The upside is he  enjoys Oregon State and is playing on the big stage of the Pac-12.

The downside is that he’s some 3,000 miles away from his 4-year-old daughter, Jaliyah.

“She should be in the stands, so I should be able to see her when I come out,” Collier told SNY.tv exclusively Thursday after putting up 21 points and 6 rebounds in Oregon State’s 65-62 loss to Alabama in the 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden.

Collier then put up a career-best 27 points and 14 rebounds Friday as Oregon State blasted Purdue, 66-58, in the consolation game.

As a senior at Bob Hurley’s St. Anthony program three years ago, Collier chose Oregon State over Big East schools St. John’s, Seton Hall and Providence.

But in so doing, he knew he would be far, far away from Jaliyah, who stays with her mother, Jennifer, in The Bronx.

“She stays with [Jennifer] all the time, so she supports her,” he said.

He added: “I get to see her when I get home, probably like on winter break or on summertime.”

Still, he says he speaks with his daughter “every day.”

“I always keep in contact,” he added. “Able to still have that relationship.”

After the game, Collier Tweeted this picture of him and Jaliyah grabbing a drink of water together.

Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson, the brother-in-law of President Obama, estimated that Collier had “upwards of 50″ family and friends in the stands at the Garden for this game.

Collier hit two foul shots to tie the game at 62 with 43 seconds left, but Alabama’s Rodney Cooper hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to give the Tide the win.

“I wanted to win this game a lot because we don’t have a chance to play on the East Coast too much and my family is not used to seeing me in person, so winning this game would have meant a lot,” Collier said.

“It was just a tough loss.”

Said Robinson: “Devon played a good second half but this is a two-half game…If you want to play good at this level, you have to play two full halves.”

Looking ahead, Collier said his goal is to play professionally — in the NBA or elsewhere — to support his daughter and his family.

“Oh, yes of course,” he said. “That’s everybody’s goal, try to go to pros. That’s my goal, too, try to make the pros, try to support my family and myself. So I’m just trying to do my best so I can succeed.”

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

And like ZAGS on Facebook

Craig Robinson’s

Of course, no other D-1 college hoops coach is also the brother-in-law of the President.

On the biggest day of the year for Barack Obama — and the nation — Robinson was coaching the President’s pickup basketball team.

“We had our traditional game but I did not play. I was his assistant coach. He played,” the Oregon State coach said Monday on a conference call to promote the 2K Sports Classic Championship Thursday and Friday at Madison Square Garden. On Thursday, Oregon State faces Alabama and Villanova meets Purdue. The winners square off on Friday.

“I was too worried about getting hurt before our first game, and I’m so conscious about not having the family stuff interfere with my team that I didn’t want to end up twisting an ankle or ripping an Achilles’ or having a knee blow out and not being able to get back for a game that was going to be a day and a half later,” added Robinson, whose team is 2-0 coming into the Garden

Robinson spent Election Day with his sister, Michelle Obama, and the President watching the returns.

“We were all together watching the returns in downtown Chicago so all I had to do was go shake his hand,” Robinson said. “He was sitting on the couch right by me so I didn’t have to go very far to congratulate him.

“We were really hunkered down ready for a long night of kind of battling through the battleground states, and as it turned out the election was called only 15 minutes later that it was four years ago.” The election was called at about 11:15 p.m. EST.

Basketball has always been a big part of life for Craig and his sister. He grew up playing ball and ultimately became the fourth-all-time leading scorer in Princeton history.

“My sister begrudgingly had to go to a whole lot of basketball games her whole life,” Robinson said of the First Lady. “She’s a big fan, obviously. She knows what’s going on. And when we’re not doing well and I see her number light up, I know she’s calling to give me a few tips.”

As for the President’s game, Robinson was asked to assess it.

“Well, if I was watching him in an AAU tournament, I’d be in one of those satellite gyms way out in Vegas,” he said.

