Somebody is going to break the LeBron James story.

We don’t know who. We don’t know when. But sometime in the coming days or weeks, some entrepreneurial journalist is going to scoop everyone else and land the biggest sports story of the year, and maybe the decade.

Odds are it will be someone like Chris Broussard of ESPN The Magazine, Chris Sheridan, Ric Bucher or Marc Stein of ESPN.com, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports or Brian Windhorst of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer.

My old Columbia University classmate Richard Deitsch of SI.com put out these odds on Twitter: (more…)

Quincy Miller hit a game-winning 3-pointer from the right corner with 25 seconds left and the USA U18 team held on for an 81-78 victory over Brazil in the gold medal game in San Antonio, Texas.

“It’s the best feeling in the world to hit the shot,” Miller said by phone. “I wanted to make it. We’re going home with the gold medal.”

Duke-bound point guard Kyrie Irving scored a team-high 21 points, posted 10 rebounds and dished out five assists and uncommitted guard Austin Rivers added 19 points. (more…)

Eniel Polynice, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound wing from Sarasota, Fla., has decided to transfer to Seton Hall from Ole Miss and expects to be eligible to suit up immediately next season.

“I decided to pick Seton Hall because of the coaching staff,” Polynice said Wednesday by phone. “Coach [Kevin] Willard and Coach Dan McHale. I decided it was a great situation and a good opportunity to play in the Big East.”

Polynice also visited Xavier and Nebraska.

Polynice played in 33 games with 25 starts last season at Ole Miss. He averaged 8.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and a team-high 3.9 assists in 24.9 minutes per game.

Polynice declared for the NBA Draft, but didn’t hire an agent. (more…)

A couple of high-profile college transfers are on the move…

Former Monmouth forward Travis Taylor has opted to transfer to Boston College and play for former Cornell coach Steve Donahue. Taylor chose the Eagles over Seton Hall and Temple.

Taylor, a 6-foot-7 sophomore from Union, N.J., averaged 17.8 points and 7.6 rebounds last season

“This was an extremely tough choice for Travis and multiple factors played into his decision making process,” said Bill Diamond, the Taylor family adviser. “It was well thought out and he and his family asked all of the right questions. Travis loved the campus, the academic reputation and the coaching staff.  He has an opportunity to earn immediate playing time in one of the best conferences in the country. Steve Donahue is a proven coach and will do a tremendous job in Travis’s maturation process on and off the court.” (more…)

Another day, another group of stud recruits at Rutgers.

The Scarlet Knights hosted Rakeem Christmas, a 6-8 center ranked No. 1 in the Class of 2011 at his position; Jermaine Sanders,  a 6-5 wing from Manhattan Rice; Greg Lewis, a 6-9 center from Baltimore St. Frances ranked No. 10 at his position; Kevin Smith, a 6-1 point guard from Baltimore Huntington Prep; and Aaron Brown, a 6-5 wing from Penn Wood (Pa.) High.

Christmas, out of Academy of the New Church in Bryn Athyn, Pa., visited with his aunt, Amira Hamid, from 11-2 p.m, but did not run with the team.

Christmas had cut his list to Georgetown, Florida, Florida International, Texas and Oklahoma, but Rutgers is now trying to break into the mix. (more…)

Tyrone Johnson, the No. 16 point point guard in the Class of 2011, has cut his college list to three schools.

“He cut his list. It’s Rutgers , Georgetown and Villanova,” said Derrick Bobbitt, Johnson’s AAU coach.

Johnson also held offers from Seton Hall, UNLV, Oklahoma State, Temple, Miami, Georgia Tech, Florida State, West Virginia, DePaul and UConn.

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Johnson is a rising senior at Plainfield (N.J.) High but is also mulling attending Montrose Christian for his senior season. Bobbitt said he was “still deciding” about that.

**Chris Hill, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound shooting guard from Creedmoore (N.C.) Christian Faith Academy, is on an unofficial to Seton Hall.

**Greg Lewis, a 6-9 C from Baltimore St. Frances, and Kevin Smith, a 6-1 PG from Huntington Prep, were both at Rutgers Tuesday.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Rod Thorn is stepping away from the Nets just as the franchise is entering its most critical time in recent memory, yet he wouldn’t commit to retiring completely from the NBA.

After the trade of Yi Jianlian to the Washington Wizards, the Nets are armed with some $30 million in salary-cap space to lavish on players like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

But Thorn will step down as president and general manager sometime after July 8, when teams can begin negotiating with free agents. Thorn declined to say exactly when he will leave.

“I certainly hope it won’t have any effect at all [on free agents],” Thorn, 69, said Tuesday during a press conference to officially introduce new draft picks Derrick Favors and Damion James. “I’m sure it won’t and I think that as we look for my successor I think we’ll have plenty of outstanding candidates.”

Read the full story at SNY.

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The Knicks are targeting Joe Johnson as their No. 1 free agent choice and believe he’s a better fit for the team than LeBron James, according to an NBA source with knowledge of the team’s plans.

“Yes, we think he’s a better player,” said the source. “[Johnson] makes other people better. With LeBron’s people running the lockerroom that hurts the organization.”

Told that James is widely regarded as a better player than Johnson, the source cited concerns about James’ entourage taking over the franchise.

Read the full story at SNY.

(Photo courtesy NBA.com)

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Perry Ellis is from Kansas, but he grew up a Duke fan.

“I actually grew up liking Duke but not [any] more,” the 6-foot-8, 212-pound rising junior said by phone from the Kevin Durant Skills Academy in Chicago. “That’s what I liked growing up more.”

Now a member of the USA Developmental National Team and one of the top small forwards in the nation, Ellis has a slew of elite programs after him — but he isn’t counting Duke among them.

Ellis lists Kansas, Memphis, Kentucky, Kansas State, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Stanford, Oklahoma and Wichita State as college options.

“Nobody has a an edge. I’m just looking,” said Ellis, who carries a 4.0 GPA. (more…)

Not long after speaking Monday morning with Anthony Davis Jr. and Sr., I called the father back to clarify something.

He ended up breaking the news that his son, a 6-foot-9, 187-pound forward from Chicago Perspectives Charter School, had actually cut his list to three schools.

“We’re looking at Syracuse, Kentucky and Ohio State,” Anthony Sr. said. “I think those three schools fit perfectly in the style of basketball he plays.” (more…)