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.
Diamond Stone Enjoys UConn, Wisconsin Trips; No Decision Date Set (UPDATED)
Diamond Stone, the 6-foot-10 big man from Milwaukee (WI) Dominican, enjoyed his weekend official visit to UConn but has no specific target date for announcing his decision.
“No date is set,” DeShawn Curtis, Stone’s coach with the Wisconsin Legends AAU team, told SNY.tv Monday morning.
There had been reports that Stone would announce Nov. 12, the first day of the NCAA early signing period.
UConn head coach Kevin Ollie and assistant Ricky Moore will also be in Wednesday to see Stone, Curtis confirmed to SNY.tv.
Stone recently cut his list to UConn, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State and Maryland, and has now visited all four schools.
Stone made his second trip to UConn beginning last Thursday after taking an unofficial in the summer.
“UConn was nice, it was a good visit,” Curtis said. “It was his second time out there, he had done an unofficial. It was nice to get in-depth look at the new practice facility which was just being built the first time we went up there. We saw the guys practicing and spent some quality time with Coach Ollie and his staff and the players, so it was a really good visit.”
UConn is coming off an NCAA championship and also has a track record of sending big men to the NBA, most recently Andre Drummond.
“Well, that would be very appealing for anybody in a situation like that to have an opportunity to follow in some footsteps and also have an opportunity to learn from a coach who spent 13,14 seasons in the NBA,” Curtis said.
Wisconsin is the home-state school and that visit went well the previous weekend.
“Wisconsin was a nice visit as well,” Curtis said. “Again, it was an opportunity to get an in-depth look at the facilities and spend quality time with the players, quality time in Madison. The fans there are obviously very knowledgable about who he is and love the fact that he was on campus to attend the scrimmage and see the guys play, so it was a nice visit.”
Now Stone will huddle with his family and make a decision in the coming days and weeks.
“His family will sit down and discuss what’s next and plan for when will be the right time to make his decision,” Curtis said.
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
Diamond Stone, the 6-foot-10 big man from Milwaukee (WI) Dominican, enjoyed his weekend official visit to UConn but has no specific target date for announcing his decision.
“No date is set,” DeShawn Curtis, Stone’s coach with the Wisconsin Legends AAU team, told SNY.tv Monday morning.
There had been reports that Stone would announce Nov. 12, the first day of the NCAA early signing period.
UConn head coach Kevin Ollie and assistant Ricky Moore will also be in Wednesday to see Stone, Curtis confirmed to SNY.tv.
Stone recently cut his list to UConn, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State and Maryland, and has now visited all four schools.
Stone made his second trip to UConn beginning last Thursday after taking an unofficial in the summer.
“UConn was nice, it was a good visit,” Curtis said. “It was his second time out there, he had done an unofficial. It was nice to get in-depth look at the new practice facility which was just being built the first time we went up there. We saw the guys practicing and spent some quality time with Coach Ollie and his staff and the players, so it was a really good visit.”
UConn is coming off an NCAA championship and also has a track record of sending big men to the NBA, most recently Andre Drummond.
“Well, that would be very appealing for anybody in a situation like that to have an opportunity to follow in some footsteps and also have an opportunity to learn from a coach who spent 13,14 seasons in the NBA,” Curtis said.
Wisconsin is the home-state school and that visit went well the previous weekend.
“Wisconsin was a nice visit as well,” Curtis said. “Again, it was an opportunity to get an in-depth look at the facilities and spend quality time with the players, quality time in Madison. The fans there are obviously very knowledgable about who he is and love the fact that he was on campus to attend the scrimmage and see the guys play, so it was a nice visit.”
Now Stone will huddle with his family and make a decision in the coming days and weeks.
“His family will sit down and discuss what’s next and plan for when will be the right time to make his decision,” Curtis said.
