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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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    • Articles

    4_2988972Unique McLean, an incredibly athletic 6-foot-1 shooting guard from the MacDuffie (MA) School and the PSA Cardinals AAU program, has committed to UMass, his AAU coach confirmed to SNY.tv.

    McLean also held offers from Dayton, Iona, Rutgers, Manhattan, Fordham, St. Peter’s and others. He won the Slam Dunk Contest at the Mary Kline Classic in 2014.

    “[My athleticism] is really what makes my game,” McLean told 247Sports then. “My jumping ability and speed is huge for me. I’m not always the tallest guy out on the floor, but I’m usually one of the fastest and most athletic guys out there. When I’m out there using my quickness and jumping ability, usually good things happen.”

    Now he’s taking his skill set to UMass.

    Articles

    okafor21-e1429017169229Former Duke big man Jahlil Okafor will work out on Tuesday for the Los Angeles Lakers amid rumblings that he could tumble to the Knicks at No. 4 in the upcoming NBA Draft.

    The theory is that Okafor’s perceived inability to defend the pick-and-roll could cause him to slide to No. 4, with Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns going No. 1 to the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers taking some combination of Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell, Duke’s Justise Winslow and point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, who spent last year in China, at Nos. 2 and 3.

    If that were to happen, Knicks President Phil Jackson could end up with the option to draft Okafor even after the disappointment of finishing fourth in the lottery. Jackson has expressed his preference for a defensive-oriented big man, which might make the selection of Okafor somewhat ironic. Still, he could end up being a franchise center for the next decade.

    “I think there is a little truth to it,” one NBA scout told SNY.tv of the possibility of Okafor falling to No. 4. “With the way the NBA is playing now, a low-post player who can’t defend pick-and-rolls is not effective. The NBA looks more like college basketball 15-20 years ago, which is not a bad thing. [Timofey] Mosgov and [Andrew] Bogut hardly played in the fourth quarter and OT [of Game 2 of the NBA Finals].”

    Articles, Recruiting

    Adidas Eurocamp - Day 1By AUSTIN GREEN

    TREVISO, Italy — Rawle Alkins took his game overseas this past weekend and proved New York City is still producing some of the world’s elite basketball talent.

    Alkins, a star at Christ the King and one of the top-rated guards in the Class of 2016, impressed NBA scouts and led Team USA to a 3-0 record at the 2015 Adidas EuroCamp in Treviso, Italy.

    Sharing the court with some of the top young players around the world, Alkins was dominant. He physically overwhelmed more experienced competition, using his strength, athleticism and technical skills to put on a show in front of representatives from all 30 NBA teams.

    Alkins holds offers from virtually every major program in the nation, including Kentucky, Kansas, Texas, Villanova, Indiana, Louisville, Cincinnati, N.C. State, St. John’s and more. Duke and North Carolina have also expressed interest.

    Alkins scored a game-high 18 points on Day 1, hitting 7-of-8 shots in a 76-71 victory over France, including both of his three-point attempts. His shooting stroke was smooth, he handled the ball well in traffic, and he even threw in a couple monster highlights, including a chase-down block and an explosive two-hand dunk.

    Arizona State, Articles, Hurleys, Rhode Island

    NCAA Basketball: Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament-Rhode Island vs DaytonBy JOSH NEWMAN

    St. Anthony Hall of Fame head coach Bob Hurley famously said he would never schedule a game against St. Benedict’s Prep when his son, Dan Hurley, was the head coach, because his wife, Chris, wouldn’t allow it.

    Pretty much in tune with that thinking, don’t expect Dan, now the head coach at Rhode Island, to schedule a regular-season game against his older brother, Bobby Hurley, who was named head coach at Arizona State in April.

    A regular-season game may not be in the cards, but at least one of the brothers would welcome an NCAA Tournament matchup.

    “We hope to compete against each other,” Dan told SNY.tv on the 4 Quarters Podcast Monday afternoon. “I don’t know that you’ll see us ever schedule regular-season games, but we certainly would love to play against each other in the NCAA Tournament. That would certainly mean that we’re both doing well.”

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