Basketball

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Oklahoma City Thunder are closing in on a deal to send Gordon Hayward from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for guard Tre Mann and forward Davis Bertans. Due to injuries to both legs, Hayward has been out of action since December 26. There is no set date for his […]

It may be another lost season for the Charlotte Hornets, but a bright spot, outside of the star Brandon Miller is destined to become, has been fellow first-round pick, Nick Smith Jr, who has made the most of his opportunities, and currently leads all rookies in three-point shooting percentage. Smith was taken out of Arkansas late in the first round last June after injuries derailed his NBA Draft stock, which at one point projected him to be a top-5 draft selection. 

Charlotte's 8-1 start to conference play is as big a surprise as anything we've seen in local or national college basketball this season, and tonight they put that record on the line at South Florida, who is also 8-1 in the AAC. Unlike FAU or Memphis, the only way Charlotte will hear their name called on Selection Sunday is if they win the AAC Tournament next month after a slow start in non-conference play eliminated any chance at being an at-large bid. A win tonight would further help their chances of being the #1 seed in that event, making the path easier to winning three games in three days. 

The Charlotte Hornets dropped their eighth straight contest Monday, falling 124-118 to the Los Angeles Lakers at Spectrum Center.

Last summer, former 49ers head coach, Ron Sanchez resigned from his position as head coach, to return to Virginia as an assistant. Sanchez, who was going to enter the 2023-24 season on the hot seat, didn't wait to be fired, but in the process left the Charlotte program in disarray. There is never a good time to walk out on your program, and the kids you recruited, but in today's era, of the transfer portal, along with NIL, it put the future of the program in even further danger. 

Brandon Miller poured in a career-high 35 points for the Charlotte Hornets, but they couldn’t hold down the most efficient offense in the NBA, falling 115-98 to the Indiana Pacers.

Later tonight, the greatest rivalry in sports renews itself, as #3 North Carolina, hosts #7 Duke in the first of two meetings between the best teams in the ACC, and two teams more than capable of winning a national championship. Over the years the rivalry has been defined by moments, most recently, Caleb Love's three-pointer that proved to be the dagger in a win over the Blue Devils in the Final Four, which officially retired Coach K, after a legendary run in Durham. 

For the 35th time this season, the Hornets took to the basketball court, and fell short of their ultimate goal, losing tonight to the Knicks 113-92, to drop their third straight game at home, and their fourth overall. New York, who is in the process of learning to play without Julius Randle, held just a 5-point lead at the half, as both offenses came out sluggish, producing a 46-41 halftime score. Charlotte is among the worst third-quarter teams in the NBA, and that reared its ugly head again tonight, as the visitors outscored them 44-24 in the third period, to effectively put the game away. 

After trading away Terry Rozier earlier in the week, it's safe to say that the Hornets are waving the white flag on the 2023-24 season, and a rebuild awaits the team as we get closer to the trade deadline. Charlotte entered the season with faint hopes of competing for a spot in the Play-In Tournament, and that all went sideways after an early rash of injuries took the team out of contention by mid-December. 

The first month of the ACC season is just about over, as January is drawing close to an end, and the conference is once again turned upside down. North Carolina has emerged as the team to beat, holding a two-game over surprised Florida State, which has overcome an awful non-conference season, to compete at the league's top. The middle of the league is jam-packed with a handful of teams, including Duke who entered the season as the overwhelming favorite to win. Duke isn't the only team to underachieve in the first full month of conference play, so has Miami, coming off a trip to the Final Four, and Clemson, who who seemed poised to break out after barely missing the NCAA Tournament.