Last week he visited Oregon and then went to Georgetown.

The 6-foot-9 Black met recently with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, as well as Ohio State coach Thad Matta and San Diego State’s Steve Fisher. 

The 6-9 Black averaged 8.1 points and 4.8 rebounds as a junior last season for the Tigers. He will have one year of eligibility remaining.

“I will not be conducting any interviews during this process,” he said recently by text.

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“Committed to Duke,” he Tweeted.

Allen is the No. 32-ranked player in the Class of 2014 according to Rivals and is Duke’s first commit in the class.

He averaged 19.3 points last season and scored 31 points as Providence High won the Class 3A state championship in Florida, according to the Charlotte Observer.

ESPN’s Dave Telep Tweeted that Allen is a multi-position wing with “real toughness, range and court presence.”

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski watched Allen last weekend at the Nike EYBL stop in Los Angeles.

Coach K and several assistants then met Tuesday in Memphis with Memphis transfer Tarik Black, sources confirmed to SNY.tv after Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com first reported it.

San Diego State also visited with him last week, sources told SNY.tv.

The 6-9 Black averaged 8.1 points and 4.8 rebounds last season for the Tigers.

“I will not be conducting any interviews during this process,” he said by text.

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By BRIAN FITZSIMMONS

Special to ZAGSBLOG

NEW YORK – Jabari Parker noticed many high-profile celebrities dotting the Barclay Center’s sidelines at the Jordan Brand Classic on Saturday.

Michael Jordan sat in a posh suite throughout the night, while Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia joined the Knicks trio of Amar’e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith in the courtside seats.

LaLa Vasquez, Busta Rhymes and rapper Drake, who performed after Parker’s West squad squeezed by in a 102-98 victory over the East, comprised a strong music-based showing. Of course, the presence of Worldwide Wes and Spike Lee added some character to the VIP list, too.

But the Duke-bound Parker, who scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds and later accepted the team’s MVP trophy from Anthony at center court, clearly didn’t let the magnified scrutiny and attention get to him. That’s a good thing because the 6-foot-8 small forward from Chicago Simeon High School should get used to seeing celebrities watch him play every night very quickly.

Maybe not as quickly as once thought, though.

Parker revealed a very interesting – and potentially NBA draft-altering tidbit — to SLAM magazine recently.

“I may play in college for two or three years,” said Parker, who likely would be a top-five pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. “It doesn’t matter to me. I want to go to school. That’s important to me. I just want to go to school. I want to have some years in college. But I don’t know what the circumstances are going to be.”

According to DraftExpress.com, Andrew Wiggins (Huntington Prep, W. Va.) – the No. 1 player in the Class of 2013 – is listed as the top pick in the 2014 Draft ahead of Julius Randle (Prestonwood Christian, Texas), Aaron Gordon (Archbishop Mitty, Calif.) and Andrew Harrison (Travis, Texas). Those four prospects also competed with Parker in the Jordan Brand Classic.

Jonathan Givony, the site’s publisher, told SNY.tv he doesn’t think Parker is a one-and-done type of prospect.

So it seems Parker isn’t sold on leaving after one year in a Blue Devils uniform. Would this decision become a burden on him?

“Not really,” he said after the Jordan Game. “I just want to go to school any way, shape or form. Going to Duke is really special for me because people out of my neighborhood probably wouldn’t have even thought of getting an education. I’m just looking at different opportunities where I could grow. I don’t know where it’s going to be, but I’ll always keep my eyes open and my options.”

Parker enjoyed a much stronger performance in the Jordan Game than in last week’s McDonald’s All-American Game, during which he mustered just 10 points. His final high school outing prompted Anthony and Stoudemire to dish out some compliments.

“I was just impressed,” Anthony, whose Knicks have won 14 of 15 entering Sunday’s game against the Indiana Pacers, told SheridanHoops.com.

“I know when I was in high school we wasn’t as big as these guys today, man. They look like they’re in the gym already in the weight room and things like that. They’re already one step ahead.”

