CJ Moore

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Stewart Mandel |CJ Moore

Texas Tech forward JT Toppin, a second-team All-American and the Big 12 Player of the Year, will return to the Red Raiders next season, he announced Wednesday. And Toppin will be back in Lubbock for a big payday: He's expected to receive more than $3 million in name, image and likeness earnings, a source briefed on his return said. His decision bolsters a Texas Tech squad that reached the Elite Eight and came agonizingly close to defeating eventual national champion Florida in the NCAA Tournament.

2 weeks ago | myheraldreview.com | A’Mare Bynum |Dorian Jones |CJ Moore

Of course, the ongoing movement in the portal (which closes to new entries on April 22, though players already in by that date can wait longer to decide on their next school) adds another degree of difficulty to this exercise. You’ll also notice some spots that I’m just assuming will be filled by a quality portal addition, based on need and the history of that program. With all that in mind, it’s not easy to find 25 rankable teams right now, but let’s get weird and go for it.

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | CJ Moore

SAN ANTONIO - In late October, Kelvin Sampson sat down on his couch in his office and the phone rang. It was an old buddy who used to sell insurance and served as Sampson's volunteer assistant at Montana Tech. Sampson had a guest, so he didn't answer, but the memories started flowing from his first head coaching job, in the Frontier Conference in the early 1980s. For away games, his volunteer assistant didn't travel when they'd take the van because there wasn't enough room.

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | CJ Moore

The budget needed to field a competitive college basketball roster seems to be the only thing in the world trending up right now, and the beautiful consequence is that most of the best players with eligibility remaining are returning to school. It is in that uncertain world, in the wake of Florida's national championship win at Houston's expense, that we bring you this too-early look at next season's best teams.

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | CJ Moore

SAN ANTONIO - Lauren Sampson watched the last four minutes of one of the greatest comebacks in Final Four history in a seated fetal position, with her head down and her eyes on her phone, swiping through dogs on petfinder.com. The daughter of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson told her mom she was going to need something soothing to return home to. She put in applications for nine pups. The Sampsons are used to heartbreak in this tournament, and Lauren figured more was coming.