Men's College Basketball

Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe and Gonzaga's Drew Timme highlight the 2022-23 Associated Press preseason All-America team in men's college basketball.

Both big men were unanimous selections on the first team, which also includes North Carolina forward Armando Bacot, Houston guard Marcus Sasser and Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Tshiebwe won the Naismith Award as the best player in college basketball last season after averaging 17.4 points and 15.2 rebounds per game. He is the first AP National Player of the Year to return to school the following season since Tyler Hansbrough in 2009.

Hansbrough didn't win a second player of the year award, but he did lead North Carolina to a national championship as a senior.

Tshiebwe will hope for similar success with the Wildcats, who enter as the No. 4 team in the preseason AP poll despite a shocking first-round exit in the NCAA tournament last season. Further improvements from their star player could be the difference in the upcoming season.

"He's a better passer. He's a better dribbler. He has a better feel. He talks," Kentucky coach John Calipari said of Tshiebwe. "Offensively, he knows the plays better. And he's authentic."

North Carolina is the top team in the preseason poll thanks to the return of Bacot, who averaged 16.3 points, 13.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game last season. The forward had six straight double-doubles during the Tar Heels' run to the NCAA title game, averaging 16.5 rebounds during the tournament.

With RJ Davis, Leaky Black and Caleb Love also set to return, North Carolina should be a tough team to beat in 2022-23.

Timme is looking for more team success after earning second-team All-America honors in the last two years. The senior averaged 18.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game last season, helping Gonzaga earn the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament for the second straight year.

But a Sweet 16 loss to Arkansas leaves Timme searching for more going into this season.

Sasser missed all but 12 games last season with a toe injury that ended his season in December, but he created high expectations after averaging 17.7 points per game in his limited playing time. Houston went to the Elite Eight without him, but the team could be even scarier this season.

Jackson-Davis was overshadowed by the three Big Ten players who made the All-America First Team last year: Johnny Davis, Kofi Cockburn and Keegan Murray. The Indiana forward won't sneak up on anyone, though, after averaging 18.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game last season.

The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team hosted its annual Blue-White game at Appalachian Wireless Arena in Pikeville, Kentucky, on Saturday, and the White team walked away with a 70-67 victory.

The game was played in Pikeville instead of at Rupp Arena so proceeds could be donated to flood relief efforts in Eastern Kentucky, a part of the state that had been devastated by floods over the summer.

In addition, Saturday's contest was limited to just 30 minutes as Kentucky was down a number of players because of minor injuries, including Oscar Tshiebwe, Sahvir Wheeler and Lance Ware.

Kentucky head coach John Calipari split his roster into two teams for Saturday's game. The White team roster included Jacob Toppin, CJ Frederick, Daimon Collins, Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston.

The Blue teams roster included Adou Thiero, Antonio Reeves, Brennan Canada, Walker Horn, Ugonna Onyenso and Kareem Watkins.

Reeves, who transferred to Kentucky in April after three seasons at Illinois State, was the star of the show, finishing with 27 points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal on 8-of-19 shooting from the floor and 5-of-12 shooting from deep.

Reeves was lauded by Kentucky fans on Twitter for his scoring ability following Saturday's game:

Before committing to Kentucky, Reeves had Nebraska, Xavier, Oregon and DePaul in his final five. The 6'5", 205-pound guard was one of the best scorers available in the transfer portal.

During the 2021-22 season, his final at Illinois State, Reeves averaged 20.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 33 games while shooting 46.9 percent from the floor and 39 percent from deep.

If Reeves can replicate that success in his first season with the Wildcats, Calipari's squad could make a run in the NCAA tournament.

Paolo Banchero apparently wasn't a fan of all the attention he received as a student during his lone season at Duke.

Appearing on The Young Person Basketball Podcast with R.J. Hampton (h/t TMZ Sports), Banchero said there were times last year the then-freshman felt like "a zoo animal" because he would see people in classes "whispering about you" and "staring at you."

The Orlando Magic rookie recalled one time when another student brought their family to his dorm to see him.

