Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has been talking about retirement since before the end of the season, but the team has yet to receive a final decision on whether he plans to return, sources close to the situation told The Inquirer.
”He keeps talking retirement, but he did the same last year,” an Eagles source said last week.
The 67-year-old defensive coordinator hasn’t responded to questions about his future since the end of the season. Neither has the team. Sources said that the Eagles received a commitment from Fangio that he would return but that he left open the possibility that he could change his mind.
Linebacker Nakobe Dean said he didn’t know whether Fangio would be back for a third season with the Eagles when asked about his coach at locker clean-out day two weeks ago.
“I don’t really know,” Dean said to The Inquirer. “Vic always said — well, I won’t say ‘always said’ — but I remember he said he’ll stop coaching when it don’t get fun — or as fun — as it’s been. So that’s TBD.”
The Eagles considered the possibility of Fangio’s retirement enough that they reached out to former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, according to a report from Philly Voice. Gannon, who was fired after three seasons as Cardinals head coach last month, was hired by the Packers to be their defensive coordinator last week.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio presided over an elite unit in 2025.
Philly Voice reported that the Eagles also considered reaching out to another former defensive coordinator: Jim Schwartz. Schwartz was recently passed over for the Browns head coaching job and is deciding whether he wants to stay in Cleveland.
The Eagles recently lost defensive passing game coordinator Christian Parker to the Cowboys, who hired him to be their defensive coordinator. Parker would have been the likely in-house replacement for Fangio. Defensive line coach Clint Hurtt has previous coordinating experience.
Fangio cemented an illustrious 40-year coaching career by finally winning an NFL title last year. His defense was instrumental in the Eagles’ 40-22 win over the Chiefs. Fangio devised a scheme that confounded and pressured Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LIX.
The Eagles defense wasn’t as dominating as it was last season, but it was clearly the team’s best unit in 2025. Fangio’s group was among the best in the league in the second half of the season, although there were some breakdowns in the wild-card round playoff loss to the 49ers.
Coach Nick Sirianni has already made several staffing moves on the offensive side of the ball. He stripped Kevin Patullo of offensive coordinator duties and hired former Packers quarterbacks coach Sean Mannion as his replacement last week. Former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard was also brought on as passing game coordinator.
More changes to the offensive staff could be forthcoming.
Tyrese Maxey reached out to teammates Jared McCain, Trendon Watford, and Justin Edwards on Saturday afternoon with a simple message.
“Listen,” the 76ers’ All-Star point guard told them, “y’all got to be ready.”
That is required because of Paul George’s 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy, a shocking blow as the Sixers barrel toward Thursday’s trade deadline and the mid-February All-Star break. Their first step in making up for George’s production was a success, topping the New Orleans Pelicans, 124-114, at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Now, their broader goal is to keep pace in a crowded Eastern Conference — entering Sunday, three games separated fourth and eighth place — until George returns in late March for the regular season’s stretch run.
“There’s a number of guys there to do it,” coach Nick Nurse said of filling George’s role. “That’s where we are. We’ve been in this kind of next man up mentality for quite a while, and we’re going to have to dig in and do it again.”
Though George is no longer the explosive three-level scorer he was as a perennial All-Star, Joel Embiid said it is “impossible” for the Sixers to fully replace George’s impact on both ends of the floor.
On Tuesday, the versatile 6-foot-8 wing tied a franchise record by hitting nine three-pointers in a victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, and is still a creator and playmaker with the ball in his hands. He also is arguably the Sixers’ best perimeter defender, and a terrific organizer and communicator. Less than an hour before news of George’s suspension broke, Sixers reserve center Adem Bona raved about George’s overall mentorship, and how he makes Bona’s life easier on the defensive end.
“Obviously, he wants the best for me and he expects me to do my part, play my role on the court,” Bona said Saturday after shootaround. “[In] my last game [Thursday against Sacramento], he was telling me, ‘You have to get here!’ on help side and blocking shots.
“That just shows that he expects a lot from me. That means he really believes I can do the things I do best out there.”
Sixers forward Paul George has mentored young players like Adem Bona.
Before Saturday’s home win, Nurse rattled off the collection of players who could see more minutes in George’s absence. And the coach has become plenty familiar with tinkering with lineups during the last two-plus seasons, primarily for injury reasons.
One teammate Maxey did not feel the need to call Saturday? Kelly Oubre Jr., whom the point guard said is “always” ready because “that’s just who he is.”
Oubre totaled 19 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists against the Pelicans, another sign the explosive two-way wing is returning to form after missing seven weeks with a knee injury. Before that, Oubre was off to arguably the best start of his 11-year career — often while fulfilling a heavier load while George worked his way back from offseason knee surgery.
Before Saturday, Oubre also could have been viewed as the Sixers’ most tradable asset. Now, he is almost certainly too crucial to relinquish in the middle of the season. The Sixers also no longer need to move Oubre in order to get under the luxury tax, because George’s unpaid suspension will give the Sixers a tax variance credit of nearly $5.9 million.
“I show up every day to work, do the same steps to prepare,” Oubre said when asked about how his responsibilities might change. “Whatever comes with the game, I’ll take it. I just try to stay even-keeled through everything, because it’s an up-and-down season. … I just want to be a key contributor to winning.”
Watford, meanwhile, became a ballhandling small forward Saturday, totaling four assists along with six rebounds and five points. McCain (12 points) put together another encouraging performance, hitting four three-pointers and playing well off Embiid. Dominick Barlow, who had stepped into a starting forward spot during Oubre’s absence, was back in the first five Saturday and finished with eight points, three rebounds, and two steals. Rookie VJ Edgecombe (15 points, five assists) delivered some nifty passes Saturday but needs to become even more aggressive on both ends of the floor, Nurse said.
Nurse also expects plenty of opportunity for Quentin Grimes (four points, four rebounds, two assists), who returned Saturday after missing two games with a sprained ankle. Jabari Walker totaled eight minutes against New Orleans, while Edwards was out of the rotation. Nurse pulled all the levers, closing the second quarter with the double-big man lineup with Embiid and Bona, and beginning the final period with a three-guard look.
“It’s going to take a little bit of, I think, just connectivity with the right rotations and lineups,” Nurse said, “and to be honest, some play calls and finding the matchups on the night who can go get us a bucket.”
