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5 days ago
- Sport
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OKC Thunder might be 'idiots' but strength is their youth entering 2025 NBA Finals
Mark Daigneault thought he'd walk away unscathed, unbothered to deliver his signature platitudes on the biggest night of his young team's lives. Wrong. As he spoke to ESPN's Lisa Salters at midcourt, his reward for helping the Oklahoma City Thunder reach its first NBA Finals since 2012 on Wednesday, he was reminded of the nature of the group he's coaching. The Disney Channel vibes they emanate. These PG-13, bought-in 20-somethings whose defense is rated R. Advertisement 'They're professional,' Daigneault started, listing the reasons why their regular season success translated to June. 'They're high character …" He paused. Sophomore guard Cason Wallace wrapped him in a towel like E.T. A hat spawned atop his head, too. Center Chet Holmgren's hand reached to cock it sideways. 'They're idiots,' he continued, smiling. That idiocy is among the intangibles that got them here. The innocence of their youth has allowed them to enjoy each other's company, unlike how many teams exist. That they play almost not to disappoint each other is palpable. More: Mark Daigneault loves coaching his band of OKC Thunder 'idiots' on run to NBA Finals Advertisement 'They're special,' Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said of his teammates. 'The biggest thing is they make the NBA not feel like a job. And it can at times with all the travel and all the hard days, ups and downs — I know I sound spoiled being in the NBA and complaining about hard days, but these guys really make you feel like I'm a kid playing AAU basketball (at) 15 years old again. 'They make it seem like it's just fun. And I think that's what makes us really good, like we have so much fun being out there together. And I'm sure we all know that when you're having fun with things, you give it your all, and you excel at it because you enjoy it.' Look at the group. There are bubble babies, whose first taste of the league came then or afterward. The CBA babies, assembled with the picks garnered in awareness of this new deal. Unheralded players and second-rounders nearly across the board. A crew with similar struggles and chips on their shoulder in a place that vets players based on how those obstacles might shape them. For most of them, all they know is each other. Perhaps the misstep was thinking their youth was their kryptonite instead of a weapon. These AAU NBAers have mostly been on the same timeline, chasing the feeling of this unit. Shaped by their lives almost being tethered. Advertisement Among those older or with different experiences is Alex Caruso, who experienced what a championship team looks like, and was tactically chosen as the voice that could communicate to these whippersnappers what they need. There's Isaiah Hartenstein, also acquired by the Thunder last summer, who played with his share of superstars and knew what they needed. Out of a bruiser, out of a big man, out of a teammate. That's why general manager Sam Presti mostly left this core untouched. If the phrase 'additive' was ever thrown around as it relates to acquisitions, it might've teetered more toward intangibles than basketball fit. Presti knows how to make basketball fit. He's now seemingly mastered how to make the people fit. How to not taint what feels so uncommonly pure. 'Everybody in our locker room is grateful and humble, respectful, kind, professional, and it allows everybody to operate at full capacity,' Daigneault said. 'And we don't take that for granted. I don't take that for granted. 'And you ask, why? I think it's where they come from. It's their families. It's their circles. … who's around them, who's talking to them now, who was talking to them when they were 10 years old. It all fits together and makes sense. They're great people first, you know?' Advertisement And idiots. Never leave that out. More: Alex Caruso and the Thunder defense did it again, carrying OKC to NBA Finals | Mussatto Joel Lorenzi covers the Thunder and NBA for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joel? He can be reached at jlorenzi@ or on X/Twitter at @joelxlorenzi. Sign up for the Thunder Sports Minute newsletter to access more NBA coverage. Support Joel's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder's greatest strength is youth entering 2025 NBA Finals
New York Times
07-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Where will Duke's Final Four collapse fit into Jon Scheyer's legacy?