“The strength of his game now is his outside shot. He used to really like to go to the basket, but there have been a couple of mishaps. As we get a little older, we get a little nervous about going in there amongst the elbows. He’s a left-hander who goes left…He’s better going left. And you talk about a student of the game, he really is a student of the game.

“When you play, I think it’s in your blood and he knows a lot about what’s going on, so he’s more of a floor general now than he is a scorer.”

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

And like ZAGS on Facebook

The 6-foot-3, 175-pound St. Anthony shooting guard pulled the trigger Monday, choosing the Beavers over St. Joe’s, Richmond and Xavier.

“I’m excited to announce that I will be heading West to attend Oregon State University,” Cooke told SNY.tv. “It is a perfect fit for me and I look forward to playing against great competition in the Pac-12. 

“I chose OSU because of my great relationship with the coaching staff and they will put me in the best situation to succeed on and off the court. I’d like to thank my parents, Coach [Bob] Hurley, Brian Coleman, Carlos Cuerto, Ed Bright and everyoen else who helped me get to this point.

“I also want to thank all the coaches who invested their time in recruiting me.”

Cooke averaged 7.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists last season when St. Anthony won the second of back-to-back New Jersey Tournament of Champions titles.

Hurley, who previously sent forward Devon Collier to Oregon STate, said the Beavers are getting an improved player who could ultimately play the point.

“He’s a way more complete player than the player who played last year,” the Hall of Fame coach said. “People were recruiting him as a spot-up shooter and a kid who played more off the ball.

“He’s worked since the end of last season until now adding complete elements. He’s a driver now. He can handle the ball. He’s more of a one than anyone would’ve ever imagined. I think ultimately that will be his position.

“I think they got a kid who improved and I think he’s going to continue to get better.”

Follow Hallice Cooke on Twitter

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

And like ZAGS on Facebook

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Jared Cunningham

But Cunningham said the school opted to go in a different direction during signing period of his senior year, leaving him free and clear to go somewhere else.

“I think they got somebody at my position,” Cunningham told SNY.tv Monday at the Izod Center. “I really never got the answer really what happened. We just decided to part ways.”

Arizona State’s loss turned out to be Oregon State’s gain.

“Oregon State was the right fit for me so I went with them,” he said.

A source close to the Arizona State staff told SNY.tv, “I wish him well. He’s a great player and kid.”

After averaging 6.2 points as a frosh, the 6-foot-4 Cunningham increased his production to 14.2 points as a sophomore.

Now, through the first four games of his junior year, he was averaging 26 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists, including a 35-point outing against Hofstra.

After going off for a career-high 37 points in Saturday’s 100-95 overtime win against Texas in the Legends Classic, Cunningham was held to nine points on 3 of 9 shooting in a 64-62 loss to Vanderbilt in the championship game. He was named to the All-Tournament team.

“He’s a really quick player,” said Vandy’s Jeffery Taylor, who covered Cunningham for much of the game.

“Very nifty with the ball, great ball-handler and he has knack for getting to the basket and getting behind people’s heads, so it was a tough assignment.”

Cunningham also made seven steals that led to 22 Vandy turnovers.

“He’s a pretty disruptive player,” Taylor said. “He’s quick and flies around on defense. He’s always playing passing lanes so he’s a good player.”

OSU coach Craig Robinson said several NBA teams — the Trail Blazers, Celtics and Pistons — have attended practice to watch Cunningham.

“I think he can play both [guard spots],” Robinson said. “We don’t play him at the point because we need him to score more but when Ahmad [Starks] takes a blow, he moves over to the point and last I checked we’re still scoring when he’s in there at the point.

“I think he’s going to have a nice career and I think that he’s the type of guy that people are going to want at the next level. He’s already a professional. He gets his work done, he comes in, he works out, he stays out of trouble. He’s got great family. He’s just the kind of guy you want.

