Long gone.

“You can never say never,” said Gary Charles, the head coach of the New York Panthers and a Vaccaro lieutenant from 1992-2006, when Vaccaro hung up his kicks and retired .

“But I think it’s extremely hard to duplicate what Sonny Vaccaro has done.”

Charles recalls the days, not so long ago, when there was a “buzz in the air” in early July because of the impending matchups at the ABCD Camp at Fairleigh Dickinson University between Derrick Rose and O.J. Mayo, Derrick Caracter and Greg Oden or  LeBron and Lenny Cooke.

“There was a buzz in the air that everyone knew,” Charles recalled. “It wasn’t just great for you, it was great for everyone.”

Vaccaro, 71, is living in California and flirted with Chinese apparel manufacturer Li Ning about a return this summer, but it never materialized.

LeBron is still around — dunking on young kids at Richard Stockton College and shoving them to the ground while he awaits the fate of the NBA lockout.

And in fact, his LeBron James Nike Skills Academy (July 6-9) in Akron will have the predominance of talent beginning next week. (The official roster is not released until Tuesday.).

Sixteen of the top 25 players in the Rivals150 for the Class of 2012 attended Nike academies run by Kevin Durant, Deron Williams and Amar’e Stoudemire.

Among the players who attended those academies are the players ranked 4-10 in the Rivals rankings: Kyle Anderson, Mitch McGary, Devonta Pollard, Anthony Bennett, Ricardo Ledo, Rodney Purvis and Jarnell Stokes.

“Nike has almost all the elite AAU travel teams that have the elite players,” said longtime New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski. “Everyone else is trying to be Avis. Everyone else is jockeying for No. 2. They’re looking to place, rather than to win.

“Nike has the elite players and I don’t think that’s going to change.”

Still, the adidas Invitational in Indianapolis (July 6-9) will feature a matchup on Thursday of the two top players in the Rivals rankings. Guard Shabazz Muhammad of Dream Vision and big man Andre Drummond of the Connecticut Basketball Club will go head-to-head in the Super Pool.

Meantime, 7-foot Baylor commit Isaiah Austin, No. 3 in the Rivals rankings, is slated to appear at the Great American Shootout in Duncanville, Texas July 8-11.

Several other players, including No. 19 Perry Ellis of Wichita, KS, will also attend the adidas tournament even though he was invited to LeBron. (Look for Ellis to have the Duke staff trailing him in Indy.)

The mandate by adidas to have its top players attend its event has had a trickle-down affect on other camps, such as the Reebok Basketball Breakout Challenge at Philadelphia University July 5-9.

Players such as 2013 St. Patrick big man Austin Colbert was slated to attend the Reebok Camp but has now been invited to LeBron after adidas took a bite out of the Nike pool.

“I can’t wait,” Colbert said of the LeBron invite.

Reebok isn’t the camp it was at the end of the Vaccaro Era, but former Vaccaro/Chris Rivers lieutenant Patrick Coombs has assembled a nice lineup of young players.

The Reebok list includes St. John’s commit Jevon Thomas, Arizona commit Eric Cooper, Alabama commit Jaren Sina and Michigan commit Nick Stauskas, all juniors; 2012 guard Kareem Canty, who has Big East, Pac-10 and ACC interest; and 2013 guard Rysheed Jordan of Philadelphia.

“There will be good players there,” Konchalski said.

Still, Konchalski himself plans to head to the Hoop Group Elite Camp in Reading, Pa., which is slated to include Lincoln High stud Isaiah Whitehead, former Lincoln 7-footer Jordan Dickerson, headed to IMG Academies and 2013 wing Davon Reed.

“College coaches are going to ring up a lot more frequent flyer miles, especially in the early 10 day recruiting period because there are four places where they’ve gotta be,” Konchalski said. “Someone on their staff has definitely got to be there.”

So the beat goes on, with Sonny Vaccaro and his Nike counterpart George Raveling nowhere in sight, and the buzz perhaps missing from the Sneaker Wars.

