Here is the latest on Mitchell Watt, a 6-foot-9, 205-pound senior forward from Arizona Desert Edge High.

After de-committing from Cornell, Watt is looking at Buffalo, Pepperdine, Rutgers and Davidson, all strong academic schools that he feels will also offer a competitive level of basketball. Watt hopes to sign during the late period, which runs April 16-May 21.

“I’ve kind of closed my recruiting down because I don’t want too many people to be involved,” Watt said Monday by phone.

Watt visited Buffalo this past weekend and said he enjoyed it.

“I really liked the school and the coaching staff and the players a lot,” he said. “It was a nice area, Buffalo’s a nice town.”

Watt will also visit Pepperdine the weekend of April 19 and Rutgers the weekend of April 26. He said he he is still “considering” Davidson, but doesn’t plan on visiting that school at this point.

“My last trip is with Rutgers,” said Watt, who is being recruited by assistant coach Craig Carter. “I’d like to make a decision somewhat early in the signing period.”

Asked what he knew about Rutgers, Watt said: “The (Big East) Conference is very attractive. Rutgers as an institution is highly regarded in the academic sense. I’m looking for a prestigious school academically and someone who will challenge me on the court.”

Watt said he de-committed from Cornell because the other schools were offering him a full ride.

“I’m getting full ride offers from high institutions,” he said. “I’d rather go that rout. I’m also looking for some challenging basketball that will challenge me and possibly take me to the next level.”

Watts, also the Student Body President, averaged 13 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks , 4 assists and 2 steals per game while leading his team to a 28-2 record and the state title. He had nine blocks in the state final, his coach, Joe Babinski, said.

Asked to describe Watt’s game, Babinski said: “He’s very, very athletic. He’s 6-9, slender. He plays above the rim. He has slim hips so he might have trouble in the low blocks.

“He can shoot the 3 and the 15-footer. He’s good at taking it to the hole. He can cover inside and out. He’s a real athletic young man. He’s a very intelligent young man.”

Rutgers has a three-man class coming in for next year, highlighted by McDonald’s All-American Mike Rosario of St. Anthony; 6-6 wing Pat Jackson of Brooklyn Boys & Girls; and 6-8 big Christian Morris of South Kent (Conn.).

If Watt commits, he would be the fourth member of that class.

Rutgers also made noise this week by securing commitments from 6-8 St. Benedict’s junior Greg Echenique and 6-7 Blair forward Austin Johnson.

Melvin Oliver, a 6-foot-11, 330-pound senior center from Mississippi Elite Christian  Academy, has a slew of schools recruiting him, but Seton Hall, Baylor, Nebraska and Southern Miss are his leaders, according to his coach, Victor Evans.

“I don’t think he’s in a hurry (to make a decision),” Evans said Monday by phone. “He just wants to make a good decision.”

Oliver averaged 20 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks and is qualified to play in college, Evans said.

“Melvin is probably one of hte best passers that I’ve ever seen at his size,” Evans said. “He has great hands, great feet. He’s a great low post scorer. He has all the drop step moves, a lefty hook, a righty hook. He shoots in the high 70s (percentage) from the free throw line. He has a great mid-range game. He’s very skilled.”

Evans was in the process of faxing Seton Hall head coach Bobby Gonzalez his transcripts Monday, and Evans said he is close friends with Seton Hall assistant Derm Player.

“(Oliver) is going to take probably four visits and Seton Hall will probably be one of them,” Evans said. “We have not scheduled any as of yet. but he will be taking visits. When his dad comes down here next week, we will put a schedule together.”

There is news on the Gary Flowers and Chris Turner fronts, but it may not exactly be the kind of news Seton Hall fans want to hear.

The 6-foot-8 Flowers plans to spend another year at Chipola (Fla.) College before coming to a Division I program. The 6-5 Turner, meanwhile, has narrowed his list to Seton Hall, East Carolina and Wake Forest while eliminating Kentucky.

“(Flowers) is going to come back for another year at Chipola,” Chipola head coach Greg Heiar said Monday morning by phone. “He loves the schools he’s got (offers from), Seton Hall, West Virginia, South Florida. He loves them all, but Gary and I think he needs another year to be ready to go in and impact the Division I level the way he’s capable of impacting it.”

Flowers, who averaged 13 points and 8 rebounds, would then have two years of eligibility at the D-1 level after next year.

Heiar said Flowers was a non-qualifier coming out of high school and needed to make up some coursework. Even though he was enrolled at Oklahoma State as a freshman, he was Clearinghouse-pending, Heiar said.

