Latest news with #Lakhin
USA Today
20-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
4 candidates who could grab OKC Thunder's 3rd two-way deal
As the NBA enters the slowest stretch of its calendar, the Oklahoma City Thunder will have a couple of more months to bask in their championship before shifting their focus to becoming a rare repeat winner. Being the second-youngest NBA champion, the Thunder will have the rare luxury of roster continuity. Everybody who was under contract for their historic 68-14 regular-season run is under contract for next season, too. Outside of some bottom depth chart movement, expect the same rotation. The one roster spot still left open is the third two-way spot. Brooks Barnhizer and Branden Carlson are signed to the other two spots, but one remain. After they completed the Summer League, plenty of possible candidates had their moments. Let's look at three candidates who could receive the Thunder's third two-way contract. The deal allows players to appear in 50 games and split time between the NBA and G League: Chris Youngblood Out of all the undrafted rookies, Youngblood stood out the most in the Summer League. The 23-year-old is a sharpshooter with a quick release. He gained more minutes in the rotation as the two-week event progressed. There's always a demand for shooters. He could get a shot because of it. Youngblood averaged 12.4 points in five Las Vegas games. He shot 52% from 3 on five attempts. Even though the sample is small, he was also a high-volume outside shooter at Alabama. He wasn't afraid to let it fly from deep in a variety of ways. Malevy Leons Familiarity might help Leons. After he went undrafted out of Bradley, he signed with the Thunder. He was a training camp invite last year and even earned an NBA deal for a brief moment before being waived. The 25-year-old spent most of the season in the G League. Leons spent most of the Summer League as a starter. He had his moments, especially on the defensive side. The 6-foot-9 forward has good physical tools but remains raw as a half-court player. Still, there's obviously some intrigue there from the Thunder as he enters his second year with the franchise. Viktor Lakhin A popular theory that circulated among Thunder fans was about Lakhin. He went undrafted out of Clemson. Some believe that happened because a torn foot tendon plummeted his draft stock after he received some second-round buzz. Lakhin had a career season at Clemson before the May injury. He averaged 11.4 points and 56.4 rebounds. Because of the injury, he didn't play in the Summer League. The Thunder knew that when they signed him. The speculation is that the only reason they'd do that was to ensure they'd sign him to a two-way deal. Remains to be seen how true that theory is. Payton Sandfort Everything said about Lakhin can be copied and pasted here. Two shoulder surgeries to fix torn labrums caused Sandfort to go undrafted out of Iowa. Nonetheless, the Thunder liked the upside enough to add him to their Summer League roster, knowing he wouldn't play. Considering Sandfort had surgery in April and May, don't expect him to be cleared for a while. November has been viewed as a target return. He was a sharpshooter in his four years at Iowa. He shot 34% from 3 on 7.5 attempts last season. You always need those types of players at any level. Let's see if it's enough to warrant a two-way spot before he's even suited up for the Thunder.
