Texas
Tennessee basketball’s Jahmai Mashack felt disrespected. Texas’ Tre Johnson paid the price
NASHVILLE — Rod Clark dipped into his Kansas City Chiefs fandom Friday.
The Tennessee basketball assistant coach pulled up a video of former Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed yelling as he guarded a wide receiver, expressing himself after he felt snubbed of 2024 postseason honors.
Clark sent the video to Jahmai Mashack, who related to the emotion.
“It was a fire that he had,” Mashack said. “He felt like he was disrespected kind of the way I am defensively. I want to be able to show everyone what I can do.”
Clark threw gasoline on the competitive fire in Mashack and Mashack burned the Longhorns at Bridgestone Arena.
The senior guard clamped down on Texas star guard Tre Johnson, holding the high-scoring freshman to 11 points as No. 4 seed Tennessee (26-6) beat No. 13 Texas 83-72 to advance to the SEC tournament semifinals against No. 1 seed Auburn (28-4) on Saturday (1 p.m., ESPN).
Why Jahmai Mashack coveted opportunity to face Texas, Tre Johnson
Mashack was rooting for Texas (19-15) against Texas A&M on Thursday. Ask anyone in the Vols locker room, he said. He wanted this matchup and got what he wanted when the Longhorns won 94-89 in double overtime.
“I was cheering for Texas because I wanted the chance to guard Tre Johnson again,” Mashack said. “I love going against individuals that are great scorers.”
Johnson scored 27 points in Tennessee’s 74-70 win at Texas on Jan. 11 when Mashack was hampered by foul trouble. He played 21 minutes.
Mashack craved a different story Friday.
“He didn’t say too many words,” Tennessee senior guard Zakai Zeigler guard. “I could see it in his face and his eyes that he was super excited for this matchup. Shack went out there and guarded him.”
Mashack turned in a classic performance — and then some. He outscored Johnson. He had 13 points and seven rebounds.
With Mashack as his primary obstacle, Johnson entered averaging 20.1 points on 16.2 field-goal attempts. He had 11 points on 3-for-8 shooting. He was held to 11 of fewer points for the fifth time in 31 games. He attempted his second-fewest field goals in a game and his three 3-point attempts matched his season-low.
“The shots he made, all of them were tough,” Vols associate head coach Justin Gainey said.
Jahmai Mashack: ‘What I do can’t be replicated’
Mashack is a master at knowing an opponent’s strengths and weaknesses offensively.
Sitting in the corner of Tennessee’s locker room, Mashack recited Johnson’s scouting report. He doesn’t overcomplicate his game and won’t force shots. He gets to his spots without wasting movements with the ball. His release point makes him a tough guard.
Mashack took it all away.
“I really wanted to show why I am so important defensively,” Mashack said. “What I do can’t be replicated. I put in the work. I watch film. I look at shot charts. I look at guys’ hand movements — I look at bad games and good games.”
Mashack had something to prove against Texas. He was proud that Zeigler won SEC defensive player of the year for the second time. Likewise, he wanted the award and balanced his love for Zeigler and pride in his game.
The latter showed against Johnson.
Mashack is in the elite class of defenders in college basketball — a widely known truth around Tennessee in the SEC. He still holds that he has to earn his position in that conversation, which built his desire to face Johnson and lay claim to his standing again.
“I always feel like I am slighted,” Mashack said. “What I do isn’t glorified. It is not going to be. … It is the sacrifice I decided to make in order to be great in this basketball game.”
He was undoubtedly great in this basketball game.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson or Bluesky @bymikewilson.bsky.social. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
Texas
NBA Draft 2026: Chicago Bulls draft Texas standout Dailyn Swain at No. 15
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 23: NBA commissioner Adam Silver shakes hands with Dailyn Swain after he is drafted fifteenth overall by the Chicago Bulls during Round One of the 2026 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 23, 2026 in New York City. (Photo b
AUSTIN, Texas – Former Texas standout Dailyn Swain was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 15th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday night.
What we know:
Swain is a 6-foot-8, 225-pound wing that emerged as one of college basketball’s biggest risers during his lone season with the Longhorns. He transferred to the University of Texas from Xavier University in Ohio. The 20-year-old led Texas in points, rebounds, assists and steals while helping establish himself as a first-round prospect.
By the numbers:
Swain averaged 17.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game during the 2025-26 season. His versatility on both ends of the floor made him one of the nation’s most productive all-around players.
Dailyn Swain #3 of the Texas Longhorns dunks the ball against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament held at Moda Center on March 21, 2026 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos v (Getty Images)
Dig deeper:
As an Ohio native, Swain starred at Africentric Early College in Columbus. He entered the 2025-26 college basketball season largely outside first-round draft projections but steadily climbed the draft boards with his strong play.
Known for his physical frame, defensive versatility and playmaking ability, Swain can impact games in a variety of ways. Outside shooting remains an area for development after he shot 31.7% from 3-point range last season, but evaluators still view him as an NBA-ready wing capable of contributing immediately.
