Senior forwards C.J. Leslie of Raleigh (N.C.) Word of God Academy and Terrence Jones Portland (Ore.) Jefferson both attended Kentucky’s Blue-White scrimmage Wednesday night, according to various reports.

Leslie, the No. 4 power forward in the Class of 2010, was supposed to attend Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness last week but didn’t attend. Seton Hall is hoping to get a visit from Leslie as well, but his camp has been very quiet about his plans.

Word of God coach Erasto Hatchett told me earlier this month the 6-foot-8, 205-pound Leslie is c

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- As one of the top available point guards on the market last spring, James Beatty received a lot of love from colleges across the nation.

Coaches from Kentucky, Baylor, Cincinnati, UConn and Rutgers pursued the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Miami Dade College floor general.

“It was really a tough choice for me because so many schools were after me. With a lot of point guards going to the NBA early, my phone just never stopped ringing,” recalled Beatty, a Wilmington, N.C., native.

Read the full story here.

Here’s my feature from the other day on Mike Rosario and Greg Echenique.

(Photo courtesy Rutgers Athletics)

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Last year after every practice at Technical Career Institutes in Manhattan, head coach Pernell Hosier would issue a challenge to shooting guard Jamel Jackson.

If Jackson could make a halfcourt shot, the team wouldn’t have to run.

If he missed it, the players ran.

“He made 50 out of 100,” Hosier said with a laugh over the phone.

The 6-foot-3, 202-pound Jackson shot 47 percent from the floor and 50 percent from 3-point range as a freshman, when he averaged 24.5 points a game. As a sophomore he averaged 21.5 points. (more…)

Some say Lance Stephenson will succeed at Cincinnati. Others think he’ll fail and maybe implode the team along with him.

Personally, I’m in the former category. I think Lance is in a perfect spot at Cincinnati. He’s surrounded by a tough coach (Mick Cronin), experienced players who also want to win (Deonta Vaughn, Yancy Gates) and he’s out of the fishbowl of New York City.

The 6-foot-5 Brooklyn native was voted the Big East preseason Rookie of the Year.

He also impressed observers Saturday in his first scrimmage when he dropped 22 points in 25 minutes, leading the Red team to a 50-43 victory over the Black team, according to Bill Koch of the Cincinnati Enquirer. (more…)

Hit the Video Player at right for my interview from Big East media day with Villanova coach Jay Wright, whose team is coming off its first Final Four appearance in 24 years.

The ‘Cats were picked No.  1 in the Big East preseason poll, ahead of No. 2 West Virginia and No. 3 UConn.

“It’s an honor and I want our guys to enjoy that today. We have such great respect for everybody in this league and for them to pick us No. 1, we’re excited about that,” Wright said.

In this interview Wright talks about his deep pool of guards, led by senior Scottie Reynolds, a first-team all-Big East preseason selection; what the loss of Dante Cunningham and the seniors means; and what the freshmen class of Mouph Yarou, Isaiah Armwood, Dominic Cheek and Maalik Wayns can bring to the team.

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Austin Carroll, a 6-foot-4, 195-pound postgraduate wing from Brewster (N.H.) Academy, verbally committed to Rutgers on Tuesday, choosing the Knights over Harvard.

“Yes, I did. I did it a little while ago,” he said by phone. “It came down to Rutgers and Harvard at the end.”

Rutgers beat writer Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com broke the news.

Carroll, who lives outside of Boston and is the son of former NBA and college coach John Carroll, said he wanted to play in the Big East. He is Rutgers’ first commit from the Class of 2010.

“The Big East was obviously a big part of it,” he said. “It’s kind of a big thing if you come from the East. It’s kind of hard to say no. I really like their coaching staff. I got (more…)

When Jordan Theodore first signed with Seton Hall out of Paterson (N.J.) Catholic High School two years ago, Pirates coach Bobby Gonzalez said he was as good or better than any senior guard in the state of New Jersey.

It was high praise, but not everyone believed it at the time.

After all, Theodore wasn’t a McDonald’s All-American like Rutgers commit Mike Rosario, or a point guard on an undefeated team like the St. Anthony duo of Jio Fontan (Fordham) and Travon Woodall (Pittsburgh).

Read the full story here.

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GREENBURGH, N.Y. – During one brutal week last February, Kobe Bryant dropped a Madison Square Garden-record 61 points on the Knicks.

Two days later, LeBron James stopped by the Garden and gave New York a triple-double featuring 52 points.

Two months after that, Dwyane Wade came through the Big Apple and scored 55 points on the Knicks’ “defense.”

All told, three of the top six individual scoring outputs last season in the NBA came against the Knicks.

Read the full story here.

NBA ROSTERS FEATURE 83 INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS

There will be 83 international players from 36 countries and territories on NBA rosters, matching the record of international players on opening night rosters (2006-07).  Twenty-seven of the 30 teams have at least one international player. (more…)

**Read the feature from today on former Paterson Catholic and current Seton Hall point guard Jordan Theodore

**Click the Video Player at right for my interview with Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez from Big East Media Day last week.

Bobby talks about Theodore, Herb Pope, the Big East standings and his recent contract extension.

“If we keep everybody healthy and eligible and all that stuff, I think that we have a chance to be an NCAA Tournament team without question and that’s definitely one of our goals,” he said.

For more Seton Hall news, click on the links below:

**Jay Pinkston, Devon Collier to wrap up visits at Seton Hall

**Pope focusing on family, school

**Big East player interviews

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Rod Odom has decommitted from Arizona and is now headed to Vanderbilt instead.

“Yes,” the 6-foot-8 Long Island native wrote Monday in a text message. “It’s a better fit for me academically and its closer to home.”

Odom, ranked No. 88 overall in the Class of 2010 and No. 19 among small forwards, initially committed to Arizona earlier this month.

Odom, out of Concord (Mass.) Middlesex, called Arizona head coach Sean Miller Sunday night and told him he had changed his mind and would no longer be headed West.

“I knew that he had a conversation with Coach Miller last night,” Rod Odom Sr. said Monday. “But I know that a couple weeks  ago he mentioned that he was having mixed feelings. It was a real tight race between Vanderbilt and Arizona.

“I said, ‘Listen, if you feel the same way in the next couple weeks you need to get on the phone with Coach Miller and you guys need to talk’ and I guess he made that call yesterday.”

Odom initially chose Arizona over Vanderbilt, Boston College, West Virginia and Harvard.

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