Parker was elated to have heard that news – and meet the duo afterwards.

“It was a great experience,” he said. “I don’t have a personal relationship with either of them, but as soon as we saw each other, when they met the team and everybody, they gave us a lot of respect. We really honored that… It’s always great playing here. We got the chance to get some exposure, playing in front of different types of people. It was a great experience and I loved it.”

Photos: Kelly Kline / Jordan Brand

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Northwestern University hired Chris Collins as the 24th head coach of the Wildcats men’s basketball program on Wednesday.

Collins will remain in his current position as the Associate Head Coach at Duke through the NCAA Tournament. Duke meets Michigan State in the Sweet 16 on Friday in Indianapolis.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Chris, his wife, Kim, and their children, Ryan and Kate, home to Chicago and into the Northwestern family,” said Vice President for Athletics & Recreation Jim Phillips. “He has a tremendous pedigree as a basketball coach and will be an outstanding leader for Chicago’s Big Ten Team, and mentor for our student-athletes. After a thorough and comprehensive search process, there is no doubt he is a perfect fit for this institution and our men’s basketball program.”

“I’m so grateful to President Schapiro, Chairman Osborn and Dr. Phillips for the opportunity to lead the men’s basketball program at one of the premier universities in the world, to compete in the Big Ten Conference, and to do so in my hometown,” said Collins. “Northwestern University is a special place that strives for excellence in every regard, and our program will be no different. I can’t possibly thank Coach Krzyzewski and Duke University enough for preparing me for this day.”

A native of Northbrook, Ill., Collins has served on Krzyzewski’s staff at his alma mater since 2000, and was named Associate Head Coach in 2008. During his 13 seasons on the Blue Devils’ staff, Duke compiled an overall record of 356-72, eight ACC tournament championships, four ACC regular season titles, eight in-season tournament titles and national championships in 2001 and 2010.

Collins also served as a court coach and scout for the USA Basketball Senior National Team with on-court duties as well as game preparation from 2006-12. His tenure included the program’s gold-medal performances at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2010 FIBA World Championships and 2012 London Olympics.

The move has implications for Gill St. Bernard’s point guard Jaren Sina, who reopened his recruitment after former coach Bill Carmody was fired.

Sina told SNY.tv Sunday that he is considering Northwestern, Seton Hall and Alabama, although Indiana has also reached out “multiple times,” a source sadid.

Asked specifically about a Collins hiring, Sina told SNY.tv: “I’d obviously have to speak with my family and sit down with whomever is hired and go through the process again.”

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Here it is a year after Duke’s loss to No. 15 Lehigh, and the Blue Devils are once again a 2 seed playing a 15. This time it’s the Great Danes.

“Well, Lehigh didn’t do us any favors, that’s for sure,” Brown said here after a few dozen fans watched Albany, surprising champs of the America East Conference, practice at the Wells Fargo Center.

“The tough thing is the team we’re trying to beat is a team that got upset one year ago,” Brown added. “So I think Duke will be focused.  I think they’ll play with tremendous energy, and like most BCS level schools, in a game like this, they’re going to try to throw a knockout punch early and often, and we need to be prepared for that, and if that happens we need to weather the storm.”

Despite a 9-7 league record and a No. 4 seed in the conference tournament, Albany won the America East championship by beating top-seeded Stony Brook in the semifinals and then winning at Vermont, 53-49, in the final behind 14 points from senior guard Mike Black. 

The Great Danes are only the third America East team in 34 years to win the conference championship without being seeded first or second.

Now they find themselves a 15 seed in the Midwest Region, knowing that not one, but two, 15s won last year — Lehigh and Norfolk State (over Missouri).

“I think the one thing with your kids is if you look back at the NCAA Tournament, a 16 seed has never beaten a 1,” Brown said. “A 15 has beaten a 2.  So when you talk to your kids about that and you look them in the eye and you’re preaching, they believe you because it’s happened.  You know, why can’t it happen to‑‑ why can’t we do it?”

