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Tony Allen: Y'all was working in a in a real hectic environment during that time. It went viral with the Donald Sterling sh*t. Was that kind of hard to deal with? Matt Barnes: To me it didn't matter, TA, because I faced real racism in my life. In my senior year of high school like this dude was [expletive] with my sister and calling her a [n-word] this and spit on her and everything. She was a soft motherf*cker. I had to whoop this dude. And when I got suspended, this is in probably a couple months before I went to UCLA. I got suspended for a week, like midweek when I'm suspended, the KKK comes and like burns crosses and hangs mannequins in the tree like [n-word] die and swastikas everywhere. So I’ve seen like real hateful sh*t. So to hear like a owner talking about black people this and black people that, like I didn't give a [expletive] about what that old senile [expletive] had to say, but obviously the rest of the world did.
Shams Charania: ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins – 14-year NBA veteran and 2008 champion – has agreed to become the men's basketball General Manager of HBCU Jackson State, as well as a connection to its broadcast and journalism program, per Perkins: "I'm thankful for this opportunity to impact young lives and pour back into my community." Perkins worked closely with Jackson State men's basketball coach Trey Johnson and vice president and director of athletics Ashley Robinson to finalize the new role.
Dushawn London: NEWS: Villanova has landed a commitment from 7-3 Italian big man Luigi Suigo, source tells @247Sports
In the snap of a finger, I could see that Hart was flooded with memories of the past as a new one was being internalized. Hart, Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges sat shoulder to shoulder inside Cleveland’s Rocket Arena after their New York Knicks swept the Cavaliers to earn the franchise’s first trip to the NBA Finals since 1999. The three Knicks were at a podium high off the ground, fresh off their greatest feat as teammates at this level. Nearly a decade earlier, though, this trio went through something similar. As members of the Villanova men’s college basketball team, Hart, Bridges and Brunson won national championships together. Well, sort of. “I need to correct you: Mikal and I won two,” Brunson interrupted when this media member asked Hart about the former college teammates sitting together after winning the Eastern Conference in the NBA. “Josh won one. Continue.”
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Hart took Brunson’s jab on the chin, a rare occurrence for the man who has enough jokes to have an hour-long stand-up routine. Hart smiled, holding in any clap back he might have had cued up, and then acknowledged the moment with the emotion that it deserved. “It’s something that is surreal,” Hart answered. “Whenever you’re in college and in that locker room, you know the goal is the NBA. You know the percent chance of you all being on the same team is slim, if not none. It’s something you talk about and dream about, but you know the reality is almost impossible. The fact that it actually came to fruition is super cool because I know the time that these guys put in and I know where their hearts are. “We already share a bond and (are) brothers for life, and this is just another step. Obviously, this isn’t the ultimate goal, but you just keep adding memories. These are memories that we’ll have for a lifetime.”
Seeing the relationship between these two up close, I became curious to learn more about the dynamic in college. That is when I learned that Hart hasn’t always played the role of protector for Bridges. In fact, it was the contrary. He used to try to punk him. Bridges started his college career at Villanova as a redshirt. Hart was an upperclassman and hated practicing (he still does). To get the most out of Hart, Wildcat coaches would try to trigger Hart with words. His head coach, Jay Wright, would say things to Hart that “you can’t say in an interview” just to tick him off. It often worked. However, Bridges was often the person tasked with guarding Hart, who was always practicing angrily and out of spite.
The relationship started off more adversarial. “He was a bully when I first got to campus,” Bridges said. “I had nothing wrong with him. He didn’t like me at the beginning. There might have been a little fear of a 6-foot-6 lanky kid who was looking pretty solid. I think he had a little fear factor.”
Everyone around the Villanova program acknowledged how much Hart intentionally tried to terrorize Bridges back then. Yet, as time progressed, coaches started to view it as the best thing to happen to Bridges. Many believe it helped make him the player we see today, the one who can rise above adversity the same way his midrange jumper rises above defenders. “The Josh Hart you guys see now, he was that from Day 1,” Villanova assistant coach Ashley Howard told The Athletic. “He was fierce, tough, nasty and a competitor. Lo and behold, what ends up happening is that you get a Mikal Bridges who is a young freshman and was committed the whole year to improving his body, doing skill work and watching film. His game day was practice. His game day was against Josh Hart, this dude who we all knew was the toughest and nastiest on the floor. He made Mikal better.”
Some viewed it as tough love, even if Hart never made his intentions known. “Any time Josh got his shot blocked and there was a change of possession, the next time Mikal got the ball, whether it was on the break or chasing him down or within the half court, it was like big brother versus little brother,” Villanova assistant coach Mike Nardi said. “Josh tried to send a message. We all believe that helped lead to Mikal becoming who he is. They were competing every single day.”
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Dan Hurley has been a Knicks fan all his life. Favorite player: Bernard King. But this isn’t about a Jersey City guy and a love affair with the darlings of Madison Square Garden. This is about UConn basketball family, now. The Knicks may be in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, may be going for their first championship since 1973, but they’d have to beat Stephon Castle to do it. “No, I’m not torn,” Hurley said told The Courant on Tuesday morning. “I mean, I love the Knicks. They have always been my favorite NBA team. I’m obviously going with … I’m rolling with Steph, there’s no question about that.”
“One of the more appealing Finals we’ve seen,” Hurley said. “You’ve got the Knicks and the history of the Knicks, a more veteran group, versus this young and talented, ahead-of-schedule Spurs team.”
During a recent episode of All The Smoke podcast, 10-time All-Star and NBL Next Stars ambassador Carmelo Anthony and 2003 NBA champion Stephen Jackson weighed in on the issue and encouraged the older athletes to head to Australia and play in the NBL. “All you 25-year-olds that still want to go to college, I got a League for you in Australia right now, the NBL,” Anthony said. “You can go over there, you can play and you can get paid. Get out of college, there's no way a 25 or 26-year-old should be playing against an 18-year-old high school kid.”
Darryn Peterson: At first I thought it was like a normal cramp that you get as a hooper, but then it just got worse. And that's when I got to the training table is when I was saying like, we got to call 911. Q. Can you describe the pain? What was it like? Peterson: Everybody call like a cramp in their calf or something in the middle of the night, but my whole body. So, I'm laying on the training table just not able to move. Felt like I was going to die that day. Q. Did it scare you? Peterson: Yeah, for sure. Like it traumatized me. Anytime I feel anything, I uh no matter how much I told myself it wasn't going to happen, the brain works its own way.