USA Today
22-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
National media offer projections on Clemson's Viktor Lakhin being taken in 2025 NBA Draft
The 2025 NBA Draft is fast approaching, and Clemson Tigers big man Viktor Lakhin is among the players hoping to hear his name called Wednesday night at Barclay's Center in Brooklyn. Lakhin, a 6-foot-11, 245-pound center from Russia, transferred to Clemson from Cincinnati ahead of the 2024-25 season and started 33 of the Tigers' 34 games. He averaged 11.4 points and 6.4 rebounds in 23.6 minutes a night while helping Clemson to a school-record 27 victories, including an 18-2 ACC record. Lakhin averaged 1.5 blocks and 1.5 assists per game. The 2025 NBA Draft will consist of two rounds with 59 total selections. Duke guard Cooper Flagg is the consensus favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick. The draft will be held June 25 beginning at 8 p.m. ET and will be televised on ABC and ESPN. Here's where national media outlets have Lakhin ranked among the top 100 draft-eligible prospects and in mock drafts on the final weekend before the 2025 NBA Draft. ESPN projects Clemson's Viktor Lakhin as second-round pick by Clippers ESPN unveiled its final big board rankings of the top 100 prospects on Saturday. NBA analyst Jonathan Givony ranks Lakhin as the 51st best draft-eligible player this year. The latest mock draft from Givony and ESPN's Jeremy Woo have Lakhin being selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the No. 51 overall pick. CBS Sports' draft prospect rankings have Lakhin much lower at No. 75 overall. Yahoo Sports NBA Draft analyst sees Lakhin as potential second-round pickup Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor has Lakhin at No. 59 on his NBA draft big board. O'Connor's latest mock draft has Lakhin going to the Utah Jazz with the 53rd overall pick. Part of Yahoo's scouting report on Lakhin describes him this way: "He's a great positional defender at the rim, even though he doesn't block a ton of shots. And he's quite mobile on the perimeter with the ability to step out and recover to his man, or hold his own when defending shooting bigs." Clemson basketball: recent NBA Draft history There's a chance Clemson could have a new player in the NBA for the third straight season. Last year, the Denver Nuggets signed forward P.J. Hall to a two-way contract as an undrafted free agent. He made his NBA debut on Nov. 17 and played in 19 regular-season games for the Nuggets. Hall played in 13 games for the Grand Rapids Gold in the G League this past season and averaged 19.2 points and 12.5 rebounds a night while adding 1.1 blocks and 1.8 assists per game. Two years ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder selected Hunter Tyson in the second round with the 37th overall pick as part of an agreed-upon trade with Denver. Tyson played in 51 games for the Nuggets in 2024-25. He had 13 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes during the Nuggets' Western Conference semifinals series against the Thunder. Prior to Tyson, Clemson hadn't had a player taken in the NBA Draft since forward Jaron Blossomgame was selected in the second round at No. 59 overall by the San Antonio Spurs in 2017. Contact us @Clemson_Wire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions.
Fox Sports
09-03-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Lakhin leads No. 11 Clemson to program record-tying 26th win, 65-47 over Virginia Tech
Associated Press CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Viktor Lakhin scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half as No. 11 Clemson opened a double-digit lead and beat Virginia Tech 65-47 on Saturday for the program's record-tying 26th victory of the season. The Tigers (26-5, 18-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) matched a mark set by the 1990 team led by Dale Davis and Elden Campbell, who won Clemson's only ACC regular-season crown. These Tigers are playing every bit as good as that squad, winning their seventh straight game and heading into next week's ACC Tournament as a top-four seed. Lakhin, the 6-foot-11 transfer from Cincinnati, was dominant inside against the Hokies (13-18, 8-12), making six of his nine first-half shots as Clemson led 35-20 at the break. Brandon Rechsteiner led the Hokies with 11 points. Takeaways Virginia Tech: The Hokies have struggled down the stretch this season, losing nine of their final 13 games. They'll need to make a surprising run through the ACC Tournament — as they did in 2022 — to avoid missing the NCAAs for a third straight season. Clemson: The Tigers are rolling at the right time. They matched the program record for wins in a season and will have ample time for rest as one of the ACC's top four seeds for next week's postseason tournament. They hope to take an additional step or two this March after losing in the Elite Eight a year ago. Key moment Reserve guard Del Jones scored six straight points to start Clemson on a 20-7 run in the first half to take control. Lakhin added six points, including a hard jam, as the Tigers took a 15-point lead at halftime. Key stat Clemson had nine steals and forced 14 turnovers in the first 20 minutes to open a double-digit lead. Up next Both teams head to the ACC Tournament next week in Charlotte, North Carolina. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: and recommended