“There’s no wars going on,” Charles said, “so there’s something missing.”

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To review:

**Nike moved the Jordan Classic to North Carolina for April 2011 because of the ongoing renovation at Madison Square Garden.

**Kris Stone, founder of the Boost Mobile game, took that event to Venice Beach, Calif., in 2010 after the 2009 game was rained out and moved inside to the Gauchos Gym.

**Sonny Vaccaro’s legendary ABCD Camp departed Fairleigh Dickinson in 2006 when he retired from the sneaker business, and Chris Rivers briefly held the Reebok All-American Camp in Philly for a couple of years afterward.

Now New York has nothing.

With a huge vacuum occupying the Big Apple, the time is right for some sneaker company to strike.

If Nike was smart, they would move the LeBron James Skills Academy – their marquee summer event – to New York from Akron.

Have you ever been to Akron?

There’s a reason LeBron left. There’s nothing there. Nothing.

Imagine if 80 of the top high school prospects – and 20 of the elite college players – spent a week in July in New York City, or at nearby Fairleigh Dickinson University, site of Vaccaro’s famed ABCD Camp?

Imagine the publicity such a camp would draw.

Dozens of sportswriters from The New York Times, Daily News, New York Post, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, SNY and other outlets would cover the event, just as they did during the heyday of the ABCD Camp that featured Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Tracy McGrady, O.J. Mayo, Sebastian Telfair and Lance Stephenson.

Aside from Major League Baseball, the summer is generally a slow time in the sportswriting world, so there would be plenty of journalists looking to cover the top players and stories of the summer.

Holding an event in the New York City area is expensive, to be sure, but somebody with deep pockets, like Nike, could afford it.

And such an event would enable Nike to parade its stars – Kevin Durant, Paul Pierce, Steve Nash, etc. – in front of the press in the biggest media market in the world.

If not Nike, what about Li Ning, Under Armour or Five Star?

Vaccaro is going back and forth with Li Ning, the Chinese apparel company, about a potential return to the sneaker business.

What better way for Sonny and Li Ning to make a splash than to hold a big-time camp in the New York area in early July?

“I believe there are going to be opportunities for me to be involved in things next summer,” Vaccaro said this fall. “I don’t know exactly if I will do them or how I’ll do them, but I do know there’s a lot of interest and I’m going to listen.”

Under Armour and Five Star, which is undergoing an ownership change, would also do well to think about bringing back an event to the Big Apple.

Somebody needs to do it.

And they need to strike while the iron is hot.

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“I have had discussions with two of the companies,” Vaccaro, 71, said Monday by phone from California. “I have one more left and then a decision will be made. Pam and I see it happening no later than the middle of November.”

Vaccaro declined to name the companies with whom he has met, but sources said one is Chinese apparel manufacturer Li Ning.

As we reported last month, Vaccaro is eying a comeback in which he would become involved in sponsoring and promoting spring and summer AAU basketball.

“It’s definitely for the spring,” he said. ” Something would be done for summer ball.”

The comeback could include the restoration of the famous ABCD Camp in Hackensack, N.J. that has featured Bryant, LeBron James, Tracy McGrady, O.J. Mayo, Sebastian Telfair and Lance Stephenson.

“Would I like to do it?” Vaccaro said of his potential comeback. “Yes. Can it be done? Maybe.”

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Vaccaro, who turns 71 Thursday, declined to mention specific potential partners, but says he has appointments Monday with “people who would like to get totally involved.”

“I believe there are going to be opportunities for me to be involved in things next summer,” Vaccaro said Wednesday night by phone from his home in Carmel, Calif. “I don’t know exactly if I will do them or how I’ll do them, but I do know there’s a lot of interest and I’m going to listen.”

CBSSports.com first reported the development last month.

Vaccaro already has an informal network of travel coaches and summer power brokers in place, including Keith Easterwood in Memphis and Gary Charles in New York City.

