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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 19.
  • Travis Jorgenson HoophallBy BRIAN FITZSIMMONS

    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Fans flocked to the 2013 Spalding Hoophall Classic on Sunday afternoon hoping to witness the immense talents of Indiana-bound forward Noah Vonleh.

    Well, the New Hampton School (N.H.) senior wasn’t his usual dominant self thanks to foul trouble, but many college coaches still had a golden opportunity to scout two undecided prospects: senior point guard Travis Jorgenson and junior forward Tory Miller.

    Even though the Huskies wilted in the waning minutes of a wildly entertaining, 55-47 loss to Andrew Wiggins and Huntington Prep (W.V.), Jorgenson certainly increased his stock among a bevy of Division I coaches. The 6-foot, 165-pound floor general registered 13 points, four rebounds and four assists, helping an undersized New Hampton team trade punches with one of the top programs in America until late in the fourth quarter.


    Andrew Wiggins HoophallBy BRIAN FITZSIMMONS

    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The nation’s top-rated high school basketball player got dressed and quickly moved his feet toward the exit of Blake Arena’s basement, toward a freedom from reporters waiting anxiously for his latest thoughts on potential college suitors.

    Huntington Prep (W.V.) swingman Andrew Wiggins, the top prospect for the class of 2013, exited the locker room area without fielding questions from a chunk of media members after the Express fended off pesky New Hampton School (N.H.), 55-47, at the Spalding Hoophall Classic on the campus of Springfield College Sunday evening.

    Coming off a deflating 46-35 setback to La Lumiere (Ind.) on Saturday, Huntington Prep received a 19-point, 10-rebound performance from Wiggins, who was awarded the game’s MVP honors but then quickly disappeared.

    “He doesn’t like talking about it,” Express coach Rob Fulford said of Wiggins, who this weekend posed with fellow All-American Jabari Parker for a future SLAM magazine cover. “The recruiting is weighing on him a little bit.”

    USA Basketball named the roster for its Junior National Select Team that will take on the World Team in the 2013 Nike Hoop Summit.

    The event, which features America’s premier high school seniors playing against elite international players under the age of 19, is slated for Saturday, April 20 at 4 p.m. at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore.

    The USA will be led by four players with past experience in international basketball events, including medalists Aaron Gordon (Archbishop Mitty, San Jose, Calif./uncommitted), Rondae Jefferson (Chester, Pa./Arizona), Jabari Parker (Simeon, Chicago, Ill./Duke), and Julius Randle (Prestonwood Christian Academy, McKinney, Texas/uncommitted).

    The roster also features Kentucky commits Aaron and Andrew Harrison (Travis High School, Richmond, Va.) — both of whom were 2012 training camp invites – as well as Florida-bound point guard Kasey Hill (Montverde Academy, Montverde, Fla.), Demetrius Jackson (Marian High School, Mishawaka, Ind./Notre Dame), Bobby Portis (Hall High School, Little Rock, Ark./Arkansas), and forward Noah Vonleh (New Hampton, N.H./Indiana).

    Keith Frazier, a 6-foot-5 unsigned shooting guard out of Dallas Kimball, enjoyed his weekend visit to Texas.

    “Great visit,” Erven “Big E” Davis, Frazier’s mentor, told SNY.tv. “He really liked the guys on the team.”

    Frazier saw Kansas beat Texas, 64-59, Saturday in Big 12 action.

    Next up is a visit to SMU Feb. 2-4.

    “He is really embracing the process,” Davis said. “He’s watching things closely in all aspects in order to make a good decision.”

    http://web.sny.tv/media/video.jsp?content_id=25566049


    GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Mike Woodson
    knows a thing or two about interim coaches having immediate success in New York.

    A year ago, Woodson led the Knicks to an 18-6 regular-season record after taking over for Mike D’Antoni. Woodson has continued that run of success this season, leading the Knicks to a 25-13 start.

    On Martin Luther King Day at Madison Square Garden, Woodson will go up against another interim coach enjoying success in New York. P.J. Carlesimo is 10-2 since taking over as the head man of the resurgent Brooklyn Nets (24-16), who trail the Knicks by just two games in the Atlantic Division standings.

    “They’re 10-2 under P.J., so they’re doing something right,” Woodson said Sunday after practice. “In watching them on tape, they got a lot of good things. And I’ve said this from Day 1, I like the makeup of their ballclub and it should be a good game.”

    GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Former Knicks guard Chris Smith hopes to return to the team next year after undergoing knee surgery this season.

    “They told me to wait until summer league and then go from there,” Smith, the New Jersey native and former Louisville standout, told SNY.tv exclusively following practice Sunday. “I’m pretty confident that I’ll make the team next year.”

    Smith was waived by the Knicks on Oct. 26, but is rehabbing his surgically-repaired knee at their facilities. Even though he’s not under contract, he said he hopes to be scrimmaging with the team by April.

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