Zakai Zeigler drops bid to play 5th college season, but his lawsuit against NCAA will continue
Last month, a judge denied Zeigler's request for a preliminary injunction that would allow him to return to the Volunteers. He appealed that ruling, but his attorneys voluntarily withdrew the appeal on Tuesday.
'While we had hoped to see Zakai back in orange and white, he's embracing the next chapter of his basketball career with optimism and resolve,' the law firm Litson PLLC said in a statement. 'We remain committed to pressing his case forward in the trial court, where the core legal issues remain very much alive.'
The 5-foot-9 Zeigler was not selected in last week's NBA draft, but ESPN reported that the Detroit Pistons have signed him to their Summer League squad.
Zeigler is one of several athletes suing the NCAA over its eligibility rules, arguing the ban on playing more than four seasons in a five-year window is a monopolistic practice that deprives athletes of the opportunity to earn name, image and likeness compensation. He argued in his lawsuit that he could earn between $2 million and as much as $4 million if he played another season at Tennessee.
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USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
2025 Summer League: 5 OKC Thunder storylines to watch for
Usually at home with burgers and hot dogs in hand, the Oklahoma City Thunder won't have much time to celebrate the 4th of July holiday. Instead, they'll fly out west to start the two-week extravaganza known as 2025 Summer League. The NBA champion released its Summer League roster on Friday. The Thunder will play at least eight games from July 5-20. They will play the first three games at Salt Lake City and the rest at the traditional Las Vegas spot. Thunder fans continue to get spoiled. Less than a month after they captured the Larry O'Brien trophy, they'll have some notable prospects to get excited and watch for at the summer event headlined by first-year and second-year players. Here are five 2025 Summer League storylines to watch out for: How Nikola Topic looks All eyes will be on Topic. The 2024 No. 12 pick will finally get a chance to suit up for the Thunder. He missed his first season recovering from a partially torn ACL he suffered in May 2024. Now, over a year later, he gets to play in a game for OKC. Before the knee injury, Topic was viewed as a blue-chip prospect with plenty of upside. The 19-year-old had the best playmaking abilities. His drives to the basket and free-throw numbers indicated he could turn into a decent shooter. He added 15 pounds to his frame from 201 in training camp to 216 now. Usually, NBA champions don't have a lottery prospect to look forward to. But the Thunder remain the exception to the rule. Thanks to the Houston Rockets, they were gifted a lottery pick in last year's draft. It'll be fun to see how Topic holds up against semi-NBA competition. If Topic can command the offense and be a downhill driver, Thunder fans' curiosity will turn to excitement. One of the biggest roster weaknesses of the NBA champion was a lack of a backup guard. He can fix that by himself and help Jalen Williams run the second unit. How Ajay Mitchell looks The other headliner on the Thunder's 2025 Summer League roster. Mitchell caught everybody by surprise with his early contributions before a toe injury sidelined him for three months. And really, the entirety of the playoffs. Still, he showed enough in his 36 games to warrant a job promotion from two-way player to a standard multi-year deal he just signed. Mitchell enters the Summer League with the most experience on the Thunder's roster. He was sparingly relied upon throughout the playoffs in spot minutes and was given some real run in OKC's NBA Finals Game 1 loss. If the 23-year-old can translate what he did in his rookie campaign to this environment, that'll be a nice surprise. The Thunder's backup point guard spot is up for grabs. Mitchell and Topic will likely battle it out in training camp and preseason to see who gets the minutes. But the Summer League is where those two players will truly get their first chance to leave an impression. The two-way candidates Considering the Thunder's roster situation, it's pretty easy to guess who their three two-way players will be. Brooks Barnhizer officially occupies one spot as the 2025 No. 44 pick. Branden Carlson has a two-way qualifying offer at the table waiting for him to sign, barring an NBA team signing him to a standard deal. And considering Alex Ducas was at the rookie press conference and on the Summer League roster, he's likely the third two-way player. Injuries hampered him last year. But he's shed some weight and looks ready to go for his first true Summer League. Let's see how Barnhizer looks against NBA competition. He carved out a reputation at Northwestern as an all-hustle guy with a shaky jumper. The 23-year-old will need to impress right away, since his runway is shorter than fellow rookie Thomas Sorber. Meanwhile, Carlson just needs to continue to build off his strong rookie campaign. He showed flashes as a seven-footer spacer. He dominated the G League competition. The Thunder tendered him, knowing he'd likely have a two-way market at other places. Ducas should show some flashes, too. He had a forgettable first year, but could be an outside shooter. When do players start to sit out Because the Thunder play in Utah's Summer League, this is always one of the biggest questions. They historically play their big-name players in the much more controlled environment of Salt Lake City rather than the pseudo-party city of Las Vegas. Topic and Mitchell are prime candidates to be shut down after Utah. Topic, because you don't want to overwhelm him in his first games played in over a year. Mitchell, because he simply might be too good to play the rest of a watered-down Summer League. Once those two get shut down, the interesting level for the rest of the Summer League might plummet. But the Thunder have the rest of the roster to look at. OKC's undrafted pool could have guys added to its G League's OKC Blue. The rest of the roster standouts Which segues to the next point. There are 19 players listed on the Thunder's Summer League. That means Topic, Mitchell and the presumed two-way players leave 14 other players who haven't been mentioned yet. Besides Malevy Leons and Jazian Gortman, the other 12 players were undrafted free agents. You always have plenty of interesting names and stories involved in that group. There's a decent chance that some of those players carve out NBA or G League careers. While the last handful of Summer League games see their viewership numbers severally dropped, there's always basketball sickos out there interested to see how some of these undrafted rookies look like in expanded roles.
