NCAA

We were this close to finding out when Bronny James was going to announce his decision about college ... but a publicist stopped him from answering the question!

The McDonald's All-American nearly revealed a timetable for his decision while speaking to reporters after the Nike Hoop Summit practice in Oregon on Thursday ... his first time speaking with the media.

A reporter started off asking Bronny about Oregon signee Jackson Shelstad and other top players trying to recruit him to their schools while the guys are at the summit.

"It's fun times," Bronny said with a big smile on his face.

"It's good to know that they want me there with them, but at the end of the day, it's my decision, and I gotta make the right one for me."

The reporter quickly followed up, asking WHEN Bronny was going to make the decision. But, right as he was about to answer, a publicist shut down the line of questioning.

"I think we can move on to questions about U.S. Basketball and the Hoop Summit," the PR rep said.

Of course, the 4-star recruit -- who graduates from Sierra Canyon this spring -- has received offers from all over the country, including Ohio State, Kentucky, Memphis, and USC.

He also has the option to go pro ... in fact, last month LaVar Ball said Bronny should skip college and play ball in Australia, like his NBA star son, LaMelo.

LSU hoops star Angel Reese has decided she will attend the White House visit with her team after all ... days after she contemplated skipping the visit because of remarks made by First Lady Jill Biden.

Remember, Reese took issue with FLOTUS saying Iowa should attend the White House, too -- a tradition usually reserved for championship winners -- calling Jill's suggestion "a joke."

"In the beginning, we were hurt -- it was emotional because we know how hard we worked all year for everything," Reese said Friday.

"You don't get that experience [to go to the White House] ever ... and I know my team probably wants to go for sure, and my coaches are supportive of that, so I'm going to do what's best for the team and we've decided we're going to go."

"I'm a team player. I'm going to do what's best for the team. I'm the captain."

LSU said Thursday they would be "excited" to celebrate the program's first NCAA women's basketball national championship, leaving many to speculate whether Reese would join them.

LSU will not let a small squabble between its star player and Jill Biden get in the way of a championship party at the White House ... the school just revealed it'd "certainly" accept an invitation despite the tiff.

In fact, according to a university spokesperson, the Tigers would be "excited" to continue the celebration of their women's NCAA tournament title at 1600 Penn Ave. later this year.

Of course, many were wondering if the team would, indeed, go ... after LSU forward Angel Reese said she was peeved over the way Biden invited both the Tigers and Iowa following their championship game on Sunday night.

Reese said on "I Am Athlete" this week that "if the roles were reversed, they wouldn’t be the same. If we were to lose, we would not be getting invited to the White House."

She then insinuated she'd prefer it if she could go party with the Obamas instead." They can have that spotlight," she said of the Hawkeyes. "We'll go to the Obamas'. We'll go see Michelle. We'll see Barack."

Biden had attempted to walk back the double invite, with her press secretary saying Tuesday Biden's comments "were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes. She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers on their championship win at the White House."

But, in response, Reese said, "I don't accept the apology because you said what you said .. You can't go back on certain things that you say."

Jill Biden needs to apologize to the LSU women's hoops team ASAP ... so says Sherri Shepherd, who tells TMZ Sports the first lady should have never invited Iowa to come along with the champion Tigers for a celebration at the White House.

The television personality made her feelings loud and clear to us about the issue while out in New York City this week ... explaining she thinks Biden only handed out the invite in an effort to earn future votes for Joe Biden.

"You never invite the losing team to the White House," Shepherd said after Jill had opened the White House doors to both LSU and Iowa following their championship game on Sunday night.

"I know you want Iowa to vote for your husband, but stop it!" she added. "Stop it, Dr. Biden."

The topic has been extremely polarizing ever since Jill revealed she'd like to host both teams ... with LSU star Angel Reese laughing off the notion -- and even later saying she's now considering not going for a White House celebration over it all.