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski paid the requisite respects to Albany, even though the Blue Devils are favored by 19 points.

“We know a lot about Albany,” he said. “When you play on Friday and you get selected on Sunday, you get a lot of time to prepare, a lot of respect for them, great guard play, and their coaching staff has been here before, and they’ve done a good job.  So we respect who they are, and we’re ready to go.”

As for the Lehigh reminders, Duke forward Mason Plumlee said he’s not buying the comparison, as much as Brown feels it’s relevant.

“We have more motivation than that,” Plumlee said. “I think that was a different team, we have different players.  We have guys who weren’t a part of that team last year.  Our team’s motivation is something bigger than the way last year’s season ended.”

COACH K HAS FUN WITH SPORTS ON EARTH

Coach K has never heard of the Sports on Earth Website, and so when a reporter from the site asked him a question, he had a little fun at the reporter’s expense.

“Sports on Earth, Are there sports anywhere else?” he asked.

Photo: ESPN.com

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PHILADELPHIA

“He’ll be great‑‑ all three of those guys would be great,” Coach K said here before the No. 2 Blue Devils meet No. 15 Albany on Friday.

Coach K was referring to his three assistants, Collins, Jeff Capel and Steve Wojciechowski.

“Well, I could lose any of my guys at any time,” Coach K said. “I feel I have the best staff in America, pro or college, because two of them have been with me for seven years in the Olympics and world championships in Wojo and Chris, and I have three head coaches on my staff in Chris, Wojo and Capel, and there’s nobody who has that.”

Collins is a Northbrook, Ill., native who told ESPNChicago.com that he ultimately aspires to be a head coach. He’s now reportedly at the top of Northwestern’s list to replace the fired Bill Carmody.

“It’s my home,” he told the site last year of the Illinois job. “It’s in the Big Ten. There’s talent in the state. Of course, you have aspirations to be a head coach in an area you really love like Chicago, so of course there’s going to be interest. I haven’t talked to them.”

Coach K said he would “go to war” with Chris, and his father, 76ers coach Doug Collins, anytime.

“I love them to death,” Coach K said. ” I’d go to war with Doug, Chris, and have with Chris.  They’re just terrific people.”

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By BRIAN FITZSIMMONS

Special to ZAGSBLOG

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – What do Jay Z, Bill Clinton, John Legend, the Baltimore Ravens and Jabari Parker all have in common?

They were all trending nationally on Twitter moments after the Duke-bound Parker scored a game-high 28 points and helped Simeon (Ill.), ranked No. 11 in the USA Today national poll, hold off No. 10 Oak Hill Academy (Va.), 81-68, at the 2013 Spalding Hoophall Classic on Monday afternoon.

The 6-foot-8, 220-pound Parker is the No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2013, and four weeks ago chose Duke over Michigan State, Florida, BYU and Stanford, ending an intense process during which schools, coaches, scouts, reporters and television personalities were all gunning for answers.

After leading Simeon to three straight Illinois state championships and earning the 2012 Gatorade National Player of the Year, Parker is aiming to amass more achievements – not just becoming a visible icon in social media circles — with a clear mind.

“Most definitely,” he responded when asked if his daily routine has been easier since pledging to the Blue Devils on Dec. 20. “Now, my main focus is on me and my team. I’m a senior and this isn’t going to happen again, so I’m just trying to enjoy the whole process.”

Though life has been good lately, Parker was left concerned this past week after a 17-year-old boy, Tyrone Lawson, was shot and killed in the Chicago State University parking lot; he was an innocent bystander waiting for his mother to come pick him up from Simeon’s win over Morgan Park on Wednesday.

“I’m away from all that stuff,” he said. “It’s emotional, though, because it’s my city. I have to do my job … I want to get the kids off the streets… Any city has its ups and downs. We’re just going through ours right now.”

Parker is slated to become Coach K’s most high-profile student next year, but he is also a Mormon who has said he will forego his mission next year and may take it at some point in the future.

