dark moments probably in franchise history.&rdquo;
Not surprisingly, Brooks said he wants to return; his five-year, $35 million contract is expiring.
&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t want to move on,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I love it here. I love the city.&rdquo;
It was, to be sure, a trying season for the Wizards, who started 0-5 along the way to 17-32 in early April. They dealt with a COVID-19 outbreak that put them on a two-week hiatus without games or practices plus had to find replacements after season-ending injuries to starting center Thomas Bryant and first-round draft pick Deni Avdija.
And then, with Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook leading the way on the court, Washington turned into a winning team. It went 17-6 down the stretch to finish with the eighth-best record in the Eastern Conference (34-38) and a play-in berth, then qualified for the playoffs, where they were eliminated in five games by the No. 1 seed Philadelphia 76ers.
&ldquo;We got to the playoffs. That was a great experience. But now that's no longer acceptable,&rdquo; Sheppard said. &ldquo;We have to be much better next season, and we will.&rdquo;
BROOKS
During his tenure, Washington is 183-207 in the regular season, a .469 winning percentage, and won one playoff series. But he was praised by Sheppard and his players alike for steering the team through this season. &ldquo;He did a job that I&rsquo;m pretty sure people didn&rsquo;t think he was able to do,&rdquo; said Westbrook, who previously was coached by Brooks with the Oklahoma City Thunder. &ldquo;He kept us together. He kept us encouraged. He kept us fighting.&rdquo;
BEAL
Beal is only the sixth player since the ABA-NBA merger to average at least 30 points in two consecutive seasons; he was the runner-up in the league scoring race each of the past two years. &ldquo;Eventually,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I want to be an MVP-caliber player.&rdquo; The All-Star shooting guard has one year left on his deal and frequently is asked whether he believes the Wizards are in position to have real postseason success. &ldquo;We've built this team around Bradley,&rdquo; Sheppard said.
WESTBROOK
There were plenty of questions about how Westbrook &mdash; who arrived in a trade that sent franchise cornerstone John Wall to Houston &mdash; would fit in with Beal and the Wizards. Brooks didn't have any concerns. And Beal enjoyed their partnership. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s so crazy to hear all the rumors of how difficult he would be to play with,&rdquo; Beal said. Westbrook not only led the league in assists, averaged a triple-double and broke Oscar Robertson's NBA record for most triple-doubles in a career, he gets credit from Brooks and Sheppard for helping the team's younger players. &ldquo;Having Russ here was unbelievable,&rdquo; Beal said. &ldquo;I've done nothing but cherish his presence from the moment he got here.&rdquo;
YOUTH
Westbrook spoke after the season-ending Game 5 loss at the 76ers on Wednesday night about noticing all of the young faces on the team flight to Philadelphia and asking some of his teammates how old they are. Players such as Rui Hachimura, 23, or Daniel Gafford, 22, or Avdija, 20. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not experienced right now,&rdquo; Brooks said, "but we gained a lot of experience."
SHEPPARD
As for his own future, Sheppard said, &ldquo;That's up to&rdquo; owner Ted Leonsis, but noted he is under contract and &ldquo;it's never been an issue.&rdquo; Heading into the offseason, Sheppard acknowledged the need for more depth and an athletic wing player as he does what he can to improve things. &ldquo;I'm not afraid,&rdquo; Sheppard said, &ldquo;to take big swings.&rdquo;
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

“We're not doing anything about that today,” Sheppard said before praising Brooks for “keeping this team together through some of the most difficult, dark moments probably in franchise history.”

Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard skirts topic of Scott Brooks' future after playoff exit

Etan Thomas, Dave Zirin, Drew Gooden and Tony Massenburg discuss what John Wall meant to D.C. and Russell Westbrook's fit on the Wizards.

Etan Thomas, Drew Gooden, Tony Massenburg, Dave Zirin on Wall-Westbrook deal

At this stage of his career, Jeremy Lin has experienced nearly everything that basketball has to offer.
From humble beginnings in the Bay Area to his insane &lsquo;Linsanity&rsquo; run in New York to enduring career-altering injuries to winning a title with the Raptors in 2019, Lin had a lengthy and fruitful NBA career.
Now, Lin is embarking on the next chapter of his pro-basketball career. Lin, whose parents are of Taiwanese descent, is determined to deliver a title to Taiwan.
The 35-year-old is playing with the New Taipei Kings in the East Asia Super League, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/east-asia-super-league-inside-a-basketball-startup-with-a-unique-vision" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a fast-growing league that features the best basketball clubs in East Asia</a>. They will face off against Japan&rsquo;s Chiba Jets in the semifinals, which will also feature teams from Korea and the Philippines.
Lin is no stranger to high-level basketball. After battling the best of the best throughout his time in the NBA, he's now leading the Kings against Asia&rsquo;s best. However, he lists two key differences between the style of basketball played in the NBA and EASL: spacing and physicality.
&ldquo;In the NBA, you have defense during the key and a longer three-point line and other stuff&hellip; so they promote a lot of spacing, they promote a lot of scoring [and] it's a lot easier getting into the paint," Lin said in an interview with BasketballNews.
The East Asia Super League is sanctioned by FIBA and uses its rules. In this setting, the three-point line is shorter, the court is smaller and there is no defensive three-second rule (which basically allows centers to play deep in the paint and camp under the rim).
Furthermore, Lin adds that the EASL is much more physical than the NBA: &ldquo;Here, it&rsquo;s much more physical. You get a lot more contact &ndash; you just gotta grind it more out here."
Finally, Lin stressed that the NBA&rsquo;s star power is just different. Facing all-world talents like Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and LeBron James makes the NBA different from every other league in the world.
&ldquo;Obviously the NBA, you&rsquo;re talking about world-class &ndash; the best of the best talent-wise," Lin said. "On any given night, you&rsquo;re seeing just insane talent. But, you know, that&rsquo;s not to say anything about the players not in the NBA because there are a ton of great players around the world, but you&rsquo;re seeing [Durant, Curry, LeBron] night in and night out and they&rsquo;re obviously phenomenal players."

Jeremy Lin, who's playing for the New Taipei Kings in the East Asia Super League, compares and contrasts the NBA and EASL.

Jeremy Lin shares ‘key’ differences between NBA and EASL basketball

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic rode atop a firetruck with people who mean&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/lionelbienvenu/status/1669395480961495040" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the world to him</a>&nbsp;&mdash; his teammate Jamal Murray, his family &mdash; and the NBA trophy.
Jokic and the Denver Nuggets soaked in the moment and were soaked, too, by champagne spray on Thursday during a parade through downtown Denver to celebrate their first NBA title.
His young daughter, Ognjena, stole the show as she sat in front of him on the firetruck, at times wearing Jokic&rsquo;s championship hat. Jokic turned in some big assists, too, shielding her from champagne showers.
This celebration has been a long time in the making and swarms of fans showed up. It took 47 seasons&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-aba-nuggets-9294860355b4db51adfb86ec3bce674e">in the NBA</a>&nbsp;for the franchise&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/DenverChannel/status/1669401885998997506" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">to finally make</a>&nbsp;Denver the home of the Larry O&rsquo;Brien Trophy.
And to think, Jokic was more concerned about when he could return home to Sombor, Serbia, than attending the parade. The player known as &ldquo;Joker&rdquo; changed his tune following the festivities.
&ldquo;This is amazing,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re all going to remember this our whole lives.&rdquo;
Near the end of the parade route, an officer was struck by a firetruck and suffered a serious leg injury,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/DenverPolice/status/1669443565330595845" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Denver Chief of Police Ron Thomas said</a>&nbsp;at a news conference. The officer was in serious and stable condition. Later in the day and after the parade, a shooting took place in the downtown area that injured two people. Thomas said the police didn&rsquo;t believe the incident was associated with the celebration. It follows&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/denver-shooting-nuggets-suspect-ee4869abf1afee855565f1c517bfae1f">a mass shooting in downtown</a>&nbsp;Denver after the Nuggets clinched the title Monday night. The shooting was likely sparked by a drug deal gone wrong, according to police.
The Nuggets capped off an impressive postseason by beating the Miami Heat in the Finals in Game 5. The Nuggets finished 16-4 in the playoffs, which was tied for the second-best mark by an NBA champion since the first round was expanded to best-of-seven in 2003. San Antonio also was 16-4 in 2007, and Golden State went 16-1 in 2017.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hitting me right now,&rdquo; said coach Michael Malone, who was choking up as he was interviewed shortly after climbing off his firetruck for the parade. &ldquo;This is an amazing experience.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got a crazy idea,&rdquo; added Malone, who was wearing a shirt that read &ldquo;Put this in your pipe and smoke it&rdquo; with a picture of the NBA trophy under it. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s do this again. I want to be on another float. I want to be at another parade and do this thing again.&rdquo;
This title and this parade is a tip of the cap to the team&rsquo;s ABA roots. It&rsquo;s also a tribute to all the players who ever wore the Nuggets&rsquo; iconic rainbow uniforms or any other version of the jersey.
There were so many scenes to absorb. There was rookie Christian Braun tossing his shirt into the crowd. Veteran DeAndre Jordan mingling with the fans, giving them high-fives. Murray signing a painting of himself. And Kentavious Caldwell-Pope playing the role of TV broadcaster when he interviewed teammate Aaron Gordon.
&ldquo;KCP, reporting live,&rdquo; he said, turning to Gordon on the Denver 7 broadcast. &ldquo;How does it feel to be a champion?&rdquo;
&ldquo;You would know, champ,&rdquo; Gordon responded to Caldwell-Pope.
Caldwell-Pope was the lone Nuggets player to have earned a championship, courtesy of his title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
That is, until now.
&ldquo;We really did this,&rdquo; said Murray, who returned to elite form this season after missing all of 2021-22 as he recovered from a torn ACL. &ldquo;We champs for life &mdash; champions for life.&rdquo;
Twenty miles away from the party downtown, the Broncos wrapped up their offseason program Thursday in relative isolation. Veteran safety Kareem Jackson said the Nuggets&rsquo; championship inspires them.
&ldquo;Yeah, definitely seeing another team in the same city win it all, and those guys had a great year. It&rsquo;s definitely encouraging for us. We definitely want to do the same thing,&rdquo; Jackson said.
Jokic is coming off an historic playoff performance, where he became the first player to lead the league in total points (600), rebounds (269) and assists (190) in a single postseason. The two-time NBA MVP added more hardware to his resume, too, capturing the Finals MVP.
He had that trophy next to him, too. Jokic momentarily&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1669171648136724482" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">misplaced it Monday night in the chaos of winning</a>&nbsp;a title.
Jokic was called up to the microphone to speak and serenaded with thunderous chants of &ldquo;MVP,&rdquo; &ldquo;MVP&rdquo; from the crowd.
&ldquo;Ok, ok, ok, ok,&rdquo; he said to quiet them down. &ldquo;Thank you. Thank you, though.&rdquo;
With the season now officially closed, Jokic will soon head home to spend time with his family and return to his other passion &mdash; horse racing. He&rsquo;s hoping to make it back in time to attend a harness race on Sunday.
This is the second straight June the city has held a parade. The Colorado Avalanche were the guests of honor last year after hoisting the Stanley Cup.

The Nuggets celebrated their first NBA championship on Thursday with a parade through downtown Denver.

Nuggets celebrate NBA title with parade through downtown Denver

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Never had two players from the same team had 30-point triple-doubles in the same game. Never in the regular season. Never in the playoffs. Certainly never in the NBA Finals.
Until now.
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray made history Wednesday night &mdash; and have the Denver Nuggets two wins away from making some real history as well.
Jokic and Murray became the first teammates in NBA Finals history to both record triple-doubles, and the Nuggets reclaimed the lead in the series by beating the Miami Heat 109-94 in Game 3.
&ldquo;By far, their greatest performance as a duo in their seven years together,&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone said, after his team moved two wins away from Denver&rsquo;s first title.
Jokic finished with 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists &mdash; the first such game in NBA Finals history, or at least the first since assists were tracked. Murray had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, getting the rebound he needed with 9 seconds remaining.
The Nuggets outrebounded the Heat 58-33, and took a 2-1 lead. Game 4 is Friday in Miami.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just glad that we won the game,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;It was a big one for us because they won in our arena. We just didn&rsquo;t want to go down 2-1.&rdquo;
Jimmy Butler scored 28 points for Miami, and Bam Adebayo finished with 22 points and 17 rebounds. Caleb Martin added 10 points.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to come out with more energy and effort and that&rsquo;s correctable,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s on us as a group.&rdquo;
Jokic and Murray combined for 24 field goals; Miami had 34. Jokic and Murray combined for 31 rebounds; Miami had 33. Jokic and Murray combined for 20 assists; Miami had exactly that many.
Somehow, some way, the Heat know they need to find an answer before Friday.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not an easy task to do,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;But if we want to win, we&rsquo;re going to have to figure it out.&rdquo;
Miami has been the comeback kings of these playoffs &mdash; seven rallies in games after trailing by at least 12 points. The Heat were down by 14 going into the fourth, and Malone reminded his club of Miami&rsquo;s penchant for comebacks.
&ldquo;First two games, they won the fourth quarter,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;Tonight, we win the fourth quarter, we win the game.&rdquo;
His team listened.
The lead eventually reached 21, the outcome never seriously in doubt, and Jokic looking very much like he&rsquo;s back in cruise control. The Heat got within nine on a 3-pointer by Duncan Robinson with 1:22 left, but there was no epic finish for Miami. Murray and Jokic had the Nuggets too far ahead to get caught.
&ldquo;You have to expect there to be elite talent in the finals,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;And both those guys are elite-level talent.&rdquo;
Officially, Jokic is now the seventh player to have two triple-doubles in the same finals. Magic Johnson and LeBron James each did it in three different finals. Draymond Green, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird and Butler all had one title series with two triple-doubles.
It was Jokic&rsquo;s 10th triple-double of these playoffs, extending his single-season record, and he was unbothered by whatever Miami threw his way. He finished 12 for 21 from the floor, 7 for 8 from the line, playing 44 minutes.
&ldquo;We were more locked in, more focused,&rdquo; Jokic said.
Christian Braun was tremendous off the bench for the Nuggets, scoring 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting in 19 minutes. Aaron Gordon added 11 for Denver.
And afterward, they both marveled at what their stars did in Game 3.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s greatness, man. It&rsquo;s greatness,&rdquo; Gordon said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a dynamic duo right there.&rdquo;
Added Braun: &ldquo;I would say that it&rsquo;s what they do every game.&rdquo;
Miami never led in the second half. A dunk by Adebayo put the Heat up 44-42 with 3:18 left in the half, before a 3-pointer by Murray represented the seventh and final lead change of the night. It was 53-48 at halftime, before Denver pushed the lead to double digits for the first time early in the third and wound up leading by as many as 19 later in that period.
The Heat stole home court by winning Game 2 in Denver, a game where Murray had a chance to force overtime with a 3-point try that missed at the end. The Nuggets now have the lead again, and there was no Game 2 hangover on Wednesday.
&ldquo;Not just me,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;Everybody bounced back.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Denver used Reggie Jackson in the first quarter, going nine deep in the opening 12 minutes for the first time since Game 2 of the West finals. ... Denver hadn&rsquo;t lost two consecutive games to Miami since March 14 and Nov. 30, 2016. Jokic played in both of those games, Murray in the second one early in his rookie season.
Heat: It was the first finals game in Miami since 2014. The Heat didn&rsquo;t have any &ldquo;home&rdquo; games in the 2020 finals, which were held in the NBA&rsquo;s restart bubble near Orlando. ... Wednesday was the 11th anniversary of LeBron James&rsquo; 45-point, 15-rebound, five-assist game at Boston in Game 6 of the East finals &mdash; staving off elimination. The Heat won Game 7 and went on to beat Oklahoma City for James&rsquo; first title.
HASLEM RECORD
Miami&rsquo;s Udonis Haslem &mdash; in his 20th and final season &mdash; set a record. He became the oldest player to appear in the NBA Finals, breaking the mark of 42 years, 58 days set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on June 13, 1989.
Haslem turns 43 on Friday. He played the final 29.8 seconds.
RARE COMPANY
Jokic had 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the first quarter. The only other players in the last 25 years to have that in any quarter of a finals game were Stephen Curry (12-7-5) for Golden State in the third quarter against Cleveland on June 4, 2017, and Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal (12-7-3) for the Los Angeles Lakers in the second quarter against Philadelphia on June 8, 2001.
CELEB WATCH
Former Heat player and NBA champion Mike Miller &mdash; now an agent &mdash; was at the game, along with one of his clients, Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/Pp_doesit/status/1666599282634260482?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Banchero tweeted</a>&nbsp;&ldquo;game ain&rsquo;t even started yet i&rsquo;m in here star struck.&rdquo;
DJ Khaled was in attendance, along with soccer greats Neymar and Paul Pogba (on the day Lionel Messi committed to play for Inter Miami), Shakira, Magic Johnson, J. Cole (who played a role in getting Caleb Martin to the Heat) and Dwyane Wade &mdash; who starred for Miami&rsquo;s title teams in 2006, 2012 and 2013.
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Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray made history Wednesday night — and have the Nuggets two wins away from making history as well.

Jokic, Murray have triple-doubles, Nuggets beat Heat 109-94 for 2-1 lead

Penn State hired VCU&rsquo;s Mike Rhoades on Wednesday to be its new men&rsquo;s basketball coach, bringing in the Pennsylvania native to take over a program coming off its first NCAA Tournament appearance in more than a decade.
A person involved in the decision told The Associated Press that Rhoades is receiving a seven-year contract. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because terms of the deal were not immediately released by the school.
Rhoades, from Mahanoy City in Eastern Pennsylvania, replaces Micah Shrewsberry, who was hired away by Notre Dame last week.
Shrewsberry, an Indiana native, was at Penn State for two seasons. The Nittany Lions went 23-14 this season, reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 and won an NCAA game for the first time since 2001.
Rhoades, 50, was 129-61 in six seasons as head coach at VCU, including three NCAA Tournament bids. He also spent three seasons at Rice, going 23-12 in the final year with the Owls before returning to VCU.
He was an assistant at the Richmond, Virginia, school from 2009-14 under then-head coach Shaka Smart.

Rhoades, 50, was 129-61 in six seasons as head coach at VCU, including three NCAA Tournament bids.

Penn State hires VCU’s Rhoades as men’s basketball coach

Notre Dame is finalizing a deal to make Penn State&rsquo;s Micah Shrewsberry its new men&rsquo;s basketball coach, two people with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The people spoke on condition of anonymity because contract details were still being completed and needed school approval.
Shrewsberry, in his second season at Penn State (23-14), led the Nittany Lions to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 and a tournament victory for the first time since 2001.
The Nittany Lions beat Texas A&amp;M and were eliminated by Texas in the second round.
Notre Dame has been searching for a replacement for Mike Brey, who spent the last 23 season as coach of the Fighting Irish. He announced in January that this would be his last season with Notre Dame
The Irish finished 11-21.
Shrewsberry grew up in Indianapolis and went to school at Division III Hanover College in Indiana.
He was the head coach at Indiana University South Bend, an NAIA school located in the same city as Notre Dame, from 2005-07.
He later worked as an assistant coach at Butler and Purdue, with a stint as an assistant with the Boston Celtics in between.
ESPN first reported Notre Dame was close to a deal with Shrewsberry.

Shrewsberry, in his second season at Penn State (23-14), led the Nittany Lions to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011.

Notre Dame to hire Penn State’s Micah Shrewsberry as coach

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns is moving closer to a return to the court in his recovery from a severely strained right calf muscle. (Editor's Note: Multiple reports have indiciated that he plans to return Wednesday night vs. the Atlanta Hawks.)
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ESPN Sources: After missing 51 games with a calf injury, Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns plans to make his return vs. the Atlanta Hawks tonight. Towns has been out since Nov. 28, and comes back with Minnesota ninth in the Western Conference playoff race.
&mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1638561192032497664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2023</a></blockquote>

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The Timberwolves listed Towns as questionable to play Wednesday against Atlanta on their injury report Tuesday, the first time since his injury he hasn&rsquo;t been declared out the day before the game. Towns has missed 52 games since he was hurt Nov. 28 at Washington.
The three-time All-Star posted a picture to his Twitter account last week of a caged lion with the caption, &ldquo;Me waiting to get cleared to play.&rdquo;
The Timberwolves have been without their other star, Anthony Edwards, for the last two games with a sprained right ankle. He&rsquo;s also listed as questionable for Wednesday.

Towns has not played in a game since he severely injured his calf Nov. 28 at Washington.

Report: Wolves star Karl-Anthony Towns to return Wednesday vs. Hawks

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Dylan Disu had a season-high 28 points on 14-for-20 shooting, steadying Texas down the stretch after a late Penn State surge and leading the Longhorns to their first regional in 15 years with a 71-66 victory in&nbsp;the second round&nbsp;of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night.
The second-seeded Longhorns (28-8) made just one of 13 shots from 3-point land, so Disu turned this one into a mid-range game. He went 5 for 5 over the final 4 1/2 minutes and grabbed 10 rebounds for good measure.
Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice scored 13 points for Texas, which will play the Pittsburgh-Xavier winner on Friday in the Midwest Region semifinals in Kansas City, Missouri. The 11th-seeded Panthers and third-seeded Musketeers meet on Sunday.
Camren Wynter had 16 points for the 10th-seeded Nittany Lions (23-14), who were coming off their first NCAA Tournament victory in 20 years. Second-team All-American Jalen Pickett had 11 points and 10 rebounds with seven turnovers.

Dylan Disu had a season-high 28 points, leading Texas to a 71-66 victory over Penn St. in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Dylan Disu’s 28 points lead Texas past Penn State, to Sweet 16

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Andrew Funk had the shooting game of his career on Penn State&rsquo;s biggest stage in over two decades.
Funk made 8 of 10 3-pointers and scored 27 points Thursday night in a 76-59 win over Texas A&amp;M for the Nittany Lions&rsquo; first NCAA Tournament victory in 22 years.
Funk, in his first year at Penn State after transferring from Bucknell, led the Nittany Lions to their ninth win in their last 11 games. They next play Texas in the second round of the Midwest Region on Saturday.
Penn State&rsquo;s previous tournament win was its second round upset of North Carolina in New Orleans in 2001. The Nittany Lions lost to Temple in the Sweet 16, and they lost to the Owls again when they returned to the tournament in 2011.
Texas A&amp;M (25-10) had won 10 of 12 as it entered its first NCAA Tournament since 2018. The Aggies lost in the first round for only the second time in nine appearances since 2006.
Dexter Dennis scored 19 points to lead A&amp;M, which shot 34%.
Funk was 0 for 5 on 3s in the Big Ten championship game last weekend. But he made his first 3-pointer against the Aggies, missed his second, and then hit six in a row. The streak ended when he put up an air ball on a desperation 3 as the shot clock was running out.
Jalen Pickett, the biggest star for Penn State (23-13), played another strong all-around game with 19 points, eight assists, no turnovers and seven rebounds.
Penn State led 38-22 after outscoring the Aggies 28-10 to close the first half. The Aggies hadn&rsquo;t scored so few points in a first half since a win over Notre Dame on Nov. 24, 2021.
The Lions&rsquo; offense ran just the way coach Micah Shrewsberry likes it, with the threat of 6-foot-10 Kebba Jjie in the post creating space on the perimeter for Funk, Myles Dread and Seth Lundy to do what they do best. Dread and Lundy had two 3s apiece and Penn State finished 13 of 22 from distance.
The Aggies have had trying times recently when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. Coach&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/aggiembk/status/1503950408561139717?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Buzz Williams was infamously miffed&nbsp;</a>when the Aggies weren&rsquo;t selected last year. This season they came in as a No. 7 seed, lower than Aggie faithful felt fair.
BIG PICTURE
Penn State: The Lions&rsquo; dominance in their first NCAA Tournament game since 2011 will only intensify the spotlight on second-year coach Shrewsberry, whose name has been connected to openings at Notre Dame and Georgetown.
Texas A&amp;M: The Aggies&rsquo; first appearance in the tournament in five years ended the same way as the last one &mdash; with a thud. They lost by 27 points to Michigan in the 2018 Sweet 16.
UP NEXT
Penn State will play Texas for the first time in men&rsquo;s basketball.

Andrew Funk made 8-of-10 threes and scored 27 points in Penn State's 76-59 win over Texas A&M on Thursday night.

Hot-shooting Funk leads Penn St. to first NCAA win since 2001

March Madness is here!
Alabama, Houston, Kansas and Purdue are <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/march-madness-alabama-houston-kansas-purdue-are-no-1-seeds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the No. 1 seeds</a>, and you can find <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2023-ncaa-tournament-mens-field-of-68-teams-announced" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the complete field of 68 teams here</a>. Here are four must-watch games to circle on your calendar:
No. 7 Texas A&amp;M (25-9) vs. No. 10 Penn State (22-13) - Thursday, 9:55 p.m. ET (TBS) 
The Aggies, who felt snubbed last season, are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018, and the Nittany Lions&rsquo; drought dated to 2011. Both flirted with league tournament titles and have been hot. Texas A&amp;M went 19-4 after a loss to Wofford and Penn State has won eight of 10.
No. 8 Arkansas (20-13) vs. No. 9 Illinois (20-12) - Thursday, 4:30 p.m. ET (TBS)
The Razorbacks have made back-to-back trips to the Elite Eight. Top prospect and potential top NBA draft pick Nick Smith Jr. has only played in 14 games because of knee issues, but has scored 20-plus in half of the team&rsquo;s last six. Illinois won the Big Ten season title before being ousted by Penn State in the first round of the league tournament. Illinois is led by transfers Terrence Shannon Jr. (Texas Tech) and Matthew Mayer, who helped lead Baylor to the 2021 national championship.
No. 5 Miami (25-7) vs. Drake (27-7) - Friday, 7:35 p.m. ET (TBS) 
The game features two conference players of the year, Miami&rsquo;s Isaiah Wong in the ACC for the regular-season co-champions, and Drake&rsquo;s Tucker DeVries from the Missouri Valley Conference tournament champs. DeVries is averaging 19 points while Wong leads the team in scoring (16.2 points per game), assists and steals. Drake made the Elite Eight three years running, though it has been a while (1969-71).
No. 6 Kentucky (21-11) vs. No. 11 Providence (21-11) - Friday, 7:10 p.m. ET. (CBS) 
Led by last year&rsquo;s AP player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe, the Wildcats are trying to avoid back-to-back first-round exits after that <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-saint-peters-upsets-kentucky-b0fdd8fbd0ea432a9b6150f0cd8e6b22">infamous defeat to Saint Peter&rsquo;s</a>. The Friars, meanwhile, went to the Sweet 16 before losing to eventual champion Kansas. They&rsquo;re led by Kentucky transfer Bryce Hopkins
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-68 h2 Component-p-0-2-59">HOW TO WATCH</h2>
Every game of the men&rsquo;s NCAA Tournament will be aired somewhere, either on CBS, TBS, TNT or TruTV and their digital platforms. CBS will have the Final Four semifinals and national title game this year.
The NCAA will again stream games via its <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.ncaa.com/march-madness-live/watch" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">March Madness Live</a>&nbsp;option and CBS games will be streamed on&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.paramountplus.com/?cbsclick=RkU0dMQ2hxyNUNywAHQtQWBGUkARVq1ZRVtfWU0&amp;vndid=1357318&amp;clickid=1357318&amp;sharedid=&amp;ftag=PPM-09-10aag1f&amp;cbscidmt=premium&amp;dclid=CMSex4DM1f0CFYQGaAgdW3UFng" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Paramount+</a>.
There are multiple sites listing game times, channel and announcing team, including the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.ncaa.com/mens-final-four/broadcast-info" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NCAA</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/2023-march-madness-tv-schedule-announcers-how-to-watch-ncaa-tournament-tip-times-tv-channels-bracket/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CBS.</a>&nbsp;

March Madness is here! Here are four must-watch NCAA Tournament games to circle on your calendar.

March Madness: 4 must-watch games in first round of NCAA Tournament

With five conference tournament finals capping a wild week of men's college hoops, Sunday afternoon officially marked the end of the 2022-23 men's college basketball regular season, which means only one thing: March Madness is upon us.
Princeton (Ivy), Virginia Commonwealth (A-10), Alabama (SEC), Purdue (Big Ten) and Memphis (AAC) punched their official ticket to the men's 2023 NCAA Tournament to round out the group of 32 receiving an automatic bid.
Those teams joined: Vermont (America East), Duke (ACC), Kennesaw State (ASUN), Texas (Big 12), Marquette (Big East), Montana State (Big Sky), UNC Asheville (Big South), UC Santa Barbara (Big West), College of Charleston (CAA), Florida Atlantic (C-USA), Northern Kentucky (Horizon), Iona (MAAC), Kent State (MAC), Howard (MEAC), Drake (Missouri Valley), San Diego State (Mountain West), Fairleigh Dickinson (Northeast), Southeast Missouri State (Ohio Valley), Arizona (Pac-12), Colgate (Patriot), Furman (Southern), Texas A&amp;M Corpus Christi (Southland), Texas Southern (SWAC), Oral Roberts (Summit), Louisiana (Sun Belt), Gonzaga (WCC), Grand Canyon (WAC).
The selection committee revealed at 6 p.m. that the No. 1 overall seed is Alabama. The other three top seeds are Houston, Kansas and Purdue.
The First Four in Dayton will consist of a 16-seed matchup between Texas A&amp;M Corpus Christi and Southeast Missouri State plus an 11-seed matchup between Mississippi State and Pittsburgh. In the other two games, there will be a 16-seed matchup between Texas Southern and Fairleigh Dickinson and an 11-seed matchup between Arizona State and Nevada.
Who else was invited to join The Big Dance on the road to the Final Four in Houston?
Following Selection Sunday, here is the official field of 68 in the men's 2023 NCAA Tournament:
South Region
(1) Alabama Crimson Tide vs. (16) Texas A&amp;M Corpus Christi Islanders/Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
(8) Maryland Terrapins vs. (9) West Virginia Mountaineers
(5) San Diego State Aztecs vs. (12) College of Charleston Cougars
(4) Virginia Cavaliers vs. (13) Furman Palladins
(6) Creighton Blue Jays vs. (11) NC State Wolfpack
(3) Baylor Bears vs. (14) UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
(7) Missouri Tigers vs. (10) Utah State Aggies
(2) Arizona Wildcats vs. (15) Princeton Tigers
Midwest Region
(1) Houston Cougars vs. (16) Northern Kentucky Norse
(8) Iowa Hawkeyes vs. (9) Auburn Tigers
(5) Miami Hurricanes vs. (12) Drake Bulldogs
(4) Indiana Hoosiers vs. (13) Kent State Golden Flashes
(6) Iowa State Cyclones vs. (11) Mississippi State Bulldogs/Pittsburgh Panthers
(3) Xavier Musketeers vs. (14) Kennesaw State Owls
(7) Texas A&amp;M Aggies vs. (10) Penn State Nittany Lions
(2) Texas Longhorns vs. (15) Colgate Raiders
West Region
(1) Kansas Jayhawks vs. (16) Howard Bison
(8) Arkansas Razorbacks vs. (9) Illinois Fighting Illini
(5) Saint Mary's Gaels vs. (12) VCU Rams
(4) UConn Huskies vs. (13) Iona Gaels
(6) TCU Horned Frogs vs. (11) Arizona State Sun Devils/Nevada Wolfpack
(3) Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. (14) Grand Canyon Antelopes
(7) Northwestern Wildcats vs. (10) Boise State Broncos
(2) UCLA Bruins vs. (15) UNC Asheville Bulldogs
East Region
(1) Purdue Boilermakers vs. (16) Texas Southern Tigers/Fairleigh Dickinson Knights
(8) Memphis Tigers vs. (9) Florida Atlantic Owls
(5) Duke Blue Devils vs. (12) Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
(4) Tennessee Volunteers vs. (13) Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
(6) Kentucky Wildcats vs. (11) Providence Friars
(3) Kansas State Wildcats vs. (14) Montana State Bobcats
(7) Michigan State Spartans vs. (10) USC Trojans
(2) Marquette Golden Eagles vs. (15) Vermont Catamounts
THE BRACKET
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&mdash; NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1635049575483580416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2023</a>
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An overview of the official men's 2023 NCAA Tournament schedule and March Madness matchups on the road to Houston.

