NCAA

Clemson superstar QB Trevor Lawrence says he never should've put his hands on a student in an intramural hoops scuffle last month ... saying he now understands what it's like to be in the spotlight.

Lawrence -- who led the Tigers in the national title game over Bama in January -- got into a physical altercation with a fellow student at a rec hoops game ... shoving the player twice after trying to set a pick about 80 feet from the basket.

The incident was caught on video and went viral almost instantly.

At the time, Lawrence justified his actions by saying the other player was running his mouth the whole time, while also admitting the shoves were "still probably unnecessary."

Now that the QB has had some time to reflect, he's taking more accountability -- saying he understands why people freaked out over the incident.

"I think everything is just a learning experience," Lawrence told the media after practice on Monday. "You could say you wished you handled something differently, and I do, but ... everyone's watching, and I should be smarter than that."

Lawrence says he made up with the guy after the game and moved on ... even if the media didn't.

"At the end of the day, we're playing a game, and it gets competitive. Me and him shook hands at the end of the game. It gets blown out of proportion, but I gotta know, just because it's me, it's going to get put out everywhere and made a big deal of."

Donald Trump treated ANOTHER college football team to a fast food spread at the White House on Monday -- with the North Dakota State squad getting Chick-fil-A and McDonald's on a silver platter!

The NDSU Bison football team was invited to Trump's White House to celebrate winning the FCS Championship with a 38-24 win over Eastern Washington back in January.

The team reportedly wasn't expecting ANY food during the trip -- but after the success Trump had with the Clemson football team back in January, he decided to break out the fast food again!

You can see in the photo ... the spread was loaded with Big Macs and chicken sandwiches.

Remember when Clemson visited, Trump served up McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King AND pizza to celebrate their national championship win over Alabama.

At the time, Trump explained the menu by saying, "I would think that's their favorite food."

The food was a hit -- with Clemson's star QB Trevor Lawrence telling TMZ Sports, "It was awesome. We had McDonald's and everything. It was good."

The NDSU Bison have won the FCS Championship 7 times in the last 8 years -- but this is the first time they've gone to the White House.

Before the trip, head coach Matt Entz told the Grand Forks Herald ... "This isn’t a political trip, this is a Bison trip and, personally, I sold it as two things: It’s one more opportunity for the 2018 team to be together, but also in my mind the start of the 2019 season and the things we’re going to do together."

The big question ... how did the food go over with the players?

Shareef O'Neal is ALMOST ready to hit the hardwood again ... the UCLA star tells TMZ Sports he's just a month and a half away from a return to the court!!!

"I feel great," he says.

Shareef underwent heart surgery to correct an irregularity back in December ... and his post-op pictures showed just how serious the procedure really was.

But, when we got the 19-year-old leaving Staples Center on Wednesday night ... he was in good spirits -- and tells us his first workouts since the operation are just DAYS away.

In fact, Shareef says Shaq will play a BIG role in his gameplan for a return to the Bruins when he's cleared, telling us his pops, "knows basketball."

Ya think?!

Shareef was an elite prospect coming out of Crossroads H.S. in Santa Monica ... and he famously flipped his commitment from Arizona to UCLA late in his recruiting process.

The power forward was expected to be a key piece of the Bruins this season ... but his heart surgery sidelined him for his entire freshman season.

Colin Kaepernick's ex-teammate, Brandon Marshall, says he views CK's settlement with the NFL as a victory for the QB ... explaining, "It showed that he had some good evidence."

Remember, Brandon -- who played college football with Kap at Nevada -- was one of the first players to take a knee and join in Colin's protest to put a spotlight on police violence against minorities.

While the terms of Kap's settlement with the NFL have not been made public, there are reports he got somewhere in the neighborhood of $80 mil ... and Marshall says that makes him "extremely happy."

"The fact that [the NFL] settled showed that [Kaepernick] had some good evidence. Whatever the outcome, I feel like Kap came out on top, so I'm happy for him."

