NEW YORK – While watching the recent NCAA championship game at home in Philadelphia with family members, Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris enjoyed a perspective that no one else in the country could share.

The twins, from Apex Academies(CQ) in Pennsauken, N.J., had committed to both teams in the title game: Memphis and Kansas.

They originally chose Memphis in 2006, then de-committed (twice) and ultimately signed with Kansas in November.

So how did they feel watching Mario Chalmers hit that fateful 3-pointer for Kansas to send the game into overtime?

Read the full story here.

St. Joseph’s commit Dominic Rutledge is awaiting some academic results before he will know his immediate future.

“We’re just coming down the backstretch on some academic issues and then we’ll go from there,” said Kevin Strong, Rutledge’s coach at Edison Jobs Corp.

Strong said that if Rutledge failed to qualify next year, he would attend a junior college, not a prep school, but that they would know more in early May.

The 6-7, 230-pound Rutledge averaged 15 points and 11 rebounds last season as the team finished 17-13. He also competed this weekend with Jersey Elite at the Providence Jam Fest, getting to the Silver Division championship game.

Rutledge in November chose St. Joe’s over Seton Hall, St. John’s, Providence and Auburn.

“I think he’s going to be one of the best players in the Atlantic 10,” Strong said in November. “In his freshman year, I think he can be an All-Conference player. At the four, I don’t think he’s going to find many fours that can match up with him. If he brings you out 12 feet, he can get to the basket and finish with authority.”

Added Rutledge’s AAU coach, Galen Smith: “He’s very, very athletic. He’s a four and he has a lot of three skills. He’s a mismatch as a power forward because there aren’t too many big guys who can defend him off the dribble. He can (also) shoot with both hands. He’s ambidextrous.”

How good can he be?

“The sky’s the limit,” Smith said. “I’ve coached a lot of kids in the last 20 years. He has a full body right now. He’s strong. He’s athletic. His wingspan is 7 feet and he has a 40-plus vertical. He can get up over the rim.”

Jarrett Mann will remain committed to Stanford now that the Cardinal has hired a new head coach.

“I think Jarrett’s going to stay at Stanford now that they’ve hired Johnny Dawkins,” Blair Academy coach Joe Mantegna said Monday by phone. “He’s known Johnny for years. He’s a great man and a great coach.”

Dawkins has a history with Blair, having trained former Blair standout Luol Deng during Deng’s year at Duke.

“He worked with Luol Deng the year he was at Duke,” Mantegna said. “Luol raves about the work Johnny did on his game.”

When former Stanford coach Trent Johnson left for LSU, the 6-6, 210-pound Mann said he had been contacted by a number of schools, including Seton Hall, Virginia, Georgia Tech and Penn State. He said he was considering leaving and was awaiting an announcement on a new coach.

“I think Jarrett was leaning toward staying anyway,” Mantegna said.

Despite reports saying that Bobby Maze would visit St. John’s this past weekend, he did not come to New York.

“Bobby is visiting Cincinnati this weekend, Kentucky the weekend after that,” Hutchison (Kan.) Community College coach Ryan Swanson said by email. “No visit has been set yet for St. John’s.” 

Maze averaged 20.7 points and was named NJCAA All-American this past season at Hutchison. He initially committed to Maryland but both sides agreed to go another way after the Terps secured a pledge from Tyree Evans.

Former St. Johns’ guard Mike Cavataio will transfer to Holy Cross, according to a source close to the program.

Cavataio, a 6-4, 190-pound swingman from St. Francis Prep in Forest Hills, N.Y. native, played in 17 games as a rookie last season, averaging 1.4 points per contest and 1.2 rebounds in 5.9 minutes.

“I enjoyed my time at St. John’s, and I think it was a great experience to have played here,” said Cavataio. “I have a great relationship with my coaches and teammates and I wish my team ‘good luck’ as I head into a new situation, hopefully where I can earn some more minutes and play a bigger role.”

He will have to sit out next season as per NCAA transfer rules.

While Cavataio and former teammate Larry Wright transferring, St. John’s needs to bring in some recruits to help fill out the squad for next season. Read more here on their options.

St. John’s may have missed out on Jonathan Mitchell, but the Red Storm are still in the mix with several other recruits, according to a source close to the program.

St. John’s AD Chris Monasch told me Thursday that “a number of athletes” would be on campus this week and next week, adding “I think we’ll see something happen in the next few days.”

The school has four scholarships to give. Here’s a brief list of who they’re looking at:

**Ty Edmondson – A 6-3 PG from University Heights in Hopkinsville, Ky and a high school teammate of Tennessee-bound standout Scotty Hopson. Won the Kentucky portion of the dunk contest during the recent All-Star Jam of the Kentucky-Ohio All-Star game.
Considered a decent prospect being mostly recruited by low mid-majors. Was on campus this week.
**Quincy Roberts – An intriguing 6-5 SG from Harrisburg (Pa.) High who initially committed to Miami.  Also being courted by Va Tech.  Also on campus last week.
**Bobby Maze – Formerly of Oklahoma and now at Hucthinson (Kan.) Community College, where he averaged 20.7 points 4.5 rebounds and nearly seven assists per game. Committed to Maryland but both sides decided he should look elsewhere after Maryland received a commitment from Tyree Evans. Kentucky, Wichita State, Cincinnati and Southern Cal also reportedly involved. On St. John’s campus this weekend.
**Karon Burton- A smallish PG much like Edmondson.  From Pennsylvania and is friends with Quincy Roberts. Grades could be a concern.

**Sean Kilpatrick – Unclear if White Plains star will qualify for ’08, but lists St. John’s as his top choice.

**Jordan Henriquez- Visited recently but will likely prep next year.
**Stefan Bonneau-Currently at SUNY-Orange.  Low level schools looking at him. 

Jonathan Mitchell has set his visit to Rutgers.

Mitchell will visit Rutgers May 5-7, immediately following his visit to Seton Hall the weekend of May 2.

As first reported Friday by ZAGSBLOG, the 6-foot-7 Mitchell is no longer considering St. John’s and will decide between Rutgers and Seton Hall. Both schools have offered.

“It’s really those two,” Herb Mitchell, Jonathan’s uncle, said Friday. “We’re going into it with our eyes open and we’re taking it from there.”

Mitchell, a former Mr. Basketball in New York State while at Mount Vernon, will have to sit out next season after transferring from Florida.

St. Anthony senior Tyshawn Taylor visited national champion Kansas between Wednesday and Friday this past week and enjoyed his time in Lawrence.

“It was nice, I had a real good time,” Taylor said Saturday by phone. “I met with all the coaches. I went to Coach Bill Self’s house to eat on Wednesday.

“I talked to all the players. Russell Robinson was my host the first night and Sherron Collins was my host the second night. I asked about making the transition from the big city to Kansas and they said no matter where you go have to adjust because college life is different. They like it so much, sometimes they don’t want to go home even if they get the chance.”

A first-team All-State selection, Taylor recently asked for his release from his Letter of Intent to Marquette after Tom Crean left for Indiana and is considering Kansas, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Florida, Texas and Marquette.

He has one visit remaining and may still opt to see Virginia, Florida or Texas.

“I”m going to take my time (to decide),” he said. “I’m not in a rush. I don’t want to rush things. I’m going to take my time and weigh my options.”

Kansas has three players from New Jersey coming to campus next season, twins Marcus and Markieff Morris of Apex Academy in Cherry Hill and Quintrell Thomas of St. Patrick of Elizabeth. Kansas assistant Joe Dooley is also a Garden State native.

“I talked to Markieff,” Taylor said. “It’s cool but it’s not like something that I’m banking on (to have other Jersey players there). It’s cool to know that someone else from home is going to be there.”

