Sharpshooter and Gonzaga Target Duke Miles Announces Transfer Portal Decision
First it was San Francisco's Malik Thomas, the WCC's leading scorer, committing to Virginia as many expected. Then it was 6'7 Rice wing Jacob Dar landing at Seton Hall, and finally Oklahoma guard Duke Miles committed to Vanderbilt on Sunday evening according to a report from Tobias Bass of The Athletic.
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Miles has already had a very busy offseason, first committing then decommitting to Virginia before landing at Texas A&M with new coach Bucky McMillan. After the Aggies brought in Kansas transfer Rylan Griffen, Miles once again re-entered the portal and now finds his home at a different SEC school under coach Mark Byington.
The 6'2 guard from Montgomery, Alabama has already played at three different programs, beginning his college hoops career at Troy in the Sun Belt. He spent three seasons with the Trojans but injuries limited him to just 17 games as a sophomore and six as a junior.
He ultimately transferred after averaging 9.2 points, 3.1 assists, and 1.8 steals in 49 games at Troy, landing at High Point in the Big South for the 2023-24 campaign. Miles fully broke out with the Panthers, averaging 17.5 points, 3.6 assists, and 1.3 steals while shooting 60.1% on two pointers, 80.1% from the free throw line, and 36.1% from three.
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That landed him at Oklahoma, where he started all 34 games and averaged 9.4 points, 2.0 assists, and 1.4 steals while shooting a career-best 43% from three and 83.1% from the charity stripe in 2024-25.
With Thomas, Miles, and Dar all out of the picture, Gonzaga will continue to look for guard additions to compete alongside Braeden Smith, Jalen Warley, Emmanuel Innocenti, Steele Venters, and newcomer Adam Miller in a new-look backcourt following the departures of Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Khalif Battle, and Dusty Stromer.
USC transfer Desmond Claude is the most notable target on Gonzaga's radar, while Grand Canyon's Tyon Grant-Foster, New Hampshire's Sami Pissis, and North Carolina wing Cade Tyson are names to keep an eye on as well.
Related: Ryan Nembhard Invited to NBA Draft Combine After Strong Performance at G League Elite Camp
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New York Times
17 hours ago
- New York Times
Chris Paul returns to Clippers to make history, not relive past glory
This is a basketball story. But I have to start with hip-hop. You see, a new album can serve a lot of areas, even if it's from an older performer. New work will have you recalling past brilliance while proving they can still get it done. Clipse, a hip-hop duo from Virginia formed by brothers Pusha T and Malice, reunited and put out its first album in 16 years with the release of 'Let God Sort Em Out' this month. It was produced by Pharrell Williams, who, along with The Neptunes, helped produce Clipse's first three albums, starting with 'Lord Willin'' back in 2002. Advertisement Old conflicts had to be resolved for this album to happen. Old love for the game had to be replenished. Themes of appreciation, having no regrets, and giving flowers while they can still smell them were explored. Also, the brothers can rap. And they in turn keep the art of rap accountable. So be it, so be it. Let me transition from Clipse to Clips. As in the LA Clippers, a team that added future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul to a group that already had seven players over 30. Paul turned 40 in May and is about to play his 21st NBA season. And as Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank put it, Paul will slot in as a high quality 'reserve point guard' with a clear understanding of his role. This is a full circle moment for Paul and the Clippers. LA first acquired him in 2011, at the end of a fourth straight season of at least 50 losses. When LA traded former lottery picks Chris Kaman (2003), Eric Gordon (2008) and Al-Farouq Aminu (2010) along with a future first-round pick that became Austin Rivers to the New Orleans Hornets for Paul, the Clippers had a total of six winning seasons in 41 years as an NBA franchise. They had never won 60 percent of their games before 2011. The Clippers won at least 60 percent of their games in all of Paul's six seasons with the franchise. He had an infamous run, but when it was over in 2017, he could have opted out of the final year of his contract and entered unrestricted free agency. Instead, he opted in, initiating a trade to join James Harden and the Houston Rockets. That 2017 trade netted the Clippers Lou Williams, Patrick Beverley and Montrezl Harrell. And as Frank noted, the Clippers are still benefitting from that trade when you consider subsequent trades, right down to the acquisition of John Collins this summer. LA has the league's longest active streak of winning seasons at 14, and that is largely possible because of Paul. 