Alif Muhammad,

A year ago, NIA Prep was rated the No. 1 prep team in New Jersey and No. 6 nationally.

But Muhammad said he was especially upset that NIA had recently lost to Bridgton (Maine) Academy “by 40 points” and then lost to ASA, a junior college, last Saturday. He said he initially suspended King, and then accepted his resignation, even though King was 6-2 on the season.

“I wanted to make a temporary change with Rudy,” Muhammad told SNY.tv by phone.

“I can’t lose. I’m a national program. I’ve got to compete with South Kent. I gotta compete with St. Thomas More.”

Muhammad said King, the former Brooklyn Bishop Loughlin coach, had been replaced by Tyquann Goode, a former Brooklyn Grady and Fairfield University guard who had coached NIA’s International team. Goode is the program’s fifth coach in three-plus years.

NIA drew national attention in September when six athletes — including four basketball players — were declared academically ineligible. The story was first reported by SNY.tv.

Among them, was Shaquille Thomas, a 6-7 forward who had his initial eligibility waiver approved by the NCAA last month and has been granted a full financial scholarship to Cincinnati. He will be permitted to begin practicing in mid-December.

Another one of the four, Kelvin Amayo, recently said he would attend Marshall as a prop student after initially committing to Towson. He hopes to be eligible in December 2012.

As for his relationship with the NCAA, Muhammad said it hasn’t changed since the school was first put on review in 2006. He said the NCAA has accepted 122 courses from 28 Division 1 football and basketball players that have come out of NIA Prep.

He said he has six or seven letters from NCAA officials telling him they will review his athletes on a “case-by-case basis.”

“They should live with the status that they gave me,” Muhammad said. “The status is each athlete is treated individually.”

Muhammad said all the negative attention associated with the four ineligible players has hurt his program.

Former Rutgers signee Mike Taylor of Boys & Girls High, for example, was considering playing for NIA, but opted to attend Midland (Texas) College instead after the NIA news broke.

Jordan Washington,a 6-7 forward, is now at Pathways, a small prep school school in Queens, instead of NIA. But Muhammad said the NCAA doesn’t accept coursework from Pathways.

“Yeah, the publicity hurt me,” Muhammad said. “But it hurt a lot of people. It’s just that I got a lot more publicity.”

Muhammad is not afraid to point out that three St. John’s players who had no connection to NIA (Norvel Pelle, JaKarr Sampson and Amir Garrett), two Kansas freshmen (Ben McLemore and Jamari Traylor) and Seton Hall freshman big man Kevin Johnson were all declared ineligible.

He also noted that former Burlington (N.J.) Life Center wing LaQuinton Ross is not playing for Ohio State because he was deemed ineligible.

“Amir Garrett was not a qualifier at Findlay,” Muhammad said, referring to Garrett’s previous school. “JaKarr was not a qualifier at Brewster.”

Garrett and Bridgton coach Whit Lesure both said they expect him to be at St. John’s at the semester break, while Sampson, who has re-opened his recruitment, plans to enroll in college in the fall of 2012 after doing a postgrad year at Brewster (N.H.) Academy.

His AAU coach, Don Anderson, has said Sampson did very well in the fall trimester at Brewster.

Another 2012 St. John’s commit, Darrick Wood, is also at Bridgton after spending last year at NIA.

Muhammad said Wood’s father recently came in to obtain his transcript and diploma, paperwork he needed to move toward qualifying, and Muhammad said he gave the Woods what they needed.

“I’m not as bad as people think,” he said.

As for Seton Hall’s Johnson, the school has applied to the NCAA for a waiver but has not yet announced the ruling.

In the case of Ross, the Ohio State commit, sources told SNY.tv that the NCAA was looking into his grades from his first two years of high school in Mississippi.

“According to the NCAA rules, we are working within the guidelines to get him reinstated within the next 2-3 weeks,” former Life Center coach Wilson Arroyo told SNY.tv.

Muhammad points out that many kids who attend prep schools like NIA are “at-risk,” and have academic issues to begin with.

“Rarely in the preps do you see a guy like [St. John's freshman] Maurice Harkless,” he said, referring to Harkless’ prep year at South Kent (Conn.). “He had good grades, he’s a good kid. You don’t get that [in preps].”