Louisville coach Rick Pitino is done with Derrick Caracter. Now he’s somebody else’s problem.

Caracter has been talking about becoming — and projected to be — a potential NBA player since his days at Scotch Plains-Fanwood and St. Patrick of Elizabeth. Problem always was the kid’s work ethic. Or lack thereof.

Now Caracter, who averaged 8.3 points and 4.5 rebounds last season, has declared himself for the NBA Draft, and Pitino said he’ll find out just where he stands come June.

“I think he’s been looking in the mirror and conning himself for a long, long time,” Pitino said. “Now he’s got to go and find out what the real world is like.”

Caracter is enrolled at Louisville and has yet to hire an agent, leaving open the possibility of his return in the fall. But Pitino doesn’t appear to want him back.

“That’s not in the cards for him right now,” Pitino said. “It’s not in his best interest as well as our best interest. Our best interest and his best interest right now is to try to become a second-round draft pick. Too much has happened for him to turn around now.”

It will be a two-horse race between Rutgers and Seton Hall for the services of Jonathan Mitchell, a 6-foot-7 former Mr. Basketball in New York State who is transferring from Florida.

“It’s really those two,” Herb Mitchell, Jonathan’s uncle, said Friday. “We’re going into it with our eyes open and we’re taking it from there.”

After Herb flies down to pick Jonathan up in Gainesville this week, the two will drive North to New York in time to visit Seton Hall beginning May 2. The Rutgers visit has yet to be finalized, although the Scarlet Knights have offered Mitchell a scholarship.

Herb left a message Friday morning for St. John’s head coach Norm Roberts telling him that Jonathan was no longer considering the Red Storm.

“Jon called me (Thursday) night to talk and he just said, ‘I’m not really feeling St. John’s,’” Herb said Friday. “There’s some things going on with the coaching situation and the uncertainty of whether Coach Roberts is going to be there or not. (Jonathan’s) got to get it right, and if he makes that decision to go there and Coach Roberts is not there, he’s sitting out a year and then he’s back to square one again.”

Roberts was supposed to be given an extension on his current contract, but on Thursday St. John’s AD Chris Monasch said, “We’re still working on all those details.”

Herb added that the attrition rate at St. John’s — Larry Wright and Mike Cavataio recently announced their plans to transfer, bringing to 10 the total number of players who have departed under Roberts — factored into Jonathan’s decision.

“You read the articles, the number of people who have left the program,” Herb said. “In Jonathan’s situation, he realized he would just be doing a visit and he doesn’t want to waste anybody’s time.”

That leaves Seton Hall and Rutgers to duke it out for the services of Mitchell, the all-time leading scorer in Mount Vernon High history, a rich tradition that includes Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon.

The late signing period begins May 21 and Mitchell will have to sit out the 2008-09 season wherever he ends up.

He has ties to both New Jersey schools. Mitchell teamed with Rutgers freshman guard Mike Coburn at Mount Vernon, and he played on the Riverside Church AAU team for current Seton Hall assistant Derm Player.

When Mitchell visits Seton Hall, he will be joined by Melvyn “Big O” Oliver, a 6-11, 340-pound center from Mississippi Elite Christian Academy, who made an oral commitment to Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez earlier this week.

Mitchell is a versatile small forward who possesses an inside-out game with the ability to knock down shots from the perimeter, while rebounding well and finishing around the basket. At Florida, Mitchell had trouble finding a role and gaining minutes. He averaged 1.4 points as a freshman and 3.1 points and 1.8 rebounds off the bench as a sophomore. His best performance came in a Dec. 29 victory over Temple when he had 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting and added four rebounds and an assist.

He initially chose Florida over Marquette, Virginia and Miami and owns a national championship ring from Florida’s first of back-to-back titles in 2006.

Herb said his nephew would have something to prove wherever he ended up.

“He’s got a chip on his shoulder right now,” Herb said. “He’s got a lot to prove.”