Marshall says he knows Kaepernick still wants to play in the NFL -- and hopes teams can "let bygones be bygones and let him play quarterback."

Brandon says Kap is one of the hardest working guys he's ever met -- and he's confident he can still play at a high-level for a bunch of NFL teams.

Giannis Antetokounmpo says if he was in Zion Williamson's shoes ... he would NOT sit out the rest of the NCAA season -- telling TMZ Sports, "I love basketball too much."

Don't get it twisted ... 24-year-old Giannis isn't throwing shade and says he respects whatever decision Zion makes -- but said he knows what path he would choose.

Zion -- the obvious No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft -- scared the hell out of everyone when he suffered a knee injury during the Duke vs. North Carolina game earlier this month.

He hasn't been back on the court since, and many are wondering if he'll ever suit up for the Blue Devils again ... considering he's got MILLIONS of dollars waiting for him in the NBA.

Giannis says Zion has to do what's best for him.

There's more ... since Giannis was on the court during Ja Rule's doomed halftime performance at the Bucks vs. Timberwolves game on Saturday, we had to ask about the new JA RULE CURSE!!!

Remember, the T-Wolves clowned the disgraced Fyre Festival honcho after his performance was marred by technical issues ... so Ja cursed the team for 30 YEARS!!!

But, Giannis actually has Ja's back -- saying it wasn't the rapper's fault things went south that night, and telling TMZ Sports he still loves the artist.

There's more ... we also asked Giannis if he's paying attention to all the talk about him being in the running for MVP this season -- and of course, the guy couldn't have been more humble.

Giannis is having a monster season -- averaging 27 points a game with 12.6 rebounds and 5.9 assists. BEAST!!!

Ex-college football star Shawn Oakman -- once projected to be a 1st round NFL Draft pick -- was found not guilty in his sexual assault case.

The former Baylor defensive end appeared in court Thursday to wrap up the 3-day trial -- in which the 26-year-old was accused of forcibly raping a woman in 2016, after a night at the bars.

As we previously reported, the accuser claimed Oakman brought her back to his place after meeting at a bar and forced her into his bedroom, tore her clothes off and raped her.

Oakman told police the sex was consensual -- claimed the two had been in a sexual relationship -- and denied any wrongdoing. The accuser claimed they never dated.

When the verdict was read inside the Waco courtroom, his family members cheered -- and Oakman strutted out of the building with a big smile on his face.

Oakman was facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Oakman was a consensus All-Big 12 selection as a junior and a 3rd team All-American. He's also Baylor's all-time sack leader.

Oakman was arrested in the rape case in April 2016 -- days before the 2016 NFL Draft.

Instead, Oakman signed a contract with the Bismarck Bucks of the Champions Indoor Football League -- where he racked up 50 tackles and 2 sacks in 12 games in the 2018 season.

Now that the case is over, it's possible NFL teams will want to give him a workout before the 2019 season -- and he's technically a free agent because he went undrafted in 2017.

Not even Zion Williamson's shoe falling apart on national TV could sway hoopers from the Swoosh ... so says Dahntay Jones, who tells TMZ Sports Nike will face ZERO backlash for the incident.

As we previously reported ... Nike execs held an emergency meeting after the most popular college basketball player had his PG 2.5 sneaker give out just 30 seconds into the Duke/UNC game.

But, Jones -- who played at Duke from 2001-03 -- says all the flippin' out is unnecessary, 'cause there's no way athletes will turn their backs on Nike over a "freak accident."

"Nike's been the best in shoes for years, especially basketball shoes," Jones says.

DJ also weighs in on whether Z-Dub should call it a season and start prepping for the draft.

We also spoke to Kenny Smith -- who previously told us Zion needs to sharpen his iron and continue to play (prior to Wednesday's injury).

Check out if he's changed his mind.

Tristan Thompson, listen up ... Nick Young is giving away one of his secrets for getting over a massive cheating scandal!!!

Of course, Swaggy P is an expert in what TT's currently going through ... the ex-Lakers star famously cheated on Iggy Azalea when the two were dating in 2016.

