Grant Hill was complimentary of Brunson’s “magical” season with the Knicks but left him off the Paris Olympics roster while taking Tyrese Haliburton, Jrue Holiday and Devin Booker.



As I see it....

Total BS. This year Brunson was one of the two best players in the eastern conference along with Tatum of the Celtics. He should have been in the running for league MVP. Maybe not the winner but certainly in the conversation.

Unless and until a few congressmen, whose Alma maters are getting gutted by the NIL, do something this is only going to get worse. With Repole making his comments it won’t take long for some programs flush with cash to start forming the college version of dream teams. There will be a handful of Dodger teams, some Indians and the rest will be the Royals

Box


Queens, N.Y. – Katey Brennan (Yardley, Pa.) and Caroline Hobbes (Bay Shore, N.Y.) each launched home runs while Kelsey Carr (Ridgewood, N.Y.) tossed another gem in the circle as the Pirates picked up a series-opening win at St. John's, 4-1, on Friday afternoon at Red Storm Field.

How it Happened
After stranding three runners through their first two turns at the plate, the Pirates would break through in the third. Carr drew a one out walk, followed by Olivia Gilbert (Johnston, R.I.) reaching on an error to put runners at first and second. Brennan stepped in and drove a 1-0 pitch over the wall in right field for a three-run home run.

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In the bottom half, St. John's answered back with a homer of its own. Leadoff batter London Jarrard laced a solo home run to right to make it a 3-1 game.

After failing to score when having two on with one out in the sixth, the Pirates looked to bounce back with some seventh inning insurance. That would come in the form of Hobbes, who led off the inning with a solo home run over the fence in left field to make it a 4-1 game.

The Red Storm would not go away quietly in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs, pinch hitter Anese Thompson singled on a grounder between shortstop and third base. After an intentional walk to Jarrard loaded the bases, Carr recorded a strikeout to seal the victory.

News & Notes

• Hobbes' home run was the first of her career.
• Brennan's three-run shot was her first home run since March 19 at Rider.
• Carr picked up the win in the circle, tossing all seven innings and allowing just one run while striking out four.
• Over her last four starts, Carr has allowed just three runs and just 14 base hits over 28 innings.

What's Next
The Pirates and Red Storm will do battle again on Saturday afternoon with first pitch set for 1 p.m.

Jordan Derkack is scheduled to visit SHU. Anyone else?

Side note on Derkack- 6’6” G who won DPOY at Merrimack. SHU, Rutgers, Penn St, USC are frontrunners… so clearly he’s well-regarded. His tape looks pretty bad though - anyone familiar with him? Thoughts?

SHU basketball team pays the Prudential Center for having their home games at the arena. Why doesn't the Prudential Center help SHU by contributing to their NIL ??? Someone stated the Prudential Center helps RU with their NIL, what does RU do for the Prudential Center???

Live scoring


Wenliang Xie (Burbank, Calif.) got off to a fast start again and was 4-under-par through his first seven holes. The graduate student finished with a team-best 2-under-par, 70, on Saturday, and is currently tied for third among all individual golfers. He trails Marquette's Josh Robinson by two strokes entering Sunday's second round.

As a team, the Pirates led the field for most of the first round, but faded late. The Hall was a collective 3-under-par at the turn, but struggled a bit as a passing shower dampened play across the field. For the round, The Hall shot a solid 4-over-par, 292, and trail the Golden Eagles by only one stroke. Butler is in third place, three strokes behind Seton Hall.

Another Pirate in the top-5 after 18 holes is Jack Bosworth (Simsbury, Conn.). The sophomore used six birdies to fuel a 1-under-par, 71, in round one and is currently tied for fifth overall.

Senior Wanxi Sun (Danville, Calif.) had the individual highlight of the first round for the Pirates, an eagle on the par-4, eighth hole. He's currently tied for eighth overall with an even-par, 72.

The Pirates couldn't find that fourth low score to keep them in the lead at the close of the first round. Junior George Fricker (Woodbridge, England) started strong with birdies in his first two holes, and was even-par at the turn. However, he bogeyed six holes on the back nine and finished with a 7-over-par, 79.