“I’m gonna do whatever Sonny does,” Easterwood said by phone.

Easterwood said he’s already spoken with some AAU programs currently affiliated with Nike and wouldn’t be surprised if they “jumped ship” to join Vaccaro.

“It’s going to shock me if some of these programs don’t jump ship,” Easterwood said. “That’s a distinct possibility. I’ve talked to people outside of the city [of Memphis] who have traditionally had Nike programs.

“Because their contracts expired last month they’re going to listen to what’s best for them and their basketball team.”

Vaccaro’s comeback could include the return of the vaunted ABCD Camp – which was held at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Hackensack, N.J. until 2006 and featured Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Tracy McGrady, O.J. Mayo, Sebastian Telfair and Lance Stephenson.

“That’s a great location for media to get in and out of,” Easterwood said. “Everything that goes on in New York seems to be magnified. LeBron played there. Kobe and McGrady and Marbury and Telfair played there. All that is there and more. In the Internet age, kids are geeked into the history of the game and who did what.”

Vaccaro revolutionized grassroots basketball and the marketing of hoops stars by signing Bryant and Michael Jordan to multi-million dollar sneaker deals. He pioneered the practice of paying college coaches to outfit their teams in shoe company apparel while working for Nike and Phil Knight. In 1992, he declared war on Nike when he joined rival adidas, taking his Roundball Classic, Big Time tournament and summer camp with him. He later left adidas for Reebok before retiring from the summer scene in 2006.

“It’ll never be what it was,” Vaccaro said. “It won’t be ABCD Camp, Roundball Classic, Big Time tournament. It will be situations like that that will allow a lot of kids to be involved. There are a lot of lot people who run these things who with a little help can do what was done in the ‘80s and ‘90s. But it will be different.”

Since he departed the scene, Nike has virtually dominated the summer landscape and Vaccaro is once again taking aim at the sneaker giant.

He said he hoped to provide a forum for other, lesser-known players to display their potential.

“While they [Nike] took care of the chosen ones, they let the less fortunate get away,” Vaccaro said. “You always need your stars, but you need your guys who want to be your headliners and that’s what summer basketball is.”

While Under Armour and other companies have reached out, Vaccaro has already met with representatives of Li Ning, sources said.

The meetings were delayed when Vaccaro’s wife, Pam, was hospitalized for a medical issue. But she is now home and resting comfortably.

The Chinese company, founded in 1990 by the former Chinese gymnast for whom it is named, recently signed Philadelphia 76ers rookie Evan Turner to a multi-million dollar sponsorship deal and is making an aggressive push in the U.S. to counter Nike’s move into China.

“This is truly a game-changing moment for the Li Ning brand,” the China Daily quoted Li Ning’s brand director for basketball, Brian Cupps, as saying.

“Adding a supreme young talent like Evan Turner sends a message to the global basketball community that Li Ning basketball is committed to being a player on the global stage.”

Still, many questions surround a potential Vaccaro/Li Ning partnership.

First and foremost is that Li Ning is a virtually unknown entity in the U.S.

“Li Ning has almost zero American recognition,” one industry source said. “The product line would have to be substantially revamped.”

Second, the source said, Vaccaro might have to get used to working on a smaller budget than he enjoyed at Nike, adidas or Reebok.

“His definition of camp is a $250,000 camp,” the source said. “There are a lot of things that have changed since he left.

“I think he wants to come back in a big way and is Li Ning going to allow him to come back in that big way or can he compromise and come back with less? The new economy is doing more with less. I’m not sure he’s used to doing that or is gonna be happy with that.

“He wants to do things first-class. He might have to put the kids at the Days Inn instead of the Four Seasons. You might have to pay coaches $300 instead of $500. Those days are over. You might have to do a three-day event instead of six days.

“He’s used to spending everybody’s else’s money. He thinks that money’s still out there. He can do what he did before and he can do it for less if he’s more crafty and smart about it. That’s gonna be the issue.”

