A day after Knicks’ point guard Chris Duhon called out his teammates for a lack of focus entering the Charlotte game, his bosses and teammates reacted.

“I don’t think it’s a problem, let me put it that way,” Knicks President Donnie Walsh said before the Sixers-Knicks game Saturday at MSG.

Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni, though, said he was “glad he [Duhon] stepped up.”

“He probably could’ve done it just with the guys,” D’Antoni added. “Obviously, that would’ve been better. But we’re trying to get guys to get on the right side of professionalism and we need to do that.

“I don’t think it’s a big problem.” (more…)

No. 2 seed New Heights and the No. 1 New York Panthers will play for the is8 championship on Sunday in Queens after both teams won their semifinal games Saturday.

JayVaughn Pinkston poured in a game-high 30 points on 12-of-21 shooting and added seven rebounds, and Devon Collier added 27 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks to lead New Heights to an 84-80 victory over St. Benedict’s Prep.

“It’s great,” New Heights coach Kimani Young said. “is8 is one of the premier tournaments on the East Coast. To be right there at the end, the last two out of 70 teams, it’s a great accomplishment.” (more…)

The Knicks are only two games into their season and already there are signs of discord.

After Friday night’s 102-100 double-overtime loss at Charlotte, point guard Chris Duhon said he and his teammates “lost the game before it even started” because of a lack of focus.

“We lost this game before the game even started,” Duhon, who had 13 points and 8 assists, told reporters. “A lot of us weren’t taking the game serious — joking around, not really preparing for the game, and it showed. It just seems like we’re always taking a team’s first punch.”

He added: “We’re not that good. We can’t come in here and joke around and take the game lightly. It is a precious game, and we’ve got to be serious.”

***

HARRINGTON, DALEMBERT TO REUNITE

The Knicks begin a four-game homestand tonight against the 76ers, and it marks the first game I’ll cover for NBA.com.  Check that site later tonight for my story.

The game will feature a reunion of former Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick teammates Al Harrington of the Knicks and Sam Dalembert of the Sixers. (more…)

Kentucky freshman guard John Wall has been cleared to play by the NCAA.

The 6-foot-4 Wall must repay nearly $800 in expenses and sit the first exhibition game against Campbellsville (Nov. 2) and the first regular-season game against Morehead State (Nov. 13).

“I’m grateful to have this decision behind me. All I ever wanted was to go to school and play ball with my team,” Wall said. “This has been really hard for my mom and I want to thank her for her support during this process.” (more…)

If Mick Cronin had his way, every top player in New York City would follow Lance Stephenson.

To Cincinnati.

“I think it’s great for all the best players in New York to get out of New York and come to Cincinnati,” Cronin said with a smile in an interview you can see in the Video Player at right. “We hope that everybody follows Lance.”

The 6-foot-5 Stephenson was voted the Big East preseason Rookie of the Year, but is still awaiting word from the NCAA Clearinghouse on his amateurism issues.

“We’re waiting,” Cronin said. “He’s cleared academically so we’re just waiting on the amateur thing. He’s not the only one waiting. A lot of the elite players [John Wall, Renardo Sidney] are going through it…Hopefully, it’s done before the first game, I know that.” (more…)

***UPDATE: “The Street Stops Here” will appear nationally on PBS Wednesday, March 31 at 10 p.m.***

One of the bonuses of being a professional journalist is that you sometimes get advance copies of movies or books for review purposes.

On Wednesday I received a Fedex delivery containing the film, “The Street Stops Here,” which documents Bob Hurley’s 2007-08 St. Anthony Friars, who went a perfect 32-0 en route to the New Jersey Tournament of Champions title and won a national-record 25th state championship.

I watched it Thursday in the privacy of my living room and I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this film, and not just because I appear on camera (for about a split second) during a locker room scene in which Coach Hurley is yelling at his players.

This film is the perfect video complement to Adrian Wojnarowski’s wonderful book, “The Miracle of St. Anthony.”

If you are any kind of basketball fan, or any fan of human drama in general, run, don’t walk, to see this movie. (more…)

Hit the Video Player at upper right for my interview from Big East media day with West Virginia coach Bob Huggins, whose club was picked eighth in the AP preseason poll and ninth in the Coaches’ poll.