“And he’s one of these guys who can defend, so I always say the good teams will be the ones who will take a look at him to come guard their best player in practice every day.”

Cunningham concedes he’s thinking about the NBA “down the road,” but has other priorities first.

“Eventually,” he said. “Right now I’m focused on Oregon State and trying to get some wins for this program and just help the team get to the [NCAA] Tournament at the end of the year.”

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

And like ZAGS on Facebook

Big East schools St. John’s, Seton Hall and Providence were in the final mix for the 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward from The Bronx who finished his high school career playing for Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley at St. Anthony.

But Collier visited Oregon State several times, met with head coach Craig Robinson and decided that was the place for him because it felt like a “second family.”

“We felt that going away would be a good experience for me,” Collier told SNY.tv after shootaround Monday at the Izod Center. “I’m able to mature, get away from everything and it would be a good choice for me just to play in the Pac-12.”

Collier admitted to being homesick somewhat as a freshman when he averaged 7 points and 4.4 rebounds, but now he seems to have really settled in during his sophomore season.

Collier enters Monday night’s Legends Classic championship game against No. 18 Vanderbilt at the Izod Center averaging 16 points and 4.3 rebounds for the undefeated Beavers (4-0).

With some 30 friends and family looking on, he was a major factor in Saturday’s 100-95 overtime win against Texas, putting up 17 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.

“He does all the stuff that we need down in the low post,” said Robinson, the former Princeton star. “He gets fouled. He scores in the low post. He’s got a nice feel for the game. He gets rebounds for us.”

Still, Robinson said he’s most pleased with Collier’s performance off the court. At St. Anthony, he sometimes had to sit out because he wasn’t getting his schoolwork done.

“I was less focused,” Collier said. “I wasn’t taking it seriously.”

At Oregon State, Collier proudly brings his graded papers into the coach’s office like a kid who wants his parents to put them up on the refrigerator.

“The thing that I’m excited about him the most is he’s just become s a terrific citizen of Corvallis, a student-athlete at Oregon State,” Robinson said.

Said Collier: “I picked up my grades big because academics is a big part of being able to play basketball and stay focused.

“Coach [Hurley] always told me if you just do good in your schoolwork, everything good will come, so that’s what I’ve been doing from day one.”

FREE THROWS

Hudson Catholic 2013 wing Reggie Cameron will attend the game tonight after attending Saturday’s game, per Alex Kline.

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

And like ZAGS on Facebook

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.

Yes, the same Oregon State team that finished 10-19 a year ago and was 42-57 through head coach Craig Robinson’s first three years on campus.

Yet the Beavers may have scored the biggest victory of Robinson’s tenure Saturday night when junior guard Jared Cunningham went for a career-high 37 points despite a split lip over the final minute as the Beavers beat perennial powerhouse Texas, 100-95 in OT, in the Legends Classic at the Izod Center.

“In our program, this is near the top,” said Robinson, whose team won the CBI in 2009 and will face No. 18 Vanderbilt Monday in the title game.

“Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t the same Texas that is ranked in the Top 10 year in and year out. This was a young Texas team, not as deep as before. And it feels like they lost 15 pros.

“So this was a big win for us this season, and one of the bigger wins for the whole program.”

Through two games, Oregon State was ranked No. 1 in the RPI, prompting one writer to joke that Robinson’s brother-in-law, President Obama, was running the RPI.

“I saw that, that was pretty funny,” Robinson said.

Despite trailing by seven points in the second half, Oregon State roared back behind Cunningham, who hit two foul shots with 8.3 seconds left in regulation to tie the game and then hit eight more foul shots in the OT when the Beavers outscored the Longhorns, 19-14.

“I might have to get some stitches. J’Covan Brown hit me in the face,” Cunningham said of the collision that left him bloodied about the mouth. “I saw the blood and was a little worried, because I didn’t want it to get on my jersey. But I wasn’t coming out. I stayed out on the court and was able to make some big plays.”