Time is another concern.

“It may take him two or three years,” the source said. “And then again, Sonny’s not young anymore, either. Do they have the money? Do they have the patience? It may take four or five years.”

Still, after three years away from grassroots basketball, Sonny Vaccaro remains a force to be reckoned with.

“If he comes back,” the source said, “there could be some casualties.”

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Reebok will not hold its annual Reebok All-American Camp in Philadelphia in July because of a “change in marketing strategy at the grassroots level,” said a source with direct knowledge.

“It just means that college coaches will have to work a little harder to see high-level talent play against high-level talent under one roof, “  the source said.

Chris Rivers ran the Reebok All-American Camp for two summers as an extension of Sonny Vaccaro’s old Reebok ABCD Camp at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey. That camp featured legendary grassroots players like LeBron James, O.J. Mayo, Sebastian Telfair and Lance Stephenson.

When Vaccaro retired from he sneaker business in 2007, Rivers, pictured above with Mayo, moved the camp to Philadelphia University in 2007 and ’08. Pat Coombs ran the event in 2009.

Last year’s Reebok camp included uncommitted junior LaQuinton Ross, Joe Jackson (Memphis) and Patric Young (Florida).

Rivers left his position as Director of Basketball at Reebok and now works for adidas, for whom he worked before 2003.

adidas will still hold its annual adidas Nations event in August for the classes of 2011 and 2012. The site has yet to be determined.

The other major change on the grassroots horizon involves the LeBron James Nike Skill Academy.

A new set of NCAA rules could be passed in April which would prohibit any grassroots event from behind held on Division I campuses that did not have a contract in place before Oct. 29, 2009.

The NCAA recently voted on this matter and decided to table it until April, when it will be voted on again.

If the rule is passed, numerous events, including the LeBron camp at the University of Akron, would not be permitted on Division I campuses.

Numerous other such events — the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions, previously held at Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State; the It Takes 5ive event held at Cincinnati; and the Pittsburgh Jam Fest held at Pitt — also wouldn’t  be permitted at those locations.

No word from Nike just yet on where the LeBron camp might take place.

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“They’re the favorites,” Sonny Vaccaro, who is advising Tyler, said by phone. “It looks like Jeremy Tyler is going to end up with Maccabi Haifa. It’s 90 percent done.

“The contract has not been signed yet. As soon as they do the faxes back and forth, it should be done Tuesday or Wednesday.”

Maccabi Haifa finished second in the Israel Premier League last year and also features Davon Jefferson, the former USC forward.

Jefferson made the team after a two-day tryout at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. on July 28-29, where 60 players competed for a roster spot, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Jefferson opted to leave school after his freshman  season and played briefly with the Lakers’ summer league team but only saw action in two games. If he had stayed another year, he might’ve turned into a lottery pick.

Tyler, who turned 18 two months ago, will become the youngest foreign player to play in the Israeli league. He initially committed to Louisville but then announced his plan to spend two years abroad before entering the 2011 NBA Draft.

He is the latest American, and first high school player, to leave to play professionally overseas.

After failing to qualify for college, Brandon Jennings spent a year in Italy and then became the No. 10 pick of the Milwaukee Bucks in this year’s NBA Draft.

Nick Calathes of Florida and Terrence Oglesby of Clemson also left college to play overseas.

RUBIO STAYING IN SPAIN

Per RealGM.com, Ricky Rubio will remain with DKV Joventut, according to the team’s Twitter account.

“After endless comings and goings, Ricky Rubio is finally where he is. After many speculations about its future, the player decided to put an end to the issue of their transfer and will be announced at DKV Joventut, where he still has two more years [on his] contract.”

Rubio was drafted No. 5 overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

ADIDAS NATIONS UPDATE

Canada will face USA 2010 in the championship of the adidas nations event Saturday in Texas. Check out the live webcast of the game at www.eastbay.com/adidasnations at 4:30 PM EST.

