January 2014 | Page 18 of 22 | Zagsblog
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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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Friday / December 27.
  • NEWARK — Isaiah Whitehead is trying to get another Isaiah to join him at Seton Hall in 2015.

    Isaiah Briscoe, that is.

    “He said he’s coming. He said in the summertime he’s coming,” the 6-foot-4 Whitehead told SNY.tv with a straight face.

    Asked if he was serious about what Briscoe had told him regarding his future, Whitehead said, “Yes.”

    And how good could the two Isaiahs potentially be together in the Seton Hall backcourt in 2015?

    UCLA landed its point guard of the future on Wednesday when 6-foot-5 Lonzo Ball, a four-star floor general in the Class of 2016 out of Chino Hills (Calif.), verbally committed to the Bruins.

    Give assistant coach David Grace the assist on bringing Ball into coach Steve Alford’s program.

    After attending UCLA’s 107-73 win over USC on Jan. 5, Ball called Grace on Wednesday to commit.

    “We just sat back down after we did all the talking and stuff and they’re running the type of system that he’s accustomed to playing – up-tempo,” Lavar Ball, the player’s father, told  BruinSportsReport.com. “We’ve got a good relationship with the coach; I like his style as far as the way he talks to me in a relaxed mode. Not a super professional mode, saying everything that’s supposed to be right trying to get my son there. 

    Louisville coach Rick Pitino will watch 2015 guard Isaiah Briscoe Jan. 28, Roselle (N.J.) Catholic coach Dave Boff told SNY.tv..

    “They reached out to my father and said that he’s been watching me since freshman year” Briscoe said of Pitino.

    After transferring from St. Benedict’s Prep, Briscoe has to sit a state-mandated 30 days and is eligible to suit up Jan. 20 against Miller Grove (Ga.) in Ohio.

    His first game in New Jersey will then be Jan. 23 at Elizabeth.

    Seton Hall pledge Isaiah Whitehead “should” make the McDonald’s All-American Game, longtime New York recruiting expert and McDonald’s voter Tom Konchalski told SNY.tv.

    “I think he should,” Konchalski said. “I can’t say he’s going to, but I think he should, especially being the MVP and the star of stars at the Elite 24. I think that really solidified it in most people’s eyes. And then going down and playing as well as did in City of Palms, where he was MVP. I would be very surprised if he didn’t make it, and he certainly deserves it. He’s one of the best guards in the country.”

    Providence transfer Brandon Austin is headed to Oregon.

    “It’s just an all-around good situation for the kid,” Lonnie Lowry, Austin’s mentor and the brother of Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry, told SNY.tv.

    “[He brings] the ability to do everything [on the court] and play at least three positions.”

    After sitting out a year, he will be eligible next December and will have four years of eligibility remaining.

    By JOSH NEWMAN
    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    On Tuesday afternoon, McDonald’s released its list of nominees for the 2014 McDonald’s All-American Game, which be played on April 2 at the United Center in Chicago.

    Below are the names of the 63 high school seniors from New York and the 56 nominated from New Jersey across both genders. The final rosters, consisting of 24 boys and 24 girls, will be announced on Jan. 29 at 6 p.m. on ESPNU. The complete list of nominees from across the country is here.

    NEW YORK
    Bashir Ahmed John F. Kennedy High School Bronx New York
    Maria Backman Cardinal Spellman High School Bronx New York
    Yazmine Belk Nazareth High School Brooklyn New York
    Candace Belvedere Kellenberg High School Uniondale New York
    Elisha Boone Abraham Lincoln High School Brooklyn New York
    Desure Buie Wings Academy Bronx New York
    Sierra Calhoun Christ the King Regional High School Middle Village New York
    Khadeen Carrington Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School New York New York

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