“He needs the summer classes; he’s not a qualifier,” Heiar said. “He’s a 4-2-4. He’s a non-qualifier coming out of high school. He’ll take classes next year; he needs summer classes to graduate.”

As for Turner, his high school coach, Carlos Wilson of Humble (Texas) Christian Life Center, said he’s considering Seton Hall, East Carolina and Wake Forest. Wilson emphasized that Turner had not made any verbal commitments that he was aware of

“He was very happy for the interest that Kentucky showed him, but with it being so late in the game, they had a lot of ground to make up in a short time,” Wilson said Monday by phone.

Wilson said Turner had been offered by Seton Hall and East Carolina, but he “wasn’t sure” about Wake Forest. Turner has already visited the first two schools and plans to visit Wake “in the next couple of weeks.”

In the meantime, he is waiting on an SAT score.

“At the moment, he’s focused on getting his scores,” Wilson said. “That’s priority No. 1.”

Turner averaged 26 points this past season. He is a North Carolina native so “East Carolina is his back yard,” Wilson said. “For a kid that’s been up at Winchendon (Mass.) and down in Texas, he’s really longing to be around some familiar faces.”

That said, Wilson said Turner “really, really bonded with the Seton Hall coaching staff.”

Scott Adubato has been the lead recruiter involved.

“Right now, I feel like from my conversations with him, Seton Hall and East Carolina, they’re neck and neck,” Wilson said. “They (Seton Hall) definitely have a chance.”

Wilson added that Melvin Oliver, a 6-11, 290-pound forward from Jackson Elite Christian Academy (Miss.) is also considering Seton Hall.

I have a call into Oliver’s coach and will report back when I learn anything more.

It is entirely possible that within the next week or so, Memphis could play for the national championship and also land a recruiting class that includes five-star players Tyreke Evans and Devin Ebanks.

First things first. Memphis looked extremely impressive Sunday in routing Texas, 85-67, behind 21 points, nine assists and six rebounds from freshman guard Derrick Rose to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 1985. Memphis will meet UCLA in one national semifinal, while fellow top seeds Kansas and North Carolina do battle in the other.

Despite numerous Internet reports that the 6-foot-5 Evans, the MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game, is a done deal to Memphis, sources close to the American Christian program tell us he hasn’t made up his mind yet. Villanova, UConn, Texas and Memphis are his Final Four and he will announce his decision April 16 on ESPNU.

If Memphis wins the title and head coach John Calipari decides to leave for a potential NBA job, it may increase the chances that Evans would go somewhere else. Rose seems a lock to go pro, but Calipari is the great variable. If Memphis doesn’t win and Calipari sticks around, logic would dictate that Memphis would have a better shot at landing Evans.

As for Ebanks, it’s hard to get a gauge on where he’s leaning. His Final Four consists of Memphis, Rutgers, Texas and West Virginia, and there has been increasing speculation about a possible package deal with Evans and Ebanks to  Memphis.

Rutgers recently landed big men Greg Echenique and Austin Johnson, seemingly making the Scarlet Knights more attractive, although Ebanks would be a sophomore before those players arrive on campus. And who knows if he even stays that long. Rutgers appears to be the favorite of Ebanks’ mother, Yvonne Jackson, but Ebanks himself could wind up at any of the four schools.

We have yet to hear about any planned visits for Ebanks, although every school except Memphis is done playing, so he is free to visit the others.

Indiana remains an outside shot to hold on to Ebanks, who recently de-committed after Kelvin Sampson took a buyout after committing repeated NCAA recruiting violations.

Andy Katz reported Sunday that Washington State coach Tony Bennett has decided not to pursue the Hoosiers’ head coaching job.

Lance Stephenson and the Lincoln Railsplitters won their second straight Class AA title in the New York State Federation Tournament of Champions title Sunday afternoon with an 87-67 victory over Holy Cross in Glens Fall, N.Y.

Stephenson posted a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds to earn tourney MVP honors.

Justin Greene added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Railsplitters (19-1), who also got 20 points from Darwin Ellis and 14 from Khalif Staten.

Sylven Landesberg, named Mr. New York Basketball on Sunday, scored 31 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead the Knights (22-9), while Kayvon Roberts added 19 points.

The 6-foot-5 Stephenson, who is the star of an Internet reality series entitled “Born Ready,” is being recruited by numerous major D-1 programs, including USC, Memphis, North Carolina, Georgetown, Seton Hall and Louisville.

