Dominic Perfetti is a 6-foot-7 starting basketball player for St. John Bosco. Even more impressive is that he’s one of the top high school lacrosse players in the nation and has committed to Syracuse.
He became interested in lacrosse when a friend gave him a stick when he was 6 years old. He started fooling around with it and has been playing lacrosse ever since. He got so good that top programs on the East Coast reached out. And he’s been playing for a club team, too.
He’s so tall as a defender that it makes him a unique player.
“I might be the tallest lacrosse player in history,” Perfetti joked.
The LA84 Foundation announced 19 grants valued at $1.78 million to promote youth sports. Compton Unified will expand free after-school sports to 25 campuses. pic.twitter.com/45KZfrrDSI
His size, combined with 6-9 Christian Collins and 7-1 Howie Wu, gives St. John Bosco a formidable trio in basketball. If his team is busy in the basketball playoffs, he’ll also try to play lacrosse simultaneously for the Braves.
He’ll gladly demonstrate his shooting ability in lacrosse if anyone presents him with a stick and ball. And he can dunk, too.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame confirmed on Wednesday that 6-foot-7 Tyran Stokes, considered the No. 1 high school basketball player from the class of 2026, has withdrawn from school.
Stokes arrived last season from a Northern California prep school and helped the Knights reach the Southern Section Open Division championship game and the Southern California Regional final.
His departure could produce changes in national TV game plans for Notre Dame. The Knights are still expected to be one of the top teams in Southern California with San Diego State commit Zachary White and top junior NaVorro Bowman.
Stokes leaving Notre Dame makes Sierra Canyon the Mission League preseason favorite.
The No. 3 UCLA women’s basketball team won its first game of the season, defeating feisty San Diego State 77–53 on Monday at the Honda Center.
The Bruins (1–0) built an eight-point lead in the first quarter, but the unranked Aztecs (0–1) managed to cut the deficit by three by the end of the period.
San Diego State struggled to score in the second quarter when UCLA went on a 12–2 run.
The scoring gap continued to increase as the Bruins extended their lead to 15 points, ending the first half with a 37–22 advantage.
UCLA center Lauren Betts scored 21 points and grabbed four rebounds, guard Gabriela Jaquez recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds and guard Charlisse Ledger-Walker, who returned to the court after redshirting last season, contributed 12 points and five assists.
The Bruins opened the third quarter with a 16–0 run. Although the Aztecs fought hard to close the gap, the Bruins maintained control, ending the quarter with a 58–38 lead.
San Diego State pushed UCLA again in the fourth quarter, but the Aztecs couldn’t make a meaningful dent in their deficit.
Aztecs sophomore guard Kaelyn Hamilton came off the bench to lead her team with 11 points, while guards Nat Martinez and Nala Williams scored 10 points apiece.
UCLA will play its home opener Thursday against UC Santa Barbara.
Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where we’re still struggling with how to view USC’s 21-17 win at Nebraska. On one hand, USC gutted out a hard-earned road victory, just its second true road win outside of L.A. since 2023, with a stingy defensive stand in the second half. On the other, USC’s offense was out of sorts, its quarterback had the worst start of his tenure and its defense was run over for the third time in four games.
No matter your perspective, this much is indisputable: USC is 6-2, bowl eligible and in prime position to be 8-2 heading to Eugene in late November. Remember, the Trojans were 4-5 at this time last year.
But after flying back west for the final time this regular season, we’re going to take a brief break from football to alert you that college basketball season, believe it or not, is about to begin. And both of USC’s teams enter the season on fascinating and uncertain terms.
Fight on! Are you a true Trojans fan?
Let’s start first with the men’s team and Eric Musselman, who thought he’d have a five-star freshman to help springboard his program to relevance in Year 2. But the injury to Alijah Arenas has undoubtedly altered that trajectory. What we don’t know now is how much and for how long.
That’s just the beginning of the questions facing USC. Here are three others …
1. Who’s going to play point guard?
You may remember this same query from this time last season, when USC entrusted the role to Desmond Claude, who was a good playmaker, but not a great floor general. He turned the ball over nearly four times per game.
Arenas was expected to be the primary ballhandler. But with him out, it’ll be some combination of Rodney Rice, Chad Baker-Mazara, Jordan Marsh and Jerry Easter sharing ballhandling duties. None have any extensive experience as a floor general. Marsh has been a pleasant surprise in practice, but was more of a pure scorer at North Carolina Asheville.
Rice will have a lot on his shoulders already. And that’s not considering his actual shoulder, which has held him out for much of the preseason. He’ll need someone else to step up to help.
2. How much better is USC’s frontcourt?
When USC played its two exhibition games last month, opposing coaches couldn’t believe how much 7-foot-5 center Gabe Dynes affected the game defensively. Dynes was arguably USC’s best player in the preseason, and he wasn’t even expected to start in the Trojans’ frontcourt.
He had six blocks in his debut and should help give USC improved rim protection this season. Which is to say any rim protection at all.
The staff has been high on Jacob Cofie since he arrived on campus. Don’t be surprised if he ascends to a major role. Ezra Ausar, at 253 pounds, should be a beast on the boards, and Jaden Brownell should give USC’s frontcourt range out to the arc. This group has a lot of varied skillsets, and that should put the defense especially in a much better position.
3. Can USC score enough?
When asked what he learned most from his team during the preseason, Musselman didn’t mince words.
“We’ve got to figure out a way to score better,” he said.
Arenas, again, was supposed to lead the way in that regard. Rice was more of a secondary scorer at Maryland, as was Baker-Mazara at Auburn. USC looks, as of now, like a whole team of complementary offensive players, with no alpha yet. That can change. Maybe Cofie steps into the spot before season’s end. But it’s definitely something to monitor through the non-conference season.
What about the women’s team?
Kennedy Smith controls the ball while pressured by UConn guard Paige Bueckers during last season’s NCAA women’s tournament.
(Young Kwak / Associated Press)
USC enters this season with far lower expectations than this time last year, on account of JuJu Watkins’ knee injury, which will keep her out until next season. So what can we expect from Lindsay Gottlieb’s Trojans?
