Latest news with #CoachoftheYear
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
UConn legend Jim Calhoun shares wish for Thunder's Mark Daigneault after NBA Finals
The post UConn legend Jim Calhoun shares wish for Thunder's Mark Daigneault after NBA Finals appeared first on ClutchPoints. Jim Calhoun has seen legends rise. He has coached some of the biggest names in college basketball and built UConn into a powerhouse. But even with all the banners hanging in Storrs, there is one name Calhoun believes still deserves a spotlight. Advertisement That name is Mark Daigneault. Before leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to an NBA title this year and earning Coach of the Year honors in 2024, Daigneault was a quiet presence on the UConn sidelines. He was not a star player or high-profile recruit. From 2003 to 2007, he served as a student manager under Calhoun, taping ankles, fetching towels, and doing the unnoticed work that keeps a program running smoothly. Calhoun recently told longtime UConn reporter Dom Amore that he believes Daigneault should be honored by the university. To him, Daigneault represents something important, something that goes beyond the usual standards of recognition. He wants to see his former student manager celebrated for what he has become—a leader at the highest level of the sport. Daigneault's basketball journey is far from conventional. After graduating from UConn in 2007, he worked his way up through the coaching ranks. He spent time as an assistant at Holy Cross and then joined the Florida Gators under Billy Donovan. Advertisement From there, he made the jump to the NBA G League, where he coached the Oklahoma City Blue. When the Thunder needed a new head coach in 2020, they turned to Daigneault, and he quietly began crafting a new era for the team. Fast forward to this season. The Thunder posted a league-best 68 wins. His team battled through the playoffs, reached the Finals, and captured the elusive NBA title, while showcasing one of the most exciting young cores in the league. It was a season built on chemistry, discipline, and player development—things Daigneault learned to value in his early days at UConn. That is what makes Calhoun's push for recognition so meaningful. He is not just campaigning for a former assistant or a rising coach; he is vouching for someone who grew up in the UConn system, someone who poured time and energy into the program without ever putting on a uniform. It reflects the culture Calhoun created. UConn has always prided itself on grit, teamwork, and a deep respect for the game. Daigneault embodies all of that. Honoring him would not only celebrate his success, but it would send a message to every student manager, trainer, and behind-the-scenes worker in college basketball that their contributions matter. Advertisement There are many ways UConn could pay tribute. Perhaps a ceremony at Gampel Pavilion or a plaque in the training facility. Maybe even inclusion in the Huskies of Honor. The details are less important than the gesture itself. What matters is that UConn recognizes a man who started in its locker rooms and now leads on basketball's biggest stage. Daigneault's rise is not a fluke. It is the result of years of dedication and a deep understanding of the game. He coached with calm under pressure during the Thunder's postseason run and earned the respect of players, analysts, and peers alike. And it all began in Storrs, with a coach who believed in him. As the Thunder continue to celebrate their title, Calhoun's call for recognition serves as a reminder that UConn is not just a school of champions; it is a school that builds character. Daigneault's journey is proof of that. In a world where stars often grab the headlines, it is refreshing to see a story about someone who worked in the shadows and rose to greatness. Daigneault may not have made game-winning shots in a UConn jersey, but his legacy is just as important. Advertisement And now, it is time for UConn to say thank you. Related: Duke coach Jon Scheyer drops truth bomb on Cooper Flagg's Mavericks fit Related: Iowa State basketball sends 3-word message to Tyrese Haliburton after painful Game 7
USA Today
21 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
NFL analyst: 'No coach has a hotter seat' than New York Giants' Brian Daboll
