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On Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers traveled to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Jazz. Multiple BYU football players were in attendance, including sophomore wide receiver Jojo Phillips. Phillips has a personal connection to the Lakers: he was high school basketball teammates with Bronny James at Sierra Canyon High School.
Phillips played both football and basketball at Sierra Canyon High School. He played with James throughout their high school careers, and they graduated together as part of the 2023 graduating class.
After the game on Wednesday night, James signed his jersey and gave it to the BYU wide receiver.
Bronny gave his jersey to former high school basketball teammate, BYU WR Jojo Phillips.
— Jarom Jordan (@jaromjordan) February 13, 2025
Also at the game from BYU Football - Jake Retzlaff, Weylin Lapuaho, Bruce Mitchell, Keanu Tanuvasa, Tre Alexander, Keelan Marion & Elijah Crawford from BYU MBB. pic.twitter.com/MzXuXhQrwx
Phillips, who is 6'5, was a very good basketball player. Phillips was getting a lot of early recruiting attention from big-time football programs after his freshman year of high school. Phillips earned scholarship offers from the likes of LSU and Oregon.
Then, COVID-19 shut down high school football in California and Phillips took some time away from football to focus on basketball. Eventually, Phillips returned to the gridiron and he started picking up scholarship offers again. That's when BYU entered the picture and offered Phillips a scholarship.
Phillips is coming off the best season of his young BYU career. After redshirting in 2023, Phillips was a fixture in the wide receiver rotation in 2024. He finished the season with 10 receptions for 211 yards and 2 touchdowns.
LET IT FLY @jretz11!!
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 1, 2024
: https://t.co/zDOxM9A89H pic.twitter.com/Pgc2y0DEU0
After the Jazz-Lakers game, BYU wide receivers coach Fesi Sitake took to social media and poked fun at BYU wide receiver Keelan Marion, who was also in attendance. "I can only imagine [Keelan Marion] talking all game about he 'could made that play!'"
I can only imagine @keelanmarion1 talking all game about he “coulda made that play!”
— Fesi Sitake (@fsitake) February 13, 2025
Glad you boys got out to enjoy some basketball https://t.co/23uJgfRt1i
Marion responded to Sitake, saying he "definitely would have had about 15" points.
definitely would’ve had about 15 tonight coach
— Keelan Marion (@keelanmarion1) February 13, 2025
The BYU football program is just two weeks away from the start of 2025 Spring camp.
More must-reads:
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TODAY'S BEST
Basketball World Reacts To Boston Celtics Signing Former NBA Champion
On Tuesday afternoon, ESPN's Shams Charania reported the news that the Boston Celtics were signing Chris Boucher. The two-time NBA Champion had spent the last seven years playing for the Toronto Raptors. Via Charania: "Chris Boucher lands a guaranteed deal with the Celtics and is expected to have a significant role in the frontcourt. Boucher departs Toronto where he has the all-time franchise record in points, rebounds, blocks, minutes and games played off the bench. He also was the Raptors' last remaining member of the 2019 NBA championship team." StatMuse: "Chris Boucher as a Raptor: — 1st in bench points — 1st in bench rebounds — 1st in bench blocks — 1st in bench stocks — 1st in bench threes — 1st in bench free throws — 1st in bench wins — 1st in bench double-doubles Going to Boston." @OmerOsman200: "The way Chris Boucher was treated the last 2-3 years, I’ll never forget. 2x champ got so disrespected by the front office. Mad respect to his patience and professionalism. I wish nothing but the best for CB25. Real ones will forever love him." @lucarosano3: "With Chris Boucher heading to the Celtics, there are officially no more players remaining from the Raptors 2019 championship team." Noa Dalzell: "The Celtics sign Chris Boucher (per Shams) who averaged 10 points on 49.2% shooting last season with the Raptors. Shot 36.3% from three. Intriguing frontcourt signing for only $3.3 million!" Keith Smith: "RJ Luis is signed to a two-year two-way contract. He’ll fill the Celtics open two-way spot. Boston’s other two current two-way players are Miles Norris and rookie Max Shulga. Chris Boucher will be on a vet minimum deal and will fill the spot opened up by trading Georges Niang to Utah. Boston has one open roster spot and is about $7.8M under the second apron." Bobby Manning: "Chris Boucher is 33 this year, 9th season. 10.0 PPG 4.5 RPG 0.7 APG 0.5 SPG 0.5 BPG 49.2% FG 36.3% 3PT 78.2% FT. Wing/big combo who gives them some much-needed F/C lineup flexibility. Still think Queta starts, but he's a possibility now." The Celtics lost to the New York Knicks in the second round of the 2025 NBA playoffs. Via NBA Retweet: "The Boston Celtics potential lineup next season: PG: Derrick White SG: Anfernee Simons SF: Jaylen Brown PF: Chris Boucher C: Neemias Queta Bench: • Payton Pritchard • Sam Hauser • Luka Garza • Baylor Scheierman • Jordan Walsh Can the Celtics be a Top 6 seed?"
