The mystery surrounding Tonny Trocha-Morelos is over.
The 6-foot-10 Colombian signed with Texas A&M.
“I am excited to add Tonny to our program,” Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said in a statement. “He will have an immediate impact to our program. He is a skilled big man who affects the game on both ends of the floor.”
ZAGSBLOG previously reported that Trocha-Morelos would enter school in December.
A long and athletic post, Trocha-Morelos made a good impression over the summer when he played for the Colombian U18 Team at the FIBA Americas in Brazil, averaging 16 points and 10.2 rebounds per contest, both team-highs. To read more of this story, click here
It probably shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but Texas A&M associate head coach Glenn Cyprien says rival schools are using Billy Kennedy’s health situation as a tool for negative recruiting.
“Hey, there’s no question. It’s a cutthroat profession in a lot of ways unfortunately and it has been thrown around a lot in recruiting in terms of coach’s health,” Cyprien said Monday on a conference call promoting the 2K Sports Classic. “Boy, you hate to see that but I guess that’s the way it is when you got some programs that use the negative recruiting.
“It has come up on numerous occasions in conversation. But we’ve tried to assure all the kids that we’re recruiting that coach is going to be back at some point and he will be back 100 percent. To answer your question, yeah it has affected recruiting in some ways.” To read more of this story, click here
Jeff Van Gundy confirmed that Texas A&M reached out to him about their coaching vacancy.
“[Texas A&M] Bill Byrne did approach me,” Van Gundy, a Houston native, told 1050TheGame in Houston. “I wouldn’t really comment on his interest. He hasn’t made an offer or anything like that. It was just a get to know conversation, see if you’re interested.
“I really don’t know where I stand.”
Van Gundy, who now works as an NBA ESPN analyst, is a former Providence and Rutgers assistant. He also coached the Knicks and Rockets. To read more of this story, click here
Perry Ellis, the No. 6 power forward in the Class of 2012, is looking to cut his list before his season starts in early December, according to his mother, Fonda Ellis.
“He’s trying to narrow it down to 5 or 7 by the time the season starts,” she said Saturday by phone.
The 6-foot-8, 224-pound Perry said his list currently includes Memphis, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Texas A&M, North Carolina and Wichita State.
Iowa and Wake Forest have also offered and his mother said Georgetown, UCLA, Miami and Stanford are also interested. To read more of this story, click here
D’Angelo Harrison, a four-star combo guard from Fort Bend (Texas) Dulles, is focusing on five schools at this point.
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Harrison listed Texas A&M, Marquette, Baylor, Oklahoma State and St. John’s.
Harrison will visit St. John’s unofficially Aug. 30 after attending a Five-Star Camp in the New York area.
Asked what he knew about St. John’s, Harrison said, “I’ll see when I get up there. I’ll know more.” To read more of this story, click here
Kyrie Irving made it official on ESPNU Thursday night, putting on a blue Duke baseball hat and announcing his intention to play for the Blue Devils.
A senior at Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick, Irving chose Duke over Texas A&M and Kentucky, both of which he took official visits to. He canceled visits to Georgia Tech and Seton Hall after deciding to announce.
“I”m pleased to announce that I will be committing to Duke University,” he said. “I will be a Blue Devil next year.”
The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Irving is the No. 4 point guard in the Class of 2010 and the No. 9 overall player, according to Rivals.com.
He joins 6-8 power forward Josh Hairston of Spotslvania, Va., and 6-2 point guard Tyler Thornton of Washington, D.C., in Duke’s 2010 recruiting haul.
Irving said his “relationship with [Coach Mike Krzyzewski] and the whole entire coaching staff” was key to his decision. To read more of this story, click here
Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick point guard Kyrie Irving has committed to Duke and will announce sometime this week, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.
The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Irving is the No. 4 point guard in the Class of 2010 and the No. 9 overall player, according to Rivals.com.
“He’s definitely going to Duke and if he doesn’t announce it tomorrow [Wednesday] he’ll probably announce it Thursday,” said one Division 1 assistant coach involved in Irving’s recruitment.
“He has committed. I heard that from [a Duke assistant],” said a second coach who recruited Irving.
A third source close to yet another assistant coach recruiting Irving confirmed that he had committed to the Blue Devils.
“He told me it’s a done deal,” the source said. To read more of this story, click here
Tobias Harris and Kyrie Irving together in college?
Imagine what a dangerous tandem that would be for some lucky college program.
It could happen if both seniors choose the same school.
But at this point the two stars would have to both select Kentucky, which they visited this weekend for Big Blue Madness, or Georgia Tech, which both will visit in the coming weeks.
“We talked about that but both of us don’t have a leader in this process and the only schools recruiting us both are Kentucky and Georgia Tech,” the 6-foot-8 Harris from Dix Hills (N.Y.) Half Hollow Hills West, second from right in the above photo, said Sunday night by text. To read more of this story, click here
Kyrie Irving and Tobias Harris have been remarkably consistent throughout their recruiting processes.
Both high school seniors have insisted they will take all of their college visits before deciding.
Duke still looks like the leader for Irving, and Syracuse would appear to lead for Harris.
But both plan on finishing their visits despite having a great time at Kentucky’s “Big Blue Madness.”
“Yes, I plan to,” Irving said by text Saturday night after returning from Kentucky. “All the places that are on my list I can see myself playing at.” To read more of this story, click here
Kyrie Irving has now completed two official visits and still plans to take the three others he initially planned.
After a weekend official to Texas A&M in which the Aggies lost to Oklahoma State 36-31 in football, Irving texted me Sunday to say, “It was good. I really enjoyed it.”
The 6-foot-2 Irving, a senior point guard at Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick, said he still planned to visit Kentucky next weekend for Big Blue Madness.
“Yes,” he said. To read more of this story, click here