Perhaps most important is that Embiid continues to look more and more like the 2023 NBA Most Valuable Player, scoring 40 points on Saturday for the first time since the 2024 playoffs. He has reestablished his dynamic two-man game with Maxey, although Nurse staggered the two stars’ minutes during portions of Saturday’s win. Embiid also believed he took a positive step on the defensive end, where lateral movement and elevation to protect the rim have been issues at times in his road back from multiple knee surgeries.
And though health will remain the ultimate caveat with Embiid, he vowed Saturday to “take more ownership into everything we do” in George’s absence.
“I’m always going to put it on myself,” Embiid said. “… and just encourage everybody. Give them the freedom to believe in themselves, so we can win.”
When asked how George’s suspension could impact the Sixers’ approach entering Thursday’s trade deadline, Nurse conceded “that probably remains to be seen.”
They could execute smaller, salary-dump-style moves to get under the luxury taxand create the two roster spots to convert Barlow and Walker from two-way contracts to standard deals. They could go after a legitimate short-term upgrade with a new wing or frontcourt player, who could then provide additional depth when George returns. Even in the midst of a disastrous 2024-25 season, for instance, the Sixers improved by adding Grimes at the deadline.
George can next take the floor for the Sixers’ March 25 home matchup against the Chicago Bulls. Then his team will face another familiar issue — a lack of time to build on-court cohesion before the postseason begins in mid-April.
Yet the Sixers’ road to bridge that gap began Saturday with a victory. They now have 24 games to go.
“We’ve got to get fighting and get to work,” Nurse said. “All those guys I just mentioned have got to embrace this opportunity. … Here’s a chance for them to do it again.”
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Foreigner blasted from the stadium’s speakers.
“You’re as cold as ice,” Lou Gramm sang.
For the 74,575 fans packed into West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium, it’s fair to say that was an accurate description of how they were feeling Saturday. The faithful stayed outside in freezing temperatures — it was 16 degrees Fahrenheit at puck drop, but felt colder — willing to sacrifice their own bodies to watch Penn State host Michigan State in the first outdoor game at the home of the Nittany Lions.
“I think it’s cool. It’s like going back to hockey’s roots,” said Penn State alum Billy Maney. “It’s just a different environment and each stadium I’ve been to, or each event, it’s been unique.”
Sporting a 2010 Winter Classic Flyers jersey, Maney — who said it was way colder in Happy Valley than for that game at Fenway Park — wore three to four layers. His game plan to stay warm was to run the stairs, like how Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis does at the Bell Centre after his team’s morning skate.
Some scenes from the outdoor game at Penn State. Have seen NYR, CHI, WPG, BUF, WSH, NYI, and of course, lots of #Flyers jerseys from Rod Brind'Amour to Shayne Gostisbehere to Keith Yandle. pic.twitter.com/x4JyQVqSP4
He wasn’t the only one strategizing how to stay warm as the sun arced east to west during the three hours it took to complete a 5-4 overtime victory for the Spartans. Michigan State’s Charlie Stramel, a Minnesota Wild prospect, capped off his hat trick in the extra session to win it for the Spartans.
Boxes and boxes of hand warmers welcomed revelers as they entered, with each person bundled up and ready to face the tundra of Beaver Stadium. That is, everyone but the students standing under the press box shirtless for most of the game.
The men, who dwindled from 15 down to five as they turned redder and redder from the cold with each passing goal, would yell “Take it off” to other fans, intermixed with the usual “We are” chants from the rest of the crowd.
“It’s the first time,” explained Brian Keck, a Penn State alum who traveled from York to stand in the cold all bundled up with 15 of his former classmates and their families for a winter weekend, something they’ve done for the last 20 years.
“It’s going to be a great event, and always, Penn State sporting events are the place to be when it comes to sports.”
Despite the ice needing repairs throughout, it was truly a spectacle as No. 5 Penn State hosted No. 2 Michigan State. It had a football vibe as the Blue Band played, and flags with “We Are” and “Penn State” ran up and down the field after every goal for the hometown team. And the team that normally calls the field home, lined the rink and marveled as pucks hit the glass — and some went over the netting — during warmups.
“It’s one of our first experiences with another team here,” said Tony Rojas, a linebacker for the Nittany Lions, in a custom hockey jersey with his No. 13 on the back. “It’s a cool experience and obviously to cheer on the guys at Penn State. We’re all together.”
But it also had an NHL vibe with jerseys for the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins — former Flyers forward Jaromír Jágr was spotted on one — Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, and of course, the Orange and Black dotting the crowd. Flyers orange is an easy color to spot at games in general, and Saturday was no different, as prospect Shane Vansaghi could see the faithful while on the rink.
“So fun,” Vansaghi said of the experience. “Probably one of the best experiences I’ve ever been a part of in terms of my hockey career. It’s got to be up there with probably the most fun game that I’ve ever played.
“And just the way it ended, the way it went, it was fun. … Competitive, tight game back and forth, so it’s just fun to be a part of those games, especially playing in front of [more than] 74,000 people.”
Growing up in St. Louis, Vansaghi didn’t get to experience outdoor hockey often, although there was a bitter cold snap when he was 12 or 13 years old, so he had about two weeks to skate outdoors. Despite his inexperience, he was an old pro at it with eye black and zero extra layers thanks to the heated benches; however, he did confess his toes and his hands were a little cold at the end of the game.
His teammate and fellow Flyers prospect, Porter Martone, “grew up and found the love for the game on an outdoor pond,” as a youth in Ontario, Canada.
“It is pretty special to play an outdoor game,” said Martone, who had three assists on Saturday after collecting the game-winner and two assists in Friday’s 6-3 win at Pegula Ice Arena.
“I remember when I was 2 years old, just skating on that rink and just learned how to fall in love with the game, and that’s where I kind of learned all the skills and kind of all the little things.”
Porter Martone grew up playing on the ponds in Ontario.
While there was a lot of blue and white, there was also Michigan State green. Jayson Lottes and Michael Regan came with five layers to insulate them from the cold. They drove from Bethesda, Md., and Wilkes-Barre, respectively, to cheer on their alma mater. “It’s exciting for the sport. Having so many people here is a great thing,” said Regan.
But the Penn Staters were the loudest and proudest since they had, literally, home-field advantage. With each goal by their team, a roar echoed around the stadium, and white pom-poms pumped to the music.
No reaction was bigger than when Gavin McKenna, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL draft, showed off his high-end talent and tied the game 2-2 in the second period.