Here are the three big questions facing the USC women this season …
1. How can USC fill the void without Watkins?
This is the only question that really matters. Problem is there’s no clear answer. Gottlieb has been clear that no one player will replace Watkins, as tempting as it may be to slot top prospect Jazzy Davidson into that spot.
It’s more reasonable to recreate Watkins’ production in the aggregate. But that won’t be easy when you consider how much other production the Trojans lost from last season, in addition to Watkins. USC must replace 88% of its scoring and 80% of their rebounding output, and while that’s not that unique in the era of the transfer portal, it does mean the team is likely to have a very different identity.
Gottlieb has said that USC is going to play with more pace this season. But who will it turn to when it needs a bucket? Davidson is perhaps the likeliest candidate, but I’m particularly curious to see the development of sophomore Kennedy Smith. Smith was inconsistent offensively as a freshman. But Gottlieb plans to put the ball in her hands more, and how that works out will say a lot about the direction of the season.
2. What’s going on in the frontcourt?
Last season, there was no question who USC could count on down low. Rayah Marshall was a three-year starter, while Kiki Iriafen is now one of the best young bigs in the WNBA.
But with both gone, USC doesn’t have any proven options to step into their place. Gottlieb has said that USC will use a by-committee approach with transfer Yakiya Milton, Lithuanian import Gerda Raulusaityte and returners Vivian Iwuchukwu and Laura Williams. Of those four, only Milton was part of a college basketball rotation last season, and she only averaged two points per game in 11 minutes at Auburn.
Raulusaityte is the big unknown. One of the youngest members of the Lithuanian national team, USC kind of needs her to be an immediate contributor. Especially with her ability to stretch the floor as a shooter, something the other three don’t do. If she struggles, USC could be in trouble with its lack of talent down low.
3. How good will Davidson be right away?
Watkins is a tough act to follow as a top-rated freshman. But Davidson has the potential to be a stat-stuffing star right away.
I don’t know if she’ll score quite like Watkins, who shot 42% and scored 24 points per night as a freshman. What she will do, perhaps even more than Watkins, is elevate the games of teammates around her. You can read more about that in an upcoming story on Davidson.
But can she get a bucket when USC needs one? And can she force her way through traffic with her spindly frame? There are still questions to be answered. But while Gottlieb is doing her best to temper expectations, I think USC is going to need its star freshman to be a star right away, if it has any hope of competing in the Big Ten like it did last season.
—Jayden Maiava didn’t have it as a passer. So he used his legs. And that worked wonders. Maiava was a meager nine of 23 through the air for 135 yards, but he reminded the world that he’s a capable runner, too, as he rushed for 62 yards in 11 carries. The highlight of his day came in the third quarter, when Maiava took off on consecutive plays for a pair of 16-yard gains, the second of which saw him stiff-arm his way to a score. Maiava hasn’t looked to run much this season. But maybe he should consider doing it more.
—USC’s three most influential players Saturday were all walk-ons. Running back King Miller was USC’s only consistent source of offense. Kaylon Miller, his brother, stepped in for an injured Alani Noa and was arguably USC’s best lineman in the ground game. And USC kicker Ryon Sayeri continued to shine by knocking through two more field goals. I’m not sure what that says about USC’s team. But it’s not something you see every day.
—The offensive line just can’t stay healthy. Left tackle Elijah Paige returned after missing the previous three games, only for Noa to go down. Noa never returned, and we won’t know more about his status until at least Monday. USC is getting especially thin on the interior, with guard Micah Banuelos having also missed Saturday’s game. Center Kilian O’Connor should be back soon, but it’s a wonder that USC has held it together up front while being ravaged by injuries.
Olympic sports spotlight
After losing three of four to start their Big Ten slate, the women’s volleyball team’s tough start to the Big Ten slate is now firmly in the rearview. The Trojans have won six in a row. Among Big Ten teams, only Nebraska, which is 21-0 and No. 1 in the nation, has an active win streak that’s longer.
USC should win its next two before welcoming the Huskers to Galen Center for an epic match on Nov. 16.
I’ve written in this space before about my love of all things Stephen King. I’m also well aware of the less-than-stellar track record of adapting his books into television and movies.
I’m not sure just yet where “IT: Welcome to Derry” falls on that spectrum. Only the first two episodes of the spinoff prequel to “It” are currently available on HBO Max, and while Derry remains as creepy and tense as ever, I worry a bit about where the story is headed. All that said, my favorite part of the original book was the character building with the town’s kids. So far, that part remains intact.
Until next time …
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected], and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
The Los Angeles Lakers guard continues his hot start to the NBA season with a 12ft game-winner against Minnesota Timberwolves.
Published On 30 Oct 202530 Oct 2025
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Austin Reaves has made a driving jump shot at the buzzer to lift the Los Angeles Lakers to a 116-115 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis.
Reaves finished Wednesday night with 28 points and 16 assists to lead Los Angeles, which won despite playing without injured stars LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Jake LaRavia finished with 27 points on 10-for-11 shooting, including 5-for-6 success from beyond the three-point arc.
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Julius Randle amassed 33 points, five rebounds and six assists to lead Minnesota. Jaden McDaniels added 30 points on 11-for-19 shooting, going 3-for-4 from deep.
The Timberwolves led by one point as the Lakers lined up for an inbounds pass from just inside half-court with 6.6 seconds to go.
LaRavia fed the pass to Reaves, who dribbled for a moment as McDaniels defended him. Reaves weaved between McDaniels and Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert to drive towards the paint and lifted for a jump shot from inside the free-throw line.
The shot fell as time expired, and Reaves’s teammates rushed to celebrate with him.
“To have that opportunity for a big road win, especially with a lot of people out, is special,” Reaves said, reflecting on his missed shot from the corner at the buzzer on the same court in the first-round NBA playoff series last spring that would have tied it only to watch the Wolves hold on and eliminate the Lakers in Game 5. “We kept hooping, and they kept encouraging me to go do what I do.”
