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Report: Isaiah Thomas, Joe Johnson commit to Team USA for FIBA AmeriCup qualifiers
Isaiah Thomas has committed to playing for USA Basketball in February's FIBA AmeriCup qualifying tournament, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Great opportunity for Thomas to make a case for a return to the league after offseason procedure on his hip.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 27, 2021
Thomas last played in the NBA during the 2019-20 season for the Washington Wizards. He was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers ahead of the trade deadline and waived. The 31-year-old has been dealing with a hip injury for a long time, but still managed to average 12.1 points per game with Washington. He's hoping for a return to the NBA.
Seven-time NBA All-Star Joe Johnson is also planning to play for Team USA, according to Wojnarowski. The 39-year-old last played in the NBA during the 2017-18 season for the Houston Rockets.
Expect to see Johnson in the Carmelo Anthony-type 4-man role for Team USA. (@SekouSmithNBA would’ve been front row for the Iso Joe return).
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 27, 2021
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Steve Kerr 'very concerned' about worrisome trend plaguing NBA
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is sounding the alarm on a troubling trend affecting the league that could potentially worsen down the line. The NBA has faced some huge crises over the past few months. The Kawhi Leonard-Aspiration issue in the offseason raised concerns about the Los Angeles Clippers potentially circumventing the salary cap. The arrests of Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier highlighted the growing threat of sports gambling on the integrity of the game. Steve Kerr highlights an under-the-radar concern While those fiascos have understandably grabbed headlines, Kerr recently expressed unease about a different issue that’s flying under the radar. The Warriors coach admitted to ESPN’s Anthony Slater that he is “very concerned” that the heightened pace of play in the modern game over an 82-game schedule may finally be taking its toll on the Association, with a growing number of soft tissue injuries impacting players of late. Eight different players have suffered soft tissue injuries over the past couple of weeks, headlined by stars like Anthony Davis, Victor Wembanyama and, most recently, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Kerr stated that the Warriors’ medical staff believes “wear and tear, the speed, the pace, the mileage” are increasing the risk of today’s players suffering such injuries. “Across the league, everyone understands that it’s easier to score if you beat the opponent down the floor, get out in transition,” Kerr said. “But when everybody’s doing that, the games are much higher-paced. Everyone has to cover out to 25 feet because everybody can shoot 3s. We have all the data. Players are running faster and further [than] before. We’re trying to do the best we can, but we basically have a game every other night. It’s not an easy thing to do.” Kerr, who has been an advocate for shortening the regular season, also lamented the struggles teams face with the league schedule, which makes it difficult for teams to get adequate recovery and practice time. With the Steph Curry-era Warriors being a huge part of the NBA’s pace and space movement, Kerr knows just how physically demanding the modern game has become. But with the financial implications that come with potentially shortening the season, Kerr understands that such a drastic change to the NBA schedule is “not happening” anytime soon.
Three teams getting too much credit from College Football Playoff committee
The College Football Playoff committee released its latest set of rankings on Tuesday night without too many surprises. Oklahoma was the biggest mover, going up to No. 8 after a road win over Alabama, which dropped to No. 10. The Crimson Tide are effectively holding onto the last playoff spot. Miami, the top-ranked ACC team, is projected to get that league's spot for now, while Tulane would get the last automatic berth, going to the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion. That leaves BYU and Utah on the outside looking in. Vanderbilt, USC, Georgia Tech and Michigan are some other teams looming. USC can make a statement this weekend, with a road win over Oregon. The Ducks are ranked seventh, while USC is 15th. For the Trojans, a win this week likely catapults them into the top 10. It could also expose a top-10 team that doesn't have the resume of a top-10 team. Three teams are being overvalued by the College Football Playoff committee, and the list starts with Oregon. Oregon (No. 7) The Ducks have beaten up on some weak opponents, but their best wins this season were an ugly victory at Iowa and a 20-point road win over Northwestern. They don't have a single win over a currently ranked team. Alabama has beaten two teams in the top 14 and four in the top 25. Oregon passes the eye test. But it feels like the Ducks are getting too much credit for a win at Penn State that's not all that impressive, and a close home loss to Indiana, something the Ducks share with Iowa. Oregon has looked great at times. It also looked unimpressive in a 21-7 win over 3-7 Wisconsin. Saturday's game will answer some questions, yet the Ducks are being overvalued by the committee. Tennessee (No. 20) Strength of schedule should matter, but not when the College Football Playoff committee is artificially pumping up the schedule strength of one conference in particular: the SEC. The five teams in the top 10 are worthy. It's hard to argue against them. But outside of that, the SEC feels propped up. Tennessee, for instance, hasn't beaten a single team with a winning record this season. Losing to Georgia in overtime and to Oklahoma by single digits isn't a good enough reason to be ranked. Missouri (No. 22) Like Tennessee, the best achievement of the Missouri Tigers has been losing to ranked teams. SMU, from the ACC, has a similar record. It has three losses to teams with winning records, plus a win over No. 13 Miami, a better win than Tennessee or Missouri, yet the Mustangs didn't crack the top 25. No. 23 Houston is 8-2. The Cougars lost to fifth-ranked Texas Tech earlier in the season, plus to West Virginia. They also beat 25th-ranked Arizona State on the road, yet are ranked behind two teams that haven't beaten a single team with a winning record. It feels like the College Football Playoff committee continues to favor the SEC, but it's about more than that. Too much is being based on the eye test. That's why Oregon is ranked where it's at and some SEC teams, too. The resume should matter above everything. Performance on the field should be the determining factor, but once again, that doesn't appear to be the case.
