UConn star forward and captain Alex Karaban was one of 10 players named to the midseason watch list for the Karl Malone Award, which is presented annually to the best power forward in college basketball as part of the Naismith Starting Five.

The most accomplished active player in college basketball, the Huskies’ senior is averaging 13.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game this season with 21 steals and 21 blocks. He has shot 46.8% from the field and a career-best 40.8% from 3-point range as he’s led UConn to a 22-1 record on the year.

The 6-foot-8, Southborough, Mass. native has scored in double-figures 16 times this year and recorded a team-high four 20-point games, including a 21-point effort on 8-for-11 shooting against BYU and a season-high 23 points in the overtime thriller at Providence.

UConn is 114-23 (.832) in Karaban’s career. The two-time national champion is one win shy of tying the program’s wins record, which was set by Samson Johnson last season. Karaban has started in 133 games over four years, two shy of the program record, and his 134 overall appearances are nine shy from the most in school history.

UConn Notes: Hurley flabbergasted his point guard was snubbed on this award watch list

He moved into 14th on UConn’s all-time scoring list with 1,660 career points, just four behind Cliff Robinson. He is fourth on the all-time 3-pointers list with 257 made, three shy of Shabazz Napier and 19 away from Rashad Anderson’s record 276. And his current 83.6% career mark from the free throw line is eighth all-time.

“You talk about somebody with a different level of maturity, a different level of championship confidence,” coach Dan Hurley said in January, calling Karaban “the most decorated player in the history of UConn basketball.”

Karaban is joined on the Naismith Starting Five watch lists by Solo Ball, who was named one of the top 10 candidates for the Jerry West Shooting Guard Award on Tuesday. The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center Award watch list will be released on Friday.

Karl Malone Award midseason watch list

Koa Peat, Arizona
Cameron Boozer, Duke
Graham Ike, Gonzaga
Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State
Malik Reneau, Miami
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
Caleb Wilson, North Carolina
Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue
JT Toppin, Texas Tech
Alex Karaban, UConn

Reggie Strong was crossing a street in Memphis with a big smile on his face, dreaming out loud about hitting a jackpot at a casino and telling his friends he would share the winnings with them.

Then the car came.

A driver ran a red light going 60 mph and crashed into Strong, who broke both legs, suffered torn cartilage and tendons in both knees, required over 300 stitches and nearly had his dominant left hand completely torn off.

Just about everything changed for Strong on that April night in 2023. One thing, remarkably, did not — his sense of optimism.

“I was with my dad when the doctor said, ‘Reggie, you’ll never walk again,’” Strong said. “I looked at my dad and I was like, ‘They must not know who Reggie is. I’m going to go do that.’”

Strong is doing way more than just walking. He’s returned to basketball as a 24-year-old freshman at Moraine Valley, where he’s the team’s leading scorer, averaging 15.5 points.

Cyclones coach Kyle Huppe is thrilled his team can be the beneficiary of Strong’s remarkable comeback story.

“He’s so mature and he’s such a great leader for our team,” Huppe said. “He’s been given, essentially, a second lease at life. He knows how fragile life can be and he doesn’t take a single day for granted.”

The road back certainly wasn’t smooth for Strong, a Chicago native who played high school basketball at Farragut, St. Joseph and Orr and briefly moved to Armenia to play after graduating in the middle of the pandemic.

Strong was in Memphis for a men’s league tournament when the accident happened. He remembers waking up in the hospital and thinking it was all a dream.

“Until the pain kicked in,” he said. “Then I was like, ‘This is real.’ But I was just thinking, ‘At least I’m still living.’ I’d talk to God and say, ‘You gave me this second chance. I’ll make sure I do it right this time.’”

Strong spent a month in the hospital in Memphis before he was allowed to return home to continue treatment. Eight bolts held his right arm intact. He had a rod in his right leg and nails going through his pelvis and knees.

When his mother, Dianne, who is a nurse, warned him about the dangers of becoming addicted to painkillers, Strong quickly stopped taking them and stuck with Tylenol.

