John Calipari

The Calipari-coached Dominican Republic overcame a 20-point, second-quarter deficit to beat Macedonia 86-76 on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Venezuela.

The Dominican Republic will earn an Olympic berth with a victory over Lithuania on Saturday. Even if Calipari’s club loses, they can still earn a bid by beating the loser of Nigeria-Russia on Sunday.

The top three teams at the qualifying tournament advance to the Olympics.

Rosario, the Florida guard from Jersey City, N.J., did not play as Puerto Rico was eliminated 76-72 by Lithuania in another quarterfinal game.

Alexander Rodriguez had 17 points and J.J. Barea and Carlos Arroyo scored 13 points apiece.

Photo: CoachCal.com

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“It feels great because I know how hard I am working because I want this year coming up to be a special one for me to remember,” Rosario told SNY.tv.

“I’m taking advantage of all opportunities. I have a very special gift that God gave me and that’s the talent to play basketball at the highest level I’m ready. Therefore, I want to thank my coach, Billy Donovan, for giving me the opportunity. This really means a lot to me and my future.”

Puerto Rico and The Dominican Republic will both compete in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament July 2-8 in Caracas, Venezuela.

Puerto Rico made cuts Monday night to get down to 12, but they also added NBA players Renaldo Balkman and Carlos Arroyo and a third player who competed in Germany.

“We’re counting on [Rosario],” Puerto Rico assistant Carlos Morales said of the senior guard at Florida who scored 11 points in a semifinal win over Jamaica. “I think that even though we have to still make cuts, he’s going to be on the 12-man roster that will be going to Venezuela for Olympic qualifying.”

Rosario, the former McDonald’s All-American out of St. Anthony, is the only American college player on the Puerto Rico roster.

Karl Towns, a 6-foot-10 sophomore at St. Joe’s Metuchen, plays for Calipari on the Dominican team and is also being recruited to Kentucky.

“I think that my performance was a lot more than what they expected,” Rosario said.

Rosario said the experience of playing with and against NBA guys will prepare him well for his senior year at Florida.

“My next step now is to go back to school after this and do everything that Coach Billy needs to me to do to help the team try and get a national championship,” Rosario said. “That’s the goal.”

FINNEY-SMITH AT KEVIN DURANT CAMP

Another Florida player, transfer Dorian Finney-Smith, is gaining valuable experience with the other college players this week at the Kevin Durant Skills Academy in Chicago.

“I’m learning new stuff,” Finney-Smith told SNY.tv. “Hopefully, I can take some of this stuff and put it in my workout.”

Finney-Smith said he enjoyed going up against several other college players, including Otto Porter of Georgetown.

As first reported by SNY.tv, the 6-foot-8 Finney-Smith transferred from Virginia Tech to Florida after coach Seth Greenberg was fired.

“Florida was recruiting me my first time around and Coach Billy [Donovan] and me have a good relationship,” he said. “And then they had the new assistant [Rashon Burno] that I had a good relationship with so I think it was the best fit for me. I like their style of play, they get up and down.”

After sitting out a year, Finney-Smith thinks he can help the team.

“I know I’ll be better because ‘ll be working out while sitting out and I know we have a good guard in coming next year [Kasey Hill],” he said. “So I think we’ll be pretty good.”

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Dan Hurley

Four of Hurley’s former St. Benedict’s Prep players will suit up when the two teams battle it out in the second round of the FIBA Americas tournament.

Venezuela features Creighton forward Gregory Echenique and former Marquette player David Cubillan, while Alex Galindo and John Holland play for Puerto Rico.

“They were four of the most respected student-athletes at St. Benedict’s over the course of our nine years,” said Hurley, entering his second season at Wagner College. “They were a huge part of our program.”

All told, there were eight former St. Benedict’s players in Olympic qualifying.

The 6-foot-9 Echenique is a junior at Creighton and a former Rutgers standout. He has started each of Venezuela’s first four games of the tournament, averaging 9.3 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds while shooting 64 percent from the floor.

He scored in double-figures in three of the four games and pulled down a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) in Friday’s overtime win against Canada that clinched a spot in the second round.

Cubillan dished out 10 assists and hit a huge three in overtime in the Canada game, and Greivis Vasquez of the Memphis Grizzlies led Venezuela with 29 points.

