Pacific-12 RUMORS & NEWS

ESPN "Top international basketball prospect Adama Bal has committed to Arizona, he told ESPN on Tuesday. "Coach Tommy Lloyd and his staff were the key," Bal said. "He recruited me at Gonzaga and offered me the first day on the job at Arizona. He showed me how much he wanted..." May 11

Clutch Points "Remy Martin, one of the best guards in all of college basketball, is leaving the Arizona State Sun Devils and entering the transfer portal. This can’t be undercut: This is absolutely huge news in the realm of college hoops. The news hit the mean streets of Twitter thanks to..." May 11

USA Today "USC has hired Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Lindsay Gottlieb as its women's basketball head coach.  Gottlieb joined the Cavaliers bench in 2019 after eight seasons as the women's head coach at the University of California, where she led the Bears to NCAA tournament..." May 10

UW Dawg Pound "After last season it became apparent that the Huskies could use some help in the shot blocking department and they found it today by adding JUCO big man Langston Wilson. The 6’9, 215 pounder out of Philly by way of Georgia Highlands College had previously been committed to Alabama but..." April 30

The Athletic "After Arizona State lost to Oregon in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament, mercifully ending an unmerciful season, Sun Devils coach Bobby Hurley had a hard time holding back tears in his postgame press conference. Part of it was knowing that one of his favorite players, senior point..." April 30

The Athletic "Approximately 1,500 players have entered the NCAA men’s basketball transfer portal since the end of the season, and at first blush, David Singleton should be one of them. As a 6-4 junior guard at UCLA, Singleton started one game this season and ranked eighth on the team in scoring (4.7..." April 26

The Score "Baylor's national title defense got a major boost Friday as Arizona transfer James Akinjo announced his commitment to the program. A 6-foot-1 point guard, Akinjo played his freshman season at Georgetown before transferring to Arizona midway through..." April 23

A Sea of Blue "Joel Justus is leaving the Kentucky Wildcats. According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, Justus is departing Lexington to become the top assistant coach under Bobby Hurley at Arizona State. The move comes as little surprise to most people who keep up with the UK..." April 22

247 Sports "After having one of the best season in the Pac-12, point guard James Akinjo has entered the transfer portal. He originally declared for the NBA, but is unlikely to be drafted and is entering the portal due in large part to the coaching change. In his first season at Arizona,..." April 16

CBS Sports "More than three and a half years after the FBI's sting on college basketball ensnared a member of the USC staff, the Trojans have finally learned their penalty. The USC program is receiving a two years of probation and a series of recruiting restrictions in connection with former..." April 15

CBS Sports "Tommy Lloyd had long been set to succeed Mark Few at Gonzaga and eventually run the program he played a big role in building into a national power. But there are some jobs an assistant cannot turn down.  Arizona is one of those jobs. So when the offer was..." April 15

The Score "Arizona will hire Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd as its next head coach, sources told Stadium's Jeff Goodman. Lloyd has served as an assistant on... " April 14

247 Sports "If you don't succeed at first, try, try again. The old adage paid off for USC basketball Monday as guard Boogie Ellis announced his commitment to the Trojans on social media. Ellis chose to enter the NCAA transfer portal two weeks ago after helping lead Memphis..." April 13

ESPN "After leading the Bruins to their first Final Four appearance since 2008, UCLA men's basketball coach Mick Cronin has signed a two-year extension worth $4 million per year, athletic director Martin Jarmond announced Thursday. Cronin, who is now signed through the 2026-27..." April 08

CBS Sports "Arizona firing Sean Miller is hardly a shocking development given the scandal the staff he employed put the program through in recent years. Academic fraud. Impermissible benefits. Bribery. You name it, it probably happened on Miller's watch. So, again, it's unsurprising that..." April 08

AZ Central "The University of Arizona has fired coach Sean Miller, according to a report from Stadium's Jeff Goodman. Miller's contract hadn't been extended since 2017, when the FBI announced its investigation into college basketball, of which Arizona played a prominent part. " April 07

Larry Brown Sports "The Arizona Wildcats are in the market for a new head basketball coach, and one name is being repeatedly mentioned as an initial candidate. Arizona fired Sean Miller on Wednesday, opening up speculation on who will replace him. Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd has been receiving buzz as..." April 07

Larry Brown Sports "Sean Miller on Wednesday was fired after 12 seasons as the head coach of the Arizona Wildcats. Miller was able to hold onto his job for a few more years past when many thought he would be fired, but he is finally out. So what will Miller do next? ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski says..." April 07

CBS Sports "Arizona is on the hunt for its next coach after Wednesday's news that the Wildcats and Sean Miller are parting ways. Though an NCAA investigation has scuffed up the program's reputation a bit in recent years, the Arizona gig is still an elite college basketball job. Below,..." April 07