Reaves shoots the buzzer-beater against the Minnesota Timberwolves to win the game [Jordan Johnson/Getty Images via AFP]
Injury-hit Lakers hold on
The Timberwolves nearly staged an incredible comeback before Reaves rescued the Lakers. Minnesota trailed 114-106 with 2:30 remaining but went on a 9-0 run to seize a one-point lead.
Randle punctuated the run by making a go-ahead basket with 10.2 seconds left. McDaniels had a three-pointer and a dunk during the Timberwolves’ rally.
The Lakers led 62-58 at the half.
In addition to playing without James (sciatica) and Doncic (left finger sprain, lower left leg contusion), the Lakers also were missing Marcus Smart (right quad contusion), Gabe Vincent (left ankle sprain) and Maxi Kleber (abdominal muscle strain).
Los Angeles’s Jaxson Hayes returned after missing his previous three games because of a knee injury. Hayes finished with two points, two rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal in 13 minutes.
The Timberwolves remained without top scorer Anthony Edwards, who missed his second consecutive game because of tightness in his right hamstring. Edwards is expected to miss about two weeks because of the injury.
Timberwolves forward Jaylen Clark also remained out for his second game in a row because of a left calf strain. Clark was listed as questionable on the injury report before he was ruled out.
Reaves, #15, celebrates with his Lakers teammates after defeating Minnesota [Abbie Parr/AP]
In his new role as a special contributor to NBC’s coverage of the NBA — which returned to the network Tuesday night after a 23-year absence — Jordan was interviewed by Mike Tirico in a segment called “MJ: Insights to Excellence.”
In it, the six-time NBA champion who is still the league’s all-time leader in points per game made a somewhat startling admission.
“I haven’t picked up a ball in years,” Jordan said.
Pressed on the matter by a stunned Tirico, Jordan said he was last persuaded to shoot a ball when he was renting a house during the Ryder Cup (he did not specify that it was the most recent edition of biennial event that took place last month in Farmingdale, N.Y.).
The house had a basketball court, and the home owner wanted his grandchildren to see the legendary player in action. Jordan agreed to attempt one free throw.
“When I stepped up to shoot your free throw, it’s the most nervous I’ve been in years,” Jordan said. “The reason being is those kids heard the stories of the parents about what I did 30 years ago. So the expectation is 30 years prior, and I haven’t touched the basketball.”
But this is Air Jordan we’re talking about.
He swished it, right?
Right???
“Absolutely,” Jordan said. “The most gratifying event that made my whole week is that is that I was able to please that kid, not knowing if I could.”
Jordan retired as a player for the third and final time in 2003. Since then, he has become a highly successful businessman — he was the controlling owner of the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets from 2010-2023 (he still retains a minority ownership in the team) and is the controlling owner of the NASCAR Cup Series team 23XI Racing — with a net worth of close to $4 billion.
In addition to his business pursuits, Jordan told Tirico, he strives to spend as much time as possible with his family.
“You never really know when you in the prime of your career how much time you really do not have for family,” Jordan said. “That’s what I have time to do now. I mean, the most valuable asset I have is time. So that’s probably why you don’t see enough of me, because that time I’m trying to spend with family members and things that I’ve been missing out on for such a long time.”
All that said, however, Jordan admits he still loves basketball and does wish he could be out there on the court playing at his peak.
“In all honesty, I wish I could take a magic pill, put on shorts and go out and play the game of basketball today,” Jordan said. “Because that’s who I am. That type of competition, that type of competitiveness is what I live for, and I miss it. I miss that aspect of playing the game of basketball, being able to challenge myself against what people see as great basketball.
“But it’s better for me to be sitting here talking to you, as opposed to popping my Achilles and I’m in a wheelchair for a while, but it’s nice to be able to share the things that can still make the game great going forward.”
EuroLeague said the decision to allow Israeli clubs to play home games was in response to the October 10 ceasefire agreement.
Published On 21 Oct 202521 Oct 2025
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Basketball’s top European competitions are set to become the first to return to Israel since the October 7, 2023 attacks, after clubs agreed on Tuesday to resume EuroLeague and EuroCup games in the country from December 1, following recent ceasefire and peace initiatives in the region, the organisation said.
Games involving Israeli teams have been held at neutral venues since October 2023 due to the conflict in Gaza.
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Six-time champions Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv are the Israeli clubs in this season’s EuroLeague, while Hapoel Jerusalem play in the EuroCup.
Maccabi have been playing their home games in Belgrade, Serbia, where they host Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Hapoel Tel Aviv have made their home in Sofia, Bulgaria, where their next home game is on October 29 against Partizan Belgrade.
“After thoughtful deliberation, ECA clubs agreed on the proposal to set December 1, 2025, as the date for games to resume in Israel. Until then, Euroleague Basketball will continue to carefully monitor developments, stay in close contact with local and foreign authorities, visiting teams, and all relevant organisations,” EuroLeague Basketball said in a statement.
“Euroleague Basketball and its participating clubs welcome the recent peace plan with optimism and hope. The organisation reaffirms its belief in the power of basketball to bring people and communities together, and its commitment to contributing to peace through the shared values of sport, respect, and unity.”
Israel and Hamas have accused each other of repeated breaches of the ceasefire since it was formally agreed upon eight days ago, with flashes of violence and recriminations over the pace of returning captives’ bodies, bringing in aid and opening borders.
High school basketball in Southern California will be without one of its finest coaches this season.
Stephen Singleton, who guided Eastvale Roosevelt to state and Southern Section Open Division championships last season, announced his retirement from coaching on Thursday after 10 years at Roosevelt and 25 years in the business. He will continue as a teacher.
Singleton intends to spend more time coaching his young son.
He also won a state Division I title in 2017 with Roosevelt and won a state Division II title coaching briefly at Dominguez in Compton in 2001.
With official basketball practice starting soon, Roosevelt intends to open the position to all candidates, but there’s two assistants who are teachers at the school that could possibly ease the transition if they are interested in the head coaching position.