NIA’s talent base has been depleted, but Muhammad said he still expects to compete with the big prep boys like Brewster, Bridgton, South Kent and St. Thomas More.

That’s why he felt the need to change coaches after just eight games, a la George Steinbrenner.

“It’s just competitive,” Muhammad said of the level of play, “and almost as competitive as college.”

RUDY KING’S COMMENTS ON PARTING WAYS WITH NIA PREP

First, I never wanted to resign from the job because the student-athletes NIA Prep is servicing need the help and for the record, Alif Muhammad is providing a lifeline that is needed in our community. Let’s be honest, kids are dying every day in these streets and his school has saved a lot of lives and provided opportunity and that’s the only reason I coached at NIA in the first place.

For those that know me and genuinely understand that I pride myself in making kids better with the attributes they have no gimmicks.  Ask around, I make kids better on and off the court.  Some may not like my swag but I am consistent and true. I am a student of the game and not into selling dreams at all or putting Band-Aids on cuts that need stitches these kids hear enough garbage.

The current state of the urban athlete in our region is boarder-lining disaster because its coming down to just winning instead of teaching the life lessons to make better men and teaching fundamental athletics.  My definition of a coach is to get your kids safely from point A to point B and along way teaching them to respect themselves and others, think about who they are, where they are going, why they want to go, playing the game intellectually, understanding the fundamentals of the trade, being the best they can be, handling adversity and being able to think and produce.  I think I have done a damn good job saving a few lives out here in these unforgivable streets. I too lived in these same streets, went to prep school when it was not popular and had my life saved at Laurinburg Institute (N.C.).  I got shot at the age of 16 the day before mother’s day in the wrong place wrong time so I’m not faking this coaching business this is my life I totally get it. Helping young men realize their dreams is real and I have sacrificed many years of my own family time to do it. So do not come at me with “We got blown out” and you were not prepared so I am suspending you.  The school record under my tenure is (32-9), 2010-11, #6 national ranking and Prep Team of the year “Star-Ledger”, National tournament qualifier.  Over the past three years as a head coach at the toughest levels in American amateur men’s high school / prep basketball, my record is (50-19) so the coaching part is not the issue in any capacity.  Before I got to NIA people heard the name, but when I took over and provided the structure that demanded respect, the media and the best coach in High School history “Bob Hurley Sr., called us a “Powerhouse”.  Do I make mistakes yes, is it rough to sleep at night after being dismantled by a team by 38 yes. Do I take full responsibility yes.  Do I deserve to be suspended for two weeks?

The problem is Alif Muhammad is a super micro-manager who never played and never coached and wants to tell us how to get it done.  Can the team there now win on the national level yes!  Tyquan Goode will do a good job.

(Photo: Star-Ledger)

**

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Mike Taylor

The 6-foot-4 shooting guard led Brooklyn Boys & Girls to its first New York PSAL championship ever in the spring of 2010, and then signed a National Letter of Intent to Rutgers that September, joining a blockbuster recruiting class for head coach Mike Rice.

Then the bottom began to fall out.

“I just stopped working,” he told SNY.tv by phone Tuesday. “I thought I didn’t have to to do school work and stuff like that.”

BALANCE OF POWER HAS SHIFTED TO JUCOS

Like many of his peers, Taylor thought a year of prep school could solve his problems.

He considered Newark NIA Prep and Humble (Texas) Christian Life Center, where former NBA player Rafer Alston is the coach.

But neither of those options would’ve helped him become college eligible, so after earning his GED, Taylor now finds himself on the campus of Midland (Texas) College.

“It was a last-minute thing [where] I had to go to junior college,” Taylor said. “The person who was handling my stuff, [AAU coach] Paul Ruddock, he told me. I was going to go to prep school but they told me I couldn’t because you can only take one class [in prep school].”

Midland features one of the premier junior college basketball programs in the nation, but it’s a long way from Brooklyn.

