SPORTS SECTION E
French Open, Page 7
THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 2018
Ayton: ‘I’m the best competitor in this’ NBA Draft By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
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ollowing his pre-draft workout with the Phoenix Suns, Deandre Ayton is confident that he has shown the franchise enough to solidify his position as the top overall pick in this month’s NBA Draft. The Suns hosted Ayton’s first media availability of the draft process following his workout yesterday at the Al McCoy Media Center in Phoenix, Arizona. “I’m the best competitor in this draft. I’m not saying I’m the best player, I’m saying I’m the best competitor. This is my one and only workout. I know I’m going number one.” Nobody told me (I’ll go first),” Ayton said. “That’s just me. I think I deserve that. I’ve worked hard…I want to be the best two-way player coming into the league.” The Suns hold the No.1 pick in the draft, June 21 at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Ayton finished his “The workout school years at Hillwas pretty intense, I crest Prep in Phoenix learned a lot. The big and went on to attend key out of it was versathe University of tility. Basically, a lot of Arizona for a single switches, you know in season. The opporthe league there’s a lot tunity to begin his of small ball play and professional career we did a lot of switches in the state led many guarding small guards pundits to believe the in one-on-one situaSuns will take advantions so I learned a lot AYTON tage and select Ayton. from that.” “I just want to hear Suns general manmy name called number one. I ager Ryan McDonough said the have a whole country on my back connection to the state serves as a that I’m representing and I just benefit in the evaluation process. want to fulfil that achievement,” “We had a phenomenal he said. “Most of my family is workout [with Deandre]…It’s already here in Phoenix and we everything we expected. It’s a big made this home since I came day for the franchise in terms of here for high school. This is like a having the number one pick and second home so we just feel wel- working out Deandre Ayton for comed and I would be blessed if I the number one pick,” he said. became the number one pick and “We take that obviously as a could stay here.” compliment, he has a lot of strong Ayton called his only pre- ties to this area. He’s been workdraft workout, after skipping ing out here, he’s been training last month’s combine, a learning here. The fact that he wants to be experience. here, that’s great.”
Ayton is considered a consensus top overall pick by every reputable scouting service in the projection business. The Phoenix Suns landed the number one pick and went into the lottery with the best percentage of doing so at 25 per cent. Ayton mentioned his excitement at pairing with Suns star guard Devin Booker and said he patterns his game after several NBA legends. “We can be Shaq and Kobe 2.0, we can really make something happen in Phoenix, have a spark and start a winning legacy here,” Ayton said. “[I pattern my game after] Kevin Garnett, his intensity on both ends of the floor how he changed the game…how he’s so vocal with his teammates. Hakeem Olajuwon, his footwork down low, I learned a lot of stuff from those guys.” The second overall pick went to the Sacramento Kings, who had just a 5.3 per cent chance of landing the top overall pick.
The Suns hired Igor Kokoskov as its head coach in the offseason, leading the speculation that the team could select 19-year old Slovenian wing Luka Doncic with the top overall pick. Kokoskov coached Doncic to a Eurobasket title with the Slovenian national team last summer. If the Suns draft Doncic, it would allow the possibility of the Kings to select Ayton at No.2 and pair him alongside Hield for the foreseeable future. During his lone season at Arizona, he averaged 20.1 points and 11.6 rebounds per game while shooting 61.6 per cent from the field, and was “Karl Malone Power Forward” of the year and Associated Press First Team All-American. He was also the First Team All-American from the NABC, USBWA and Sporting News, Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Most Outstanding Player of the conference tournament in the same season.
