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The NBA’s two-day draft ended on Thursday, which means it’s time to look ahead to the 2025 edition of the draft. West Virginia forward Tucker DeVries was featured in SB Nation’s mock draft, going No. 30 in the first round.
SB Nation is very high on DeVries, with the Iowa native being the only senior listed in the first-round mock draft.
ESPN, CBS Sports and others released their mock drafts, some with two-round projections but DeVries did not make those lists.
DeVries (6-foot-7) averaged 21.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Bulldogs this past season. DeVries shot 44% from the field, 36% from three and 81% from the free throw line. DeVries is the reigning back-to-back Missouri Valley Player of the Year. DeVries was regarded as a top transfer in the portal this offseason by many outlets, including analyst Andy Katz.
DeVries has one year of eligibility remaining and decided to join his dad at West Virginia.
“[My dad] certainly felt like this is a place he can be successful and excited to be a part of. And we were all in full support of that. For me to be able to come here my senior year, I’m really looking forward to it,” Tucker said in March.
DeVries did have shoulder surgery back in March.
More must-reads:
- Concerns continue to mount after No. 12 Kentucky's latest loss
- Five things we're liking in the 2025-26 women's college basketball season so far
- The 'Men's Final Four hosts since 2000' quiz
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No. 9 Kentucky's defensive struggles must improve after loss to No. 12 Louisville
For the first time since 2020, No. 9 Kentucky lost to in-state rival and No. 12 Louisville, 96-88, in a game that was not as close for much of its duration as the final score would indicate. After Kentucky took a 22-19 lead at the 11:35 mark in the first half, Louisville went on a 13-0 run and led by as many as 18 before the Wildcats trimmed the deficit to seven at the break. It got even worse in the second half as Louisville stretched its advantage to 20 points before the Wildcats once again rallied and cut the deficit to four, only to fall short when the final buzzer sounded. It was a familiar site for Kentucky as it experienced a lot of the same issues it did last season on its way to its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2019. Kentucky's defense must improve going forward The Wildcats gave up 80 or more points 16 times last season and allowed at least 100 points twice. Tuesday's 96 points painted a similar picture, with Kentucky allowing 13 made threes from Louisville, including this triple from freshman Mikel Brown Jr., who had a team-high 29 points (8-of-16 FG). Kentucky also struggled with 14 turnovers, which led to 19 points from the Cardinals. It did not shoot poorly, going 32-of-68 (47.1%) from the floor and 12-of-34 (35.3%) from deep, but could not get enough stops to take advantage of the 88-point outing. Where has Otega Oweh been so far? Oweh led the team in scoring (16.2 PPG) last season, so he was expected to carry that same load once he announced that he was returning for one more season in Lexington. Through three games, that has not been the case. While he is averaging the second-most points (14 PPG) behind sophomore guard Collin Chandler (14.5 PPG), Oweh only had 12 points (4-of-13 FG, 1-of-6 3PT) against Louisville and ultimately fouled out of the game. Florida transfer Denzel Aberdeen led the way with 26 points (10-of-20 FG) and Chandler added four threes as part of his 12-point night, including this one that made it an 88-84 game with four minutes to play. Sophomore guard Kam Williams only had five points, but added four rebounds, one block and was a key part of Kentucky's second-half comeback that fell short in the end. With a brutal nonconference slate that still includes No. 17 Michigan State (Nov. 18), No. 18 North Carolina (Dec. 2), No. 19 Gonzaga (Dec. 5), Indiana (Dec. 13) and No. 13 St. John's (Dec. 20), there is a lot for Kentucky to work on defensively if it is going to reverse course and win those games. If the defense can tighten up and take away the transition opportunities from the other side, this Kentucky offense looks explosive enough to hang with anyone. How it performs in those areas and how Oweh plays moving forward will be crucial toward its success in Year 2 under head coach Mark Pope.
