Tage Thompson and Team USA Capture Historic Gold Medal, Clingan: “I put a lot of work in"
Tage Thompson
Thompson became the first player in UConn Men’s Hockey program history to win an Olympic Winter Games Gold Medal after Team USA defeated Team Canada 2-1 in overtime in Sunday’s epic Gold Medal finale. New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes scored the golden goal to lift the United States to a historic victory, marking the first time Team USA has won a men’s hockey gold medal since Herb Brooks led the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team.
Thompson finished the tournament with three goals, tied for second most on the team, including a goal this past Friday in Team USA’s 6-2 win over Team Slovakia.
After the win, former Husky George Springer showed off his American pride in front of his Toronto Blue Jays teammates, and presumably to all of Canada, by wearing his own Team USA sweater during what looks like to be a live batting practice session.
Tyrese Martin
Tyrese Martin has found a new, yet familiar, home. After being waived by the Brooklyn Nets just before the NBA All-Star break, the Allentown, Pennsylvania, native signed a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. Xfinity Mobile Arena, home of the 76ers, is just over 67 miles and about an hour and 15 minute drive from Martin’s hometown. Martin joins fellow former Husky Andre Drummond as teammates in Philadelphia. The most recent Husky pairing on the same NBA team came back in 2024, when Drummond and Adama Sanogo were briefly teammates on the Chicago Bulls.
On Saturday, Martin made his 76ers debut, missing his one three-point attempt in the last two minutes of the game in New Orleans. Then on Sunday, he checked in for the final two minutes of the 76ers 135-108 win against at Minnesota Timberwolves and scored his first points as a Philadelphia 76er:
Donovan Clingan
Folks, Donovan Clingan is starting to become an NBA superstar. Why do I say this? Because Clingan has been starting to consistently knock down his three-pointers. In the first two games since the NBA All-Star break, Clingan went 3-of-6 in both games. In nine February games, he has made at least two three-pointers in six contests, including four games with three made threes. Overall, he is 17-37 (45.9%) from behind the arc during the month of February.
On Friday, DC nearly had a double-double (15 points and 9 rebounds in just 19 minutes). Then on Sunday night he did post his 22nd double-double of the season after scoring 23 points and pulling down 12 rebounds, while also blocking four shots in the Portland Trail Blazers 92-77 win against the Phoenix Suns.
After the win over the Suns, Clingan was asked about his confidence shooting the three ball on the Blazers broadcast. DC said, “I put a lot of work in. Get a lot of shots up every day. Just going out there and shooting it with confidence and let it fly is important. If they (the defense) don’t step up, I see it as an open shot.”
Stephon Castle
In back-to-back wins for the Spurs, Castle was highly efficient from the field. On Thursday, the second-year guard scored 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 2-of-4 from three and 2-of-2 at the line, in just 21 minutes against the Phoenix Suns. He followed that performance with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 6-of-8 from beyond the arc in 25 minutes Saturday against the Sacramento Kings.
Overall, this season Castle is the Spurs third leading scorer (16.7 points per game), third in field goal percentage (47.2%) while leading the team in assists (6.8) and steals (1.3) per game.
Cam Spencer
On Friday night, Spencer notched his fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 assists without a turnover in the Memphis Grizzlies’ 123–114 win over the Utah Jazz. It’s the second time this season Spencer has dished out at least 10 assists without a turnover, first doing so on January 15th against the Orlando Magic when he recorded 11 assists and zero turnovers. Only Cade Cunningham, an MVP candidate, has more such games than Spencer this season, with three.
In the Grizzlies 136-120 loss at the Miami Heat on Saturday, Spencer was held scoreless after shooting 0-of-5 from the field and 0-of-4 from behind the arc, but he did hand out five more assists in 21 minutes of work.
James Bouknight (G League)
For just the second time this season, James Bouknight came off the bench but still played hero for the Mexico City Capitanes (No NBA/G League affiliate). With Mexico City trailing 119–118 and under 40 seconds remaining, Bouknight went one-on-one with his defender, drove right, and laid it up and in to give the Capitanes a 120–119 lead against the Salt Lake City Stars (Utah Jazz G League affiliate). The clutch bucket proved to be the game-winner as Bouknight finished the game with 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting, 3-of-7 from downtown with four rebounds, four assists and five turnovers in 29 minutes.