📰 @TheAthletic Chris Paul reunites with the LA Clippers, years after the original CP3 trade that set the franchise on a maiden course towards winning and another CP3 trade that still benefits the Clippers to this very day — Law Murray 🎡 (@LawMurrayTheNU) July 21, 2025 'When Chris exited, we worked together,' Frank said. 'When he decided to go to Houston, Chris helped us in the sense of turning it into a sign-and-trade, and it really helped us transition. I mean obviously, Chris had great history, great six years with us. Being an All-Star each year, All-NBA five of those six years, making the playoffs each of those years. And yet the ability to get the return we got from Houston helped us get to where we're at now.' Advertisement So why do the Clippers need Chris Paul? It begins with the basketball. No, really, the actual basketball. I wrote three weeks ago about how Paul makes sense as a player who has always valued taking care of the basketball. The Clippers were 23rd in the NBA last season in turnover percentage and assist-turnover ratio. Paul finished 8th in the NBA in assists per game with 7.4 and averaged only 1.6 turnovers. That's an assist-turnover ratio of 4.69, which trailed only Tyrese Haliburton (5.61) and Tyus Jones (4.71) among the 253 players who appeared in at least 20 games and played at least 20 minutes per game last season. Compare that with Harden, who had an assist-turnover ratio of 2.01, which ranked 106th. When Paul, who started all 82 games for the San Antonio Spurs last season, was on the floor, 13 percent of the Spurs' possessions ended in a turnover, which is the equivalent to a team ranking third in the NBA. When Paul was off the floor, the Spurs had a turnover percentage of 14.5, which is the equivalent to a team ranking 18th. 'We know that ballhandling was a little bit of an issue for us last year,' Frank said. 'Ballhandling and playmaking were areas we wanted to address this offseason. When we were at our best, we were taking care of the ball. And Chris takes care of the ball and runs an offense about as well as anyone who's ever done it.' Paul is the Point God. He provides discipline. He provides structure. When Paul gets point/assist double-doubles, he can do it without a turnover, something he's done 45 times (13 more than John Stockton, who is next on that list, per Stathead). As Damian Lillard was reintroduced by the Portland Trail Blazers this week, Portland head coach and former Paul Clippers teammate Chauncey Billups said that Lillard is 'going to be the highest paid assistant coach in league history.' Paul might as well be the second-highest paid assistant coach. Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue certainly could use someone else to yell at Harden instead of Harden averaging the third-most turnovers in the league again. And though Paul and Harden didn't end things well in Houston after two seasons, Harden played a role in Paul's return to LA, along with Leonard. Advertisement 'James has been a huge part of this offseason,' said Frank. 'When talking to James, talking to Kawhi, and we talked about the role … both guys said CP would be the best guy for this role. James is all about winning and obviously Chris and him played together in Houston. They got within a game of the NBA Finals in 2018. What James talked about with Chris was his ability to see the floor like few others, the leadership skills he brings, the competitiveness, and his everyday work ethic and approach.' Chris Paul needs the Clippers. He's been in five cities over these last eight years. The Clipper fan base, one that has been treated to arguably the most ahistorical franchise in the league, gets to celebrate Paul once again. And Paul's first tenure with the Clippers showed him what it means to have star players come to the Clippers near or at the end of their careers — Billups, Lamar Odom, Grant Hill, Antawn Jamison, Danny Granger and Hedo Turkoglu spent their final or penultimate season with the Clippers. Just like Malice has been both Mason Bethas, Chris Paul has been both Paul Pierces now: he was a superstar now in the twilight of his career with the Clippers. Paul replaces Patty Mills, who replaced the disgruntled PJ Tucker in February. The difference between Mills and Tucker was striking. Tucker didn't want to be on the team and, after he opted into $11 million last summer, LA leadership decided to keep him away from the team until he was traded. When Mills arrived, he was able to contribute positively to the Clippers locker room, even serving as the director of vibes. The Clippers aren't a whole lot older than last year's team. Bradley Beal is a month younger than Norman Powell, John Collins is three months younger than Amir Coffey and rookies Yanic Konan Niederhäuser and Kobe