Dishon Jackson

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Pitt gets ‘physical’ center

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt men’s basketball team received the first commitment from the 2025 transfer portal with the addition of 6-foot-11, 270-pound center Dishon Jackson.

Jackson averaged 8.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 18.7 minutes per game, while starting 33 of 35 games at Iowa State last season.

“Dishon is an aggressive and physical post player who moves well and has a good feel for the game on both ends of the floor,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. “He is someone we targeted early in the transfer portal because he consistently plays with toughness, physicality and a competitive edge. He will be a strong veteran voice on the court and in the locker room.”

Jackson began his career at Washington State (2020-22) and played one season at Charlotte (2023-24) before spending a year at Iowa State.

Kentucky loads up on transfers

Kentucky coach Mark Pope dipped into the transfer portal on Friday, adding a quartet of players with former Pittsburgh point guard Jaland Lowe, Alabama forward Mouhamed Dioubate, Tulane guard Kam Williams and Arizona State forward Jayden Quaintance.

Lowe spent two seasons at Pitt, averaging 13.3 points, 4.3 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 64 games while playing for coach Jeff Capel. He led the Panthers in points (16.8) and assists (5.5) as a sophomore, though he also struggled with turnovers, averaging 3.0 as Pitt saw a promising start fizzle into a 17-15 season.

The 6-foot-3 Lowe was a third-team All-ACC selection.

“Jaland is an incredibly explosive, playmaking, veteran point guard,” Pope said. “He’s a great kid who has a tremendous work ethic and most importantly, loves this game and wants nothing more than to win.”

Elsewhere:

n Former Xavier guard Ryan Conwell is heading about an hour west to Louisville.

n UCLA announced that three transfers are joining the Bruins. Xavier Booker, a forward-center from Michigan State, has two years of eligibility remaining. Jamar Brown, a guard from Missouri-Kansas City, and Steven Jamerson II, a forward-center from the University of San Diego, will enroll as graduate students. They join guard Donovan Dent, who earlier this month announced he was leaving New Mexico.

n New West Virginia coach Ross Hodge announced the signing of 7-footer Harlan Obioha, who averaged 9.2 points, 6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game as a junior in his only season at UNC Wilmington.

n Michigan added former UCLA 7-foot center Aday Mara, who averaged 6.4 points and four rebounds last season as a sophomore.

NBA

Morant changes 3-point celebration

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Ja Morant got in trouble again for aiming an imaginary gun to celebrate 3-pointers, so he has gone to a different make-believe violent way to mark a long-distance shot.

The Memphis Grizzlies leading scorer, who was fined $75,000 recently for mimicking pointing a long gun after a basket from outside the arc, acted like he was pulling the pin and tossing a grenade in Thursday night’s 141-125 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Morant, who was 5 of 13 from 3-point range, in some cases even covered his ears after the windmill-like hurl of the invisible explosive.

“That’s my celebration now until somebody else has a problem with it, and I’ll find another one,” Morant said after Thursday’s shootaround.

Jokic to average triple-double for season

DENVER — Nikola Jokic will average a triple-double for the season, making the Denver star the third player in NBA history to pull off such a feat.

It became statistically certain on Friday night when Jokic got his fourth assist of Denver’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies. That assist was his 700th of the season — so, even if he doesn’t get another before Sunday’s end of the regular season, which would be his 70th game, he is assured of averaging no worse than 10.0 assists.

The other players to average a triple-double for a full season: Russell Westbrook, Jokic’s current Denver teammate, and Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson.

Elsewhere:

n Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Wednesday, and the team said he will be re-evaluated in about six weeks.

n Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells is expected to miss the rest of the season after breaking his right wrist and sustaining a concussion and facial laceration in a hard fall Tuesday against the Charlotte Hornets.

Friday’s games:

n Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds to lead the Milwaukee Bucks in a 125-119 win over the Detroit Pistons, securing the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Milwaukee will face the fourth-seeded Indiana Pacers in the first round, a year after losing to them in the opening round. Detroit will match up with the third-seeded New York Knicks.

n Darius Garland scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers’ comeback from 23 points down for a 108-102 victory over the New York Knicks, who finished 0-8 against the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.

n Trevelin Queen scored a career-high 25 points and Anthony Black added 21 points, six rebounds and seven assists to help the Orlando Magic pull away from the Indiana Pacers 129-115 in a battle of backups.

n Payton Pritchard scored 22 points, Sam Hauser had 20 and the Boston Celtics beat the Charlotte Hornets 130-94 for their 60th victory of the season.

n Trae Young hit six 3-pointers and had 36 points and 11 assists, Caris LeVert added 31 points and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 124-110, securing an Eastern Conference play-in spot.

WNBA

Bueckers projected to go No. 1

NEW YORK — The WNBA is set to welcome its new rookie class, headlined by Paige Bueckers when the league holds its annual draft Monday night.

The UConn star, who is fresh off leading the Huskies to their 12th national championship, is projected to go No. 1 to the Dallas Wings. Bueckers will be a big piece on and off the court for the Wings.

Seattle has the second pick and potentially could take France’s Dominique Malonga. The 19-year-old helped France win the silver medal at the Paris Olympics this past summer. If she’s drafted second, she’d be only the fifth foreign player to go in the first two picks in the history of the league.

The Washington Mystics will control the direction of the draft after the top two picks, having the third, fourth and sixth picks.

Clark-Reese matchup set

NEW YORK — Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever will face Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky in prime time to tip off the inaugural WNBA Rivals Week in August.

Other games will include two between New York and Minnesota in a WNBA Finals rematch; a matchup of projected No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers and Dallas against Clark’s Fever; and Atlanta’s Brittney Griner facing her old Phoenix squad.