Associated Press
09-03-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Lakhin leads No. 11 Clemson to program record-tying 26th win, 65-47 over Virginia Tech
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Viktor Lakhin scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half as No. 11 Clemson opened a double-digit lead and beat Virginia Tech 65-47 on Saturday for the program's record-tying 26th victory of the season. The Tigers (26-5, 18-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) matched a mark set by the 1990 team led by Dale Davis and Elden Campbell, who won Clemson's only ACC regular-season crown. These Tigers are playing every bit as good as that squad, winning their seventh straight game and heading into next week's ACC Tournament as a top-four seed. Lakhin, the 6-foot-11 transfer from Cincinnati, was dominant inside against the Hokies (13-18, 8-12), making six of his nine first-half shots as Clemson led 35-20 at the break. Brandon Rechsteiner led the Hokies with 11 points. Takeaways Virginia Tech: The Hokies have struggled down the stretch this season, losing nine of their final 13 games. They'll need to make a surprising run through the ACC Tournament — as they did in 2022 — to avoid missing the NCAAs for a third straight season. Clemson: The Tigers are rolling at the right time. They matched the program record for wins in a season and will have ample time for rest as one of the ACC's top four seeds for next week's postseason tournament. They hope to take an additional step or two this March after losing in the Elite Eight a year ago. Key moment Reserve guard Del Jones scored six straight points to start Clemson on a 20-7 run in the first half to take control. Lakhin added six points, including a hard jam, as the Tigers took a 15-point lead at halftime. Key stat Clemson had nine steals and forced 14 turnovers in the first 20 minutes to open a double-digit lead. Up next Both teams head to the ACC Tournament next week in Charlotte, North Carolina. ___
New York Times
25-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
College basketball buy, sell or hold?: Look out for Clemson. Kansas and Purdue are spiraling
First, credit where it's due. Longtime college hoops reporter Seth Davis has been doing some version of this column for basically as long as I've been alive, and that certainly was the inspiration here. But rather than hitting on dozens of teams, I'm drilling in on a specific few. Another change: Seth usually does this exercise around midseason. Obviously, we're doing it with less than two weeks left in the regular season — so consider this geared toward the NCAA Tournament. A 'buy' is a team that has had a recent surge to warrant postseason belief. A 'sell' is a team that could crash out before the second weekend. And a 'hold' is a team that has been consistent, one I've been riding with and am still in on. Advertisement Away we go. Clemson Since Feb. 1, only three high-major teams have a top-20 adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency ranking, per Bart Torvik: Duke, Florida … and Clemson, which has won 10 of its past 11 games, including the only victory any team has over Duke since Thanksgiving. The Tigers are 18th in adjusted offensive efficiency over the past three weeks, ahead of teams such as Maryland and Arizona, and ninth in adjusted defensive efficiency, ahead of Auburn and Houston. That sort of company should perk your ears up. So what makes Clemson special? A few things, but start with the Tigers' shooting, which is as good as any other team in America. Clemson is eighth nationally in 3-point percentage, canning 38.8 percent of its 3s, and averages 1.098 points per possession on spot-up shots, per Synergy, which is the 10th-best rate in Division I. No single shooter makes a team that proficient from deep — and lo and behold, six Tigers have made at least 20 3s this season at a 36 percent clip or better. Sixth-year guard Chase Hunter, the star of last season's Elite Eight run, is the best of the bunch, making 42.7 percent of his 3s. But it's the recent emergence of senior forward Viktor Lakhin that has unlocked Clemson's best offense. Over the team's past four games, which includes the win over Duke, Lakhin is averaging 17.3 points, six rebounds and two blocks, while making six of his 10 treys. Not only is the 6-foot-11 Russian a secondary interior presence alongside Ian Schieffelin, but also his floor-stretching ability means defenses reasonably have to cover five shooters at once. Perfect example from Saturday against SMU: Watch the tagger after Jaeden Zackery (No. 11) drew two and kicked out to a wide-open Lakhin (No. 0). Even while Lakhin loaded to shoot, the