"I just know if the roles were reversed, it wouldn't be the same," Reese said on 'I Am Athlete.' "If we were to lose, we would not be getting invited to the White House."

Shepherd clearly believes Reese has every right to be peeved ... agreeing with the Tigers forward and saying, "If it was the other way around, it would never be this situation."

Of course, Biden's Press Secretary tried to apologize for FLOTUS following the backlash ...  saying Jill was simply trying to applaud "how far women have advanced in sports since the passing of Title IX" and "the historic game and all women athletes."

For their part, Iowa said it never received a formal invitation from the Bidens ... and its star guard, Caitlin Clark, seemed to say she wouldn't want to go even if the invite had come.

Former Nebraska interim head coach Mickey Joseph's assault case was dismissed Wednesday ... after the woman who accused him of strangling her reportedly refused to testify.

The Lancaster County Attorney's Office confirmed the dismissal to TMZ Sports ... explaining the case has now been sealed.

According to the Associated Press, Erica Pruess, a prosecutor in Lancaster County, told a judge that she received an email from the accuser in Joseph's case in February stating she would not testify.

Additionally, Pruess said law enforcement authorities in Arizona, where the woman allegedly lives, tried to serve her a summons requiring her to appear before a judge -- but their attempts were unsuccessful.

55-year-old Joseph was initially arrested for assault by strangulation back in November ... after police responded to his home, where he and his wife, Priscilla Joseph, live, to investigate a domestic dispute.

According to legal documents, Joseph had been embroiled in an argument with a woman who told police Joseph "pushed me on the couch and strangled me."

The woman, who's yet to be identified, told police that Joseph -- who took over the reins for the Cornhuskers after the program fired Scott Frost in Sept. 2022 -- punched her in the face during the alleged assault.

When police interviewed the accuser ... they observed visible injuries and swelling around the woman's left eye.

Nebraska placed Joseph on administrative leave following his arrest ... but the program fired him two weeks later.

Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder is saying thanks, but no thanks to Jill Biden welcoming the Hawkeyes to the White House ... saying LSU should be the only team visiting because they're the champs.

Bluder dropped the friendly RSVP to Biden's suggestion on Tuesday ... tweeting, "I gratefully acknowledge the First Lady’s sentiments, but a day at the White House should belong solely to the champion, LSU and Coach Mulkey."

The 3-time Big Ten Coach of the Year then flipped the script ... saying the Bidens should jump on Air Force One and visit them instead!!!

"We would welcome the First Lady and President to come to Iowa’s 'House' – Carver Hawkeye Arena — any time!"

Of course, FLOTUS's proposal caused a lot of commotion since the whole point of teams visiting the WH is that they're the winners.

Biden's Press Secretary later clarified her words ... saying FLOTUS made the suggestion to admire "how far women have advanced in sports since the passing of Title IX."

LSU's Angel Reese wasn't buying the explanation ... and believes her team wouldn't be receiving the same treatment if they lost to Iowa.

"I just know if the roles were reversed, it wouldn't be the same," Reese said on I Am Athlete. "If we were to lose, we would not be getting invited to the White House."

The star forward is unsure if she'll go to the White House to celebrate LSU women's first-ever title ... but President Joe Biden says he looks forward to meeting them and UConn, who won the men's NCAA championship on Monday.

Andrew Dodson -- a high school football player in Kentucky -- has tragically died ... after he suffered a head injury during a routine tackle in an intrasquad scrimmage last week.

The boy's father, Alan Dodson, told the Lexington Herald-Leader his son was running the ball in the Pulaski County varsity football spring Maroon and White game on Friday ... when his teammate tackled him and he landed on his head.

Alan said there was nothing illegal or violent about the hit ... but because of the way Andrew fell, he suffered a serious brain injury.

"He had a major surgery to relieve the pressure and has never awakened," said Alan, who added that his son was wearing a helmet during the collision. "He has been fighting for his life on total life support."

The Kentucky High School Athletic Association confirmed on Monday the boy had passed away due to the injury.

