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.
Irving Heads on A&M Trip; Bejarano to ‘Zona; Morgan to Take Official to Seton Hall
The longer Kyrie Irving goes without committing to Duke, the better it is for the other four schools in the Irving Sweepstakes.
The 6-foot-2 Irving out of Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick still hasn’t committed to the Dukies and will head out today on his second official visit to Texas A&M.
“Getting ready for my visit at Texas a and m tmrw…let’s do it!!” Irving Tweeted this week.
The A&M connection stems from assistant coach Scott Spinelli, who played college ball at Boston U with Drederick Irving, Kyrie’s father.
After A&M, Irving is slated to visit Kentucky next weekend for Big Blue Madness, before going to Georgia Tech and Seton Hall.
A West Orange native, Irving sometimes practices in the Seton Hall gym and has developed a tight relationship with assistant coach Scott Adubato.
Seton Hall is the lone Big East program in the mix for Irving and is hoping to keep him local and make him the face of the program going forward.
Still, Irving is on record saying he’s “leaning” toward Duke and a source close to the situation said he would be “surprised if he doesn’t end up going to Duke.”
“Well, I’ve got that feeling with Duke, but I want to go on a few more visits to compare it al,” Irving told DimeMag. “I’m not ready to commit yet. I just want to make sure everything is right. Duke and Indiana were my top two schools, and Duke is up there, but I like the other schools too.”
BEJARANO TO ARIZONAOne day after landing Long Island wing Rod Odom, Sean Miller secured another elite player in former Texas commit Daniel Bejarano.
“This is where I belong,” the 6-4, 200-pound Bejarano, a shooting guard out of Phoenix North High, told The Arizona Republic.
“I felt that trust,” he told the paper. “The coaches are tremendous. They joke and make you feel like you’re one of them. The home visit [last week] by Sean Miller was incredible. The rest of the coaches are great.
“I feel this is where my dad would want me to be.”
Damian Gosa, Bejarano’s father, was shot and killed over the summer.
Arizona State dropped out of contention, leaving Arizona as the best option.
He has also developed a friendship with Wildcats freshman guard Lamont “Momo” Jones of New York.
“I started a good relationship with Momo,” Bejarano told The Republic. “He was telling me, ‘I need someone to pass the ball to.'”
MORGAN TO TAKE OFFICIAL TO SETON HALLJesse “The Takeover” Morgan will take an official to Seton Hall this weekend and UConn next weekend.
“It’s in a nice city, nice atmosphere,” Morgan said of Seton Hall. “I just want to get to know the players and the coaches. They are cool to be around.”
Morgan said his top five schools are Seton Hall, UConn, Louisville, Rutgers and UMass.
“I’m pretty much open. I want to go where I can play,” he said.
Morgan played at Olney High in Philly before transferring to South Kent this summer after playing for Jefferson at the Reebok All-American Camp.
South Kent coach Kelvin Jefferson said Morgan was “as under-recruited as anybody in the country.”
“Jesse’s got a chance to be really good,” Jefferson said. “He’s got great presence on the floor. He can really shot the ball and he’s got good size at 6-4 or 6-5. He handles it so well and can be moved over to the point.
“He plays within himself. He’s got a good chance to be a real good player at a high level.”
(Photos courtesy Irving Family and The ARizona Republic)
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.
The longer Kyrie Irving goes without committing to Duke, the better it is for the other four schools in the Irving Sweepstakes.
The 6-foot-2 Irving out of Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick still hasn’t committed to the Dukies and will head out today on his second official visit to Texas A&M.
“Getting ready for my visit at Texas a and m tmrw…let’s do it!!” Irving Tweeted this week.
The A&M connection stems from assistant coach Scott Spinelli, who played college ball at Boston U with Drederick Irving, Kyrie’s father.
After A&M, Irving is slated to visit Kentucky next weekend for Big Blue Madness, before going to Georgia Tech and Seton Hall.
A West Orange native, Irving sometimes practices in the Seton Hall gym and has developed a tight relationship with assistant coach Scott Adubato.
Seton Hall is the lone Big East program in the mix for Irving and is hoping to keep him local and make him the face of the program going forward.
Still, Irving is on record saying he’s “leaning” toward Duke and a source close to the situation said he would be “surprised if he doesn’t end up going to Duke.”
“Well, I’ve got that feeling with Duke, but I want to go on a few more visits to compare it al,” Irving told DimeMag. “I’m not ready to commit yet. I just want to make sure everything is right. Duke and Indiana were my top two schools, and Duke is up there, but I like the other schools too.”
BEJARANO TO ARIZONA
One day after landing Long Island wing Rod Odom, Sean Miller secured another elite player in former Texas commit Daniel Bejarano.
“This is where I belong,” the 6-4, 200-pound Bejarano, a shooting guard out of Phoenix North High, told The Arizona Republic.
“I felt that trust,” he told the paper. “The coaches are tremendous. They joke and make you feel like you’re one of them. The home visit [last week] by Sean Miller was incredible. The rest of the coaches are great.
“I feel this is where my dad would want me to be.”
Damian Gosa, Bejarano’s father, was shot and killed over the summer.
Arizona State dropped out of contention, leaving Arizona as the best option.
He has also developed a friendship with Wildcats freshman guard Lamont “Momo” Jones of New York.
“I started a good relationship with Momo,” Bejarano told The Republic. “He was telling me, ‘I need someone to pass the ball to.'”
MORGAN TO TAKE OFFICIAL TO SETON HALL
Jesse “The Takeover” Morgan will take an official to Seton Hall this weekend and UConn next weekend.
“It’s in a nice city, nice atmosphere,” Morgan said of Seton Hall. “I just want to get to know the players and the coaches. They are cool to be around.”
Morgan said his top five schools are Seton Hall, UConn, Louisville, Rutgers and UMass.
“I’m pretty much open. I want to go where I can play,” he said.
Morgan played at Olney High in Philly before transferring to South Kent this summer after playing for Jefferson at the Reebok All-American Camp.
South Kent coach Kelvin Jefferson said Morgan was “as under-recruited as anybody in the country.”
“Jesse’s got a chance to be really good,” Jefferson said. “He’s got great presence on the floor. He can really shot the ball and he’s got good size at 6-4 or 6-5. He handles it so well and can be moved over to the point.
“He plays within himself. He’s got a good chance to be a real good player at a high level.”
(Photos courtesy Irving Family and The ARizona Republic)
