Latest news with #Lue
Malaysian Reserve
08-07-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
LA Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue dedicates historic Garfield School as new home for his transformative multimillion-dollar initiative: Commitment to Community (C2C) in Mexico, Missouri
MEXICO, Mo., July 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — On Friday, July 5, community members, local leaders, and former students gathered for a building dedication ceremony at the former Garfield School site. The event marked the official renaming and transition of the facility into the headquarters for Tyronn Lue's Commitment to Community (C2C), a ten million dollar community initiative founded by Tyronn Lue. Originally established to educate Black students during the era of segregation, Garfield School was shuttered and turned into a Credit Union and now returns to its roots as a community-focused center. With its new purpose, the building will continue to serve young people in the Mexico area through educational programming and partnerships that promote opportunity and growth. Coach Lue announced the new name of the building, now known as the Kim and Olivia Lue Garfield Legacy Center, a tribute to the legacy and spirit of his mother, grandmother, and their alma mater, the Garfield School. 'Mexico, Missouri, is the type of place where you're raised by the entire community, not just your family. The Garfield School was so important to so many people, and its closure devastated the community. It is an incredible honor that we were able to buy this and transform it back into a community hub where people can connect, learn and find resources and opportunities,' said Coach Lue, smiling with pride. The dedication marks an early milestone in a larger effort to invest in the Mexico, Missouri community. The work is in partnership with the Tyronn Lue Fund and Partners for Rural Impact (PRI), a national nonprofit focused on expanding educational opportunity in rural areas. Guests took part in a ribbon cutting, a community legacy walk, and tours of newly acquired buildings next to the school. These adjacent buildings, previously owned by a local credit union, will be converted into spaces for youth programs, resource centers, and community-based services. Coach Lue also looks forward to sharing this work with his Los Angeles community at the second annual fundraising event for C2C, which will take place at the Intuit Dome on October 19th. About C2C In July 2023, three-time NBA Champion Tyronn Lue announced an initial five-year commitment to bring a multi-million-dollar investment to his hometown of Mexico, Missouri. Called 'C2C', representing Lue's 'Commitment to Community,' this initiative is a partnership between the Tyronn Lue Fund and Partners for Rural Impact that aims to ensure all residents of Mexico, MO have access to the opportunities and resources they need to thrive and succeed. For more information about C2C visit Media Contact Jenny Goldstock WrightDriving Force Groupjenny@
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Community activists demand more accountability after deadly Saenger Theatre shooting
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Community activists in Mobile are demanding more accountability and change after a man was killed in a shooting inside the Saenger Theatre. 7-year-old paddleboarder found safe after being reported missing in Okaloosa County A fun Sunday evening turned into tragedy after gunshots rang out during a children's dance recital. Mobile Police Department Sgt. John Young also runs a nonprofit organization, Men United Against Violence. The group's objective is to stop young men from continuing the cycle of gun violence. 'This brute beast went to this dance recital knowing children were there,' Young explained. 'He intentionally carried a gun, and he intentionally shot someone in front of those children. That is the issue we're dealing with. This subculture of gun violence involving young Black men in Mobile is the issue.' Young said he is tired of seeing Black men take the lives of other Black men, and staying silent is not an option. 'What is the value in not saying it?' Young questioned. 'What is the political correctness in not saying 'Black man, stop killing Black man.' And if I, as a Black man, can't say it, who can?' Stewart Memorial CME Church Pastor Marvin Lue said it's important to keep praying when navigating another act of gun violence in the community. 'When we pray, pray for peace, pray for calm, pray for common sense to step in in these conflict resolution situations,' he elaborated. Members of his congregation were inside the theater that night and left traumatized. 'They were literally in the crossfire of this senseless act, that it could have been worse than it was, that there is a fear of going outside,' he further explained. Both Young and Lue agreed that prayer can be part of the solution, but the first step is to hold people accountable. 'We have to have some sense of accountability,' Lue said. 'But it begins with us. It begins with us. I can't be the one throwing rocks and hide my hand.' 'Grow up. Life has been hard for many people for many years,' Young concluded. Honduran man accused of crashing into barricade at Naval Air Station Pensacola In addition to accountability, Young and Pastor Lue said community leadership and strong family support are key to stopping this cycle. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Times
04-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Kawhi Leonard, Clippers were healthy and still couldn't get past first round. Now what?
