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.
Calipari Meets Families of Lamb, Harris; Self Visits Lamb, Smith at Oak Hill
Kentucky coach John Calipari is working hard on the recruiting trail up here in New York City.
On Thursday night, Calipari and his staff met with the parents of Oak Hill (Va.) guard Doron Lamb, and on Wednesday they met with Dix Hills (N.Y.) Half Hollow Hills West forward Tobias Harris and his family.
“It was great,” said Calvin Lamb, Doron’s father. “They met with me and my wife.
“Basically [they talked about] how it would benefit my son to go there. The way they play fits his style. They say he’s a combo guard. He’s a strong combo guard. He plays both.”
Calvin said Calipari expressed strong interest in Lamb, the No. 3 shooting guard and No. 21 prospect in the Class of 2010. Doron was at Oak Hill and not the meeting.
“The way they made it seem, he’s one of their top priorities,” Calvin said.
Arizona head coach Sean Miller, in town for the New Heights coaching clinic on Saturday, meets with the Lambs on Saturday night and Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel comes in Tuesday.
On the same day Calipari met with Lamb’s parents, Kansas coach Bill Self met with Lamb and Oak Hill forward Roscoe Smith at Oak Hill.
“[The visit went] pretty well,” Oak Hill coach Steve Smithtold TheShiver.com. “They [Smith and Lamb] are just going through the process.
“They both have a list of about five to eight schools,” Smith said. “They could decide late in the spring, or they could decide to end it early. Doron has about five schools he’s looking at in Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arizona and UConn. Roscoe has a bit longer list with Kansas, Florida, Duke, Georgetown, UConn, Memphis and UCLA,” Smith added.
As for Calipari’s visit with Tobias and his family, Torrel Harris said the family is putting out a spread of fruits and gourmet cheese for all the coaches.
Kentucky was in Wednesday and Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt and his staff came Thursday.
“Both of them went great,” Torrel said. “They’re great coaches. They were sincere. They sell their programs great.”
As for Calipari, Torrel said: “He was talking about his program and what he’s trying to accomplish. The good that he wants for his players, his graduating percentage of his players. A lot of his players respect him after they’ve played for him many, many years ago. He has a good rapport with players on the court.”
Harris had a tremendous summer and is now the No. 1 power forward and No. 5 prospect in the Class of 2010. His father wants a program that emphasizes the point forward role.
“He talked about how Tobias is gonna fit in,” Torrel said of Calipari. “He has a chance to be a special player and has a chance to play at the next level. You name it, we talked about it.”
As for Hewitt, Torrel said: “He came in with a real strong presentation, a lot of stats and facts on his accomplishments and so forth. He talked about the graduation rate of his players out of Georgia Tech. Everything about his program.”
Next up at the Harris household: Notre Dame Coach Mike Brey tonight.
Harris previously told me Tobias could commit after a home visit and before taking officials.
“We already visited all these schools,” he said. “We as a family, if we feel extremely comfortable with a particular school, after the home visits we may make a a decision.
“We already know all the schools.”
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
Kentucky coach John Calipari is working hard on the recruiting trail up here in New York City.
On Thursday night, Calipari and his staff met with the parents of Oak Hill (Va.) guard Doron Lamb, and on Wednesday they met with Dix Hills (N.Y.) Half Hollow Hills West forward Tobias Harris and his family.
“It was great,” said Calvin Lamb, Doron’s father. “They met with me and my wife.
“Basically [they talked about] how it would benefit my son to go there. The way they play fits his style. They say he’s a combo guard. He’s a strong combo guard. He plays both.”
Calvin said Calipari expressed strong interest in Lamb, the No. 3 shooting guard and No. 21 prospect in the Class of 2010. Doron was at Oak Hill and not the meeting.
“The way they made it seem, he’s one of their top priorities,” Calvin said.
Arizona head coach Sean Miller, in town for the New Heights coaching clinic on Saturday, meets with the Lambs on Saturday night and Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel comes in Tuesday.
On the same day Calipari met with Lamb’s parents, Kansas coach Bill Self met with Lamb and Oak Hill forward Roscoe Smith at Oak Hill.
“[The visit went] pretty well,” Oak Hill coach Steve Smith told TheShiver.com. “They [Smith and Lamb] are just going through the process.
“They both have a list of about five to eight schools,” Smith said. “They could decide late in the spring, or they could decide to end it early. Doron has about five schools he’s looking at in Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arizona and UConn. Roscoe has a bit longer list with Kansas, Florida, Duke, Georgetown, UConn, Memphis and UCLA,” Smith added.
As for Calipari’s visit with Tobias and his family, Torrel Harris said the family is putting out a spread of fruits and gourmet cheese for all the coaches.
Kentucky was in Wednesday and Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt and his staff came Thursday.
“Both of them went great,” Torrel said. “They’re great coaches. They were sincere. They sell their programs great.”
As for Calipari, Torrel said: “He was talking about his program and what he’s trying to accomplish. The good that he wants for his players, his graduating percentage of his players. A lot of his players respect him after they’ve played for him many, many years ago. He has a good rapport with players on the court.”
Harris had a tremendous summer and is now the No. 1 power forward and No. 5 prospect in the Class of 2010. His father wants a program that emphasizes the point forward role.
“He talked about how Tobias is gonna fit in,” Torrel said of Calipari. “He has a chance to be a special player and has a chance to play at the next level. You name it, we talked about it.”
As for Hewitt, Torrel said: “He came in with a real strong presentation, a lot of stats and facts on his accomplishments and so forth. He talked about the graduation rate of his players out of Georgia Tech. Everything about his program.”
Next up at the Harris household: Notre Dame Coach Mike Brey tonight.
Harris previously told me Tobias could commit after a home visit and before taking officials.
“We already visited all these schools,” he said. “We as a family, if we feel extremely comfortable with a particular school, after the home visits we may make a a decision.
“We already know all the schools.”
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.
