Ace Bailey could potentially replace Brandon Ingram.
This was not a good season for the New Orleans Pelicans, but the good news is that it could get better with some luck in the 2025 NBA Draft lottery.
After all of the compounded injuries and disappointing performances on the court, the Pelicans have lost a ton of games this season. As such, however, it may lead to an exciting young player to add their core.
Unlike other teams with poor records, the Pelicans are in a position in which they could potentially contend again soon once healthy. They already have a very solid core that includes several players capable of winning now. Perhaps they can add to that with an early pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Here is more from Jonathan Wasserman about the fit of a star Rutgers freshman (via Bleacher Report):
“Ace Bailey has looked much better lately attacking the rim and using his height and touch to finish around the basket. His float game has been a reliable weapon as well. More driving and less settling for tough jumpers will help eliminate any hesitation from NBA teams over Bailey’s style of play and general outlook.
Mixing up his offense more has led to some outstanding scoring efficiency as of late. It’s difficult to have a cleaner game than 30 points on two missed shots.
Bailey has also been noticeably more disruptive defensively using his length to get deflections and block shots.
Meanwhile, he continues to sell himself as a special shotmaker with four made threes in four of his last seven games.”
Bailey would provide a potential replacement for Brandon Ingram if the forward decides to walk via free agency.
The 6-foot-10 freshman is one of the best midrange shooters we have evaluated as a prospect, even if the game is trending away from long 2-pointers as a valuable shot.
He struggled to provide a positive impact to begin his collegiate career. During his first 10 games in the NCAA, his box plus-minus (0.1) was dangerously low.
Even by his 13th game of the season earlier this month, his BPM (2.1) would still have ranked lower while in college than any other top-5 pick since 2008-09. In fact, among those picked No. 12 or earlier, Bailey would have finished ahead of only Ziaire Williams.
As noted by Wasserman, however, Bailey has picked it up a bit lately and the numbers reflect as much. He has increased his BPM all the way up to 4.9 and that is a far more respectable output. (For comparison, that is the exact same box plus-minus former No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards had while at Georgia.)
Charlisse Leger-Walker is being a great UCLA teammate even though she is unable to play due to injury.
After UCLA’s 84-66 win over Rutgers on Thursday, Bruins head coach Cori Close praised a Bruin who is not even playing in the 2024-2025 season. UCLA Guard Charlisse Leger-Walker, who transferred from Washington State this past offseason, is out for the entire season as she recovers from a torn ACL. Yet, that doesn’t mean she can’t make a difference for UCLA this season.
“One of our players that’s actually sitting out this year, she made a great point in the locker room after the game,” Close said. “It was Charlisse Leger-Walker, about how when we find something that works, our next point of maturity is to just keep doing it.”
Close brought it up in the postgame press conference when asked about how UCLA handled the Scarlet Knights’ zone defense.
“I thought we were dribbling too quickly versus their zone in the first quarter and really challenging our guards to create ball movement and ball reversal versus their zone,” Close said. “I didn’t think we were as consistent with that in the second half.”
The Bruins outscored Rutgers by only two points in the second half, but it was still enough to push UCLA to 19-0 on the season.
Leger-Walker was named to the Wooden Award Watchlist this season. She averaged 16.6 points per game in 105 games over four seasons with Washington State. UCLA is already No. 1 in the country without Leger-Walker; if the Bruins can retain center Lauren Betts and guard Kiki Rice, there’s a chance UCLA will be just as loaded again next season.
Another game, another night of Lauren Betts dominance for UCLA women’s basketball.
The wins continue to roll along for the No. 1 UCLA Bruins. They defeated Rutgers 84-66 on Thursday to improve to 19-0 as the longest road trip of the Bruins’ season carries on.
The Bruins went 2-0 in New Jersey with the wins over Rutgers and Baylor (in Newark on Monday). UCLA will wrap up the road trip Sunday morning against No. 8 Maryland. UCLA joins the No. 5 LSU Tigers (22-0) as the final two unbeaten teams in Division I women’s basketball. UCLA could soon be alone at the top with LSU facing No. 2 South Carolina on Friday.
While the end result of Thursday’s game doesn’t come as much of a surprise, one can still marvel at the achievement. The Bruins are now 7-0 in their Big Ten debut season while Rutgers is still searching for its first conference win this season at 0-9.