2023 NCAA Tournament: Men's field of 68 teams announced

Longtime pro Jordan Crawford opens up to Spencer Davies about his unpleasant NBA experience, his Detroit connection and more.

Ex-NBA pro Jordan Crawford has a story to tell — and a whole lot more

Jim Boeheim enrolled at Syracuse in 1962. Played there until 1966. Started coaching there in 1969. Took over the program as head coach in 1976.
Put simply, he was Syracuse basketball.
Until now.
The Basketball Hall of Famer&rsquo;s 47-year tenure as coach at Syracuse came to an awkward end on Wednesday, with the university saying Orange associate head coach and former Syracuse player Adrian Autry has been promoted to the job. The Orange moved quickly, making the announcement less than three hours after&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wake-forest-syracuse-dcb7b6ea899dfee2b805972b1ba60897" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Syracuse lost to Wake Forest</a>&nbsp;in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. And if Boeheim knew the announcement was coming, he didn&rsquo;t let on at what was his final postgame news conference.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s up to the university,&rdquo; Boeheim said. &ldquo;They have to make their decision, and it&rsquo;s up to them.&rdquo;
The university didn&rsquo;t wait long before making the decision public, saying in part: &ldquo;Today, as his 47th season coaching his alma mater comes to an end, so too does his storied career at Syracuse University. Associate head coach Adrian Autry &rsquo;94, one of Boeheim&rsquo;s former players and longtime assistant, has been named the program&rsquo;s next head coach.&rdquo;
Autry has been on Boeheim&rsquo;s staff since 2011, and held the title of associate head coach since March 2017.
&ldquo;There have been very few stronger influential forces in my life than Syracuse University and Jim Boeheim,&rdquo; Autry said. &ldquo;They have both played such important roles and without either of them, I am certain I would not have this incredible opportunity before me.&rdquo;
The 78-year-old Boeheim&rsquo;s record in his 47 seasons, officially, was 1,015-441. That reflects 101 wins taken away by the NCAA for violations between the 2004-07 and 2010-12 seasons.
Whether the count was 1,015 or 1,116, only now-retired Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski had more wins than Boeheim at the Division I level. Boeheim led the Orange to the 2003 national title &mdash; Carmelo Anthony&rsquo;s lone season in Syracuse &mdash; and saw 46 of his players get taken in NBA drafts. Among them: Anthony, Derrick Coleman, Rony Seikaly, Dion Waiters, Billy Owens, Sherman Douglas and Pearl Washington. Boeheim also was a USA Basketball assistant under Krzyzewski on the teams that won Olympic gold medals in 2008, 2012 and 2016.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been very lucky to be able to coach my college team, to play and then be an assistant coach and then a head coach, never having to leave Syracuse,&rdquo; Boeheim said in that postgame news conference, one in which he hinted at retirement, then hinted at returning. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great university.&rdquo;
He has, in many ways, been the face of that university. Boeheim and his wife Juli, through their family foundation, have raised millions for children&rsquo;s causes across Central New York. He helped champion what became known as the &ldquo;Coaches vs. Cancer&rdquo; phenomenon with the American Cancer Society.
The 2-3 zone defense he used almost exclusively caused opponents fits for decades. His dedication was unwavering; the best examples were how he returned to work earlier than doctors wanted after he was treated for prostate cancer in December 2001 &mdash; the team was struggling and needed him, Boeheim said at the time &mdash; and how he went to work at 12:01 a.m. on the day his nine-game suspension for NCAA violations was lifted during the 2015-16 season.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s given his heart and soul to that school,&rdquo; said Washington coach Mike Hopkins, a former Boeheim assistant. &ldquo;Still surprised they don&rsquo;t have a statue made of him in the middle of campus. When you think of Syracuse University, you think of Jim Boeheim and you think of the Carrier Dome, and now both of those will be gone, which is very sad.&rdquo;
The dome still stands, just with a different name. The program will continue, just with a different coach. For the first time since 1976, someone other than Boeheim is now the head coach of the Orange.
&ldquo;Jim has invested and dedicated the majority of his life to building this program, cultivating generations of student-athletes and representing his alma mater with pride and distinction,&rdquo; Chancellor Kent Syverud said in a statement distributed by the school.
Boeheim has been synonymous with Syracuse for more than six decades. He was born in the central New York town of Lyons, not far from Syracuse. He enrolled at the school in 1962 as a walk-on, eventually becoming a captain of the then-Orangemen along with Dave Bing.
In 1969, he was hired at Syracuse as a graduate assistant. And on April 3, 1976, he took the program over after Roy Danforth left for Tulane. Boeheim has led the program since; even the court at the dome where Syracuse plays its home games has bore his name since 2002.
&ldquo;There will never be another Jim Boeheim,&rdquo; Buddy Boeheim, one of Boeheim&rsquo;s sons who played for him at Syracuse, tweeted Wednesday. &ldquo;The greatest coach, father, and mentor I could ever ask for. A man that gave a city, program, and university everything he had his whole life with countless accomplishments. Excited for a lot of golf in our future, love you pops.&rdquo;
The Orange were 17-15 this season and will miss the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive season. That led to criticism, which led to questions about Boeheim&rsquo;s future, and what the school would ultimately decide.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an honor to play for Coach Boeheim,&rdquo; Syracuse&rsquo;s Benny Williams said after the loss to Wake Forest.
A low point came in November 2011. Bernie Fine, then Syracuse&rsquo;s associate head coach, was fired after being accused of sexual abuse by two former Syracuse ballboys. Boeheim initially called the ballboys liars out to get money, then apologized for being insensitive to victims of abuse and took responsibility. Fine was never charged.
Syracuse reached the NCAA Tournament 35 times under Boeheim, went to the Final Four in five of those appearances, won 10 Big East regular-season titles and five more titles in that conference&rsquo;s tournament.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been just so lucky to be able to coach at Syracuse, a place I love, I place I love to live,&rdquo; Boeheim said. &ldquo;People keep wondering about that, but maybe that&rsquo;s a flaw I have. But I&rsquo;ve lived in Syracuse my whole life, and I&rsquo;ll live there hopefully a long time into the future. I think it&rsquo;s a great place.&rdquo;
Reaction was mixed when word of the coaching change reached the Syracuse campus.
Chris Davis, a freshman, wondered if a coach change will hurt the Orange.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s disappointing to be honest,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;It hurts the students who are here. To see him gone is heartbreaking.&rdquo;
Senior Gracie Carrigan was surprised by the move, saying, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s shocking. He had such a great career. You almost thought he&rsquo;d be here forever, so it&rsquo;s shocking that it&rsquo;s actually happening.&rdquo;
Added freshman Benjamin Perle said: &ldquo;Obviously, massive shoes to fill. I have faith in coach Autry and the coaching staff.&rdquo;
Syracuse clearly has faith in Autry as well.
He played in 121 games in his four seasons for Boeheim, then spent more than a decade on the bench with his former coach.
&ldquo;I have spent much of my time in the game of basketball learning from Jim and am so grateful to him for preparing me to carry on the winning tradition that is Orange Basketball,&rdquo; Autry said.

The Hall-of-Famer’s 47-year tenure as Syracuse's head coach came to an end on Wednesday, with Adrian Autry replacing Boeheim.

Jim Boeheim’s long career at Syracuse ends, Adrian Autry takes over

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Jamal Shead scored 16 points, including the winning basket as time ran out, and top-ranked Houston won its 11th straight game, escaping a second-half rally to beat Memphis 67-65 in the teams&rsquo; regular-season finale.
Shead beat the buzzer with his jumper from just inside the 3-point line. Nine seconds earlier, Memphis&rsquo; Kendric Davis drove to the basket and tied the game at 65. Houston chose not to call timeout, and Shead gave the Cougars (29-2, 17-1 American Athletic Conference) the win.
Tramon Mark matched Shead&rsquo;s 16 points, while Marcus Sasser finished with 13 for Houston.
Davis led Memphis (23-8, 13-5) with 26 points, while Chandler Lawson added 10.
NO. 5 PURDUE 76, ILLINOIS 71
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Newman scored 19 points, Zach Edey added 17 and Purdue held on to beat Illinois and become the first team to win the Big Ten title by three or more games since 2014.
Braden Smith added 15 points for the Boilermakers (26-5, 15-5), who led by 24 early in the second half before the Illini rallied.
Matthew Mayer led the Illini (20-11, 11-9) with 16 points, followed by Terrence Shannon Jr. with 13, Sencire Harris with 11 and Luke Goode with 10.
The Boilermakers shot 62% for a 47-26 lead at halftime, but cooled to 29% in the second half. Mayer tied the game at 67 with 1:17 to go, but Edey&rsquo;s layup gave Purdue a 69-67 edge.
NO. 15 INDIANA 75, MICHIGAN 73, OT
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Trayce Jackson-Davis had 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists in his final home game, and Indiana forced a steal on Michigan&rsquo;s final possession of overtime.
The Hoosiers (21-10, 12-8) clinched a double bye in Friday&rsquo;s Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals by rebounding from their most lopsided home loss since 2017.
Hunter Dickinson had 24 points and 14 rebounds for Michigan (17-14, 11-9). Kobe Bufkin added 19 points and six rebounds, but the Wolverines wound up getting swept in the season series. It was the second straight overtime loss for Michigan.
Seniors Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson and Miller Kopp scored all six Indiana points in overtime.
PENN STATE 65, NO. 21 MARYLAND 64
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) &mdash; Camren Wynter made a layup with less than a second remaining to lift Penn State over Maryland.
Jalen Pickett scored 16 points, Andrew Funk had 14 and Myles Dread had 11 for the Nittany Lions (19-12, 10-10 Big Ten), who trailed by as many as 16 late in the first half.
Jahmir Young scored 14 of his 26 points in the second half for the Terps (20-11, 11-9), who entered the afternoon looking to earn the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament. Julian Reese had 12 points for the Terps, while Don Carey and Ian Martinez added 11 each.

A recap of three games in top-25 men's action Sunday includes a game-winner from the top team in the country.

No. 1 Houston nips Memphis 67-65 for 11th straight win

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Braden Smith scored a career-high 24 points to lead No. 1 Purdue to an 87-73 victory over Iowa on Thursday night.
Smith, a freshman guard, shot 8 of 10 &mdash; including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Zach Edey scored 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Edey, who was averaging 22.4 points entering the game, had just four points until the final 8 1/2 minutes. Edey grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds, and Caleb Furst added 10 rebounds as Purdue held a 43-23 edge.
Fletcher Loyer scored 17 points, Furst 11 and Mason Gillis 10 for the Boilermakers (23-2, 12-2 Big Ten).
Kris Murray led Iowa with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting, and Filip Rebraca had 17 for the Hawkeyes (15-9, 7-6).
NO. 4 ARIZONA 85, CALIFORNIA 62
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Azuolas Tubelis had 23 points, 14 rebounds and four steals for his 11th double-double of the season to lead Arizona.
Pelle Larsson added 16 points to help the Wildcats (22-3, 11-3 Pac-12) to their seventh win in a row and 13th straight over Cal. Oumar Ballo had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Cedric Henderson Jr. chipped in 11 and eight boards.
Sam Alajiki scored 12 points to lead the Bears (3-21, 2-11), who dropped their eighth in a row. Lars Thiemann added 10 points and eight rebounds.
NO. 7 UCLA 62, OREGON STATE 47
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Amari Bailey scored a career-high 24 points to lead UCLA past Oregon State.
Bailey, a freshman guard, was 10 of 16 from the field and scored 18 points in the second half.
Jaylen Clark added 16 points and three steals for the Bruins (20-4, 11-2 Pac-12), who lead the conference in scoring defense.
Jordan Pope led the Beavers (9-16, 3-11) with 17 points.
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT 78, NO. 15 ST. MARY&rsquo;S 74
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Cam Shelton scored all of his career-high 31 points after halftime, enough to overcome him mistakenly taking a timeout late in overtime and lead Loyola Marymount.
Loyola Marymount (17-9, 7-5 West Coast Conference) had lost 21 straight to Saint Mary&rsquo;s and trailed 16-0 less than six minutes into this game.
Shelton scored 24 of the Lions&rsquo; final 31 points, including a tying layup with two seconds left in regulation. Alex Merkviladze added 15 points for Loyola Marymount, three weeks after it won at then-No. 6 Gonzaga.
Logan Johnson scored a career-high 31 points and Aidan Mahaney had 24 for Saint Mary&rsquo;s (21-4, 10-1), which had won 12 in a row. The Gaels were coming off a win over then-No. 12 Gonzaga on Saturday.
NO 16 GONZAGA 99, SAN FRANCISCO 81
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Rasir Bolton had 23 points and six assists, Drew Timme scored 21 and Gonzaga beat San Francisco.
Gonzaga (20-5, 9-2 West Coast Conference) extended its streak of seasons with at least 20 wins to 26, bouncing back from last weekend&rsquo;s overtime loss at No. 15 Saint Mary&rsquo;s.
Khalil Shabazz led San Francisco (15-12, 4-8) with 25 points and Tyrell Roberts added 16. The Dons have lost 26 straight to Gonzaga.

A recap of Thursday night's action in men's college hoops includes the Boilermakers holding their ground at the top of the standings.

No. 1 Purdue has five players in double figures, tops Iowa 87-73

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Colin Castleton is accustomed to being double-teamed every time he touches the ball, so he was pleasantly surprised &mdash; maybe even downright stunned &mdash; when Tennessee opted to guard him with a single defender in the second half.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to take advantage of that,&rdquo; Castleton said.
He did. Castleton scored 20 points, including 16 in the second half, and Florida upended the second-ranked Volunteers 67-54 on Wednesday night.
Kyle Lofton added 14 points for the Gators, who delivered coach Todd Golden his most significant victory in his first season in Gainesville. It was Florida&rsquo;s second Quad 1 win in the last two weeks.
The Volunteers, playing with their highest ranking in four years, lost for the first time in five games. They had won nine of 10.
&ldquo;Our guys are disappointed,&rdquo; Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re better than this, but tonight we weren&rsquo;t.&rdquo;
Tennessee (18-4, 7-2 Southeastern Conference) looked like it had taken control midway through the second half. They outscored Florida by 10 points in the early going to take a six-point lead.
But the Gators (13-9, 6-3) stormed back behind Castleton, who scored 11 of 14 points as Florida rallied. The senior had a dunk, two free throws, a three-point play, a layup and a short jumper &mdash; essentially putting the team on his back down the stretch.
&ldquo;They went small, and I felt like I had a mismatch,&rdquo; Castleton said.
Myreon Jones and Will Richard chipped in nine points apiece for the Gators.
Zakai Ziegler led the Vols with 15 points on 6-of-19 shooting. Olivier Nkamhoua added 11 points and nine rebounds for the visitors, who also got 11 points and eight boards from Vescovi Santiago.
The Gators were red hot to start the game, making six of their first eight shots &mdash; including all three from 3-point range &mdash; while building a 17-4 advantage. But they quickly cooled against the nation&rsquo;s best defense, missing nine of their next 11 as Tennessee made cut it to 22-21.
The Vols had it going coming out of the locker room, with Ziegler getting into the paint and making things happen. But it was short-lived &mdash; thanks mostly to Castleton.
&ldquo;We gave them a chance to start believing in what they&rsquo;re doing, and they took it,&rdquo; Barnes said.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Tennessee surely will drop a few spots in next week&rsquo;s AP Top 25 college basketball poll.
BIG PICTURE
Tennessee: The Volunteers gave up 10 points in the opening four minutes of the games, a rare sluggish start for the nation&rsquo;s best defense. Tennessee had held four of its first eight SEC opponents scoreless at the first media timeout, roughly the first four minutes of games. It was a sign of things to come.
&ldquo;We kept fighting uphill all night long,&rdquo; Barnes said.
Florida: The Gators are two games into the toughest stretch of their season. Coming off a loss at Kansas State, they have road games against Kentucky and Alabama up next. So to say they needed this one would be an understatement.
&ldquo;It was a desperation game,&rdquo; Castleton said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a tough schedule here and we&rsquo;ve got to win games. We were able to claw and fight.&rdquo;
IN THE HOUSE
Football coach Billy Napier watched the game from a few rows behind Florida&rsquo;s bench alongside his two sons and receiver Ricky Pearsall. Former Florida tennis star Ben Shelton, the NCAA singles champion in 2022, also was in attendance. So was former Gators and NFL quarterback Doug Johnson.
UP NEXT
Tennessee hosts No. 25 Auburn and former coach Bruce Pearl on Saturday.
Florida plays at Kentucky on Saturday. The Gators have lost seven of eight in the series.
NO. 1 PURDUE 80, PENN STATE 60
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Mason Gillis broke the Mackey Arena record by making nine 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 29 points as Purdue beat Penn State.
Gillis went 10 of 14 from the field and 9 of 12 from beyond the arc. Zach Edey added his 18th double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
The Big Ten-leading Boilermakers (22-1, 11-1) have won nine straight overall, six straight in the series and are the only Power Five team with fewer than two losses this season.
Seth Lundy had 18 points to lead the Nittany Lions (14-8, 5-6).
NO. 14 MARQUETTE 73, VILLANOVA 64
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (AP) &mdash; Tyler Kolek scored 20 points and Marquette rallied down the stretch to beat Villanova and maintain a share of the Big East lead.
Kam Jones added 18 points for Marquette (18-5, 10-2), which has won four straight games and nine of 10.
Eric Dixon and Caleb Daniels scored 14 each for Villanova (10-12, 4-7), which committed a season-high 19 turnovers. Brendan Hausen added 12 points.
In a game neither team led by more than six until the final minute, Kolek put Marquette ahead for good at 63-62 by sinking two free throws with 4:32 remaining, starting a 10-0 spurt.
NO. 16 XAVIER 85, NO. 17 PROVIDENCE 83, OT
CINCINNATI (AP) &mdash; Jack Nunge had 23 points and 14 rebounds as Xavier held off Providence in overtime.
Colby Jones and Souley Boum each scored 20 for the Musketeers, who won a first-place showdown in the Big East without injured forward Zach Freemantle.
Noah Locke had 22 points and Ed Croswell added 21 for Providence (17-6, 9-3), which had beaten Xavier three straight times.
A layup by Boum put the Musketeers (18-5, 10-2) ahead 82-79 with 51 seconds remaining in overtime. A layup by Devin Carter cut Xavier&rsquo;s lead to one with 24 seconds left. Boum hit one of two free throws, and Jared Bynum&rsquo;s 3-point attempt from the left corner rimmed out at the buzzer.
NO. 25 AUBURN 94, GEORGIA 73
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Johni Broome scored 19 points and matched a career high with 18 rebounds, Allen Flanigan scored a season-high 22 points, and Auburn beat Georgia.
Wendell Green Jr. added 18 points and six assists and made two 3-pointers during a 17-0 first-half run for the Tigers (17-5, 7-2 Southeastern Conference).
Broome secured his seventh double-double of the season with 2:54 remaining in the first half, then added six points and six rebounds in the second half.
Mardrez McBride led the Bulldogs (14-8, 4-5) with 20 points.

A recap of Wednesday night's action in men's college basketball includes an impressive upset in SEC play from the Gators.

Florida upends No. 2 Tennessee 67-54 behind Colin Castleton

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Cam Shelton banked in a go-ahead runner with 13 seconds left and Loyola Marymount snapped No. 6 Gonzaga&rsquo;s 75-game home winning streak with a 68-67 victory on Thursday night.
The home streak for the Bulldogs (16-4, 5-1 West Coast Conference) was tied with Long Beach State (from 1968-74) for the eighth-longest in Division I history.
Shelton scored 27 points to lead the Lions (14-7, 4-3), who hadn&rsquo;t won in Spokane since 1991 and had lost 25 straight overall to the Zags.
Gonzaga had won 93 straight games against unranked opponents with 69 of those coming at home, and had won its previous 116 WCC games against teams other than Saint Mary&rsquo;s and BYU.
Gonzaga&rsquo;s streak of 36 straight wins in the month of January also ended. Coach Mark Few&rsquo;s Bulldogs had won 11 straight overall, the fourth-best streak in the country, since losing 64-63 to Baylor on Dec. 2.
Jalin Anderson added 15 points and Keli Leaupepe had 11 for the Lions. Loyola Marymount led by as many as nine in the second half and held off Gonzaga&rsquo;s late run.
LMU led 66-59 with 2:55 left after Shelton&rsquo;s 3-pointer, but the Zags scored the next eight points to take 67-66 lead on Drew Timme&rsquo;s free throw with 41 seconds left. With the shot clock running down, Shelton converted a runner from just outside the lane to give the Lions the lead, and Timme&rsquo;s last attempt at a winner was partly blocked by Leaupepe.
Timme led the Zags with 17 points. Nolan Hickman chipped in 12 points and six assists for the Zags, who were coming off a 115-75 win over Portland last Saturday.
Gonzaga struggled from the field, shooting 44.4% overall and going 4 of 14 (28.6%) from 3-point range and 15 of 23 (65.2%) from the free-throw line.
BIG PICTURE
The Lions improved to 2-2 on the road in WCC play.
Gonzaga had won 29 of its last 30 over Loyola Marymount.
UP NEXT
Loyola Marymount: Hosts Portland next Thursday night.
Gonzaga: At Pacific on Saturday night.

Cam Shelton banked in a runner with 13 seconds left and Loyola Marymount snapped Gonzaga’s 75-game home winning streak.

Loyola Marymount ends No. 6 Gonzaga’s 75-game home streak

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Marcus Carr tied a Texas record with 10 3-pointers and matched his career high with 41 points as the sixth-ranked Longhorns beat Texas A&amp;M-Commerce 97-72 on Tuesday night.
Carr, a senior, previously scored 41 while playing for Minnesota against Nebraska on Feb. 27, 2021. He scored 33 points in the first half alone Tuesday, matching a Texas record for a half set by Jim Krivacs in 1978.
Carr&rsquo;s total was the most by a Texas player since Reggie Freeman had 43 points against Fresno State on Dec. 14, 1996.
&ldquo;We wanted to make Texas beat us from 3,&rdquo; A&amp;M-Commerce coach Jaret von Rosenberg said. &ldquo;Carr really had a night. The rim looked like an ocean for him.&rdquo;
Texas (11-1) played its fourth straight game without coach Chris Beard, who was suspended without pay after his Dec. 12 arrest on a felony family violence charge. It was the Longhorns&rsquo; first game since Beard&rsquo;s fianc&eacute;e, Randi Trew, issued a statement saying Beard did not strangle her and she never wanted him arrested or prosecuted.
Carr converted 13 of 19 shots in 30 minutes, including 10 of 15 3-pointers. He has totaled 103 points in his last four games. He made eight 3s in the first half, a school record for a half, as the Longhorns led 47-29 at the break.
&ldquo;Most of the shots that I put up felt really good,&rdquo; Carr said. &ldquo;I thought they were going in. My teammates just kept giving me confidence after they&rsquo;d seen me knock down the first couple. They just said, &lsquo;We&rsquo;re going to look for you. Keep shooting. Keep knocking them down.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Carr attempted only four shots in the second half. He had two assists in each half.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;d think he&rsquo;d want to try to continue gunning, but he came out the opposite,&rdquo; acting coach Rodney Terry said. &ldquo;He was a willing passer.&rdquo;
Terry removed Carr with 3:26 remaining knowing he needed one more 3-pointer to break Al Coleman&rsquo;s school record set in 1997.
&ldquo;We need him on Saturday (at Oklahoma),&rdquo; Terry said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t need him the last three, four minutes of the game, and he turns his ankle. We need him healthy.&rdquo;
Carr said he became aware of the 3-point record when it was posted on the arena&rsquo;s video board.
&ldquo;Timmy (Allen) looked at me and said get one more,&rdquo; Carr said. &ldquo;Not to say I didn&rsquo;t want to break it. But it wasn&rsquo;t of as much importance to me. Honestly, at that point, I was really just focused on trying to get better on defense.&rdquo;
Freshman Dillon Mitchell scored a season-best 16 points for Texas, providing an inside complement to Carr&rsquo;s long-range shooting. Arterio Morris scored 12 points. Allen had eight points, eight assists and six rebounds. Tyrese Hunter also had eight assists.
C.J. Roberts scored 20 points to lead A&amp;M-Commerce (4-10). Tommie Lewis added 19 points for the Lions.
Carr is the first Longhorn other than Terry to be allowed to speak to the media since Beard&rsquo;s arrest.
&ldquo;Right now, R.T. is our coach. We&rsquo;re focused on being led by him. Obviously, it&rsquo;s an adjustment, but a good and smooth one,&rdquo; Carr said.
BIG PICTURE
Texas A&amp;M-Commerce: The Lions moved up to Division I this season, and the transition has not been easy. They played 13 of their first 14 games on the road or at neutral sites and have lost six straight by an average of 15.8 points. They attempt a lot of 3-pointers, 29 a game before Tuesday, with 27% accuracy. Texas limited A&amp;M-Commerce to 15 attempts. The Lions made seven, and they shot 53% overall.
Texas: The Longhorns have 73 assists on 101 baskets in their last three games. They made 28 assists on 37 baskets against A&amp;M-Commerce.
DISU UPDATE
The Longhorns caught a break when the left knee injury starting forward Dylan Disu suffered last week against Louisiana-Lafayette was diagnosed as a sprain and not something more serious. Disu had season-ending surgery to the same knee while playing for Vanderbilt in 2020-21. Disu practiced this week but did not play Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Texas A&amp;M-Commerce hosts Incarnate Word Saturday in its Southland Conference opener.
Texas is at Oklahoma Saturday for its Big 12 opener.

Carr’s total was the most by a Texas player since Reggie Freeman had 43 points against Fresno State on Dec. 14, 1996.

Carr hits 10 threes, scores 41, No. 6 Texas beats A&M-Commerce

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Nikola Vucevic had 29 points and 12 rebounds, DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points and the Chicago Bulls stopped a four-game slide by beating the short-handed Miami Heat 113-103 on Tuesday night.
Zach LaVine scored 21 and Coby White added 14 for the Bulls, who used a 30-7 run in the second half to take control.
Bam Adebayo made his first nine shots and scored 27 points. Adebayo also had 12 rebounds for the Heat, who got 19 points from Tyler Herro, 18 from Haywood Highsmith, 14 from Victor Oladipo and 13 from Duncan Robinson.
Miami was without three starters &mdash; Jimmy Butler (gastrointestinal illness), Kyle Lowry (left knee soreness) and Caleb Martin (sprained left ankle) &mdash; and had its season-best, four-game winning streak snapped.
And for one night, all was well with the Bulls again.
The 11-18 start entering Tuesday had clearly taken a toll. Players were confronting one another in the locker room at halftime of what became a 150-126 loss to Minnesota on Sunday, and Bulls coach Billy Donovan spent considerable time Tuesday discussing the state of the team.
&ldquo;Certainly, there&rsquo;s times where you can see guys are frustrated,&rdquo; Donovan said. &ldquo;But, to me, there&rsquo;s only one or two responses to that. Either try harder and fight harder, or be frustrated and have the same thing continue on. To me, frustration&rsquo;s a feeling. We&rsquo;ve got to stop worrying about feelings and start making choices.&rdquo;
Herro made a 3-pointer to open the second half and put Miami up by eight. Chicago responded with its 30-7 run, highlighted by 14 consecutive points in one stretch, and Patrick Williams' 3-pointer put the Bulls up 82-67.
The lead stayed in double digits for most of the rest of the way.
TIP-INS
Bulls: Chicago went 2-0 in its two trips to Miami this season, after winning on opening night back in October. ... The Bulls were outscored 36-21 in the second quarter. It was the 14th time they lost a quarter by more than 10 points this season; they had been 0-13 in such games before Tuesday. ... Former Heat guard Goran Dragic, as always, got a warm ovation when entering the game from the still-appreciative Miami crowd.
Heat: After appearing in each of the season&rsquo;s first eight games, Butler has missed 12 of Miami&rsquo;s last 24 contests. ... Miami used its 12th starting lineup of the season. Each of the last five games has featured a different starting five. ... Adebayo was 7 for 7 in the first half, the best such mark of his career. He was 6 for 6 in the first half against Cleveland on Feb. 22, 2020.
RESPECT
Lowry was on the Heat bench wearing an Argentina soccer jersey -- the No. 10, for Lionel Messi, the superstar who has been linked to Inter Miami for some time.
DOUBLE VUC
Vucevic had his team-best 14th double-double of the season. It was his first in his last six games.
UP NEXT
Bulls: Visit Atlanta on Wednesday.
Heat: Host Indiana on Friday.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Nikola Vucevic had 29 points, and the Chicago Bulls stopped a four-game slide by beating the short-handed Miami Heat 113-103.

