His own man
B ill Armstrong isn't Will Wade.
He isn't the complete opposite of him either.
In many ways, the new McNeese State men's basketball coach is nothing like his predecessor.
Wade was a two-year wild ride through the raging rapids. Armstrong is more like a pleasure cruise over calm seas.
But in a few key areas, they're very much alike.
'Will is like a brother to me,' Armstrong said. 'He is one of my best friends in the world. We just go about things differently.'
That is apparent just by watching the two go through film sessions with their players. Armstrong's voice stayed smooth while Wade's could peel the paint off the walls of the Legacy Center.
Armstrong is your chemistry professor, trying to get you to understand a toxic formula that could be used in the high school lab. Wade, the gym teacher, is attempting to get you to do 10 more push-ups.
Both have the same goal: to teach, but they approach it in very unique ways.
However, don't be confused by the easy-going demeanor of Armstrong; he has just as big a fire inside him, roaring to win.
'We are both very, very competitive,' said Armstrong. 'I want to win just like he does. That's why I came here. I want to build on what he started.'
And when his players mess up in practice, Armstrong is more than capable of getting them back on track, but he does it his way.
Wade took McNeese to two straight Southland Conference championships and their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory last spring when they beat Clemson.
Despite it all, Armstrong isn't worried about filling any shoes.
Armstrong takes over for Wade, whom he worked for at LSU, after two historic seasons. The Cowboys went 58-11, including 41-2 against the Southland, with postseason results included.
That only made the job more attractive to Armstrong, who is getting his first chance at being a college head coach.
'Not many people get the opportunity to take over a program that's doing so well,' Armstrong said. 'Usually, you have to take over a bad team and build it. This is special because we're ready to keep on winning.'
One fan Armstrong doesn't have to win over? Will Wade. He fully endorses his friend's hiring and is behind him 100 percent.
'He is going to make you guys forget all about me,' said Wade. 'There is no bigger fan of Bill Armstrong or McNeese basketball than me.
'Bill is the most consistent person I have been around. You know what to expect and what you are going to get from him every day.'
Armstrong took over the program just days after Wade accepted his new gig at North Carolina State, taking a good portion of his staff with him. The transition to Armstrong, who came over after spending one season as an assistant at Baylor, could not have gone smoother.
'Bill has done a fantastic job since being hired,' said McNeese Athletic Director Heath Schroyer. 'I could not have asked for more from him and his staff.
'He's his own man and has his own personality, but the nuts and bolts of the program and how it's run on a day-to-day basis? It's the same.'
And the standards are the same, too.
'Our expectations for this program remain just as high,' said Schroyer. 'I do not doubt at all that Coach Armstrong will continue to move this program forward.'
Armstrong and Wade are connected through their LSU hardships. Both were let go over recruiting allegations that rocked the Tiger program at the time. Armstrong wondered if he'd ever get a shot at the head coach's gig.
'You think about that, and it was a low point,' said Armstrong. 'You wonder if you will ever get to tell your story and if anybody will ever take a chance on you.'
Armstrong ended up in the head coach's chair at Link Academy, a nationally elite high school basketball program in Missouri. He won a national title and went to another Final Four in his two seasons before Baylor.
Armstrong understands what it means to get a second chance; he just doesn't talk about it as openly as Wade does.
'I use that chip on my shoulder a little differently than Will,' Armstrong said. 'But I am just as appreciative of McNeese and this community for embracing me, my family and my staff. They have been great to all of us.
'I could not have drawn things up moving here any better. Now we want to just keep winning and take this program to an even higher level.'
With that, he sounds (at least a little) like… You know who.