"Today, we all mourn with his family, friends, teammates, and the entire KHSAA family, the loss of this young man," the KHSAA said in a Facebook post.

"No words can explain, justify or rationalize tragedies such as these. We only ask for peace and comfort to all around him."

Andrew was reportedly in his junior season ... playing both tight end and defensive end.

Univ. of Kentucky football head coach Mark Stoops expressed sorrow over Andrew's passing ... writing in a tweet on Monday, "We are heartbroken by this tragedy and are deeply sorry for your loss."

The LSU women's hoop team thoroughly beat Iowa and are NCAA champs, but Jill Biden says she wants BOTH squads to come to the White House ... a notion Tigers star Angel Reese finds very funny!

FLOTUS made the awkward suggestion on Monday at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver ... a day after watching in person LSU win the NCAA tourney against Iowa at American Airlines Center in Dallas.

"I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House, we always do," Biden said.

"So, we hope LSU will come. But, you know, I’m going to tell Joe I think Iowa should come, too, because they played such a good game.”

Obviously, the idea's ridiculous. The winner goes to the White House, not the loser. The idea left Reese laughing.

"🤣🤣 A JOKE," the Tigers forward tweeted.

In fact, there was a suggestion Reese retweeted ... the Tigers hoops team should go to former First Lady Michelle Obama's house instead.

Of course, all this comes on the heels of another controversy that directly involved Reese. She got a ton of blowback (and an equal amount of support from stars like Shaq) for taunting Iowa star Caitlin Clark with John Cena's famed "You Can't See Me" gesture as the title game ended this weekend.

We asked the White House if an official invite had been made to Iowa. So far, no word back. We also reached out to Iowa to see if they'll accept an invite, should it actually come.

We covered it all in a recent episode of The TMZ Podcast.

Chaos erupted at UConn's campus following the Huskies' national championship win on Monday night -- with the team's fans smashing windows, tearing down light poles ... and even lighting fires in the streets.

The hectic celebration in Storrs, Conn. happened just moments after the UConn men's basketball team completed its dominant NCAA tournament run by beating San Diego State in the final, 76-59.

Videos from the scene show fans were ruthless with property on and near UConn's campus ... with supporters at one point grabbing a huge pole and ramming it into a glass door over and over again until it completely broke free.

Other footage shows people lit fires that authorities had to deal with. Fans were also seen climbing light poles ... before ripping them down.

There was even an overturned car in a parking lot.

No word yet if any arrests were made -- a UConn spokesperson tells us they're still gathering information.

As for how the team celebrated the W in Houston, Texas ... it was far less disorderly. The guys soaked in the confetti -- before they cut down the nets.

There will ultimately be a party when the guys get back to campus -- but here's to hoping it features a whole lot less destruction.

New police video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows Stetson Bennett was seriously pissed at cops during his arrest back in January ... at one point accusing the officers of ruining his reputation.

Dallas Police Dept. cops initially responded to the scene in Dallas, Texas on Jan. 29 at around 6:15 a.m. ... after a 911 caller said the ex-Univ. of Georgia star quarterback had been knocking on her door, yelling, and appearing to be "very" intoxicated.

During the 911 call, the woman told dispatch that Bennett had screamed outside of her home, "I'm going to ruin your night if you don't open the g**damn door."

Body cam footage shows when police arrived, Bennett was not very cooperative. When asked to step away from one of the home's doors and show his hands, it took him several moments to comply -- and later, during questioning, Bennett didn't seem to want to answer many of the cops' inquires.

Bennett ultimately did reveal he was in the area training -- and claimed he was looking to link up with one of his former UGA teammates, Owen Condon. But he wouldn't tell cops what he had been doing prior to getting into the neighborhood, and appeared to have very little idea of where he was.

In fact, according to cops, he had someone else's ID on him.

While speaking with Bennett, one officer noted the 25-year-old reeked of booze.