SAN ANTONIO — Two minutes before midnight, the steady purr of a golf cart grew louder and louder, sound materializing before any sight. Then, from around a bend in a back hallway of the Alamodome, it appeared: a four-wheeled white chariot, taking Duke coach Jon Scheyer on one final ride back to his locker room. How agonizingly long — and also painstakingly short — it must have felt. Advertisement As the cart slowed to a halt, Scheyer's wife, Marcelle, was the first to unload, the shock of Duke's 70-67 Final Four loss to Houston still evident on her face. How could it not be? There was no real-time processing late Saturday night what just transpired in San Antonio: an all-time NCAA Tournament collapse by the best team in college basketball this season, Duke choking away a nine-point lead with two minutes left to snatch defeat from the claws of victory. The view from the bottom of a spiral isn't pretty — nor a vantage point that Scheyer and his team expected to see. Duke was the betting favorite entering this weekend for good reasons. It had the best player in the country in freshman superstar Cooper Flagg, plus four other future NBAers in its starting lineup. And analytically speaking, at least, it had the best balance of elite offense and suffocating defense of any team left. It was Duke's title to lose. And after 33 of the most painful seconds in Duke basketball history — a 9-0 Houston run, and Flagg missing a potential game-winner — that's exactly what transpired. 'I'm heartbroken for our team that did everything for 38 minutes or 39 minutes, and came up short,' Scheyer said from the postgame dais. 'Obviously as a coach, I'm reflecting right now what else I could have said or done. I'm sure there's a lot more that I could have done to help our guys at the end there. That's the thing that kills me the most.' And the raw reality of Saturday night must now be squared with Scheyer's budding coaching stardom. This season, the 37-year-old became the first coach in ACC history to win two league titles in his first three seasons as head coach. Beyond that, his 89 wins in his first three seasons tie Brad Underwood and Brad Stevens for the most in Division-I history. He delivered Duke to its first outright ACC championship sweep since 2006. The improvements he made — as a tactician, especially — were innumerable, and the achievements of this team are a testament to his growth. Advertisement But this loss? This one never leaves you. The pain will dull with time, but not the regret — especially not for the uber-competitive Scheyer. It doesn't have to be defining, but will be an inescapable piece of whatever Scheyer's coaching legacy becomes. Of Houston's late-game pressure, which got the better of the Blue Devils, Scheyer said, 'I feel like I let our guys down in that regard.' It was something he felt they had prepared for, but after romping through the worst ACC in modern memory, lacked experience against. 'I'll cross that bridge the next couple days,' he said. 'Right now, I'm just hurting for our guys.' There are two natural inclinations when sifting through the wreckage. First, how? Without going full Zapruder on the game tape, Duke's defense fell apart over the final eight minutes. It had held Houston to a measly 28 points in the first half, which took away the Coogs' patented potency on the offensive glass and left them settling for tough turnaround Js. Duke had ballooned its lead to 14 in the second half, a coronation seemingly imminent for a team that Scheyer spent 18 months so carefully constructing. But from that point on, Duke's defensive backbone disappeared. Houston scored a staggering 25 points on seven made baskets and nine free throws, none bigger than J'Wan Roberts' game-winners with 19.1 seconds left. Of those seven makes, four were second-chance baskets, part of Houston's 19-12 edge over Duke in that respect. But this did not happen in a vacuum. Scheyer danced with the ones who brought him, for better or for worse. He played 7-foot-2 center Khaman Maluach for 12 second-half minutes, despite the future lottery pick not recording a single rebound. He went away from sophomore guard Caleb Foster, too, whose four first-half rebounds were critical to limiting Houston's second (and sometimes third) attempts. Advertisement And when graduate guard Sion James struggled inbounding the ball in the final minute — even being gifted a second opportunity after JoJo Tugler's administrative technical foul — Scheyer chose not to defer to another inbounder, ultimately resulting in a pivotal turnover. And perhaps most importantly? In the most critical two moments of the game, his calls resulted in a turnaround jumper against a sixth-year senior and a failed Hail Mary that kept Duke from getting one last good look. For as much high-quality, five-out offense as Scheyer incorporated this season, it's impossible not to question the plays Scheyer went to in those situations. The spacing on Flagg's jumper that came up short, especially — Duke's four other players all to one side of the nail — left much to be desired. 