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Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
How the Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong, a 1st-time All-Star at 23, has become elite in every facet
Pete Crow-Armstrong can trace the first definitive moment in his baseball career to nearly 11 years ago. The Chicago Cubs All-Star center fielder refers to the sequence as the core memory when he realized he possessed a special talent for the sport. Part of USA Baseball's 12U squad, Crow-Armstrong faced off against Masyn Winn, then a top young pitcher and now the St. Louis Cardinals shortstop. The two battled for eight pitches before Crow-Armstrong took Winn deep for a home run. 'I really just did that off him?' Crow-Armstrong recalled thinking. 'I believed in myself fully after that. I guess it took Masyn Winn to give me a little bit of confidence.' It was the first time Crow-Armstrong played in an elite tournament against players from a different state, having played largely to that point in local leagues in California. His combination of speed, defense and contact hitting quickly made him one of the top high school prospects coming out of Harvard-Westlake in Los Angeles, and the New York Mets drafted him in the first round (No. 19) in 2020. Crow-Armstrong, now 23, has been on a meteoric trajectory since — though not without challenges. He likely wouldn't be a Cub if it weren't for a shoulder injury that limited him to six professional games with the Mets' Low-A team in April 2021 before Cubs President Jed Hoyer acquired him for shortstop Javier Báez and pitcher Trevor Williams at the July 2021 trade deadline. His ascension to making his major-league debut in September 2023 included earning recognition as the Cubs' consensus top-ranked prospect. But his first taste of the big leagues sent him into the 2023-24 offseason still seeking his first major-league hit and an understanding of the adjustments and routine needed to not only stick in the majors but thrive. 'A lot of people in this game have an element of self-critique that works,' Crow-Armstrong told the Tribune. 'I'm probably a part of the group that is a little harder on themselves and feels like they need it, though. That also doesn't work in this game. I've definitely started to learn how to give myself a bit of a break.' His work behind the scenes over the last two years set up Crow-Armstrong for his breakout 2025 season: a five-tool player who was the first in the majors this year to reach both 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases. Fans voted him in as a starter for his first All-Star Game appearance, which he'll make Tuesday night in Atlanta. His parents, Ashley Crow and Matt Armstrong, will be there to watch. 'The damage he is doing is really, really impressive,' Hoyer said. 'He's worked really hard to close up the holes that he had.' Crow-Armstrong embodies the all-around elite qualities teams try to find. And he's just getting started. The home run power Crow-Armstrong has tapped into alters the perceived ceiling of his potential. The Cubs envisioned him producing more power as he continued to mature physically. But nobody — not even Crow-Armstrong — expected him to put up the home run numbers he delivered through their first 94 games. He entered Saturday's game just one homer shy of the single-season franchise record for a player 23 or younger, set by Kris Bryant with 26 in 2015. 'The homers, like just the number itself, is a little funny to look at,' Crow-Armstrong said. 'It's new for me.' His five multihomer games through Friday were tied with New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and trailed only Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh's MLB-leading eight. It's only the sixth time since 1876 that a Cubs hitter recorded at least five multihomer games in the team's first 100 games. Crow-Armstrong reached the mark Thursday in Game 93, joining Derrek Lee (2005), Sammy Sosa (1996, 1998, 2001) and Hack Wilson (1929), per team historian Ed Hartig. Hitting coach Dustin Kelly initially approached Crow-Armstrong last season about using a slightly bigger bat. The timing ultimately wasn't right; he was finally in an offensive groove after adding a leg kick in late July, and Kelly didn't want to mess with anything. But in spring training, Crow-Armstrong agreed to try out a 34-inch bat, a half-inch longer than his typical lumber. He liked the feel and has continued to use it. How much of an impact the bat size has had on his results isn't fully clear, though Kelly noted: 'The bigger the bat, the heavier the bat, the more mass behind it, the harder you hit balls — that's physics.' Crow-Armstrong attributes producing more pop to the bigger bat. 'I don't know if it's a coverage thing or what. I haven't really thought about it since the first day I used the bat,' he said. 