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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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Friday / November 22.
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    • Pittsburgh, Recruiting

    7-24-11-AAU-NY-Gauchos-vs-M_reasonably_smallMustapha Heron, a 6-foot-5 2016 combo guard from Waterbury (CT) Sacred Heart, has officially re-opened his recruitment but is still considering Pitt among his “top schools,” his AAU coach told SNY.tv.

    Heron is the No. 4 combo guard in 2016 and the No. 18 player in the nation, according to 247Sports.com.

    “They want to make sure that they are making an informed decision with their commitment and in order to make that decision they want to explore a couple of other options,” NY Rens coach Andy Borman told SNY.tv.

    “They don’t have a school list right now because Mustafa has been committed to Pitt for a while, but I’m  sure that he and his dad will be getting calls from every major program in the country.”

    Articles, Recruiting

    tyus-battle1With the NCAA contact period kicking off today, here’s an early look at this weekend’s recruiting visits. This list was compiled via sources and reports from Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com and Alex Kline of The Recruit Scoop. It will be updated throughout the weekend.

    **Tyus Battle, the 2016 combo guard from Gladstone (N.J.) Gill St. Bernard’s, takes official visits to Duke April 17-19 and to Louisville April 19-21. More here.

    **Cheick Diallo of Our Savior New American is tentatively slated to have home visits this weekend with Kansas coach Bill Self and St. John’s coach Chris Mullin, per sources.

    **Brandon Ingram of Kinston (N.C.) met with Duke coaches Friday morning and will meet with Kentucky coaches Friday night, according to Ben Roberts. He’s also scheduled to host Kansas (Saturday), N.C. State (Monday) and North Carolina (Wednesday) next, per Roberts.

    Articles, Recruiting

    UnknownNEW YORK — Entering Friday’s Jordan Brand Classic at Barclays Center, only four elite uncommitted American players now remain on the board in the Class of 2015.

    Late Thursday night, Stephen Zimmerman committed to UNLV, leaving the number of uncommitted guys in the Jordan Game at three — Malik Newman, Cheick Diallo and Jaylen Brown. Brandon Ingram, who is not here in New York because he’s not a Nike kid, has also yet to publicly announce.

    In just the past couple of weeks, three other big men came off the board when Caleb Swanigan pledged to Michigan State, Diamond Stone chose Maryland and Thomas Bryant picked Indiana.

    Obviously, none of those four recent commits — Zimmerman, Swanigan, Stone or Bryant — chose Kentucky even though all of them save Stone had the Wildcats on their list. It remains possible that Kentucky won’t land Newman, Diallo or Brown either, which would be somewhat of a unique experience for Kentucky coach John Calipari, who already has the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation but is used to having his pick of elite players.

    Keep in mind that the NCAA late signing period began Wednesday and the NBA Early Entry Draft Deadline is April 26.

    Here’s a brief look at the other uncommitted players and where they stand:

    Kentucky, Recruiting, UNLV

    CCxA2jDUgAA7y_N.jpg-largeNEW YORK — On Wednesday at the Jordan Brand practice, Stephen Zimmerman said he was nearing the end of the recruiting process and was ready for it to be over.

    “Whenever I find out, I might just Tweet it and go to sleep,” he told SNY.tv on then.

    On the eve of Friday’s Jordan Brand Classic, the 7-footer from Las Vegas (NV) Bishop Gorman did just that.

    He also considered Kentucky, Kansas, UCLA and Arizona.

    Kentucky, Roselle Catholic

    Briscoe action5NEW YORK — All three Kentucky signees in the Jordan Brand Classic are playing together on the East Team and so far Isaiah Briscoe is impressed by his future teammates.

    The 6-foot-3 Roselle (N.J.) Catholic point guard has been most intrigued by 7-footer Skal Labissiere, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. During Thursday’s practice, Labissiere flashed a left-handed hook shot over Michigan State-bound Caleb Swanigan with personnel from all 30 NBA teams watching.

    “I think Skal’s a great player,” Briscoe told SNY.tv. “I really mean that. I haven’t seen him play in a while but I mean Skal, I’m very excited to play with him next year.”

    He added: “He’s just so versatile. He can shoot, he’s just good. He’s better than anything I’ve ever seen in our class.”

    Recruiting

    Duke landed a commitment Wednesday from Antonio Vrankovic, a 6-foot-11 big man from Fort Lauderdale (FL) Pine Crest.

    After losing Jahlil Okafor to the NBA Draft and missing out on Caleb Swanigan (Michigan State), Duke needed a big man. Vrankovic will join incoming guard Luke Kennard and power forward Chase Jeter in their 2015 class.

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