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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 / November 17.
  • The latest addition to the Louisville basketball team wants to get his new team back to the Final Four and help the Cardinals win a national championship.

    “Right now I’m just worried about my freshman year and working hard and trying to help the Cardinals get back to the Final Four and hopefully we can get this championship,” Montrezl Harrell told Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com from the USA U18 trials in Colorado Springs.

    Louisville won the Big East Tournament title a year ago and then lost to in-state rival Kentucky in the Final Four.

    Julius Randle has no official college list and probably can envision himself at a number of different schools.

    But one school he can definitely imagine playing for is North Carolina, which has been recruiting him about as long and hard as anyone.

    “Coach [Roy] Williams is doing a great job of recruiting me,” the 6-foot-9 Randle said by phone from the USA U18 training camp in Colorado Springs, Colo. “Just staying on me and talking to me and establishing a relationship.

    The long and winding recruitment of Savon Goodman could come to an end at any time, with SMU and UNLV the leading contenders.

    “This late in the game he could commit at any time,” Philly Constitution coach Rob Moore told SNY.tv. “Looks like SMU and UNLV are leading the pack. He loved [SMU] coach [Larry] Brown.”

    Since taking over at SMU, the 71-year-old Brown has been aggressive in landing transfers Josiah Turner

    Virginia Tech transfer Dorian Finney-Smith is back from his Louisville visit and will head to Iowa State next.

    “The visit was cool,” his mother, Desiree, told SNY.tv. “I loved it. It wasn’t like I thought it was. I thought it was country.”

    During the weekend Finney-Smith visited Louisville, former Virginia Tech commit Montrezl Harrell committed to the Cardinals, with his father, Sam, telling SNY.tv he could be the final piece in a national championship team.

    After initially saying Syracuse was “overcommitted” and unable to play Arkansas in the SEC/Big East Challenge, Syracuse AD Dr. Daryl Gross on Tuesday released a statement saying the Nov. 30 game in Fayetteville had been finalized.

    “We discussed our concerns regarding Syracuse’s participation in the SEC/BIG EAST Challenge with the conference and have come to an agreement on the logistics of the game,” Gross said. “The Big East Conference will work with us to assist in our non-conference scheduling for the 2012-13 season.”

    Earlier, Big East associate commissioner Tom Odjakjian told SNY.tv that the “schedule is set and no changes [are] planned.”

    Syracuse is tentatively slated to leave the Big East following the 2012-13 season.

    The three-day, SEC/BIG EAST schedule includes the following matchups:

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