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Good morning! Sister Jean from Loyola Chicago turned 106 yesterday. 106! She’s seen the Ramblers celebrate a national title once in her life — and she was in her 40s then. We should all be so lucky.

Let's get to Thursday’s news.

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1. Did you catch these college players in FIBA tourneys?

Summer isn’t just for summer practices and overseas exhibitions. Plenty of college players earn exposure by playing with their national teams.

In the FIBA Asia Cup, Australia defeated China in a tense game for gold. Marquette center Ben Gold averaged 4.7 ppg and 4.7 rpg during the tournament, though he wasn’t much of a factor in the gold medal game.

He wasn’t the only college hoops player in the event. Fordham transfer forward Akira Jacobs produced 7.5 ppg and 3.0 rpg for Japan, while the Hinton brothers, Robert of Harvard and Adam of Cornell, were each double-digit scorers for Chinese Taipei, which reached the quarterfinals. Robert also played a starring role in the Jones Cup.

However, the biggest Asia Cup standout was Junjie Wang, a 6-9 junior forward who started 24 games at San Francisco last season. He averaged 6.2 ppg and 3.3 rpg for the Dons — but was far more productive this summer. He led China with 13 ppg and 4.2 rpg, shooting 48% from deep. That included 21 points to beat Korea in the quarterfinals and nine points vs Australia in the title game, often with this fadeaway jumper.

Sophomore guard Tyrone Riley IV might not be the only San Francisco breakout player.

The summer’s not over, either.

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 starts on Wednesday, with three current college players on the respective country rosters. Two of them are freshmen newcomers in Israel’s Ethan Burg (Tennessee) and Spain’s Mario Saint-Supery (Gonzaga). However, his status is in doubt after suffering an ankle injury in a recent exhibition game.

The other player to keep watch is Miro Little, a former top-50 prospect who is now at Santa-Barbara. He’ll play for Finland.

2. Potential rivalries that can emerge in non-con play

Cincinnati and Louisville announced a renewal of their longtime regional rivalry, which is a delightful treat for that area (the schools are just 100 miles apart) and for alumni.

The Bearcats and Cardinals have history playing each other in the Metro, Conference USA and the Big East. Resuming this matchup should be applauded.

What other potential college hoops rivalries could use an annual matchup?

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