Elgin Cook, a 6-6 small forward at Northwest Florida, verbally committed to Oregon on Wednesday, head coach Steve Forbes said.
The son of former NBA star Alvin Robertson, Cook also considered Gonzaga, Illinois, TCU, VCU, South Carolina, New Mexico and Arkansas.
“I liked the fact that me, Damyean [Dotson] and Dominic [Artis] will have a chance to grow together,” Cook told SNY.tv by text. “I think Oregon fits my style. The fans were crazy and I’m just excited about Dana and the coaching staff.” To read more of this story, click here
Joel Embiid, a 7-foot, 220-pound senior center from the Rock School in Gainesville, Fla., is headed to Kansas.
“Proud to be a jayhawk,” he Tweeted Tuesday.
He added by text: “Great school for big guys, development. I like the players, coaching staff, facilities [and] academics.”
He chose the Jayhawks over Florida and Texas.
“He chose KU over the others because it was in his gut and he believes that they have the ability to prepare him for the NBA,” his coach, Justin Harden, told SNY.tv.
A native of Cameroon, Embiid is unranked by the major recruiting services because he has only played organized ball for a short time.
“His upside is limitless depending on his work ethic,” Harden said. “He has great fundamentals for having only played for two years.” To read more of this story, click here
Aaron Gordon is back from his weekend official visit to Oregon and will head to Washington this coming weekend.
“[He said] he enjoyed it,” Tim Kennedy, head coach at San Jose (Calif.) Archbishop Mitty told SNY.tv Monday. “He was really impressed with the facilities and [said] they take care of their guys over there.”
Gordon knows Oregon point guard Dominic Artis from their time together on the Oakland Soldiers.
“So they have kind of a good connection,” Kennedy said. To read more of this story, click here
Oregon completed a big weekend by adding 6-foot-7 former Rice forward Arsalan Kazemi.
The Ducks also landed twins Tyrell and Tyree Robinson, who reportedly will play both basketball and football at the school.
Kazemi averaged 12.4 points and 10.3 rebounds last season at Rice and reportedly also considered Kentucky, Florida, Cincinnati, Texas and Ohio State. To read more of this story, click here
Chris Obekpa, the top available big man in the Class of 2012 now that Nerlens Noel is off the board, will visit Oregon later this month.
The 6-foot-9 Obekpa out of Our Savior New American will trip to the Pac-12 school April 22-24, Our Savior assistant Eric Jaklitsch told SNY.tv.
“He has seen them play on TV a few times this year,” he told SNY.tv. “He likes that they play an uptempo style of play and they press a lot. He knows [incoming point guard] Dominic Artis from the Nike Skills Academies.” To read more of this story, click here
Freshman Jabari Brown has left the Oregon basketball team, according to a report on OregonLive.com.
“I will say it up front, I don’t want him to leave,” Ducks coach Dana Altman said after his team’s 86-61 win Sunday over Southeast Missouri State. “The door is still open.” To read more of this story, click here
Former UCLA commit Dominic Artis is headed to Oregon, according to Reggie Rankin of ESPN.
The No. 8 point guard in the Class of 2012 per Rivals, Artis initially committed to the Bruins, but then decommitted after St. Anthony point guard Kyle Anderson chose UCLA.
Now the 6-foot-1 Findlay Prep guard will remain in the Pac-12 and play for head coach Dana Altman. His former Oakland Soldiers teammate Jabari Brown is currently a freshman for the Ducks.
ALLEN TO STANFORD
Rosco Allen, a 6-9 center from Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, committed to Stanford, Scout.com reported.
Allen chose The Cardinal over UNLV, Oregon and North Carolina.
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Tony Woods, the dismissed Wake Forest center, will arrive at Oregon in early August for summer school and will be immediately eligible to play in the 2011-12 season.
“He really liked his visits, the people and the team,” Norm Parker, Woods’ AAU coach with the Georgia Stars, said by phone. “He felt like a fresh start worked out good for him. He feels like he can go out and contribute right away and help that team.”
Woods averaged 4.6 points and 3.2 rebounds as a sophomore at Wake.
The 6-foot-11 Woods was dismissed from Wake Forest last October after a domestic violence incident in which he kicked and pushed his girlfriend, Courtney Lorel Barbour, in front of their 8-month-old child. To read more of this story, click here
While his NBA counterparts are dealing with the looming lockout in New York City, Amar’e Stoudemire is in Chicago at his annual Nike Skills Academy.
Stoudemire is tutoring some of the top big men in the nation, including Brandon Ashley, a 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward who will attend Findlay (Nev.) Prep next season.
“We’re doing a lot of cool stuff,” Ashley, the No. 5 power forward in the Class of 2012 per Rivals, said Saturday by phone. “A lot of stuff on post moves and everything. He’s teaching us how to get through the pick-and-roll and how to defend it. A lot of simple stuff that’s going to take us a long way.” To read more of this story, click here
Former Minnesota guard Devoe Joseph is headed to Oregon.
“Devoe to Oregon,” Ro Russell, Joseph’s AAU coach with Grassroots Canada, said by text.
“We have nothing but respect for coach [Tubby] Smith and the people at Minnesota. This is a Pac-10 style of play program that needs experience and immediate help. It also has a quarter system where he can play starting in early December versus late December like with a semester school.”
Joseph must sit out a season and will become eligible in December.
The 6-foot-3 junior averaged 11.2 points in eight games at Minnesota after sitting out the first six games because of a violation of team rules. To read more of this story, click here
Elgin Cook, a 6-6 small forward at Northwest Florida, verbally committed to Oregon on Wednesday, head coach Steve Forbes said.