Sanders replace Drew Eubanks and Seth Lundy, respectively. Brook Lopez, 37, replaces Ben Simmons, 29. But Paul, Collins, and Lopez replace three players (Mills, Coffey, Simmons) who are still unsigned at this point of free agency, and they may be reserves on the Clippers after being starters for their teams last season. The Clippers getting older with Paul and Lopez belies the fact that the Clippers are now Pacific Ocean's Eleven: a group of established players who were productive last season and who can help keep each other's minutes and workload down in the rare instances where the team is fully healthy. Lue has a deeper, more versatile roster at his disposal. Paul and Lopez, in particular, represent players (a traditional backup point guard and center) the Clippers didn't have last season, especially in the playoffs against Denver. LA Clippers offseason, updated… Noah's ark, at least two of all they need — Law Murray 🎡 (@LawMurrayTheNU) July 21, 2025 'Everyone's entitled in terms of the judgments they want to make on the group,' Frank said. 'We're super excited about the group, and I think part of the thing with age that typically people worry about (is) increased chance for injury. That's why we lean into the depth. … The nature of any NBA team, let alone an older one, is that you may have more injuries than others. Now some of our older guys have been very, very durable, so knock on wood. Hopefully that maintains. But if not, we do have great faith in the roster and having depth across the board. Lue will need to carefully manage his rotation's minutes, but Paul, Nicolas Batum and Lopez should play the least while LA hopes Leonard, Beal, Collins and Bogdan Bogdanović are healthier (none of them played 60 games in 2024-25). The player who needs the most management, and the one Paul was brought here for as insurance, is Harden. He played 2,789 minutes in the regular season at age 35 and he was an All-Star and an All-NBA selection. That's only the 34th season in NBA history by a player who played at least 2,700 minutes at age 35 or older. Advertisement The only players who followed up a season with that kind of workload at that age and made an All-Star appearance the following season are Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain (1973 Lakers), John Havlicek (1978 Celtics), Artis Gilmore (1986 Spurs), Robert Parish (1990 Celtics), Karl Malone (2001 and 2002 Jazz), Jason Kidd (2010 Mavericks) and future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant (2025 Suns). None of those players were guards responsible for both scoring and primary playmaking. With Paul, the Clippers have eight players who are older than 30. Can an old team win it all? Certainly. The 1998 Bulls were led by Michael Jordan, who began the Last Dance at the same age (34) that Leonard will be next season. Jordan was joined by two other starters older than 30 (Scottie Pippen, Ron Harper) and five reserves who were 30 or older by the end of June 1998 (Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr, Bill Wennington, Randy Brown, Jud Buechler). The 2011 Mavericks were led by 32-year-old Dirk Nowitzki, who was joined in the starting lineup by four other 30-plus starters (Kidd, Shawn Marion and DeShawn Stevenson). That Dallas team had four reserves on the playoff roster older than 30 (Jason Terry, Peja Stojakovic, Brendan Haywood, Brian Cardinal), and that didn't include injured 31-year-old Caron Butler, who was the second-leading scorer in the starting lineup when his season ended in January due to a knee injury. The 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers, coached by Lue, were led by 31-year-old LeBron James, who was joined in the starting lineup by 30-year-old JR Smith. Cleveland's bench in the playoffs had seven players 30 or older (Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye, Timofey Mozgov, Mo Williams, James Jones, Dahntay Jones, Sasha Kaun). None of these teams are perfect correlations. Every team is trying to win a championship. They're all flawed, even the team that won it last year and will win it this year. If the Clippers signed recent first-round picks to fill out the roster (like they did last year with Kevin Porter Jr. and Mo Bamba) instead of older and better players like Paul and Lopez, then they would be criticized for not giving themselves the best opportunity to win. Frank put the roster together and he's going to let Lue sort them out. Paul is here to be a part of the puzzle, and it's a smaller part than he's used to. Paul has seen it all, and he's about to see The Wall. But the Clips aren't just here to collect veterans and have sweet moments. They're trying to put the best product out there and win. And so is Paul. 'There's the heartstrings part of it, of someone who was such a significant part of the Clippers' rise, to be able to bring it back,' said Frank. 'Whether this is his last year or not, that's obviously Chris's story in terms of what he feels and what he wants. But I think number one is his ability to help impact winning. And then the secondary was someone who's been so important to the franchise, to be able to bring him back in the fold.' (Photo of Chris Paul waving: Michael Gonzales / NBAE via Getty Images)