UCLA immediately took charge of the game Thursday, hopping out to a 10-0 lead less than three minutes into the game. Junior center Lauren Betts began the game by collecting two of her own misses before getting her third attempt to fall and open the scoring. Betts then found junior guard Londynn Jones for a three ball, the first of four made threes by Jones in the game.
Lauren Betts had another very strong game, finishing with 25 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks. Betts’ ability goes beyond the box score too, with her length affecting many more shots than just the ones she gets her paws on.
Rutgers shot just 35.3% from the field, which is pretty good considering UCLA was holding opponents to 32.9% on the season, tied with Kansas State for the best mark in the country.
UCLA should be able to play volleyball on the boards against Rutgers Thursday night in New Jersey.
UCLA women’s basketball played in the state of New Jersey on Monday. The Bruins defeated Baylor in Newark in a neutral-site, made-for-television game. UCLA will stay in New Jersey for a few days because the Bruins have a Thursday night game in nearby Piscataway versus the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
One detail which should loom large — word choice intentional — in UCLA versus Rutgers is that the Bruins are bigger. They have more size and length. Rutgers finds it hard to rebound and to get to the rim. Cornhuskers Wire detailed a recent Nebraska win over Rutgers (just over a week ago):
Nebraska finished 25-of-61 from the floor, while Rutgers shot 22-of-62. The Huskers also landed 16-of-25 from the free-throw line. The Scarlet Knights shot 12-of-18. Nebraska did outrebound Rutgers in the game 49-32.
Alexis Markowski produced 47th of her career, scoring 14 points and hauling in 14 rebounds. Jessica Petrie scored 12 points in the win and snatched a career-high nine rebounds.
Rutgers got clobbered on the boards against Nebraska, and it has been the same against other Big Ten basketball teams as well. UCLA should be able to play volleyball on the glass and deter the Scarlet Knights from getting to the basket. Rutgers will have to shoot a very high percentage of 3-pointers to have any possible chance. RU did not shoot nearly well enough against Nebraska. The challenge will be even taller — word choice intentional — versus UCLA women’s basketball.
The Bruins dropped another Big Ten matchup as a feeling of resignation sets in.
The UCLA Bruins extended their losing streak to four games. They fell to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 75-68 on Monday night. Now 11-6 and 2-4 in the Big Ten, the Bruins are hovering over the panic button.
Trailing by nine in the late stages of Monday night’s game, the Bruins orchestrated an 8-0 run to bring the score to 63-62 with 2:08 remaining. However, poor transition defense led to a Rutgers three to put the game out of reach.
All eyes were on the Bruins entering the game. Signs of dysfunction became evident after their loss to Maryland. With minimal adjustments made and another poor shooting performance on the road, the Bruins further revealed themselves as a deeply flawed team.
Failing to crack 70 points for the second straight game, UCLA’s problems on offense are becoming more and more apparent.
The Bruins produced 42.4% shooting from the floor and failed to find forward Tyler Bilodeau in finishing lanes. Bilodeau finished with six points on 0-7 shooting from the floor as the Bruins’ starting five scored only 48 points.
A fifth straight loss could deepen the feeling of resignation surrounding this season for the Bruins. They take on 12-4 Iowa at home this Friday.
With no clear fix in sight for UCLA’s woes, serious questions must be posed as to whether head coach Mick Cronin is still fit for the job and whether this roster can compete in the Big Ten.
The Bruins did not receive a single AP Top 25 vote this week.
The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team has had a rough week. After dropping three straight games in the Big Ten, the Bruins suffered another blow in the national rankings. After a five-week stint in the AP Top 2025 Poll, the Bruins are now on the outside looking in, not even receiving a single vote.
At 11-5 on the season and 2-3 in the Big Ten, the Bruins’ season is far from over. With 15 games remaining on their schedule, all against Big Ten opponents, the Bruins have a chance to right the ship.
That said, sweeping changes must be made to reignite UCLA’s offense, defense, and effort. With outbursts by head coach Mick Cronin and a lack of scoring from the Bruins’ backcourt, this team needs to find answers quickly.
The Bruins missed the Big Dance in 2024 after an uninspired final season in the Pac-12. Given the talent on UCLA’s roster this season, there is no reason the 2025 team should suffer the same fate.
While the Bruins should be motivated to return to the AP Top 25 rankings soon, their main priority should be circling the wagons and reassuring themselves as a team of quality in the Big Ten.
