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Digital Sports Desk

Red Sox Roster Update – April 4

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Chris Sale to 60-day Injured List

BOSTON – With only three days remaining until Major League Baseball opens the 2022 season, the Boston Red Sox made seven roster moves:

· Right-handed pitcher Tyler Danish was selected to the major league roster.

· Left-handed pitcher Chris Sale was placed on the 60-day injured list with a right rib stress fracture.

· Right-handed pitcher John Schreiber and outfielders Franchy Cordero and Rob Refsnyder were reassigned to the minor leagues.

· Left-handed pitcher Jay Groome and right-handed pitcher Brayan Bello were transferred from Triple-A Worcester to Double-A Portland.

Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom made the announcements and with his roster moves, the Red Sox now have 30 active players remaining in Major League Spring Training camp, including 28 members of the 40-man roster and two non-roster invitees.

Final Four: A Game for the Ages

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FINAL FOUR SATURDAY – Here’s the way it went down:

5:00pm – It was time to tune-in to the Final Four pre-game show on TBS and the production crew from CBS/Turner queued-up a tear-jerker of a sit down with Duke’s retiring Coach Mike Krzyzewski. It was an interesting setting as Coach K, call him Mike, was seated in an empty Cameron Indoor Center watching tape of memorable games, highlights intertwined with comments from past players and his immediate family.

It was quite moving to see the coaching life of Coach K flash before his eyes, misty with tears for all the right reasons.

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This Coach K tribute piece is special 🙏 (via @MarchMadnessMBB)

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April 2nd 2022

2,713 Retweets

5:39pm – The greatest 30 minutes in sports begins at The Superdome in New Orleans as the students and alum of all four schools ALL believe they can win the 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. The excitement in the building is like none-other in American sports. Charles Barkley led the cheers and inducted a few students to his new institution of higher learning, CHUCK U.

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Chuck 😂 (via @ShotByLu)

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April 3rd 2022

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5:59pm – It was a classy idea to pay tribute to Carolina, Duke, Kansas and Villanova with one student athlete representing each of the competing schools to start the night off, but it resulted in a non-memorable rendition of the USA National Anthem. Next.

6:00pm – Commercials, commercials, commercials.

6:09pm – The ball is tipped.

8:30pm – The Kansas Jayhawks complete a wire-to-wire victory over the Villanova Wildcats, 81-65. Villanova cut the lead to six points (64-58 with 6:10 left) after trailing by as many as 19 points. Villanova sorely missed its 6-0 senior guard Justin Moore who tore his Achilles’ in the team’s elite eight game against Houston.

8:49pm – The second game of NCAA Final Four Saturday tips-off as one of the most anticipated college basketball games of all-time. Amazingly, never before have Tobacco Road rivals Duke and North Carolina met in the NCAA Tournament.

9:43pm – Halftime of the Duke vs Carolina game with the Blue Devils leading, 37-34, over the Tar Heels. Paulo Banchero led Duke with 10 points and six rebounds while Carolina’s R.J. Davis scored 14 points with four rebounds and two assists. Carolina led by four points during the first half while Duke’s largest lead was six.

10:01pm – Halftime concludes as the usual deadline of 10:00pm is staring the TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook/While We’re Young Ideas column dead-on. The decision is made to file a full running column of Game 2 of Final Four Saturday.

10:04pm – The combinations of Ernie Johnson Jr., Clark Kellogg, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley make up the best studio/pre-game and post-game crew in college sports. If only they could add Jay Bilas to the mix. … On the game coverage, Jim Nantz, Grant Hill and former coach Bill Rafteryworked their magic all tournament long and it was no different on Saturday.

Remember, Nantz will head-off to Augusta after Monday night’s game in one of the “tougher” stretches of sports reporting, going from a monumental Final Four in New Orleans to a quick skip over to Augusta, Georgia and The Masters.

10:08pm – Carolina goes out to an 11-0 run to force Duke’s Coach K to call a time-out with the score 45-41 with 16:21 remaining in regulation. Carolina’s Caleb Love scored eight of the 11 points during the run, including two 3-point FGs.

10:12pm – Jim Nantz points out that a Kansas vs Carolina final on Monday would be an “All Roy Williams” match-up, noting Williams coached Kansas before he concluded his illustrious, Hall-of-Fame college coaching career at UNC.

10:14pm – Commercials, commercials, commercials when an automatic TV time-out stops the action with 14:53 remaining and the score 47-44, UNC.

10:21pm – Duke strikes back and goes on a 10-2 run and the intensity of the national semifinal hits a new level. The teams traded six consecutive possessions where fGs were made, including two Carolina three-balls. Duke took a time-out with the score 55-all. Duke would run out of time-outs down the stretch and it would hurt.