tagger couldn't fully commit because he would've been leaving Hunter wide open — so Lakhin steps into his uncontested 3 and calmly knocks it down: Between Clemson's shooting and experience — it starts three seniors, one junior and the 23-year-old Hunter — the Tigers are clearly the second-best team in the ACC and have the looks of a second weekend team (at least) for the second straight season. Saint Mary's Not only did Randy Bennett's Gaels complete their regular-season sweep of Gonzaga on Saturday, but also they continued to validate a defense that, per Bart Torvik, ranks tops nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency since February began. Yes, really. Advertisement The two things Saint Mary's is best at defensively, which pair well together, are 2-point defense and 3-point rate. That isn't how many 3s opponents make against the Gaels, but how many opponents even take — which is very, very few. Only 17.7 per game, actually, the fourth fewest in Division I. That comes out to the Gaels being eighth nationally in defensive 3-point rate, per KenPom, or one of just 17 teams in D-I that doesn't allow at least a third of its opponents' shots to come from deep. But the other half of that formula, Saint Mary's 2-point defense, is what ties the Gaels' total defensive package together. In 6-foot-10 starter Mitchell Saxen, who is top-200 nationally in block percentage, and 7-foot-1 reserve Harry Wessels, Bennett basically always has at least one elite rim protector on the floor, too. So not only does his team run opponents off the 3-point line — Saint Mary's is particularly effective at soft hedging against ball screens — and funnel everything inside, but once it does, there's usually a wall patrolling the paint. Good luck scoring against that combo. Here's what I mean by that effective soft hedge, by the way, which both disrupts the shooter's timing and gives his initial defender time to recover: You can debate whether the Gaels have the necessary offensive firepower to make a deep run in March — but there's no question they'll give any opponent they face a tough time defensively. Don't be surprised to see Bennett's best team make life hell for some higher seed in the second weekend. Kansas Kansas fell out of the AP Top 25 on Monday, and if you're thinking, 'That probably hasn't happened in a while,' you're right! That snapped an 80-week ranked streak for the Jayhawks. The last time Kansas wasn't in the AP poll was February 2021 — or about a month before KU crashed out of the NCAA Tournament in epic fashion, via a 34-point loss to USC that is tied for Bill Self's worst defeat with the program. Advertisement Why that loss feels relevant today? Because a week ago, Kansas lost to BYU by 34 points, the only other time a Self-coached Kansas team has been so thoroughly trounced. It's clear by now that Self simply missed in the transfer portal, most clearly with former Wisconsin wing AJ Storr, who is averaging a career-low 6.2 points and 16.5 minutes per game. Storr was a high-usage, low-efficiency athlete with the Badgers, but his poor shooting and propensity for turnovers have been a rough fit on a Kansas roster that already featured non-shooters Dajuan Harris Jr. and KJ Adams. Former Alabama guard Rylan Griffen looks like a shell of his former self, too, regressing from a double-digit scorer and Final Four starter to an inconsistent role player. That perilous roster construction has, once again, led to a team with fatal offensive flaws. Kansas is 118th in adjusted offensive efficiency since February began, per Bart Torvik, with its ball insecurity and inability to get to the free-throw line as recurring, seemingly insurmountable issues. The Jayhawks are second-to-last in D-I in free-throw rate, per KenPom, with their 14.1 attempts per game ranking 356th. And since the start of the month, they're 295th nationally in turnover rate, too, averaging 13.4 giveaways per game. There are other issues, but those two by themselves bode poorly for the Jayhawks sticking around long this postseason. Purdue Listen, even if Purdue hadn't let Indiana come back from a 12-point halftime deficit to drop its fourth straight, the Boilermakers were slated to be a sell for the same reasons that ultimately cost them the game Sunday. Purdue's biggest issue, unequivocally, is its interior 'defense,' or lack thereof. Per CBB Analytics, Purdue opponents score 44.6 percent of their points in the paint, which ranks 241st nationally — but over the past five games, that percentage is up to 47.8 percent, which ranks 336th nationally during that stretch. A three-possession stretch during Indiana's comeback tells the story as clearly as anything. First, Purdue tried doubling Malik Reneau (No. 5) when he got the ball on the low post, and Reneau effortlessly found the open cutter: The next possession, another Reneau paint touch, another Purdue double — and another feed out of it, this time to Luke Goode for a wide-open corner 3: And lastly, Reneau got low-post positioning on Trey Kaufman-Renn and easily elevated