After the New York Giants finished the 2024 season with a 3-14 record, co-owner John Mara wasted no time releasing a statement that general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll would be retained for the 2025 season. Mara then reconfirmed the decision at a press conference later that day. "So, you all got the statement that we issued this morning. I met with Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll Friday afternoon for several hours. After which I had a conversation with Steve Tisch and we spoke some more over the weekend," Mara said, "We came to the decision that staying with both of them is the best course of action for us right now. I think in Brian's case, he was the Coach of the Year two years ago. That didn't disappear all of a sudden. I still believe he can do that again. "And in Joe's case, I thought we had an outstanding draft class this year. I thought we had a really good free agency period. I really like the staff that he's put together and built. I think that they're the right two guys to lead us going forward. I understand, believe me, that that's not going to be the most popular decision in Giant land. But we believe it's the right decision for us going forward." Mara was asked if he was sticking with Schoen and Daboll one more year because it was easier than starting over again. "I think it's a combination of things," he said. "It's a belief in them, number one. But, number two, I think when you start over, you really set yourselves back. When you have a belief in the two individuals that are leading the organization, you have to have the patience to stay with it. Again, if we're standing here, if I'm standing here a year from now and we're having the same conversation, I'll take the heat for it. But we still believe that it's the right decision going forward." Mara understands that the 9-25 record over the past two seasons was an entire institutional failure. It was he who greenlit the double-down on quarterback Daniel Jones. As we all know, when a team gets the quarterback wrong, it can set them back years. That leads us to this summer. Schoen has already done his part. He added some depth, talent, and experience via free agency and then nailed the draft for the second straight year. Daboll and his staff have a lot to work with this year. No more excuses. Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports believes Daboll is at the top of the NFL's hot seat rankings for head coaches. No coach has a hotter seat entering 2025 than Brian Daboll in New York. In the three years he's been on the job, the Giants are 18-32-1, and they're coming off a 3-14 season last year. At the end of the 2024 campaign, it felt like Daboll may be on the brink of getting the axe, but ownership decided to give him and general manager Joe Schoen another shot in 2025. Poor quarterback play has been the Achilles heel for the Giants over Daboll's tenure, and the organization did make efforts this offseason to rectify it. It signed Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston in free agency and traded up into the back end of the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft to select Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart. Wilson is currently positioned to be the Week 1 starter, but Daboll's fate may rest on Dart, who impressed during the offseason program. If Dart takes over at some point during the season and shows flashes, that could be enough to save Daboll. However, he'll need to survive an early gauntlet to possibly get to that point. Before the Week 14 bye, seven of their first 12 opponents are all coming off playoff appearances last year -- and the non-playoff teams are the Cowboys (road), Saints (road), 49ers (home), Bears (road) and Patriots (road). It's hard to imagine New York putting together anything close to a .500 record, which would put Daboll at serious risk of an in-season firing. Prediction: Fired Fixing the quarterback situation was the top priority this offseason, and Schoen attacked it from all angles and with all styles. The moves could save a slew of coaches their jobs. Wilson is a steady hand who has a Super Bowl ring and 10 Pro Bowl nods. He is a master deep thrower, an element that has been lacking on this team for years. Winston keeps things light, but he is a talented wild-card of a player who can be electric at times. A former Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall draft pick, he brings a trove of options and experience to the quarterback room. Tommy DeVito, the local folk hero whose 15 minutes of fame are up, is concentrating more on his career than ever. The Giants wisely kept him around as he is the only one in the quarterback room who's run this offense. Then, there is rookie Jaxson Dart. He is being groomed to be the Giants' next franchise quarterback. Dart is taking cues from all of the other quarterbacks in the room. His trajectory has been planned as methodically slow, but don't tell him that. Daboll should be able to extricate himself and Schoen from the hot seat with a better showing this season. The Giants are better all around and could be closer to a .500 team than people think. Last year, they lost eight games by one score or less.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Montreal captain Marie-Philip Poulin wins PWHL's Billie Jean King MVP award
