This Sunday on E:60 (9 a.m. ET, ESPN) top NBA Draft prospect Ja Morant sits down with reporter Clinton Yates to tell Morant’s unique story just days before the NBA Draft on June 20 (coverage on ESPN all week).
ESPN basketball analyst Paul Biancardi writes about five NBA Draft prospects who were beneath the college recruiting radar. Watch ESPN’s live 2019 NBA Draft coverage Thursday, June 20, at 7 p.m. ET.
Yates traveled to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where Morant was training and Sumter County, S.C., where Morant went to high school (Crestwood) for the profile.
In the video below Yates shares one of his favorite stories from his time spent in Sumter County.
Emily Archacki and Molly Mita produced the video below.
E:60 reporter Lisa Salters Travels To China To Interview Isaiah Austin
E:60 reporter Lisa Salters’ travels were a bit different than co-worker Clinton Yates’.
He traveled to South Carolina. She flew across the globe to Nanjing, China where former Baylor star Isaiah Austin is currently playing professional basketball. Austin’s NBA dreams were crushed when a rare heart disorder prevented him from playing in the NBA but in China he risks his life for the game.
“He [Isaiah] is so happy to be playing basketball. He could be playing on the moon,” Salters said. “The purity of his love for the game is both impressive and inspiring. When preparing for the piece I thought, ‘if this were my kid he wouldn’t be playing.’ But after spending several months with him and seeing what this means to him, my perspective changed.”
Barred from the NBA, former @BaylorMBB standout @IsaiahAustin is pursuing his lifelong dream halfway across the world…at his own risk. pic.twitter.com/RCubQKjG8D
— E:60 (@E60) June 12, 2019
SC Featured: Kevin Porter Jr.
For Father’s Day, SportsCenter “SC Featured” profiles NBA Draft prospect Kevin Porter Jr., a potential lottery pick playing to represent his late father, Kevin Porter Sr., who was murdered in a dangerous area of their Seattle hometown when Kevin Jr. was four.
Reporter Tom Rinaldi follows Kevin Jr.’s journey from making the conscious decision to play for the same high school his father did through the ups and downs at his shortened season at USC as he develops a maturity beyond his 19 years.
The feature debuts in the 8 a.m. ET hour of SportsCenter on Saturday and re-airs throughout the weekend.
– Andy Hall
Really good story and worth the read. Crazy this story reminds me of the same things when I worked for a company that eventually went bankrupt…https://t.co/n7xZkkVwNX
— Derrick Miller (@derrickamiller) June 13, 2019
Awesome read from @KVanValkenburg. Looking forward to what Brooks brings this week https://t.co/UnTn6i7fsS
— Cruz Buchanan (@Cruz_Buchanan_) June 12, 2019
Such an awesome story behind the most iconic headcover in golf. https://t.co/w8JZIK04ro
— Ryan Kang (@rkangphoto) June 12, 2019
https://t.co/egUU41DWX9 Honor and integrity. Too few stories today includes these precious words.
— Lynn Magliozzi (@westborough62) June 13, 2019
– Molly Mita