“He’s a part of the church, he’s LDS,” Sonny Parker recently told SNY.tv. “That’s always going to be there.”

That’s good news for Duke, obviously. Parker, a product of the same school that produced former No. 1 overall draft pick Derrick Rose, has drawn comparisons to Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce and Georgetown forward Otto Porter. He’s even adopted the Pierce-like stare toward the sideline after connecting on a fall-away jump shot.

“I like looking at the people on the sideline there. You all have beautiful faces,” he quipped.

Parker joins shooting guard Matt Jones and small forward Semi Ojeleye in Duke’s 2013 class. The Blue Devils lose forwards Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly and guard Seth Curry to graduation, but will add Mississippi State transfer Rodney Hood and retain many of their current pieces.

Duke could well be the Preseason No. 1 team next year.

As a junior, Parker averaged 19.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 3.3 blocks and 1.4 steals a game. This year he has been recovering from a broken bone in his foot suffered with the U.S. U17 team in July.

After his most recent performance, it’s safe to say he’s back to being the same Jabari Parker who’s left the Cameron Crazies dreaming about the future.

Photo: Brian Fitzsimmons

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NEW YORK — Austin Rivers

Entering Tuesday’s New Orleans Hornets game at Philadelphia, the 6-foot-4 former Duke star has gone scoreless in four straight games.

In Sunday’s 100-87 loss to the Knicks, Rivers didn’t even attempt a single shot. He went scoreless and played less than four minutes.

“I think this is my fourth game in row I haven’t scored,” a dejected Rivers told SNY.tv in the visitors’ locker room at Madison Square Garden. “I didn’t even shoot a shot [Sunday]. You know what I mean?

In Tuesday’s 111-99 win at Philadelphia, Rivers went 0-for-1 with one point.

The No. 10 pick in June’s NBA Draft, Rivers is averaging 6.4 points and 2.1 assists in his rookie season, a far cry from the 15.5 points he averaged last season at Duke or the 29.2 points he averaged as a senior at Winter Park (Fla.) High School when he was named the Naismith High School Player of the Year in 2011.

“It is frustrating,” Rivers told SNY.tv. “It’s a lot more because I’ve done well this year, so it’s just like I know I can do it. Now people [on the Hornets] are back, everybody’s healthy, so my leeway is really tiny. So I just gotta go out there and just keep playing. It’s just tough.”

Rivers has started 22 of 36 games for the Hornets, with his season-high of 27 points coming Dec. 14 in a loss to Minnesota. But he hasn’t reached double-figure scoring in a game since a Dec. 28 loss to Toronto.

“I gotta go out there and be aggressive,” he said. “That way when you earn more time, you get more plays. When you get more plays, you get more rebounds and stops and you talk more and you be more of a leader. And that all starts with just playing hard. And you gotta just start that I guess in practice, that’s where I gotta do it. And just earn my way back to the point where I’m playing more.”

So far this year, 25 members of the 2012 NBA Draft class have been assigned to the NBA D-League, including former Kentucky standout Darius Miller of the Hornets, as well as younger players like Jeremy Lamb (Oklahoma City Thunder), Kendall Marshall (Phoenix Suns), Terrence Jones (Houston Rockets) and Doron Lamb (Milwaukee Bucks).

Rivers said he doesn’t think he or those younger players came out of college too early because they had to take the opportunity to play in the NBA when it came.

“A lot of times, guys are in tough situations,” Rivers said. “You look at players like Doron Lamb and any of those guys, they’re in a situation where if they stay one more year, it might hurt them. And that’s just the way it works. Unfortunately, that is the way it works.”

Asked if he felt that way, Rivers said: “No, I felt like, no offense, with the team that they have this year [at Duke] I probably could’ve went higher [this year]. But I wasn’t really worried about if I was the 10th or fifth pick, my whole thing was, I have an opportunity ahead of me and this is my dream and I want to get here. And the sooner I get here, the better I’ll get. And that’s what my whole thing is, and I have.”