“I kind of blacked out on that one,” said McKenna, who grew up skating outside in Whitehorse, Yukon, of his animated reaction. “I think just the emotions in that game, obviously, with the crowd, the atmosphere, how tight of a game it was, it’s pretty easy to get excited like that.”
The game was another major milestone for a school that is becoming a hockey valley. Fourteen years ago, Penn State became a Division I program. Last season, they reached a Frozen Four normally dominated by blue-blood teams from established hockey states like Massachusetts, Minnesota, Michigan, and Colorado.
On Saturday, the University filled a football stadium with not just hockey fans but with Penn State hockey fans.
“I went to every coach on our staff and said, ‘Look behind you,’ because when you looked behind you, it was just absolutely jammed,” Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky said. “And people were into it. I couldn’t believe it was a hockey game; I really couldn’t. It just blew me away. Constantly, numerous times, every period, I would just look around at the atmosphere and just take it in. I don’t know how to explain it.
“It’s very, very humbling that I get to be a part of something like this.”
Head to the corner of 32nd and Berks, Kahleah Copper says. And find the telephone pole with the backboard still nailed to it.
“That’s where I started hooping,” Copper said Thursday. “That’s where it all really began for me.”
That spot is so meaningful that Copper took her Unrivaled teammates on a walking tour there, traipsing through snow-lined sidewalks and frigid temperatures to reach it. The 31-year-old wanted them to see the North Philly she always boasts about, to “share that little piece of me.”
Kah visiting where it all started👑 #Unrivaled #WNBA
It was part of the nostalgia and “waves of gratitude” Copper felt during this particular trip home, culminating in playing Friday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena in professional women’s basketball’s return to Philly. While speaking about the family, friends, and mentors in that sold-out crowd — who knew the kid who once shot on that makeshift hoop — Copper’s emotions quickly (and unexpectedly) bubbled to the surface.
“There’s so many people that just kind of stepped into my life,” said Copper, eyes teary and voice breaking, “and did stuff for me, literally not looking for anything in return. … For them to see me now, like I really made it because of y’all. That’s tough. That’s fire.
“Everybody literally planted little seeds for me to be who I am today. That’s why it’s so special.”
An early opponent on that neighborhood basket? One of her three sisters, whom Kahleah claims “wasn’t even that good, and she did not even, like, like it.” It is how she realized how much she did love basketball — and hated losing.
Then there were the guys who welcomed her into pickup games at Fairmount Park playground courts at 33rd and Diamond, even though she was a girl. As long as she did not cry. As long as she was ready to take hits. And as long as, whenever she lost, she got off the court and found her way back into the next game.
“Nothing being handed to me. Got to go get it. Got to be tougher,” Copper said. “That’s kind of where I got my mindset, and that’s how I approach everything.”
Eric Worley, the cofounder of Philadelphia Youth Basketball, first met Copper as a middle schooler. Sabrina Allen, a friend and then the coach at Girard College, recognized potential in Copper. Worley agreed that Copper “could run real fast, could jump real high” — and “got off the ground twice before the other player got off the ground once.”
“She just came in the game and you knew she was going to bring energy,” Worley told The Inquirer in front of an arena suite Friday night. “Get some offensive rebounds. Get some putbacks. And just kind of bring that North Philly toughness that she always kind of goes back to.
“That’s really true, and that has always been part of her makeup.”
Kahleah Copper introduced in front of the Philly crowd. Got something cooking on her that you’ll be able to read tomorrow 👀
Yet because of work and family obligations for Copper’s mother, Leticia, Kahleah often needed a ride to practices or AAU games. Worley and his family stepped in. Reminiscing about that kindness is what first made Copper’s voice waver in front of reporters on Thursday. The next day, Worley called the gesture “easy” because of the Copper family’s honesty about their situation and appreciation for the support.
“She trusted us with her baby,” Worley said of Copper’s mother. “She was like, ‘Hey, I know y’all are good people. I know you have her best interests at heart. Come get her. What time do I need to have her ready? She’s going to have her bags packed and ready to go.’”
Copper later moved to 23rd and Diamond, into the same Raymond Rosen projects where basketball legend Dawn Staley grew up. Copper started playing at Hank Gathers Recreation Center and walked Broad Street to Temple to join the pickup games with the women’s basketball team.
Eventually, Copper branched out, starring in college at Rutgers before turning pro. She blossomed into a four-time All-Star and won the 2021 WNBA championship and Finals MVP. She played overseas in Belgium, Poland, Turkey, Israel, and Spain. This past fall, she helped the Phoenix Mercury to a surprise Finals run, upsetting the defending champion New York Liberty along the way.
Then Unrivaled, the offseason league in its second season, finally brought Copper home to play professionally.
Veteran star Skylar Diggins sat behind Copper on the bus once they arrived, watching her take in her hometown. Copper kept a camcorder handy to document everything from the familiar surroundings to her teammates crammed in an elevator in their hotel. Awaiting everybody was a massive cheesesteak order from the iconic Dalessandro’s, ready for Copper to dress her sandwich with mayonnaise, salt and pepper, and ketchup (but no onions).
“Everybody I know [eats it that way],” Copper said. “That’s real Philly right there.”
All four Unrivaled teams practiced at the Alan Horwitz “Sixth Man” Center located about 10 minutes from where she grew up. She marveled at the easily accessible “safe space” — complete with study areas, therapy rooms, and meals — it provides area kids today. That is where she first reunited with Worley, the coach calling it “genuine love.” Copper then spent time with some of Worley’s current players, along with kids who have grown up attending Copper’s summer camp, launched nine years ago.
“Now it’s time to really cement your legacy,” Worley said, “by paying it forward for the next generation.”
Kahleah Copper of the Rose scored 19 points and had four rebounds during the Philly Is Unrivaled doubleheader on Friday.
And with her Rose BC teammates in tow, Copper still squeezed in that neighborhood walk she made countless times as a kid. They began at the park and then moved to the pole with the backboard, which Copper said left everybody “in awe.” Then they went to her home, sat on the stoop, and yelled “Norf!”
Throughout the stroll, Copper pointed out her favorite water ice stand and go-to gas station. She shared memories of trying to hurry back home before the streetlights came on. It all illustrated why, in teammate Shakira Austin’s words, Copper is an “embodiment of Philly.”
“You can just see the way she speaks about things,” Austin said Friday. “She’s so excited about this opportunity and about this experience. She’s been rambling a lot, but it’s so fun to hear and just to see her be her true self.
“She’s probably been the most out of her shell since we’ve been here.”