“Right now I’m just looking at a lot of dirt,” Taylor said by phone from his dorm room. “A lot of campus, a lot of dorms. Nothing’s really open at night. When we’re hungry late-night, there’s only one place [to eat], ‘Whataburger.’ We’ll go there and always just order pizza, chilling in the lobby.”

Taylor is part of an increasing number of former high school and prep players who must attend junior college instead of prep school because of the NCAA’s 2007 rules on what exactly can be accomplished at prep school.

Fifth-year seniors are only permitted to attend prep school for one year, to make up one core class. The NCAA also has blacklisted 64 non-eligible prep schools, schools listed on the NCAA Website whose credits are not accepted by NCAA institutions, according to a story in Odessa America Online.

As a result, the Midland team now also features former Lincoln High standout Darwin “Buddha” Ellis, a onetime St. Francis (N.Y.) commit.

Drimir Ferugson of Wings Academy and Tauron Bailey of Satellite Academy — both in New York — are at Monroe College in The Bronx. Former Manhattan signee Edson Avila of Brooklyn Thomas Jefferson is on the roster at Seward (KS) Community College. Former Duquesne player Joel “Air Jamaica” Wright, also of Thomas Jefferson, is now at Blinn (Texas) College, as is his former Jefferson teammate Shamel Williams. Christian Gayot, who played at Cardozo High in Queens, is at Missouri State University-West Plains. Dwayne Brunson, also from Cardozo, is at Barton County (KS). Jordan Aaron and Deonte Houston of The Bronx are both at Southeastern Iowa. Trivante Bloodman of New York’s Wadleigh is at Olney (IL) Central. And Dashawn Wiggins, formerly of Wings and Bridgton Academy (Maine) is at Eastern Utah, which also produced current Iona star Mike Glover. 

“The prep schools are not as strong as they were because you can’t get as much done in a one-year setting,” Whit Lesure, the longtime coach at Bridgton Academy, a prestigious prep school, told SNY.tv. “Regardless of the school, whether it’s a legitimate prep school or not, you can’t do as much.

“Anyone looking at the landscape would say that in basketball terms, the balance of power has shifted back to the JUCOs, whereas 10 years ago the balance of power had shifted to the preps and the JUCOs were hurting a bit.”

PREP SCHOOL NO LONGER AN OPTION FOR MANY

For many years, prep school seemed like the hip, cool option for many high school players who needed to pick up their grade point average, or gain greater exposure on a bigger stage.

Reputable New England prep schools like Bridgton, Brewster (N.H.) Academy, South Kent (Conn.) and St. Thomas More (Conn.) excelled as more and more top high school players went the prep route.

Four-year basketball powerhouses like Oak Hill Academy (Va.) and Findlay Prep (Nev.) — – which don’t accept fifth-year players – also regularly sit atop the national rankings.

“If you’re a good high school player anywhere in New England, it seems to me by looking at the newspaper there’s a chance you’re considering private school,” Lesure said.

“It’s happened in Maine. It’s all over Connecticut and it’s all over Massachusetts and I’m sure it makes public school coaches uncomfortable.”

Louisville coach Rick Pitino says responsibility falls on the kids themselves — like Taylor and the others — for failing to take high school seriously.

“Kids should stop looking for easy way outs,” Pitino told SNY.tv. “By choosing prep schools as a way to defer what they should be doing as freshmen and sophomores in high school, and paying attention as freshmen and sophomore in high schools and getting their grades.

“They’re all running to prep schools figuring, ‘Oh, they gotta get away from all the distractions.’ They should take care of that as freshmen and sophomores and they wouldn’t all be running away from home.”

Still, South Kent (Conn.) coach Kelvin Jefferson, a former college coach, said many people are still unaware of the 2007 NCAA changes and are laboring under false impressions about what exactly prep schools can accomplish.

“These kids need to get the correct information,” said Jefferson, who coaches Providence commit Ricky Ledo, among others.

“I think a lot of kids and even some adults still believe that kids can come to prep school and take five classes and get five cores and change their transcripts, and that’s not the case anymore.

“After you graduate from high school, unless you have a documented learning disorder, you can only get one core course. If you do have a documented learning disorder, you can add three.

