Roundup: Markelle Fultz happy Philly has Chick-fil-A; Lonzo Ball realizes LA dream
Congrats to all 14 Pac-12 players who were selected in the NBA Draft Thursday night, setting a conference record during the two-round era of the draft, and things popped off early with Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball going 1-2 to give the Pac-12 the first two picks for the first time in conference history. Fultz is off to the Philadelphia 76ers, and one reason Fultz is happy to play in Philadelphia is that the city has Chick-fil-A (Boston doesn’t, for what it’s worth; Sporting News with the link). Also, be sure to read Fultz’s greeting to Philadelphia in this piece for The Players’ Tribune, which is where the Chick-fil-A nugget (get it?) comes from.
Check out this piece from Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated on Lonzo Ball’s dream of playing for the Lakers coming true. Great work from Jenkins as always.
Eric Woodyard of MLive.com writes that Flint-area products Kyle Kuzma and Monte Morris are bringing joy to the Flint community by hearing their names called in the NBA Draft. Kuzma went 27th to the Lakers and Iowa State’s Morris went 51st to the Nuggets.
Ivan Rabb was selected in second round with the 35th pick technically by the Orlando Magic; however, he was shipped to the Memphis Grizzlies. Have fun grittin’ and grindin’, Ivan.
Jason Patt of Fanrag writes what Derrick White brings to the San Antonio Spurs, the team that selected him with the 29th pick.
Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors paid $3.5 million just to draft Jordan Bell, securing the Chicago Bulls’ No. 38 selection in the draft. That’s a lot of faith in a second-round draft pick, but it certainly worked out for the Dubs when they bought the rights to draft Patrick McCaw, also at No. 38, last season.
We just had the 2017 NBA Draft, so why not have a 2018 mock draft? For CBS Sports, Reid Forgrave prognosticates that incoming Arizona freshman DeAndre Ayton will be the No. 1 pick of the 2018 NBA Draft.
Oregon State baseball is finally back in action, taking on LSU Friday with a spot in the College World Series finals on the line (LSU needs to win twice, Oregon State just once), and Danny Moran dives into Oregon State pitcher Bryce Fehmel’s postseason surge for the Beavers. Fehmel struck out 10 Vanderbilt hitters in the Super Regionals and limited LSU to two hits in a 13-1 win Monday.
Sad news on the Cougar front, as Riley Sorenson’s cancer has returned, Sorenson’s girlfriend posted on Facebook Thursday afternoon (Scout). The prognosis is good, however, and he is set to begin treatment on Monday. Best of luck to Riley and his family.
The Sun Devil Stadium lights stayed on until 2 a.m. in honor of Frank Kush Thursday night as fans stopped by his statue at the stadium. The legendary Kush passed away Thursday.
Read about the current and former USC track athletes who are advancing to the USA Track & Field Championship semifinals in this USCTrojans.com link.
Read David Kiefer’s tribute to former Stanford athlete Tyrone McGraw, who died Sunday from cancer at age 29 (GoStanford.com). McGraw competed on the track and football teams on The Farm. Great read from Kiefer.