Knicks guard Andy Rautins scored eight points for Canada in the game

“David was a coach’s dream,” Hurley said. “He’s the greatest competitor I have ever been around. He helped Gregory transition into St. Benedict’s.

“Gregory was an NBA rebounder as a high school player and the most physical intelligent post player that we had.”

Venezuela is coached by former NBA head coach Eric Musselman.

Holland, who played at Boston University, and Gallindo, who transferred to Florida Atlantic from Kansas, have helped Puerto Rico to a 3-1 start to the event. The 6-7 Galindo is averaging 5.5 points through four games, and Holland is averaging 5.0 points, the same amount as Knicks forward Renaldo Balkman.

“Alex was our first international student and his success opened the door for others to be given an opportunity to attend the school,” Hurley said.

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The 6-foot-7 Ledo, the No. 1 shooting guard in the Class of 2012, said he is planning to visit Syracuse, UConn, Kentucky and Providence, although no dates have been set.

“I plan on visiting Syracuse and UConn and Kentucky and some other schools,” he told SNY.tv Thursday by phone.

“Those are just schools I want to visit. I don’t have a top [five]. I have friends at UConn and friends at Syracuse.”

Ledo said he is particularly close with incoming Syracuse shooting guard Michael Carter-Williams.

“Mike Carter is like my brother,” Ledo said. “He’s like my brother. He’s like a real close friend. I’m gonna go up there and visit Syracuse because I know he’s up there.”

Ledo also has close ties to the defending national champs.

“I know Tyler Olander at UConn, and Shabazz Napier and Alex [Oriakhi] from AAU,” Ledo said. “We’re pretty close friends. We joke around a lot with each other. I’m gonna go see UConn with them.”

Ledo doesn’t have any close friends at Kentucky, but also plans a visit there.

“I have no people I know there but I plan on visiting Kentucky,” Ledo said. “But I don’t know when.”

A Providence native and onetime Providence commit, Ledo also plans to see the Friars under new coach Ed Cooley.

“Providence is right in the backyard of my house,” he said. “I’m going to obviously see them a lot.”

Ledo, who is of Puerto Rican descent, is in Puerto Rico with his AAU coach, Todd Quarles, until Saturday practicing with the National Team.

“It’s a different style overall in the international game,” said Ledo, who plans to visit his great-grandmother and other relatives. “It was a lot less dribbling. You don’t dribble at all, just moving a lot.”

For a guy who’s used to creating off the dribble, that is an adjustment.

“It’s kind of weird because a lot of the times when I’m scoring, I’m coming off a pick and I’m dribbling and scoring so it’s an adjustment,” he said.

Ledo is one of 24 players trying out for 12 spots on the National Team that will compete in Olympic qualifying Aug. 31-Sept. 11 in Argentina. Former BU guard John Holland of The Bronx and former Kansas State point guard Denis Clemente are also trying out.

NBA players J.J. Barea and Carlos Arroyo also figure to make the team, but are not among the group of 24 trying out.

“There are two or three guys who are going to make the team who aren’t even part of the 24,” Quarles said.

“With him being the young guy they aren’t necessarily looking to set him up. So he has to figure out ways to score. All of a sudden he hits a couple shots and he gets excited.

“You can see his ability. He’s got to get the strength and the maturity and learn the international game a little bit better.”

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“Ricky’s dream has always been to play for the USA team, that’s his dream,” Todd Quarles, a close family friend and founder of the Expression Elite AAU team, said Friday by phone. “And he wants to make sure that if he goes down there [to Puerto Rico] it won’t hurt any possibilities, but at the same time to explore every opportunity.

“So the Federation has invited us to spend some time with them learning about Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican basketball and see if there’s an opportunity for Ricky to play in the Olympic qualifying event in Argentina [Aug. 30-Sept. 11].”

The 6-foot-7 Ledo has family connections to Puerto Rico on his father’s side, and  Todd Washington, the founder of the Puerto Rico Playmakers AAU team, reached out to Quarles.

Ledo, the No. 1 shooting guard in the Class of 2012 according to Rivals, has an opportunity to play the two guard for Puerto Rico because wing Angel Vassallo is injured and starting two guard Larry Ayuso was suspended. David Huertas was injured earlier this year, but has accepted an invitation to play.

Florida shooting guard Mike Rosario was also offered a chance to try out for Puerto Rico, but cannot compete due to a scheduling conflict.

