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.
Eddie Jordan has gained one Rutgers player back who looked to transfer, but has lost another in the process.
Sophomore wing Malick Kone will return after considering a transfer following the Mike Rice fallout ,while sophomore big man Derrick Randall will look to transfer, according to the New York Post.
Sources told SNY.tv that the 6-foot-8 Randall, a former standout at Paterson (N.J.) Catholic and South Kent (Conn.), has no list as of yet. He averaged 2.1 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.
“Malick will be back. Malick is coming back. We officially lost [Jerome] Seagears, [Eli] Carter and [Mike] Poole,’’ Jordan told the Post. “Not officially lost him [Vincent Garrett], but he wants to leave. He asked for his release and Derrick asked for his release.’’
The former UNLV junior has an array of options that all have their appeal.
Moser, a 6-foot-8 forward who averaged 7.1 points and 6.1 rebounds last year with the Rebels, is considering Gonzaga, Washington and Oregon and likes aspects of each school.
“It’s definitely a tough decision,” Moser, a native of Portland, Ore., told SNY.tv.
“You can’t ignore Gonzaga’s track record of making it to NCAA Tournament and winning conference tournament titles. It’s a great program that gains a lot of national exposure.
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Amar’e Stoudemire likely wouldn’t play in a potential Game 7 Sunday against the Celtics, but he could be back for a second-round matchup with Indiana or Atlanta.
“He’s working hard to try to get himself back,” Raymond Felton said Thursday ahead of Friday’s Game 6 in Boston.
“If we can close this thing out in this first round and get on to the second round, hopefully we can have him back by then.”
Stoudemire has been out since March 7 with a right knee debridement, but he did drills, ran and shot on Thursday. The Knicks have won 19 of 23 games since then without him. The team is also 14-2 during that span in games in which Kenyon Martin has played.
GREENBURGH, N.Y. –– In retrospect, maybe dressing for a funeral was premature.
Knicks coach Mike Woodson didn’t learn about his team’s decision to wear all black for Game 5 until Thursday morning — and he said he addressed it with his players.
“I’m a little upset about that,’’ Woodson said Thursday ahead of Friday’s Game 6 in Boston. “I’ve addressed that. We’re a new team. A lot of these guys have been in the league but this team hasn’t been assembled that long for the playoffs. Things like that got to be kept outside the game. Just concentrate on playing basketball.’’
He added: “We need to stay out of the paper and just concentrate on playing. But that’s not important. What you wear doesn’t have anything to do with how you play on the basketball floor.”
Terry Larrier is piling up high-major offers based on his recent play in the Nike EYBL.
The 6-foot-8, 205-pound slashing wing from The Bronx and the Phelps (Pa.) School has recently added offers from St. John’s, Minnesota, Providence, Penn State, Rutgers, George Mason, Seton Hall, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, USC, Memphis and Maryland, according to Team Scan coach Terrance “Munch” Williams.
VCU, Texas, Oklahoma and UConn have shown interest in the 2014 prospect.