Kentucky:
Georgetown hired Patrick Ewing as its men’s basketball coach Monday, bringing the Hoyas legend back to the school he helped build into a national power as a player in the 1980s. Ewing, 54, led the Hoyas to their only national championship in 1984, and he takes over for the son of the man who coached him at Georgetown. John Thompson III, the son of Big John Thompson, was fired last month after two consecutive losing seasons.
Ewing has been an assistant coach with the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets and had hoped for years to land a head coaching job in the pros.
Freshman De’Aaron Fox will enter the NBA draft and hire an agent. The 6-foot-3 guard, a possible NBA lottery pick, averaged 16.7 points and led the team in assists.
South Carolina assistant Matt Figger was named the men’s coach. Figger replaces Dave Loos, who retired last month.
Austin Peay:
The NHL announced Monday that it will not participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, refusing for the first time in 20 years to halt its season for three weeks so its stars can chase gold for their home countries.
From Alex Ovechkin and Jonathan Toews to Connor McDavid and Henrik Lundqvist, the world’s best players called playing in the Olympics important. The league decided otherwise.
Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly informed the NHL Players Association that the matter was “officially closed” after weeks of speculation.
The NHL had allowed its players to participate in the past five Olympics dating to 1998, giving the Winter Games pro-level star power akin to the NBA players who participate in the Summer Olympics.
The league said no meaningful dialogue had emerged in talks with the NHLPA, International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation. Even after the IIHF had agreed to pay for players’ travel and insurance costs when the IOC refused, the NHL had been looking for more concessions that were believed to include marketing opportunities tied to the Games.
The league wanted the matter resolved before the playoffs begin April 13.
Players immediately blasted the decision.
“Disappointing news, (the NHL) won’t be part of the Olympics 2018. A huge opportunity to market the game at the biggest stage is wasted,” tweeted Lundqvist, the New York Rangers goaltender who won the 2006 Olympic gold medal with Sweden. “But most of all, disappointing for all the players that can’t be part of the most special adventure in sports.”
Former NHL forward Brandon Prust, who’s now playing in Germany, tweeted: “Way to ruin the sport of hockey even more Gary #Olympics.”
The NHL has not ruled out participating in the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, though the IIHF and IOC had indicated that could be conditional on the NHL going to South Korea. For now, the league is making its 2017-18 schedule without a break for the Olympic
Still, many players expressed a strong desire to go, and Ovechkin has said he plans to go regardless of NHL participation.
“I think the players know it’s very important for us to represent our countries,” the Washington Capitals star said last month. “Everybody wants to go there.”
The NHL has not decided whether to allow teams to make decisions on a caseby-case basis about players participating in the 2018 Olympics.
“If Alex Ovechkin and Braden Holtby and Nick Backstrom tell us, ‘We want to go play for our country,’ how am I going to say no?” Capitals owner Ted Leonsis said in February.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 34 points and 12 rebounds as Minnesota snapped Portland’s six-game winning streak. Andrew Wiggins scored 29 points, and Ricky Rubio had 11 points, 16 assists and seven rebounds for the Timberwolves. Damian Lillard scored 25 points for Portland, but had a rough shooting night. He made just 7 of 21 shots, including 3 of 11 3-pointers, and his potential winning pull-up jumper at the buzzer glanced off the rim. The Blazers lead Denver by 1½ games in the race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. C.J. McCollum struggled as well, scoring 17 points on 5-for-14 shooting and 0 for 3 on 3s. Al-Farouq Aminu scored 20 points and Maurice Harkless added 17 points and eight rebounds for Portland.
ESPN reported that Golden State has targeted Saturday night’s home game against the Pelicans as the return date for Kevin Durant. The All-Star forward has not played since suffering a sprained MCL in his left knee and bruised tibia on Feb. 28 at Washington.
Guard Russell Westbrook needs one more triple-double to match Oscar Robertson’s single-season record of 41 set during the 1961-62 season. He’ll have the chance to tie tonight at home against Milwaukee, and he could potentially set a new mark Wednesday in Memphis. The Thunder are 31-9 when Westbrook gets a triple-double, and 12-24 when he doesn’t.
Charles Banks, a former financial adviser to retired star Tim Duncan, pleaded guilty in a multimillion-dollar fraud case in San Antonio and faces up to 20 years in prison.