Copper took all 60 tickets provided by Unrivaled for “her people” to attend Friday’s game, with several others sharing that they had bought their own. She could not wait to scan the crowd and “probably see people I haven’t seen since I was maybe in college, or maybe in high school.” After the Rose’s 85-75 loss, in which she totaled 19 points and four rebounds, Copper ventured into Section 123, wrapping those loved ones in hugs and posing for photos.
Many of them know all about 32nd and Berks, and the pole with the backboard. And now, so do her Unrivaled teammates.
“I made them walk in that cold,” Copper said. “But they love so much, so they did it for me. I was just super grateful to be able to show that little piece of me.”
Fans hold up their signs supporting Kahleah Copper of the Rose and Natasha Cloud of the Phantom during the Philly Is Unrivaled doubleheader on Friday.
Paul George’s tenure with the 76ers was finally starting to pay dividends … until it wasn’t.
Finally healthy, the nine-time All-Star was beginning to flourish in his role as the third member of the Sixers’ Big Three.
While the other members of the trio — Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey — provided the bulk of the scoring, George established himself as an elite facilitator and defender. And on occasion, when the Sixers needed additional scoring, the 6-foot-8 forward would take over quarters.
“Obviously, Joel, [and] Tyrese are our two engines,” George said in January. “Those guys are going to, rightfully so, demand attention, demand the ball in moments to score and put up points for us and, you know, I got to fit in, find my own shots, my opportunities and moments to be aggressive. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
He did just that in Tuesday’s victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, scoring a game-high 32 points while making a franchise record-tying nine three-pointers.
All was great for the ascending squad until 11:48 a.m. Saturday.
That’s when the NBA announced that George had been suspended 25 games without pay for violating the terms of the league and National Basketball Players Association anti-drug program. Under the suspension, George won’t be eligible to play until the March 25 game against the Chicago Bulls at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Just like that, George’s tenure is back to being recognized as a disaster.
In an instant, folks stopped identifying him as a dependable third option behind Maxey and Embiid. They are, once again, criticizing the Sixers for signing him to a four-year, $211.5 million contract. Even George’s most vocal supporters realize his suspension is the latest blow in a signing that hasn’t lived up to its potential.
And this is the kind of suspension that makes folks skeptical about George’s perceived return to being an impact player.
Paul George, battling with the Wizards’ Anthony Gill earlier this season, has been suspended 25 games by the NBA for violating league policy.
‘I can be myself’
On Dec. 14, George talked about getting over last season’s injuries after scoring a season-high 35 points while making 7 of 10 three-pointers in a 120-117 road loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
“Last year was a lot going on,” he said. “I was just trying to patch up stuff. This year, I’m a lot healthier. I’m able. I feel like I can play my game. I feel like I can be myself.
“There [are] still some things that [have] to come back. I’m not all the way [100%]. But I’m more myself than I was last year. So that’s the positive that I can take. And everything else is, with time, I’m just going to continue to get better.”
But one could argue that George didn’t have to do much to improve on the 2024-25 season.
Back then, critics regarded him as the worst free-agent acquisition in franchise history. The 35-year-old was going to set the team back for several seasons. He was washed up and untradable. That was the belief.
The six-time All-NBA and four-time All-Defensive selection played in only 41 games last season due to various injuries. His final contest of the season was on March 3. And he was officially ruled out for the remainder of that season on March 17, the day he received injections in the left adductor muscle in his groin and left knee.
“To be honest, it was one of the toughest seasons for me, just with a lot of adversity on the court, off the court,” George said in April of last season. “The injury stuff … was some stuff I didn’t necessarily know I had going on until deep diving and finding out.
“There was other stuff I didn’t know that was causing my limitations, which was frustrating — not being able to do things I normally could do, and finding out the reason why. Those things are being addressed, so that’s the positive.”
But he had been missing time since the preseason of that season.
Paul George had been dealing with pain stemming from a knee injury that required surgery and shots for pain management.
A breaking point
George was sidelined three weeks after hyperextending his left knee during an Oct. 14, 2024, preseason game, resulting in a bone bruise. He suffered the same injury during the Sixers’ Nov. 20, 2024, loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
He’s also been hampered by left groin soreness, right ankle soreness, and a torn tendon in his left little finger. George missed 41 games because of injuries and load management.
And when he played, he had a tough time creating separation while averaging just 16.2 points, the fifth-lowest average of his 16 NBA seasons. The California native is averaging just 16.0 points this season, but that’s partly due to this season’s role.
Yet, last season’s three-point percentage (.358) was the third-worst of his career. For comparison, his three-point percentage is .382 this season.
The low point of last season came in the Sixers’ 100-96 loss to the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center on Feb. 12. With Embiid and Maxey both sidelined, George was expected to carry the Sixers’ scoring load.
Instead, he had two points on 1-for-7 shooting to go with six rebounds, four assists, two steals, three blocks, and three turnovers.
It was revealed the next day that George had been taking pain medication to play. And he missed six games from March 6 to 16, while consulting with doctors about treatment options for his ailing left groin and left knee. That led to his injections in the left adductor muscle in his groin and his knee, and he was ruled out for the remainder of the season.
George was expected to return in time for training camp. However, he had arthroscopic left knee surgery on July 11. As a result, he missed all four exhibition games and the first 12 games of the season.
Now, George won’t return until March 25. As a result, he will have missed 86 out of 153 possible games with the Sixers.
Sixers forward Paul George seen here in action against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday.
That’s not the type of investment the Sixers hoped to get when signing him to a maximum-salary contract. And this suspension is definitely not the attention he and the team hoped to realize.
This is just another setback for a player who has failed to live up to expectations. This one is obviously self-inflicted.
“I think there’s been a lot of circumstances that have been really unfortunate,” coach Nick Nurse said before Saturday’s game. “But I also feel like he’s played pretty well this year, you know, borderline very well, considering he’s played such a critical role for us, kind of slotted in like a really good role player on this particular team. I think he’s done what we needed him to do.
“But I think there’s been a lot of unfortunate things, injuries, obviously, the team’s whole situation last year, a couple of injuries early this year, coming out of some stuff. So it’s been unfortunate, but it’s where we are.”
This situation, however, raises a key question: Was this season’s improved play the result of the hard work George says he put in during the offseason, or a boost from the improper medication he took?
It is a question that may loom over George’s tenure in Philly for a while.
