Month: July 2024

Bronny James (knee) misses Lakers game on Sunday with minor injury

The Lakers are being cautious, as they should.

Bronny James did not play in the Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA summer game on Sunday afternoon against the Golden State Warriors. ESPN has the story, which noted that slight swelling in Bronny’s left knee is what caused the DNP designation for Sunday’s game in San Francisco:

“He’s just got to keep learning, keep getting reps and learning how much he’s capable of,” Lakers summer league coach Dane Johnson said after Saturday’s game. “Like, his body, he can get downhill if he uses his shoulder if he has a little bit of an advantage on somebody. And just building that confidence into him.”

The Lakers are prioritizing giving James as many reps as possible through the remainder of summer league, both in San Francisco and then in Las Vegas beginning later this week.

The Lakers’ final San Francisco NBA summer game is on Wednesday, July 10. Then the Lakers go to the NBA summer league in Las Vegas on Friday, July 12.

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Lakers shoot blanks, get shot down by Warriors in summer league game

The summer Lakers had a dreadful performance on Sunday and got blown out by the Warriors in their second game of the California Classic.

The Los Angeles Lakers lost their first 2024 summer league on Saturday 108-94 to the Sacramento Kings, as they had some trouble hitting shots in an efficient manner. On Sunday, they took the court again, this time against the Golden State Warriors, and their offensive troubles got a lot worse.

They promptly fell behind 31-17 at the end of the first quarter, and they never recovered. They ended up mustering just 68 points and losing by 24 in their second game of the California Classic at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Los Angeles shot a dreadful 25% from the field and was only able to hit on four of its 34 3-point attempts. Only one of its players — Sean East II, a guard out of the University of Missouri — made more than a third of his shot attempts.

Bronny James was held out of this contest due to knee swelling. Dalton Knecht, the Lakers’ other draft pick this year, went just 3-of-13 from the field, although he did hit all five of his free throws to score 12 points in 22 minutes.

Forward Maxwell Lewis, who played well on Saturday, missed all eight of his shot attempts. Big man Colin Castleton grabbed 10 rebounds in 20 minutes, but he was just 3-of-9 from the field.

For the Warriors, Ethan Thompson, a former guard in the G League, registered 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals.

The Lakers will get two days to review all of their deficiencies from these first two summer league games before their next contest on Wednesday versus the Miami Heat. You can see their entire summer league schedule, as well as where to watch each summer league game, here.

Steelers WR Roman Wilson could force his way onto the field this season

Roman Wilson’s run blocking really stands out when you study his film from Michigan.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers selected former Michigan wide receiver Roman Wilson in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft, it felt a little anti-climactic given the Steelers need at wide receiver.

There were wide receivers still on the board who were projected to be just as good and were bigger and more natural to line up on the outside. Players like Jalen McMillan, Luke McCaffrey, Troy Franklin and Javon Baker all come to mind.

But the Steelers saw something in Wilson and we think we know what and it could be enough to get him on the field early.

It’s his effort.

The Steelers had to slog through Diontae Johnson and George Pickens and their on-field tantrums last season which resulted in poor effort and failed plays. Johnson’s were bad enough the Steelers traded him but let’s not act like Pickens doesn’t have that same potential.

All you have to do is go back and watch the effort Wilson plays every play with to understand what he brings in the run game. Michigan wasn’t shy about running the football and Wilson was a key blocker despite his lack of size.

Pittsburgh’s new offense under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is going to be run-heavy and this alone will get Wilson reps in the slot over guys like Quez Watkins and Calvin Austin III.

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Ohio State football ranks near the top in most active players in the NFL

The Columbus to the NFL pipeline is strong

One of Ohio State football’s top recruiting pitches is the path to the NFL goes through Columbus.

Some of the games biggest stars played in the Scarlet and Gray, but it’s not just about the top players. A good portion of it is getting the opportunity to play in “The League,” and there is plenty of data to back up the Buckeyes ability to get players to the next level. One of those points was highlighted on Sunday.

According to Spotrac, only one other school has more active NFL players than Ohio State’s sixty-six, Alabama. The Crimson Tide lead the list with seventy-seven, but the Buckeyes aren’t that far behind.

This list will clearly change over the coming season’s, but Ohio State should only be adding to it’s count following this year and beyond.

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Notre Dame women’s hoops sells 1,000 new season tickets for 2024-25

Time to jump on the bandwagon!

