Great Northern Conference announces 2025-26 boys basketball awards — and more

The Great Northern Conference has officially released the list of 2025-26 boys basketball awards.

This announcement highlights the top performers across the league for the upcoming season.

Benjamin Harnwell, international editor of Steve Bannon's War Room, claimed center-right politicians have "betrayed" the West by supporting mass immigration.

He made the remarks while addressing Australian conservatives.

PHOENIX (AP) — Donovan Clingan had 23 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots to lead the Portland Trail Blazers past the short-handed Phoenix Suns, 92-77 on Sunday night.

Jerami Grant also scored 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting. The Trail Blazers bounced back from an ugly 157-103 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday and have won five of their past seven.

Portland built a 20-point lead by late in the third quarter and settled for a 71-57 advantage heading into the fourth. Collin Gillespie hit two 3-pointers to cut it to 80-69 with 7:36 left but Grant responded with a 3 to turn back the rally.

Gillespie led Phoenix with 18 points, and Jalen Green had 13. Coming off a 113-110 double-overtime win over Orlando at home Saturday, the Suns shot just 36.9% from the field and the 77 points were a season low.

It was a sloppy game for both teams — the Blazers had 21 turnovers and the Suns had 19.

Portland took a 47-40 lead into halftime after Phoenix shot just 2 of 19 (10.5%) from 3-point range. Grant led the Blazers with 12 points before the break.

Portland lost leading scorer Deni Avdija after just one minute after the All-Star aggravated a lower back injury. Avdija — who has been battling low back issues for several weeks — was listed as questionable coming into the game.

The Suns were missing a big chunk of their regular rotation, including All-Star guard Devin Booker (hip strain), forward Dillon Brooks (fractured hand), guard Grayson Allen (knee/ankle) and guard Jordan Goodwin (calf).

The four players are averaging more than 70 points per game combined.

Up next

Trail Blazers: Host Minnesota on Tuesday night.

Suns: Host Boston on Tuesday night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Charles Lee raves about LaMelo Ball's willingness to be a playmaker despite his hot night originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Charlotte Hornets have been one of the best teams in the league in 2026. LaMelo Ball is one of the driving forces behind their success because he is scoring at a high level and also serving as an elite playmaker. This was quite apparent in their Sunday game against the Washington Wizards.

Ball had one of his best performances this season with 37 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. He was scintillating throughout the game, making 10 three-pointers to lead the Hornets to a dominant win. Despite his hot hand, he always had control of the game because he was still being a floor general.

Ball is ready to keep being a high-level offensive player

Everyone knows that Ball is the Hornets' biggest star. He is the flashiest player on the team, who gets the highlights with his passes and superb offensive impact.  Head coach Charles Lee loves what he keeps seeing from Ball, as they have a good coach-leader relationship. 

Outside the Hornets' circle, people see Ball as a suboptimal leader. That has not been the case this season because LaMelo has been impressive with his offensive impact and leadership as the floor general.

MORE: LaMelo Ball gets winning endorsement from former NBA champion

In the game against the Wizards, no one would blame Ball if he kept shooting. In fact, he had a fantastic 99-second stretch that saw him make four three-pointers in a row. It was one of the most absurd offensive moments of the season, which showed that Ball can light it up when he's on fire.

Lee was glad to see his star guard play to his highest level. However, not only was he shooting the lights out, but he was also generating looks for his teammates, which impressed Lee even more.

"Being as hot as he was, most times guys continue to take bad shots, heat-check shots, and he continued making the right play and got other guys a couple of shots during that stretch... A ton of growth from a lot of people," Lee said after the impressive win.

As long as Ball is playing this way, it will be hard to keep the Hornets out. They are banging on the door as one of the most dangerous teams in the Eastern Conference. Ball, Brandon Miller, and Kon Knueppel are this team's core players, and they are still growing day by day.

More NBA news: 

• Kon Knueppel talks three-point success as he nears all-time record
• Kon Knueppel continues to be a perfect player for Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee
• Former NBA All-Star and champion picks Kon Knueppel as his Rookie of the Year over Flagg
• Giannis Antetokounmpo praises Kon Knueppel: 'One of the smartest rookies I’ve ever seen'
• Brandon Miller is impressed with the Hornets' performance without suspended teammates