“That’s why there’s so many kids even nowadays that are saying, ‘I’m reclassifying to this class and that class.’ You have to graduate in four years. I think it’s ignorance that a lot of people just don’t understand the rules and they put themselves in bad situations.

“For us I would never take a kid that I don’t believe has a chance to qualify.”

FIVE-YEAR PREP SOLUTION WOULD BE BEST

Even though the NCAA has cracked down on certain questionable prep schools, Lesure believes their approach is uneven and fails to address the real problems.

“They either don’t have the manpower or they don’t have the interest,” said Lesure, whose current roster includes St. John’s commits Amir Garrett and Darrick Wood and former Hofstra pledge Malik Nichols. “They don’t have [what it takes] to consistently enforce something that makes sense.”

His solution?

“Every kid should get a full five years,” he said. “All kids go to private school for five years. Kids get hurt during school. Kids have one bad year in high school.

“The NCAA should say you have a year window to complete your stuff and gain your eligibility. And if you want to put some distributions in there — like you have to take so many math classes — fine but by this whole four years and eight semesters and one more as a postgrad and three more if you’re ‘LD,’ they [messed] it up big time.”

He added: “They really could’ve done something better that really reflects what goes on in education, and would be easier to monitor.

“And then you go look at the places and say is this place a school or not? Make it clear, make it reasonable and make it enforceable.”

Lesure said his other solution would be to let colleges take whomever they want and let the leagues deal with any academic index issues, like the Ivy league.

“Thus, the NCAA empowers member institutions to be the responsible ones,” Lesure said.

JUCOS BENEFITTING FOR NOW

Some student-athletes, like former St. John’s signee JaKarr Sampson, have opted to return for a postgraduate, or second, year at prep school.

After the NCAA ruled him and two other St. John’s frosh ineligible, the 6-8 Sampson is back at Brewster Academy for a second season, as is his teammate Mitch McGary, one of the most highly recruited big men in the Class of 2012.

“[Brewster coach] Jason [Smith] has gone to a few more two-year kids,” Lesure said. “That’s what happened in the prep school world. Since you can’t get as much done in one year then you’ll do it in more than one year.”

Yet others, like Taylor, were forced to go the JUCO route.

Brock Erickson, assistant coach at nationally ranked Monroe College, understands there can be a stigma associated with junior colleges, especially in the New York/New Jersey area.

But he believes two years at a junior college can prepare players like Taylor for the Division 1 ranks.

“I think junior college helps student-athletes because it prepared them to step in right away at the four-year level after two years, whereas many incoming [college] freshman go to NCAA schools unprepared, which has resulted in 40 percent of all college basketball players transferring by the end of their sophomore season,” Erickson wrote in an email. “Combine that with the number of coaching changes, especially in the NY/NJ area, and it is challenging to find players that have been at one institution and played for one coach for their four-year career.

“In today’s game, kids want instant gratification.  They want to play right away.  Competing for playing time against juniors and seniors that have been in a four-year school system is difficult.  In junior college, players can have an impact their first year while practicing and competing against Division 1 talent every day. Junior college teaches kids the responsibilities of what will be demanded of them when they go to a four-year institution.”

Taylor agrees.

“I think it’s better because you’re playing against better competition and against D-1 players,” he said.

Beginning this year, any player competing in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) must have a high school diploma or GED; grades and test scores are never an issue until the athlete comes to campus, according to the Odessa America Online. Once on campus, JUCO athletes only need to maintain a 2.0 GPA while carrying 12 credit hours per term.

In the old days, some athletes played junior college basketball without a high school degree. Most JUCO players graduated from high school and did not qualify because of low standardized test scores or not enough core classes.

Still, Alif Muhammad of NIA Prep cited former Seton Hall guard and NIA graduate Keon Lawrence, who failed to graduate from his regular high school before getting a degree from NIA, as an example of someone who benefitted by not going to junior college.

“Keon Lawrence…would never be able to matriculate at a JUCO,” Muhammad said in his press release. “But because of the support and resources of a Division I Seton Hall University and University of Missouri, he was able to obtain his College Degree.”

Midland coach Chris Craig, formerly Mike Glover’s coach at Eastern Utah, believes Taylor  can graduate from the school in two years and said, “He’s off to a good start.”

