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Jurrangelo Cijntje gets K righty, fly out lefty

Jurrangelo Cijntje gets K righty, fly out lefty

Yahooa day ago
Shooting Analysis With Canucks 2025 First-Round Draft Pick Braeden Cootes
Braeden Cootes is known for a multitude of sharp hockey skills. It's why he was picked 15th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2025 NHL Draft. The Seattle Thunderbirds captain has been widely discussed for his leadership qualities, even drawing comparisons to former Canucks captain Bo Horvat for his character and two-way play. While his leadership and ability to play up and down the ice are essential, there's another aspect to his game that Cootes also likes working on.
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VJ Edgecombe Gets Praised By 76ers Head Coach
VJ Edgecombe Gets Praised By 76ers Head Coach

Yahoo

time44 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

VJ Edgecombe Gets Praised By 76ers Head Coach

VJ Edgecombe Gets Praised By 76ers Head Coach originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Philadelphia 76ers rookie guard VJ Edgecombe has made a lasting impression on his fans, his teammates and even his coaches. Although he's only been seen in action during the NBA Summer League, Edgecombe has showcased what he can offer for the 76ers. His All-Star teammate, Paul George, went as far as to compare him to six-time All-Star forward Jimmy Butler. Advertisement In his first Summer League game, Edgecombe posted 28 points and 10 rebounds in Salt Lake City. Based only on his lone performance in the tournament, 76ers head coach Nick Nurse already expressed his admiration for the young guard. Nurse appeared as a guest on the podcast "The Hoop Collective" and had high praise for Edgecombe. Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe watches the game. Candice Ward-Imagn Images "Just a lot of everything," Nurse said. "First of all, incredible athlete. Does things defensively. Like, he's good defensively, but he makes plays, shot-blocker, you don't see that a lot (shot-blocking) from the wing position. Tries really hard on D. Explosive. "Looked like he's got some shimmy to get his own shot off. He's a full-court player, getting up and down in transition. And then he's an incredible person, he's really all about working really hard. Super respectful, and he's just great to be around." Advertisement Edgecombe has shown a ton of upside with the way he's played. He's only appeared in one Summer League game, as he's dealing with a left thumb sprain. Heading into the 2025-26 NBA season, the Philadelphia 76ers expect the former Baylor star to share the backcourt with Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain, Eric Gordon and Kyle Lowry. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 14, 2025, where it first appeared.

4-star high school basketball star throws down dunk of the summer; is he really only 5-foot-9?
4-star high school basketball star throws down dunk of the summer; is he really only 5-foot-9?

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

4-star high school basketball star throws down dunk of the summer; is he really only 5-foot-9?

It wouldn't be club basketball season without a relatively small guard throwing down an insane dunk. Here we have a viral entrant for high school dunk of the offseason from a member of Team Loaded, which came in the second half of a competitive loss to Indiana Elite in Adidas 3SSB play. First of all, this is an insane dunk and display of leaping ability whether the dunker in question was 5-foot-5, 6-5, or 7-5. No matter his height, his body control and distance from the floor speaker for themselves. Advertisement But was he really only 5-9 like the tweet said? He certainly was the smallest player on the floor, taking off far from the rim and switching hands in midair before jamming it with emphasis. Based on his proximity in size with the other players on the floor, 5-foot-9 passes the eye test. However, the player in question was one of the bigger guard recruits in the South/East Coast in 4-star rising senior Yohance Connor of Combine Academy (NC). Connor is listed at 6-2 and ranked 104th in the Class of 2026 by 247Sports. The truth is, players in the vicinity of 6-1 and 6-2 frequently do appear to be 5-9 when sharing the floor with college and professional-sized wings and frontcourt players. For those who watched the 2025 NBA playoffs, look no farther than T.J. McConnell, who stands 6-0.75 barefoot and 6-2 in basketball shoes. In the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he was frequently the only player on the floor below 6-foot-5 in bare feet. Advertisement Even if 6-foot-2 is a stretch for Connor in bare feet – which it might not be – he's certainly nowhere near 5-9. But the dunk was still truly insane, and the fact that he's all of 6-foot-2 at most instead of 5-9 doesn't diminish its viral-worthiness. That was one of the more impressive and visually jarring dunks you'll see from a small guard, and that's that. Connor finished the game with 22 points despite the loss. While it takes more than just elite athleticism to play high major college ball at 6-foot-2, it's easy to see why he's nearly a top-100 recruit in his class with 12 offers that include Auburn, Arizona State, Illinois, LSU, Wake Forest, and Virginia Tech. RELATED:

Cubs select a trio of college talent on first day of MLB Draft, including CF Ethan Conrad
Cubs select a trio of college talent on first day of MLB Draft, including CF Ethan Conrad

New York Times

timean hour ago

  • New York Times

Cubs select a trio of college talent on first day of MLB Draft, including CF Ethan Conrad