Robinson, who first recruited Cunningham during his coaching tenure at Brown, had some fun at his guard’s expense.

“Jared’s a handsome guy. He’s always worried about his looks, so I was more worried about that,” Robinson said. “I wasn’t worried about him coming out of the game. He is a warrior.”

Former St. Anthony forward Devon Collier of The Bronx was also clutch with 17 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

Oregon State can continue to make headlines Monday night when they face a Vanderbilt team that is playing without senior center Festus Ezeli but got a game-high 28 points from John Jenkins. 

“This win means a lot to us,” Cunningham said. “We’ve got to come out the next game and be prepared for the next team.

“But at the end of the day, we came ready to play.”

When Kelvin Amayo entered high school at NIA Prep in New Jersey, he was under the radar.

Throughout his career, he has played with some of the top tier talent in the area and always taken a backseat. Now, as one of the top unsigned seniors in the country, Amayo is a star.

It didn’t come easy, though. The 6-foot-4 guard/forward had to work at it.

“It took me hard work in the gym to be even brought up with the best in my class and nobody knows that this was my true drive to be great,” he said.

“Going to NIA Prep made me work hard because every day you are playing against somebody who is going to a big-name college or is an All-American.”

As first-year NIA Prep coach Rudy King has brought in a ton of talent to compliment Amayo, Cincinnati-bound Shaq Thomas, Ryan Rhoomes and company, the senior has striven due to his work ethic.

“Coach King is pushing me to another level,” says Amayo. “I didn’t know if I could play for NIA Prep at first. When we had a talk he asked me if I wanted to be good or great.”

Amayo didn’t respond to the question, but waited to make all of his moves on the court.

“After that I started working out at a different level than everybody else,” he said. “I started to get noticed by everyone for my performance on the court.”

Now, Amayo is only a few months away from college and is being recruited heavily by a number of different schools. He is now down to “Oregon State, Seton Hall and Providence” with interest from Minnesota, Indiana and other schools.

While Providence recently fired their entire coaching staff, including head coach Keno Davis, Amayo is not phased. With former Fairfield coach Ed Cooley getting the job, there is a new learning curve to the recruitment.

“They haven’t talked to me but they talked to my coaches and they are supposed to call me soon,” referred Amayo to the Friars new staff.

As for Oregon State, the fact that it is around three-thousand miles away will not impact the Garden State native, either. “I don’t think the location will affect me at all.”

As Beavers associate head coach Doug Stewart recruits the star player, he has very good Jersey connections. Former St. Anthony star Devon Collier is now a freshman at Oregon State and Stewart has also recruited Eli Carter, a New Jersey native and friend of both Collier and Amayo.

“We’ve talked a couple of times on twitter and stuff,” he says of his relationship with Collier. Kelvin hopes to take an official visit there soon.

When it all comes down to it, there wasn’t any strange, life-changing event that took place in Amayo’s life.

The NIA Prep wing just wanted to be noticed and worked hard. Now, his recruitment is getting hotter as the days go by. He won’t be an All-American, nor will he be ranked in the top 100 in the country.

That doesn’t matter.

What matters to Amayo is how he proved to everyone that hard work pays off.

RECRUITING RUNDOWN

**2012 small forward Jeremy Hollowell of Lawrence Central decided to stay in-state and announced his commitment to Indiana this week. He joins arguably the top junior class for Tom Crean which features Yogi Ferrell, Peter Jurkin, Ron Patterson and Hanner Perea. Hollowell was excited about his decision to stay home. “I saw something amazing about to happen and wanted to make sure I was a part of it,” he said. “I felt I would have regretted it if I went anywhere else.”

**The state of Iowa is all over 2012 forward Georges Niang of Tilton School in New Hampshire. The 6-foot-7 Niang was recently offered by Iowa and also has a scholarship from Iowa State. This week he visited both schools unofficially and enjoyed both visits. Providence is also making a big push for the local product.

