Back for des(s)ert

Pelle Larsson returns for Arizona and the College Basketball Hall of Fame announces its 2023 class. Plus, FAU's secret sauce and more

Author

Mike Miller
May 17, 2023

Congrats to the San Antonio Spurs who won the Mega Millions NBA Draft lottery on Tuesday night, confirming their status as the luckiest franchise ever. This marks the third time they’ll have the No. 1 overall pick; David Robinson and Tim Duncan were the previous picks.

I’m sure Victor Wembanyana will love playing for Pop. How does the Wembanyana project as a pro? Watch this.

Also, don’t miss our live show today at 11 am ET, analyzing the lottery news and portal activity. Watch it here.

Onto the rest of Tuesday’s news.

1. Arizona needs the Swede

Pelle Larsson didn’t have the breakout 2022-23 season some predicted.

The good news for coach Tommy Lloyd and Arizona is he has another shot.

It’s not that the 6-5 junior from Sweden struggled last season.

Larsson averaged 9.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists, started the first 18 games of the year, then came off the bench for the final 17. He was the Pac-12’s Sixth Man of the Year as a sophomore and probably would’ve won it again last year if he didn’t log so many starts.

Given his skillset — he withdrew from the 2023 NBA Draft and was invited to the NBA’s G-League combine — he’ll be counted on to raise his overall production next season as the Wildcats adjust to life without Azuolas Tubelis. Oumar Ballo is back, meaning Larsson likely won’t be the leading scorer.

But it wouldn’t be a surprise if he did.

Transfer portal activity from Tuesday:

2. It’s a loaded HOF class for 2023

The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame announced five names selected for its 2023 class. You might recognize a few of them …

  • Johnny Dawkins

  • Tyler Hansbrough

  • Herb Magee

  • Tom Konchalski

  • Mike Krzyzewski

Yes, that’s Coach K on the list. Yes, he was among the Hall’s founding class in 2006 but was never officially honored. So they added a left heft to an already impressive group.

You can read the full release here, including bio info for each person. But gonna give a special shout to Hansbrough, a Tar Heel legend and current Field of 68 analyst.

“You know, I don't think making this is ever on any player’s mind,” he said Tuesday. “When you're playing, you just play the game and the way I approached it, I just played hard. But it is a big honor because you look at who's in there, and to be recognized just in the same category as a lot of the people in the Hall of Fame is very special to me, and also my family and my community and teammates.

“And I was very lucky because I got to play for coach [Roy] Williams. Coming to UNC was probably the smartest decision I've ever made in my life.”

Now Hansbrough will be in the Hall along with Williams (another 2006 inductee), though he says it goes beyond just college.

“You know, I'm from a small town, Poplar Bluff, Missouri. This is a big deal, not only for me but also for my high school coaches and my community,” he said. “I hope the people who have been involved in my life and helped me reach my goals and dreams, especially at the college level, can feel somewhat honored as well because they're a big part of my success.”

The entire class will be recognized on Aug. 30 in Chicago.

3. How FAU’s magical run extended into the portal

Florida Atlantic’s remarkable season didn’t end with a trip to the Final Four. The Owls have continued to defy the odds in the transfer portal, too.

Dusty May’s team is one of five D-I programs that haven’t had a player enter the portal (Drexel, Duke, Jackson State and Northern Iowa are the others). And with guys like Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin on the roster, they certainly have players who could suit up just about anywhere in the country. May even talked about it during the Final Four.

So what’s the secret sauce?

NIL has certainly helped. But it’s more than that. From CJ Moore at The Athletic:

The FAU players were aware some of them could probably get more money elsewhere. But …

“That’s not guaranteed,” Martin said. “Coach May is a man of his word. If he tells you he’s gonna get us paid, then that’s what he’s gonna do. He’s gonna speak to it. That number is gonna be that number. It’s not gonna be like, you go to a high-major and they say you’re gonna get 500k and you end up only getting 300. That stuff is not guaranteed at the high-major level, because I’ve heard so many situations where schools still owe these players, and I ain’t trying to be one of those players that didn’t get all my money.”

Martin pauses.

“And it’s not about the money,” he says. “It’s about the hoops.”

Says Davis: “It’s not about the money; it’s about relationships.”

“Relationships were always gonna matter,” May said. “We’ve had players leave in the past, and we still have great relationships with them. And it’s part of it. Also it’s not as if we haven’t benefited from the portal. We have three players on our roster from the portal, and they’ve all been great players, great people, ambassadors of our university and athletic departments.

“It is what it is. You hope you’re providing the best situation for them personally, but you never know. But if they do decide to want something different, sometimes young people just want something different. They’re not even unhappy. They just want different, and we’re not going to be mad at them for that. Our job is to move on and find somebody else that can help us win and have a great experience and contribute to our culture.”

That kind of relationship is something Hansbrough emphasized when I talked to him about his HOF honor. Without a strong relationship between him and the coaching staff, he says he wouldn’t have thrived in college hoops.

“I can’t stress how big of a deal playing for a great coach is,” Hansbrough said. “They’re not only important to the team, but also help you build character in your life, and help you do the stuff that pays off on and off the court. It's a big deal.”

That May didn’t bolt for a high-profile job also helps his relationship with the players. And the NIL aspect isn’t a small thing.

But more than anything else, this is a group that — as long as Davis and Martin both withdraw from the NBA Draft — just feels ready to take another shot at a Final Four run.

And those are the things you can’t put a price tag on.

So. About that one hire …

Our five-man show a couple of weeks ago featuring Jeff Goodman, Rob Dauster, Jeff Borzello, Matt Norlander and Gary Parrish usually featured arguments and good-natured ribbing about opinions. But there was one area where all five guys agreed on a single topic: The worst coaching hire of the past decade.

Links as you keep hunting for cheap summer trips.

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