October 2016 | Page 12 of 22 | Zagsblog
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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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    • Iona, Manhattan

    HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — In four of the last five seasons, Iona or Manhattan has been picked atop the MAAC preseason rankings.

    In three of the last five, Iona has won the league’s regular season title. Niagara captured it in 2012 and Monmouth won the crown last season.

    For the last four seasons, Iona or Manhattan has won the MAAC Tournament title, with Manhattan garnering the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and ’15, and Iona doing so in 2013 and last year, when they beat Monmouth in the championship game.

    Get the picture?

    Iona and Manhattan have dominated the league of late.

    Recruiting, St. Benedict's

    NEWARK — Bourama Sidibe has only been in the United States for two and a half years since leaving his native Mali.

    But at 6-foot-10 and 215-pounds, he is adjusting to life at one of the top prep basketball powers in America. St. Benedict’s Prep is the same school that produced NBA players J.R. Smith and Tyler Ennis, and also features current Kentucky guard Isaiah Briscoe.

    In one recent scrimmage, Sidibe went for 14 points, 17 rebounds and 10 blocks.

    “Bourama is a special player,” Gray Bees coach Mark Taylor said Monday. “He is super long and athletic for a big man with tremendous instincts and timing. He is a game-changer and a difference maker. He’s the best big man I have coached and that includes [former NBA lottery pick] Andrew Bynum. Bourama has a much bigger upside.”

    Said junior guard Matt Cotton: “He’s a great player. I can get it to him anytime. He’s very agile in the post, aggressive, great defender.”

    Breaking News, Duke, Kentucky, Recruiting

    After visiting Kentucky for Big Blue Madness this past weekend, Quade Green cut his list to five schools on Monday: Duke, Syracuse, Kentucky, Villanova and Temple.

    “They [are] the five schools that keep in contact with me the most and that really want me, so I’m really considering all five of them,” the 6-foot-1 Neumann-Goretti (PA) point guard said Monday by phone.

    Green visited Kentucky for “Big Blue Madness” along with his 7-foot PSA Cardinals teammate Mohamed Bamba and several other elite prospects.

    “It was great, I loved it out there,” he said of Kentucky. “Very beautiful. The campus was beautiful, the coaching staff was great with me. I like it a lot out there.”

    Recruiting

    Aaron Wheeler, the 6-foot-8, 185-pound small forward from Brewster (N.H.) Academy and the Mass Rivals AAU program, has committed to Purdue following an official visit this weekend.

    The No. 48 small forward in 2017 according to 247Sports.com, Wheeler said he also considered Pittsburgh, Northwestern, Arkansas and Creighton.

    “Me and my family thought it would be the best fit for me both academically and athletically,” Wheeler said Monday morning by phone.

    “Talking with the coaches, they said I would have a chance at competing for playing time as a freshman so that’s really important. I just loved all the coaches, all the players were relatable so I just thought it would be a great fit for me.”

    On Sunday evening, Wheeler said Purdue could lose two guys to the NBA, which would open up playing time for him.

    “They said they might have two guys going to the league [NBA] next year, Caleb Swanigan and Vince Edwards,” he said. “They’re two forwards so they were just saying coming in I’ll have a chance to compete for playing time, which is real big. That’s a goal of mine, to play valuable minutes as a freshman.

    “And also they’re a Top 10 team and I would have a chance to play right away so that’s big. It’s also a real good academic school so that’s something my parents want for me just in case something bad happens and I’m not able to play basketball anymore. It’s important to get a good degree for after college.”

    Arizona, Recruiting

    Arizona head coach Sean Miller called Jahvon Quinerly after the Wildcats practiced on Sunday and offered him a scholarship.

    The Wildcats are prioritizing Quinerly as the next point guard to come to Point Guard U.

    Miller and assitant Book Richardson previously visited the 6-foot-1 Quinerly in September at Hudson Catholic.

    “[Arizona] said they’re highly interested in me,” Quinerly said last month.” “They just asked me how I like the West Coast a little me and told me that they want me to be their next point guard. It made me want to work harder, and I’m just blessed.”

    Oak Hill Academy, Recruiting, Syracuse

    Syracuse did pretty well with one fella from Oak Hill Academy (VA).

    You may have heard of him. Goes by the name of Carmelo Anthony.

    Now head coach Jim Boeheim and his staff are targeting another long forward from the prestigious prep power: 6-foot-9, 237-pound Billy Preston.

    “Of course, it’s Melo, he went there and made a big impact,” Preston said Sunday evening by phone. “So they did [mention him] and they said I could be that type of player there and have the same type of role he did. I watched footage on him while I was there and I saw the things he did and I really enjoyed it. Comparing my game to his game and comparing it to future reference, how they said they would play me and where I could see myself, it was all good.”

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