His death was announced this week in an obituary posted by the Prestige Memorial Funeral Home, in Gadsden, Ala. A cause of death was not provided.

“He is survived by his loving family. We ask that you please keep this family and those that may be going through the same lifted in prayer,” the announcement read.

Lubin, who played one season as a freshman for the Huskies from 2014-15, later transferred and played at Cal State Northridge for the 2016-17 season. He transferred again to LSU Shreveport, reported CT Insider.

The Alabama native, nicknamed “Rock” for his toughness on the court, was a highly touted three-star recruit coming out of high school.

After moving to Georgia during his adolescence, Lubin led Buford High School to the Georgia 2A state championship his senior year, averaging 20.3 points and 12.1 rebounds per game.

He was named the Georgia Sportswriters 3A Player of the Year, and ultimately committed to play for then-coach Kevin Ollie at UConn in 2013.

During his freshman year, Lubin played in 24 games for the Huskies, but was one of four players suspended from the program that November for violating team rules.

Although he was later reinstated, transferred to Cal State Northridge, where he averaged 18.2 minutes, 8.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

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He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from LSU Shreveport, according to his LinkedIn page.

Following his basketball career, Lubin was arrested in 2019 for allegedly robbing a Jack’s Family Restaurant in Munford, Ala.

Kadary Richmond, an All-Big East selection with Seton Hall last season, is transferring to St. John’s, adding an established scorer to a team that lost many of its top options from last season.

The Brooklyn-born Richmond, a 6-6 senior guard, led Seton Hall with 15.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game in 2023-24.

“Kadary Richmond is a player I admired so much in the Big East,” Pitino wrote Tuesday on social media. “He’s a great jump shot away from playing for the Knicks. Awesome talent and we are so excited to have him.”

Richmond spent one season at Syracuse and the past three at Seton Hall. He led the Pirates to a 20-12 record, including 13-7 in the Big East, and an NIT championship last season.

“They were big on life after basketball and player development,” Richmond told ESPN of St. John’s. “That stood out to me, the way they kept it real from day one. They are going to allow me to showcase my ability and become a better basketball player and person.”

His addition comes a day after St. John’s announced the arrival of point guard Deivon Smith, who transferred from Utah after averaging 13.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game last season. Pitino compared Smith to Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, whom he coached at Louisville.

The new backcourt duo helps bolster a St. John’s team that lost last season’s three leading scorers in point guard Daniss Jenkins, center Joel Soriano and shooting guard Jordan Dingle, who were each seniors.

St. John’s is set to bring back guard R.J. Luis Jr., who averaged 10.9 points per game last season; point guard Simeon Wilcher and forward Brady Dunlap, who made up Pitino’s first St. John’s recruiting class; and forward Zuby Ejiofor, who came off the bench.

Pitino’s recruiting class this year includes four-star forward Jaiden Glover from Elizabeth, N.J.

St. John’s went 20-13, and 11-9 against the Big East, in its first season under Pitino but failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

“We are thrilled to welcome Reggie Bush back to the Heisman family in recognition of his collegiate accomplishments,” said Michael Comerford, president of The Heisman Trophy Trust. “We considered the enormous changes in college athletics over the last several years in deciding that now is the right time to reinstate the Trophy for Reggie. We are so happy to welcome him back.”

Bush had won the trophy awarded to the top player in college football after amassing more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage and scoring 18 touchdowns in 2005. His 784 first-place votes were the fifth most in Heisman history.

The Heisman Trust has returned the trophy to Bush and the replica to USC. Bush will be invited to all future Heisman Trophy ceremonies.

“Personally, I’m thrilled to reunite with my fellow Heisman winners and be a part of the storied legacy of the Heisman Trophy, and I’m honored to return to the Heisman family,” Bush said in a statement to ESPN. “I also look forward to working together with the Heisman Trust to advance the values and mission of the organization.”

The USC football program wrote in a social media post, “back where it belongs. ” The reinstatement of Bush gives USC a total of eight Heisman winners, most of any school.

The Trust said in its statement that its decision followed a “deliberative process” in which it closely monitored changes in the college athletics landscape. That included the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2021 decision that questioned the legality of the NCAA’s amateurism model and opened the door to athlete compensation; the ability of players to be paid for their name, image, and likeness; and the NCAA’s recent proposal to remove the cap on education-related payments.