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
College Football Fans Take Side In Curt Cignetti, SEC Feud
College Football Fans Take Side In Curt Cignetti, SEC Feud originally appeared on The Spun. In his first year at the helm, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti injected a level of confidence that the football program had never experienced. An historic win total followed, and Cignetti has only grown bolder in the months since. But Cignetti recently announced that Indiana would be canceling a home-and-home series against Virginia in favor of adding some FCS opponents instead. Cignetti was swiftly criticized for avoiding tough competition in order to give himself an easier schedule. When pressed by the media, Cignetti made it clear that he sees his nine Big Ten games as more important. He said that decided to "adopt an SEC scheduling philosophy" by having several Group of Five opponents or an FCS opponent. 'That was a scheduling philosophy that began before I was hired. But I did sign off on it upon being hired, before our first season,' Cignetti said at Big Ten Media Days. 'Look, here's the bottom line. We picked up an extra home game and we play nine conference games. The two best conferences in college football – any football guy that's objective will tell you – [are] the Big Ten and the SEC. Twelve of the 16 SEC teams play three G5 or an FCS game. Twelve of those teams play 36 games – 29 G5 games and seven FCS games, and one less conference game. 'So we figured we'd just adopt [an] SEC scheduling philosophy. Some people don't like it. I'm more focused in on those nine conference games.' Fans quickly made it clear that they see Cignetti as a stat-padder, trying to farm some easy wins before inevitably getting crushed by the top-tier Big Ten teams: "Ah yes Indiana who played one ranked team last year and lost by 23," one user remarked. "The irony in this is if any SEC team scheduled Indiana as a non-(conference) game, they'd get clowned for adding a weak team by the SEC hate club," another remarked. "This take is so tired and flat out wrong. Nobody is a fan of the November cupcake game, but virtually every SEC team has a Florida State, Clemson or Ohio State on the schedule as well. Any analyst who is hyping up or agreeing with Curt on these comments is either a hater or lazy." Curt Cignetti has already succeeded in making Indiana a more relevant football program than its been in decades. But the gap between Indiana and the real powerhouses of college football is still enormous. He's going to have a hard time closing that gap if he doesn't give his players experience against teams with that level of Football Fans Take Side In Curt Cignetti, SEC Feud first appeared on The Spun on Jul 23, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jul 23, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Times
a day ago
- New York Times
Jayden Daniels, Commanders maintaining an internal hunger amid 2025 expectations
ASHBURN, Va. — It took mere seconds for Jayden Daniels to supercharge Washington Commanders training camp with a jolt of electricity as last season's Cinderella team took the field for the first time. On the very first play of team drills, Daniels — the 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year — surveyed the defense, sent his running back in motion, took the shotgun snap and dropped the ball over the shoulder of a tightly covered Deebo Samuel for a 30-yard touchdown. The connection between the second-year quarterback and one of Washington's high-profile offseason acquisitions served as a sign of things to come, as did the next two offensive possessions, which saw Daniels continue to execute with precision. Advertisement Daniels and the Commanders have a long way to go before they're regular-season ready. They badly need to resolve the contract dispute between perennial 1,000-yard receiver and two-time Pro Bowler Terry McLaurin, who remained away from the team for a second straight day. New additions like the star-studded trio of Samuel, offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and pass rusher Von Miller remain in the acclimation stages, as are members of a promising rookie class led by first-round offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. and second-round cornerback Trey Amos. But there's a buzz radiating from this team and permeating throughout the DMV area. Thanks to a string of electrifying last-minute regular-season victories, an improbable march to the NFC Championship Game and this offseason's high-profile roster upgrades, Washington will not sneak up on anyone this season. The team has legitimate outside expectations for the first time in decades. If not handled properly, those expectations can lead to crippling pressure. However, Commanders players say that maintaining an internal focus on growth will help guard against that. 