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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.
  • The tidal wave of transfers continues to splash both nationally and in the New York area.

    Curtis Dennis, a 6-foot-5 wing from The Bronx who played at Toledo, is transferring to Iona and will be eligible immediately because Toledo is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament. This is his third school, including stops at New Mexico and Toledo.

    “I chose Iona because of the coaching staff they have and the success they have brought not only to Iona College but to New York basketball,” Dennis, who averaged 11.7 points and 3.3 rebounds last season, told SNY.tv.

    NEW YORK — Just a couple of years ago, Kuran Iverson was considered one of the elite players in the Class of 2013 out of Hartford (Conn.) Northwest Catholic.

    As an eighth- and ninth-grader, his potential seemed off the charts.

    His talent level then seemed to level off for a period, but scouts say he is now on the upswing yet again.

    “Kuran Iverson, who was going to be the next great one when he was a ninth-grader and who had leveled for a couple of years and people had caught up and passed him, he’s starting to deliver on the promise he showed when he was a young guy,” longtime New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski told SNY.tv Sunday at the Rumble in the Bronx.

    Rutgers hopes to be active in recruiting the Classes of 2013 and ’14 and they are in the midst of hosting several top prospects.

    Kris Jenkins, a 6-foot-6 2013 forward from Washington D.C. Gonzaga, visited Rutgers over the weekend.

    “Kris can really be a very talented player because his ball IQ is off the charts for a guy his size,” Nate Britt Sr., Jenkins AAU coach with DC Assault, told SNY.tv earlier this year. “His ball IQ is very good.

    Kimani Young, the longtime athletic director of the New Heights AAU program, will join Richard Pitino’s Florida International staff as an assistant, sources told SNY.tv.

    A highly respected figure in the New York City scene, Young should give Pitino’s staff an entree into the Big Apple’s rich recruiting ranks. He has coached current uncommitted forward Chris Obekpa as well as current college players JayVaughn Pinkston,  Ashton Pankey, Devon Collier, Jermaine Sanders, Corey Edwards and Brandon Frazier.

    He previously worked under Norm Roberts on the St. John’s staff as the Head Team Manager and Video Coodinator

    NEW YORK — Very few high school teams in the nation next year will have a point guard/power forward duo that matches that of St. Benedict’s Prep.

    Mike Young, a 6-foot-9 2013 forward, plans to come back to St. Benedict’s after leaving Hudson (N.J.) Catholic, and will pair up with Tyler Ennis, one of the top point guards in the Class of 2013. The two played together at St. Benedict’s two season ago before Young enrolled at Hudson Catholic.

    The Gray Bees will also feature 2015 guard Isaiah Briscoe, Young’s Playaz Basketball Club teammate who excelled this past weekend at the Nike Elite 100 in St. Louis and may garner an invitation to the LeBron James Skills Academy next month.

    NEW YORK — In a wild game that featured many of the top players from North Jersey’s best basketball programs, Josh Brown finally ended the madness.

    Brown’s driving layup in sudden death of the third overtime led Sports U to a 57-55 victory over the Playaz Basketball Club in the 17U Gold championship at the Rumble in the Bronx at John Jay College.

    After the teams played a two-minute first OT and a one-minute second OT, the third OT went to sudden death after a tournament official called tournament organizer Jim Hart to confirm the event’s rules.

    Uncommitted 2013 forward Austin Nichols and North Carolina-bound big man Joel James were the last two cuts as USA Basketball finalized its 12-man roster for the U18 team Saturday night.

    “I thought everybody that was invited to try out was obviously a high-level player,” Shaka Smart, an assistant to head coach Billy Donovan with the U18s and the head coach at VCU, told SNY.tv Saturday afternoon by phone from Colorado Springs, Colo.

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