“The pain was unbearable,” he said. “They were rolling me around the hospital in the wheelchair. I was thinking, ‘I might not ever make it out of here.’ I honestly thought I was going to die in there.”

But Strong found ways to stay positive.

“I love cars,” he said. “I’d look out the windows at the parking lot and be like, ‘Man, I like that car. I think I’m going to get that one day. If I can drive again, I’ll get that one.’

“A lot of people tell me I’m unrealistic, but I just like to focus on things that make me happy. There are lot of negative things happening in the world, but if you focus on that, you miss your blessing. I figured I’ll just laugh and smile my way through the situation.”

Strong eventually made it home and started his recovery. It was literally one step at a time.

“I remember my dad trying to help me stand up when my mom was recording me trying to take my first step and I almost felt like a baby again,” he said. “It was back to square one.”

Strong made progress faster than anyone expected but not without some bumps and bruises.

“When I first started running again, I lived on the fourth floor of an apartment building and I’d just fly up the stairs,” he said. “I was walking back down slowly and I fell down the stairs.

“I was like, ‘Wow,’ but it was crazy because it kind of felt good. At one point, I wasn’t able to fall because I was in a wheelchair, so I just walked that one off.”

By summer of 2024, Strong was back in basketball. He trained kids at Shoot 360, a club in Naperville, and joined a men’s team that played some of its games at Moraine Valley.

After being spotted playing by Aaron Green, then an assistant coach for the Cyclones, Strong enrolled at the school and redshirted last season.

This fall, as the season approached, the Cyclones played in a jamboree, featuring half-court scrimmage games with other college teams.

Strong quickly found out how difficult this comeback was still going to be.

“I’m out of the wheelchair and you’re telling me I’ve got to run up and down the court with 18-year-olds?” he said. “It was exhausting. I was dead.

“I told the coaches, ‘I might become a coach. Give me a quarter-zip and I’ll sit on that bench with you.’”

But Strong persevered. The conditioning was the hardest part. The basketball skills were still there.

“It’s all about reps to get back that muscle memory,” he said. “You could tell I could hoop, but I was rusty.”

Huppe saw Strong get back into a groove after about five games.

“I think it was just him gaining the confidence that he could do it again,” Huppe said. “He knows he can play, but he had to prove it to himself.”

Now, Strong envisions a big future.

“I want to go as far as my work ethic takes me,” he said. “I have a really strong work ethic. I want to play Division I then go overseas or go to the G-League, G-League to the NBA, whatever I can do.”

And Strong approaches each day with a new outlook and a total appreciation for a second chance.

“It’s knowing that at any given time, life can be taken away from you,” Strong said. “Just be grateful for what you have.

“If it’s half-cup empty or half-cup full, be half-cup full every time. That will lead you to a full cup.”

GAINESVILLE — When Florida head coach Jon Sumrall surveys the college football landscape, he sees a sport barely recognizable to the one he played more than 20 years ago at Kentucky.

The transfer portal, seven-figure NIL deals and legal loopholes abound, but Sumrall isn’t bitter about it. The 43-year-old former linebacker pushes to keep pace.

A recent case hit close to home. Sumrall’s former quarterback, Darrian Mensah, who played under him at Tulane, is now at Miami — his third school in three seasons.

Mensah left Tulane for Duke before heading to Coral Gables, with a pot of gold at the end of each stop.

“He got a big bag, and I’m not even mad about that,” Sumrall said with a smile. “I’m happy for Darrian.”

Sumrall isn’t going to hate the player, even as the game becomes no-rules-barred pursuit of top talent.

Name, image and likeness legislation gives athletes agency to seek the biggest payday. The portal provides programs the fast track to a turnaround.

Wednesday’s National Signing Day no longer serves as a finish line for coaches building their program’s future. 

“It’s not really signing day anymore,” Sumrall said. “That’s kind of gone and passed. We kind of already know who’s on our team.”

The Early Signing Period in December and the transfer portal window in January reshaped the recruiting calendar. The Gators’ roster, like most programs, was finalized before February.

For all the change, Sumrall isn’t resisting.

