GaTech gets postseason ban
Georgia Tech AD Todd Stansbury supports coach Josh Pastner after the Yellow Jackets basketball team was hit with NCAA sanctions Thursday, including a ban from postseason play this upcoming season.
Stansbury said he may appeal some penalties he believes may be too harsh and unfairly impact current student-athletes.
The NCAA also hit the program with four years of probation for major recruiting violations committed by Pastner’s former assistant coach and an ex-friend.
The sanctions handed down also included a reduction in scholarships, limits on recruiting and a fine of $5,000 plus 2% of the program’s budget — a major blow to Pastner’s efforts to rebuild the program.
Pastner wasn’t directly named in the NCAA’s findings.
Stansbury said “we did admonish Josh for his poor judgment” in allowing his former friend, Ron Bell, “to get close to the program.”
College football: USC announced that freshman QB Kedon Slovis will not play in Saturday’s road game against No. 17 Washington. Slovis didn’t practice this week while in the concussion protocol. Junior Matt Fink will make his first career start.
Golf: AdamScott of Australia shot an opening-round 7-under 65 to share a one-stroke lead with Andrew Landry at the PGA Tour’s Safeway Open in Napa, Calif. ... South Africa’s Justin Walters took a one-stroke lead after the first round of the European Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in St. Andrews, Scotland. ... South Korea’s Mi Jung Hur took a a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Indy Women in Tech Championship in Indianapolis.
NBA: The G League will experiment this season with a new rule under which trips to the free-throw line will include only a single foul shot that will be worth one, two or three points depending on the nature of the foul leading to the attempt, ESPN reported. It’s a move focused on improving game flow and length. Traditional free-throw rules will be in place for the final two minutes of regulation and OT. ... Lakers F Kyle Kuzma is out indefinitely with a stress reaction in his foot, an injury he suffered while working with Team USA. Kuzma, who averaged 18.7 points and 5.5 rebounds last season, will miss at least the first three weeks of training camp. ... The Pelicans hired Hall of Famer and former WNBA player Teresa Weatherspoon as a two-way player development coach. Weatherspoon, 53, who also was head coach at Lousiana Tech from 2009-14, is the second WNBA legend to join the Pelicans this offseason. They hired Swin Cash to be VP of basketball operations and team development in June.
Also: Canadiens great Guy Lafleur underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery in Montreal. The 68-year-old Hall of Famer is expected to make a full recovery. ... The ATP gave Nick Kyrgios a suspended 16-week ban and $25,000 fine after an investigation into his abusive behavior last month at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati