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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 26.
  • falzonAaron Falzon, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound power forward from Northfield (Mass.) Mount Hermon, is off the board to Northwestern.

    Ranked the No. 33 power forward in the Class of 2015 by 247Sports composite rankings, Falzon chose the Big Ten school over Harvard.

    “I chose them because it’s one of the best places for academics and athletics in the country,” Falzon told SNY.tv by phone. “Honestly, I just trusted Coach [Chris] Collins and his vision, and I see where he can take the program so I’m excited.

    “Coach Collins told me they need someone who can make a lot of shots.”

    Tyus BattleTyus Battle enjoyed his weekend visit to Syracuse and will now take back-to-back trips to Kentucky and Duke across the next two weekends.

    “It’s a really nice campus with people who have a lot of passion for the University,” Gary Battle, the player’s father, told SNY.tv. “Ty likes coach B, Hop and Gerry Mac [Jim Boeheim, Mike Hopkins and Gerry McNamara].

    “We toured the entire campus and went to the [Florida State] football game. It was a great visit.”

    Battle previously visited Syracuse last season during the epic Duke basketball game.

    Ernest Aflakpui, a 6-foot-10 power forward from Radnor (PA) Archbishop Carroll, will stay close to his high school for college after he committed to Temple on Sunday.

    A rebounder/defender who is still polishing his offensive game, the native of Ghana also considered St. Joe’s, VCU, Rhode Island and St. Louis.

    “I just think he felt real comfortable with Fran Dunphy and the rest of the Temple coaches,” Terrell Meyers, the director of Aflakpui’s AAU team, WeR1, told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Coming from Ghana, I think he wanted to experience something different and be in the city.”

    adidas UnrivaledCarlton Bragg enjoyed his trip to Kansas for Late Night in the Phog and said he talked about a potential package with Jaylen Brown and Brandon Ingram.

    “Brandon Ingram and Jaylen Brown, we’re thinking about packaging,” the 6-foot-8 Bragg told SNY.tv by phone Sunday night.

    Asked what schools were in the mix for the trio, Bragg said, “We not for sure yet. We’re going to take our five official visits first and then we’re going to start talking about it again. We don’t want to rush anything.”

    Asked how good they could all be if they landed at the same place, Bragg said, “It would be amazing.”

    Blakeney-BriscoeIsaiah Briscoe enjoyed a “great” visit to Missouri this weekend along with Antonio Blakeney and Thomas Bryant, and is planning on attending St. John’s Midnight Madness on Friday, his father told SNY.tv Sunday evening.

    “The visit went great,” George Briscoe said. “There are a lot Nike kids that played for the EYBL on Missouri’s team, so he knows a quite a few of them. And then he was with Antonio Blakeney and Thomas Bryant, so whatever they were talking about, they had a football game with 80,000 people shouting, ‘Briscoe, Blakeney, Bryant.'”

    The Tigers lost to Georgia, 34-0, in SEC football action, but the basketball visitors apparently had a great time. Briscoe and Blakeney, who have discussed playing together in college, took the above picture wearing Missouri uniforms in their media room.

    Thomas Bryant enjoyed his weekend official visit to Missouri and is eyeing a springtime decision, coach Oz Cross told SNY.tv Sunday.

    “They’re going to go to Indiana next weekend and then him and his mom just gotta talk it out,” said Cross, who now works with New Heights but remains close with Bryant from his time with the PSA Cardinals. “They’re not in a rush to make a decision. They’re taking everything in right now.”

    Bryant, a 6-foot-10, 235-pound big man from Huntington (W.V.) Prep, has now visited Syracuse and Missouri, with Indiana still left on the schedule Oct. 17-19. He is focusing on those three schools.

    He visited Missouri along with guards Isaiah Briscoe and Antonio Blakeney on a weekend when the Tigers’ football team was bludgeoned by SEC rival Georgia, 34-0, and dropped out of the Top 25.

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