One of the prestigious high school basketball team camps is back this summer. The East Coast Invitational Team Camp has returned to the Jacksonville area again, and it's been bigger than it has been in years past.
The camp moved up in the summer basketball circuit a couple of years ago and by doing so, allowed the camp to feature more of North Carolina's top high school basketball talent. Twenty-four teams around the ENC area and beyond were participating in the camp. One of the teams is Kinston. Vikings' head coach Perry Tyndall said he always enjoys this event for his players, an event ran by his good friend and a former Kinston head coach, Wells Gulledge.
The quarterfinals of the team camp will be Saturday evening, with the semifinals and championship games happening on Sunday.
In NBA news, days after Kenny Atkinson decided to not take the Charlotte Hornets job and stay with Golden State, Charlotte has their new head coach, or really their old coach back as the team announced that Steve Clifford is returning to coach the Hornets. Clifford led Charlotte to two playoff trips in a five-year run that ended in 2018, and now he begins his second stint with the team trying to mold that young roster.
In College baseball news, N.C. State freshman phenom Tommy White is transferring to LSU. White batted .362 with 27 home runs and 74 RBI during his freshman campaign at N.C. State. White set the NCAA freshman home run record with the Wolfpack this past season. LSU is looking to build on the roster that was one game away from the NCAA Super Regionals.
More college baseball news, another former ECU Pirate moves on from his old baseball team this offseason. Former ECU assistant coach Link Jarrett switches from Notre Dame to now become the head coach for the Florida State Seminoles where Jarrett was a former player. He's fresh off of coaching Notre Dame to an appearance in the College World Series for the first time in 20 years, now he's bound for Tallahassee.
He joins former Pirate Erik Bakich in switching teams as Bakich switched over from Michigan to become the Clemson head coach last week.
In Major League Baseball, Freddie Freeman returned to Atlanta and Truist Park for the first time since becoming a Los Angeles Dodger. The captain got his Braves World Series ring that he helped Atlanta win last season.
Freeman went 1-for-3 at the plate Friday night and N.C. State Wolfpack alum Trea Turner hit a home run for the Dodgers as L.A. wins 4-1.
In Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals, the Tampa Bay Lightning staved off elimination with a 3-2 win over the Colorado Avlanche.
Colorado is trying to win its first Stanley Cup title since 2001 and Tampa Bay is gunning for three-straight.
Game 6 of the series is Sunday in Tampa Bay.