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The NBA playoffs are heating up, with the Eastern and Western Conference finals in full swing. As we edge closer to the end of the season, Wednesday night brought some major news.
The league announced its end-of-season awards, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder was named Most Valuable Player. He was the driving force behind a Thunder team that won 68 games during the regular season and currently leads the Western Conference Finals 2-0 over Minnesota.
But Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t the only name making headlines in MVP circles.
On Friday, Arkansas Basketball highlighted a major accomplishment that puts head coach John Calipari in elite company.
"Among college basketball's all-time greats."
Among college basketball's all-time greats pic.twitter.com/7PLEb0hiaw
— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball (@RazorbackMBB) May 23, 2025
Calipari joins legends John Wooden and Dean Smith as the only coach in college basketball history to mentor two NBA MVPs during their careers. Calipari’s first MVP student was Derrick Rose, who played under him at Memphis during the 2007-08 season and won the NBA MVP award for the 2010-11 season.
Wooden and Smith accomplished their feats well before Calipari. Dean Smith coached Bob McAdoo, who won MVP in the 1974-75 season, and Michael Jordan, who earned his first MVP in 1987-88. Wooden coached Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), MVP in 1970-71, and Bill Walton, who won the award in 1977-78.
Gilgeous-Alexander spent just one season at Kentucky with Calipari, playing in 37 games and starting 24. During that freshman campaign, he averaged 33.7 minutes, 14.4 points, and 5.1 assists per game.
Since turning pro, Gilgeous-Alexander has consistently improved. This season, he appeared in 76 games and posted career highs with 32.7 points and 6.4 assists per game.
In this year’s playoffs, he’s averaging 29.8 points over 13 games. That follows last season’s postseason, when he averaged 30.2 points across 10 games.
Now leading the Arkansas Razorbacks, Calipari is preparing for his second season in Fayetteville. His debut season was successful, as the team reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Arkansas knocked off Kansas in the first round and upset St. John's in the second before falling to Texas Tech in an overtime thriller.
The 66-year-old Calipari won a national championship in 2012 and has reached the Final Four six times.
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College Basketball Analyst Raves About 2026 Purdue Commit Luke Ertel
Over the last year, Luke Ertel's stock on the recruiting front has risen tremendously. He's jumped from a three-star to a four-star recruit and is considered a top-50 prospect according to the recruiting experts at Rivals. Now, the future Boilermaker is getting praise from ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla. Ertel, a 6-foot-1 guard from Mt. Vernon High School in Indiana, committed to Purdue in August 2024. Although he's exploded in terms of his recruiting rankings over the past year, he's held firm on his pledge to coach Matt Painter and the Boilermakers. Many are already drawing comparisons to current Purdue point guard Braden Smith, one of the top players in program history. Fraschilla is projecting a bright future in West Lafayette for Ertel. "An embarrassment of riches for Matt Painter and (Purdue basketball)," Fraschilla wrote on X. "Four years of Braden Smith and likely four more years of (Luke Ertel). A classic Indiana HS PG." Not only will Purdue transition from Smith to Ertel, it also has Omer Mayer on the roster, another really talented point guard who arrived in West Lafayette late this summer. It's a good problem to have for Painter and his staff.