Bulls snap 4-game slide, top short-handed Heat 113-103

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Ja Morant had 25 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Memphis Grizzlies pounded the Milwaukee Bucks 142-101 on Thursday night.
Dillon Brooks added 18 points and Tyus Jones had 16 as eight Grizzlies scored in double figures. Memphis led from start to finish in its seventh straight win.
Memphis' win, coupled with New Orleans' overtime loss to Utah on Thursday night, moved the Grizzlies into first place in the Western Conference.
&ldquo;When teams face us, they&rsquo;ve got to be ready to come out and play,&rdquo; Morant said, adding: &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got multiple guys who can go out and score the ball. If you scout us, you&rsquo;ve got to name everybody on the list.&rdquo;
The Grizzlies opened a 50-point lead in the fourth quarter for the NBA&rsquo;s largest advantage this season. Milwaukee was held to 38 points in the paint, while Memphis had 86.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it is anything earth-shattering,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said of the defensive effort. He added that the Grizzlies were disciplined and showed multiple players against Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
&ldquo;I thought we did a really good job just taking them out of the paint.&rdquo;
Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis led the Bucks with 19 points apiece before Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer emptied the bench late in the third quarter.
&ldquo;We were just beaten soundly in every way, shape and form, and we have to own that,&rdquo; Budenholzer said.
The game featured two of the top teams in their respective conferences. Milwaukee began the night a game behind East-leading Boston, while Memphis was tied for first with the Pelicans in the Western Conference.
But the Bucks struggled from the start of the game. Memphis led 70-41 at halftime. It was the most points given up in a half by Milwaukee this season.
&ldquo;They were just playing well. Knocking down shots,&rdquo; Antetokounmpo said. &ldquo;They were running. Their pace was really fast. They were just playing good basketball."
TIP-INS
Bucks: G Jrue Holiday missed his second game with a non-COVID-19 illness. Serge Ibaka also was a late scratch for the same reason. ... F Khris Middleton was 1 of 12 in the game, including 1 of 8 from 3-point range. ... Milwaukee&rsquo;s biggest loss in franchise history was by 48 two times, the last time in the 1994-95 season against Orlando.
Grizzlies: Jenkins is tied with Dave Joerger for second place on the franchise career wins list with 147. Lionel Hollins has the most wins as Memphis coach with 214. ... F/C Brandon Clarke made all six of his shots in the game and has connected on 55 of 77 shots over his past 11 games. ... Rookie David Roddy scored a season-best 15 points.
BLOCK PARTY
The game featured two of the league&rsquo;s best shot blockers. Milwaukee&rsquo;s Brook Lopez leads the league with an average of 2.9 blocks a game and 75 overall. Meanwhile, Jaren Jackson Jr. of Memphis entered with a 3.64 average despite playing only 11 games. Neither had a block in the game, and Milwaukee only had one block &mdash; by Thanasis Antetokounmpo.
Instead, it was Memphis center Steven Adams who had a season-high five blocks.
LAST WORD
&ldquo;We feel like we&rsquo;re about to get on that stride like we had last year and won 10 straight. As you can see, we&rsquo;re flowing and playing pretty good right now,&rdquo; Morant said.
&nbsp;

Ja Morant had 25 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Memphis Grizzlies pounded the Milwaukee Bucks 142-101.

Morant has triple-double as Grizzlies trounce Bucks 142-101

Kansas has cracked The Associated Press women&rsquo;s basketball poll for the first time in nearly 10 years after a huge win while South Carolina remained the unanimous No. 1 team.
The 22nd-ranked Jayhawks routed then 12th-ranked Arizona by 27 points on the road to break into the AP Top 25 released Monday.
The top five teams remained the same with the Gamecocks followed by Stanford, Ohio State, Indiana and Notre Dame in voting by a 28-member national media panel.
Virginia Tech was sixth and will host the Fighting Irish on Sunday. Fellow ACC schools North Carolina and N.C. State were seventh and eighth.
UConn, which is beset with injuries, fell three places to ninth after losing at Maryland on Sunday. The Terrapins climbed five spots to 15th. UCLA moved up three spots to 10th.
Kansas, which is 9-0 for the fourth time in school history, last was in the poll on Jan. 14, 2013, when the Jayhawks were 23rd. They&rsquo;ve been on the rise the last two years, finishing 21-10 last season for the program&rsquo;s first 20-win season since 2012-13. Kansas lost to Stanford in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year.
&ldquo;We have 11 returners and four starters back from last year&rsquo;s team so there were high expectations going into this year,&rdquo; Kansas coach Brandon Schneider said. &ldquo;We learned a lot in the NCAA Tournament. We just tried to upgrade our schedule in the non-conference. I feel like we&rsquo;re a group that is pretty bought in on the defensive end right now. Still a ton of room for improvement on the offensive end.&rdquo;
Schneider said he will address with his team their being ranked. The Jayhawks host Tulsa on Friday.
&ldquo;More in terms of the trappings of complacency, and we&rsquo;re still in the non-conference,&rdquo; Schneider said. &ldquo;We need to feel good about it in terms of the program&rsquo;s validation. I think we talked about being a program on the rise and that the trajectory of our program is headed in the right direction.&rdquo;
RISING UTES
Utah moved up to No. 13, the school&rsquo;s best ranking since the Utes were 12th in 2008. Utah &rsquo;s best ranking ever is 11th in 1998. The team opens Pac-12 play on Wednesday against Colorado.
TIP-INS:
Arizona fell to 20th after its loss to Kansas. ... Michigan fell five spots to 19th after losing to Toledo. ... Iowa State, which dropped four spots to 14th after falling to rival Iowa, will face No. 25 Villanova on Sunday in the Hall of Fame Women&rsquo;s Showcase game. ... Columbia received votes in the AP poll for the first time in school history. The Lions have wins over Miami and UMass, who made the NCAA Tournament last season.
MILESTONE
Maryland coach Brenda Frese had a memorable week, earning her 600th victory in a buzzer-beating win over Purdue on Thursday. Her team then beat UConn for the first time on Sunday, also giving the coach her first victory against the perennial powerhouse. Frese coached at Ball State and Minnesota before taking over at Maryland in 2002. She&rsquo;s 601-173 in her career.

Kansas has cracked the top-25 for the first time in nearly 10 years after a huge win while South Carolina remained unanimous No. 1.

South Carolina tops women’s AP Top 25, Kansas cracks poll

MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Two of the more notable games on Friday&rsquo;s college basketball schedule are taking place on an aircraft carrier and in a baseball stadium.
No. 2 Gonzaga will face Michigan State on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the San Diego harbor to celebrate Veterans Day. Wisconsin is playing Stanford at American Family Field, the retractable-roof park that is home to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Staging neutral-site games in non-traditional venues isn&rsquo;t new. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo has scheduled games at many different sites over the past two decades.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been &lsquo;Outside the Box U&rsquo; for 20 years and other people are catching up,&rdquo; Izzo said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s good, and that&rsquo;s why I didn&rsquo;t want to pass up this game.&rdquo;
Izzo&rsquo;s penchant for this began in 2003, when Michigan State lost to Kentucky in front of 78,129 fans at Ford Field, the home of the NFL&rsquo;s Detroit Lions. Soon enough, plenty of late-round NCAA Tournament games started taking place in football stadiums.
This won&rsquo;t be the first time Izzo has coached a game on an aircraft carrier.
Michigan State lost to top-ranked North Carolina in November 2011 on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson as President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama watched from courtside.
Stanford coach Jerod Haase was a North Carolina assistant coach for that 2011 game. Now, he&rsquo;s preparing his team to play the first basketball game at a baseball-only stadium since San Diego faced San Diego State in 2015 at Petco Park, home of the Padres.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an experience for our guys to talk about when they&rsquo;re old like me, about how they played in a baseball stadium,&rdquo; Haase said.
The offbeat settings come with potential obstacles, particularly when they&rsquo;re outdoors. The roof will be closed for the American Family Field doubleheader that includes a women&rsquo;s game between Wisconsin and Kansas State.
The 2011 North Carolina-Michigan State game on a carrier finished less than an hour before rain fell.
A year later, condensation on the respective courts wiped out an Ohio State-Marquette game aboard the decommissioned USS Yorktown in Charleston, South Carolina, and a Georgetown-Florida game aboard the USS Bataan in Gainesville, Florida. Florida and Georgetown did play the first half before the game was scrapped.
During that 2012-13 season, a Syracuse-San Diego State game aboard the flight deck of the USS Midway Museum was delayed two days due to rain. And, windy conditions affected 3-point shooting when it was played.
The teams involved believe the opportunity is worth the potential drawbacks.
Gonzaga coach Mark Few jumped at the chance when the idea of playing on a carrier was proposed.
&ldquo;Tom Izzo told me it was the coolest thing he&rsquo;s ever done,&rdquo; Few said. &ldquo;I said, &lsquo;OK, I&rsquo;m in.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard says his hopes of having the Badgers play a game at American Family Field started about 15 years ago, when he was an assistant coach and the stadium was known as Miller Park.
Various plans were discussed over the years.
&ldquo;We were going to do a doubleheader basketball-hockey and set up ice in the outfield,&rdquo; Gard said. &ldquo;Everything was on the table at one point in time.&rdquo;
Gard is about to realize that dream &mdash; minus an ice rink.
Wisconsin and Stanford practiced Thursday on a court that encompasses much of the ballpark&rsquo;s infield, with baskets in the vicinity of first base and third base.
The pitcher&rsquo;s mound was removed, and fans will sit in temporary stands courtside, as well as in some of the stadium&rsquo;s permanent seats.
&ldquo;Listening to our players as we walked up out of the dugout, what their reactions were, I think it turned out really, really good,&rdquo; Gard said.
Wisconsin forward Tyler Wahl, who has attended just one Brewers home game, tried to envision just what to expect on Friday.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited to see what it looks like with basketball, bringing a whole different crew of fans,&rdquo; Wahl said. &ldquo;Hopefully it will be cool.&rdquo;
It might not be a one-time deal.
Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger said he was hopeful that the contest was the first of many chances to host hoop games at the ballpark.
Gard says he&rsquo;d love to see an NCAA regional at American Family Field, though it could be tough to host that kind of event in late March while still having the ballpark&rsquo;s grass surface ready in time for baseball season.
For now, Wisconsin and Stanford are looking forward to a unique experience in an atypical early-season game. Michigan State and Gonzaga feel the same.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a little bit old school and I believe the college education is much more than just what you learn on the classroom and the games themselves,&rdquo; Haase said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s all the experiences around them. I think this provides that.&rdquo;
___
AP Writer Nicholas K. Geranios and AP Sports Writers Larry Lage and Bernie Wilson contributed to this report.

Two notable games on Friday’s college basketball schedule are taking place on an aircraft carrier and in a baseball stadium.

Unusual venues make non-conference games more memorable

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Jeremy Roach scored 16 first-half points to help seventh-ranked Duke open Jon Scheyer&rsquo;s coaching tenure with a 71-44 win over Jacksonville on Monday night.
Freshman Mark Mitchell had a team-high 18 points for the Blue Devils, who used a 25-4 run spanning halftime to blow the game open.
It was a quality start to a season of massive change for the Blue Devils, starting with Scheyer taking over for retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski. Duke has 11 new players, including the nation&rsquo;s No. 1-ranked recruiting class and two power-conference transfers. The Blue Devils didn&rsquo;t have top freshmen Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead for this one as they recover from preseason injuries.
Mike Marsh scored 15 points to lead the Dolphins, who shot 34% and missed 18 of 19 3-pointers before making two meaningless 3s late.
NO. 1 NORTH CAROLINA 69, UNC WILMINGTON 56
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Caleb Love and RJ Davis scored 17 points apiece and North Carolina began a season of grand expectations by pulling away from UNC Wilmington.
Armando Bacot added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Tar Heels, who were perhaps most impressive at the defensive end. UNCW shot 29.8% from the field.
The Tar Heels, who were the NCAA Tournament runner-up in April, began the new season with the top ranking for the first time in seven years. It&rsquo;s a record 10th time that North Carolina has been ranked No. 1 to start a season &mdash; one more than rival Duke.
Trazarien White scored 19 points for UNCW, which faced a top-ranked team for the first time in program history.
NO. 2 GONZAGA 104, NORTH FLORIDA 63
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 22 points, Julian Strawther added 16 and No. 2 Gonzaga used a big first-half run to beat North Florida in both teams&rsquo; opener.
Anton Watson had 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and five steals for Gonzaga, which won its 68th consecutive home game, the nation&rsquo;s longest such streak.
Carter Hendricksen scored 16 points, Jadyn Parker 13 and Jose Placer 12 for North Florida, a veteran-laden team from the Atlantic Sun Conference that returned its top four scorers from last season.
NO. 3 HOUSTON 83, NORTHERN COLORADO 36
HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Marcus Sasser scored 21 points, J&rsquo;Wan Roberts added 12 points and six rebounds, and Houston opened the season by beating Northern Colorado.
Sasser, a preseason All-American, scored 11 points in the first half. He finished 7 of 14 from the field and made 4 of 8 3-pointers. The senior guard missed the second half of last season and all of Houston&rsquo;s run to the Elite Eight with a toe injury.
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson won his 700th career game and 200th with the Cougars.
Matt Johnson II, Riley Abercrombie and Caleb Shaw each scored eight points for the Bears.
NO. 4 KENTUCKY 95, HOWARD 63
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Antonio Reeves scored 22 points, CJ Fredrick had 20 and Kentucky beat Howard with All-American Oscar Tshiebwe and two other players sidelined.
Tshiebwe had a procedure last month on his right knee. Point guard Sahvir Wheeler (right leg) and sophomore forward Daimion Collins (personal reasons) were also out, but the Wildcats still shot 55% against the overmatched Bison.
Jacob Toppin and freshman Cason Wallace each added 15 points for Kentucky.
Kobe Dickson scored 17 points and Elijah Hawkins had 14 for Howard, which shot 34%.
NO. 5 KANSAS 89, OMAHA 64
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Gradey Dick added 23 points in his debut, and Kansas began defense of its national championship without suspended coach Bill Self by routing Omaha.
Bobby Pettiford Jr. added 13 points, Dajuan Harris had 11 points and eight assists, and Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar Jr. scored 10 for the Jayhawks, who broke open a close game in the second half with two big runs.
Self served the first of a four-game punishment along with assistant Kurtis Townsend as part of the fallout from a 2017 federal investigation into college basketball corruption.
Jaeden Marshall scored 13 points and Luke Jungers had 12 for the Mavericks.
NO. 5 BAYLOR 117, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 53
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Adam Flagler scored 21 points to lead six players in double figures as Baylor won the opener of its 20th season with coach Scott Drew.
Flagler, a preseason All-Big 12 pick who also was the Bears&rsquo; leading scorer last season, also had eight assists and one of his four 3-pointers started a 24-0 run midway through the first half.
LJ Cryer had 16 points and Dale Bonner, another returning guard, had 14.
Alvin Stredic scored 14 points and Terry Collins 10 for Mississippi Valley State in its first game for new coach George Ivory.
NO. 9 CREIGHTON 72, ST. THOMAS 60
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Baylor Scheierman made back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the second half to give Creighton the lead for good.
Arthur Kaluma scored 17 points, Trey Alexander had 12 and Scheierman added 11 as the Bluejays won their 25th opener in 26 years.
St. Thomas, a Summit League member beginning its second season in Division I, gave the Bluejays all they could handle until the last few minutes. Andrew Rohde had 15 points to lead the Tommies.
NO. 10 ARKANSAS 76, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 58
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) &mdash; Trevon Brazile had 21 points and 12 rebounds in his debut as Arkansas won its season opener.
Brazile, a sophomore transfer from Missouri, scored six straight points during an 11-0 run early in the second half that gave Arkansas a 16-point lead with 15 minutes left.
Wichita State transfer Ricky Council led the Razorbacks with 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting.
Grant Nelson and Boden Skunberg had 17 points apiece to lead North Dakota State.
NO. 11 TENNESSEE 75, TENNESSEE TECH 43
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Tyreke Key came off the bench to score 17 points and Tennessee beat Tennessee Tech in both teams&rsquo; opener.
Key, an Indiana State transfer, connected on 4 of 8 3-pointers to ignite a sluggish Volunteer offense. Zakai Zeigler scored all but two of his 12 points in the second half.
Brett Thompson led the Golden Eagles with 15 points.
NO. 12 TEXAS 72, UTEP 57
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Tyrese Hunter scored 18 points to lead Texas past UTEP in the debut of its new arena.
Hunter, a transfer from Iowa State, was 6-of-8 shooting and added five rebounds. Ze&rsquo;Ri Onyema led UTEP with 10 points.
Texas this season moved to the $375 million Moody Center on the edge of campus, leaving behind the old Frank Erwin Center after 45 years.
NO. 13 INDIANA 88, MOREHEAD STATE 53
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Preseason All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis and freshman Malik Reneau each scored 15 points, helping Indiana beat Morehead State in the season opener for both teams.
The Hoosiers have won all six matchups in the series and are 26-0 all-time against Ohio Valley Conference foes.
Mark Freeman led the Eagles with 14 points, and Drew Thelwell had 11 for the OVC favorites.
NO. 14 TCU 73, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 72
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Mike Miles hit a 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining to finally put TCU ahead to stay against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which built an early 20-point lead in the season opener for both teams.
Miles, the preseason Big 12 player of the year, hit from deep beyond the top of the key for a 71-68 lead.
Emanuel Miller had 15 of his 19 points in the second half, and Miles finished with 15 points for the Horned Frogs. They returned all five starters and five other scholarship players after winning their first NCAA Tournament game since 1987.
Shaun Doss had 25 points with four of Arkansas-Pine Bluff&rsquo;s 13 3-pointers.
NO. 15 AUBURN 70, GEORGE MASON 52
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Wendell Green Jr. scored 16 points while K.D. Johnson and Johni Broome each had 12 to lead Auburn to a season-opening win over George Mason.
The Tigers weren&rsquo;t really challenged much in their first game since losing NBA first-round draft picks Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler.
Ronald Polite III led George Mason with 10 points, and Victor Bailey Jr. had nine.
NO. 16 VILLANOVA 81, LA SALLE 68
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) &mdash; Caleb Daniels scored 24 points to make coach Kyle Neptune a winner in his Villanova debut.
Neptune replaced Hall of Famer Jay Wright, who retired in the offseason. The Wildcats returned three starters (a fourth, Justin Moore, was injured) from the team that lost a national semifinal game to Kansas. Eric Dixon added 20 points for Villanova.
Daniels made his first five 3-pointers and the Wildcats used an early 10-0 run to put away their city rival and spoiled 74-year-old coach Fran Dunphy&rsquo;s return to the bench.
Josh Nickelberry scored 22 points to lead the Explorers.
NO. 17 ARIZONA 117, NICHOLLS STATE 75
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Azuolas Tubelis scored 23 points and Arizona went on a massive opening run to begin its second season under coach Tommy Lloyd with a rout.
Ballo scored 18 points, helping Arizona set a school record with 71.7% shooting from the floor against the reigning Southland Conference regular-season champions. The Wildcats opened the game with a 30-4 run.
Micah Thomas led Nicholls State with 20 points.
NO. 18 VIRGINIA 73, NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL 61
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman sparked a 15-2 second-half run, and Virginia beat North Carolina Central after blowing a 16-point first-half lead.
Armaan Franklin led Virginia with 21 points in the season opener for both teams, and Francisco Caffaro had 10.
Justin Wright scored 20 and Eric Boone had 18 for the Eagles, who used a 12-0 run just after halftime to go ahead. But Clark hit a 3 and Beekman followed with a steal and a breakaway.
NO. 19 SAN DIEGO STATE 80, CAL STATE FULLERTON 57
SAN DIEGO (AP) &mdash; Darrion Trammell hit three 3-pointers during a 29-10 run to open the second half and finished with 18 points as San Diego State beat Cal State Fullerton.
Fellow newcomer Jaedon LeDee and Lamont Butler scored 11 points apiece and Nathan Mensah had 10 for the Aztecs, who won their 10th straight season opener and their 17th in 18 seasons.
Vincent Lee scored 11 and Jalen Harris 10 for the Titans, the defending Big West Conference champions.
NO. 20 ALABAMA 75, LONGWOOD 54
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Freshman Brandon Miller had 14 points and 13 rebounds in his debut as Alabama beat Longwood.
Fellow freshman Rylan Griffen also scored 14 for the Crimson Tide, and point guard Mark Sears had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Freshman guard Jaden Bradley added 11 points and six boards.
Alabama held Longwood to 27% shooting and blocked nine shots. Michael Christmas led Longwood with 12 points.
NO. 21 OREGON 80, FLORIDA A&amp;M 45
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) &mdash; N&rsquo;Faly Dante had 16 points and 10 rebounds as Oregon opened with an easy win over Florida A&amp;M.
Keeshawn Barthelemy added 13 points for the Ducks, ranked to start the season for the ninth straight year. Will Richardson scored 11.
Jordan Tillmon and Jordan Chatman had eight points apiece for the Rattlers, who have 11 new players. Florida A&amp;M coach Robert McCullum was on Oregon coach Dana Altman&rsquo;s staff from 2014-17.
NO. 22 MICHIGAN 75, PURDUE FORT WAYNE 56
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Hunter Dickinson had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and freshman Jett Howard added 21 points in Michigan&rsquo;s season-opening win.
After Purdue Fort Wayne opened an 8-4 lead, Michigan went on a 20-0 run to take control.
Quinton Morton-Robertson scored 15 points and Bobby Planutis added 13 for the Mastodons.
NO. 23 ILLINOIS 87, EASTERN ILLINOIS 57
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) &mdash; Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 24 points and Coleman Hawkins had 23 points and 12 rebounds as Illinois cruised past Eastern Illinois.
Dain Dainja added 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Illini, who outrebounded the Panthers 53-30 in the opener for both teams.
Kinyon Hodges scored 14 points and Yaakema Rose added 10 for Eastern Illinois.
NO. 24 DAYTON 73, LINDENWOOD 46
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Mustapha Amzil scored 14 points, DaRon Holmes II and R.J. Blakney each had 13 and Dayton beat Lindenwood in a sluggish opener for both teams.
Dayton was without injured point guard Malachi Smith and didn&rsquo;t play particularly well until late, but it had a large margin for error against Lindenwood, which was playing its first game after moving up to Division I.
Chris Childs had 15 points for the Lions, who shot 33% from the field.
NO. 25 TEXAS TECH 73, NORTHWESTERN STATE 49
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash; Daniel Batcho had 12 points and 10 rebounds as Texas Tech rolled past Northwestern State in both teams&rsquo; opener.
Texas Tech broke it open late in the first half and led 42-23 at halftime.
Isaac Haney led Northwestern State with 16 points.

It was a quality start to a season of massive change for the Blue Devils, starting with Jon Scheyer taking over Duke's program.

Roach leads No. 7 Duke past Jacksonville in Scheyer’s debut

Detroit Mercy guard Antoine Davis has a chance to end his career as one of the most prolific scorers and 3-point shooters in college basketball history.
Davis is more concerned with earning the NCAA Tournament berth that has eluded him thus far.
The 6-foot-1 Davis entered the transfer portal during the offseason but opted to play one more season for his father. Mike Davis took over Detroit Mercy after reaching the NCAA Tournament four of his six seasons at Texas State, but he still hasn&rsquo;t earned a bid at his current school.
&ldquo;I experienced it for myself as a spectator but not as a player,&rdquo; Antoine Davis said as he recalled those years watching his father coach Texas State. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been rough, but I look forward to this season. We&rsquo;re all on the same page. Everybody wants to do the same thing. I think we can make it happen.&rdquo;
Reaching the NCAA Tournament is just about the only thing Antoine Davis has failed to accomplish in his stellar college career. He enters the 2022-23 season as one of the most noteworthy players from mid-major or low-major programs.
Davis has scored 2,734 career points to rank 22nd in Division I history. He was the third-leading Division I scorer last season with 23.9 points per game, and that was actually the lowest average of his career. Davis averaged 26.1 points in 2018-19, 24.3 in 2019-20 and 24.0 in 2020-21.
If Davis matches his output from last season, when he scored 694 points, he would end his career second on the all-time list. Pete Maravich owns the record with the 3,667 points he scored in his three-season career at LSU from 1967-70.
His 429 career 3-pointers put him just 80 away from the Division I record. Fletcher Magee made 509 3-pointers at Wofford from 2015-19.
Davis has scored in double figures in 111 consecutive games. The Division I record of 115 is shared by Campbell&rsquo;s Chris Clemons (2016-19) and La Salle&rsquo;s Lionel Simmons (1987-90).
The extra season of eligibility Davis received due to the pandemic has helped him approach those records. It also gives him an opportunity to become a five-time, first-team all-Horizon League selection. Davis already is the first player ever to earn first-team all-Horizon League honors in four separate seasons.
Davis committed to Houston in high school but changed his mind and opted for Texas State to play for his father, who owns a 397-310 career record and coached Indiana to an NCAA Tournament final in 2002. When his dad took the Detroit Mercy job, Davis ended up enrolling there instead.
&ldquo;He knows my game better than anybody else,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been working me out for years and years. He just knows what I can do and everything. It wouldn&rsquo;t have to be anything different. I knew his system for the most part, and I really wanted to play for him, at the end of the day.&rdquo;
He thought about leaving Detroit Mercy and the Horizon League this year. Davis entered the transfer portal and strongly considered BYU and Kansas State before choosing to finish his college career where he started it.
&ldquo;It would feel a little off playing somewhere else or ending my career somewhere else,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what ultimately made me come back.&rdquo;
Some other players from mid-major or low-major programs who bear watching:
MAX ABMAS, ORAL ROBERTS
Abmas burst onto the scene in 2021 when he averaged 26.7 points in three NCAA Tournament games to help Oral Roberts beat Ohio State and Florida before falling to Arkansas in the Sweet 16. He led Division I with 24.5 points per game that season. Abmas followed that up by averaging 22.8 points last season to rank fifth. His 3.8 3-pointers per game ranked third.
SINCERE CARRY, KENT STATE
Carry, a Duquesne transfer, was the Mid-American Conference&rsquo;s player of the year in his first season at Kent State. The 6-1 guard ranked second in the MAC in assists (4.8) and fifth in scoring (17.9) and made the MAC&rsquo;s all-defensive team.
AARON ESTRADA, HOFSTRA
The Oregon transfer was the Colonial Athletic Association player of the year last season in his first year at Hofstra. Estrada led the CAA in scoring (18.5) and assists (5.0) and also had 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.
TOSAN EVBUOMWAN, PRINCETON
Although he&rsquo;s a 6-foot-8 forward, Evbuomwan actually led the Ivy League in assists last season with 5.1 per game. He was named the Ivy player of the year. Evbuomwan, who is from Newcastle, England, also ranked fourth in the league in scoring (16.0), rebounding (6.7) and steals (1.4).
DARIUS McGHEE, LIBERTY
McGhee has been named ASUN player of the year each of the last two seasons. He averaged 24.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 2021-22. He led all Division I players with 142 3-pointers and ranked second in points per game.
JORDAN &ldquo;JELLY&rdquo; WALKER, UAB
After starting his career at Seton Hall and playing two seasons at Tulane, Walker has found a home at UAB. Walker ranked eighth in Division I in 3-pointers per game (3.41) and 16th in points per game (20.3) last season while leading Conference USA in both categories. He was named Conference USA player of the year.

Antoine Davis of Detroit Mercy is one of many players from mid-major programs to keep an eye on in 2022-23.

NCAA records within reach for Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis

MARYVILLE, Mo. (AP) &mdash; There is growing fear among college basketball coaches at the lower levels of the sport, the vast majority of which do not make seven-figure salaries, fly around the country in private jets or hang out with rich and famous boosters and fans.
It&rsquo;s a fear that comes with success.
It only takes a couple of marquee players to compete for championships at the Division II or III level, the NAIA or even in low-major Division I leagues. But in an era of freedom of transfer and name, image and likeness endorsement money, the reality is this: If your program is too good, there&rsquo;s a good chance those prolific players will be playing elsewhere next season, recruited to major programs that can offer them more exposure, opportunities and financial benefits.
When it happens, lower-level coaches who might be coming off a 20-win season could be left rebuilding their rosters and fighting for 10 wins and, potentially, their jobs.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s always been an opportunity to poach kids if you want to poach them, but it&rsquo;s all become easier now,&rdquo; said Joe Lombardi, the longtime coach of Division II powerhouse Indiana (Pa.). &ldquo;I believe in karma. I&rsquo;m not doing that, OK? But some places it has become a way of life. It&rsquo;s disappointing that people invest in kids and, you know, they get poached.
&ldquo;They don&rsquo;t just go to the market,&rdquo; Lombardi added. &ldquo;Some do, but a lot of them are talked into it.&rdquo;
His team reached the Final Four last season thanks largely to shooting guard Armoni Foster, who averaged 18 points for the Crimson Hawks, but who will be playing Division I ball for Buffalo this season. And while Lombardi encouraged him to seek a better opportunity for his final year of eligibility, the coach acknowledges that won&rsquo;t always be the case.
Especially when players no longer have to sit out a year under the NCAA&rsquo;s transfer rules.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had guys that Division I schools made overtures about and I&rsquo;m eventually going to lose someone, and it might not be amicable,&rdquo; Lombardi said. &ldquo;I might not be happy with the move. But if you&rsquo;re in it long enough, that will happen.&rdquo;
It happened at Nova Southeastern, the top seed in the NCAA Tournament last year. Sekou Sylla, who averaged 22.4 points and 10.4 rebounds for the Division II program, will be playing for Towson at the Division I level this season.
And it happened at Hillsdale, another strong Division II program, where Patrick Cartier caught the attention of Colorado State. And at Bentley, which saw shooting guard Colton Lawrence follow up a strong season by leaving for Maryland-Baltimore County, a low-major program but nonetheless an opportunity for him to compete at the Division I level.
Even the bluest of the bluebloods have kept their eyes open for lower-level transfers.
Cam Martin, a bruising 6-foot-9 forward, was a two-time All-American for Missouri Southern who chose to continue his career elsewhere. He landed at Kansas, the defending Division I national champion, about a 3-hour drive from the Lions&rsquo; campus in Joplin but light years away in terms of opportunity and experience.
Martin, who graduated from Missouri Southern and is pursuing his graduate degree at Kansas, went from starting every game and playing major minutes to being a key practice player but rarely seeing the floor in actual games.
&ldquo;You have the good and bad stories that come of it,&rdquo; acknowledged Dennis Gates, the new Missouri coach who brought three players with him when he was hired from Cleveland State. &ldquo;But the rules give student-athletes an opportunity, no different than coaches have opportunities now, to represent a different program.&rdquo;
Still, as TCU coach Jamie Dixon admitted, the fact that players no longer have to sit out has changed the dynamic.
&ldquo;A kid having success at a lower conference than, say, the Big 12, was likely not to transfer and sit out because he&rsquo;s playing well,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s getting his minutes. Why would he want to sit out?&rdquo;
When the NCAA removed that impediment, it became easier for players to move on &mdash; and move up. And when NIL legislation came along, allowing players to profit off their celebrity, it created a situation where high-major programs can effectively offer financial benefits unavailable at most lower-level programs.
Throw in the chance to compete at a higher level and it&rsquo;s hard for kids to turn their back on the opportunity.
Fardaws Aimaq remembers playing for Utah Valley in the WAC Tournament last spring, and five or six NBA scouts were sitting in a corner. Aimaq dominated the first half of the Wolverines&rsquo; game, only to see the scouts get up and walk out, and he recalled thinking, &ldquo;Why did they leave?&rdquo; Aimaq texted his advisers afterward, and the answer was simple: &ldquo;They wanted to know if I was really that good or the competition was not that good.&rdquo;
Aimaq ended up transferring from the low-major school to Texas Tech in the hopes of raising his NBA draft profile this season.
&ldquo;Leaving was hard,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but it was just the best decision for me business-wise.&rdquo;
Just like it was for Malachi Smith, a prolific shooting guard who spent the last two seasons at Chattanooga but will play for Gonzaga this season, or Johni Broome, a 6-10 forward who transferred from Morehead State to Auburn.
Transfers go both ways, of course. Plenty of players leave high-majors for low-majors, or even lower divisions, where they might go from benchwarmer to starter. But they are typically easier for big-budget programs to replace.
It&rsquo;s tougher to accept at small schools, though, when a player who might have slipped through the recruiting cracks not only got an opportunity to play but was also developed over time &mdash; only to take their game somewhere else.
&ldquo;There could be a great player at Division III. I will not make an overture for that kid. I will not do it,&rdquo; said Lombardi, the Division II coach at Indiana (Pa.) &ldquo;Maybe I would if I was 10-20 for three straight seasons &mdash; I might then. But I just don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s for the good of the kid or the good of athletics.&rdquo;

There is growing fear among college basketball coaches at the lower levels of the sport.