10:45pm – Carolina’s Armando Bacot injures his ankle and limps off court with the assistance of the team trainer. He departed the game with 10 points and 19 rebounds, then miraculously returned only a minute later and immediately upped his totals to 11 points and 21 rebounds, eight of them off the offensive boards.

An official TV timeout was taken with the score 67-67 with 3:32 remaining.

10:54pm – A Duke time-out with 1:18 remaining in regulation comes after a clutch Wendall Moore, Jr. three-pointer to put the Blue Devils ahead by one, and make the score, 74-73, Duke. It marked the 17th lead change of the game.

10:57pm – Armando Bacot fouled out with 11 points and 21 rebounds, but 3-for-10 FG shooting.

10:59pm – Carolina’s Caleb Love drills a clutch 3-pointer with :28 seconds remaining immediately after Duke’s Mark Williams missed a pair of free throws. The three made the score 78-74 and put Carolina in control.

11:00pm – Duke’s Trevor Keels split a pair of free throws, making the score 79-77 UNC. Duke finished the game and their season going 12-for-20 from the line.

Duke was forced to foul and Carolina’s Caleb Love made two free throws to give his team an 81-77 lead with only :08 seconds left. Love finished with 28 points to lead the Tar Heels.

11:05pm – Duke’s Keels missed an off-balance three-pointer with :05 seconds remaining and UNC’s R.J. Davis grabbed the game-ending rebound to secure an 81-77 victory and a date to meet Kansas for the National Championship this Monday night.

Without a doubt, this game lived-up to the hype and expectations for a Duke vs North Carolina Final Four match-up.

The UNC victory ended Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s career much the same way the Tar Heels spoiled Coach K’s final game at Cameron Indoor Center.

Red Sox Make Roster Cuts

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FORT MYERS – The Boston Red Sox optioned right-handed pitcher Eduard Bazardo and left-handed pitcher Darwinzon Hernandez to Triple-A Worcester while right-handed pitcher Kaleb Ort, left-handed pitcher Derek Holland, outfielder Christin Stewart, and infielder Yolmer Sánchez were reassigned to minor league camp, announced Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom.

With three days remaining in Spring Training the Red Sox have 34 active players remaining in training camp, including 28 members of the 40-man roster and six non-roster invitees.

Class of ’22 Honored at Final Four

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SPRINGFIELD – (Staff report from Official News Release) – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame unveiled its induction Class of 2022 to be honored September 9-10 during this year’s hall enshrinement festivities in Springfield, Massachusetts. The announcement was made in New Orleans, the site of the 2022 NCAA Men’s Final Four and was televised live on ESPN2.

This year’s class includes two-time NBA All-Star and four-time NBA champion Manu Ginobili, five-time NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway, two-time NCAA National Coach of the Year Bob Huggins, the NBA’s sixth-winningest coach of all-time George Karl and NBA finals-level and longtime outstanding NBA referee Hugh Evans. On the women’s side, the Hall of Fame is proud to welcome five-time WNBA All-Star, three-time WNBA Champion, and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Lindsay Whalen, four-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Swin Cash and NCAA national champion and WNBA Coach of the Year Marianne Stanley.

Distinguished committees focused on preserving all areas from the game also selected five directly elected enshrines. They include Lou Hudson from the Veterans Committee, Larry Costello and Del Harris from the Contributor Committee, Theresa Shank-Grentz from the Women’s Veterans Committee and Radivoj Korac from the International Committee.

“Year after year, we are constantly reminded of the extraordinary and transcendent efforts of the remarkable men and women who have impacted the game of basketball from a global perspective,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “The Class of 2022 is ripe with individuals who have had a significant historical impact on the game we love. We congratulate and thank them for everything they’ve done to better the sport and look forward to honoring them during Enshrinement this fall.”

To be elected, North American and Women’s Committee finalists must receive 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Direct elect committees are incorporated into the election process to maintain a strong focus on keeping history on the forefront of the voting procedures and to preserve a balance between two eras of basketball.

The Class of 2022 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, Mass., the Birthplace of Basketball, on September 9-10, 2022

North American Committee 

HUGH EVANS [Referee] – Evans served as an NBA Official for 28 consecutive years (1973-2001), tallying over 1,900 regular season games, 170 playoff games, 35 NBA Finals games and four NBA All-Star Games. Following his on-court officiating career, Evans worked as the NBA Assistant Supervisor of Officials (2001-03). He is a recipient of the Each One Teach One Community Service Award and is enshrined in the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame as well as the North Carolina A&T Hall of Fame.

