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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Friday / November 22.
  • Shaquille Stokes, a talented 5-foot-10, 160-pound point guard from New York, has transferred to Brooklyn Lincoln from St. Patrick of Elizabeth.

    “Yes, he’s in Lincoln and will probably be our starting point guard for the next three years,” Lincoln coach Dwayne “Tiny” Morton said in a text message. “I love his game. He could be the second-best true point guard I had since (Sebastian) Telfair.”

    At Lincoln, Stokes will play alongside Lance “Born Ready” Stephenson as the Railsplitters try for their fourth straight PSAL title.

    St. Patrick is loaded in the backcourt with North Carolina-bound combo guard Dexter Strickland, Montclair Kimberley transfer Kyrie Irving, who received a slew of major D-1 offers this summer, Kevin Boyle Jr., Derrick Gordon and Dean Kowalski.

    Ironically, Lincoln and St. Patrick will play each other Feb. 13 at LIU-Brooklyn in the PrimeTime Shootout on ESPN.

    In other Lincoln news, 6-7 senior F James Padgett did not make a visit this past weekend to Pitt. He will instead visit Maryland this weekend and Pitt on Sept 20.

    Rod Odom, a 6-foot-8 junior small forward from Long Island who plays at the Middlesex (Ma.) School, picked up a scholarship offer Sunday from Seton Hall.

    “Seton Hall’s offered him,” Rod Odom Sr. said of his son. “He’s got a few other offers, Harvard, William & Mary, Penn. He goes to a really competitive school and he’s a real smart kid.”

    Asked to describe his son’s game, Rod Sr. said: “He’s 6-8 and he passes the ball well. He handles like a guard. He shoots the ball well. He pretty much can play any position. He defends the post real well and he can also defend the guard position. He’s really long.”

    Dominic Cheek has a preliminary plan to visit several colleges.

    Cheek, the No. 6 shooting guard and No. 19 overall player in the Class of 2009 according to Rivals, will make official visits to Villanova, Kansas and Wake Forest, and then choose two more visits from among Tennessee, Memphis, UConn, Indiana, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Seton Hall.

    “I sat down with him Wednesday night and the three visits he has scheduled to organize were Villanova, Kansas and Wake Forest,” St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley said.

    Knowshon Moreno, a Belford, N.J. native and Heisman Trophy candidate, rushed for 168 yards and tied his career high with three touchdowns as No. 2 Georgia routed Central Michigan 56-17 on Saturday.

    On one play in the third quarter, he hurdled a defender and ran for 29 yards.

    “I’ve never seen anything like that before,” Georgia defensive tackle Corvey Irvin told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “He might not even be human. Wow, how’d he do that, all in one motion?”

    Mark Richt, the Georgia coach, said Moreno had done that once before in practice.

    Walter Payton might have done it one time,” Richt said.

    “He’s a special kid,” the coach added. “We saw him do it in practice, and I redshirted him (last year) anyway. That wasn’t real smart on my part. I knew he was good, but I didn’t know he was that good.”

    A week after cutting his list to 10 schools and crossing out UConn, 6-foot-8 Long Island Lutheran junior forward Tobias Harris visited the Storrs campus and put the Huskies right back on.

    “Now, after a visit there, UConn is definitely going to become one of my top schools,” Harris told Mike Anthony of the Hartford Courant. “Actually, they are one of my top schools. I think everything they have going on there is great. I liked everything I saw.”

    He added: “UConn produces NBA players. I’ve seen a lot of schools. I definitely came away [from UConn] very impressed.”

    Torrel Harris, Tobias’ father, said UConn assistant Andre LaFleur invited them to come back up for another visit after Tobias recently visited for the UConn Elite Camp.

    Rutgers suspended seniors Jaron Griffin and JR Inman “from game competition” for violating team policies. Griffin and Inman will continue to participate in team activities, including practices, yet it is unclear how many games they will miss. 

    “Accountability is extremely important in the development of a successful program,” Rutgers head coach Fred Hill said. “Jaron and JR are team leaders and valuable members of our basketball family. How they respond to what has been asked of them will determine the lengths of their suspensions. We expect them to grow from their mistakes and serve as positive role models for our underclassmen.”

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