“Recognizing that the compensation of student athletes is an accepted practice and appears here to stay, these fundamental changes in college athletics led the Trust to decide that now is the right time to return the Trophy to Bush, who unquestionably was the most outstanding college football player of 2005,” the Trust said.

Johnny Manziel, the 2012 Heisman winner from Texas A&M, said on social media last month that he would not participate in Heisman festivities unless Bush got his trophy back. He thanked the Trust on Wednesday “for doing what’s right and welcoming a storied member of our history back into the fold. There were many voices throughout this process that stood on the table for Reggie simply because of the kind of human being he is. I look forward to being on that stage with you this December (Reggie Bush) you deserve it.”

Among others praising the decision were 2022 winner and the projected No. 1 pick in Thursday’s NFL draft, Caleb Williams of USC, 2001 winner Eric Crouch of Nebraska and 2011 winner Robert Griffin III of Baylor.

Bush had his award vacated in 2010 after USC was hit with NCAA sanctions when it was found that Bush and his family received money and gifts from fledgling marketing agents who were hoping to represent him.

The NCAA also erased 13 wins in which Bush played, as well as the 55-19 victory over Oklahoma in the Bowl Championship Series title game at the Orange Bowl following the 2004 season.
Bush was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2006 NFL draft, by New Orleans, and he played for five teams over 11 seasons.

Last August, Bush filed a defamation lawsuit against the NCAA for issuing a statement to media in 2021 that said Bush had a “pay-for-play” arrangement. That statement was in response to media inquiries about whether Bush would have his statistics from his USC career reinstated when NIL payments became permissible. Bush contended the statement cast him in a false light.

Amitral “AJ” Simon Jr., originally from Tobyhanna, Pa., was a standout defensive lineman for the Great Danes’ football program in 2023.

Two joyous year coaching and becoming friends with AJ Simon. My prayers are dedicated to the Simon family. I love you AJ and will always have a special place in my heart for #8. pic.twitter.com/vps8tqA5O3

— Greg Gattuso (@CoachGGattuso) April 17, 2024

So far, there’s been no cause of death given and very few details as to what transpired on Wednesday.

“The UAlbany football program was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former student-athlete Amitral ‘AJ’ Simon this morning,” the university stated on X. “AJ was a tremendous young man and even better teammate throughout his time at UAlbany. He was a role model both on and off the field, serving as a pillar to this program over the last two years.”

After beginning his college career at Division II Bloomsburg University, Simon transferred to Albany and played two seasons for the Danes.

Last year, he helped lead the team to a first Coastal Athletic Association championship, their first trip to the FCS semifinals and most program wins in a single season, 11.

The 6-foot-1, 260-pound defender recorded 12.5 sacks on the year and was a 2023 All-CAA first-team defensive selection.

University at Albany Head Football Coach Greg Gattuso remembered Simon in a post to X on Wednesday, writing: “Two joyous year coaching and becoming friends with AJ Simon. My prayers are dedicated to the Simon family. I love you AJ and will always have a special place in my heart for #8.

According to Spotrac, an elite WNBA rookie of Clark’s status will earn just $76,535 in her first year with the Indiana Fever.

She’ll get a 2% raise in her second year, where the Fever will pay the new face of its franchise $78,066.

The third year of her deal will reportedly be worth $85,873.

If Clark meets expectations — which could mean being the greatest professional basketball player of all time — Indiana can exercise an option to keep the sharpshooting point guard for $97,582 in 2027. That makes her four-year deal worth just over $338,000.

“This is the most competitive league in the entire world,” Clark said after being drafted. “You better bring it every single night.”

While most dental hygienists don’t have millions of fans, job site Indeed lists their average annual salary at $78,188. That’s $1,653 more than Clark will earn during the 2024 season.

After Clark graduates from the University of Iowa next month, she could apply to make $76,305 per year as a petroleum engineer. Should she choose to give her knees a break and become a junior software engineer, Indeed says that job pays an average of $75,623 per year. And according to ZipRecruiter, managing a Manhattan McDonald’s can pay around $70,000 annually.

