NEW YORK — Austin Colbert is headed to the Big Ten.

The 6-foot-9 power forward from Gill St. Bernard’s (N.J.) verbally pledged to Illinois in the SNY studios on Monday.

A native of Chesapeake, Va., Colbert chose the Illini and head coach John Groce over Miami, Seton Hall and Villanova.

“I’ve decided that I’m going to attend the University of Illinois,” Colbert said. “Fighting Illini.”

Many observers had Colbert penciled in for Villanova, but Colbert decided otherwise about a week ago.

“I decided to pick Illinois because I just want it to be the best fit for me,” he said. “I feel like coach John Groce is going to develop me into a person, develop me into a player and push me every day in practice. Not only does basketball have a big value for me, but academics as well.

“Illinois has the second-largest alumni network in the country, so basically after basketball if I handle my business in the classroom I’ll be good.”

Colbert is Illinois’s fifth commit in 2013, following point guard Jaylon Tate, shooting guards Kendrick Nunn and Malcolm Hill and center Maverick Morgan.

Scout.com ranks Colbert as the No. 30 power forward in the Class of 2013.

Longtime New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski offered this analysis of Colbert’s game.

“He has a lot of potential but the first thing he’s gotta to do is he’s got to get stronger,” he said. “He’s mobile, he’s agile, but he’s not yet hostile. And I think that’s a function of his lack of strength. He needs to really hit the weight room and get big-time stronger.

“But he’s a guy who’s a fluid athlete, who really covers the court like a guard and has good hands. He has a decent touch. And he just really needs to build up his body, to use his size to great advantage. He’s a guy with a world of potential and he’s a nice kid.

“He’s gotta transcend his off-the-court temperament and become a little meaner on the court.”

Colbert agreed with that analysis.

“I’m working hard every day,” he said. “I’m in the weight room, I’m on the court getting shots up so I expect to do big things this year.”

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NEW YORK — Kamall Richards is heading to the Atlantic 10.

The 6-foot-6 small forward from South Kent (Conn.) verbally pledged to Xavier at the SNY studios on Tuesday, selecting the Musketeers over St. Joe’s, Seton Hall, Providence and Penn State.

“I’ll be going to Cincinnati to play for Xavier,” Richards said. “I decided on Xavier because it’s the best fit for me. I’ll be able to come in right away, be an impact player and that’s what I need as a freshman to be able to make mistakes and not be penalized and play through my mistakes and get better. So the sophomore year I can really be a main guy for the team.”

Richards visited Xavier two weeks ago and enjoyed it.

“The coaching staff was really cool, the players, the guys are real cool,” he said. “It’s a nice campus, nice city, I liked everything about it really.”

A native of Henryville, Pa., Richards blew up on the summer circuit, playing well at the Reebok Breakout Challenge and the “Live in AC” event. He transferred to South Kent after playing at St. Benedict’s Prep and now has a year to refine his game at the Connecticut prep school.

“Kamall’s work ethic and desire to get better have put him in the position to attend one of the most successful programs in the country,” South Kent coach Kelvin Jefferson said. “Kamall has all the tools needed to play at the highest level. His combination of strength and toughness, combined with his ability to score and his hatred of losing gives him everything he needs to help Xavier continue to be a dominant force in the Atlantic 10.”

Richards is also working on bringing another teammate to Xavier.

Uncommitted point guard Shane Rector, formerly of St. Raymond’s of The Bronx, could be next. Xavier recently offered Rector, who also has interest from Providence, South Carolina, Arkansas and Arizona State.

“I’m trying to get my point guard, Shane Rector, to come out,” Richards said. “He’s a real good point guard. We could definitely use him.”

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NEW YORK — Josh Brown is sticking with his first choice.

After decommitting from Temple in June, the 6-foot-3, 180-pound St. Anthony point guard decided to recommit, choosing Temple over Rhode Island, Penn State and Providence.

“I’ll be a Temple Owl,” Brown said in the SNY studio Monday. “I can’t wait to go down there and play in the backcourt with Quenton DeCosey, Will Cummings and Daniel Dingle. I also get a chance to be coached by one of the most underrated coaches, coach Fran Dunphy and his staff. And I’m going to be in Philly, a great place to be.”

Brown’s decision was a sentimental one. He chose Temple in part because his late mother, Kimberley, who died when he was 1 year and three months old, went there.

