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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 / December 27.
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    • Kentucky, UConn

    UConn coach Jim Calhoun tried to land Patrick Patterson out of high school and failed.

    But the Huskies coach said he would still be open to taking Patterson if the Kentucky big man wanted to switch horses in midstream.

    “Having Patrick Patterson on our team, I would take him tomorrow if he would do it and not necessarily a trade. We’ll just take him,” Calhoun said Tuesday on a conference call.

    With No. 14 UConn (6-1) set to face No. 4 Kentucky (8-0) Wednesday night in the SEC/Big East Invitational at Madison Square Garden (9:30, ESPN2), Calhoun wouldn’t mind adding the 6-foot-9, 235-pound junior to the Huskies roster.

    Patterson tested the NBA waters after last season but returned to campus to play for  first-year coach John Calipari. Now he is averaging 16.6 points and 10.1 rebounds for an undefeated Kentucky team that is coming off an impressive victory Saturday over defending NCAA champion North Carolina.

    Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, West Virginia

    Josh Selby, the No. 2 point guard in the Class of 2010, will visit Arizona Jan. 9-10, according to sources.

    Selby’s mother, Maeshon Witherspoon, told Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star that the date is not yet confirmed because she must check with his coaches.

    “There has been talk about possibly setting a date, but I don’t know where that’s going to go, because they had a lot of time invested in Ray McCallum,” Witherspoon told Pascoe. “Arizona is no different than other schools right now calling to get in on Josh. … Josh is open to everybody.”

    Selby decommitted from Tennessee last summer and recently cut his list to Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse and Indiana.

    Fordham

    The Jio Fontan Era at Fordham is over.

    Fontan, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound sophomore  point guard from Paterson, N.J., opted Monday to leave the Atlantic 10 program after mulling it over with his family this past weekend.

    “Honestly, I just felt like my time was done there,” Fontan said Monday by phone. “I was ready for a new challenge.”‘

    Reached by phone Monday afternoon, Fordham’s interim coach, Jared Grasso, politely declined comment.

    Fontan said he spoke Monday with Fordham athletic director Frank McLaughlin and that he expected to get a conditional release later Monday that will prevent him from playing for any other Atlantic 10 schools, or any schools in the tri-state area.

    Seton Hall, UMass

    As he comes to the Prudential Center Monday night for a nonconference game with Bobby Gonzalez and Seton Hall, UMass coach Derek Kellogg is very high on two Pirates whom he recruited while an assistant to John Calipari at Memphis.

    Kellogg recruited Seton Hall forward Herb Pope out of high school, but Pope ultimately landed at New Mexico State before transferring to the Big East school. 

    Kellogg also successfully recruited Jeff Robinson out of Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick to Memphis.

    “I watched Herb Pope a lot in high school,” Kellogg said Monday by phone from his Newark hotel. “We recruited him a lot at Memphis, a 6-9 kid who can do all things that he can do. He scores around the basket. He steps out to the mid-range. He brings a physical presence and toughness to their team. That’s been really helpful to them this year and why they’re off to such a good start (6-0).”

    Big East

    Guest Blogger Dan Gavitt is the Associate Commissioner for men’s basketball in the Big East and graciously agreed to contribute this week to ZAGSBLOG.

    I’m very fortunate to have a great position as the Associate Commissioner for Men’s Basketball at the BIG EAST Conference.  I love my job and one of the best things about it is a week like this one.  If you’re a fan of great college basketball, who wouldn’t look forward to the journey that will take me to four different cities to watch six BIG EAST teams play big games?  My road trip started in the nation’s capitol last night to see #3 Villanova beat Maryland, 95-86, in the BB&T Classic at the Verizon Center.  Tonight, I’ll be in the Prudential Center in Newark to watch Seton Hall vs. UMass.  On Tuesday the stop will be Madison Square Garden for the Jimmy V Classic pitting #16 Georgetown vs. #23 Butler and Pitt vs. Indiana.  I’ll finish the week on Thursday night in Tampa at the St. Pete Times Forum for the SEC/BIG EAST Invitational with DePaul vs. Mississippi State and #8 Syracuse vs. #13 Florida.  What a week!  Three planes, two trains, a rental car, and a couple cab trips, and I’ll make it home on Friday.

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