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.
The story of the weekend was the commitment of 2015 Sarasota (Fla.) Oak Ridge High’s Antonio Blakeney to LSU.
The former Louisville commit chose LSU over Kentucky and Missouri, becoming the second 2015 commit to Johnny Jones and the Tigers.
Blakeney, the sharp shooting five-star guard, joins the overall No. 1-ranked Ben Simmons of Montverde Academy in Florida, giving the Tigers a potent one-two scoring punch.
New Jersey powerhouse St. Patrick’s could be banned from the New Jersey state basketball tournament after five players were ejected from a Dec. 29 game in the Under Armour Holiday Classic in Torrey Pines, Ca.
“Any varsity team accumulating three or more player or coach disqualifications for flagrant unsportsmanlike conduct prior to the start of a tournament will not be permitted to participate in same,” reads an NJSIAA byline quoted by NJ Advance Media.
Coach Steve Lavin announced Monday that the 6-foot-4 guard has returned to practice after a leave of absence due to personal and family matters. Jordan will play Tuesday against No. 8 Villanova at Madison Square Garden.
Jordan was not with the team Saturday for the Big East home opener with Butler in order to be with family in Philadelphia after the passing of his grandmother Roslyn “Bootsie” Walker.
Kansas freshman wing Kelly Oubre Jr. is starting to find his groove in college basketball.
After a slow start, the former McDonalds All-American has started to assert himself as a key component as the Jayhawks try to capture their 11th straight Big 12 title.
In his last four games, Oubre has averaged 16.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game and is starting to live up to the billing as the next one-and-done player that has come out of Kansas.
“Kelly has solidified himself in that position,” head coach Bill Self said. “Right now, I’d say Kelly’s been our best wing player, and I don’t see that changing.”
Seton Hall has jumped into the Top 25, and St. John’s remains there.
Thanks to consecutive home wins last week against the No. 15 Johnnies and No. 6 Villanova, Kevin Willard’s Pirates entered the AP rankings Monday at No. 19.
“We’re not nearly as good as we can be,” Willard said in the above video interview.
Seton Hall guard Sterling Gibbs has been named the ZAGSBLOG National Player of the Week after his performance last week in which the Pirates knocked off No. 15 St. John’s and No. 6 Villanova back-to-back.
A large part of Seton Hall’s success last week would not have come without the outstanding play of Gibbs. On the week, Gibbs averaged 22.5 points and 6.0 assists per game. The Texas transfer scored 25 points against No. 15 St. John’s and 20 points against No. 6 Villanova, both resulting in victories for the Pirates. He was also named the Big East Player of the Week.
“It’s big for the state of New Jersey, it’s big for Seton Hall just to be able to bring basketball back here,” Gibbs told reporters after scoring a game-high 20 points on 8-for-20 shooting to go along with four assists, three turnovers and two steals in 41 minutes in the Villanova win, according to Josh Newman. “To be able to bring excitement, to pack the Prudential Center, I think that’s really big. I think in the past years, it hasn’t been this packed or this exciting. To be able to bring that excitement back in really a big thing for us.”
BY CHIP MILLER
