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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 15.
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    • Recruiting, Texas

    Mohamed Bamba has signed with Texas.

    The 6-foot-11 Harlem native from the Westtown (PA) School and the PSA Cardinals AAU program spurned Kentucky, Duke and Michigan to play for Shaka Smart and the Longhorns.

    “I’ve decided to attend the University of Texas,” he wrote on the Players’ Tribune. “I will be heading there in early June to get to work.”


    Bamba is the No. 3-ranked player in the Class of 2017 per ESPN.com and is the projected No. 4 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft per DraftExpress.com.

    He is the fourth signee in program history ranked as one of the nation’s top two recruits, joining Avery Bradley (No. 1 by ESPN in 2009), Kevin Durant (No. 2 by Rivals in 2006) and Myles Turner (No. 2 by ESPN in 2014).

    “I’m extremely excited that Mo has chosen Texas,” Smart said. “He’s as unique a person and player as I’ve been around. Mo’s combination of talent, intellect and ability to impact others will make him a catalyst in our program and on our campus from day one.”

    He added: “Mo’s personality and dynamic skill-set fit extremely well with the other members of our incoming class as well as our returning players,” Smart added. “I’m very excited about our team composition and the way in which our guys will complement each other. There’s no question that Mo will make everyone around him better, both on and off the court.”

    Bamba capped an illustrious scholastic career when he became the 19th player in UT program history to participate in the McDonald’s All-American Game (March 29) and the 15th player in school history to play in the Jordan Brand Classic (April 14) earlier this spring. He also played for Team USA in the 2017 Nike Hoop Summit (April 7). In addition, Bamba earned a spot on the 2017 Naismith Trophy High School All-America first team and was one of five finalists for the Naismith National High School Player of the Year.

    Bamba averaged 12.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game in his senior season (2016-17) while leading Westtown School to a 32-2 mark and a second consecutive Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association state title. As a junior, he averaged 14.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 6.0 blocks per game in pacing Westtown to the state championship. He also helped Westtown register a 26-6 record in his sophomore season in 2014-15.

    Texas, Transfers

    Texas on Friday announced the signing of transferring Mount St. Mary’s guard Elijah Long, which was first reported Wednesday by ZAGSBLOG.

    The 6-foot guard from Mississauga, Ontario averaged 15.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists last season at Mount St. Mary’s. He will sit out the 2017-18 season per NCAA transfer regulations and will then have two years of eligibility remaining.

    “We’re very excited to welcome Elijah to our program,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said. “He brings winning experience, shot-making ability and has a high basketball IQ. Elijah has a tremendous work ethic and is an extreme competitor.

    “Jamion Christian (Mount St. Mary’s head coach) and his staff deserve a great deal of credit for their role in Elijah’s development over the last two seasons,” Smart continued. “Elijah was extremely under-recruited coming out of high school and developed into a first-team all-conference player in their league who is a really good all-around guard.”

    Recruiting, Texas

    SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Matt Coleman, the 6-foot-1, 174-pound point guard from Oak Hill (VA) Academy, announced for Texas over Duke on Monday at the Hoophall Classic.

    Coleman joins shooting guard Jase Febres and power forwards Royce Hamm and Jericho Simms in Coach Shaka Smart’s 2017 class.

    “It was about watching both teams play, and finding out where I was needed,” Coleman said on ESPNU. “Knowing Shaka’s the coach, he’s a players coach watching them play. Constantly, you’re just hearing, ‘They need a point guard, they need a point guard, things would be different if they had a point guard.’ The way they play up and down, I know the ball is going to be in my hands from day one.”

    Recruiting

    Brian “Tugs” Bowen, the 6-foot-7 small forward from La Lumiere (IN), enjoyed what his mother called an “awesome” official visit to Texas this weekend and is targeting a decision in the coming weeks.

    “It was awesome,” Bowen’s mother, Carrie, said of the visit she also went on. “Tugs reconnected with his old teammates Eric Davis [Saginaw Arthur Hill] and James Banks [La Lumiere]. I know they would love to play with him.”

    He’s also considering Michigan State, Arizona, N.C. State and Creighton.

    “We’re going to sit down and talk after that [Texas visit],” Brian Bowen Sr. said recently phone. “He’ll start narrowing down his schools. Wherever you want to go, if you want that spot to still be open. He has great choices.”

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