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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.
  • Jon Severe WinsNEW YORK — They say beating an opponent three times in one season is a tough task.

    Don’t try telling that to Jon Severe and his Christ the King teammates.

    The Royals beat Bishop Loughlin for a fourth time this year, capturing the New York CHSAA Class AA championship for the third time in four years with a 78-63 victory over Bishop Loughlin at Fordham’s Rose Hill Gym.

    “Regular season, whatever happened, it happened,” the 6-foot-2 Severe said after going for 19 points in the win after struggling for just 10 points in the semifinal win over Cardinal Hayes.

    By JACK LeGWIN

    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    John Thompson III has another versatile big man coming his way.

    Isaac Copeland, a 6-foot-9, 205-pound junior forward out of the Miller School in Charlottesville, Va., committed to Georgetown on Sunday, the morning after he attended Georgetown’s 61-39 victory over Syracuse at the Verizon Center, a game that sealed the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament for the Hoyas.

    “I chose Georgetown because I felt it was the right place for me,” Copeland told SNY.tv. “The tradition was one of the reasons, the feel of the campus, the academics and talking to the coaches also were factors that helped me make that decision.”

    Karl Towns Jr.By ALEX SCHIFFER

    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    TOMS RIVER, N.J. — If opponents were stumped on how to shut down 7-foot-1 Karl Towns Jr. during the regular season, then they don’t even want to hear about how well he’s performing in the postseason.

    The Kentucky-bound junior has been on fire throughout the playoffs this season, leading his St. Joe’s-Metuchen team to their fourth straight Middlesex County title and, on Saturday, their second straight New Jersey Non-Public A title by beating St. Peter’s Prep, 57-47, at Toms River High School North’s Pine Belt Arena.

    St. Joe’s now expects to be among the top two or three seeds for next week’s New Jersey Tournament of Champions, which is now wide open after Roselle Catholic upset two-time defending TOC winner St. Anthony, 48-44, in the Non-Public B final behind 13 points and 11 boards from Syracuse-bound forward Tyler Roberson.

    Mike Brey is planning on coaching in the ACC next season.

    That’s what he told Brian Hamilton of the Chicago Tribune following Notre Dame’s 73-57 loss at Louisville Saturday.

    “Yes,” Brey told the paper. “Nobody’s told me what it’s going to entail but I’m fully expecting to play in the ACC.”

    The Catholic 7 have officially split from the Big East, and will take the conference name and the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden with them.

    Had the Catholic 7 remained in the Big East for next season, Notre Dame would have been prepared to stay until 2014, when they were to leave for the ACC.

    As first reported by SNY.tv, Georgetown forward Otto Porter, Jr. was named unanimously to the All-Big East First Team and thus will be named the league’s Player of the Year on Tuesday.
    The conference will also name Big East Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Tuesday.
    In addition to Porter, Louisville placed two players on the first team, guard Russ Smith and center Gorgui Dieng.  The other first team selections were Connecticut guard Shabazz Napier, Notre Dame forward Jack Cooley and Providence guard Bryce Cotton.
    Porter, a 6-8 sophomore, led the Hoyas to the Big East regular-season crown and was the only unanimous selection.  In league games, he was second in the Big East in scoring with an 18.1 average, fifth in rebounding with a 7.3 mark and tied for third in steals with a 1.8 average.  He made 44.1 percent from 3-point range, which ranked second in the league.
    Smith, a 6-0 junior, was second in the Big East in overall scoring, averaging 17.9 points.  He was third in steals with a 2.0 mark.  Dieng, a 6-11 junior, averaged 10.3 points and 10.1 rebounds in all games.  In Big East play, he was the league rebounding champion with a 10.8 average and was second in blocked shots with an average of 2.8.

    By BRENDAN McGAIR

    Special to ZAGSBLOG 

    STORRS, Conn. – Nothing like sticking knife in your opponent’s back on the way out the door.

    Taking the floor one final time as a Big East men’s basketball participant, Connecticut authored an emotional and appropriate final chapter Saturday against a Providence squad that was starting to gain steam in the NCAA Tournament conversation. Instead, the Huskies turned out the lights in a thrilling 63-59 overtime verdict at Gampel Pavillion that left the Friars (17-13 overall, 9-9 in Big East play) with some serious heavy lifting to do at next week’s Big East Tournament.

    http://web.sny.tv/media/video.jsp?content_id=25700693

    NEW YORK
    — Saturday was quite a day for Steve Novak and his alma mater at Madison Square Garden.

    Hours after coach Buzz Williams and Marquette stunned St. John’s, 69-67, in overtime on an acrobatic, last-second driving layup by Vander Blue, Novak scored a season-high 20 points to help the Knicks crush the Utah Jazz, 113-84.

    “It’s been a good day in the Garden, hasn’t it?” Novak said with a smile. “The Marquette boys got a share of the Big East title. I’m so proud of them, they’ve been playing unbelievable…It was good to see those guys get the win.”

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