'Absolutely' - Browns Are Considering Surprising Quarterback Move
It's the Browns. When the Cleveland Browns drafted Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders this April, they had a total of five quarterbacks on their roster between their incoming rookies, Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and the injured Deshaun Watson. And despite the kind of confusing nature of their stockpiling so many QBs, it sounds like the team could double-down on the the decision by the time the regular season kicks off. According to The Athletic's Zac Jackson, "the Browns absolutely might keep all four quarterbacks" heading into Cleveland's season opener. While also adding, "No, Shedeur Sanders is not going to start Week 1 for the Browns. But he's put a lot of pressure on his coaches and fellow QBs headed into this week — the biggest week of training camp as the Browns head to Philly." Fans reacted to the reporter's update on X: "At this point it's not even a QB room anymore. It's a pitching rotation now," a user said. "One as a starter, One as a backup, One to hold on field goals, And one listed as a wide receiver for tax purposes," another commented. "[Shedeur Sanders] should be developed and shouldn't be thrown out there week 1 but he should be considered to be put over Gabriel and Pickett," a fan pointed out. "While also finally getting meaningful reps with the 1's." "I'm a Shedeur fan who wants Flacco to start with Shedeur at QB2," another person replied. "Sitting behind a veteran QB can be very valuable, and you know he'd be ready if he had to come off the bench. Just my .02." "This isn't unprecedented," another user posted. "The Patriots kept 4 QBs in the 2000 season. Worked out ok for them. Not saying there's a Brady in their QB room. But if they have 4 guys who they think are NFL worthy (even if none are QB1 right now), they can make it work." The Browns have been bitten by the injury bug thus far in camp with Pickett and Gabriel both dealing with ailments this preseason — opening up a window for Shedeur Sanders to earn his way up the depth chart. Sanders played well in Friday night's debut with a 14-of-23 performance for 138 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the way to a 30-10 win over Carolina. But head coach Kevin Stefanski says the team in "evaluation mode" when it comes to their QBs.
Green Bay Packers Fans, Relax; It’s Week 1 Of The Preseason
Preseason football is a strange beast. On one hand, it’s undeniably exciting to see your team take the field after months of anticipation. On the other hand, expectations can mislead you, especially when things don’t go according to plan. Case in point—fans of the Green Bay Packers are reeling after their preseason loss to the New York Jets on August 9, 2025. A sluggish offense, a defense that couldn’t quite contain the Jets’ playmaking, and dropped opportunities all coalesced into a performance that felt like a disappointment to the faithful Cheeseheads. But here’s the thing—it’s preseason. And while the frustration is understandable, it’s important to pull back and keep things in perspective. Green Bay Packers: Déjà Vu from Preseason 2024 For longtime Green Bay Packers fans, the sky-is-falling reaction to a preseason loss might feel eerily familiar. Flashback to just a year ago, when Green Bay faced the Denver Broncos in a similarly rough matchup. The Packers didn’t score a single touchdown that day, which prompted plenty of panicked grumbles about the offense’s viability heading into the season. They only managed two points, and that was the second preseason game. And how did that work out? They finished 11-6, making the playoffs for the second consecutive year with Love under center. If there’s one thing Packers fans should have learned from last year, it’s this simple truth—preseason wins and losses are about as predictive of regular-season success as the flip of a coin. It’s not about the scoreline but rather the opportunity for the coaching staff to evaluate talent, test new systems, and shake off some offseason rust. Growing Pains Are a Good Thing Look, no one wants to lose—even in the preseason. But treating mistakes and struggles as warning sirens does a disservice to what preseason football is all about. These games serve three main purposes: Experimentation: Coaches get the chance to be bold with their playcalling and personnel. Packages that might be too high-risk during the regular season are put on display in these lower-stakes moments. Development: For younger players adjusting to the pro level, this is a prime opportunity to make mistakes, learn, and grow. Jordan Love looked a bit shaky at times against the Jets—it happens. But the more reps he gets, the better he’ll be when Week 1 rolls around. Evaluation: Preseason is when the roster battles come to life. Does that position group have solid depth? Is that rookie ready to contribute? Counts like these can only truly be settled on the field. For the Packers, the loss to the Jets highlights areas of improvement but shouldn’t overshadow the long-term goals for this team. Offensive Rust Isn’t Cause for Panic Much of the angst from the Jets game focuses on the offense. Love didn’t look crisp, the offensive line missed a few key assignments, and the receivers dropped a couple of catchable balls. It wasn’t pretty. But anyone looking at these struggles as proof of impending doom is missing the larger picture. Preseason games are often disjointed by design. Starters see limited time, rotations are fluid, and the execution is rarely polished. What