of the NBA.As Ive said, there will be u | Forum

                                      RALEIGH, N. Adidas NMD R2 Ale .C. -- Ask Jaylen Samuels what position he plays for North Carolina States offense, and he will struggle to give a definitive answer.Thats because the returning all-Atlantic Coast Conference performer has proven he can do just about anything for the Wolfpack. And like the defenses he faces, even he is unsure exactly what hell be asked to do each week.Last year I was doing so much stuff, he said in an interview with The Associated Press, like every position almost.Officially, North Carolina State lists Samuels at tight end and fullback, and last years first-team Associated Press all-ACC selection came at tight end. But the 5-foot-11, 223-pound rising junior from Charlotte lined up just about everywhere -- in the backfield for handoffs or passes to the flat, in the slot for routes or for end-around runs -- to create matchup problems on the way to scoring a combined 16 rushing and receiving touchdowns.He did that while at times splitting his position meetings or film study between the tight ends and the running backs. And he spent practices knowing his role could fluctuate based on injuries or gameflow.Now hes working on improving his blocking and conditioning to stay on the field even longer this fall.Every week I just try to go hard at everything I do, catching, running, Samuels said. Its making sure I work on my craft every day so I could be ready for Saturday, but Im not going to know what to expect. Im just going to have to go out there and try to make a play.He finished with 56 rushes for 368 yards and nine touchdowns to go with 65 catches for 597 yards and seven scores -- a rate that had him reaching the end zone every 7.6 times he touched the football.His father, Greg, pointed to his son playing multiple sports from an early age -- bouncing between football, basketball, baseball and track while often competing against older kids -- to explain Jaylens versatility.You cant describe what it is, but you can just say, `That kids got a gift, Greg Samuels said. And we just had to keep fine-tuning it. . What you see now is just a combination of multiple sports that a young man played at a high level, and hes just excelled at it.The challenge of finding the right workload for Samuels now falls to new offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz.Samuels had a huge game against eventual national runner-up Clemson (14 touches, 139 yards, two touchdowns), but he had just three other games with 10 touches. He had four touches -- he still scored twice -- in 41 plays during the Belk Bowl loss to Mississippi State.I dont know what the magic number is, but you know, youd like to say around 10, said Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren, now entering his fourth year. Get him the ball 10 times a game because he has a way of making plays, man.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap and the APs college football site at http://collegefootball.ap.org Adidas Kengät Halvalla . -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide. Adidas Deerupt Ale . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.nmdhalvalla.com/ . The 43-year-old closer, in his 19th and final big league season, has said hed like to play the outfield. Yankees manager Joe Girardi says hes thinking about allowing Rivera to do it this weekend, when the Yankees finish their season with a three-game series at the Houston Astros. Miami President Pat Riley is a big fan of the symbolic 12:01 a.m. phone call to his teams top targets. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich says he would rather be sleeping at that moment. And more than $1 billion in deals will likely be hammered out in the next couple of days alone.Free agency has returned to the NBA, and this July 1 is unlike any other.Sure, theres the annual list of superstars who could take their talents elsewhere -- Kevin Durant will hear sales pitches designed to talk him into leaving Oklahoma City, Dwyane Wade is prepared to leave Miami if he doesnt get a deal to his liking, and it seems LeBron James will make the Cleveland Cavaliers dig even more deeply into their pockets to reward him for the citys first NBA title.All this comes with a backdrop of an enormous jump in the salary cap, going from $70 million this past season to likely somewhere close to $95 million when the league announces the actual number early next week.So the spending will be out of control. Thats for certain.Just about everything else is uncertain, starting with Durants status.My message to him is just try to get through this, dont make a decision based off anybody else, make your own decision, New York Knicks forward and Durants Olympic teammate Carmelo Anthony said. Because at the end of the day, youre the one that has to live with that.Durant, true to his nature, is tight-lipped about how his decision-making process will actually work.Ill factor in everything thats important to me, which is playing basketball at the end of the day, and well see what happens, Durant said.Durant plans on going to New York -- not to play, but to deliberate. Some teams have been granted invites to meet with Durant in the New York area this weekend, and Miami center Hassan Whiteside is planning to meet with teams there as well on Friday. Theres been no indication how quickly Durant will reveal if hes staying with the Thunder or moving on, but in Whitesides case the answer could come on Day 1.Im not calm. Look at me. Woooo! Whiteside shrieked earlier this week in Miami, when he talked about the looming decision that will take him from someone who made just under $1 million this past season -- pocket change by NBA standards -- to quite probably more than $20 million in each of the next four seasons. Adidas Kengät Ale. Im excited, man. Cmon, man. Free agency time.Whiteside will strike it rich without going to a single All-Star Game first. Bismack Biyombo (who made $2.8 million this season and is expected to at least quintuple that going forward) will probably do the same, and that comes with him not even having been a full-time starter in Toronto.This is the new NBA.And its not changing.The cap will take another giant leap next season, too. Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Payton stopped playing less than a decade ago; he made about as much in his entire career as Whiteside will likely make in the contract he can sign starting July 7.Payton equates free agency today to a lottery, with a lot of sweepstakes winners.Some of these players, they make decisions because of all of the money, he said. Youre going to get the money. I think you go to a place where youre going to be successful and have a chance to win ... always be in the competition to win a championship.Payton could have made so much more money now, but hes far from upset about it. He even says a player like James should be making about $50 million now, given what hes done and what he means to the league.I got on my mom about that the other day and asked her why she had me so early, Payton said. It is what it is. Its a different era. I was in the best era. I liked my era. We started all this.Because theres never been a market like this, given all the new cap room, it seems like no one really knows what to expect.That includes the Commissioner of the NBA.As Ive said, there will be unintended consequences from all this additional cap room this summer, Adam Silver said at the All-Star Game back in February. I just dont know what those consequences will be.Starting at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time Friday, when the shopping window officially opens, the league will begin finding out.Its not so much about the things you want, Thunder general manager Sam Presti said. Its about the things that are made available to you.---AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney in New York contributed to this report. ' ' '