Basketball

It ain't Zion Williamson, Grant Hill or Kyrie Irving ... no, the best H.S. basketball player Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski's ever seen is Kobe Bryant.

The NCAA hoops legend made the revelation on the newest episode of “The Dream Team Tapes: Kobe, LeBron & The Redeem Team” from Diversion Podcasts ... saying straight-up Kobe was Michael Jordan-esque even in high school.

"I never saw LeBron play in high school," Krzyzewski said, "but when I saw Kobe play, he's the best high school player I've ever seen."

"When he walked into a gym, he walked in like Jordan at a high school level. Like, the place stopped."

In fact, Coach K said Kobe was so ridiculously good ... the Blue Devils honcho put in very minimal effort into recruiting Bryant because he just knew the guy was destined to skip college for the NBA.

"He looked that good, he believed he was that good, and he was that good," Coach K said. "But, I knew he was never going to come [to Duke]."

Kobe reportedly averaged over 30 points, 12 boards, 6.5 assists, 4 steals and nearly 4 blocked shots per game during his final H.S. season at Lower Merion in Penn.

Kobe Bryant's family is gunning to lock up the trademark for "Mamba and Mambacita" -- with the intention of using it for clothing and shoes, according to the application filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office.

An attorney for Kobe Bryant LLC filed the application on March 10, 2021 -- noting the trademark would be used for clothing ... namely shirts, skirts, pants, shorts, bottoms, socks, dresses, jackets, hoodies, etc.

The application also notes workout clothing such as sweatbands, armbands and footwear.

So, is there a Mamba and Mambacita shoe in the works? Unclear.

In fact, the Bryant family could just be trying to lock up the trademarks to block anyone else from using it ... just like Tom Brady did when he applied for the "Tom Terrific" trademark.

Shaquille O’Neal’s first experience with IcyHot is something he will literally NEVER forget!!

The NBA legend shared the hysterical (and painful) story on the “Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend” podcast … explaining he was once forced to leave an NBA game early after a team trainer used the blue gel “too high” when treating an injured leg.

“I always used to see IcyHot in the locker room, and one day I kind of had like a thigh bruise, and the guy rubbed it, but he rubbed it too high.”

“During the game, my little guys started getting hot -- like, really hot. Like, I thought something was wrong.”

Shaq says the pain eventually got so intense ... he couldn't continue hooping.

“It got to the point where I was like, 'Hey man, I think I need a doctor. My little guys are on fire.'"

O'Neal says he left the court and made a beeline for the showers ... but the water only spread the IcyHot around ... making the situation wayyyy worse.

Thankfully, Shaq says there was a janitor in the locker room ... who suggested he use milk to kill the burn.

“So now I'm in the shower pouring milk on my boys and the guys coming in, they're looking at me like, 'What the hell are you doing?'"

The milk? Well, it worked ... and Shaq knew firsthand the pain-relieving product did too.

So, he signed an endorsement deal with the company ... and many years and big checks later, Big Diesel still works with the brand.

"We’re not playing the Jehovah’s Witness All-Star team here. We’re playing the [Florida] Gators, man."

What a stupid thing to say, right?!

Well, the man behind that idiotic quote is Virginia Tech basketball coach Mike Young ... and guess what, he's apologizing now!

Young was addressing the media during an NCAA Tournament news conference Tuesday ... when he was asked about his mindset going into the team's 1st round game against the Florida Gators.

"We’re not playing the Jehovah’s Witness all-star team here. We’re playing the Gators, man. We’re playing the Gators."

Get it ... Young's insinuating that a team full of Jehovah's Witnesses would be trash compared to the Florida Gators.

Someone wanna clue in Coach Young about Serena Williams -- perhaps the most dominant athlete on the planet ... who also happens to be a Jehovah's Witness?

Obviously, there are many examples of talented JW athletes -- but that's not the point. The point is, it was a stupid and offensive comment. And, within hours, Coach Young was apologizing.

"Earlier today on the NCAA Tournament conference call, I attempted to show my respect for our upcoming opponent, the University of Florida. Regrettably, I didn’t articulate that sentiment in an appropriate manner," Young said.

"I apologize for my insensitive remark and am sincerely sorry for anyone I may have offended."

Makola M. Abdullah, Ph.D. is the esteemed President of Virginia State University.

... AND HE CAN BALL, SON!!!

The Prez was leaving his campus office when he was approached by a student named Afo -- who's pretty well known for staging fun pranks and viral videos around the school.

