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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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Sunday / December 22.
  • Austin Rivers said he won’t pick a college until after taking officials to North Carolina, Duke and Kansas, but at this point Duke is in a good position.

    “It’s the school I have the best relationship with,” he said Wednesday by phone. “It’s the school I know the most. I’ve talked to them the most and they’ve developed the best relationship with me.”

    The 6-foot-3 Rivers, the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2011, had an in-home visit Tuesday with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and assistant Chris Collins that last two and a half hours.

    “It was good,” he said. “I had a great time talking basketball with Coach K and Coach Collins.

    It isn’t often that a college program tells a Top 10 recruit not to visit, but that’s exactly what happened late Tuesday.

    Arizona coaches called Tony Johnson, the travel team coach of highly touted Dallas small forward LeBryan Nash, and asked him not to take his scheduled official visit this weekend.

    “They cancelled the visit,” Johnson said Wednesday by phone. “I told [Nash] late last night. LeBryan was kind of upset about it.

    “It’s got something to do with some scholarships.”

    The Arizona Daily Star reported that Arizona is already two over its 2011-12 allotment of just 12 scholarships. The Wildcats lost one scholarship because of violations from the Lute Olson era.

    (My apologies for posting this late. I was at Yankee Stadium without a computer when I learned about this around 6 p.m.)

    You can never have enough good players in the Big East.

    And you can never have enough guards, either.

    That is the theory Rutgers coach Mike Rice is operating on as he builds his 2011 recruiting class.

    “You need great players to win in the Big East,” Rice said, speaking generally because coaches are not permitted to comment until student-athletes sign.

    And so even after landing a commitment from St. Anthony point guard Myles Mack Sept. 1, Rice convinced Jerome Seagers to join the party as well.

    The 6-foot-1, 173-pound Seagears committed to Rutgers Tuesday and believes he and the 5-10 Mack can coexist and prosper.

    If Joe Martinek isn’t ready to go in Saturday’s game against North Carolina (3:30, ESPNU), true freshman Jordan Thomas will get his first career start.

    “I don’t know what’s going to happen but I’m very confident in Jordan,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said Tuesday. “I think he’ll do fine no matter what his role is. I think Jordan is getting better by the day. He has made a big leap from the end of the FIU game until today. I think he’s improved.”

    Eddy Curry is the only Knick yet to show up for training camp, a team source confirmed Tuesday morning.

    “That’s true,” the source said.

    Asked where the 7-foot Curry was, the source added, “Only God knows that.”

    The New York Post reported the news earlier Tuesday.

    Knicks president Donnie Walsh and coach Mike D’Antoni meet the media Wednesday. Media day and the start of camp are Friday. Two-a-day practices begin Saturday.

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