'Obviously when Jon called timeout, everybody knows who's going to get it,' said Houston coach Kelvin Sampson. 'Wan, I thought, did an awesome job of getting his hands up high enough that it wasn't an easy look.' Then comes the second sentiment, anytime something goes as horribly wrong as Saturday night did for Duke: Is this a one-of-one incident? Or are there other historic collapses that adequately stack up? A few come to mind — starting with the first Final Four that Scheyer's predecessor ever made it to. Back in 1986, after years of toiling, resurrecting Duke's program in the shadow of Dean Smith and Jim Valvano, Mike Krzyzewski finally broke through and made his first final weekend. Those Blue Devils even made the national title game and held a six-point lead over Louisville with just over seven minutes to play. But as was the case for Scheyer on Saturday, an extended scoring drought for Krzyzewski's first Final Four group proved fatal, as Louisville came from behind to win. Or perhaps 1998-99 Duke is the better example? The clear-cut best team in the country, which lost only once heading into the final Monday of the season, was similarly built like an NBA breeding ground: Shane Battier and Elton Brand, Will Avery and Trajan Langdon. The gravitas of that loss — the best team ever in KenPom's 29-season analytical database — is much more on par with this Duke team's defeat. In terms of game-pressure parallels, two others come to mind: 2003-04 Duke and 2007-08 Memphis. The former — three seasons before Scheyer committed to the program he now coaches — saw an eight-point lead disappear in the final three minutes of the Final Four, to a UConn team that (much like Houston) refused to quit. Advertisement As for John Calipari's best Memphis team, the comparisons are almost too on the nose. A one-of-a-kind freshman star — Derrick Rose, in Memphis' case, and obviously Flagg — willing his team to the brink of history in San Antonio. Then a key misstep late by said star: Flagg's missed middy and Rose's missed free throw in the final minute, which meant Kansas' Mario Chalmers' miracle 3 forced overtime. And lastly, that same nine-point lead with two minutes left. Seemingly enough, until it suddenly wasn't. 'It's been one of the best seasons ever,' Scheyer said, almost as if trying to convince himself. 'I told (the team) I'm sorry, because we truly believed that we were going to be playing Monday night — and we're capable of doing that.' Given Scheyer's meteoric start, it feels natural to assume that he'll be back here one day, maybe as soon as next season. And given his acumen, his recruiting prowess and the infrastructure at Duke, there should be ample opportunities. But for every coach who finally breaks through — Smith, Krzyzewski — there are also those who get only one shot. Look at Matt Painter, one of the best coaches of his generation. Or Brian Dutcher, who has built San Diego State into a West Coast powerhouse. Tony Bennett, Mick Cronin, Shaka Smart. There is no guarantee you ever get back, no matter how good you are. For Scheyer, in spite of all his accomplishments — and even more still to come — that is the line he now must straddle. He will, like so many before him, get saddled with the sentiment that he can't win the big one. Can't close. Can't climb all the way to the top of the mountain. Until he does, that is. If he does. Back outside Duke's locker room, Scheyer paused for half a beat before disembarking the golf cart, his hand gripped tight on the black metal railing in front of his seat. Then, without saying a word, he followed Marcelle into Duke's locker room, out of sight. And for the rest of the Final Four — including Monday night's championship game, the one he was seconds from coaching in — out of mind.