The 2026 Gators are a collection of 30 transfers, led by Georgia Tech quarterback Aaron Philo, 20 high school signees and 62 returning players. For a program coming off a 4–8 season — its fourth losing record in five years — the portal provides the chance for a faster rebuild.

“I like the transfer portal. I like NIL. I like revenue sharing,” Sumrall said. “I think it’s great our players get paid. I’m for all that. I love the portal. Love it.”

Even as Sumrall celebrates the new model, he recognizes darker realities.

Once done in the shadows, tampering thrives in the current recruiting ecosystem. Coaches, agents and boosters from rival programs increasingly contact players under scholarship to gauge their interest before players have even entered the portal.

“I don’t know what’s enforced right now,” Sumrall said. “There’s been all this talk the last couple weeks about tampering. Yeah, no kidding. Every player on our team has been tampered with — 100 percent. I don’t lose my mind about it. Until there are penalties for it, what’s going to stop people from doing it?”

Sumrall said he’s not among those tampering, but acknowledges there are plenty of “back channels” — from agents to family members— that facilitate movement.

Along the way, things can get messy.

Mensah’s exodus from Duke to Miami spurred a lawsuit and a settlement because he’d agreed to a two-year contract the Blue Devils intended to enforce.

The NCAA’s recalibration of dates and rules escalates the issues.

Seeking to balance opportunities for transfers and high school recruits, decision-makers moved the Early Signing Period in 2025 to the first Wednesday in December to better align with the December transfer window. The NCAA then moved to portal to a single, 15-day window from Jan. 2-16.

“We moved the early signing period to protect the high school kids from losing their spots to transfers,” Sumrall said. “But then right after we did that, we moved the transfer portal back. So it’s like, why did we move the high school signing day in the first place? We fix one problem and create another.

“It just feels a little scattered.”

Sumrall doesn’t spend his time complaining.

This past Sunday, Sumrall sat courtside as Florida overwhelmed Alabama 100-77 despite the recent addition of 7-footer Charles Bediako, eligible because of a temporary injunction granted by a Tuscaloosa judge — and Crimson Tide booster.

The controversy inspired one of Sumrall’s funnier quips Wednesday.

“I wasn’t planning on sharing this today,” he said. “But we’re going to file a temporary restraining order and see if Tim Tebow can play short-yardage and goal-line quarterback. I don’t know what the hell is going on with all that.

“We’re going to coach who they let us coach and recruit who they let us recruit. But the problem is I think that’s such a moving target that you don’t know who’s allowed to play, and the rule may change tonight or tomorrow or whatever.”

At Tulane, Sumrall proved he could adapt faster than most.

The Green Wave’s 2025 roster featured nearly 60 new players, including 35 transfers. The most notable was BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff, who joined as a walk-on following a suspension for violating the school’s honor code.

Retzaff passed a thorough background check, earned the starting role and led the Green Wave to the College Football Playoff.

A similar scenario in Gainesville isn’t necessarily expected, but nothing surprises Sumrall anymore.

While college football is increasingly chaotic, Sumrall remains pragmatic.

“You can sit here and whine and complain about the way the rules are or you can just embrace them and try to adapt and make them work the best for you,” he said.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com.

Feb. 4—Mark Dennehy, the recently retired activities director for Glacier High School, was awarded the James C. Haugen Meritorious Service Award by the Montana High School Association at its annual meeting on Jan. 19. Dennehy was the only AD Glacier High had from the time its doors opened in 2007 until he stepped down last summer. Dennehy spent 33 years in education in the Flathead Valley, with 25 years as an AD — starting at Flathead High for seven years before he moved over to the school at Glacier. This award is presented in recognition of outstanding contribution to the Montana High School Association. It was originally established in 1979 to honor deserving recipients for their commitment to MHSA. In 2004, the Executive Board renamed this award the James C. Haugen Meritorious Service Award. Jim Haugen spent from 1977-2002 serving with the MHSA, the last six years as executive director. During Dennehy's tenure as athletic director Glacier racked up 17 state titles decided on the field of play, from golf to tennis to wrestling to football, soccer and boys basketball. Glacier boasted several excellent speech, drama and debate teams as well. Whitefish AD Aric Harris, the Class A Representative for the MHSA, presented Dennehy with his award.

