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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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Thursday / December 19.

  • If you’re any sort of music fan, do yourself a favor and watch this tremendous version of ‘Hunger Strike’ by Pearl Jam featuring Ben Bridwell of ‘Band of Horses’ from Friday night’s MSG show.

    I was in the 100s section next to two lovely young ladies who came all the way from Atlanta to watch the show and could not have been more into the energy of  the performance.

    I’ve seen hundreds of shows in my day and this has to rank right up there because of the band’s sheer energy and ability to sustain a sold-out crowd for two-plus hours.

    Ryan Rhoomes earned MVP honors Sunday at the iS8 Nike Spring Classic after putting up 12 points to lead the New York Panthers to an 82-80 victory over New Heights.

    Maryland-bound junior point guard Sterling Gibbs added 18 points in the win for the Panthers. Jeffrey Short scored 15 points and Pittsburgh-bound wing J.J. Moore tallied 14.

    “I thought the two most consistent players today for us were Ryan Rhoomes and Sterling Gibbs,” said Panthers coach Gary Charles, whose program has won 17 IS8 championships. “From the beginning to the end, they were the most solid players that we had today.”

    Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick coach Kevin Boyle will remain a high school coach for now.

    Boyle met with new Rutgers head coach Mike Rice about potentially joining his staff, but ultimately decided to remain at the high school level.

    Boyle needed certain salary requirements and guarantees about the status of the Kevin Boyle Basketball Camp that could not be met by Rutgers.

    Regarded as one of the top high school coaches in the nation, Boyle led the Celtics to three of four New Jersey Tournament of Champions titles between 2006-09. The team was banned from the state tournament in 2010 for holding out-of-season workouts.

    Michael Reddick doesn’t claim to know a whole lot about the New Jersey Nets, but he does know about Derrick Favors.

    Reddick coached the 6-foot-9 Favors at South Atlanta High School before Favors spent a one-and-done year at Georgia Tech.

    With Favors now projected as the No. 3 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, Reddick thinks he would be a good fit for the Nets, who pick in that slot.

    “I don’t know too much about the Nets,” Reddick said by phone. “I know if he goes in, he’s going to be a hard worker. Once he gets adjusted to the NBA system, he’s going to be a very productive player.”

    Favors averaged 12.4 points and 8.4 boards in his single season at Tech. Over his final 10 games, Favors averaged 15.8 points and 9.1 rebounds while shooting 64 percent from the field and 78 percent from the stripe in ACC games.

    Flip Saunders may well know who the Washington Wizards will take with the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft but he isn’t saying.

    Saunders, Washington’s head coach, is at the NBA Combine in Chicago and had a chance to meet with both Kentucky point guard John Wall and Ohio State guard Evan Turner, the projected top two picks.

    “I think both guys will have a great impact,” Saunders told ESPNU.

    “John is probably the most dynamic player in the draft. Evan is probably the most versatile player. He can play numerous positions. He can play a point forward, he can play a two, he can play one at times if he has to.”

    Wall, the projected No. 1 overall pick, averaged 16.6 points and 6.5 assists at Kentucky, while Turner averaged 20.4 points, 9.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists en route to being named the consensus National Player of the Year.

    The last few weeks have been a whirlwind for Hofstra head coach Mo Cassara and his program.

    On March 30, he lost his job as an assistant at Boston College when head coach Al Skinner was fired.

    Cassara was supposed to come aboard Tim Welsh’s staff at Hofstra but was without a signed contract when Welsh was charged with a DWI and then forced to resign May 3.

    Two days later, Cassara, who had been the No. 3 assistant under Skinner, was elevated to head coach at Hofstra, which finished 19-15, 10-8 in the Colonial Athletic Conference.

    When Terrence Jones verbally committed to Washington during a press conference April 30 at Portland (Ore.) Jefferson High School, he cited playing with high school teammate Terrence Ross as a major reason why.

    Now that Jones has changed plans and is headed to Kentucky instead, how does Ross feel about going to Washington alone?

    “It’s a good choice for him,” Ross told ZAGSBLOG contributor Alex Kline, who broke the news of Ross’ commitment to Washington. “I mean, I’m happy with whatever he does. I would have loved it if he came to Washington but it didn’t happen that way.”

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