Women's March Madness scores: First-round results, highlights from NCAA Tournament

Opinion: Connecticut Lit The Spark. Now The WNBA Must Stop Playing Games.

When I wrote in June that Hartford had a chance to save the Connecticut Sun and revive our city, it was a warning shot. I argued then that this wasn't just about basketball — it was about civic pride, economic growth, and whether Connecticut had the imagination to seize a rare major-league opportunity.

Two months later, that spark has spread. Gov. Ned Lamont is lobbying the NBA. Comptroller Sean Scanlon is blasting the WNBA for blocking deals. And just last week, Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam stood outside a newly renovated PeoplesBank Arena and declared that it was time for the people to fight back.

Hartford bid to purchase Connecticut Sun undeterred by reported lack of support from WNBA

Make no mistake: the politicians are now echoing what fans have been saying all summer. Connecticut is ready, the offers are real, and the only obstacle standing in the way is the WNBA itself.

The bids are there. The problem is the league.

Two separate groups have come forward with bids north of $325 million — Steve Pagliuca in Boston and Marc Lasry here in Hartford. Both are serious. Both are financed. And in Hartford's case, the state has pledged to cover the cost of a modern practice facility — the one legitimate gap between us and the Boston bid.

The Mohegan Tribe has done its part, too. After 22 years of ownership, they are willing to sell and even prefer a deal that keeps the team in-state. The offers are real. The desire is real. The infrastructure is real.

So why are we stuck? Because the WNBA and its NBA overseers want more than a sale price. They want a relocation fee on top — pushing the deal toward $400 million or more — and they want the team in a larger NBA-aligned market. Translation: Houston, not Hartford.

Connecticut deserves better

This state has been more than a host. Connecticut kept the WNBA alive when no one else would. The Mohegan Tribe bought the failing Orlando Miracle in 2002, invested when it wasn't fashionable, and built one of the league's most consistent franchises. The Sun hosted All-Star Games when others wouldn't. They hosted drafts, ran youth clinics, and kept the league visible during leaner years.

Our fans — led by UConn Nation — filled the seats. This season, even as the team struggled on the court, the Sun sold out season tickets for the first time in franchise history and averaged their highest-ever attendance. That's not failure. That's proof.

CT leaders want Connecticut Sun to stay in state. Here's what's being said

If the Sun leave, it won't be because Connecticut couldn't support them. It will be because the league decided that the business of expansion mattered more than the loyalty of fans who carried women's basketball for decades.

A call for honesty

Here's what needs to happen now. First, the WNBA must be transparent. Stop pretending this is about Hartford's ability to support a franchise. Stop hiding behind technicalities about expansion bids. The truth is simple: the league wants money and NBA-market alignment. Say it plainly, and let the state, the investors, and the fans decide if the price is worth it.

Second, if the WNBA is determined to move the team, Connecticut deserves legacy terms. That means a commitment to award the next realistic expansion franchise to an in-state group, annual showcase games in Hartford, and a partnership with UConn and youth programs that built this sport long before it was fashionable.

And finally, if the door is open — even a crack — give us the number. Publish the relocation fee. Tell us the conditions. Don't leave fans and officials fighting in the dark while the league maneuvers behind closed doors.

The people are paying attention

Something new has happened in Connecticut politics. This isn't just backroom lobbying anymore. Leaders are holding press conferences, urging residents to flood the league with calls and messages. They're naming the interference for what it is: anti-competitive behavior.

That didn't happen by accident. It happened because the people of this state — fans, writers, citizens — raised their voices first. The spark was lit here. And now even our highest officials are echoing the urgency.

The question is whether the WNBA will listen, or whether they've already made up their mind.

If the answer is yes, set the terms and let Connecticut rise to the challenge. If the answer is no, say it clearly, honor what this state built, and move on.

But don't insult our intelligence by pretending this is about our market. We've proven ourselves for 23 years. Connecticut is the basketball capital. And the WNBA should either respect that — or admit it never mattered.

Gregory Johnson is a Hartford native and the author of "Save the Sun, revive the city. Why Hartford must fight for the WNBA".

How The Ivy League Became A Stepping Stone To NIL Paydays In College ...

College basketball's transfer trends are now touching the last sacred corner of Division I athletics: the Ivy League has officially become a stepping stone for basketball prospects en route to an NIL payday. 

Harvard forward Chisom Okpara's entry into the transfer portal on Tuesday is just the latest evidence of the trend, which has taken hold in the 2024 transfer cycle with players such as Malik Mack (Harvard to Georgetown) Danny Wolf (Yale to Michigan), Tyler Perkins (Penn to Villanova) and Kalu Anya (Brown to Saint Louis).

Does a two-year NIL earnings window outweigh the lifelong benefits of graduating from Harvard? That's debatable. But even the Ivy League and its fabled group of academically superior institutions is not immune to the roster poaching that is now the norm in college basketball.

As a 6-foot-8 stretch forward who averaged 16.5 points for the Crimson in his sophomore season, Okpara has enough game to play at the high-major level. Two years from now, it's possible his degree could be from a state university with an acceptance rate of 85% instead of from Harvard. But he'll profit off his talents in a way that he can't at Harvard, which does not have an NIL collective.

Chisom Okpara entering the transfer portal is a brutal blow to Harvard.  Getty Images

Outbound Ivy League transfers are nothing new in men's basketball. A steady stream of them have made their way to new homes in the sport over the last several years. But that has typically been because the league's rules not only don't allow athletic scholarships, but also prohibit graduate students from competing. Thus, some players wanting to use their final season(s) of eligibility had no choice but to leave the conference.

