Mills' homecoming on hold after taking on Hawai'i gig?
The playing future of Boomers captain Patty Mills remains clouded after the five-time Olympian and 16-year NBA veteran accepted a role as the University of Hawaii men's basketball general manager.
Last month, NBL owner Larry Kestelman said he'd be surprised if Mills, currently a free agent since his Los Angeles Clippers were eliminated from the playoffs, did not finish his career with a swansong back home.
Kestelman believed Mills would at some point follow fellow Aussies Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova and Aron Baynes in returning home from NBA stints.
The 38-year-old last featured in the league for the Melbourne Tigers, now Melbourne United, in 2011.
Mills, the first Australian to reach 1000 NBA games, will take on a newly created role which supports student-athlete mentorship and development, while contributing to key areas including recruiting, fundraising, and community engagement.
"I'm deeply honoured to join the University of Hawaii basketball program as the new general manager." Mills said.
"This role is not only a professional milestone, but a personal one as well. Despite being from different parts of the Pacific region, as someone from the Torres Strait Islands, I feel a strong cultural connection to Hawaii - our communities share deep respect and spiritual connection to the land, sea and sky and the strength of family and tradition."
Mills is also a longtime resident of Hawaii, having spent the past decade living on Oahu's North Shore during the NBA off-season, and it was where he married longtime partner Alyssa in 2019.
Australia's first-ever Indigenous flag bearer, at the Tokyo Olympics, will reunite with UH head coach Eran Ganot, having shared history at Saint Mary's College where Mills was a two-time all-conference guard and Ganot spent nearly a decade on the coaching staff.
"I'm truly grateful to be embraced by this community, and I'm committed to honouring that connection by serving our program and representing the values we hold dear," Mills added.
"I can't wait to get to work alongside this incredible staff to give back to the game, grow the game and help build something special for Hawaii basketball."
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The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
The Professor with golden touch plots more swim success
Fittingly for a maths and physics nerd nicknamed The Professor, Cam McEvoy uses a bell curve to describe his swimming success. The Olympic 50m freestyle champion's latest data point on his curve was entered at Australia's selection trials for the looming world titles. McEvoy clocked 21.30 seconds, the quickest time in the world this year, to win in Adelaide on Wednesday night. The 31-year-old's feat extends his unheralded two-year span of swims in the low to mid-21 second range. "The best way I can put it is, because my training is so hyper-specific, when it comes time to racing, if I were to put everything out on a bell curve, all I have to do is my average to probably get something like that," McEvoy said. "I don't have to go into a race and hope I'm on that 99th percentile of my best ever. "And that's a huge amount of confidence that just allows you to relax before the race and trust the process." McEvoy has a bachelor of science degree, majoring in physics and mathematics. He aspired to be an astronaut and has worked as a fellow at the Centre for Quantum Dynamics at Queensland's Griffith University. And he relishes the technical intricacies of swimming and his event. "Usually I can finish a rep in training and call it down to the microsecond, within 0.02," McEvoy said. "I know where I'm at each point of the race as well. "You look at the Olympic gymnasts, they do the most crazy stuff and they can do it down to the millimetre - and they can do it day in, day out. "It's a level of skill we're hoping to develop here in the water. "And then what comes with that, there's so many angles you can approach and attack the problem and find 0.03 (reduction) here, 0.08 there. "Then you have just got to hope that on the day, all of it aligns." All has aligned for McEvoy since he almost quit swimming after the Tokyo Olympics of 2021. After an extended hiatus, he returned to the pool and vowed to do things his way. Instead of traditional training, he embarked on funky pursuits including rock climbing and calisthenics. And all his time in the water focused on the minutiae of his event in a revolutionary approach that delivered gold in the French capital at McEvoy's fourth Olympics. "It definitely took a chip off my shoulder that I had for a while," he said of his Olympic triumph. "But the manner in which I did it gives me a lot of pride; thinking about where I was, especially in 2022, but the years before that as well. "To go from there, create something and then execute it - that process is more special than the bit of metal at the end. "Getting that out of the way, to then move on to getting married, having my first born on the way - that's even more special. "Digesting the marriage, digesting starting a family, that puts the whole swimming gig into comparison; it humbles the whole job here and makes me realise there's so much more to the world." Fittingly for a maths and physics nerd nicknamed The Professor, Cam McEvoy uses a bell curve to describe his swimming success. The Olympic 50m freestyle champion's latest data point on his curve was entered at Australia's selection trials for