Tyler Polley (G League)
On Friday, Polley kept the good times rolling in the College Park Skyhawks’ (Atlanta Hawks G League affiliate) first game after the All-Star break, scoring a career-high 21 points and helping lead his team to a 131–124 win over the Motor City Cruise (Detroit Pistons G League affiliate). The sharpshooter shot 8-of-10 from the field, knocking down 2-of-3 triples and converting 3-of-4 free throws. It marked the fifth straight contest and the sixth time in his last seven outings that Polley scored in double figures.
Tristen Newton (G League)
On Wednesday, Newton was sent back down to the Houston Rockets G League affiliate, Rio Grande Valley Vipers. The G League Rising All-Star was with the Rockets for just over a week, most of it during the All-Star break, and didn’t see any action on an NBA floor.
So back with the Vipers, Newton has been putting up the points (23 on Thursday, 26 on Sunday), but he has not been all that efficient. Over these past two games, Newton shot a combined 9-of-34 (26.4%) from the field and just 3-of-12 (25.0%) from three. He has been exceptional at the line, hitting 17-of-18 free throws (94.4%). These two performances could be just blips on the radar, as he’s shooting 48.5% from the field and 37.2% from beyond the arc this season.
Andre Drummond
Drummond started all three of the Philadelphia 76ers’ games since the NBA’s midseason break, as former Kansas Jayhawk Joel Embiid has missed the team’s last five contests due to right knee injury management and right shin soreness.
On Thursday, Drummond recorded his 13th double-double of the season. He finished with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 1-of-1 from both the free-throw line and beyond the arc while grabbing 14 rebounds. The 2012 Big East All-Freshman Team member handed out three assists and swatted away two shots in the 76ers 117-107 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Over the next two games, Drummond combined for 11 points and 21 rebounds as the 76ers (31-26) currently have a half game lead over the Orlando Magic for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Jordan Hawkins/Andre Jackson Jr.
In the first two games after the All-Star break, neither Hawkins nor Jackson Jr. saw any increase in playing time. On Friday, Hawkins played five minutes in the Pelicans 139-118 loss to Jackson Jr. and the Milwaukee Bucks. At first, it seemed promising, as four of those five minutes came early in the second quarter. However, Hawkins missed his lone three-point attempt, went to the bench a few minutes later and didn’t return until the final minute, when the game was all but decided.
Jackson Jr. did play seven minutes in Sunday’s 122-94 Bucks loss to the Toronto Raptors, although all of those minutes came when the game was in doubt. Jackson Jr. scored two points from this dunk:
Samson Johnson
On Saturday Scott Agness, an Indiana Pacers beat reporter for the Fieldhouse Files, reported that Samson Johnson and the Noblesville Boom (Indiana Pacers G League affiliate), agreed to a contract buyout. The buyout clears the way for Johnson to explore opportunities overseas. Such situations are fairly common for G League players who may not be getting the minutes they want or see a direct path to an NBA roster. The two-time NCAA Champion started in 19 of 21 regular season games for the Boom but only averaged 20.3 minutes per game. For context, Tristen Newton, a G League Rising All-Star has started all of his 22 games played and is averaging just over 35 minutes per game this season.
Johnson. who signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Indiana this past June, played for the Pacers Summer League team and of course the Noblesville Boom, but never got the call up to the Pacers NBA roster. He averaged 8.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game and shot an eye-popping 69.4 percent from the field with the Boom.
Liam McNeeley
The Charlotte Hornets recalled Liam McNeeley from the Greensboro Swarm back on February 9th, however the 2025 Big East Rookie of the Year has not seen any action on the floor due to a left ankle sprain. McNeeley, who missed several UConn games last season with a right high ankle sprain, has not played since February 6th when he scored 21 points in 38 minutes for the Swarm. At this time, there has been no announced timeline for Liam’s possible return to the floor.
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