LSU player Sims, 20, shot to death

LSU player Wayde Sims has died after he was shot during a fight involving several men early Friday near the campus of another university in his hometown of Baton Rouge. Sims, 20, was shot around 12:25 a.m. and died from his wounds at a hospital, Baton Rouge police Sgt. Don Coppola Jr. said.

The shooting happened near Southern University’s A.W. Mumford Stadium, where homecoming festivities are taking place this weekend. Police have begun circulating a video of a fight among several men in a street which they believe led to the shooting of Sims. Police did not identify Sims in the video, which also shows cars stopping to avoid the melee, but Coppola said police are primarily interested in identifying a man seen wearing red pants with a white stripe.

LSU coach Will Wade, speaking alongside Athletic Director Joe Alleva Friday morning, said the team is “devastated” and “in shock.”

“This is your worst nightmare as a coach,” said Wade, who informed the team of Sims’ death when they met for what was supposed to have been a 6:30 a.m. workout Friday. “Everybody on the team loved him,” Wade said. “He would do anything for anybody on our team.”

Sims was entering his junior season at LSU. The forward averaged 5.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game last year with 10 starts in 32 games.

Meanwhile, LSU canceled a public unveiling of a statue of the late Billy Cannon outside Tiger Stadium on Friday evening. Officials said the public would be able to see the statue of the 1959 Heisman Trophy winner before tonight’s football game against Mississippi.

UCLA: Freshman Shareef O’Neal will sit out the entire upcoming season because of a heart condition that the son of Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal says is “risky.” O’Neal said he will attend classes and take a medical redshirt. He’s expected to be sidelined for three to four months after undergoing surgery. O’Neal said he’s been asked if the injury is career-ending. “The answer is absolutely not,” he said.