NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — Shortly after 9 a.m. Monday, a Who’s Who of college coaches assembled in Gym 1 here at the Riverview Park Activities Center to watch the Oakland Soldiers 17U AAU team.
Sitting courtside were Roy Williams (North Carolina), Bill Self (Kansas), Gary Williams (Maryland), Paul Hewitt (Georgia Tech), Ben Howland (UCLA), Fran McCaffery (Iowa), Craig Robinson (Oregon State), Tony Bennett (Virginia), Tony Barbee (Auburn), John Beilein (Michigan), Jeff Capel (Oklahoma), Kevin O’Neill (USC), Mike Montgomery (Cal) and Dana Altman (Oregon), among others.
“It’s pretty good,” said Nick Johnson, a senior guard with the Soldiers and Findlay (Nev.) Prep. “Just coming from LeBron [James Skills Academy], that was the big stage. All of them were there so I kind of got used to it. It takes some getting used to, but I think I’m used to it now.” To read more of this story, click here
Anthony Davis is ranked as the No. 2 power forward in the Class of 2011, yet hardly anyone knew who he was before this spring.
After growing seven inches in a year, Davis is now 6 feet, 9 inches and 187 pounds.
“He went through a major, major growth spurt,” said Anthony Davis Sr. “He’s eating us out of house and home, for sure. He just won’t gain the weight.”
Davis burst onto the national scene this past spring and was named Most Promising Prospect at the recent NBA Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, Va. To read more of this story, click here
When 6-foot-8 rising senior forward Tyler Harris takes an unofficial visit Thursday to Rutgers, he will be the latest in a list of high-profile recruits to check out the campus in recent weeks.
Consider that in the last two weeks, Mike Rice’s staff has brought in Naadir Tharpe, Jordan Goodman, Jaron Sina, Tyrone Johnson, Myles Mack, Derrick Randall and Kadeem Jack on visits. Baylor transfer Givon Crump also came to Piscataway.
The 6-8 Goodman, considered one of the top players in the Class of 2012, ended up committing after his visit.
Still more recruits — including Mike Taylor, a sweet-shooting 2011 off guard from Brooklyn Boys & Girls — are due to visit in the coming days. To read more of this story, click here
J.P. Tokoto had just returned from seeing “Karate Kid” with his friends late Tuesday night, when his phone rang at 12:01 a.m. Wisconsin time
“It was Coach [Roy] Williams,” Tokoto said by phone from the NBA Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, Va.
The 6-foot-6 Tokoto had spoken to the North Carolina coach numerous times but this call was different. Tuesday marked the first day college coaches could call members of the Class of 2012.
“I was very excited,” Tokoto said. “It wasn’t my first time talking to him so at first I thought it was just another phonecall with coach Roy. I was not expecting at the end of the conversation to get an offer, which took me by surprise and left me speechless.” To read more of this story, click here
Quincy Miller has plenty of college options and he’s not shutting any doors right now.
A 6-foot-10, 210-pound power forward from High Point (N.C.) Westchester Country Day ranked as the No. 3 player at his position in the Class of 2011, Miller rattled off an impressive list of college offers.
“Syracuse, Kentucky, Wake Forest, Illinois, Duke, Memphis, Texas, Tennessee, Baylor, N.C. State and Oklahoma,” Miller said by phone from the USA U18 team trials in San Antonio, Texas.
Miller said he has no favorites and no timetable in mind. To read more of this story, click here
Few people in the country will be as nervous for Game 7 of the NBA Finals as Austin Rivers.
“Oh yes, I’m nervous more than excited,” Rivers, the son of Celtics coach Doc Rivers, said by phone from San Antonio, where he is training with the USA U18 team.
“I’ll be real nervous. It’s more than just a game for me, it’s part of my family.”
Rivers and his U18 teammates will watch the game on a big screen TV in the dorms, with Austin sweating it out as the Celtics try to win their second title in three seasons without injured big man Kendrick Perkins. To read more of this story, click here
The USA U18 team made its cuts Wednesday and is now down to 12 players.
The 12 finalists include: Vander Blue, Trevor Cooney (pictured), Abdul Gaddy, Josh Hairston, Kyrie Irving, Quincy Miller, Tony Mitchell, LeBryan Nash, Jereme Richmond, Austin Rivers, Amir Williams and Patric Young.
“It feels great and the team is very balanced and talented,” Irving, who is headed to Duke, said by text.
The players who got cut were: Tracy Abrams, Keith Appling, James Bell, Michael Gbinije, Mikael Hopkins, Sheldon McClellan and Desmond Simmons. To read more of this story, click here
NEW YORK — Malcolm Gilbert didn’t score a single point during Sunday’s 17-and-under Gold championship game at the Rumble in the Bronx at Fordham University.
But at 6 feet, 11 inches tall, Gilbert was a major factor in helping East Coast Elite down Andre Drummond and the Connecticut Basketball Club, 63-58, for the title.
Gilbert had five blocks on Drummond, the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2012, in the first half and six total blocks in the game. He also finished with 9 rebounds — 6 offensive, 3 defensive — before fouling out with 54 seconds remaining.
“He’s intriguing because of his upside,” East Coach Elite coach Terrell Myers said before the final. “What people don’t understand is, they see 6-11, they look at him as an offensive player. He’s not an offensive player, he’s a defensive player. To read more of this story, click here
NEW YORK – He is the No. 1 player in the Class of 2012 and a potential future NBA lottery pick.
But Andre Drummond is temporarily off limits to the media.
His coaches with the Connecticut Basketball Club would not let the 6-foot-10 Drummond speak with the media this weekend at the Rumble in the Bronx at Fordham University.
Drummond had 13 points on 6-for-19 shooting, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 4 turnovers as CBC lost to East Coast Elite, 63-58, in the U17 Gold championship game.
He had his shot blocked five times by 6-11 Malcolm Gilbert of Academy of the New Church. Shooting guard A.J. English earned game MVP honors after dropping a game-high 28 points for East Coast Elite.
“After the [Bob Gibbons] games in North Carolina, there was five, six, seven tape recorders in his face,” CBC coach Joe Gaetano said of Drummond. “He’s 16 years old. We’re trying to let him have some fun. He’s leaving this week for [USA Basketball Development National Team training in San Antonio]. This weekend, just play ball, have fun, don’t talk to anybody.” To read more of this story, click here
Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski tells John Berman of “Nightline” that he will “not ever” coach in the NBA — even if LeBron James wants him as his coach. The interview appears Tuesday night.
Here’s part of the exchange, thanks to Nightline:
Berman: You’re coaching here next year?
Coach K: Yeah, I’m coaching here forever — for as long as I coach.
Berman: What about going to the NBA?
Coach K: No, I’m not going to the NBA.
Berman: Not next year?
Coach K: Not ever.
Berman: Not ever?
Coach K: Not ever.
Berman: This is a sure statement that you are not going to the NBA ever.
Coach K: Ever.
(Photo courtesy ABC News)
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