HORNETS-ROBERTS
Hornets add depth by signing free agent PG Roberts
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) β The Hornets announced they’ve signed free agent point guard Brian Roberts.
Roberts, who spent the last two seasons with the Pelicans, is expected to backup Kemba Walker in Charlotte this season.
Hornets general manager Rich Cho said in a release Wednesay, “Brian is a quality point guard who we believe will play a key role for us. We look forward to having him as part of our team.”
The 6-foot-1 Roberts started 42 games last season averaging 9.4 points, 3.3 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 23.2 minutes per game. He shot 42 percent from the field and 36 percent from 3-point range. Prior to joining New Orleans, he spent the 2008-09 season with Galil Gilboa in Israel’s Winner League and then played for Brose Baskets in Germany’s BBL from 2009-12.
SOCON-MEDIA DAY
SoCon commissioner happy with league stability
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) β Southern Conference Commissioner John Iamarino is grateful he’s through with the late-night rumors and frantic calls to league members about whether they’ll be leaving β at least for now.
Iamarino says the SoCon is locked in with 10 members eager to stay part of the Football Championship Subdivision league and aren’t looking to bolt like five others have the past two years, including football national champions Appalachian State and Georgia Southern.
The SoCon added East Tennessee, Mercer and VMI this past July. Mercer and VMI will play football this season. East Tennessee will come online in football a season later.
Iamarino said Wednesday he’s glad he no longer must “defend the flank” when confronted with whispers about realignment.
NASCAR-TRUCKS
Darrell Wallace Jr. wins Mudsummer Classic
ROSSBURG, Ohio (AP) β Darrell Wallace Jr. won the Mudsummer Classic on Wednesday night on the dirt at Eldora Speedway for his second Camping World Truck Series victory of the year.
Wallace took the lead from Kyle Larson on the final restart on the half-mile oval and held on for his third career series victory. He gave Kyle Busch Motorsports its eighth victory in the first 10 races of the season. In addition to Wallace, Busch has won in all five of his starts and Erik Jones also has won for the team.
Larson repeatedly hit the outside wall after giving up the lead, finally damaging his truck so much that he slowed to a crawl and stopped while running second with two laps left. He ended up 26th.
Ron Hornaday took advantage of Larson’s problems to finish second. Ryan Blaney was third, followed by Ken Schrader, Ty Dillon, John Hunter Nemechek, Jeb Burton, Johnny Sauter, Matt Crafton and Austin Dillon.
WAKE FOREST-WILBEKIN
Wilbekin finds comfort with Manning at Wake Forest
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) β Mitchell Wilbekin always has been Danny Manning’s kind of point guard.
So when Manning left Tulsa for Wake Forest, it was only natural that Wilbekin would follow.
Now the freshman guard is looking to step out of the shadow of big brother Scottie Wilbekin and make a name for himself in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The older Wilbekin was the Southeastern Conference’s player of the year last season at Florida.
Mitchell Wilbekin says the ACC is “the best conference in the country by far” and that he is comfortable running Manning’s uptempo, screen-heavy system.
Wilbekin says he ran the same offense the past few years at The Rock School in Gainesville, Florida. He averaged nearly 15 points a game in high school.
WEST VIRGINIA-NC STATE SERIES
NC State, WVU to play 2-game series in 2018-19
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) β North Carolina State and West Virginia will play a home-and-home series beginning in 2018.
The schools announced the series Wednesday.
The teams will play in Raleigh on Sept. 15, 2018, and in Morgantown, West Virginia, on Sept. 14, 2019.
The Wolfpack beat the Mountaineers 23-7 in the 2010 Champs Sports Bowl in what was the final game at N.C. State for quarterback Russell Wilson and Bill Stewart’s last game as West Virginia’s coach.
West Virginia will visit the state of North Carolina twice in three weeks in 2018. Earlier this week, the Mountaineers announced a season-opening neutral-site game against Tennessee on Sept. 1 in Charlotte.
CONFERENCE USA MEDIA DAY
C-USA commish sees bright future in changing times
IRVING, Texas (AP) β The commissioner of Conference USA sees his league at a “pivot point” with a bright future at a time when he says intercollegiate athletics are transitioning from conference realignment to system realignment.
While the five power conferences are seemingly close to getting the autonomy to make their own bylaws, Britton Banowsky says that won’t prevent leagues like 14-member Conference USA from fielding competitive teams, engaging the fan base and having great programs.
Banowsky said Wednesday at C-USA’s football media day that the five higher-resource leagues β the SEC, Big 12, Pac- 12, ACC and Big Ten β have a lot of history with the other five NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision leagues. He believes the two sides will continue to co-exist much like they always have.
PRESEASON ALL-ACC
9 FSU players picked to preseason all-ACC team
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) β Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jameis Winston is one of nine Florida State players on the preseason all-Atlantic Coast Conference team.
The ACC announced its preseason team Wednesday following a vote of media members covering its media days earlier in the week.
Winston was joined by five teammates on the offense β including receiver Rashad Greene, tight end Nick O’Leary, running back Karlos Williams and two offensive linemen.
The defending national champion Seminoles were overwhelming picks to repeat as ACC champions in separate voting by media members.
Miami running back Duke Johnson was the other running back and Duke’s Jamison Crowder and Louisville’s DeVante Parker were the other receivers.