"I open my door and it's a mom, dad, their daughter who goes to Duke and, like, their little brother," Banchero explained. "And, I'm just like, 'Damn.'"

Despite the intrusion on his life away from Cameron Indoor Stadium, Banchero did speak well of his time with the Blue Devils.

"I definitely enjoyed it," he said.

There were a lot of expectations put on Banchero's shoulders when he committed to Duke. The Seattle native was a 5-star prospect and No. 2 overall prospect in the 2021 recruiting class, per 247Sports composite rankings.

Banchero led the Blue Devils in scoring average (17.2 points per game) and rebounds (7.8) in 39 games. He helped the team advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2014-15, but they lost to North Carolina in the national semifinal.

After declaring for the 2022 NBA draft in April, the 19-year-old was selected No. 1 overall by the Magic. He had a historic debut with 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists in Wednesday's opener against the Detroit Pistons.

Banchero joined Kareem Abdul-Jabaar and LeBron James as the only No. 1 picks since 1969 to have at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in their first career game.

Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari announced Wednesday the Wildcats have "agreed in principle" to restart an annual rivalry series against Indiana beginning with the 2025-26 season.

Calipari said further information will be provided at a later date as the deal with the Hoosiers is "at the administrative level now, so all the details will be worked out."

Kentucky and Indiana faced off in men's basketball for the first time in December 1924, a 34-23 Hoosiers victory. The schools met every season from 1969 through 2011.

The Wildcats and Hoosiers have met twice since that point, both times in the NCAA tournament. UK won a 2012 meeting in the Sweet 16 and IU came out on top in the 2016 second round.

Kentucky holds a 35-23 advantage in the all-time series.

Indiana coach Mike Woodson said in May he wanted to resume the series, even if it meant playing a yearly neutral-site contest rather than a standard home-and-home structure.

"It might not be Bloomington, Lexington, I don't know," Woodson said. "But however way we can get it done, I'll take it. So we've just got to figure that part of it out."

He added it would be special to play the games on the respective campuses, though.

"I'm going to stay on [Calipari's] heels about getting the Kentucky-Indiana series back on the table," Woodson said. "Because I just think over the years, man, that was a hell of a game, going to Lexington and them coming down to Bloomington."

Calipari didn't address whether home games were under consideration as part of his comments Wednesday at SEC media day.

Both Kentucky and Indiana head into the 2022-23 season inside the Top 15 of the Associated Press poll, with UK at No. 4 and IU at No. 13.

The storied programs will each open the new campaign Nov. 7, when the Wildcats host Howard at Rupp Arena and the Hoosiers welcome Morehead State to Assembly Hall.

A year after reaching the NCAA tournament final, North Carolina enters as the No. 1 team in the preseason men's college basketball Associated Press poll.

There are plenty of familiar faces at the top of the rankings as well, including Gonzaga, Duke and Kentucky.

Reigning champion Kansas enters at No. 5, although the squad will have to replace several key players from last year's roster.

Here is the full Top 25 before the season opens Nov. 7.

AP Poll

1. North Carolina

2. Gonzaga

3. Houston

4. Kentucky

T-5. Kansas

T-5. Baylor

7. Duke

8. UCLA

9. Creighton

10. Arkansas

11. Tennessee

12. Texas

13. Indiana

14. TCU

15. Auburn

16. Villanova

17. Arizona

18. Virginia

19. San Diego State

20. Alabama

21. Oregon

22. Michigan

23. Illinois

24. Dayton

25. Texas Tech

It was a surprise when North Carolina drove to the Final Four as a No. 8 seed last season, but the squad had truly turned it on during the second half of the season and proved to be a legitimate title threat.

Now, expectations are even higher in 2022-23, as guard Caleb Love told ESPN last week:

It's national championship or bust. For real. That's what we all came back for. They can't take that away from us, once we do that. And that's an accomplishment and a goal that will live with us forever. We're already locked in, but that will be another thing for us. We'll come back 20 years from now and it'll still be hanging.

