The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-24)

D2 EZ M2 THE WASHINGTON POST.TUESDAY, MAY 24 , 2022

COLLEGES

Wahab rejoins Hoyas

after year with Terps

Qudus Wahab decided to
return to Georgetown via the
transfer portal, the school
announced Monday, an
unexpected move for a player
who left the program a year ago.
Wahab transferred out of
Georgetown before last season
and played a single campaign
with Maryland before entering
the portal for the second time in
two seasons.
“It’s good to come home to a
fanbase and a system that I am
familiar and comfortable with,”
Wahab said in a statement.
“I am excited to play with and
work with my new Hoya team. I
think coming back to the Hilltop
will prepare me even more for my
ultimate goal of playing in the
NBA.”
Wahab started 31 games with
the Terrapins in the 2021-22
season and averaged 7.7 points
and 5.6 rebounds. The 6-foot-11
center’s points, rebounds and
minutes, however, were all down
from his sophomore year at
Georgetown, when he was the
team’s leading rebounder and
second-leading scorer. Wahab

was named to the all-Big East tournament first team after averaging 14.3 points and 8.3 rebounds as the Hoyas won the conference tournament in 2021. His departure after the 2020-21 season was unexpected, as Coach Patrick Ewing had said he could develop into one of the best centers in program history. “I’m happy to see Qudus Wahab back on the Hilltop,” Ewing said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to him helping us get to where we want to be as a team and for our staff to help in his development and his growth.” The Hoyas finished 6-25 last season, went winless in the Big East and set a program record with 21 straight losses. — Kareem Copeland Former Penn State women’s basketball coach Coquese Washington will succeed Hall of Famer C. Vivian Stringer as coach at Rutgers, the school announced. Washington, who spent the past two seasons as an assistant at Notre Dame, agreed to a six- year contract, the school said. It guarantees total compensation of $4.6 million with additional performance incentives. Stringer retired late last month at age 74, capping a career in

which she won more than 1,000 games in 50 seasons — the last 25 at Rutgers — and went to the Final Four four times with three different schools.... Alabama s igned former St. Bonaventure g uard Dominick Welch , who a veraged 12.3 points and 6.0 rebounds last season.... Ohio State announced the firing of baseball coach Greg Beals after 12 seasons.

HOCKEY Denmark beat Canada for the first time in a 3-2 upset a t the world championships in Helsinki, while the United States slumped in a loss to the Czech Republic. Sebastian Dahm ’s 29 saves helped Denmark h old on to stun Canada and move into contention for a place in the quarterfinals. Canada can no longer qualify as the top-seeded team in Group A and will need to beat France on Tuesday to be sure of reaching the last eight. Denmark plays Slovakia needing to avoid a loss in regulation. The United States must wait to qualify for the quarterfinals after a bruising 1-0 loss to the Czechs in Tampere, Finland, in both teams’ second-to-last game of group play.

SOCCER L iverpool and Aston Villa started building for next season by announcing the signings of highly rated youngsters. Fabio Carvalho , a 19-year-old Portuguese forward who j ust helped Fulham gain promotion to the Premier League, will join Liverpool on July 1. Boubacar Kamara , a 22-year- old defensive midfielder, will join Villa on a free transfer when his contract with Marseille expires at the end of this month.

MISC. USA Swimming has set the dates for the 2024 Olympic trials, which will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The c ompetition to determine the team for the Paris Games will run from J une 1 5 to 23.... The International Luge Federation said it plans on bringing races back to North America for the first time in nearly three years, with stops planned for Park City, Utah, and Whistler, B.C., d uring the 2022-23 season. Whistler will have racing from Dec. 8 to 10 and Park City from Dec. 15 to 17. — From news services and staff reports