Truly Adams of Moreno Valley is racing Formula 4 cars in France even though he’s not old enough to obtain a driver’s license in California.
The 15-year-old freshman who’s enrolled in online classes at Epic Charter School in Corona became the first American driver to finish on the podium at the Feed Racing Volant F4 finals last month, taking third place in a field of international contenders at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, one of France’s top F1 racetracks.
Truly Adams races in the Feed Racing Volant F4 Finals in France.
(Troy Adams Coaching)
Adams is bilingual in English and Spanish and learning French to help further his desired career in racing. He’s won kart races in Spain and was the fastest driver at the Mexico F4 Series test. He’s preparing for the 2026 French Formula 4 season next year, which is the path toward being a Formula 1 driver. Entry into the series requires $300,000 in funding, so he’s seeking sponsorships and partnerships.
“I love racing cars because of the thrill of it, passing cars, getting passed, going 130 mph in the straightaway,” he said.
His father, Troy, serves as his driving coach. His mother, Kara, is his driver when he’s in Southern California. In the last year, he’s traveled throughout the United States and to France, Portugal, Spain and Italy for competitions.
“I played every sport growing up — soccer, football, basketball, golf, tennis, rugby, swimming,” he said. “I tried to play the guitar. I tried to play piano. I tried to play everything.”
He said he has begun studying for his California driving test in September of 2026.
Asked what he might tell the instructor in the car, he said, “I’ll tell him I’m a professional race car driver and do you want to go more than the speed limit?”
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].
ROSEMONT, Ill. — At first, landing Lauren Betts was not a plus when it came to getting her little sister to follow her to UCLA.
When Bruins women’s basketball coach Cori Close called Sienna Betts about Lauren transferring from Stanford at her parents’ request, the younger sibling didn’t hide her displeasure.
“UCLA was my school,” Sienna told Close. “I don’t want to go where my sister’s going.”
It took some massaging of the situation to get Sienna back on board with becoming a Bruin. Big sister helped convince Sienna by delivering a PowerPoint presentation about why she should come to Westwood for Lauren’s final college season.
“By the end, there were tears everywhere,” Close said Wednesday at Big Ten media day inside the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. “It was very heartfelt, it was very genuine. It was just why she wanted to share this experience with her sister and why they needed to share it together.”
It could be a seasonlong joy ride for the sisters after Sienna agreed to join a team that’s been picked to win the Big Ten and contend for the national championship. Lauren and point guard Kiki Rice were selected to the preseason all-conference team and could be joined on the postseason version by teammates Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
UCLA center Lauren Betts goes to the basket against Maryland forward Amari DeBerry, left, during the first half of a game last season.
(Nick Wass / Associated Press)
Sienna is an early candidate for Big Ten freshman of the year based on her dynamic skill set. The 6-foot-4 forward has been playing a lot alongside her 6-7 sister in practice, leading to some unusual exchanges.
“Every once in a while on the court, you’ll hear, like, the bickering from a sister standpoint, you know what I mean?” Rice said. “Like, it’s a special tone, you know, it only happens between siblings and they’ll be like, ‘Lauren, shut up’ or something like that and they get on each other and it happens quick and they move on pretty fast, but it’s always funny.”
Having her sister around could free Lauren to operate more on the perimeter, where she’s been working on her outside shot. Plus, it has the added benefit of reducing a little wear on the elder sibling.
“I told her, I was, like, ‘Listen, it’s exhausting running baseline to baseline all the time,’” Lauren cracked. “She can do it once.”
Lauren said she’s helped her sister with learning plays and persevering through tough practices while letting Sienna mostly hang out with fellow freshmen off the court. She’s always wanted what’s best for her sister, as demonstrated by that PowerPoint presentation.
“It was just to show her that, like, this recruiting process isn’t about me, and it’s not to get the Betts sisters to play with each other,” Lauren said. “It’s, I want her here because she’s Sienna Betts and she’s a really important part of our team and she would bring so much to us and she would help us win a national championship.”
Might Lauren put together another UCLA presentation for brother Dylan, a 7-2 center who is another top high school prospect?
“Yeah, his recruiting process is a little different,” Lauren said with a laugh, “so we’ll see.”
Fighting on
Don’t ever expect a concession speech from USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb.
After losing the reigning national player of the year to injury and a starting frontcourt who is now in the WNBA, Gottlieb said her team’s goals don’t change.
“That’s a lot of talent to replace,” Gottlieb said, referring to sidelined star JuJu Watkins and departed post players Kiki Iriafen and Rayah Marshall, “but we look at it in the collective and we say USC women’s basketball is not going anywhere. All the goals that we still have are in front of us. … I think we’ll have the ability to compete at a really high level.”
How do the Trojans replace Watkins, who is out for the season because of a torn knee ligament? It will be a collective effort led by returning guard Kennedy Smith, freshman phenom Jazzy Davidson and five transfers.
“No one’s gonna be JuJu, no one’s trying to be JuJu,” Gottlieb said, “but I think we can put a team on the floor that’s incredibly versatile, that plays an exciting brand of basketball and we’re going to take our shot at achieving our goals.”
Davidson, a 6-1 guard who was the nation’s top high school prospect, is already creating a buzz for a team that was picked by the media to finish third in the Big Ten.
“I don’t compare her to anybody else,” Gottlieb said, “but in terms of the way I felt when JuJu walked in the door as a freshman about her readiness for college basketball, I think Jazzy’s a pretty unique talent and will make an incredible affect not only on us but I think on the national scene.”
Finally united
Six years later, the voicemail that Gottlieb saved from a 14-year-old has additional meaning.
That teenager is now on her team.
Gottlieb was recruiting Londynn Jones when she coached at California and accepted a job with the Cleveland Cavaliers, becoming the first head women’s college coach to be hired by an NBA team. Jones left a congratulatory message tinged with sorrow.
“ ‘Coach,’” Jones said, “‘I’m happy for you, but I’m sad for me, don’t forget about me.’ ”
Now they’re together after Jones transferred from UCLA after helping the Bruins reach the Final Four.