'But I would say it's definitely a big reason as to why I'm probably seeing more of the balls go over the fence.' Crow-Armstrong's vertical plate coverage has been a nightmare for pitchers. His quick hands and bat path allow the left-handed hitter to get to balls well above and below the zone — and do damage on them. The two lowest balls hit for home runs in the majors this year belong to Crow-Armstrong. He took Brewers reliever Joel Payamps deep on a slider just 0.86 feet above the ground May 2 in Milwaukee, and on May 28 at Wrigley Field, he connected on Colorado Rockies right-hander Tanner Gordon's cutter 1.08 feet from the dirt for a solo shot. Over the last two seasons, Crow-Armstrong is responsible for the five lowest-hit balls for a home run by a Cubs hitter. 'Guys are attacking him like a star player now, and he's getting pitched really tough,' Kelly said. 'He's still really aggressive. We know that he's going to be aggressive. Pete almost scares people into the zone a lot of times because they don't have a spot in the zone where they can miss. 'So they know that they have to throw strikes at some point, and he's willing to punish pretty much all parts of the zone. He's really forcing pitchers to have to really think about, where am I willing to miss with Pete?' Crow-Armstrong has showed he can handle elevated stuff, too, something he initially struggled with when he first came up. In a lefty-on-lefty situation against the Pittsburgh Pirates' Andrew Heaney on June 12, he hit a fastball 3.90 feet high for a no-doubt, go-ahead home run. At the time he hit it, it was the highest pitch that went for a homer in the majors this year. That home run off Heaney also represented the third-highest pitch a Cubs hitter has homered on since the start of the Statcast era in 2015, behind Anthony Rizzo (3.94 feet) on Aug. 26, 2017, and Báez (3.91 feet) on June 2, 2018. Cubs coach Quintin Berry didn't hesitate to pick his favorite defensive play by Crow-Armstrong this year. The totality of the sequence — the distance covered, the difficulty of the play, the wow factor — all stood out within the moment June 5 at Nationals Park in Washington. In the bottom of the fifth inning of a scoreless game, Alex Call pulled a Matthew Boyd pitch to left-center field that, off the bat, appeared headed for extra bases. Crow-Armstrong ran 107 feet to make a running catch before slamming into the padded wall. The ball had a 5% catch probability — one of 10 five-star catches by Crow-Armstrong this year. A catch earns five stars when an outfielder makes a successful play on a ball that had a 25% or lower probability of being caught. Crow-Armstrong has converted an absurd 66.7% (10 of 15) of five-star opportunities. Among the other 42 outfielders with double-digit five-star opportunities, the Boston Red Sox's Wilyer Abreu owns the next-best conversion rate at 26.8% (4 of 14). No other outfielder has more than four five-star catches. Besides Crow-Armstrong, 18 outfielders have had 13 or more five-star opportunities; they made a combined 14 catches in 249 chances (5.6%). 'The problem is there's walls that stop him,' Berry told the Tribune. 'If there were no walls, he'd catch everything.' When Berry joined the Cubs in the offseason as their third-base coach, among his tasks to learn the new players under his tutelage involved watching defensive video of Crow-Armstrong. He noticed an inconsistency with his prep step, at times being flat-footed. He wasn't the fastest-reacting center fielder in the game, but as Berry told him, 'Dude, you can be.' 'Because everything else — his metrics are off the charts,' Berry explained. Column: Why Chicago Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong is content with just being himselfFirst-base coach Jose Javier put together clips of the Nationals' Jacob Young, the Brewers' Christian Yelich and the Mets' Jose Siri and showed Crow-Armstrong the video. Throughout spring training, he worked to lock in his pre-pitch rhythm. He focused on getting his feet moving as the pitch was delivered to create momentum and not be stagnant when taking his first step. Crow-Armstrong said former third-base coach Willie Harris, who also worked with the outfielders, tried to get him to implement a similar approach with his footwork but he didn't feel comfortable when he tried it. Sometimes it takes another voice and perspective, in this case Berry's, to shift a player's understanding of why something works. 'Basically he was beating people up with one arm behind the back instead of using both hands,' Berry said. 'Now we freed up the other hand, and he's covering ground like crazy. 