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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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Saturday / November 16.
  • Wenyen Gabriel cut his list to five schools and they are five of college basketball’s heavyweights.

    The 6-foot-10, 195-pound forward is down to Duke, Kentucky, UConn, Providence and Maryland, his AAU coach, Vin Pastore, confirmed to SNY.tv after it was reported by ESPN’s Adam Finkelstein.

    Pastor said Gabriel will take officials to Maryland (Sept. 4-6), Kentucky (Sept. 25-27) and Duke (Oct. 16-18). No dates are set for UConn or Providence yet.

    Notre Dame and Texas were among those who missed the cut.

    Last week at the Big Strick, Gabriel broke down what he likes about all five:

    DYM-bxoe_400x400While Nike stands to benefit from its upcoming “training session” in the Bahamas, so does Duke.

    Of the 12 players headed to train in the Bahamas Aug. 19-23, only two are committed to colleges: Jonathan Isaac (Florida State) and Jayson Tatum (Duke).

    The 6-foot-8 Tatum will now have five days in the Caribbean alongside his best friend Harry Giles and other Duke targets including Wendell Carter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., Michael Porter Jr., Trae Young and Mohamed Bamba.

    “They will talk about it since Tatum and Giles are there, too,” one AAU coach said when asked how much Carter Jr. and Trent Jr. would discuss a possible package. “Tatum might become the best recruiter this year.”

    Here’s a look at some of the top non-conference college basketball events for the 2015-16 season. If you know of other events, hit me up on Twitter.

    Nov. 13: Veterans Classic, Alumni Hall, Annapolis, MD

    Teams: North Carolina vs. Temple, Navy vs. Florida.

     

    Nov. 13: Armed Forces Classic, Okinawa, Japan

    Teams: Gonzaga vs. Pittsburgh

     

    Nov. 17: State Farm Champions Classic, Chicago, Illinois

    Teams: Duke vs. Kentucky, Kansas vs. Michigan State

    gilesDon’t expect to see Harry Giles, Mohamed Bamba, Malik Monk or Duke-bound Jayson Tatum in the Under Armour Elite 24 Game on Aug. 22.

    That’s because that quartet — along with eight other high school stars — will be playing in the Nike event in the Bahamas instead.

    Nike announced that its top high school players will travel to Nassau, Bahamas, August 19-23, 2015 for “elite training, mentorship and competition” with Miles Simon leading practices.

    Perhaps not coincidentally, the dates of the event will take those players away from the Elite 24 Game in Brooklyn that weekend. Under Armour, meantime, has yet to announce its roster for the Elite 24 Game, as they likely waited to see who was going to the Nike event.

    Here’s a few quick notes on former and current St. John’s players and a staff update:

    rysheed-jordan**Former St. John’s point guard Rysheed Jordan plans to play overseas or in the NBA D-League, he told COBL.com.

    “I don’t know yet. It’s either overseas or the D-League, two options,” Jordan told the site. “It depends whether I would prefer to go far or stay local.”

    He said his decision will come “soon.”

    Jordan added that he considered entering the 2015 NBA Draft but wasn’t able to make it happen.

    “I was going to go into the ‘15 Draft, but it got too late,” he said. “I was iffy on if I was going back, and it came too late, and I didn’t go to take my finals.”

    4_3028030NEW YORK — Daniel Mading, a 6-foot-10, 198-pound power forward originally from the Sudan who was raised in Australia, is transferring to play for Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley at Jersey City (N.J.) St. Anthony’s, he confirmed to SNY.tv on Monday night.

    He attended The Rock School in Gainesville, Fla., last season.

    “I’m going to St. Anthony’s in New Jersey,” he said.

    Marial Mading, a freshman point guard who is Daniel’s 6-5 younger brother, will also transfer to St. Anthony.

    On Friday, Daniel Mading had said at the Big Strick Classic practice that he was deciding between Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict’s and Brewster (N.H.) Academy.

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