'You take it day by day and focus on what you can control,' said Daniels, who last season passed for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns while rushing for 891 yards and six more scores as he directed one of the most prolific offenses in the league. 'And that's (asking), 'How can I get better each and every day? How can I help lead this team and, you know, even advance myself more within the offense?' … If it was easy, everybody would be able to do it. So it's obviously easier said than done.' As coach Dan Quinn put it, 'Last year we came up with some standards that we want as Commanders. This is our 'Commander Standard.' It was written by the players, so we really see the expectations, you know, being external, but the ones that we have are internal. These are the standards that we want to go after. So we definitely recognize there could be a narrative or a voice outside, but the truth of it is, internally, our standard of what we want to do and how we want to get down, that's way more powerful. And we're fortunate that we're able to rely on those standards, as opposed to an expectation which comes from the outside.' Advertisement Last season, Quinn's philosophies and methods helped set the tone for a badly needed culture change within what had long ranked among the most dysfunctional franchises in the NFL. He and his assistants stressed the importance of consistency, accountability and daily competition. Meanwhile, Daniels served as a major catalyst for the Commanders' on-field success while shining in offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury's system. But while drawing on experiences of that rookie campaign, Daniels also knows 2024 is a thing of the past. By now, every defensive coordinator Washington will face has spent hours dissecting the quarterback's game, pinpointing every strength and weakness. So, evolution is necessary. 'The coolest thing is, he had a really good season last year, but I don't think he's satisfied with where he's at,' linebacker Bobby Wagner, one of Daniels' closest teammates, declared. 'He has a chance to be a really, really good quarterback, and you can see that in the way he prepares, the way he's locked in. He's ready to go.' Daniels said he spent the offseason working to improve his footwork, movements in the pocket and keeping his eyes downfield while eluding defenders. He also has worked to further strengthen his understanding of defensive concepts, something for which he believes Miller — just as Wagner has since joining the team last year — can serve as a resource. 'To be able to ask questions — obviously (Miller) won a Super Bowl, too — so you want to be able to be like, 'What do you see on this? Or what are you looking at when you try to time with the snap?' Stuff like that. So just be able to pick their brains, because obviously their careers are self-explanatory.' 2️⃣4️⃣@VonMiller | #RaiseHail — Washington Commanders (@Commanders) July 23, 2025 For now, despite not having his full arsenal, Daniels is working to develop chemistry with a revamped offensive line and timing with Samuel and other receivers while waiting for McLaurin's contract resolution. When asked about the absence of McLaurin, who has recorded five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and is entering the final year of his contract, everyone from Daniels (who says he has maintained regular contact with McLaurin) to Quinn downplayed the matter as 'the business of football.' 'It's a business, and so some business is not your business,' Wagner, a 14-year veteran, said. 'You let them take care of the things that need to be taken care of, and you focus on yourself, but understand that he's still a part of the team. He's still somebody who is a huge presence in this locker room. He's an amazing figure in this community. … And so, you just sit there and you wait and you hope that something is done, and that's what you do. And when it gets done, you celebrate.' Advertisement Eventually, the Commanders expect to return to full strength, but until then, the focus remains the same: maintaining the hunger and standard set last season. They're well aware that they still have much to prove despite their 2024 success. 'What I'm excited about our team is everybody has somebody that's doubting or someone that says, 'You can't do this,'' Wagner said. 'That makes everybody hungry. And I think a team full of guys like that, that has something to prove and something to show the world, is a fun team.'
