A Shining Light Fades Too Soon

Tipoff

At the elite levels, basketball is a small world. Coaches get second and third chances with new teams (or the same school, if you are Dave Leito). Grizzled veterans in the NBA get picked up late in the season for the playoff push. Even in high school, the elite players all know each other from playing together in travel clubs and events beginning in middle school. The shocking death of former Kentucky freshman Terrence Clarke, a day after signing a contract with Klutch Sports as he prepared for the NBA Draft, shook the small world of basketball world to its core.

Clarke was a Boston-area standout and had been around the Celtics for years before shipping off to Lexington for college. In the postgame press conference last Thursday, Celtics Head Coach Brad Stevens brought up the then-rumor of Terrence Clarke’s passing and admitted that it was all he could think about at that moment. This is during the stretch run towards the playoffs for his team. The news was difficult for the basketball community, at all levels.

Jeff Goodman spoke with Boston sports journalist/legend Bob Ryan about Clarke on Tuesday. I encourage all of you to listen to their words about Terrence that begins the segment and his impact on the people around him. The basketball world is hurting right now. The shock of losing someone so young and full of promise to a common mistake - running a red light at high speed - will last for a long time.

The Mixtape

The Field of 68 team puts out lots of great content each week. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights.

• Jeff Goodman checks in with the new head coach of the Arizona Wildcats, Tommy Lloyd. Robbie Hummel is off training for the 3 vs. 3 USA Basketball team that will compete in the Olympics, so all we have are these two guys. Coach Lloyd starts with a bang, noting that Arizona was the only job he would consider in order to leave his assistant coach position at Gonzaga. What was it about the top job in Tucson? Check out the full interview:

• The last couple of weeks have included a ton of news, but one of the biggest news stories happened when Chet Holmgren, the tall and thin post player with guard-like skills out of Minnesota, chose Gonzaga. Dan Dickau on the Bulldog Broadcast welcomed ESPN recruiting analyst Paul Biancardi to discuss what makes Chet so special and how this will change things for Gonzaga.

• Speaking of recruits, Duke is bringing in one of the other top freshmen next year. What else is new? Seattle native Paolo Banchero, a 6’10” forward with surprising skills for a player his size, will be joining The Brotherhood next year for his year in college. Banchero joined former Duke player Andre Dawkins and the Dre on Duke podcast to talk about his recruitment, what led him to choose Duke, and what he hopes to accomplish in college and beyond.

• We’ve covered coaches, recruits, and so we have to talk about transfers. Those are the big three, right? For transfers, let’s check in with Eric Devendorf of the Scorer’s Table podcast, who talked with new Orange man Symir Torrence. The former Marquette guard talked about his time in Milwaukee and what led him to join the Boeheim brothers. Torrence explained why he wanted to come back to Syracuse, New York and how he decided at the last minute.

Four Point Play

Each newsletter throughout the summer, we’ll check in with one of our podcast hosts and see what they’re up to in addition to producing compelling content for us at The Field of 68.

This week, we check in with Maryland Hall of Famer Christy Winters-Scott, host of the Christy’s Court podcast (available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts).

1. What a tournament! The NCAA women’s basketball tournament this year was epic. There was the controversial ending to the UConn-Baylor Elite 8 matchup, the amazing run of Aari McDonald and Arizona, and then Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer winning her second NCAA Title, the first in 29 years. What’s one moment from this year’s tournament that is going to leave a lasting impression on you?

• The run that Arizona made will stand out to me. The way the Baylor-UConn game ended was disappointing, but the game was back-and-forth all game. The last foul that wasn’t called was... let’s just say it was not called. The run that Arizona, Adia Barnes and Aari McDonald made was something. I am friends with Coach Barnes from her WNBA days. I had both Coach Barnes and Aari McDonald on the podcast before the Tournament. We ended up having three of the four Final Four coaches on the podcast, including Tara VanDerveer and Dawn Staley. But Arizona’s run, including Coach Barnes nursing her daughter at halftime of the National Title game; if that doesn’t scream Super Woman to me, I don’t know what does. That run will always stand out as a highlight to me.

2. You are unique for the Field of 68 in that you also cover the professional game, including the WNBA. The latest edition of Christy’s Court featured Washington Mystics head coach and general manager Mike Thibault. The season is about to tip off. Between Candace Parker returning to Chicago, Sue Bird entering her 18th season in the WNBA as defending champion with the Seattle Storm, and all the rest, what are you looking forward to seeing this season?

• First of all, I am looking forward to being in the stadium again. In the bubble last year, we were calling games from home. For booking people for Christy’s Court, getting people from the WNBA is paramount to me right now. When we asked to book coaches and players, I was told “absolutely.” My mind started clicking with ideas. Mike Thibault is the winningest coach in league history and won the championship in 2019. With opt outs and everything, nobody thought they would do anything last year. But they made it to the playoffs in spite of everything. On a personal level, he is a great person and gives lots of advice to me. On the court, he is a basketball savant. I appreciate everything he has done, coaching with the Bulls, in the CBA, and coaching with Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. Whenever he has advice to share, I want to tap into it. Except for the bubble last year, I am there in training camp every season. As a father, too, Mike is an incredible person. His son is not just another coach. He’s there breaking down the film with Ellena Della Donne. I want to put these people in front of people with the podcast. Mike Thibault, when he was on the podcast, we got into his journey and not just the tactical side. We find out what makes people tick and the journey people have been on. Hopefully, this inspires people. It certainly inspires me to hear the personal stories of these coaches and players.

3. Women in basketball have been making their voices heard, and not just recently. In the WNBA, Elizabeth Williams and members of the Atlanta Dream literally changed the makeup of the United States Senate. In the college game, Sedona Prince of Oregon’s viral video of the “weight room” for the bubble in San Antonio helped shed a light on the disparities between the men’s and women’s tournaments. This generation of women in basketball has been out front. What do you think makes them so confident and willing to take a stance?

