PHILADELPHIA — Fran Dunphy, the winningest coach in Big 5 history, will retire from coaching at the end of the 2024-25 basketball season, La Salle announced Thursday.

Dunphy, 76, will finish his third season leading La Salle, his alma mater, at next month’s Atlantic 10 men’s tournament. He will then assume the role of special assistant to...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — This Timberwolves team is disappointing, and promising.

Talented, and oddly fitted.

Deep, yet confusing.

Injured, but healing.

Capable of beating the beat team in the league — which happened last week — and of losing to lousy teams, which has happened far too frequently.

As the Timberwolves begin the post-All-Star ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — They are not Kelvin Sampson’s Houston Cougars. Or Rick Barnes’ Tennessee Volunteers. Or Rick Pitino’s St. John’s Red Storm. But Mark Pope’s Kentucky Wildcats are starting to show up a little more on the defensive end of the floor.

“We’ve got a lot of room for improvement because we aren’t great,” the ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — College coaches across the country might argue that UConn’s Dan Hurley wrote the book on innovative offense.

Now, he’s written a book about his life.

“Never Stop: Life, Leadership and What It Takes To Be Great,” written by Hurley and co-authored by sportswriter Ian O’Connor, is set to come out on Sept. 16. The ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For a guy who failed his physical, Mark Williams sure looked pretty healthy Wednesday night for the Charlotte Hornets.

Williams was in his first game back for the Hornets after being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, only for the Lakers to say “never mind” and rescind the trade once they took a good look at Williams at ...Read more

SEATTLE — Katie Lou Samuelson is on the move again, and this time the long-range sharpshooter is headed back to Seattle.

The Storm agreed to a one-year deal with Samuelson, her agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Since being taken No. 4 overall in the 2019 WNBA draft by Chicago, the former Connecticut Huskies ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Deflating. Frustrating. Embarrassing.

What other words can be used to describe the Lakers' 100-97 defeat to the Charlotte Hornets at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday night?

So what if Luka Doncic was playing for only the third time since Christmas? So what if Austin Reaves was ejected in the third quarter? So what if the Lakers' ...Read more

NEW YORK — Bobby Portis has been suspended 25 games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA anti-drug program by testing positive for the painkiller Tramadol, the league announced on Thursday.

The 30-year-old Milwaukee Bucks forward has averaged 13.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists across 46 games this season while shooting 46.3% from ...Read more

ATLANTA — Hawks guard Dyson Daniels has strung together a remarkable season since the team acquired him during the offseason. With the news that Spurs center Victor Wembanyama will miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder condition, specifically deep-vein thrombosis, a path for the Hawks guard to win Defensive Player of the Year ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — Liam McNeeley had promised there would be a different result when the UConn men played Villanova. He called for his team to “play angry,” play “desperate.”

It’s a big check for a freshman to write, but McNeeley was willing to step into a void and provide the words, and once again had the will and the wherewithal ...Read more

JJ Redick, renewed by the All-Star break, bounded through the halls of the Lakers’ arena like a rested golden retriever. His team had a week off and a clean injury report, a 30-game sprint to the finish with a chance to have their best regular-season finish since their 2020 title run.

There were reasons everywhere to be excited. The 48 ...Read more

COLUMBIA, Mo. — The tag team of Mark Mitchell and Caleb Grill powered a triple-digit offensive showing as No. 15 Missouri toppled No. 4 Alabama in a shootout.

The Tigers (20-6, 9-4 Southeastern Conference) beat the Crimson Tide (21-5, 10-3) 110-98 Wednesday in front of a sold-out crowd, gaining ground in the race for a top-four finish in the ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Kentucky Wildcats got back in the win column Wednesday night.

UK ran away from Vanderbilt in the second half to claim an 82-61 victory over the Commodores, who defeated the Cats earlier this season and kept things close for the first 20 minutes of the rematch in Rupp Arena.

The No. 17 Cats improved to 18-8 (and 7-6 in ...Read more

NEW YORK — So much for fully healthy.

Just hours after completing practice in Tarrytown, the Knicks ruled out starting forward Josh Hart for Thursday’s matchup against the Chicago Bulls, citing patellofemoral syndrome in his right knee — a condition commonly referred to as runner’s knee or jumper’s knee.

The American Academy of ...Read more

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — They opened the doors Wednesday to the Smith Center and let everyone in to see North Carolina play a little basketball with N.C. State.

On a snowy night in the Triangle, the decision was made by UNC to allow anyone who could make it to the game to see the game. Students also could grab open seats close to the court, amping...Read more

NEW YORK — LaVar Ball, well-known father of NBA players Lonzo and LaMelo Ball, had his right foot amputated, according to reports published Wednesday.

Ball, 57, suffered a “serious medical issue” that required the procedure, TMZ reported. The health problems that led to the amputation were unclear.

Notorious for his publicity blitz ...Read more

DENVER — Back from a beach vacation and spared the indignity of having to coach the NBA All-Star Game, Michael Malone has another tricky decision at the top of his to-do list this week.

Who’s in the starting lineup?

“You really don’t think I’m gonna answer that question right now, do you?” Malone said Wednesday at Ball Arena, ...Read more

ATLANTA — The NBA’s All-Star Weekend is well behind Hawks guard Trae Young and forward Zaccharie Risacher, and they made sure to get the rest they needed to finish the remainder of the season.

“I mean, it wasn’t my first time going,” Young said. “So I kind of knew how to take advantage of the weekend, a little bit more rest, during ...Read more

CHICAGO — Lonzo Ball said the decision wasn’t all that hard.

As he neared the end of his first contract with the Chicago Bulls — a four-year sign-and-trade deal worth $80 million from 2021 through this season — Ball knew he had a major decision to make.

Trade rumors swirled throughout the week leading up to the deadline. But none of ...Read more

Former Illinois guard Terrence Shannon Jr. is trying to create something positive out of the school’s upside-down banner mishap over the weekend.

Illinois honored Shannon’s jersey at halftime of its loss to Michigan State on Saturday. But when Shannon pulled a string to reveal the banner that would hang at the State Farm Center, it was ...Read more