Montreal Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie is named as the Coach of the Year during the PWHL women's hockey awards in Ottawa, Ontario,, Wednesday June 25, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) Montreal Victoire's Ann-Renee Desbiens speaks after being named the Goaltender of the Year during the PWHL women's hockey awards in Ottawa, Ontario,, Wednesday June 25, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) Cheryl Pounder, left, presents Toronto Sceptres' Renata Fast with the Defender of the Yearduring the PWHL women's hockey awards in Ottawa, Ontario,, Wednesday June 25, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) Montreal Victoire forward Marie-Philip Poulin speaks after being named as the Forward of the Year during the PWHL women's hockey awards in Ottawa, Ontario,, Wednesday June 25, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) Montreal Victoire's Marie-Philip Poulin accepts the Billie Jean King MVP Award during the PWHL women's hockey awards in Ottawa, Ontario,, Wednesday June 25, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) Montreal Victoire's Marie-Philip Poulin accepts the Billie Jean King MVP Award during the PWHL women's hockey awards in Ottawa, Ontario,, Wednesday June 25, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) Montreal Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie is named as the Coach of the Year during the PWHL women's hockey awards in Ottawa, Ontario,, Wednesday June 25, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) Montreal Victoire's Ann-Renee Desbiens speaks after being named the Goaltender of the Year during the PWHL women's hockey awards in Ottawa, Ontario,, Wednesday June 25, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) Cheryl Pounder, left, presents Toronto Sceptres' Renata Fast with the Defender of the Yearduring the PWHL women's hockey awards in Ottawa, Ontario,, Wednesday June 25, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) Montreal Victoire forward Marie-Philip Poulin speaks after being named as the Forward of the Year during the PWHL women's hockey awards in Ottawa, Ontario,, Wednesday June 25, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) Montreal Victoire's Marie-Philip Poulin accepts the Billie Jean King MVP Award during the PWHL women's hockey awards in Ottawa, Ontario,, Wednesday June 25, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Montreal Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin has won the Professional Women's Hockey League's Billie Jean King MVP Award for the 2024-25 season. Poulin, who was also named forward of the year, was presented the awards at a ceremony Wednesday in Ottawa. Advertisement The 34-year-old Poulin led the league with 19 goals and finished fourth with 26 points in 30 games. Poulin was also a finalist for the MVP and top forward awards in the inaugural 2024 PWHL season. Both awards were won by Toronto's Natalie Spooner. The awards capped another year of major achievements for Poulin, who was named the IIHF's Female Player of the Year earlier this month after taking MVP honors at the women's world championship in April with a tournament-leading 12 points (four goals, eight assists). Toronto Sceptres defender Renata Fast and Boston Fleet captain Hilary Knight (now with Seattle) were the other MVP finalists, while Knight and New York Sirens forward Sarah Fillier were up for forward of the year. Advertisement Fast and Fillier did not leave empty-handed. Fast took home defender of the year honors while Fillier was named the league's top rookie. The 30-year-old Fast tied for first in scoring among defenders with 22 points in 30 games, led the league with 63 hits and led all skaters with an average of 24 minutes, 39 seconds of ice time per game. Sophie Jaques and Claire Thompson of the PWHL champion Minnesota Frost (both now with Vancouver) were the other finalists. Fillier, 25, tied for the league lead with 29 points in 30 games and led the league with five power-play goals. Montreal forward Jenn Gardiner (now with Vancouver) and Ottawa goaltender Gwyneth Philips also were finalists. Advertisement Montreal's Ann-Renée Desbiens took goaltender of the year honors. The 31-year-old led all goalies with 15 wins and her 1.86 goals-against average and .932 save percentage were top marks among all starters. Philips and Boston's Aerin Frankel also were finalists. Montreal's Kori Cheverie won coach of the year after leading the Victoire to first place in the PWHL standings with a 12-7-3-8 record. Ottawa's Carla MacLeod and Toronto's Troy Ryan, who won the award last year, were also in the running. Victoire forward Laura Stacey won the Hockey For All Award given to the player 'who made the greatest impact in their community.' Advertisement Poulin, Fillier, Knight, Fast, Jaques and Desbiens were named to the league's first all-star team. Minnesota's Kendall Coyne Schofield, Ottawa's Tereza Vanisova (now Vancouver), Toronto's Daryl Watts, New York's Ella Shelton (now Toronto), Thompson and Frankel were named to the second all-star team. Fillier, Gardiner, Minnesota's Britta Curl-Salemme, Montreal's Cayla Barnes and Anna Wilgren (both now with Seattle) and Philips made up the all-rookie squad. ___ AP women's hockey:
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Marie-Philip Poulin named PWHL MVP over former Fleet captain Hilary Knight
