NEW YORK — Before Tuesday night, Missouri hadn’t played in New York since the Preseason NIT in 1988.
Nearly a quarter century later, the No. 10 Tigers made an emphatic statement on the national stage by handling Villanova, 81-71, in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.
“The Missouri brand was on the national scene tonight,” said Tigers coach Frank Haith, a Queens native. “The lights are bright, very bright here in New York. We had an opportunity to play on national TV against a really good team.” To read more of this story, click here
Huntington (West Va.) Prep coach Rob Fulford may be the only high school basketball coach in the country with players committed to both Missouri and West Virginia.
“I think so,” he said.
In 6-foot-9 power forward Stefan Jankovic and 6-6 small forward Negus Webster-Chan, Huntington has two players who will sign with Missouri Thursday during an event at the school.
That same day, Elijah Macon, Huntington’s 6-9 power forward, will sign with West Virginia. To read more of this story, click here
Aaron Scales, a 6-foot-9, 250-pound power forward from the American Basketball Institute in Charlotte, N.C., decommitted from Missouri over concerns about head coach Frank Haith’s future.
Haith faces allegations of impropriety stemming to his time at Miami.
“Actually, he’s been thinking about it for the last few weeks. It’s just a tough situation,” John Jordan, Scales’s high school coach, told the Columbia Daily Tribune. “He really likes Coach Haith. He’d love to play for him, but with these allegations pending, it’s a situation where we just can’t gamble on this kind of situation.” To read more of this story, click here
Missouri landed a pair of 2012 recruits on Friday.
Stefan Jankovic, a 6-foot-11 power forward from Huntington (West Va.) Prep, verbally pledged to the Tigers, as did Domonique Bull, a a 6-4 shooting guard from the Tilton School (N.H.).
“Been a long process, but its finally over. I will be taking my talents to ……….Missouri !” tweeted Jankovic, who also considered Florida State.
“He’s grown, he’s 6-11 now,” Huntington coach Rob Fulford said. “He’s extremely skilled. I wouldn’t say he’s a prototypical European kid since he’s from Canada, but he can shoot. He’s a matchup nightmare. To read more of this story, click here
Former Louisville commit Negus Webster-Chan is headed to Missouri.
The 6-foot-7 small forward from Scarborough, Canada and Huntington (W.V.) Prep committed to Mizzou coach Frank Haith over Iowa. He is Mizzou’s fifth commit for the Class of 2012.
“He’s an extremely versatile guard,” Huntington Prep coach Rob Fulford told PowerMizzou.com “He can play the one through the four in a four-guard set. He can have games where he can have 20 plus, but he’s more of an eight point, eight rebound, six assist, three or four steals. He can do everything. He’s a good defender too.
Former Louisville assistant Tim Fuller, who recruited Webster-Chan to the Cardinals, is now an assistant at Missouri.
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By ALEX KLINE
Ishmail Wainright, a 6-foot-5 small forward in the Class of 2013 from Missouri and consensus top-50 player, has officially re-opened his recruitment.
Late Thursday night, he made a life changing call to new Mizzou coach Frank Haith and staff to inform them of his decision.
“I talked to my dad, mom, coach and uncle about the situation,” he said. “It’s too early to make a decision. I want to wait and go visit more schools. There could be a better situation out there.” To read more of this story, click here
After last weekend’s unofficial visit to Missouri, Rodney Purvis is now listing just three schools.
Duke, N.C. State and Missouri.
“Those are my three now,” Purvis told Jody Demling of the Louisville-Courier Journal.
Purvis, who decommitted from Louisville, told Demling he “probably won’t” add any other schools and that Kentucky and Louisville are “no longer on my list.” To read more of this story, click here
Rodney Purvis is a free agent on the recruiting front and he took his latest unofficial visit to Missouri over the weekend.
“It was great, had a great time,” Purvis said Wednesday by text. “The players are great people and it’s a great atmosphere. The people and the coaches are very good people.”
The 6-foot-3 Purvis, the No. 1 shooting guard in the Class of 2012 out of Raleigh (N.C.) Upper Room Christian, maintains a close relationship with Tim Fuller, an assistant to new Mizzou coach Frank Haith.
Fuller was a major reason why Purvis initially committed to Louisville, only to decommit after Fuller departed. To read more of this story, click here
HOUSTON — Former Miami coach Frank Haith is the new coach at Missouri, according to multiple reports.
Haith, 45, replaces Mike Anderson, who departed last month to take the Arkansas job.
As of late Sunday night, Haith had not informed his staff of his decision to move to the Big 12 from the ACC.
Haith went 129-101 in seven seasons at Miami, 43-69 in the ACC. To read more of this story, click here
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ben McLemore will announce his college choice during the NeXt All-American Classic on April 3 at Sears Centre in suburban Chicago.
The 6-foot-5 McLemore is now at Humble (Texas) Christian Life Center after having been kicked out of Oak Hill Academy for a violation of team rules.
“The reason it took me so long to decide was I had three really great schools (Missouri, Kansas, and Tennessee) to choose from and I needed my family’s help to decide which was the best fit for me,” he said in a statement. “At the moment I’m down to UM or KU. However, I’m not leaning one way or the other.”
WILLIAMS TO WAGNER
Wagner coach Dan Hurley got a commitment from Jon Williams, a 6-5 guard out of City College of San Francisco.
Williams was the CO-MVP of the Coast Conference and could be Wagner’s best player next season.
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