Tag: UConn

Notre Dame women release 2023-24 nonconference schedule

Which game are you most looking forward to?

Barring any unforeseen changes, Notre Dame will enter the 2023-24 season in as good of shape as it could be. [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] will be healthy, [autotag]Cassandre Prosper[/autotag] will be around for a full season, and [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] has arrived. That doesn’t even account for the fact that virtually the entire rest of the rotation from the Irish’s second straight Sweet 16 is returning. Irish fans should be feeling very confident.

Before tackling ACC play, the Irish will play a nonconference schedule. Actually, one of those games is scheduled for the middle of conference play, but that game as well as the season opener will serve as real measuring sticks for where they stand. That’s because those opponents are among the class of women’s basketball.

Based on this schedule, what kind of shape do you think the Irish will be in by the time their conference opponents start popping up? Whatever you think, here it is:

Former Celtic Kemba Walker on joining AS Monaco

“The club was very interested in me, and I just wanted to be part of a club that wanted me, that believed in me,” said Walker.

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Former Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker made a significant change to his stalled basketball career with a move to Europe. He joins AS Monaco after a 12-year career in the NBA.

In a recent interview with Eurohoops, the 33-year-old point guard expressed his excitement about joining a club that believes in him and why he sees the potential for him to help take it to the next level.

“The club was very interested in me, and I just wanted to be part of a club that wanted me, that believed in me,” said Walker. “I saw that the directors felt I could help them reach another level.”

“That’s what convinced me and made me decide to join Monaco,” added the onetime UConn standout. “What’s more, it’s an extraordinary city where I want to spend some time and gain new life experiences.”

“So it’s going to be a really fun time, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity. I just want to keep playing basketball at a high level, and Monaco allows me to do that.”

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2024 four-star shooting guard recruit lists Notre Dame among top eight

Think he’ll choose the Irish?

Notre Dame will need shooting and lots of it when the time comes for the program to be competitive again. So it surely must have been good news for [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] and his staff when 2024 four-star shooting guard recruit Austin Swartz told Joe Tipton of On3 that Notre Dame is one of eight finalists for his services. Also making the cut are Indiana, Clemson, Miami, Florida State, Virginia Tech, UConn and Georgia.

Swartz, one of the top 2024 recruits in North Carolina, has scheduled official visits to six of the above schools, but Notre Dame is not one of them. In fact, he already has visited Clemson, and every other school is on his official visit list. It’s unknown whether he’ll make any trips to South Bend, so we’re left to speculate just how serious he is about the Irish. Hopefully, their chances aren’t dead before they’ve actually gotten any life.

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Ray Allen on Larry Bird’s influence on his game, getting his degree from UConn

Allen also shared his perspective on today’s NBA.

Hall of Fame Boston Celtics shooting guard Ray Allen recently found himself back in the news for something his success on the court took away during his time at the University of Connecticut — a complete college education — that he’d made a point of rectifying.

In an interview on the “Dan LeBatard” show, Allen discussed his college graduation and the importance of education, noting that despite the challenges, he balanced sports and academics before he left school early to join the Association.

Allen also shared his perspective on today’s NBA and expressed admiration for Larry Bird and his skills. He considers Bird an influential figure in his own basketball career among other Celtics-centric aspects of the conversation.

To hear the talk for yourself in full, take a look at the clip embedded below.

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Celtics select a champion NCAA wing in new 2023 mock draft

“The biggest question mark is whether he can improve his perimeter shooting,” notes H/H.

The Boston Celtics have been projected to select a UConn wing in the 2023 NBA draft in a new aggregate mock put together by HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. In his latest offering, Boston takes 6-foot-6 Connecticut junior Andre Jackson, Jr. with the No. 35 pick owed them by the Portland Trail Blazers.

“Jackson Jr.’s stock is as high as it’s been in the aggregate mock draft poll,” wrote Scotto. “He’s a versatile player who can facilitate and rebound and is an athletic defender who can guard three positions while filling up a box score across the board and impacting winning.”

“The biggest question mark is whether he can improve his perimeter shooting,” the H/H analyst keenly points out.

“Jackson is the glue guy you’d want on your team,” an NBA executive said.

With Boston in need of competent, affordable wing depth in future seasons, such a move would make a world of sense for the Celtics.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Son of Celtics champion shooting guard Ray Allen commits to Rhode Island

The future Ram reportedly also considered UMass before electing to commit to Rhode Island.

Fans of the Boston Celtics in the state of Rhode Island might be surprised to see Ray Allen committed to play for the University of Rhode Island as a preferred walk-on player per the Hartford Courant’s Kels Dayton, but their eyes are not playing tricks on them.