What’s next:
Swain becomes the latest Texas player selected in the NBA Draft and joins a Bulls team looking to add size, toughness and versatility on the perimeter.
The Source: Information in this article was provided from live coverage of the 2026 NBA Draft.
Texas
8 convicted of terrorism charges in Texas immigration center shooting sentenced to decades in prison
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A demonstrator who shot and wounded a police officer outside a Texas immigration center last July 4 was sentenced to 100 years in federal prison Tuesday, while other protesters accused of having links to antifa were given multiple decades in federal prison.
Benjamin Song was convicted of attempted murder last March after prosecutors say he opened fire and wounded a police officer at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado.
The seven other protesters sentenced Tuesday received prison terms ranging from 30 to 70 years.
“Our issue with this case has always been this isn’t a bunch of terrorists. This is a bunch of kids and young adults who really have a really big heart and really wanted their voice to be heard,” Philip Hayes, Song’s attorney, said outside the federal courthouse in Fort Worth. “It was never intended that anybody get hurt. It was never intended that any shots would be fired.”
He said his client would appeal the sentencing.
“Song, aside from this day, has had an impeccable life. A former Marine. A good student,” Hayes said. “He had a lot of good qualities that were just ignored. The judge went ahead and gave as much as he could.”
One of the defendants, Daniel Sanchez Estrada, was convicted of corruptly concealing a document and conspiracy to conceal documents. Others pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists rather than take their case to trial.
Prosecutors say the eight are members of antifa, a decentralized anti-fascist organization that has become a target of the Trump administration. They have denied any affiliation and maintain they attended the demonstration to show support for immigrants inside the detention center.
President Donald Trump last fall signed an executive order designating antifa a domestic terrorist organization, even though there is no domestic equivalent to the State Department’s list of foreign terror organizations.
Critics warn the case could have wide-reaching impact on protests given that organizations operating within the U.S. are supposed to be protected by First Amendment free-speech rights.
Short for “anti-fascists,” antifa is not a single organization but rather an umbrella term for far-left militant groups that confront or resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations.
Last week, federal prosecutors charged 15 people with impeding the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota. They claimed the demonstrators were members of antifa who conspired against the federal government to block arrests and deportations by setting up blockades around government buildings and throwing chunks of ice at federal vehicles, among other actions.
Marcelo reported from New York.
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Texas
Paxton, Trump adviser’s org win bid to block immigration rule
A federal judge in Texas blocked a Biden administration rule on Monday that allowed immigration judges to indefinitely close a deportation case against immigrants on the same day Texas sued to stop the rule.
The rule, which was adopted in 2024, allowed immigration judges to close a deportation case after hearing arguments from the federal government and the immigrant in deportation proceedings, especially if the person could qualify for a benefit that allows them to stay in the country legally.
But on Monday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas in Wichita Falls to block the rule with U.S. Judge Reed O’Connor, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush.
The lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice was also co-filed by America First Legal Foundation, an organization founded by Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to President Trump who has focused on ways to limit both legal and illegal immigration to the country. America First Legal Foundation also previously filed various lawsuits representing Paxton against the Biden administration’s immigration policies, which helped derail President Biden’s immigration agenda in his lone term.
In this latest complaint, Paxton’s office said in the 43-page lawsuit that the Biden-era rule “effectively grant(s) indefinite amnesty to aliens illegally present in this country.”
Lawsuits usually take several months to years to settle, but in this case O’Connor ruled late on Monday in favor of Texas after the Department of Justice filed its response saying it agreed with Paxton’s office.
Paxton’s office and the DOJ did not respond to immediate requests for comment.
President Trump, in keeping with his campaign promise, has cracked down on immigrants, using many of the federal government’s resources to limit immigration and fast-track deportations, including undocumented people and others who were allowed to be in the U.S. by previous administrations.
O’Connor has been known as conservative leaders’ favorite judge because he has routinely ruled in favor of Paxton, who has strategically filed lawsuits against the Obama and Biden administration.
The fast-paced end to the rule echoes a similar maneuver conducted by the DOJ and Paxton’s office last year, when the federal agency sued Texas over a law allowing undocumented students to qualify for lower tuition rates at public universities. Hours after the suit was filed, Texas also asked Judge O’Connor to find the law unconstitutional, which he did.
After the law was overturned, legal experts said a state working with the federal government so closely for the swift overturning of a state law was unusual and raised questions about collusion.
The quick resolution to the case late on Monday was heavily criticized by immigration law experts.
“This is madness! Deliberate collusion with a federal judge to rapidly erase regulations without any input from affected parties,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow with American Immigration Council, a group in Washington, D.C., that advocates for immigrants. “It’s clearly an unlawful act by all, and now litigants will have to seek to intervene in the already-completed lawsuit to overturn his actions.”
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