So, when we got Nick leaving Pretty Little Things on Wednesday night ... we asked how Tristan should deal with his latest Khloe Kardashian drama -- and Young delivered!!!

There's more ... Nick also spoke with us about Zion Williamson's shoe-blowing incident against North Carolina -- saying the play showed Z-Dub is legitimately like the Hulk!!!

Nike and Zion Williamson are gonna be just fine ... AFTER about 80 million apologies ... so says Dan Le Batard, who thinks ZW's shoe explosion is gonna lead to a money explosion.

Williamson's left Nike disintegrated in the first MINUTE of the much-ballyhooed matchup between Duke and North Carolina earlier this week, injuring Zion, and embarrassing the company.

It was a PR disaster for the shoe giant, prompting a company-wide freak-out, and making some wonder if they'd blown their shot at landing Zion for an endorsement deal whenever he decides to go pro.

We got Dan at LAX and he thinks things between the Swoosh and prodigy will be A-okay ... after the dollars come into play.

"When they give Zion Williamson the $80 million sneaker contract they'll try and make good by him."

Interestingly enough, Dan actually thinks Nike's #1 employee is to blame for Zion's shoe disaster, telling our guy Michael Jordan was the mastermind behind it all, and giving us reasons.

Nike is vowing to get to the bottom of the shoe fail that caused Zion Williamson's game-ending injury ... wishing the Duke superstar a quick recovery and promising to "identify the issue."

The Swoosh was front and center during the Duke/UNC game Wednesday night after Z-Dub's PG 2.5 shoe fell apart when trying to change directions 30 seconds into the game.

Zion spent the rest of the night in the locker room ... and Coach Mike Krzyzewski says his star is dealing with a right knee strain.

"We are obviously concerned and want to wish Zion a speedy recovery," Nike says.

"The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance. While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue."

Our Nike sources tell us, brand executives called an emergency meeting Thursday morning to discuss a crisis strategy -- including how to deal with the negative publicity.

One source tells us the brand is obviously embarrassed by the incident -- and some execs are concerned it could cause high profile players to sign shoe deals with rival companies.

One of Nike's competitors has already jumped on the opportunity to throw shade ... with Puma saying, "Wouldn't have happened in the pumas" in a now-deleted tweet.

Clemson superstar QB Trevor Lawrence says he's sorry for shoving a fellow student to the ground during a heated intramural hoops game ... admitting it was "probably unnecessary."

Of course, 19-year-old Lawrence -- 6'6", 215 pounds -- just wrapped an unreal season, leading Clemson football to another national title. But, he found trouble on the basketball court this week when he got into an altercation with a fellow student who was trying to set a screen.

The student set the pick on Trevor some 80 feet from the basket ... but Lawrence clearly took issue with the move and pushed the guy hard, TWICE ... sending him flying to the ground.

Lawrence was definitely the aggressor -- but in a comment on social media, the QB implied the other guy had it coming for running his mouth during the game.

"He wanted to talk the whole game lol... still probably unnecessary. Sorry folks."

Lawrence has since deleted the comment ... probably 'cause Dabo Swinney HATED every second of the incident.

Man, ya gotta feel bad for this dude ...

A usually solid Kansas State basketball player had a TERRIBLE second half Monday night ... blowing THREE point-blank dunks -- in just 12 game minutes!

The guy's name is Makol Mawien ... and he's actually been a pretty good player for the Wildcats -- starting all 26 games for the team this season.

But, against West Virginia ... he was pretty much the anti-Shaq --- clanking not one, but THREE dunks off iron!!!

The first came at the start of the second half ... Mawien missed a left-handed slam that ended up in the first row of the stands.

The second and third came minutes later -- and just seconds apart from each other -- when Mawien rattled TWO balls off the rim with no defenders even CLOSE to him.

You could tell Mawien was embarrassed ... dude tapped his chest and slapped hands with all his teammates.