“Here we are,” Gottlieb said, “all these years later.”
After averaging 8.5 points and making 35.1% of her three-pointers last season, Jones could play a new role across town.
“She’s a ballhandler, a distributor, she shoots the three really well,” Gottlieb said, “so I think she was looking for that just sort of ability to be dynamic and show what she’s capable of, but we just need her to be a really kind of solid, all-around contributor.”
Twice as nice
Dreams really do come true. As a freshman, UCLA softball slugger Megan Grant told roommate Amanda Muse, a forward on the basketball team, that it was her dream to play college basketball. Now Grant is on the verge of her debut in a second sport. Close described Grant as a “bully ball kind of player” who would add screening, rebounding and hustle.
Alibaba Cloud named cloud computing and AI partner of NBA China as the basketball league returns after six years.
Published On 9 Oct 20259 Oct 2025
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The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba have announced a multiyear partnership, as the league stages two games in Macau to mark its return to the Chinese market for the first time since 2019.
The announcement by Alibaba Group on Thursday said it would provide artificial intelligence and cloud computing services with the NBA and enhance fan experiences on the NBA app in China.
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Alibaba Cloud will be the official cloud computing and AI partner of NBA China, it said.
The NBA is due to play two preseason games in the Chinese special administrative region on Friday and Sunday, part of a five-year contract with Las Vegas Sands’ Macau unit Sands China.
The games mark the first time the NBA is playing in Macau, the world’s largest gambling hub, and follow a years-long absence amid controversy over the 2019 Hong Kong protests.
The Macau games aim to bolster the NBA’s profile in China, where the league estimates say about 300 million people play basketball, at a time of rising political tensions between the United States and China.
The NBA’s absence followed a firestorm of controversy about comments made six years ago by the Houston Rockets’ then general manager Daryl Morey, who posted a message on social media in support of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests.
In the aftermath, Beijing suspended the broadcast of NBA games, prompting corporate sponsors to flee and the league to suffer what it described at the time as dramatic financial consequences. Preseason NBA games in China were also scrapped.
The NBA games are being held at the Sands Venetian property, and Shaquille O’Neal is among NBA celebrities attending the event, the league said.
Sands owner, the US billionaire Adelson family, also owns the Texas-based NBA team, the Dallas Mavericks.
The Brooklyn Nets, owned by Alibaba chairman Joseph Tsai, will play the Phoenix Suns at sold-out games in the arena.
This NBA season comes with high hopes for a Chinese rookie: Yang Hansen, a 7-foot-1 (216cm) draft pick who is expected to play a role for the Portland Trail Blazers this season.
He’s thrilled that the NBA is headed back there, finally.
“I want to say firstly, playing for the Blazers is a wonderful thing for me, and I wish that I can take all the players and management and coaches to China for sure in the future,” Yang said with the support of an interpreter.
“For sure, I wish [for] more games in China. … That works for me perfectly.”
USC women’s basketball star JuJu Watkins will miss the upcoming college basketball season as she recovers from the serious knee injury she sustained during the NCAA tournament in March.
Watkins said in an announcement on social media that she planned to take the 2025-26 season to “fully focus on continuing to recover so I can come back to the game I love.”
“The last few months have been filled with a lot of healing, rest and reflection,” Watkins said in a statement. “Recovering from this injury hasn’t been easy, and I want to say thank you — your love, support and kind words have truly lifted me up during one of the most challenging times in my life.”
Watkins was in the midst of a stellar sophomore season when her knee buckled on a breakaway during the second round of the NCAA tournament. The injury proved to be a devastating blow to USC’s title hopes, as the Trojans eventually lost in the Elite Eight to Connecticut.
There was a glimmer of hope that Watkins might be able to return for a potential postseason run in March 2026, a full year after her injury. Two orthopedic surgeons told The Times at the time that she’d require upwards of 12 months to recover.
“There’s going to be a lot of differences from person to person in that recovery process,” said Dr. Gabriella Ode, an orthopedic surgeon who serves as the team physician for the New York Liberty. “There’s nothing wrong even with a 12-month recovery. I want to be very explicit about that. There are many people who it takes 12 months.”
Any speculation that Watkins might return sooner than that ended Sunday, more than a month before the start of the women’s college basketball season.
USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said in a statement that the program would “fully support her decision to focus on recovery this season.”
“While we will certainly miss her impact on the court, she continues to play a vital role in our program as a leader and teammate. The strength and maturity she has shown through this process is a reflection of who she is.”
Her impact won’t be easily replaced. But the arrival of another top prospect, Jazzy Davidson, should help fill some of the void.
“No one is filling JuJu’s shoes,” Gottlieb said earlier this month. “Those are unique shoes. But the fact that Jazzy can step into our program and already just make a really unique and incredible impression on everybody is pretty wild. She’s really, really good.”
In two seasons at USC, Watkins has been nothing short of a phenomenon, both on and off the court.
A Compton native, Watkins arrived at USC in 2023 intent on helping build the program back up, and within one season had helped turn the Trojans into national title contenders. As a sophomore, she won the Wooden Award, the Naismith Trophy, Big Ten Player of the Year and became the first USC player ever named the Associated Press player of the year. She also powered USC to a Big Ten title in its first season in the conference, all while becoming the fastest Trojan ever to 1,000 career points, a mark that she surpassed early in her sophomore year.
Upon her return as a senior, Watkins technically would still have two years of eligibility remaining. But the Trojan superstar is almost certain to declare for the WNBA draft when she’s first eligible in 2027.
He stood taller than any other player on the field. His wingspan likely stretches far beyond any other wideout in the Mission League or, possibly, the Southern Section.
Tyran Stokes appeared as a man among men as he stretched and worked his way through pregame drills, cameras lined up along the sideline aimed at the senior as if he was back on the AAU basketball circuit — and for good reason.
The comparison was hard not to make during Sherman Oaks Notre Dame’s 57-14 victory over Culver City (3-2) on Friday night.
Is this what LeBron James looked like on the football field?