Allen’s son, Walter Ray Allen III, has committed to playing basketball at URI as a walk-on. The eldest son of the Celtics champ and former University of Connecticut standout is a 6-foot-1 shooting guard who was coached by the elder Allen at Gulliver Prep in Miami, Florida.

The younger Jesus Shuttleworth was not heavily recruited by top college basketball programs, but the hope is Allen develops his game enough at URI to raise his stock as a player.

Announced on the younger Allen’s Instagram last week, the future Ram reportedly also considered UMass before electing to commit to Rhode Island.

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Report: Big 12 eyeing UConn for potential expansion

It appears the Big 12 is still on the lookout for new members.

The Big 12 Conference has been aggressive in adding members after the news of Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC.

New commissioner Brett Yormark wasted no time in bringing in BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF to the league ahead of the 2023 season. It appears the Big 12 is still on the lookout for new members.

The Athletic reports the Big 12 has an interest in UConn as a potential addition.

UConn would provide the Big 12 with a more prominent footprint on the east coast. The Huskies are a powerhouse in both men’s and women’s basketball, which could help submit the Big 12 as the top basketball league in the nation.

The main question relies on if UConn is a strong enough football program for the Big 12 to pull the trigger. UConn has struggled on the football filed over the past decade and would weaken the overall depth of the conference.

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Adama Sanogo worked out with the Thunder in pre-draft visit

Connecticut forward Adama Sanogo has worked out for the Thunder in pre-draft visit, per @BasketballGuruD

The 2023 NBA draft lottery is officially over, as it confirmed the Oklahoma City Thunder will pick No. 12 in the first round of the draft.

It’s also draft combine week, which means all of the top prospects are gathered in Chicago, Ill. This means that most players will likely be asked who they’ve worked out and met with so far.

The Thunder have met and worked out Connecticut forward Adama Sanogo, per BSO’s Daniel Bell.

The 21-year-old averaged 17.2 points on 60.6% shooting, 7.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 39 games last season. He also shot 36.5% from 3 on 1.3 attempts. He spent three college seasons at UConn from 2020 to 2023, where he played a vital role in their 2023 national championship.

Sanogo is currently projected by most mock drafts to go in the second round, which means the Thunder will likely get a chance to select him at No. 37 or No. 50 if he falls that far.

The 2023 NBA draft is scheduled to happen on Thursday, June 22. A full list of prospects who’ve met with the Thunder can be read here.

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Champion UConn shooting guard Andre Jackson works out with Celtics

Jackson was the do-it-all glue guy who helped keep the Huskies afloat all the way to the NCAA title with his well-rounded, fundamental-rich toolkit.

Former University of  Connecticut wing Andre Jackson shared that he has worked out with the Boston Celtics on Friday ahead of the 2023 NBA draft, to the likely delight of the subset of New Englanders who root for both ball clubs. Speaking at a media availability session for a workout he had with the Indiana Pacers, the 6-foot-6 shooting guard also revealed that he has worked out with that club and the Brooklyn Nets.

Nearly 22, Jackson was the do-it-all glue guy who helped keep the Huskies afloat all the way to the NCAA title with his well-rounded, fundamental-rich toolkit.

An excellent distributor with good court vision and an excellent rebounder for his size 6.2 per game last season with UConn), the New Yorker is an excellent defender with a high motor and above-average athleticism with explosive leaping ability.

The big knock on his game is his 3-point shooting, just 28.1% from deep with Connecticut in 2022-23. A mixture of problems with his form and confidence suggests that may never be a key part of his game at the next level.

But, Jackson would likely be able to help Boston’s wing depth almost immediately should he be available when the Celtics draft in the second round.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

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YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Celtics Hall of Famer Ray Allen adds to his CV with a BA from UConn

“It’s never too late to learn,” Allen said.

Hall of Fame Boston Celtics shooting guard Ray Allen added to his considerable list of lifetime achievements this week, but it had only a tenuous connection to the basketball career he has built over the last three decades as a player for the Connecticut Huskies, and in the NBA afterward.

The champion Celtics wing earned his bachelor’s degree in general studies from UConn 27 years after he left the school to join the league he would win two titles in as a player. “It’s never too late to learn,” Allen told the Hartford Courant’s Joe Arruda. “This day isn’t about me, it’s about the people that helped me along the way to finish this mission, be on this journey to graduate from college.”

“And you (have) got to do it by yourself but it’s made up of a lot of people around you, so I didn’t want it to be about me walking in and everybody,” he added.

“These kids are on their individual journeys, so I was so inspired to be sitting next to them and talking to them … It’s hard to really describe the feeling connected to it because it’s been a pursuit of mine for such a long time.”

“I loved my time here as a student-athlete. Fortunately and unfortunately for me, I had a higher calling at the time and it was sad for me because I left here and I really enjoyed being here as an athlete.”

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

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