New York Times
07-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Florida vs. Houston expert predictions for the men's NCAA Tournament national championship
Three weeks ago, 24 staffers submitted their predictions for The Athletic's consensus men's NCAA Tournament bracket. Eleven voters picked Duke to win the national championship, followed by six for Florida and five for Houston. Now, Duke is out of the picture and the bracket is down to Florida and Houston, who will meet at 8:50 p.m. ET Monday in San Antonio. What do our experts think now? Here's how eight of The Athletic's writers view the Gators vs. the Cougars — with the consensus slightly leaning toward Houston, 5-3. Advertisement I keep thinking that Florida is flirting with getting beat, but it's become clear during this NCAA Tournament that when we plan, Walter Clayton Jr. laughs. How can you pick against this guy right now? Of course it will be challenging to score against the defensive juggernaut that is Houston, but I have to think Clayton will find a way. He'll need his teammates to step up, and I'm confident Alex Condon and Alijah Martin will answer the call. Another thing to keep in mind is that while Kelvin Sampson is absolutely the veteran here, UF coach Todd Golden has shown he is pretty good at halftime adjustments himself. This game isn't being billed as a tactical chess match, but it could become one. This comes down to which irrepressible 2025 NCAA Tournament superpower you believe in more: Clayton's shot making or Houston's shot denying. I'll go with the collective. That's not to say Clayton is going this alone — the backcourt and frontcourt matchups in this game are tremendous. But if Houston can squeeze Duke the way it did in the final 10 minutes of that game, it can absolutely do the same to the Gators. A program with a rich history, known for perhaps the best teams that never won it four decades ago, finally gets its first championship. And any doubt that Sampson should be in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is blown up like the Coogs do to the average ball screen. One Goliath slayed, one more to go. It is still difficult, a day after one of the most stunning comebacks in NCAA Tournament history, to process exactly how Houston orchestrated a 9-0 run in the final 33 seconds against Duke. But it did, and that's all that matters. Yes, Clayton is the best individual player left in this field … but did you see Houston on Saturday night? These are grown men with a never-die mindset flowing through their veins. Advertisement Clayton can Houdini with the best of them, but even Duke's starting five of future NBAers wasn't enough to break through the brick wall that is the Coogs. Plus, as Sampson just proved, he's the best coach at this Final Four. It's long past time that he and the program he's rebuilt earn their view from the top of the mountain. Somewhere in my house, there's a hastily and semi-thoughtfully constructed bracket that had Houston beating Florida for the national championship. Might as well stick with it. The belief these teams have cancels out Monday; both sides go into this thing feeling superhuman. No lead will be safe. The Gators have been bothered by physicality at times in the NCAA Tournament and haven't been able to speed up teams wanting to drag the tempo down. This almost certainly will be Sampson's gambit. I see Houston as a sort of supercharged version of this year's UConn team, and maybe that's enough to make Clayton miss one or two shots he hasn't missed all tournament. Auburn didn't have the horses in the end. Houston does. It feels like fate at this point. I picked Florida to win it all before the tournament started, but then I became convinced that no team could beat Duke after the way the Blue Devils played the past couple of weeks. Given that Houston pulled it off, and in that fashion, I can't in good faith pick against the Coogs in the championship. Houston bullies its way to victory, holding the Gators to their second-lowest point total of the season. (Plus, now I can claim I was correct either way.) Houston's comeback overshadowed the brilliance that Clayton showcased in Florida's 79-73 win against Auburn. Clayton's 34 points were the reason the Gators are in the championship and why I think they'll close the deal on Houston. Advertisement Both teams were incredibly efficient at both ends of the floor in the nation's top two conferences. But if there's one advantage Florida has on Houston, it's tempo. And it all starts with Clayton. I'm going to stick with my pre-tournament national champion pick, because no one likes a flip-flopper, while admitting it's really hard to pick against Houston when I've been the de facto Houston beat writer the past four weeks and it's hard to see this team just not finding a way to find a way. Often it's hard to follow such an emotional win with another, and Florida has the hottest player in this tournament in Clayton. The key will be Florida's ability to get Clayton in space, preferably in transition where he's always a threat to pull a 3 or get to the bucket. Condon is going to be a key because it's usually not wise to use ball screens against the Coogs, and Condon being the initiator in zoom actions can give the benefit of the ball screen without actually setting one. He'll likely need to play with more confidence and his hesitancy to even look at the basket on Saturday is a concern, but the one thing the Gators have is an offense that it's hard to see going in a funk like Duke's did down the stretch. The one thing Duke was missing was a playmaking guard, and it's hard to beat Houston without one. Florida definitely has one in Clayton, who's been on an all-time heater. It feels like the emotional toll of Saturday's thunderclap finish should be too much for Houston to regroup from. It feels like Florida is bigger and more talented. It feels like Houston could be ripe for trouble, if its maniacal offensive rebounding leaves it exposed to Florida's transition scoring. But it also, in my stomach, feels like Houston will firewalk to a national title, if that's what it takes. The Coogs will find a way. J'Wan Roberts will deliver on a key defensive stop. L.J. Cryer and Emanuel Sharp will make the 3s that matter. The Coogs will find a way. (Photos of Walter Clayton Jr. and Emanuel Sharp: Ezra Shaw, Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
