SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – When film director Spike Lee autographed Jayson Tatum’s green jersey to a young Boston Celtics fan, the famous New York Knicks superfan asked him, “Why didn’t he (Tatum) play in the Olympics?” Why did he sit down?”

Without hesitation, the young man asked Lee, “Why weren’t any Knicks playing in the Olympics?”

As NBA fans at the Basketball Hall of Fame store looked on and laughed, Lee smiled and said, “Hey, how old are you?”

A young Celtics fan said, “I’m 12.”

Lee, who wore a Knicks hat and an orange vest over a Knicks sweatshirt, said: “I hope you are there for the premiere, because regardless that you are raising the (NBA championship) banner, you are losing (to the Knicks).

Lee, actor and LA Clippers fan Billy Crystal, Philadelphia 76ers fan Alan Horwitz and actor and Los Angeles Lakers fan Jack Nicholson (who was not in attendance) were officially added to the James F. Goldstein SuperFan Hall on Sunday afternoon at the Hall of Fame. Knicks jersey with “Lee” and “No. 40” on the back and the Knicks player contract signed by Lee in 1990 were displayed in a large glass case in the SuperFan Gallery. A couple of hours later, the 2024 Basketball Hall of Fame class took place at the nearby Symphony Hall, headlined by Vince Carter and Chauncey Billups.

The SuperFan Gallery honors fans for his or her passion and love for basketball and recognizes their unique and well-known fandom. Lee won an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Peabody Awards. He won awards for his basketball film titled

“I didn’t even know such a thing existed,” Lee told Andscape. “So it was a big surprise. This year, everything is going according to plan… I also got two (special) Oscars, so that’s good.”

Lee, 67, attributes his love for the Knicks to his late father Bill, a renowned jazz bassist and composer.

The Lees attended Knickerbockers games together at the third Madison Square Garden before it was torn down in 1968 and the current Garden was built. Lee said he attended the decisive Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals – and missed one of his dad’s concert events – when the Knicks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers. He wears a necklace with the ring of 1973 NBA champion, former Knicks coach Red Holzman.

“My father was a Knicks fan and he would take me to the old Garden on 8th Avenue,” Lee said. “My father was a huge sports fan. I inherited my love for sports from my deceased father. My mother was a cinephile. This is where the issue of film comes into play. Music, sports and cinema. My father hated Hollywood movies.

Lee, who often wears Knicks gear in public, is one of America’s most recognizable sports fans, each at home and away.

Lee trash-talks opponents while standing excited during matches. He exudes passion when the Knicks win and shows pain once they lose. Lee also had a rivalry and ongoing feud with then-Indiana Pacers star and Hall of Famer Reggie Miller during six playoff bouts. Since 1973, the Knicks have only reached the NBA Finals twice, losing to the Houston Rockets in 1994 and the San Antonio Spurs in 1999.

When asked if it’s hard to be a devoted Knicks fan, Lee replied: “I don’t think it’s hard. Thanks to him, I am here in the Hall of Fame.”

While playing for the Toronto Raptors, Carter recalled playing against the Knicks in the playoffs and Lee sitting on the court talking trash.

“When you got into an argument with Spike Lee, you got it,” Carter said. “I played well in the regular season (against New York). At the starting of the first quarter at the Garden, I remember Spike saying, “Nah, man, this is New York!” This New York, kid. We won’t do this here. Is he talking to me? I argued with him a bit, especially the second time.

“We were fooled the first time. I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s talk about it next time. I just remember Spike Lee could get up and talk shit and you tell him to sit down and you do something. I got it right the second time. It’s cool to see him go (into the Hall of Fame).”

Toronto Raptors fan Nav Bhatia told Andscape that Lee once told him to maneuver from his seat at Madison Square Garden. Bhatia can be a member of SuperFan Gallery.

“I’m letting him into the SuperFan gallery,” Bhatia told Andscape. “He is obsessed with basketball. I remember in 2001, once we were in the playoffs in New York, he was there talking trash to my VC man (Carter). I used to be sitting behind them and he told them to maneuver my seat to the other side because I used to be talking nonsense too. And he didn’t prefer it. But we won that match.