'He's probably the most special center fielder I've ever seen. The amount of difficult balls he makes look so easy, the amount of ground he's covering is unreal.' For as much attention as Crow-Armstrong's offensive numbers understandably have garnered, Cubs manager Craig Counsell is more impressed by his defensive development. His throwing accuracy has greatly improved, and he's making better reads on when to attempt to throw out a runner versus getting the ball to the cutoff man. There were moments last year when he got his mitt on a fly ball, regardless of the difficulty, but wasn't able to complete the catch. It's something Counsell noticed, too, and the contrast this season has been undeniable. 'It's in a lot of ways more exciting because the defense just feels more stable,' Counsell said, comparing it with Crow-Armstrong's offensive development. 'One of the things he's done great is he gets to balls and he catches them. There he's been so much better. 'And whether that's the first step that's made some of those plays easier, that's absolutely a possibility. But he puts the glove on the ball and he's catching it — and that, with his range, is a wonderful trait.' Speed can create chaos. Crow-Armstrong's mere presence on base at times causes defenders to glitch during routine sequences. 'It's an obligation to be able to really home in on that part of the game,' Crow-Armstrong said, 'because taking advantage of your athleticism doesn't always mean just stealing a base or playing defense. Being able to take someone's focus off of the basic play is huge.' The increase in power, and by extension extra-base hits, hasn't created as many chances for Crow-Armstrong to steal bases. He had 21 doubles, four triples and 25 home runs in 389 plate appearances through Thursday, compared with 13 doubles, six triples and 10 homers in 410 PAs in 2024. When he does get on first base, he's trying to understand the moments to commit to a steal attempt. 'He's still very green in the way he thinks about base stealing,' Berry said. 'Once the game starts slowing down for him and he can read what's happening, he's going to be unstoppable. 'Right now he just knows he's so good, he just wants to go. But once he really starts understanding what the pitchers are trying to do with him, you might see him get caught once all season.' The evolution of advanced metrics in the last 10 years has led to better ways to quantify a player's baserunning ability beyond stolen-base numbers. Statcast's net bases gained statistic is the sum of advances gained and outs created by the runner. Crow-Armstrong's 13 net bases gained through Thursday were tied with the Kansas City Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. for fifth in the majors. Fangraphs' baserunning stat (BsR), which includes stolen bases and caught stealings, ranks him tied for first with the Minnesota Twins' Byron Buxton at 5.8. 'The growth really is just that the league is terrified of him, honestly — like, that's just the facts, and that's probably a little excessive,' Counsell clarified. 'But they're very respectful of his speed and how that changes things during the course of the game.' Crow-Armstrong believes his base-stealing development and baserunning ability took a big step forward last year by developing a mentality of keeping his body moving forward, leading to an uptick in confidence. It was a message former first-base coach Mike Napoli preached to him, and the concept has been reiterated as recently as the end of June, when Crow-Armstrong discussed the topic in the dugout with veteran Jon Berti during a series in Houston. 'The confidence in just taking the bag — I don't know what it's like in other clubhouses — but my whole time I've been in the big leagues with the Cubs, back to '23, it's just about the work,' Crow-Armstrong said. 'You're not necessarily going to find a tip or a tell or a window on every pitcher. But being able to pick little pieces of the game up … knowing when to run, picking your spots and getting to know your teammates as hitters, like when do they like you to run. So there's a lot.' Entering the weekend, Crow-Armstrong's 27 steals ranked third in the majors. He had been caught just four times. Yet he isn't satisfied with what he has shown in the running game. 'I would be very disappointed in myself if I felt like I was plateauing in that area right now,' he said. 'It's definitely exciting knowing that there's more in the tank — and there definitely is too. There's a lot that I can get better at with it still.' Crow-Armstrong glanced at the gray jersey hanging in his road locker with the red No. 4 popping off the back beneath his name. He isn't quite ready to thank Hoyer for the number change from 52 to the slicker-looking 4, a switch Crow-Armstrong was forced to make when Hoyer sank a shot on the basketball hoop next to the agility field at the Cubs spring training complex. 'I'm still a little bitter that I lost the bet,' Crow-Armstrong said, grinning. It's impossible to go to a Cubs road game without seeing No. 4 Crow-Armstrong jerseys, let alone the multitude of fans wearing them at Wrigley Field. He still gets thrown by seeing how many people don his name and number. Sometimes on his drive home from Wrigley, he spots someone with his jersey and thinks about his parents. 