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Kyle McAlarney, 37, and Kieran Piller, 39, Priority Sports agents McAlarney joined Priority in 2020, and was NBPA certified three years ago, but already works with two of the agency’s recent lottery picks, Zach Edey and Keegan Murray. He’s also hands-on with clients, and gets on the court with them while overseeing Priority’s player development program, a role befitting a former All-Big East guard at Notre Dame. Piller has been with Priority for a decade, with clients that include Herb Jones and Bobby Portis, and also holds considerable responsibilities internally at the company founded by super-agent Mark Bartelstein. The two have a long history together — they were college teammates with the Fighting Irish.
Jaden grew up inside the practice gym at Notre Dame, the place that became a second home as the Fighting Irish reached six NCAA championship games in a nine-year span. There, he was surrounded by basketball royalty. Skylar Diggins-Smith. Jewell Loyd. Kayla McBride. Arike Ogunbowale. Hall of Fame coach Muffet McGraw. And of course, his mom. Jaden only thought about going to women's practices with his mom to play basketball as soon as he got out of school. His desire to immerse himself in that community was his idea of the perfect after-school program. He’d watch practices and afterward have an opportunity to shoot, sometimes on the team’s actual court in Purcell Pavilion. He’d spend eight to nine hours inside that gym, sometimes until 1 a.m.
Throughout his high-school career, LeBron James was no stranger to sneaker brands clamoring to sponsor his Saint Vincent-Saint Mary's basketball team in Akron, Ohio, outfitting the Fighting Irish with uniforms and sneakers well before he had officially turned pro. Before his son LeBron James Jr. even enters high school later this fall, the 14-year-old is commanding similar attention. Sneaker consignment store Flight Club has signed on to sponsor James Jr.'s North Coast Blue Chips AAU program throughout its 2019 summer season. As part of the industry-first structure, Flight Club will design the team's home and away Nike jerseys, as well as provide sneakers, hoodies, basketball towels and duffel bags for each of the players.
Notre Dame senior standout Bonzie Colson — an NBA draft prospect — suffered a fractured left foot in the Fighting Irish’s second-round loss to Penn State in the NIT on Saturday, sources told Yahoo Sports. Colson, 22, fractured the same foot during the season and missed 15 games before returning in late February. Colson is expected to be healthy for team workouts during the predraft process, sources said. He is a projected second-round draft pick who could intrigue teams with his activity, productivity and versatility on the floor.
The Celtics' Summer League team was scheduled to begin practicing Thursday in Orlando. It begins Summer League play there July 7, when the Celtics will face the Magic at 11 a.m. The Celtics' Summer League team will be coached by Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga. League sources confirmed to the Globe that the Celtics' Summer League roster has been finalized, and, according to those sources, here are the 13 names on it: F Tim Abromaitis: A 6-foot-8, 236-pound former Notre Dame forward who played three seasons for the Fighting Irish, lastly in 2011-12, when he averaged 14 points and 7 rebounds in just two games before tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
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Joyce first coached James at age 10. The quintet of James, Dru Joyce III, Romeo Travis, Willie McGee and Sian Cotton led the Fighting Irish to a state runner-up finish as juniors and a state title as seniors. ''As a player, he wants to win an NBA championship and Cleveland has not been able to do it the past three years [after making the NBA Finals in 2007],'' the older Joyce said. ''I understand some fans' anger, but the truth is he made the best decision for him, his family and his legacy. I just pray it works out. I know all the guys will work very hard to make it happen. I am at peace with it. I feel he did the right thing for him.''
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