Eli Boettger | @boettger_eli | 06/01/20
Welcome back to Three Things!
The intention of Three Things is simple: Keeping you informed. The offseason can be a busy time and college basketball isn’t always on everyone’s radars from April to October.
Here’s how it will work: Every morning, Monday through Friday, we will provide you with three things that you need to know from the previous day. Pretty simple, right? You’ll be amazed by your new college basketball wisdom!
Here are the three things you need to know for June 1.
—Subscribe to Heat Check today!
Seth Towns detained in protest
Amid a weekend filled with protests and riots across the nation in wake of George Floyd’s death, Ohio State wing Seth Towns was detained by police in a protest in Columbus, Ohio. Towns — who virtually graduated from Harvard the day before — was released shortly after and returned to his home.
Towns posted a video on social media addressing the incident on Saturday and was interviewed on SportsCenter on Sunday. He encouraged fellow athletes to take action and use their platform to “speak up for what’s wrong.” Towns, a Columbus, Ohio native, was named the ’17-18 Ivy League player of the year and graduated with a sociology degree at Harvard before transferring to Ohio State earlier this spring.
Nike EYBL canceled
Nike has decided to move forward and cancel its grassroots events for the remainder of the year. The Nike EYBL is the largest showcase for top high school talent around the nation, featuring noteworthy events like the annual Peach Jam tournament in North Augusta, Ga.
“This was not a decision taken lightly, but the health and safety of our athletes, families, fans and employees is our top priority,” said the Nike EYBL in a release. “We look forward to bringing the EYBL back in 2021.”
Andrew Nembhard transfers
Despite the calendar transitioning to June, major movement continues on the transfer market. On Sunday, Florida guard Andrew Nembhard removed his name from the draft pool and will instead transfer out of the university.
Nembhard is one of the biggest names to enter the market all spring. The junior-to-be guard started each of Florida’s 67 games as an underclassman and averaged 11.2 points, 5.6 assists, three rebounds and 1.1 steals per game this past season. According to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, Gonzaga, Duke, Oregon, UCLA, USC, Memphis and Georgetown have already reached out to the 6-5 Canadian product.
Eli Boettger is a college basketball writer and founder of HeatCheckCBB.com. He has previously worked for Sporting News, DAZN and USA TODAY SMG.
Boettger’s content has been featured by Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, FiveThirtyEight, Yahoo Sports, Athletic Director University, Washington Post, Illinois Law Review and Notre Dame Law Review, among other publications. Boettger is also a current USBWA member and Rockin’ 25 voter.