Sports
UNC not in men’s Final Four but still looms large
It’s been over a week since North Carolina fired basketball coach Hubert Davis. Since then, there have been few updates on the Tar Heels’ coaching search.
The silence is deafening, so deafening that despite a dynamic men’s Final Four in Indianapolis this weekend — UConn vs. Illinois, Arizona vs. Michigan — UNC will be a primary topic of discussion, from power broker-filled downtown bars to news conferences in Lucas Oil Stadium, with up to three potential targets involved among the four head coaches.
“People are going to speculate all they want,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said Tuesday. “This team has my full focus. Nothing, nothing, I promise you — nothing — is knocking me off that path.”
There is no doubt Lloyd is all about leading the Wildcats to a national title. What he said also wasn’t a denial of interest in the job.
And it is just the start, not just for Lloyd, but Michigan’s Dusty May and even, perhaps, Connecticut’s Dan Hurley. (Illinois’ Brad Underwood is not believed to be on the radar).
The belief is UNC is willing to go “outside the family” — i.e., a non-alumni or former assistant — for the first time since 1952, when it hired St. John’s coach Frank McGuire.
If it wanted anyone else outside the Final Four teams, then this would likely be over. Yet, sources across the sport say Carolina has done little to no outreach to perceived second-tier candidates, suggesting that barring a surprise, they are waiting to talk to their top choice(s).
Meanwhile, there is the transfer portal, which is how rosters are increasingly built. It opens Tuesday. If someone isn’t in place by then — much of the work is actually already being done — then the prospects for next season are already troubling. So what else would explain the delay?
Someone among Lloyd, May and/or Hurley must be the target.
Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan’s name has been floated, but even if he wanted to leave the NBA, there is little chance he would do so before the end of the season on April 12. That makes his timing, portal-wise at least, even worse.
No fan wants to hear their coach linked to an opening. However, in an era where rosters are increasingly year-to-year deals, the impact of such talk is less likely to rattle a locker room.
Maybe the better question is whether any of them would actually go, rather than using the one-sided interest to garner a raise?
UNC remains a special place, and again can be a great program, but this isn’t 10 years ago, let alone 25.
The parts that made it elite — tradition, the ACC, the Duke rivalry, television exposure, fan attention, shoe company alignment, etc. — matter less. Money for players, style of play and personality of the coach matter more.
That certainly doesn’t make every job even — it’s still Carolina — but the gap likely isn’t as wide.
In the extreme, consider Hurley, who can win his third title in four years, which would be more than the two that Smith won across 36 seasons in Chapel Hill. It also would be UConn’s seventh national championship since 1999, or one more than UNC has ever won.
How isn’t UConn the best program in the country, especially for Hurley, whose general demeanor could be described as outraged New York City taxi driver?
That works in the Northeast. Maybe not elsewhere.
As for Lloyd and May, why leave places that have already proved capable of providing the resources and support to construct powerhouse teams? These aren’t upstart clubs on unexpected, underdog Final Four runs. They’ve been dominant all season.
What resources can UNC provide that they don’t currently enjoy? How much better can they get? And on the flip side, what hidden hurdles await in Chapel Hill, political or otherwise?
There is the matter of money. Lloyd (about $5.2 million annually) and May ($5.1 million) have room to climb before hitting the level of Hurley ($7.7 million) or industry leader Bill Self of Kansas ($8.8 million).
However, Arizona AD Desiree Reed-Francois and Michigan AD Warde Manuel have been public about their willingness to rework contracts.
Manuel, whose department is in the middle of an independent review of its practices following a series of mostly football scandals, would seem particularly averse to seeing a bright, popular young coach leave on his watch.
Looming over everything is the opening of the portal just minutes after the conclusion of Monday’s national title game. Not only does Carolina need a coach ASAP but if one of the coaches mentioned were to leave, their old spot would have to scramble. The calendar is chaotic.
So here come the whispers and speculation and news conference questions — a Carolina blue backdrop to the Final Four.
Jannik Sinner won the Italian Open on Sunday. Photo: AFP
ROME:
Jannik Sinner has his eyes on a first Roland Garros title after winning the Italian Open on Sunday to claim a record-extending sixth consecutive Masters 1000 tournament victory.
World number one Sinner beat Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 to complete the ‘Golden Masters’ by winning all of the ATP’s top-ranked events, in the process becoming the first Italian men’s champion in Rome since Adriano Panatta 50 years ago.
Only Novak Djokovic had previously won all nine Masters 1000 events before Sunday, but there was little doubt about Sinner triumphing over the last 10 days.
Sinner heads into Roland Garros, which starts next weekend, on a 29-match winning streak and will be intent on banishing the ghosts of last year’s final when he wasted three championship points before losing to Carlos Alcaraz.
And his run of match wins is even longer in Masters 1000 tournaments — now at 34 — another record he has established in a season in which he has dominated the men’s tour.
Sinner can complete his collection of Grand Slams and, with his great rival Alcaraz out of action, few would bet against him securing a first title on Paris clay.
“I need to keep myself in form because there’s my most important tournament of the year coming up,” Sinner told reporters.
“I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself because the pressure comes anyway. The most important thing to do right now is take a break and do the right things.
“I don’t even want to think too much about tennis right now.”
Ruud has won more matches and tournaments on clay than anyone else on the men’s tour since the start of 2020 — his last title on the surface coming at the Madrid Masters last year — but he couldn’t beat Sinner for the first time.
