If you have two minutes, help us by taking this quick, 14-question anonymous survey:

Who is the National College Player of the Year?

Here are four good options to choose from, so please cast your vote.

Freshman Anthony Davis leads the nation in blocks for No. 1 Kentucky and is the likely No. 1 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.

West Virginia senior Kevin Jones is tied for third nationally with 13 double-doubles and could end up being the Big East Player of the Year. His 11.5 rebounds per game ranks fourth nationally.

Creighton sophomore Doug McDermott is the nation’s third-leading scorer and has the Blue Jays at 18-2 and in first place in the Missouri Valley.

And Kansas junior Thomas Robinson overcame the loss of his grandfather, grandmother and mother within a three-week span last season to lead Kansas to a No. 5 national ranking. He ranks second nationally with 12.0 boards per game and is also tied for third nationally in double-doubles with 13.

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NEW YORK — Moe Harkless and D’Angelo Harrison were seniors in high school when St. John’s ran then-No. 3 Duke out of Madison Square Garden by 15 points last Jan. 30.

A year later, Harkless and Harrison will get a chance to test themselves on a national stage when the Johnnies (9-11 3-6 Big East) visit No. 8 Duke (16-3, 4-1 ACC) Saturday in a nationally televised game (noon, ESPN).

The 6-foot-8 Harkless is averaging 16 points per game and the 6-3 Harrison 15.5, putting them at first and second, respectively, among freshmen scorers in the Big East. Harkless also ranks fifth overall in the Big East in rebounding (8.6 rpg). (more…)

After being notified Wednesday, two days prior to the start of the SNY Invitational, that Long Island University was no longer available to us, we worked through the night to come up with what we believed was a viable plan to move the event to St Raymond High School for Boys.  Unfortunately, as the details related to the large expected crowd and complex logistics became more clear, it was determined that St. Raymond’s facility could not adequately accommodate an event of this size on 24 hours notice.

While we regret the outcome – we are committed to making sure the four schools and all of the deserving Tri-State Area students receive their promised funding and scholarships.  We are disappointed this year’s tournament will not take place and apologize for any inconvenience this causes the teams, their fans and our corporate partners.  We are committed to the SNY Invitational maintaining its position in the community and it is our intent to pick up where we left off in 2013.

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Here’s an excerpt from my story today with Harrison Sanford on FiveStarBasketball.com:

Troy Williams of Hampton (Va.) Phoebus High has trimmed his list to North Carolina, Kentucky, Georgetown and Villanova.

“I think he probably will get it done in the next six months,” Boo Williams, Troy’s uncle, told Five Star. (more…)

Will Julius Randle be the next Harrison Barnes?

Given his style of play and the fact that Randle is actively considering North Carolina, there’s certainly a chance he could be beginning in 2013.

“The one thing that [North Carolina] is going to need, they’re going to need a Julius Randle to be a Harrison Barnes that can do certain things on the wing and he can play inside if he has to,” Nate Britt Sr., the father of 2013 point guard and North Carolina commit Nate Britt, told FiveStarBasketball.com.

“[Randle] can do multiple things. He can just do it all. He’s that type of kid.”

Click here to read the full story at FiveStarBasketball.com.

**And check out the Five Star Big Board on Carolina here.

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Steve Lavin knows other schools and coaches are using his prostate cancer recovery as a tool in negative recruiting.

And he’s taking them on when he talks to recruits — like former Texas A&M and current Johnnies point guard Jamal Branch (who must sit until December per NCAA transfer regulations).

“I brought it up right out of the gate,” Lavin told reporters Wednesday night at MSG before the Johnnies manhandled West Virginia, 78-62, behind a combined 42 points from freshmen Moe Harkless and D’Angelo Harrison.  (more…)

So today I pulled my first all-nighter since, I don’t know, those hazy, crazy Wesleyan University days, I guess.

Here’s a quick rundown of nearly 24 hours worth of hoops, tennis and energy drinks:

9:45 a.m. Wednesday — Hop on a bus at 15th St. with 3-year-old James Zagoria and head uptown for Super Soccer Stars. Little man kicks a goal and looks good doin’ it.

11 a.m. -- Knowing I’m supposed to appear on SNY this weekend for the SNY Invitational, I go for a haircut to my man Marcos at Carlo Marco Studio in the West Village

Noon — After walking home crosstown, cook up some frozen Trader Joe’s (more…)

As reported earlier today on my Twitter, former NBA point guard Rafer “Skip to My Lou” Alston is attempting a comeback and could be in the NBA D-League by Friday.

“He has to get picked up and he gets cleared for the NBDL Friday at 1 p.m.,” a source close to Alston told SNY.tv.

Alston, 35, had been coaching at Humble (Texas) Christian Life Center, but is apparently attempting to return to the NBA. The former Queens Cardozo and streetball star last played with the Nets and Miami Heat during the 2009-10 season. (more…)

NEW YORK — Like every other sports writer, I’ve been to a thousand press conferences where nothing much of interest was said.

The coaches rattle off some trite commentary on the game, and the players utter a few cliches about giving it their all and playing them one game at a time.

Ah, but a Bob Huggins press conference is something else altogether, a refreshing break from the daily grind and a non-stop flow of brutal honesty.

Instead of writing a column off St. John’s 78-62 rout of West Virginia tonight at MSG, I’m just going to give you some highlights from Huggs, who was in rare form. (more…)

Former New Jersey school boy star Derrick Caracter has made a few stops during his basketball career.

Now he’s headed to the NBA D-League.

The Lakers on Wednesday assigned the 6-foot-9 Caracter to their D-League affiliate, the Los Angeles Defenders.

Caracter, the 58th pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, appeared in 41 games for the Lakers last season, averaging 2.1 points and 1.0 rebounds in 5.2 minutes. (more…)