Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine has been playing good ball this season. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill) After years of depressed sighs, and unheard calls from a fan base yearning for ingenuity, the Chicago Bulls have — surprisingly — answered the call to step into the 21st century and embraced the 3-point shot. The organization, helmed by head coach Billy Donovan in …

Audi Crooks AMES, Iowa — Iowa State coaches and athletes were at the Algona stop on the Cyclone Club statewide meet-and-greet tour this summer when Audi Crooks’ popularity truly registered with women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly. Her autograph line dwarfed that of football coach Matt Campbell. “That never happens,” Fennelly said. Crooks has been beloved by the Algona community for …

John Calipari Arkansas only has one scholarship player back from a team that finished a game below .500 last year, yet the Razorbacks open this season in the AP Top 25. Consider that a testament to the way new coach John Calipari reshaped his roster by adding transfers and freshmen. Arkansas added three top-30 recruits and also was among the …

Gregg Popovich, the 75-year-old coach of the San Antonio Spurs who sat out his team’s win Saturday night due to an undisclosed health condition, now is not joining the team on its two-game road trip to Los Angeles and Houston, the team announced. Assistant coach Mitch Johnson has moved into the head coach’s seat in the interim (which could potentially …

Cooper Flagg and the Duke Blue Devils play the Maine Black Bears on Monday night, here’s how to watch the rising star’s debut. (Grant Halverson/Getty Images) It’s been over a year since basketball phenom Cooper Flagg made a commitment to play for the Duke University Blue Devils, and the college freshman is finally about to don the Duke uniform tonight …

The Knicks are only five games into an 82-game season. So it’s way too early to talk broadly about any trends/statistical characteristics of the team. But I think there’s been in interesting adjustment over the past week. Last Monday, the Knicks let a 14-point late-third-quarter lead slip away in a home loss to Cleveland. Many factors led to defeat that …

The 2024-25 season has arrived for N.C. State basketball, which begins its eighth season under head coach Kevin Keatts, hoping to build off its ACC Tournament championship and Final Four run. Before shifting its attention to making its third straight NCAA Tournament and back-to-back Final Four appearances with a trip to San Antonio, N.C. State added two banners to the …

This move has as much to do with the Knicks salary cap situation as it does his play, but rookie center Ariel Hukporti will not care — he is getting a guaranteed NBA contract. The Knicks are converting Hukporti — the No. 58 pick in the NBA draft last June — from a two-way to standard NBA rookie contract, a …

17-year-old Cooper Flagg is one of the most anticipated college players in recent history. (Grant Halverson/Getty Images) The college basketball season is finally here, and the sport is wasting no time getting going. All but six of the Associated Press’ Top 25 teams are in action on Monday night, including Duke and freshman star Cooper Flagg, top-ranked Kansas and several …

Is Luke Kornet on one of the NBA’s best value contracts? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has handed out nearly a billion dollars in extensions over the past two years while re-signing the top eight players on Boston’s roster in Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, …

Nov. 4—P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown G Kylan Boswell Jr. 6-2 9.6 Champaign G Kasparas Jakucionis Fr. 6-6 19.2 Vilnius, Lithuania G Tre White Jr. 6-7 12.3 Dallas F Ben Humrichous Gr. 6-9 14.7 Tipton, Ind. C Tomislav Ivisic Fr. 7-1 7.1 Vodice, Croatia FYI: Boswell is the 14th Champaign native to play for Illinois. Robert McKay was the …

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will reportedly be sidelined indefinitely after suffering a health issue over the weekend, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Assistant Mitch Johnson is expected to be the interim head coach while Popovich is out. San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich suffered a health issue before Saturday’s game and assistant Mitch Johnson is expected to …

The 2024-25 season has arrived for North Carolina basketball, which begins its fourth season under head coach Hubert Davis hoping to compete for a national championship at the 2025 Final Four in San Antonio. The Tar Heels, led by fifth-year guard RJ Davis, have a crowd of new faces around their returning All-American and reigning ACC Player of the Year. …

Welcome to The Playlist: my weekly column that lets you know who and what to play — when it comes to music or other things in my rotation — for the upcoming week in fantasy basketball. Each week, you’ll see a compilation of the pickups you need to make, a quick look at the schedule and lineup notes (who’s in …

Feb 19, 2022; Spokane, Washington, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few looks on after a game against the Santa Clara Broncos at McCarthey Athletic Center. Gonzaga won 81-69. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports On Monday, the men’s college basketball finally arrives, a very fun time of the year for hoops fans. And arguably the most exciting game of …

NBA admits refs missed crucial calls during Kings’ OT loss to Raptors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area The Kings lost an overtime thriller to the Toronto Raptors, but Sacramento was robbed of an opportunity to win in regulation due to a missed call late in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 131-128 defeat at Scotiabank Arena. The NBA released …

Alabama basketball is expected to have three of its sidelined roster members back for the season opener against UNC-Asheville on Monday night. Coach Nate Oats told college basketball media network Field of 68 that returning Latrell Wrightsell Jr., Grant Nelson and Aiden Sherell are “all expected to play” per a report from basketball analyst Jeff Goodman on Sunday. Goodman added …

Week 3 of the 2024-25 season includes the first off day for the entire league, as no one will play on Election Day (Tuesday). All 30 teams are in action on Monday, with games scheduled to begin every 15 minutes, starting at 7 PM Eastern. As is the case every week, fantasy managers will have some significant injuries to navigate …

(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) On Monday, the men’s college basketball arrives, a very fun time of the year for hoops fans. One such game taking place at 7:00 p.m. ET, airing on the ACC Network, will feature No. 7 Duke, a potential national championship contender in 2024-25, taking on Maine to open its campaign. You can even watch Monday …

Middle Tennessee State women’s basketball flirted with a Sweet 16 appearance last season after beating Louisville in the first round and then leading LSU at halftime of the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Raiders, who have reached the NCAA Tournament three of the past four seasons, tied a program best with 30 wins and went unbeaten …

Metro Nashville Public Schools will be on display Monday (7:30 p.m. CT) when Tennessee State basketball opens the 2024-25 season against neighborhood rival Fisk at Gentry Center. The two Historically Black College and Universities are located about one mile from each other, which makes the matchup interesting in itself. But the fact that the coaches for both teams − Tennessee …

The 2024-25 men’s college basketball season is right around the corner. It’s a clean slate for every team, including those in Oklahoma. The state features four Division I programs, and all of them are looking to make strides after missing out on last season’s NCAA Tournament. Here’s a preview of each Oklahoma team, including key departures, impactful additions and record …

Tyler Wahl exhausted his eligibility. AJ Storr moved on to Kansas. Chucky Hepburn transferred to Louisville. Those players leave a major void to be filled for the Wisconsin men’s basketball team. Here are reasons to believe and doubt UW’s ability to overcome those losses plus Mark Stewart’s predictions for the season. Reason to believe in Wisconsin men’s basketball this season …

Game Preview: Purdue vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi (Photo by © Melissa Tamez-Imagn Images) New look Purdue still B10 favorites, look to get off to strong start The last time Purdue made its way onto a basketball court, the setting was Phoenix, Arizona on Aplis 8th with the Boilermakers taking on the UConn Huskies for the national championship. Now, with …

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – MARCH 14: Interim head coach Jake Diebler of the Ohio State Buckeyes gestures during the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the first half in the Second Round of the Big Ten Tournament at Target Center on March 14, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) The Ohio State Buckeyes will take the court Monday …