MANU GINOBILI [Player] – Ginobili is a two-time NBA All-Star (2005, 2011) and four-time NBA Champion with the San Antonio Spurs (2003, 2005, 2007, 2014). Over his 16-year NBA career, all with the Spurs, the Argentine guard amassed 14,043 points, 4,001 assists, 3,697 rebounds and 1,392 steals and was honored with the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2008, as well as twice being named to the All-NBA Third Team (2008, 2011). On the international stage, Ginobili helped deliver the first and only Gold Medal in the country’s basketball history at the 2004 Olympics, as well as the bronze at the 2008 games. He joins Bill Bradley as the only two players to have won a EuroLeague title (2001), an NBA championship and an Olympic Gold Medal.

TIM HARDAWAY [Player] – A 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist, Hardaway played 13 NBA seasons scoring a total of 15,373 points while averaging more than 20 points per game for four consecutive seasons. He is the 1990 recipient of the Jack McMahon Award for most inspirational player and a 1997 All-NBA First Team selection. He currently ranks 18th in NBA history with 7,095 career assists. The Chicago native was a member of the men’s basketball team at the University of Texas at El Paso (1985-1989) and is known for making his signature move – the “UTEP Two-step” – famous in 1989, the same year he was named WAC Player of the Year.

BOB HUGGINS [Coach] – Huggins has been coaching in the collegiate ranks for 45 years, including the last 15 as the head coach at West Virginia University. Over the course of his career, Huggins has led his teams to 25 NCAA Tournament berths, including nine appearances in the Sweet Sixteen (1992, 1993, 1996, 200, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2018), four trips to the Elite Eight (1992, 1993, 1996, 2010), and two appearances in the NCAA Final Four (1992, 2010). In 16 years as the head coach at the University of Cincinnati (1989-2005), Huggins led the Bearcats to eight Conference USA regular season championships (1996-2002, 2004), four Conference USA Tournament championships (1996, 1998, 2002, 2004), was a three-time Conference USA Coach of the Year (1998-2000) and was honored as the Conference USA Coach of the Decade in 2005. On the national level, he a was tabbed as the Sporting News National Coach of the Year in 2000 and the ESPN.com National Coach of the Year in 2002.

GEORGE KARL [Coach] – Karl spent 27 seasons as a head coach in the NBA, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers (1984-1986), Golden State Warriors (1986-88), Seattle Supersonics (1992-1998), Milwaukee Bucks (1998-2003), Denver Nuggets (2005-2013) and Sacramento Kings (2015-2016). During his career, he guided five different franchises to a total of 22 playoff appearances, led the Supersonics to the NBA Finals (1996), was named the NBA Coach of the Year (2013), and was called upon to be an All-Star Game head coach four times (1994, 1996, 1998, 2010). Karl owns a lifetime coaching record of 1,175-824 (.588), ranking sixth all-time in NBA career wins and posted 12 seasons of 50+ victories and three seasons of 60-plus.

Women’s Committee

SWIN CASH [Player] – Cash is a four-time WNBA All-Star (2003, 2005, 2009, 2011) and two-time Olympic gold medalist (2004, 2012). A true champion, she was a member of three WNBA championship teams during her 15-year career with the Detroit Shock (2003, 2006) and Seattle Storm (2010) as well as two NCAA National Championships at the University of Connecticut (2000, 2002) and a Gold Medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championships. Cash was recognized as one of the 20 best WNBA players of all time in 2016 as she twice named WNBA All-Star Game MVP (2009, 2011) and twice received All-WNBA Second Team (2003-2004) honors. During college, she was named the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player and received Kodak First Team All-America honors in 2002 after UConn won their third national title in program history after finishing the season a perfect 39-0. In 2021, Cash was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

MARIANNE STANLEY [Coach] – Coaching in the collegiate and professional ranks for a combined 45 years, Stanley currently serves as the head coach of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever. In 22 years as a college coach with Old Dominion (1977-1987), Penn (1987-1989), USC (1989-1993), Stanford (1995-1996) and Cal (1995-1996), Stanley compiled a 416-222 (.652) record, including a NCAA National Championship in 1985, three Final Four appearances (1983, 1985, 1996) and back-to-back AIAW National Titles (1979-1980). She has accumulated numerous Coach of the Year honors, including AIAW National Coach of the Year (1979), Virginia Coach of the Year (1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985), Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year (1984, 1985), Pac-10 Conference Coach of the Year (1993) and WNBA Coach of the Year (2002). On the national team level, she helped lead the United States to a Goodwill Games Gold Medal (1983) and FIBA World Championship Gold Medal (1986). Stanley has been enshrined in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (2002) and the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame (2010).