Feb. 4—Aiken High recently expanded its athletics Hall of Fame with the induction of two of the Hornets' all-time greats.

Nessie Harris and Faye Norris were honored midway through a basketball doubleheader between Aiken and Gilbert, with their names now forever etched into a Hall of Fame that inducted its inaugural class in 2022.

Both were multi-sport athletes, and both played prominent roles on Johanna Gibbs' basketball teams that were among the state's very best, playing in three Class AAAA state championship games in a four-year span, capped by an undefeated title in 1975.

Harris, who also competed in track and field and volleyball, was the co-captain of the basketball team for two years and like Norris was part of a senior class that departed with a career record of 61-4. Her list of individual honors at Aiken High include first-team All-State and Upper State selections, Class AAAA Player of the Year, CSRA Player of the Year, Aiken Standard Player of the Year, All-County and an MVP award from the Aiken County Christmas Tournament.

She continued her playing career at the College of Charleston, earning multiple All-America and State Player of the Year honors as one of the nation's top front-court players. She led CofC to three consecutive Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women national championship appearances, and in the 1979-80 season she helped the team to 32 wins.

She graduated from CofC as a four-time All-State performer in addition to two All-America nods, and she ranks third in program history with 1,796 points scored. Her jersey hangs from the rafters at TD Arena, and in 1996 she was inducted into CofC's Hall of Fame.

Norris won the Hornets' Offensive Award in 1975, made the Upper State All-Tournament Team in 1974, made multiple All-CSRA and All-Tournament teams before following Gibbs to USC Aiken to be a member of the first women's basketball teams there.

She put together a Hall of Fame career at USCA, where her jersey No. 10 was retired. She played from 1976-79, capping her USCA career as a first-team All-American — making her the first in the school's athletic history. She was an All-State selection by the SCAIAW and South Carolina's sports writers in her final season, and in 2007 she was inducted into the Randy Warrick Athletics Hall of Fame.

She had a highly successful coaching career in South Carolina, and between her years at North Augusta and later Dutch Fork she amassed more than 500 wins with a dozen region titles, including three consecutive state championships at Dutch Fork. She was inducted into the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame in 2019.

Runners can now register for the second annual Andy Payne Route 66 Race, the kickoff to Claremore's celebration of the Mother Road's centennial.

Claremore and Foyil, the hometown of the man after whom the race is named, will host the event April 11. The Claremore Museum of History and Cherokee Nation introduced the Route 66 Race last year to pay tribute to Andy Payne, a Cherokee man who won a 3,423-mile transcontinental footrace in 1928.

About 190 runners raced in last year's inaugural 5K. Husband and wife Jackson and Brianna Stinnett took home the gold and silver with their finishes of 16:19 and 18:33, respectively.

Steve Robinson, president of the history museum's board of directors, said a 13.1-mile half marathon will join the 5K and one-mile fun run on this year's schedule. The starting gun will fire at 8:30 a.m. at Andy Payne's statue in Foyil.

"Andy Payne won the Bunion Derby in 1928, and so our goal is by 2028, the centennial of the Bunion Derby, for the race to be a fully certified, accredited marathon," Robinson said. "We want the race to become a 26-mile big event for the whole entire state of Oklahoma that runs down Route 66."

The half marathon course will take racers south to Claremore via State Highway 66, which was Route 66 until its 1985 decommissioning. After seven miles, runners will turn onto Sioux Avenue, follow a loop to the shore of Claremore Lake and finish at the statue of Payne at the Claremore Museum of History.

The 5K race, which began last year at Claremore High School, will take off at 9 a.m. at Claremore Lake and also finish at Payne's statue. The fun run, scheduled for the same time, will remain at the high school's Andy Payne Track.