Love returns alongside R.J. Davis, Leaky Black and All-American candidate Armando Bacot, who averaged 16.3 points and 13.1 rebounds per game last season. The big man had 21 rebounds in the shocking national semifinal win over rival Duke.

With Northwestern transfer Pete Nance set to fill in for Brady Manek, the pieces are there to win a title.

There will still be plenty of competition throughout the year from teams filled with both young talent and veteran stars.

Drew Timme helped Gonzaga earn the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, although the squad fell in the Sweet 16 to Arkansas. Losing Chet Holmgren will hurt, but Julian Strawther and Rasir Bolton could take another step in the backcourt to help the Bulldogs make a deeper run in 2023.

Kentucky will feature the reigning Naismith award winner in Oscar Tshiebwe, who averaged 17.4 points and 15.2 rebounds per game last season. Even after the Wildcats' surprising first-round loss to Saint Peter's, they enter No. 1 on the preseason KenPom ratings and could be a major threat this year.

UCLA also returns some proven players in Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyger Campbell, while Houston's Marcus Sasser could take his team on another deep run.

Meanwhile, fans should also acclimate themselves to new faces on Duke.

Jon Scheyer takes over for Mike Krzyzewski as head coach and brings with him three of the top four recruits in the 2022 class, per 247Sports composite rankings. There could be some growing pains, but Dereck Lively II, Dariq Whitehead and Kyle Filipowski will ensure the Blue Devils remain a contender.

Kansas will also have to recover from the losses of Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun and David McCormack, but Jalen Wilson will try to be the next man up for last year's champions alongside highly touted freshman Grady Dick.

Aaron Bradshaw, one of the top centers in the 2023 recruiting class, announced Friday he's decided to play college basketball at Kentucky, per ESPN's Jeff Borzello.

Bradshaw, a 5-star recruit, is rated as the No. 4 overall prospect and the best center among the 2023 group in 247Sports' rankings. The Camden High School standout is also ranked as the second-best player from New Jersey.

The 7'0'', 210-pound rising star has showcased terrific athleticism that has allowed him to dominate the high school ranks at both ends of the floor, and he's also displayed a tireless work ethic.

Bradshaw will need to continue bulking up, especially if the NBA is in his future, but he has all the tools to make an immediate impact at the college level.

In May 2021, he told Rivals' Jamie Shaw he's patterned his game after some of the most dominant, versatile big men of recent decades.

"I play defense and bring a lot of enthusiasm to the floor. I try to bring a lot of energy," Bradshaw said. "I hear a lot of Kevin Garnett, Anthony Davis, big guys who are high-motor players. I grew up a fan of Garnett, Davis and Hakeem Olajuwon. They get after it, they're scrappy and bring a lot of energy to the team."

He possesses the size and raw skill set to play a similar style to those current and former superstars, but his development has a long way to go before he can reach that type of level.

The talented center will look to continue that growth process with the Wildcats. It's too early to know the exact role he'll play at the outset for John Calipari and Co., but he should be one of the first players off the bench in a high-energy role at minimum.

Bradshaw's arrival represents a major boost to the 2023 UK class, and he's a definite name to watch in the coming years.

Andrej Stojaković, son of former NBA All-Star Peja Stojaković, named Oregon, Stanford, Texas and UCLA as the four potential schools to land his commitment, according to Joe Tipton of On3.

The 5-star recruit is considered the fourth-best small forward and No. 21 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class, per 247Sports composite ranking.

Stojaković was also considering Duke and Virginia before the latest cut, while he received scholarship offers from Kentucky, Kansas, Indiana and more.

The 6'6" forward is clearly in high demand from the top programs around the country, but he has a lot of requirements for his next school, as he explained to On3:

I will be looking for a healthy environment to help me grow as a player and a person. Most of my family is overseas and would love to come to watch me play. I want to go somewhere that would be easy for my family to get to. A good ratio of academics and basketball. My goal is to make the NBA, so I want to look heavily at the school that can best help me get there.

