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Former Spartan teammates AJ Hoggard and Mady Sissoko reunited on the court Wednesday, this time on separate teams.
The former pick-and-roll duo debuted for the Spartans in the 2020-21 season. After four years under Coach Tom Izzo, both players entered the transfer portal at the end of last season.
Michigan State entered last season with high expectations, as the No. 4 team in the country, but disappointed, finishing the regular season 19-14, scraping into March Madness as a 9-seed.
Ultimately the Spartans got bounced in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament with a loss to North Carolina.
Sissoko and Hoggard still had a year of eligibility to play for the Spartans due to COVID rules. However, after not meeting expectations the year before, it seemed as if there was a mutual parting of ways between Izzo and the seniors for both to get a fresh start.
Hoggard, the 71st-ranked transfer by 247 Sports, announced his final five programs Vanderbilt, Florida, Georgia, USC, and Washington. Where the point guard eventually chose to commit to Vanderbilt in the spring.
Sissoko, ranked as a three-star transfer by 247 Sports, committed to a new ACC program, California, in late April.
Hoggard's season started late as he was handed a one-game suspension by the NCAA, due to his participation in the Portsmouth Invitational, a pre-NBA Draft scouting event.
On Wednesday, Hoggard’s Vanderbilt Commodores hosted Sissoko and the California Golden Bears. Vanderbilt dominated in an 85-69 victory, improving to 3-0.
Hoggard scored nine points, six assists, and five rebounds despite being in foul trouble. While Sissoko contributed only three points to go along with seven rebounds in the loss.
After the game, Hoggard and Sissoko swapped jerseys for a post on social media.
Sissoko’s departure opened up the center position for the Spartans. Junior forward Jaxon Kohler has been the first to take advantage of the opportunity averaging 12 points and 10 rebounds through three games this season.
Spartans redshirt freshman point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. has adopted the floor general role from Hoggard. The redshirt freshman leads Michigan State in passing, tallying 22 total assists through three games.
Michigan State isn’t scheduled to play either Hoggard or Sissoko this season. They will, however, face former Spartan Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn Jr., the associate head coach for Bowling Green on Saturday at the Breslin Center.
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'Been a Long Road': New Special Highlights Rienks Mast's Recovery, Return for Nebrasketball
Rienk Mast is ready to play basketball again. The Nebraska men's basketball forward erupted in his first season in Lincoln in 2023-24, earning third-team All-Big Ten honors while averaging 12.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game. But that season didn't see him at full health, and neither did an offseason surgery that knocked him out for the 2024-25 season. A new Nebraska Men's Basketball Original Production titled "The Road Back" highlights the recovery of Mast and what he's gone through since the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Initial Injury In the week leading up to the Kansas State game on Dec. 17, 2023, Mast didn't practice. With pain in his knee, he met with doctors. "We figured out that a piece of cartilage broke loose," Mast said. Pain meds got him through the contest against the Wildcats, but surgery was necessary to remove the loose cartilage. But that surgery only fixed the short-term issue. Director of Men's Basketball Strength and Conditioning Kurt Joseph compared Mast's knee to driving to drive on a broken road with loose concrete strewn about. "We erred on the side of giving what Rienk needed in order to perform," said Andrew McCabe, Nebraska Men's Basketball Athletic Trainer. "His main goals were to prolong his career but also play with the least amount of issues in his knee at the time." That meant a bigger procedure, which would come after the season. Mast missed just two games after Kansas State. He scored 20+ points in three out of four games, including 34 against Ohio State. Mast led Nebraska to an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time in a decade, but his journey was only beginning. The Long Road Gets Longer The originally planned procedure was going to have Mast rehabbing for 4-6 months, which would have had him back for most of the 2024-2025 season. But after doctors looked at the knee closer, a new plan became necessary. "They were like, 'The surgery that we originally planned on won't do enough'," Mast said. He could have done that and played last year, but in a season or two, another procedure would have been needed. The "more major surgery" was