“Mike really wanted to play but recognized the importance of fulfilling his obligation to the university, his teammates and coaching staff,” Washington said. “Mike’s decision shows how much he has matured. He will get his chance to once again represent Puerto Rico in the future.”

As far as recruiting goes, Quarles said Ledo has taken unofficials to Providence and UConn, but Kentucky, Syracuse and others are also in the mix.

“He hasn’t even begun right now to break that down,” Quarles said. “I’m sure eventually he’ll start taking some unofficial visits, but he hasn’t even done that with the exception of UConn and Providence because it’s right there in our back yard.”

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“They don’t have a clue,” the source said of the Dominican Federation. “They screwed up the FIBA event in the DR last summer. Players were slipping all over the floor as they hosted an event in an arena with no air conditioning. Roy Hibbert and other NBA players were required to stop playing.”

Last summer during the FIBA World Championship in Santo Domingo, games  inside the Palacio de Deportes were postponed due to poor conditions. Organizers blamed faulty air conditioning units.

“The event was a laughingstock,” the source said. “The Federation President [Frank Herasme] has simply not led the Federation in a positive way.”

Former Sacramento Kings Eric Musselman led the DR to a 6-1 record last summer and had a verbal commitment to coach the team this year. But he was fired and bypassed for Calipari, the source said.

“They sign agreements, don’t live up to them and don’t do good business,” the source said.

Calipari announced on Tuesday that he would be coaching the team this summer in preparation for this summer’s FIBA World Championship Aug. 30-Sept. 11 in Argentina.

“Not only would I help train coaches in the Dominican Republic and here in Lexington like we have with the Chinese coaches, but I would also coach their national team,” Calipari said on his Website.

“The commitment would mainly be from the start of August through mid-September. The Dominican Republic national team would train in our state-of-the-art facilities at the Joe Craft Center in Lexington prior to the start of the Tournament of the Americas, which would begin towards the end of August.”

The Dominican team could feature as many as four NBA players in Francisco Garcia, Al Horford, Charlie Villanueva and Trevor Ariza.

“Ooh, the sky’s the limit for us if everybody plays,” Garcia told SNY.tv in January. “I’m sure me, Al and Charlie [are] playing this summer for sure. We gotta get Trevor. Trevor Ariza told me he might play this summer, too. So we’ll see.”

Since the player pool could also feature high school or college players, there may be some inherent conflicts of interest. Calipari, as coach of a FIBA team, could theoretically be involved with uncommitted high school recruits during the summer.

“The NCAA is watching carefully to ensure that coaches are not using this as an unfair coaching advantage,” the source said.

Meantime, Louisville coach Rick Pitino announced Wednesday that he would not be coaching the Puerto Rican team due to a scheduling conflict.

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NEW YORK

“He’d be more than welcome, you know, he’s a good coach, great coach,” Garcia said after scoring 8 points and grabbing 5 rebounds as the Kings downed the Knicks, 93-83, Friday night at MSG.

The Dominican team could feature as many as four NBA players in Garcia, Al Horford, Charlie Villanueva and Trevor Ariza.

“Ooh, the sky’s the limit for us if everybody plays,” Garcia said. “I’m sure me, Al and Charlie [are] playing this summer for sure. We gotta get Trevor. Trevor Ariza told me he might play this summer, too. So we’ll see.”

Louisville coach Rick Pitino has already signed on to coach Puerto Rico in next summer’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Argentina. The top two teams qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.

“It’s gonna be a crazy rivalry if [Calipari] goes to the Dominican and Coach Pitino is in Puerto Rico,” Garcia said. “I know they want to go against each other because of the great memories they have.”

The Puerto Rican team will likely feature Carlos Arroyo of the Miami Heat and J.J. Berea of the Dallas Mavericks.

Calipari recently said he hadn’t been contacted directly by Dominican officials, but that doesn’t mean his representatives haven’t considered it.

“The issue is a verbal commitment [was made] to [former NBA] Coach [Eric] Musselman, who is a very good guy and is well liked in the DR,” said a source with direct knowledge of the situation.

“But everyone know that Cal can take this team to the next level and get all four [NBA] guys to commit with the help of Uncle Wes [William Wesley].”

Garcia said he hadn’t spoken directly with Calipari, but hopes it works out.

“I don’t have time for that right now,” he said. “I play ball, do what I do and in the summer I concentrate on the other stuff.”

