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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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Saturday / January 11.
  • By ADAM ZAGORIA

    Mark “Rocket” Watts , the 6-foot-2, 180-pound point guard from The Family Detroit and Detroit (MI) Old Redford, has cut his list to eight schools.

    Watts is down to  UConn, Florida State, Michigan, Michigan State, Louisville, Missouri, Oregon and Xavier, according to Rivals.com.

    Coaches from most of those schools watched him this week at the Peach Invitational in Augusta, Ga., and Louisville’s Chris Mack and Michigan State’s Tom Izzo were among those who saw him drop 43 points on Saturday.

    By DANIEL YNFANTE

    NEW YORK — In front of Mike Krzyzewski, Bill Self, Richard Pitino and a handful of college coaches, Isaiah Todd had an opportunity to showcase his skills on Saturday at the Adidas Gauntlet Finale.

    But in front of Todd stood a giant roadblock. Todd’s AAU squad, Team Loaded North Carolina took on D1 Minnesota and 6-foot-9 forward Matthew Hurt, the No. 6 ranked player in the class of 2019.

    Todd, a 6-foot-11 forward went up head to head with Hurt and lost the battle, scoring 7 points on 2-of-14 from the field and grabbing just 4 rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Hurt scored 29, and his team improved to 3-0 in the tournament with a 77-59 victory.

    “Matthew is a good player,” Todd said. “He’s the top in his class. It was fun to watch and it was fun to play.”

    By DANIEL YNFANTE

    NEW YORK —  On Saturday, the seconds ticked with the score tied at 61 at Basketball City in Manhattan. Pump N Run’s Julien Franklin drove to the basket and dished out a pass to Ethan Anderson, who was open on the right corner and connected on a buzzer beating triple to seal a 64-61 victory over Team EBO in the Adidas Gauntlet Finale.

    But the shot wasn’t what people were talking about after the game. Instead, it was the performance of a 6-foot-5, 170-pound 16-year-old. In front of coaches from UCLA, USC, Kansas, Cincinnati, San Diego State and Washington, Team EBO’s Jalen Green stole the show in defeat. Kentucky’s John Calipari also watched Green on Friday.

    The junior is the No.1 ranked player in the Class of 2020 according to 247Sports.com. On Saturday, Green scored 26 points, to go along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

    Green has received offers from over a dozen schools, including Arizona, Kansas, UCLA, USC, Villanova, Washington and Oregon. However, when asked to comment about his recruitment, Green declined.

    By DANIEL YNFANTE

    NEW YORK —  Stay at home, or play for a historic program?

    Matthew Hurt’s college decision looms.

    On Saturday, some of college basketball’s marquee coaches sat courtside to watch Hurt score 29 points, grab 6 rebounds and record 6 assists as his D1 Minnesota squad beat Team Loaded (NC), 77-59, Team Loaded (NC) at the Adidas Gauntlet Finale at Basketball City.

    Among those in attendance were Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Kansas’ Bill Self and Minnesota’s Richard Pitino, as well as assistant coaches from Kentucky, North Carolina and Indiana. Self coached Hurt last month on the gold-medal winning USA U18 team in the FIBA U18 Americas Championship.

    Hurt said he felt no pressure being watched by dozens of coaches.

    “I really don’t try to focus on that,” he told ZAGSBLOG. “I try to go out there, play my game and play for my teammates. Whoever is watching is watching.”

    By ADAM ZAGORIA

    NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — Cole Anthony says he doesn’t know yet where he’ll be spending his senior year of high school, but it won’t be at New York powerhouse Archbishop Molloy, his home for the last three years.

    The 6-foot-3 New York City point guard, ranked No. 2 in the Class of 2019 by Rivals.com and the winner of a gold medal this summer with the USA U18 team, is looking for a new home for his senior year.

    “I have no idea yet,” Anthony said Friday at the Peach Jam, where he’s playing with the New York-based PSA Cardinals.

    Greg Anthony, the former NBA player and Cole’s father, said they have had discussions with several national powerhouses, including Oak Hill Academy (VA), Montverde Academy (FL), IMG Academy (FL) and Findlay Prep (NV), but they haven’t made a decision yet.

    “It’s obviously getting close to a time where we’re going to have to really think about it,” Greg said. “We haven’t focused on it yet because we had FIBA Americas and now we got this, so that’s kind of what our focus is.”

    He added: “We just don’t know yet….That stuff’s not where we are right now.”

    By ADAM ZAGORIA

    NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — Isaiah Stewart has had an eventful few weeks.

    He has just returned from Argentina where he won a gold medal with the USA U17 team in the FIBA U17 World Championship. Like several of his U17 teammates, including Vernon Carey Jr., Scottie Barnes, Wendell Moore and Jeremy Roach, Stewart also flew directly to Peach Jam from Argentina.

    “We definitely played great and took the medal back home,” Stewart said.

    After Peach Jam, Stewart, one of the most sought after big man in the Class of 2019, plans to cut his list to five schools from 10.

    “Hopefully get it down to five and schedule my visits and get it done by then,” the 6-foot-9 forward from La Lumiere (IN) said Thursday at the Peach Jam where he’s playing with the Albany City Rocks. “I’m waiting for Peach Jam to be over, I’m focusing on this. Hopefully after that I’ll start focusing more on cutting my five down.”

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