Indiana

Andrew Nembhard leaves 2024 Olympics ready for takeoff with Indiana Pacers

Published

2 years ago

August 9, 2024

Andrew Nembhard leaves 2024 Olympics ready for takeoff with Indiana Pacers

Playing basketball for your country in the Olympics can lead to growth in the NBA, and the Indiana Pacers have plenty of reason to believe that will happen with Andrew Nembhard this coming season.

Prior to the 2024 Paris Olympics, the last Pacers player to be an Olympian was Paul George in 2016. He was a part of Team USA, and they rolled to a gold medal in Rio. George came back to the NBA and set a new career high in points per game and field goal percentage on his way to his fourth All-Star appearance. Leandro Barbosa spent 2012 with the Pacers before playing for Brazil in the London games that year and came back to the NBA a more refined passer, albeit not with Indiana.

Nembhard (and Tyrese Haliburton) can replicate that pattern. The 24-year old and the rest of Team Canada won’t be happy with a 5-8th place finish after falling to France on Tuesday, but it may lead to more long-term success for the young Pacers guard.

“Point guard is a vital position in FIBA, the games are short, every possession matters and that’s one of his great strengths,” Rowan Barrett, the general manager of Canada’s men’s national team, said of Nembhard. “He’s a very, very good decision maker, very calm.”

At his best, Nembhared showed why he drew praise from teammates Jamal Murray and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during the Olympics. His scoring, both within the flow of the offense and to his own rhythm, were valuable for the Canadian bench. Murray struggled from the field, but the second unit with him and Nembhard was still effective in large part thanks to that duo’s potency playing either on or off of the ball.

When Canada needed Nembhard to score, he did. He had 18 points against Spain to secure Canada’s top spot in Group A, for example. When passing was more important, he found his teammates — the young ball hander had five assists in a win over France during a pre-Olympics exhibition.

That balance is exactly what Nembhard tries to strike every night with the Pacers. Some nights, playing next to Haliburton means that Nembhard needs to cut and shoot when open. Other outings, he will have to create his own shot. In between, he’s a terrific connector. Playing alongside different talented guards with Canada showed Nembhard’s improvements in those areas.

“He plays with the highest of IQs, he’s probably one of my favorite players in the NBA right now, he’s just very underrated,” Murray said of Nembhard.

In his four Olympic outings, Nembhard averaged 6.3 points and 1.3 assists per game. He shot 63.6% on two-point looks and 50% from long range without missing a free throw. Turnovers were his only statistical blemish, but he more than made up for it with great defense, efficient scoring, and useful passing.

For Nembhard, improvement next season could mean a number of things. It could be better shooting from long range, or refined attacking abilities. Perhaps he becomes a better passer or cutter. Maybe his scoring jumps as his unique mid-range jumper falls more often. The most boring, yet most likely, path is that he gets incrementally better at many skills.

Regardless of what improvement looks like for Nembhard this coming season, he showed how his game fits next to anyone in the Olympics. He played, and defended, every position one through three. He did that in various lineups that took different shapes. Indiana has a deep team that will have a similar amount of lineup options this season. The more Nembhard can fit in, the better — players like him who have two-way ability hit the court for big minutes.

The Canadian guard finished last season incredibly strong by putting together two dominant outings in the Eastern Conference Finals. He showed his high ceiling in those games, and he was named to Team Canada about a month later. It was an incredible summer for Nembhard.

He will get closer to his ceiling this coming season — which is part of why the Pacers gave him a three-year contract extension late in July. They believe in his future and want him around for the long haul.

Now, they’ll have him, and he’s coming off of a pivotal basketball moment — he just played in his first Olympics. The crowds are bigger, and the stakes are higher. Nembhard handled it well, and he now enters a third season with the Pacers that should be his best yet.

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Indiana

Is ‘The Bachelorette’ happening? This Carmel contestant weighs in

Published

5 hours ago

March 30, 2026

Press Room

Is ‘The Bachelorette’ happening? This Carmel contestant weighs in

Should ABC air the canceled-for-now season of “The Bachelorette”? A Carmel man who was set to compete on it seems to think so.

Matt Carroll, a 43-year-old Purdue basketball alum and Carmel resident, took to social media over the weekend to address the cancelation of season 22 of “The Bachelorette,” on which he appeared. Public opinion on whether the show should see the light of day is split, but the former Boilermaker forward and industrial real estate broker hopes the footage makes it to air.

Disney and ABC pulled season 22 of “The Bachelorette” because its lead, “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Taylor Frankie Paul, faces an ongoing domestic violence investigations. The network announced the decision March 19 after TMZ leaked a video from a 2023 domestic violence incident involving Paul and her ex Dakota Mortensen.