Portal chaos puts pressure on hoops coaches in lower levels

The Los Angeles Clippers have gotten their 2022-23 season off to a great start with a 103-97 win over their local rival, the Lakers, and everybody played a part.
In his first game since June 2021, Kawhi Leonard produced 14 points and 7 rebounds off the bench in 21 minutes. In another return over 18 months in the making, John Wall added 15 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in 24 minutes.
Paul George registered a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double to go along with 4 dimes, Marcus Morris dropped 14 points and Ivica Zubac had his own double-double with 14 points and 17 boards.
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Entering this year, there was a multitude of questions hovering over the entire Clippers organization:
<ul>
<li>How will Kawhi Leonard look after missing the entire last season? Did he put on too much muscle? How will load management be handled with him this season?</li>
<li>How will the acquisition of John Wall work after he missed almost two years of action? Will the Clippers be getting the old John Wall or just an older John Wall?</li>
<li>How will Paul George fare after also coming off of an injury that derailed what was a very productive season in 2021-22?</li>
</ul>
I caught up with two former Clippers greats, Darius Miles and Maurice Taylor, to explore these questions and much more.
Darius Miles
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Etan Thomas: The Clippers really looked good in their first few games. A lot of people are saying they could win it all. How good do they look to you?
Darius Miles: "I don&rsquo;t wanna jump out there too quickly; it&rsquo;s still early, but I think they look really good. Seeing the pieces, the depth, having Kawhi back, PG. I&rsquo;m so excited for John Wall. He&rsquo;s always been one of my favorites. I saw him get a little frustrated there at the end against the Lakers. This is a different kind of role; he wanted the ball in his hands at the end like he was back in D.C. So he is adjusting to the new role, and I think it&rsquo;s gonna be just fine."
Etan: One of the things with John Wall people were wondering was if he can he get back to the Washington Wizards-level version of himself on the court after sitting out two seasons, but he looks good to me so far.&nbsp;
Miles: "He definitely looks good, I really want John to embrace this new role because if he does, the sky's the limit. And he&rsquo;s been saying all the right things. I heard one interview and he kept saying, 'I&rsquo;m so excited that I don&rsquo;t have to do it myself.' So he has to really embrace the fact that, sometimes down the stretch, you&rsquo;re not going to have the ball in your hands. You may have to go to the corner and spot up and let Kawhi and PG run this two-man game like they were doing against the Lakers. And sometimes, they may need (John) to speed dribble it up and initiate the offense, but other times it may be something different. And he just has to fully embrace the different times, whatever they are, because really, he can &mdash; and I believe will &mdash; be vital for this team."
Etan: You know, I&rsquo;m really rooting for PG to have a great year. He has taken a lot of criticism really since the Bubble season.
Miles: "I think last season while Kawhi was out, he really just put his head down and went to work. He wasn&rsquo;t saying much, wasn&rsquo;t getting into too much, and, before the injury, he was having a great season. I think this year is gonna be the same thing. He came out and said, 'Yeah this is Kawhi&rsquo;s team, so I&rsquo;m not gonna let the media play that game with us of whose team it is.' He squashed all that. 'This is Kawhi&rsquo;s team, and that&rsquo;s going to go a long way for us.' Because it cuts down on the chatter, you know?"
Etan: Definitely, like how Magic Johnson did with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Miles: "Exactly, just so there&rsquo;s no discussion. I&rsquo;m very, very excited for the Clippers. I wanna see the Clippers win a chip in L.A. Now, of course we don&rsquo;t have the ridiculous number of championships like the Lakers have, but this year, I think this team could really pull it off. And we&rsquo;re not talking about the best team in L.A. &mdash; we already got that. We&rsquo;re talking about winning it all."
Etan: Let&rsquo;s stay on PG for a minute. Why do you think he receives so much criticism? He was really getting criticized heavily I thought.
Miles: "That&rsquo;s just this day and age. As soon as someone sees a vulnerable spot, they jump on it. That&rsquo;s just how it is unfortunately."
Etan: It&rsquo;s interesting though because PG talked about struggling with his mental health while in the Bubble, and it was like, people got mad at him. Other players like Kevin Love and DeMar DeRozan talked about their mental health, and they were praised for their courage, given awards and sitting on panels. I mean, PG just announced not long ago that he was <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/clippers-paul-george-giving-away-3-million-in-free-therapy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">giving away $3 million in free therapy</a>.
I just co-wrote <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Finding-My-Voice-Grieving-Pushing/dp/1642598313/ref=nodl_?dplnkId=64d1657e-59d6-4718-87b6-89b40eb80095" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emerald Garner&rsquo;s book</a> (Eric Garner&rsquo;s daughter), "Finding My Voice," and she talked about how costly therapy is and how much her entire family should&rsquo;ve had it for their mental health, and he is giving away $3 million of free mental health therapy for people!
Miles: "Yeah, how could anyone be mad at that? I don&rsquo;t know. I never really understood it myself. I&rsquo;m happy when any athlete has the courage to talk about their mental health because them saying that gives other people the comfort that they don&rsquo;t have to be ashamed. So yeah, I agree with you. It should&rsquo;ve been praised not mocked."
Etan: You mentioned Russell Westbrook earlier, and that&rsquo;s my guy. I played with him in OKC for a year, but they got him in the matrix right now, nonstop criticism. It&rsquo;s like he is taking the heat for a poorly-constructed team.
Miles: "Man, I love Westbrook. And I&rsquo;m glad [Charles] Barkley said something about it. But people don&rsquo;t understand how the slander, the politics of the game, the wrong situation or construction of a team, like you said, how that can take away someone&rsquo;s love for the game, and it looks like that with Westbrook. His body language, that 'lion' that makes Westbrook, Westbrook you know? Now, he&rsquo;s second-guessing himself; not sure if he should pass or shoot, just everything is off. I hate to see my man go through this."
Etan: So last question, there have been built-up expectations before for the Clippers. The year in the Bubble and the season before the Bubble, everyone was waiting for them to match up with the Lakers. It seemed like those years could&rsquo;ve been the Clippers' years as well. And I know a lot of teams always say this, but this season, it does really feel like this could be the Clippers year to win it all.
Miles: "I hear you. I just don&rsquo;t want to get too ahead of myself &mdash; especially with guys coming off of injuries &mdash; but then, we came out the gate looking really good this year. And we have a really deep bench, like 10-11 deep. I&rsquo;m super excited for this season, but I don&rsquo;t wanna jump out there too soon. I appreciate the support from Barkley, but not yet. But do I feel like we could be a contender? Absolutely.
"Also, we gotta see what happens with Kawhi&rsquo;s injury and his load management, and if that is a plus or a minus. I love the team, love the coach, Ty Lue; they have the team built to win the championship. They have the ability to beat any team &mdash; Golden State, Portland, Phoenix, Denver, anyone in the West or the East. Of course a lot has to go right, but yes, I&rsquo;m excited. (It's) gonna be a great year for us."
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Maurice Taylor&nbsp;
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Etan Thomas: How good can the Clippers be this season?&nbsp;
Maurice Taylor: "I think they could be really good, top-tier even. If you look at how the team is constructed, they really have everything you need in today&rsquo;s game. They&rsquo;re a really good defensive team, they can run, they can shoot threes, they&rsquo;re athletic. They can play iso ball, but don&rsquo;t have to rely on iso ball in order to be productive. And they have an incredibly deep bench. And they&rsquo;re big. They had a lineup out there with [Nic] Batum, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George; those are 6-6 to 6-8 wing players. And for Kawhi and Paul George to be the elite defenders they are, what other team has guys that size who can all defend and score at that level at the same time?
Etan: And how much do you think John Wall can help this team? Here in D.C., we&rsquo;re all rooting for him to do well. I <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/marcin-gortat-a-lot-of-people-owe-john-wall-an-apology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interviewed his former teammate Marcin Gortat</a>, who also echoed those sentiments, especially taking into consideration everything he went through that he detailed over the summer. But how great of an addition was Wall to this team?&nbsp;
Taylor: "I don&rsquo;t understand why there weren&rsquo;t more teams in line to get John Wall, especially contenders. The only knock against him was that he hasn&rsquo;t played in two seasons for whatever reason &mdash; still not sure what was going on in Houston &mdash; but he looks good so far. He looked quick. He didn&rsquo;t look like he lost a step at all, which was what so many people were worried about. But I was definitely impressed. If he can be that for us, I don&rsquo;t see anyone in the East who would be able to stop us if we make it to the Finals.
Etan: Yeah I saw Charles Barkley picked the Clippers to win it all and doubled down after the game against the Lakers. So he is sticking with his pick. He may have even said, "GUARANTEED!" (Laughing)
Taylor: "Well, I&rsquo;m not going that far (laughing). But remember, I was with the Clippers during the down years. The bad old days (laughing). So for us, the guys I talk to from my era, it&rsquo;s amazing to be discussing the Clippers in terms of championship favorites. But yes, they could definitely win it all this season."
Etan: I agree, and does T-Lue get enough credit for his coaching? Especially the way he was able to keep the team together last season when Kawhi was out. I know he was my former teammate, so I may be a little biased, but I do think he doesn&rsquo;t get the recognition he should for the job he has done coaching.&nbsp;
Taylor: "I think he is definitely underrated. In today&rsquo;s NBA, the notion is almost that you don&rsquo;t really need a coach because of the level of talent. We heard that when he took over in Cleveland and was coaching LeBron [James]. You heard that in Brooklyn with Steve Nash..."
Etan: Well, that may not be the best example because of how disgruntled it seems Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are with Steve Nash, but continue.
Taylor: "Yeah that&rsquo;s true. But, point being, I think good coaches sometimes fall through the cracks because players are so good now. But in reality, coaching is the X-factor for each team. That&rsquo;s why Miami was so good, that&rsquo;s why Boston with Ime Udoka overachieved the way they did last season. But to answer your question, no, Ty Lue definitely doesn&rsquo;t get the credit he deserved, and for the very reason you mentioned. He held everything together while his star player was out for the entire season. And he really pieced together a team. Like, they have a great unit. If you look at the Lakers, they just have a bunch of guys who got signed together. That&rsquo;s a pickup game, what the Lakers have."
Etan: And no proven shooters. They have some developing shooters, but they need proven shooters who can contribute immediately, right?&nbsp;
Taylor: "Absolutely, I don&rsquo;t know what they&rsquo;re thinking over there, but that&rsquo;s not my problem. We&rsquo;re constructed as a complete team, and you have to give credit to Steve Ballmer &mdash; when you have a team governor who goes all out for his team? I mean, the Clippers haven&rsquo;t had that in history, at least not while I was there. We&rsquo;re in arguably the best market in the league, so to have an organization that&rsquo;s willing to invest in their players and open their checkbooks the way Steve Ballmer is, it&rsquo;s going to be attractive to free agents to come to the Clippers. And they&rsquo;re making moves to win the whole thing. They&rsquo;re not penny-pinching or trying to spend the bare minimum. They are investing the way a team is supposed to."
Etan: If only someone could&rsquo;ve recorded Donald Sterling earlier while you were there (laughing).
Taylor: "Man, don&rsquo;t get me started (laughing). It&rsquo;s a night and day difference, but that&rsquo;s why they are in the position they are in. People always say players make the team, and that&rsquo;s true, but the ownership, the way the organization is run makes all the difference. So a lot of this credit, like I said, has to go to Steve Ballmer."
Etan: I hear you, so last question: Kawhi Leonard. I don&rsquo;t know how they&rsquo;re going to do with the load management for the entire season. Against the Lakers he came off the bench well into the second quarter. I&rsquo;m sure that&rsquo;s not going to be the strategy for the entire season, but how good did Kawhi Leonard look to you?&nbsp;
Taylor: "He looked really good. He moved well. With wing guys, when they come back from injury, you wanna see how their lateral movement is, if they have that pop back, and he had all of that. He definitely looked strong. And he&rsquo;s only going to get better as the season progresses. But the thing I am a little concerned with is the very load management (subject) you mentioned.
"A team can load management themselves right out of the playoffs if they&rsquo;re not careful. Is it going to get to a point where he&rsquo;s back and he&rsquo;s at full strength and he is their main guy this season? Or is it going to be an ongoing situation where, 'Okay, we have a back-to-back, we&rsquo;re going to rest him this second game?' If you do that enough times, that could change the dynamic of your playoff run or position. Because Golden State doesn&rsquo;t have any load management players, and that&rsquo;s who you have to be eyeing on the way to the Finals. So I am a little concerned, to be honest. But, other than that, things look very good for the Clippers this season."
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/violalogo1.png" alt="" width="750" height="375" />

Etan Thomas speaks with former Clippers greats Darius Miles and Maurice Taylor about LA's opening night win and the upcoming year.

Darius Miles and Maurice Taylor have high praise for the Clippers

DETROIT (AP) &mdash; The <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/detroit-pistons">Detroit Pistons</a> seem to be on their way up from rock bottom, assembling a dynamic backcourt, acquiring a veteran scorer and keeping a nucleus of promising young players.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the most talent we&rsquo;ve had since I&rsquo;ve been here,&rdquo; said coach Dwane Casey, entering his fifth season in Detroit. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s also the youngest talent that we&rsquo;ve had.&rdquo;
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-detroit-pistons-dwane-casey-magic-johnson-608255d40d7a0f542679757b93841507">Cade Cunningham</a>, who validated Detroit's decision to draft him No. 1 overall in 2021, and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-detroit-pistons-jerami-grant-cade-cunningham-c88eb385b3d4c4c9a6d6ab94c1603bab">speedy guard Jaden Ivey</a>, the fifth pick in June, may provide a needed dose of hope for the franchise's future.
And when Detroit general manager Troy Weaver traded last year's leading scorer Jerami Grant because he didn't want to give him a long-term contract, it led to the draft-night acquisition of center Jalen Duren, the 13th pick in the draft.
Then Weaver made a savvy trade last month to acquire <a href="https://apnews.com/article/utah-jazz-nba-sports-detroit-pistons-ce920207bbadf33ba3b3e1904c82ed48">Bojan Bogdanovic</a> from Utah in exchange for spare parts, and kicked the team's plans into another gear.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re in another stage of our restore and rebuild by adding Bojan," Weaver said of Bogdanovic, who averaged 18.1 points last season with the Jazz.
The Pistons were 23-59 last season, finishing ahead of just Houston and Orlando at the bottom of the league standings.
They have been struggling to gain traction for more than a decade, slipping so much during a series of rebuilding efforts that they had one of the NBA&rsquo;s worst teams the previous three years.
Detroit has failed to win a playoff series since 2008, when it advanced to the conference finals for the sixth straight year during a remarkably successful stretch that included its third NBA championship.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think you can just wake up one day and become a contender,&rdquo; said Weaver, who is in his third season of retooling the roster. &ldquo;I think there&rsquo;s different phases you have to go through.&rdquo;
BLINK AND YOU'LL MISS HIM
Veteran NBA players are used to the speed of the game, but even they have been impressed with how fast Ivey has been on the court.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a bullet out there,&rdquo; guard Cory Joseph said. &ldquo;He brings another dynamic as far as pushing the pace, getting into the open court, which we need to do more. I can see flashes of (Russell) Westbrook.&rdquo;
The 6-foot-4, 195-pound Ivey, who can play point or shooting guard, averaged 17.3 points last season at Purdue.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;ll make it a lot easier for everybody because he has a great feel for the game," Cunningham said. &ldquo;He brings a different dynamic with his skill set."
Ivey&rsquo;s mother, Niele, played for three WNBA teams (including the Detroit Shock) and coaches Notre Dame's women's basketball team. His father, Javin Hunter, was a standout receiver at Notre Dame. And his late grandfather, James Hunter, started 77 games at defensive back for the Detroit Lions from 1976 to 1982.
DIAMOND IN ROUGH
Duren, the youngest player in the draft, will be an NBA player for about a month before he turns 19.
&ldquo;He's going to be a jewel for this city for a long time," Casey said.
The athletic 6-11, 250-pound center averaged 12 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 25.3 minutes per game last season as a freshman at Memphis.
SUPPORTING CAST
Saddiq Bey, the No. 19 pick in 2020, broke the team&rsquo;s single-season franchise record for 3-pointers last season and averaged 16 points. Center Isaiah Stewart, the No. 16 pick two years ago, averaged eight-plus points and rebounds. Marvin Bagley, the No. 2 pick overall in 2018, averaged 14 points after he was acquired last year and re-signed as a restricted free agent for $37 million over three years.
&ldquo;I think the sky&rsquo;s the limit for us,&rdquo; Bey said.
PIVOTAL PLAYER
Killian Hayes has averaged fewer than seven points a game in each of his two seasons, falling short of projections for a player drafted by Detroit at No. 7 overall in 2020.
NEWCOMERS
The Pistons made two offseason deals with the New York Knicks, including a move that added veterans Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel to the front court. Burks averaged 11.7 points last season, starting a career-high 44 games. The 6-11 Noel averaged a career-best 2.2 blocks two seasons ago.

“It’s the most talent we’ve had since I’ve been here,” said Pistons coach Dwane Casey. "It’s also the youngest talent that we’ve had.”

Pistons loaded with talent from Ivey to Bogdanovic to Duren

The Los Angeles Lakers and vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka have agreed to terms on a contract extension that runs through 2026, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1578865996646866944" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The Los Angeles Lakers and Rob Pelinka &mdash; vice president of basketball operations &mdash; agreed to terms on a contract extension through 2026, league sources tell <a href="https://twitter.com/YahooSports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YahooSports</a>. <a href="https://t.co/tqyWUtGTky">https://t.co/tqyWUtGTky</a>
&mdash; Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1578865996646866944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

ANALYSIS: With this extension, the Lakers are confirming that the lion's share of the blame for last season's blunders were on Frank Vogel's shoulders and not Pelinka's &mdash; even though it was Pelinka who traded vital pieces such as Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for Russell Westbrook. Clearly, they believe that Pelinka can fix their issues and turn the franchise into a contender again.

The Lakers have extended GM Rob Pelinka through 2026, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

Lakers extend executive Rob Pelinka through 2026

While at Cleveland Cavaliers Media Day, BasketballNews.com had the time to catch up with Cavs forward Lamar Stevens. A former two-way contract player, Stevens earned a standard contract following his contributions as a rookie in April 2021.
Over his two seasons in Cleveland, J.B. Bickerstaff has taken a liking to Stevens' tenacity on the defensive end and his ability to run the floor. Last year, the coaching staff entrusted Stevens so much that the former Penn State Nittany Lion earned 13 starts and played over 16 minutes per contest in 63 total appearances.
Coming off his sophomore campaign &mdash; one where he averaged 13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals per 36 minutes &mdash; Stevens is optimistic about the season ahead with the wine and gold. 
Does it feel like Season 3 for you?
Lamar Stevens: &ldquo;Yeah, it&rsquo;s crazy how time flies. Those years just fly by. It&rsquo;s crazy how it&rsquo;s Year 3 [for me].&rdquo;
How does it feel coming into camp?
Stevens: &ldquo;It feels good. I feel really comfortable with the team, with the guys. It&rsquo;s been for the most part the main core guys that&rsquo;s been here the whole time, so just growing with these guys and just seeing everybody&rsquo;s growth has been great.&rdquo;
What have you been working on over the offseason and adding to your game?
Stevens: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been working a lot on becoming a better shooter from three, just being more consistent. [I&rsquo;ve been] watching a lot of film and just seeing different ways offensively where I can impact the game and just learning how to play off guys like Darius [Garland] and Evan [Mobley] and stuff like that. But mainly, the three-point shot for me.&rdquo;
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Lamar Stevens agrees that <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cavs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cavs</a> battle for the 3 spot will be iron sharpening iron. He's been working hard on his threes this summer. <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@basketbllnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/ens22JIriO">pic.twitter.com/ens22JIriO</a>
&mdash; Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpinDavies/status/1574450841838403585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2022</a></blockquote>

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How about what the coaches have asked of you?
Stevens: &ldquo;Just the three-point shot and also just becoming better with the ball in my hands, being able to play in dribble-handoffs and pick-and-rolls and stuff like that, and be a reliable person for that.&rdquo;
There&rsquo;s going to be a lot of competition for that starting 3 spot going in. How do you feel going into that against your guys?
Stevens: &ldquo;I was going to say, &lsquo;Iron sharpens iron.&rsquo; I&rsquo;m just excited for the opportunity to compete, and I think it&rsquo;s gonna make all of us better in the end.&rdquo;

Spencer Davies briefly catches up with Cavs forward Lamar Stevens about his summer and more.

Lamar Stevens Q&A: Cavs training camp, offseason focus, competition

WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; Bradley Beal and the Wizards renewed their commitment to each other when he agreed to a five-year deal worth up to $251 million to stay in Washington.
Whether that commitment will make the next five years any more successful than the last 10 is the big question.
&ldquo;I want to win a championship and I want to do it here,&rdquo; Beal said Friday in a news conference to discuss his max-value contract. &ldquo;I believe that we can win in D.C.&rdquo;
There hasn&rsquo;t been much evidence that the Wizards can back up that belief. Since drafting Beal in 2012 to play alongside point guard John Wall, the Wizards have made five playoff appearances, never advancing beyond the second round &mdash; and the last time they got even that far was five years ago, the last full season Wall played in Washington.
Since then, the Wizards have had a revolving door at point guard alongside Beal, who averaged over 30 points in 2019-20 and 2020-21, and haven&rsquo;t persuaded a big-name free agent to join him in a star-driven league.
&ldquo;We have the opportunity to show the NBA what happens, the commitment that we&rsquo;ll make to our players, to their career,&rdquo; general manager Tommy Sheppard said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re talking about one of the most coveted free agents on the market re-signing with the Washington Wizards, committing to what he believes, that we can win here.&rdquo;
This season, the Wizards will surround Beal with big man Kristaps Porzingis, acquired in a midseason trade with Dallas; Kyle Kuzma, who became the team&rsquo;s primary scorer with Beal sidelined by injury in the second half of last season; a new point guard in Monte Morris, acquired in a trade with Denver; and a collection of young role players including Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija, Corey Kispert and Daniel Gafford.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re doing everything we can to make that mix right. We&rsquo;re a free agent away,&rdquo; owner Ted Leonsis said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re always looking at how we can improve, and Tommy has been given the green light and I&rsquo;ve said no to nothing. I want to win.&rdquo;
Beal has become rooted in the Washington area through philanthropic efforts and has shown a growing awareness of social issues. He began his news conference by lamenting the imprisonment of WNBA star Brittney Griner in Russia; the mass shooting at a July 4 parade in Highland Park, Illinois; and a spate of gun violence in his hometown of St. Louis.
His two young sons attended the news conference and Beal noted that because of his financial security, &ldquo;they think they won&rsquo;t have to work for anything. I have to try to find that balance and figure it out. You don&rsquo;t see that all the time, especially in the Black community.&rdquo;
Beal said he&rsquo;s comfortable with his decision and that winning a championship in Washington would be more satisfying than chasing a title with a &ldquo;super team.&rdquo;
&ldquo;You proved all the doubters wrong. You did everything you possibly could to make it work and you did it. That would mean everything to me,&rdquo; Beal said. &ldquo;That would mean more than leaving and playing with four All-Stars. And, having conversations with guys who have done that, it&rsquo;s not always great. It&rsquo;s not always fun. It&rsquo;s not always what you think it is.&rdquo;

“I want to win a championship and I want to do it here,” Bradley Beal said on Friday. “I believe that we can win in D.C.”