U.S. Soccer Federation sporting director Matt Crocker didn’t invent his slogan of choice, but that’s no reason not to use it.
“If we do what we’ve always done, we will get what we’ve always got,” he said in a seminar at the United Soccer Coaches Convention last month. He said it at another event in December, too, and has no doubt said it many other times in his tenure so far.
The message might even be getting through, helped by Mauricio Pochettino and Emma Hayes’ big-ticket successes lately with the senior national teams. But the people Crocker really needs to reach don’t work for his employer. In fact, they’ve historically worked against it.
America’s youth soccer industrial complex — a phrase whose accuracy is confirmed at every convention — doesn’t like being told what to do by the sport’s governing body, or by anyone else. Many coaches and administrators have long cared more about winning games, making money, and keeping their jobs than about big-picture player development.
Youth soccer tournaments rake in big bucks for organizers and are part of an overall machine that prioritizes winning over development in the American soccer landscape.
For as much as Crocker is judged on the senior national teams’ successes, he is also measured on that big picture. And while he’s happy to let the men, the women, and the youth game do some things differently, he knows how he wants to steer the freighter carrying them all.
His map is the “U.S. Way” program scheduled to roll out this year. It includes some medicine for the youth game to consume, and Crocker is trying to serve it with quite a bit of sugar.
“We understand this is not U.S. Soccer standing here going, ‘You must do this, you must do that,’” he said. “It’s us better understanding your environments. It’s us better collaborating and working with you and giving you the resources — for free — to be able to tap into some of the things that might help you as a coach, that might help you as a club.”
Free sugar certainly tastes good, right?
Matt Crocker on the sidelines at a U.S. women’s team practice in 2024.
Crocker’s case is helped by some medicine that U.S. Soccer has taken over the years. Before MLS teams built out their youth academy pipelines (which the NWSL hasn’t even started yet), the governing body ran a residency program for elite teenage boys in Bradenton, Fla., from 1999 to 2017.
From 2007 to 2020, there was also the U.S. Soccer Development Academy league for elite youth clubs. It had strict and often controversial rules for participation.
Both entities are not missed these days, and that proves an important point. Player development is supposed to be the job of clubs, not national federations.
‘The cherry on top’
Even though Crocker has pushed the governing body to fund full-scale youth national teams at every needed age (under-14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 23, boys and girls), they’re all still meant to be finishing schools. Clubs develop players, then the national teams pick from them.
U.S. legends Landon Donovan (left) and DaMarcus Beasley (right) played in U.S. Soccer’s former academy in Bradenton, Fla.
“Without you guys in this room, we all fail,” Crocker said to a room that housed coaches, administrators, and more across American youth soccer. “We can put all our resources into the national teams, but unless we’re improving the quality of the child or young player coming into the system, it doesn’t matter. We just get the opportunity to sprinkle the cherry on the top, and we get 60 days [a year] if we’re lucky.”
Club teams, he continued, “get all that time with the players. You have the opportunity to really kick on player development.”
Some of his remarks went into the weeds, but it’s necessary to understand how player development in soccer works around the world, and how different it is from basketball, football, and baseball.
“When we talk about our international players or the international players that exist in this country, even at that level, 85% of player development happens in club [soccer] — and it starts when they’re 4 ,” Crocker said. “It’s not like as if, as soon as they go to the so-called pro club, whether that be MLS or NWSL, then all of a sudden, when they become a professional player, that’s when they develop. Development happens from the first touch point, the very first touch point at the grassroots.”
Matt Crocker on stage at this year’s Coaches’ Convention at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
The crowd in attendance for Crocker’s remarks wasn’t very big, and he noticed from the stage.
“Either the presentation went really well last year, and everybody got all the content that they needed, so [they] didn’t decide to come back, or the presentation wasn’t good enough,” he said of his well-attended speech at last year’s convention.
When Crocker talked about how “there’s a lot of infighting, a lot of players going from one club to another, a lot of teams not playing each other and going further afield” — all of which are true — there was no applause, laughter, or groaning.
“That team can’t play that team, and they go all the way past them and jump on a plane and spend hundreds of dollars to go and play [another] team, because that league fell out with that league,” he said at another point. “Just crazy. This is about children. This is about the best opportunities for children.”
About 10 minutes in, Crocker got ready to slip in the medicine. But first, he offered a little more sugar.
Meanwhile, the crowd for Matt Crocker isn’t great.
But those who are here have just heard him give a lot of praise to the culture of the Union’s academy, which he visited yesterday:
“I think I opened last year with the same thing, which is player development happens in your clubs and your environment,” he said. “And our job in U.S. Soccer is to recognize that, celebrate it, and support you in doing the best jobs you can in really really challenging difficult situations.”
Then he went for it.
“Basically, our job is to define as the federation, as hopefully the leaders in soccer, to be able to give you guys clear guidance over: we believe youth development needs to look like this in the future,” he said. “And these are the things that we believe you could do to support a better quality of child, of player, achieving a better experience within the game in the future. So, us as a governing body finally putting the stake in the ground and going, ‘This is what we believe in.’”
He offered a little more sugar just to make sure it went down.
“Our job is not to tell you,” he said. “Our job is to show you these things can work and hopefully positively influence you to want to come and be part of the things that we’re talking about.”
A few minutes later, he went back to the medicine — this time, with something he knew is close to sacrilege in some parts of youth soccer.
Matt Crocker (left) in a conversation with U.S. men’s national team manager Mauricio Pochettino.
“Our job as U.S. Soccer is to educate clubs, coaches, parents on when you are looking for your team next year, don’t automatically bring up the league table of winners and go, ‘I want my son to go there or daughter to go there because they must be the best club,’” he said. “That might not be the right environment for them. We need to start to make sure that we promote and value clubs that do great player development.”
The day before Crocker spoke, he visited the Union’s facilities in Chester. It wasn’t his first time there, but it was his best chance yet to actually see the whole place, from the youth academy on up. He raved about it, just as Pochettino did when he came to town and counted the Union alumni on his squad.
“You see the culture that exists in that building,” Crocker said. “You see the kids smiling, and they’re in education — this is not even when they’re on the field to play. The education and the soccer go hand in glove, and it’s really just a great environment to see.”
WSFS Bank Sportsplex in Chester is the site of the Union’s entire operation from its youth academy to senior team.
Crocker tied all of this together with slides showing how many players in the world’s top 250 and 1,000, based on club success, come from various countries. He hired sports consulting firm Twenty First Group to crunch the numbers for him, and the result was clear.
