Isiah Thomas was finally back on the court Saturday.
Holding his first official practice as Florida International's coach, the Hall of Fame player ran up and down with his new team, yelling out pointers on how to defend off the dribble.
He led stretching drills and cheers, looking agile and carefree in his new gym.
"Today is here, I'm prepared for it, and I'm ready for it," Thomas said. "I'm very excited."
The season-opener at defending national champion North Carolina is about three weeks away, but FIU is already reporting that ticket sales have jumped 166 percent ahead of last season's pace.
Sunday's results
Men's golf
Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate: Duke fired a third-round low score of 5-under 283 to climb six spots and finish fifth at the event in Jonesborough, Tenn. Julian Suri had a bogey-free 69 to lead the Blue Devils.
Oregon State's Diego Velasquez grabbed the individual title with a 10-under 206. He finished seven strokes better than a trio of players, including N.C. State's Matt Hill.
Wake Forest rode senior Brendan Gielow's fifth-place finish to wind up seventh. UNC's Jack Fields also finished fifth to lead the Tar Heels to a ninth-place finish.
Women's golf
Mercedes-Benz Women's Collegiate Championship: Julie Saleeby shot a final-round even-par 72 to finish in the top 20 as N.C. State tied for 11th at Knoxville, Tenn.
Natalie Sheary fired a 2-under 70 to lead Wake Forest to a fifth-place finish.
Women's soccer
Maryland 3, N.C. State 2 (OT): Meredith Parrilla and Kara Blosser scored first-half goals for the visiting Wolfpack (7-7-1, 2-5 ACC), but the Terrapins (11-2-2, 3-2-2) forced overtime and then won it on an own goal by State.
Wake Forest 2, Miami 0: Bess Harrington and Jackie Logue each scored for the first time this season as the host Deacons (12-2-1, 4-1-1 ACC) shut out the Canes (7-8-0, 2-4-0).
Duke 2, Clemson 0: The visiting Blue Devils (6-5-4, 2-2-2 ACC) broke a five-game losing streak at Clemson (3-12, 0-7).
Meredith 5, N.C. Wesleyan 1: Alex Calvert scored three goals to lead the host Angels (10-3-1, 5-1 USA South).
Christopher Newport 8, Peace 1: Haley Bright scored for the host Pacers (1-12, 1-5 USA South).
UTEP 2, East Carolina 0: Chelsea Winbush scored two goals to lead the host Miners past the Pirates (8-6-2, 3-5-0 Conference USA).
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A strong second half performance by Duke was the difference in a 73-55 victory over Maryland on Saturday afternoon. 
It was late in North Carolina’s 70-52 victory against Virginia here on Saturday when the Cavaliers trimmed a 15-point deficit to 11, giving them hope of a rally with about four and a half minutes to play. 
Hours after the Smith Center emptied and the cameras left, long after he and his North Carolina teammates went their separate ways, Tar Heels point guard Kendall Marshall lay awake in the early hours of Thursday morning with certain parts of Duke's 85-84 victory against UNC playing on a loop in his mind. 
Forget about Duke's comeback win over North Carolina. The evidence from this season suggests that the Blue Devils' biggest test of the week will come today when Maryland comes to Cameron Indoor Stadium. 
East Chapel Hill sophomore Ben Griffin was about 13 years old when he challenged a group of then-current and former University of North Carolina golfers. 
Robert Orr, a Raleigh attorney who represented UNC football players Quinton Coples and Devon Ramsay during the school's recent NCAA-related problems, said Friday that the firing of Butch Davis and hiring of Larry Fedora as head football coach would not fundamentally change the chances of similar issues cropping up at the school. 
If Wake Forest wants to extricate itself from the ACC's cellar, wins in its next two games would be a good place to start. 
Rameses, North Carolina's 18th ram mascot, died Thursday night of natural causes. He was 8 years old. Keep up with the latest sports stories with our free e-mail newsletters, delivered to your inbox!
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