– But he’s a good friend of mine now. Everything is high quality. I’m really enthusiastic about it.”

On Saturday evening, Lee attended the 2024 Enshrinement Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony and Reception about an hour away at the Mohegan Sun Casino. Among those honored was a television program hosted and produced by sports commentator Ahmad Rashad. After honoring the show, Lee was given the microphone and asked Rashad for his Knicks prediction for the upcoming season in front of Hall of Famers such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Julius “Dr. J” Erving.

“The last time we won was in the 1972-73 season. Will we win? It’s been over 50 years. This year we have the team. Leon Rose is doing his thing, we have KAT (Karl-Anthony Towns), one of the best point guards in the league (Jalen Brunson), we have the defense. What will happen this year?” Lee asked.

Rashad said: “I think they will win the whole thing. I think this is the year.”

So why does Lee consider the Knicks will finally win the title this coming season, 52 years after the last one?

“I believe in it. (Knicks president) Leon Rose and (Knicks executive vice president) World Wide Wes (William Wesley) are doing their thing,” Lee said, pointing to his necklace. “This is Red Holzman’s world champion ring. That’s the last time we won. It’s been over 50 years. This is the 12 months.

Lee is thought to attend key Knicks road games. He attended the WNBA New York Liberty playoff games in Brooklyn, New York. But will Lee be there when the Knicks open the season on the road against the 2023 NBA champion Celtics?

“NO. I’m not going to Boston,” Lee said. “If it’s the playoffs, I’ll go. Regular season? Uh, uh.

CAMDEN, New Jersey – French forward Guerschon Yabusele’s dunk over NBA legend LeBron James within the gold medal game of the 2024 Paris Olympics was immortalized in a photograph hanging in his recent home outside Philadelphia. While the dunk wasn’t a part of host France’s game-winning victory over the U.S., it serves as a reminder of how Yabusele’s stellar play earned him a return to the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers.

“My advice is to just work hard, never give up and make your dreams come true. If you want it, you’re going to have to get it,” Yabusele told Andscape after practice on Oct. 9 on the Sixers’ practice facility.

The 76ers announced Yabusele’s signing to a one-year, $2.1 million contract on August 29, five years after he played within the NBA for the Boston Celtics. The signing of this contract also got here 19 days after the sharpshooter played within the gold medal match on the 2024 Paris Olympics. In six Olympics, he averaged 14 points in 23.3 minutes.

Yabusele got here to the Olympics with the dream of using it to land an NBA contract. And now that he’s back within the NBA with the Sixers, he “pinched himself a few times” in gratitude.

“We were driving through the city at night, and then I looked at my wife and said, ‘We’re going to be here all season,’” Yabusele said. “We won’t just be here for the summer (vacation). We will probably be there all season long. I play here. She was there after I was in Boston. We cannot consider it, but we be ok with it.

“I had quite a lot of moments (of gratitude). I remember feeling this sense after I got off the plane, going to training camp, going to the world for the primary time and customarily the entire atmosphere on the games. It’s just amazing to me.”

The Celtics chosen Yabusele with the sixteenth pick within the 2016 NBA Draft. A native of France, Dreux played the 2016–17 season in China for the Shanghai Sharks before joining the Celtics in 2017. He played sparingly for the Celtics in the course of the 2017–19 season, scoring a median 2.3 points in 74 games. Yabusele was best known on the time for making the bow and arrow gesture after scoring a three-pointer for Boston.

After failing to play a big role with the rising Celtics, Yabusele had no offer to return to the Celtics or another NBA team.

“I was able to take something away from all these experiences. The body of work. “Understand that you have to be ready,” Yabusele said. “The work ethic that I took from here has helped me a lot in my career up until this year.”

Yabusele then played for the Nanjing Monkey Kings in China before returning to France to play for NBA Hall of Famer Tony Parker’s ASVEL Basket in Lyon. The 6-foot-4, 265-pounder signed with Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid on July 21, 2021. He helped lead Real Madrid to 2 Liga ACB championships and a EuroLeague title in 2023.