LINDSAY WHALEN [Player] – Whalen is a five-time WNBA All-Star (2006, 2011, 2013-2015), four-time WNBA Champion (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017) and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist (2012, 2016). After averaging 11.5 points and 4.9 assists over 15 seasons in the WNBA, she was named to the WNBA First Team three times (2008, 2011, 2013) and was recognized as one of the 20 best WNBA players of all time in 2016. Whalen ranks third all-time in assists (2,345) and led the league in total assists five times (2007, 2011-2015) and assists per game on three occasions (2008, 2011, 2012). During her collegiate career at University of Minnesota, Whalen led the Golden Gophers to the NCAA Final Four in 2004 and was twice named a finalist for the Naismith Award (2003, 2004) and Wade Trophy (2003, 2004). She also received numerous accolades for her on-court performance, including being named to the Kodak/WBCA All-America Team (2003-2004), USBWA All-America Team (2002-2004), AP Second Team All-America Team (2003-2004) and the All-Big Ten First Team (2002-2004).Whalen currently serves as the head coach of the women’s basketball program at her alma mater.

Veterans Direct Elect Committee

LOU HUDSON [Player] – Recognized posthumously, Hudson was a six-time NBA All-Star (1969-1974) and averaged 20.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 13 NBA seasons. The athletic shooting guard played 11 seasons with the St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks (1966-1977) and has his jersey No. 23 retired by the franchise. A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, Hudson attended the University of Minnesota where he was part of the first African American recruiting class in school history and went on to receive All-American honors and had his jersey No. 14 retired. He is also a member of the Minnesota Hall of Fame as well as the North Carolina Hall of Fame.

Direct Elect Contributor Committee

LARRY COSTELLO [Contributor] – Recognized posthumously, Costello was a six-time NBA All-Star (1958-1962, 1965), a member of the 1967 World Champion Philadelphia 76ers and coached the Milwaukee Bucks to the 1971 NBA title, as well as a Finals appearance in 1974. As a player, he averaged 12.2 points and 4.9 assists per game over 12 NBA seasons, earning All-NBA Second Team in 1961. Known as the last two-handed set shooter, the point guard led the NBA in free throw percentage twice (.881 in 1963; .877 in 1965). As a coach, he was one of the first people to employ a working, accountable assistant coach and employ videotape to analyze the game. He also traveled extensively for the U.S. State Department, lecturing in Germany, Africa, Asia and Europe. Costello is also a member of the Niagara University Hall of Fame, Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame, Greater Buffalo Hall of Fame and the New York State Hall of Fame.

DEL HARRIS [Contributor] –Harris has dedicated his life to basketball, serving as a coach, mentor and tireless advocate for the game. In his more than 50-year coaching career, he coached every level of the sport, ranging from junior high hoops to the NBA. Harris is deeply respected by players, coaches and executives alike, having earned the Jerry Colangelo Award for Leadership and Character in 2010, the Coach John Wooden “Keys to Excellence” Award in 2014 and the Basketball Hall of Fame’s John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. For over 35 years, he served as both a treasured assistant coach and head coach of several franchises including the Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Chicago Bulls, and New Jersey Nets. Harris led the Houston Rockers to the NBA Finals in 1981 and was recognized as the NBA Coach of the Year in 1995 while at the helm of the Los Angeles Lakers. Harris currently serves as Vice President of the Mavericks G League affiliate, the Texas Legends, while providing game analysis for the Mavericks on Fox Sports Southwest. He is also a member of the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame and Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

Women’s Veterans Direct Elect Committee

THERESA SHANK-GRENTZ [Player] – Shank-Grentz was a member of three consecutive AIAW National Championship teams and was a three-time All-American at Immaculata University from 1972-74. The 1974 title game was the first ever live coverage of a women’s basketball game in the United States. She scored over 1,000 career points at Immaculata, including a record 104 points and 76 rebounds in the 1973 AIAW Tournament. Shank-Grentz was named the AMF Collegiate Player of the Year in 1974 and has her jersey No. 12 retired by the university. She also scored over 1,200 points as a prep player at Cardinal O’Hara High School in Springfield, PA, and was a three-time All-Conference Philadelphia Catholic League.

International Direct Elect Committee

RADIVOJ KORAC  [Player] – Recognized posthumously, Korac is known as Yugoslavia’s first basketball superstar, helping lead the country to the silver medal at the 1968 Olympics after leading all players in averaging 23.6 points per game during the Games. He also led Yugoslavia to silver medals in FIBA World Cup play in 1963 and 1967. He still holds the EuroLeague’s all-time single-game scoring record with 99 points in a game vs. Alviks during the 1964-65 season. Korac passed away in a car accident in 1969 at the age of 30 and has been remembered as the namesake of FIBA’s Korac Cup in 1971 and Serbia’s Korac Cup in 2002. He was named one of FIBA’s Greatest Players in 1991, was enshrined in the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007 and was named one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors in 2008.

