Sports Update 7-25-2023

>>USA Basketball Names Select Team

 

(Undated)  — USA Basketball is revealing the 14 players it has named to its Select Team.  The team is stacked with recent draft picks and will be coached by Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley.  2021 top draft pick Cade Cunningham, who missed most of last season for the Detroit Pistons, will be making his return to the hardwood.  He’ll be joined by teammate Jalen Duren.  The team also includes Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, Sacramento’s Keegan Murray, New Orleans’ Trey Murphy and Herb Jones, Houston’s Jalen Green, New York’s Quentin Grimes, Boston’s Payton Pritchard and Minnesota’s Naz Reid.  Pacers assistant coach Jim Boylen and Purdue head coach Matt Painter will serve as assistants.  The Select Team will act as the opponent for Team USA during its upcoming training camp for the FIBA World Cup.

 

>>Northwestern Planning To Keep AD Derrick Gragg

 

(Evanston, IL)  — Derrick Gragg’s job as Northwestern’s athletic director is not in jeopardy.  University president Michael Schill says that he won’t fire Gragg after multiple controversies and coach-terminations this month.  The Wildcats fired football coach Pat Fitzgerald following a hazing investigation into the program earlier this month, and baseball coach Jim Foster was let go after misconduct allegations.  Schill said that most of the hazing allegations happened before Gragg became Northwestern’s AD in 2021, although Gragg is listed as a defendant in three of the four lawsuits being brought forth against the university by former players.  Lloyd Yates became the fourth former player to file a lawsuit against Northwestern on Monday.

 

>>Kansas, UNC Men’s Hoops Announce Home-And-Home Series

 

(Undated)  — Two of men’s college basketball’s premier programs are scheduling a future home-and-home series.  Kansas and North Carolina are set to go head-to-head in a two-game, home-and-home series that begins in 2024.  The Jayhawks will host the Tar Heels for their first meeting on November 8th, 2024.  The following season, UNC will welcome Kansas to Chapel Hill for a contest on November 14th, 2025.  The all-time head-to-head series between the two blue bloods is tied 6-6.  Kansas head coach Bill Self described the future matchups as being “two great games from programs whose rich histories are intertwined so much.”

 

>>Louisville Football Battles Miami For New Annual Trophy

 

(Louisville, KY)  — Louisville football will battle Miami for a newly-created trophy this season.  The Cardinals and Hurricanes will fight for the Howard Schnellenberger trophy for the first time.  The annual matchup was created in honor of the legendary head coach, who coached at Miami from 1979-83, then took over at Louisville from ’85-’94.