Jerry Jones made bold claim about George Pickens after Cowboys’ ‘MNF’ win
Jerry Jones sounded like the conductor of the George Pickens hype train after the Dallas Cowboys’ Monday night win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Pickens caught nine passes for 144 yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys’ 33-16 win at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev. The numbers don’t do justice to some of the masterful moves Pickens executed in the primetime victory. https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1990609821054509411 Pickens had himself quite a night, especially considering he and CeeDee Lamb were benched on the Cowboys’ opening drive. Nobody was more impressed than Jones. After the game, the Cowboys owner claimed he had “never seen” a performance like the one Pickens put on during Week 11’s “Monday Night Football” clash. “Pickens was — I’ve never seen a performance like that. It was poetic the way that he was making those moves out there. It was like he was in an opera or something out there. A ballet,” Jones said, via Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith. Jones’ claim is certainly a bold one, given that he’s watched the likes of Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, Dez Bryant, Terrell Owens, and even Lamb catch passes for Dallas over the years. There’s definitely some recency bias at play, on top of Jones’ incentive to hype up one of the Cowboys’ key offseason acquisitions. The look on Jones’ face after watching Quinnen Williams get his first sack as a Cowboy said it all. Bold claims aside, Pickens has indeed been dominant in his first season in Dallas. Through 10 games, the Georgia alum leads the team in receiving yards (908), receiving touchdowns (7), and ranks second on the team in catches (58).
Major domino falls for Yankees with Trent Grisham decision
Outfielder Trent Grisham is accepting his $22.025M qualifying offer and will return to the New York Yankees in 2026, reports ESPN’s Jorge Castillo. Players who accept a QO are considered free-agent signings and are thus ineligible to be traded prior to the following June 15 unless they consent to the move. Trent Grisham had a breakout season It’s at least a modest surprise, as Grisham is coming off a breakout year at the plate that saw him club a career-high 34 home runs. He slashed .235/.348/.464, thanks in no small part to a career-best 14.1% walk rate and a 23.6% strikeout rate that stood as the second-lowest in his career. Between that production, the fact that Grisham only just turned 29 earlier this month, and a thin outfield market in free agency, the stars seemed to align for him to pursue a weighty multi-year contract this winter. Instead, Grisham returns to the site of his breakout and will hold down a key role in an outfield that’s also currently slated to include Jasson Dominguez and Aaron Judge. The Yankees are interested in re-signing Cody Bellinger, have been linked to Kyle Tucker and also have DH Giancarlo Stanton at least loosely in the outfield mix. (He played 132 outfield innings in 2025.) How does Trent Grisham's decision affect the Yankees? Grisham’s return muddies the waters a bit, but GM Brian Cashman said recently that even if he accepted, it wouldn’t impact the team’s pursuit of a new deal with Bellinger, via the New York Post’s Greg Joyce. The Yankees wouldn’t have made the QO to Grisham if they believed his acceptance was a roadblock to bringing back Bellinger or signing Tucker. They’re surely glad to have him back. Even though his defensive grades took an unexpected downturn in ’25, he has the best defensive track record in center of the Yankees’ in-house options. While Grisham could have looked to cash in this winter, he’ll instead take a hefty one-year payday in what amounts to a bet on himself. Though he’s a left-handed bat, his power output was hardly a product of Yankee Stadium’s short right field porch. In fact, Grisham hit just .195/.326/.376 at home this season, compared to .254/.364/.506 on the road. If he can replicate this year’s huge power production, he could hit the market next offseason on the back of consecutive plus seasons at the plate and without the encumbrance of a qualifying offer. A big enough showing this year could realistically position Grisham for a $100M+ contract — particularly if his defensive grades rebound, too. The looming potential for a work stoppage is one other wrinkle to consider, but if anything, today’s glut of QO decisions suggests that players aren’t necessarily going to shy away from short-term deals that put them on the open market next year — at least not en masse. Grisham is one of four players to accept