'It's wild, I don't know how else you describe it,' Matt Armstrong said of fans wearing his son's jersey. 'It doesn't seem real.' Since opening day, Crow-Armstrong's jersey has been MLB's 18th-biggest seller on Fanatics websites. He is the only Cub to crack the top 20. All-Star voting helped Crow-Armstrong contextualize his popularity outside of Cubs fans. He received the fourth-most votes — more than 3 million — among all National League players during the first phase of voting, then finished second behind the Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. among NL outfielders during the final round to earn the start in the Midsummer Classic. 'A little wider recognition from other people is one of the cooler things that I've kind of come to understand,' Crow-Armstrong said. The 'M-V-Pete!' chants from the bleacher bums in center field has been a regular tune welcoming him to his defensive position at Wrigley. Crow-Armstrong embraces the on-field showmanship aspect of the game. It has played a role in how his popularity has taken off. 'We have a very serious, very hardworking, disciplined group,' Hoyer said, 'and having a guy with stars on his hair and having a guy with some flair to him I think is a good thing. It's good for all of them and they've done a great job embracing it. It's good for the dynamic because you don't want all of one type of personality. It's nice to have some flash. 'I think Pete feels like he has incredible potential, so I don't think he's surprised at how he's doing. He's not shocked by what's going on and therefore he's able to handle it. This is the expectation for himself.' Column: How Pete Crow-Armstrong's impromptu thank-you speech brought Wrigley Field community closerBefore and after nearly every home game, Crow-Armstrong stops at the barrier next to the players parking lot where fans wait to get autographs. He makes it a priority to sign for kids, many of whom are wearing his jersey. 'There's definitely days that I'd rather just put my hood on and tie it around my face and walk to the car,' he said. 'But the game is bigger than that and the game is going to be around for a long time — hopefully forever — and I will not. 'So I see so much value in the younger presence being in our game. I love signing for the kids because that's who will be continuing this game for me and for us.' He understands how special those interactions can be for young fans. He remembers going onto the field at Dodger Stadium at 5 years old and meeting Nomar Garciaparra, and briefly crossing paths at age 9 with Cam Newton and chatting with the quarterback during his Heisman Trophy season at Auburn. 'It's hard not to (bleeping) love that, right?' Crow-Armstrong said. 'But seeing the kids just freaking out over everybody that walks out, it's very enticing. That's where the future of the game lies is in the little kids. Core memories are cool, and I hope I can provide one of those for some people out there.' Veteran right-hander Jameson Taillon has noticed how, even after losses, Crow-Armstrong makes an effort to connect with fans postgame. That type of commitment reminds Taillon of what he saw from Judge's interactions with Yankees fans while they were teammates in New York. 'With that success comes a little bit of responsibility for Pete to be a voice and a face,' Taillon told the Tribune. 'There's a lot of kids that look up to him, kids making signs. He handles it really well and I think he'll continue to grow into it.' One of the most exciting parts of Crow-Armstrong's performance this year is the knowledge he still can get better in every facet. That prospect is thrilling, that is, for Crow-Armstrong and the Cubs. Opposing teams, especially pitchers, won't be as thrilled about that possibility. 'You're getting a glimpse of what type of player he is and not what he can be,' Kelly said. 'We're seeing an incredible player right now and you just wonder, 'Oh, my gosh, how much better does this get?' And I still think there's room in there for him to get better.' While he appreciates his overall performance at the All-Star break, Crow-Armstrong isn't satisfied by what he has shown. Limiting the length of offensive slumps already has been on display this year. But Crow-Armstrong knows there are areas he expects to improve over time. He's well aware of his propensity to be a free swinger and believes he can develop a better approach with experience. There's no denying, though, that the Cubs have a budding superstar. 'The thing that blows me away about superstar players is just the consistency,' Taillon said. 'For Pete, not just to do it this year but to show up next year and be hungry and keep repeating it, posting, plan every day — that's where the really great ones come from.'