Last season, Yabusele averaged 9.7 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 44.5% from three-point range in 64 games for Real Madrid. Although he had a sound contract with Real Madrid for the upcoming season, he had an NBA rest clause if he was offered a contract. Even though no NBA call-ups were received before the Olympics, Yabusele someway kept the religion.

“I always thought about it too,” Yabusele said of returning to the NBA. “I didn’t want to offer up. Of course, after five years, I assumed, “Damn, I feel like I did okay some of those years.” I assumed perhaps I could try it, nevertheless it didn’t occur. But I’ve all the time had this hope, and that is what drives me, too. It gives me a purpose to get all of it done (work). I used to be all the time pushing myself, attempting to get back. “

By making a preliminary Olympic appearance in Lille, France, the French men’s basketball team didn’t help Yabusele’s hopes of impressing NBA teams.

France needed a desperate four-point late play to force extra time before beating winless Japan on July 30. Germany also routed France 85-71 on August 2 to finish qualifying. Despite a 2-1 record, the French played poor basketball within the qualifying quarterfinals on August 8 in Paris against a Canadian team that included Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, RJ Barrett and Jamal Murray, amongst others.

After France played so poorly in Lille, Yabusele said there was a scarcity of belief within the team. However, he still believed in his team and said so during a team meeting at their hotel.

“I want to say so many things and nothing at the same time,” Yabusele said of France’s game in Lille. “We were just still finding our way. The coaches were also trying to grasp what to do. And I don’t need to say it badly, but we weren’t together as we wanted after the defeat against Germany. We still won two out of three games. All the media, fans, people in our federation, everyone felt that we’d play our last match against Canada. It reached us personally. I took it personally…

You cannot be afraid and say: “Damn, this is going to be a difficult match. Oh my God.’ You read the comments. You read the media. “Oh, they’re playing Canada. They have so many NBA players. It’s over. We were beaten by them last year, so we don’t expect anything. I remember talking to the guys, pardoning my language, and saying, “F– that.” We’re going there to Paris and we’re going to win. There is no other way around it. Let’s go. We are at home. We have our family there. We in Paris. Now that Lille is over. Let’s go there and do what we have to do. “

France, with a game-high 22 points from Yabusele, defeated Canada 82-73 on August 6 within the quarterfinals in Paris. In the semifinals against Germany, Les Bleus gained revenge and advanced to the gold medal game with a 73-69 victory on August 8, which included Yabusele’s game-high 17 points and 7 rebounds. Yabusele and France immediately went from funny to lovable from the natives by advancing to the gold medal game and facing the favored U.S. team with their NBA superstars.

It was Yabusele, not NBA stars Victor Wembanyama or Rudy Gobert, who led France to the gold medal game. However, Yabusele said he still had no offers from NBA teams at that time, although interest appeared to be growing.

“We had heart. We found what was missing. We found a way. We fought,” Yabusele said.

Yabusele and France’s hopes of winning a men’s basketball gold medal ended on August 10 with a 98-87 victory for the USA. Wembanyama scored a game-high 26 points for France, while Yabusele added 20 points. If it weren’t for Stephen Curry’s stunning three-pointer that sealed the gold for Team USA, Yabusele’s stunning dunk over James would have been the highlight of the sport. Yabusele also felt that the Paris crowd was supportive of Team USA, which included Curry and all the opposite NBA stars.

“They are from France, but they ended up rooting for Curry,” Yabusele, 28, said.

The day after the gold medal game, Yabusele’s dunk was published in a French sports newspaper. It will probably be remembered as one in all the long-lasting moments of the 2024 Olympics. Yabusele added that it was “payback” for Team USA forward Vince Carter’s famous dunk over the pinnacle of French center Frederic Weis in a 7-2 victory on the Sydney Games in 2000.