From where he sits, far away from Brooklyn and the bright lights of the Big East, Taylor understands the path he’s taken and says he’s accepted it and ready to do what it takes.

“I just gotta deal with it,” he said. “I’m not crazy about it. I got a new slate. I should be good.”

(Taylor photo courtesy Daily News)

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The 6-foot-5, 210-pound combo guard says he will now look into spending a prop year at another school that accepts non-qualifiers next season rather than attend a junior college.

“I’m looking for a big prop and I have some schools right now,” Amayo said by text, declining to name the schools.

Towson does not accept non-qualifiers as part of a league rule.

As first reported by SNY.tv., Amayo was one of six NIA Prep athletes, and four basketball players, denied eligibility by the NCAA last month.

Cincinnati’s Shaq Thomas, TCU’s Ryan Rhoomes and FDU’s Ibn Muhammad were the others.

A source close to the situation said Cincinnati hopes to learn Thomas’s fate next week.

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“Our compliance department is working with the NIA school as well as the NCAA and we’re confident that everything is going to work out,” Cronin told SNY.tv Friday morning.

As first reported Thursday by SNY.tv, the 6-foot-7 Thomas is one of six NIA Prep athletes, including four basketball players, ruled ineligible by the NCAA. Alif Muhammad of NIA Prep said he is appealing on behalf of all six athletes.

Ryan Rhoomes (Texas Christian), Kelvin Amayo (Towson) and Ibn Muhammad (Fairleigh Dickinson) are the other three basketball players.

Muhammad said that since 2006, 28 NIA athletes have qualified to play Division 1 sports.

Sources said Cincinnati has been working with the NCAA on Thomas since August of 2010 because Tim Thomas, Shaq’s uncle and a former NBA player, initially wanted Shaq to enroll as a redshirt freshman for the 2010-11 season. Tim Thomas was not immediately available for comment.

It is possible that some combination of the four basketball players could get cleared, and others could not.

“One guy could get cleared, and another could get denied,” a source with knowledge said.

Meantime, NIA features other high-major players in Darrick Wood and Mike Taylor whose status remains up in the air because the NCAA is looking at NIA.

Neither Wood nor Taylor were immediately available, but Muhammad told SNY.tv that the 6-foot-4 Wood has over 50 scholarship offers and planned to remain at NIA next season.

The 6-3 Taylor, meanwhile, needs a high school diploma, Muhammad said.

“He has the classes, but he didn’t receive a diploma from Boys and Girls [High],” Muhammad said of the former Rutgers pledge. “All he has to do is come here and once he’s here he gets that diploma.”

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Among those six athletes are four basketball players — Ryan Rhoomes (Texas Christian), Shaq Thomas (Cincinnati), Kelvin Amayo (Towson), Ibn Muhammad (Fairleigh Dickinson) — as well as a football player and a soccer player Muhammad would not identify.

“All six are appealing,” Muhammad said.

Sources close to several of the basketball staffs confirmed the development.

Muhammad said the NCAA had “accepted their high school diplomas from me,” but not the “classes they were taking toward their diplomas.”

“It’s awkward but that’s how it is,” Muhammad said.

Because Rhoomes (pictured) is due to begin classes at TCU Monday, his case is the most immediate.

“They’re saying the classes he took aren’t college preparatory,” Muhammad said of the NCAA. “He can’t come on a scholarship until he’s qualified.”

Muhammad said he had spoken with the TCU staff about potentially having Rhoomes begin his scholarship at the semester break in December.

Because the other basketball players begin classes later, they have more time to appeal.

“I appealed all six [players],” he said. “I appealed 13 courses. They’ve never been turned down before.”

Muhammad said that since 2006,  28 NIA athletes have qualified to play Division 1 sports.

In April the Star-Ledger ran an extensive article on NIA Prep that included these paragraphs.

Despite an NCAA investigation five years ago that was part of an effort to crack down on diploma mills, NIA has proved to be a legitimate school. It is registered with the New Jersey Department of Education and is also a member of the College Board.

In addition, NIA is “cleared with conditions” by the NCAA, meaning its diplomas are accepted but reviewed on a case-by-case basis and must be accompanied by proof of completed core work, according to Fred Demarest, the NCAA’s assistant director of public and media relations.