"Besides promoting the centennial of Route 66, we're also trying to tell the story of Andy Payne," Robinson said. "It's really all about his legacy, and what he accomplished, and the fact that he is a Cherokee citizen. Having all the races culminate at his statue here at the museum was a big part of our initiative."

Payne's Claremore statue stands in Gazebo Park, adjacent to the museum, but Robinson said it will move across the street before the race. Payne's statue will be the first occupant of the Legacy Gardens the museum is building with a state Route 66 revitalization grant.

The museum started working on the gardens late last year; it has laid a cobblestone path, erected a pavilion, installed a small fountain and rigged up gas lighting. Robinson said the new park, which replaces a pair of tennis courts, is essentially complete.

All that remains are the garden's main features: bronze statues of Claremore legends. Robinson said on race day, Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell and Chuck Hoskin Jr., principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, will dedicate the gardens and welcome the first few statues.

"Andy Payne will move over to one of the columns," Robinson said. "We currently have Lynn Riggs and Patti Page at the foundry, and they'll be here by April 11. The sculptor is currently working on Stuart Roosa, and then after Stuart Roosa, he'll begin Helen Walton."

Robinson said people may sign up until the day of the race online at runsignup.com or on the museum's website. Racers must register by March 15 if they want a commemorative T-shirt and swag bag. Registration costs $100 for the half marathon and $35 for the 5K, fun run and virtual race.

He said the museum will need plenty of volunteers to man water stations, direct traffic and more. It is also seeking sponsors and offering packages that range from $250 to $15,000. The museum posted a packet on its website for prospective sponsors.

Robinson said he hopes Claremore will come out to see the spectacle of runners tracing Route 66 on its 100th birthday.

"With about four miles we'll be running on Claremore Lake Trail and Blue Starr and through our town, we hope people sit out on the porch and cheer people on and make it a real friendly event for all of the visitors to Claremore that day," Robinson said.

SAN ANTONIO — After multiple delays caused by travel issues stemming from a winter storm in North Carolina, the Magic and Spurs finally took to the court inside Frost Bank Center on Sunday night.

Despite flying the day of the game and having tip-off pushed back five hours from its originally scheduled time over the course of the past day, San Antonio wasn’t deterred by the off-court issues against Orlando while playing on the second night of a back-to-back.

In a contest that was tied six times and included six lead changes, Jamahl Mosley’s squad found itself trailing by double digits majority of the night when the Spurs, behind Victor Wembanyama’s 25 points, pulled away in the second half to capture a 112-103 victory in front of a spirited home crowd.

Desmond Bane scored 25 points, Paolo Banchero added 19 and Orlando received 41 bench points, but the team was outscored 89-63 between the first, third and fourth quarters.

Although Orlando scored 23 points off 17 takeaways, San Antonio (33-16) notched 17 points off 15 Magic turnovers and had six different players finish in double figures.

The Magic (25-23) make their lone trip of the regular season to Oklahoma City on Tuesday.

Slow start

Although the Spurs were the ones who flew into San Antonio just hours before tip-off, it was Orlando who lacked energy and precision to open the contest.

The Magic trailed by as many as 18 points in the opening 12 minutes when the Spurs led 37-21 at the end of the first frame.

San Antonio not only scored more points in the paint (22) than the Magic scored total (21) in the first quarter, but it also shot 7 for 10 at the free throw line while Orlando shot no free throws in that stretch.

Second-quarter swing

The Magic punched right back when they opened the second quarter on a 17-3 run.

Orlando was far more efficient in the second frame when it shot 15 of 25 (60%) from the floor and held San Antonio to below-43% from the floor (9 for 21).

The Magic, who won the second quarter 40-23, outscored San Antonio 16-6 in the paint and 13-4 in second-chance opportunities to take a one-point lead, 61-60, into the half.

Free points

The Magic not only took zero free throws in the opening quarter but they also hardly got to the free throw line most of the night.

After entering the game averaging a league-high 27.4 free throws per night, Orlando finished 13 for 15 at the line.

On the other end, San Antonio shot 23 for 32 at the charity stripe.

Wembanyama on his own shot 11 for 15.