the QO, joining Gleyber Torres, Shota Imanaga and Brandon Woodruff in that regard. In a vacuum, any one of the four accepting his QO wouldn’t be considered a major surprise — but all four accepting in the same offseason is downright atypical. This marks the first time since the inception of the qualifying offer that more than three players have accepted a QO. With Grisham back in the fold, the Yankees’ projected payroll for the upcoming season jumps to about $263M, per RosterResource. They’ll now have about $286M of luxury-tax obligations, placing them just over the third penalty line. That means that the Yankees’ top pick in the 2026 draft will drop by 10 places, unless they’re able to sneak their luxury count back under $284M. Given the wide swath of offseason dealings that’s likely still on the table for Cashman and Co., that doesn’t seem to be a very likely outcome. In all likelihood, the Yankees will wind up in the top CBT penalty tier, just as they’ve done in each of the past three seasons. How does Trent Grisham's decision affect the rest of MLB? Turning to the rest of the league, Grisham’s early removal from the free-agent market — to a team that didn’t clearly need to retain him, no less — subtracts arguably the top center field option from the market. Bellinger, of course, can still play center but barely did so in 2025. Most teams probably consider him more of a corner outfielder/first baseman who can play occasional center field. Harrison Bader and Cedric Mullins are the two most notable options still on the market, though the former has been more of a part-time player and the latter is looking to bounce back from an awful 2025 showing. The market was light on center fielders to begin with and is even more so now, so teams looking for help at the position might be more inclined to turn to the trade market to address that deficiency.
Steve Spurrier has two endorsements for next Florida HC
Steve Spurrier is a legend for the Florida Gators. Known as "the head ball coach" down in SEC-land, Spurrier was a star both as a player and as a coach for Florida. Heck, the dang field in Gainesville is named after him. That means what he says about the Florida program carries a lot of weight, and he recently revealed that he believes there are only two people who would live up to the expectations and be a great fit for the Gators as they look to replace fired head coach Billy Napier sooner rather than later. “I know Lane Kiffin and I know Eli Drinkwitz,” Spurrier recently said, according to Daniel Hager of On3. “Obviously, either one of those guys would be super if it works out. But, it’s a long way from whoever we’re going to get as our coach right now.” The Gators are currently making a full-court press for Lane Kiffin, but they're not alone in their pursuit in the Ole Miss head coach. While the Gators reportedly flew members of Kiffin's family down to Gainesville to check things out recently, the LSU Tigers also pulled the same trick — hoping to get Kiffin to ultimatly come down to Baton Rouge. LSU is probably Florida's biggest competitor for Kiffin right now, but there's also Ole Miss to consider. It's not like the Rebels are going to let a coach who has led them to a 54-19 record over the past six seasons go without a fight. Kiffin would absolutely be a home-run hire for the Gators, though. He's a high-level recruiter and a high-level offensive mind in the SEC. Those are two things that the Gators desperately need in the wake of the middling Napier era. Not only that, but Kiffin has ties to the state. He was the head coach at Florida Atlantic from 2017-19. Eli Drinkwitz an interesting option for Florida if it can't land Lane Kiffin Drinkwitz is another interesting option, though. You'll also notice that there's a trend here for Florida, and that's going after established SEC head coaches. Napier had come from the Sun Belt conference. Drinkwitz has made Missouri a tough out in the SEC and he's won a ton of football games. His overall record at Mizzou is 45-27, though his record in big games does leave a little to be desired. He's 7-14 against ranked opponents and 0-7 against top-10 teams. Still, Drinkwitz is a young coach at just 42, so the upside is there. He's a big personality who does well on the recruiting trail, and he could do a lot of good things with the firepower of the Florida Gators behind him. There are other options out there for Florida. Washington head coach Jedd Fisch is a Florida alumnus, for instance. If Spurrier has narrowed it down to Kiffin and Drinkwitz in his mind, though, you can bet those in power at Florida are likely thinking the same thing.
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