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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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    • Articles, UCLA

    PHILADELPHIA — Ben Howland will be fired as the head coach of UCLA, with an official announcement coming possibly as early as Sunday, a source with direct knowledge confirmed to SNY.tv.

    The news was first reported by Alex Kline of The Recruit Scoop. Citing two sources, Yahoo! Sports later reported that Howland had been informed he was being fired.

    “Contrary to multiple media reports this evening, UCLA has not fired men’s basketball coach Ben Howland,” UCLA Athletics spokesman Nick Ammazzalorso said in a statement.

    The SNY.tv source said UCLA was looking to retain assistant coach Korey McCray, who was instrumental in recruiting freshmen Tony Parker and Jordan Adams.

    “They don’t want them to transfer,” the source said.

    Freshman wing Shabazz Muhammad is expected to turn pro and will likely be a top-five pick in the NBA Draft, while freshman Kyle Anderson of St. Anthony is undecided about his future, sources told SNY.tv.

    Articles

    PHILADELPHIA — The high-flying, alley-ooping Florida Gulf Coast basketball team that has taken the nation by storm was actually born two years ago in a room at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.

    And it came to fruition just before coach Andy Enfield’s third child, his son Marcum, was born on April 8, 2011.

    Enfield had just gotten the job at Florida Gulf Coast in Fort Myers after serving as a Florida State assistant for five years, and he was furiously working the phones to find a few players to replace the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, and the team’s point guard who had transferred. His paperwork was spread all over the unused bed in the hospital room.

    His wife, the supermodel Amanda Marcum, was about to give birth in the other bed.

    Articles

    PHILADELPHIA — Only one man in America has coached an NCAA champion in each of the last four years.

    And his name isn’t John Calipari, Bill Self or Mike Krzyzewski.

    And only one man in America had players on eight different teams when this NCAA Tournament began.

    And he isn’t an agent, a runner or a high-profile AAU coach.

    His name is Steve Smith, and he’s the head coach at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va.

    Recruiting

    The New York State version of March Madness is going on in Albany and there were a few highlights on Friday night.

    **With Kentucky coach John Calipari sitting courtside, Christ the King senior guard Jon Severe went off for a career-high 40 points as the Royals beat Bishop Kearney 68-55 in the New York State Federation Class AA semifinals. The 6-foot-2 Severe went 12-of-18 from the field, 4-of-7 from 3-point range and 12-of-13 from the foul line, as MSGVarsity.com’s Dylan Butler reported.

    Christ the King coach Joe Arbitello was reportedly upset that Severe did not win Gatorade New York Player of the Year honors, which instead went to UConn-bound big man Kentan Facey of Long Island Lutheran.

    Facey was named the Gatorade winner on Thursday, while Severe became the first player in the storied history of Christ The King to claim Mr. New York Basketball late Saturday evening.

    “I was annoyed he didn’t get Gatorade Player of the Year,” Arbitello told Butler. “I think he’s the best player in New York State. At this point you’re going to try to find anything that’s going to motivate your guys to play.”

    Articles

    By JOSH NEWMAN
    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giVl0rMP6tg]

    PHILADELPHIA – It’s important to remember a few things in the wake of No. 15 seed Florida Gulf Coast University’s stunning 78-68 win over No. 2 seed Georgetown in a South Region second-round contest on Friday evening.

    From the very outset, it was apparent that the Eagles, champions of the Atlantic Sun Conference, were ready to match the Hoyas’ athleticism and length. Additionally, the tiny school from Fort Myers, which didn’t even gain full Division I postseason eligibility until just last year, was not going back to down against the elite program from the big, bad Big East.

    Finally, two key attributes helped this FGCU outfit during what can only be described as a second-half mauling of Georgetown. Dunks and swagger. The Eagles had plenty of both over the final 20 minutes and when the game was in the waning minutes, both were on display.

    Articles

    By JOSH NEWMAN
    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    Otto PorterPHILADELPHIA – Inside a secluded media interview area in the bowels of the Wells Fargo Center, Otto Porter Jr. sat on the far left side of the podium and stared into space for the better of part of four and a half minutes on Friday evening.

    Describing the Georgetown sophomore small forward as despondent up there would be accurate and no one would blame him after the Hoyas became the seventh No. 2 seed all-time and the third in the last two seasons to fall to a No. 15 seed when they were manhandled in the second half of a 78-68 loss to Florida Gulf Coast University.

    As Porter Jr. sat there and stared, someone from the media contingent decided to ask what most reporters in the room were thinking.

    Has Otto Porter Jr., this season’s Big East Player of the Year and a projected lottery pick in June’s NBA Draft, played his final game for Georgetown?

    “I haven’t made it through that process yet,” Porter Jr. said meekly.

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