In women’s soccer, it’s seven or more in the top 250. From 2016-25, the U.S. averaged 80 players at that level, by far the most; and only England had a higher major-tournament winning percentage. In the top 1,000 players, the U.S. had 180, almost 20% of the total.
Those teams, the data said, usually win at least 50% of their games in major tournaments, a benchmark “associated with consistently reaching the quarterfinals or later.”
But reduce to the top 50 players, and the U.S.’ portion has gone down lately.
“There’s this chasing pack now who are doing more youth development than they’ve ever done before,” Crocker said. “So the challenge in the women’s game is how do we maintain our top 180, but how do we get more players in that top 50?”
The U.S. women’s soccer team has long had a much bigger player pipeline than the rest of the world, but that’s starting to change.
In men’s soccer, the success benchmark hits when a nation has four players in the top 250, or 15 in the top 1000. In the same 2016-25 time period, the U.S.’ average was zero in the top 250 and 5.8 in the top 1,000.
“Any team can win at any moment,” Crocker said. “But what we’re talking about is consistent, sustained success over many, many years … Clearly this picture doesn’t put us in that situation.”
His goal is to get to 15 in the top 1,000, the men’s benchmark for a 50% win rate. And he returned to the top 250 to push home the final message.
It’s no surprise that the top five teams over the 10 years surveyed are Spain, France, Brazil, England, and Germany. But England was far off the pace at the start of the period: 15 players in the top 250 compared to Spain’s 49. Since then, they’ve steadily risen from 18 in 2018 to a table-topping 30. Spain is now second with 26.
The Twenty First Group researchers don’t think it’s a coincidence that England has reached two European Championship finals and a World Cup semifinal in that time.
Christian Pulisic is one of the few American men’s soccer players who is considered truly world-class.
And was it a coincidence that Crocker was the technical director of England’s Football Association from 2013-20, launching the “England DNA” program for the nation’s youth national teams along the way?
As he told The Inquirer in December, scaling that program up to a country the size of the United States — in both population and geography — is a gigantic task. But he knows where he wants to get to, and his U.S. Soccer colleagues used the rest of the convention to start to lay out the specifics.
“Currently, we have a landscape where it’s totally, I think, not ungoverned, but there’s not consistent standards across the whole country or best practices,” Crocker said. “We want to come to you, we want to be clear and concise about: if you want to be a club and you want to operate in this landscape, this is what best practice looks like. And we want to work with you to get to those best practice outcomes, and we are not going to to accept lower standards.”
The sugar tasted good. So will the right people take the rest of the medicine?
Matt Crocker (right) worked at England’s Football Association, and at the club level with Southampton.
“This is not going to be an inspector coming in with a clipboard telling you all the things you’re doing wrong,” Crocker said. “This is U.S. Soccer going [for] health checks coming into your environments: where are you, what do you need, this is what good looks like, this is where you are. How do we work together to solve these things?”
By the end of the seminar, the crowd hadn’t revolted yet. It remained small, but greeted the end of Crocker’s prepared remarks with applause.
“You’ll walk away from here today, and you’ll either say that was great, or that was whatever,” he said.
Xfinity Mobile Arena jumped back in time on Saturday as the 76ers honored their iconic 2001 NBA Finals team with a reunion night as part of the franchise’s 25th anniversary celebration.
The vintage 76ers logo, with its retro comet tail, adorned the basketball court. Hip-Hop, the team’s mascot during that era, returned to interact with the crowd, and players and fans alike wore their throwback black jerseys to pay homage.
From special appearances and halftime tributes, here’s what the fans had to say about reunion night:
There’s only one thing — or person — that comes to mind to most fans when they think of the throwback Sixers jerseys.
“I just think of Allen Iverson,” said 23-year-old Robert Phillips. “That’s it.”
Iverson, who was drafted by the 76ers with the first overall pick in 1996, became an immediate fan favorite — representing the grit and toughness of Philadelphia. His stardom has reached generations, including Phillips, who said he grew up watching highlights on YouTube.
“I wasn’t born yet,” Phillips said. “My grandmother was alive and she watched AI’s run and then once we were old enough we went on YouTube and watched AI highlights. When he did that crazy layup in the All-Star Game, I still watch it and I’m like, ‘How are you this acrobatic?’”
The 11-time NBA All-Star had early success, earning Rookie of the Year honors. Iverson eventually led the team to the NBA Finals in 2001 — winning NBA MVP in the process — before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers, led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.
However, that run is still something Philly fans like to reminisce about. Ishmael Amir, 36, remembers how “electric” it was to be a Sixers fan at the time.
“That team was so Philly, because again, it was a team full of underdogs, and I think that represents the city,“ Amir said. ”Like nobody expected the Sixers to do it. Most people outside of the city can’t name anybody on that team besides AI and maybe [Dikembe] Mutombo. And that’s who we are as a city. … You can count us out. We love when you count us out. And that season it was a great time for us.”
Iverson gave Philly fans many iconic moments, including the step over Tyronn Lue, which became a picture-perfect memory for most fans. However, there are a few unsung heroes from the 2001 team. And former Sixers president Pat Croce commended one of them before Saturday’s game.
“You know Allen Iverson, you know our Bubba Chuck,” Croce said, referring to Iverson’s nickname. “Bubba Chuck wouldn’t be Bubba Chuck without Snowman [Eric Snow]. He watched his back every game. He talked in his ear every game in that locker room. Allen could play the way he did because he had [Snow] watching his back. Eric Snow was an integral part of the championship season.”
Honoring the 2001 team
Snow and Iverson were in attendance for Saturday’s game alongside several other members of the 2001 team, including Rodney Buford, Theo Ratliff, Todd MacCulloch, Jumaine Jones, George Lynch, Croce, and Billy King.
To start the night, Croce was the special guest to ring the bell ahead of the game.
Saturday night, however, belonged to the 76ers’ 2001 Eastern Conference championship team.
Joel Embiid continued to put teams on notice that he’s back to playing at an All-NBA level. And Kelly Oubre Jr. is doing his best to fill the void left by George‘s 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy.
Those things stood out on an evening where the Sixers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans, 124-114.
The Sixers improved to 27-21 while extending their home winning streak to three games. Embiid finished with 40 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks, while Oubre added 19 points on the first night of Paul George’s suspension.