Rookie watch

Second-round pick Noah Penda started the second quarter and was a part of Orlando’s spark that frame.

The French forward racked up seven points, two rebounds and two assists in 13 minutes.

First-round pick Jase Richardson didn’t see the floor until the final result had been determined with less than three minutes to play.

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com

Feb. 1—SAN FRANCISCO — The National Football League is a harsh ecosystem.

Ownership uncertainty and staff erosion can dim the future outlook for any franchise in the league. Especially when success makes a team appealing to predators.

Dynasties? Rare. By design. The National Football League is built to prevent such things.

Despite the forces of entropy already trying to gnaw away at the Seattle Seahawks, I'd argue that the cornerstones are in place for a run of stability and growth.

The key factor: Young talent. High-end, top-shelf, young talent, at that. In abundance.

These are the bankable elements, and with proper management and nurturing, the Seahawks could be at the very start of a streak of sustainable championship contention.

The ownership situation: Talks have freshened regarding the sale of the Seahawks, with the only question being the time frame. The Paul Allen ownership, extended by the stewardship of his sister, Jody, has been a huge success story in the NFL.

Which, of course, makes them a ripe target.

If the name Ken Behring doesn't ring a bell to younger Seahawks fans, you have no idea how fast the wrong owner can sink a team, alienate a community, and erode even a deeply entrenched fan base.

As the Seahawks set up shop in the Bay Area in preparation for Super Bowl 60, staff predation from external forces already has started.

That's the cost of being on the top. It's always been the product of that season's bottom-feeders wanting to hire away assistants who might know the secrets to recent successes.

It's happening faster than ever. If you're an impatient owner who has already missed on hiring the young Mike Macdonald, you're inclined to try to get in there and money-whip a coordinator or two away from him.

But the real strength of the Seahawks is the abundance of talent still under rookie contracts.

Thanks to general manager John Schneider's high-batting average in recent drafts, the Hawks have to be the envy of the league.

Since realignment in 2002 until the present, 48 teams have won conference champions. The 2025 Seahawks have the fifth-youngest overall starting units (26.93 years), highly reminiscent of the 2013 World Champion Seahawks, who were the fourth-youngest in that span (26.89).

And when examining offensive starters, alone, this year's Seahawks starters are the second-youngest among those 48 conference champions (26.3). Remember, they set a franchise scoring record this season.

Kansas City's 2022 club had the youngest overall group of starters (26.0). The Chiefs' prolonged success indicates how that figure reflects staying power of at least several more seasons.

The youngest Seahawk, in fact, may have the brightest future. Rookie safety Nick Emmanwori is still 21, until Saturday before the Super Bowl.

Having made the All-Rookie team, with everything pointing a string of Pro Bowl acknowledgements to follow, it's fair to wonder how Emmanwori was available in the second round (35th overall pick) of the last draft.

His great instincts and aggressive can't be measured, as such, but consider that he is 6-3, 220, ran 4.38 over 40 yards, with a 43-inch vertical. So, he is faster than any of the Legion of Boom starters, just 10 pounds lighter than Kam Chancellor, and can jump like an NBA All-Star.

Best of all, he plays like a veteran, and is already showing valuable leadership skills.

Against the Falcons, his stats include two tackles-for-losses, a sack, a blocked field goal and an interception.

Happy birthday, young man. Stay hungry.

On the other side of the ball, receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is still 23 (will turn 24 on Valentine's Day). He's in his third season at the age Jerry Rice was a rookie. He already has a first-team All-Pro recognition and two Pro Bowl nods.

Schneider got him with a 20th pick. He's an absolute game-breaker.

Still 23.

Abe Lucas, at 27, is the gray-beard on the young offensive line. Grey Zabel, 23, made the All-Rookie Team. And Charles Cross, who has already earned a second-contract, is just 25.

Defensive tackle Byron Murphy II didn't get the Pro Bowl recognition, but his play warranted it. Also 23.

Tight end A.J. Barner, so important as a blocker, receiver, and tush-push quarterback, 23.