After the third miss, KSU coach Bruce Weber didn't even get mad -- putting his arms around Makol to try and help the guy get his confidence back.

Eli Manning deserves to be immortalized in bronze at his alma mater ... so says Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker, who tells TMZ Sports the former-Ole Miss QB needs a campus statue!!!

Of course, Eli's big bro, Peyton, already has a monument built for him in Indianapolis ... and the Mannings as a fam have been recognized in a few different ways already at Ole Miss.

But, Wicker says Eli -- who's a legend with BOTH the Rebels and the NY Giants -- "absolutely" should have his own statue at the school.

"Eli Manning is a great athlete. Two Super Bowl rings. A good family man. A good humanitarian. And, he volunteers his time."

Think Wicker's just playing to his constituents?? Think again ... the senator actually attended Ole Miss with Archie himself!!!

Jaylon Ferguson -- the projected 1st-round pick who was disinvited and then reinvited to the NFL Combine -- ain't sweating the drama one bit ... telling TMZ Sports, it's only gonna HELP his draft stock.

Here's the backstory ... the 23-year-old Louisiana Tech pass rusher was reportedly arrested for fighting at a McDonald's during his freshman year. He was later convicted of simple battery.

Per NFL rules ... if a player is found guilty of a misdemeanor or a felony involving violence -- their Combine invite will be pulled.

Since Ferguson went on to become the NCAA's all-time career sack leader (with 45) -- NFL teams are VERY interested in him. Which makes the Combine drama even more interesting.

Ferguson's story has blown up on social media -- where people are arguing Ferguson deserves an opportunity to attend the Combine if only to explain his side of the story to GMs ... and on Friday, the NFL caved.

Jaylon still won't be able to work out at the annual event ... but, he's at least now able to go and interview with teams -- and he says he's JACKED for the opportunity.

But, Ferguson also says this whole drama is only going to HELP him get picked higher in April's NFL draft.

"Now that I got my name out there more, more people know me. More people heard of me."

As for the fighting incident ... Jaylon says it's a non-issue, telling us, "I'm not even the same person."

Zion Williamson is SO good ... a shoe company could sign the guy to a $100 MILLION contract when he leaves Duke -- so says Jay Williams.

TMZ Sports spoke with the Blue Devils legend out in NYC when he told us Zion is so insanely talented, he should get the biggest sneaker contract since LeBron James.

"He has that marketability. That smile. And, who else is 6'7", 285 with a 43-inch vertical that can entertain you like that? Nobody."

Of course, LBJ famously signed a 7-year, $90 million Nike contract back in 2003 before he entered the NBA. But, most guys coming out since haven't come close to those figures.

In fact, DeAndre Ayton's deal with Puma last year was worth just a reported "multi-million dollars."

Translation ... NOWHERE near 9 figures.

But, Jay says Zion deserves a deal at least as big as LeBron's ... and seeing as it's been nearly 16 years since that contract -- doesn't seem it'd surprise him if that was in the $100 MILLION range!!!

Sounds like Floyd Mayweather wants to be the next big sports agent -- and he's already making his pitch to sign future NBA superstar Zion Williamson.

Floyd already runs Mayweather Promotions -- and reps a bunch of young boxing stars. But, Floyd tells us he's been working with NBA agent Alonzo Earle and he has serious interest in signing basketball players.

So, what's the pitch? Floyd says he can teach young superstars like Zion to not only make a ton of money during their careers, but he'll make sure they're financially set in RETIREMENT too.

"If Zion signs with me, you got my word that he gonna have a comfortable life when he's on the court and off the court ... if he did."

To prove his point, Floyd busted open a backpack filled with about $500,000 in cash.

Don't worry, Floyd says he's not worried about being robbed because he's smart when it comes to personal security -- with TMT bodyguards like Jizzy Mack and Badou, in addition to undercover police officers.

Floyd will obviously have competition when it comes to signing Zion -- every major agency in the world is trying to land the Duke superstar ... including Jay-Z's Roc Nation Sports.