After a slow start to her PWHL career in the league's inaugural season, Knight broke out in '24-25. She tied for the PWHL scoring lead with 29 points in 30 games and was one of two players to lead their team outright in goals (15) and assists (14). The points total represented an 18-point improvement from Knight's first year in Boston. Knight was named a first-team All-Star alongside Poulin, Fast, New York Sirens rookie Sarah Fillier, Ann-Renee Desbiens (Montreal), and Sophie Jaques (Minnesota Frost). Advertisement The Fleet opted not to protect Knight during the PWHL expansion process, and Related : Fleet goaltender Aerin Frankel was named a second-team All-Star. The Northeastern product led the league in saves( 642), was second among qualified goalies in save percentage (.921), and was tops in minutes played by 114 more than the nearest contender. Advertisement 🏆 2025 PWHL Second All-Star Team They showed up, showed out, and earned their spot. -- 🏆 Deuxième équipe d'étoiles 2025 de la LPHF Elles ont répondu présentes, ont brillé, et ont mérité leur place. — PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) Frankel was also a finalist for Goaltender of the Year, which went to Desbiens. Desbiens led all goaltenders with 15 wins, and her 1.86 goals-against average and .932 save percentage were tops among PWHL starters. Fast was named Defender of the Year. She tied with Jaques for the scoring lead among defenders with 22 points in 30 games, and she led the league with 63 hits while playing a league-leading average of 24:39 per game. Rookie of the Year went to Fillier, a runaway favorite for the award after she tied with Knight for the league lead in points; no other rookie had more than 18 points. Fillier's 16 assists were the most by a forward and tied with Fast for the league lead. Korie Cheverie was named Coach of the Year after leading Montreal to the best regular-season record (12-7-3-8, 53 points) and a trip to the Walter Cup Final. The Victoire were the first team to clinch a playoff spot Emma Healy can be reached at
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bulls, Billy Donovan working on contract extension
The post Bulls, Billy Donovan working on contract extension appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Chicago Bulls are currently reportedly in the works on a possible contract extension with head coach Billy Donovan, as per NBA insider Marc Stein. Donovan has been the Bulls' head coach since the 2020-21 season, and the front office is clearly a strong believer of his coaching acumen that they appear to be ready to commit to him for the foreseeable future despite less-than-stellar results over the past few seasons. Advertisement Donovan has only coached the Bulls once into the playoffs, back in the 2021-22 season. That was a memorable year for Bulls fans, as that was the first season of the Lonzo Ball-DeMar DeRozan-Zach LaVine-Nikola Vucevic core. They sat in the top half of the Eastern Conference for a good chunk of that season, only to fall off after Ball suffered a serious injury that would keep him out for over two years. As a result, the Bulls fell off in 2022, entered the playoffs as the sixth-seed with 46 wins, and then proceeded to get knocked out by the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs. Since then, Donovan's team has failed to make it to the playoffs, falling short in the play-in tournament for each of the past three seasons. Nonetheless, the Bulls front office clearly trusts Donovan to be the man to take them back to playoff contention. For what it's worth, Donovan has done as well of a job as anyone considering the roster the team has given him. They also hit their stride towards the end of the 2024-25 season, and Donovan seems to thrive more when coaching a young team on the rise. Moving forward, the Bulls will be looking for huge developments from the likes of Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis, and Coby White, and they will look to supplement this young core further with the 12th overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft. Bulls believe in Billy Donovan Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images The Bulls front office is very much a huge believer in Donovan. This contract extension possibility comes in the aftermath of their decision to reject the New York Knicks' attempt to get the two-time National Championship-winning coach to interview for their vacant head coaching job. Advertisement Donovan's best season as a coach came during the 2019-20 season, when he placed third in the Coach of the Year voting. He helped steer an Oklahoma City Thunder team that many thought were destined for the bottom of the standings into the playoffs, and it's clear that his best attribute as a coach is taking teams that are a bit undertalented to places far greater than many believed they could reach. Related: Bulls' Matas Buzelis reacts to Thunder-Pacers NBA Finals Related: Ranking the top 3 Nikola Vucevic trade destinations