Stojaković already has good pedigree from his father, Peja, who spent 13 years in the NBA from 1998-2011. He earned three All-Star selections with the Sacramento Kings and won an NBA title with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.

The elite outside shooter has clearly passed along some of his abilities to his son, who has a chance to be one of the top players in his class.

Stojaković is heading into his senior year at Jesuit High School in Sacramento, California.

The University of Memphis men's basketball program has been placed on probation for three years and received a $5,000 fine for Level II and Level III recruiting violations by the NCAA.

The penalty came after allegations that head coach Penny Hardaway paid former player James Wiseman and his family $11,500 to move to Memphis while he was still in high school, per Jeff Goodman of Stadium.

The Independent Resolution Panel also ruled Memphis must vacate all wins involving Wiseman, which amounted to just three games.

Wiseman, who is now on the Golden State Warriors, was the No. 2 overall recruit in the 2019 class, per 247Sports composite rankings. He averaged 19.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocks across three games before the NCAA suspended him 12 games for recruiting violations.

The $11,500 from Hardaway came in 2017 when he was a coach at East High School in Memphis, but the NCAA considered him a booster for the Tigers since he had donated money to his alma mater. He didn't become the Memphis coach until 2018.

Once Wiseman's appeal was denied, he left school and instead prepared for the NBA draft.

"I wanted to have a great collegiate career," Wiseman told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski in 2020. "I wanted to win a national championship. But throughout the course of the first two games, everything started to go down in terms of my mental [well-being]. I was getting depressed. It was dehumanizing for me."

Wiseman became the No. 2 pick of the 2020 NBA draft, but his professional career has been limited by injuries.

BYU basketball legend Jimmer Fredette played a hilarious prank on the BYU men's basketball team this week at walk-on tryouts.

In a video posted by ESPN, Fredette wore a wig, a fake mustache, heavy makeup and extra padding in his abdominal area before taking part in the BYU tryout:

Fredette introduced himself as Tim Schloss from Cincinnati, and told players and coaches that he went by the nickname "Slick Nick."

While the players were not aware of Fredette's identity until he shed his disguise after the tryout, his dominant performance may have clued them in to the idea that Slick Nick wasn't who he said he was.

Fredette knocked down shot after shot during the tryout, making it reminiscent of his run with the Cougars from 2007 to 2011.

During his time at BYU, Fredette was one of the best scorers in the nation, particularly in 2010-11 when he averaged 28.9 points, 4.3 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 3.4 three-pointers made and 1.3 steals per game.

The Cougars went 32-5 and reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament that year, and Fredette was named the national college player of the year.

Fredette was selected 10th overall in the 2011 NBA draft, and went on to spend six years in the league with the Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns.

He currently plays for the Chinese Basketball Association's Shanghai Sharks and was named CBA International MVP in 2017.

Overtime Elite announced its schedule for the 2022-23 season, which will feature several high-profile matchups against top prep stars.

The team's preseason tournament in Atlanta will feature California Basketball Club, a team highlighted by Bronny and Bryce James, and the Cam Boozer-starring Explorers. Boozer is the No. 1 prospect in the 2025 high school class and is joined by his brother, Cayden, another highly regarded 2025 prospect.

Bronny James is the eldest son of LeBron James and a 4-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class. Cam Boozer is arguably the best player in high school basketball and is considered a potential first-round draft pick.

Overtime Elite has become one of the top prep pipelines in all of sports, boasting a roster of young talent that includes Amen and Ausar Thompson, Naasir Cunningham, Jayden Williams and Bryson Tiller. Amen and Ausar Thompson are expected to be lottery picks in the 2023 NBA draft, while Cunningham, Williams and Tiller are on the shortlist of top recruits in the nation.

Overtime Elite, which was initially launched for players looking for an alternative to the college basketball one-and-done system, has adjusted its strategy in the wake of NIL deals. Players can now decline a salary and play for one of Overtime Elite's six teams while only taking money for their likeness, which preserves their college eligibility.

The 2022-23 Overtime Elite season will include 90 games beginning next month.