• They are just tired of it. Coming from my generation, where I graduated college in 1990. That was 12-15 years after Title IX. I had no idea about that. My coach at Maryland told us and taught us the history of the game. We knew there were discrepancies with the men’s game, they were getting sneakers and other stuff. I’m not complaining. There was just not a way for us to share our experience through social media. I love what Sedona Prince did with calling attention to the “Barbie Stack” of a weight room and food options available in the 64-team bubble. This generation of women, they are so empowered and confident. In my generation, we just wanted to play. We saw the unequal treatment with what the men got. But the current generation has seen so many empowered women, including Serena Williams and the US Women’s Soccer Team. This has allowed the current generation to make bold statements. This has started an avalanche of bringing about change for women, for humanity, for society. I have teenage children, and I love that for them. They all see things in a different way than I did when I was their age. Even on small things, they make sure you never settle. When I was their age, we settled even if we didn’t call it that at the time. If we had made more fire, the current players would not have to make so much noise to create an equal playing field for race, for gender. I love that their voices are being used for good. I think the WNBA is making the space for college players to make a change as well.

And one!

4. While you are a native of Virginia, you’ve been affiliated with Maryland since your college days and are a member of the Maryland Hall of Fame. I’d like to play a game with you, F@!k, Marry, Kill, Maryland edition. In this game, you have to choose one item to sleep with, on to marry, and one that has to go. Your three choices are The Maryland state flag, crab cakes, and Old Bay seasoning. What do you choose?

• I am a sucker for Old Bay seasoning. I am sleeping with Old Bay seasoning. I love the flag, too. There’s no tie, is there? Crab cakes, I do love. I’m going to marry the flag and get rid of the crab cakes. I have to have the Old Bay on everything, on popcorn.

Keep an ear out for Christy’s Court. On an upcoming episode, we’ll feature Charli Collier, the former Texas Longhorn and #1 pick in the WNBA draft. The podcast will also feature other coaches in the WNBA as well as players like Sue Bird and Candace Parker. If that isn’t a Hall of Fame lineup, I don’t know what is.

Enter the Portal

Players are on the move during college basketball’s offseason. We’ll highlight a few of the big moves of the past week and name winners and losers.

Winner: Texas

• New Texas head coach Chris Beard has begun his tenure in Austin with a bang. He began by hauling in former Kentucky point guard Devin Askiw and then secured the services of former Utah forward Timmy Allen, Creighton’s Christian Bishop, and then capped it off with Vanderbilt’s Dylan Disu. Allen, Bishop, and Disu offer a great deal of athleticism and scoring to compliment what remains of the roster after Shaka Smart left for Marquette. The cupboard is not bare, though, as experienced guards Andrew Jones and Courtney Ramey have announced their intentions of returning for the Longhorns. With the one-time transfer rule in effect, new head coaches like Beard can hit the ground running.

Loser: Vanderbilt

• You win some, you lose some. Vanderbilt fans were elated to learn that former Minnesota center Liam Robbins, the leading shot blocker in the B1G last season, would be playing for the Commodores and head coach Jerry Stackhouse next season. The good vibes continued when a pair of highly touted high school juniors, guard Noah Shelby and center Lee Dort, committed to Vandy. But then, things turned sour after highly-touted freshman Issac McBride and sophomore standout Dylan Disu announced their plans to transfer to Oral Roberts and Texas, respectively. Disu was the leading rebounder and second leading scorer behind Scottie Pippen, Jr. The combined effect for 2021-22 is sort of like treading water. For a squad that finished 14th in the SEC this past season, treading water is not enough.

Winner: Auburn

• Meanwhile, Bruce Pearl and Auburn invited in a new group of transfers. Former Eastern Kentucky point guard Wendell Green and former College of Charleston guard Zep Jasper will pick up the slack for Sharife Cooper, who is off to the NBA. Green is a diminutive but dynamic guard, much like Jared Harper and others that have succeeded under Pearl. Jasper was an all-conference player and all-defensive team member in the College of Charleston. Pearl wasn’t done, though, as former Arkansas guard Desi Sills decided to move east to play for the Tigers. The biggest splash came when former McDonald’s All-American center Walker Kessler left North Carolina. He’ll join incoming freshman forward Jabari Smith to form a potent offense to pair with all those experienced guards. Look for a bounce-back season from Auburn‘s 10th place finish in the SEC.

Loser: Incoming Freshmen

• Coming out of the transfer portal is not all smiles. All those mid-major guards transferring to Auburn was unwelcome news for incoming freshman Trey Alexander. The top recruit had second thoughts about his decision to sign a letter of commitment to Auburn and asked for a release. The situation for many incoming freshmen is going to be rough this year. Due to COVID, many programs will have more super seniors that were granted an additional year of eligibility by the NCAA. That is going to squeeze their playing time considerably. Alexander may be the first of several incoming freshmen that rethink their place on the roster for the 2021-22 season.

Winner: UCLA

• We like to end things on a positive note here at The Field of 68, so here is one final winner. The Bruins had nobody leave via the transfer portal but have added former Rutgers big man Myles Johnson, a shot blocking interior presence that can bolster the Bruin frontline. Holding onto your own is quite the accomplishment with nearly 1,500 names in the portal. NCAA tournament star Johnny Juzang has entered his name into the NBA Draft but might return to Westwood for one more go at it. The enthusiasm over the Bruins following their surprise Final Four run remains high inside and outside the team. You will see UCLA atop many way-too-early rankings at the moment, in part because they have not suffered any casualties to the portal.