Celtics: Williams Injury Update

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BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Celtics center Robert Williams III this morning underwent a successful partial left knee meniscectomy. The surgery was performed at New England Baptist Hospital by Celtics Team Physician Dr. Tony Schena, assisted by Dr. Glen Ross.

Williams III is expected to be able to return to play in approximately 4-6 weeks.

 

Sports Biz: T-Mac Starts 1-on-1 League

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HOUSTON – (Staff Report with Information from Official News Release) – Seven-time NBA All-Star, Basketball Hall-of-Famer, and entrepreneur Tracy McGrady released information on his fledgling Ones Basketball Association, including the regional schedule and venues for the launch of the first-ever, elite competition that will celebrate the most skilled one-on-one basketball players.

The first year of regional competition will take place in seven cities in the United States, beginning the weekend of April 30, 2022. The league’s regular season begins in Houston and concludes in the San Francisco Bay Area in June. The 2022 Finals for the Ones Basketball Association will take place in July in Los Angeles.

“Our goal this year is to test and preview how we should best spotlight and celebrate the competition, raw athletic talent, and extraordinary skills of these young rising stars,” McGrady said. “We are proud to partner with Jeffrey Pollack, who will help us develop our game plan on and off the court. His input is already invaluable to me, as we take our first steps as a startup league and set the foundation for a global basketball property that will create more opportunities for athletes and fans and tell new basketball stories.”

Beginning in April, seven cities across the United States will host a two-day, regional, 32-player round-robin knockout tournament with athletes aged 18 and up who are currently not under an NBA contract and have not been on an active NBA roster for more than 164 games (equivalent to two NBA regular seasons). The participants will come from a combination of open-sourced video submissions and the advice of basketball insiders. The aim is to welcome both best-in-class talent and players who may still be under the radar of most basketball fans. The inaugural events this year will feature only men, and women will be welcomed as equal participants as soon as 2023.

The Ones Basketball Association season:

Houston, April 30-May 1 (The Dub Sports Zone, Richmond, TX)

Atlanta, May 7-8 (CORE4 Atlanta, Chamblee, GA)

Chicago, May 21-22 (Chicago Hope Academy Athletic Center, Chicago, IL)

New York City, May 28-29 (Major R. Owens Community Center hosted by New Heights, Brooklyn, NY)

The DMV, June 4-5 (The St. James, Springfield, VA)

The Bay Area, June 11-12 (The Ultimate Fieldhouse, Walnut Creek, CA)

Los Angeles, TBD (TBD)

The winner of each regional tournament will take home a $10,000 cash prize along with an invitation to the Finals, which will see 21 players (the top three from each region) compete for a chance to win a $250,000 grand prize and be crowned “Ruler of the Court.”

Venues this first year will have very limited public seating, in order to keep the current focus on the athletes, their stories, and the competitive format.

The field for each regional tournament, along with content and media partners, elite player ambassadors, and details about the 2022 Finals, will be announced in the coming weeks.

The NBA once staged the “Pepsi Hot Shot” competition which was a One-on-One basketball, taped and played at halftime of the NBA on ABC weekly Game of the Week in the 1970s.

YouTube player

Follow Ones Basketball Association at  https://www.obahoops.com/.

Staley Wins USBWA Coach of Year

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INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – (Staff Report from Official USBWA News Release) – Dawn Staley, the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year who has her South Carolina team back in the Final Four for a second consecutive season and contending for the program’s second national championship, is the USBWA National Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons. Staley has the SEC-champion Gamecocks (33-2) playing in their fourth Final Four this weekend, each of them under her leadership, following a national semifinal loss to eventual champion Stanford a year ago. In the 2019-20 season, Staley’s Gamecocks were 32-1 before Covid forced the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament.

Staley will formally receive the award at the upcoming USBWA College Basketball Awards Banquet in St. Louis on April 11, hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club. A member of both the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted in 2012) and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2013), Staley just finished advancing South Carolina through its eighth straight Sweet 16 appearance and the program’s ninth within its 10 trips to the NCAA Tournament under her guidance.

South Carolina, the top seed in the Greensboro Regional, faces Wichita Regional top-seed Louisville in the first national semifinal at 7 p.m. ET Friday. The Spokane Regional top seed, Stanford, faces Bridgeport Regional two-seed UConn in the second semifinal at 9:30 p.m. ET in Minneapolis. South Carolina and Stanford, whose head coach Tara VanDerveer was last season’s USBWA National Coach of the Year, could stage a rematch in this year’s title game if both advance Friday.

