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.
USC coach Kevin O’Neill adamantly denies that his program tampered with Rutgers guard Mike Rosario.
“I can assure you that nobody on my staff, nor myself, has talked to him,” O’Neill told The Orange-County Register. “He has not contacted us. I don’t know what that’s all about.”
According to Gannett New Jersey, Rutgers will file tampering charges against USC in the Rosario transfer case. The school will also seek to prevent Rosario from going to Kansas and Florida, Gannett reported.
Rutgers has yet to officially grant Rosario a release so the school could argue it hasn’t had a chance to prevent him from going to USC or any other school.
A source close to Rosario previously told me no tampering by USC went on.
“They can look all they want,” the source said. “Nobody did anything illegal. The proof is in the pudding. As far as the school reaching out or anything like that, I know for a fact that that hasn’t been done.”
The 6-foot-2 shooting guard out of Jersey City (N.J.) St. Anthony has led Rutgers in scoring the past two years.
He is seeking to transfer, but may have to wait until head coach Fred Hill’s situation is cleared up.
Gannett reported that Hill has been given a Monday deadline to decide whether to accept a $600,000 buyout or not.
If he doesn’t accept it, he could be fired with cause.
Yet Hill’s contract gives him the right to appeal a firing, a process that could drag on for another week or more. Hill would have to submit his appeal in writing to Rutgers President Richard McCormick within 14 days of being terminated.
Elsewhere on the Rutgers front, both Philadelphia 76ers coach Eddie Jordan, a former Rutgers star, and Radford coach Brad Greenberg have interest in succeeding Hill.
Yahoo! Sports reported “mutual interest” between Rutgers and Jordan, who is expected to be let go by Philadelphia after the season.
“There’s mutual interest here,” a source close to both sides told Yahoo.
A source close to Greenberg said he is highly interested in the position.
“Brad Greenberg is very interested in the Rutgers position,” the source said. “He’s proven to be a heck of a college coach these past few years and with his NYC/Philly professional ties he seems to be a great fit for the job at Rutgers.”
Also on the Rutgers front, new Wagner coach Dan Hurley would like to add RU assistant Jim Carr to the staff, but sources says it’s “50/50 at best.”
INMAN TALKS HILL…A WHOLE LOT
Elsewhere on the Rutgers front, former Rutgers forwardJR Inman has a lot to say about Hill, a whole lot.
HERRION TO MARSHALL, BZDELIK TO WAKE FOREST
Marshall hired Tom Herrion to be its new head coach. Herrion, 42, was Jamie Dixon’s associate head coach at Pittsburgh, meaning the Big East school now has an opening on its staff.
“I am excited to have Tom join the Thundering Herd family as our new men’s basketball coach,” Marshall AD Mike Hamrick said. “Tom is an experienced head coach and has been a top assistant at some of the nation’s best basketball programs. He brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of success with him. I talked with a lot of people throughout this process and everyone I spoke with thought very highly of him as both a recruiter and coach.”
Elsewhere on the coaching carousel, multiple reports, including FoxSports.com, have Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik taking over for the fired Dino Gaudio at Wake Forest.
(Photo courtesy Getty Images)
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
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.
USC coach Kevin O’Neill adamantly denies that his program tampered with Rutgers guard Mike Rosario.
“I can assure you that nobody on my staff, nor myself, has talked to him,” O’Neill told The Orange-County Register. “He has not contacted us. I don’t know what that’s all about.”
According to Gannett New Jersey, Rutgers will file tampering charges against USC in the Rosario transfer case. The school will also seek to prevent Rosario from going to Kansas and Florida, Gannett reported.
Rutgers has yet to officially grant Rosario a release so the school could argue it hasn’t had a chance to prevent him from going to USC or any other school.
A source close to Rosario previously told me no tampering by USC went on.
“They can look all they want,” the source said. “Nobody did anything illegal. The proof is in the pudding. As far as the school reaching out or anything like that, I know for a fact that that hasn’t been done.”
The 6-foot-2 shooting guard out of Jersey City (N.J.) St. Anthony has led Rutgers in scoring the past two years.
He is seeking to transfer, but may have to wait until head coach Fred Hill’s situation is cleared up.
Gannett reported that Hill has been given a Monday deadline to decide whether to accept a $600,000 buyout or not.
If he doesn’t accept it, he could be fired with cause.
Yet Hill’s contract gives him the right to appeal a firing, a process that could drag on for another week or more. Hill would have to submit his appeal in writing to Rutgers President Richard McCormick within 14 days of being terminated.
Elsewhere on the Rutgers front, both Philadelphia 76ers coach Eddie Jordan, a former Rutgers star, and Radford coach Brad Greenberg have interest in succeeding Hill.
Yahoo! Sports reported “mutual interest” between Rutgers and Jordan, who is expected to be let go by Philadelphia after the season.
“There’s mutual interest here,” a source close to both sides told Yahoo.
A source close to Greenberg said he is highly interested in the position.
“Brad Greenberg is very interested in the Rutgers position,” the source said. “He’s proven to be a heck of a college coach these past few years and with his NYC/Philly professional ties he seems to be a great fit for the job at Rutgers.”
Also on the Rutgers front, new Wagner coach Dan Hurley would like to add RU assistant Jim Carr to the staff, but sources says it’s “50/50 at best.”
INMAN TALKS HILL…A WHOLE LOT
Elsewhere on the Rutgers front, former Rutgers forward JR Inman has a lot to say about Hill, a whole lot.
HERRION TO MARSHALL, BZDELIK TO WAKE FOREST
Marshall hired Tom Herrion to be its new head coach. Herrion, 42, was Jamie Dixon’s associate head coach at Pittsburgh, meaning the Big East school now has an opening on its staff.
“I am excited to have Tom join the Thundering Herd family as our new men’s basketball coach,” Marshall AD Mike Hamrick said. “Tom is an experienced head coach and has been a top assistant at some of the nation’s best basketball programs. He brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of success with him. I talked with a lot of people throughout this process and everyone I spoke with thought very highly of him as both a recruiter and coach.”
Elsewhere on the coaching carousel, multiple reports, including FoxSports.com, have Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik taking over for the fired Dino Gaudio at Wake Forest.
(Photo courtesy Getty Images)
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