Things with Rutgers phenom Kiyomi McMiller are still bizarre.
Just days ago, McMiller revealed she’d been benched before a matchup with USC. What followed was a shroud of secrecy from the Scarlet Knights, wild Instagram posts from McMiller and thoughts from her camp about her strange benching. Eventually, Miller was a late scratch from a Minnesota matchup before returning to the court Sunday for a game with Nebraska.
She returned to form, dropping a career-high 33 points in 37 minutes. Per Kevin Perrington-Turner of the Asbury Park Press, when asked why McMiller returned against the Huskers, head coach Coquese Washington said, “There was nothing that led to it…she’s back with our team.” (See the opening 43 seconds of the YouTube video below.)
“We’re happy to have her back…I don’t have anything to explain,” Washington continued. “She’s back on our team, back at practice. We go through practice every day and try to figure out how we’re going to approach the game in terms of lineups and all that, and it was nothing more than that.”
Wait. What? WHAT DO YOU MEAN?
I understand that Rutgers wants to keep things internal, but are we supposed to go on like nothing happened? Are we supposed to pretend like McMiller wasn’t shading the program for losing to USC without her? Are we supposed to pretend like her advisor and even her father didn’t comment on the situation? Are we supposed to pretend like everything is *checks notes* fine Please be for real, Rutgers. This is a wild response.
Whatever is happening, there seemingly won’t be answers anytime soon.
Rutgers’ Kiyomi McMiller has been weirdly benched. Here’s what we know.
The women’s basketball freshman class, including Rutgers guard Kiyomi McMiller, has been pretty stellar.
McMiller’s a walking highlight reel with some of the sickest moves in recent memory. She’s had several clips that have gone viral this season, including this mind-boggling video in which she pushed the ball between a defender’s legs before 360-spinning around them and driving to the basket for a jumper.
The DMV native has quickly made a name for herself, and as her stardom has ascended, so have the number of eyes on her game. More people want in on the McMiller experience, including when the Scarlet Knights play ranked matchups. As expected, fans were excited to see the young guard in action when Rutgers played USC on January 5. But hours before tipoff, McMiller revealed she wouldn’t be suiting up, creating so many questions.
Let’s dive in with what we know so far as this story continues to unfold:
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Kiyomi McMiller quickly became a top-scoring threat for Rutgers
In her college debut, McMiller started but played just four minutes. However, she went 2-for-2 in limited action, scoring four points and snagging a rebound.
Since then, she’s started in 12 of the 14 games she’s played, including a career-high 31-point outing against LaFayette on December 21.
Rutgers started quietly limiting Kiyomi McMiller’s minutes
Shortly after her stellar day against LaFayette, in which McMiller played 40 minutes, something was potentially brewing.
During the Scarlet Knights’ next two matchups against Ohio State and Maryland, she played just 27 and 24 minutes, respectively, including just five minutes in the second half against the Terps after a tough outing.
Maryland being Maryland. Held the Scarlet Knights to 9 pts in the second quarter. Rough half for Kiyomi McMiller – 14 pts, 6 TOs and no assists. Terps defense hell to deal with. pic.twitter.com/y4S8gJadcp
Just hours before her game against top-ranked USC, McMiller stunned fans by taking to Instagram to reveal that she wouldn’t be playing against the Trojans.
Very few details were provided about why McMiller wouldn’t be on the court, but the young hooper explained that her head coach, Coquese Washington, made the decision.
Rutgers head coach Coquese Washington is mum on Kiyomi McMiller’s absence
PISCATAWAY, NEW JERSEY – JANUARY 5: Head coach Coquese Washington of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights reacts during a game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Jersey Mike’s Arena on January 5, 2024 in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
During a postgame press conference following the matchup with USC, Washington didn’t explain what prompted McMiller’s benching.
However, here is what she shared with the media:
“The thing with Kiyomi is, you know, we’re going to keep it internal. … For me, coaching is not just about what happens on the court on game day. It’s about how we impact these young women in our program in all aspects, from their character to their growth into womanhood to their decision-making.
So, I see my role as a coach as being more than X’s and O’s and wins and losses, but how am I impacting young women in my care? That’s always going to be first and foremost. … We’re going to keep the specifics internal, but I’ll never turn down an opportunity and use this position to do anything other than have an impact on young women’s lives.”