DIGEST TELEVISION AND RADIO MLB 6:30 p.m. Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati » MLB Network 7 p.m. Los Angeles Dodgers at Washington » MASN2, WJFK (106.7 FM) 7 p.m. Baltimore at New York Yankees » MASN, WIYY (97.9 FM) 9:30 p.m. Milwaukee at San Diego » TBS WNBA 7 p.m. Atlanta at Washington » NBC Sports Washington NBA PLAYOFFS 9 p.m. Western Conference finals, Game 4: Golden State at Dallas » TNT STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS 7 p.m. Eastern Conference semifinal, Game 4: Carolina at New York Rangers » ESPN 9:30 p.m. Western Conference semifinal, Game 4: Calgary at Edmonton » ESPN SOCCER 6:15 p.m. Copa Libertadores, Group C: Estudiantes at Vélez Sársfield » beIN Sports 8:30 p.m. Copa Libertadores, Group H: Sporting Cristal at Flamengo » beIN Sports TENNIS 5 a.m. French Open, first round » Tennis Channel HOCKEY 5:20 a.m. IIHF World Championship, Group A: Germany vs. Switzerland » NHL Network 9:20 a.m. IIHF World Championship, Group B: United States vs. Norway » NHL Network 1:20 p.m. IIHF World Championship, Group A: Canada vs. France » NHL Network COLLEGE BASEBALL 10:30 a.m. SEC tournament, first round: Alabama vs. Georgia » SEC Network 11 a.m. ACC tournament, Pool B: Pittsburgh vs. Georgia Tech » MASN2 2 p.m. SEC tournament, first round: South Carolina vs. Florida » SEC Network 3 p.m. ACC tournament, Pool C: North Carolina State vs. Wake Forest » MASN2 5:30 p.m. SEC tournament, first round: Mississippi vs. Vanderbilt » SEC Network 9 p.m. SEC tournament, first round: Kentucky vs. Auburn » SEC Network WOMEN’S COLLEGE GOLF Noon NCAA team match play, quarterfinals » Golf Channel 5 p.m. NCAA team match play, semifinals » Golf Channel

what Hoop For All did as an or-
ganization, spreading awareness
of medical issues that especially
hit the Black community,” Beal
said in a phone interview this
month. “I liked that they were
young, they didn’t necessarily
have a big following, and when I
saw the courts for the first time —
it was exactly what the communi-
ty needed. You’ve got nice tennis
courts over there, a nice middle
school, a playground, a pool. The
only thing that was missing were
nice basketball courts.”
On June 18, Beal will attend the
ribbon-cutting ceremony of the
newly redone courts, a project a
year in the making carried out by
Hoop For All with funding from
Beal and matching support from
the National Basketball Players
Association Foundation.
The event comes smack in the
middle of a watershed summer for
the Wizards’ star guard. Beal said
he is still leaning toward signing a
multiyear deal with Washington
worth roughly $250 million in
July, and in the meantime he’s
focused on rehab after having his
cast removed in late April follow-
ing season-ending wrist surgery
in February.
“Surgery was good; recovery
went well. Had no issues,” Beal
said.
It will be a while before Beal
gets back on the court. In his first
month out of the cast, his rehab
focused on regaining range of mo-
tion in his left wrist and miming
his shooting form before pro-
gressing to strength work. He has
been watching the NBA playoffs.
He has been preparing for the
arrival of his third child in the

WIZARDS FROM D1

coming months. And he has been staying in touch with T ommy Sheppard, the Wizards’ president and general manager, as Shep- pard prepares for June’s NBA draft. But mostly Beal has had a lot of downtime to ponder life off the court — including his charitable endeavors and his legacy in D.C. The timing of the court refurbish- ment felt perfect. “This injury also gave me a mental break, a time to evaluate life, and I haven’t changed my mind-set,” Beal said. “I enjoy being in D.C.; I enjoy being on this team.” The June ribbon cutting will feature a basketball clinic as well as blood pressure checks, heart rate checks and other basic screenings that are often the first

steps in identifying major health issues. Hoop For All founders Ayo Amoo and KB Thomas, Howard University graduates, have been hosting the health-care and sports crossover events for nearly a decade. “Because we were using our sporting events to target illnesses like cancer, diabetes, heart dis- ease, mental health, HIV/AIDS — those are the five major areas that we focus on — we noticed that people just needed to be educat- ed,” Amoo said. “They were lack- ing a lot of common resources that could improve their overall health profile.” Thomas said they wanted to partner with Beal because of his high-profile status in the city and history of charity work. The guard won the NBA Cares Community Assist Award in 2019. It was important for Hoop For All to have a local figure helping spearhead the project. “I grew up a hooper. I played at Banneker when I was at Howard,” Thomas said. “When you go to the basketball court, you meet new people every time. We want that same feeling at this event, every- body coming together. It’s an opportunity to fall in love with basketball again, to fall in love with your community again and feel like your community is taken care of. It’s very easy to feel forgotten. The number one thing we want to show is that somebody still cares about the people in the inner city of D.C.” Said Beal: “I think that’s what the community needs, to be able to see many organizations come together for something like this. I love the fact that we’re making it happen.”