the looming world titles. McEvoy clocked 21.30 seconds, the quickest time in the world this year, to win in Adelaide on Wednesday night. The 31-year-old's feat extends his unheralded two-year span of swims in the low to mid-21 second range. "The best way I can put it is, because my training is so hyper-specific, when it comes time to racing, if I were to put everything out on a bell curve, all I have to do is my average to probably get something like that," McEvoy said. "I don't have to go into a race and hope I'm on that 99th percentile of my best ever. "And that's a huge amount of confidence that just allows you to relax before the race and trust the process." McEvoy has a bachelor of science degree, majoring in physics and mathematics. He aspired to be an astronaut and has worked as a fellow at the Centre for Quantum Dynamics at Queensland's Griffith University. And he relishes the technical intricacies of swimming and his event. "Usually I can finish a rep in training and call it down to the microsecond, within 0.02," McEvoy said. "I know where I'm at each point of the race as well. "You look at the Olympic gymnasts, they do the most crazy stuff and they can do it down to the millimetre - and they can do it day in, day out. "It's a level of skill we're hoping to develop here in the water. "And then what comes with that, there's so many angles you can approach and attack the problem and find 0.03 (reduction) here, 0.08 there. "Then you have just got to hope that on the day, all of it aligns." All has aligned for McEvoy since he almost quit swimming after the Tokyo Olympics of 2021. After an extended hiatus, he returned to the pool and vowed to do things his way. Instead of traditional training, he embarked on funky pursuits including rock climbing and calisthenics. And all his time in the water focused on the minutiae of his event in a revolutionary approach that delivered gold in the French capital at McEvoy's fourth Olympics. "It definitely took a chip off my shoulder that I had for a while," he said of his Olympic triumph. "But the manner in which I did it gives me a lot of pride; thinking about where I was, especially in 2022, but the years before that as well. "To go from there, create something and then execute it - that process is more special than the bit of metal at the end. "Getting that out of the way, to then move on to getting married, having my first born on the way - that's even more special. "Digesting the marriage, digesting starting a family, that puts the whole swimming gig into comparison; it humbles the whole job here and makes me realise there's so much more to the world." Fittingly for a maths and physics nerd nicknamed The Professor, Cam McEvoy uses a bell curve to describe his swimming success. The Olympic 50m freestyle champion's latest data point on his curve was entered at Australia's selection trials for the looming world titles. McEvoy clocked 21.30 seconds, the quickest time in the world this year, to win in Adelaide on Wednesday night. The 31-year-old's feat extends his unheralded two-year span of swims in the low to mid-21 second range. "The best way I can put it is, because my training is so hyper-specific, when it comes time to racing, if I were to put everything out on a bell curve, all I have to do is my average to probably get something like that," McEvoy said. "I don't have to go into a race and hope I'm on that 99th percentile of my best ever. "And that's a huge amount of confidence that just allows you to relax before the race and trust the process." McEvoy has a bachelor of science degree, majoring in physics and mathematics. He aspired to be an astronaut and has worked as a fellow at the Centre for Quantum Dynamics at Queensland's Griffith University. And he relishes the technical intricacies of swimming and his event. "Usually I can finish a rep in training and call it down to the microsecond, within 0.02," McEvoy said. "I know where I'm at each point of the race as well. "You look at the Olympic gymnasts, they do the most crazy stuff and they can do it down to the millimetre - and they can do it day in, day out. "It's a level of skill we're hoping to develop here in the water. "And then what comes with that, there's so many angles you can approach and attack the problem and find 0.03 (reduction) here, 0.08 there. "Then you have just got to hope that on the day, all of it aligns." All has aligned for McEvoy since he almost quit swimming after the Tokyo Olympics of 2021. After an extended hiatus, he returned to the pool and vowed to do things his way. Instead of traditional training, he embarked on funky pursuits including rock climbing and calisthenics. And all his time in the water focused on the minutiae of his event in a revolutionary approach that delivered gold in the French capital at McEvoy's fourth Olympics. "It definitely took a chip off my shoulder that I had for a while," he said of his Olympic triumph. "But the manner in which I did it gives me a lot of pride; thinking about where I was, especially in 2022, but the years before that as well. "To go from there, create something and then execute it - that process is more special than the bit of metal at the end. "Getting that out of the way, to then move on to getting married, having my first born on the way - that's even more special. "Digesting the marriage, digesting starting a family, that puts the whole swimming gig into comparison; it humbles the whole job here and makes me realise there's so much more to the world."
