Smart move: Texas keeps hoops coach
Texas will stick with men’s basketball coach Shaka Smart next season after the Longhorns won five of their final six games and were fighting for a spot in the NCAA Tournament before it was canceled amid the coronavirus scare.
Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte told the Austin American-Statesman, “Shaka’s our coach.”
Smart was facing open speculation on his future with the Longhorns at midseason when the program was mired near the bottom of the Big 12. The Longhorns had missed the tournament in two of the previous four seasons.
Next season will be Smart’s sixth in a seven-year contract. He is 90-78 overall at Texas but just 40-50 in the Big 12. The Longhorns were 19-12 last season with no seniors and are expected to return the entire lineup.
■ Former Connecticut point guard Alterique Gilbert plans to use his final season of eligibility as a graduate transfer at Wichita State. The former highly touted recruit who will be the first former McDonald’s All-American to play at WSU under coach Gregg Marshall . ... St. John’s wing LJ Figueroa declared for the NBA draft. Figueroa hasn’t hired an agent and still has the option to return to school.
College football: Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence and his girlfriend have restarted their efforts to raise money for those affected by the new coronavirus. They announced their decision Saturday on social media. The two had set up a GoFundMe page earlier this week until told by Clemson compliance officials the site violated NCAA rules against using an athlete’s name, image and likeness for crowd funding. But the NCAA said Tuesday that Lawrence and other athletes could use such sites to raise money in this case. Lawrence’s girlfriend, Marissa Mowry, is a soccer player at Anderson University, about 15 miles from Clemson’s campus.
NFL: The Chiefs re-signed WR Demarcus Robinson to a one-year deal, a source confirmed Saturday to the Kansas City Star. Financial terms were not disclosed, but Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reported that the contract is worth $2,297,500 fully guaranteed, though only about $1 million will count against the Chiefs’ salary cap. Robinson appeared in all 16 regular-season games with 10 starts in 2019, recording 32 catches for 449 yards and four touchdowns on 55 targets . ... The Ravens agreed to sign free agent DT Derek Wolfe to a one-year contract, according to a report from ESPN. Wolfe, 30, started 108 games over eight seasons with the Broncos.
NHL: The Avalanche said a second player has tested positive for the new coronavirus. The team said it was informed Friday night and the player is in self-isolation. The team said no other Avalanche player or staff member has shown symptoms at this time. The unidentified player has become the fourth known NHL player to test positive for the virus. The other two are with the Senators.
Tennis: Two-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka says she is disappointed that the Olympics in her native Japan were postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, but she supports the decision to delay the Summer Games to 2021. The decision to push back the games from July and August 2020 until sometime next year was announced Tuesday. Osaka wrote on social media: “Sport will eventually unite us again and be there for us always, but that time is not now.”