Beal rehabs his wrist and local courts

JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST B radley Beal, seen in February after undergoing surgery to repair his left wrist, had his cast removed in late April.

Connelly agreed to the deal Monday, according to a person familiar with the move, who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because it had not been announced. With the Nuggets, Connelly steadily built a perennial playoff contender through draft picks that included two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and point guard Ja- mal Murray. Connelly’s decision to switch teams inside the Western Confer- ence’s Northwest Division was first reported by the Athletic and ESPN. The deal is reportedly for five years and worth more than $40 million. It also includes own- ership equity. In Minnesota, Connelly will oversee a team led by Karl-Antho- ny Towns and Anthony Edwards. The Timberwolves are coming off a 46-win season and their first playoff appearance since 2018. They took the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies to six games before being eliminated. Minnesota shook up its front office right before training camp began last fall, firing Gersson Ro- sas in response to mounting ten- sion around him in the building. Sachin Gupta was promoted to be president of basketball operations in Rosas’s place, with the caveat that the position would be evaluated again this summer. Gupta was well-regarded with- in the organization for his hum- ble, steady leadership, notably by Coach Chris Finch.

And the Celtics stymied the Heat without defensive player of the year Marcus Smart, who sat out with a sprained right ankle he suffered in the second half of Game 3. The Heat was without Tyler Herro, who suffered a groin injury late in Game 3. Butler was in the starting lineup after missing the second half of Game 3 with swelling in his right knee. Lowry (strained left ham- string), Strus (strained ham- string) and Tucker (left knee irri- tation) all tested their injuries pregame before being cleared to go. Boston’s Williams returned after missing a game with soreness in his surgically repaired left knee. Even with their banged-up ros- ter, the Celtics enjoyed their fast- est start of the series. Starting in place of Smart, White scored the game’s first seven points as Bos- ton took an 8-0 lead that quickly grew to 18-1. The Heat didn’t get its first points until Adebayo’s free throw at the 7:56 mark. Miami made its first field goal at 3:22, a three- pointer by Oladipo, and finished the quarter 3 for 20. The Celtics took a 29-11 lead into the second quarter and led 57-33 at the half.

Connelly bolts for Minnesota Tim Connelly is leaving his job as the Denver Nuggets’ president of basketball operations for a sim- ilar role with the Minnesota Tim- berwolves.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

J ayson Tatum scored 31 points
and the Boston Celtics took their
turn pounding the visiting Miami
Heat early, jumping out to a 26-4
lead and cruising to a 102-82 vic-
tory that evened the Eastern Con-
ference finals at two games
apiece.
Miami missed 15 of its first 16
shots in the second straight game
that was all but over after 12
minutes. The Heat led 39-18 after
the first quarter of Game 3 of this
bizarre series in which no game
has been close down the stretch.
Game 5 is Wednesday in Mi-
ami.
Payton Pritchard had 14 points
for the Celtics. Derrick White add-
ed 13 points, eight rebounds and
six assists, and Robert Williams
finished with 12 points and nine
rebounds.
The Celtics led by 27 points in
the second quarter and stretched
their advantage to 32 in the third.
Each game in this series has fea-
tured a lead of at least 20 points.
Victor Oladipo led the Heat
with 23 points. Miami’s starting
five of all-star Jimmy Butler (six
points), Kyle Lowry (three
points), P.J. Tucker (no points),
Max Strus (no points) and Bam
Adebayo (nine points) were a
combined 7 of 36 shooting. They
all sat out the fourth quarter.

NBA ROUNDUP

Boston squares series with a blowout

CELTICS 102, HEAT 82

With Poole averaging 23.4 points after the all-star break and taking on an expanded role during Curry’s injury absence, Golden State was in a bit of a tricky spot when the playoffs opened. On one hand, the Warriors didn’t want to mess up Poole’s positive momentum. On the other, they knew they needed Curry to ramp up physically and perform to his peak capabilities if they were going to compete for a title. To resolve the matter, Curry came off the bench for the first four games against Denver, gradually increasing his playing time before he returned to the starting lineup. That unselfishness set an example for Poole, who excelled against the Nuggets before moving back to the second unit against the Grizzlies. Incidentally, it was Poole, not Curry, who put away the Mavericks for good with a pretty three-pointer in the final minute of Game 3. “If Steph Curry can come off the bench, anyone can come off the bench,” Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said. In the coming weeks, Curry’s longevity and unselfishness will probably be rewarded with a chance to make some serious history. If the Warriors knock off the Mavericks, he’s in line to be the inaugural winner of the Magic Johnson Western Conference finals MVP award. From there, a fourth ring would draw him level with James and give him a title before, during and after Durant’s Warriors tenure. Should everything break right, Curry could be the Finals MVP for the first time — the last gap on his Hall of Fame résumé — and spark a new round of talking- head debates about whether he’s ready to unseat Johnson as the greatest point guard of all time. While Curry’s act never gets old, he knows he’s getting older. The past two seasons gave him a taste of his basketball mortality and an extended look at what life will be like when his calendar no longer revolves around June. Clearly, he wasn’t ready for all that just yet. “It’s just trying to take advantage of the opportunity, knowing they are not going to come [forever],” Curry said. “You shouldn’t take it for granted. There’s a limit to how this goes.”