Afo's bit of the day was approaching people with a basketball for an impromptu game of 1-on-1 to see if random people would square up on the spot.

Afo balled up a woman in a tight red dress, a security guard and others -- but when he approached President Abdullah, that's when the tables turned!!

The President smacked the ball right out of Afo's hands and proceed to ball out -- even removing his fancy jacket to show he wasn't messing around.

But, the best part was the NUTMEG at the end that had Afo on skates!!! It was awesome!!!

It was all in good fun -- and the two even snapped a pic together afterward.

Afo tweeted, "I’m not gonna lie, it took a lot for me to post this. He definitely got me tho."

President Abdullah also weighed in -- saying, "You already know it's all love. I can't wait until everybody is back on campus."

We spoke with President Abdullah who tells us he's just a recreational player who loves the game -- and had a blast messing around on campus.

He praised Afo as a "fantastic kid" who's a talented entertainer and a scholar who's expected to graduate soon.

As for a possible rematch, Abdullah put it this way -- "I don't know if my knees will let me do it twice! I think I might have gotten just enough out of these knees. I'm going to retire now."

Life on the outside is proving to be GOOOOOD for Bobby Shmurda -- the formerly incarcerated rapper got the VIP treatment at the Brooklyn Nets game on Monday ... and a signed jersey from superstar James Harden!

The 26-year-old had been in custody since December 2014 after he was charged with conspiracy to murder and other gun charges.

In 2016, Shmurda copped a plea deal to conspiracy to possess weapons and possession of a weapon -- and was sentenced to 7 years in prison followed by 5 years probation.

He was released in February 2021 and immediately embraced by rap stars like Quavo. He also had a big presence during NBA All-Star Weekend.

And, the celebration continued Monday night at Barclay's Center where Shmurda enjoyed a VIP suite to watch the Nets take on the NY Knicks.

After Brooklyn secured the W, James Harden took off his game-worn jersey and presented it to Shmurda -- along with a personal message and signature on the threads.

Shmurda was so fired up about the gift, he went right to the media and showed it off while sporting that sick new gold chain he recently scooped up.

The tournament hasn't even started yet ... and already the NCAA is down 6 referees for March Madness due to COVID.

The NCAA has confirmed 6 referees were sent home from Indianapolis -- where a controlled bubble-style environment has been set up in the hopes of limiting exposure.

The NCAA says 1 of the officials tested positive for COVID-19 on March 15 -- "and 5 other officials the person interacted with the day before were identified as exposure risks due to prolonged close contact."

"Based on tournament protocols and contract tracing with local public health authorities, these officials may not participate in the tournament."

Now, the ref who tested positive "must be placed in isolation, and the other officials must be placed in quarantine."

The tournament -- one of the most exciting events in sports -- is set to kick off on Thursday.

The NCAA had tapped 60 referees in total to work the tourney -- now, they're down to 54 refs to work the 63 total games.

The NCAA tourney has already felt the impact of COVID -- just ask the defending champs from the Univ. of Virginia.

Most of the Cavaliers players are still in quarantine after one member of the program tested positive for COVID. They're not expected to arrive in Indy until Friday, the day before their 1st-round game against Ohio.

The NCAA has a backup plan in case teams need to pull out -- they've booked 4 teams as backup squads  ... Louisville, Colorado State, Saint Louis and Mississippi.

The backup teams will only be on standby until Tuesday -- after that, a team that withdraws due to COVID will not be replaced.

Ted Cruz is liking what he's seeing with the country's vaccination rollout, and it's got him thinking about ballin' ... even though the court at the Senate gym sucks.

The Texas Senator was arriving at Reagan National Airport in D.C. Monday when he had a hopeful chat with our photog about returning to normal, putting the pandemic behind us ... and taking a member of his staff to the hole.

Sounds like Ted's got a case of March Madness, and even though he tells us the basketball court at the Senate's facility is terrible ... he's ready to "bang around a little bit."

If ya don't know, Cruz ain't bad when it comes to playing hoops ... at least compared to Jimmy Kimmel. He took down his late-night talk show host rival in a sweaty mess of a 1-on-1 match back in 2018. Thankfully, it was all for charity.

Clearly, Ted's itching to get back to the sport and says everyone's eager to get out of their houses after a year of dealing with COVID-19 ... and he's encouraged we're getting closer to normalcy.

Several players from the Norman High School girls basketball team have broken their silence about the racist comments directed at them by a game announcer ... and they're calling for action.

It's powerful stuff.