“What a lot of people don’t know is that the decision that he made is more of a sentimental decision,” his father, Richard, told SNY.tv. “He wanted to go to Temple because his mother went to Temple….It’s just an honor for him to want to commemorate her memory.”

Said Brown: “My mother went there also. It’s great that I get to go up there and follow her footsteps and lead, don’t be a follower up there.”

An Irvington, N.J., native, Brown initially committed to Temple, but decommitted to reconsider his options.

“I committed real early and talking to my recruiting advisor, Ed Bright, talking to my father, I didn’t want to have any regrets when it’s all said and done,” Brown said. “So I decided to decommit and weigh my options and see what else I could get. And finishing a great AAU season with Sports U, I got a few offers which made it really interesting. So committing back to them now knowing I have no regrets, it feels great.”

He will join Temple in 2013 just in time for their entrance into the Big East Conference. Memphis, Houston, UCF and SMU will also join then for basketball.

“I always want to play the best competition, I’m a competitive guy and the Big East is where it’s at,” Brown said.

Brown thanked St. Anthony Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley, as well as Rhode Island coach Dan Hurley, Providence coach Ed Cooley and Penn State coach Pat Chambers for recruiting him.

He averaged 9 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists last season at St. Anthony, while playing alongside current UCLA freshman Kyle Anderson.

Like Anderson, Brown is 65-0 in his St. Anthony career and has won back-to-back New Jersey Tournament of Champions titles.

This summer on the AAU circuit, Brown and his Sports U team won five events and reached the final of a sixth. He was named the MVP of the Pitt Jam Fest and the Rumble in the Bronx.

“What he brings to Temple is the intangibles, he’s a leader, he is arguably the best one-on-one defensive guard in America,” Bright said. “He’s long, he has range. I’m sure Coach Dunphy will know what he needs to develop offensively.

“And he’s a great kid.”

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NEW YORK — On the day before St. Anthony capped a perfect season by winning the New Jersey Tournament of Champions crown, a single college coach was in the school’s Jersey City gym.

That coach was Tom Moore of Quinnipiac.

Turns out Moore’s persistence paid off as his target, 6-foot-3 guard Tariq Carey, verbally pledged to the Northeast Conference school Friday in the SNY.tv studio.

“The atmosphere was great, it was just a family atmosphere,” Carey said. “I just liked a lot of aspects about the school.”

Carey, who averaged 6.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists for the undefeated Friars (32-0), chose Quinnipiac over Missouri State, Boston University, New Hampshire and Siena and interest from Auburn and Clemson.

“He’s a pretty versatile guard, he can play both guard positions,” Hall of Fame St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley told SNY.tv. “He’s strong. He became a much better defensive player this year, so I think he’ll be ready to play defense at the college level.

“And he’s an excellent offensive player when you give him some freedom. He’s a really, really good passer and I think other than Kyle [Anderson] last year he was our second-best guy getting the ball into the post. At Quinnipiac, they were the No. 2 rebounding team in the country so they got somebody who can get the ball inside and they’ve got guys who can do stuff with it.

“And he can score, so he’ll do very well there.”

Carey, a Newark native, figures to play combo guard as a freshman and can then move over to the point after junior guard Dave Johnson of Jackson, N.J., graduates.

The Quinnipiac roster also features former St. Anthony forward Jamee Jackson.

“They just want me to come in and make plays, be a good on-ball defender like I’ve been,” Carey said.

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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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NEW YORK — In their quest to turn the Wagner basketball program around, head coach Dan Hurley and his staff have sought out some of the top available talent in the New York metropolitan area.

Hurley landed his third recruit for 2011 when Eugene McCrory, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound postgraduate power forward from Central Jersey Each One Teach Academy, verbally pledged to Wagner Thursday in the SNY studio in Manhattan.

McCrory, a former Seton Hall commit, chose Wagner over Hofstra and Northeastern in part because of his relationships with Hurley and assistant coach Luke Murray.

“I always wanted to play with coach Hurley since I was in high school,” McCrory said.

“I heard that they gave me an offer and I thought it over with my mom and my coaches and I felt Wagner was the place for me.”

McCrory is averaging 21 points and 11 rebounds at CJEOTO, the same program that produced Rutgers redshirt forward Kadeem Jack.

“I’ve worked on consistently knocking down the mid-range jump shot, taking the bigger player to the basket, finishing around the rim,” he said. “Rebounding, just bringing intensity to the game.”

Said CJEOTO head coach Ian Turnbull: “He’ll bring a very skilled player, a great young man. He’ll work hard. He understands what it takes. I think he’ll end up doing very well in their system with Danny.

