Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Latavious Williams Weighing Options; Jayon James Taking Visits; Rutgers Wins Again
Latavious Williams says he’s still committed to Memphis, but the latest allegations against the program may cause him to end up elsewhere.
“I’m still committed,” he said Friday by phone. “Right now they’re looking into that [allegations that someone else took the SAT for former point guard Derrick Rose]. I’m going to take my time and chill out.”
Williams is set to graduate May 29 from Humble Christian Life Center in Houston, and he said he and his family were still discussing the latest news about the NCAA charging Memphis with “major violations”.
“We are just talking about the situation and the violations,” he said. “We’re trying to see what ‘s gonna happen.”
Memphis is scheduled to appear before the NCAA Committee on Infractions June 6.
“Everybody is very concerned about the situation but [Memphis coach] Josh [Pastner] is a great guy and everybody really, really respects him and we want to give him the benefit of the doubt and find out what went on and what the repercussions might be,” Humble coach Carlos Wilson said. “We want to find out what the best decision for Latavious would be.
“We’re going to kind of wait and see what happens with the June 6 situation, which is right around the corner.”
The 6-foot-8 Williams on Tuesday chose Memphis over Georgetown, Oklahoma, Kansas State and Florida International. He did not sign a Letter of Intent because his decision came after May 20, the NCAA late signing period deadline. He signed scholarship players that bind the University to him, but not vice versa.
Williams said he isn’t considering any of those schools at this point, but a source with knowledge said “two high major assistants were contacted by him directly yesterday [Thursday].”
Williams did say that Europe still remained a viable option if his grades were to get red-flagged by the NCAA.
“If they red-flag then I’ll go,” he said.
Williams made dramatic strides in his academics over a short period of time and said he got a 17 on the ACT. He needs a corresponding 2.5 GPA to become eligible.
Wilson previously said Europe was a viable option as well.
Several Americans have recently announced their plans to play in Europe, including 6-10 San Diego High junior Jeremy Tyler, Florida guard Nick Calathes and Clemson guard Terrence Oglesby.JAYON JAMES THINKING IVY Paterson (N.J.) Catholic junior point guard Jayon James could be the first basketball player from the Silk City to attend an Ivy League school.
James is a 6-5 junior point guard who averaged 9 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists to help the Cougars win the Passaic (N.J.) County championship and notch independent wins over Brooklyn powers Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson.
He will visit UPenn this weekend and Harvard, Brown and Princeton in the next two weeks, according to his father, John James.RUTGERS WINS AGAIN IN SPAINPat Jackson continues to be a pleasant surprise for the Rutgers basketball team on its trip to the Canary Islands.
Jackson, a 6-5 wing from Brooklyn Boys & Girls who didn’t get much burn as a freshman, had 19 points and 14 boards in a 77-50 victory over the London Midnight Madness Thursday night. Jackson dropped 22 in the first game and Rutgers is now 2-0.
“For the second game in a row we really played hard, but tonight some of the rust from the trip had worn off,” said head coach Fred Hill. “I thought we executed and shot the ball better. We were better defensively against a good London team that played very, very hard. They were not a great shooting team. We played zone and it really gave them trouble. We played much crisper, sharper basketball tonight. Patrick had an impact on the game for the second night in a row and really helped us on the offensive end.”
Mike Rosario added 16 points, Hamady N’Diaye had 13 points and six blocks and Jonathan Mitchell grabbed 10 boards.
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
Latavious Williams says he’s still committed to Memphis, but the latest allegations against the program may cause him to end up elsewhere.
“I’m still committed,” he said Friday by phone. “Right now they’re looking into that [allegations that someone else took the SAT for former point guard Derrick Rose]. I’m going to take my time and chill out.”
Williams is set to graduate May 29 from Humble Christian Life Center in Houston, and he said he and his family were still discussing the latest news about the NCAA charging Memphis with “major violations”.
“We are just talking about the situation and the violations,” he said. “We’re trying to see what ‘s gonna happen.”
Memphis is scheduled to appear before the NCAA Committee on Infractions June 6.
“Everybody is very concerned about the situation but [Memphis coach] Josh [Pastner] is a great guy and everybody really, really respects him and we want to give him the benefit of the doubt and find out what went on and what the repercussions might be,” Humble coach Carlos Wilson said. “We want to find out what the best decision for Latavious would be.
“We’re going to kind of wait and see what happens with the June 6 situation, which is right around the corner.”
The 6-foot-8 Williams on Tuesday chose Memphis over Georgetown, Oklahoma, Kansas State and Florida International. He did not sign a Letter of Intent because his decision came after May 20, the NCAA late signing period deadline. He signed scholarship players that bind the University to him, but not vice versa.
Williams said he isn’t considering any of those schools at this point, but a source with knowledge said “two high major assistants were contacted by him directly yesterday [Thursday].”
Williams did say that Europe still remained a viable option if his grades were to get red-flagged by the NCAA.
“If they red-flag then I’ll go,” he said.
Williams made dramatic strides in his academics over a short period of time and said he got a 17 on the ACT. He needs a corresponding 2.5 GPA to become eligible.
Wilson previously said Europe was a viable option as well.
Several Americans have recently announced their plans to play in Europe, including 6-10 San Diego High junior Jeremy Tyler, Florida guard Nick Calathes and Clemson guard Terrence Oglesby.
JAYON JAMES THINKING IVY
Paterson (N.J.) Catholic junior point guard Jayon James could be the first basketball player from the Silk City to attend an Ivy League school.
James is a 6-5 junior point guard who averaged 9 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists to help the Cougars win the Passaic (N.J.) County championship and notch independent wins over Brooklyn powers Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson.
He will visit UPenn this weekend and Harvard, Brown and Princeton in the next two weeks, according to his father, John James.
RUTGERS WINS AGAIN IN SPAIN
Pat Jackson continues to be a pleasant surprise for the Rutgers basketball team on its trip to the Canary Islands.
Jackson, a 6-5 wing from Brooklyn Boys & Girls who didn’t get much burn as a freshman, had 19 points and 14 boards in a 77-50 victory over the London Midnight Madness Thursday night. Jackson dropped 22 in the first game and Rutgers is now 2-0.
“For the second game in a row we really played hard, but tonight some of the rust from the trip had worn off,” said head coach Fred Hill. “I thought we executed and shot the ball better. We were better defensively against a good London team that played very, very hard. They were not a great shooting team. We played zone and it really gave them trouble. We played much crisper, sharper basketball tonight. Patrick had an impact on the game for the second night in a row and really helped us on the offensive end.”
Mike Rosario added 16 points, Hamady N’Diaye had 13 points and six blocks and Jonathan Mitchell grabbed 10 boards.
