LOS ANGELES — It was a late-December day in 1997, inside a Honolulu hotel hosting the competitors of the Rainbow Classic holiday basketball tournament, when Nebraska forward Andy Markowski stopped to watch what was happening by the pool.

There, in the middle of a group of Kansas Jayhawks, was Nebraska's star junior point guard, Tyronn Lue. ...Read more

Pat Riley enjoyed the afterglow of the Miami Heat season. He thanked everyone from scouts to coaches Friday for that storybook run into the NBA Finals. He said any talk of his retiring is now gone. Dead. Off the table.

"This is a dream for me, this late," he said of that Heat run.

There's just one question now: Who's traded to improve this ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — It's not a complete stretch to think Kentucky is the second college freshman Cam'Ron Fletcher has attended. That's because he seemed ever-present at Harris-Stowe State when his older brother Jalen played for and attended the NAIA Division I school in their hometown of St. Louis.

"Everybody thought that Cam went to the school ...Read more

The NBA and its players union are continuing negotiations on when to start the 2020-21 season, with one scenario focusing on a start date in late December that includes Christmas games and an abbreviated schedule that would allow players to compete in the delayed Tokyo Olympics.

People with knowledge of the negotiations who requested anonymity ...Read more

The postponed, virtual NBA draft will finally take place Wednesday, Nov. 18. The Daily News' Stefan Bondy takes a look at how it might play out:

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1) Minnesota Timberwolves: LaMelo Ball (Illawarra)

Age: 18

Position: Point guard

There's no clear-cut top choice in this draft but Ball carries the greatest potential as a flashy 6-8 playmaker....Read more

LOS ANGELES — Tyronn Lue was six years into his NBA career when his coach with the Orlando Magic told Lue to consider his retirement plan.

A job would be waiting, Doc Rivers told his point guard, should Lue want to join him on the sideline.

Lue's coaches at Raytown High in suburban Kansas City, and at Nebraska, never got the inkling their ...Read more

ROCK HILL, S.C. — Tom Hickman, former Winthrop athletic director, said the university suspended Gregg Marshall at least once for the basketball coach's behavior while both were at the school. The once-AD, however, also denied that Marshall was abusive or racist.

Marshall, now the head coach at Wichita State, is under investigation for ...Read more

LOS ANGELES - As Tyronn Lue continues to reach out to potential candidates to join his staff, the Los Angeles Clippers finalized their new coach's five-year contract and officially announced his hiring Tuesday.

Lue, who coached Cleveland to the 2016 NBA championship after a midseason promotion and most recently served as an assistant coach last...Read more

Rocket Watts is next in line to step into the storied lineage of Michigan State basketball point guards.

But Tom Izzo has options.

There's Foster Loyer, the junior who was recently voted as one of the Spartans' three captains. There's freshman AJ Hoggard, whose 6-foot-3 frame adds size Izzo rarely has had running his offense. There's Jack ...Read more

This may require adjustment of thought in light of what just was completed, but an NBA team does not conduct its offseason in a bubble.

So for as much as what the Miami Heat might want to do next after finishing within two victories of a championship in the NBA's quarantine setting, decisions elsewhere will have just as much impact.

_The ...Read more

LOS ANGELES - The calculus of college basketball rosters is changing. UCLA coach Mick Cronin now must navigate not only who's leaving early but also who wants to extend their stay.

The NCAA earlier this week granted winter sport athletes an additional year of eligibility amid the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that Bruins senior guard Chris Smith, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES - Just like she did during her Hall of Fame career, Lisa Leslie is hustling. Now the stakes are higher than a championship trophy.

Leslie, a two-time WNBA champion with the Sparks and four-time Olympic gold medalist, is part of three voting rights groups - LeBron James' More Than a Vote, Hoopers Vote and Rock the Vote - with less ...Read more

LOS ANGELES - Now what?

It was the underlying emotion for a lot of people in the NBA over the final weeks of the league's quarantined residency at Disney World, especially as the finish line for the bubble came into clear sight.

Yes, the season was saved. Yes, a champion was crowned. Yes, no players tested positive for the virus and no games ...Read more

LAWRENCE, Kansas - Kansas senior forward Silvio De Sousa has decided to leave the KU basketball program, he reported Friday on Twitter.

"I have made the difficult decision to opt out of this season to focus all of my energies on some personal issues," De Sousa said on Friday on social media. "I have a lot of things weighing on my mind and need ...Read more

Now what?

It was the underlying emotion for a lot of people in the NBA over the final weeks of the league's quarantined residency at Disney World, especially as the finish line for the bubble came into clear sight.

Yes, the season was saved. Yes, a champion was crowned. Yes, no players tested positive for the virus and no games had to be ...Read more