Latest news with #Clemson
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Memphis Grizzlies sign PJ Hall, former Clemson basketball star, to NBA two-way contract
Former Clemson basketball star PJ Hall has an NBA contract again. The Memphis Grizzlies signed Hall to a two-way contract July 20. A two-way contract allows a team to have up to three players (in addition to their 15-man roster) who can split time between the NBA and its G League affiliate. Hall, 23, is back in the NBA after going undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft and signing a two-way deal with the Denver Nuggets. He played in 19 games with the Nuggets last season, averaging 1.7 points and 1.2 rebounds in 3.5 minutes as a rookie. The Nuggets released him this offseason, and he played for the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA Las Vegas Summer League when the Grizzlies signed him. He averaged 9.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, one assist and 1.6 blocks in 13.7 minutes. Hall started all 20 of his Showcase Cup and regular-season appearances with the G League's Grand Rapids Gold last season, averaging 18.9 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 blocks in 32 minutes. He averages increased to 19.2 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 31.5 minutes in 13 games during the regular season. Hall attended Clemson for four seasons and helped it make to the Elite Eight for the first time in 44 years in 2024. He earned first-team All-ACC honors and finished third in ACC Player of the Year voting in his final season. Before Clemson, Hall played at Dorman in Spartanburg, helping the Cavaliers to two Class AAAAA state championships. He was rated the state's No. 1 recruit by 247Sports and was selected the Gatorade South Carolina Player of the Year as a senior. Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@ and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00 This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Former Clemson basketball star P.J. Hall signs with Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Herald
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
ACC Kickoff: Bill Belichick and the top storylines this week in Charlotte
CHARLOTTE -- Talking season in college football continues this week with ACC Kickoff, and anticipation has never been higher because of a certain coach arriving in Chapel Hill. Every head coach and marquee players representing all 17 ACC football programs descend on Charlotte on Tuesday to discuss the upcoming 2025 football season. Here are three storylines to monitor during ACC Kickoff. --Bill Belichick's long-awaited debut The University of North Carolina has historically been a basketball school. But this offseason, the Tar Heels have been the talk of the college football universe since hiring legendary NFL head coach Bill Belichick last December. Belichick, who turned 73 in April, is now a first-time college coach in Chapel Hill after winning six Super Bowls as head coach of the New England Patriots from 2000 through 2023. He replaces Mack Brown, who was fired to end his second stint as UNC head coach last November. It's been an interesting first offseason for Belichick, who has been in the news quite a bit with regard to his 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson and her involvement with the UNC football program. However, he's also transformed the roster by bringing in 41 transfers, third-most of any Power-Four program. While ACC Kickoff can always be a bit of a media circus, Belichick's first appearance in Charlotte on Thursday should add a new level of buzz before his much-anticipated UNC coaching debut Sept. 1 vs. TCU. --Expectations renewed for Clemson entering 2025 For awhile there, Clemson winning the ACC Championship under Dabo Swinney felt like a bit of a foregorn conclusion. Swinney and the Tigers won six straight conference titles from 2015 through 2020 and a seventh in 2022, along with a pair of national titles in 2016 and 2018. And yet, when Clemson went 9-4 (4-4 in ACC) in 2023, people wondered if the Tigers' run of dominance under Swinney was coming to an end. Clemson quickly proved that doubt foolish last season, capping off a 9-3 regular season with the program's eighth ACC title in the last 10 years and an appearance in the first 12-team edition of the College Football Playoff. The Tigers now enter 2025 with high expectations once again drifting off their 2024 resurgence and the fact that many prominent players from that team return. Senior quarterback Cade Klubnik is back after amassing 3,639 passing yards, 463 rushing yards and 43 total touchdowns (36 passing, seven rushing) in 2024. On the other side of the ball, T.J. Parker Jr. and Peter Woods Jr. are set to anchor a defensive line that is expected to be among the best in the country. --How does SMU follow up its impressive ACC opening act? As conference realignment boomed over the last few years, quite a few teams that changed conferences struggled to adapt to the increased level of competition. That proved to be no problem for SMU, however. The Mustangs finished their first season in the ACC last fall with an 11-1 regular season and made appearances in the ACC Championship Game and College Football Playoff. That makes for a tough act to follow in SMU's second season in the ACC under head coach Rhett Lashlee. Starting quarterback Kevin Jennings is back this season after anchoring the Mustangs' undefeated season behind 3,245 passing yards and 23 touchdown passes. He's likely out for redemption after he threw three interceptions in SMU's 38-10 CFP loss at Penn State. The Mustangs will have to replace leading rushing Brashard Smith (1,332 yards, 14 rushing touchdowns in 2024) and standout defensive linemen Elijah Roberts and Jahfari Harvey, who combined for 15 sacks in 2024. --Field Level Media Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved
NBC Sports
15 hours ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
U.S. Junior storylines: Charlie Woods among several PGA Tour sons; Lefty takeover at the top