“I think he’s a great get for them.”

McCrory joins 6-7 wing Mario Moody of East Orange, N.J. and 5-11 point guard Marcus Burton of Charlotte, N.C., in Wagner’s 2011 class. Hurley has one scholarship left for 2011.

“The recruiting class they have coming in next year is going to be terrific,” McCrory said. “[Hurley] is going to turn this program around. I just hope we get to the [NCAA] tournament next year and make some noise for Wagner and we become one of the best teams in the country.”

A native of Riverdale, Md., McCrory still must take the SAT but is on pace to qualify. He said his postgrad year has helped him prepare for college.

“Just prepared me on and off the court,” he said. “It made me a better player. I thought I just needed another year to develop my game. Coach Turnbull changed my game around…He has expanded my game, worked on my ball-handling at workouts and practices. That’s what I needed and that’s why I’m at Wagner.”

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NEW YORK — Jarelle Reischel wrestled hard with his college decision before announcing Wednesday.

The 6-foot-6, 208-pound wing from Point Pleasant Beach (N.J.) High had narrowed his options to Penn State, Rice and Seton Hall before ultimately choosing Rice.

“They really believe and care about me,” Reischel told ZAGSBLOG.com. “I think it’s an opportunity where I can play right away in Conference  USA.

“Coach [Ben] Braun is a great coach. He’s had a lot of success. He’s had 21 pros through his years. He has the experience. He knows the position I have to be to make it to the next level.”

Reischel joins 6-5 Washington, D.C. shooting guard Julian DeBose and 6-2 point guard Dylan Ennis of Illinois in Rice’s 2011 class.

“Ben Braun has done a really good job coaching players like him and I think he’ll do a good job with him,” New York recruiting guru Tom Konchalski said.

“He has a lot of potential. This past year he was catching up basketball-wise. He played for the Metrohawks in the spring and summer. I think that helped him. He has good skill. He needs a level of better competition. He’s a guy who’s nose has got to calcify. He has to get tougher.”

Reischel averaged 23 points, 12 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.5 steals last season for head coach Nick Catania.

“[I'm] somebody that competes day in, day out every day,” he said. “Somebody that’s going to play every day and just give everything he has. With my versatility, I can shoot, I can score, I can defend, I can rebound. Just an overall complete player.”

Said Catania: “His biggest asset is that he does everything well. He doesn’t do necessarily one thing great. But he can post it, he can shoot it, he can drive it, he can handle it. He can rebound it. He plays one through five for us.”

Reischel was born in Germany and lived there until he was 16 because his father was in the military. He previously played on the German U16 team and said he learned to play a more fundamental style there.

“The European style is a little different,” he said. “More cuts and screens and off-the-ball stuff. When you go to America, you have guys who really dominate.

“That’s what I have to learn, to really come over and dominate and become a complete player.”

WILLIAMS TO OHIO STATE

Amir Williams, a 6-9, 220-pound center from Beverly Hills (Mich.) Country Day, chose Ohio State over Florida, according to reports.

The No. 7 center in the Class of 2011, Williams reportedly also had offers from Michigan, Arizona, Duke, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Texas, Wake Forest and Wisconsin

“I felt very comfortable with coach [Thad] Matta, his coaching staff and the players,” Williams told ESPN.com. “They were like a family. “My parents liked everything better than I did. They loved the school, the academic support and the basketball program.”

If superstar frosh Jared Sullinger bolts to the NBA after one year, Williams can step in to the spot.

“Coach Matta told me they needed an athletic center that can play right away because of the graduation of power forward/center Dallas Lauderdale and the possibility of Jared Sullinger being one and done,” Williams told ESPN.com.

(Photos courtesy JohnnyJungle.com, Rivals.com)

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NEW YORK — Tyler Harris is headed to North Carolina State.

The 6-foot-8, 195-pound St. Benedict’s Prep senior forward made the announcement Friday in the SNY.tv studio.

“I just had a great relationship with the coaches,” he said. “I liked the campus. I felt I would fit real well with the team and their style of play and I just thought that everything in the school was what I was looking for, and I thought it was the best fit.

Click here to read the full story at SNY.

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NEW YORK — Mount Vernon point guard Jabarie Hinds made his college announcement Tuesday in the SNY.tv studio in Manhattan.

“I made my final decision and I’ll be heading to West Virginia University, the Mountaineers,” said the 6-foot, 170-pound Hinds, the No. 26 point guard in the Class of 2011 according to Rivals.

