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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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Sunday / December 22.
  • IsE51S0Z_400x400Florida transfer Elijah Carter is headed to Boston College and will be immediately eligible.

    “First I would like to say thanks to all three schools for the relentless pursuit in my abilities. I will be doing my final year of collegiate basketball at Boston College ! #EAGLES,” he announced on Twitter.

    The 6-foot-2 New Jersey native recently visited Georgetown and UNLV but is headed to the ACC instead.

    Carter is seeking a Master’s degree and that factored into his decision, his father told SNY.tv.

    -08b08084d89d95efThe Minnesota Timberwolves have informed Karl-Anthony Towns that they will select him with the No. 1 pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft, a source close to Towns told SNY.tv.

    “It’s done, he’s going to Minnesota,” the source said. “[Minnesota President and coach] Flip Saunders was big on Jahlil Okafor for a minute there and after Karl came in [on Saturday], he decided to work out for them. He only worked out for them and it’s a wrap. It’s a wrap. They just told him they’re going to take him No. 1.”

    Towns later denied that he had received any promise from the Wolves.

    “If I had a promise I would go start eating ice cream and getting fat,” Towns joked to The Associated Press on Monday evening. “There is absolutely no promise at all. Right now I’m just trying to see where I’ll be playing. I have no idea.”

    If selected No. 1 as projected, Towns would join a young Minnesota roster that features the last two No. 1 overall picks in Canadians Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins.

    As HoopsRumors.com noted, Towns stands to make $5,703,600 in his first year, with a four-year deal worth $26,604,195.

    Andrew HarrisonBy JOSH NEWMAN

    EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Former Kentucky star Andrew Harrison is three days away from learning his NBA Draft fate, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t think about what could have been with the Wildcats.

    Harrison was one of seven draft-eligible Kentucky players to suffer a 71-64 loss to Wisconsin in the Final Four. That defeat ended the Wildcats’ perfect season as they finished 38-1, two wins shy of the first perfect 40-0 season in college basketball history.

    “No matter how long I play in the NBA, hopefully it will be a long time, I’ll always think about what we could have done at Kentucky,” Harrison said after finishing up a workout for the Nets on Monday afternoon. “At the same time, you have to let go and try and get a championship at the next level and that would be so much better. I don’t use it as motivation because you have to let it go. It’s about the journey.

    “It’s not like we played bad, but Wisconsin, they just beat us.”

    Feb 8, 2015; Piscataway, NJ, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Bishop Daniels (2) defends against Ohio State Buckeyes guard D'Angelo Russell (0) during second half at Louis Brown Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

    Ohio State Buckeyes guard D’Angelo Russell could be a perfect fit for the Sixers at the No. 3 pick: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

    D’Angelo Russell denied a recent report in the Los Angeles Times that he didn’t want to play for the Philadelphia 76ers, who own the No. 3 pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft.

    “The workout [with the Sixers] was great,” Russell said on SportsCenter. “What guy wouldn’t want to play for any NBA team? I [saw] Fran Fraschilla Tweet 95 percent of the Tweets this week are just a misdirection, and starting with that one. I never would say anything like that. I know what I’ve come from and I know what I’ve been through and it would just be a blessing to play in the NBA.”

    The latest mock draft from DraftExpress.com has the Sixers taking the 6-foot-5 Russell at No. 3 with the Knicks taking Latvian 7-footer Kristaps Porzingis at 4, while ESPN’s Chad Ford has the Sixers taking Porzingis and the Knicks selecting Russell.

    Since the Sixers have both Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid, if they select Porzingis the thinking is that they would have to trade one of their bigs. Embiid, meantime, could miss several months, if not the entire upcoming season, as he recovers from surgery on his right foot.

    Immediately after the draft lottery, Russell praised the Sixers.

    4_2942365Since decommitting from Arizona State in March, Brendan Bailey has opened up his recruitment and taken an unofficial visit to Utah and official visits to San Diego State and most recently UConn.

    The 6-foot-8 Bailey out of American Fork (UT) is ranked the No. 12 small forward in the Class of 2016 according to 247Sports.com.

    “They’re all working hard, from my standpoint anyway,” Thurl Bailey, the former NBA player and Brendan’s father, told SNY.tv from the NBPA Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, Va.  “He’s taken two officials, one to San Diego State and one to UConn. I think they’re all doing a good job of working hard and letting him know that they want him but they’re not overbearing.”

    Thurl Bailey has known UConn coach Kevin Ollie for many years dating to their NBA careers.

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