A Tale of Two Point Guards: Felton Yawns, Ennis Wins
Shortly after Tyler Ennis hit a game-winning
Shortly after Tyler Ennis hit a game-winning
By JACK LeGWIN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
One of the top players in North Carolina, Kinston (N.C.) forward Brandon Ingram is having himself a big year, and the biggest schools in the country have taken notice.
The two schools down the road are thought to be the favorites.
Ingram, a 6-foot-8 junior, is coming off of his first official visit to UNC, and he says that he took a lot away from his time in Chapel Hill.
When the seven Catholic schools broke up the Big East Conference more than a year ago, they took their brand, the Big East name and their rich basketball traditions with them.
The basketball schools remained in the new-look Big East, adding Butler, Creighton and Xavier to form a new 10-team league that still gets to play its postseason tournament at Madison Square Garden.
The football schools departed for what was eventually called the American Athletic Conference, adding in some former Conference-USA members to round out their 10-team league that will play its postseason tournament at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.
With Rashad Vaughn now off the board to UNLV, Myles Turner and JaQuan Lyle remain the two highest-ranked uncommitted prospects in the Class of 2014.
And it’s possible either or both won’t commit until after the Final Four in April.
The 6-foot-11 Turner is still considering about a half dozen schools, but his father, David Turner, made some interesting comments to Jason King of Bleacher Report, indicating that Oklahoma State and Texas are the closest to home — which would thereby allow Myles’ famly to see him play the most.
“My main message to him is, ‘Don’t settle,’” David Turner told BR. “He has good options. He needs to get what he looking for.
Kansas assistant Jerrance Howard was on hand Tuesday night to watch 2015 guard Malik Newman put on quite a show.
The 6-foot-3 Newman went for 31 points, including a key late 3-pointer, as Callaway (MS) beat rival Provine 76-73.
“That’s why we call him a machine,” Callaway coach David Sanders told the Clarion-Ledger. “When he looks up and sees we need a basket, he just turns it on and gets us one, no matter what kind of night he’s having.
Newman is a top priority for Kansas in 2015.
“[Howard] told me that Malik could start for them right now,” Sanders told SNY.tv, adding that Kansas head coach Bill Self “is supposed to come soon.”
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Freshman point guard Tyler Ennis hit the game-winning 3-pointer in Syracuse’s 58-56 win at Pittsburgh Wednesday night and is now projected as a Top-10 pick in the NBA Draft, but Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim doesn’t think he’ll jump to the pros.
“I don’t think so,” Boeheim told Seth Davis of Sports Illustrated before Ennis’ epic shot kept No. 1 Syracuse unbeaten at 24-0. “I think he knows and his father knows that he’s a really good college player. He has to become a better shooter and get stronger to go to the next level. He’d go in the first round, but look at the number of first-round picks who are already out of the league in the last two years. It’s a huge number.”
DraftExpress.com has Ennis as the No. 10 pick, while ESPN’s Chad Ford has the Canadian at No.9.
By JACK LeGWIN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
Marcus LoVett Jr. has emerged on the radar as a top point guard in the Class of 2015.
The junior floor general shone bright during the high school season after his transfer from Providence (Ca.) to San Gabriel Academy (Ca.), averaging 22.5 points, and 5.2 assists per game.
The 6-foot lefty, ranked No. 42 in Scout.com Class of 2015 rankings, played big in the biggest games, most notably against Palisades (Ca.) in a 80-77 win, scoring 35 points adding 7 assists and shooting 85 percent from the field.