Bradley Beal believes Wizards can win title after his max deal

As the Cleveland Cavaliers prepare to make their NBA Summer League debut in Las Vegas, all eyes in Northeast Ohio will be squarely on Ochai Agbaji, the No. 14 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, who ultimately became a bonus selection when the wine and gold fell just one victory short of making the playoffs.
Starting Friday afternoon, Agbaji will get the lion&rsquo;s share of shots, have the ball in his hands and go a little out of his comfort zone by being utilized as a playmaker &mdash; similar to what Cleveland asked of Isaac Okoro at this time last year. Knowing Agbaji&rsquo;s strengths after a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/cleveland-cavaliers-prepared-to-throw-ochai-agbaji-in-the-fire-with-presentday-focus-jb-bickerstaff-koby-altman-darius-garland-isaac-okoro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">year-by-year ascension at Kansas</a>, the organization is set on developing other areas of his game at Summer League and entering training camp.
In fact, a Cavaliers team source told Basketball News that the plan is to bring Agbaji along slowly at the beginning of the season. And with the guard room filled to the brim, it&rsquo;ll be difficult for the rookie swingman to crack the rotation right away.
&ldquo;There's really no expectations on him," the Cavs source said. "He doesn't have to play or have to contribute right away."
There will be some real battles for minutes come training camp, especially in the backcourt. Not only does Cleveland have Darius Garland, Caris LeVert, Okoro and Agbaji, the Cavs also added Raul Neto and brought back Ricky Rubio.
To top things off, the team source is quite confident that Collin Sexton will be back with Cleveland since free-agency money is drying up. Either the two sides will reach an agreement or "at worst," Sexton will sign for the qualifying offer (worth $7.2 million).
If you&rsquo;re keeping count, that&rsquo;s seven players who will be duking it out for floor time between two positions, most notably at the 2. The team source suggested that J.B. Bickerstaff could regularly play 10 guys this season. On a team that&rsquo;s still seemingly missing a &ldquo;true&rdquo; small forward who can score on both ends of the floor, it seems like overkill. Yet, as the Cavs found out the hard way last season, depth is absolutely necessary to stay above water.
Despite their success with him sidelined, Sexton&rsquo;s absence was painfully felt as the season progressed. The obvious way was as a scorer who &ldquo;can get 15-to-20 in his sleep.&rdquo; From another perspective, it was about how he got those points &mdash; getting into the paint, breaking down the defense and knocking down those 9-1-1 types of shots &mdash; that really could&rsquo;ve saved an offense that ran out of gas.&nbsp;
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&ldquo;Collin's built for big moments. He's not afraid at all, and I just think he would've made some kind of impact,&rdquo; the Cavs source said. &ldquo;I think he would've helped us more than hurt us. Everyone wants to say the success was because he's not here, which I think is completely false. Say what he can't do, but what can he do?
&ldquo;I just think it was a tough year for him because all he cares about is hoop. That's literally 24/7, 365. I think it was really, really hard for him. But he's even more motivated because he was out and he saw the success. He's rippin' and roarin'. I've seen some of the videos of him working out and stuff; I think he's gonna be back and be better than ever this season.&rdquo;
While Sexton&rsquo;s knee injury was the first blow, Rubio tearing his ACL in New Orleans before the turn of the new year rattled everybody in the franchise.
&ldquo;It just really hurt Cedi [Osman] and really hurt Kevin [Love] 'cause that second unit was rollin',&rdquo; the team source said. "And Kevin and Cedi, Ricky just put them in spots. They didn't have to do anything. They just had to finish. But Ricky set 'em up perfectly. That was the beginning of it. It was a big blow. I just think if we have Ricky healthy all year, we're probably a four or five seed.&rdquo;
(Subsequently, the team source said that Jarrett Allen&rsquo;s broken thumb &ldquo;just killed us.&rdquo;)
Even with Rubio returning, the team source told Basketball News that his recovery timeline for the 2022-23 campaign is &ldquo;unknown,&rdquo; so the experienced Neto should be able to fill that void until Rubio is cleared for action. And considering that Cleveland&rsquo;s options last season were two-way guard Brandon Goodwin and first-year-NBAer Kevin Pangos before attempting to patch up the roster wound with Rajon Rondo and LeVert, Neto should be able to get the job done.
Because they had such a good thing going in the short- and long-term last season, the Cavs did not want to mess with team chemistry too much. The organization viewed last year's LeVert trade as a pure addition that wouldn't affect the building&rsquo;s energy. He&rsquo;d take on some of the playmaking duties and the scoring responsibility with no Rubio (who was hurt and sent to Indiana as part of the deal) or Sexton (who was still rehabbing).
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Off the floor, it worked out just fine, as LeVert fit right in with Cleveland&rsquo;s culture.&nbsp;
On the floor, it was a mixed bag.
&ldquo;He comes, he plays what, four games? He has that huge game in Indiana, then we go on the break and then he's out for a month. And then he comes back and he wasn't himself,&rdquo; said the team source.
LeVert even told the organization that he couldn&rsquo;t get his legs under him after initially spraining his foot. LeVert also admitted to bringing some of his bad habits from Indiana to Cleveland.
&ldquo;Obviously we saw the kid, the character, the work ethic, but he just wasn't on the floor, especially with most of our main guys. We were trying to figure him out, he was trying to figure us out. There just wasn't enough time,&rdquo; the team source said. &ldquo;Maybe if he's healthy that whole second half, I think it would've been better, but it was just hard for everyone involved just because he was learning on the fly. I think we had, like, two real practices after we traded for him. So, there was no time to really jell with the guys. He just kinda had to do it on the fly in games.&rdquo;
When asked to evaluate LeVert&rsquo;s half-season stretch with Cleveland, the team source described it as &ldquo;incomplete.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I think he's gonna have a good year because he'll have had a whole summer, he's been with our guys, he's been back and forth here,&rdquo; the Cavs source said. &ldquo;We're gonna have a full training camp, and I know Coach [Bickerstaff] is saying we've learned a lot about him and where we can put him in different spots.&rdquo;
The sole reason the Cavs stacked the guard room was to take just a semblance of the burden off Garland. Carrying the playmaking load &mdash; putting the team on his shoulders from January and on &mdash; resulted in him hurting his back. But unlike his first two injury-riddled NBA seasons, Garland showcased his durability and fought through the nagging pain to will Cleveland to a spot in the Play-In Tournament.&nbsp;
For the first time in his career, Garland was an All-Star, finished as a top-20 scorer and ranked sixth in assists among his NBA peers. Last Saturday, the Cavs rewarded Garland with a five-year, $191 million rookie-maximum extension that could reach up to $231 million in earnings.
&ldquo;What he did this year was pretty incredible, the growth he's made, and I think he's still only gonna get better and hopefully take a couple more steps,&rdquo; the team source said of Garland. &ldquo;We've been looking for kind of an All-Star, a franchise pillar since LeBron left. He wants to be here. Everyone loves playing with him. He embraces the city. There's just too many boxes to check there. I think he's only gonna get better and trying to get healthy, and just get better players around him so he doesn't have to do so much. He's still only 22 years old. I think the future's bright with him, and we're excited to have him.&rdquo;
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Continuing to get stronger will be a priority for Garland, as will the team&rsquo;s desire to &ldquo;unleash him off the ball.&rdquo; We saw glimpses of that with the Rubio-Garland duo prior to the veteran&rsquo;s untimely setback. After that, Garland was the table-setter, had the ball in his hands and served as the primary scorer. By having even a possession off here or there, Cleveland could preserve Garland&rsquo;s wind, allowing him to run off screens to shoot or simply stand in the corner to spot up for a triple.
Finding ways to employ Garland&rsquo;s off-ball skills will be one piece to the puzzle. Another is figuring out how to make Evan Mobley more selfish on the offensive end, per the team source. He&rsquo;s always going to make the right play because of his natural instincts, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean he shouldn&rsquo;t be aggressive.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I think it's just in between his ears,&rdquo; the Cavs source said. &ldquo;It's just a mentality. &lsquo;I know I can score 25.&rsquo; Getting him more aggressive, his mentality changing. When he catches it, [we want him thinking], &lsquo;Hey, I can get 25 tonight and no one can stop me.' I'm excited for him. I think he's gonna have a&nbsp;big jump 'cause he was playing that whole rookie year in quicksand. He's so smart and he's so skilled and he works. I'm really, really excited to see what he's gonna look like come October.&rdquo;
Mobley can put the ball in the basket, as we&rsquo;ve already seen. Fine-tuning his jump shot will be a point of emphasis, as will sharpening his handle and adding some muscle to withstand the physical element of the NBA game. In addition, the Cavs want Mobley to shoot more threes to ultimately help space the floor since that's been an issue when Allen and Okoro are on the floor with him.
That spacing agenda goes for everybody. Lauri Markkanen was able to shoot it at a decent clip when he was healthy, as was Love and the recently re-signed Dean Wade. Okoro had his moments, but then he experienced a shooting slump as soon as April hit. Lamar Stevens got better at the three-ball, but it&rsquo;s not nearly enough to make defenses close-out.&nbsp;
Osman got off to a terrific start in that department, but tailed off. Sparingly used Dylan Windler wasn&rsquo;t able to establish any sort of jumper in his 50 games. With those two specifically, it&rsquo;ll be interesting to see who Cleveland parts with if/when Sexton re-enters the fold, because the roster will be one man over the limit.&nbsp;
It sounds like Windler&rsquo;s chances to stay afloat are worse than Osman&rsquo;s due to his lack of shot-making, and Cedi having his share of high moments. As for how Cleveland&rsquo;s front office will execute the crunch, there could be opportunities to consolidate via a trade later this offseason.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We have a whole summer to figure it out,&rdquo; the team source said.
(Had the Cavs found someone they wanted to use their mid-level exception on, the front office would&rsquo;ve considered moving Osman or Windler to Indiana in a sign-and-trade for Rubio. However, the talent pool dried up quickly and Cleveland just decided to sign the veteran point guard outright.)
With Summer League action off and running, the Cavs are set to open their schedule in Las Vegas on Friday. It&rsquo;s the first of many steps toward not only getting back to where they were, but surpassing that and becoming a consistent playoff presence.
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&ldquo;I think the big thing for our group is we were so close. I think we're motivated, we're hungry,&rdquo; the team source said. &ldquo;But when people come into Cleveland, it's not, 'Alright, we got the same old Cavs. We can kinda just dilly dally for three-and-a-half quarters and then we'll just win at the end.' No. We're gonna have a target on our back, and how do these guys respond? How are they gonna react when teams are coming in here giving their best effort where that wasn't the case the last three, four years?&rdquo;
The Eastern Conference is improving and Cleveland won&rsquo;t be sneaking up on anybody anymore, so it&rsquo;ll be on this young group to withstand the storm headed its way and come out with more passion and fire than ever before.

Spencer Davies speaks with a Cleveland Cavaliers source about their offseason moves and what's next for the young team.

After exceeding expectations, Cavaliers expect a target on their back

Exiting the 2022 NBA Draft, the Detroit Pistons were widely regarded as one of the biggest winners. Not only did Detroit find a dynamic scoring guard at No. 5 overall in Purdue&rsquo;s Jaden Ivey, they maneuvered the board to their advantage and secured another lottery pick with Memphis&rsquo; Jalen Duren.
After adding Ivey and Duren to an already strong nucleus led by 2021 No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham, the Pistons are ushering in the next successful era of Detroit basketball.
A full-on revival is underway in the Motor City, with general manager Troy Weaver calling the shots. The Pistons had an eventful week, beginning with veteran forward Jerami Grant being traded to the Portland Trail Blazers. While the return was a bit lighter than expected, the move created significant cap space and the added artillery was then used to acquire Duren. This calculated move by the Pistons&rsquo; front office shows their vision and how determined they are to build the best ecosystem around Cunningham.
Ivey, the Boilermakers' electric lead guard who took the NCAA by storm, averaged 17.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists on 57.9% True Shooting. With his aggressive scoring mentality, Ivey should form a terrific one-two punch alongside Cunningham in the Pistons' backcourt. Both 20-year-olds will feed off of each other&rsquo;s best attributes, and they can both play on- or off-ball.
Ivey checks every box as a perfect running mate for Cunningham. Not only will he take pressure off Cunningham, the No. 5 overall pick will keep defenses honest on every single possession. Defenses will have to pick their poison when guarding this backcourt, and the ceiling for this duo is immense.
&ldquo;Absolutely he blends with Cade,&rdquo; Weaver said of Ivey. &ldquo;Both competitive spirits, [and] he&rsquo;ll help generate easy buckets, play on the second side, be able to create for others on the floor as well. We think it&rsquo;s a big-time fit... What he brings to the table is he&rsquo;s got electric speed, and he&rsquo;ll create opportunities offensively for us because of his speed. And he has the measurables to become a big-time defender. His athletic gifts along with the tenacity he brings to the floor and competitive spirit are things that attracted us to Jaden.&rdquo;
Although Ivey isn&rsquo;t from Michigan, the Detroit roots are profound. This is why Ivey was so comfortable ending up with the Pistons, only working out for them and the Orlando Magic during the pre-draft process.
Ivey&rsquo;s grandfather, James Hunter, played for the Detroit Lions. Ivey&rsquo;s mother, Niele Ivey, played for the WNBA&rsquo;s Detroit Shock during her professional career (and is now the head coach of Notre Dame women&rsquo;s basketball team). Ivey&rsquo;s father, Javin Hunter, played high-school basketball at Detroit Country Day School as well. Ivey was born and raised in Indiana, but given his family's history in Detroit, the Pistons treated his arrival as a pseudo homecoming &mdash; presenting him with each of his relative's Detroit jerseys during his introductory press conference.
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During Jaden Ivey&rsquo;s introductory press conference, the Pistons presented him with jerseys his grandfather, father and mother wore during their playing days in Detroit ❤️<a href="https://t.co/efu8dHOSJH">pic.twitter.com/efu8dHOSJH</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1540495919535341571?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2022</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re trying to construct your team, you want to make sure you fill certain holes,&rdquo; Weaver said. &ldquo;First of all, [Ivey] is a tremendous young man. Tremendous family background. Strong Detroit roots. Obviously, his grandfather was a Detroit Lion. His grandmother still lives here, has a clothing store. So, it&rsquo;s a homecoming for him."
In the modern NBA, elite guard play is what wins you games at a consistent clip. Pairing Cunningham with Ivey could quickly become a mismatch nightmare for opposing defenses, especially once they gain a rapport.
&ldquo;Versatility, length, athleticism, competitive spirit,&rdquo; Weaver said of the backcourt duo of Cunningham and Ivey. &ldquo;Looking forward to watching both of those guys playing together.&rdquo;
Once the Sacramento Kings decided to pass on Ivey and select Iowa wing Keegan Murray at No. 4, a ton&nbsp;of teams were calling the Pistons about their No. 5 selection. Weaver said he's never experienced that much trade activity at any other point in his career. However, even with strong overtures from multiple teams, the Pistons were not going to pass up an opportunity to pair two potential star guards together for the foreseeable future.
&ldquo;We said, &lsquo;Okay, one of our guys is on the board. Let&rsquo;s cash in,'' Weaver said.
After securing Ivey, the Pistons weren't done. Detroit's front office shifted their attention to adding Duren, who was the cherry on top of a historic night for the organization. In a three-team deal with the New York Knicks and Charlotte Hornets, the Pistons received Duren in exchange for the pick they just grabbed from Portland in the Grant trade less than 48 hours earlier.
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Early on, Weaver identified Ivey and Duren as the team's primary targets. In the end, the Pistons' dream scenario played out. For Duren, he had his eyes on Detroit shortly after his pre-draft workouts began.
&ldquo;I worked out for the Pistons; they were my first pre-draft workout," Duren said. &ldquo;For me, I fell in love with the organization. From there, I actually told my agent this is where I wanted to be. I knew this was where I wanted to be.&rdquo;
Duren, who entered this past season as a potential top-five selection, slipped down the board to No. 13 where Detroit took full advantage. When looking over his freshman campaign with the Memphis Tigers, Duren was plagued by super inconsistent point-guard play coupled with consistent off-court distractions related to head coach Penny Hardaway&rsquo;s job security. Duren still produced amidst the chaos, averaging 12.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks on 60.8% True Shooting.
With Detroit, Duren enters a situation where his development doesn&rsquo;t have to be rushed. Instead, with Isaiah Stewart and Kelly Olynyk in place, the Pistons can allow Duren to develop at whatever pace is best for him.
Adding Duren also throws water on the fire related to Deandre Ayton&rsquo;s potential fit in Detroit. <a href="https://theathletic.com/3381739/2022/06/24/pistons-draft-jaden-ivey-jalen-duren/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to The Athletic&rsquo;s James Edwards III</a>, the Pistons are more likely to pursue multiple veteran additions compared to focusing on one single splash to cap off a strong offseason. If that&rsquo;s the case, it might be best to pivot away from Ayton and instead focus on the high ceiling Duren possesses.
When looking at the Pistons&rsquo; young core, it&rsquo;s hard not to feel giddy about their long-term outlook. Ivey and Duren are perfect complementary pieces for Cunningham, allowing him to take the next step forward as the bonafide face of the franchise.&nbsp;
If everything clicks for Detroit, look out for them taking a serious jump forward within the next calendar year. I&rsquo;m already extremely high on the fit between Cunningham and Ivey, but Duren&rsquo;s value as a pick-and-roll monster will be felt immediately as well. The pieces are beginning to fall into place for the Pistons, and now patience is the next step of the process with three key building blocks age-20 or younger.
&ldquo;I mean, we&rsquo;re trying to build this thing the right way,&rdquo; Weaver said. &ldquo;Continue to restore the franchise, so the community and city can be proud of what we put on the floor.&rdquo;
Detroit is still a few steps away from really hitting the turbo button on their rebuild, but it&rsquo;s hard to argue with the results as of late. The hardest part of the process is over with Cunningham onboard, and now Ivey and Duren have the makings of real accelerants who can make an impact as early as this season.
Right now, the Pistons' momentum is hard to ignore. At the press conference, the franchise handed out shirts that said "RESTORE," which wasn't lost on their recent additions.
&ldquo;Detroit said it about 'RESTORE,' I think that&rsquo;s the biggest thing. We want to restore, get the city of Detroit back to winning,&rdquo; Ivey said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s something I want to get to. I want this team to win. I&rsquo;m just gonna do whatever it takes to win, and having a guy like Jalen (Duren), Cade (Cunningham), Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart &mdash; those guys want to win. I feel like I can help a team win.&rdquo;
Armed with ample amounts of salary flexibility this offseason, the Pistons have countless scenarios to improve their roster. If it&rsquo;s not chasing Ayton on a max contract, Michigan native and current Charlotte Hornets wing Miles Bridges certainly makes sense as a potential free-agency target to slot in as a starter.
Beyond this offseason, the Pistons have flexibility over the next few seasons as they develop their young stars and wait for them to break out. Once that occurs, look out for the Motor City Revival to be in motion
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After nailing the 2022 NBA Draft, the Detroit Pistons' rebuild could take off. Evan Sidery breaks down the Pistons' young core.

Motor City Revival: Pistons' draft-night haul accelerates rebuild

After an up and down start to the season, New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu has greatly impressed since the start of June. Her recent play was encapsulated by a landmark performance against the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday night, in which Ionescu scored 26 points... on 11 shots... while only playing in the first three quarters.&nbsp;
In case you still needed confirmation on how wide the rims were for Ionescu last night, she hit this.
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The Liberty are 4-8, but three of those wins have come in the four games played thus far in June. Ionescu has scored 20 or more points in all four games after having accomplished the same task only seven times in 41 career WNBA games prior. She's been absolutely on fire.
Boasting 26.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists (vs. 2.5 turnovers) per game on .574/.469/1.00 shooting splits is bonkers; that's a 74.7% True Shooting percentage!
While noting that the Liberty have played only one team currently slated to make postseason play in this four-game run (Washington Mystics), this stretch is essential for the immediate future of the New York Liberty.
Another essential indicator: plus-15.83.
What is it? The difference in points scored per 100 possessions when Crystal Dangerfield plays the point guard position alongside Ionescu and when Dangerfield is off the court. Per PBP Stats, the Liberty have a 94.5 Offensive Rating without Dangerfield on the court and Ionescu on. With both on the court, that figure shoots up to 110.1.
When looking at the base Net Rating from Her Hoop Stats as a reference, that's a jump from the 10th-ranked offense in The W to the best. It's of course not a drag-and-drop equation, but the point remains: With Ionescu playing alongside another lead ball-handler, the Liberty offense is vastly better (and the defense remains roughly the same).
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This is not an indictment of Ionescu, but rather a dimension of New York's roster. Ionescu isn't currently routinely able to create high-level looks without a ball-screen. With how good Ionescu is at creating out of pick-and-roll, she's commanded two defenders to the ball much of the season, which has negated much of her ability to put defenses in rotation.
Adding Dangerfield to the starting lineup (the biggest change in this four-game stretch) hasn't actually changed Ionescu's usage as you'd think; her usage in June is up substantially from the first eight games of the season from 22.1% to 28.75%.
While Ionescu has just shot better in general and is certainly in an outlier stretch (21% above league average TS is insane), her looks have been easier &mdash; even her tougher shots. She's been very aggressive, but she's getting more clean three point attempt looks by... not having the ball!
That sounds counterintuitive, but playing with Dangerfield creates the opportunities for easier looks when Ionescu isn't always tasked with intitiating sets. Even when she is taking those tougher looks contested in the mid-range, it's more on her terms and dictated by her pacing than it was earlier in the year.
Dangerfield is remarkably quick and so good at getting downhill, knifing into the paint. The threat of someone who can penetrate the paint outside of Ionescu does wonders for the Liberty. It seems small, but watch this set.
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The dribble continuity is awesome. Dangerfield puts things in motion and Ionescu is brought off of a screen up to the ball. The defense isn't dictating that possession when Ionescu isn't the player starting with the ball. Earlier in the season, she would get swarmed as soon as the screen came (watch that Sky game... MAN).
Again, speaking of the threat of another drive.
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In spite of how small this New York team is across the board, it lacks many ball-handlers who can get downhill. The extra step of contemplation that Dangerfield draws from Sylvia Fowles, which in turn opens Sabrina up for the deep shot? That wasn't there earlier this season.
Having a player to even open a set for Ionescu to then initiate after flowing off of the ball makes it that much simpler to find a rhythm.
Utilizing Ionescu off of screens or even as a screener herself opens up more ways to weaponize her shooting abilities, which in turn provides more versatility in attacking out of secondary pick-and-rolls.
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Dangerfield scores here, but why?
There's a momentary miscommunication and hesitation on the switch between Kayla McBride and Evina Westbrook. Ionescu's threat as a shooter is likely the root cause! If this is properly switched or communicated, Stef Dolson is cleaning house with a solid screen and Dangerfield is likely finding Ionescu above the arc to flow into a secondary action.&nbsp;
Easier looks and less work to get into sets and shift the pieces on the chess board has made life simpler for Ionescu as a decision-maker and scorer. She can use her tempo and pacing to probe and attack now that those lanes exist with more regularity.
Does it matter if Ionescu "is" a point guard? To me, not really. These past four games have shown how good she can be and better apply her skills when she has another ball-handler alongside her. She certainly has limitations as a heliocentric creator, but that's partially on the roster as well.
What Sabrina Ionsecu brings is remarkably valuable and hard to replicate at the highest levels. Putting her in better positions to succeed provides strands of hope for a season that looked headed for disaster. How she and the Liberty continue to grow and develop as the season goes on will be a key storyline as the year unfolds.
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Sabrina Ionescu has found her footing in recent weeks, scoring efficiently and playmaking with guile. What's changed?

Sabrina Ionescu's playmaking and efficiency guiding New York Liberty

There are few certainties in life.
Death. Taxes. And Dorian Finney-Smith corner threes.
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Death, taxes&hellip;and a Dorian Finney-Smith corner three. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mavs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mavs</a> <a href="https://t.co/meTTIRgc18">pic.twitter.com/meTTIRgc18</a>
&mdash; Dorothy J. Gentry (@DorothyJGentry) <a href="https://twitter.com/DorothyJGentry/status/1501718770460602369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2022</a></blockquote>

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When Finney-Smith entered the league six years ago, the Dallas Mavericks wing was told that the corner three is the easiest shot in the NBA and that he&rsquo;d &ldquo;make a lot of money" if he could knock it down consistently. &nbsp; &ldquo;I was already playing into the corner my rookie year, and once I realized how many corner threes I was going to get, I just worked on it,&rdquo; Finney-Smith told BasketballNews.com in a one-on-one conversation.
He laughs, as if he's just now realizing that it has become his trademark shot. Then, he shouts out the former teammate who helped his corner three become so deadly.
&ldquo;Wesley Matthews was a good vet for me. He was always telling me that I needed to get that (corner three) shot down pat if I wanted to be on the court," Finney-Smith said. "And I did!"
He would spend the next few years focused, head down, determined to prove he belonged in the league. He developed into a reliable shooter and perfected the corner three, just as Matthews advised.
This season, Finney-Smith shot 46.1% on corner threes &mdash; a huge improvement from his rookie year, when he shot just 26.3% from that spot. During the 2022 NBA Playoffs, he's been even better, knocking down 52.5% of his corner threes.
&ldquo;I had the confidence that I could shoot. I shot the ball well in college, it just ain&rsquo;t translated the first couple of years in the NBA,&rdquo; Finney-Smith said.
He knew there was only one way to get his shot back: stay in the gym and work.
&ldquo;Repetition builds confidence," Finney-Smith explained. "Also, I think my teammates seeing how hard I worked, it also built confidence in them. The ones who have been here with me throughout this journey &mdash; like Maxi [Kleber], Dwight [Powell], Luka [Doncic] &mdash; I think they see the work I put in and that also gives them confidence to give the ball to me in late-game situations.
&ldquo;Guys see the work you put in; they can tell if you've been in the gym or if you been BSing, and I built confidence with those guys, especially Luka, to pass me the ball in those clutch situations. They have trust in me, even when I miss it.&rdquo;
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Finney-Smith also earned the trust of Dallas' front office. After playing his best basketball and helping the Mavs win a lot of games (in the regular season and now in the playoffs), Finney-Smith is getting the recognition he deserves. The undrafted baller from Portsmouth, Virginia, was also rewarded with the biggest payday of his career.
In early February &mdash; six years after signing a non-guaranteed contract with the Mavs &mdash; Doe-Doe (as he is affectionately called) signed a four-year contract extension worth a reported $55 million. After earning $4,000,000 this season, he'll reportedly be paid $12,402,000 next year.
He has played his way into a starting role and into the hearts of MFFL&rsquo;s, becoming one of the fan favorites. Finney-Smith has established himself as an integral piece of the Mavs' future after averaging a career-high 11.0 points along with 4.7 rebounds, 2.2 threes, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals (while shooting 47.1% from the field and 39.5% from three-point range).
During the postseason, he has elevated his game to a higher level. In Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Phoenix Suns, Finney-Smith finished with a playoff-career-best 24 points (on 8-12 shooting from three) and 8 rebounds. He became just the third player in Dallas' franchise history to make at least 8 three-pointers in game, joining Maxi Kleber (8 threes against the Utah Jazz on April 18, 2022) and Jason Terry (9 threes against the Los Angeles Lakers on May 8, 2011 &mdash; exactly 11 years to the day).
On Tuesday night, with the Mavs down 0-3 to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, he helped lead Dallas to victory with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 4 threes and 2 assists while shooting 69.2% from the field and 57.1% from three.
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The underrated 3-and-D specialist opened up to BasketballNews.com about this Mavs team, his happy place, his experience going undrafted, what talent he wishes he had and much more.&nbsp;
In your own words, how did the Mavs get here &mdash; to the Western Conference Finals?
Dorian Finney-Smith: "Just by staying together. Early in the year, we weren&rsquo;t shooting the ball as well as we wanted to. I feel like we just stuck with it. We didn&rsquo;t blame nobody else; we looked inward and we took accountability as a team. And shout out to the coaches: J-Kidd, he did a good job of making us hold each other accountable. All those close games that we were in the last couple of years, I feel like this year we made that step &mdash; finishing the game the right way."
After going undrafted, what allowed you to keep going mentally? And who's been in your corner?
Finney-Smith: "I have a big family. [The answer is] them. My kid&rsquo;s mom (Jasmine).
"I always felt like when I first made the team, I just wanted to get on the court. And once I got on the court, I just wanted to make sure I showed everyone I belonged. Once I started playing on the regular, I just always wanted my presence to be felt, even if I was making or missing shots."
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Did you ever think that playing in the NBA wasn&rsquo;t going to happen for you? Did you ever get down on yourself?
Finney-Smith: "Nah. Nah. Hell nah. I never got down. I was a little mad I didn't get what I wanted on my first deal. I played a whole lot, then I started&hellip; just me being&hellip; At times, it was a little frustrating just because I&rsquo;m human."
Who are you closest to on the team?&nbsp;
Finney-Smith: "Trey Burke, Reggie [Bullock]. Actually, we all pretty much hang out together. We are a close-knit team; even Luka comes and kicks it with us. This is probably the closest Mavs team I've been on. When I first got here, I had an older team: Devin Harris, JJ [Barea], Dirk [Nowitzki]."
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Finney-Smith: "Quiet. Or with the kids playing around. When I am not on the court, I am quiet."
What living person do you admire most?
Finney-Smith: "My mom because of her resiliency, and how she never let what she was going through show."
What talent would you most like to have?
Finney-Smith: "I wish I could sing. If I could sing, I probably&hellip; woo&hellip; I would sing all the time. I would sing myself out of trouble. (laughs)"
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?&nbsp;
Finney-Smith: "I don&rsquo;t know. God gave me everything I got for a reason, so nothing."
What drives you? What&rsquo;s your motivation?
Finney-Smith: "I would say fear of failure. Coming from where I came from, a small city, I always grew up around a whole bunch of 'I used to be' or 'what I could have done' stuff like that, so I am just trying to make the most of my opportunity because I know a lot of people may never get this opportunity or the chance to even get this opportunity."
Who is your favorite WNBA team and player?
Finney-Smith: "The (Dallas) Wings. Elizabeth Williams (of the Washington Mystics) is my favorite player. She is from Virgina; we both came out together in high school. She&rsquo;s a Virginia girl."
Who or what is the greatest love(s) of your life?
Finney-Smith: "My kids or my mom."
If you died and could come back as anything or anyone, what would it be and why?
Finney-Smith: "A lion. 'Lion King' is my favorite movie, and I love lions."
If you enjoyed this piece, be sure to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/reggie-bullock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">check out Dorothy J. Gentry's exclusive interview with Dallas Mavericks wing Reggie Bullock</a> as well.
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Dorian Finney-Smith opens up about his breakout season, the Dallas Mavericks' playoff run, going undrafted, his happy place and more.