The players have teamed up with famous civil rights attorney  Ben Crump -- who has worked with the families of several high-profile victims of police or racial violence ... from Ahmaud Arbery to Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Jacob Blake.

Crump held a news conference Monday with several of the players and their families -- who all spoke out about Matt Rowan, the announcer who hurled the n-word at the team for their decision to take a knee during the national anthem.

As we previously reported, Rowan's comments were caught on a hot mic -- and people at home could hear him bashing the NHS players who were demonstrating to spotlight police brutality and racial injustice.

During his rant, Rowan said he hoped the Norman team would get their asses kicked on the court that night.

Rowen later apologized for his language -- and said he's a Type-1 diabetic who loses his ability to censor himself when his blood sugar is high, which he claims happened that night.

FYI, the Norman High School girls basketball team went on to win the Oklahoma 6-A state championship over the weekend.

The players say they were obviously hurt and shocked by the comments -- but they're proud of the way they stood together as a team and still WON the whole tourney!

Ben Crump says there are no plans to take legal action at this time ... but continued to praise the team for thriving in such a challenging moment.

Michael Rapaport ain't happy with the punishment dished out to NBA player Meyers Leonard in the wake of his anti-Semitic slur ... suggesting he it would have been way worse if he used the n-word instead of the k-word.

Rapaport was one of Leonard's harshest critics after the Miami Heat center used the k-word to insult an opponent during a video game live stream session earlier this month ... calling him a "dumb f**k" and demanding a sincere video apology.

The NBA has since imposed a 1-week suspension on Leonard and fined him $50,000.

Meyers has apologized and vowed to work with leaders run the Jewish community to educate himself on why the word is so dangerous and offensive.

But, Rap says that's not good enough ... and he's comparing the situation to the announcer who hurled the n-word at a high school basketball team in Oklahoma.

"Why is that any worse than the Myers Leonard thing?" Rapaport told us.

"I'm not happy with [Leonard's] punishment, but I think if he had said a different word -- if it had been a white guy saying the n-word, he’d be cut."

Rap continued, "Every single athlete would have spoken out about it, every single actor -- white, black and in between -- would have spoken out about it and it would still be discussed a week later."

The Univ. of Arizona didn't make the Big Dance, but here's a solid dose of positivity from star center Christian Koloko ... who tells TMZ Sports the Wildcats will be back and better than ever next season!!!

Oh yeah, AND he says fellow Sierra Canyon HS product LeBron James Jr. should come play college ball in Tuscon, too!!

We spoke with the 7'1" sophomore about the 'Cats missing the NCAA tournament in 2021 ... and while it may sting now, Koloko says his guys are gonna work like crazy to get back in March Madness next season.

"We're thinking about the team," Koloko tells us. "We gotta come back next year and be stronger and have a chance to make it in the tournament next year."

FYI -- the Wildcats went 17-9 this season ... missing the cut alongside powerhouse programs like Duke and Kansas.

On top of the disappointing season, head coach Sean Miller is battling the NCAA over alleged recruitment violations ... but Koloko says the team isn't considering it a distraction.

"We just put it behind the back and we just try to play basketball and do what we love."

As for Bronny, Koloko -- who also played high school hoops at Sierra Canyon in CA -- says the kid is for sure an NBA talent and should strongly consider following his path to Arizona when the time comes in 2023.

This is disgusting.

A high school basketball announcer in Oklahoma called players "f***ing n*****s" for kneeling during the national anthem before a game this week ... and it was all caught on a hot mic.

It all went down before the Norman HS girls hoops team faced off against Midwest City during the Oklahoma 6A state basketball tournament Thursday night.

Every player from Norman elected to kneel for the duration of the anthem ... which led to the announcer's outburst on the National Federation of State High School Association Network's official live stream. Here's what we heard in the clip ...

"They're kneeling? F***ing n*****s. I hope Norman gets their ass kicked. F*** them. I  hope they lose. They're gonna kneel like that?"

The clip has since made rounds on social media .. with NFL stars like Kenny Stills -- who also kneels for the anthem -- and Gerald McCoy speaking out against the blatant racism.

"Amerikkka," Stills tweeted Friday morning ... while McCoy added, "See why we do it!?! They still think it’s about the flag."

Players from the Norman girls hoops team also spoke out against the announcer's comments ... saying, "This is why we kneel."

Norman superintendent Dr. Nick Migliorino ripped the "racist and hateful" comments in a scathing statement ... saying, "We condemn and will not tolerate the disgusting words and attitudes of these announcers."