Not to be outdone, Tyrese Maxey (18 points, eight assists), VJ Edgecombe (15 points, five assists), and Jared McCain (12 points) were the other double-digit scorers against the Pelicans (13-38).
Former Villanova standout Saddiq Bey led New Orleans with 34 points, while Zion Williamson was held to 11.
But the 2000-01 Sixers were the highlight of the evening.
Not only did that squad reach the NBA Finals, but they were also the last Sixers team to advance past the second round of the playoffs.
That gritty team was led by Hall of Famer Allen Iverson and a bunch of defensive-minded blue-collar players. It was a squad that still carries a lot of weight in Philly and across the NBA. And that’s impressive, considering the Los Angeles Lakers ousted them in five games in the NBA Finals.
“I can say I’m not surprised, because we had an iconic run, but we had an iconic player, too [in Iverson],” said Eric Snow, who was that team’s point guard. “And it was different. It was unique, the city and the players. It was such a connection that I can [feel] to this day everywhere I’ve been, and I traveled to other countries, and I’ve been to every state, except two, and I’m always asked about this team.”
That season, Iverson was the league MVP, Aaron McKie was the Sixth Man of the Year, Dikembe Mutombo garnered Defensive Player of the Year, and Larry Brown was the Coach of the Year.
Members of the team were on hand and honored during a halftime celebration. Former Sixers team president Pat Croce and former Sixers mascot Hip Hop were the bell ringers.
The thing that made that Sixers squad special was Brown, a true player’s coach, and the team general manager Billy King assembled around Iverson.
“When you had a talent like Allen, you had to build a team to fit him,” King said. “So I remember talking to Larry quite a bit. Larry had a vision to get him off the ball, get him to two guard, but we needed a bigger guard that could play point guard and defend some of the guards that Allen couldn’t guard.
“And I remember Larry and I talking, and we were saying we were watching Eric, we were in Seattle, and he was the fourth point guard there. And we were like, we think we can beat that.”
Former Sixers guard Allen Iverson talks with former team announcer Marc Zumoff during Saturday’s celebration.
So they acquired Snow from the Seattle SuperSonics on Jan. 18, 1998, in exchange for a second-round pick.
“That’s where it started,” King said. “Then it was like, let’s get George Lynch, because we need somebody that can defend the three. Then the big one was Larry, and I looked, we needed a shot blocker, and it was like we knew Allen and Jerry Stackhouse wasn’t going to fit, and so we kept calling Detroit about Theo [Ratliff].”
The Pistons agreed to the trade, but also wanted the Sixers to take McKie for salary purposes.
So on Dec. 18, 1997, they traded Stackhouse, Eric Montross, and a 2005 second-round pick for Ratliff, McKie, and a 2003 first-round pick.
Former Sixers President Pat Croce jokes with past team mascot Hip-Hop during pregame ceremonies before the Sixers-Pelicans game on Saturday.
Lynch signed with the Sixers as a free agent on Jan. 21, 1999.
“So it was more than building pieces,” King said. “We wanted guys who could play defense. Larry was a guy that I knew from coaching with him that he didn’t care if you could shoot it. He wanted guys that can play defense, and he’d figure out how to score.”
But Ratliff suffered a broken bone in his right wrist, which forced him to miss the 2001 All-Star Game and the remainder of the season.
In need of a standout replacement, the Sixers traded Ratliff along with Toni Kukoč, Nazr Mohammed, and Pepe Sánchez to the Hawks for Mutombo and Roshown McLeod on Feb. 22, 2001.
Former Sixers guard Allen Iverson greets former team president Pat Croce during the 25th anniversary NBA finals team ceremony on Saturday.
Embiid back to dominating
Embiid has made things look easy in the first half, especially as of late.
The 2023 MVP and seven-time All-Star scored 23 of his points on 7-for-17 shooting. Two games prior, Embiid scored 18 of his 29 points in the first quarter.
But none of this has been surprising, as the 7-foot-2 center is getting back to his old self after dealing with two left knee surgeries in the previous two seasons.
Sixers center Joel Embiid drives to the basket against New Orleans Pelicans guard Micah Peavy on Saturday.
Embiid averaged 33.2 points while shooting 50.0% on three-pointers, along with 9.0 rebounds and 5.8 assists in his previous six games. And it was the seventh straight game that he’s scored at least 29 points.
“Honestly, surprising,” Embiid said of his play. “Coming into this year, I thought it was going to be more of a tryout year to me. To me, this year has already been successful, because I feel like coming into the year, it was about figuring out, OK, what’s the schedule? How are we going to do this moving forward? And try to figure out how the knee is going to respond every single day.”
He began the season by taking at least two days off after every game. Now, Embiid can play every other day, and he says everything is going well. That’s why this season is already a success.
“But that doesn’t change my mentality as far as wanting to get better every single day,” he said. “Keep pushing and seeing. … Like I said, it was supposed to be a tryout for next year and moving forward, and how we are going to do this.
“His name hasn’t been mentioned. But I think guys like Simon Rice [the vice president for athletic care for the Sixers], you know, he’s been probably the main guy when it comes to everything. I would say probably everybody gave up on me. He’s the one guy that just kept trying to figure it out … I’m really thankful because he was that one person.”
Embiid scored on putbacks, jumpers, and layups while making it tough for everyone who had the misfortune of guarding him.
At one point in the season, the Sixers appeared to be Maxey’s team. But Embiid is showing that he can still be the franchise player. Fans chanted “MVP … MVP … MVP!” as Embiid attempted foul shots in the closing seconds.
” He’s really good at basketball,” Maxey said. “That’s really good, though. And I’m not trying to be funny. He’s playing the right way, too. He’s getting people involved, rolling. I think the biggest thing right now is his trust level and his teammates.”
Sixers guard Kelly Oubre Jr.,is expected to play a major role with the loss of Paul George due to his suspension.
Oubre’s outing
The biggest question surrounding the Sixers is who’s going step up in George’s absence.
Oubre appears to be the frontrunner to do that. The 6-8 swingman scored his points on 7-for-13 shooting — including making 3 of 7 three-pointers — to go with 10 rebounds and four assists.
This isn’t the first time that Oubre was a force in a game. He scored a season-high 29 points on Nov. 2 against the Brooklyn Nets. He’s also scored at least 18 points on 10 occasions. But he’s been known more for crashing the boards and guarding the opposing team’s best perimeter defender.
He’s sure to get more offensive opportunities with George out. And he’s excited about that.
