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Victor Wembanyama's latest highlight really showcases how hard it is to stop him

· Yahoo Sports

Victor Wembanyama's latest highlight really showcases how hard it is to stop him originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Victor Wembanyama is not a normal athlete. The star center for the San Antonio Spurs is one of the most unique, dominating talents in the NBA today. Standing at 7'5, and 235 lbs, Wembanyama is often cited as the most unique player in the modern NBA, if not of all time. His length gives him this old-school, interior defender mentality. Able to block shots and change the direction of inside scorers. 

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That's not all, however. As with large players of yesterday, like Manute Bol or Shawn Bradley, Wembanyama doesn't play with the same stiffness that other ultra-tall centers used to play with. No, the Spurs star is effortlessly smooth as he moves up and down the court. He doesn't lumber or stutter as he moves like other bigs of the past used to. 

To slow down a dominant center, all you had to do was quicken the pace of the game. Get the ball moving in transition, and you'd leave them behind. Even on defense, if you lost containment on the ball and a fast break occurred, it wasn't likely the big man would be able to do much to help.

These players were slow, lumbering, and easy to disrupt. So when the ball went up the court fast in transition, you knew someone else would have to handle that and try to finish around the rim, lest the defense catch up. 

More: Victor Wembanyama gets surprisingly emotional after a phenomenal two-game stretch

That's no longer the case.

Wembanyama is not your dad's NBA center. He's got the height, length, and shot-blocking prowess of a Bradley, but he moves like a modern wing player. He's not uncoordinated or easily knocked off. He's nimble and coordinated, and the Houston Rockets just found that out. 

In the third quarter, Wembanyama caught a pass in transition, took the ball across half-court, and cut through four Rockets defenders with ease before finishing at the rim and drawing the foul. It was a play you'd see a prime-Michael Jordan or LeBron James make. Not a 7'5 center. 

This one highlight fully shows someone just how hard it is to challenge the Spurs' next dominating big man. You can't just push the pace anymore with this young man, as he can keep up with the speed of the game, unlike any center that's come before.

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Tigers' Tarik Skubal won't pitch another game in WBC

· Yahoo Sports

Lakeland, Fla. — Tigers manager AJ Hinch already knew, but he didn’t feel it was his news to break.

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Instead, it was Team USA manager Mark DeRosa who announced to reporters Monday that lefty Tarik Skubal would return to TigerTown after Team USA’s game with Mexico on Monday in the World Baseball Classic.

“He’s in a good place,” Hinch said Monday morning.

He had several conversations with Skubal over the last 48 hours, since Skubal made it clear he was considering staying with Team USA for at least one more start.

“I didn’t expect these types of emotions to run through my brain or my thoughts to differ,” Skubal told reporters Saturday. “I was pretty committed to making a start and getting back to camp. Things have changed, obviously, that’s why I’m going to have some conversations to try and figure out a plan for me.”

After conversations with Hinch, DeRosa and his agent Scott Boras, Skubal will head back to Tigers’ camp. He is expected to be in Lakeland Tuesday.

“He’s really in a tough spot,” Hinch said. “He’s trying to do everything at the same time and that’s next to impossible.”

Skubal, who threw 41 pitches against Great Britain on Saturday, would be in line to make his next start for the Tigers as early as Saturday, though the Tigers are in Dunedin that day and in Tampa on Sunday.

Had he stayed with Team USA, the way the schedule worked out, he would likely have lined up for the championship game, if they got that far. That would have put his Opening Day start in San Diego March 26 in jeopardy.

“Listen, Tarik does not deserve any criticism whatsoever,” Hinch said. “I think the emotions are legit because I think everybody cares.”

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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tigers' Tarik Skubal makes decision on whether to pitch another WBC game

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