Staley has coached a USBWA All-American in seven of the past eight seasons and in 10 seasons overall. Staley was this season’s SEC Coach of the Year, her fifth such honor, and led the Gamecocks to their sixth SEC regular-season championship of the last nine seasons and the second of the last three. The Gamecocks’ 33-2 record includes a national-best 12 wins over top-25 opponents – by an average of 13.5 points – and a 15-1 mark in SEC action.

This season Staley coached junior forward Aliyah Boston to a third straight USBWA All-America season – the last two on the first-team – as the SEC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, her third straight season earning that award. Senior guard Destanni Henderson, a third-team USBWA All-American, was also named All-SEC First Team and junior guard Zia Cooke made the All-SEC Second Team in a conference that sent eight teams to the NCAA Tournament and three others to the WNIT.

South Carolina put on an historic defensive performance in the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament this month, setting tournament first- and second-round records for fewest points allowed in a single game (21 vs. Howard, 3/18/22), in a half (4 vs. Howard, 1st, 3/18/22) and in the first two rounds combined (54).

In her 22nd season as a head coach, her 14th in Columbia, Staley has taken a team to the NCAA Tournament 16 times. She is 30-14 at the event, including a 28-8 mark and the 2017 national championship at South Carolina. Other National Coach of the Year winners from the SEC are Vic Schaefer (Mississippi State, 2018-19), Pokey Chatman (2004-05), Andy Landers (Georgia, 1999-2000), Pat Summitt (Tennessee, 1997-98) and Jim Foster (Vanderbilt, 1992-93).

The USBWA has selected a women’s national coach of the year since the 1989-90 season. The award is voting on by the entire memberhip and is based on regular-season performance.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected a women’s All-America team since the 1996-97 season. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485. For additional info about covering the awards banquet, contact Jim Wilson with the MAC (314-539-4488).

ALL-TIME USBWA NATIONAL COACHES OF THE YEAR
1989-90 Tara VanDerveer, Stanford
1990-91 Debbie Ryan, Virginia
1991-92 Christine Weller, Maryland
1992-93 Jim Foster, Vanderbilt
1993-94 Ceal Barry, Colorado
1994-95 Geno Auriemma, UConn
1995-96 Leon Barmore, Louisiana Tech
1996-97 Wendy Lary, Old Dominion
1997-98 Pat Summitt, Tennessee
1998-99 Carolyn Peck, Purdue
1999-00 Andy Landers, Georgia
2000-01 Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame
2001-02 Brenda Oldfield (Frese), Minnesota
2002-03 Geno Auriemma, UConn
2003-04 Joe Curl, Houston
2004-05 Pokey Chatman, LSU
2005-06 Sylvia Hatchell, North Carolina
2006-07 Gail Goestenkors, Duke
2007-08 Geno Auriemma, UConn
2008-09 Geno Auriemma, UConn
2009-10 Connie Yori, Nebraska
2010-11 Kim Mulkey, Baylor
2011-12 Kim Mulkey, Baylor
2012-13 Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame
2013-14 Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame
2014-15 Courtney Banghart, Princeton
2015-16 Geno Auriemma, UConn
2016-17 Geno Auriemma, UConn
2017-18 Vic Schaefer, Mississippi State
2018-19 Kim Mulkey, Baylor
2019-20 Dawn Staley, South Carolina
2020-21 Tara VanDerveer, Stanford
2021-22 Dawn Staley, South Carolina

Lloyd Wins USBWA Coaching Award

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INDIANAPOLIS – (Staff Report from Official USBWA News release) – Arizona first-year head coach Tommy Lloyd led the Wildcats to the Pac-12 Conference championship and a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. For his smashing debut guiding Arizona to 33 wins and into the Sweet 16, Lloyd has been named the winner of the 2021-22 Henry Iba Award, given annually by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association to its national coach of the year.

Lloyd, who will formally receive the award at the upcoming USBWA College Basketball Awards Banquet in St. Louis on April 11 hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club, is the first Arizona coach to earn the honor and the first from the Pac-12 since Tony Bennett at Washington State in 2007. He’s only the fifth Pac-12 coach to earn the Henry Iba Award, joining UCLA legend John Wooden (a six-time winner in 1964, ’67, ’70, ’71, ’72, ’73), Pete Newell (California, 1960) and Ralph Miller (Oregon State, 1981).

Arizona (33-4) ascended to several success marks during Lloyd’s first season in Tucson. The Wildcats finished the season 17-0 at home, the 13th time they have finished a season undefeated in the 49-year history of the McKale Center. Arizona’s 19-game home win streak is the longest active streak in the Pac-12 and the third-longest in Division I heading into next season. The ‘Cats won nine road games for the first time since 2016-17 and were 7-0 in neutral site games.

