Josh Roberts Signs NLI With St. John’s
Josh Roberts, the 6-foot-9, 210-pound forward from
Rutgers inked two players in the Class of 2018 on Wednesday when Don Bosco Prep guard Ron Harper Jr. and junior college big man Shaq Carter of Eastern Florida State College both signed their National Letters of Intent.
The 6-foot-6 Harper is son of the former NBA standout Ron Harper who won five NBA championships.
Harper averaged 10.1 points, 1.5 rebounds and shot 37.7 percent (23-for-61) from beyond the arc in 23 games last winter for a Don Bosco Prep team that won its first New Jersey Non-Public A state title in 47 years last winter.
“It feels great to sign and it’s also great knowing where I’m going next year,” Harper told Scarlet Nation.
“Rutgers just showed me great hospitality and their plans for the future impressed me back on my visit. Ultimately, we ended up looking at Coach [Steve] Pikell’s timeline. He always brings teams from nothing to something and I think he can do that with me and Montez’s [Mathis] help.”
Louis King, the 6-foot-8 small forward from Hudson (N.J.) Catholic, signed his National Letter of Intent with Oregon on Wednesday at his school.
And he hopes several other top recruits will join him.
“I hope Bol Bol and RJ Barrett make the right decision and come to Oregon,” King, the No. 21-ranked player in the 2018 ESPN 100, told Pat Lawless.
The 6-7 Barrett, the No. 1 recruit in 2018, will announce Friday in Canada between Duke, Kentucky and Oregon.
The 7-2 Bol is down to Kentucky and Oregon and has yet to announce his signing plans.
King is glad the process is over.
“I’m finally committed, I’ll probably be happier when I get there in June,” he said. “It’s a great spot for me with guys like Dana Altman and Mike Mennenga. I’m happy and my family is happy.”
Miles Norris, the 6-11 big man from Brewster (N.H.) Academy, also signed Wednesday with Oregon.
“We really enjoyed getting to know Louis, Miles and their families during the recruiting process,” said Altman. “These are two exceptional young men and I think our fans are really going to enjoy watching them play and getting to know them.
“Both of their families have been tremendous to us and they are truly excited about becoming Ducks. Miles and Louis will be great representatives for our basketball program and for the University of Oregon.”
UPDATE: The men indicted in the college basketball scandal will be arraigned next week in the Southern District of New York. Here’s the schedule:
11/14 at 1030am: Chuck Person and Rashan Michel – Judge Preska
11/15 at 1130am: Lamont Evans, Book Richardson, Tony Bland, Christian Dawkins and Merl Code – Magistrate Court
11/15 at 4pm: Jim Gatto, Christian Dawkins, Merl Code – Judge Kaplan
By LARRY NEUMEISTER
NEW YORK (AP) — Four college basketball assistant coaches charged in a bribery scheme were among eight people indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in New York City.
The charges and accusations in three indictments largely mirrored the facts found in criminal complaints filed against the men when they were arrested in late September. An indictment, though a procedural step, is a document prosecutors rely upon at trial.
Prosecutors said the men were accused of using bribes to influence star athletes’ choice of schools, shoe sponsors and agents. They face fraud and other charges that carry potential penalties upon conviction of decades in prison.
The assistant coaches charged were Chuck Person, 53, of Auburn, Emanuel “Book” Richardson, 44, of Arizona, Tony Bland, 37, of Southern California and Lamont Evans, 40, of Oklahoma State. After their arrests, Person and Evans were suspended and Bland was placed on administrative leave. Richardson was suspended and is appealing the school’s effort to dismiss him.
By JOHN MARSHALL (AP) - College basketball is
**UPDATE 11/9/17** Brandon Williams will sign non-binding financial
Approximately 75 NBA personnel are expected on Tuesday for the Champions Classic at Chicago’s United Center, a source close to the event told ZAGSBLOG.
Duke, No. 1 in the AP Preseason Poll, faces No. 2 Michigan State at 7 p.m. ET, followed by No. 4 Kansas vs. No. 5 Kentucky.
The event features five of the Top 11 projected picks on the 2018 ESPN Mock Draft — No. 3 Marvin Bagley III (Duke), No. 6 Miles Bridges (Michigan) State), No. 9 Jaren Jackson (Michigan State), No. 10 Wendell Carter Jr. (Duke) and No. 11 Trevon Duval (Duke).
Other projected first-round picks in the event include No. 17 Hamidou Diallo (Kentucky), No. 22 Nick Richards (Kentucky) and No. 24 Grayson Allen (Duke).
Projected second-rounders include No. 33 Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (Kansas) and No. 36 Devonte’ Graham (Kansas).
Because he hasn’t played in a national all-star game like the McDonald’s All-American Game or the Nike Hoop Summit, and because he hasn’t played for any USA Basketball national teams, Bagley III remains a relative unknown to a many NBA GMs and scouts.
Bagley is coming off a summer in which he averaged 25.8 points, a league-high 14.9 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game for the Nike Phamily in the EYBL, but no NBA scouts were able to watch him at last summers Peach Jam, where he was named to the All-Peach Jam First Team.
“He hasn’t played at anything an NBA scout has ever been at,” one NBA scout told ZAGSBLOG. “There’s just AAU and Drew League film floating around so I think everyone is waiting to see how real the hype is.”
