Cooper Flagg could very likely hold more than his own weight in the NBA today, but by rule, he must be one year removed from high school before going pro.

So, he opted to go to Duke, and while most are predicting he’s a one-and-done, that may actually not be the case.

In a recent interview with “The Athletic,” Flagg, projected to be the No. 1 selection in this summer’s NBA Draft, made a stunning proclamation about his basketball future.

“I still feel like a kid,” he continued. “This is the only way I’ve ever known college. That’s how I see it. I really wouldn’t know how kids felt before, and if this feels different, if this feels more like being a professional. I mean, it’s the same thing for kids in high school, too, getting paid a lot of money. I don’t know. I feel pretty normal.”

The 6’9″ forward has been dominating as part of the No. 4 team in the country, averaging 19.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest. He’s started all of his 24 games played this season, shooting 48.3% from the floor and 37.0% from deep.

Čestitke: Luka Dončić je končno podpisal dogovor z Lakersi. “Neustavljivo”

Григор Димитров в шок след трагичната загуба на Стан Вавринка

Тенис светът е в траур след внезапната и трагична загуба на швейцарската тенис звезда Стан Вавринка, близък приятел на българския ас Григор Димитров. Новината дойде като опустошителен шок за Димитров, който сподели силна връзка с Вавринка както на корта, така и извън него.

Димитров, видимо разстроен, изрази мъката си в емоционално изявление: „Не мога да повярвам, че Стан си отиде. Той беше повече от приятел – беше семейство. Споделихме толкова много невероятни моменти заедно, и тази загуба е неописуема.“

Двамата играчи изградиха дълбоко приятелство през годините, често тренираха заедно и се подкрепяха в най-големите турнири. Взаимното им уважение беше очевидно както в състезателните им мачове, така и в тяхната близост извън корта.

Фенове на тениса и колеги от тура заляха социалните мрежи с трогателни послания в памет на Вавринка, който завинаги ще остане в историята като трикратен шампион от Големия шлем и обичана фигура в спорта.

Докато тенис общността скърби за тази съкрушителна загуба, мислите и молитвите на всички са със семейството, приятелите и феновете на Вавринка по целия свят.

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ŠOKANTNE NOVICE: “Prisežem, da nisem storil tega!” – Legenda Lakersov raz…

Григор Димитров стана най-добрият тенисист в света след исторически възход

Григор Димитров официално стана най-добрият тенисист в света, постигайки връх в кариерата си, който затвърждава наследството му в спорта. Българската звезда, известен със своя елегантен стил на игра и универсалност на корта, най-накрая достигна върха на ранглистата на ATP след години на отдаденост и упорит труд.

Пътят на Димитров към върха е забележителен. Наричан някога „Малкия Федерер“ заради приликите в техниката му със швейцарската легенда Роджър Федерер, той се е сблъсквал с огромни очаквания и трудни предизвикателства през кариерата си. Въпреки това, неговата упоритост и постоянство дадоха резултат, като сега той оглавява световната ранглиста, изпреварвайки някои от най-големите имена в тениса.

Изкачването му до №1 идва след серия от доминиращи представяния на престижни турнири. Този сезон Димитров показа изключителна стабилност, спечелвайки няколко ATP титли и достигайки до финалните фази на турнирите от Големия шлем. Последният му триумф на елитен турнир, където победи някои от най-трудните си съперници, изигра ключова роля за издигането му до върха.

Тенис анализатори отдават успеха му на подобрената му психологическа издръжливост и тактическа гъвкавост. За разлика от по-ранните му години, когато непостоянството често го спираше, сега той е овладял способността да запазва концентрация в напрегнати мачове. Съчетанието му от мощ и финес, заедно с неговата атлетичност, го правят опасен противник на всички настилки.

Фенове и колеги тенисисти отпразнуваха постижението на Димитров, признавайки значението на неговия успех. От млад талант с огромен потенциал до реализирана мечта, пътят на Димитров е вдъхновение за бъдещите поколения тенисисти.

Сега големият въпрос е дали той ще успее да задържи доминацията си и да добави още титли от Големия шлем към колекцията си. Едно е сигурно – Григор Димитров вече се е утвърдил като един от най-великите играчи на своетопоколение.

Luka Dončić, ena največjih košarkarske lige NBA, je danes presenetil svoje oboževalce z nenavadnim sporočilom, v katerem je napovedal konec svoje kariere. To dramatično dejanje je sledilo njegovim negotovim razmeram glede morebitnega prestopa, ki so že nekaj časa v ospredju mediji in strokovnjake.

Po več mesecih špekulacij o njegovem prihodnjem položaju v Dallas Mavericks, kjer je Dončić igral od začetka svoje profesionalne kariere, je slovenski as nenadoma postal osrednja tema pogovorov v svetu športa. Pred tem je večkrat opozoril, da ni zadovoljen z aktualnim stanjem ekipe, zaradi česar so se pojavile govorice o njegovem morebitnem odhodu.

