Tag: college basketball news

Texas commit Tre Johnson shines in McDonalds All-American game

Tre Johnson showcases three-point range in McDonald’s All-American game.

Texas guard commit Tre Johnson is a threat from the three-point line. That much is evident from his performance at the McDonald’s All-American game.

In the game, Johnson stepped into a fast break three-pointer off the dribble to sink the long range basket for his team. The shot prompted the broadcast crew to comment on his long range shooting ability. The broadcaster gave the following analysis.

“He has an NBA scoring package. He knows how to get to his spots, he’s got great footwork, he’s got range, he’s got the pull-up.”

The above description of the Houston prospect bodes well for a Texas team that needs all of the above qualities from its wing players next season. The Longhorns lacked those qualities on the court in 2024. Johnson will likely need help from veteran portal additions to improve Texas from its last campaign, but has the skill set to make an impact for the team right away.

Texas will determine the right role for the Houston native as he works with the team this offseason.

Texas guard Tyrese Hunter jumps from near the free throw line in dunk

Tyrese Hunter caught serious air in this dunk.

Tyrese Hunter caught flight on Saturday. The Texas Longhorns guard took off for one of the more impressive highlight dunks for the 2024 basketball season.

Hunter might not have been known for his dunk hang-time, but perhaps he will moving forward. After getting a steal to change possession, the Texas guard beelined toward the basket ahead of the West Virginia transition defense. After getting just inside the free throw line, Hunter took flight for a long jump to the basket before slamming it home.

The veteran player has had his ups and downs at Texas, but continues to show up and give a quality effort. His last game saw Hunter go 0-for-8 against the Iowa State program from which he transferred to Texas. The dunk had to provide some level of outlet for his frustration.

The Longhorns have plenty of work to do as the season nears the finish line, but plays like this particular highlight indicate the talent is present. The team will look to close toward an NCAA Tournament bid with a strong finish to the season.

Texas basketball survives upset scare in exhibition with St. Edward’s

Texas worked through trouble to win its exhibition with Division II St. Edward’s.

Texas avoided disappointment on Monday. After trailing Division II squad St. Edward’s at half, the Longhorns turned on the jets to win the exhibition, 84-63.

Texas guard Tyrese Hunter led the offense with 22 points and nine assists. Hunter had an up-and-down season last year but flashed ability on occasion. If his performance is a sign of things to come, the Longhorns offense could be dangerous.

Oral Roberts transfer guard Max Abmas scored 18 points followed by 14 points from second-year forward Dillon Mitchell.

Abmas shared his thoughts on what makes exhibition games like these so important.

“These early games are going to be us continuing to build that chemistry, continuing to figure out what spots each of us likes from the first two games. I think we’re continuing to learn that it’s only going to get better as the year goes on.”

Texas head coach Rodney Terry already faces pressure despite giving the program its best postseason showing since 2009. He modeled the steady confidence the team needs from the head coaching position in the scrimmage.

Terry spoke to what presented the team challenges early.

“We knew they were a really good shooting team. They were going to really challenge us to sit down, stay in stance, and really try to go hard. They got off to a great start shooting the basketball at a good clip and they showed us down in transition.”

You can expect more suspense over the course of the season. We certainly have concerns over whether or not this roster is as good as it was a year ago. Nevertheless, Terry found ways to win big games last year. Perhaps he has what it takes to do it again this season.

Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation will partner with six college basketball programs this season

Did your school make it on the list?

Vanessa Bryant, the late Kobe Bryant’s wife, announced that the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation will partner with six college basketball programs for the 2023-2024 season. The schools are all sponsored by Nike and include Duke, UConn, USC, LSU, Kentucky, and Oregon.

“We are grateful for the amazing support of these prestigious universities (in no particular order) towards the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation – to further the legacies of Kobe and Gigi! So excited to see their players wearing Kobe and Gigi’s NIKE shoes this upcoming season!!!,” Bryant shared on Instagram.

“The Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating positive impact for underserved athletes and boys & girls in sports. Founded through the vision and loving memory of Kobe and Gianna ”Gigi” Bryant,” according to the foundation’s website.
This means that prominent college basketball players like Paige Bueckers of UConn, Angel Reese from LSU, and USC’s Bronny James will be wearing the kicks on the court this season.