for the unopposed dunk: And this team was a No. 2 seed — No. 7 overall — in the selection committee's mock bracket earlier this month. This has been a defensive weakness for the Boilermakers all season, but now teams are hammering it, which is obviously untenable. The offense is (usually) good enough to keep Purdue competitive, but allowing opponents to shoot 56 percent from 2 is asking for an early-round upset. Plus, the typically sure-handed Braden Smith hasn't exactly been Mr. Reliable lately; he's had back-to-back six-turnover games, which was key to Indiana's transition offense on Sunday, and has scored only single digits in three of Purdue's past five games. If there's anyone to bet on figuring this out, it's Matt Painter, but there are only so many tweaks a coach can make this late. Advertisement Duke Holy beatdown, Batman. I figured Duke would beat shorthanded Illinois on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, and probably cover, but dealing the Illini their largest margin of defeat ever? No, didn't expect that. So why is Duke a hold and not a buy? Because how much higher can the Blue Devils' stock really get? This team has been a national title front-runner since it dealt Auburn its first loss in December, and with only one defeat since Thanksgiving, that's still the case. But what the win over Illinois did tell us is that any apprehension over a lackluster ACC schedule leaving the young Blue Devils unprepared for the rigors of March was almost certainly overblown. In fact, if anything, Duke winning so dominantly despite Cooper Flagg scoring 'only' 16 points is a testament to this team's continued growth. There's no better example of that than five-star freshman Isaiah Evans, who scored 17 points Saturday for the second straight game; that marked the first time this season Evans has hit double figures in consecutive contests. The 6-foot-6 sharpshooter previously broke out against Auburn to the tune of six 3s and a career-high 18 points but has been in and out of Duke's lineup because of his slight frame and suspect defense. Recently, though, Evans has made enough defensive strides to warrant regular minutes — not to mention Jon Scheyer needing another body with forward Maliq Brown injured. (Scheyer said on Thursday that Brown would be out 'weeks,' but his dislocated shoulder is not considered season-ending.) Evans needs only an inch of daylight to get it off, as he made clear on this catch-and-shoot off a flare screen: Evans' 3-point 'gravity' is becoming more of a thing, too. Kasparas Jakucionis (No. 32 in orange) didn't even feign a stunt on this second-half pick-and-roll because he doesn't want to give Evans a single inch of space: I wouldn't go so far as to say that Evans' offensive uptick mitigates the loss of Brown defensively — Brown is that good — but if Duke gets Brown back while maintaining Evans' rising role? That's as close to a 'buy' as you get with one of the two teams favored to win it all. Iowa State The Cyclones may not be in that elite Auburn/Duke tier atop college hoops, but at full strength they're still one of the best two-way teams in the country. They had to make do for seven games in January and February when starting wing Milan Momcilovic was out with a hand injury. Advertisement Up until Jan. 11, the last game before Momcilovic got hurt, TJ Otzelberger's team was 14-1 (with the lone loss to Auburn at the buzzer in Maui) and one of just seven teams with a top-20 adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency ranking. ISU then went 3-4 without Momcilovic — easily the team's best 3-point shooter, at 41.2 percent. Upon his return, it promptly rattled off a 4-0 stretch with an average margin of victory of 16.8 points. Saturday's road trip to Houston then brought about a new challenge, with leading scorers Curtis Jones and Keshon Gilbert out due to illness. And how did the Cyclones respond? By cutting a one-time 16-point deficit down to a single point, courtesy of a shocking 13-0 second-half sprint. Otzelberger's team ran out of gas thereafter, but that sort of fight, on the road, shorthanded, against the about-to-be Big 12 champions? Mighty impressive if you can look past the Cyclones' absences — which you should, since those illnesses aren't considered long term. Plus, Northern Iowa transfer Nate Heise stepped up. His 12 points against Houston gave him consecutive double-digit scoring efforts for the first time this season. Heise was an All-Missouri Valley honoree last season, and while he's only a bit part for these Cyclones, his 3-point shooting and propensity for steals could prove valuable come March — especially if the Cyclones find themselves shorthanded again. It was Heise who hit the last 3 amid Iowa State's second-half surge on Saturday: My only question with Iowa State — not unlike with Baylor in 2021 — is if the Cyclones have enough time left before the postseason to get back on a roll. But if so? That Baylor comparison might not be a bad one. (Photo of Clemson's Viktor Lakhin: Jacob Kupferman / Getty Images)