the decision, knocking him out for the entire season. Joseph had concerns about Mast's understanding of the length of the rehab. "Whenever an athlete gets hurt, they don't necessarily understand how long of a process it is," Joseph said. "The nature of his injury, it can take close to a year or a little bit more, depending on your resources. Thank God we have all the resources we need here." The Resilience of Rienk McCabe called Rienk's procedure the most complicated one he's worked with in his career. That meant following the protocols correctly in every aspect of the recovery. "Without him being diligent on his end, it would have been much more challenging," McCabe said. Joseph echoed that message. "You never know what type of athlete you're gonna get when they get hurt," Joseph said. "Some guys are extremely motivated. Some guys are motivated at first and then they lose confidence in themselves or they lose sense of self-worth after awhile. "But Rienk is such a mentally tough person that it was extremely easy to keep him motivated." Mast had been through a similar rehab a few years ago. Prior to his freshman year at Bradley, his first college stop, he tore his ACL and had to miss a year of basketball. "It definitely helped that I had experience with it and I knew there were gonna be some very, very tough mental days," Mast said. "If you look at the grand scheme of things, yeah, it sucks. But small victories (are) very important in that process." Synergy of Message "Everybody has to have the same messaged to Rienk," Nebraska basketball head coach Fred Hoiberg said. "I've been really impressed with how everybody's been in synergy when we've gone through the process." As Joseph said, having the resources is important. Nebraska has those. McCabe listed athletic training, physical therapy, strength and conditioning, nutrition, and the performance lab. "When you have those things in place, the wheel runs really well," McCabe said. Mast could hardly walk for the first few months after the surgery. But he had the resources and a consistent message from the staff working with him through his rehabilitation. He also had another driver for wanting to recover and be great. "It's not his work ethic, it's not his jump shot, it's not his rebounding ability," Joseph said. "It's how much he cares about his teammates. That was a huge psychological, intrinsic, motivational factor for him." Hoiberg said the 2024-25 team missed what Mast could do physically in games. But that absence became magnified by the hole left without his leadership and voice on the floor. "He really just wanted to play with his team," Joseph said. "He wanted to be out there and support them. Every single question, every single action that he took was inspired by how he can help this team." Mast's long road is almost over. The season begins on Nov. 3 against West Georgia, with a pair of home scrimmages before that. "Being with my guys and playing basketball is what I look forward to," Mast said. "To put on the jersey again, that will feel great. With all the support that I've gotten here, I wanna repay that, give them another great season. "It feels right over here, and I wanna play for all those people." As of July 10, Mast has been 100% cleared for all basketball activities. You can watch the full special on Mast below.
Oregon suspends former five-star WR recruit indefinitely
Oregon wide receiver Jurrion Dickey has struggled to live up to expectations in his first two seasons with the Ducks, and he is now in a terrible position heading into 2025 as well. Dickey has been suspended indefinitely by Oregon, head coach Dan Lanning announced on Tuesday. Lanning also suggested that Dickey may not play for the Ducks again. "We have two team rules; that’s respectful, be on time,” Lanning said, via James Crepea of The Oregonian. “There’s some pieces of that where I felt like he needed a break from us and we needed a break from that so we could focus on what’s in front of us right now. "Wishing him nothing but the best, as far as success and want to see him get back to where he can be a contributor somewhere; that might be here that might be somewhere else.” Dickey was a five-star recruit and rated as one of the top wide receivers in the country when he came out of Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, California, in 2023. He suffered an injury in his senior year in high school and redshirted as a freshman at Oregon. Dickey has two catches for 14 years during his time with the Ducks. Oregon went 13-1 in Lanning's third season with the program last season. The Ducks lost to eventual national champion Ohio State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
Rory McIlroy Reveals Why He Didn’t Go To St Jude Championship