How about a cornerback who has three Pro Bowl honors and already has been voted to the Seahawks' 50 best players in franchise history — Devon Witherspoon, 25.

Running back Kenneth Walker III, with three seasons in excess of 900 rushing yards, and increasing effectiveness and value as this season has progressed — 25.

Even quarterback Sam Darnold is 28.

I wouldn't pretend to know anything about stocks and bonds, but it seems like the Seahawks would be safe investment on the competitive futures market.

So much can happen to disrupt the momentum, but that kind of youthful talent is rare, and Sunday's Super Bowl could be the first in a streak for these young Seahawks.

Feb. 1—A stampede waiting at the gables. Then, a mass pileup as the gates swung open.

Pandemonium aptly describes the conclusion of Gonzaga's last conference home game with rival St. Mary's College. Not the contest on the hardwood, but the scene that unfolded in front of the McCarthey Athletic Center after the final buzzer.

As part of a promotion, fans as they left the arena were handed One Piece collectables, including a collector's card that has unexpectedly become highly valuable, fetching several hundred dollars apiece when resold online. Outside, more than two dozen One Piece fans, collectors and scalpers sought to separate those fans from the cards. And because many fans had no idea the value of the cards, some parted with them for $50 or less.

The rivalry game in the Kennel Saturday was the second of three games to feature a partnership between Gonzaga and the nearly 30-year-old Japanese franchise One Piece. Each has featured giveaways, like co-branded T-shirts and posters, as part of Bandai Namco Entertainment's campaign to get more Americans to read the manga, watch the anime, catch up on Netflix's live-adaptation and play the associated One Piece Card Game.

Dubbed the One Piece College Basketball: US Voyage, the promotion partnership spans fifteen games at five American universities: Gonzaga, St. John's University, Rutgers University, the University of Illinois and the University of Houston. It was organized by the marketing and multimedia rights company Learfield, which contracts with more than 280 higher education institutions across the country.

Each school is hosting a halftime show featuring clips from the show, T-shirt tosses and performances of the series theme song by college pep bands and cheer squads. Across the 15 games, three for each school, attendees have or will receive limited edition posters and playing cards associated with the "One Piece" game.

While the T-shirts, posters and halftime show drew some interest, the high value giveaway that caused a ruckus at Saturday's game, as it has at collegiate arenas across the country, is a limited edition trading card.

With more than three minutes left in the game Saturday, crowds had formed on either side of the glass doors at the south entrance of the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Inside, fans were eagerly waiting to be handed one of the cards as they exited. Outside, collectors prepared to make their aggressive pitches more than two dozen One Piece fans, collectors and scalpers sought to separate those fans from the cards.

Nick Goble, 27, and his cousin Jayden Martinez, 18, were were stationed outside. The longtime fans of the series made the trek from Moses Lake with two other friends who sought to get a showpiece for their collections.

Martinez said he loves playing the game, while Goble said he enjoys collecting anything One Piece-related. They had the date circled on the calendar since they first caught wind of the collaboration, but tickets proved too hard to obtain.

"My boss, you know, he's a big sports guy," Goble said. "He said this is the first event he's ever heard of where there's no after-market tickets."

As if it wasn't already hard enough to get tickets in the Kennel, the card giveaway has pushed ticket costs up for college games across the country. For example, the cheapest same-day ticket available for Rutgers' giveaway game and matchup with No. 7 Michigan State last Tuesday hung around $250. By comparison, it would cost just $16 for the cheapest seats when Rutgers hosts the University of Washington on Feb. 24 after the promotion ends, according to Ticket Data.

Unable to get tickets, Goble, Martinez and their friends made a plan. Each armed with posters offering cash for cards, the latter two stationed themselves at the student section exit to the North of the building, while Martinez and Goble hung out front. Each brought around $500, intending to start with offers of $50. They had meager goals compared to some of the others outside the gates: obtain a few cards for their personal collections.

"I want one to keep sealed in the package, and then I want one to put in my binder," Goble said.

"If I see a couple that has some, I might offer them $50 for both of them," he added. "I probably wouldn't go over $200 for one."