Eventually, Bennett was placed in the back of a squad car, where he became extremely agitated with cops. He complained about the tightness of his cuffs -- before he unloaded on officers for stopping him.

"The door shut and somebody fell asleep," Bennett said. "And now five million people gotta see it, don't they? Thank you, boys, for looking out for me. You guys are the best."

He added, "Reputation ruined. Everything I worked for for 20 years, ruined. But ya'll boys just looking out for me, aren't ya? Thank you, sir."

Bennett was later taken to the local police station and booked for public intoxication.

Speaking about the arrest for the first time last month, he said it was all "a mistake."

"I understand why that can’t happen," he said. "I've talked to coaches about it, talked to GMs. I've apologized to my family. That’s who I felt worse about; I felt like I let them down, because no matter where I go now [people are going to know about it]. Even without all this, I've got an obligation. I'm the fourth [Stetson Bennett]. You can't do that if you're last name is Bennett. I know better."

Despite the arrest, Bennett is still expected to be picked in the NFL draft later this month.

Carson Briere is no longer a member of the Mercyhurst Univ. men's ice hockey team -- the program just gave him the boot ... less than a month after he was seen on video shoving a woman's wheelchair down a flight of stairs at a local bar.

The school announced the move in a statement on Monday afternoon ... saying the 23-year-old had been "removed" from the team. It's the second time in his college career that he's been kicked off an ice hockey roster -- he was previously dismissed from Arizona State's team in 2021 after the program said he violated rules.

Briere had initially been suspended from the Mercyhurst squad days after the March 11 incident at Sullivan's Pub and Eatery in Erie, Penn. ... with the school saying at the time it was investigating the matter.

It's unclear if any new findings in the probe led to the decision Monday -- the school declined to comment further on it all in its statement.

Briere is still facing criminal charges in the case -- he was hit with one count of criminal mischief, one count of disorderly conduct, and one count of conspiracy to commit criminal mischief ... after a police report claimed he seriously damaged the chair that had been purchased for $2,000 in 2022.

Briere is due in court for a hearing in the case next month.

LSU guard Flau'Jae Johnson went from scoring buckets to dropping bars after the Tigers' national championship win on Sunday ... leading the team's celebration by performing her very own rap song!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the freshman baller took over the mic at the Westin Hotel conference room in Dallas after the Tigers whooped the Iowa Hawkeyes, 102-85 -- and it was a party for the ages.

You can see Johnson -- who scored 10 points in the championship game -- on stage with her teammates, reciting the lyrics to her "BIG 4" track that dropped just a few months ago.

"Are you gonna rap or be an athlete? If I’m still doing both why you asking me?" Johnson fittingly says in the song.

The 19-year-old also mentions her PUMA deal ... saying, "Do it, I run it up, feel like the renegade. I got a PUMA deal, I don't get into Js."

Johnson takes her rap career just as seriously as basketball ... in fact, the 4-star recruit out of Georgia announced her commitment to LSU with a song titled "All Falls Down," which features Lil' Boosie.

On top of that, she's also signed to Roc Nation!!

Her father, Jason Johnson -- AKA “Camoflauge” -- was also a rapper out of Georgia. He was killed before she was born.

When it comes to hoops, Johnson is a problem ... this season, she averaged 10 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game and was named the SEC Freshman of the Year.

LSU hoops star Angel Reese isn't apologizing for taunting Caitlin Clark during the NCAA title game Sunday ... responding by ripping the hypocrites who called her out, but didn't do so for Clark.

The Tigers forward received a ton of backlash after throwing up John Cena's famous "You Can't See Me" hand gesture during LSU's blowout 102-85 win at the American Airlines Center.

FYI, it's the same gesture AP Player of the Year Clark used in the Elite Eight and Final Four.

The difference was the public's reaction ... Clark was praised, while Reese was mostly criticized for failing to show good sportsmanship. But, she's unbothered by the selective outrage.

"All year, I was critiqued about who I was," Reese said during her post-game interview.