(Photo courtesy Ny Post)

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NEW YORK — Kelvin Amayo has made his decision.

“I will be taking my talents to Towson University, to be a Tiger,” the 6-foot-5, 210-pound combo guard out of Hillside, N.J. said Monday in the SNY.tv studio.

Amayo, who averaged 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals for a Newark (N.J.) NIA Prep team that finished 26-7, chose Towson over College of Charleston, Providence and Seton Hall because first-year head coach Pat Skerry has offered to give him the ball and let him run the offense.

“He just came in and did a great job recruiting me,” Amayo said. “Before he even got the job, he came to the NIA gym and said he needed me. He said I’m going to probably play 33 minutes [a game] and I’ll be the face of Towson, so I’d rather do that.”

Amayo, who also did stints at Hillside High and St. Benedict’s Prep, helped NIA finish No. 6 nationally among prep schools. They were The Star-Ledger Prep team of the Year. Amayo was also chosen first-team All-Prep by the Ledger, and was selected to play in the Capitol Classic in Washington, D.C.

He opted to play for Skerry after visiting the Maryland school and Charleston last week.

“I thought to myself and said Towson would be the best fit,” he said.

Seton Hall was involved, but wanted him to play on the wing behind rising sophomore Fuquan Edwin.

“They wanted me to play on the wing position and I don’t really play on the wing like that,” he said. “I want to play the point and the two guard, not the wing.”

Towson finished 4-26 overall, 2-12 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Now Amayo will have to help turn things around under Skerry, the former Pittsburgh and Providence assistant.

“I’m just going to bring intensity and bring a new aura around their program,” he said.

Two of Amayo’s NIA teammates have already committed. Wing Shaquille Thomas is headed to Cincinnati and Ryan Rhoomes to TCU, yet NIA coach Rudy King believes Amayo brings his own special attributes.

“Kelvin is a special athlete who has experienced a lot in his young amateur career and has handled himself well through it all,” King said. “Sometimes we forget that these young men are still teenagers.

“Kelvin is a super athlete and is one of the best prospects I’ve ever coached. He is going to make all of the local programs look a little foolish for not signing him. He is hands down the best combo guard in New Jersey for the 2011 class.”

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Kelvin Amayo

Amayo’s teammates at Newark Nia Prep, Shaquille Thomas (Cincinnati) and Ryan Rhoomes (TCU), are both headed to the Big East (TCU beginning in 2012), and he wants the chance to compete against them.

“I want to play against Shaq and Ryan,” the Hillside, N.J., said Friday by phone. “I gotta kill Shaq and Ryan when they get to the Big East.”

Right now, the 6-foot-5, 210-pound Amayo is considering Seton Hall, Towson and the College of Charleston. He will take officials next week to Towson (Tuesday) and Charleston (Thursday).

Obviously, Seton Hall is the only Big East school in the mix.

Amayo said he met with Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard this week and that the Pirates see Amayo as a wing player who can back up rising sophomore Fuquan Edwin of Paterson, N.J.

“He was just telling me if I want to go there, Fu is on the wing,” Amayo said. “They would want me to play on the wing.”

Seton Hall could start a lineup that features Jordan Theodore at the point, incoming frosh Aaron Cosby at the two, Edwin at the wing, Herb Pope at the four and incoming big man Kevin Johnson at the five.

Amayo sees himself as multi-faceted player who can play the one, two or three and he said both Towson and Charleston are offering the chance to play in the backcourt.

“The reason why I’m going to take an official to Towson is Coach [Pat] Skerry has been recruiting me since my sophomore year when he was at Providence and he was recruiting me when he was at Pitt,” Amayo said. “I have to go up there and see what he’s talking about. And he’s talking about building a team around me.”

As for Charleston, he said, “They want a big time player to average double-figures and play the one and the two.”

He added: “At Charleston and Towson, I could play the point more than the wing. Point guard and shooting guard. I can get the rebound and lead the break, running the team.”

Amayo recently visited Rice, which also features Paterson guard Tamir Jackson, but said they are off his list now.

