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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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    • Articles, Kentucky, St. John's

    CCgCNPKWAAAPWfs-1.jpg-largeBarry “Slice” Rohrssen was officially named the associate head coach under St. John’s head man Chris Mullin on Monday.

    The news of Rohrssen’s addition to St. John’s was reported by SNY.tv on Sunday.

    Sources said Rohrssen’s deal is for five years with a base salary of $450,000 annually. He reportedly earned a base of $375,000 at Kentucky plus bonuses.

    Rohrssen brings more than 20 years of coaching experience to the St. John’s basketball program, including five seasons as a head coach at Manhattan College from 2006-2011. The Brooklyn native is coming off a historic run with Kentucky in 2014-15. Rohrssen served as an assistant on John Calipari’s staff, and helped lead the Wildcats to a 38-1 record and the program’s second-straight Final Four appearance.

    Articles, Recruiting, St. John's

    4_3211948Yankuba Sima, a 6-foot-11 center from Jacksonville (FL) Elev8 Sports Institute, is the latest pledge for new St. John’s coach Chris Mullin.

    He Tweeted this on Monday:

    The 18-year-old Sima visited St. John’s last week and also considered Louisville and others.

    The NCAA late signing period begins on Wednesday.

    Kentucky, Recruiting

    Kentucky has offered Charlotte transfer Mike Thorne and reached out to uncommitted three-star shooting guard Dazon Ingram.

    Thorne told SNY.tv that Kentucky had offered him and he plans to visit April 25-26 after he goes to Kansas.

    Thorne visited Pittsburgh last week and is slated to visit Illinois April 17-19 and Kansas April 22.

    “I mean, obviously [Kentucky] is a winning culture,” Thorne said. “Coach Cal is a great coach. He demands lot out of his players and gets them better.”

    Obviously, Kentucky has a lot of playing time now after seven players — including bigs Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles and Dakari Johnson — declared for the NBA Draft.

    “I would have to hear the situation out more to see how I would fit in,” Thorne said when asked about playing time at Kentucky.

    Thorne previously told SNY.tv he’s considering Arizona, South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Illinois, Kansas, Pittsburgh and “possibly N.C. State.”

    St. John's

    RNCQKJDIROJEERS.20141021143106Miami transfer Manu Lecomte will visit Baylor this weekend and possibly St. John’s later, he confirmed to SNY.tv.

    “I’m looking at Baylor, St. John’s and Dayton right now,” the 5-foot-11 point guard from Belgium told SNY.tv. “I’ll visit Baylor this weekend.”

    St. John’s assistant Matt Abdelmassih has reached out, too.

    “I know St. John’s is a good basketball program and Coach [Chris] Mullin is taking over now and I think it’s a good thing for them,” Lecomte said.

    Articles, Recruiting, St. John's

    Georgios Papagiannis, a 7-foot-1 center from Greece, is closing in on a decision about his future plans and could make a commitment in the next few months.

    “It sounds like the kid is going to make a decision in June,” one American college assistant involved in his recruitment told SNY.tv.  “I think he’s going to get over [to the U.S.] and make some visits. Between now and June he’s going to come over for some visits.”

    St. John’s, Temple, Oregon, N.C. State, UConn and Kentucky are among the schools in the mix for the Greek 7-footer who turns 18 in July. Some schools may also go visit Papagiannis later this month.

    “I know some schools are trying to go over,” the assistant said. “St. John’s is gonna go over. [Chris] Mullin doesn’t know the kid and wants to get to know him.”

    Articles, St. John's

    A70G0181_large_400x400Italian guard Federico Mussini enjoyed his visit to St. John’s on Sunday on his way home from the Nike Hoop Summit.

    “Really good!!” Mussini said via direct message. “I liked the atmosphere of the college. For me [it] was the first time in an American college.”

    Asked what he thought of new coach Chris Mullin, Mussini said, “He is a really good person.”

    The 6-foot Mussini is also being recruited by Davidson, Gonzaga and Virginia, but has no other visits set at the moment. He still must decide whether he will attend an American college at all next season.

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