James, who played at St. Vincent–St. Mary High in Akron, Ohio, during his sophomore and junior yearsin 2000 and 2001, used his 6-foot-7 frame to earn all-state honors, the future four-time NBA most valuable player even garnering attention from Notre Dame and Urban Meyer, then a wide receivers coach for the Fighting Irish, according to ESPN. At 6-foot-8 and 250 pounds, Stokes is larger — and already plays for Notre Dame; well, the Knights of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (3-2).
The No. 1 high school senior in the nation — according to multiple college basketball recruiting sites — wanted more. Stokes jostled his love of a second sport, football, becoming a wide receiver and defensive end on the football team earlier in September, just months before his final season of basketball at begins.
Basketball standout Tyran Stokes of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame comes up short an attempt to make his first catch Friday against Culver City.
(Craig Weston)
“He improves our practice atmosphere, he improves our game atmosphere, he improves our mindset and our competitive spirit in the room,” Notre Dame coach Evan Yabu said, noting Stokes has been a “pleasure” to have on the team.
Towering over defensive backs, Stokes was a go-to target for senior quarterback Wyatt Brown — who put the game out of reach in the first half with a three-touchdown effort — anytime he appeared on the field. Brown finished 21-for-33 passing with 301 yards and five touchdowns. On the ground, he tallied 79 yards and one touchdown.
His final pass was the one that Notre Dame will remember.
Matched up on 5-foot-8 Culver City defensive back Derrick Huezo Jr., Stokes burst forward and created 15 yards of separation. Huezo could only shrug as he trailed Stokes.
The now-two=sport star took the ball 45 yards to the house to cement the final score.
On Stokes’ first play, in Notre Dame’s second drive of the first quarter, Brown caught Stokes across the middle of the field.
The ball slipped through Stokes’ hands.
He wouldn’t let that happen when it mattered most, the clock ticking on his first game. Stokes finishes with two receptions for 57 yards (he was targeted eight times).
“I know he’s a big-time hooper,” Brown said. “But when he came over here, he was very humble and open about learning — which is a testament to him.”
Stokes politely declined all interview requests following the game — so it goes being the most-sought-after basketball recruit in the nation.
But any kid — or fan — who asked for a picture, he waited and obliged.
The moment wasn’t just big for him, but for the whole school — Stokes, one of the last to trot to the locker room to get ready for a bus ride back to Sherman Oaks.
Bueckers averaged 19.2 points on 47.7 percent shooting along with 3.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.6 steals in the season.
Published On 16 Sep 202516 Sep 2025
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Dallas Wings’ basketball star Paige Bueckers has won the WNBA Rookie of the Year honour after one of the best debut seasons in league history.
Bueckers received 70 of the 72 votes from sportswriters and broadcasters in balloting announced by the league on Tuesday. The other two went to Washington Mystics guard Sonia Citron.
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Bueckers was a bright spot for a team that tied the Chicago Sky with a league-worst 10-34 record after being drafted with the number-one overall pick and the first Dallas Wings player to win the award since Allisha Gray in 2017. The former UConn star averaged 19.2 points on 47.7 per cent shooting along with 3.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.6 steals.
But those numbers do not tell the complete story.
Her 692 points and 194 assists were the third most by a WNBA rookie. The highlight was when she scored 44 in a loss to the Los Angeles Sparks on August 20.
It was the WNBA’s highest point total this season and the most ever by a rookie. She also became the first player in league history to score 40 or more while shooting 80 per cent in a game.
That performance came near the end of a 30-game double-digit streak, the third longest to start a career behind A’ja Wilson’s 33 games in 2018 and Candace Parker’s 32 games in 2008.
Paige Bueckers is the 2025 WNBA @Kia Rookie of the Year 🏆
A Sherman Oaks Notre Dame football player had heard the rumors of a new student joining the football team on Monday at practice.
Sure enough, 6-foot-8 Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 high school basketball player in the country from the class of 2026, showed up wearing practice jersey No. 67. He’ll need 10 days of practices before he can play in a football game, but coach Evan Yabu was excited to have him.
Tyran Stokes at his first football practice. 6-8, 245 pounds. USC basketball coach Eric Musselman was there after learning Stokes wasn’t at basketball practice. pic.twitter.com/2h9Z2FyVIN
He’s supposed to play receiver and Yabu observed, “We don’t have anyone 6-8, 245 pounds.”
Notre Dame’s Tyran Stokes celebrates after a slam dunk in the closing seconds of a 68-61 victory at Harvard-Westlake last season.
( Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Stokes could use a break from basketball after a busy offseason of traveling and games. Notre Dame basketball coach Matt Sargeant is fine with Stokes trying football. He has three other players on the football team.
USC basketball coach Eric Musselman looked like a genius when he went out to the football field to watch Stokes. He had come to Notre Dame to watch basketball practice, then heard about Stokes missing basketball practice.
Basketball player Zach White said of Stokes trying football, “He’ll do great if he puts his mind to it.”
Having earned three national championship rings playing volleyball for UCLA, 6-foot-8 Tom Stillwell knows a little bit about competition and commitment to sports excellence.
Nothing, though, compares to his joy being a Girl Dad.
“That’s a full-time job, and being a volleyball dad is the best,” said Stillwell, an All-American at UCLA.
It was never planned that his two daughters, Maya, a 6-4 senior, and Lucy, a 6-0 sophomore, would become volleyball players at Harvard-Westlake. Stillwell and his wife, Julie, met at UCLA. She’s 5-6 and neither was thinking how tall their kids might be. But it happened. They were raising giants.
“We felt they needed to be involved in something and as they started to get really tall, I started to talk to friends who had tall females and their recommendation was get them involved in sports because it’s going to turn their tall from being awkward to cool,” Stillwell said. “For them, whether it was tennis, swimming, basketball or volleyball, it didn’t really matter to us. It was whatever they became connected with. They both had journeys.”
Maya had little interest in sports growing up.
“I was not athletic,” Maya said. “It was originally a way to get my body moving. I was into art and music. I started in club when I was 12 and hated it. It wasn’t for me. When COVID happened, we were forced to move to another club and I loved my teammates and coaches and started to like it.”