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Knock on wood. That has been the reaction any time the topic of health was brought up around the LA Clippers in prosperous times. After all, Tyronn Lue's first four seasons as head coach of the Clippers all ended in unfortunate injury luck. Kawhi Leonard was unable to play in the elimination game in any of them, and former co-star Paul George was unavailable in the final game of the 2022 Play-In Tournament and the entire 2023 postseason. Advertisement When the Clippers were in the middle of an eight-game winning streak to end the regular season that gave them the fifth seed in this year's playoffs, Lue was asked about having a fully healthy roster heading into the postseason. 'Yeah, it means a lot,' Lue said, tapping his knuckles repeatedly on the news conference table simultaneously. 'Just starting to play our best basketball. The season's wrapping up, our guys are healthy, in a good place, feeling good. And that's the most important thing. When you get to the playoffs, the most important thing is health.' Lue got his wish. The Clippers were healthy for the first time in years. But having a healthy James Harden and Leonard wasn't enough as the Clippers fell to the Nuggets 120-101 in Saturday's Game 7. The Clippers lost three of the last four games of the series, and Harden did not meet with the media after any of those losses. It's a surprising turn of events for a Clippers team that, a little more than a week earlier, was a minute away from a 3-1 series lead. 'It's encouraging,' Lue said after the season ended Saturday night. 'I think James having to carry such a heavy load with Kawhi missing 45 games and just having to carry that load all season long, he did a great job with that. And I think Kawhi, coming back and having the confidence in his knee that he can play more minutes, he can get through these games. And those two together for a whole season, I think, would be tremendous. So when you have your best player missing (45 games), it's kind of hard to really jell the way we wanted to. But I thought we did a good job of just sticking with it. And whatever we needed to do to win that night, they did it.' Now the inaugural season at Intuit Dome is in the books after a first-round series that reinforced the fact that the Clippers likely have a hard ceiling as long as their best players are Harden and Leonard, two aging stars who are far closer to the end of their careers than the beginning. Advertisement The Clippers won 50 games this season and were still a factor in the Western Conference, but this campaign was part of an organizational plan to bridge into what is next for the franchise. Their public statement after George left to sign a maximum contract with the Philadelphia 76ers last summer declared that much. 'We will miss Paul. At the same time, we're excited by the opportunities we've now been afforded, including greater flexibility under the new CBA. Kawhi is an All-NBA player, and we believe T. Lue is the best coach in the league. We will field a highly competitive team this season, and moving forward, use our organizational advantages to bring top talent to Intuit Dome.' As of now, though, it seems clear that the next stage, at least in the short term, will be centered around Harden and Leonard. The Clippers are below the collective bargaining agreement's first-apron threshold and intend to remain flexible with an eye toward the next two offseasons, according to league sources. The first domino toward that is what happens with Harden, who has a player option worth $36.4 million for next season. Harden will be 36 in August, and he has enjoyed his time playing in his hometown since being brought in via an October 2023 trade. 'Hopefully I'm here for some years and retire here, so I can keep moving the needle off the court,' he said in 2024. How the Clippers retain Harden is to be determined, but he is fully expected to be back in some capacity after being named an All-Star and making the playoffs for the 16th straight year. There's a history of Harden sacrificing financially; in 2022, he declined a $47.4-million player option with the 76ers and signed a two-year deal that gave him a $35.6-million player option for the 2023-24 season so Philadelphia could sign free agents like P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr. Advertisement This season, Harden reiterated that the chemistry the Clippers built with him as the primary facilitator should progress next year, using Most Improved Player Award runner-up Ivica Zubac as an example. 'It's only been, what, almost two years?' Harden said last month while describing Zubac's progress compared to former Rockets teammate center Clint Capela. 'What I did with Clint, it was five, six years. And Zu is way more skilled offensively than Clint, you know what I mean? But the understanding of knowing what to do, each possession, whether it's a switch, whether it's a pick-and-roll… that right there is just like, chemistry that you just need time to build. 'And next year is going to be even better, to where it's like, it's gonna be flawless.' Harden's star running mate, Leonard, just played the first season of a three-year contract extension signed in January 2024 that goes through the 2026-27 season. He began sidelined to manage the right knee inflammation that ruined not only the final run with George last postseason, but also cost Leonard an Olympic gold medal. Before the All-Star break, Leonard averaged 16.3 points in 26 minutes per game. After the All-Star break, Leonard leapt to 25 points in 35.9 minutes per game. In March, he made it clear what his objective was going into the second year of that deal. 