"The narrative -- I don’t fit the narrative. I don't fit into the box that y’all want me to be in. 'I’m too hood. I’m too ghetto.' Y’all told me that all year. But, when other people do it, y’all don’t say nothing."

Reese -- who transferred from Maryland to LSU last May -- says this win is for "the girls that look like me," telling them to be "unapologetically you."

"And, that’s what I did it for tonight. It was bigger than me tonight. Twitter is gonna go on a rage every time. And, I’m happy. I feel like I've helped grow women's basketball this year."

Despite the hate Reese is getting, there are a ton of people who've had her back, including LeBron James, who retweeted Emmanuel Acho's comment ripping those who criticized Reese but not Clark.

The Lakers superstar also shared Ryan Clark's message on Twitter, saying, "If you praised Caitlin Clark as competitive, fiery, and passionate for doing the 'You can’t See me' celebration and are criticizing Angel Reese for the same we already know!!"

Shaquille O'Neal also came to the defense of Reese, going at Keith Olbermann, who called Reese a "f***ing idiot."

It was the first-ever NCAA title for the LSU women's hoops team and 4th title for coach Kim Mulkey ... who won three with Baylor before joining the Tigers in 2021.

Congratulations, ladies!!

We covered it all on a recent episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms!

College basketball legend Bob Knight has been hospitalized in Indiana ... and officials at IU are now asking for prayers for their former head coach.

In an email that was sent to ex-Hoosier players over the weekend, IU said Knight was admitted to a hospital in Bloomington on Friday night.

They added that he was dealing with "an acute illness."

"Please join us in sending prayers to coach Knight and his family," the text read, according to WDRB's Rick Bozich. "The family's hope is to have him back home soon."

82-year-old Knight is considered one of the greatest basketball coaches ever -- winning three national championships at IU ... while piling up a career 902-371 win-loss record.

Knight has reportedly been battling health issues the past few years -- though he's nonetheless been a regular attendee at IU practices.

Get well soon, Bob.

Reggie Bush is such a huge fan of USC quarterback Caleb Williams ... he tells TMZ Sports he thinks there's absolutely no ceiling on what the signal-caller can do with a football in his hands.

"He's a great young kid," Bush told us out at Dash Radio in Los Angeles this week. "The sky is the limit for him."

Of course, Bush would know a thing or two about the topic ... he balled out at SC from 2003 to 2005 -- and then went on to have a solid 11-year NFL career.

Clearly, he believes Williams can do the same -- and even more -- telling us he's stoked to see what the 21-year-old can do following his Heisman Trophy campaign last season.

Bush says he's actually spoken to Williams in person before ... and called their meet-ups "amazing."

As for when Williams -- who transferred from Oklahoma to USC prior to last season -- eventually gets to the pros ... Bush said there isn't one team in the league that should pass on him in the 2024 NFL Draft.

"Anybody can use him!"

Alabama Crimson Tide star Brandon Miller -- one of the best players in college basketball this season -- is foregoing the rest of his time in Tuscaloosa and entering the NBA Draft.

The 20-year-old freshman was a key part to Bama's success in 2022-23 ... averaging nearly 19 points, eight rebounds and two assists a game. The Tide had an early exit from the NCAA tournament, however ... with Miller scoring just nine points in the Sweet 16 loss to San Diego State.

Miller racked up several honors as a result of his performance in his lone college season ... including SEC Player of the Year and first-team All-American.

Miller's season was marred with controversy, however ... after cops stated he brought ex-teammate Darius Miles his gun the night it was allegedly used to kill Jamea Harris.

Miller was not charged with a crime, but Miles and his friend, 20-year-old Michael Davis -- the one actually accused of pulling the trigger -- are both facing capital murder charges.

The NBA prospect's attorney has adamantly denied any wrongdoing ... claiming Miller never touched the gun, was involved in giving it to Miles, nor did he know anything illegal was going to go down that night.