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.
Pelle Planning Visits; Kabongo Decommits; Boatright Likes UConn
Things are moving fast and furious tonight in the world of college hoops recruiting….
**First off, Norvel Pelle told me tonight by phone that he plans to visit St. John’s and Washington, but didn’t have the specific dates nailed down.
“I’m starting visits next week,” he said.
The NCAA early signing period runs Nov. 10-17 and Pelle said he hoped to take “two or three” visits before it ends.
The 6-foot-10, 210-pound big man out of Los Angeles Price said he’s also considering UTEP, UCLA and Oregon. He has been to UCLA on an unofficial but not to the other schools.
“I’m still open,” he said. “I’m not leaning towards nobody yet.”
As for St. John’s, which he visited unofficially in the summer, he said he has recently spoken to head coach Steve Lavin.
“I spoke to him last week,” he said. “We were just talking out New York and how I fit in with the program.”
As for Washington, he said, “It’s a nice environment, beautiful school, wonderful coach.”
Wherever he goes, “I will be able to play a fast-paced game.”
**Findlay Prep point guard Myck Kabongo has decommitted from Texas, according to comments he gave to Dave Telep of ESPN.com.
“I’m not opening it up to everybody but I’m going to open it to certain schools,” Kabongo, the No. 5 point guard in the Class of 2011 per Rivals, told ESPN.com. “I’ll look at Syracuse, Duke, North Carolina, Texas and Kentucky. That’s it.”
Kabongo told Telep he’s “60 percent” sure he’ll sign in the spring.
The 6-2 Kabongo initially commit to Texas while at St. Benedict’s Prep. He then transferred to Findlay for his senior season.
He would have joined fellow Canadians and Grassroots Canada players Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph, both freshman at UT.
“The next step is talking, visiting and building relationships and meeting new people,” Kabongo said.
**Ryan Boatright, another point guard who recently decommitted from West Virginia, is now at UConn on an official, which he seems to be enjoying.
“It’s UConn. Coach Calhoun, all the pros, the program, period,” he told David Borges of the New Haven Register. “It’s my style of play, up-and-down, he plays two guards all the time. It’s a good fit.”
Boatright will visit UNLV next week and Oklahoma at a later date.
As for his decommitment from West Virginia, his mother told the Register that they weren’t aware the Mountaineers were getting Mount Vernon point guard Jabarie Hinds, who committed to West Virginia on SNY.tv.
“We knew that they were recruiting (Jabarie), but we didn’t think they would take both of them. Since we committed first … he just looked at it like, ‘When I committed, it wasn’t what it was.’ When he committed, there was no him, (Jabarie) and the other two point guards. The situation changed when they took that other commitment. I told him, ‘analyze it, think about it.’ He came back and said, ‘Mom, I don’t think it’s going to work for me.'”
FREE THROWSSavon Goodman is on an unofficial today to Penn State, per Alex Kline.
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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.
Things are moving fast and furious tonight in the world of college hoops recruiting….
**First off, Norvel Pelle told me tonight by phone that he plans to visit St. John’s and Washington, but didn’t have the specific dates nailed down.
“I’m starting visits next week,” he said.
The NCAA early signing period runs Nov. 10-17 and Pelle said he hoped to take “two or three” visits before it ends.
The 6-foot-10, 210-pound big man out of Los Angeles Price said he’s also considering UTEP, UCLA and Oregon. He has been to UCLA on an unofficial but not to the other schools.
“I’m still open,” he said. “I’m not leaning towards nobody yet.”
As for St. John’s, which he visited unofficially in the summer, he said he has recently spoken to head coach Steve Lavin.
“I spoke to him last week,” he said. “We were just talking out New York and how I fit in with the program.”
As for Washington, he said, “It’s a nice environment, beautiful school, wonderful coach.”
Wherever he goes, “I will be able to play a fast-paced game.”
**Findlay Prep point guard Myck Kabongo has decommitted from Texas, according to comments he gave to Dave Telep of ESPN.com.
“I’m not opening it up to everybody but I’m going to open it to certain schools,” Kabongo, the No. 5 point guard in the Class of 2011 per Rivals, told ESPN.com. “I’ll look at Syracuse, Duke, North Carolina, Texas and Kentucky. That’s it.”
Kabongo told Telep he’s “60 percent” sure he’ll sign in the spring.
The 6-2 Kabongo initially commit to Texas while at St. Benedict’s Prep. He then transferred to Findlay for his senior season.
He would have joined fellow Canadians and Grassroots Canada players Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph, both freshman at UT.
“The next step is talking, visiting and building relationships and meeting new people,” Kabongo said.
**Ryan Boatright, another point guard who recently decommitted from West Virginia, is now at UConn on an official, which he seems to be enjoying.
“It’s UConn. Coach Calhoun, all the pros, the program, period,” he told David Borges of the New Haven Register. “It’s my style of play, up-and-down, he plays two guards all the time. It’s a good fit.”
Boatright will visit UNLV next week and Oklahoma at a later date.
As for his decommitment from West Virginia, his mother told the Register that they weren’t aware the Mountaineers were getting Mount Vernon point guard Jabarie Hinds, who committed to West Virginia on SNY.tv.
“We knew that they were recruiting (Jabarie), but we didn’t think they would take both of them. Since we committed first … he just looked at it like, ‘When I committed, it wasn’t what it was.’ When he committed, there was no him, (Jabarie) and the other two point guards. The situation changed when they took that other commitment. I told him, ‘analyze it, think about it.’ He came back and said, ‘Mom, I don’t think it’s going to work for me.'”
FREE THROWS
Savon Goodman is on an unofficial today to Penn State, per Alex Kline.
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