BIG EAST FILLS UP TOP 25

NBADraft.net has a preseason Top 25 out with Kansas at No. 1 and Kentucky at No. 2. The site has six Big East teams in its Top 25: No. 5 West Virginia, No. 7 Villanova, No. 17 UConn, No. 21 Notre Dame, No. 22 Georgetown and No. 23 Louisville.

EAST COAST ALL-STARS IMPROVE TO 2-0

The East Coast All-Stars team that features Corey Chandler and Pat Jackson of Rutgers improved to 2-0 on its foreign tour with a 95-54 victory Friday over BC Benesov in the Czech Republic. The game was shown live nationally on Czech TV.

Jackson had 8 points and 7 rebounds and Chandler posted 6 points and 5 steals.

“Our team played well tonight and our matchups gave them some problems,” All-Stars coach Guy Rancourt said. “Benesov has a solid program…We greatly appreciate the hospitality of the players, coaches and fans.”

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NEPTUNE, N.J. –

“I received a call asking if I was interested in a player and the call did not come from his high school coach or AAU coach, but rather from an agent,” the coach recalled.

The coach says he ultimately turned the player down, but the call reveals an inside glimpse into how college basketball really works.

More and more, elite high school prospects, or those who are especially tall, are “handled” not by high school or AAU coaches, but by NBA agents or “runners,”  people who work for agents in return for something else.

If a high school or college student-athlete has a written or verbal agreement with an NBA agent, they automatically lose their eligibility. An agent can serve as a prospect’s “advisor,” but the advisors can’t speak on their behalf to other professional entities.

Yet how prevalent is this?

This same coach said he spoke to another former coach of a prominent national program — one that has won multiple NCAA championships — who said “he has to deal with agents more than AAU coaches when he has to talk to the people close to top recruits.”

The coach we spoke to added: “I don’t think this is happening with most Division 1 recruits. I don’t think it’s happening with people who are underneath the elite level, but I think with a truly elite recruit who is probably going to end up in the NBA, they definitely have agents talking to them at an early age and advising them. Then a college coach has to talk with anyone who’s advising a player. They’re part of the process, and it’s a natural evolution.”

The coach added: “They gain influence [with the recruit]. Once they gain influence, they have to be spoken to.”

Why does this type of thing go on?

“I think it’s part of the one-and-done rule,” the first coach said. “Kids that are highly likely to be NBA players clearly stand out. Agents understand this. I think they often recruit them earlier than college coaches do, and because they don’t necessarily have restricted access they can get close relationships very early on.

“Also clearly the less fortunate a family is, the more receptive they probably would be to someone who wants to help them.”

How exactly does it work?

“It’s more [the agent saying], ‘You’re going to sign with me [when you go pro]. Let me get you through the next year because I know your family’s having a hard time and I’ll help advise you on choosing the right school,” the coach said.

This doesn’t happen with every elite recruit. By all accounts, Lance Stephenson’s recruitment was handled strictly by his father, and Xavier Henry’s recruitment was handled by his family.

But John Wall’s recruitment was handled in part by Brian Clifton, a former licensed sports agent. Some expect Clifton to re-up as an agent and serve as Wall’s agent should he enter the 2010 NBA Draft.

Clifton told Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com last year that he stopped being an agent to focus on his AAU program D-One Sports.

“Absolutely, I was a licensed agent,” Clifton said. “But what I started and what I had given my life to was this [D-One Sports] program, and I was about to watch it fall apart. Obviously, I couldn’t let that happen. So at that time — after having not signed any clients — I figured that [the D-One Sports] program was the most important thing for me. … And that was the end of the agent thing.”

In a separate but related development, several coaches said it’s also not uncommon for agents to “funnel money” to specific AAU programs in return for influence with those players down the line when they become eligible to play professionally.

“Just the way shoe companies sponsor AAU programs hoping that someday they’ll wear those shoes,” one coach said. “It’s possible that an agent could sponsor an AAU program hoping that their players will choose them.”

