HORNETS-HARRISON
Hornets sign undrafted free agent guard Harrison
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Charlotte Hornets signed undrafted rookie free agent guard Aaron Harrison from Kentucky.
Terms of the deal were not released Tuesday night.
Harrison, who spent two seasons with the Wildcats, played in five games for the Hornets in the summer league in Orlando. He averaged 13.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and team highs of 3.4 assists and 1.4 steals while scoring in double figures in every game.
Hornets general manager Rich Cho says Harrison is “a talented young player with a lot of potential and we look forward to seeing what he can do moving forward.”
Harrison played in 79 games at Kentucky, helping the Wildcats to back-to-back Final Fours. He averaged 12.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals in 29.2 minutes. He was voted second-team All-SEC last season.
PANTHERS-STADIUM
Panthers upgrades continue at downtown stadium
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Carolina Panthers president Danny Morrison says the team has completed renovating its 153 luxury suites and upgrading cellular service at its 74,500-seat downtown stadium.
The Panthers are two years into a five-year renovation plan.
Morrison says Panthers owner Jerry Richardson has already invested $71 million — about $33.5 million more than he first committed to the project — to upgrade the 20-year-old stadium. The city of Charlotte previously agreed to contribute $75 million for stadium renovations.
Among the luxury suite renovations include easier seating access, additional refrigeration, five large-screen television sets, private restrooms and fully retractable windows.
The team also upgraded its cellular service.
Morrison says the Panthers plan to upgrade the Wifi next year, along with renovating the stadium’s 100- and 500-level concourses as part of phase three.
SEC-SOUTH CAROLINA
Gamecocks’ Spurrier confident heading into 23rd SEC season
HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier shows no signs of slowing down at age 70, saying he feels rejuvenated after the Gamecocks ended last season by winning three of their final four games.
Spurrier enters his 11th season at South Carolina — and 23rd in the Southeastern Conference after 12 years at Florida — with fairly low expectations.
He said Tuesday at SEC Media Days he relishes the challenge of remaking the Gamecocks after a disappointing 7-6 record last year. He wants to get the program back to the level it reached from 2011-13, when it won 11 games in three straight seasons.
And Spurrier won’t rule out a run to the top of the Eastern Division this fall, saying “stranger things have happened.”
NORTH CAROLINA-CRAWLEY
UNC hires former player, coach Crawley as assistant
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina has hired former Tar Heels player and coach Sylvia Crawley as an assistant coach.
Crawley was the top center on UNC’s 1994 NCAA championship team and played professionally for more than a decade, both overseas and in the WNBA.
Crawley also spent two years as an assistant at UNC from 2000-02 and later at Fordham before becoming head coach at Ohio from 2006-08 and Boston College from 2008-12.
Crawley replaces another former UNC playing great, Ivory Latta. Latta resigned in May after two seasons to focus on her professional playing career.
DREAM-MERCURY
Dupree, Griner, Bonner lead Mercury to 6th straight win
PHOENIX (AP) — Candice Dupree and Brittney Griner scored 22 points apiece and Phoenix beat the Atlanta Dream 80-71 on Tuesday night, the Mercury’s sixth straight win.
Atlanta pulled within 76-71 on Angel McCoughtry’s 3-pointer with 2:25 remaining. But Phoenix’s Noelle Quinn hit two free throws to make it a two-possession game and Griner added a late layup, while Atlanta missed its final five shots.
DeWanna Bonner added 18 points, 10 in the fourth quarter, for Phoenix (9-5). She was 10 of 10 from the free throw line and grabbed eight rebounds. Leilani Mitchell made Phoenix’s only 3-pointer of the game, compared to Atlanta’s 13.
Tiffany Hayes scored 19 points for Atlanta (6-8), which lost its first of six straight road games. McCoughtry, Atlanta’s leading scorer at 21.9 points per game, had just 11 points on 3-of-20 shooting.
Atlanta’s Sydney Carter opened the third-quarter scoring with a 3-pointer for a 51-38 lead. But Phoenix scored the next eight points, four from Griner, and outscored Atlanta 11-0 in the final 4 minutes for a 60-58 lead.