By contrast, NBA rookie Victor Wembanyama will earn $12.1 million this season alone. His four-year contract is good for $55 million, according to Spotrac.

But that isn’t to say anyone should be passing the polyester cap for Clark just yet.

She was worth more than $3 million as the face of companies including Nike and Gatorade in college, according to Business Insider. The Iowa native will likely see her endorsement contracts get bigger as she takes her game to the next level.

She recently appeared on “Saturday Night Live” and has been dubbed “The Taylor Swift of sports” by NBC Sports analyst Dan Patrick.

While the WNBA did not confirm Clark’s base salary, a spokesperson said in a statement to The Daily News: “Caitlin Clark stands to make a half million dollars or more in WNBA earnings this coming season, in addition to what she will receive through endorsements and other partnerships, which has been reported to already exceed $3 million.”

Precise. Entertaining. Likeable. All the essentials bringing him to this moment in what has already been a star-shine career, were on display throughout the event known as March Madness.

Still, there was nothing maddening about the way CBS Sports, under the direction of its boss, Sean McManus, who will slip into retirement after Sunday’s scheduled final round of The Masters, handled the transition from Jim Nantz, the long-time play-by-play impresario of the NCAA men’s hoops fiesta and face of CBS Sports, to Eagle.

The move from Nantz to Eagle, first announced in 2022, was clean, efficient and, from the outside looking in, drama free. It was the smoothest, marquee transition in the history of TV sports. Or at least in our many moons of commenting on a business where anxiety flows freely and participants eyes are often trained to look over their shoulders.

Yes, history offers plenty of examples of big moves pitted with giant potholes filled with bad blood. One came in April 1990 on the eve of NCAA tourney championship game. With his five-year contract ($2 million per) at CBS Sports expiring, and his demands for even more power increasing, the suits cut Brent Musburger off at the pass, announcing the Sunday before Monday’s Championship Game between UNLV and Duke, that they would not renew his contract. It was a stunning development. Nonetheless CBS Sports brass still allowed Musburger, the prototypical Anchor Monster, to call the title tilt in Denver with his partner Billy Packer. No surprise the story of CBS’ Musburger machinations over shadowed the game, sucking up plenty of media attention.

One of the bumpiest, and bizarre, transition rides involved The Great Minimalist, Pat Summerall. Along with John Madden, he formed what still is the gold standard for NFL broadcast teams. Summerall and Madden were working at Fox Sports in 1999, their sixth year together at Murdoch Tech.

The Foxies were not happy with Summerall’s performance that season. They concocted a plan: The Foxies would convince  Summerall to agree to retire after the Fox-produced 2002 Super Bowl, which would mark his 50th season of being associated with the NFL as a player and broadcaster.  Summerall would be replaced by Joe Buck.

It was set for Summerall to announce all this at a hotel press conference in 2000. The night before the gathering it was leaked to the press that Summerall would be announcing his retirement. Fox suits believed they had Summerall boxed in. But at the press conference, Summerall, a tough SOB, reversed field. He told the gathering of notebooks and cameras he WASN’T retiring and “hoped to be working with John Madden in the years to come.”

An awkward moment. Embarrassing? To say the least. The questions about Summerall’s future continued for over a year. Before Super Bowl week in 2002, in a conference call set up by his agent, Summerall finally agreed to step down after the Supe telecast

There was no such fumbling the handoff from Nantz to Eagle. Not even close. If Nantz did have any reservations losing such a marquee assignment, it had to be tempered by the fact he still is the voice of The Masters and CBS No. 1 NFL play-by-play voice.

Which must be thrilling for Nantz, considering he still gets to partner with Tony Romo.

COACHING CRITICISM

Bill Raftery had an excellent tournament for CBS/TBS.

At least he dared, on national TV, to indicate that UConn coach Danny Hurley, who the college hoops media deifies, isn’t perfect.

Raftery was critical of Hurley’s sideline demeanor. And CBS/TBS cameras gave the Huskies coach plenty of facetime to capture his “personality.”

While Raf is generally coach-friendly, he does have a history of punching up.

His most memorable bit of analysis was directed at the late John Thompson. Raftery created a firestorm when he criticized the coach for Georgetown’s rough style of play.

