NEW YORK – It isn’t exactly The Beatles playing Shea Stadium, but Duke and Gonzaga will draw a crowd Monday in Kansas City.
Some 43 NBA scouts have requested credentials for the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic Championship Round to see players like Duke’s Kyrie Irving and Kyle Singler and Gonzaga’s Steven Gray.
“Forty-three is a lot,” said Ray Cella of the Gazelle Group, which is putting on the event Monday and Tuesday. “Obviously, when you get quality teams coming to one place everybody wants to come out.” To read more of this story, click here
Kyle Wiltjer has cut his list to seven schools.
The 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward from Portland (Ore.) Jesuit is down to California, Gonzaga, Kentucky, Kansas, Texas, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest, he said by text.
Wiltjer, the No. 4 power forward in the Class of 2011, has no visits planned but said he plans to take one to Cal.
“Everyone is pretty equal, but they [Cal] probably will [get a visit],” he said.
Wiltjer had a tremendous summer with the Drew Gooden Soldiers, winning the Las Vegas Fab 48 and the Pumps event in California.
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NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — That Oakland Soldiers are one of the most star-studded outfits on the summer recruiting trail.
With guards Nick Johnson, Josiah Turner and Jabari Brown and 6-9 bigs Kyle Wiltjer and Brandon Ashley (2012), the Soldiers drew everyone from Roy Williams to Gary Williams to Ben Howland at last week’s Peach Jam.
“Before the game I notice who’s in the building. But when the game starts, I’m all about the game,” Wiltjer said.
Wiltjer missed at least one game at the Peach Jam with painful migraine headaches that forced him to visit the emergency room. To read more of this story, click here
Sean Miller continues to light up the recruiting trail in his first season on the job in Arizona.
Miller landed a verbal commitment Sunday from Derrick Williams, a 6-foot-7 forward from La Mirada, Calif., who initially committed to USC.
“Yeah I did,” Williams wrote by text. To read more of this story, click here
As I reported last week, Memphis may be the last major option for Lance Stephenson. And even Memphis head coach Josh Pastner hasn’t heard much lately from Lance Sr.
Andy Katz is reporting that a source close to the Florida International program says they are no longer recruiting the 6-foot-5 Stephenson.
Actually, I reported this more than a month ago when I quoted Latavious Williams saying he had spoken to Isiah Thomas, who said they were out.
For those keeping track at home, the following schools have let it be known that they’re out: Florida, Florida International, Kansas, Maryland and St. John’s.
Arizona coach Sean Miller has made it clear that he’s probably not interested, but I’m not completely willing to shut the door on Arizona yet. To read more of this story, click here
GREENBURGH, N.Y. –Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody has withdrawn his name from the NBA Draft and will return to the Irish, instantly making them a force in the Big East.
The 6-foot-8 Harangody averaged 23.3 points and 11.8 rebounds last season as a junior and was projected as a second-round pick.
There were concerns that he was undersized for the four position and not athletic or quick enough for the three.
“First of all, we are thrilled that Luke has decided to return to Notre Dame and be a part of our program for his senior year,” Irish head coach Mike Brey said. “I believe that the past several weeks have been a great learning experience for Luke and his family. He has handled this as a man and I am very proud that he went through this whole process. To read more of this story, click here
G.J. Vilarino is headed to Gonzaga.
The 6-foot, 168-pound point guard out of McKinney (Texas) High committed after a weekend visit. Vilarino initially signed with Kentucky and then obtained a release after John Calipari took over.
He chose Gonzaga over Baylor and VCU.
“It’s a great fit,” Gerry Vilarino told the Louisville Courier-Journal. “He was born in Spokane. A fairy tale ending.”
Meantime, Kentucky still desperately needs a point guard and is involved with John Wall and Eric Bledsoe.
Wall told me he will cut his list to “two or three” later this week.