“But at the end of the day, man, any given night we have a team that people can show up and put points on the board and be key contributors to winning,” Oubre said. “And I just want to be a key contributor to winning, whether you know my role be what it was or what it is, just try to take everything with grace and just take the proper steps to be prepared for anything.
“But at the end of the day, man, I just want to prove that, you know, I’m a valuable piece to this league, and to this team, and you know, that I just continue to show up every day.”
And if he continues to excel, the Sixers may be better suited to weather the storm.
His teammates are confident that he can step in for George.
“We’ve seen it,” Oubre said. “We’ve seen it last year. We’ve seen it the year before. We’ve seen it early this year. He did a really good job early in the season, just kind of playing that role, scoring, rebounding, and defending.
“I think he had 10 rebounds tonight. That’s big time. We’re going to need it, especially filling in for that role. And I have trust in him, because Kelly’s a guy who is not scared of the moment.”
Sixers fans have had a lot to celebrate over the last few weeks, whether it was Tyrese Maxey’s second All-Star nod, VJ Edgecombe’s Rising Star selection, or their backcourt duo gracing the cover of SLAM magazine.
“It’s a beautiful thing,” said 32-year-old Ruben Rivera. “There [are] good things to look forward to as a Sixers fan.”
However, that all changed on Saturday morning when the team suffered a significant blow. The NBA announced that nine-time All-Star Paul George would be suspended 25 games without pay for violating the NBA and National Basketball Players Association anti-drug program.
“So, somebody sent me a meme,” said 40-year-old West Philly native Hoag Davis. “And I thought it was a joke. That’s crazy to me. It was right when I thought the Sixers were about to get it together.”
Earlier this month, Paul George (right, with ball) and Sixers center Joel Embiid (left) combined to score 61 points in a win over the Bucks.
But for other fans, including Robert Phillips, 23, and Xavien Phillips, 20, this felt like a common Philly occurrence.
“That’s the Sixers for you,” Robert said. “We pick up a little traction and we’re doing our thing and something always bad happens to us. We have some sort of bad luck. But, we’re going to pursue through it. That’s how we is. Maxey’s hooping. Embiid’s hooping. The whole team is hooping. So, we should be good.”
That was a common feeling for Philly sports fans who made their way to the Xfinity Mobile Arena to catch Saturday’s game against the Pelicans, especially with George coming off a big game less than a week ago which saw him finish the night with 32 points.
“I mean, it felt like man just one more thing, just as the team’s getting healthy, just as they’re starting to roll,” said 36-year-old Ishmael Amir. “You have Paul George have a big game the other day. So, your hopes are getting high and then you get this news out of the blue. But you get over it. We’ve got the young talent. We’ve got Maxey, who’s an All-Star. We’ve got VJ [Edgecombe]. We’ve got Embiid looking healthy. It’s only 25 games. It gives PG enough time to rest to get fully healthy for a postseason run, so it’s unfortunate, but we’re gonna be back.”
Paul George shared a statement following his 25-game suspension for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program. (via @ShamsCharania) pic.twitter.com/oCHWa0VDhy
George sat out of Saturday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans, with the Sixers heading into the game with the Eastern Conference’s sixth-best record. Although Amir believes the 25 games gives George enough time to heal, others believes it’s enough time to negatively impact the season.
“I think it will impact the season from maybe a three-seed to a six-seed,” Rivera said. “It will hurt. There’s no denying. But, we got to be optimistic. If Embiid keeps balling, we’re going to be alright. We still got Maxey. We got to be optimistic.”
Heading into Saturday’s game George was averaging 16 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 27 games. The forward won’t be eligible to play until March 25 in the Sixers game against the Chicago Bulls at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
A deep bench has been crucial as Villanova maintains its hold on second place in the Big East.
Just look at Saturday’s 69-56 win over DePaul at Finneran Pavilion.
Senior guard Ryanne Allen accounted for 17 points for the Wildcats (16-5, 9-3 Big East) and was their second-leading scorer behind sophomore guard Jasmine Bascoe (27 points).
The 6-foot-1 Perkasie native aims to bring a spark and is averaging 9.0 points and 2.3 rebounds, mostly off the bench.
“Our bench has been tremendous,” said Villanova coach Denise Dillon said. “I think any of them are capable of being in that starting lineup, with Ryanne, Dani [Ceseretti], and Brooke Bender. They generate a lot of offense for us. It’s so nice to have that spark coming off the bench.”
Bringing a ‘spark’
Allen’s specialty has been her consistent shooting from beyond the arc, where she’s averaging 48.7% this season. Against DePaul, she shot 5-for-6 from the field, including 3-for-4 in three-pointers.
Allen led the Wildcats to a strong finish against the Blue Demons (5-18, 2-10), contributing a three-pointer and a layup on consecutive possessions in Villanova’s 7-0 run in the final two minutes of action. She also led Villanova with seven rebounds, as it edged DePaul, 38-34, on the boards.
Dani Ceseretti shoots over DePaul’s Michelle Ojo during the first quarter at the Finneran Pavilion on Saturday.
“The big challenge today [against DePaul] was rebounding,” Dillon said. “It’s been a challenge for us as a team. So we crowned a rebounding leader today, and Ryanne was awarded the crown today. I think we’ve got to compete against each other. If we’re doing that, then we’re getting better.”
Although she has only started one game this season, Allen’s experience and sharp shooting have made her a crucial part of the rotation.
“When I come in, I just want to make an immediate impact and bring energy to those who have already been out there,” said Allen, who’s in her second season at Villanova after spending the first half of her college career at Vanderbilt. “Being on the bench, you’re able to see things, see what’s happening out there. So I want to bring that energy and see what I can do to help the team in any way.”
Allen is embracing the opportunity to finish her college basketball career not far from where it started, at Archbishop Wood.
“That’s one of the reasons I came back here, to be able to have my family here, especially to be able to see my siblings, my parents, grandparents, and aunts show out for me every game,” Allen said.
Every game will be crucial in the final stretch of conference play before the Big East tournament. Allen hopes that the energy she brings to the court will reverberate around the rest of the team.
The Wildcats next travel to Indianapolis for a matchup with Butler on Wednesday (7 p.m., ESPN+).
“In February, you’ve already played every [Big East opponent], so everyone knows what you can do, and they see your strengths and your weaknesses,” Allen said. “So it’s important to be able to find different ways to win, continue to put our foot in the gas and push forward when everyone’s trying to get as many wins as possible.”
