Sekou Smith

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The first question Tuesday afternoon was related to basketball and what his team focused on during an hour-plus practice, but Stan Van Gundy understandably didn’t want to discuss hoops or what’s happening on the court. Just prior to New Orleans’ team workout, the first-year Pelicans head coach learned that former Turner Sports colleague and friend Sekou Smith had died Tuesday, after Smith contracted the coronavirus recently. Smith was 48.

“It’s really hard to sit here and talk about basketball games when we just lost one of the best people that I’ve ever been around,” Van Gundy said of the NBA writer and TV analyst. “Just a great, great person who cared about other people. Great sense of humor, a positive, upbeat guy, extremely intelligent.”

Van Gundy first met Smith when the latter was a newspaper sportswriter. Van Gundy worked with him during the 2019-20 season on a weekly NBA TV studio show.

“It just hit hard,” Van Gundy said of hearing the news. “For all of us, this COVID thing has been painful, to say the least, but when you lose somebody you know, admire and respect, and who’s young, it’s really, really hard. This thing is so scary and has brought so much grief to so many people. There are a lot of people in Atlanta grieving a great man today.”

Among his many accomplishments and contributions to the NBA, Smith wrote a popular “Sekou’s MVP Ladder” article for NBA.com, a feature Smith discussed during segments on NBA TV. Van Gundy shared a story of how much Smith enjoyed the interaction with fans generated by the column, even if it wasn’t always positive toward him.

“He would share the messages he got from fans on social media, and it was just hilarious,” Van Gundy said. “People would go after him (via social media) all the time. He had such a great way with his fans on social media, because I think he’s somebody that took his job seriously, but never took himself that seriously. He understood that what we’re doing is in the entertainment business, and he had fun with it. Any of us who had the opportunity to know him or work with him, it was a joy. We lost a great one today.”

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Stan Van Gundy on Sekou Smith: ‘We lost a great one’

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Today's lineup presented by ABC Insurance Agencies includes: Sekou Smith (NBA.com/NBATV) and LB Craig Robertson.

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Black and Blue Report presented by ABC Insurance Agencies: January 19, 2017

1)      New Orleans ran past Orlando by a 118-98 margin last night, opening a six-game homestand in stellar fashion.

2)      Watch postgame reaction from Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Langston Galloway and Alvin Gentry. Davis will learn if he has been named an All-Star starter tonight, when TNT unveils the lineups during its pregame show from 6-7 Central time.

3)      The Pelicans (17-26) moved to 1.5 games out of eighth place in the Western Conference behind current No. 8 Denver (17-23). The Nuggets have a tough test Thursday, playing at San Antonio. Meanwhile, Portland (18-26) has a half-game lead on NOLA for ninth; Sacramento (16-25) is technically in a tie for 10th.

5)      Listen to Thursday’s Black and Blue Report for a visit from Sekou Smith of NBA TV and NBA.com. Smith will discuss upcoming All-Star 2017 and the Pelicans. In addition, the weekly Alvin Gentry radio show airs tonight from 7-8 on WRNO 99.5 FM.

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Five things to know about the Pelicans on Jan. 19, 2017

Sekou Smith (NBA.com/NBA TV) and Archie Manning (former Saints quarterback on his son, Payton Manning)  are on today's Black and Blue Report.

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Black and Blue Report: January 29, 2016

1)      New Orleans continued its best stretch of the regular season Thursday, handing Sacramento a 114-105 defeat in the Smoothie King Center.

2)      Watch highlights from the Western Conference game.

3)      The Pelicans are 4-1 on their current seven-game homestand, with a Saturday 6 p.m. tilt vs. Brooklyn and a Monday 7 p.m. matchup against Memphis remaining. They are 6-2 overall since Jan. 13, with their only losses during that span by two points at Memphis and one point to Houston.

4)      Ryan Anderson (tied career high with 36 points), Alvin Gentry, Jrue Holiday and Bryce Dejean-Jones spoke to the media after Thursday’s win.

5)      Listen to this week’s Alvin Gentry radio show, which airs on WRNO 99.5 FM each Thursday. On today’s Black & Blue Report, NBA.com writer Sekou Smith will stop by to talk about the Pelicans and the league.

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Five things to know about the Pelicans on Jan. 29, 2016

Today's show features NBA.com/NBA TV's Sekou Smith talking Pelicans and last night's NBA Draft.

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Black and Blue Report: June 26, 2015

Today's show features UGA Beat Writer and Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Chip Towers talking about Saints draft pick Damian Swann and Sekou Smith of NBA.com/NBA TV talks playoffs.

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Black and Blue Report: May 11, 2015

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