Danes pa je Dončić presenetil vse, ko je na svojem družbenem omrežju objavil sporočilo, v katerem je napovedal, da zapušča košarko zaradi osebnih razlogov in težav, ki jih prinaša nenehna negotovost glede njegove prihodnosti. “Po dolgem razmisleku sem sprejel odločitev, da končam svojo košarkarsko pot. Hvala vsem, ki ste me podpirali, a prišel je čas za nov začetek,” je zapisal Dončić.

Njegova odločitev je povzročila šok med navijači in strokovnjaki, saj je bil še vedno v najboljših letih svoje kariere. Dončić je v preteklih letih postal eno najbolj prepoznavnih imen v NBA, a zdi se, da se mu ob trenutni situaciji ni mogel več posvetiti le košarki. Navijači upajo, da bo Dončić premislil svojo odločitev, vendar se zdi, da bo ta odločitev ostala trajna.

**ŠOKANTNA ODSTOP: Luka Dončić Presenetil Navijače s Sporočilom o Koncu Karijere Po Njegovi Situaciji s Trgom**

Luka Dončić, ena največjih zvezd košarkarske lige NBA, je danes presenetil svoje oboževalce z nenavadnim sporočilom, v katerem je napovedal konec svoje kariere. To dramatično dejanje je sledilo njegovim negotovim razmeram glede morebitnega prestopa, ki so že nekaj časa v ospredju mediji in strokovnjake.

Po več mesecih špekulacij o njegovem prihodnjem položaju v Dallas Mavericks, kjer je Dončić igral od začetka svoje profesionalne kariere, je slovenski as nenadoma postal osrednja tema pogovorov v svetu športa. Pred tem je večkrat opozoril, da ni zadovoljen z aktualnim stanjem ekipe, zaradi česar so se pojavile govorice o njegovem morebitnem odhodu.

Danes pa je Dončić presenetil vse, ko je na svojem družbenem omrežju objavil sporočilo, v katerem je napovedal, da zapušča košarko zaradi osebnih razlogov in težav, ki jih prinaša nenehna negotovost glede njegove prihodnosti. “Po dolgem razmisleku sem sprejel odločitev, da končam svojo košarkarsko pot. Hvala vsem, ki ste me podpirali, a prišel je čas za nov začetek,” je zapisal Dončić.

Njegova odločitev je povzročila šok med navijači in strokovnjaki, saj je bil še vedno v najboljših letih svoje kariere. Dončić je v preteklih letih postal eno najbolj prepoznavnih imen v NBA, a zdi se, da se mu ob trenutni situaciji ni mogel več posvetiti le košarki. Navijači upajo, da bo Dončić premislil svojo odločitev, vendar se zdi, da bo ta odločitev ostala trajna.

Indiana basketball’s head coaching search is likely still weeks away from a resolution, which means IU’s job opening will continue to be among college basketball’s hot topics. That was once again the case Sunday afternoon at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall as Purdue coach Matt Painter offered his thoughts on the Indiana job and all that it entails.

Painter has seen six Indiana head coaches — both interim and full-time — come and go since he took over the Boilermakers program in 2005. If there’s an outsider who is most equipped and familiar with the IU job to speak on it, it’s probably Painter, the former Purdue player and Muncie, Ind., native who has battled the Hoosiers on the court and on the recruiting trail for two decades.

When asked about Mike Woodson’s impending retirement and IU’s head coach opening, Painter delivered a candid, two-minute monologue which later made the rounds on social media. Below is Painter’s full excerpt from his postgame press conference.

“I don’t really have a thought on the job. Obviously, we compete against them and they’re our rivals. The guy that’s the coach here is a peer of mine. Even though you compete and want to beat someone, you want to see other people be successful and keep their job. Just like any of you guys (the media) would think the same thing about the people sitting to your left and right.

“It’s like anything: you gotta get a good person, you gotta get a good coach, and you gotta get a guy to understand. [Indiana has] had a lot of [coaching] turnover, obviously. I think you’ve got to look at the common denominators here more than anything.

“I think that’s an important piece right here, like, don’t beat yourself. Don’t beat yourself. Let’s support somebody. Try that out for once every now and then. When s— goes wrong — like, you think Purdue fans are happy about what just happened [after IU’s 73-58 win]?

“A fanbase isn’t the people who tweet. A fanbase is the people when you’re bleeding, they support you. They jump on and off things here way too much. Support your coach, man. Support your players. Don’t tweet negative things about them. Be supportive. See how that works for you.

“They build them up and they overdo things. Like, quit overdoing s—. Just accurately talk about what’s actually happened. Don’t get recruits and be like, ‘that’s Michael Jordan, that’s Scottie Pippen,’ then they come here and they’re not like Michael Jordan or Scottie Pippen, they’re good college players. They build it up and then go, ‘oh, what’s wrong?’ Well, they’re part of it.

Matt Painter with a very candid answer when asked about Mike Woodson’s impending departure, what IU should be looking for in a new head coach

“But it’s not their total fanbase; it’s just that everyone has a bad percentage of their fanbase now because of Twitter, and then we think that’s their fanbase. It’s not our fanbase, and it’s not their real fanbase either. And so I think that’s an important piece.