loyalty and self-assuredness are equally important to his legacy. James, Durant, Paul, Harden, Irving, Westbrook and Leonard have changed teams multiple times. Curry has never seriously hinted at wanting out of Golden State in 12 years — not even during the ugly lottery seasons of 2019-20 and 2020-21. Though other superstars have split from their running mates in search of a larger market or a bigger role, Curry has consistently morphed his game to empower those around him, rather than feeling threatened or adopting a territorial response. His three-year partnership with Durant is the most obvious example of his willingness to share touches and the limelight, but Curry has also been instrumental in coaxing the best out of Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole this season. Wiggins has left his disappointing Minnesota Timberwolves stint in the past, transforming into a pleasant surprise with the Warriors and a two-way force in these playoffs. In Game 3, Wiggins scored 27 points, handled the lead defensive responsibilities on Doncic and took advantage of Dallas’s undersized front line by grabbing six offensive rebounds. Since Wiggins arrived in 2020 with a reputation for inconsistency, Curry has made a point to shower the forward with positive reinforcement and celebrate his successes, such as his first all-star selection in February and his sensational Game 3 poster dunk on Doncic. “When the trade happened, it was the idea of what he could do to impact games for us,” Curry said. “Defensively, his athleticism. He was a 20-point scorer so he knew how to put the ball in the basket, but he would be asked to do it a different way and balance with the rest of the guys. We’ve been preaching that since he joined the team well over two years ago. It’s amazing to see it happen under the bright lights. He’s stepping up, and that’s only because of his approach, his attitude and him just being a gamer.” Curry went even further to accommodate Poole, a 22-year- old scoring guard who has enjoyed a breakout campaign.

Mavericks Coach Jason Kidd said after his first encounter with Curry in the Western Conference finals. “He never stops moving.” During a 109-100 Game 3 victory over the Mavericks on Sunday, Curry launched a three- pointer and turned his back while the ball was still arcing toward the hoop, his silent sign that he already knew it was going in. Later, he isolated against Luka Doncic and tiptoed past Dallas’s 23-year-old headliner with a series of crossover moves to set up a pretty finger roll. Curry’s Warriors have manhandled Doncic’s Mavericks to take a 3-0 series lead, and they will have a chance to complete the sweep in Tuesday’s Game 4. Even at 34, Curry still produces highlights that are both jaw- dropping and commonplace. Late in a Game 2 win, he mouthed the words, “Night, night,” while hitting a dagger three, then tilted his head onto his hands as if they were a pillow. This was at least the third time that he had gone to that particular motion in these playoffs, after previously putting to bed the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies. The consistency and focus from Curry have been staggering. Consider that his 2022 playoff averages (27.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.9 assists) are virtually identical to his 2015 playoff numbers (28.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.4 assists). Back then, he was a 27-year-old gunning for his first ring. Now, he’s seeking his fourth title but still won’t allow himself to skip steps or take off possessions on defense. “I’m not going to fast-forward,” Curry said after finishing with 31 points, five rebounds and 11 assists in Game 3. “We’re playing great basketball right now. We can play better, but we’re finding ways to win games. That’s how you piece this thing together. There’s no expectation other than the challenge ahead of us. The challenge now is to close out a series against a really good team and get back to an opportunity to win the Finals.” History will remember Curry for changing the sport with his unmatched shooting ability, but

ON THE NBA FROM D1

ON THE NBA

Curry leads Warriors to verge of Finals

SCOTT STRAZZANTE/SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE/ASSOCIATED PRESS Stephen Curry has the Warriors one win away from their sixth trip to the NBA Finals in eight seasons.

The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-24)

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