QUOTABLE STEPHEN A.

There were some unexpected benefits of the eclipse.

Like Stephen A. Smith’s play-by-play of the phenomenon.

It was definitely one of a kind with lines from SAS, like:

“It’s giving me a headache actually looking up there.”

“It’s not a full blockage of the sun, but you know, I mean it reminds you how marvelous science is.”

“It was everything I thought it would be because I didn’t think anything about it.”

And finally. The line explaining it all to friend and foe alike.

“It’s the solar eclipse. Stephen A. style.”

SURREAL CONVERSATION

Even with rule changes that speed up the game, baseball broadcasters still have plenty of time to fill.

This leads to some unusual (some might think the chats are a waste of time) conversations.

Like the one Michael Kay and Paul O’Neill had on YES during the (April 5) Jays-Yankees game. For reasons known only to them, the two voices thought a discussion about the use of the word “surreal” was fascinating.

They tried to figure out if the word was overused. Nonetheless, we would have rather heard Kay (as he has on his radio show) explain why he’s so angry over Shohei Ohtani not answering reporters’ questions concerning the alleged gambling fiasco. Wonder what O’Neill has to say about that?

AROUND THE DIAL

Never been a fan of three-person booths. If it’s hard to get right on TV, it’s a bigger challenge to pull it off on radio where, for obvious reasons, the play-by-play voice gloms most of the airtime. For its Final Four radiocasts, Westwood One went three-man (play-by-play voice Kevin Kugler and analysts Clark Kellogg and Jim Jackson). The mouths brought insight but there was one too many voices, the presentation was, at times, awkward. And that’s being kind. … ESPN’s women’s hoops studio operation for most of the tournament was smooth. Yet when it got to the Final Four, the Bristol Faculty decided to roll with a cast of thousands (it seemed that way). This was a great example of overkill. … The iconic Stugotz, aka Jon Weiner, made a wise/brilliant decision to stay put in Florida with Dan Le Batard and turndown the Program Director gig at Radio Norman, aka WFAN. The station has too many headaches and not enough cash to pay for the aspirin. … Could not keep track of Keith McPherson’s FAN spiel on the Stadium’s Bleacher Creatures. The long, drawn-out soliloquy was, well, long and drawn out.

* * *

DUDE OF THE WEEK: WAYNE RANDAZZO

For a classic soliloquy/rant. The Angels TV voice delivered the word during a recent telecast. He outlined MLB’s current “scandals,” and how they have been mishandled. The former Mets radio play-by-play man was on target with his scathing critique heard coast-to-coast.

DWEEB OF THE WEEK: MISCREANT METS FANS

Specifically, the ones who used social media to threaten Francisco Lindor and his family. The creeps who engaged in this twisted act are another brick in the foundation of a sports world gone mad. You think these deviants lost money gambling on the Mets?

DOUBLE TALK

What Aaron Rodgers said: “It’s hard to ask for help.”

What Aaron Rodgers meant to say: “It’s hard for ME to ask for help.”

On Sunday, a whopping 18.87 million hoops fans tuned in to watch the undefeated University of South Carolina Gamecocks beat the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and their superstar scorer Caitlin Clark, according to Nielsen ratings.

Meanwhile, on the men’s side, only 14.82 million viewers watched the University of Connecticut Huskies win their second consecutive title Monday by beating the Purdue University Boilermakers.

Viewership topped 24 million during the final minutes of the women’s game, which Nielsen called “the most-watched basketball game — at any level — since 2019.”

The men’s contest provided few late thrills as Connecticut controlled the second half of their 75-60 victory. South Carolina won their game 87-75 after trailing at the end of the first quarter. Women’s college games are divided into quarters while the male hoopsters play halves.

Part of the excitement around the women’s championship game can likely be attributed to Clark, who many fans consider the greatest player of any gender to play college basketball. No NCAA player has scored more points.

But Clark’s efforts weren’t enough to stop the Gamecocks, who finished their season at 38-0 to make their case as one of the best teams to have played college basketball.

“A lot of this stuff a lot of the time turns out to be speculation, but I have not had any contact with anybody,” the Bulls coach said ahead of tipoff against the Knicks on Tuesday. “My commitment is here [in Chicago].”

Donovan is reportedly atop the list of candidates to fill-in for Calipari, who is expected to leave Kentucky and take the head coaching job at Arkansas for next season.

The Bulls head coach agreed it is flattering for such a decorated college basketball program to potentially have interest in hiring him. He served as an assistant at Kentucky for five seasons before taking his first college head coaching job at Marshall in 1994.

“You always are [flattered], right? But I haven’t spoken to anybody,” he said. “Obviously I spent time there. I understand the magnitude of that place, the history and tradition and everything that goes into that place, and it is flattering to be mentioned with a school and tradition like that, but I also know people will speculate on what may or may not happen.

“And I understand the interest in Kentucky basketball — but has John even actually left? And they’re speculating what’s happening. I’m sure the athletic director hasn’t even made any phone calls. I don’t even know.”

Donovan said he’s happy coaching at the NBA level but left the door open for a return to the college game.

“I’m happy here at this level and stuff like that,” he said. “But I also understand in the profession, sometimes things don’t work out at a particular place or things change. And I know I enjoy coaching, and I know I enjoy coaching in the NBA.”

The two-time NCAA championship coach said he isn’t pleased with how the transfer portal has impacted the college game.

“The hard part is and the thing that I don’t love about the [college] game is the players can just jump around the way they jump around. I just don’t think it’s good for them because I don’t think it builds up any level of resiliency or tolerance,” he said. “People say coaches can jump and go here and here — and I get all that. But I’m saying at [this] time where guys are getting paid — and I’ve always been a big advocate for that. I think that should have happened a long time ago. And I’m all for that, but with these guys, if they’re fortunate to come up to this level, they don’t get to pick and choose what team they go to. They have to go and they have to stay there and they have a contract and [they have to] fulfill that.

“And I know coaches jump around, so I don’t want to be hypocritical here, like it’s not great for the players but great for the coaches, but coaches are not jumping through jobs year to year to year. That doesn’t happen. I think there’s something to be said for fighting through things.”

Donovan said he spoke with Bulls vice president Arturas Karnisovas about the reports suggesting Kentucky had interest in poaching Chicago’s head coach.

“Arturas and I had a conversation the other day,” he said. “He asked if anybody reached out to me and I told him no.”

Donovan said his commitment remains in coaching the Bulls, though it’s apparent things could change if the Bulls can’t make it out of the Play-In Tournament.

Or if Kentucky’s offer is too good to refuse.

“Obviously I spent the first five years of coaching over there [at Kentucky]. I think at all my stops I had very fond memories. I have not been contacted by anybody. I haven’t spoken to anybody,” he said. “My total commitment and focus is here with this team. I think with what we’ve been through this year and the way we started to talk about it, I give our guys a lot of credit for hanging in there and battling through some of the things we’ve had to battle through and I’m with them with that.”

And in some ways, this UConn team stands alone.

With the 75-60 victory over Purdue, UConn became the first school to repeat as NCAA champions since Billy Donovan’s Florida Gators from 2006-07. The only other team to do so in the last 50 years was Mike Krzyzewski-led Duke from 1991-92.

UConn’s +140 point differential over its six March Madness games was the largest ever in an NCAA Tournament. Each of the Huskies’ 2024 tournament wins were by double-digits, just like in last year’s run.

That UConn managed to do this during the transfer-portal era — a still-unraveling landscape in which players frequently switch teams for immediate playing time or NIL money — made the feat even more unprecedented.

“I think it’s up there in terms of the greatest two-year runs that a program’s maybe ever had,” Hurley said after Monday’s win in Glendale, Ariz.

“Just because of everything we lost from last year’s team,” he continued, carefully choosing his words. “To lose that much and to do what we did again, it’s got to be as impressive a two-year run as a program’s had since prior to whoever did it before Duke. To me, it is more impressive than what Florida and Duke did, because they brought back their entire teams.”

UConn lost three starters from its 2023 championship team, including its two leading scorers in Adama Sonogo and Jordan Hawkins. Sonogo is now with the Chicago Bulls organization after going undrafted last year, while Hawkins was the 14th overall pick by the New Orleans Pelicans. Andre Jackson, a 2023 second-round pick, now plays for the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Huskies managed to absorb those losses this season thanks to the transfer-portal addition Cam Spencer; the instant excellence of freshman guard Stephon Castle; and the second-year ascent of 7-2 center Donovan Clingan.

