Mullin returns to St. John’s as coach
Chris Mullin’s basketball career came full circle on Tuesday with an official announcement that he is the new head coach at St. John’s.
The school confirmed earlier reports on Tuesday that the former Red Storm player is replacing Steve Lavin.
Mullin played on St. John’s 1985 Final Four team and is the program’s career scoring leader with 2,440 points from 1985 to 1985.
“This is a role I have been preparing for all of my life,” Mullin said in a statement. “There are so many people who have had a great influence on me to reach this point, especially my parents, Coach (Lou) Carnesecca and my former teammates.”
St. John’s will be the 51-year-old Mullin’s first head coaching job.
To help on the bench, Mullin hired Iowa State assistant Matt Abdelmassih to join his new staff.
Drafted seventh overall by the Warriors, Mullin was a five-time NBA All-Star and also won two Olympic gold medals on his way to the Hall of Fame.
Another Alabama player arrested
For the third time in four days, an Alabama football player was arrested.
Running back Tyren Jones was charged Tuesday with second-degree possession of marijuana and released on $1,000 bond, according to Tuscaloosa, Ala., police.
Jones and 25-year-old Brandon Lee Hansberry were arrested Monday morning after police stopped a car for speeding. The officer smelled marijuana in Hansberry’s vehicle and found pot and a scale inside.
In February, Jones was suspended indefinitely from the team by Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban “for conduct not to the standard of the Alabama football program.” He has yet to practice this spring.
Last weekend, safety Geno Smith and defensive lineman Jonathan Taylor also were arrested in two separate incidents. Taylor was dismissed from the program on Monday.
Clippers’ Davis fined for kicking seat cushion
Los Angeles Clippers forward Glen Davis was fined $15,000 by the NBA on Tuesday for kicking a seat cushion into the stands during a game.
The incident occurred during a timeout with 4:16 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Clippers’ 119-106 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday at TD Garden in Boston.
Davis left the game with four points and one rebound in 14 minutes of action.
Tillman to start opener for Orioles
For the second straight season, the Baltimore Orioles will hand to the ball to right-hander Chris Tillman for the opening day start.
Tillman received the nod over Wei-Yin Chen and Bud Norris for the April 6 game against the Tampa Bay Rays, becoming the first Orioles pitcher to start back-to-back openers since Jeremy Guthrie in 2008-09.
The 26-year-old Tillman finished last season with a 13-6 record and a 3.34 ERA in 34 starts covering 207 1/3 innings. He surpassed 200 innings for the second consecutive season.
UConn’s Stewart heads All-America team
For the second straight year, Connecticut junior standout Breanna Stewart is a unanimous pick for the Associated Press All-America team.
Notre Dame junior Jewell Loyd also was a unanimous selection. Stewart and Loyd both helped lead their teams into the Final Four this season.
Joining Stewart and Loyd on the AP first team were South Carolina junior Tiffany Mitchell, Baylor sophomore Nina Davis and Minnesota sophomore Amanda Zahui B. No seniors made the list.
Named to the second team were UConn’s Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Moriah Jefferson, Duke’s Elizabeth Williams, Cal’s Brittany Boyd and Ohio State freshman Kelsey Mitchell.
The third team consisted of Maryland’s Lexie Brown, Iowa’s Samantha Logic, Oregon’s Jillian Alleyne, South Carolina’s A’ja Wilson, Oregon State’s Ruth Hamblin and Cal’s Reshanda Gray.