'My goal is to be healthy at the end of the season, so I can have a good summer, not worry about doing the whole rehab process again or missing a training camp,' Leonard said after his overtime buzzer-beater to beat the Sacramento Kings on March 9. That summer came earlier than Leonard had hoped. The series against the Nuggets was an opportunity for Leonard and Harden to re-establish some dominance in the postseason after the Clippers won 18 of their last 21 regular-season games and didn't lose back-to-back games for eight weeks. That re-established dominance didn't happen. To at least begin next season, the Clippers appear to be in a place of stability with the rotation of a team that surprised many by getting to 50 wins. Zubac, Norman Powell, Derrick Jones Jr., Kris Dunn and Bogdan Bogdanović are all signed for 2025-26. Powell, the team's second-leading scorer with a career-high 21.8 points per game, who was a surprising dark-horse All-Star candidate, is entering the final year of a contract that will pay him $20.5 million in 2025-26 and turns 32 this month. But there should be no rush to do something with Powell, especially considering Harden's age and Leonard's durability concerns. Advertisement Batum is 36 years old and has a player option for $4.9 million, but he is highly valued by the Clippers and is expected to return; the Frenchman has a stated goal of passing former All-Star Peja Stojaković for second-most 3s by a European player, and Batum needs 11 more 3s to do so. The most notable free agents are Ben Simmons and Amir Coffey; Simmons' minutes faded as the Nuggets series went along after being the team's buyout market target, while Coffey was the odd man out of a nine-man rotation in the playoffs. Then there's Lue. Last May, the Clippers gave Lue a contract extension that goes through the 2029 season, and despite the early exit, relationships are strong among the brain trust of Lue, Clippers chairman Steve Ballmer and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank. But Lue no longer has the excuse of his Clippers playoff teams never being healthy. They were, and still are, one of six teams in the West not to win a playoff series since 2021. This was the first time Lue lost a Game 7 after starting his head-coaching career 4-0 in such spots, and the second year in a row where the season ended on Lue's birthday. Lue was recently asked why anyone would want to be a head coach after Denver fired head coach Michael Malone last month and joked that the job 'pays well.' But his perspective was telling. 'It's a tough business – it's a fun business, as long as you're winning,' Lue said last month. 'Just speaking for myself, just having a great relationship with the front office with Lawrence and (general manager) Trent (Redden), and (senior vice president) Mark (Hughes), and with our owner Mr. Ballmer. That goes a long way. It still doesn't mean that they won't make the right decision. But just having that constant dialogue, talking and understanding what each side wants and what they need and just having that relationship is really good.' Advertisement Lue pushed several correct buttons this season, one of the most important being the selection of Jeff Van Gundy as the team's de facto defensive coordinator. Lue has the respect of his stars, and the Clippers admire stable organizations that don't go about replacing coaches every two years. As disappointing as this postseason result is, Lue is seen as part of the franchise's solution, not part of a problem. The Clippers might optimize the margins of the roster going into next season. Like the 2019 offseason that led to the Clippers getting Leonard in the first place, the team might look toward 2026 when it comes to identifying the next faces of the franchise. In terms of the next championship window, that's the most sensible timeframe. Under Ballmer, and with 14 consecutive winning seasons, the Clippers won't tank or blow it up, and they're not in a position to do so anyway with their draft assets depleted and their Southern California-based stars not in a position to command a high return in the trade market. The challenge for the franchise will simply be maintaining its level of competitive achievement while being ready to make the best move for the future. And for now, that means continuing to build around Harden and Leonard. 'I mean, I don't know right now,' Leonard said Saturday night when asked about growing from this season. 'I guess we stayed playing at a high level, in a sense. But yeah, it's a hard question to answer right now.' (Top photo of Kawhi Leonard: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Yahoo
Man charged with murder of co-defendant in self-defense shooting outside Lakeland restaurant
The Brief A man has been charged with the murder of a co-defendant in a self-defense shooting outside a Lakeland restaurant on April 24. Nicholas Lue, whilst in a wheelchair after being released from the hospital, made his first appearance in Polk County court on Friday afternoon. The shooting happened just outside Calirose 15 Kitchen on April 24. LAKELAND, Fla. - The co-defendant of a man who died in a shooting that police claim was self-defense will remain in jail on no bond. Nicholas Lue, 27, of West Palm Beach was charged with 2nd Degree Murder in the death of Jesse Banks. Lue, whilst in a wheelchair after being released from the hospital, made his first appearance in Polk County court on Friday afternoon. The shooting happened just outside Calirose 15 Kitchen on April 24. PREVIOUS: Florida man arrested for second-degree murder after man shot in Lakeland self-defense shooting at restaurant The victim, a 24-year-old man, was at the restaurant to celebrate his mom's birthday. He told police he walked outside to smoke a cigarette when Lue and Banks confronted him, asking, "Where is [redacted] at?" According to Lue's arrest affidavit, Lue and Banks are gang members and the victim saw both had a gun in their waistbands. The victim told police Banks punched him in the face and knocked him backwards. READ: Powerball winner accused of kicking deputy during fight at TradeWinds Resort Someone came out of the restaurant to help the victim, but Banks then told that person, "They were going to both die tonight." Police say Banks struck that person in the face, and Lue pointed his gun at them. The victim, who was in fear for the other person's life, took out his own gun from his waistband and fired shots. Both Lue and Banks were hit, though Banks later died from his injuries at the hospital. Police say the shooting was in self-defense because Lue and Banks instigated the argument and, under Florida law, it means that Lue can be charged in Banks' death. CLICK HERE:>>>Follow FOX 13 on YouTube The Source Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Carla Bayron. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hernández: Clippers' James Harden showed up in Game 6. Can he do it again for Game 7 in Denver?
