Majewski’s Tweet came in response to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello giving details about Woodson’s buyout. There are two problems with Bruce Pearl coming to Bloomington: He’s employed by Auburn and Indiana has a head coach.
A Silver Lining in Buyouts
If the Hoosiers want to make this happen, there is a silver lining regarding the buyouts from former coaches. First, former football head coach Tom Allen agreed to reduce his buyout to 15.5 million dollars from 20.8 million. Second, donors handle former basketball coach Archie Miller’s 10.3 million dollar buyout.
After Allen receives his second lump-sum buyout payment this year, Indiana is done paying him. Mike Woodson’s 12.6 million dollar buyout can be paid in annual payouts of one million dollars, which would ease the burden of his settlement. Potentially, that could open the door to hire a new head coach.
The Clemson Tigers entered the final week of the college football regular season hoping for a Miami Hurricanes loss to sneak into the ACC Championship, and that wish was granted after Syracuse pulled off the win. The Tigers went on to win the ACC and make their way into the playoffs despite a 9-3 regular season record. While they went on to lose to the Texas Longhorns in the first round, it was a sign there was something to look forward to in Clemson for 2025.
One of the reasons for that optimism is quarterback Cade Klubnik, who opted to return to the Tigers despite being draft-eligible. In 2024, Klubnik threw for 3,639 yards and 36 touchdowns while adding 463 yards on the ground and seven rushing scores. While he’ll be a Heisman candidate in 2025, it will be in large part due to the help of his top receiver. In a recent piece by PFF, Clemson’s star underclassman receiver was named the top returning receiver in the ACC for 2025.
After having 41 catches for 708 yards and five scores, freshman Bryant Wesco Jr. heads into his sophomore season with the Tigers ranked as the seventh-best receiver in the country and the top receiver in the ACC for next season.
Jackson-Davis, who played at Indiana from 2019-23 and who has been with the Golden State Warriors the last two seasons, was not technically an All-Star, but due to the format change in the All-Star Game, he got to take part.
There was not an All-Star Game in the traditional sense. All-Star Sunday featured four teams – one featuring young players against teams featuring established All-Stars. Jackson-Davis and Candace’s Rising Stars had played their way to Sunday’s activities by winning Friday’s Rising Stars Challenge.
Games were played with the first team to score 40 points earning the win.
Jackson-Davis was part of Candace’s Rising Stars, coached by women’s basketball legend Candace Parker. They took on Shaq’s OGs, a team of established stars, coached by Shaquille O’Neal.
One of Jackson-Davis’s teammates on the Rising Stars was his former nemesis at Purdue, Zach Edey, who plays for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Shaq’s OGs defeated Candace’s Rising Stars 41-25. Jackson-Davis played six minutes and made his only shot. He also had an assist and a steal.
Jackson-Davis and the Rising Stars advanced to the All-Star Game by winning the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday.
Jackson-Davis, playing for Team C, scored six points in Friday’s first game as Team C defeated Team T 40-34.
In Friday’s Rising Stars championship game, with a target score of 25, Team C beat Team G League 25-14. Jackson-Davis did not score in that game.
Jackson-Davis is averaging 7.6 points and 5.9 rebounds for the Warriors. He’s started 37 of the 49 games he’s played in for Golden State, though his minutes have been diminished of late. The Warriors are currently 28-27 and have the 10th and final spot to make the postseason from the Western Conference.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer wants the Atlantic Coast Conference to implement measures to prevent court-storming after star big man Kyle Filipowski was hobbled following a collision with a fan during a weekend loss at Wake Forest.
Scheyer said Monday that Filipowski was “a little bit sore” following the incident, which left him sporting a bag of ice on his knee after banging his right leg into the leg of a fan running by him toward midcourt.
Denny Crum turned Louisville basketball into a civic treasure and Freedom Hall into a vibrant landmark of the sport with two national championships, six Final Fours and massively entertaining teams.
Yes, his local standing grew more only hallowed after he left the sideline, an affable and approachable coaching emeritus never far away from the Cardinals in body or spirit, and doing a radio show with his old rival from Kentucky, Joe B. Hall.
Yes, he was a multi-dimensional legend. The national champion who won 675 games and spanned eras. He lost to John Wooden’s last Final Four team at UCLA and beat Mike Krzyzewski’s first Final Four team at Duke. But he also bred horses, collected Louis L’Amour novels and often went off to Idaho to hunt and fish.
Any remembrance of the career of the man who passed away this week at 86 must start with all that. But an intriguing question should be included.
What if Denny Crum had said yes to UCLA back in the 1970s?
How very different might college basketball history have been in two storied places had he gone thataway instead of thisaway when he came to the fork in the road of his career?
Denzel Edwin Crum was a UCLA guard for John Wooden in the 1950s, then a UCLA assistant for Wooden in the late 1960s. Did a lot of recruiting for Wooden, including landing a tall California kid named Bill Walton. And he already had a strong and competitive voice. When the Bruins stormed to another national title in 1971, a curious sidebar was the sight of Wooden and Crum arguing on the bench about substitution strategy. Question the Wizard? In public? Who had the gumption to do that? Wooden threatened to banish Crum to the end of the Bruins bench, but he understood his No. 1 aide was clearly ready to fly away on his own.
Pro Football Focus (PFF) recently released their list of the Highest Graded Returning SEC Defensive Tackles, and Gamecock star Tonka Hemingway finds himself third on the list.
PFF is a well-respected analytics company that evaluates and grades the performance of football players at both the collegiate and professional levels. Their rankings are highly regarded and provide valuable insights into player performance and potential.
Last year, Hemingway put up impressive stats, recording 32 total tackles, 19 solo tackles, 13 assists, and 1.5 sacks. He made some big plays for the Gamecocks in key moments, helping to anchor the defensive front.
The Gamecocks have a loaded room of tackles, including projected first-round pick TJ Sanders and Alex Huntley, who will certainly be considered a draft prospect in the upcoming draft. Additionally, the Gamecocks bolstered their defensive line through the transfer portal by adding DeAndre Jules, one of the top prospects available, along with Alabama transfer Monkell Goodwine.
Despite all these talented names, Hemingway is the standout. He is considered the leader of the group and is poised to have a great year. His consistent performance has not gone unnoticed, as evidenced by his high ranking by PFF.
Hemingway’s PFF 2023 ranking is 79.7, tying him for third with Texas McKinnley Jackson and placing him behind Kentucky’s Deone Walker and Florida’s transfer Joey Slackman.
With his consistent performance and leadership, Hemingway is set to be a key player for the Gamecocks this season. His high ranking by PFF reflects his significant impact on the field and underscores the importance of his role in the Gamecocks’ defense.