Dorian Finney-Smith Q&A: 'This is the closest Mavs team I've been on'

Izaiah Brockington couldn&rsquo;t help but lick his chops.&nbsp;
On Dec. 9, 2021, highly-touted 2022 NBA Draft prospect Keegan Murray and his Iowa Hawkeyes were traveling to Ames for an in-state rivalry game. The 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward was leading the nation in scoring with an average of just under 24 points per game (on a scorching 59.3% clip from the field), and the Hawkeyes were averaging over 90 points per contest at that point.
Through rigorous film study, Brockington observed Murray&rsquo;s favorite spots on the court, where he liked to catch the ball and how he got his buckets. And from the tip, the 6-foot-4, 200-pound guard followed through. He denied post-entry to Murray time and time again, helped the helper and put pressure on the Hawkeyes on the perimeter.
By the end of the night, Brockington outscored and outrebounded Murray while holding him to the worst game of his season by far (9 points on 4-of-17 from the field), while simultaneously delivering the game's most efficient performance with 29 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
&ldquo;I feel like that was definitely one of my best games of the season. I really came into that game wanting to shut him down,&rdquo; Brockington told BasketballNews.com in a phone interview. &ldquo;I went out there and really tried to take away his strengths and mainly speed him up. I feel like he was really good when he was allowed to play at his pace and when guys were giving him space to work and see what was going on on the floor. So, I really came into that game wanting to lock him down on defense. And then, the 29 points, that was a bonus really.&rdquo;
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Unlike Murray, who&rsquo;s projected to be a lottery pick in most mock drafts (including <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/keegan-murray" target="_blank" rel="noopener">No. 6 overall</a> in <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com&rsquo;s latest</a>), you surprisingly won&rsquo;t find Brockington&rsquo;s name anywhere on those big boards. And no, you won&rsquo;t find him partaking in this week&rsquo;s NBA Draft Combine nor the G League Elite Camp. Considering his size at the guard position coupled with his ability to rebound, make <a href="https://twitter.com/SynergySST/status/1507061353076383744?s=20&amp;t=bJGYe1FEeuLkx9hLdfQYuQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">high-difficulty shots</a> and, most importantly, defend at a high level, it&rsquo;s a head-scratcher.
Take into account that Brockington spearheaded a 22-win Iowa State program that won just two games the season before, an NCAA-record turnaround, and it just seems like a downright mistake. So, he&rsquo;ll just have to prove that he stands out and find other ways to turn heads &mdash; just like he did last December.
&ldquo;I feel like my work ethic allows me to catch guys that a lot of people deem 'better' or would rank higher [than me]," Brockington said. "I feel like I have the intangibles that other people don't. I have athleticism, and I have the dog mentality &mdash; somebody who just loves to compete and loves to win and isn't gonna let somebody just walk all over them.
&ldquo;I love to compete. I attribute it to being from Philly. We just never back down from a challenge. The intangibles, I feel like, set me apart. And then, with my work ethic, all of these things that people say I don't have, I'm working every day and I'm ready to show everybody that I do [have them].&rdquo;
Having just worked out for the Atlanta Hawks, Brockington&rsquo;s list of interested teams is growing. According to sources, the Toronto Raptors, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Lakers, Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz and Brooklyn Nets are lined up next &mdash; and he has five other teams who asked to schedule workouts at Tandem&rsquo;s Pro Day on Friday.
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Brockington&rsquo;s lone season at Iowa State went down as the best of his college career, and he considers it the most fun he had playing basketball at the collegiate level because the roster was brand-new and had something to prove.
As a senior, he averaged 16.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, was named to the All-Big 12 First Team and earned the 2021-22 midseason John Wooden award. Boasting the Cyclones&rsquo; highest usage rate (27.5%), he took on the most responsibility he had to that point and ran with the opportunity.
Defensively, Brockington attributes much of his success (93.2 Defensive Rating) to the players he had to guard along the way. Starting in the Big 12, a conference he refers to as &ldquo;ridiculous&rdquo; in regards to talent, match-ups against Kansas standout Ochai Agbaji and Baylor&rsquo;s Jeremy Sochan and James Akinjo helped iron sharpen iron. The nights were intense and featured high-level basketball.
This past season, Brockington was adept at cutting off catch-and-drives (0.47 points per possession, per InStat) and defending pick-and-roll ball-handlers (0.54 PPP). It&rsquo;s something that he believes carried over his time at Penn State, where he spent two seasons prior to transferring.
&ldquo;We were really big on defense, so it was really about angles over there. And then, going to Iowa State, Coach TJ [Otzelberger] and our whole defensive scheme was non-stop pressure and to get guys to go into our help,&rdquo; Brockington said. &ldquo;But I feel like... you can push guys to your help, but it's better to be able to guard somebody and not need the help. I feel like, yeah, I definitely would try to cut guys off so that it's not forcing us to rotate and create long closeouts. Little things like that just help you stay more compact on defense and just stay more locked on your man.
&ldquo;So at Iowa State, we would drill things like [pick-and-roll defense] &mdash; getting over screens, being able to communicate and getting over and under, and just sticking on the ball-handler, making it tough for them. But, I also feel like I can thrive in an all-switching situation because I have strength and I have explosiveness. I feel like when I get caught down in the post, I can front or just make it tough for bigger guys to get easy position. I feel like I can thrive in either system, for sure."
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The Work Gonna Show🖤✍🏾&hellip;<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/iPromise?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#iPromise</a>🙏🏾 <a href="https://t.co/K23fSy995m">pic.twitter.com/K23fSy995m</a>
&mdash; Izaiah Brockington (@TheOnlyiZB) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheOnlyiZB/status/1527033907014684682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2022</a></blockquote>

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During his two years with the Nittany Lions, he took on different roles and began to blossom under Pat Chambers. Again, there was plenty of talent to face-off against in the Big Ten, such as current Chicago Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu at Illinois, San Antonio Spurs forward Joe Wieskamp at Iowa, Indiana Pacers guard Duane Washington and future NBA Draft pick Johnny Davis at Wisconsin. Stylistically, Brockington believes the Big Ten&rsquo;s physicality helped prepare him too.&nbsp;
At Penn State, Brockington reconnected with his longtime friend Lamar Stevens. The now-Cleveland Cavaliers forward performed night-in and night-out for the team, showing Brockington the consistency and hard work it takes to be successful. Stevens has been in his ear throughout the pre-draft process, sharing what needs to be done and how to stick in the league. Brockington appreciates the support and encouragement, and he's taking every bit of that advice.
(Brockington&rsquo;s collegiate basketball odyssey actually began at St. Bonaventure, the first of three schools he&rsquo;d attend. Playing for Mark Schmidt for one year, he and the Bonnies had a solid season led by seniors Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley. Brockington ultimately transferred to Penn State to be closer to home and ended up sitting out a season, by rule, before suiting up).
As far as translatable skills go at the next level, Brockington states that his defense and rebounding top the list, along with his athleticism and ability to get downhill.&nbsp;
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In addition, Brockington takes pride in being well-versed in any kind of role. At St. Bonaventure and early on at Penn State, he did a bit of everything &mdash; serving as a spot-up shooter, a slasher, a rebounding specialist and a sixth man. He even played spot minutes off the bench at one point.
At Iowa State, he was a go-to guy, a star player and a leader for the first time in his college career, so opposing defenses threw everything but the kitchen sink at him.
&ldquo;Against certain teams &mdash; Texas comes to mind specifically &mdash; [they were], like, face-guarding me. [Texas] Tech would have a guy pressure and they would have dudes sit in gaps and essentially try to force me off of the ball. Seeing double-teams and all of that was new," Brockington said with a laugh. "It was just crazy being guarded like that in college 'cause I'd never had to deal with things like that before. I feel like those things really pushed me to be able to adapt and really try to just make smart decisions."
On the offensive end, Brockington has an appetite for the mid-range. The sly southpaw is able to get to his spots quickly off the ball and fire away with his leaping lefty jumper, and he likes to attack off the catch (with fireworks often following). Though he admits that is the area where he&rsquo;s most comfortable at the moment, Brockington understands the importance of being a three-level scorer.
&ldquo;I've been working on really being a combo guard &mdash; a guy that can use pick-and-rolls and make reads and just really making the right decision every time, a lot of basketball IQ things,&rdquo; Brockington said. &ldquo;And then, just knocking down threes... I've been working a ton and I'm looking to show everybody that I can knock down threes off the kick-out and off the pick-and-roll and off the dribble. I've been working extremely hard on that, and it's been going great.
&ldquo;I mean, [the mid-range] is an underappreciated part of the game. But a lot of analytics guys will tell you that it's inefficient, and that's probably true for most guys. That's just not the case with me. I feel like when I take mid-rangers, I create enough space horizontally and vertically to be able to get a clean look off.&rdquo;
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Despite spending five years in college, Brockington is only 22 years old because he graduated from high school early. Possessing that much experience at his age, he considers it an advantage. At the same time, Brockington says age doesn&rsquo;t have to do with his ability to play the game, pick up new information and improve as a player.
&ldquo;My experience in college has really taught me about consistency and taught me what hard work can do, and it's really about the preparation leading into everything,&rdquo; Brockington said. &ldquo;Games are won way before that time comes. Games are won in the offseason. Games are won in the film room. Games are won in pregame shootaround. So those are things I'll always have with me.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It hasn't been a typical college journey, but one thing that's remained the same is everywhere I go, I put my head down and work. I went out there, I produced and I was out there trying to win."
For Brockington, growing up in Philadelphia, he&rsquo;d always attend his father Antoine&rsquo;s rec-league games and hear stories about him. Antoine was a hell of a pro in his own right, achieving tremendous success overseas after an impressive career at Coppin State, where he won the 1997-98 MEAC Player of the Year award &mdash; and Izaiah looked up to him proudly.
Now, as the pre-draft process begins, it&rsquo;s Izaiah Brockington&rsquo;s time to carve his own path and make him proud.
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Spencer Davies speaks with Izaiah Brockington about his breakout season at Iowa State, unique path and next-level aspirations.

Izaiah Brockington hopes his unique journey culminates in NBA success

March Madness is underway!
Across the country, teams are competing in conference tournaments and trying to punch their ticket for the NCAA Tournament. Selection Sunday is almost here, and then the tourney starts next Tuesday.
If you missed any of the Day 2 action, here's a recap of what went down on Thursday.
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Games of the Day
Indiana def. Michigan 74-69 &mdash; B1G Second Round
With 11:03 remaining, Michigan led 60-43 and appeared to be in complete control. The Hoosiers would go on a 20-2 run and took the life right out of the Wolverines, completing the comeback by winning 74-69. Trayce Jackson-Davis led all players with 24 points and 4 blocks in a stunner. Indiana faces No. 1 Illinois next.
Texas A&amp;M def. Florida 83-80 in OT &mdash; SEC Second Round
This one was wild. The Aggies dominated all afternoon and held a 9-point lead with 1:07 to play, but the Gators went on a 12-3 run of the next 50 seconds to tie it at 70-70, forcing the game into overtime. They stayed deadlocked at 78-78 with 1:10 left in overtime when Hassan Diarra hit a triple with one second on the clock to win 83-80. A huge win for a true Bubble Team in A&amp;M.
Arizona def. Stanford 84-80 &mdash; Pac-12 Quarterfinals
The largest lead either way today was 7 points &mdash; in a game where Stanford was given a whopping 5% chance of victory. The Cardinal took a 75-74 lead with just over three minutes to go, but the Wildcats had answers. Kerr Kriisa exiting with injury is important to monitor, but Christian Koloko led the team with 24 points as Arizona survives and advances.
Miami (FL) def. Boston College 71-69 in OT &mdash; ACC Quarterfinals
Kam McGusty led the Canes with 16 points in the nail-biter, as they avoided the upset in overtime. Only one basket was scored in the final 2:30 of the contest &mdash; a Jordan Miller layup that sealed the deal. A big save by Miami.&nbsp;
Villanova def. St. John&rsquo;s 66-65 &mdash; Big East Quarterfinals
The Red Storm let a 17-point second half lead slip away to end their season. Villanova was carried by its starting five, with only 7 points coming from the bench unit. Caleb Daniels led the way with 19 points and 7 rebounds. Justin Moore added 15 points of his own.&nbsp;
Toledo def. Central Michigan 72-71 &mdash; MAC Quarterfinals
In a game where the largest lead was 7 points for each team, Toledo held on for the 1-point win. Harrison Henderson scored with 20 seconds remaining to make it 71-70 Central Michigan, but a RayJ Dennis layup with 10 seconds left would seal the deal. Setric Milner Jr. led the way with 22 points for the Rockets. It's a big win for Toledo who currently projects a No. 13 seed.
Providence def. Butler 65-61 &mdash; Big East Quarterfinals
This one was back-and-forth from the tip, as the teams traded leads the entire contest. Tied at 55 with 3:06 remaining, Simas Lukosius hit a big pair of free throws for Butler to take the lead, but Al Durham hit a huge triple with 43 seconds to go for the Friars to take a 61-59 lead. Durham would follow with a dunk at the end of the game to seal the deal at 65-61. Despite the loss, it was a hard-fought game by the Bulldogs.&nbsp;
Wyoming def. UNLV 59-56 &mdash; Mountain West Quarterfinals
The Cowboys held a 9-point lead in the second half, but allowed the Rebels to fight their way back into it. Xavier DuSell hit a huge three with 30 seconds, and then, Brendan Wenzel iced the game with a pair of free throws. A great game from UNLV&rsquo;s Bryce Hamilton comes up just short.&nbsp;
Akron def. Buffalo 70-68 &mdash; MAC Quarterfinals
This was a fight from start to finish. Led by Ali Ali&rsquo;s 19-point effort and a pair of Greg Tribble free throws with four seconds remaining, the Zips survive and advance. They will face No. 1 seed Toledo on Friday afternoon in the MAC semis.
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The Upsets, the Madness
Oklahoma def. Baylor 72-67 &mdash; Big 12 Quarterfinals
The Sooners took the lead with 11:51 to play and never gave it back. With a balanced offensive attack of five players in double-digits, Oklahoma shocked the Bears. Jacob Groves led the way with 15 points, while Marvin Johnson provided 12 off the bench.&nbsp;
Vanderbilt def. Alabama 82-76 &mdash; SEC Second Round
Bama led by 10 points at the break but Scotty Pippen Jr. and Co. had other plans. Vandy roared back to take a 68-67 lead with 4:26 to play, and was able to hold the Crimson Tide off the rest of the way. Jordan Wright hit a pair of free throws late to ice the game, and the Commodores advance. Pippen Jr. ended with 26 points and 7 assists.
TCU def. Texas 65-60 &mdash; Big 12 Quarterfinals
The Horned Frogs had a win probability of 29.3% entering this one, and that&rsquo;s all they needed. After being down 40-20 in the first half, TCU did a complete 180 and outscored the Longhorns 45-20 the rest of the way. Mike Miles and Co. are setting themselves up well, and will take on the Kansas Jayhawks in the Big 12 semis.
Penn State def. Ohio State 71-68 &mdash; Big Ten Second Round
The Nittany Lions were given a 24.2% chance of winning today, and they did just that behind Sam Sessoms' 18 points off the bench. Jalen Pickett also had a huge game with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Penn State moves on to play No. 3 Purdue.&nbsp;
Grambling def. Southern 60-58 &mdash; SWAC Quarterfinals
Led by Tra&rsquo;Michael Moton&rsquo;s 12 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists, Grambling took the lead with 10 minutes left in the game and never gave it back. The Tigers will face Texas Southern next.&nbsp;
Tulsa def. Wichita State 73-67 &mdash; American First Round
The Golden Hurricane had four players with 10 or more points, including two with at least 20. After an 11-19 season, this was a nice win for Tulsa as it tries to make a late push in the conference. Tulsa will move on to face No. 2 SMU.&nbsp;
Portland State def. Southern Utah 77-65 &mdash; Big Sky Quarterfinals
The Vikings entered this game under .500 on the season, but put up 77 points on 51.9% shooting from the floor. They held Southern Utah to a lowly 36.8% from the floor and are able to advance.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17868177_lg.jpg" alt="" width="571" height="414" />
Standout Performers
Noah Fernandes (UMass): 29 points, 7 assists
Spencer Jones (Stanford): 28 points, 8 rebounds
Jimmy Boeheim (Syracuse): 28 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
Keegan Murray (Iowa): 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Grant Sherfield (Nevada): 25 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds
Joel Murray (Long Beach State): 25 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana): 24 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, 10-17 FG
Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke): 26 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
Nate Watson (Providence): 26 points, 7 rebounds, 9-14 FG
Scotty Pippen Jr. (Vanderbilt): 26 points, 7 assists
Tristen Newton (East Carolina): 26 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists
Jordan Walker (UAB): 26 points, 5 steals, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
EJ Liddell (Ohio State): 25 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks
Orlando Robinson (Fresno State):&nbsp;25 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
Christian Koloko (Arizona): 24 points, 9 rebounds, 10-12 FG
Dillon Jones (Weber State): 23 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals
Julian Champagnie (St. John&rsquo;s): 23 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA): 23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Prentiss Hubb (Notre Dame): 23 points, 5 assists
Zyon Pullin (UC Riverside):&nbsp;23 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds
Amadou Sow (UC Santa Barbara): 21 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Bryce Hamilton (UNLV): 22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Mahki Morris (Abilene Christian): 22 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds
Chuba Ohams (Fordham): 20 points, 16 rebounds, 2 steals
Darien Jackson (Tulsa): 20 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Brady Manek (UNC): 21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Malique Jacobs (Kent State): 21 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists
Kowacie Reeves (Florida): 21 points, 6 rebounds
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17866936_lg.jpg" alt="" width="381" height="272" />
2022 NBA Draft: Prospect Watch&nbsp;
Keegan Murray (Iowa): 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke): 26 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
EJ Liddell (Ohio State): 25 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks
Orlando Robinson (Fresno State):&nbsp;25 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
Christian Koloko (Arizona): 24 points, 9 rebounds, 10-12 FG
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA): 23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Tari Eason (LSU): 19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks
Justin Lewis (Marquette): 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals
Ochai Agbaji (Kansas): 18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Trevor Keels (Duke): 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Jabari Walker (Colorado): 18 points, 16 rebounds
Iverson Molinar (Miss. State): 19 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Julian Champagnie (St. John&rsquo;s): 23 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists
Collin Gillespie (Villanova): 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
David Roddy (Colorado State): 13 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
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March Madness is underway! If you missed any of the Day 2 action, here's a recap of what went down during Thursday's games.

March Madness: Conference tournament Thursday recap

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

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

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

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St. John&rsquo;s defeats DePaul 92-73, faces No. 2 Villanova
Julian Champagnie: 26 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals
Javon Freeman-Liberty: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists
Seton Hall defeats Georgetown, faces No 3. Connecticut
Jared Rhoden: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Aminu Mohammed: 12 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17861107_lg.jpg" alt="" width="701" height="467" />
Pac 12
Stanford defeats Arizona State 71-70, faces No. 1 Arizona
Spencer Jones: 26 points, 6 rebounds, 6-12 (3PT)
DJ Horne: 21 points, 8-17 FG
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Heck of a comeback, <a href="https://twitter.com/StanfordMBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StanfordMBB</a> 😳🤯 <a href="https://t.co/AqCzhETS30">pic.twitter.com/AqCzhETS30</a>
&mdash; Stanford Athletics (@GoStanford) <a href="https://twitter.com/GoStanford/status/1501697971083116544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

March Madness: Conference tournament Wednesday recap

International players have been dominating the NBA in recent years.
An American-born player hasn&rsquo;t won the NBA&rsquo;s Most Valuable Player award since the 2017-18 season (thanks to Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo). This streak will likely continue this year, as the MVP frontrunners are Joel Embiid (-120), Jokić (+260) and Antetokounmpo (+600).
Every Defensive Player of the Year award since 2016-17 has gone to an international player too (with Rudy Gobert winning three and Antetokoumpo winning once). This year, oddsmakers once again see this as a two-man race between Gobert (-145) and Antetokounmpo (+440).
A record six international players were named to an All-NBA Team last year: Antetokounmpo (All-NBA First Team), Jokić (All-NBA First Team), Luka Dončić (All-NBA First Team), Embiid (All-NBA Second Team), Gobert (All-NBA Third Team) and Kyrie Irving (All-NBA Third Team).
This year&rsquo;s All-Star Game featured six international players (including a record-tying four starters): Antetokounmpo, Jokić, Embiid, Dončić, Gobert and Andrew Wiggins. Overall, All-Star Weekend included 15 international players from 12 different countries.
Opening-night rosters around the NBA featured a record 121 international players from 40 countries &mdash; the eighth-consecutive season with at least 100 international players across NBA rosters.
BasketballNews.com caught up with NBA Vice President and Head of International Basketball Development Troy Justice to discuss the growing impact that international players are having on the NBA, how much easier it is for foreign players to get discovered today, how today&rsquo;s international stars have helped the NBA&rsquo;s globalization efforts and more.
Many of today's international players say that they fell in love with basketball after watching past international stars like Dirk Nowitzki, Hakeem Olajuwon, Pau Gasol and Steve Nash among others. How excited are you to see what kind of impact Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić, Joel Embiid, Luka Dončić and so on will have on the next generation over the next 10-20 years?
Troy Justice: &ldquo;Great question. And I'll tip this off by just going back through the history of international players in the NBA. Thirty years ago, when we really started digging in and investing in the international landscape from the NBA side, there were only 23 international players. Now, we have 121. [That&rsquo;s] incredible growth over that period of time. And to be real honest, I think we're only scratching the surface in terms of not only talent identification but just the development of the game globally. So, it's amazing.
&ldquo;What I would say is that it goes back to our mission statement for the NBA. I don't know if you've heard our new mission statement, but it's, &lsquo;To inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball.&rsquo; That's exactly what's happening. The next generation watched the previous generation and because of that, they said, &lsquo;I can do it!&rsquo; Like, &lsquo;Somebody else has done it, and look where they came from, look at their path, and nothing can hold me back. If I put my mind to it and work hard, I can do it too.&rsquo; And so that inspiration is what I think has created this legacy and also this new amazing level of stars that we're experiencing. We're really at an all-time high from an international perspective.&rdquo;&nbsp;
I&rsquo;ve talked to some executives about how difficult it used to be to scout international talent, and how some foreign players were even drafted sight unseen. How much easier is it for international players to be discovered now compared to 20-30 years ago?
Justice: &ldquo;Well, that landscape has completely changed. First of all, it's the 20-year anniversary of the Basketball Without Borders program that we, as the NBA, run all around the world for the top talented players. All of the NBA scouts attend our four summer camps and our Basketball Without Borders global camp during All-Star. They're all in attendance and scouting because they know that we have the best of the best and five different opportunities for data points for them. And we bring them all to one place, so they don't have to travel all over the world. So, it's more convenient for them. We do that work for them in a lot of ways in creating these platforms and programs. And then, of course, with the launch of our NBA Academy program, we're bringing players like Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels to our NBA Academy games or the G League Showcase or other events where the pro scouts can also see them here on U.S. turf, domestically, so they're not traveling all over the world. Those types of things are just making it more convenient.&rdquo;
When you&rsquo;re seeing NBA Academy alumni like Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels thriving and participating in All-Star Weekend, that has to be the best feeling.
Justice: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s an amazing journey that they&rsquo;re on. For us, it's rewarding because we see their dreams come true, and that's what we're all about. Our job is to create pathways and develop programs and provide everything that they need to succeed, and they just have to work hard and grab hold of it and take the teaching. And it's paying off, We're seeing that now. And there's a whole bunch coming behind them. I think with Basketball Without Borders, we have over 94 former campers who have been drafted or [signed as] free agents. Honestly, it either gives me chills or I tear up, if you really want to know the truth.
&ldquo;But because we're investing in them early, they come more prepared than ever. I think that's why we're seeing Josh Giddey doing what he's doing as a rookie. People were very surprised when he went No. 6 in the draft, so great job by OKC on the scouting and on the pick. But I think you can see the proof point now that when you're in the NBA system and in the NBA family early, you're way more prepared than you would be otherwise. And so it's just a testament to the great work by all the people who have been a part of their journey.&rdquo;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/gidde_lg.jpg" alt="" width="717" height="377" />
With many international players dominating, I&rsquo;ve heard fans wonder: Is there something that international players are doing that American-born prospects aren&rsquo;t? How does an international prospect&rsquo;s path and development differ from an American player&rsquo;s path? &nbsp; &nbsp;
Justice: &ldquo;One thing I'll mention and this is an international concept: For example, in Africa, there&rsquo;s a saying, &lsquo;In the jungle, it's the hungry lion that hunts best.&rsquo; And I really think it's the concept of really having to come in and prove yourself. There's humility, No. 1. There is a desire and hunger. So the work ethic is very strong &mdash; and I'm not saying the domestic players [don&rsquo;t work hard], I'm not speaking negatively about them, but I'm just speaking directly to the characteristics I see in international players. You know, the work ethic, the desire. And I would say they are incredible learners, very humble in the way they approach it. So they're great listeners, they take coaching very well in the sense that it immediately translates into change and improvement in their game &mdash; from IQ to skillset.&nbsp;
&ldquo;And then finally, you typically see that they're really great team players. They're team-first players, with very little ego usually and they&rsquo;re very professional in their approach. Also, I would say that they're family oriented and community oriented. A lot of them come from places where this core value that sits within them allows them to not be self-focused or self-centered, but to be other-focused. And I think that allows them to be great teammates.&rdquo;&nbsp;
I&rsquo;ve heard international players talk about how they grew up playing other sports (like soccer), whereas American players often hone in on one sport because they want to get a scholarship or go pro. Do you think the fact that international players have played multiple sports helps them in terms of their development and skillset?
Justice: &ldquo;Yes, 100%. That's one of the things that we recommend globally as part of our Jr. NBA global curriculum that we use around the world. When we developed that, we put together documentation on this with the experts in the field and multi-sport at a younger age, without sports specialization, allows an athlete to excel further in the future &mdash; no matter which sport they choose. So this is not just an idea, this is stuff that experts study; it's stuff that's real. And so there's no doubt about it.&rdquo;
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One of my favorite things about international players thriving is that the misconceptions and stereotypes about these players have been disproven and they&rsquo;ve largely disappeared. They were always really unfair, but how nice is it to see those ridiculous stereotypes &mdash; like &ldquo;they&rsquo;re soft&rdquo; or &ldquo;they don&rsquo;t really love basketball&rdquo; &mdash; go away?
Justice: &ldquo;You are right on there. When you have Giannis and Jokić and Joel, I mean&hellip; come on! That just erases all of that. Because when your top players are your hardest workers&hellip; I mean, look at Giannis and how hard he plays night in and night out. And to do that, you know he had to work hard. He had to work hard to become a Most Improved Player and to get to that level. When the fans and sportswriters see that, it's real. That's reality TV, and they're seeing his growth right in front of them! And that's definitely a pattern we're seeing. So I'm so glad that the stereotypes have changed.
&nbsp;&ldquo;And these are young stars! What's amazing is these MVPs are not veteran players. These are young, talented players. When you are looking at the 121 international players, I mean, a large majority of them are young, hungry, growing players who are learning and reaching new heights. And so you're gonna see [a lot more from] guys like Giddey. I mean, he's got three triple-doubles, and he&rsquo;s the youngest player to have those three triple-doubles; he's gonna have a lot more in his career. That&rsquo;s for sure.&rdquo;
You mentioned that we&rsquo;re just scratching the service in terms of international players dominating the NBA. What are some of your goals going forward?
Justice: &ldquo;I would start by saying that we're currently working in 145 countries as of this last year with all of our programs. And these programs are grassroots through Elite. So we're working with young players and we're working with coaches around the world &mdash; we're training coaches and we're training and developing players at the age of 10-and-up through our Jr. NBA program and then our NBA Basketball School program and our Basketball Without Borders program and our academies. So we've created a global basketball ecosystem in partnership with FIBA and federations around the world to say, &lsquo;Let's all work together for the greater good of the growth of the game, and all boats will rise together.&rsquo; And that's really what's been taking place. And then in the future, we're going to expand all these programs. We're looking to go to 160 countries this year, with a goal to go up to 170 countries. And so we're just going to keep growing and expanding, and doing what we do even better and doing more of it.&rdquo;
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In Australia, Patty Mills had the top-selling NBA jersey and Josh Giddey was No. 4 (trailing only Mills, Stephen Curry and LeBron James). When so many international players are thriving, how does that help the NBA&rsquo;s globalization efforts and worldwide popularity?
Justice: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s incredible because you see these fans coming [to games] with their flags flying. Even here at All-Star, I think Luka's going to be very popular because I know that there's a large community here from Slovenia. Wherever these stars go, not only do they attract global fans, but in particular, fans from their home country. And many of these players, if not all of them, are going back to their home countries in the offseason to give back &mdash; whether it's running their camps or refurbishing courts or providing training or giving shoes. Whatever it is, they're doing a lot to put back into the game because they realize what others have done to help them, so they're looking to help others on that journey. That's just kind of part of the culture and the ecosystem and that give-back stuff is like compounding interest that we're experiencing together.
&ldquo;We are so proud of these international players and how they are representing themselves and their countries and their teams and their league. These are really incredible people who are making a real difference. And not only are they having these tremendous careers, they&rsquo;re doing a lot of great things off the court to grow the game globally and give back. We often talk about their stats and awards, but they are also tremendous global citizens who are using this platform for a lot of the right reasons, and we&rsquo;re very excited about them and for what the future holds.&rdquo;
You and your team have also helped develop many young women through Basketball Without Borders and the NBA Academy Women&rsquo;s Program. Can you share some details about those efforts?
Justice: &ldquo;This is a huge focus area for us, a real area of passion, and something that we really work hard at. I just met with our women&rsquo;s Elite team this morning and they briefed me that we now have over 60 athletes from around the world that we have placed in U.S. prep schools and U.S. colleges, including some at the highest levels like at South Carolina and Connecticut. We have women in our program internationally that are at the highest levels competing. And then Han Xu from China was our first women&rsquo;s Academy player to be drafted into the WNBA, so there&rsquo;s a lot of work we&rsquo;re doing on that side too.&rdquo;
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Troy Justice, the NBA's Head of International Basketball Development, discusses the NBA's recent international takeover.

An inside look at how international players are taking over the NBA

The Miami Heat are one of several teams that can legitimately win an NBA championship this season, full stop.
If you&rsquo;ve watched them at all through objective eyes, you&rsquo;d likely conclude that they&rsquo;re somewhere between fringe Eastern-Conference-championship contenders and potential NBA champions if certain things break right.
The Brooklyn Nets, with Kevin Durant, Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving, might have the most talented trio of the Eastern contenders, but they probably won&rsquo;t have enough time to establish their chemistry this season &mdash; even if Irving could play home games starting now. (Talent is cool, but talent and chemistry wins.)
The Philadelphia Sixers will have Joel Embiid and James Harden, but that will either really work or really won't. The Milwaukee Bucks have championship equity and the best combination of talent, chemistry and two-way basketball between Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, but have just been &hellip; weird.
The Boston Celtics have Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown without an awesome build around them, but they have an indisputably better team today than this time last week (and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-celtics-are-coming" target="_blank" rel="noopener">they've been excellent over the last month-and-a-half</a>). And the Chicago Bulls, if healthy by the spring, have one of the most balanced starting fives in the league, but have as many ifs as DeMar DeRozan&rsquo;s had points these last five games. (Okay, not quite.)
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Where that lands the Heat is simple &mdash; they can get to the NBA Finals, but like their many peers, will need plenty to break right in their favor for reasons that have grown increasingly evident in watching a healthier version of them in recent games. (Having Erik Spoelstra, arguably the best coach in the NBA, also helps.)
The Heat are, again, the workhorse team that could probably get to the highest level defensively among the teams we&rsquo;re discussing, but have questions relating to their late-game offense. That could ultimately decide their fate.
Jimmy Butler is an elite two-way player, and still one of the most underrated stars in the league in a culture that is increasingly highlight-driven &mdash; and Butler isn't known for his highlights. He&rsquo;s also engineering a Heat offense that really pops for most of the game, but grows stagnant toward the end of close encounters. It&rsquo;s like a regression to where the team was in the latter portion of Dwyane Wade&rsquo;s pre-retirement run with the Heat, as Ethan Skolnick noted on last night&rsquo;s <a href="https://fivereasons.podbean.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Five On The Floor podcast</a>.
Bam Adebayo would be garnering Defensive Player of the Year attention if not for a thumb injury that sidelined him for several weeks. His offensive aggression or lack thereof (less so as of late) is a never-ending talking point on Heat Twitter, largely because it impacts the team&rsquo;s championship aspirations in either direction. Tyler Herro is currently the team&rsquo;s best shot-creator other than Butler, and &hellip; well &hellip; as well as they do everything else, that component is what&rsquo;s holding them back from being slam-dunk championship contenders, according to some.
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I'm assuming this is the aggressive Bam Adebayo some are looking for. <a href="https://t.co/7ukBX5wceG">pic.twitter.com/7ukBX5wceG</a>
&mdash; Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) <a href="https://twitter.com/stevejones20/status/1493758857159479300?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Enter Victor Oladipo, who is progressing toward a return from surgery, and is practicing with the G League Sioux Falls Skyforce 5-on-5, giving the impression it won&rsquo;t be long until he makes his 2021-22 season debut. Klay Thompson returned <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/warriors-provide-klay-thompson-injury-update-after-g-league-stint" target="_blank" rel="noopener">three weeks after his G League stint</a>, for what it&rsquo;s worth.
Oladipo is immediately walking into a high-pressure situation, and the Heat won&rsquo;t peg him as their savior, nor should they &mdash; but there will come a time when he&rsquo;ll need to be, for better or worse. We last saw Oladipo play way back on April 8, 2021, around 40 days before the start of the playoffs. What we saw of him last season is hard to gauge because he played 33 games with three separate teams in his first full season back from quad surgery (not including games in the bubble).
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The offensive creation wasn&rsquo;t at an All-Star level, but it was still there. Between stints with the Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets and four games with the Heat, Oladipo averaged about 20-5-5 and 1.4 steals per game on 41/33/75 shooting splits through 32.7 minutes per contest. The lion's share of minutes came from his stints with the Pacers and rebuilding Rockets, only logging four appearances with the Heat&nbsp;before being sidelined.
With the Heat, he saw 27.8 minutes per contest, averaging 12.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals per contest on just 37/24/67 shooting. Even though this is the definition of small sample-size theater, you still saw glimpses of how he could impact Miami on both ends.
The Miami Herald&rsquo;s Anthony Chiang reported earlier today that Udonis Haslem &ndash; <a href="https://twitter.com/AIR305/status/1488698167579262977" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who guarded Oladipo in a viral clip earlier this month</a> &ndash; says he looks way better than last year. Usually, people would file that under bullsh*t, but you can call Haslem a liar to his face if you want. I won&rsquo;t.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen enough to know he&rsquo;s definitely better than he was last year,&rdquo; <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nba/miami-heat/article258423468.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Haslem told the Herald</a>. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t seen any limping. I haven&rsquo;t seen a lack of confidence. I haven&rsquo;t seen everything so I can&rsquo;t make a fair assessment. He looks pretty [good] about where he&rsquo;s headed.&rdquo;
Chiang noted that Oladipo &ldquo;has been doing more behind the scenes in recent weeks. He traveled with the Heat on recent trips to continue his workouts around the team and has been taking part in rigorous pregame two-on-two sessions with teammates.&rdquo;
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Now, so this doesn&rsquo;t go on forever, we&rsquo;ll use Miami&rsquo;s last two games as examples to show where Oladipo could help solve problems during some worrisome fourth quarters.
Against the Brooklyn Nets, the Heat led 89-68 at one point. The Nets, who were held to 18 points in the third, erupted for 35 in the fourth, coming within one possession of Miami, largely due to [redacted] erupting for 20 of his 29 points late.
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1:32 &ndash; Irving&rsquo;s first field goal of note came as a pull-up three at the top of the key with over eight minutes left. Anticipating a screen, Gabe Vincent was slow to contest, and Duncan Robinson was late to cover.
1:45 &ndash; He pulled another one. Vincent again drops too far, awarding enough space, and Robinson gets caught behind Patty Mills setting a screen on Vincent.
1:53 &ndash; Irving takes Vincent one-on-one, and help is late coming over. Vincent, a high-level on-the-ball defender, just gets beat. It happens.
2:03 &ndash; Robinson gets beat one-on-one, and because Butler and Adebayo are worried about each dunker spot being occupied, and PJ Tucker can&rsquo;t overcommit, otherwise Mills would be nekkid for three, Irving gets to the cup.
2:12 &ndash; He gets the angle around a Butler-Robinson double team, beats Robinson with his speed, gathers over Bam&rsquo;s arm, and floats it over Kyle Lowry. A lot of other 6-foot-3 guards probably don&rsquo;t make it to Lowry there. &nbsp;
2:23 &ndash; He gets a step on Tucker guarding him at the top of the key, and drills a mid-range fadeaway.
Is Oladipo the&nbsp;answer in this setting? That would be unfair so long removed from game action, but you can throw him on Irving here for a couple of different possessions to help give the Heat defense a shot in the arm. At his peak, Dipo was a soul-sangin&rsquo; All-Defensive guard, who should at least be a quality defender again, even if he won&rsquo;t reclaim all-world status soon (if ever).
Now, let's look at the fourth-quarter breakdown, symbolized by the Heat&rsquo;s loss to the Mavericks last night, in which Miami again squandered a double-digit lead.
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For this, it&rsquo;s simple: 40 second-half points typically won&rsquo;t get it done, especially when your opposition is wildin&rsquo; from three. This could be as simplistic as the Mavs shooting 18-for-41 from three (43.9%) to the Heat&rsquo;s 7-for-27 (25.9%). But Vincent, who played all 12 fourth-quarter minutes despite having one of his worst outings in recent weeks, probably had minutes last night that would&rsquo;ve gone to Oladipo or Tyler Herro who was out with an injury (along with Caleb Martin, Markieff Morris and Dewayne Dedmon). Vincent went 0-for-2 in the quarter, both from deep, and had two fouls. Outside of a rebound, he did nothing else offensively. The team in general reverted to a simplistic offense.
Vincent is the guy whom Oladipo will primarily compete with for minutes &mdash; last night notwithstanding, he&rsquo;s been quite a revelation this season considering that he didn&rsquo;t appear NBA-ready in the two seasons prior.
The path to Oladipo getting minutes is through being a competent shot-creator on offense, and an adequate point-of-attack defender on the other end. The high-end of this would have him finishing games, even over Herro, in a lineup of Lowry-Oladipo-Butler-Tucker-Adebayo &mdash; which is attainable, but unrealistic to expect right out the gate. It&rsquo;s, for now, a dream scenario.
If Dipo&rsquo;s great, it&rsquo;ll be a good problem to have for Miami, and it&rsquo;ll raise their floor, giving them someone who&rsquo;ll be a top-three shot-creator on the team. So, the Heat don&rsquo;t need Oladipo to contend, but it&rsquo;ll sure as hell make a lot of things easier &mdash; even as Spo will have to stay up late figuring out these rotations. It&rsquo;ll also help cover up some of the team's shortcomings otherwise, on both ends of the floor, and that could be Miami&rsquo;s missing ingredient.
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Bryan Fonseca looks at the impending return of Victor Oladipo and how he'll positively impact the Miami Heat.