Baylor head coach Scott Drew did hire Dwon Clifton, Brian’s brother, to his staff and many expected that Wall would ultimately follow Clifton there.

Of course, Wall ended up at Kentucky but the tactic Drew used is perfectly legal. Many college programs have hired people with influence over a prospect. Kansas hired Mario Chalmers’ father. Kansas State hired Michael Beasley’s AAU coach. Memphis hired Dajuan Wagner’s father and Arizona State hired James Harden’s high school coach.

One common conception is that some college coaches are running around with bags of money paying off players.

And while former USC coach Tim Floyd is alleged to have paid $1,000 in cash to Rodney Guillory, an alleged runner for NBA agent Bill Duffy, in order to land former USC and current NBA guard O.J. Mayo, the coach we spoke with said it’s rare for college coaches to pay for players.

“No, I don’t think college coaches are paying,” he said. “That’s the thing. I think things have shifted with elite athletes where I don’t think colleges are cheating to get elite players. I think that in some cases agents are paying the players and taking that part of the recruiting process out.”

And, in fact, that is exactly what the NCAA is investigating in the Mayo case. Guillory is alleged to have provided Mayo with improper benefits via Duffy. Mayo then initially signed with Duffy, but switched allegiances after the story became public.

***

Also, here’s a good story by Pete Thamel about how Ed O’Bannon is suing the NCAA on behalf of athletes seeking compensation for the use of their images and likenessess in TV ads, video games and apparel. Sonny Vaccaro approached O’Bannon about leading the suit.

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Sonny Vaccaro

The Grassroots Basketball of America (GBOA) Hall of Fame announcement will be held at the Palms Hotel and Vaccaro will be given the organization’s Grassroots Pioneer Award.

Grassroots legends Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Stephon Marbury, Chauncey Billups, Sharief Abdul-Rahim, Rafer Alston, Felipe Lopez and Tim Thomas will also be honored

The event will also raise money for Coaches Versus Cancer.

Vaccaro has long been an opponent of the NBA age limit and has been influential in recent years in brokering Brandon Jennings‘ contract with an Italian club and in negotiating for American high school phenom Jeremy Tyler to play overseas as well. Tyler will skip his final two years of high school and then enter the 2011 NBA Draft.

“I just think it’s a whole new world,” Vaccaro told The New York Times in reference to American players going overseas. “There’s never going to be a migration, like the salmon going upstream. But there’s going to be selective kids who have the option.”

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Bryant was suspended because of his involvement in a traffic accident outside of Morgantown early Wednesday, after which he left the scene, according to the Charleston Gazette. He was charged with four misdemeanors, including leaving the scene of an accident. No one was injured in the accident and Bryant is free on bond.

Coach Bob Huggins didn’t specify Bryant’s violation in announcing the suspension Wednesday. Huggins didn’t respond to a text message seeking comment.

“Darryl is suspended indefinitely from all team-related activities,”  Huggins said in a statement.

Bryant was fourth in team scoring as a freshman last season at nearly 10 points per game and led the team in scoring four times. He started 28 games at point guard after Joe Mazzulla was lost for the season with a shoulder injury.

Huggins suspended Mazzulla indefinitely in April after the junior was charged following an altercation at a Morgantown bar, his second arrest in nine months.

(AP contributed)

RECRUITING NEWS & NOTES

I’m headed down to Philly in the morning (early) for Day 2 of the Reebok All-American Camp. Here’s a few quick notes:

**Word is Brandon Knight (pictured) is a no-show at the Reebok Camp, which is already devoid of a lot of big names.

**With Camp head man Chris Rivers moving to adidas from Reebok, could this be the final year of the camp Sonny Vaccaro made famous? Rivers says he’s trying to get through this year before making any decision.

**AMong the players I plan to check out [and write about] is Kyle Anderson, the 6-7 rising sophomore from Paterson (N.J.) Catholic.

