October 2012 | Page 19 of 22 | Zagsblog
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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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Monday / December 23.
  • GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Rasheed Wallace isn’t quite ready to play fullcourt basketball yet, but he looks like he could go a few rounds with Apollo Creed.

    Wallace, 38, spent part of Monday’s Knicks practice off to the side firing punches in boxing gloves while strength and conditioning coach Dave Hancock wore hand mitts.

    Wallace, it should be mentioned, is the NBA’s all-time single-season (41) and career leader (304) in technical fouls.

    “I mean, it’s all geared for conditioning,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said of Wallace’s boxing techniques. “These guys do a lot of different things around here that we didn’t do when we came up the old-school way. But it’s all conditioning work to better the player, and eventually we’ll get him out on the floor ready to play.”

    Josh Hart is a 6-foot-5 small forward from Sidwell Friends in Silver Springs, Md., who will announce his college choice sometime on Wednesday afternoon.

    Hart told SNY.tv Monday that he is “still deciding” between Penn State, Villanova and Rutgers — all of which he’s visited officially — but that one school stands out in one regard.

    “Villanova, I really like the coaching staff,” Hart said. “They’re really great, really genuine. They are the only school that hasn’t negatively recruited during the whole recruiting process. That’s always a positive.”

    Oak Hill small forward Troy Williams will take a visit to North Carolina this coming weekend.

    “He’s going to Midnight Madness, ‘Late Night With Roy,’  Friday,” Boo Williams, Troy’s uncle, told SNY.tv. “He’s just going unofficial to that.”

    The following weekend Williams will take his first official to Indiana for Hoosier Hysteria, along with Stanford Robinson and Beejay Anya.

    “They’re coming pretty hard,” Boo Williams said of Indiana’s interest.

    Indiana is also involved with reclassified 2013 forward Noah Vonleh, but he is more of a power forward, while Williams is a small forward.

    Jabari Parker, the No. 1 overall player in the Class of 2013, has trimmed his list to five schools.

    The 6-foot-8 Parker is now down to BYUDukeFloridaMichigan State and Stanford, according to ESPNChicago.com.

    Parker cut Kentucky, Kansas, DePaul, Georgetown, North Carolina and UConn.

    The Website reported that Parker will take official visits to Duke Oct. 27 and Florida Nov. 2. He is also expected to visit Michigan State. Parker is expected to announce in November.

    BROOKLYN — Last February, after St. Louis lost a tough Atlantic 10 game at Rhode Island, Jim Crews piled into the back seat of a car driven by another St. Louis assistant.

    Head coach Rick Majerus got into the front seat and, without turning around to face Crews, said, “I’ll bet you’re glad you’re not the head coach.”

    Crews, who had been thinking that exact thought 15 minutes earlier, burst into laughter and told Majerus, “Yeah, you’re right. I’m glad I’m not the head coach.”

    BROOKLYN — Dan Hurley knows a thing or two about turning basketball programs around.

    Two years ago, he took over a 5-win Wagner outfit and got them to 25 wins last season.

    Before that, Hurley spent nine seasons as head coach at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, turning a local program into a perennial national powerhouse.

    Now comes Rhode Island’s turn.

    Hurley says he has a two-year plan to get the Rams back on the right track after last year’s 7-24 finish got Jim Baron fired.

    “We believe in the three seniors that we have returning,” Hurley said Thursday at Atlantic 10 media day in reference to guard Andre Malone and forwards Ryan

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