🏀 Homegrown talent | Sports Daily Newsletter

There’s a rising hoops star in Coatesville. His name is Colton Hiller.

If you haven’t heard his name, I’ll fill you in: Hiller is a 6-foot-7 sophomore who’s a three-level scorer and considered the nation’s No. 3 player in the 2028 class.

He’s 15 years old and holds more than 20 scholarship offers. He also has scored 1,146 points with two more years ahead of him.

While nearly every major prep school and national high school basketball factory is coming after him, Hiller plans to keep playing for his public high school, Coatesville.

Gregg Downer, the Hall of Fame Lower Merion coach, says Hiller could make a run at Kobe Bryant’s 2,883 career points. He’s different than most basketball stars.

The young prodigy is humble, with experience playing on the biggest stage — he competed with Team USA last summer — and knows there’s more room to develop. And it might sound lofty, but he has his sights set on a career in the NBA and being a one-and-done player in college.

Many of the area’s high school coaches say he’s going to be even more special when he’s 18. Looks like the best of Colton Hiller is yet to come.

— Isabella DiAmore, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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The Eagles have agreed to terms with former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen on a one-year deal. It’s a short-term yet significant investment at their vacant outside cornerback spot opposite Quinyon Mitchell.

Woolen was one of the top pending free-agent cornerbacks set to become available at the start of the new league year and would fill a need for the Eagles in their secondary with Adoree’ Jackson a free agent.

The Eagles also agreed to have Grant Calcaterra return and brought in tight end Johnny Mundt, who played last season with Jacksonville and has crossed paths with new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion in Los Angeles and Minnesota.

Keep up with everything Eagles related during free agency with our tracker.

The BayCare Ballpark cafeteria was standing room only on Tuesday morning.

The room had undergone a temporary transformation to become news conference-ready, after the Phillies officially announced they had agreed to terms with Jesús Luzardo on a five-year contract extension.

Present were Luzardo’s wife, parents, sister, and agent, members of the Phillies coaching staff and front office, and principal owner John Middleton. Most of his teammates crowded in as well, lining the back wall of the room and giving the left-hander an ovation as he made his way to the podium.

Luzardo’s impact on the team goes beyond what he does on the mound, which is a big reason his teammates wanted to show up for him.

J.T. Realmuto has been hard at work all offseason and spring to rebound from a down season offensively. He got some positive results against the Yankees.

The 76ers have been without most of their best players for their recent games as Joel Embiid (oblique injury), Paul George (suspension), and Tyrese Maxey (hand injury) all remain out. The team got some help on Tuesday when VJ Edgecombe came back after missing multiple games with a back injury.

Still, with so many stars out, that means several players have been forced into larger roles while severely shorthanded. Cameron Payne is among them. Payne, who started the season in Serbia, is aware of that and wants to make the best of his time back in the league. “Doing what I love to do as a job,” Payne said Monday morning, “that gets me going. That’s really the main thing.”

The Sixers got news about Maxey’s status on Tuesday. The guard will miss at least three weeks with a tendon injury in the little finger on his right hand. His expected reevaluation is around March 31, when the Sixers would have only seven games remaining in the regular season.

Edgecombe and Payne had big performances to lead the Sixers to a comeback win over the Grizzlies.

The Flyers decided to take the long-term approach to the trade deadline. They made one significant move by sending Bobby Brink to Minnesota for David Jiříček.

As the team hits the homestretch, we caught up with general manager Danny Brière to talk about the deadline, his take on Matvei Michkov and Rick Tocchet’s performances this season, and more during Jackie Spiegel’s two-part interview.

Of the many talented teams in women’s college basketball this season, the major conference tournaments this past weekend revealed there’s a clear elite.

Connecticut from the Big East. The Huskies are 34-0 entering the NCAA Tournament. They just wrapped up not only their sixth straight Big East double title, but their first undefeated season in eight years.

And the spotlight is coming to UConn sophomore Sarah Strong, who’s piling up stats at both ends of the floor. This March feels like the time for her to officially become that player.

We asked: Which departing Eagle will the team miss the most? Among your responses:

With probably more to come, I think Nakobe Dean is the biggest lost. He’s the play caller on defense and plays with intensity and toughness. — Tom G.

Nakobe Dean will be the player most missed. His only downside was the injuries. Still a young guy who was been a leader for the Eagles on and off the field. Phillips did well for the Eagles but his stats were nowhere near what they were when he was a Dolphin. Going to be a very challenging off-season for Howie. Let’s hope he is up to it. Free agency made millions for the players in all sports, but often sad for fans and of course ownership. — Everett S.

I don’t think they will trade A J Brown as they won’t get back equal value. They will replace those on defense leaving. But it appears that they won’t pay Dallas Goedert to keep him, and they have undervalued him all along. He has been Jalen Hurts’ safety valve. He will be missed the most. — John W.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Joseph Santoliquito, Olivia Reiner, Jeff Neiburg, Scott Lauber, Lochlahn March, Jackie Spiegel, Gina Mizell, and Jonathan Tannenwald.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

Thanks for catching up with me this morning, have a wonderful Wednesday. Kerith will get you started in Thursday’s newsletter. — Bella