**Another hot commodity in the Northeast is 2012 forward Evan Cummins of Northfield Mount Hermon in Massachusetts. Recently, coaches from Harvard, Stanford and Boston came out to watch the talent junior. Academic schools have come calling for Cummins, who also has offers from Northwestern, Davidson, Notre Dame, William & Mary and others.

**North Carolina is showing early interest in a number of young players. The latest is 2013 guard RJ Curington of Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. Although Curington doesn’t get much playing time for Steve Smith’s veteran club, he is the only sophomore on the Warriors roster and has a chance to start next year. Alabama, South Carolina and Cincinnati are expressing a fair amount of interest in him, as well.

**Three commitments also took place on Friday. 2011 Max Bielfeldt of Peoria Notre Dame in Illinois announced his decision between Big Ten schools. Bielfeldt picked Michigan over Illinois. Wake Forest picked up their third commitment in the class of 2012. Jeff Bzdelik and company picked up 6-11 center Andre Washington, who joins Codi Miller-McIntyre and Aaron Rountree for the Demon Deacons. Finally, Washington State added a commitment from 2011 forward DJ Shelton out of Citrus Junior College in California. The Cougars are still looking for one more big man, though.

**2011 big man Desmond Hubert, who is down to North Carolina and Maryland, attended the Tar Heels’ Sweet Sixteen game tonight against Marquette. The New Egypt star said the game “was crazy.” Hubert did not meet with the UNC staff after the game but remains undecided on his college decision at the moment.

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

And like ZAGS on Facebook

“Yes, I am,” Carter said by text.

Asked why he would not sign in the fall, Carter said, “So that I can bond more with the coaches I will be around for the next four years.”

The 6-foot-2 Carter, the No. 22 point guard in the Class of 2011, is still considering Oregon State, Seton Hall, Charlotte, Rhode Island and South Florida, but will now have an entire season at Brewster to mull his options — and perhaps consider other options.

“Yes, there is a chance new schools can get in,” he said.

The NCAA early signing period runs Nov. 10-17.

PATTERSON TO D-LEAGUE

Houston Rockets forward Patrick Patterson was assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets’ NBA D-League affiliate.

The assignment marks the first time in the 2010-11 season an NBA player has been assigned to an NBA D-League affiliate, and it is the first assignment for Patterson, a rookie out of Kentucky.

Patterson (6-9, 235) has been on the inactive list for Houston’s first six games this season.  In six preseason games with the Rockets, Patterson averaged 4.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 15.2 minutes per game.  Houston selected Patterson, an early entry candidate after his junior season, with the 14^th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, and he averaged 9.2 points and 7.2 rebounds in five games (four starts) with Houston in the 2010 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

One of five Kentucky players taken in the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft, Patterson finished his three-year career at Kentucky with averages of 16.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.57 blocks in 97 games and was an All-SEC first team selection as a sophomore and a junior.  He also became the 10^th fastest player to score 1,000 points at Kentucky (58 games).

Patterson will join Rio Grande Valley in training camp in anticipation of the Vipers’ opening game against the Texas Legends at home on Nov. 18, which will be televised nationally on VERSUS.  Rockets fans can keep track of Patterson and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers by logging onto nba.com/dleague to watch all of the Vipers games live, online, for free.

MEMPHIS’ KENDRICK TO PLAY TONIGHT

Memphis coach Josh Pastner confirmed a FoxSports.com report that freshman Jelan Kendrick will play in tonight’s exhibition against Christian Brothers at FedEx Forum.

“Jelan and I spoke and I set forth objectives for him to meet,” Pastner said by text. “He has done everything that has been asked of him and I am moving forward. This is an internal matter.”

CBSSports.com previously reported that the 6-6, 190-pound Kendrick had been indefinitely suspended while school officials investigated a verbal threat the freshman made against a teammate and cited an anonymous source that Kendrick had been in multiple fights with teammates since arriving on campus.