Lloyd is the ninth first-time head coach in NCAA history to win 30 games in year one and joined UCLA’s Gary Cunningham (1977-78) as the only first-time head coaches in the Pac-12 to win 25 of their first 27 games. Lloyd is alone as the only Pac-12 coach to start 15-1 or better in conference play. Arizona’s 18-2 Pac-12 record that won the conference by a three-game margin over runner-up UCLA is also the best-ever for a first-year coach in conference.

Lloyd, 46, joins Bill Guthridge (North Carolina in 1998) and Bill Hodges (Indiana State in 1979) as the only head coaches to earn a No. 1 seed in their first season as head coach. The 33 wins – Arizona fell to Houston in last weekend’s Sweet 16 – are tied for third-most in program history and left Lloyd one shy of tying Guthridge for the most by a first-time head coach in NCAA history.

The style of play Lloyd brought to Arizona also produced record marks in various statistical categories. UA led the nation in total assists (714), assists per game (19.8) and total rebounds (1,496). The ‘Cats scored 80 or more points 28 times and were undefeated in those games. School records for assists (714) and blocked shots (207) fell. In its final win against TCU in the NCAA’s second round, Arizona scored 52 points in the paint, the 25th game this year for it to score 40-plus paint points – the most by any Pac-12 team in the last 15 seasons.

Arizona produced a second-team USBWA All-America selection in sophomore guard Bennedict Mathurin, also the Pac-12 Player of the Year. The conference’s John R. Wooden Coach of the Year, Lloyd also coached the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Year (center Christian Koloko), Most Improved Player of the Year (Koloko) and Sixth Man of the Year (Pelle Larsson). Koloko, Mathurin and forward Azuolas Tubelis earned First-Team All-Pac-12 honors and Kokolo and guard Dalen Terry were on the All-Defensive Team.

Also of note is in his first semester as head coach last fall, Arizona’s men’s team posted a team GPA of 3.04, the best team GPA for a semester in the history of the program with 11 players having a 3.0 or better.

Lloyd was an assistant coach at Gonzaga for 20 seasons before coming to Arizona. At Gonzaga he helped to develop 19 All-Americans and 15 conference players of the year and contributed to five straight 30-win seasons and two appearances in the national championship game.

The Henry Iba Award is named in honor of the legendary coaching great at Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) who won two NCAA championships and two gold medals and one silver as coach of the U S. Olympic teams. Iba held the dual position of basketball coach and athletic director until he retired in 1970. He was elected to the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, the Missouri Hall of Fame, the Helms Foundation All-Time Hall of Fame for basketball, and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame at Springfield, Mass. Henry Iba passed away in 1993 in Stillwater, Okla.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485. For additional info about covering the awards banquet, contact Jim Wilson with the MAC (314-539-4488).