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Jace LaViolette injury update: Latest updates on Texas A&M outfielder before MLB Draft
Texas A&M baseball's Jace LaViolette enters the 2025 MLB Draft as one of the more intriguing prospects on the draft board. The intrigue for the Aggies' left-handed slugger doesn't have to do with his skills and power at the plate, but instead the uncertainty with his health after sustaining a broken hand in the SEC tournament. LaViolette's position entering Day 1 of the MLB draft in Atlanta is similar to the one that his former teammate, Braden Montgomery, was in last season after he sustained a season-ending injury of his own in the NCAA Tournament, which cost Montgomery a few slots (and money) in the first round. The Aggies' 6-foot-6 outfielder, who is the No. 20-ranked draft prospect on MLB Pipeline, entered the 2025 college baseball season as the projected No. 1 overall pick, but with his hand injury and a down junior campaign, LaViolette has dropped into the No. 10 to No. 25 pick range in the first round. Though his odds of being a No. 1 overall pick are done, LaViolette is still considered one of the best college position players available in this year's draft. Known for his raw power and ability to demolish balls from inside the left batter's box, LaViolette hit 68 career home runs in three seasons at Texas A&M while posting a career .285 average. Here's the latest injury update on LaViolette ahead of the first round of the MLB draft and more, including his latest MLB mock draft projections: Jace LaViolette injury update LaViolette sustained a broken left hand injury in the fifth inning of Texas A&M's 3-2 second-round win against Auburn on May 22 in the SEC baseball tournament. The injury came about during an at-bat where LaViolette attempted to swing at a pitch before the ball came in on him and hit him off his knuckles and the knob of the bat. He briefly stayed in the game but then exited the game after signaling into the Aggies' dugout from first base that he couldn't stay in the game and fight off the pain. He returned to Texas A&M's dugout in the seventh inning with his entire left hand and wrist wrapped with a splint. Texas A&M coach Michael Earley initially told reporters at the SEC tournament that LaViolette's injury would keep him out for the remainder of the conference tournament, but the plans for the Aggies' outfielder were reversed as he played in the quarterfinals vs. LSU. "I'm not sure if I can say, but he will be out for the remainder of the tournament," Earley said after Texas A&M's win over Auburn on May 22. While have been no public updates on how LaViolette's recovery has been since the Aggies' season ended on May 23, he did have surgery prior to Texas A&M's quarterfinal game vs. LSU on May 23 and was in the lineup for that game. He was also invited to the MLB Draft Combine, which took place June 17 through June 21 at Chase Field in Phoenix. What is Jace LaViolette's injury? LaViolette has been dealing with a broken left hand injury. He had surgery immediately, where he got a pin placed into his hand, and returned to the lineup the next day for the Aggies. "Got hit in the hand yesterday. Broke a bone in there and got surgery and played today. I'd run through a brick wall for this guy (Texas A&M coach Michael Earley)," LaViolette said at the SEC Tournament on May 24. Added Earley: "He had surgery last night at 7 p.m. and played in a game (tonight) at 6:45. For him to do what he did today, I mean that's just maybe the most incredible thing I've ever seen on a baseball field and it just shows a lot about how much that kid cares about his team." Jace LaViolette MLB mock draft projections Here's a look at LaViolette's latest mock draft projections from MLB draft analysts: Jace LaViolette stats Here's a year-by-year breakdown of LaViolette's stats at Texas A&M:
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Insider reveals what really happened in the Steelers' George Pickens trade
The Steelers shocked the NFL world when they traded George Pickens to the Cowboys for a third-round pick last May — and new information on the move is still being reported. Many believed that Pittsburgh was willing to put up with Pickens' immature antics for at least the 2025 season — but insider Adam Caplan revealed what really happened behind the scenes. Appearing on Fox Sports Radio last week, Caplan shared some interesting details on the two-month-old Pickens trade — including when the Steelers really decided it was time to part ways: "[The Steelers] made a decision, at the end of the 2024 season, that they knew they were not going to extend George Pickens' contract," Caplan said. "There was no way this would work with Pickens, they felt. And they were going to move him for whatever they could get — the best they could get. And Dallas was very interested, and they made that work." Caplan then argued that the 2025 NFL Draft's solid, but overall underwhelming, receiver class was a major reason behind Pittsburgh's decision to replace Pickens with DK Metcalf: "They had to get somebody to replace Pickens, and they were not gonna wait for the draft," Caplan said. "By the way, the word around the league was: nice receiver draft, not great. And they felt like Metcalf was better than anyone in this draft, and they might be right about that, so they made this move." There were rumors and reports that the Cowboys were interested in acquiring Pickens leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft — but as we all know, a trade wouldn't come to fruition until almost two weeks after the event's conclusion. If the insight is accurate and the Steelers were truly set on trading Pickens after the 2024 season, the motivation to acquire Metcalf before the draft makes sense — but the move still didn't address the WR2 issues that plagued the team last year. For up-to-date Steelers coverage, follow us on X @TheSteelersWire and give our Facebook page a like.