His father says the following schools are already involved: Pitt, Georgetown, Rutgers, St. John’s, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, La Salle, Texas, Kansas, Baylor, Miami, Kentucky and Indiana. Quite a list, huh?

**The list for Plainfield guard Tyrone Johnson looks like this according to Derrick Bobbitt, his AAU coach: Georgetown, Villanova, Rutgers, St. John’s, Virginia Tech, UCLA, Kentucky and Seton Hall. Georgetown appears to be the favorite.

**Villanova-bound big man Markus Kennedy will end up at either Penn Wood or Neumann-Goretti now that his old school in New Jersey has closed down, according to Matt Pauls, his former AAU coach.

**Oak Hill guard Doron Lamb tells Jody Demling he plans to visit Kansas and Oklahoma later this summer.

“Kentucky is one of the schools that is looking at me, but I don’t have a main school or a favorite yet,” Lamb told Demling. “I want to take some other visits.”

The New York native already visited Kentucky, and many folks expect he’ll end up there.

“I learned a lot about the city and the system,” he said. “The campus is great. It was good, chillin’ with John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins and all of that.

**LeBron James asked Mike Gilchrist (pictured left) to lunch two years ago. Great column by Gary Parrish.

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Louisville junior forward Earl Clark of Rahway, N.J. will also work out for head coach Mike D’Antoni, as will UConn senior guard Craig Austrie and Gonzaga sophomore forward Austin Daye.

The Knicks hold the No. 8 pick in the June 25 NBA Draft and have already worked out the following point guards: Levance Fields of Pittsburgh, Jonny Flynn of Syracuse, Ty Lawson of North CArolina, Steph Curry of Davidson and Jrue Holiday of UCLA.

Check out Tommy Dee’s point guard list at The Knicks Blog for all your Knicks draft info.

The 6-foot-6 Evans, MVP of last year’s McDonald’s All-American Game, was the consensus National Freshman of the Year. He thrived after former Memphis coach John Calipari moved him to point guard from the wing following a loss to Syracuse that dropped the Tigers to 6-3.

The Tigers won 27 straight before falling to Missouri in a West Regional semifinal.

During the first nine games, Evans averaged 14.8 points and 3.5 assists while looking tentative. Afterward he averaged 17.2 points and 5.1 assists. He led Memphis in scoring (17.1), steals (2.1) and assists (3.9).

The question will be whether Evans’ skill-set can translate to the next level the way that Derrick Rose’s did.

Rose was a pure point guard from Day One, whereas Evans was not. Still, in this weak draft he should be a high lottery pick.

“Like I said to Shawn [Taggart], I told Tyreke to go after his dream, and that is to play at the highest level – the NBA,” Memphis coach Josh Pastner said. “Tyreke is a talented and gifted player, and I support him 100 percent with his decision to enter his name in the NBA Draft. If there is anything I can do to help him in pursuit of his dream, I’ve told him that I will be there to assist him.”

Jennings (pictured) skipped college in the U.S. and signed a three-year, $1.2 million deal to play in Italy with Lottomatica Virtus Roma. The deal allowed him to opt out after each season.

Jennings deals called for the team to pay for a three-bedroom condo on the outskirts of Rome and for his younger brother, Terrence, to go to the city’s best prep schools.  Since Brandon does not have his driver’s license yet, his mom, Alice Knox, shuttled him to and from practice twice a day.

Jennings was a spot-starter, averaging less than ten points a game.

The trailblazing experience was organized for Jennings by Sonny Vaccaro, who told HBO:  “I’ve talked to parents of children who are in ninth grade and tenth grade, and some kids who are gonna be seniors this year that are looking at it as an option.  I don’t know if anyone else will do it.  But they know they have an option.  And that’s a good thing.”

Vaccaro is currently negotiating for San Diego High School junior Jeremy Tyler to play overseas, but there was no mass exodus to Europe as some has predicted.

Lance Stephenson of Brooklyn Lincoln has yet to pick a school, but has repeatedly said he won’t play overseas next year.