"This type of hate speech has no place in our society and we are outraged that it would be directed at any human being, and particularly at our students."

He added ... "We fully support our students’ right to freedom of expression and our immediate focus is to support these girls and their coaches and families, particularly our Black students and coaching staff."

"It is tragic that the hard work and skill of this team is being overshadowed by the vile, malignant words of these individuals. We will do everything in our power to support and uplift our team and everyone affected by this incident."

Migliorino says Norman will use a different live streaming service for the remainder of the tournament ... "as we have full confidence in their proven ability to respectfully support our student athletes."

The NFHS Network also released a statement Friday morning ... saying it is "aggressively investigating" the incident and will cut ties with any individuals responsible.

"The NFHS Network firmly condemns racism, hate, and discrimination, and there is no room for this in high school sports or anywhere," the network said.

"We sincerely apologize to the students, their families and the entire community for having such ignorant comments expressed during the broadcast."

The Golden State Warriors benched rookie star James Wiseman for the first 3 quarters of Thursday night's game for blowing off a mandatory COVID test during the All-Star break.

The team has said 19-year-old Wiseman -- the #2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft -- simply "forgot" to show up to the team facility for testing ... a big no-no in the COVID-conscious NBA.

Wiseman was forced to miss practice on Wednesday due to COVID protocols but was eligible to get back on the court Thursday for the team's first game after the All-Star break.

But, Wiseman rode the pine for the first 3 quarters as the Warriors took on the L.A. Clippers -- presumably as a punishment for missing his COVID test.

He finally entered the game in the 4th quarter and balled out -- dropping 14 points and 7 rebounds in 12 minutes ... making 6 out of his 7 shots. The Warriors ultimately lost 130 to 104.

After the game, Wiseman talked about the incident -- and took full responsibility.

"I made a huge mistake and I most definitely will not do that again. I made sure I apologized to Coach. I was mad, so I had to make sure I just went out there and played hard."

Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr said the rookie had to be more responsible, but he liked how Wiseman responded after being benched.

"You’ve got to take care of your business. Everything matters. He responded exactly as I had hoped he would. He competed with energy and that bodes well."

Warriors superstar Stephen Curry had some advice for the rookie after the game -- "There are learning curves for everybody in this league."

UVA is out of the ACC tourney thanks to COVID -- which could keep them out of the NCAA.

Sick of acronyms yet? Yeah, same.

Here's the deal ... someone in the University of Virginia basketball program tested positive for coronavirus, forcing the team to withdraw from Friday night's ACC tournament semifinal game against Georgia Tech.

GT will now move on to the ACC championship game to face the winner of North Carolina vs. Florida State.

So, where does that leave UVA? That's a mystery at the moment.

The Cavaliers were the ACC regular-season champions -- and ESPN projected them to be a #4 seed in the NCAA tourney.

But, the COVID situation could force UVA into a mandatory quarantine that could conflict with the 1st round of the NCAA tourney, which is set to tip-off on Thursday.

Will UVA be out of the COVID protocol by then? If not, will the NCAA postpone the game? So many questions to be answered.

Bottom line ... we're still waiting for more info from the school and the NCAA -- but this could mean another solid team is OUT of the tourney before it even begins!!

There's NO bad blood between Patrick Ewing and James Dolan -- the two have spoken and smoothed things out after Ewing complained about the security protocol at Madison Square Garden, TMZ Sports has learned.

Of course, Ewing spent 15 seasons playing for the NY Knicks at MSG -- and his #33 jersey was retired and currently hangs in the rafters.

But, Ewing -- who's now the head basketball coach at Georgetown -- publicly griped about the treatment he received at the Garden on Thursday after his Hoyas upset Villanova at MSG.

"I do want to say one thing, though. I thought this was my building," Ewing said ... "And, I feel terrible that I'm getting stopped, accosted, [people] asking for passes."

Ewing continued ... "Everybody in this building should know who the hell I am, and I'm getting stopped -- I can't move around this building. I was like, 'What the hell? Is this Madison Square Garden?'"

"I'm gonna have to call Mr. Dolan and say geez ... is my number in the rafters or what?!"

Well, Ewing and Dolan DID speak later that day ... and a rep for MSG Entertainment broke it down this way.

"Jim and Patrick have a long-standing relationship; they spoke this afternoon and reaffirmed that."

"We all know, respect and appreciate what he means to The Garden and New York. Good luck to him and his Hoyas in the Big East semi-finals."

So, seems everything is cool now ... and the Hoyas can focus on their upcoming game against Seton Hall on Friday.