Former Wichita State standout Ron Baker went public on Wednesday for his first interview about the Gregg Marshall situation. In an interview with “All Ball with Doug Gottlieb,” Baker shared his thoughts on Marshall and what his experience was like playing for the former Shockers head coach.
“He is a hard coach. Do I respect him? Absolutely. He’s been great to me and my family. That’s from my opinion,” Baker said.
Wichita State and Marshall parted ways amid an investigation into allegations of misconduct by the coach. Marshall was accused of punching a player and choking a coach.
Bakeracknowledged that Marshall is “intense,” and his style can cause players to struggle.
“Super intense. Has his ways of coaching basketball, and has his system in play. He wants you to buy into his system. Play defense and rebound. Pretty simple concepts,” Baker told Gottlieb. “Were there days where I thought Coach crossed the line? For sure, that happens.”
Baker, who played from 2013-2016 at Wichita State and was a big part of their success, recalled the incident where Marshall punched Morris in a 2015 practice.
“Marshall just like flips a switch,” Baker recalled. “Obviously really upset. Kind of just goes in on Shaq. I’m sitting there just super uncomfortable. You can hear a needle drop in the gym. Super uncomfortable, like you don’t feel like playing basketball the rest of the day. Marshall kicks him out of practice.”
Baker said that only a few players witnessed Shaq being hit. He says that Morris and Marshall had a lot of tension in their relationship and it got “bad.”
Baker says at the time he didn’t know how to handle things and that he didn’t want to bring down the program.
“Didn’t know as a 21-year-old how to handle the situation. We’re a good basketball team. We don’t want the spotlight and resume to turn into ‘Coach Marshall hit a player.’ That’s why Shaq, I think, waited all these years to now circle back on the situation.”
Baker had trouble reconciling things because he feels Marshall’s style and the staff were helpful with his development as a player. He went from being a walk-on player to seeing brief stints in the NBA before going on to play internationally in Russia.
You can hear some of the interview clips below.
The LA Clippers already parted ways with Montrezl Harrell this offseason, and now his pick-and-roll partner could be next.
Marc Stein of the New York Times reported in his newsletter this week that many rival teams expect the Clippers to trade veteran guard Lou Williams in the hopes of getting a full fresh start.
Williams, now 34 years old, is the longest-tenured Clipper along with Patrick Beverley. He remains one of the team’s best shot creators and averaged 18.2 points with 5.6 assists a game last season. But Williams’ defense and advancing age provide plenty of cause for concern. His decreased production in the Orlando bubble (combined with his embarrassing extracurricular incident) did not help matters either.
The former Sixth Man of the Year is an expiring contract, owed just $8 million next season. That is the result of Williams signing a team-friendly deal in 2018, but we know by now that there is little to no loyalty in the NBA. Thus, all options appear to be on the table for the win-now Clippers.
Trevor Lawrence has left the door open to returning to Clemson for his senior season, but the quarterback seemed to indicate that he’s still very much preparing to go pro after this year.
In a media Zoom call on Tuesday, Lawrence was asked how emotional he felt he’d be for Saturday’s game, which is Clemson’s final home game of the season. That means if Lawrence goes pro, it’ll be his final home game as well, and he indicated that he’s treating it as such. He also reflected on his teammates and coaches and said how much Clemson had changed his life.
“It’s hard to anticipate how I’ll feel,” Lawrence said. “I know that it’s going to be a lot of emotions. This is kind of like, since I’m graduating in December, this is my senior night.”
Much has been made about comments Lawrence made about potentially coming back to school. All along, though, the likelihood has been that he’ll go pro. He’ll be a top pick, and there’s no use risking that. Any other decision would come as a massive shock. These comments confirm that.
The Dallas Cowboys announced on Wednesday that strength and conditioning coach Markus Paul has died at the age of 54.
The Cowboys canceled practice on Tuesday due to a non-COVID related medical emergency involving Paul. Paul was taken to the hospital at the time and was said to be on life support. A few reports on Tuesday prematurely said that Paul had died. The Cowboys announced on Wednesday that Paul had died.
Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy issued statements about Paul’s death.
Paul had been with the Cowboys since 2018 and worked as a strength coach for 22 years. He played in the NFL for five seasons, mostly with the Chicago Bears and briefly with Tampa Bay. A defensive back, Paul had seven interceptions during his NFL career. He played college ball at Syracuse.
Paul was featured in a video the Cowboys shared in March to show fans ways they could work out at home while under quarantine.
The cause of death is pending.
The Baltimore Ravens may have identified the source of their ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and have taken disciplinary action accordingly.
The Ravens announced Wednesday that they disciplined an unnamed staffer for unspecified conduct relating to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak within the team. The type of discipline was not announced, nor were any further details.