Martinez hoped for a set of four, which is how the cards are usually incorporated into decks to play the game. Although, as a collector item, few likely will be playing with them.

"It's a really cool collection piece, and honestly, that'd be something, four with all of this," Martinez said, gesturing to the competition also awaiting the flood of fans exiting the arena.

The final buzzer sounded, the doors opened and chaos ensued. As fans fought to get to their vehicles, collectors and others outside the arena closed in around them, leading to a tangle just outside the front doors.

Goble and Martinez's posters quickly fell by the wayside as they saw the aggressiveness others used as they hounded Zags fans for the cards.

Among the would-be buyers were fans and collectors like themselves, some Gonzaga students and those with seemingly nothing more than an entrepreneurial spirit and fat stacks of cash in hand.

Offers started flying, only to be bested by an eavesdropping competitor.

"I'll give you $20 for the card," a timid would-buyer said to a senior couple decked in Zags gear.

"Here's $100 right now," someone interjected with. The woman quickly pocketed the second offer.

"This is just sleazy," someone in the crowd said.

Every few feet, a similar interaction seemed to play out. Befuddled basketball fans had cash thrown in their faces from seemingly every angle. Some were stopped repeatedly, and lamented the losses they were made aware of only after being offered more for the card they just sold to someone else.

"I don't even know what this is all about," said season-ticket holder Sam Wood. "But someone shoved $100 in my face."

Wood said he was unaware of the One Piece franchise, and he missed the last giveaway, so he was confused by the fervor that awaited him after watching his Bulldogs win. His eyes widened when The Spokesman-Review informed him they were fetching between $400 to $800 online.

"Really?" Wood asked incredulously. "So I shouldn't have just sold it is what you're saying."

The circus carried on for around an hour, and security had to get involved more than a few times. At one point, a middle-aged man wielding a stack of cards in one hand and a ridiculously large sandwich of $100 bills in the other was escorted off the property.

He loudly protested, while trying to show the guard something on his cellphone.

"I'll tell him right now, Adam Morrison, there he is right there, look," he told the guard, waving his phone around, apparently with a picture of the former Zags star on the screen.

"Who do you think you are?" he added.

He hung around the parking lot for a few minutes, only to return a few moments later to carry on aggressively bargaining with departing fans after the guard had to return inside for her duties.

Security also closed the doors for re-entrance as scalpers tried to get in for the giveaway, pleading to use a restroom or fetch an item they claimed to have left inside. Security repeatedly asked the crowd out front to disperse for about an hour after the game.

Gonzaga likely had an inkling some chaos would ensue.

Last week, Learfield's Gonzaga Sports Properties general manager, Mark Livingston, said the college decided to do the giveaway after the game to avoid a scene inside the building as the game got underway. Season ticket holders told The Spokesman-Review that the giveaway at the start of the game against San Francisco last month led to a similar scrum inside the building, as the game was being played.

Gonzaga's peer institutions also participating in the One Piece campaign have had their own headaches as a result of the partnership. In New Jersey, someone broke into Rutgers' Jersey Mike's arena and made off with an untold number of the cards last Tuesday, as reported by New York City broadcast station WABC.

If all of the estimated 8,000 cards in the university's possession were stolen, it'd amount to an estimated $2 million in re-sell value given current market prices.

Goble and Martinez got separated amidst the hustle and bustle of the open-air market. It was rowdier than they anticipated, but each was able to obtain at least one card for their collections. Goble said he paid $200, mostly to get it over with, after he was shoved around and outbid more than a few times.

As longtime fans, he and Martinez said it's a bit disappointing seeing others treat the collectible as nothing more than a business opportunity. The promotional campaign coincides with a sharp rise in the value of all One Piece cards, and an influx of scalpers hoping to capitalize.

"If that wasn't the case, I don't think this card would be that big," Martinez said.

Still, Goble said he was grateful they were able to secure some of the cards, and at a price that's still half of what they would have paid online.

"This was just crazy," Goble said.

The final One Piece giveaway at a Gonzaga home game will be Feb. 10 against Washington State University.