“I won’t lie. It was good at that point,” Yabusele said of the dunk on James. “I didn’t realize it will be this big. I told the blokes that I’ve made just a few posters (dunks) in my life and a few good ones. But dunking LeBron in front of all of the people, especially at the ultimate Olympics with the entire world watching, I didn’t realize how big it was on the time…

“He blocked me just a few plays earlier. Of course he spoke earlier. But it was LeBron. You either post it or he blocks it.

Yabusele’s dreams of returning to the NBA got here true as he was capable of use a clause in Real Madrid’s contract and sign with Philadelphia. Yabusele left his belongings in a warehouse in Madrid and claims that Real Madrid are concerned about him rejoining the club in the longer term.

Gobert, the Minnesota Timberwolves star, is not surprised by Yabusele’s return to the NBA.

“He has been ready to return to the league for several years now,” Gobert told Andscape via text message. “The Olympics gave him a chance to really show it to the world. I think he’s more mature now.”

Yabusele hopes his return to the NBA with the Sixers will result in something long-term. He said his role in Philadelphia is to “knock down boards, rebound and, of course, hit 3s.” He also hopes that his return to the NBA will motivate those that try to beat all odds to pursue their dreams.

“Just never give up. If you didn’t make your dream come true the first time, it doesn’t mean it’s over,” Yabusele said. “You can’t give up. You have to work harder. I never give up, even though it was hard for me to leave Boston.”

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Call it the Marcus Freeman method.

I went to Notre Dame to learn the way Freeman felt about the opportunity of becoming the primary Black coach – and the primary Asian-American coach, more on that later – to win a university football national title. But at any time when I asked him about his future within the championship, Freeman focused on the current.

“The win is all a reflection of winning the break. It’s a reflection of staying in the moment,” Freeman said Oct. 12 after Notre Dame beat Stanford 49-7. The Irish, ranked twelfth within the College Football Playoff rankings with a 5-1 record, play Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Saturday.

“You don’t control the journey. You have to trust the journey,” Freeman said. “That’s what I tell these guys. There is one guarantee that the longer term is uncertain. Why waste time dreaming about it? Why sit here and take into consideration what is going to occur in the longer term when it is uncertain? Why don’t you are taking the time to focus on the things you should do this have a likelihood of getting the result you would like?

“We will worry about what the result will be at the end of the season. We just have to continue to stay in the moment.”

This moment and this method hold promise for Freeman. Now in his third season at Notre Dame, at age 38, Freeman is one in all a dozen coaches – no matter ethnicity – with the appropriate combination of college, NIL budget and schedule to win a national title. That may not occur for Freeman this season accumulating damage and the blemish of a shocking Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois. But with the playoffs expanding to 12 teams and Freeman’s proven ability to recruit and develop top talent, Notre Dame might be within the constant hunt.

No Black coach has won a national championship in college football, one in all the last unfulfilled “firsts” in sports. Just 16 out of 134 coaches at this highest level of competition, there are Blacks in comparison with greater than half of the players. There are three Polynesian coaches within the FBS: Ken Niumatalolo, who is Samoan, from San Jose State; Kalani Sitake of Tonga at BYU; and Timmy Chang of the University of Hawaii. Despite this history, there are an unprecedented variety of Black coaches leading programs with a reputable path to championships in the following few years: Freeman, James Franklin at Penn State, Sherrone Moore at Michigan and Deion Sanders at Colorado (or anywhere else). might be his next stop).

Freeman is actually the second black coach in Notre Dame history. The first was Tyrone Willingham, who coached the Irishman from 2002 to 2004 and was then fired in what many black observers considered a rash decision. While at Notre Dame, Willingham tried to recruit top-of-the-line highschool defenders within the country – tough forward Marcus Freeman.

“Coach Willingham influenced me,” Freeman said during an interview at Notre Dame Stadium. On his desk is a photograph of his wife and 6 children; a tattooed wedding ring surrounds his left ring finger. On her feet, Golden Goose sneakers. “I remember talking to him on the phone many times, thinking that he reminded me of my father in his attitude and tone.”

Freeman’s black father was serving within the Air Force when he met and married Freeman’s mother, who is South Korean. Identity generally is a tricky thing – a word to Tiger Woods – so I asked Freeman how he describes his ethnicity.