Sophomore David Lally (Wicklow, Ireland) had similar struggles on the back nine, after shooting only 1-over-par on the front. He bogeyed five of the last six holes of the day to also finish with a 7-over-par, 79.

Tournament Details:
2024 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
Host: BIG EAST Conference
Location: Hardeeville, S.C.
Resort: Riverton Pointe Country Club
Course Vitals: Par-72, 7,158 yards
Dates: April 27-29, 2024

THE COURSE
Riverton Pointe is without question the ultimate expression of the Nicklaus Design guarantee of uncompromising standards in superior golf course design. With large, subtle greens and fairways lined with tall sea pines and splashes of colorful wildflowers, the course is designed to harmonize perfectly with the lush Lowcountry landscape. The unique aesthetics of the course create a distinct visual experience that simply can't be replicated, and are destined to leave a lasting impression on those fortunate enough to enjoy Riverton Pointe.

From a playability standpoint, the golf course is designed to appeal to a broad range of players. The course offers five sets of tees – stretching all the way out to over 7300 yards for low-handicappers – while also placing an emphasis on forgiveness and overall playability for high-handicappers and beginners.

THE FIELD
The field will be limited to only the 10 member schools of the BIG EAST Conference. Below are the teams in order of their national ranking.

1. Marquette – 111
2. Connecticut - 148
3. Creighton – 152
4. SETON HALL – 166
5. Butler – 176
6. Xavier – 187
7. Georgetown – 209
8. St. John's – 233
9. DePaul – 235
10. Villanova – 246

THE FORMAT
Teams will play five golfers and count the four lowest scores per round.

THE STAKES
The BIG EAST will crown a team champion, which earns an automatic berth to the 2024 NCAA Championship. The individual champion also receives an NCAA Championship invitation.

TEE TIMES
The field will play one round (18 holes) over each day for three days. Competition on Friday and Saturday will begin at 8:00 a.m. On Championship Sunday, the action will begin at 8:30 a.m. Seton Hall will be paired with golfers from Marquette and Butler in round two and will tee off the first hole starting at 10:25 a.m.

THE RESULTS
Live scoring will be available at GolfStat.com. Full day results will also be available at SHUPirates.com.

I attended the Penn Relays yesterday for the first time. It is quite a spectacle. I am not a dyed in the wool track guy but had always enjyed watching the SHU track team in action. *sigh* I went with a UPenn track & field alum who kept me updated on all the nuances of running the various races and the lanes and what nots. It's hard to keep track of the hundreds high school and college teams participating and all the heats, etc. But I nonetheless ate it all up . Just the very complications involved in scheduling and keeping on schedule all of the events that take place through the three day event ( I only attended Friday). The choreography of it all is a thing to behold. A tip of the hat to the organizers. Christian Brothers HS team won the Distance Medley in a school record time and beat a Westfield team that also broke a school record best time. The race that really got my attention was the Union Catholic Girls in their 4 x 800 Championship of America race. They broke the National High School Record by 2 seconds easily beating the runner up from Jamaica by almost 9 seconds. I had fun and I would recommend it to anyone with an appreciation for the sport.

From an article in the Star-Ledger rag from Rutgers transfer Derkack:

“It’s obvious that it’s home. When you’re from New Jersey, you grow up with Rutgers basketball,” Derkack said.

After all things shake out over the next 3-4 weeks, my starting lineup is as follows.

PG Posh Alexander

SG D.J. Wagner

SF Isiah Coleman

SF Elijah Fisher

C/PF Ezra Asur

Thoughts?

As bleak as things look right now, the reality is that most programs are looking at an enormous year to year turnover. Looks like Manon is headed to Vanderbilt. SEC has deep pockets. He would have been a good get. Sha's type of kid. 6'5 guard with wingspan who could play and defend one through four if necessary. He could be a little out of control offensively at times, but competitive as hell and a dog on defense. Sorry to see Dre go but original ask for he and Kadary had to be close to 750k. Lot of big dollar figures are thrown around, but guy I coached with is now an NBA/NFL agent whose firm is into NIL negotiating, and they say it's sometimes hard to actually secure the financing promised. So not always as easy as it seems.