‘Better and better’
Norwegian Ruud had never won a set against Sinner in any of their previous four meetings, but immediately improved on the fearful hammering he received here from the Italian last year by winning the first two games.
But Sinner broke straight back and took the lead in the match after an opening set in which the world number 25 held his own against a player he’d previously said “cannot lose”.
Sinner then broke Ruud again at the start of the second set and from there it was just a matter of time before he won the championship, even though Ruud performed with credit in front of a packed centre court crowd.
“I know that in football it’s a different story,” joked Ruud, whose country will play in a World Cup for the first time since 1998.
Norway reached this summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico at the expense of Italy, who in March failed for a third consecutive time to qualify for the global showpiece.
“I never played the big three in their prime… But I’m sure Roger, Novak, Rafa, 25, 26 years old was also the same feeling for the other players,” said Ruud of Sinner to reporters afterwards.
“I don’t see him getting any worse, unfortunately. You just have to think that you have to be better and better because he’s also going to get better and better.”
It was a golden Sunday for Italian tennis as Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori also won the men’s doubles title, beating second seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 7-6 (10/8), 6-7 (3/7), 10-3.
LONDON: World Cups are where rising stars of football quickly transform into global icons.
AFP Sport looks at five of the contenders to become the game’s next superstar at this year’s finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada:
Nico Paz (Argentina)
The son of former Argentine international Pablo Paz has opted to play for the world champions despite being born and raised in Spain.
A rising star in the Real Madrid academy, Paz has flourished in two years working under Cesc Fabregas since a move to Como in Italy.
Madrid are reportedly set to exercise their buyback option on the 21-year-old.
His technical ability and eye for goal from range has alerted Europe’s other top clubs.
Paz could have the daunting task of filling in for Lionel Messi with Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni expected to manage the 38-year-old’s minutes during the champions’ title defence.
Desire Doue (France)
Doue has already lit up the biggest stage in club football, winning the man-of-the-match award and scoring twice in Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League final thrashing of Inter Milan last year.
But this will be the 20-year-old’s first taste of a major international tournament.
Doue has a battle just to ensure he starts for Les Bleus among a dazzling display of attacking talent that includes Kylian Mbappe, Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele and Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise.
But Doue gave Didier Deschamps a timely reminder of his quality with his first two international goals in a 3-1 friendly win over Colombia in France’s last outing in March.
Nico O’Reilly (England)
O’Reilly, 21, has already earned the trust of Pep Guardiola to become a regular for Manchester City.
Scorer of two goals from left-back in City’s League Cup final win over Arsenal in March, O’Reilly began his career as a goalscoring midfielder.
Guardiola has harnessed his blend of height, speed and skill as an attacking weapon from deep and may have solved a problem position for England coach Thomas Tuchel in the process.
England reached the final of Euro 2024 without a natural left-back for the majority of the tournament due to Luke Shaw’s lack of fitness.
“What a player,” said Guardiola. “He has made an incredible step up and he has had a lot of minutes, but he deserves it.”
Endrick (Brazil)
A teenage prodigy who made his Palmeiras debut at 16 and was snapped up by Real Madrid before his18th birthday, Endrick’s hopes of shining at the World Cup have been rekindled by a successful loan move at French club Lyon.
Endrick burst onto the international scene by scoring the winner against England at Wembley two years ago and becoming Brazil’s youngest goalscorer since Ronaldo in the process.
Relegated behind international team-mate Vinicius Junior and Mbappe after his big move to Madrid two years ago, the 19-year-old has found his scoring touch since his switch to France in January.
Often compared to another Brazilian great Romario for his squat but powerful physique, Endrick will be hoping to recreate the former’s success in scoring five goals as Brazil won the World Cup on US soil in 1994.
Pedri (Spain)
Spain’s latest passing metronome, Pedri has proven to be a fitting heir to Xavi Hernandez for both club and country.
After first rising to prominence as an 18-year-old at Euro 2020, Pedri was key to Spain’s run to conquering Europe two years ago in Germany, but injury prevented him from featuring in the semi-finals and final.
For Barcelona he has put his fitness troubles behind him under Hansi Flick, playing a starring role in back-to-back La Liga title triumphs over the past two seasons.
Pakistan’s young squash players are all set to showcase their talent at the 33rd Asian Junior Individual Squash Championships 2026, scheduled to be held from May 20 to 24 in Panzhihua, China.
According to Pakistan Squash Federation, the national contingent, led by Director Academies Group Captain (R) Irfan Asghar and Head Coach Fahim Gul, will compete against top emerging players from across Asia in the prestigious junior event.
Pakistan’s squad comprises five boys and two girls competing in different age categories.
In the boys’ events, Abdullah Nawaz will participate in the Under-19 category, Nouman Khan in Under-17, Ahmed Rayyan Khalil and Sohail Adnan in Under-15, while Mustafa Khan will feature in the Under-13 category.
In the girls’ competitions, Sehrish Ali and Mahnoor Ali will represent Pakistan in the Under-15 category.
The championship is regarded as one of Asia’s premier junior squash events and provides a major platform for young players to gain international exposure and improve continental rankings.
Pakistan squash officials expressed confidence that the young players would deliver strong performances and continue the country’s rich legacy in the sport.
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