If you follow the NBA at all, whether for the superstars and sensational storylines or the former Jayhawks scattered throughout the league, you surely know by now that some pretty big things went down on Sunday evening.
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to Brooklyn. Kemba Walker to Boston. Al Horford to Philadelphia. D’Angelo Russell to Golden State. Jimmy Butler to Miami. And a dozen or so more free agent commitments that figure to reshape the immediate future of the NBA as we know it.
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While all of those names and moves made headlines because of their star power and potential impact on the 2020 NBA title, one of them had an impact on a former Jayhawk that should be pretty significant by the time the 2019 20 season rolls around.
Walker’s departure from Charlotte opens the door for former KU All American Devonte’ Graham to step into a much bigger role with the Hornets during his second season in the league.
Graham, you probably recall, spent most of his rookie season bouncing back and forth between Charlotte and the Hornets’ G League affiliate, playing solid but spotty minutes with the big club while absolutely crushing the competition at the G League level every time he went down.
That experience surely helped Graham 6 foot 2, 185 pounds develop his pro game and also likely boosted his confidence. It’s one thing to drop 30 point game after 30 point game in college. It’s something completely different to do that — and more — against professionals.
Graham’s path to big time minutes is not completely clear, however. In response to losing Walker to free agency, the Hornets signed former Boston point guard Terry Rozier to a 3 year, 58 million deal, presumably with the idea of handing Rozier the keys to the Charlotte offense for the 2019 20 season.
Interesting move to be sure. And one that Graham could both benefit from and be hindered by in the months ahead.
Rozier, you might not know Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk Jersey, is a fourth year NBA vet out of Louisville 2015 Draft, No. 16 overall pick who, like Graham thus far, spent the early days of his professional career bouncing back and forth between the NBA and the G League with Boston.
Those numbers are noteworthy because they’re not all that different from what Graham gave the Hornets if you factor in the money.
Graham, who last season made 988,000 during the first of a three year, 4 million contract with Charlotte, averaged 4.7 points, 2.6 assists and 1.4 rebounds in 14.3 minutes per game over 46 games.
So here’s where the Hornets sit. Instead of handing the job to Graham after what amounts to less than half a season in the NBA, they went out and paid major money to a guy with more experience.
Right move? Wrong move?
It’s hard to know. And it’s hard to blame them for doing something other than just giving the job to Graham. There’s no doubt that the former Jayhawk has what it takes to play at that level. But to do it as the primary point guard for 82 games with half a season of experience is a big jump for any rookie to make.
At 1.4 million this year, Graham certainly seems like the better value option for the Hornets. But they had to sign someone to handle the job with him.
Maybe they overpaid for Rozier. Maybe Rozier’s a star in the making. Maybe Graham will win the job — eventually — and make Rozier’s monster contract even more of a head scratcher than it already is.
Maybe.
But that’s too many maybes for an NBA team that’s trying to compete and build itself into a contender.
So don’t look at the Rozier signing as a slight to Graham. Look at Walker’s decision to move on as the break Graham needed.
His minutes should go up this season. And he should have a real chance to crack the rotation on a regular basis. What he does from there is up to him.
But if Rozier’s career path — and its similarities to Graham’s — are any indication of what’s possible, Graham should be completely content with the position he’s in and hungrier than ever.
In two or three more years, that type of contract could be his.
Gonzaga men s basketball forward Killian Tillie says he was never fully healthy while playing last season.
I wasn t really 100 every time, Tillie said. I felt better at the end, but still it was a little different.
It was different because he went from starter in the 2017 2018 season to role player off the bench last season
I didn t have the same role on the team, Tillie said. The team was already playing really well without me so I just had to find something to do to help the team.
In the 2018 NCAA Tournament, Tillie suffered a right hip injury in a practice before a Sweet 16 game against Florida State.
He only averaged about 6.2 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game in the 2018 2019 season, but still decided to go through the NBA Draft process.
The forward got injured again in a workout with the Atlanta Hawks in May.
I sprained my ankle a little bit so then I had to step down a little bit, Tillie said.
He chose to not participate in the NBA Draft combine. In May, he announced he was returning for his senior season at Gonzaga.
I had some teams that wanted me but I think the best choice was to bet on myself another year and try to stay healthy, Tillie said. I want to try to go higher in the draft next year and I m excited to do one more year.
To improve his NBA draft stock, he s working hard to try get his body stronger.
I ve got a lot of programs, a lot of routines to get my ankles strong, my knees, my hips. I ve got everything programmed, now I have to work on it Kyle Wiltjer Jersey, Tillie said. I ve got all summer to work on it and have already started on it so it s going to be a good one.
My goal will be to bring everyone together, Tillie said. You know the freshmen and the transfers to make sure everyone plays the Gonzaga way and it s going to be a good challenge.
Jason Pugh, NSU Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations
The Northwestern State women’s basketball team coaching staff is complete again.
Head coach Jordan Dupuy announced the hiring of former West Virginia standout and overseas professional player Sarah Miles as the third assistant coach on his staff for the 2019 20 season on Tuesday.
Miles’ hiring is subject to the approval of the Board of Supervisors of the University of Louisiana System, which governs Northwestern State.
Sarah Miles Miles spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach and the recruiting coordinator for Colorado State Pueblo. In her first season on staff, Miles helped lead the ThunderWolves to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles.