Indianapolis Star
9 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
‘It's special': Tyrese Haliburton attends Pacers Summer League practice
INDIANAPOLIS — A booted Tyrese Haliburton watched along in support as the Indiana Pacers Summer League team practiced Friday at the Ascension St. Vincent Center. The Pacers guard tore his Achilles in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. He had surgery shortly after and posted a heartfelt message that doubled down on playing through an injury. "Now that I've gotten surgery, I wish I could count the number of times people will tell me I'm going to 'come back stronger," Haliburton, in part, wrote. "What a cliche lol, this (expletive) sucks. My foot feels like dead weight, fam. But what's hurting most I think is my mind. Feel like I'm rambling, but I know this is something I'll look back on when I'm through this, as something I'm proud I fought through. It feels good to let this (expletive) out without y'all seeing the kid ugly cry." Haliburton sat on the sidelines and sported a boot that came up to below the kneecap. Summer League coach Isaac Yacob acknowledged Haliburton for taking the time to attend the first two practices and speaking to the players. The Pacers drafted Taelon Peter in the second round of the 2025 NBA draft. In less than half a month, Peter went from watching the Pacers in the NBA Finals to practicing in front of the team's star player. It's an adjustment that'll take time for a young player who wasn't sure if he'd get drafted. 'Something I've been working on the past couple of days from two weeks ago, watching the finals and being a huge fan of the NBA, not knowing if it were going to be my thing or not, to being here and seeing people I never thought I'd see in person, it's special,' Peter said. 'But it's something that I'll get used to pretty soon.' Earlier Friday, the Pacers announced their Summer League roster which included second-round picks Kam Jones and Peter.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian lays out his influential recruiting pitch
Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian is building a recruiting machine at Texas. In 2025, Texas had the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation. 2026 is shaping up to be another premier class and might have more five-stars than '25. How is Sark doing it? He has a great sales pitch. UT has some very unique aspects that, when rolled into one pitch, make it one of the most desirable destinations in the nation. First, there's the team that's now been in the final four two years straight. There's the school, which as we'd documented, is a Public Ivy and one of the best public schools in the world. Finally, you have Austin, TX. Advertisement Sarkisian joined the 3rd & Longhorn Podcast this week and laid out how he sells it all to elite recruits. "I think we've got the best product in the US," he told the podcast hosts. First sales point -- team success. "Who is the one School that has gone to back-to-back CFP Playoffs and back-to-back semi-finals? Who is the one school in their first year in the SEC that went to the SEC Championships?" -- Steve Sarkisian Think of how that point will improve if Texas breaks through and wins the national title? Next point, player development. "Who has the MOST draft picks in the NFL Draft over the last two years? Who has had six d-linemen drafted in the last three years, five running backs drafted in the last three years? Who has had a receiver taken in the first round in the last two years?" -- Steve Sarkisian Next, Sark points out how Texas has been recruiting and is set up to keep competing at the highest level in the future. "Who has, last year, signed the No. 1 Class in the country, the year before that a Top 3 and the year before that a Top 5 Recruiting Class in the country?" -- Steve Sarkisian "All the while that's occurring at a Top 5 Public Institution in the United States. ... Oh by the way, Forbes Magazine last year wrote (Texas is) the new Ivy League. Name another school that's getting compared to Harvard, Yale and Princeton (academically) but on the flip side is getting compared to Georgia, Ohio State and Alabama on the football field." -- Steve Sarkisian Sark uses the success of the athletic department as a whole to sell recruits on an overall commitment to winning. "All the while being part of an Athletic Department that has won four of the last five Directors Cups. So when you talk about like minded individuals pushing each other to new heights, whether it's track and field national championships, rowing, golf, softball, volleyball, a women's basketball final four." -- Steve Sarkisian Finally, Sark makes clear it all happens in one of the best cities in America and a unique aspect of Austin that helps drive attention and money to the program. "All the while you're doing it in the city of Austin, which, oh by the way is the largest city in the United States with no pro sports. so, no NFL, no Major League Baseball, no NBA. So who are getting those NIL deals? Who is the pro sports team? It's the fastest growing economy in the U.S. ... Austin, Texas." -- Steve Sarkisian The Texas coach wraps all of those powerful and unique bullet points into a pitch that sells the recruit on his short term future as part of the team and his long team future in life after football. "When you start thinking about it, big picture, and get out of just 'How much does the contract say?' And you start thinking about long term and where's my life gonna go and what's it going to look like. ... We've got a lot of avenues to go come here and really be successful." -- Steve Sarkisian When you put the entire pitch together, you can understand why it would be hard for an elite 18-year-old athlete to want to go anywhere else. Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) at @LonghornsWire. This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Texas coach Steve Sarkisian describes his powerful recruiting pitch
