Van Gundy agrees to become Pelicans’ coach

Stan Van Gundy announced Wednesday that he is headed to the New Orleans Pelicans, where he’ll take over a promising team that includes No. 1 overall draft pick Zion Williamson and reigning Most Improved Player Brandon Ingram.

Van Gundy agreed to a four-year contract, said a person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the terms had not been revealed publicly.

Van Gundy said on his Twitter account that he was “excited” and thanked Pelicans owner Gayle Benson and others for the opportunity.

“I’m excited to join a talented New Orleans Pelicans team,” Van Gundy wrote. “It will be an honor to work with our players and to work for Mrs. Benson and David Griffin, Trajan Langdon, their staff and the great people of New Orleans. I can’t wait to talk to our players and get the process started.”

In New Orleans, Van Gundy will replace Alvin Gentry, who was let go as coach after the Pelicans missed this season’s playoffs. Part of the problem for the Pelicans this season was that Williamson missed most of the season; he averaged 22.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game on 58% shooting, albeit in only 24 games.

The Pelicans were 30- 42 this past season, getting to the NBA’s restart bubble at Walt Disney World but falling well short of the playoffs. They have a promising young core with Williamson, Ingram, Jaxson Hayes and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, plus currently hold four picks in this year’s draft.

Van Gundy spent parts of 12 seasons coaching Miami, Orlando and Detroit, winning 58% of his games and going to the playoffs eight times. He was Dwyane Wade’s first coach in Miami after Pat Riley’s surprise resignation in the fall of 2003, then stepped down from the Heat job 21 games into the 2005- 06 season — the year Miami went on to win its first championship.

BJORKGREN DESCRIBES PLAN FOR PACERS >> New Indiana Pacers coach Kevin Bjorkgren went right to work Wednesday.

Less than 24 hours after accepting the job, the 45-year- old former Toronto Raptors assistant started explaining his plan.

He expects the Pacers to move the ball and take more 3-pointers. He wants the defense to be more disruptive. He promises not to get locked into rotations and will be willing to take risks. Perhaps most important, he believes there needs to be more communication between coaches and players.

Those are exactly the traits president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard hoped to find when he embarked on a coaching search two months ago and Bjorkgren became the perfect fit.

“There are people in this world who bring energy and you like being around them,” Pritchard said after introducing Bjorkgren on a Zoom call. “I think the litmus test is when those guys call you, you can’t wait to pick up the phone. Nate has those characteristics, and when he went through his presentation he created a vision that I could physically see in my mind how he was going to coach. We knew he was the right guy.”

College basketball

KENTUCKY TRANSFERS ELIGIBLE >> Kentucky announced that the NCAA and Southeastern Conference have granted transfers Olivier Sarr and Jacob Toppin immediate eligibility to play this season. Both post players provide experience for the Wildcats, whose only returning regular is sophomore forward Keion Brooks Jr.

The 7-foot Sarr transferred this spring after three seasons at Wake Forest. He averaged 13.7 points, nine rebounds and 1.2 blocks last season to earn selection to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference third team ,as well as runner-up as Most Improved Player.

Toppin, the 6-8 brother of Dayton forward and last year’s consensus National Player of the Year Obi Toppin, averaged 5.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 30 games with three starts as a Rhode Island freshman.

PENN STATE COACH STEPS DOWN >> Pat Chambers resigned as Penn State’s basketball coach Wednesday following an internal investigation by the school into allegations of inappropriate conduct.

Chambers, 49, had been at Penn State for nine years and was coming off the team’s best season under his directions.

Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour said during a press news conference that she would not disclose details of the school’s investigation, but did say NCAA matters were not part of the investigation.

Golf MICKELSON MIGHT GO WHERE FANS ARE NOT FOR MASTERS TUNEUP >>

The Houston Open will be the first domestic PGA Tour event to have fans, and that might be enough to send Phil Mickelson elsewhere in his final tournament before the Masters.

Mickelson typically plays the week before the Masters, and he was planning on being at the Houston Open.

The tournament announced last week that 2,000 tickets a day would go on sale starting Wednesday.

The Houston Open is Nov. 5-8 at Memorial Park. That’s the same week as the 54-hole Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix on the PGA Tour Champions. Mickelson has won both his starts on the 50-and-over circuit.

“I think that they will do a very good, safe job in having 2,000 people at the Houston Open,” Mickelson said Wednesday at the Zozo Championship at Sherwood. “However, for me personally, I don’t like the risk of having that happen the week before the Masters.”

SCOTT TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19 >> Former Masters champion Adam Scott has tested positive for the coronavirus and withdrew from the Zozo Championship at Sherwood on Wednesday, becoming the second high-profile golfer in as many weeks to do so.

Dustin Johnson, the world’s No. 1 player, tested positive last week at the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas.

Scott has not played since the U.S. Open, and the Australian has played only four times — two majors and two FedEx Cup playoff events — in the four months since the PGA Tour returned from the COVID-19 shutdown.

Tennis

GOERGES RETIRES >> Former Wimbledon semifinalist Julia Goerges announced her retirement from tennis Wednesday at the age of 31. The German reached her highest ranking of ninth in the world in 2018 and was ranked 45th at her retirement. Her most recent match was a secondround loss to fellow German Laura Siegemund at the French Open.

Cycling

ALMEIDA STAYS IN LEAD >> João Almeida remained in the overall lead of the Giro d’Italia as the race headed into the high mountains and Ben O’Connor earned his first stage victory in a Grand Tour by winning the 17th leg on Wednesday.

Almeida was part of the group of overall favorites that crossed the summit finish more than five minutes after O’Connor, and the Portuguese cyclist, who rides for the DeceuninckQuick Step team, remained 17 seconds ahead of Wilco Kelderman. Jai Hindley is third overall.

ROGLIC LEADS SPANISH VUELTA >> Marc Soler made a strong move on the final descent to pull away from the pack and held on to comfortably win the second stage of the Spanish Vuelta, with defending champion Primoz Roglic finishing second to keep the overall leader’s jersey.