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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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Thursday / December 19.
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    • Articles, NBA Draft

    BigsBy JOSH NEWMAN and ADAM ZAGORIA

    NEW YORK — When NBA Commissioner Adam Silver steps to the podium to open the 2015 NBA Draft, there is at least a fair chance he will read off the name of a big man.

    After that, there could be another, and another, and yes, another. By the time the first round ends, Silver may have spent a good portion of his evening reading names of kids who will spend their NBA careers in the post.

    The 2015 NBA Draft is still 14 months away, but the way things are shaping up right now, it may be dominated by post players. In its 2015 mock draft, DraftExpress.com has three of the first four picks, seven of the first 11 and 12 of the first 19 as players who stand 6-foot-9 or taller. That group now includes returning Louisville forward Montrezl Harrell, returning Florida forward Chris Walker and returning Kentucky center Dakari Johnson.

    Articles, Kentucky, NBA Draft

    RandleKentucky forward Julius Randle became the latest freshman in this heralded class to announce for the NBA Draft when he held a press conference Tuesday.

    The 6-foot-9 Randle is projected as the No. 4 pick in the Draft by DraftExpress.com. The three freshmen projected ahead of him — Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid and Jabari Parker — have all declared for the draft.

    “I have decided to declare for the NBA Draft,” Randle said.

    “Growing up as a kid it’s always been my dream to play in the NBA and there’s no better time to achieve that than now.”

    Randle is the 12th one-and-done at Kentucky in five years, according to Kyle Tucker of the Courier-Journal.

    “He is going to be a top-5 pick,” one veteran NBA scout told SNY.tv. “Skilled offensively but needs to develop a consistent 15-17-foot jump shot to become even more of a threat at the offensive end.”

    Articles, Recruiting

    St. Peter's quartetJERSEY CITY, N.J. — By 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, a group of coaches was already in the stands at St. Peter’s Prep to watch and recruit their group of talented young players.

    Seton Hall was two-deep with head coach Kevin Willard and assistant Fred Hill. Temple head coach Fran Dunphy was on hand. And assistants from Cincinnati, Virginia, St. Peter’s College and Princeton were in the mix.

    Assistants from Syracuse, South Florida, Oregon State, Creighton and Pace were in on Monday.

    This figures to be the norm at the Jersey City school over the next couple of years since they are loaded with a 2016 class that includes Veer Singh, Kaleb Bishop and Najja Hunter and 2017 point guard Nate Pierre-Louis, who received his first scholarship offer from Seton Hall in the summer before seventh grade.

    Articles, Recruiting

    A slew of schools are recruiting Northfield (MA) Mount Hermon big men Josh Sharma and Aaron Falzon, both in the Class of 2015.

    Wisconsin, Georgetown, Duke, UConn, Vanderbilt, Gonzaga, Virginia, Marquette and Boston College have all been through the prep school this spring, coach John Carroll told SNY.tv.

    Carroll said Wisconsin is working especially hard for the 7-foot Sharma.

    “Wisconsin was the first school to step up the recruiting for Sharma,” Carroll said. “Josh took an official visit to Madison on the first weekend in January for the Wisconsin-Iowa game. He had a great visit to Wisconsin. They have tracked him all season with Head Coach Bo Ryan and assistant coach Gary Close watching our playoff win vs South Kent and then again visiting with Josh on campus on Monday.

    Articles

    ACCThe ACC announced the 18-game conference matchups for each of its 15 men’s basketball teams for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

    “It’s exciting to look ahead to our league’s basketball schedule, as there’s no shortage of quality conference games,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “This two-year alignment will allow for outstanding opportunities that will highlight our teams and players while providing our fans with continually appealing matchups.”

    The matchups released today designate the 18-game home and away opponents for each of the next two seasons. Specific game dates, times and networks have not yet been determined.

    Recruiting

    Myles Turner, the last big uncommitted name on the board in the Class of 2014, had a home visit Sunday night with Kansas coach Bill Self and more coaches are coming this week.

    The 6-foot-11 Turner will announce April 30 on ESPNU.

    “Great visit,” David Turner , the player’s father, told SNY.tv of the Kansas visit. “He plans on Myles being a key piece along with Cliff [Alexander] and Kelly [Oubre]. Great message, very intriguing.”

    Alexander, Oubre and outgoing Kansas big man Joel Embiid met with Turner at the recent Jordan Brand Classic in New York and tried to get him to commit then and there.

    Articles, Recruiting

    Fresh off an official visit to Alabama this past weekend, 2014 Lexington (Ky.) Lafayette forward Jackson Davis was set to have home visits this week with Rice, Butler and Florida.

    Davis has visited Butler, Rice, Columbia and Alabama — officially or unofficially — and he has two official visits remaining, but is undecided on where to take them.

    “We have two to go between Arizona State, Creighton and Florida” Johnathan Davis, Jackson’s father, told SNY.tv Monday.

    “We have two more visits to take and at that point we’re going to have to sit down and make a final decision.”

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