Quick Hitters
Hardaway signs Precious Achiuwa to packed class
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Coach Penny Hardaway has his second five-star recruit at Memphis with forward Precious Achiuwa signing his national letter of intent, giving the Tigers the No. 1 overall recruiting class.
Memphis announced Saturday that Achiuwa, who verbally committed to the Tigers on Friday, had signed his letter of intent.
The commitment from the 6-foot-9 Achiuwa bumped Memphis up to the top-rated recruiting class in the 247Sports’ composite rankings after Hardaway’s debut season as head coach at his alma mater. Achiuwa is the 14th overall player in 247Sports’ composite rankings and joins a class that also features top-rated James Wiseman.
Achiuwa, a McDonald’s All-American, joins a former teammate, Lester Quinones , in Memphis’ recruiting class. They played together at St. Benedict’s Prep in New Jersey before Achiuwa played his senior season at Montverde Academy in Florida. Hardaway’s recruiting class also includes former Duke commitment Boogie Ellis, Damion Baugh of Tennessee Prep, D.J. Jeffries and Malcolm Dandridge.
Hardaway, the former NBA star, went 22-14 in his debut season at Memphis.
Bruins hope to have a healthy Chara for Stanley Cup
BOSTON — The Bruins were able to sweep Carolina in the Eastern Conference final without captain Zdeno Chara.
Now they’re hoping 10 days off before the start of the Stanley Cup Final will be enough time for the defenseman to return.
The title round begins May 27 when Boston will face San Jose or St. Louis, with that conference final 2-2. The Bruins completed their sweep Thursday with Chara out with an undisclosed injury.
“We have a lot of time to make the absolute right decision to give him the proper time to get over something that’s been nagging him,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said Saturday. “And we’ll cross our fingers that will be the case. But we’re confident it will be.”
Sweeney stopped short of guaranteeing Chara’s return for Game 1.
“I’m not living in how or where Zee feels. I expect he’ll be fine,” Sweeney said. “But I’m not going to sit here and make a proclamation in terms of promises. I do believe that time will be used effectively and he’ll be fine. But sometimes those are out of your control.”
Defenseman Kevan Miller and forward Chris Wagner are doubtful for Game 1 of the Final. Miller hasn’t played since April 4 because of a lower-body injury. Wagner injured his right arm blocking a shot in Game 3 against Carolina.
Without Christopher Bazua’s breakout season, San Luis baseball could have had a very different looking year.
The Sidewinders senior pitcher led the team with statistics that would be tough to have in a video game, much less real life, and he is the 2019 Yuma Sun/Yuma Rotary Club Baseball Player of the year.
With him on the mound San Luis could beat anyone, but without him it was clear just how much he did for the team. Bazua was 9-1, while the team went 6-4 in games that he didn’t pitch. “I didn’t have to say a word to him,” San Luis coach Cesar Castillo said. “Mound visits for him, if any, maybe a max of three, and it was because we would be looking to give him a breather. It wasn’t because he wasn’t locating.”
That 9-1 record came with an ERA of 0.45 and 77 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings of work. He led 6A in wins, ERA and strikeouts.
Bazua, who was nearly unhitable, gave up 32 hits during the season. What was amazing was the consistency, and that led to only four earned runs being scored against him. During the lone blemish on his record, the team gave up three unearned runs.
In hindsight, the breakout season shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise. As a junior he had the same ERA (0.45), but he worked more often in relief with 31 innings during the season.
“It’s all about being confident,” Bazua said. “You have to not be pressured and go with what the umpires do. You can’t be thinking negative throughout the game. You have to think about the positive stuff and what you have to do.”
Part of what made him so tough was the repertoire and comfort throwing whatever pitch he wanted at any point in the count.
If he ever fell behind in a count, he wouldn’t just hammer fastballs right at hitters to get back into it. Bazua was comfortable enough to throw his fastball, slider or curve at any point, while he also liked to mix up his arm slot too.