Stephenson and Landesberg both missed the adidas Nations Workouts at Seton Hall University, but are expected to attend the future adidas events in Portland, Ore. in mid-May and in Los Angeles in mid-June. They will reconvene in Dallas Aug. 7-12 for the adidas Global Basketball Experience.

St. Anthony junior wing Dominic Cheek said he’s up in the air about which college to attend but that he hopes to decide by the end of the summer.

“New schools are popping up every day,” Cheek said after Saturday’s morning workout at the adidas Nations event at Seton Hall. “UConn just popped out of nowhere and offered me a scholarship. They want me to come and visit the campus, and Florida, too.”

Cheek, ranked by Rivals as the No. 4 shooting guard in the Class of 2009, said he had no visits planned yet, but “we’re going to set up a date soon (with UConn).”

Villanova, Texas, Wake Forest, Seton Hall and Rutgers are also involved.

Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez is working hard to land the 6-foot-6 Cheek. Gonzalez had a private meeting with Cheek in his office for about 15-20 minutes during a break in Saturday’s action.

“Rutgers and Seton Hall both have a chance,” said Cheek, whose averaged 12.3 points and seven rebounds for a St. Anthony team that finished a perfect 32-0 and won New Jersey Tournament of Champions, the 10th in St. Anthony’s illustrious history.

Cheek’s St. Anthony teammate, McDonald’s All-American Mike Rosario, would love to see Cheek follow him to Piscataway.

“Mike really, really wants me to go to his school, but I’m just taking it easy,” Cheek said.

And what did Cheek think of Rutgers landing St. Benedict’s 6-8 center Greg Echenique and Blair Academy 6-7 forward Austin Johnson, both juniors?

“That was great because it’s going to put Rutgers on the map now,” he said. “A lot of people are going to want to go to the school now because they got the two big kids and they got a McDonald’s All-American.”

As far as a style that suits him, Cheek said he’s been watching the NCAA tournament to keep tabs on the teams still alive, including Texas and Villanova.

“(I want an) up-and-down style,” he said. “Probably not too many plays or anything. I’m watching everyone who’s recruiting me right about now and see how they play and everything.”

Cheek is on the 2009 adidas US Naitonal team that also includes St. Patrick of Elizabeth junior G Dexter Strickland and Brooklyn Lincoln SF Lance Stephenson, although Stephenson did make the Seton Hall workouts because he’s competing in the New York State Federation Tournament of Champions.

“(Cheek) is coming in a little bit ahead fundamentally because he plays for a great high school coach (Bob Hurley) and plays with other great high school players,” said adidas Nations coach Ed Schilling, a former Nets assistant. “But the thing I’ve been impressed with is just his willingness to listen and to learn, and really take what we’re giving him and trying to apply it and then trying to increase the intensity as he gets it down. He wants to get better.”

The adidas Nations teams will meet again for training in Portland, Ore. in mid-May and in Los Angeles in mid-June. They will reconvene in Dallas Aug. 7-12 for the adidas Global Basketball Experience.

And when does Cheek hope to decide by?

“End of the summer, probably,” he said.

According to a story on ArizonaPreps.com, Rutgers has offered a scholarship to Mitchell Watt, a 6-foot-9 senior forward from Arizona Desert Edge High who averaged 13 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks , 4 assists and 2 steals per game while leading his team to a 28-2 record.

A 1st Team All-Region and First Team All-State selection by Arizona Hoop Scoop Magazine, Watt initially committed to Cornell but re-opened to play at a higher level.

Watt is being recruited by assistant coach Craig Carter, and a potential to visit campus is in the works.

“Rutgers would be a good home at the next level for me,” Watt was quoted as saying. “The Big East is real and the education and network possibilities are endless. It would be nice to play there.”

Rutgers has a three-man class coming in for next year, highlighted by McDonald’s All-American Mike Rosario of St. Anthony; 6-6 wing Pat Jackson of Brooklyn Boys & Girls; and 6-8 big Christian Morris of South Kent (Conn.).

If Watt commits, he would be the fourth member of that class.

Rutgers also made noise this week by securing commitments from 6-8 St. Benedict’s junior Greg Echenique and 6-7 Blair forward Austin Johnson.

I’m as much of a Michael Wilbon fan as the next guy, but while blogging tonight I happened to hear Wilbon discussing the Dallas Mavericks blogging controversy on “Pardon the Interruption.”