Shaka Smart reaches extension with Marquette after top-10 AP finish

Shaka Smart is staying at Marquette for the foreseeable future, signing an extension on Wednesday.

After leading the Marquette Golden Eagles to their first top-10 finish in the AP Poll since 2003, head coach Shaka Smart and the University of Marquette have reached a contract extension.

First reported by John Fanta of College Basketball on Fox and The Field of 68, Smart’s new contract with the Golden Eagles extends him through the 2029-2030 season. The university later announced the extension via GoMarqutte.com.

“In a very short period of time, Shaka and his staff have done a tremendous job of establishing a winning culture, both on and off the court,” Marquette Vice President & Director of Athletics Bill Scholl said in the press release. “Shaka’s vision for the program is focused on extended, sustainable success.  The individuals who interact with the team on a daily basis are able to observe frequent examples of growth and the excitement around the program is contagious.”

The 2022-2023 season was Smart’s second season with the program after coming to the program for the 20221-2022 season. In that first season with the Golden Eagles, he led them to a 19-13 record and an NCAA Tournament berth as a nine-seed.

Marquette is Smart’s third head coaching job. He previously coached at VCU from 2009-2010 through 2014-2015 where he led the Rams to five straight NCAA tournament appearances including a Final Four berth in 2011. He would lead VCU for Texas in 2015-2016 where he had much less success, making the NCAA Tournament just three times in six seasons. He would decide to leave Austin for Marquette following the 2021 season, signing a six-year deal with the university at the time.

REPORT: Mike Brey set to pursue television and not coach in 2023

Contrary to recent reports, Mike Brey isn’t going to coach at USF.

Former Notre Dame men’s basketball head coach Mike Brey will not be coaching next season according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Instead, the 63-year-old Maryland native will plan on taking some time off and pursuing a career in television.

Brey recently interviewed with the University of South Florida and did not end up getting a job offer from the Bulls. Brey had spent the last 23 seasons with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish going 582-332 including 225-181 in Big East and ACC conference play.  Brey led the Irish to nine NCAA Tournament appearances in his first 13 years in South Bend. The last 10 years however have been less successful. After back-to-back Elite Eight runs in 2015 and 2016, the Irish have missed the tournament in four of the last six seasons in which the tournament has been held.

He also spent five seasons with the University of Delaware from 1995 through the 1999 season, where he led the Blue Hens to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.

While Brey is ready to focus on television, Notre Dame is currently searching for their next head coach. The most recent updates regarding the search have the Fighting Irish’s primary target being Penn State’s Micah Shrewsberry, who recently finished his second year with the Nittany Lions.

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Wichita State hires Paul Mills away from Oral Roberts per multiple reports

The carousel is picking up speed.

The carousel continues to pick up speed with more teams being eliminated from postseason play. This time it impacts Oral Roberts and Wichita State.

There was a buzz on Tuesday afternoon surrounding the Wichita State Shockers and Oral Roberts head coach Paul Mills. College basketball insider Jon Rothstein reported that Mills was the leading candidate and a deal felt imminent at that point.

Kelly Hines of the Tulsa World followed up on the report stating that Mills met with his team to announce he would be leaving for the Shockers’ head coaching vacancy.

The former Baylor assistant took the job with Oral Roberts in 2017 after 15 years with the Bears program as an assistant under Scott Drew. Mills led Oral Roberts to the Sweet 16 in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. They were the No. 15 seed and upset No. 2 Ohio State and No. 7 Florida before a two-point loss in the Sweet 16 against Arkansas.

This past season Mills and his squad were bounced in the first round after losing to Duke, 74-51. He led them to a 30-5 record this past season, and Mills finished his Oral Roberts career with a record of 106-84 and 61-36 in Summit League play.

Wichita State fired head coach Isaac Brown after three seasons with the Shockers. He was just 48-34 in three seasons. Brown was on the staff since 2014 and was promoted from assistant to head coach in 2020. Now Mills will look to return the Shockers to their former glory. Wichita State made it to the Final Four in 2013 and most recently made it to the Sweet 16 in 2015.

