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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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Sunday / December 22.
  • PHILADELPHIA — Rysheed Jordan chose to leave his hometown for college, but he enjoyed playing one last all-star game here Sunday night in the Mary Kline Classic.

    “It was fun,” the 6-foot-4 St. John’s pledge told SNY.tv after scoring 12 points, including two 3-pointers, as Team Courage beat Team Perseverance, 116-110, in the Senior Game.

    “Basically, it was like our last all-star game so I just wanted to come back and play at home. I had a lot of family here.”

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkbDtyIAj-k&w=560&h=315]

    Stanley Johnson, one of the top small forwards in the Class or 2014 and the MVP of the Pangos All-American Camp, has four of his five official visits locked in and is weighing the fifth.

    The 6-foot-6 Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei wing told Fox Sports in the above video he will take officials to Arizona, Kentucky, Florida and Oregon. He is debating between Duke and Kansas for the fifth visit in the fall, although Duke has yet to offer.

    As for Kentucky and Arizona, Johnson said: “I think it was because they recruited me the longest and recruited me the hardest and I feel like they deserve it. I want to go there and see more and I think I deserve and opportunity to get an official visit there.”

    By JOSH VERLIN

    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    PHILADELPHIA — Many of the nation’s top high school ballplayers took the court for a great cause in the 3rd Annual Mary Kline Classic at Philadelphia University on Sunday evening.

    Over $25,000 was raised, with the proceeds going to the National Brain Tumor Society–oh, and the on-court product was pretty impressive as well. Here are 10 standouts from the event, which had both an underclassman game and a senior game:

    Cheick Diallo2015/Our Savior New American (N.Y.)

    The next big star to come out of Our Savior New American , Diallo is a defensive menace who’s beginning to put it together on the offensive end of the court. The Mali native has only been playing basketball since 2010 and only got to the states about 17 months ago, but he’s already got offers throughout the high-major landscape. Diallo stands around 6-foot-9 but his 7-4 wingspan allows him to alter a ton of shots on the defensive end of the court.

    By JACK LeGWIN

    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    SUWANEE, Ga. — Atlanta just keeps cranking out High School basketball stars. At the moment, Jaylen Brown has to be in the equation as one of the best.

    Brown, 6-foot-7, 200-pound a sophomore combo guard out of Atlanta (Ga.) Wheeler High School, helped Game Elite with Daniel Giddens to a championship game showing, before losing to Upward Stars in the 17U division of the Nike Memorial Day Classic.

    The long and athletic wing forward says that the hometown schools are going after him the hardest at the moment.

    “Schools closer to home have been recruiting me the hardest,” Brown told SNY.tv. “Georgia, Georgia Tech, and the ACC schools mostly. The schools that farther away I haven’t heard as much from.”

    Isaiah Whitehead 2PHILADELPHIA — Isaiah Whitehead knows that his shooting stroke was once one of the weaknesses of his game.

    So he worked on it, and worked on it, and worked some more.

    By the looks of things, his work paid off.

    The 6-foot-5 2014 Brooklyn Lincoln guard drained seven 3-pointers en route to 27 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists and team MVP honors as Team Bravery lost to Team Inspiration, 119-114, in the Mary Kline Underclassmen Game at Philadelphia University.

    PHILADELPHIA — Imagine a pitcher three inches taller than Randy Johnson staring down at you from the pitcher’s mound.

    That’s what opponents of the St. Joe’s-Metuchen baseball team could be dealing with next spring.

    Karl Towns Jr., a 7-foot-1 1/2 Kentucky pledge, told SNY.tv he plans to pitch on the school’s baseball team next spring before he heads to play for John Calipari.

    “Yeah, I’m thinking about playing baseball for St. Joe’s, so I’m really happy,” Towns Jr. told SNY.tv after putting up 21 points, 16 rebounds and 2 blocks as the White Team beat the Black Team, 119-114, in the Mary Kline Underclassmen game at Philadelphia University. “I’m trying to make a return.”

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