Texas HC Steve Sarkisian gives bold claim on job rumors
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has been a popular name in both the NFL and college football coaching cycles. It makes sense, too. He's brought Texas back to being competitive and in the championship hunt, but he also has a wealth of great experience as an assistant in both college and the NFL. He's about as well-rounded a candidate as you'll find, so of course, programs like the Florida Gators, LSU Tigers or even the New York Giants may be interested to see if he's interested. The thing is, though, he's not. Or, at the very least, that's what he's telling the media. He's all-in with the Longhorns, according to comments he made on a recent SEC teleconference call. “I’d like to comment something before I get into our team that has been bothering me now over the past few weeks. That is people reporting that are insinuating that there’s a possibility I could leave the University of Texas, and that is absolutely false and untrue," Sarkisian said (h/t On3). "I’m not going anywhere. Never do I do this because I never want to be a distraction, so I never address these things. At this point, I feel like this is important that I do this because it’s important for our team. It’s important for our university." Steve Sarkisian has deep roots in Austin and is all-in with Texas As if that weren't clear enough, Sarkisian said that he has not had any discussions with anybody about coaching elsewhere. He even went as far as to say that even his agent hasn't spoken to anyone. Sometimes coaches can say publicly that they aren't talking about any opportunities while, in the meantime, their agents are working backchannels and putting something together. He could be lying, of course, because college football history is full of head coaches saying one thing and doing another. A full-throated statement like this seems to be a pretty clear indication that Sarkisian is serious about what he's saying, though. Heck, he went as far as calling Austin home, which is a pretty big deal for a coach to say. Those guys aren't used to staying in one place for too long. With that said, Sarkisian does have two kids actually enrolled at Texas, one on the football team. He has a third kid he wants to go to Texas in the near future. He also just had a baby. Sarkisian has roots in Austin. He also has high aspirations for the Longhorns. “We came here to win championships," he said. "We’ve built a damn good football program over the five years that we’ve been here. We’ve been to two College Football Playoffs. We won a Big 12 Championship. We went to the SEC Championship game in Year 1. We’ve had 23 players drafted the last two years, which is more than any other school in the country and our team GPA is at an all-time high. “Can we please stop putting things out there that you have absolutely zero evidence on? Can we please stop retweeting and putting it back out there as if it’s true? As if it’s the gospel? It is not true."
One coach makes sense for LSU if Lane Kiffin doesn't flip to Tigers
The LSU Tigers are serious about their pursuit of current Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin. It makes sense, too. Sure, Kiffin has had some ups and downs (to put it lightly) as a college football coach, but he's been great at Ole Miss since 2020, and he currently has the Rebels at 10-1 and in the running to make a huge run through the College Football Playoff. He's comfortable with SEC football, and he's known as a great recruiter. Those are all things that would make Kiffin a big-time hire for the Tigers as they look to replace Brian Kelly, but they're not the only program in the running. Ole Miss would, obviously, like Kiffin to stay, and the Florida Gators are turning on the full-court press for him as well. LSU would be smart to have options 1A and 1B if Kiffin doesn't end up coming to Baton Rouge, and according to Scott Rabalais of NOLA.com, the Tigers do have two names in mind. "If not Kiffin — and obviously he could go any number of ways — then who for LSU? Two of the names to consider right now appear to be Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz and Tulane coach Jon Sumrall," Rabalais reported earlier in the week. Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall could be a perfect fit for LSU Tigers Eli Drinkwitz of Missouri would be a great option. He's gone 44-27 in six seasons with the Tigers from Columbia, Missouri. The issue with him is somewhat similar to what plagued Kelly at LSU, though, and it's something that led to Penn State firing James Franklin — now the head coach at Virginia Tech. Drinkwitz has kept Mizzou very competitive in the SEC, but he has struggled in big spots. He is 7-14 against ranked teams. LSU could get that kind of production, or lack thereof, from Kelly, which then makes Jon Sumrall from Tulane the next option to look at. Frankly, he may be the best one of the bunch for LSU, and even better of a fit than Kiffin. One of the big problems with Kelly at LSU is that he never fit into the Louisiana culture. A Massachusetts native, he was always seen as an outsider and never tried to change that. Sumrall wasn't born in Louisiana, but he does hail from Texarkana, Texas, which is roughly five hours north of Baton Rouge. He was a linebacker at Kentucky from 2002 to 2004, so he understands SEC football, but most importantly for LSU, he understands life in Louisiana as the head coach at Tulane. He's now in his second season with the Green Wave, but he was also the co-defensive coordinator at Tulane from 2012 to 2014, so he has a lot of experience working and recruiting within the state. Throw in the fact that he's only 43 years old (thus, he really has no baggage as a head coach), and he has No. 24 Tulane in the hunt in the American Athletic Conference as well as in the hunt for a spot in the CFP, and there are few scenarios in which Sumrall wouldn't be a home run hire for LSU. Again, he may even be a better option than Kiffin, though it does sound like LSU wants to bark up that tree first before looking elsewhere.
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