She became a top middle blocker, playing on a national championship club team and receiving a scholarship to Northwestern. She’s taken advantage of a mini-grass court in the family backyard and her father’s experience having switched from basketball to volleyball during his high school days at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
Lucy followed her sister into volleyball after trying other sports. She’s a backup at Harvard-Westlake, which started the season 7-0 until running into Marymount. The team is 10-2. Both have grade-point averages above 4.0.
Except for their mom, the Stillwells share a common experience — receiving stares because of their height.
Said Maya: “People at school are used to it, but walking outside, it’s like, ‘Oh you’re so tall. Do you play basketball?’ I never get, ‘Do you play volleyball?‘”
“It’s very funny,” Tom said. “I think all tall people have a similar experience with people coming up to you and asking, ‘Do you play basketball?’ When you play sports it helps to have that community because of a lot of their club people are similar height.”
But who gets the extra leg room when flying?
“I’m older and taller,” Maya said.
“She does,” Lucy said.
“Let me tell you who gets the worst seat. Julie, my wife,” Tom said. “She’s like, ‘I’m the mom. I birthed you. I get the worst seat?’”
The daughters never got to meet their legendary grandmother, Liz Shapiro, who was always at Tom’s games at Notre Dame and UCLA. Her generosity to both schools in terms of support will never be forgotten. She died of cancer after Tom’s volleyball career had ended.
“She was a rabid fan,” Tom said. “She would have been at every game, every tournament, club, high school, probably trying to watch practice.”
Tom, 51, has been helpful offering tips whenever his daughters ask, but he has tried to let them listen and learn from their coaches and not impose his own athletic beliefs on them.
“Volleyball just connected with them. It was fun to watch,” he said. “I told them they’re not doing it for me or my wife. They have to enjoy it and if they don’t, they shouldn’t do it. This is their journey, not mine.”
As a Girl Dad, Tom has adopted a specific philosophy no matter what he sees or hears.
“All I’m trying to be is their dad,” he said. “That’s my No. 1 focus. Not their volleyball coach, not their mentor in volleyball. It’s hard enough for these teenage girls. They don’t need to hear their dad yelling.”
As a young man, he stood next to Martin Luther King Jr. as he delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech. As a college basketball coach, he blazed a trail for Black coaches and players. As an executive, he was instrumental in signing Michael Jordan to his groundbreaking endorsement deal with Nike.
George Raveling had an impact that stretched far beyond basketball, the sport which he last coached three decades ago at USC. He became a revered figure in the game, not for the number of wins he accumulated over his career, but for his role as a mentor to many.
Raveling, 88, died Monday after a battle with cancer, his family announced.
“There are no words to fully capture what George meant to his family, friends, colleagues, former players, and assistants — and to the world,” the family said in a statement. “He will be profoundly missed, yet his aura, energy, divine presence, and timeless wisdom live on in all those he touched and transformed.”
Raveling coached at USC from 1986 to 1994, the first Black coach to take the helm of the Trojans basketball program. Over his first four seasons at the school, Raveling didn’t experience much success, winning just 38 of USC’s 116 games over that stretch.
Raveling found his stride in the second half of his tenure, taking the Trojans to two straight NCAA tournaments and two NITs after that. But his overall record at USC never broke .500 (115-118). In September 1994, Raveling was in a serious car accident that eventually led him to retire. He suffered nine broken ribs and a collapsed lung and fractured his pelvis and collarbone.
After his coaching career, Raveling joined Nike as the director of grassroots basketball, later rising to the role of director of international basketball.
But his biggest contribution at Nike came out of his relationship with Jordan, whom Raveling had coached as an assistant with the U.S. national team at the 1984 Olympics. Jordan, whose deal with Nike sent the brand into a new stratosphere, credited Raveling for making it happen. In the foreword for Raveling’s book, Jordan called him “a mentor”.
“If not for George, there would be no Air Jordan,” Jordan wrote.
Across the basketball world, similar plaudits came pouring in Tuesday in light of Raveling’s death.
Eric Musselman, USC’s current basketball coach, said Raveling was “not only a Hall of Fame basketball mind but a tremendous person who paved the way on and off the court.”
Former Villanova coach Jay Wright wrote on social media that Raveling was “the finest human being, inspiring mentor, most loyal alum and a thoughtful loving friend.”
Raveling grew up in Washington D.C., during a time of segregation and hardship. His family lived in a two-room apartment above a grocery store, where they shared a bathroom with four other families on the same floor. His father died suddenly when he was 9. His mother suffered a mental health crisis a few years later and spent most of her remaining years in a psychiatric hospital. Raveling left home at 14 to attend a boarding school.
It was at St. Michaels, a mostly white boarding school in Pennsylvania, that Raveling first started playing basketball. He earned a scholarship at Villanova, where he became a captain and later an assistant coach.
But the college experience, he later said, had an even more profound impact on Raveling.
“I’ve always felt like a sprinter who’d slipped at the starting box and was 20 yards behind everybody — I’ve been in a mad dash to catch up with everybody ever since,” Raveling told The Times in 1994. “My mom worked two jobs when I was a kid. There were no books in our house. Nobody envisioned that I’d graduate from college. No one even encouraged me to go to college.”
He’d spend the rest of his life, it seems, trying to make up for lost time.
Raveling was standing just a few feet away from King on the National Mall in Washington D.C. in 1963 as he delivered his famed “I Have A Dream” speech. King actually handed Raveling his copy of the historic speech immediately after he finished.
For decades, Raveling kept it tucked inside of a book, before recounting the story to a journalist. According to Sports Illustrated, a collector later offered Raveling $3 million for his copy of the speech. But he declined and donated it instead to Villanova.
George Raveling was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., in 2015.
(Charles Krupa / Associated Press)
Raveling pioneered a path that few Black coaches ever had through his career. He was the first Black coach in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference when he started as an assistant in 1969. Three years later, at Washington State, he became the first Black coach to lead a Pac-8 (now Pac-12) Conference basketball team.