Larry Brown Sports "Former UCLA forward Jalen Hill announced on Instagram Tuesday that he is retiring from basketball. Hill played in 15 games this season but left the team in February due to personal reasons. In an Instagram video he posted on Tuesday, Hill shared what he has been going through that led..." April 06

Bleacher Report "Jalen Suggs grew up wanting to have his Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade moment, leaping to the top of the scorer's table after coming through in the clutch. He got his moment Saturday night in the Final Four. "I've always wanted to run up on the table like Kobe and..." April 04

USA Today "It might be April, but March Madness isn't over. Not even close.  The best was saved for last in a men's Final Four overtime thriller that saw No. 1 Gonzaga save its perfect season thanks to Jalen Suggs's buzzer-beating 3-pointer.  In a..." April 04

Larry Brown Sports "Jalen Suggs made a heck of a play late in Gonzaga’s Final Four game against UCLA on Saturday night.  UCLA’s Cody Riley drove to the basket for a dunk attempt with the game tied at 77 and two minutes left. He went up but Suggs was able to get a hand on the ball. Riley..." April 04

Yardbarker "Mark Few had a great comment about Jalen Suggs’ final shot that helped Gonzaga beat UCLA 93-90 in overtime on Saturday night.  Suggs made the shot of the tournament when he banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer from well beyond the arc (video here). The shot gave Gonzaga..." April 04

Clutch Points "Johnny Juzang certainly made a name for himself in his first year with the UCLA Bruins. While his season has now come to a bitter end thanks to that dagger of a shot from Gonzaga Bulldogs star Jalen Suggs, the Vietnamese-American swingman’s NBA stock is at an all-time high right..." April 04

The Athletic "At a normal Final Four, which is to say a Final Four that hosts not just teams but people, swarms of roving fans in bars and at parties, a strange thing happens: The fans go home. Specifically, the fans of teams that lose on Saturday go home. This depends on geography and fan base intensity,..." April 04

Black Sports Online "One could say that any shot over 30 feet is a lucky shot considering the low % of makes. Was Jalen Suggs game winning 3 a lucky shot? Of course, he wasn’t trying to bank it in, but the more important question is this. WHO THE HELL CARES?? That was..." April 04

Yardbarker "Bill Walton is a UCLA alum and as big of a Pac-12 fan as it gets. So how did the analyst feel about UCLA losing to Gonzaga on a great shot by Jalen Suggs at the buzzer in overtime on Saturday? Well, he didn’t lose his mind. Rather, Walton seemed to acknowledge what a great..." April 04

Total Pro Sports "The Arizona Wildcats did what everybody thought they couldn’t and that was take down UConn in the Final Four on Friday night. The No. 3 seed upset the No. 1-seeded Huskies 69-59 to advance to the championship game against Stanford. Arizona Wildcats head coach Adia Barnes..." April 03

USA Today "Arizona stunned No. 1 seed Connecticut 69-59 in the Final Four Friday night to advance to its first NCAA women's basketball national championship game. The upset victory over perennial powerhouse UConn had plenty of people talking, but a moment during the..." April 03

Clutch Points "The UCLA Bruins are aware that most everyone has the undefeated Gonzaga Bulldogs winning it all next Monday in the 2021 NCAA championship game, in what would be a perfect coronation for Mark Few’s good men. And it’s certainly possible. The Zags have looked unstoppable for..." April 02

TMZ "UCLA star Johnny Juzang has made himself a WHOLE LOT of money over the past 2 weeks ... so says Kenny Smith, who tells TMZ Sports the hooper is now a surefire 1st-round NBA draft pick! Juzang has been a BEAST for the Bruins in their march from the First 4 to..." April 01

The Score "The Final Four schedule is officially set for Saturday evening's doubleheader in Indianapolis. First up, No. 1 Baylor takes on No. 2 Houston at 5:14 p.m. ET. The Bears, regaining their early season form following a tough stretch, will face a Cougars..." April 01

Chicago Sun-Times "DePaul is expected to name Tony Stubblefield as its next head men’s basketball coach, according to sources. Stubblefield will replace Dave Leitao, who was fired after going 69-113 in six seasons leading the Blue Demons.   " April 01

Larry Brown Sports "Rick Pitino has a rooting interest in the Final Four thanks to one of his former assistant coaches. UCLA coach Mick Cronin was an assistant to Pitino at Louisville from 2001-2003. He’s been very successful since then, reaching the NCAA Tournament with Murray State and finding..." March 31

Clutch Points "Ah, UCLA, it’s so good to have you back. After what seems like a century-long hiatus, the UCLA Bruins are back in the NCAA Final Four and are the second team ever to make it all the way from March Madness’s First Four round to this point. Junior sharpshooter Johnny Juzang..." March 31