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Report: After March Madness Cinderella run, Tobin Anderson exits FDU for Iona

Tobin Anderson heads to Iona after historic run.

On Tuesday, it was reported by college basketball insider Jon Rothstein that Farleigh Dickinson head coach Tobin Anderson would leave the program for the head coach opening at Iona. The job became vacant after Rick Pitino accepted the head coaching job at St. John’s.

Dickinson joined the FDU program last March and is now cashing in on his success in the NCAA Tournament as he leaves the program after one year on the job.

Per Rothstein on Twitter, “Tobin Anderson has informed FDU that he’s leaving for the Iona job.” Prior to joining FDU, Anderson was the head coach of Division II St. Thomas Aquinas in Sparkill, New York.

The Spartans finished last season with a 28-5 record and 17-1 in conference play. The Spartans won the ECC (East Coast Conference) title and their season ended in the Division II NCAA Tournament against Bentley in the East Regional, 82-75.

That game ended a 16-game winning streak for St. Thomas Aquinas College. Anderson led the FDU Knights to a 21-16 record and 10-6 in Northeast Conference play. The Knights fell to Merrimack in the NEC championship game but due to Warriors being ineligible for the NCAA Tournament, the Knights were given the opportunity to compete in the Field of 68.

After knocking off Texas Southern in the First Four, FDU would upset No. 1 Purdue in the Round of 64 before falling to Florida Atlantic, 78-70, for a chance to compete in the Sweet 16. FDU became the second men’s team ever to beat a No. 1 seed in the first round as a No. 16 seed joining UMBC, after their win over Virginia in 2018.

Now Anderson will look to bring the Gaels past the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1980 when they lost in the second round to Georgetown, 74-71.

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Men’s College Basketball: Coaching carousel news and notes

Latest updates as the men’s basketball coaching carousel begins to pick up speed.

The coaching carousel for men’s college basketball is in a full spin at the moment.

It was announced on Monday that Iona head coach Rick Pitino would leave the program after three seasons to return to the Big East as the St. John’s head coach. Pitino was linked to multiple programs but ultimately chose to head up the Red Storm’s program.

Another major shakeup happened between Big East rivals, the Providence Friars and Georgetown Hoyas. Providence head coach Ed Cooley opted to take over the Hoyas program after 12 seasons with the Friars.

These two moves have opened up head coaching jobs with Iona and Providence. Recently Georgia Tech filled its men’s basketball coach vacancy with Boston Celtics‘ assistant Damon Stoudamire and Ole Miss hired former Texas and Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard to lead their program.

The breakdown of coaching movement among major programs around the country.

School Previous Coach New Coach
Georgetown Patrick Ewing Ed Cooley
Georgia Tech Josh Pastner Damon Stoudamire
Ole Miss Kermit Davis Chris Beard
Providence Ed Cooley Open
St. John’s Mike Anderson Rick Pitino
Syracuse Jim Boeheim Adrian Autry
Texas Chris Beard Rodney Terry (interim)
Texas Tech Mark Adams Open

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McNeese suspends Will Wade just days after being hired

Will Wade has already been suspended by McNeese.

Welcome to McNeese Will Wade, now you are suspended. What a wild way to begin a new tenure.

Following the 2021-22 college basketball season, the LSU Tigers fired head coach Will Wade following a notice of five level-one violations while running the program. He spent the 2022-23 season away from the collegiate game and was recently hired by McNeese in Louisiana. Just days after his introductory press conference, Wade has been suspended for five games.

According to Matthew Travis, his suspension prohibits Wade from campus recruiting-related activities through Jul. 31. Wade finished his five-year run at LSU with a 105-51 record and 55-33 in SEC play. The Tigers made a Sweet 16 run in 2019 in a season that Wade was suspended for the final five games of the regular season.

Overall, Wade is 196-96 as a head coach of Chattanooga, VCU, and LSU. The newest head coach will have to wait until game No. 6 of the 2023-24 season to make his debut with the Cowboys.

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