Yankees quickly pull plug on key trade-deadline acquisition
After a disastrous start to his time in the Bronx, the New York Yankees have seen enough of reliever Jake Bird. Acquired in a trade-deadline deal with the Colorado Rockies, Bird was sent to Triple-A after giving up a game-winning three-run home run against the Texas Rangers on Monday night. The long ball continued what has been a head-shaking start for the 29-year-old right-hander with the Yankees, as he has given up seven runs (six earned) and four hits in just 2.0 innings worked over three games. His recent outings extend what has been a downward spiral for Bird. While with the Rockies, Bird allowed runs in 10 of his last 17 games before being traded, equaling a 13.20 ERA during that stretch. Before that, Bird was one of the most dominant relievers in baseball, posting a 1.41 ERA through his first 28 outings of the season. Bird's collapse in the Bronx goes along with the overall struggles of the Yankees bullpen. Devin Williams, another trade that was supposed to be an answer in the late innings for New York, served up the game-tying homer on Monday night in Texas. Over his last seven appearances, he has a 7.71 ERA, and a potential change at closer could be in the air after manager Aaron Boone's comments after Monday's loss. The Yankees made deals at the deadline to boost the bullpen, bringing in Bird from Colorado, David Bednar from Pittsburgh and Camilo Doval from San Francisco. However, those moves have mostly hurt the Yankees, who also saw leads evaporate in a three-game road sweep at the hands of the Miami Marlins. While it's still too early to say the Rockies won the trade by acquiring two prospects for Bird, the early results for the Yankees certainly point in that direction. If Bird isn't able to regain the confidence that was such a big part of his demeanor while in Colorado, the trade will be a decision that New York could regret for the rest of the season and beyond.
Jerry Jones vocal in defense of handshake deal not being honored by Micah Parsons
Jerry Jones seems to be a firm believer that a handshake deal is as binding as any written contract. The Dallas Cowboys owner has maintained his stance that he had reached a verbal agreement with Micah Parsons on a contract extension back in March. On Tuesday, Jones was asked by NFL Network’s Jane Slater about the agreement not being put in writing. The 82-year-old claimed his initial acquisition of the Cowboys in 1989 started with a similar handshake deal. “I bought the Dallas Cowboys with a handshake,” Jones said, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “It took about 30 seconds. I gave the number, shook hands, the details we worked out later. As a matter of fact, one of the details involved a lot of money and I had to flip a coin over that. But the fundamental, ‘I’m buying and you’re gonna sell it to me for that range,’ that’s done. And those are done with eye contact and handshake. “Just so you understand the way that I communicate with people that I negotiate with. Let’s leave it at that. There’s no question that in the case of a player contract, you have to have it in writing. All parties do. We have a contract in writing, yet we’re still talking about renegotiating, so so much for that.” Parsons does not deny that he talked about contract terms with Jones in March. However, the star linebacker claims that he did not believe the conversation to be a formal negotiation. Parsons asserted in his trade request statement that he believed the conversation was going to be about team leadership before Jones shifted gears to talk about an extension. You can read more about Parsons’ side of the story here.
Giants' first depth chart contains surprise at quarterback
The New York Giants had a surprise on their quarterback depth chart on Tuesday morning. Veteran quarterback Russell Wilson entered training camp as the clear favorite to win the starting job before New York's Week 1 contest against the Washington Commanders. Per the depth chart released by the Giants on Tuesday, Wilson is indeed QB1. Behind Wilson is veteran quarterback Jameis Winston, and rookie Jaxson Dart sits at QB3. Tommy DeVito is QB4. Dan Duggan of The Athletic thought Winston being listed as QB2 was a surprise, as Dart has taken the bulk of second-team reps early in training camp. The Giants could be giving Dart extra reps in practice to help his development before the preseason. Dart, whom the Giants traded back into the first round to grab, is expected to be a long-term solution for New York in the future. However, the Ole Miss standout might not be ready to play in 2025, at least to begin the season. Winston probably gives the Giants the best opportunity to win games if Wilson has to miss time due to injury, as he did last year. Also, it's worth mentioning that keeping Winston at QB2 doesn't hurt his value if the front office tries to trade him before the regular season.
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