Larry Brown Sports "CBS provided an update on the medical status of referee Bert Smith following his collapse on the court Tuesday. Smith collapsed just over four minutes into the Elite Eight game between USC and Gonzaga in the West Region. He received immediate medical attention and was taken off the..." March 31

USA Today "We live in a society that loves, and values, points. If you’re an athlete we’d like you to be either high-scoring or high-flying, but we’d prefer both. Stuff a stat sheet and we’re sure to pay attention to you. But that was never in the cards for Anna..." March 30

Yardbarker "Oregon State men's basketball announcer Mike Parker said that he is "fine" after he was attacked while walking through Indianapolis before the Beavers' 65-58 win over the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers. Parker did not end up missing the game despite the attack and said he had..." March 30

New York Post "Lesser young men, lesser teams, would have crumbled. Lesser young men, lesser teams, would have had their hearts ripped out by a last-second desperation 3 that had forced overtime. But these underdog UCLA Bruins, the 11 seed from the mighty Pac-12, had much too much heart in..." March 29

New York Post "USC’s Trojans are gifted, talented, deep, clever, powerful; Gonzaga’s Bulldogs are more gifted, more talented, deeper, more clever, more powerful. USC looks unstoppable; Gonzaga looks bulletproof. The Trojans have the best player in future pro Evan Mobley; the Zags may have the next..." March 29

USA Today "Dressed in a UCLA letter jacket replicating the same one late coach John Wooden once wore in his heyday, Mick Cronin fielded questions from reporters about his team's surprise 2021 men's NCAA Tournament run — a No. 11 seeded team that fell to the bubble now among the Sweet 16..." March 28

ESPN "Utah is expected to hire Utah State's Craig Smith as its next head basketball coach, sources told ESPN on Saturday. A deal should be official soon. Smith has been at Utah State for three seasons, leading the Aggies to two NCAA tournaments and three top-two..." March 27

The Athletic "Alex Jensen will not be returning to his alma mater — at least not in the near future, multiple league sources told The Athletic Thursday. The Utah Jazz associate head coach removed his name from the pool of candidates interviewing for the vacant position as men’s..." March 26

Deseret News "Alex Jensen, the former Utah Utes star who’s been a Utah Jazz assistant for nearly a decade, is widely seen as a strong candidate for the vacant University of Utah basketball coaching position. Now, Stadium college basketball expert Jeff Goodman is reporting that Jensen will..." March 24

TMZ ""I just felt an emptiness in my stomach." Colorado Buffalos head basketball coach Tad Boyle said coaching just hours after the tragic shooting in his school's Boulder hometown was VERY difficult ... explaining Monday, "It puts basketball in its proper..." March 23

Larry Brown Sports "Luka Garza saw his collegiate career come to a disappointing end on Monday when No. 2 seed Iowa was upset by No. 7 seed Oregon, and the big man was understandably emotional after the loss. Garza had an outstanding game with 36 points on 14-of-20 shooting, but it wasn’t enough...." March 22

Clutch Points "Johnny Juzang led no. 11 UCLA to a 73-62 victory to take down no. 6 BYU Cougars to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. By notching 27 points in the upset win, Juzang joined a couple of Hall of Famers that go by the names of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Reggie Miller as the..." March 21

The Score "fter an upset-filled opening day of the NCAA Tournament, the Round of 32 games are filled with double-digit seeds looking to extend their Cinderella runs. If you're searching for an underdog team to ride with through the rest of the tournament, here's the list of choices..." March 21

The Score "VCU is out of the NCAA Tournament due to COVID-19 protocols, with the Rams' Saturday evening game against Oregon declared a no-content, the NCAA announced. The Ducks will now advance to the Round of 32 on Monday. " March 20

ESPN "The NCAA said it was "actively working" to enhance existing resources for teams at the women's basketball tournament in San Antonio after social media posts showed a vast difference between weight-training facilities for the women and for the men's tournament in..." March 19

Complex "Eugene Omoruyi’s face brightened up when asked about his teammate, Chris Duarte.  “That’s my brother,” Omoruyi said.  Omoruyi and Duarte have a ton in common. They are both Canadian, even though Omoruyi knows more about the country’s..." March 19

The Athletic "Utah has fired men's head basketball coach Larry Krystkowiak, the school announced Tuesday. "The decision comes after a thorough evaluation of the program — both on and off of the court — as I do with every head coach at the conclusion of their seasons,"..." March 17

Complex "If you’re a college basketball junkie, you’ve come to the wrong place.  If you’re an NBA fanatic who only tunes into college basketball when it’s NCAA Tournament time, we’re glad you’re here.  While college basketball die-hards..." March 16

Sportsnet "If you haven’t completed a bracket yet, consider this one of your final warnings. This is not a drill. After a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the March Madness men’s NCAA basketball tournament is back. Of even more interest to those of us north of the..." March 16