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
'Unbelievable' Aussie pace pack lord it at Lord's again
At the party they always get to host but never get the chance to play in, English cricket has again been left to gaze on enviously on that old Australian cut-throat firm of Cummins, Hazlewood, Starc and Smith, who have been lording it at Lord's for years. First up, in this third World Test final to be staged in England, it had been that old nuisance Steve Smith, in all his familiar idiosyncratic glory even while suffering with a dose of the flu, marking himself the all-time overseas top scorer in all Lord's Tests with a knock of 66 that took his total to 591 in 10 innings. Er, Bradman only got 551 in eight. And even if that other 'old firm' of Smith and Marnus Labuschagne looked as if it could be on its last legs after perhaps one unconvincing struggle too many from the junior partner, the self-styled 'home of cricket' was then left to witness the familiar excellence of Australia's three-pronged mean, green, pace machine doing its stuff. Even the egg 'n bacon-tied MCC brigade in the Long Room, on their very best behaviour this time, couldn't help but applaud the 'big three'. After all, who knows how long Hazlewood, Cummins and Starc can keep up the sort of heroics after eight years working in perfect harmony at the Test coalface? "It's unbelievable. Me and (Cameron) Greeny were watching from the slips and gully and it looked like every ball they were going to make something happen," said an admiring Beau Webster as he got a close-up view of the trio who've never been on a losing final in an ICC event when they've all been on the same side. Their combined 4-34 off a combined 21 overs felt like a rinse-and-repeat show to infect every English fan's nightmares. Mean, tight and destructive, the three now have 959 Test wickets between them - and counting quickly. Could they actually be better than ever? Starc was just as menacing as usual while being even less expensive; Hazlewood, coming off a full IPL season, looked fresh and immensely sharp. Cummins was just Cummins, leading from the front, probing relentlessly. "They've done it for a long time, haven't they?" smiled Smith. "Today was no different. They all bowled really nicely." After Australia had struggled to 212, they knew they had to hit back sharpish. "When you know you've only got a couple of hours to bowl in the night, you can probably give a little bit more knowing you can have a break afterwards," said Smith, praising Starc's 2-10 contribution in particular. "I looked this up today and kind of forget every now and again, Starcy, he's played 97 Tests with this one, which is a hell of an effort for a fast bowler. He's just relentless with his body, a tough character. He bowls through a lot of pain and things like that. "The three have been great, and hopefully they can come again in the morning and make a few early inroads." Webster, the 'Slug from Snug', will take his place back in the catching cordon and just enjoy. "They're a luxury we've had for a lot of years and it's not going to last for ever, but we are still in a good place," mused the Tasmanian. "And the less overs I have to bowl the better!" At the party they always get to host but never get the chance to play in, English cricket has again been left to gaze on enviously on that old Australian cut-throat firm of Cummins, Hazlewood, Starc and Smith, who have been lording it at Lord's for years. First up, in this third World Test final to be staged in England, it had been that old nuisance Steve Smith, in all his familiar idiosyncratic glory even while suffering with a dose of the flu, marking himself the all-time overseas top scorer in all Lord's Tests with a knock of 66 that took his total to 591 in 10 innings. Er, Bradman only got 551 in eight. And even if that other 'old firm' of Smith and Marnus Labuschagne looked as if it could be on its last legs after perhaps one unconvincing struggle too many from the junior partner, the self-styled 'home of cricket' was then left to witness the familiar excellence of Australia's three-pronged mean, green, pace machine doing its stuff. Even the egg 'n bacon-tied MCC brigade in the Long Room, on their very best behaviour this time, couldn't help but applaud the 'big three'. After all, who knows how long Hazlewood, Cummins and Starc can keep up the sort of heroics after eight years working in perfect harmony at the Test coalface? "It's unbelievable. Me and (Cameron) Greeny were watching from the slips and gully and it looked like every ball they were going to make something happen," said an admiring Beau Webster as he got a close-up view of the trio who've never been on a losing final in an ICC event when they've all been on the same side. Their combined 4-34 off a combined 21 overs felt like a rinse-and-repeat show to infect every English fan's nightmares. Mean, tight and destructive, the three now have 959 Test wickets between them - and counting quickly. Could they actually be better than ever? Starc was just as menacing as usual while being even less expensive; Hazlewood, coming off a full IPL season, looked fresh and immensely sharp. Cummins was just Cummins, leading from the front, probing relentlessly. "They've done it for a long time, haven't they?" smiled Smith. "Today was no different. They all bowled really nicely." After Australia had struggled to 212, they knew they had to hit back sharpish. "When you know you've only got a couple of hours to bowl in the night, you can probably give a little bit more knowing you can have a break afterwards," said Smith, praising Starc's 2-10 contribution in particular. "I looked this up today and kind of forget every now and again, Starcy, he's played 97 Tests with this one, which is a hell of an effort for a fast bowler. He's just relentless with his body, a tough character. He bowls through a lot of pain and things like that. "The three have been great, and hopefully they can come again in the morning and make a few early inroads." Webster, the 'Slug from Snug', will take his place back in the catching cordon and just enjoy. "They're a luxury we've had for a lot of years and it's not going to last