February 2014 | Page 10 of 23 | 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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Sunday / December 22.
  • The way Jamie Ross figures it, Rysheed Jordan is still a long way from reaching his ceiling as a basketball player.

    Ross, Jordan’s former high school coach at Philly Vaux Roberts, believes that while some of college basketball’s Fabulous Freshmen may have already peaked, Jordan is just beginning a journey that could eventually lead him to a successful career in the NBA.

    “Looking at some of the other freshmen around the country that came in his class, I think some of them have already reached their ceiling,” Ross, now an assistant at Philly Roman Catholic, told SNY.tv Monday.

    “I mean, some of them, that’s as good as they are, that’s as good as they’re going to be. I think with Rysheed, he has a lot of growing to do as far as physically, mentally and his game, so I think the sky’s the limit for him.”

    DiagneBy JOHN PAVIA

    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    UNION, N.J. —  With Ohio State coach Thad Matta sitting courtside, 2015 Pope John XXIII forward Moustapha Diagne played very well in a 67-50 loss to a tough Life Center Academy team.

    For a majority of the game, Diagne was being guarded by 2014 Maryland commit Trayvon Reed, who stands a towering 7-foot-2. His height and length were a bit of a challenge early on, but Diagne seemed to work around it as the game progressed.

    “[Reed] is very tall,” Diagne told SNY.tv after the game. “That was a good matchup. I don’t know a lot about him. I usually play [against] small guys, but today I knew what I have to to do. What I’m going to work on now like everything, post moves and stuff like that so I know what I have to do.”

    St. John’s surging success on the basketball court is being noticed by recruits.

    Jessie Govan , a 2015 big man from Wings Academy, and Isaiah Briscoe, a 2015 guard from Roselle (N.J.) Catholic, were both at Madison Square Garden Sunday night when the Johnnies blitzed Georgetown, 82-60, for their fifth straight win and eighth in nine games.

    “They had a big win over Georgetown,” Govan told SNY.tv. “It will be interesting to see if they can keep it going.”

    The 6-foot-10 Govan previously said that four schools were recruiting him the hardest — Seton Hall, UConn, Louisville and Miami, but now says St. John’s has stepped up its recruitment.

    Karl Towns MVAUNION, N.J. — Who knows if Dakari Johnson and the Harrison twins will return to Kentucky next year for their sophomore seasons?

    At one stage, all three freshmen were projected as first-round NBA picks in the 2014 NBA Draft.

    Now, not so much.

    DraftExpress.com has all three listed as first-round picks in 2015: with Johnson at No. 17, Aaron Harrison at 25 and Andrew Harrison at 29.

    “They need to come back to school because their stock value in the NBA has really dropped big-time,” Dick Vitale said of the Harrisons on ESPN the other night during the Florida-Kentucky game.

    Alexander

    Scott Comeau/Ballislife

    By JEREMY WOO

    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    CHICAGO — There was Bill Self. There was John Groce. 

    And there was Cliff Alexander.

    Understandably, things could have been a bit awkward for the big man during Sunday’s Public League quarterfinals at Chicago State University. Alexander’s future and might-have-been head coaches sat courtside, just a few seats apart as his Curie squad fought to a 71-64 win over fellow public league power Simeon.

    By BEN BASKIN

    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    NEW YORK — St John’s is showing the basketball world that they aren’t out of NCAA Tournament contention yet.

    Not if they keep winning games at the torrid pace that they have been recently.

    The Johnnies kept their winning ways going on Sunday night, eviscerating Big East rival Georgetown 82-60 behind a career-high 24 points from freshman guard Rysheed Jordan in front of 10,340 fans at Madison Square Garden. 

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