Famous to Announce April 22; Rosario, Hazell Honored; Okam Signs With Rutgers; Stith, Armstead to Visit St. John's | Zagsblog
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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.
  • Famous to Announce April 22; Rosario, Hazell Honored; Okam Signs With Rutgers; Stith, Armstead to Visit St. John's

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    Jarrid Famous will announce his college decision April 22 at Westchester (N.Y.) Community College.

    The 6-foot-11 Famous will have his jersey retired that night and will then announce his school during the celebration.

    As first reported here, Famous will take an official visit this weekend to Arizona. Arizona recently named Sean Miller its new head coach and Arizona assistant Book Richardson of New York recruited Famous while he was at Xavier with Miller.

    Missouri head coach Mike Anderson and assistant Melvin Watkins also visited Famous at his Bronx home last weekend.

    Several other schools, including Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, South Florida, UConn and Villanova, have been in the mix.

    ROSARIO, HAZELL HONORED

    Rutgers freshman guard Mike Rosario, a CollegeInsider.com Freshmen All-American and BIG EAST Conference All-Rookie selection, was named the 2008-09 Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Division I Rookie of the Year. Also a member of the All-Met Second Team, Rosario placed fifth nationally among freshmen in scoring, averaging 16.2 points-per-game.

    Seton Hall sophomore guard Jeremy Hazell was named to the All-Met First Team after averaging 22.7 points. Junior Robert Mitchell was named to the All-Met Second Team, while junior Eugene Harvey earned Third Team honors.

    Joining Hazell on the All-Met First Team are Charles Jenkins of Hofstra, Ryan Thompson of Rider, Paris Horne and D.J. Kennedy of St. John’s and Jaytornah Wisseh of LIU. Joining Mitchell on the All-Met Second Rosario, Ryan Schneider of Marist, Darryl Crawford of Manhattan, Sean Baptiste of FDU and Wesley Jenkins of Saint Peter’s. Joining Harvey on the All-Met Third Team are Jio Fontan of Fordham, Jason Miller of Columbia, Chris Smith of Manhattan, Scott Machado of Iona and Ricky Cadell of St. Francis.

    OKAM SIGNS WITH RUTGERS

    Brian Okam has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete for Rutgers. The nation’s 14th-rated center prospect by ESPN, Okam joins a 2009 recruiting class that already includes forwards Dane Miller (Henrietta, N.Y.) and Austin Johnson (Cheltenham, Pa.).

    “We are very excited to welcome Brian into the Rutgers basketball family,” said RU coach Fred Hill. “He is a tireless worker, both on and off the court, with tremendous athletic ability. Brian’s size and developing skills point to a bright future competing in the BIG EAST Conference.”

    The 6-11, 245-pound Nigerian native Okam is an honor roll student at Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando, Fla., where he practiced with the team under head coach Jeff Turner. A member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic gold medal team, Turner played 10 seasons in the NBA, including a stint with the Orlando Magic under head coach Brian Hill. Okam was unable to play in games this past season due to a Florida High School Athletic Association ruling that he had exhausted his window of eligibility. He transferred to LHPS after playing the 2007-08 season at the Montrose Christian School in Rockville, Md., where he helped the team to a 21-4 record and the No. 10 East Coast ranking in the National Prep Poll.

    The incoming trio will be joined by junior forward Jonathan Mitchell (Mount Vernon, N.Y.), a former New York state “Mr. Basketball” honoree who was a member of the University of Florida’s 2007 National Championship squad. Mitchell (6-7, 225) practiced with the Scarlet Knights this past season, but was unable to compete in games under NCAA transfer guidelines.

    STITH, ARMSTEAD TO VISIT ST. JOHN’S

    While St. John’s awaits word on what Lance Stephenson will do, the Johnnies will also host two point guards this weekend.

    5-11 Malik Stith of Bridgton Academy (Maine) and 6-foot Malcolm Armstead of Chipola (Fl.) College (pictured) will both take officials to the Queens campus this weekend.

    Stith initially committed last spring and then St. John’s opted to go in another direction, ultimately getting commitments from Omari Lawrence and Dwight Hardy.

    Armstead has numerous suitors, including Iowa, Alabama, Wichita State, Rutgers, UNC Charlotte, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Creighton, Southern Miss and Memphis, according to Chipola coach Greg Heiar.

    (Photos courtesy Westchester Community College, ScarletKnights.com, Chipola College)

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    Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.

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