“It depends on who is asking,” he replied. “I am a multiracial person. My father is African American, my mother is Korean. I am a piece of both of them. They both have a huge impact on my life and me cover both sides of this.”

After returning to highschool, despite Willingham’s recruitment, Freeman selected Ohio State, where he was an All-Big Ten linebacker within the 2006 and 2007 seasons. Ohio State lost the national title game in Freeman’s final two college seasons. So how do these losses impact Freeman’s coaching now?

“Those two national championship games didn’t end the way you wanted them to,” he said. “I’m happy that at some point I’ll be able to lift the trophy and become champion.”

At this point, Freeman rubs his hands, probably unconsciously, as he mentions winning all of it – a rare moment when he allows himself to daydream. Then he returned to his method.

“But when I think about these games,” he continued, “I feel concerning the journey. I take into consideration people. I feel concerning the exceptional seasons we had in 2006 and 2007 and the ups and downs of those seasons. But most significantly, I only remember the people, the coaches, the players and the journey we were on.

I appreciate Freeman’s approach. Sport comes with enormous pressure, so many extraordinary demands and expectations, but in each season there can only be one winner. You cannot label anyone or anything as a failure, especially in college football where most of Freeman’s players might be playing last. If we won’t find meaning in the game beyond winning, the entire endeavor does more harm than good.

Freeman was chosen within the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft, but his profession was ended by a diagnosis of an enlarged heart. Beginning as an assistant at his alma mater, Freeman coached linebackers at Kent State and Purdue, where he rose to the position of co-defensive coordinator. Then Luke Fickell, who coached Freeman at Ohio State, hired him to run the defense in Cincinnati. Freeman developed the Bearcats D into top-of-the-line units within the country and was recognized as a rising star.

In 2021, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly hired Freeman as defensive coordinator. A 12 months later, Kelly went to LSU. Notre Dame considered various candidates, including Fickell, who finished the season in Cincinnati with a 13-1 record. But behind an outpouring of support from players and recruits, Freeman landed the highest job.

How did it occur?

“I worked tirelessly in the position I held,” Freeman said. “I worked very hard to be the most effective defensive coordinator I might be. I never got here to work attempting to interview for the Notre Dame head coaching position. I tell people on a regular basis that should you keep on the lookout for one other opportunity, you’ll waste the one in front of you. And the most effective thing you may do to make the most of your next opportunity is to make great use of the chance you’ve got now.

This is the Marcus Freeman method. Buckle up, put all the pieces you may into what you may control, after which live with the outcomes.

But it wasn’t that way back that this approach rarely worked for Black coaches in all sports. Even today, exertions and high qualifications aren’t any guarantee – just ask UCLA associate head coach Eric Bienemy or Boston Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell …or Willingham.

When Willingham began coaching in 1977 at Michigan State, and even when he was hired at Notre Dame 25 years later, opportunities for black coaches were extremely rare. Fast forward to 2021, when Freeman — who has never been a head coach at any level — landed the Notre Dame job over the older, more experienced and, dare I say, whiter Fickell.

It’s like a brand new day for me. What about you, Coach Willingham?

“We now have the opportunity to do things that have never been done before,” Willingham told me over the phone on Monday. “Many years ago we needed to cope with quite a lot of stereotypes. You cannot have a black center, you may’t have a black point guard, because those were our views. So you could not have a Black head coach because that meant you needed to be thoughtful and thoughtful and intuitive.

“I do not know what to call this barrier, nevertheless it was one in all those things that, as we progressed as a society, needed to be removed. And I feel we’re attending to the purpose, the issue is not solved yet, nevertheless it’s lots higher than it was.

Freeman understands the probabilities of this era.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say there are days when I’m in my office, sitting alone, and I say, ‘You’re the top coach on the University of Notre Dame.’ It’s surreal. I’ll definitely remember. You must, because should you take it with no consideration, it would be taken away.

“And then,” Freeman said, “you come back to the moment.”