The Chicago Cubs finished Day 1 of the MLB Draft on Sunday evening, making three total selections. In the first round with the 17th pick, the Cubs selected Ethan Conrad, a center fielder out of Wake Forest. Conrad slashed .372/.495/.744 this season but played in only 21 games after his season ended early due to an injured left labrum that he hurt while diving for a ball. Conrad had similar standout numbers in his sophomore year at Marist, then dominated at the Cape last summer. Cape success has been a trend for Cubs draft picks in recent years. Advertisement They've also taken advantage of players who are coming off injury and may have seen their draft value dinged in the process. Cade Horton was a late bloomer after injury, but the Cubs were aggressive in selecting him in the top 10 in 2022 after an impressive showing in the College World Series. Jaxon Wiggins was a 2023 second-round pick whose season was cut short at Arkansas and has emerged as a top pitching prospect in the organization. 'He complied with the medical portion of Major League Baseball's scouting combine,' vice president of scouting Dan Kantrovitz told members of the media via a video call Sunday night. 'So there wasn't a lot of uncertainty when it comes to the information there. We felt he was somebody that, if he played out the entire season, he would have been considered in the top 10 of the draft. We felt it was pretty exceptional value in terms of getting him at 17. We felt that he's a potentially dynamic talent.' Conrad is a left-handed bat who pairs power with contact ability and some solid speed. He didn't regularly play center field until he transferred to Wake Forest, so scouts are still unsure if he can stick there. But if he returns to full health, his bat is seen as capable of being valuable enough for him to move to a corner spot. Talent evaluators see this as a risky pick, but the Cubs were confident Conrad would return to full health. "It's honestly such an honor hearing my name called by the Chicago Cubs. It's a dream come true." Ethan Conrad on being drafted by the Cubs. — Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) July 14, 2025 'You don't want to close the door on a player based on his health if the forecast is that he's going to recover,' Kantrovit said. 'And in the case of Ethan, we expect a full recovery. I'm not sure if it's a trend, but it's definitely something that we're not going to dismiss players we think are going to get back to full strength.' Advertisement Conrad showed impressive slugging ability at Marist and in his brief time with Wake Forest, but Kantrovitz said he's still filling out and that 'there's an increasing slug component there.' He's also lauded by scouting departments for having strong underlying metrics, something the model-heavy Cubs front office certainly values. 'His decision-making, his ability to make contact and his ability to make damage, all three of those pillars are there,' Kantrovitz said, adding that they believe Conrad is a five-tool player. The expectation is that Conrad will take the rest of the summer and fall to recover and rehab. Then they hope he comes to spring training at 100 percent and ready to begin his pro career in earnest. In the second round, the Cubs selected Kane Kepley, another center fielder, this one from the University of North Carolina. Kepley is a high-contact bat who takes his walks and brings value with strong defense in center and impressive speed on the basepaths. 'His game's not power; it's speed,' Kantrovitz said. 'He's a plus defender in center field, and he stole 40-plus bags this year. He led off on a good team there in North Carolina. He's somebody that can put a lot of pressure on the defense.' Kepley posted a .451 on-base percentage at UNC after two brilliant seasons at Liberty. He stole 45 bases in 49 attempts this past season and had a walk rate above 14 percent and a contact rate approaching 90 percent. The concern would be that the lack of power leads higher-level pitchers to challenge him and make his patience less valuable. 'It's not too often that you see somebody that has his ability to make contact, spray the ball around and play center field the way he can,' Kantrovitz said. In the third round, the Cubs selected Abilene Christian righty Dominick Reid. Reid is known for having arguably the best changeup in the draft. The #Cubs tonight selected RHP Dominick Reid of @ACU_Baseball with the 90th overall pick in the 2025 #MLBDraft. — Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 14, 2025 'He's just got a natural feel for it,' Kantrovitz said. 'It comes from a pretty nasty arm slot that's tough to pick up. He throws it to both lefties and righties. He's also got feel to spin it on a couple of different axes. He's touched mid-90s this year; he's probably 92 to 94 (mph) most of the time. He's got a body that's still filling out. We feel like there's some untapped potential there.' Advertisement The Cubs have had some recent success in adding velocity to pitchers, so selecting pitchers with strong secondaries and/or good command makes sense. Whether the Cubs can tease more out of Reid velocity-wise and perhaps develop either his slider or curveball will be key to his development. By drafting a trio of college players, the Cubs have a chance to be aggressive on Day 2 and maybe go for a high school player who is looking for a bigger payday. They believe they have some financial flexibility and can use it Monday. 'At this juncture, it's difficult to forecast how we're going to deploy that flexibility,' Kantrovitz said. 'But suffice it to say we're going to go into tomorrow with a good amount of financial flexibility.' (Photo of Ethan Conrad: Vera Nieuwenhuis / Associated Press)

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