Sam Federman

Lower Saxony, Minneriya, Syracuse, White Plains

MAAC and NY Hoops Writer at Mid-Major Madness

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Articles

Syracuse Orange men’s basketball: Scouting Georgia Tech transfer Naithan George

1 week ago | nunesmagician.com | Sam Federman

Brett Davis-Imagn Images Syracuse Orange men’s basketball’s third transfer acquisition of the 2025-26 cycle was Georgia Tech point guard Naithan George. After last season’s failed experiment of Jaquan Carlos – a proven stud point guard at the mid-major level – as the Orange’s primary ball handler and distributor, George is the response to that.
Syracuse Orange men’s basketball: Orange land 2025 center Tiefing Diawara

1 week ago | nunesmagician.com | Sam Federman

Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Syracuse Orange men’s basketball finally has its big man insurance policy for 2025-26. 6 foot 11, 240-pound 2025 prospect Tiefing Diawara has committed to the Orange after playing last season for DME Academy’s postgrad team at St. John’s Northwestern in Wisconsin, per multiple reports. The 19 year old hails from Mali, and moved to the United States last year after playing for Orange1 Bassano in Italy for a few years.
NBA Draft: Cedric Coward started his college career at DIII, now he’s a likely 1st round pick

2 weeks ago | midmajormadness.com | Sam Federman

James Snook-Imagn Images The night before his second game as Eastern Washington’s head coach, David Riley had some free time, so he flipped on ESPN+ to watch his old boss, Shantay Legans, in his second game as Portland’s lead man. It was a mostly non-competitive game. Portland dropped 122 points, including 65 in the second half, to cruise to a win over Division III Willamette.
Saint Joseph’s just lost the Holy War forever because of the new Pope

4 weeks ago | midmajormadness.com | Sam Federman

I’m Jewish, from New York, and did not even attend a religious school past elementary. I should have no input on any of this. But even I was struck by how down bad Saint Joseph’s University must be right now. For some background and a little history lesson:There are hundreds of Judeo-Christian schools in America, all from different denominations. Some schools are evangelical, some schools are Lutheran, some schools are Baptist, some non-denominational. Most of those schools are in the south.
Syracuse Orange women’s basketball lands Texas transfer Laila Phelia

4 weeks ago | nunesmagician.com | Sam Federman

Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images It’s never a good sign when the press release announcing transfers has to tell the fanbase explicitly to be excited about the players. A few weeks ago, that’s where Syracuse Orange women’s basketball was, having signed a few players that — while highly recruited — had not produced at a high level in college basketball.
These are the 3 best mid-major coaching hires in the 2025 cycle

1 month ago | midmajormadness.com | Sam Federman

Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images Forty-one mid-major Division I programs across 21 of the 26 mid-major leagues have a new head coach representing their school who are tasked with working on building up a roster for the 2025-26 season. This year’s hiring cycle featured a ton of different wrinkles. The new wave of hiring coaches off of NBA staffs has gotten lots of talk, and even two mid-major programs hired coaches with primarily NBA backgrounds.
Syracuse Orange men’s basketball: Scouting Oregon State transfer Nate Kingz

1 month ago | nunesmagician.com | Sam Federman

Kevin Neri/Statesman Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Syracuse Orange men’s basketball’s second transfer addition of the 2025-26 cycle was Oregon State wing Nate Kingz. Kingz is a sharpshooting, 6 foot 5 wing who played his first few years of college at levels below Division I. In 2024-25, he started all 31 games for the Beavers, averaging 11.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and shooting 44.6% from three on 4.2 attempts per game.
Syracuse Orange men’s basketball: Scouting UCLA transfer William Kyle III

1 month ago | nunesmagician.com | Sam Federman

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Syracuse Orange men’s basketball’s first transfer acquisition of the 2025-26 cycle was UCLA big man William Kyle. Kyle is a versatile threat at the five who can guard multiple positions and a major finisher at the rim. In his only season at UCLA after transferring from South Dakota State, he averaged just 2.9 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.
Syracuse women’s basketball: Orange lands USC transfer Dominique Darius and Miami transfer Aurora Almon

1 month ago | nunesmagician.com | Sam Federman

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images With the transfer portal open for nearly three full weeks, the Syracuse Orange women’s basketball program had not made any movement in either direction. There hadn’t even been rumors thrown out there about what Felisha Legette-Jack was up to after her team finished year three 12-18. Then, on Sunday, the dam finally opened, and the Orange added its first commit of the 2025 transfer portal cycle.
Gator Boys Stayed Hot

2 months ago | bracketsbubblesandbidstealers.com | Sam Federman

By Sam FedermanThe great irony of Florida's national championship was that none of it would've happened had its former head coach jumped ship for a soft landing at the Gators' longtime rival. Mike White was tapped as the successor to Billy Donovan in 2015-16, and led Florida to four NCAA Tournaments and five 20-win seasons. Sure, he wasn't quite Billy, but he was still probably a year away from truly being on the hot seat. Then, he left, and the domino effect led to Monday night.