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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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Wednesday / December 18.
  • http://web.sny.tv/media/video.jsp?content_id=25787051

    By GARRETT MILEY

    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    PHILADELPHIA —  Sir’Dominic Pointer drained a game-winning jumper at the buzzer as St. John’s shot 55.2 percent after the break to erase a 12-point second half deficit and advance into the NIT Second Round with a 63-61 victory on the road against St. Joe’s.

    “I’ve never hit a shot like that in college,” Pointer said after the game.  “It just felt good and to celebrate it with my teammates felt even better.”

    Pointer finished with 15 points, including a career-high three 3-pointers, seven rebounds and five assists to lead St. John’s (17-15), while JaKarr Sampson added a team-high 16 points to go with five rebounds.  Phil Greene IV finished with 10 points, Jamal Branch had nine points and five assists, and Chris Obekpa added six points, eight rebounds and three blocks.  After shooting just 36.4 percent (12-of-33) in the first half, the Red Storm fired at a 55.2 percent clip (16-of-29) in the final stanza.

    By ADAM ZAGORIA
    TRENTON, N.J.
    — The much-anticipated battle between Syracuse commit Tyler Roberson and Kentucky pledge Karl Towns Jr. did not live up to the hype after all.

    Roberson outscored Towns Jr. 19-7 as head coach Dave Boff and Roselle Catholic won their first-ever New Jersey Tournament of Champions title, 65-49, over St. Joe’s-Metuchen before a crowd of 6,084 at Sun National Bank Center.

    “It’s a good feeling,” the 6-foot-9 Roberson, who had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds to go with two blocks, told SNY.tv. “I always wanted one [a state title] when I was in middle school and high school. It was like a dream and now it’s come true. So it’s just amazing.”


    NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — David Laury
    isn’t exactly B.A. Baracus or Royce White when it comes to airplanes, but he certainly isn’t a big fan.

    “I just don’t like it, I feel like I’m not in control of what’s going on,” the 6-foot-8, 240-pound Laury, who has flown reluctantly many times, told SNY.tv Monday following practice at Iona.

    On Wednesday afternoon, Laury and the No. 15 Gaels will board an airplane at Westchester County Airport for Dayton, Ohio in order to meet No. 2 Ohio State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Friday at 7:15 p.m.

    For a man who moved more than 20 times as a child and later made 10 stops in six states at various high schools, prep schools, junior colleges and colleges, one more flight to the Big Dance will be a welcome trip.

    “It’s a blessing, I’m just excited to finally be able to play college basketball and get to play in the NCAA Tournament is going to be a feeling that I can’t put in words,” said Laury, 22.

    That Laury is here is a testament to his strength and determination in overcoming long odds. As a child, The Star-Ledger previously reported, Laury moved often, shuttling around between his mother’s home in New Jersey, his grandmother’s home in Virginia, back to his mother’s before a stop at his father’s home in Jersey and then on to his Godparents.

    By JOSH NEWMAN
    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    Tyson Chandler 2As expected on Tuesday afternoon, the Knicks released some injury updates on Tyson Chandler and Kurt Thomas. As expected, none of the news was good.

    Having missed the last three games with a left knee contusion suffered last week at the Denver Nuggets, an MRI of Tyson Chandler‘s cervical spine revealed a small bulging disc. He is expected to miss approximately one week. Chandler had played and started in all 62 games before missing the game at the Nuggets, which was one of four ugly, blowout losses during a 1-4 west coast trip that concluded on Monday evening with a 90-83 win at the Utah Jazz on Monday evening.

    The team also announced that reserve forward Kurt Thomas, pressed into starting duty and heavy minutes as the injury situation has become dire, will be out 2-4 weeks after an MRI of his right foot revealed an acute stress reaction surrounding a chronic stress fracture in his navicular bone. The oldest active player in the NBA, Thomas has been playing with this injury for at least a few games.

    On Monday at the Jazz, Thomas put forth arguably his best effort of the season out of necessity, scoring six points on 3-for-5 shooting, while adding three rebounds, three blocks and two assists in a season-high 27 minutes of action.

    On the low end, the timetable of 2-4 weeks would have Thomas back with about eight games to go. On the high end, he could be done for the regular season or even the playoffs if that timetable doesn’t hold.

    Oh, the irony.

    A year after losing to eventual NCAA champion Kentucky in the Final Four, Louisville will open the NCAA Tournament at Rupp Arena.

    Rick Pitino and the Cardinals are the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, and will face N.C. A&T or Liberty on Kentucky’s home floor at 6:50 p.m. Thursday.

    After failing to make the Big Dance, Kentucky is the No. 1 seed in the NIT and must travel to play at No. 8 Robert Morris tonight for a first-round game.

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