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“I disagree with what was written that Coach Pitino had only taken the job for recruiting purposes,” Alvarez said Thursday by phone from Miami, referring to a column for which he was interviewed suggesting Pitino agreed to coach Puerto Rico in 2011 Olympic qualifying in order to land 2012 shooting guard Ricky Ledo, who has since committed to Providence.

Alvarez, who is Pitino’s point man on the Puerto Rico situation, said Pitino took the Puerto Rican job even after he had lost out on another Puerto Rican recruit, 6-foot point guard Angel Rodriguez of Miami, who committed to Kansas State.

“During the recruiting process, Rick would come down [to see Rodriguez],” Alvarez said of Pitino’s recruitment of Rodriguez. “He wanted him real bad. And I knew by then [the time of the Puerto Rico press conference], that Angel had committed to Kansas State.

“Two or three days after the [FoxSports.com] article came out, well, you know, Ricky Ledo [committed to] Providence.”

In an article published Wednesday on Pitino’s own Website, the coach listed five reasons why he took the Puerto Rican job, listing recruiting as No. 4.

“This gives me the opportunity to evaluate young players who someday could play at the Division I level,” Pitino wrote. “This reason is extremely remote as we have already finished recruiting in 2012 and almost done for 2011.”

Alvarez emphasized that even though Pitino has now struck out on both Rodriguez and Ledo, he planned to maintain his commitment to the team. Puerto Rico must finish in the top two next summer to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.

“The proof is in the pudding,” he said. “Here’s two kids that he recruited real hard, Angel Rodriguez in Miami and Ricky Ledo, and he didn’t get either one of the kids. So what is he supposed to do now? He’s supposed to resign from being the coach of Puerto Rico? Not at all, not at all.”

He added: “Pitino wants to [land a Puerto Rican player] and if it happens, good. And if it doesn’t happen, that’s also good. But his intentions are that he wants to coach there. He’s coached in the NBA, coached in New York, coached in Boston, coached Louisville, was very successful. Coached at Kentucky, was very successful. But never coached in the Olympics. He knows that they have their back against the wall. If I could come and make a difference and if I could do that, that would be great.

“He wants to win. He wants to have an opportunity to coach in the Olympics, which he’s never done.”

Alvarez, who is also friendly with Kentucky coach John Calipari, said both Cal and the Dominican Federation had mutual interest in Cal coaching the Dominican team in 2011 Olympic qualifying.

“I actually talked to a couple of people that told me that at some point if they would come and talk to him, that he would have an interest in hearing them out,” Alvarez said. “I don’t know if that’s happened. I don’t know if anybody from the Dominican Republic Federation or the National Team have approached him. I know that I spoke to one of the members there, and they said that they would love to have a coach of his caliber to coach them.”

Calipari has said he hasn’t received any direct inquiries from the Dominicans, so someone would have to go through his intermediaries first.

“If it’s going to happen, I think it’s going to have to be announced quickly,” Alvarez said. “The good thing about Pitino and Cal, it could happen because it’s in the summertime. And remember, a lot of these guys, as far as their 2010, 2011 classes for recruiting, are pretty much done.

“So they’re going to definitely have the time to do that.”

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Washington, a senior adviser to the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation and the son of Charlotte Bobcats co-owner Robert B. Washington, believes that this is the first of many Federations in the region that will go in that direction.

“In the last week I’ve gotten calls from several coaches who expressed an interest in learning more about the development of basketball in the region,” Washington said. “The Pitino announcement has really helped bring attention to the sport in this part of the world. It baffles me why more coaches are not spending time down here recruiting players.”

From where Washington sits, it only makes sense for more and more coaches, whether they coach national teams or simply recruit, to tap into the talent pool in the Caribbean.

The region has produced to two of the greatest NBA centers of all time in Patrick Ewing (Jamaica) and Tim Duncan (Virgin Islands).

Wouldn’t it make sense for Jamaica to hire Ewing, who wants to coach an NBA team, as its national team head coach?

“It’s a natural thing,” one source said. “He’s the most legendary player ever to come out of there.”

Currently, there are over 15 active players of West Indian descent in the NBA, including Duncan, Dominicans Al Horford, Charlie Villaneuva, Francisco Garcia and Trevor Ariza, Carlos Arroyo (Puerto Rico), JJ Barea (Puerto Rico), Samuel Dalembert (Haiti), Rodrigue Beaubois (Guadeloupe), Mickael Pietrus (Guadeloupe), Raja Bell (Virgin Islands) and Ronny Turiaf (Martinique).

