November 2015 | Page 25 of 28

By JACK LeGWIN

Marcus Paige, the starting point guard for preseason No. 1-ranked North Carolina, fractured the third metacarpal on his right (non-shooting) hand in practice on Tuesday and will miss 3-4 weeks.

Paige has received a number of first-team preseason All-America honors and was selected the Co-Preseason Player of the Year in the Atlantic Coast Conference by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.

The senior from Marion, Iowa, has missed only one game in his first three seasons. He did not play against UAB his freshman season due to a strained left shoulder.

A two-time captain, Paige has averaged 13.2 points and has 474 assists at Carolina. He has connected on 225 three-point field goals and needs only nine to become UNC’s all-time three-point leader.

Articles, St. John's

St. John’s Loses by 32 to Division 2 St. Thomas Aquinas

November 4, 2015

author: Adam Zagoria

Back at Chris Mullin’s introductory press conference, I swear some of those folks thought he would instantly turn the clock back to 1985.

Like instantly.

But that’s tough to do when you turn over virtually the entire roster, lose two potential pros before graduation and bring in an entirely new coaching staff, including a head coach who has never coached a game before.

Well, those folks — and folks around the college basketball world — got a rude awakening Wednesday night when St. Johns lost to Division 2 St. Thomas Aquinas, 90-58, in an exhibition game at Carnesecca Arena.

That’s a 32-point loss at home to a D-2 team.

“You have to give the other team a lot of credit,” said Mullin, whose team played without freshman point guard Marcus LoVett and freshman forward Kassoum Yakwe, still not cleared by the NCAA. “They played hard, they played together and aggressive. This will be a tremendous teaching tool. A lot of our guys have not played in a college basketball game, and we tried to emulate that in practice and the scrimmage, but it’s different. We have to learn from this.”

Articles, Recruiting

Kobi Simmons Pushes Back Commitment

November 4, 2015

author: Adam Zagoria

By JACK LeGWIN Kobi Simmons won't sign during the

Articles, Boston College

BC Lands 6-Foot-10 Big Man Nikola Popovic

November 4, 2015

author: Adam Zagoria

Following a weekend visit to Boston College with committed guards Mike Sagay and Ty Graves, 6-foot-10 forward Nikola Popovic pulled the trigger, too.

Popovic, an 18-year-old native of Bosnia who plays for the Sagemont (FL) School, also considered Georgia, Providence, Central Florida Richmond and Rice.

“He chose them because he can go in and play with some really good young guards,” Sagemont coach Adam Ross told SNY.tv. “They have some really good freshmen and sophomore guards that will be there over the next several years. He saw the opportunity to go in and develop with those kids and try to build something there.

Articles, Mississippi State