Category: Sports

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Being Lauren Betts is not for the faint of heart. It’s not just her 6-7 frame, or her glowing confidence—which didn’t come overnight—but because of a basketball résumé that has crowned her as the No. 1 prospect in the graduating class of 2022.

With a top-five college list that included Notre Dame, UConn, South Carolina, Oregon and Stanford, Betts ultimately chose the Cardinal, where she’ll join Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer in the fall.

“I’m honestly most looking forward to being challenged in the classroom and in the gym. I think it’s like the best of both worlds,” Betts says. “It’s going to be tough, but I think it’s going to teach me a lot, to just kind of balance those things, and I think that’s going to give me a lot of opportunities to just learn some life lessons. I think I’m gonna learn a lot from Stanford.

“I don’t want to go to a school where I know I’m going to be, like, the best as soon as I walk in. I want to go to a school where, obviously, my freshman year might not be as amazing as I want [it] to be, but we’ll see what happens. Once I get there, just know that each season is gonna get better and better, and I think that I chose the best school for that.”

The Grandview High (CO) standout’s story begins all the way across the Atlantic Ocean in Spain, when she was introduced to the game at an early age thanks to her dad, Andrew, a former NBA draft pick who spent most of his playing career overseas.

“I think that made me fall in love with the sport,” Betts recalls. “I got to watch my dad, you know, how hard he worked every day, and I got to see him come back and just grind—coming home and having to take a quick nap and then leave again. Just traveling all around the world is something that when I was younger, I obviously wasn’t really excited about because I didn’t get to see him [as often], but as I got older, I thought, honestly, that’s something that I want to do.”

Early on, tuning into her athleticism was tricky as she struggled with adjusting to her lengthy, thin frame. Betts recalls not having much control of her body during her first phase of playing basketball. But with her parents’ athletic genes (her mom was a volleyball standout at Long Beach State), it started to become second nature.

Any worries she had are obviously in the past. She’s gone on to receive back-to-back Gatorade State Player of the Year awards after leading her high school team to a 17-9 record, ultimately winning the Class 5A state title and finishing the season on a 13-game winning streak. In March, she starred in the prestigious McDonald’s All American Game and followed that up at the Jordan Brand Classic in April.

With the move to California looming, she’s focused on enjoying her loved ones before she heads west. But, in the midst of the stardom that comes with being ranked the best in the nation, Betts remains thankful for the moment.

“It’s definitely a dream, and it still hasn’t hit me yet,” she says. “When I started playing basketball, my first goal was just to make varsity, and once I started getting in the gym more and more in training, all these things just kept coming. My family has always taught me to just stay humble and just keep working, so I don’t do that much talking. I kind of just grind, that’s pretty much just what I’ve done. All these things just kept coming, and I just think it’s really cool. Really, I still can’t believe it all.”

Photo credit Oscar Castillo and Getty Images.

Despite just being 24-years-old and playing the NBA Finals for the first time in his five-year career, Jayson Tatum has been able to keep playing in the NBA Finals in perspective.

“Just try to remember it’s just basketball at the end of the day,” Tatum said during his media availability, “Try to prepare the same and not get too excited. Just go out there, be relaxed and play your game but still enjoy this. It’s no guarantee that you go to the Finals every year, and it’s a big deal.”

That’s some sage wisdom coming from a young player that’s experienced a good deal of playoff success early in his career. But even Tatum had to know that that level of success wasn’t common so early in his career, especially being a lottery pick like he was. Tatum and Boston went on two runs to the Conference Finals run before they reached the Finals this year.

Tatum and Boston’s journey to get to the championship stage began with a revenge tour throughout the Eastern Conference, eliminating the only teams that have beaten them in the last three postseasons. Boston ended up sweeping the Nets and beating the Bucks and Heat in seven games.

The Finals run almost seemed ordained after Al Horford revealed how he texted Tatum that he was excited to see Boston play on the biggest stage in the basketball world.

Tatum’s Finals debut didn’t go the way he expected, to put it bluntly, scoring 12 points and 13 assists on 3-17 shooting from the field. Despite having difficulty finding the bottom of the net in Game 1, Tatum was able to play a pivotal role as a playmaker, providing the hockey assist for Horford’s and-1 layup to cement Boston’s Game 1.

In Game 2, Tatum bounced back and posted 28 points, six rebounds, and three assists in a 107-88 loss to Golden State but turned the ball over four times.

Tatum finished Game 3 with 26 points, six rebounds, and nine assists. The five-time All-Star took over Boston’s offense in the second half, scoring 15 points to hold off Golden State after they reeled off another signature third-quarter run to close Boston’s lead to 93-89 going into the fourth quarter.

In the final frame, Tatum sparked a 9-2 run to close the door on the Warriors’ comeback bid. The Celtics are now up 2-1, heading into Game 4 at TD Garden.

If Tatum and Jaylen Brown (27 points, nine rebounds, five assists in Game 3) continue to ascend and meet the challenge Golden State brings, they could possibly cement their status as Celtics legends as they lead Boston to their first title since 2008.

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Giving back to the game that raised you is an admirable notion that should be praised by hoopers all across the world, no matter how small the gesture. You can cross that notion off of Carmelo Anthony’s to-do list.

In 2005, Anthony co-founded Team Melo, a non-profit organization based out of Baltimore that’s dedicated to helping student-athletes on and off the court. 

“Not only do we do basketball, but we also mentor, [have] after-school programming—it’s another component to [Anthony’s] charitable work,” Team Melo president and cofounder Robert “Bay” Frazier explains. “We do back-to-school drives, Thanksgiving drives, it’s everything—it’s all inclusive, just giving back to the youth in Baltimore.”

This individualized helping hand is what truly separates Team Melo from other AAU programs. A prime example is Cam Whitmore, a Villanova commit and Team Melo member of five years who attests to the huge impact Carmelo has had on his life.

“He invited me over to his house to work out with him, just giving me some teaching points about the specifics. Like the midpost game, stuff like that. And in the outside world, [he told me], Just remain humble, everything else will come toward you, just keep moving,” says Whitmore.

Don’t let their off-court kindness fool you, though: Team Melo has some serious hoopers on their roster.

The 17U team is a member of the prestigious Nike EYBL circuit, with eight of its 10 players currently holding college offers, according to Frazier. A notable alumni you may hear about come draft time in June is All-Big East First Team forward Justin Lewis from Marquette.

With travel and gear all paid for, players only have to worry about one thing: showing up and balling out. For Frazier, the end result is about much more than just the scoreboard.

“It’s the glory of seeing the guys become successful. They don’t all have to make it to the NBA, it’s about going to college, enjoying college and coming back to me, like, Man, Bay, you’ve been a blessing to me, and their parents saying that. I love that, I love that part. That’s what I get out of it.”

Photos by Hugo Rodas and Liam Callahan.