Warriors take 3-0 lead CLEVELAND (AP) — Kevin Durant pushed the Golden State Warriors to dynasty’s doorstep. LeBron James may be at the door. Durant scored 43 points, draining a long 3-pointer in the final minute to cap his magnificent performance, and the Golden State Warriors defeated James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 110-102 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals last night to move within a victory of a sweep, their second straight title and third championship in four years. No team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit in the NBA playoffs. It might be time to order some champagne from Napa Valley. With the Cavs within 103-100, Durant stood motionless after dropping his 33-footer, which effectively ended the fourth straight finals matchup between two teams who have gotten to know each other well since 2015. “That was amazing what he did out there tonight,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Some of those shots, I don’t think anybody in the world can hit those but him. He was incredible.” Golden State will now have four chances to wrap up its title starting with Game 4 on Friday night. James scored 33 points and Kevin Love added 20 for the Cavs, who have fallen into a hole in which no team has ever emerged. Cleveland came back from a 3-1 deficit to stun the Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals, but that was when Durant was in Oklahoma City and James had a different supporting cast. The Warriors won despite a 3-of16 shooting performance from Stephen Curry, who did come up big down the stretch as the Cavs were trying to salvage their season. Now Cleveland could be down to one final game with James. The three-time champion can opt out of his $35.6 million contract and test free agency this summer, and it may be time for the 33-year-old to find a team capable of beating the Warriors. Durant, who tilted this rivalry toward the West Coast when he signed with the Warriors as a free agent before last season, was brilliant from the start. He helped offset a rough night for Curry, who made a finals-record nine 3-pointers in Game 2, but was just 1 of 10 from behind the arc and didn’t score his second field goal until there were under three minutes left. Curry’s scoop shot put the Warriors up 98-97 and defensive specialist Andre Iguodala, who didn’t play in Games 1 or 2 because of a knee injury, came up with a steal under the basket. Curry finally buried a 3 and after James matched him with a long shot, Iguodala drove the lane for a thundering dunk. Moments later, Durant delivered his dagger to silence Cleveland’s crowd. “The shot clock was running down, I was pretty far out, I just
DURANT SCORES PLAYOFF CAREER-HIGH 43 POINTS
TIGERS SELECT FERNANDER IN 35TH ROUND OF MLB DRAFT By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune SPorts Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
GOLDEN State Warriors’ Kevin Durant dribbles in the first half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals last night in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) wanted to get a look,” Durant said. “I didn’t want to run there and shoot a bad shot, fall on the ground and they got numbers going the other way so I decided to pull up.” James made a layup to pull the Cavs within four, it was too little too late as the Warriors closed it out and beat Cleveland for the fourth straight time in finals games. With JaVale McGee getting three point-blank shots at the rim, the Warriors opened the third quarter with a 9-3 spurt and
it wasn’t long before they took their first lead on Curry’s two free throws. Durant scored 24 in the first half, when the Warriors attempted 13 free throws to zero for the Cavs, a disparity that induced further wrath on the officials from Cleveland fans still stinging from the now infamous reversed call in Game 1. The Cavs needed a strong start, and they got it helped by a playground move from James. Dribbling near the foul lane, he used a head fake on McGee before
stepping past the Warriors center. James then threw the ball off the backboard to himself and crushed a two-handed dunk — he pulled off a similar stunt in last year’s Finals — that sent Cleveland’s bench and fans into a frenzy. As coach Tyronn Lue had hoped, Cleveland was more physical and won several 50-50 balls while outrebounding and outworking the Warriors. Golden State spent much of the first half barking about the officiating.
FOR the second consecutive year, a pitcher was added to the list of Bahamian baseball talent selected in the Major League Baseball Draft. Chavez Fernander was selected by the Detroit Tigers organisation yesterday, in the 35th round with the 1,035th overall pick. A right-handed pitcher at 6’3” and 205 pounds, he has been reported to have a 95mph fastball. Fernander, a Grand Bahama native, recently completed his sophomore season with the Polk Community College Eagles in the NJCAA. He was also the second Bahamian pitcher selected from the Eagles roster in as many years after the Colorado Rockies selected Shemiko Smith last year. In 17 appearances with nine starts, Fernander posted an 8-4 win-loss record with 63 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.09 in 58.1 innings. He earned a first team All-Conference honour in the Suncoast Conference of the FCSAA and was one of six Polk State players to have received 2018 Suncoast Conference recognition. Smith made his debut on January 26 to lead the Eagles to a 7-6 win over Lake-Sumter State College. He posted a season-high seven strikeouts on two occasions. The first was on February 21 in a 5-2 win over Webber International JV and again in a 16-0 win over Florida Southern College JV on February 28. His longest appearance of the season was April 11 against St Petersburg College when he recorded five strikeouts and pitched seven scoreless innings in a 10-0 win. Fernander’s wins were ranked sixth in the conference and he previously committed to join the Novas Southeastern Sharks following his stint with Polk State. For the season, Eagles pitchers led the FCSAA in strikeouts (479) and ranked third in innings pitched
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