Still, Puerto Rico, currently ranked No. 15 in the world by FIBA, is the premier team in the region. Under Pitino’s leadership, Puerto Rico must finish in the top two in Olympic qualifying to make the 2012 Olympics.

“They understand their backs are to the wall as players and they’ve got to finish in the top two to qualify for the Olympics,” Pitino said.

“It’s very similar to Kentucky in the fact everybody there is so passionate about basketball. It will be a great challenge.”

Most people are completely unaware that Puerto Rico has the longest running professional basketball league – the Baloncesto Superior Nacional, or “BSN” — which has been operating for over 80 years.

Phil Jackson, Bernie Bickerstaff and a host of other NBA coaches spent time honing their craft as young coaches in Puerto Rico in the 1970s and 80s.

Washington has spent the better part of the last 15 years working with basketball federations and local clubs in the region to help elite players and their families secure opportunities to attend camps and high schools and colleges.

He runs an AAU program in Puerto Rico called the Puerto Rico Playmakers and has secured deals for National Teams with both Nike and Under Armour.

Washington currently has several student athletes attending elite high school programs, including Montrose Christian (Carmelo Betancourt), St. Benedict’s (Gaby Anglero) and Arlington Country Day (Gary Browne) — pictured above with Washington — and expects that number to increase to well over 100 players from around the region in the next several years.

Washington is also working with the AAU and Five Star Basketball to bring major brands to the region.

“Puerto Rico Playmakers started several years ago with student athletes as young as 8 years old and we have focused on a holistic approach to developing talent,” Washington said. “We are kind of different than other programs in Puerto Rico and the rest of the region in that we will help a student athlete and his family regardless of if they play in our AAU program. We have begun operating evaluation combines and developing academies throughout the region and working with local coaches and clubs to identify, nurture, develop and place those who have the talent and desire to play in the States.”

Washington believes that the Caribbean is often overlooked when it comes to recruiting with only a handful of Top 20 schools actively and consistently recruiting in the region.  He thinks it’s a major mistake and has worked to leverage his personal relationships to create opportunities for players to further their education and use their talent to change their lives and the lives of their families.

“Most people think that Puerto Rico is the only place that produces talent in the region and truth be told they are way ahead of the rest of the region,” Washington said.

“With players of Puerto Rican descent comprising 40 current players at Division I colleges and universities, Puerto Rico has set the bar in terms of what other countries in the region aspire to develop in terms of placing players.”

Washington has also helped many players who may have been born in the U.S. but have a desire to represent the country of their heritage.

Two years ago Washington helped former St. Anthony stars Mike Rosario and Jio Fontan play for the Puerto Rican 19U National Team that finished 6th in the 2009 FIBA World Championship.

“My phone hasn’t stopped ringing since I brought Mike and Jio down to Puerto Rico a couple of years ago,” Washington said. “Those two guys are like my nephews and their success has opened the door for others to pursue their dream of representing their country.”

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“Carmelo is a future plan because right now we don’t do anything to get Carmelo,” Carlos Beltran, president of the Puerto Rican basketball  Federation, said Wednesday in a phone interview.

“That is a decision of Carmelo. But everybody know that he have Puerto Rican roots. Maybe in the near future it’s a possibility.”

Anthony, whose father, Carmelo Sr., was Puerto Rican, was a member of Team USA when it won a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics and a gold medal in Beijing in 2008.

International rules say that once a player has competed for one international team, he cannot change teams and play for another country.

“No – once you play for a national team at a FIBA event (or a major international event) you’re only able to play for that country unless the nation divides (like USSR and Yugoslavia did),” USA Basketball spokesman Craig Miller said via email.

Beltran is well aware of the rule but hopes an exception might be made so that Anthony could play for Puerto Rico and new head coach Rick Pitino, who agreed to coach the team during the qualifying event next summer.

“That is a rule,” Beltran said. “But any rule have some exceptions. I don’t know if we could try sometime, when the moment arrives, to get an opinion of FIBA. But we have not done anything right now. I know the rule.”

Anthony’s status is up in the air not just in the international arena, but in NBA circles as well.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told the Fort-Worth Star Telegram there was no truth to a CBSSports.com report that Dallas had an interest in trading for Anthony.