According to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, the Ravens disciplined an unnamed strength and conditioning coach for failing to report symptoms of COVID-19. The coach also failed to consistently wear a mask or a mandated tracking device. There is some belief that this individual may be the source of the outbreak that has led to seven players landing on the COVID/Reserve list.
The outbreak also led to the postponement of Baltimore’s scheduled Thanksgiving night game against Pittsburgh. That decision left Steelers players fuming on social media.
Pelissero notes that the Ravens are hopeful that this discipline could reduce any possible punishment from the NFL. The league has already made clear how seriously they take violations, and the Ravens will want to avoid their wrath.
Shane Beamer is among the candidates for the South Carolina Gamecocks head coaching job, and he is receiving support from former Gamecocks players.
South Carolina fired Will Muschamp two weeks ago so that they could get a start on their coaching search. They have already interviewed Coastal Carolina head coach Jamey Chadwell in person thanks to his proximity to Columbia, S.C. The Athletic reports that South Carolina also has an interview lined up with Beamer. Army’s Jeff Monken, Liberty’s Hugh Freeze, and Louisiana Lafayette’s Billy Napier are other coaches reportedly in consideration.
Beamer, 43, is an assistant head coach at Oklahoma. He has served under Lincoln Riley for nearly three years, coaching H-backs, tight ends and special teams. Beamer is well-liked by former South Carolina players due to his history. From 2007-2011, Beamer coached on Steve Spurrier’s staff at South Carolina, working with linebackers and special teams, before moving to recruiting coordinator.
Melvin Ingram, who played at South Carolina from 2007-2011, supported Beamer’s candidacy and believes Shane will “bring that culture back.”
DeVonte Holloman, who played at South Carolina from 2009-2012, also supported Beamer.
Other players from that time, like Marcus Lattimore, DJ Swearinger and Stephen Garcia, also have voiced support for Beamer.
Having the support of former players helps, but is no guarantee that Beamer will land the job.
Patrick Mahomes is the highest-paid athlete in all of American sports. He’s quickly become an NFL superstar. But he still doesn’t see himself on the same plane as Tom Brady, the quarterback he’ll square off against this weekend.
Mahomes’ explanation is a simple one: Brady has transcended the sport to become a global icon. Mahomes thinks he has a way to go to match that.
“He’s someone that’s a global star,” Mahomes said, via Adam Teicher of ESPN. “For me, I just try to be myself and go out there every single day and put in the work and try to win football games. All that other stuff kind of comes with it. For me, I just try to be a normal guy and live it up with my teammates and have fun doing it.”
To be clear, there are other reasons for this. Brady has won six Super Bowls. Mahomes has won one, and will have to keep on adding to that to get to Brady’s level.
Mahomes has made no secret of the fact that he wants to get there. A head-to-head win wouldn’t hurt, that much is certain.
Hassan Whiteside has come full circle in his NBA career.
Whiteside agreed to a 1-year deal with the Sacramento Kings, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old center originally was drafted by Sacramento in the second round in 2010. He only appeared in 19 games with the Kings over his first two seasons before leaving to play overseas.
Whiteside then returned to the NBA and was given a chance by the Miami Heat, for whom he played well. He eventually earned a 4-year, $98.4 million max contract from the Heat, which just expired. That made Whiteside a free agent.
Whiteside led the NBA in blocks last season with 2.9 per game. It was his second time leading the league in blocks.
Sacramento was in need of a big man after losing both Alex Len and Harry Giles in free agency. A report on Tuesday indicated the Kings were targeting Whiteside, so it’s no surprise to see the sides agree on a deal.
Photo: Frenchieinportland/Wikimedia via CC-BY-SA 4.0
There is some good news on the Klay Thompson injury front.
Thompson underwent surgery on Wednesday for his torn Achilles tendon, and the operation was deemed a success.
Thompson suffered the injury while training in Los Angeles last week. The Achilles injury will cause him to miss the entire season, which will mark the second season in a row he misses due to injury.
The Golden State Warriors signed Thompson to a huge contract last year despite his torn ACL. He has four years and around $157 million left on the deal.
Thompson, 30, is a five-time All-Star. He averaged 21.5 points per game in 2018-2019 and is a career 41.9 percent 3-point shooter.
Adam Schefter is known for his speed in breaking NFL news stories, but the ESPN reporter isn’t known for his actual speed on a football field. It sounds like that will be put to the test anyway.
It started with Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who found a rather innocuous tweet that led to a challenge against the ESPN reporter.
Schefter did not shy away from the challenge.
It’s not like Schefter has much to lose. Nobody will expect him to prevail, and for good reason. We’ll see how serious he is about accepting the challenge, but honestly, why not?