“I’m not really looking at Rice anymore,” he said. “It’s a great school. It’s a little bit too far away for me. It’s a great area, the campus is perfect.”

Rutgers was also in the mix but Amayo said they made him wait too long before deciding what to do.

Ultimately, Rutgers landed New Jersey native Eli Carter to play the two guard and Amayo says he has no hard feelings.

“They got one of my best friends,” he said of Carter. “He’s a great guard. It’s no hard feelings, they got a great guard. But they made me wait for two months.”

So after next week, Amayo will have taken three officials — Rice, Towson and Charleston — leaving two remaining.

He said he plans to reconvene with Seton Hall after the visits to see where he stands, and may take an additional official as well.

“I’m probably going to take all my five officials most likely,” he said.

Still, his ultimate goal remains the same.

“My ultimate goal,” he said, “is to play in the Big East.”

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Alif Muhammad of NIA Prep said Louisville coach Rick Pitino also called Amayo Tuesday to express interest.

The 6-foot-5 Amayo is considering Rice and Towson, but Virginia Tech and Wyoming have also expressed interest.

Muhammad said Rutgers was no longer an option for Amayo.

Having lost Tyree Graham to injury and Mike Taylor to prep school, Mike Rice’s club is also considering Brewster (N.H.) Academy guard Eli Carter, Huntington (WV) Prep combo guard Maurice Aniefiok and 6-4 shooting guard Chris Adams of MACK Prep in Charlotte, N.C.

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BOSTON – Dermon Player

The former Seton Hall and St. John’s assistant has returned to coaching as a “consultant” to the Alif Muhammad NIA School.

Player, an assistant to former Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez, said he’s happy to be back in the coaching game.

“I’ve been coaching for 24 years on all levels,” Player told SNY.tv. “I took the year off and decided to get back and work with young men. It’s a passion of mine and a great opportunity to coach with Alif Muhammad and take it to new heights.”

Current NIA Prep coach Rudy King will remain on board and both Player and King will coach two teams apiece at the Newark school.

King will coach the NIA Prep National Team, ranked No. 6 nationally, and the NIA Prep International team.

Player will coach the Alif Muhammad National and International teams and will be assisted by former American Christian coach Tony Bergeron, who coached Tyreke Evans and  current Arizona point guard Lamont “Momo Jones.

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**Ryan Rhoomes makes the call

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The 6-foot-9, 240-pound power forward from South Jamaica, Queens and Newark NIA Prep, will attend TCU, choosing them over Seton Hall, Providence and Oklahoma State.

Texas Christian will play next season in the Mountain West Conference before transitioning to the Big East beginning in 2012.

“It came down to that because I felt like going into the Mountain West will better me for the Big East instead of going to a Big East school and kind of struggling,” said Rhoomes, who averaged 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks as a postgrad at NIA Prep.

“I think I’ll go there and get with the program and progress from there.”

Since TCU was admitted to the Big East for 2012, Rhoomes is TCU coach Jim Christian’s first recruit from the New York metropolitan area .

“I think I’ll bring a lot of intensity to the program because they’ve been struggling for the past couple years, so I think with my talents, I go in there with an offensive and defensive presence so I think it will be a good, fun situation for me,” he said.

NIA Prep coach Rudy King says Rhoomes has “a lot of potential, a lot of upside.”

“We haven’t really seen all of his skill development yet,” King said. “He has a nice, soft touch. He rebounds the ball very, very well. He’s aggressive. Great practice guy. He brings a lot of intensity to the floor, as far as the game and he’s positive mentally.

“Off the court he’s a great kid. I just think that he’s a great player for Jim Christian to pick up from the New York area because he’s going to be a great ambassador, too.”

Rhoomes said he hopes to recruit other area players to TCU, including Lincoln point guard Shaquille Stokes.

“Most definitely, as soon as I get done with this I’m going to try to bring Shaq Stokes to this picture,” Rhoomes said.

Even though he’ll play in Texas, Rhoomes will come home for the Big East Tournament and games at Rutgers, Seton Hall and St. John’s.

“I think going away will just better me in my career,” he said, “so I think coming home will make it even better.”

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