Kiyomi McMiller’s advisor speaks about about benching, hints about transfer
With so many unanswered questions about McMiller’s status with Rutgers, it’s hard to find answers about what will happen next, but one of her trusted advisors shared their thoughts.
“It was shocking,” Ellerbe recently said. “In my opinion, this should have been handled in an entirely different matter, and I think this is embarrassing to the entire program.”
Ellerbe also considered McMiller’s future relationship with the Rutgers women’s basketball program, saying, “I don’t want to speak in terms of long-term, but this is—you don’t treat people like this … I’m trying to say the right thing here. Who knows what her future looks like right now? Who knows what her future looks like?”
A Rutgers alum posts cryptic tweets amid Kiyomi McMiller’s benching
McMiller’s absence has permeated basketball circles, including reaching former players.
April Sykes, who was with the Scarlet Knights from 2008 to 2012, shared several cryptic tweets to X (formerly Twitter).
Kiyomi McMiller seemingly shades Rutgers for how the team looks without her
On January 6th, things took another turn. McMiller shared several posts of fan support to her Instagram story.
However, she also shared several posts that showed how the Scarlet Knights played without her against USC and even posted (and deleted) comments that said she should transfer.
Per Talia Goodman of On3, Kiyomi McMiller’s dad says the star guard doesn’t have plans to transfer.
“Kiyomi’s goal was to be at Rutgers and not ever transfer,” he explained to On3. “That is still the goal. The goal is to finish the job. At this moment, we’re not looking to transfer.”
Kiyomi McMiller returns to Rutgers basketball
Rutgers’ Kiyomi McMiller pulls up and shoots. Rutgers Women’s Basketball falls to Nebraska 69-62 in Piscataway, NJ on January 12, 2025. Mandatory Credit: Peter Ackerman-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
On January 12, after a two-game absence, McMiller returned to the starting lineup for a matchup against Nebraska. She played 37 minutes and posted a career-high 33 points.
“We’re happy to have her back, and I don’t have anything to explain. She’s back on our team, back at practice. We [go] through practice every day and try to figure out how we’re going to approach the game as far as lineups and all that, and it was nothing more than that,” Washington said.
If you think it’s bad at UCLA, and it is, it’s even worse at Rutgers.
It’s bad right now at UCLA basketball, but if you think it’s rock bottom, you haven’t seen Rutgers basketball this season.
Rutgers is, in the eyes of many college basketball analysts, the biggest single disappointment in the sport this season. As NJ.com noted, CBS analysts Matt Norlander and Gary Parrish firmly think Rutgers has been the biggest bust in college hoops.
“This feels like the biggest bummer in college basketball,” Norlander said. “I didn’t expect them to be a top 3, top 4, maybe not even a top 5 team in the Big Ten, but I thought, at minimum, they would be a team that was going to be on the bubble, a will-they, won’t-they (make it). I thought that would be the worst-case scenario. I thought the best-case scenario would be these guys would be awesome, transform it and they could be the fifth-best team in the Big Ten. … Can you think of a story that’s more of a letdown right now than these Scarlet Knights?”
Parrish agreed with Norlander’s sentiment.
“In my top five of things to follow this season, it was two five-star freshmen at Rutgers, two projected top-five picks in Piscataway,” he said. “The idea that it’s now sitting here, 16 games in, at 8-8, to me, that’s the biggest disappointment in the sport. Because what it suggests is we are going to play the NCAA Tournament without maybe two of the top three NBA prospects we have in college basketball. That’s not good for anybody.”
UCLA versus Rutgers is the disappointment bowl on Monday night.
Here’s what we know about Kiyomi McMiller’s return to basketball.
This story has been updated to reflect a change in reporting.
In recent days, Rutgers freshman Kiyomi McMiller was strangely benched without much explanation. If you’re here, you’re probably wondering: when will she return to the court?
Here’s the answer. McMiller’s playing status is currently unclear. This is what we know.
Per Joey Chandler of NJ Advance Media, Rutgers associate director of communications Erin Nerithe confirmed that the young hooper practiced this week and traveled with the team for its Wednesday game against Minnesota.
However, whether McMiller will play remains unknown. The team and the university have not revealed any information about her status. The Scarlet Knights declined to comment, instead deferring to an availability report expected to be released Wednesday evening.
UPDATE: Despite being available to play per a Big Ten report, McMiller did not suit up for Wednesday’s matchup against the Minnesota Gophers.
