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The Shaquille O’Neal effect is already being felt at Sacramento State.
Shams Charania of ESPN reported on Tuesday that Sacramento State has landed a transfer commitment from former top recruit Mikey Williams. The 20-year-old guard Williams entered the portal last month after spending last season at UCF.
A consensus four-star recruit, Williams was a highly-coveted prospect coming out of high school, averaging 26.9 points and 6.4 assists per contest over his career at San Ysidro High School in San Diego, Calif. Williams would eventually commit to play for Penny Hardaway at the University of Memphis but never appeared in a single game for them due to legal trouble.
In 2023, Williams was arrested and hit with five felony charges after an incident in which allegedly shot at a car with multiple people inside following an argument at his residence (details here). Williams ultimately managed to avoid jail time for the incident though after reaching a plea deal later that year in which he agreed to community service, gun safety courses, and anger management classes.
Last season, Williams averaged just 5.1 points and 0.7 assists in a meager 14.0 minutes per game for UCF (whom he transferred into in early 2024). Now Williams will be hoping to get his career back on track at Sacramento State.
The Hornets, coming off a 7-25 campaign, already added Shaq’s son Shaqir O’Neal (a 22-year-old forward) in the transfer portal a few weeks ago. Then the news broke earlier this week that Shaq himself would be coming aboard to lead the Sacramento State front office. The Hornets also now have a former NBA guard as their head coach, and it is clear that they are rapidly gaining pull with big-name talent.
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Damian Lillard to serve as GM for Weber State basketball
Damian Lillard is the latest NBA player to take a management role with his alma mater, announcing Saturday that he will become the new general manager for the Weber State men’s basketball program (Twitter video link). Lillard was on hand for the school’s annual Basketball Alumni Classic, according to Isaac Fisher of The Ogden Standard-Examiner. After signing autographs for about 90 minutes, he addressed the crowd with the news of his continuing relationship with the university. “It’s something that, my relationship with coach (Eric) Duft and this program means a lot to me, and seeing the success of the program means a lot to me,” Lillard said. “I feel like I can do a lot to help the program be successful, to help the players even individually continue to grow their careers past college, that’s something that I’m passionate about.” Few details of the position were announced, but Lillard’s association should bring prestige to the program, which competes in the Big Sky Conference and is coming off a 12-22 season. WSU issued a press release stating that Lillard “will work closely with the coaching staff and athletic department leadership to provide insight, mentorship, and guidance, using his experience at the collegiate and professional levels to elevate the program.” Lillard is one of the most accomplished players in Wildcats history, twice earning conference Player of the Year honors before declaring for the draft in 2012. He had 1,934 points and left school as the second-leading scorer in Weber State history and No. 5 all-time in the Big Sky Conference. “All of the resources that I have, I’ve got an opportunity to be able to create for the program, while they’re in the program and even after the program, it’s something I’m excited about,” Lillard added. “I’m looking forward to doing that work, looking forward to continue to lift up the university, lift up the program. It’s going to be fun.” The new arrangement with Weber State continues an eventful offseason for Lillard, who had his contract waived and stretched by Milwaukee after suffering a torn Achilles in the playoffs. He wound up returning to the Trail Blazers on a three-year deal. Stephen Curry started the trend of active players helping to run college basketball programs in March when he became an assistant GM at Davidson. Since then, Trae Young (Oklahoma), Terance Mann (Florida State) and Patty Mills (Hawai’i) have accepted similar positions.
