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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.
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    • Recruiting

    Kentucky coach John Calipari and former sneaker company executive Sonny Vaccaro are part of a growing chorus of people in the basketball world who believe giving players an income might alleviate some of the problems — and scandals — inherent in colleges sports.

    The U.S. Department of Justice last week announced the arrest of four high-profile college basketball assistants and a high-ranking Adidas executive, identified as Jim Gatto, in connection with a bribery scheme.

    Calipari, whose program regularly produces NBA lottery and first-round picks, also believes college athletes should be able to hire agents.

    Recruiting

    Nassir Little, the 6-foot-7 small forward from Orlando Christian Prep and the Adidas-sponsored 1Family AAU team, committed to North Carolina over Georgia Tech on Wednesday.

    According to 247Sports, Little is ranked as the No. 9 overall player in the Class of 2018 and the No. 2 player from the state of Florida.

    Little will got his decision out of the way before he heads to a USA Basketball minicamp this weekend in Colorado Springs, Colo.

    Little is projected as the No. 7 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft (to the Knicks) by ESPN.com. He previously considered Arizona, Duke and Miami as well.

    Recruiting, Xavier

    Keonte Kennedy, the 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Westlake (TX) High School, committed to Xavier on Tuesday following his official visit Sept. 29.

    Kennedy chose Xavier over Memphis, Michigan, Nebraska, Texas Tech, and VCU.

    “I’m proud to announce I will continue my academic and basketball career at Xavier University,” said Kennedy via Twitter. “I am a Xavier Musketeer ?⚔.”

    “It was easy,” Kennedy told D1VISION. “It’s a great program. The coaching staff is outstanding, the players are good people, and the opportunity to go play immediately was the best. Their success speaks for itself. Six out of the last 10 years they went to the Sweet Sixteen. I love winners.”

    Duke

    Duke’s players voted junior guard Grayson Allen team captain for the upcoming season.

    The news was first reported by The Athletic.

    Allen was one of three captains last season, along with Amile Jefferson and Matt Jones, but had the title stripped after he tripped Elon’s Steven Santa Ana during the first half of a Dec. 21 game at the Greensboro Coliseum.

    Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski stripped Allen of his captaincy and suspended him indefinitely in the wake of that incident. The suspension ending up lasting one game, as he returned against Georgia Tech on Jan. 4.

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