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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 26.
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    • Recruiting

    By ALEX KLINE

    As the July live period approaches for college coaches, spring AAU events have made a major impact on recruiting. With word of mouth traveling from events like the Nike EYBL, Bob Gibbons tournament and the upcoming Rumble in the Bronx, good play and potential is being noticed. College coaches cannot watch kids play until July, but that does not prevent them from showing extra interest by offering players and getting them on campus for visits. This week has been huge for that.

    On Wednesday night, Katin Reinhardt picked up two new offers. The former USC commit added scholarships from Baylor and N.C. State. Reinhardt, a 2012 shooting guard from Mater Dei in California, also has offers from Arizona, Arizona State and the Trojans. Along with that, Big East schools Syracuse and UConn, among others, have begun expressing interest in the talented guard.

    UConn

    DeAndre Daniels won’t have to worry about who his coach is next season at UConn.

    He said Jim Calhoun told him he will remain with the team.

    “[Calhoun said] I don’t have to worry about him not being there,” Daniels told SNY.tv by phone Wednesday. “He said he’ll be there.”

    Asked how that made him feel, Daniels said, “It made me feel good.”

    The 69-year-old Calhoun, who won his third NCAA championship against Butler in April, has said he will make a final decision about his future during a family vacation this month in Hilton Head, S.C.

    Iona, Transfers

    Former Arizona guard Lamont “Momo” Jones has opted to transfer to Iona in order to play closer to his home in Harlem, N.Y.

    The 6-foot, 196-pound Jones chose Iona after an initial visit last Friday and a second one Wednesday morning . He also visited Seton Hall and considered Hofstra and UMass.

    Located in New Rochelle, N.Y., Iona finished 25-12 overall, 12-3 in the MAAC last season. The Gaels lost to St. Peter’s in the MAAC championship game for the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They then reached the final of the CIT, losing to Santa Clara.

    St. John's

    It turns out incoming St. John’s wing Amir Garrett will try to play two sports going forward.

    After being chosen by the Cincinnati Reds in the 22nd round of the MLB First-Year Players’ Draft Tuesday, Garrett plans to play baseball in the summer and with Steve Lavin’s Red Storm in the winter.

    He will not play baseball for St. John’s, which has a strong program.

    “If he went high, it would have been one or the other,” Garrett’s father, Darrow, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We love Steve Lavin, and I told everyone it would have taken a lot to just walk away from him. This way he can still play basketball at St. John’s and do the things he wants to be able to do.”

    Articles, Tennis

    I was 11 years old when Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe played their legendary 18-16 tiebreak in the fourth set of the 1980 Wimbledon final.

    McEnroe denied Borg five match points in the historic breaker before prevailing, only to lose the fifth set and the championship, 8-6.

    I watched every point in the living room of my parents’ home in Crugers, N.Y.

    Though I had no idea I would one day become a professional sportswriter, I was preternaturally drawn to the significance of the match and the history the two rivals were forging.

    Indeed, my attraction to moments like those is a big reason why I became a sportswriter.

    Articles, Seton Hall, St. John's, UConn

    It’s hard to imagine Jim Calhoun landing the No. 3 small forward in the Class of 2011 and then walking away from the game.

    It’s also hard to imagine that DeAndre Daniels didn’t get some sort of assurance from Calhoun that the UConn coach would return to the sidelines for at least one more year.

    “I think he is gearing up for another year,” a source close to the UConn staff said of Calhoun the same day the Huskies landed a verbal commitment from the 6-foot-8 Daniels.

    Calhoun, 69, said he will finalize his plans this month during a family vacation in Hilton Head, S.C.  He is one of just five men’s coaches to win three or more NCAA championships, including the victory in April over Butler.

    Articles, UConn

    The DeAndre Daniels saga is over.

    The 6-foot-8 wing ranked the No. 3 small forward in the Class of 2011 committed to UConn Tuesday, according to Andy Borman of IMG Academies. A UConn source confirmed the news.

    “Yep, UConn,” Borman said by phone. “He called Coach [Jim] Calhoun and told him it’s a yes to UConn. And then he called Rick Barnes, Bill Self, Billy Donovan and Coach K and let them know that he was going to UConn. He called Calhoun and committed and then he called every coach and thanked them for their interest.”

    Borman said Daniels would address the media Wednesday.

    Daniels had long been mulling Kansas and Texas, but UConn swooped in in recent weeks and nabbed Daniels, who figures to be an impact player right away for the defending national champs.

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