He coached at Iowa from 1983-86 before being hired at USC. At the time, the Trojans had a roster that included Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble, who were coming off their freshman season. Raveling gave the players a firm deadline to tell him if they planned to remain on the team and when they didn’t he revoked their scholarships. Both went on to star at Loyola Marymount.
Raveling was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. But as a “contributor”, not as a coach. Even while he was coaching, Raveling seemed to understand that his role meant more than that.
“Winning basketball games just helps you keep your job,” he told The Times in 1994. “But keeping your job helps you work with these kids about the real challenges of life, which all happen away from the court. I know there’s an enormous demand around here to win. But I don’t want someone to ask me what I accomplished in my life and for me to say that I won this amount of games or took a team to some tournament.
“If all I can say is that I taught a kid how to shoot a jump shot, well, that’s not good enough. These kids come out of underprivileged, inner-city areas, and I’m just wasting my time if I haven’t put something of substance into their lives.”
When it comes to athletes who deserve to be welcomed on a red carpet walk each time they show up for classes, the name of John Michael Flint of Bishop Diego High comes to mind.
He’s 6 feet 2 and 180 pounds, was the league player of the year in volleyball, has a 38-inch vertical leap that allows him to dunk a basketball or kill a volleyball at the blink of an eye, and starts for the football team at receiver and safety. He’s also an A student and the backup quarterback.
“We’re talking to him about doing some kicking,” football coach Tom Crawford said. “He can pretty much do anything you ask. He’s the complete student-athlete.”
He’s going to be a captain for the football team and also helps out with campus ministry.
“He’s mature beyond most high school kids’ years in terms of decisions he makes and how he relates to coaches and peers,” Crawford said. “I just like him because he has a great, quiet confidence and poise about him.”
He’s expected to also play basketball this coming season after not playing last season.
So get ready for the year of John Michael Flint showing the way at Bishop Diego.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].
In his prime, John Wall was a rocket, a supremely talented point guard whose speed, explosiveness and star power made him the first pick in the NBA draft, a five-time All-Star and a fan favorite of the Washington Wizards, the team for which he delivered nearly all his heroics and highlight reels.
At the end, Wall was in uniform and running the court — that in itself a sight to see — but the uniform was the Clippers and his game had been reduced to eye-blink spurts of greatness.
The Clippers visited Washington’s Capital One Arena on Dec. 10, 2022, Wall in the midst of a 34-game slog that would be his last in the NBA. Wizards fans cheered his introduction and the 90-second tribute video that Wall was too emotional to even watch.
When the Clippers were off to a disastrous second-quarter start, Wall answered with six consecutive points, the last two swishing on his step-back 13-foot jumper. He spun toward the crowd, pointed both index fingers toward the court, and shouted, “Still my city!”
Wall was so overcome by the cheering crowd that he started walking to the wrong bench. “I kind of flashed back and forgot like, I’m in a different jersey,” he said. “Just being in that moment and electrifying the crowd, that’s what I’ve been doing for a lot of years in my career when I was here.”
Wall announced his retirement on Tuesday, although most fans probably figured he had retired already. His Clippers stint ended Jan. 13, 2022, and he never played again. His slide began in 2020 when Washington did the unfathomable, trading the most popular Wizard since Wes Unseld to the Houston Rockets for Russell Westbrook.
Wall had suffered a succession of leg injuries and he would suffer some more. The loss of his signature speed, coupled with the death of his mother, sent Wall into a depression that eventually had him contemplating suicide.
“For me, it all happened really fast,” he wrote in a first-person Players Tribune story. “In the span of three years, I went from being on top of the world to losing damn near everything I ever cared about.
“In 2017, I’m jumping up on the announcer’s table in D.C. after forcing Game 7 against Boston, and I’m the king of the city. I’m getting a max extension, thinking I’m a Wizard for life. A year later, I tore my Achilles and lost the only sanctuary I’ve ever known — the game of basketball. I ended up with such a bad infection from the surgeries that I nearly had to have my foot amputated. A year later, I lost my best friend in the whole world, my mom, to breast cancer.
“My best friend is gone. I can’t play the game I love. Everybody just got their hand out. Nobody is checking on me for me. It’s always coming with something attached. Who’s there to hold me down now? What’s the point of being here?”
Never mind that the Rockets gave him $172 million over four years, and that he gave them only 40 games in 2020-2021 in return. The next season, he agreed to the Rockets’ request that he not play, that he sit out and become a glorified assistant coach while the team tanked.
Wall agreed to forfeit a slice of his salary — his career earnings were $276 million — to get a fresh start with the Clippers, but it was soon clear he had little to offer, averaging 11.3 points and shooting 40.3%.
“That’s the most frustrating part because people think, ‘Oh, he got the money, he’s set for life, he don’t care,’” Wall recently told the Washington Post. “No, I would give up all the money to play basketball and never deal with none of those injuries. I didn’t play the game of basketball for money. I played the game of basketball because I love it,”
It took him two more years to reconcile that he was through, and his retirement announcement Tuesday was timed with another that he will join Prime Video for its studio show in its inaugural season broadcasting the NBA in 2025-2026.
Prime Video will broadcast 67 regular-season games, the play-in tournament and some playoff games. Wall called the G League Winter Showcase in January, which led to appearances on NBA TV. Now he’ll join the “NBA on Prime” team along with Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Dwyane Wade, Blake Griffin, Udonis Haslem and Candace Parker.
For Wall, it will be an opportunity to revisit his prime, sharing the basketball knowledge he accumulated through a difficult upbringing in North Carolina, an All-American one-and-done season at Kentucky and an 11-year NBA career in which he averaged 18.7 points and 8.9 assists a game.
“If you never really had the opportunity to sit down and talk to me, you won’t really understand how much I love basketball, where my basketball mind is at, where my IQ is,” Wall said. “I can basically tell you the best player in the country — from girls to boys, high school, to the players that’s in college, to the people that’s at the NBA and WNBA.”