for ever, but we are still in a good place," mused the Tasmanian. "And the less overs I have to bowl the better!" At the party they always get to host but never get the chance to play in, English cricket has again been left to gaze on enviously on that old Australian cut-throat firm of Cummins, Hazlewood, Starc and Smith, who have been lording it at Lord's for years. First up, in this third World Test final to be staged in England, it had been that old nuisance Steve Smith, in all his familiar idiosyncratic glory even while suffering with a dose of the flu, marking himself the all-time overseas top scorer in all Lord's Tests with a knock of 66 that took his total to 591 in 10 innings. Er, Bradman only got 551 in eight. And even if that other 'old firm' of Smith and Marnus Labuschagne looked as if it could be on its last legs after perhaps one unconvincing struggle too many from the junior partner, the self-styled 'home of cricket' was then left to witness the familiar excellence of Australia's three-pronged mean, green, pace machine doing its stuff. Even the egg 'n bacon-tied MCC brigade in the Long Room, on their very best behaviour this time, couldn't help but applaud the 'big three'. After all, who knows how long Hazlewood, Cummins and Starc can keep up the sort of heroics after eight years working in perfect harmony at the Test coalface? "It's unbelievable. Me and (Cameron) Greeny were watching from the slips and gully and it looked like every ball they were going to make something happen," said an admiring Beau Webster as he got a close-up view of the trio who've never been on a losing final in an ICC event when they've all been on the same side. Their combined 4-34 off a combined 21 overs felt like a rinse-and-repeat show to infect every English fan's nightmares. Mean, tight and destructive, the three now have 959 Test wickets between them - and counting quickly. Could they actually be better than ever? Starc was just as menacing as usual while being even less expensive; Hazlewood, coming off a full IPL season, looked fresh and immensely sharp. Cummins was just Cummins, leading from the front, probing relentlessly. "They've done it for a long time, haven't they?" smiled Smith. "Today was no different. They all bowled really nicely." After Australia had struggled to 212, they knew they had to hit back sharpish. "When you know you've only got a couple of hours to bowl in the night, you can probably give a little bit more knowing you can have a break afterwards," said Smith, praising Starc's 2-10 contribution in particular. "I looked this up today and kind of forget every now and again, Starcy, he's played 97 Tests with this one, which is a hell of an effort for a fast bowler. He's just relentless with his body, a tough character. He bowls through a lot of pain and things like that. "The three have been great, and hopefully they can come again in the morning and make a few early inroads." Webster, the 'Slug from Snug', will take his place back in the catching cordon and just enjoy. "They're a luxury we've had for a lot of years and it's not going to last for ever, but we are still in a good place," mused the Tasmanian. "And the less overs I have to bowl the better!"
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
The Professor with golden touch plots more swim success
Fittingly for a maths and physics nerd nicknamed The Professor, Cam McEvoy uses a bell curve to describe his swimming success. The Olympic 50m freestyle champion's latest data point on his curve was entered at Australia's selection trials for the looming world titles. McEvoy clocked 21.30 seconds, the quickest time in the world this year, to win in Adelaide on Wednesday night. The 31-year-old's feat extends his unheralded two-year span of swims in the low to mid-21 second range. "The best way I can put it is, because my training is so hyper-specific, when it comes time to racing, if I were to put everything out on a bell curve, all I have to do is my average to probably get something like that," McEvoy said. "I don't have to go into a race and hope I'm on that 99th percentile of my best ever. "And that's a huge amount of confidence that just allows you to relax before the race and trust the process." McEvoy has a bachelor of science degree, majoring in physics and mathematics. He aspired to be an astronaut and has worked as a fellow at the Centre for Quantum Dynamics at Queensland's Griffith University. And he relishes the technical intricacies of swimming and his event. "Usually I can finish a rep in training and call it down to the microsecond, within 0.02," McEvoy said. "I know where I'm at each point of the race as well. "You look at the Olympic gymnasts, they do the most crazy stuff and they can do it down to the millimetre - and they can do it day in, day out. "It's a level of skill we're hoping to develop here in the water. "And then what comes with that, there's so many angles you can approach and attack the problem and find 0.03 (reduction) here, 0.08 there. "Then you have just got to hope that on the day, all of it aligns." All has aligned for McEvoy since he almost quit swimming after the Tokyo Olympics of 2021. After an extended hiatus, he returned to the pool and vowed to do things his way. Instead of traditional training, he embarked on funky pursuits including rock climbing and calisthenics. And all his time in the water focused on the minutiae of his event in a revolutionary approach that delivered gold in the French capital at McEvoy's fourth Olympics. "It definitely took a chip off my shoulder that I had for a while," he said of his Olympic triumph. "But the manner in which I did it gives me a lot of pride; thinking about where I was, especially in 2022, but the years before that as well. "To go from there, create something and then execute it - that process is more special than the bit of metal at the end. "Getting that out of the way, to then move on to getting married, having my first born on the way - that's even more special. "Digesting the marriage, digesting starting a family, that puts the whole swimming gig into comparison; it humbles the whole job here and makes me realise there's so much more to the world."