Victor Oladipo is coming: How he can help raise the Heat’s ceiling

The WNBA has announced a $75 million capital raise &mdash; the largest-ever for a women&rsquo;s sports property.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/FOS/status/1489219199612424193" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Front Office Sports</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;The report adds that those who invested will each receive an equity stake in the league, the first time the WNBA has ever done such a raise. The league has seen tremendous growth in recent years. This past year's WNBA Finals averaged 548,000 viewers on television, up 63% from 2020.&nbsp;
Official press release:
NEW YORK &ndash; The WNBA announced today the largest-ever capital raise for a women&rsquo;s sports property, featuring new investors and existing WNBA and NBA owners. &nbsp;This groundbreaking transaction is part of a multi-faceted financial growth strategy designed to generate new revenue through increased investment in priority areas as part of the league&rsquo;s long-term business transformation.
Proceeds from this transaction are expected to be used for brand elevation and marketing; globalization of the WNBA; innovation, digital, and growth of consumer touchpoints; and human capital and operational optimization as part of an overall effort to address some of the league&rsquo;s obstacles to growth and generating new revenue.
&ldquo;We are incredibly fortunate to be able to capitalize on the current momentum around women&rsquo;s sports and are grateful to the investors who have chosen to support the WNBA in an unprecedented way and to our team governors who continue to invest in the players and teams,&rdquo; said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. &nbsp;&ldquo;Our strategy is to deploy this capital to continue to drive the league&rsquo;s brand as a bold, progressive entertainment and media property that embodies diversity, promotes equity, advocates for social justice, and stands for the power of women. &nbsp;Having just completed our historic 25th season, with this access to additional capital, we are setting the WNBA up for a successful future and it represents a sign and signal of the future direction of women&rsquo;s sports as a whole.&rdquo;
As part of its ongoing commitment to empowering women athletes and women&rsquo;s sports, NIKE, Inc., one of the league&rsquo;s current premier partners and inaugural WNBA Changemaker, has made a significant equity investment in the WNBA. &nbsp;Nike&rsquo;s investment further deepens the company&rsquo;s support for women&rsquo;s basketball and enables the WNBA to elevate the marketing and storytelling of WNBA athletes.
&ldquo;Women&rsquo;s sport is one of the best investments, with great potential to impact and grow the next era of basketball,&rdquo; said Sonja Henning, VP, North America League Partnerships, NIKE, Inc. &ldquo;Nike has always been more than a sponsor with the WNBA &ndash; we&rsquo;re a strategic partner. And we&rsquo;re proud to be part of a movement to redefine the future of sport for a new generation &ndash; for WNBA players, fans and girls.&rdquo;
The initial investors are: Micky and Nick Arison, Carnival Corporation and Miami HEAT; Bill Cameron, CEO and President, American Fidelity, Dallas Wings; &nbsp;Swin Cash, WNBA legend and current New Orleans Pelicans Vice-President of Basketball Operations and Team Development; Baron Davis, NBA legend; Michael and Susan Dell, Dell Technologies and minority investors, San Antonio Spurs; Karen Finerman, CEO and Co-Founder, Metropolitan Capital Advisors; Pau Gasol, NBA legend and Member of the IOC Athletes&rsquo; Commission; Ginny Gilder, Seattle Storm; Dee Haslam and Whitney Johnson, Haslam Sports Group, Cleveland Browns and Columbus Crew; Linda Henry, Boston Globe, Boston Red Sox, Liverpool Football Club; Brad Hilsabeck, former CEO, Grantham, Mayo Van Otterloo &amp; Co. and minority investor, Dallas Wings; Eric Holoman, President and CEO, EquiTrust Life Insurance, Los Angeles Sparks; Mark Walter, CEO, Guggenheim Partners, Los Angeles Sparks; Laurene Powell Jobs, Founder and President, Emerson Collective; Ted Leonsis, Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Monumental Sports &amp; Entertainment, Washington Mystics and Washington Wizards; James and Heather Murren, former Chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International; NIKE, Inc; Condoleezza Rice, Stanford University and 66th US Secretary of State; Angela Ruggiero, CEO and Co-Founder, Sports Innovation Lab; Herb and Steve Simon, Fever Basketball, LLC; and Joe and Clara Tsai, New York Liberty and Brooklyn Nets.
&ldquo;Susan and I are excited about the growth opportunity in women&rsquo;s sports and specifically the WNBA,&rdquo; said Michael Dell, CEO, Dell Technologies and minority investor, San Antonio Spurs. &ldquo;We also are proud to support a league that is committed to empowerment, and we look forward to supporting Cathy and all the accomplished and diverse women of the WNBA to make a positive impact in the world.&rdquo;
Both the WNBA and NBA Boards of Governors approved the transaction. Allen &amp; Company LLC served as the financial advisor for the transaction.
The 2021 season marked the WNBA&rsquo;s 25th anniversary and featured new partnerships with Google, the latest WNBA Changemaker, as well as Amazon Prime Video, Dick&rsquo;s Sporting Goods and Coinbase. &nbsp;The companies joined a growing lineup of partners led by WNBA Changemakers AT&amp;T, Deloitte and NIKE, Inc. &nbsp;The league also introduced an innovative in-season competition &ndash; the WNBA Commissioner&rsquo;s Cup &ndash; which will continue with the upcoming 2022 season.
About the WNBA
Having concluded its historic 25th season in 2021, the WNBA is a bold, progressive basketball league that stands for the power of women. &nbsp;Featuring 12 teams, the W is a unique sports property that combines competition and entertainment with a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and social responsibility. &nbsp;Through its world-class athletes, the in-game fan experience, TV and digital broadcasts, digital and social content and community outreach programs, the league celebrates and elevates the game of basketball and the culture around it.
In 2020, the WNBA and the Women&rsquo;s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) signed a groundbreaking eight-year CBA that charts a new course for women&rsquo;s basketball &ndash; and women&rsquo;s sports overall &ndash; with a focus on increased player compensation, improvements to the player experience, expanded career development opportunities and resources specifically tailored to the female professional athlete. &nbsp;Key elements of the agreement are supported through the league&rsquo;s new platform, WNBA Changemakers, with AT&amp;T, the WNBA&rsquo;s Marquee Partner and inaugural Changemaker, as well as fellow inaugural Changemakers Deloitte and NIKE, Inc, and the recent addition of Google. During the 2020 season, the WNBA and WNBPA launched the WNBA Justice Movement forming the Social Justice Council with the mission of being a driving force of necessary change and continuing conversations about race and voting rights, among other important societal issues.

The total is the highest ever for a women's sports property.

WNBA announces $75 million capital raise

The college basketball season is underway, which means BasketballNews.com's scouting coverage has been kicked into full gear. The bulk of my travel and scouting schedule is set through the entire season, and let me tell you &mdash; I have some terrific basketball to see! As I scour the map evaluating prospects at various levels, I'll be sharing my takeaways every step of the way. I hope you enjoy it!
Here&rsquo;s who I watched in-person this last week:
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/jabari-smith" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jabari Smith</a> - Auburn vs. South Florida MIN: 28 | PTS: 9 | REB: 10 | AST: 0 | STL: 0 | BLK: 1 | FG: 3-12 | 3PT: 2-7 | FT: 1-2 | TO: 1
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I am in Tampa, Florida tonight to watch top-rated Jabari Smith and his Auburn Tigers take on the South Florida Bulls. To start the season, Smith, a 6'10" forward is averaging 15.5 points and 8 rebounds per game. He is currently ranked at No. 3 on our 2022 NBA Draft Big Board. <a href="https://t.co/Yp1BgGkgEf">pic.twitter.com/Yp1BgGkgEf</a>
&mdash; Matt Babcock (@MattBabcock11) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattBabcock11/status/1461843250311045131?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2021</a></blockquote>

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A little over a year ago, I visited Phoenix, Arizona to attend Dinos Trigonis&rsquo; Pangos All-American Festival. There, Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren stole the show. However, I was also able to see Jabari Smith, a 5-star recruit that was committed to the Auburn Tigers. I loved his potential as a mobile, stretch 4, but he seemed to be quiet and somewhat unassertive, and I was left with some questions about his lack of strength and overall toughness. &nbsp;
Fast forward to this past Friday, and I had an opportunity to see Smith for the first time with the Tigers as they took on the South Florida Bulls in Tampa, Florida.
Although it was not Smith&rsquo;s best game &mdash; he only shot 3-for-12 from the field &mdash; I walked away thoroughly impressed. He possesses a unique combination of length, fluidity as an athlete and an ability to shoot the ball with range, giving him a ton of potential on the offensive end. On the defensive end, I&rsquo;m not sure he is getting enough attention for his talent and upside. He has aggressive hands, covers a lot of ground laterally with ease and makes quick reactions. He has gotten much stronger, has a frame that looks like it will fill out very well, and subsequently, has become tougher and more physical. Any questions that I had about his lack of toughness and assertiveness have been tossed out the window. In fact, I&rsquo;m not overly concerned about anything with him.&nbsp;
Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren are still top-tier prospects in my book, but Smith is not far behind, at all. He can score on all three levels and has a chance of being an exceptional defender. He checks a lot of boxes. I think he has a chance of becoming a prototypical stretch 4, which can&rsquo;t be said lightly. If someone wanted to make an argument for Smith as the top prospect for this year&rsquo;s draft, I&rsquo;d be more than willing to listen.
We currently have Jabari Smith ranked at No. 3 on the BasketballNews.com <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a>.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/patrick-baldwin-jr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Patrick Baldwin Jr.</a> - UW-Milwaukee vs. Florida MIN: 34 | PTS: 13 | REB: 3 | AST: 1 | STL: 2 | BLK: 2 | FG: 6-15 | 3PT: 0-3 | FT: 1-2 | TO: 3
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I&rsquo;m in Gainesville, Florida tonight to see projected lottery pick Patrick Baldwin Jr. and his UW-Milwaukee Panthers take on the Florida Gators. Baldwin Jr., a smooth 6-foot-9 wing, is currently slotted as the No. 6 player on the <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@basketbllnews</a> 2022 NBA Draft Big Board. <a href="https://t.co/bne3hgnd9c">pic.twitter.com/bne3hgnd9c</a>
&mdash; Matt Babcock (@MattBabcock11) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattBabcock11/status/1461460374650343428?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Prior to arriving at the O&rsquo;Dome in Gainesville, Florida, I had seen freshman Patrick Baldwin Jr. before, but it had been a couple of years back at a USA Basketball mini-camp. Seeing him recently, his size was the first thing that grabbed my attention. Listed at 6-foot-9 and 220 pounds, he looked like a power forward and not a guard, the position he is listed as on the UW-Milwaukee website. I also noticed that he has huge hands, as he snatched the ball from the ground with ease like Kawhi Leonard might do. Once the Panthers began formal warmups, they split into two groups: guards and bigs. Baldwin worked out with the guards. I found all of that to be interesting. That said, it was immediately apparent that his skill level was very high. He handles the ball well and has a terrific shooting stroke, especially for a player of his size. Before tip-off, I was very intrigued, to say the least.
Once the game started, it was clear that UW-Milwaukee was far overmatched by an experienced Florida team. It was not a very good game overall. Baldwin showed flashes of his high skill level, consisting of abilities to shoot with range, dribble, pass and utilize advanced footwork. Despite Baldwin&rsquo;s translatable tools and skills, his casual approach was concerning. I left the arena torn; I felt teased and wanted to see more. The good thing is I&rsquo;m able to watch him again Tuesday night, as I&rsquo;ll be in attendance to see his UW-Milwaukee team take on Bowling Green in Fort Myers, Florida. I&rsquo;m also set to see him in Colorado on Dec. 10 &mdash; so stay tuned for more updates on him.
In the meantime, we currently have Patrick Baldwin Jr. ranked No. 6 on the BasketballNews.com 2022 NBA Draft Big Board.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/matthew-cleveland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matthew Cleveland</a> - Florida State vs. Loyola Marymount MIN: 17 | PTS: 13 | REB: 1 | AST: 1 | STL: 1 | FG: 6-8 | 3PT: 0-1 | FT: 1-2 | TO: 0
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I have a close eye on Florida State&rsquo;s Matthew Cleveland tonight in Jacksonville, Florida, as the Seminoles take on the Loyola Marymount Lions. Through 3 games this season, Cleveland, a true freshman, is averaging 8.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. <a href="https://t.co/3WHjH4aSjG">pic.twitter.com/3WHjH4aSjG</a>
&mdash; Matt Babcock (@MattBabcock11) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattBabcock11/status/1462556486723330055?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Last spring, I was able to see Matthew Cleveland play for the first time, as his high school team (Pace Academy) was competing at GEICO Nationals in Fort Myers, Florida. I was impressed with him, as he was an aggressive and effective slasher and scorer. Although I can&rsquo;t say I had a firm grip of him as a prospect going into the season, he had made a big enough impression for me to justify including him in our initial 2022 NBA Draft Big Board.
Sunday night in Jacksonville, Florida, I was able to see Cleveland for the first time with his new team and school, Florida State. Despite not starting for the Seminoles and head coach Leonard Hamilton giving 11 players double-digits minutes of playing time, Cleveland was able to show a lot of the things that made me like him in the first place. Listed at 6-foot-7 (I question if he&rsquo;s actually that tall) with a reported 6-foot-11 wingspan, Cleveland is visibly long for a wing. Watching him, I found him to be extremely mature and poised, especially for a freshman; he made terrific decisions throughout the game. He has room for improvement as an outside shooter, but his ability to score as a slasher while also being a great defender is a valuable combination. I&rsquo;m quite confident that he will develop into a steady contributor in the NBA &mdash; he&rsquo;s solid! It is yet to be seen whether or not he&rsquo;ll play a big enough role for the Seminoles this season to generate widespread media attention for himself, but let&rsquo;s not forget that Patrick Williams was selected No. 4 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft after coming off the bench for Florida State as a freshman and only playing 22 minutes per game.&nbsp;
We currently have Matthew Cleveland ranked at No. 27 in our 2022 NBA Draft Big Board.
Last Week's Takeaways: <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/babcock-takeaways-banchero-agbaji-keels-and-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paolo Banchero, Ochai Agbaji, Trevor Keels, more</a>.

Matt Babcock details his scouting observations from this past week's trip around the state of Florida.

Babcock’s Takeaways: Jabari Smith, Patrick Baldwin, Matthew Cleveland

When the Washington Wizards acquired Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in a blockbuster trade that sent Russell Westbrook to the Los Angeles Lakers, the franchise underwent a major facelift that left a lot of unknowns this offseason.
A brand new head coach in Wes Unseld Jr. A fresh-faced starting lineup. Seven new players.
And yet, in this case, change has most certainly been welcome.
As of Friday, the Wizards sit with the Chicago Bulls atop the Eastern Conference at 9-3. Make no mistake: this isn&rsquo;t your par-for-the-course, &ldquo;Bradley-Beal-carries-and-the-rest-fall-in-line&rdquo; group that we&rsquo;ve seen so many different iterations of in Washington D.C. This is a team in every sense of the word.
And the fact that it&rsquo;s come together this cohesively and this expeditiously, for a franchise that retooled its staff and personnel less than three months ago, is incredibly unique.
&ldquo;I mean it is a different team. Basically, half the roster's different, so it is remarkable that they've kinda pulled together as quickly as they have,&rdquo; Unseld said prior to Wednesday&rsquo;s win in Cleveland. &ldquo;But I give 'em credit. They were around in September, so we didn't wait 'til the first official day of training camp to say, 'Hey, let's start putting in work.' Those guys were trying to play together, do a small side of [pickup] games, get workouts [in], finding ways to be on the floor and build that chemistry. So it's paid off for us thus far."
"We've got a bunch of dogs, man,&rdquo; Kuzma added. &ldquo;Obviously, me and KCP, we've won. We know how to win in this league. Trezz has always been an underdog his whole entire career, being a second-round pick and fighting his way through the G League and all the way to being the Sixth Man [of the Year]. But the people here, too &mdash; it's not just us. It's a collective group. It's the coaching staff, it's us, it's Brad wanting to win big in this league. It's [Raul] Neto coming in, being a dog for us, being huge. [Daniel Gafford]. It's everybody. And it's all about the culture. It's all about trying to change cultures and just win. Everything's good when you win."
These Wizards are gritty and feisty. These Wizards have that dog mentality. These Wizards are going to make you earn it. Most importantly, these Wizards gut it out.
And while it is still a work in progress, when you have a collection of castoffs with something to prove and a chip on their shoulder, they&rsquo;re developing an identity of resiliency.
&ldquo;It's not something that I really mapped out. I think it's a byproduct of who we have and their individual situations, but I think they've all bought into team success,&rdquo; Unseld said. &ldquo;They understand that when the team thrives, the individual stuff will come. They don't have to press for certain things or play out of character. [They] play team ball, continue to play our brand and our style, and it'll work out.
&ldquo;It's a long season, so it's easy to say, 'Hey we figured it out.' I don't believe that's true. We're playing well right now, which is terrific, but I think it takes time &mdash; maybe a year &mdash; to say, 'This is who we are, who we have to be.' But a lot of times, that changes with your personnel. So, I think it's gonna take some time. It's easy to say who we want to be. It may be a little different as far as how it plays out."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Kyle Kuzma's 4th three of the 4th quarter WINS IT for the <a href="https://twitter.com/WashWizards?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WashWizards</a>! <a href="https://t.co/T4MhNm71se">pic.twitter.com/T4MhNm71se</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1458623624575963139?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 11, 2021</a></blockquote>

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According to Cleaning the Glass, Washington <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/league/fourfactors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ranks fourth in the NBA</a> with a 103.6 defensive rating and, as specified by NBA.com, is allowing a league-low 8.5 transition points per game and just a 48.3% Effective Field Goal percentage. It all starts with the players guarding out on the perimeter, and keeping their assignments in front of them.
&ldquo;I think there's just an urgency to what we're doing. I've said this many times: it's never perfect. There's never a game where you walk away and those were a perfect 48 minutes of defense, but there's urgency to what we're doing,&rdquo; Unseld said. &ldquo;I think there's an understanding of how we want to play, how we want to guard concepts and situations. Where we were two weeks ago and where we are now, I think we're in a better place. And just, that's having gone through it. You can't simulate those reps enough, but having played [11] games now, you have a foundation you can kinda look back on and there's validity to it."
Not even a month into the season, Unseld&rsquo;s trust in Kuzma is already sky-high.
&ldquo;We saw it early in the preseason and obviously throughout the regular season, is our ability to switch and keep guys in front, and Kyle's able to do that,&rdquo; Unseld said. &ldquo;He's able to absorb some of the physical contact of those bigger wings, those power forwards, as well as keep those smalls in front, which is valuable. It keeps you out of rotations. And the way he's rebounded the ball in general has been dynamic. So if we can put those two things together, and you make a couple threes, you're a pretty good player."
Coming over from the West Coast, Kuzma believes that he and his Laker teammates are defensively-oriented people, but he gives much of the credit to Unseld as the reason why the Wizards are so connected on the most important end of the floor.
&ldquo;I think a lot of times in this league, what separates good teams and bad teams is defensive schemes,&rdquo; Kuzma said. &ldquo;I've been on both sides. I've been on good teams, and I've been on bad teams throughout the early part of my career. And one of the reasons why I thought we were bad was because we didn't really have schemes and whatnot. When you come here, first day of training camp, we want to be a top defensive team. Okay, how do we get that?&nbsp;
&ldquo;Wes puts us in great situations. It's really no &lsquo;air&rsquo; out there. You kinda know what it is. If it's a step-up, clear-side, we know what to do. Same thing, if we're in the lock and the trail, we know what to do. That just clears up a lot of thoughts you may have on the court, so you can just play freely and play."
Kuzma and Beal have logged the most minutes (307) among Washington duos and have allowed 99.8 points per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com. However, among two-man combinations who have played at least 150 minutes together, Harrell and Deni Avdija carry the top defensive rating (96.0) and net rating (19.1) on the team as a whole.
&ldquo;I think they did a great job of picking the right head coach, man. As you can see, it's resulting into our play,&rdquo; Harrell said. &ldquo;Coach comes in with a simple game plan, both offensively and defensively, as far as each team goes. But Coach does all the little things that some guys may not want to do at points in time, certain situations. But we're all bought in and tied in and we support him 100 percent because at the end of the day, it's a collective group effort. It's not just the coaches and then the players and then the top staff.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I think this organization moves at its best when we're all working together as one, and I think that's what Coach has done a great job of and instilling with everybody &mdash; coaching staff, players, even all the way up to the front office with Tommy [Sheppard] and our owner [Ted Leonsis].&rdquo;
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We all know by now that Harrell is a man who&rsquo;s always going to win the scrap. He uses his upper-body strength and power relentlessly, wearing down frontcourt opponents of all sizes with his multiple efforts. It seems he&rsquo;s found his footing once again following an unusual situation with the Lakers. Trezz is putting up 18.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest on a career-best 70.8% True Shooting percentage, which ranks seventh in the NBA (min. avg. 15 minutes).
He&rsquo;s establishing quite the rapport with Beal not only in postgame press conferences after wins, but in <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1626149/passes-dash/?sort=PASS&amp;dir=1&amp;Season=2021-22&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;PerMode=Totals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pick-and-roll situations on the court</a>. According to NBA.com, Harrell is 18-for-30 on passes from Beal. Further, on InStat, Trezz is scoring 1.37 points per possession as a roll man in general and converts on a league-best 88% of his rolls.
Following a hard screen or a slip, you&rsquo;d be hard pressed to find somebody more aggressive in bolting to the bucket. Add that to his ferocious demeanor on the floor, and Washington has a one-man wrecking crew whose attitude trickles down to the rest of his teammates.
&ldquo;Trezz plays hard as sh** every night out. You've gotta prepare for him,&rdquo; Kuzma said. &ldquo;Obviously, an [opposing] team, you've got to bring your best every night 'cause he's coming at you full throttle. He's crashing the offensive glass every single time, defensive glass. He's challenging shots. If you give it to him in the pocket and he's got it in the paint, it's probably going in the rim. So he's a beast.&nbsp;
&ldquo;And that energy, we feed off of it, and it's important. Especially for 82 games. You can't bring that type of energy collectively as a group every night. It's impossible. But when you see guys out there like him doing it every night, it motivates you to play hard."
Unseld Jr. relays that Harrell&rsquo;s threat of getting to the rim and the free-throw line both allows Washington to score points and get its defense set, using his 16-point, 5-rebound effort in the first half vs. the Cavaliers as an example.
&ldquo;His voice carries a lot of weight, but that energy's contagious. And it's not just the highlight plays where he's dunking the ball or he's the first guy to the floor or he's getting second possessions. He kinda just galvanizes that group at times,&rdquo; Unseld said. &ldquo;Sometimes he does it on his own where he has that stretch in the first half [vs. Cleveland], where he was kinda the lone offense. But it's also behind the scenes &mdash; his voice on the bench, his voice in the locker room. So it's great to have a guy like that, who's played in big moments and understands the value of that."
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Number of dunks by the Wizards so far this season&hellip; Montrezl Harrell: 26* Rest of team: 26 *3rd-most in NBA <a href="https://t.co/0iIKgIgorq">pic.twitter.com/0iIKgIgorq</a>
&mdash; Chase Hughes (@ChaseHughesNBCS) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChaseHughesNBCS/status/1457823082291281922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Beal is the head of the snake, and newcomer Spencer Dinwiddie has taken quite the load off of him as a ball-handler and initiator. Daniel Gafford is well on his way to becoming a household name. We&rsquo;ve still yet to see what this all looks like with Rui Hachimura and Thomas Bryant in the mix.
But with Unseld&rsquo;s approach, championship experience injected into the building and a number of people who know what it takes to be consistent on a nightly basis, the Wizards might have glued together the right parts to give D.C. a winner.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I think we have an 'OK' chemistry right now. Obviously, it's still early and young in the season, 11 games in. But that [win in Cleveland] is something that can take 'OK' chemistry to good chemistry &mdash; finding a way on the road, with the crowd against you, with a big frontcourt like they had,&rdquo; Kuzma said. &ldquo;For us to pull out a win like that, that's a big moral victory obviously outside of winning. But for the morale of the team and to keep guys together and see how we molded into one out there that last five minutes of the game was huge.
&ldquo;I mean, we're picking up wins, but I think we can take it to another level. I think that's kinda just really plain and simple. Obviously, I think we have ways to go. We have a couple levels that we can take it up to. That's just kinda next-level thinking &mdash; certain things defensively we can be better at, offensively we can be way, way better. Like I said from the jump, it's gonna take time. Every regular-season game is rehearsals for the playoffs, and by the time we get to March, April and we figure things out, hopefully we're on the right side of things. Like I said, we've got a long ways to go. Obviously it's great to be 8-3, but it really doesn't matter in early November.&rdquo;
As Kuzma tweeted last week: &ldquo;Capitol Boys out here.&rdquo;

Spencer Davies highlights how the tone of the Wizards' defense has been influenced by the Lakers' castoffs and Wes Unseld Jr.

Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell have Wizards adopting dog mentality

Sometimes Justė Jocytė needs to slow down her warp-speed world.&nbsp;
The Lithuanian channels Drake and "chill music" through her headphones, and takes a walk to find a space for herself. In her preparation process, Jocytė makes it a point to clear her head of stress.
"Literally, it's almost like meditating," Jocytė told BasketballNews.com in an exclusive interview via Zoom. "You just stop thinking. Just take a deep breath, clear your head out and really just stop overthinking everything. I think that helps; when you're thinking a lot before a game, that's not good for you."
Jocytė speaks with the calm poise of a veteran professional because she is one, in her third season at the highest levels of European basketball with Lyon ASVEL F&eacute;minin in France. But the 6-foot-2 lefty guard is also considered one of the top prospects on Earth, and, at just 15 years old, is accomplishing more than most young hoopers do in their lifetimes.
San Antonio Spurs great Tony Parker recruited her at at age-13, and she debuted with the Lithuanian senior national team that same year. At 14, Jocytė became the youngest player to debut in modern EuroLeague history. Today, she regularly competes against WNBA players and European stars, and even holds a small sponsorship deal from Nike.
Jocytė carries the faith of an NBA legend, the hopes of an entire country and the potential of a future global star on her teenage shoulders. But she holds the burden with a placid purpose, knowing that as long as she works, her pathway will reveal itself.
"I mean, the dream is obviously to get to the WNBA &mdash; but I don't really know if it's gonna be my style of game, it's kind of different from Europe &mdash; but obviously playing there, and just living my best life," she said.
"I love basketball &mdash; that's what I'm planning to do for a living &mdash; and [I] just take pleasure every day in every practice," she added. "And I think, yeah, that's most important: just to be happy."
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"Every day, we live with basketball."
According to Jocytė's father, Alvydas Jocys, the house TV is almost always tuned to hoops: NBA, WNBA, men's and women's EuroLeague and EuroCup, Lithuanian competition, you name it.&nbsp; Basketball is the country's most popular sport. It is woven into the fabric of Jocytė's family.
"It's just our life, you know?" Alvydas told BasketballNews.com over the phone.
Alvydas played college basketball through the end of the 1990s for Mid-Plains Community College, and then Bellevue University, in Nebraska. His brother, Evaldas, logged professional and collegiate careers, including stints with Lithuanian club Olimpas Plung&eacute; and Division I East Carolina University. Jocytė's older brother, 17-year-old Rokas, competes in Lithuania after having spent time on Stellazzurra Rome's U18 team in Italy.
Jocytė was even born in Washington D.C. before the family moved back to Lithuania when she was an infant. She has played above her age bracket since she could first dribble a basketball. First, it was in the backyard against Rokas. Then, at 6 years old &mdash; when she began to take a serious interest in the sport &mdash; Alvydas and his wife, Aurelija Jociene, noticed their daughter was unusually talented.
"We noticed that she had the ability to play with the ball, and play and dribble and shoot. She was different at that kind of age from other girls," Alvydas said.
Jocytė entered a program in her hometown of Palanga on the Baltic Coast of the country. Then, she outplayed her competition, and the family signed her up for training in Klaipėda, a nearby city. Jocytė was hopping from bus-to-bus at 9 years old, attending practices and games with kids three years her senior.&nbsp;
"Year after year, we saw that she was developing into a pretty good basketball player," Alvydas said. "As a family, all our job was just to get her physically and emotionally ready for the journey she has right now."
The <a href="https://twitter.com/jrnba/status/1028733912321859585?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jr. NBA came</a> at age-12. But in 2019, Jocytė's star truly shined. She led Lithuania to its first-ever U16 FIBA European Championship as a 13-year-old, then three months later, <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/womenseurobasket/2021/qualifiers/news/the-future-is-here-13-year-old-jocyte-has-lithuania-back-on-the-rise" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made her debut with the country's senior national team</a> in the EuroBasket Qualifiers.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
SHE IS 13 😱 ! Juste Jocyte's 20PTS &amp; 15REB led @Musukrepsinis 🇱🇹 to a first EVER <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIBAU16Europe?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIBAU16Europe</a> Final 🔥 ! <a href="https://t.co/gAjWbsLocB">pic.twitter.com/gAjWbsLocB</a>
&mdash; FIBA (@FIBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIBA/status/1167346821678678017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2019</a></blockquote>

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Europe took note &mdash; including one Tony Parker. The four-time NBA champion co-owned the men's and women's LDLC ASVEL clubs, and was starting his <a href="https://tpadequatacademy.com/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tony Parker Ad&eacute;quat Academy</a> in Lyon for students desiring advanced opportunities in a number of different professions. He invited Jocytė and her family to an individual workout in Oct. 2019.
"It was kind of tough, you know? You don't really know what to say because you're... scared," Jocytė said. "But I mean, he was really pretty normal as a person, so he was easy to talk to."
At that same workout, Jocytė also met her idol: former New York Liberty guard, and future teammate, Marine Johann&egrave;s.
"She was there to pass me the ball. That was cool," Jocytė said with a laugh.
Parker saw Jocytė as a headlining addition and made his pitch to Alvydas and the family. Jocytė would join the academy and become a member of Lyon ASVEL F&eacute;minin, with a three-year agreement centered on her development in Lyon. If the family ever had a question or concern about her well-being or development, Parker was a phone call away.
"It was, for myself and my wife, ver,y very surprising [to hear] the kinds of superstars as Tony Parker &mdash; we just saw them on TV prior [to when] we came to France," Alvydas said. "But when you talk to them after one minute, you already know that they're so simple and they know what they're doing. They know what kind of business they're in."
On Nov. 7, 2019, the academy announced the signing.
"I am very happy for the Tony Parker Ad&eacute;quat Academy because it&rsquo;s the first big signature," Parker said in the official press release in French. "Justė is the most special player of her generation. It&rsquo;s one of the reasons that I opened the Academy: to welcome the best prospects of their generation, evolve with young enthusiasts of all fields, and enrich each other."
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"She's definitely one of the most gifted European players to come up in a long time."
Mark Williams is a Global Scout for Premier Basketball (the same service that compiles ESPN's HoopGurlz recruiting rankings). He has watched Jocytė rise through the youth ranks since 2018, and says the smooth shooting guard is one of the most advanced players he has seen in recent years. Her cool confidence, surgical vision and sweet perimeter shot all set her apart.
"She's gifted with the ball in her hands [and] can score at all three levels," Williams told BasketballNews.com over the phone. "One of the things that she's really done well over the last year is develop the ability to get everybody else shots... I mean, she's really gifted. She can play multiple positions. She can play on the ball. She's a better defender than people give her credit for. And she can score anytime she wants."
Jocytė carved up the competition at the 2021 FIBA U18 Women's European Challengers tournament. She averaged 20.6 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game in effortless fashion, patrolling the court while exuding serenity and swagger.
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Jocytė can spot up, step back and hesi her way to any shot on the floor. She glides with an effortless grace, and shrugs contact off of her. She also operates the offense like a surgeon, rifling pinpoint cross-court passes with either hand. Williams said that if he ranked the entire 2023 recruiting class with both U.S. and international players, the Lithuanian phenom would rest on top.
"For her, it's just kind of come together really, really early. And it's fun to watch, for sure," Williams said.
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British FIBA writer Paul Nilsen has watched the international youth game for over a decade. From the first moments he scouted an age-12 Jocytė, Nilsen was floored by her clutch gene.
"You could just tell straight away she's got it," Nilsen told BasketballNews.com over the phone. "The clutch, the ice through her veins, the smarts, the I.Q., on top of, obviously, the skill factor of being able to do what you want, when you want.
"I think that maturity so young is quite a rare and special thing."
Both Williams and Nilsen lauded Jocytė's trajectory as that of a high WNBA draft pick and a potential No. 1 overall selection. But they also cautioned against the familiar trap of locking prospects in as surefire generational superstars.&nbsp;
"It's one thing, I think in any sport, being a wunderkind, where often you find other players catch up," Nilsen said. "Sometimes you're the best out of that age at 12-13, and you're phenomenal because you've got so much natural talent. And you have to try and maintain large gap, which can sometimes be hard.
"It all boils down to whether she keeps working hard and she keeps learning," he added. "Nothing else [matters] apart from her. It's got to come from her."
For Jocytė to be challenging herself on a professional team, Nilsen says, is a testament to her dedication.
"One of the things I'm very, very committed to is this concept of: the hardest decision is always for the most talented players... even though you've got lots of choices, it's very very, very difficult," he said.
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"Playing against them every day is just a dream come true. I mean, that's the best practice you can get."
In Dec. 2019, 14-year-old Justė Jocytė subbed in for the the first time with Lyon ASVEL F&eacute;minin, and became the youngest woman to debut in the modern EuroLeague, perhaps the highest level in the world outside of the WNBA. Fast-forward two years, and she has now locked down a role in the regular rotation before her 16th birthday.
Lyon competes this season in the EuroCup; it's one league lower than the EuroLeague, but still arguably the third-best league worldwide. The EuroCup is littered with WNBA talent this season, including Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell, Atlanta Dream guard Aari McDonald, Phoenix Mercury forward Brianna Turner and Minnesota Lynx forward Natasha Mack among many others.
But that's only half of the battle. In LFB (Ligue F&eacute;minine de Basketball) competition, the team squares off against players like Phoenix Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham, Chicago Sky guard Lexie Brown and Los Angeles Sparks forward Nia Coffey. For Lyon, Johann&egrave;s and Julie Allemand both have WNBA experience.
On non-game days, Jocytė's schedule typically includes distance schooling, plus two grueling practices per day with some of the best basketball players on the planet. It's a grind she embraces.&nbsp;
"This is the pro life," she said. "Get used to it, because they will not change for you."
Jocytė generally stayed on the bench in her first two years with Lyon; she logged just 31 total minutes across both seasons. However, that doesn't mean she was stuck; behind the scenes, Jocytė was adapting to the speed and physicality of pro ball with the help of her teammates and coaches.
"I really appreciate the the work that they put in. Nobody sees the work, but they're helping me a lot," she said.
This season, the young phenom has begun to emerge. Jocytė is averaging 11.8 minutes per game in LFB play and 15.0 minutes per game in the EuroCup. She's dished out 17 assists against just six turnovers, and is shooting 75% from the field across both leagues. The performances aren't coming on some experimental squad, either &mdash; Lyon sits 3-1 in the EuroCup and 4-2 in the LFB.&nbsp;
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Even more impressive is hearing the 15-year-old critically reflect on her role with the methodical understanding of a grizzled vet:
"The physical part is tough, so you obviously had to find other ways. I think mine is just reading the game, really, because obviously you will not be faster [or] stronger," Jocytė said. "Coach puts you in [and] you have to just bring the energy; he doesn't expect you to, like, score 20 points in the game. So as a young player, you just have to stay humble, stay calm and just read."
Breanna Stewart and Nikola Jokic, as well as fellow lefty D'Angelo Russell, are film favorites for the Lithuanian. She had the last laugh this fall as one of the few members of Lyon cheering for the Chicago Sky in the WNBA Finals. And even after two years playing next to Johann&egrave;s, Jocytė still marvels every day at the star guard's talent.
"It's kind of weird because before, yeah, she was my role model, and now that it's my third year playing with her, it's kind of... she's like my friend," Jocytė said of Johann&egrave;s.
Though Jocytė is still technically the youngest player on the roster, she's no longer the only teenager. Dominique Malonga &mdash; a 6-foot-6, 15-year-old center loaded with athleticism and potential &mdash; joined ASVEL F&eacute;minin for the 2021-22 campaign. Malonga is also a Tony Parker Academy student, and Parker even labeled her "<a href="https://ldlcasvelfeminin.com/dominique-malonga-nouvelle-lionne/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the feminine Victor Wembanyama</a>."
"She's my roommate, so we kind of get along pretty easily," Jocytė said of Malonga. "This goes better than last year, when you're, like, really young with all these &mdash; I'm not gonna say old (laughs) &mdash; but older ladies. So it's kind of cool to have [someone] your age."
Jocytė is still a kid, after all &mdash; a kid playing on the other side of the continent, away from her family. Alvydas and Aurelija check-in nearly ever day with their daughter via WhatsApp. When Jocytė comes home, she'll get back on the court and battle with her brother and father, and everyone in Palanga knows her name. She says she's "not that sensitive of a person," but that doesn't mean leaving Lithuania is easy.
"I really miss home, and it's kind of hard without your family and friends. So it's always a good feeling when you come back home. It doesn't matter if it's, like, two days or something. It's really good to be there," she said.
"It was hard to let her go the first time because, you know, the '14-year-old girl on her own in the big city 2000 kilometers away' &mdash; kind of scary," Alvydas added. "[But] we know that she is in good hands [and] she gets taken care of."
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Lthuania may be a basketball-crazed nation, but its women's leagues lack sustained prominence. Top players and prospects typically latch onto a development track in another region, and return home to play during the offseason. Jocytė and her father cited that lack of consistency at home as a factor in them looking toward France for her pro career.
With the national teams, though, Jocytė feels immense pride in representing her country on European and global stages.
"It's an amazing feeling to play with your national team," she said. "It's just something you really appreciate when you play overseas or something. When you come back, it's really just amazing."
(Her most recent opportunity came in the 2023 EuroBasket Qualifiers, where she scored four points on Thursday against Finland before leaving the game with a minor ankle injury. Lithuania will play again Sunday.)
The world only continues to open up for Lithuania's young star. Her current agreement with the Tony Parker Academy and Lyon reaches an option of sorts after this season. Jocytė could continue on for another three years, adding continued professonal experience and growing with ASVEL F&eacute;minin. Or, she could opt out and attend another program or school just about anywhere &mdash; including the United States.
According to a source, high-major colleges are already demonstrating interest in Jocytė. Even WNBA teams have her on their radar when the earliest she could be draft-eligible appears to be 2025. (There's confusion here due to her U.S. birth vs. Lithuanian upbringing/playing status.)&nbsp;
The family will face a monumental decision after the season. They'll weigh pros and cons, including developmental situations, level of play and even endorsement opportunities. But for now, Jocytė is focused on what she loves &mdash; playing basketball &mdash; with the regimented mentality of continued growth each day.
"I feel good here and there's a good opportunity for me here," Jocytė said. "I'm still young, so that's normal that I don't play a lot. So really, I'm just working on myself every day trying to earn the trust of my coach, and hopefully in one year or two, I will be able to really have a big impact on the team."
That's what Alvydas admires most about his daughter. Jocytė remains a level-headed sailor amidst rocky seas, letting a pure love for the sport guide her to whatever big stage is next.
"I'm very proud that she's still a simple girl, and she's very supportive to other kids," Alvydas said. "I'm very proud that she's still very, very simple and focused on what she's doing."

Lithuanian star Justė Jocytė is turning heads as the youngest woman to ever compete in the modern EuroLeague.

Meet Justė Jocytė: 15-year-old phenom and professional record-breaker

The world's best professional athletes can earn hundreds of millions of dollars for their elite talents. With this comes the opportunity to have a luxurious lifestyle, and supercars may be some of the coolest flexes out there.
A study from <a href="http://www.ManySpins.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ManySpins.com</a> sought to estimate the most expensive car collections among pro athletes around the world.
"ManySpins.com analyzed <a href="https://www.forbes.com/athletes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.forbes.com/athletes/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1631971421396000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGAISRIhOGZdjAGbcQKuQ6EI2EDdA">Forbes&rsquo; 2021</a> list of the world&rsquo;s 50 highest-paid athletes, investigating several reports into the number and value of cars these athletes have amassed with their enormous wealth," he study reads. "They then scoured the internet to find out which car brands and models each athlete owns alongside their estimated worth. Ultimately, this allowed ManySpins.com to rank the most expensive car collection of the best-paid athletes in 2021."
According to the study, global soccer star Lionel Messi has the most expensive car collection of any professional athlete, worth an estimated $38,873,313. However, the bulk of his 13-vehicle value comes from a single car: a Ferrari 335 S Spider Scaglietti that he bought for over $34 million.
Brooklyn Nets centerpiece Kevin Durant owns the most expensive car collection among NBA players. His eight-vehicle entourage is worth an estimated $4,369,741. It includes a 1966 Ford GT40, which has a ballpark value of around $2.5 million. Durant ranks eighth among all athletes included in the study.
LeBron James slots in at second among basketball stars and 11th among world athletes, with a collection valued at $2,798,824. His eight cars are headlined by a Lamborghini Aventador Roadster and a Rolls-Royce Phantom.&nbsp;
James Harden ($815,702), Stephen Curry ($782,277) and Anthony Davis ($710,900) round out the top-five basketball player collections. Kyrie Irving ($661,792), Russell Westbrook ($601,053), Damian Lillard ($518,915) and Klay Thompson ($511,636) also have collections estimated to be worth over $500,000.&nbsp;
Below is a table listing the top-10 most expensive collections among pro athletes:
<table style="width: 69.5567%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 5.12442%;">
Rank
</td>
<td style="width: 22.2214%;">
Athlete
</td>
<td style="width: 17.657%;">
Sport
</td>
<td style="width: 16.8235%;">
No. of Cars
</td>
<td style="width: 26.9958%;">
Est. Total Value ($)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 5.12442%;">
1
</td>
<td style="width: 22.2214%;">
Lionel Messi
</td>
<td style="width: 17.657%;">
Football
</td>
<td style="width: 16.8235%;">
13
</td>
<td style="width: 26.9958%;">
$38,873,313
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 5.12442%;">
2
</td>
<td style="width: 22.2214%;">
Cristiano Ronaldo
</td>
<td style="width: 17.657%;">
Football
</td>
<td style="width: 16.8235%;">
19
</td>
<td style="width: 26.9958%;">
$24,929,239
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 5.12442%;">
3
</td>
<td style="width: 22.2214%;">
Lewis Hamilton
</td>
<td style="width: 17.657%;">
Motor Racing
</td>
<td style="width: 16.8235%;">
9
</td>
<td style="width: 26.9958%;">
$17,084,400
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 5.12442%;">
4
</td>
<td style="width: 22.2214%;">
Saul &lsquo;Canelo&rsquo; Alvarez
</td>
<td style="width: 17.657%;">
Boxing
</td>
<td style="width: 16.8235%;">
22
</td>
<td style="width: 26.9958%;">
<a name="m_5051585228983048241_m_5399777449911796738__Hlk82093946"></a>$17,004,264
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 5.12442%;">
5
</td>
<td style="width: 22.2214%;">
Neymar
</td>
<td style="width: 17.657%;">
Football
</td>
<td style="width: 16.8235%;">
9
</td>
<td style="width: 26.9958%;">
$16,271,392
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 5.12442%;">
6
</td>
<td style="width: 22.2214%;">
Max Verstappen
</td>
<td style="width: 17.657%;">
Motor Racing
</td>
<td style="width: 16.8235%;">
10
</td>
<td style="width: 26.9958%;">
$5,514,678
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 5.12442%;">
7
</td>
<td style="width: 22.2214%;">
Tom Brady
</td>
<td style="width: 17.657%;">
American Football
</td>
<td style="width: 16.8235%;">
10
</td>
<td style="width: 26.9958%;">
$4,619,790
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 5.12442%;">
8
</td>
<td style="width: 22.2214%;">
Kevin Durant
</td>
<td style="width: 17.657%;">
Basketball
</td>
<td style="width: 16.8235%;">
8
</td>
<td style="width: 26.9958%;">
$4,369,741
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 5.12442%;">
9
</td>
<td style="width: 22.2214%;">
Conor McGregor
</td>
<td style="width: 17.657%;">
MMA/Boxing
</td>
<td style="width: 16.8235%;">
13
</td>
<td style="width: 26.9958%;">
$3,753,914
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 5.12442%;">
10
</td>
<td style="width: 22.2214%;">
Paul Pogba
</td>
<td style="width: 17.657%;">
Football
</td>
<td style="width: 16.8235%;">
8
</td>
<td style="width: 26.9958%;">
$3,144,537
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Listed here is the methodology for the study:
<ol>
<li><a href="https://manyspins.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://manyspins.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1631971421396000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFKzGARRIH4tSNVKZzxV1jC4Pu9vA">ManySpins.com</a> sought to determine the current highest-paid athletes in 2021&rsquo;s most expensive car collection.</li>
<li>The list of athletes was sourced from <a href="https://www.forbes.com/athletes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.forbes.com/athletes/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1631971421397000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFr_vEBYJgEoEmj51xYELQE7fW5Tw">Forbes 2021</a> top 50 world&rsquo;s highest-paid athlete list.</li>
<li>The data for this study was completed by using several reports and extensive research but is not a confirmed or an official list. </li>
<li>Sources included: <a href="https://www.motorious.com/articles/features-3/tom-brady-car-collection/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Motorious</a>, <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/10725755/conor-mcgregor-car-collection-lamborghini-yacht/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sun</a>, <a href="https://www.insider.com/photos-cristiano-ronaldos-24-million-car-collection-2021-5#its-not-only-supercars-in-ronaldos-collection-however-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Insider</a>, <a href="https://www.hotcars.com/heres-what-james-harden-drives/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hot Cars</a>, <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/auto/gallery/cristiano-ronaldos-car-collection-three-ferraris-a-bugatti-and-what-not/photos/680194/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Financial Express</a>, <a href="https://drivetribe.com/p/a-look-inside-conor-mcgregors-mega-JpHpNiGTS2eAM3waKH4LTw?iid=MrJ9GRIlToOpkWl7gW_FiA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DriveTribe</a>, <a href="https://www.essentiallysports.com/boxing-news-from-rolls-royce-ghost-to-bugatti-chiron-the-luxurious-car-collection-of-canelo-alvarez/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EssentiallySports</a>, <a href="https://racingnews365.com/lewis-hamiltons-incredible-car-collection-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RacingNews365</a>, <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/1406210/lewis-hamilton-car-collection-supercar-pagani-zonda-mercedes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Express</a>, <a href="https://www.thegentlemanracer.com/2018/11/car-girl-naomi-osaka-and-her-gtr.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Gentleman Racer</a>, <a href="https://www.republicworld.com/sports-news/basketball-news/kevin-durants-170m-fortune-being-spent-on-investments-cars-charities.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RepublicWorld</a>, <a href="https://www.topgear.com.ph/features/feature-articles/saul-canelo-alvarez-car-collection-a958-20210430" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TopGear</a>, <a href="http://sports24.com.ng/mbappe-net-worth-houses-salary-cars-family/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sports24</a>, <a href="https://www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/chris-paul-net-worth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SportsKeeda</a>, <a href="https://www.wtfoot.com/nba/player/russell-westbrook/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wtfoot</a>, <a href="https://carcollectorsclub.com/an-inside-look-into-novak-djokovics-extravagant-car-collection/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CarCollectorsClub</a>, <a href="https://www.sportszion.com/kyrie-irving-net-worth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sportszion</a>, <a href="https://networthmag.com/anthony-davis-net-worth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">networthmag</a>, <a href="https://www.soccerladuma.co.za/fan-park/update/andres-iniesta-s-car-collection/303871" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Soccerladuma</a>, <a href="https://autojosh.com/neymar-most-expensive-car/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AutoJosh</a>, <a href="https://www.kickoff.com/lifestyle/categories/wheels/mohammed-salah-s-incredible-car-collection/702577" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KickOff</a>, <a href="https://www.insidesport.co/wimbledon-2021-roger-federer-and-his-luxurious-lifestyle-5-costliest-things-owned-by-the-tennis-superstar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">InsideSport</a>, <a href="https://thesportsgrail.com/list-of-the-most-expensive-and-luxurious-car-collection-owned-by-neymar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TheSportsGrail</a>, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/stephen-curry-incredible-and-expensive-car-collection/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ClutchPoints</a>, <a href="https://21motoring.com/lionel-messi-car-collection-2021-inside-messi-garage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">21Motoring</a> and <a href="https://www.lifestyleasia.com/ind/gear/motoring/lionel-messi-car-collection-luxury-cars-fc-barca-net-worth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LifestyleAsia</a>.</li>
<li>Some of the cars in the study did not have a specific model attributed to the car, so the average value of the car was used.</li>
<li>Each athlete&rsquo;s total car collection value was calculated by adding up the estimated value of each individual car, allowing for a final ranking of most expensive to least.</li>
<li>10 athletes were excluded from the final study due to no reported information on their respective car collections (Dak Prescott, David Bakhtiari, Ronnie Stanley, Dustin Johnson, Myles Garrett, Leonard Williams, Jimmy Butler, Chris Jones, Matt Judon and J.J. Watt).</li>
<li>The currency was converted from GBP (&pound;) to USD ($) using&nbsp;<a href="https://www.xe.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.xe.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1631971421397000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGG1XmJALNv82q7dZJxPUMsxthACg">XE&rsquo;s</a>&nbsp;live currency converter.</li>
<li>The data was collected on 08/09/2021 and is accurate as of then but subject to change.</li>
</ol>

A study from ManySpins.com looked to find out which pro athletes have the most expensive car collection.

Which NBA players have the most valuable car collection?

Being the country's biggest and most well-known athlete for nearly 20 years has meant huge money for LeBron James. The Los Angeles Lakers and "Space Jam 2" star has earned enough over his career from his salary, endorsements, and production company to put him into a new echelon for NBA players: the $1 billion club.&nbsp;
According to Sportico, James is the first NBA player to surpass $1 billion in career earnings while still active. He's earned $330 million from his NBA salary and $700 million from merchandise, endorsements, his media company, and other off-the-court endeavors. While Michael Jordan has surpassed the $1 billion mark &mdash; and the $2 billion mark &mdash; he didn't get there until after his playing career ended.
Source: <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/le-bron-james-is-the-first-active-nba-player-to-top-1-billion-in-career-earnings-181413170.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Liz Roscher of Yahoo Sports</a>
ANALYSIS: Sportico added that out of all current active NBA players, Kevin Durant ($580 million) and Stephen Curry ($430 million) are the two most likely players to join LeBron James on this short list of active players surpassing $1 billion dollars in career earnings. Sportico went into further depth, saying Durant has a slight edge over Curry to join James:
"Durant, 32, is the most likely to reach $1 billion among active players. He is still owed $84 million from the Brooklyn Nets over the next two seasons and roughly $85 million from Nike through 2024, when his 10-year Swoosh deal expires. KD has largely eschewed new endorsements in recent years and focused on his investment vehicle, Thirty-Five Ventures, which has made more than 75 investments and has a couple of huge wins with Coinbase and Postmates. Elite athletes have access to opportunities typically reserved for billionaires, venture capitalists and Wall Street insiders."
While James is the first active player from a U.S. team sport to surpass $1 billion, it should be noted other athletes from different sports and countries have also reached this feat. during their playing career. According to Yahoo Sports, Golfer Tiger Woods, boxer Floyd Mayweather, tennis player Roger Federer, and soccer players Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have all earned $1 billion while still active in their sports.&nbsp;

LeBron James has surpassed $1 billion dollars in career earnings, becoming the first active player to achieve that accomplishment.

LeBron James becomes first active player to surpass $1 billion in career earnings

Jayson Tatum was 15 when he made his first USA Basketball national team. It was 2013, when he got picked to play in the FIBA Americas U-16 championships at Uruguay. And one of the biggest thrills from that experience was getting his jersey.
It bore No. 10.
Kobe Bryant&rsquo;s number. Tatum&rsquo;s favorite player&rsquo;s number.
(Editor's Note: Alex Kennedy recently wrote a piece about <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kobe-bryant-fingerprints-are-all-over-the-2021-nba-playoffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kobe Bryant's influence showing in the postseason</a>, which includes a section about Tatum's relationship with him).
Bryant wore No. 24 and No. 8 with the Los Angeles Lakers, but he donned No. 10 for USA Basketball when he helped the Americans capture gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. Tatum has worn that number as part of U.S. teams several times since &mdash; and will wear it at the Tokyo Olympics, where the Americans will aim to capture a fourth consecutive gold medal.
&ldquo;With this being the first Olympics since we lost him, it holds that much more value,&rdquo; Tatum said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not something I take lightly.&rdquo;
There is a significance to the No. 10 jersey across sports, particularly soccer, where it always seems to be adorning the best players. Pele wore 10 for Brazil. Diego Maradona wore it for Argentina, and Lionel Messi does now. Landon Donovan wore it for the U.S. men&rsquo;s soccer team when he led that program; it has since been passed to Christian Pulisic. For the U.S. women&rsquo;s soccer team, it belongs to Carli Lloyd.
For USA Basketball, it was Bryant&rsquo;s. When he decided not to play in the 2016 Olympics, the number ended up with Kyrie Irving &mdash; another player who idolizes Bryant, just as Tatum does. And now, as was the case when the U.S. went to the Basketball World Cup two years ago, the jersey is Tatum&rsquo;s.
&ldquo;For JT to have this moment, I&rsquo;m happy for him, genuinely,&rdquo; U.S. center Bam Adebayo said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve known JT since I was 12. He deserves everything he&rsquo;s getting and he&rsquo;s going to keep deserving more because he&rsquo;s such a great player. I&rsquo;m happy for him. That&rsquo;s his idol, and he gets to represent that number. I know he&rsquo;s going to have that &lsquo;Mamba Mentality&rsquo; when he puts that 10 on.&rdquo;
Adebayo is another player who makes no secret of his affinity for Bryant, the five-time NBA champion and now Basketball Hall of Fame enshrine who died in a helicopter crash along with one of his daughters and seven other people in January 2020 on their way to a basketball tournament. He&rsquo;s worn Bryant&rsquo;s shoes for games, and said he&rsquo;s devastated that he never got to meet him.
Tatum knew Bryant well. They worked out together and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kobe-bryant-fingerprints-are-all-over-the-2021-nba-playoffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bryant offered him advice many times</a>.
&ldquo;I remember one talk, it might have been after a game, and he was saying that a lot of people won&rsquo;t understand what you do,&rdquo; Tatum said. &ldquo;He said, &lsquo;What I mean by that is, the ones that really want to be great and really want to be special really take that whatever-it-takes mentality.&rsquo; He told me it takes sacrifice, because the ultimate question is about how much are you willing to give up to be great.&rdquo;
U.S. coach Gregg Popovich still laments that Tatum got hurt at that World Cup in China. That team was built for Tatum to be, as Popovich put it, &ldquo;the go-to guy&rdquo; -- just as Bryant had been for past U.S. teams. When Tatum was ruled out of the World Cup with an ankle injury, the Americans sputtered and wound up finishing only seventh.
Popovich said Tatum is even better now.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s become more of a two-way player,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s way more confident. He&rsquo;s developed more skills. He&rsquo;s, on top of that, more aggressive and knows that he can dominate people.&rdquo;
People would say the same things about Bryant as well.
&ldquo;I remember that first team when I was hoping, wishing, that I got No. 10,&rdquo; Tatum said. &ldquo;Kobe, everyone knows that was my favorite player. I was 15 years old and got to wear the number of my favorite player. It just felt like I had some level of connection with him.&rdquo;
The connection carries on this summer. He doesn&rsquo;t remember if he had to ask for the jersey in 2013; this summer, he didn&rsquo;t have to ask anyone. USA Basketball simply put out a list of names and jersey numbers, and Tatum got No. 10.
For now, it&rsquo;s Tatum&rsquo;s jersey.
To him, it still belongs to Bryant.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a tremendous honor,&rdquo; Tatum said. &ldquo;And I&rsquo;ll wear it proudly.&rdquo;

“With this being the first Olympics since we lost him, it holds that much more value,” Tatum said of wearing No. 10. “It’s not something I take lightly.”

Emerson Lions