Brewers issue update on Jackson Chourio rehab timeline
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio was tearing it up in July before he strained his hamstring legging out a triple. He was placed on the injured list, and it only got worse from there. Less than 24 hours later, manager Pat Murphy said Chourio would be out beyond the 10-day minimum and possibly at least a month. On Saturday, beat reporter Curt Hogg shed another tidbit of light on the slugger’s timetable. It’s not necessarily worse news, but Hogg’s update probably does not illuminate much. Fans already knew Chourio was going to be out a while after Friday’s report, so this latest info isn’t surprising. It isn’t all that encouraging, either. It certainly suggests no expedited return schedule. Not to make assumptions, but the emphasis on the location of the damage versus evaluating its severity seems to indicate the Brewers are just hoping Chourio avoided a worse-case scenario. In that case, caution would indeed be first in the order of operations. Only after ascertaining clarity would it make sense to seriously estimate a recovery timetable. That he won’t be ready to immediately resume baseball workouts further points to a slow, methodical recovery process. For however long he remains out, the lineup will miss him badly. Chourio’s 17 home runs rank second on the team behind Christian Yelich, as do his 67 RBI. His .786 OPS leads the offense among qualified hitters. In 90 at-bats in July, he hit .367/.408/.600. The Brewers are resilient everywhere, but without one of their few genuine power threats and hottest bats, plus an everyday outfielder, they are courting a potential offensive slump. The most fans can hope for from Chourio is that he returns fully healthy by the first week of September. Until then, Blake Perkins and trade pickup Brandon Lockridge should see plenty of playing time while Yelich takes more reps in the outfield after getting most of his at-bats this season as the designated hitter.
25-time Grammy winner's sports agency blasts Jerry Jones for 'comical' comment
The Dallas Cowboys may have 99 problems, and the way owner Jerry Jones handles contract negotiations could be considered a big one. Jones spoke with the media Saturday regarding Micah Parsons' contract situation. The EDGE, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal, has requested a trade. The 82-year-old owner clarified the Cowboys have no plans to trade Parsons. While discussing negotiations, Jones took an unprovoked jab at former Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant and his agent, rapper Jay-Z. "When we have a problem within the team and a player, I don't ever find the agent. He's nowhere to be found," Jones said. "...Jay-Z and I negotiated [Bryant's contract in 2015], spent hours. He said, 'Anybody in my organization is on time.' He said, 'My office used to be on the street corner, and I've always been early. So, they will be on time.' And I said, 'Where do I sign? But I'm going to call you.' Finally, he quit taking my call." The 25-time Grammy winner's sports agency, Roc Nation, took issue with Jones' comment. In a statement released on X Sunday, it denied his claim, calling it "comical." This is yet another example of Jones prioritizing attention when he should be focused on extending two-time first-team All-Pro Parsons. The Cowboys often delay deals for their stars. The team signed Bryant to a five-year, $70M deal in July 2015, just before the deadline to extend players with a franchise tag. Last season, Dallas signed quarterback Dak Prescott to a four-year, $240M contract ahead of its season opener against the Cleveland Browns. The team's procrastination often leaves it paying even more for star players and wastes valuable time. Parsons is still with the team at training camp in Oxnard, Calif., but isn't participating. He likely wants a contract that's similar to that of Pittsburgh Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt (three years, $123M). The pass-rusher is the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league. Jones' methods are one reason the Cowboys haven't won a Super Bowl since the 1995 season. Jay-Z should mention that if he wants to write a single that includes a lyric about the owner.
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Braves star injured in Speedway Classic at Bristol
In a season full of hard luck for the Atlanta Braves, Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Reds brought more. Star third baseman Austin Riley exited the Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway after tagging out Elly De La Cruz at home plate and saving a run in the bottom of the first inning. Riley fielded a ball that was smoked to third base off the bat of Miguel Andujar and chased Cruz down at the plate to keep Cincinnati's lead at one run. The next time Riley came up in the batting order, however, it was 28-year-old Luke Williams who stepped into the batter's box. The official reason given for Riley's departure from the contest was lower abdominal pain. Riley struck out in his lone plate appearance on Sunday. Riley, 28, is hitting .260 for Atlanta in 415 at-bats this season. He's hit 16 home runs with a .309 on-base percentage in 101 games. Riley strained an abdominal muscle on July 11 in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals, which led to the Memphis, Tenn., native being on the injured list until July 25. Atlanta is hoping that the pain he suffered on Sunday doesn't lead to a long-term injury.
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