Last week, the playoffs for the FedEx Cup officially began. The top seventy players of the season have been selected, and they are now off to the races. The first of four events was the St Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee. Although it was supposed to have seventy players, there was a notable absence. Rory McIlroy, despite occupying the no. 2 spot in the FedEx rankings, was nowhere to be seen. The decision has led to confusion and criticism. The main question was why he had done it, and now McIlroy has answered that question. Recap On McIlroy And St Jude Fallout Rory McIlroy’s decision has brought him some criticism. Some were calling it disrespectful to the sport and players. People like Johnson Wagner were calling for rule changes to keep such an absence from happening again. He proposed mandatory attendance with wiggle room for emergencies, given that the FedEx Cup has an elimination aspect to it. McIlroy was able to skip the event without any kind of repercussion. Going into the playoffs, he was second in the FedEx Cup rankings, just behind Scottie Scheffler. He was so far ahead of most other players that some people did the math and concluded that he could skip St Jude and the BMW Championship and still be in the race. After the St Jude Championship, McIlroy’s FedEx Cup standing did not change. He remained in second but he will be attending the BMW Championship. McIlroy’s Explanation Ahead of the BMW Championship, Rory McIlroy attended a press conference to answer some questions before the tournament. One of the questions was on his absence from the St Jude Championship, and McIlroy answered that he just needed an extra week off ahead of a very busy schedule. “I just think that extra week off will do me good with the events coming up. Some big events that are important to me—the Irish Open, Wentworth (BMW PGA Championship), obviously the Ryder Cup. I want to try to win my seventh Race to Dubai over in Europe as well. There’s some things that are still important to me that I want to go play in. That was a big part of the reason why I wanted to take that extra week off last week.” During this same conference, McIlroy addressed the need for a rule change after his absence. Mostly questioning if it was even necessary, but ultimately saying that he would support it if need be. McIlroy also pointed out that any rules change would need to keep a lot of people happy, including the media rights partner and the sponsors. Those two like to see big names on the field. Up Next: The BMW Championship Rory McIlroy may have skipped the St Jude Championship, but he’s not skipping the BMW Championship. Nor is he skipping the Ryder Cup, Irish Open, Wentworth, or the Race to Dubai. It was a calculated move, as suspected, but it is for much-needed rest right before McIlroy goes into several big tournaments. McIlroy has nine very busy weeks ahead of him, and he needs to save his strength before each one. For now, though, he is focusing on retaining his position during the BMW Championship this week.
Yankees Announce Paul Goldschmidt News After Loss to Twins
The New York Yankees won their first series of August in a three-game set against the Minnesota Twins from Monday to Wednesday, but they're still in trouble. They're only one game ahead of the Cleveland Guardians for the third and final AL Wild Card spot with six weeks left in the regular season. The Yankees beat the Twins 6-2 on Monday and 9-1 on Tuesday before losing 4-1 on Wednesday, but Tuesday's victory came at a price. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt left early and didn't play on Wednesday, a night in which New York especially needed his bat. The Yankees released an update on Goldschmidt after Wednesday night's game, via MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. The 37-year-old has a low-grade knee sprain with inflammation. He's slashing .276/.331/.422 with 10 homers and 40 RBI over 112 games. Fellow first baseman Ben Rice went 1-for-4 in Goldshmidt's stead on Wednesday. The 26-year-old is slashing .233/.326/.456 with 17 homers and 38 RBI over 101 contests. Paul Goldschmidt comments on injury Goldschmidt said that he hopes he can avoid the IL with a "short-term" absence, via Hoch. While Rice is a high-upside player in his second year, the seven-time All-Star is still a more dependable contact hitter at this point. Goldschmidt is third on the squad with 110 hits, although his younger counterpart's OPS is 30 points higher. The Yankees need the veteran back as soon as possible to help them maintain their Wild Card spot. His presence allows Rice to play catcher, which is optimal given Austin Wells's struggles. The 26-year-old is slashing just .206/.264/.408 with 15 homers and 56 RBI over 94 games. Up next for New York is a road series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Goldschmidt's former team.
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