Miles helped coach Molly Rohrer to RMAC Player of the Year honors while Katie Cunningham took home RMAC Defensive Player of the Year and RMAC Tournament MVP honors.
“Going through the process, Sarah stood out with her persistence and her organization,” said Dupuy, who begins his fourth season atop the Lady Demons program. “She has played and coached at a high level and came highly recommended by several colleagues who I have known for a while.
Miles began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at her alma mater, West Virginia, in the 2016 17 season. That year, the Mountaineers started 13 0 and finished 24 11, capturing the Big 12 Tournament championship.
A standout player at West Virginia, Miles was named the 2009 10 Big East Defensive Player of the Year, one year after earning the conference’s Most Improved Player honor.
Miles averaged a career best 12.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore and was part of the WVU Athletic Director’s Academic Honor Roll as a junior and a senior. Miles earned her undergraduate degree from West Virginia in 2011, graduating in multidisciplinary studies with emphases on entrepreneurship, public relations and communications.
She was a second team All Big East selection and part of the 2010 All Big East Tournament Team, helping push West Virginia to a 29 6 record.
Upon returning from Finland, Miles worked at High Octane Performance Skills in San Antonio and helped a pair of student athletes earn scholarships to Duke and Texas Tech.
One Duke basketball target may add to the Blue Devils’ 2020 class within the next few weeks. The Duke basketball coaches have already put in the work to recruit 2020 small forward Jalen Johnson.
“They made me a priority since my freshman year of high school,” the 6 foot 8, 215 pound five star from Milwaukee Nicolet told Prep Circuit’s Pat Lawless back in December, “so I feel really special with that.”
Mike Krzyzewski and his staff could harvest the fruits of their labor before the end of July.
Peach Jam, the summer Super Bowl for top high school hoopsters and a common site for announcements, tips off in about a week July 10 14 .
Not only will Johnson be in North Augusta, S.C., for the annual event — playing for Wisconsin’s Phenom University alongside the No. 1 prospect from the 2021 class and fellow Duke target https://www.dukebluedevilsjersey.com/sean-obi-jersey-c-12.html, Patrick Baldwin Jr. — but he has hinted in the past that he may make his college choice known at that time.
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“I was thinking Peach Jam, but it just depends on when I get that feeling,” Johnson said, as reported by Kentucky Sports Radio’s Jack Pilgrim in early May. “I just want to go into my senior year knowing where I’m going to go, get the weight off my shoulders.”
Although he has not confirmed any decision date, around the same time that he mentioned Peach Jam, he also provided a similar timeframe in an interview with Tipton Edits. “Hopefully, [I’ll be able] to get the decision done, over with, maybe within the next couple months,” Johnson said.
Well, a couple of months from early May equates to early July — i.e., any day now.
During the same interview https://www.dukebluedevilsjersey.com/antonio-vrankovic-jersey-c-11.html, Johnson — who ranks No. 4 on the 247Sports Composite for the 2020 class and had just cut his list to Duke, Kentucky, Arizona, and Wisconsin at the time of the interview — reiterated his appreciation for Coach K and Co.’s strong pursuit.
“The fact they came to my house, that meant a lot,” Johnson said about the Blue Devils’ April visit. “To see the whole coaching staff there, that was also big…They just see a lot of potential in me. They’ve been comparing me to other fours they had like [Brandon] Ingram Justin Robinson Jersey, [Jayson] Tatum, and guards they were able to move around.”
Another former Duke forward he resembles — but with a bit more hops — is Shane Battier. Similar size. Similar ability to play down low or on the perimeter. Similar stroke. Similar confidence. Similar level of on court awareness. Similar lack of superior quickness — Johnson’s primary blemish. As for Johnson’s thoughts on potentially joining the cast of greats to have played for Coach K, he has not held back
“I love the slogan ‘The Brotherhood.’ That means a lot to me,” Johnson told Rivals’ Corey Evans last summer. “I am not the type of guy that would want to go away from home because I am more family oriented https://www.dukebluedevilsjersey.com/jack-white-jersey-c-13.html, but when they dropped the whole spiel on ‘The Brotherhood,’ that made my interest get bigger because you feel like you are at home with them.”
The 247Sports Crystal Ball has long shown Johnson’s home for the 2020 21 season to be in Durham — he’ll likely become a lottery pick after one season in college. Currently, all but one of the 14 experts who have entered predictions are in agreement.
“I see [the chatter about Duke as the favorite]. I don’t really pay attention to that, though,” he told reporters at the NBPA Top 100 Camp earlier this month, “because no one knows what’s going on in my mind.
“I know what’s going on. People can make assumptions on what they think. But at the end of the day, I’m the one that knows, and I’m the one that’s going to make the decision.”
If Johnson — who last visited Duke the same weekend as Countdown to Craziness back in October — does decide on Duke before the end of summer, he would join five star point guard Jeremy Roach as the Blue Devils’ only 2020 pledges.
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The other targets holding Duke offers — shooting guard B.J. Boston, small forward Cade Cunningham, small forward Scottie Barnes, center Walker Kessler, and center Mark Williams — are each not likely to decide on a school until at least the start of the next school year.
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03.07.2019 04:52