Hornets coach Monty Williams, whose team also features Anthony Davis, the No. 1 pick in the draft, understands things can be rough for rookies.

“I think that’s what you’re going to deal with the younger guys and I totally understand it,” Williams told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. ”You’re going to have those ups and downs.”

Rivers hopes the downs go away in the next couple of days. That date with his father is looming on Wednesday in Boston.

“He’s know my game better than anyone else in this league,” Austin said. “He knows my tendencies, not all of them.

“I got a couple tricks up my sleeve that I don’t share with my pop. But at the end of the day those guys don’t (know). Even though he knows everything he can’t share every thought he has about my game. Just like I watched Paul Pierce every game, it doesn’t mean I can stop him.”

Photo: NBA.com

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“The fall of 2013 I will be attending,” he said before asking for help from Simeon Career Academy coach Rob Smith with holding up a blue shirt, “I will be attending Duke University.

The 6-foot-8, 220-pound Parker is the No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2013, he has led Simeon to three straight Illinois state championships and was the 2012 Gatorade National Player of the Year. He was down to Duke, Michigan State, Florida, BYU and Stanford.

“I just chose Duke because it was the perfect fit for me,” he said. “I think Coach [Mike] Krzyzewski…he’s just interested and he’s really played a key hand in my development, even throughout high school and telling me basic things in what I need to do. And I just felt comfortable.”

Michigan State coaches Tom Izzo and Dwayne Stephens got the last visit with Parker and his family Wednesday, but Coach K’s visit on Tuesday proved to be enough.

Parker is also a Mormon who has said he will forego his mission next year and may take it at some point in the future.

“He’s a part of the church, he’s LDS,” Sonny Parker recently told SNY.tv. “That’s always going to be there.”

A product of the same school that produced former No. 1 overall draft pick Derrick Rose, Parker has drawn comparisons to Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce and Georgetown forward Otto Porter.

He joins shooting guard Matt Jones and small forward Semi Ojeleye in Duke’s 2013 class. The Blue Devils lose forwards Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly and guard Seth Curry to graduation, but will add Mississippi State transfer Rodney Hood and retain many of their current pieces.

“Jabari can be great, a five- or six-year All-Star player, and make the Hall of Fame,” Smith told the New York Times. “Everyone wants me to determine who’s the best between him and Derrick. They are both humble, mild-mannered, and love their families. The things you look for in a kid, they have it.”

As a junior, Parker averaged 19.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 3.3 blocks and 1.4 steals a game. This year he has been recovering from a broken foot suffered with the U.S. U17 team in July.

With Parker off the board, that leaves Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle, Aaron Gordon and Dakari Johnson as the top uncommitted players in the Class of 2013. All of them are expected to sign in the spring.

And it’s not even December yet.

On Nov. 13, Duke beat defending national champion Kentucky, 75-68, in the Champions Classic and on Nov. 24, the Devils topped Louisville, 76-71, in the Bahamas.

“It sure wasn’t [easy],” senior big man Mason Plumlee, who had 21 points and 17 rebounds, said on ESPN. “Ohio State showed why they’re one of the best teams in the country.”

Playing their fourth game in seven days, the Devils (7-0) looked sluggish and overmatched in falling behind 31-23 in the first half but rebounded after a slow start.

“For having won a big tournament in the Bahamas and to come back and win another big tournament like this it shows maturity,” Plumlee said.

Plumlee gave props to sophomore point guard Quinn Cook (12 points, 8 assists), who fed him a perfect lob pass in transition that Plumlee flushed for a one-handed dunk that cut Ohio State’s lead to 33-27 in the second half.

“Quinn is one heck of a passer,” he said. “That was a great look.”

(For more on Plumlee, read Dan Kelly’s earlier column here.)

Freshman Rasheed Sulaimon added 17 points and senior Ryan Kelly had 15 for Duke.

It’s still very early in the college basketball season, but with no dominant team this year, Duke’s early results over last year’s Final Four teams are certainly impressive.

Photo: Getty Images

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