matters is the process, not the outcome. Last year, the same criticisms were lobbed at Green Bay’s offense after the loss to Denver. Yet, when it counted, they found their rhythm and became a top-10 scoring unit over the course of the season. Could the same be true this year? Absolutely. Defensive Lapses Highlight Work-in-Progress Areas Green Bay’s defense didn’t escape the magnifying glass, either. Struggles against the Jets’ second-team offense disappointed some fans, especially with a few long completions allowed in the secondary. But here’s the reality—preseason defenses are notoriously vanilla. Coordinators avoid revealing their hand, sticking instead to basic schemes. Once the regular season arrives, you’ll see the Packers deploy more complex looks designed to fluster opposing quarterbacks. Rest assured, defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley will use the tape from this game as a teaching tool. Teams that can identify and correct their flaws in August win games in November. The Optimistic Takeaway While hard to see after a frustrating game, adversity is an essential part of success. Preseason obstacles give players and coaches the opportunity to refine their craft. Last year, the Green Bay Packers used its preseason flop as a springboard for improvement. There’s every chance the Jets game will serve the same purpose. This Packers team is loaded with talent, from a promising quarterback in Jordan Love to a stacked corps of skill players. Add in a defense brimming with upside, and the foundation for a strong season remains intact. Final Thoughts Green Bay Packers fans, take a deep breath and step back from the ledge. A preseason loss doesn’t mean the sky is falling, no matter how discouraging certain moments feel in the short term. If anything, rough games like these are exactly what the team needs to address weaknesses before the games start to count. Remember Denver last year? The lack of touchdowns and disconnect on the field felt catastrophic for exactly one week—until Green Bay found its stride when it mattered most. Trust the process, and trust that the Packers will use this preseason tune-up for exactly what it is—a chance to grow, learn, and improve.
Rams-Cowboys Preseason Game 1: Breakdown and Takeaways
Preseason NFL football is finally underway, but no other teams rolled out their debuts in such grandiose fashion as the St. Louis Rams and the Dallas Cowboys at SoFi Stadium. Starters or not, the fans were just happy to see their guys take the field again. But the more committed onlookers were undoubtedly taking mental notes on their newly acquired players. Quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Dak Prescott didn’t take the field at all, as expected. Stafford is still recovering from back soreness. But even if there were no soreness, he wouldn’t have started the first preseason game. From a management standpoint these first games are primarily for seeing what they’ve got in their young players and whittling down the roster. Backups Galore There was crafty and stellar quarterback play by second-stringer Stetson Bennett. A fourth-round selection in 2023, Bennett was the only quarterback to have been selected by the Rams since Jared Goff. He was drafted 128th overall. Bennett threw for two touchdowns and had the best game of his young NFL career to date. His QB rating was 108.75 and he threw two TDs and had a pick. The Cowboys tried out their new guy too, Joe Milton III. He’s the QB they received in a trade with the Patriots. Milton came out swinging. He may have missed a lot but at least he was swinging, or slinging, as it were. His rating was only 71.82 and it took him a while to settle in. Brian Schottenheimer suggested they’d run a vanilla offense—and it was. Milton threw for a TD and an interception before leaving in the fourth quarter with an elbow bruise. Regardless, Jerry Jones was elated. In fact, he’s so happy about acquiring Milton he’s been pinching himself. Running back Blake Corum was the star of the show in the early goings. He was last year’s third-round draft pick for the Rams. Corum became opportunistic and mashed his way through the Cowboys’ defenders. He was trending on social media in the process. Corum twice found his way into the endzone with two touchdowns on the first two drives. Rookie Power During a broadcast interview with Sean McVay, Josaiah Stewart outmaneuvered Cowboys’ tackle Hakeem Adeniji, logging the Rams only sack. Stewart was a third-round selection in this year’s draft. He was supposed to fill a gaping hole on the edge. The rookie did enough to impress the coach with the sack. McVay certainly noticed him, stating the rookie made his presence felt. Cowboys’ rookie undrafted free agent Rivaldo Fairweather was the team’s receptions leader. He roped in three catches, one of them being Milton’s first touchdown pass as a Cowboy. It was a seven-yard completion for the TD. Rams’ undrafted free agent Safety Nate Valcarce also made his presence felt. He led the team in total tackles with nine. He even had a pass defended. That alone is an impressive feat for a rookie defensive back playing in his first game. The two teams shared a practice in the week leading up to the game. Perhaps it’s the beginning of a new tradition as the Cowboys and Rams have met up in L.A. for the preseason debut now two seasons in a row. Due to the proximity of Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, it’s also convenient. Both games so far have been won by the Rams.
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