The same thing is occurring this year with Clark Slajchert (Penn to USC), Chris Manon (Cornell to Vanderbilt), Matt Knowling (Yale to USC), Justice Ajogbor (Harvard to Saint Joseph's), Matt Allocco (Princeton to Notre Dame) and other graduate transfers.

But as those players depart the Ivy League, they are doing so with immensely valuable degrees from the nation's most prestigious schools.

Mack, Wolf, Perkins, Anya and Okpara are leaving with some credit hours and a big bet on their athletic futures. They are wagering that the money they earn and basketball development they receive at new institutions will ultimately prove more valuable than lifelong status as an Ivy League graduate.

They were smart enough to be admitted to Ivy League schools in the first place. So it's safe to assume they made sound decisions after thoroughly evaluating the pros and cons of each side. Only time will tell whether they were right decisions, but they are decisions with ramifications for college basketball and the Ivy League.

In the short run, the trend of undergraduate stars transferring out is a disaster for Ivy League coaches and programs. Where is Harvard coach Tommy Amaker going to find suitable replacements for Mack and Okpara, who were his two leading scorers in the 2023-24 season?

Even if there were an abundance of uncommitted players from the Class 2024 available, Harvard's 3.6% acceptance rate would eliminate nearly all of them, and the application deadline for admission has long passed. The university's transfer acceptance rate is even lower. Harvard's website notes that it welcomes about 12 transfers each fall from a pool that averages more than 1,500 applicants.

Amaker can't exactly go mining the America East or NEC for reinforcements. Seven players with somewhat significant game experience are set to return for Harvard, but none of them averaged double figures. Amaker may wind up relying on a four-man freshman signing class to offer substantive contributions next season.

In the long run, perhaps this transfer cycle is a good thing for the Ivy League programs. It could be the impetus to awakening a dormant sense of competitive drive within a class of immensely wealthy alumni who have the power to bring change.

Certainly, graduates of schools such as Harvard, Princeton and Yale have more important philanthropic causes at hand than retaining all-conference basketball players. But they also have no shortage of money to throw around. Brown was the only Ivy League school that did not appear on Forbes' 2022 list of 11 universities with the wealthiest alums.

With the pocket change those alums have left over after donating to more pressing causes, they could band together to build their basketball programs into formidable powers. However, the concept of collectives has been met with both institutional and alumni resistance in the Ivy League, as the Harvard Crimson recently reported. 

The idea behind the hesitance is that the Ivy League experience is about academics first. If you're paying the basketball players for their talents, then why aren't you also paying the future doctors, future technology gurus and future world leaders who are also enrolled? The degree is your compensation. It's the key to get you in doors that most can never enter. 

But if high-level Ivy League basketball players continue to denigrate the value of Ivy League degrees by choosing to play at other universities, eventually pride will become a factor.

Even a single sports-obsessed donor could singlehandedly launch an annual fund with enough money to keep players like Mack and Okpara at Harvard. A handful of athletically-minded donors from an Ivy League school could pool their donations and create the spending power needed to turn their alma mater into the league's dominant force.

The only constant in college sports is change, and perhaps the 2024 college basketball transfer cycle will be the spark that brings some of that change to the Ivy League's approach on NIL.

If not, then expect to see more and more undergraduate basketball players leaving the nation's most prestigious academic institutions in the years ahead.

Players In This Pro Basketball Team Get Called Up To The NBA G League ...

A new professional basketball team is headed to Rochester. The Rochester Kingz, coached by Anthony Flowers, will debut in The Basketball League (TBL) for the 2025 season.

"The Basketball League is dedicated to delivering a world-class professional basketball experience to our community, fans, and business partners," the TBL website says.

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The league provides affordable entertainment and engages the community through appearances at youth camps, clinics, and nonprofit organizations.

In addition to basketball, the league offers players educational opportunities in financial literacy, health and wellness, nutrition, preventive medicine, and sports biomechanics.

"The Basketball League is a very high-profile league where players are constantly called up to play in the NBA G League and the NBA," said Knowledge Allah, Rochester Kingz owner.

Professional basketball history in Rochester

Rochester's most recent professional basketball team was the Rochester RazorSharks, which played in the American Basketball Association until 2007. The team then left the ABA and became a founding member of the Premier Basketball League.

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Before the RazorSharks, Rochester had an NBA team. The Rochester Royals were formed in 1945 but left the league after the 1956–57 season due to a lack of financial support. The Royals, however, didn't leave without a victory, winning the 1951 NBA championship.

When and where to see the Rochester Kingz

Rochester Kingz home games will temporarily be played at James Monroe High School before transitioning to Blue Cross Arena.

The Kingz will open their season with games from Feb. 27 to March 1 in Newfoundland, Canada. Their first home games are scheduled for March 7–8. For more information visit the Rochester Kingz's Instagram.

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More: Rochester Royals: All the photos from Rochester's only NBA team. Take a peek

—As a Rochester native, Justice Marbury entered the world of journalism to create work where voices like hers were heard— the voices of minority communities. Marbury covers small businesses, neighborhood concerns, and the interesting people who live in Rochester's 19th Ward. As the 19th Ward reporter, she has helped implement community outreach ideas by asking what people in various communities want to read about themselves in addition to regular news. Contact her on Instagram @justice_marbury and by email at jmarbury@gannett.Com.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: New professional basketball team comes to Rochester

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