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Tim Reynolds: Mario Chalmers - High school state champion, twice - NCAA champion - NBA champion, twice - Champions League champion - Big 3 champion Hall of Fame.
The Celtics have signed Hayden Gray to a contract with the Maine Celtics, a source told CelticsBlog. He led the NCAA in steals last season, averaging 10.1 points, 3.3 assists, and 3.1 steals per game for UC San Diego. Gray was a member of the Celtics’ Summer League team and appeared in one game this summer, a 101-80 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night. In that game, he tallied 7 points (3-4 FG), 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block in 20 minutes. He stole a pass less than a minute after checking into the game.
Michael Scotto: Just In: Former Utah Jazz executive Chuck Terrell has accepted an offer to become general manager of the Georgia Tech men’s basketball program, agent Andy Miller of Klutch Sports Group told @hoopshype. Terrell was most recently Jazz Vice President of Basketball Intelligence.
Knicks reach out to Dawn Staley about head coach position
Talia Goodman: NEWS: South Carolina athletic director Jeremiah Donati confirmed to @On3sports that the New York Knicks did reach out to Dawn Staley about the opening. “If I were them, I would have called her, too,” Donati told @On3sports.
Jon Chepkevich: Vanderbilt’s AJ Hoggard will join the New Orleans Pelicans for NBA Summer League, I’m told. The 6’3 ¾" guard averaged 8.8 PTS, 4.6 AST, 2.7 REB across five NCAA seasons. Playmaking guard with positional size who led NCAA DI in AST% in 2022 and earned back-to-back PIT nods.
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With NBA TV originating from TNT’s Atlanta studios, the league-owned channel had for all intents and purposes become a part of the TNT Sports family. Most, if not all, of its on-air regulars held other roles on TNT programming — whether the now-concluded NBA package, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, or in the case of hosts and play-by-play voices, any number of properties outside of basketball.
Gerald Bourguet: Suns GM Brian Gregory said he talked with Duke coach Jon Scheyer yesterday to get intel on Khaman Maluach: "Everything was off the chart: his work ethic, his ability to be coached, his desire to become the very best fits in exactly what we're looking to build here in Phoenix."
During his time as the head coach of USC men's basketball, Eric Musselman has loved bringing in NBA players and coaches to Galen Center for workouts. On Tuesday, Musselman welcomed a contingent from the Sacramento Kings: DeMar DeRozan, Zach Levine, Mason Jones and head coach Doug Christie.
Whether it’s Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, his teammates, a visiting player, a player-turned-media member like Kendrick Perkins or a coach, they all typically pay homage to security guard Marvin Mack, aka Coach Mack, every time they walk by the visiting locker room at Paycom Center. Whether it’s Thunder, New Orleans Hornets, NCAA tournament or BIG3 basketball games, Mack has had a presence outside the visiting locker room at Paycom Center since 2003. At 75 years old, the Guthrie, Oklahoma, native still takes pride and enjoyment in every basketball game he works and the relationships built along the way. Players and coaches who pass through Oklahoma City love him back.
Mack was first hired as security at Paycom Center, then called the Ford Center, to work the 2003 NCAA men’s basketball tournament first- and second-round games. The connection for the job came through a friend who was familiar with his resume as a girls’ high school basketball coach and former college basketball player. Initially, he was given a choice between working security on the basketball floor sitting with his back away from the action, or outside the visiting locker room. The first name tag he was given said “Marvin” – to his disappointment. He asked that it be changed to “Coach Mack” to pay tribute to his coaching and playing background. “It had Marvin on it. I said, ‘What the heck is this? That is me, but it’s not me,’ ” Mack said. “They said, ‘What do you want to do?’ I said, ‘Put Coach Mack on there, thank you very much.’ And we’ve been riding with Coach Mack for many, many moons. And we will continue to ride with Coach Mack.”
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Jon Chepkevich: David Torresani has withdrawn from the 2025 NBA Draft, his agent Matteo Comellini tells me. The speedy, bouncy (38+” vert) Italian guard will now survey NCAA options for next season. Slated to represent Italy at the FIBA U20 EuroBasket for the second straight summer.
Potential second-round pick Mouhamed Faye will take his name out of this year’s draft, agent Matteo Comellini tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). Faye, 20, will consider options in both the EuroLeauge and the NCAA for next season, according to Givony. The 6’10” Senegalese center played this year with Reggie Emilio in Italy, where he averaged 10.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. He ranks 54th on ESPN’s big board.
Australian guard Ben Henshall is also exiting the draft, agent Sam Rose tells Givony (Twitter link). Henshall, 20, also plans to consider NCAA and professional opportunities for next season. He spent this year with the Perth Wildcats in the NBL, averaging 9.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists. Henshall ranks 64th on ESPN’s list of the best prospects.
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