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Miami, FL
Michigan State basketball adds another point guard in Miami transfer Divine Ugochukwu
Tom Izzo explains his feelings on transfer portal, challenges MSU fans
Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo explains his frustrations with the year-round transfer portal and asks MSU fans to be different.
It took some time, but Tom Izzo found another point guard to help direct Michigan State basketball.
The Spartans received a pledge from Miami (Florida) transfer Divine Ugochukwu on Sunday, May 18, via his Instagram page, giving them a secondary ballhandler along with returning starting point guard Jeremy Fears Jr.
Ugochukwu, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound native of Sugar Land, Texas, also considered USC and Texas Tech. He has three years of eligibility remaining, the same as Fears.
The addition — MSU’s third inbound transfer of the offseason — comes after losing two key guards from Izzo’s 11th Big Ten championship team and following a run to the Elite Eight. Tre Holloman, who started 16 of the Spartans’ 37 games, split time running the offense with Fears but transferred to North Carolina State after the season for his final year of eligibility. And Jase Richardson, who declared for the NBA draft after one season in East Lansing, served as a third point guard before taking over full-time at shooting guard role and starting the final 15 games of the season.
Izzo also has added 6-4 shooting guard Trey Fort (Samford/Mississippi State/Tennessee Martin) and 6-7 wing Kaleb Glenn (Florida Atlantic/Louisville) from the portal since April.
In his lone season with the Hurricans, Ugochukwu averaged 5.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists. The three-star prospect in the 2024 class started 16 of 28 games played as a freshman for the Hurricanes and took over as the lead guard following an injury to Nijel Pack. Ugochukwu had six points with 10 rebounds and four assists against eventual Final Four foe and ACC champ Duke on Feb. 25.
Over his final 10 games, Ugochukwu upped his averages to 3.4 assists, 2.8 rebounds and added 1.8 steals while playing 29.1 minutes a game. However, he averaged just 5.4 points and shot 36.2% overall and 17.4% from 3-point range (4-for-23). Ugochukwu finished the season shooting just 6-for-34 from deep.
Fears, who was shot in the upper left leg in December 2023, returned from his injuries to start all but one game (illness) last season after taking a redshirt for his first year. The 6-2, 190-pound sophomore-to-be averaged 7.2 points, 5.4 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 23.6 minutes. He shot just 39.7% overall and 34.2% from 3-point range (13-for-38).
MSU will lose nearly 82% of its made 3-pointers and nearly 83% of its attempts from behind the arc with the losses of Richardson, Holloman, Jaden Akins, Xavier Booker and Frankie Fidler.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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Miami, FL
Injury Bug for Miami Basketball Gains Another Player Early in the Season
The Miami Hurricanes have won five of their last six games early in the 2025-26 regular season. Head coach Jai Lucas has done a great job recruiting and finding the right talent for the Hurricanes; however, that is when they get a chance to see the court.
Entering this season, the Hurricanes struggled to stay healthy. Four-star freshman Treyvon Maddox hasn’t even seen the floor yet, while the rest of the team is trying to find a good footing.
Against UL Monroe, star five-star freshman Shelton Henderson went down with a lower leg injury with 1:29 left in the first half. It seems he avoided a major injury, warming up in the second half, but Lucas decided not to put him back in the game.
“We’re still kind of evaluating and seeing what it is,” Lucas said after the victory over the Warhawks. “He tried to kind of go out there and start the second half, run around a little bit, so we’ll see.’
However this is the tip of the iceberg with the injuries for the Canes.
UM is playing playoff levels with this tight rotation. Starter are playing 30-plus minutes against quad-four teams because of the lack of bodies.
Marcus Allen and Donte Allen have missed every game since the Hurricanes defeated Ole Miss on the road. Ernest Udeh Jr. has been in and out of the line all season. Noam Dovrat has a nagging shoulder injury that will keep him out of the game; Tru Washington has missed time; Tre Donaldson is powering through some little nicks; and now the Henderson injury.
The Hurricanes have the talent to be a Sweet 16 team in the NCAA Tournament, but they have to be on the floor at all times. The Hurricanes are only playing seven players a game right now, and it will either help them or hurt them.
The Hurricanes are set to face the FIU Panthers, while they try to get healthy at the right time. The Hurricanes are dominating on both sides of the ball, but the challenges from opponents will continue to increase.
“I expect a war,” Lucas said. “They’re really good. [FIU head coach Jeremy] Ballard’s done a good job this year with his team construction,” Lucas said. “They play with confidence. They play free. They’re aggressive. They’re big. They got really good guards.”
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Miami, FL
Charging e-bike suspected in destructive Miami house fire
MIAMI — The smell of blackened, burned rubble still lingers inside the house where an early-morning fire left a family devastated. Outside, debris from the firefight remains scattered around the property.
The fire tore through a duplex near the 1800 block of Northwest 53rd Street Saturday morning around 10:30 a.m., forcing everyone inside to flee.
The blaze is believed to have been caused by an e-bike, though officials say the exact cause is still under investigation.
“With every step,” Josue Paz said as he walked through the damage, he faces heartbreak and devastation.
What was once his family’s living room is now reduced to piles of ash and rubble.
Paz said he was inside the home when an e-bike charging in the house suddenly caught fire.
“Yep, that’s part of the bike. Right there, right there,” he said, pointing to debris.
“I couldn’t really process anything and it just happened,” Paz said.
Paz rushed to get his family out before the flames spread.
“My first thought was getting everybody out of the house. I was trying to call everybody,” he said. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s get out.”
Fire officials say lithium-ion batteries used in e-bikes and e-scooters have been linked to a growing number of fast-moving fires nationwide. Miami Fire Rescue is still working to determine the exact cause of this fire.
Despite losing everything, Paz said surviving the fire is what matters most.
“I’m glad that I got my neighbors out, I got my family out,” he said.
Six people escaped the fire, along with a dog. They are staying with loved ones as the fire department continues to work to pinpoint how the fire started.
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Miami, FL
Woman found dead on roadway in SW Miami-Dade
A woman was found dead on the roadway in Southwest Miami on Friday morning, deputies said.
According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, just before 6 a.m., deputies arrived at the 9800 block of Southwest 170th Street after receiving reports of a person who was unresponsive and lying on the roadway.
Once at the scene, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue pronounced the woman dead.
Her identity has not been released.
A death investigation is underway, and the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the woman’s cause of death.
MDSO said there are no suspects at this time.
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