The Mountaineers feature a strong New York/New Jersey flavor with senior forwards Da’Sean Butler of Newark and and Wellington Smith of Summit, N.J.; sophomore forward Devin Ebanks of Long Island City, N.Y.; sophomore guard Darryl “Truck” Bryant of Brooklyn; sophomore wing Kevin Jones of Mount Vernon, N.Y.; and freshman center Danny Jennings of Staten Island, whom Huggins said may be the “best athlete on the team.”

For more on the Mountaineers, read my feature on Butler and Ebanks.

(Photo courtesy West Virginia Athletics)

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

Adreian Payne is headed to the Big Ten.

The 6-foot-10 center out of Dayton (Ohio) Jefferson chose Michigan State over West Virginia, Kentucky and Arizona.

“I decided to go to Michigan State,” Payne said on ESPNU. “I feel real comfortable stepping on campus going there. They offer a lot of good things, such as the academics [and] a good basketball program. And that’s what I was looking for in a school and a relationship with the head coach. Just to start a new year.”

Payne is ranked No. 4 among centers and No. 20 overall in the Class of 2010, according to Rivals.

Payne joins a Michigan State recruiting class for 2010 that includes Detroit Pershing guard Keith Appling, Fort Wayne, Ind., forward Russell Byrd, and Eaton Rapids, Mich., forward Alex Gauna., according to The Detroit News.

NAISMITH TROPHY 2009-10 PRESEASON WATCH LIST

Solomon Alabi, Florida State
Cole Aldrich, Kansas
Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest
James Anderson, Oklahoma State
Luke Babbitt, Nevada
Talor Battle, Penn State
Trevor Booker, Clemson
Matt Bouldin, Gonzaga
Craig Brackins, Iowa State
Avery Bradley, Texas
Kenny Boynton, Florida
Da’Sean Butler, West Virginia
Patrick Christopher, California
Sherron Collins, Kansas
Ed Davis, North Carolina
Devan Downey, South Carolina
Jerome Dyson, UConn
Devin Ebanks, West Virginia
Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame
Manny Harris, Michigan
Gordon Hayward, Butler
Lazar Hayward, Marquette
Xavier Henry, Kansas
Robbie Hummel, Purdue
Damion James, Texas
Jerome Jordan, Tulsa
Sylven Landesberg, Virginia
Gani Lawal, Georgia Tech
Kalin Lucas, Michigan State
Tasmin Mitchell, LSU
Greg Monroe, Georgetown
A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt
Patrick Patterson, Kentucky
Jerome Randle, California
Scottie Reynolds, Villanova
Samardo Samuels, Louisville
Larry Sanders, VCU
Kyle Singler, Duke
Tyler Smith, Tennessee
Isaiah Thomas, Washington
Evan Turner, Ohio State
Edwin Ubiles, Siena
Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State
Greivis Vasquez, Maryland
Kemba Walker, UConn
John Wall, Kentucky
Willie Warren, Oklahoma
Terrico White, Mississippi
Nic Wise, Arizona
Chris Wright, Dayton

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

Seton Hall commit Fuquan Edwin dropped 25 points and Kyle Anderson scored 17 Wednesday night to lead Paterson Catholic to an 82-71 victory over Rice in the championship game of the Paterson Fall Ball at Paterson Kennedy, according to NJHoops-Journal.com.

It was the second straight Fall Ball crown for head coach Damon Wright’s Cougars.

The 6-foot-6 Edwin will sign with the Pirates in November and will be on campus Friday (more…)

Kansas topped the USA TODAY/ESPN Top 25 men’s basketball preseason coaches’ poll released Thursday, and six Big East clubs made the rankings.

Kansas, the 2008 NCAA champion, was voted the preseason No. 1 despite several off-the-court issues, including recent fights between members of the football and basketball teams that left New Jersey guard Tyshawn Taylor with an injured thumb.

“Based on what we return and the quality of newcomers that we were able to recruit, I could see why people would think this,” Kansas coach Bill Self told USA Today. “It means you have good players, but it also puts a target on your back. That will make the season tougher, but we’ll be that much more prepared for March.” (more…)