Kendrick was involved with another “personal matter” and didn’t travel with the Tigers to the Bahamas in August. CBSSports.com said Pastner banned Kendrick from the trip for a fight with a teammate.

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

The 6-foot-2 Carter, a Willingboro, N.J., native, visited Oregon State this past weekend and watched the football team pound Cal, 35-7, on Homecoming Weekend.

“I had a great time,” Carter said by text. “I really enjoyed the college life out there.”

Carter spoke with former St. Anthony teammate Devon Collier, a Bronx native who chose to attend college in the Pac-10, about life in Corvallis.

“He told me it’s easy to stay focused out and everyone treats you well,” Carter said.

Asked how much of an influence Collier would have, Carter said, “He’s not going to make a decision for me but I will listen to what he has to say.”

Oregon State is heavily pursuing Carter and assistant coach Doug Stewart plans to come out Friday for Brewster Academy’s Midnight Madness.

The No. 22 point guard in the Class of 2011, Carter says his list currently includes Oregon State, Charlotte, Seton Hall, UCLA and Rhode Island.

He has no other visits currently planned.

As first reported Monday by ZAGSBLOG, Oak Hill point guard Quinn Cook is expected to decide between Duke and UCLA.

Findlay Prep point guard Myck Kabongo just decommitted from Texas and lists Texas, Duke, Syracuse, Kentucky and North Carolina. Syracuse is probably not an option because they already have Michael Carter-Williams and Trevor Cooney in the fold.

Still, Carter said those two would not impact his decision.

“No, I am not waiting to see what they are doing,” Carter said.

As for the 6-9 Hubert out of New Egypt High, he tripped to Maryland this past weekend and enjoyed himself as well.

“I had fun at Maryland,” Hubert said by text. “They said the more I develop my offense it would make me very versatile, plus the defensive presence I already have.”

The No. 15 center in the Class of 2011, Hubert lists Maryland, Wake Forest, Villanova Georgia Tech and Princeton and said he “probably” will visit Princeton this weekend. He tripped to Wake two weeks ago.

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

“Taking an official tomorrow [Friday] to OSU,” Carter said Thursday night by text.

A year after initially committing to St. Bonaventure, the recruitment of the 6-foot-2 Carter has exploded, with Pac-10 and Big East schools getting involved.

At this point, Seton Hall, Oregon State and Charlotte appear to be the most likely destinations for Carter, who plays at Brewster (N.H.) Academy.

Rhode Island has offered but no visit is set, according to Eric Harrield, Carter’s AAU coach.

And though UCLA expressed interest, no visit is currently set there, either.

“I’m not sure about UCLA yet,” Carter said.

Harrield said USF had also called to express interest.

As for Oregon State, head coach Craig Robinson and assistant Doug Stewart have been on Carter throughout the summer.

Devon Collier, Carter’s former St. Anthony teammate, is currently a freshman at Oregon State and, according to sources, is adjusting well to the move out West.

Carter trips to campus for the Homecoming football game with Cal on Saturday afternoon.

As for the 6-9 Hubert of New Egypt High, he is coming off an official last weekend to Wake Forest that he enjoyed.

“Wake was good,” he said by text. “I had a lot of fun out there and I really got along with the guys on the team and the coaching staff.”

Hubert is also considering Villanova, Princeton and Georgia Tech.

Hubert is one of several big men who will reportedly trip to Maryland this weekend, along with Antwan Space, a 6-8 PF from DeSoto, Texas.

Committed guards Sterling Gibbs and Nick Faust are also expected.

Adjehi Baru, a 6-9 center from Richmond, Va., tripped to Maryland last weekend, according to TestudoTimes.com.

Greg Lewis, a 6-8 big man from Randallsville, Md., is also considering Rutgers and Maryland and could decide this weekend, his father told ZAGSBLOG.

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter