Former Utah defensive end Nate Orchard's rise to one of the country’s best defensive ends last season has been filled with its share of trials.
Orchard shared his story by writing a draft diary for USA Today. In the personal account, Orchard — whose birth name was Nate Fakahafua — explains some of the hard experiences he had to go through. The former Ute moved from California to Utah when he was 10 years old to move in with his brother. Their mom sent money to support them but after two years she couldn’t afford to do it anymore.
“I didn't want to leave, so my only option was to go to my AAU coach's house, knock on his door and ask if I could live with them,” Orchard writes. “I'd only known the family for a couple months. It was probably the most difficult thing I had to do in my life. I wasn't the type of person to ask people for things, but I knew if I wanted to continue playing these organized sports, living my dream, that's the only way I could do so.”
The Orchards took him in, and he says that they gave him the stability to not only excel in sports, but also in life. He said they were the closest thing he has had to a real family, and that’s why he opted to change his name to Orchard two years ago.
Oregon State starts five walk-ons for Senior Night
Oregon State head coach Wayne Tinkle didn't have any seniors to honor for his team's final home game Wednesday, so instead he honored his walk-ons. Tinkle started four players that made the team in an open tryout at the start of the season, and one who was a practice player last season.
"I was thinking about having no seniors to celebrate what would normally be 'Senior Night,' and I wanted to honor something for this team," Tinkle told ESPN.com in a text message. "It hit me right away: Honor the walk-ons from Oregon that have been such a big part of our season.
"Knowing what I now know, I'd do it all again. One of my proudest moments as a coach!"
Marshall Henderson turning his life around in Iraq
During his time playing college basketball, Marshall Henderson became one of the most polarizing players in the NCAA. His on-court persona, as well as his off-court troubles, led him to having his fair share of detractors as he made his way from college to college. Henderson shot from deep, scored a lot and was overly brash.
During his one season at Utah he was suspended for a game for throwing a punch during a contest against BYU. Henderson transferred to Texas Tech after his freshman season before transferring to South Plains College and then to Mississippi, all while having his share of legal matters off the court, including problems with drugs.
After going undrafted Henderson has made a reappearance playing basketball in Iraq, which according to a Yahoo Sports report has helped turn his life around.
Henderson says in the report that he hasn’t used drugs or alcohol since going overseas.
"I'm really proud of Marshall," Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. "He's really done a 180 in his approach to life in a good way, so I'm extremely happy for him. I think it's certainly been an educational experience for him in Year One with all his travels. I'm proud that he's playing, and I'm proud of the strides that he has made personally."
BYU bubble update
In the latest rounds of NCAA tournament predictions, BYU is still squarely on the bubble.
ESPN has the Cougars as the last team in, while both CBS Sports and USA Today puts them as one the last four teams to not make the cut.
Other links:
— The Arizona Diamondbacks unveiled the Churro Dog — a cinnamon churro inside a chocolate-glazed doughnut, which is then topped with frozen yogurt, caramel and chocolate sauces.
—The NFL will hold a veterans camp to give teams a chance to look at older players, while offering those players another shot to play in the league.
— Damian Lillard matched an NBA rebound record with his 18-rebound performance Wednesday. The last 6-foot-3 or shorter player to get 18 or more rebounds in a game was Fat Lever in 1990.