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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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Tuesday / December 24.
  • The long, strange trip that has been Ray Kasongo’s recruitment has come to an end.

    For now, at least.

    The 6-foot-9 Canadian has signed with the College of Southern Idaho, a junior college, according to its head coach, Jared Phay.

    “He did,” Phay told SNY.tv by text Saturday morning. “He is on a plane to our campus as we speak. He is enrolled in classes and we start Monday. He is a great kid and we are excited to have him here.”

    After attending multiple high schools in Kentucky and Arizona, Kasongo flirted with UConn and Oregon before ultimately settling on Oregon last October.

    USABy JOSH NEWMAN

    In the wake of the United States National Team’s 112-86 win over Puerto Rico on Friday night at Madison Square Garden, head coach Mike Krzyzewski said he wanted to cut his roster from 16 to 12 before the team departed for Gran Canaria, Spain on Saturday morning.

    He wasted little time in doing just that.

    The 12-man roster that will play in the FIBA World Cup was finalized early Saturday morning and it can be seen by clicking on the picture above. The fact that Damian Lillard, Kyle Korver, Gordon Hayward and Chandler Parsons were the four cuts is not Earth-shattering, but the fact Krzyzewski is bringing five big men to Spain is noteworthy.

    4_2962508

    By JACK LeGWIN & ADAM ZAGORIA

    Dupree McBrayer has committed to Minnesota and will likely prep this year at Vermont Academy, sources confirmed to SNY.tv.

    Evan Daniels of Scout.com was the first to report the news.

    McBrayer also considered Seton Hall, St. John’s and Creighton, among others.

    The 6-foot-4 left-handed guard from The Patrick School (N.J.) visited Minnesota in June and enjoyed it.

    “The campus was great, the facilities was nice even though it was getting worked on, it was real nice and the weather was good, too,” McBrayer told SNY.tv then. “You hear a lot about Minnesota, you think it’s cold, but it was real hot out there….You thinking of cold all the way.”

    NEW YORK — Following a 112-86 win over Puerto Rico at Madison Square Garden Friday night, Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski said they would cut the roster from 16 to 12 by Saturday morning when the team leaves for Gran Canaria, Spain.

    A team official said the announcement should come by around 9 a.m. Saturday before the team flies out. Team USA does not officially need to cut to 12 until Friday, one day before their first game against Finland in the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Bilbao, Spain.

    Coach K also said he feels “very confident” about Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose, who had 6 points and 4 assists in 13-plus minutes after sitting out Wednesday’s win over the Dominican Republic with “body fatigue.”

    Derrick-JonesBy JACK LeGWIN

    Practice? Who needs practice?

    Not Allen Iverson and apparently not Derrick Jones, either.

    Despite missing the first two days of practice for the Under Armour Elite 24 Game, the 6-foot-7 Jones out of Radnor (PA) Archbishop Carroll won the Dunk Contest Friday night in Brooklyn, beating out Josh Jackson in the final round with a perfect score.

    Here’s the link to the Instagram.

    In the semifinals, Jones picked up a perfect score by jumping over Stephen Zimmerman (7-foot) and Harry Giles (6-10), and then finished it off with a baseline, between-the-legs slam with his dominant left hand, earning him once again another perfect score. 

    At 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds, Danjel Purifoy has an ideal body for a college wing player.

    On Friday, Purifoy committed to Auburn and coach Bruce Pearl, according to a report from Evan Daniels of Scout.com.

    “I love Auburn,” Purifoy told SNY.tv by text.

    It is an impressive get for Auburn considering Pearl wasn’t even allowed to recruit this July following his penalty from the NCAA.

    An Alabama native who will play next season at Hargrave (VA) Military Academy, Purifoy also considered Maryland, Alabama, UAB, Michigan, Kentucky and Georgia.

    http://web.sny.tv/media/video.jsp?content_id=35566099

    NEW YORK — Tyus Battle, who this summer has won a gold medal with the USA U17 team at the FIBA World Championships and led Team Scan to the semifinals of the Peach Jam, has set two key recruiting visits for this fall.

    The 6-foot-5 Gill St. Bernard’s guard will trip to Kentucky Oct. 17 for Big Blue Madness and to Duke Oct. 25 for their Countdown to Craziness.  Both visits will be unofficial.

    “He wants to go to Big Blue Madness,” Gary Battle, Tyus’s father, told SNY.tv Friday after the Under Armour Elite 24 practice. “A lot of his good buddies from USA Baskeball will be there and of course Kentucky’s Kentucky.”

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