Clippers guard James Harden, right, celebrates with forward Nicolas Batum after his three-pointer in the fourth quarter of Game 6. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) Something unexpected happened in the Clippers' elimination game on Thursday night. James Harden actually showed up. In the Clippers' 111-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets at Intuit Dome, Harden looked nothing like the player with a reputation for stinking up arenas at this stage of the season. Advertisement He was purposeful, he was sharp, and he scored 28 points in Game 6 to extend his team's first-round playoff series to seven games. 'I know what needs to be done,' said Harden, who won his first elimination game since he played for the Houston Rockets in the NBA bubble in 2020. Read more: James Harden and Kawhi Leonard power Clippers past Nuggets to force Game 7 Game 7 will be played on Saturday at Ball Arena in Denver. The performance by Harden was a stark-contrast from his vanishing acts in the Clippers' losses in Games 4 and 5. He scored 15 points in Game 4 and just 11 in Game 5. The Nuggets had the Joker. The Clippers had the Choker. Advertisement This looked like more of the same from Harden, who scored a combined 23 points and shot just 25% last year in Games 5 and 6 defeats by the Dallas Mavericks that resulted in the Clippers' first-round exit. However, coach Tyronn Lue said he was to blame for Harden's lack of production, saying he was responsible for creating more space for Harden. 'I need to get you more involved,' Harden recalled being told by Lue on the team's flight home after a Game 5 loss in Denver. Lue's solution: To designate more minutes to a smaller lineup that included Nicolas Batum. The Clippers started the second quarter with Harden, Batum, Kawhi Leonard, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Derrick Jones Jr. Advertisement 'I wanted to get to the small lineup against their second unit,' Lue said. 'I thought we were able to push the pace, get open shots, get to the paint, kind of spread 'em out a little bit so they couldn't just load up and try to take away driving lanes. 'Going to that and seeing how good it was just to kind of space the floor was really huge for us.' Harden thrived in that second quarter, scoring 17 points. 'I thought he did a good job attacking one-on-one,' Lue said. 'Our spacing was really good tonight. He was able to get to the paint, get to the basket.' With the Nuggets mindful of Harden, openings were created for others. Norman Powell scored 11 points in the third quarter, during which they were ahead by as many as 15 points. Leonard scored nine of his 27 points in the same period. Advertisement Harden finished with a team-high eight assists. 'He's been here before,' Leonard said of Harden. 'Guys have games where they don't play well during the season. It's just another game, so I knew he was gonna be able to come back, or he was going to be aggressive and try to get to his spots.' The Clippers now have a chance. They have a chance to take down the Nuggets and advance. They have a chance to advance further than any team in franchise history. That chance, however, is contingent on Harden continuing to play like this and not reverting to his customary postseason form. Can his body hold up? Harden played 47 minutes in Game 6, marking the third time in this series he played more than 40 minutes. Advertisement He is 35 years old. 'Tired,' Harden said. 'Tired, a little bit.' Does Harden have another 47 or 48 minutes in Denver? 'Have to, have to,' Harden said. 'Whatever the team needs, 47, 48, overtime, whatever, I'll be willing to do it.' Lue didn't think fatigue would be a problem for Harden. Read more: Clippers search for answers against Nuggets in critical Game 6 'He wants to play every night,' Lue said. 'He's in great shape, trains for these moments. He wants to play.' Harden averaged more than 35 minutes over 79 regular-season games, and he thinks the workload will prepare him for a Game 7 that will be played 5,280 feet above sea level. Advertisement 'Prepares your body physically to be able to withstand and just being able to play both ends of the ball,' Harden said. 'Your legs are tired, so you've been there before. For me, it's just finding my spots.' The simple objective could produce monumental changes in reputation — not only for Harden personally but for the Clippers as well. Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