Hinds, who averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 steals and 4.0 rebounds last season and has scored more than 1,000 points in his Mount Vernon career, chose the Mountaineers over UConn, UNLV and UCLA.

“My visit went really good, the atmosphere down there, the fans,” Hinds said. “They really care about their basketball players. The coaching staff is great. I visited with the academic advisor. She’s a nice  lady. She’s going to take care of me off the court, and in school making sure I’m doing the right thing.”

Hinds follows current West Virginia sophomore forward Kevin Jones, who also starred for Bob Cimmino at Mount Vernon.

“Kevin Jones is a great guy,” Hinds said. “He always does the right thing. We spent a lot of time together, talked about a lot of stuff. It was a good time.”

Cimmino said Hinds and Detroit Pistons guard Ben Gordon are the two best players he’s ever coached, and that Hinds has the potential to be better than Gordon.

“Jabarie and Ben, it’s yet to be determined,” he said. “They’re the 1-2, I just don’t know what order they’re in.

As for what Hinds will bring to West Virginia, Cimmino said: “Jabarie Hinds will bring an energetic focus to his determination and hard work. He’s just a talented young man who goes all out and will aim to please the coaching staff.

“His strengths are his constant effort,” he added. “Jabarie takes no plays off, ever. He plays defense like no guard that I’ve seen before. Jabarie’s one weakness that he needs to overcome his his desire to over-drive, over-penetrate and if he’s going to last a long time in this game he has to really get comfortable with the eight to 10-foot pull-up.”

Said Hinds:  “I’m just going to go there, work hard every day, do what the coaches tell me to do and do anything to win games.”

Hinds’ commitment follows by one day the pledges of 5-10 Aurora, Ill., point guard Ryan Boatright, and 6-10 big man Pat Forsythe of Ohio.

Hinds said he and Boatright can play together in the same backcourt.

“It will really help a lot,” he said. “Trying to go there and win a national championship, you can’t do it by yourself. You need other players around you. So that should be a good thing.”

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The 6-foot-7, 185-pound small forward from Newark (N.J.) NIA Prep made his college announcement Friday on SNY.tv.

“I will be going to the University of Cincinnati,” said Thomas, a Montclair, N.J., native who is ranked among the Top 25 small forwards in the Class of 2011.

He picked the Bearcats over Seton Hall and UTEP.

“”The biggest reason I picked Cincinnati is because of the coaching staff. I built a good relationship with the coaches in early July when they started recruiting me. When I went on my visit, I just liked the whole environment.”

Thomas plans to finish up academically at NIA Prep in January, but probably won’t go to college until next summer.

Cincinnati has recently built a pipeline to the New York-metropolitan area. Senior Rashad Bishop is from Paterson, N.J., where Thomas competed at Paterson Catholic, and redshirt freshman Sean Kilpatrick is from White Plains, N.Y.

“I built a good relationship with Sean and Rashad on my visit,” Thomas said. “And I knew Rashad from when I played AAU with the Playaz.”

Thomas believes he can help make head coach Mick Cronin’s team stronger as soon as he arrives.

“Just my athleticism,” he said. “I can play more than one position on the court and I’m going to work hard.”

“The sky’s the limit for Shaquille,” said his AAU coach, Paul Ruddock. “It all depends on how hard he really wants to  work. College is a whole other level because now it’s technically a job. He’s just got to go there focused and ready to bring it every day.”
He added: “He brings tremendous athleticism. Put some pounds on him and he’s an NBA prototype two/three guy.”

The nephew of Dallas Mavericks forward Tim Thomas and the half-brother of New York Liberty star Essence Carson, Thomas has strong basketball bloodlines that have helped form him as a person and a player.

“It’s good pressure because they’re in the NBA and they give me a lot of good advice with my college decision,” Thomas said. “They’ve been through all this recruitment stuff so they give me what to watch out for and stuff like that.”

Asked if he dreams of following them into the pros, Thomas said without hesitation, “Yes.”

FREE THROWS
Mount Vernon senior point guard Jabarie Hinds has these home visits set: UConn Saturday, UCLA Tuesday & West Virginia Wednesday…Villanova freshman guard James Bell had surgery Wednesday for stress fractures in the tibia of both legs. He is out for an undetermined length of time…Russell Wooten, who spent the past two years as a walk-on at Villanova before graduating in May, has been added to the 2010-11 roster.
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