“But it’s hard for young people to hear all that and then go out and collectively play. Like, ‘hey, man, we’re playing for you, but you dog us when we lose and then we’re the best when we win.’ Well, we’re somewhere in between, right?

“So I think they need to learn from some of those things, and support [Indiana Athletic Director] Scott Dolson and support the staff. But also, kind of be grounded with everything, and I think they’ll be able to have success.

“It’s just a different world now. We have 18 teams in [in the Big Ten]. We’re go into the name, image and likeness, and some changes are going to be here in April. So it’ll be real interesting to see the landscape here.”

In een onverwachte wending heeft Mathieu van der Poel vandaag zijn afscheid van het professionele wielrennen aangekondigd, wat zijn fans en de sportwereld in shock achterlaat. De Nederlandse wielrenner, die bekend staat om zijn veelzijdigheid en dominantie in zowel het wegwielrennen als het veldrijden, besloot zijn carrière voortijdig te beëindigen.

Van der Poel, die talloze overwinningen op zijn naam heeft staan, waaronder prestigieuze koersen zoals de Paris-Roubaix en het Wereldkampioenschap, deelde een korte verklaring waarin hij zijn beslissing toelichtte. De reden voor zijn vertrek blijft voorlopig persoonlijk, maar de impact van zijn carrière op de wielerwereld is onmiskenbaar. Zijn afwezigheid zal een grote leegte achterlaten in zowel het veldrijden als het wegwielrennen.

Zijn carrière is het verhaal van een talent dat zowel op de weg als in de modderige cyclocross-races zijn stempel heeft gedrukt. Van der Poel inspireerde miljoenen wielerliefhebbers over de hele wereld met zijn gedrevenheid en indrukwekkende prestaties. Hij werd vaak geprezen om zijn agressieve rijstijl en de manier waarop hij moeilijke wedstrijden met zijn doorzettingsvermogen tot een goed einde bracht.

De aankondiging van zijn vertrek heeft wereldwijd voor ongeloof gezorgd. Fans en collega’s uit de wielerwereld betuigden hun steun op sociale media, waarbij ze hun waardering uitten voor de bijdrage die hij heeft geleverd aan de sport. Mathieu van der Poel verlaat het wielrennen als een van de grootste talenten van zijn generatie. Het zal nog lang duren voordat zijn lege plek in het peloton gevuld wordt.

Bob Knight is a former American basketball coach who is most known for his time coaching the Indiana Hoosiers between 1971-2000. At the time of his retirement, he won 902 games which was a record at that time. He won three NCAA championships as a head coach, one NIT championship, and 11 Big Ten Conference championships as a coach for Indiana including going undefeated in the 1975-1976 season. He is one of the most innovative coaches in history, popularizing the motion offense.

Knight went on to play basketball for Ohio State. He was a star in high school, but struggled to get playing time at OSU under future Hall of Fame coach Fred Taylor. He was a reserve forward on the 1960 Ohio State team that ended up winning the NCAA Championship. The team also featured basketball legends John Havlicek and Jerry Lucas. The Buckeyes reached the NCAA Championship games each of the following two years and lost to the Cincinnati Bearcats each of those years.

“Where there’s a great painting, there’s a great painter. Where there’s a great and unique building, there’s a great architect. Where there’s a great team, there’s a great coach. No team ever won a national championship with a better coach than Fred Taylor,” proclaimed Knight.

In 1971, Knight was hired as the head coach for Indiana. In his first season, he defeated No. 14 Kansas, No. 7 Kentucky, No. 8 BYU, No. 16 Michigan, and No. 14 Ohio State and reached No.5 at one point during the season. However, Knight’s team reached the NIT and lost in the first round to Princeton.

Knight’s team improved drastically in his second season, reaching the Final Four and losing to John Wooden’s UCLA team that went 30-0. Knight did secure the third place finish with a victory over Providence in the Third Place Game.

Indiana reached the Elite Eight in 1974-1975 with Indiana’s first loss to Kentucky over the first four seasons Knight was coach over their six meetings (4 in regular season, 2 in post-season). This was a disappointment for the Hoosiers who rarely had any close games throughout the whole season and were No. 1 rank from 1/11/1975 till the end of the season. They swept the entire Big Ten by an average of 22.8 ppg. One of the biggest hurdles faced was losing Scott May to a broken left arm in the 83-82 victory at Purdue. Kentucky lost to eventual national champion UCLA.

In Knight’s fifth season as head coach, he ran the table and reached the perfect 32-0 record and Indiana’s third national championship in school history. They went perfect in Big Ten games this season as well. In the preseason, they defeated the reigning World Champion Soviet National Team by a convincing 94-78 margin. They were No. 1 the entire season and played one of the most dominating performances on 11/29/1975 against No. 2 UCLA where they won 84-64 In Gene Bartow’s first year as head coach of the Bruins.