Neither Carroll nor the show have officially commented on the cancelation, but that doesn’t mean he and other contestants haven’t hinted at their feelings on social media.

Carroll’s Instagram reel — in which he struts through the streets of Carmel, rose in hand, RAYE’s “Where the Hell is My Husband” soundtracking it all — breaks the ice. “So…about that,” he joked, tagging both “The Bachelorette” and Bachelor Nation, the franchise’s official hub for news and content.

The reel has garnered comments from fellow Carmel residents wishing Carroll well, even offering to set him up with local singles. Notably, though, some of Carroll’s followers have called for the season to air — and he agrees.

“Trying to manifest that they still air this,” one comment from model Brittany Mason reads. “America wants it the world wants it!”

“From your lips to God’s ears,” Carroll replied.

Another response from him put it more plainly:

“I’m still hoping they decide to air it.”

Whether “The Bachelorette” will air is unclear. Disney Entertainment Television’s official statement only indicated that it was halting the season “for now,” so it’s possible the network could dust off the footage and air it after all.

Contact IndyStar Pop Culture Reporter Heather Bushman at hbushman@indystar.com. Follow her on X @hmb_1013.

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Indiana

Game times announced for Saturday’s Final Four in Indianapolis

Published

18 hours ago

March 29, 2026

Press Room

Game times announced for Saturday’s Final Four in Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament’s Final Four is set.

Four teams have advanced to the Final Four and will compete for the national championship this upcoming weekend in Indianapolis.

The two national semifinal matchups will take place on Saturday. Tip times for the two games have been announced:

6:09 p.m. EDT – No. 3 seed Illinois vs. No. 2 seed UConn
8:49 p.m. EDT – No. 1 seed Michigan vs. No. 1 seed Arizona

The winners of Saturday’s games will then play in the National Championship Game on Monday, April 6.

Each game will take place inside Lucas Oil Stadium.

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Hundreds gather at Indiana State Capitol for ‘No Kings’ protest

Published

1 day ago

March 29, 2026

Press Room

Hundreds gather at Indiana State Capitol for ‘No Kings’ protest

INDIANAPOLIS — Hundreds of Hoosiers gathered at the Indiana Statehouse Saturday morning as part of nationwide ‘No Kings’ events to voice their concerns about the current administration.

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Hundreds gather at Indiana State Capitol for ‘No Kings’ protest

“I’m out here today because what’s happening in our government is completely trash,” Donna Sipes told WRTV. “It’s wrong. We need to do something about it.”

“I’m tired of every single day when the TV comes on to see what stupid thing he’s done next,” Lindi Marti said.

WRTV

Attendees noted the growing popularity of the demonstrations.

“This is my fourth one to come to. I didn’t come to all of them when it was really cold, but I’m glad to see that they are getting a lot more people out here every time,” Marti added. “It seems like there’s more and more coming.”

Demonstrators highlighted specific foreign policy concerns, including the administration’s handling of the war in Iran.

“We’re bombing the heck out of them. We’re killing civilians,” Marti’s husband said. “We’re getting ready to send our Marines.”

Others focused on the administration’s handling of immigration.

“That’s what I’m concerned about,” Reverend Kenny Little told WRTV. “Little kids, they’re taking them away from their family. And I’m just one of those people, I think everyone got rights.”

Indiana medical students also attended the rally to speak out against changes to the healthcare system.

“We’re really worried about the attacks on the health care system in general, but with Medicaid… current estimates range from anywhere from 325,000 to 450,000 Hoosiers will lose coverage by 2032,” Wade Catt said with concern.

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With midterm elections approaching later this year, attendees emphasized the importance of now taking action at the ballot box.

“If we don’t vote, then things are gonna not, they’re gonna stay the same,” a protester said.

Meanwhile, Indiana Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith says he’s happy to see Hoosiers exercise their First Amendment right to protest.

However, he takes issue with the idea that President Trump is acting like a king. Beckwith says the fact that people have the freedom to protest is proof that the president is not acting like a tyrant.

He acknowledges that bridging the gap between the sides is probably an uphill battle, but believes communication is key.

“I think when you sit down with people face to face, you’re confronted with humanity. There’s another human sitting across that table from you and talking to you. And so, all I have to say, I think that’s probably the thing I would encourage all Hoosiers to do is say, ‘Hey, if you don’t agree with somebody or if you don’t like somebody, why don’t you try grabbing coffee with them? And give it 30 minutes, and just see what happens.’ I bet most of the time people will walk away with a much softer heart and spirit towards that person before they came in,” Beckwith said.

Beckwith is currently on a 92-county tour of the state. He says all sides are welcome to attend his events.

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