Dre was the heart and soul, a lunch pail guy who you could count on every game. I'm sure Ole Miss gave him a bag. SEC money again. When Richmond wanted to play, there were few better in the Big East, and he carried this team at times. He was lights out in the NIT. But let's be real, he was mercurial and there were a lot of games that he just didn't seem like he wanted to be out there. So there were peaks and valleys. He would have to really grow up a lot to take on the mantle of leadership required if he was coming back. I heard Memphis tossed around as a potential destination, but someone else mentioned Miami which made sense. I'm sympathetic to these guys having to make that money now, because they will get paid more in college than they ever would professionally.

Have to go transfer portal hard now, particularly for mid major stars. And maybe supplement with a juco or prep kid, and maybe a few ready to play freshmen. The key to all this is Sha. His ability to take a bunch of new pieces and disparate parts, and turn it into a cohesive winner is proven. His system is rooted in toughness and defense, and there is a culture that he is consistent with. In this era, that's almost as important as the players sometimes. Will be very interesting to see how we navigate this off season.

I'm sure this aspect of onward Setonia NIL gonna take a hit. I bought 4 jersey for nephews this December. All players gonna be playing somewhere else next year. Same with a few if those tshirts you could buy. Later Kooks Corner

Login to view embedded media You guys were in the mix for him right?

Portal season is insane. Kids are rumored to be a target one day and then the next day they've signed with someone else.

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Seton Hall women's basketball head coach Anthony Bozzella announced today that Baylor Franz (Edmond, Okla.) has officially signed a national letter of intent to attend the University and play for the program beginning this fall.

Franz is a true freshman and will have four years of NCAA eligibility beginning this fall.

"It's been a long journey, recruiting Baylor, but one that will definitely be worth it," Bozzella said. "With Baylor, we're getting a kid with great energy, understanding of the game and all-out desire to win."

A captain for Edmond Memorial High School, Franz was named 2022 Offensive Player of the Year and Oklahoma Big All-City First Team. A 5-foot-6 guard, she set school records for career assists and steals. A two-time First Team All-Conference selection, Franz was twice named Most Valuable Player of the Enid Classic and the Carl Albert Tournament.

Franz collected over 1,300 career points, 600 rebounds, 200 assists and 200 steals at Edmond. Proving her all-around student-athlete prowess, she was named valedictorian with a perfect 4.0 grade point average upon high school graduation.

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt3972500/

For those that are too young to remember the Raymond Lewis story, good investment of 85 minutes to get a perspective of the cesspool college basketball has been. The cesspool has just gotten bigger from a people and numbers standpoint. Over 50 years later, handlers, dirty coaches, immature kids that have talent and universities that were all too happy to look the other way.

The more things change…

There is still time for Sha to get this roster together.

Would be foolish at this point to expect us to land any big names with our small NIL che$t and honestly that is fine with me. Give us some transfers from small schools looking to move up and grab playing time.

Give me some dudes who want to play Shaheen Holloway style basketball and don’t have inflated egos or illusions of big pay days and NBA aspirations.

Come to Seton Hall and get a quality education without the distractions that come with playing for a big time school and focus on winning basketball games. At this point I’m happy with that.

Now bring on the negative responses

The original In-laws.

Isnt that right Sheldon...

Here's the 10 questions of your's I chose and Mike responses. Also understand in his position Mike had to involve his superiors who no doubt read his answers and gave their approval.


1. Can you explain how NIL works from the time money is donated to it reaching its destination?

There is not an industry wide standard on the timeline of NIL distribution; each operation has its own process. It also matters where the NIL opportunity is being generated to determine the timeline. For example, our athletes have many NIL opportunities, both inbound and outbound, that require very specific actions within a set timeline for payment. Some NIL opportunities are event driven and the action and payment are tied together. While some opportunities are over the course of a longer period.

The daughter of Pat Sumerall

Does he finally make it to the Hall after all these years???