ALL-TIME USBWA NATIONAL COACHES OF THE YEAR
1958-59    Eddie Hickey, Marquette (Independent)
1959-60    Pete Newell, California (AAWU)
1960-61    Fred Taylor, Ohio State (Big Ten)
1961-62    Fred Taylor, Ohio State (Big Ten)
1962-63    Ed Jucker, Cincinnati (Missouri Valley)
1963-64    John Wooden, UCLA (AAWU)
1964-65    Butch Van Breda Kolff, Princeton (Ivy League)
1965-66    Adolph Rupp, Kentucky (SEC)
1966-67    John Wooden, UCLA (AAWU)
1967-68    Guy Lewis, Houston (Independent)
1968-69    Maury John, Drake (Missouri Valley)
1969-70    John Wooden, UCLA (Pac-8)
1970-71    John Wooden, UCLA (Pac-8)
1971-72    John Wooden, UCLA (Pac-8)
1972-73    John Wooden, UCLA (Pac-8)
1973-74    Norm Sloan, N.C. State (ACC)
1974-75    Bob Knight, Indiana (Big Ten)
1975-76    Johnny Orr, Michigan (Big Ten)
1976-77    Eddie Sutton, Arkansas (Southwest)
1977-78    Ray Meyer, DePaul (Independent)
1978-79    Dean Smith, North Carolina (ACC)
1979-80    Ray Meyer, DePaul (Independent)
1980-81    Ralph Miller, Oregon State (Pac-10)
1981-82    John Thompson, Georgetown (Big East)
1982-83    Lou Carnesecca, St. John’s (Big East)
1983-84    Gene Keady, Purdue (Big Ten)
1984-85    Lou Carnesecca, St. John’s (Big East)
1985-86    Dick Versace, Bradley (Missouri Valley)
1986-87    John Chaney, Temple (Atlantic 10)
1987-88    John Chaney, Temple (Atlantic 10)
1988-89    Bob Knight, Indiana (Big Ten)
1989-90    Roy Williams, Kansas (Big 8)
1990-91    Randy Ayers, Ohio State (Big Ten)
1991-92    Perry Clark, Tulane (Metro)
1992-93    Eddie Fogler, Vanderbilt (SEC)
1993-94    Charlie Spoonhour, Saint Louis (Great Midwest)
1994-95    Kelvin Sampson, Oklahoma (Big 8)
1995-96    Gene Keady, Purdue (Big Ten)
1996-97    Clem Haskins, Minnesota (Big Ten)
1997-98    Tom Izzo, Michigan State (Big Ten)
1998-99    Cliff Ellis, Auburn (SEC)
1999-00    Larry Eustacy, Iowa State (Big 12)
2000-01    Al Skinner, Boston College (Big East)
2001-02    Ben Howland, Pittsburgh (Big East)
2002-03    Tubby Smith, Kentucky (SEC)
2003-04    Phil Martelli, St. Joseph’s (Atlantic 10)
2004-05    Bruce Weber, Illinois (Big Ten)
2005-06    Roy Williams, North Carolina (ACC)
2006-07    Tony Bennett, Washington State (Pac-10)
2007-08    Keno Davis, Drake (Missouri Valley)
2008-09    Bill Self, Kansas (Big 12)
2009-10    Jim Boeheim, Syracuse (Big East)
2010-11    Mike Brey, Notre Dame (Big East)
2011-12    Frank Haith, Missouri (Big 12)
2012-13    Jim Larrañaga, Miami, Fla. (ACC)
2013-14    Gregg Marshall, Wichita State (Missouri Valley)
2014-15    Tony Bennett, Virginia (ACC)
2015-16    Chris Mack, Xavier (Big East)
2016-17    Mark Few, Gonzaga (West Coast)
2017-18    Tony Bennett, Virginia (ACC)
2018-19    Rick Barnes, Tennessee (SEC)
2019-20    Anthony Grant, Dayton (Atlantic 10)
2020-21    Juwan Howard, Michigan (Big Ten)
2021-22    Tommy Lloyd, Arizona (Pac-12)

BIG EAST: Villanova Reppin’ Again

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SAN ANTONIO – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – For the third time since 2016, Villanova will play in the Final Four. The Wildcats became the NCAA South Region champions after a 50-44 victory over Houston this past Saturday in Texas. Villanova forward Jermaine Samuels was named the South Region Most Outstanding Player. Coach Jay Wright’s second-seeded team defeated Michigan 63-55 in the regional semifinals.

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Villanova will meet Kansas in the national semifinals this Saturday. On their way to the NCAA crown in 2018, the Wildcats beat the Jayhawks 95-79 in the same round. Villanova got off to a 22-4 start en route to the victory. Back in 2016, Villanova beat Kansas 64-59 in the South Region final.

Overall, BIG EAST teams own a 12-6 record in national semifinal contests not including when a BIG EAST team faced another league squad in 1985 and 1987. Villanova is 3-1, winning in 1985, 2016 and 2018 while losing in 2009.

Villanova will be without All-Big East guard Justin Moore in their Final Four lineup. Moore fell to the floor with a non-contact leg injury late in Saturday’s Elite Eight win over Houston. On Sunday, he was diagnosed with a torn Achilles tendon. Villanova announced that he’s scheduled for surgery this week and will be sidelined indefinitely.

Celtics: Fund Raiser #Move4Heather

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#MOVE4HEATHER – Those connected to the Boston Celtics, the New England sports scene and the NBA’s extended Public Relations family are circling April 11 on their calendars for a night to help Celtics VP Heather Walker and her family as Ms. Walker fights a very tough battle against an opponent no NBAers wish to face. In July, 2021, Walker was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a rare brain cancer.

Upon the news of the diagnosis, Walker and her inner circle of family and friends, created the #Move4Heather Challenge to support the Heather Walker Glioblastoma Fund at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Boston-area hospital where she is being treated. All proceeds will directly benefit Dr. David Reardon’s glioblastoma research.

The April 11th function at West End Johnnies, a full-sized restaurant and bar one block from TD Garden and a place Heather Walker regularly organized team functions for the USO and military families to pick-up tickets donated by Celtics’ season ticket holders, will now be raising money to assist in the clinical trials Walker has been undergoing since the summer.

There will be all kinds of auction items from the National and New England sports franchises but also just some time to get reacquainted with friends to celebrate life in the Year 2022.