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Mike Vorkunov: Gregory is a former head coach at Georgia Tech, Dayton, and USF. He was also an assistant coach at Michigan State when Mat Ishbia was a walk-on player there. He was named VP of player programming last June and has had a prominent voice in the Suns front office even before this.
Jason Beede: Before taking questions pre-game, #Magic coach Jamahl Mosley sent his condolences to the family of Amir Abdur-Rahim and USF: “My heart pours out for him and his family and his loved ones as well as the University of South Florida who lost an unbelievable man and coach.” pic.x.com/QMiAli1qlJ
Before taking questions pre-game, #Magic coach Jamahl Mosley sent his condolences to the family of Amir Abdur-Rahim and USF:
— Jason Beede (@therealBeede) October 25, 2024
“My heart pours out for him and his family and his loved ones as well as the University of South Florida who lost an unbelievable man and coach.” pic.twitter.com/QMiAli1qlJ
Amir Abdur-Rahim, the head men’s basketball coach at USF, died, the school announced Thursday. He was 43. He “was undergoing a medical procedure at a Tampa-area hospital when he passed away due to complications that arose during the procedure,” according to a release from the school. Abdur-Rahim, who played collegiately, was the younger brother of Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who went on to NBA stardom after playing in college. They had another brother, Muhammad Abdur-Rahim, who also played in college.
Two national titles at USF. Eleven NBA championships with the Boston Celtics. Five-time Most Valuable Player. First Black head coach in the NBA. Humanitarian. Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient. And to start it all right there in West Oakland: McClymonds High School class of 1952. McClymonds honored Bill Russell in a brief ceremony before Friday night’s season-opening football game against Bellarmine. Russell, one of the most prolific winners in sports history, died July 31 at age 88.
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In Tampa, the Lightning, MLB’s Rays, and the NFL’s Buccaneers all have different owners. Hillsborough County owns Amalie Arena and Raymond James Stadium. The City of St. Petersburg owns Tropicana Field. The University of South Florida owns its arena, the Yuengling Center. Despite that, the various entities work together as often as possible, especially when it comes to major events and business opportunities. “Team Tampa,” as the parties refer to their collective under the Tampa Sports Commission banner, believes the success of each team or event like a Super Bowl or WrestleMania, only help the city flourish as a growing sports tourism destination. “The thing from the start was we just wanted to communicate that Tampa Bay is a community that would absolutely welcome the Raptors in a very big way, and we’re ready to roll out the red carpet,” said Jason Aughey, senior vice president of sports tourism for the Tampa Bay Sports Commission. “We wanted to act as a personal concierge of sorts.”
Based on multiple sources it seems like an arrangement where the Raptors play their games in Tampa at Amalie Arena (home of the Tampa Bay Lightning) and train in the community nearby – the University of South Florida has hosted NBA teams for training camps in the past, as an example – is the leading option if the Raptors can’t get the necessary exemptions from quarantine requirements to travel freely across the border. But even late last week Fort Lauderdale and Nashville were mentioned as options to agents asking about where their clients might be headed.
With a world enveloped in protests over social injustice combined with a COVID-19 pandemic, Warriors star Stephen Curry delivered a message of hope to young people Friday. “This is a great time to be alive,” Curry said near the end of a virtual discussion entitled “The Dream Marches On” hosted by USF. “I’m excited to see what this next generation does as they venture out on their own. The people I got to walk with at a protest, young men and women of all ages, people are meeting the moment.”
The Warriors star and his wife Ayesha agreed to match up to $50,000 in donations made through June 30 to the USF institute through their own “Eat, Learn, Play” foundation. “This has been the culimination of 400 years of injustices in a system that is not working for all people in this country,” Curry said. “It took a perfect storm of two pandemics at one time to grab everybody’s attention. We’re obviously dealing with COVID and its threat to our society, and that has opened up a conversation and an awareness level for all people. I hope the conversaton continues, and that this isn’t just a moment, but a movement and we find changeable actions where everyone can play their role and play their part.”
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Alex Kennedy: As I previously reported, former USF star Victor Rudd will play for the Miami Heat's Summer League team.
Seizing the NCAA's new draft-entry rule, USF freshman PG Jahmal McMurray will exercise his option to explore his NBA draft status, the school announced Monday morning.
After his day shift at Alcatraz, Hernan attended night school at USF and saw many of the Dons’ wins. “The whole world knew that Bill Russell was not an ordinary basketball player,” Hernan said. “If ever there was a team leader, he was it. K.C. Jones was right behind him.” That season, the Dons became the first team in NCAA history to go undefeated, finishing 29-0, and Russell posted 26 points and 27 rebounds in the final against Iowa, an 83-71 win, giving the Dons back-to-back titles. The Chronicle called them “the finest undergraduate team since Naismith first hung the peach basket.” Utah coach Jack Gardner called them “the greatest team ever assembled.” And the convicts of Alcatraz wanted to meet them.
Sam Dalembert said convinced sister Melissa, who played at USF, not to play for Miami Spice of Bikini Basketball: Dalembert had told FOX Sports Florida last April he didn’t want his sister playing in the first-year Bikini Basketball Association because he believed the league is “nonsense’’ and “just for the show.’’ “I told her that kind of stuff is not a real legitimate league,’’ said Dalembert, whose sister had played last season in Germany before returning to America. “She listened to me. I’m glad she’s not doing it.’’
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