Spencer, a do-it-all guard who transferred from Rutgers, averaged 14.3 points per game this season, finished in double-figures in all six tournament games, and scored or assisted on each of UConn’s first four baskets Monday.

Castle, the Big East Freshman of the Year, started 30 games this season, averaged 11.1 points per game, and scored 21 and 15, respectively, in UConn’s final two games of the tournament. His 11 selections for Big East Freshman of the Week set a conference record.

And Clingan, who came off the bench for UConn’s 2023 title team, led the Huskies with 15.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game during the NCAA Tournament, using his physicality to help tire the excellent Zach Edey at times during Monday’s win.

That trio filled out a 2023-24 starting lineup also featuring returning starters Tristen Newton, whose 15.1 points per game led UConn this season, and Alex Karaban, whose 13.3 points per game ranked third on the team.

“This is a whole different year,” said Newton, who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after his 20 points led UConn on Monday. “Credit [Hurley] for setting the tone. Everybody just follows his lead.”

The previous team to repeat before Duke was John Wooden’s UCLA, which won seven consecutive titles from 1967-73. UConn’s roster will again look much different next season as it tries to become the second-ever men’s team to win three championships in a row.

Newton and Spencer are both out of collegiate eligibility. Castle and Clingan are projected to be lottery picks in the 2024 NBA Draft. Karaban could also be a first-round pick.

UConn’s 2024 recruiting class includes touted four-star point guard Ahmad Nowell, as well as four-star forward Isaiah Abraham. Hurley is also prepared to again tackle the transfer portal, which launched in 2018 and, since 2021, has allowed players to change schools without sitting out a year.

“On the flight home tomorrow, we’ll start talking about what the roster is going to look like,” Hurley said Monday. “Obviously, we graduate some players. We’re going to lose a couple, potentially, to the NBA early entry. We’re going to dive in and put together a roster that can play a comparable level of basketball to the one that you guys have witnessed the last two years.”

Hurley, 51, is now one of eight coaches to win back-to-back men’s titles, joining Donovan, Krzyzewski, Wooden, Ed Jucker, Phil Woolpert, Adolph Rupp and Henry Iba. He is one of three active coaches with multiple championships, along with Bill Self, who’s won twice with Kansas, and Rick Pitino, now of St. John’s, who won with Kentucky and Louisville.

UConn, meanwhile, has won six championships since 1999, including three under the retired Jim Calhoun and another under Kevin Ollie, who is now the interim head coach of the Nets. No other school has more than three (Duke and North Carolina) during that stretch.

Hurley signed a six-year, $32.1 million extension following last year’s championship and could be due for another raise after this one. After winning in 2023 as a No. 4 seed, UConn pulverized opponents throughout 2024 en route to a 37-3 record, a Big East championship and the tournament’s top overall seed.

Speculation continues to swirl about Kentucky’s coveted coaching job with John Calipari leaving for Arkansas, but Hurley, who hails from Jersey City, downplayed the possibility he would leave Connecticut.

“I don’t think that’s a concern,” Hurley said Monday with a laugh.

UConn delivered the latest of its suffocating basketball beatdowns Monday night, smothering Purdue for a 75-60 victory to become the first team since 2007 to capture back-to-back national championships.

Tristen Newton scored 20 points for the Huskies, who won their 12th straight March Madness game — not a single one of them decided by fewer than 13 points.

UConn was efficient on offense but won this with defense. The Huskies (37-3) limited the country’s second-best 3-point shooting team to a mere seven shots behind the arc — Purdue only made one — while happily allowing 7-foot-4 AP Player of the Year Zach Edey to go for 37 points on 25 shot attempts.

UConn joined the 2006-07 Florida Gators and the 1991-92 Duke Blue Devils as just the third team to repeat since John Wooden’s UCLA dynasty of the 1960s and ’70s.

Purdue made it this far a year after becoming just the second No. 1 seed in the history of March Madness to fall in the first round. But the Boilermakers (34-5) left the same way they came — still looking for the program’s first NCAA title.