Yes, you're getting old. Competing in this week's U.S. Junior Amateur at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas are four sons of current or former PGA Tour players – Jackson Byrd, Trevor Gutschewski, Cameron Kuchar and Charlie Woods. Byrd is the 18-year-old son of Jonathan Byrd, who won five times on the PGA Tour and was rookie of the year in 2022. He was runner-up to Russell at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley earlier this year. He starts this fall at Clemson, where his uncle, Jordan Byrd, is the head coach. Gutschewski, 18 and the oldest son of three-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Scott Gutschewski, returns to defend his title, marking the first U.S. Junior champion to get that opportunity since Nick Dunlap in 2022 (Dunlap made the semifinals that year). Gutschewski missed the cut at last month's U.S. Open at Oakmont, though he rebounded quickly to win the Western Junior. He'll begin his college career at Florida this fall. Kuchar, 17, makes his USGA debut after recently finishing runner-up to Gutschewski at the Western Junior and verbally committing to TCU. His dad, Matt Kuchar, is a nine-time PGA Tour winner, nine-time Ryder and Presidents Cupper, Olympic bronze medalist and USGA champion (1997 U.S. Amateur). And then there's Woods, the 16-year-old son of 15-time major champion Tiger Woods. Woods qualified for his second straight U.S. Junior, a tournament his dad won three times among his nine USGA titles. Woods is a rising junior at the Benjamin School in North Palm Beach, Florida, and the Class of 2027 recruit can officially talk to college coaches as of last month. He's also shot up the AJGA rankings, cracking the top 20 after winning the Team TaylorMade Invitational in May, beating top-ranked junior Miles Russell by six shots in the process. Woods shot 22 over in last year's U.S. Junior debut at Oakland Hills, tying for 240th in the 264-player field. This year's field is also 264 players deep with 38 states and 33 countries represented. The top 64 players after 36 holes of stroke play will advance to Wednesday's first round of match play. The 36-hole final is slated for Saturday. Here are the other big storylines entering the 77th edition of the U.S. Junior: Lefty takeover Not only are the top three players in this field – Miles Russell, Luke Colton and Tyler Watts – all ranked in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking, but all three are lefthanded. Russell, 16, is the highest ranked of the trio, at No. 18. The Class of 2027 star recently gave his verbal commitment to Florida State and owns victories this year at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley and AJGA Simplify Boys Championship, plus a runner-up at the Northeast Amateur. He also has won the Boys Junior PGA and AJGA Junior Players, so the U.S. Junior is the last major junior title still eluding him. Colton, an 18-year-old Vanderbilt commit from Frisco, Texas, is ranked No. 25 in the world. He's already playing his fifth USGA championship and has twice reached match play at the U.S. Junior. He's the two-time defending champion of the Terra Cotta Amateur. No. 45 Watts, 17, is arguably having the best summer of the three. He won the Sunnehanna Amateur in June with a record 18-under score and a few weeks later reached the final of the North and South Amateur. He also lost to Trevor Gutschewski is last year's U.S. Junior final at Oakland Hills. He's verbally committed to Tennessee. Can he Mawhinney? It's hard to believe this is Tyler Mawhinney's U.S. Junior debut. The 17-year-old from Fleming Island, Florida, already has a USGA title under his belt, teaming with future Vanderbilt teammate Will Hartman, who is also in this week's field, to win this year's U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship. Mawhinney also won last year's Canadian Men's Amateur and then took advantage of his exemption into the PGA Tour's RBC Canadian Open last month, tying for 65th. Mawhinney also reached the Round of 16 at last summer's U.S. Amateur. Qatar, not a drawer At 14 years old, Daniil Sokolov is one of the youngest players in the field. Only 13-year-olds Luka Tiger Peterman Castillo and Salem Alabdallat are younger. Sokolov is also the first player from Qatar ever to play a USGA championship. Sokolov was born in South Korea to Russian parents and moved to Qatar when he was 5 years old. He was a bronze medalist at the 2024 Arab Junior Championship and has twice played in the DP World Tour's Qatar Masters, missing the cut both times. Home cooking There are 17 Texans teeing it up this week, second most of any state behind only California (24). Among them is 18-year-old Reese Roberts of Dallas. Roberts is a Missouri signee and attended the same high school as two-time U.S. Junior champion Jordan Spieth, Jesuit College Prep in Dallas. Roberts has won Spieth's AJGA event, doing so last year, the same year that he won the Texas State Amateur at Trinity Forest.
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Former Clemson star guard Joseph Girard III signs a contract to play overseas
Where Clemson ranks in CBS Sports 2025 most intimidating environments in college football After wrapping up his time in the NBA Summer League with the Toronto Raptors, former Clemson guard Joseph Girard III is headed overseas to continue his basketball career. Girard has officially signed with Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana, a professional club based in Slovenia. The veteran sharpshooter spent the 2023-24 season with the Tigers after transferring from Syracuse, where he played his first four years. He was instrumental in Clemson's run to the Elite Eight — the program's first since 1980 — averaging 15.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. Girard also posted elite shooting numbers: 43% from the field, 41.3% from beyond the arc, and 93.5% at the free-throw line. As a player, Girard was always a guy with a lot of potential, but hasn't completely put it together the way many had hoped. He still has a high ceiling as a player, and will look to prove it overseas as he looks to develop into an NBA player. Contact us @Clemson_Wire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions.
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
LSU football wide receiver commit remains top ranked pass catcher in new rankings
LSU wide receiver commit Tristen Keys was named the best at his position in the initial Rivals300 rankings for the 2026 recruiting class. Keys, the only five-star prospect on the list, leads a top five of uncommitted Jase Mathews, Clemson's Naeem Burroughs, Alabama's Cederian Morgan, and Oregon's Messiah Hampton. There are four committed to play at SEC schools in the top 10. Keys committed to LSU in March. The Hattiesburg, MS native is the top recruit out of Mississippi and No. 7 overall, per RIvals' Industry Rankings. He chose the Tigers over Ole Miss, USC, and Alabama. While he took other official visits following his commitment, Keys stuck with LSU since his initial announcement. He is one of three wide receivers in the Tigers' 2026 class, in addition to Kenny Darby and Jabari Mack. LSU ranks eighth nationally and fifth in the SEC for the 2026 cycle, per Rivals' Industry Rankings. Here are the top 10 wide receivers in the Rivals300 rankings.