Notre Dame’s women’s basketball team in 2024-25 will have its highest expectations since [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] took over the program. Fans have taken notice of that, and they want to watch the Irish play at Purcell Pavilion. If you need proof of this, look no further than this announcement the Irish made on social media:

If you haven’t gotten on board with Notre Dame women’s basketball, now is the time. [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] is coming off being named First Team All-American as a freshman. All-American [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] will be back after missing all of last season. [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] and [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] also are returning, and the Irish added two quality transfers in [autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] and [autotag]Liza Karlen[/autotag].

Anything less than the Final Four for the Irish in 2024-25 will be a disappointment. Ivey has been blessed with the most talent she’s had while leading the program, and it’s up to her to get that talent to mesh.

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Report: Nets’ Dennis Smith Jr. under consideration by Mavericks

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported that Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Smith Jr. is under free-agent consideration by the Dallas Mavericks.

The Brooklyn Nets have not made many moves during this offseason other than trading Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks and getting some of their draft picks back from the Houston Rockets. While re-signing center Nic Claxton was Brooklyn’s main task in free-agency, they could lose one of their guards to another team.

Per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Nets guard Dennis Smith Jr. is one of the players that may be getting pursued by other teams in free-agency. However, if the Nets are going to make sure that there is enough depth on the team as it goes through its rebuild, Smith will be one of the guys that may not be in the plans moving forward.

“The Dallas Mavericks have considered bringing one of two former guards back to the team, Spencer Dinwiddie and Dennis Smith Jr., league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto wrote. Dinwiddie is no longer on the team after being traded away by Brooklyn at the trade deadline in a deal that brought in Dennis Schroder from the Toronto Raptors, but Smith finished the season with the Nets as the backup point guard.

Scotto reported earlier in the summer that Smith wouldn’t be opposed to coming back to Brooklyn, but he is looking for a multi-year deal in free-agency. Whether the Nets are willing to give that to him this summer remains to be seen, but if they are not, Smith could be playing for a Mavericks team that made it all the way to the NBA Finals.

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Notre Dame basketball will official host 4-star North Carolina small forward Jackson Keith

The North Carolina star will be on campus in the fall

Notre Dame basketball is still waiting for its first 2025 commitment, but the work behind the scenes from head coach [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] and staff has been fantastic.

The Irish are contending for multiple top prospects, one of those is North Carolina small forward [autotag]Jackson Keith[/autotag]. The 6-foot, 6-inch and 220-pounder will make an official visit to South Bend starting on October 12th according to League Ready.

It’s a bit odd that he does not have a reported offer from Notre Dame, but you have to believe that it is coming before or during his visit. Keith is the nation’s No. 116 overall prospect according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

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Angel Reese sets WNBA record with 13th consecutive double-double

Angel Reese made WNBA history on Sunday night with her record 13th consecutive double-double.

[autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] is now in a league of her own.

With a 17-point, 14-rebound performance in a Chicago Sky loss to the Seattle Storm, Reese notched her 13th consecutive double-double in a row, surpassing Candace Parker for the most of any player in WNBA history. Reese had previously set the single-season consecutive double-doubles record.

Reese has had a huge rookie season, earning WNBA All-Star honors as she’s currently averaging a double-double with 13.9 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. She’s also on pace to set the league’s rookie record for double-doubles in a single season and is currently tied for fifth all-time in rookie double-doubles.

Reese and the Sky will be back in action on Wednesday to face the Atlanta Dream as she looks to extend the record.

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Michigan trending to flip Notre Dame football’s top 2025 commit

Not great…

When Florida safety [autotag]Ivan Taylor[/autotag] committed to Notre Dame football in December of last year, it looked like he was locked in to his verbal pledge.

Well, fast forward to now, and that might not exactly be the case. The 6-foot and 175-pound player took official visits to Alabama and Michigan along with one to South Bend in June.

Only one of those visits moved Taylor’s needle away from the Irish, unfortunately the one to Ann Arbor. On Sunday, the nation’s No. 50 overall prospect according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings was crystal balled to flip to the Wolverines by Tom Loy and Sam Webb.

To make matters worst, it wasn’t just 247Sports insiders who think that will be the case, as On3’s Steve Wiltfong did the same.

This would be a massive blow for the Irish, as Taylor is the top ranked commit in the 2025 class. Hopefully the insiders are wrong, but the potential for the flip is gaining traction.

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Former Spartan Lourawls ‘Tum Tum’ Nairn, Bahamas fall just short of reaching Olympics

There will be no Tum Tum at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris

There will be no Tum Tum at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Spain defeated the Bahamas in Sunday’s qualifying final from Valencia, Spain. Former Spartans guard Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn played for the Bahamas in the qualifying games.

Check out highlights from the qualifying final between Spain and the Bahamas below:

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