After the Boo Williams tournament in April, Maurice Harkless read Internet reports “that were badmouthing me, talking about [how] I didn’t play hard or with a motor.”

So when the 6-foot-8 Harkless left his Queens home in early July, he had a mission in mind.

“Yes, because a lot of people say I don’t play hard and I felt like I was underrated, so I just had to go out there and show everybody that I’m better than what they thought I was,” Harkless said Saturday by phone from the Summer Classic at Fordham.

Consider the mission accomplished. (more…)

A year ago at this time, Elijah Carter was being recruited by low- and mid-level Division 1 programs, just hoping to get a scholarship to play ball.

A year later, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Carter is one of the hottest prospects available, as evidenced by the fact that Cincinnati, Rutgers, Oregon, Texas A&M and Charlotte wanted him to attend college this fall even though he has already said he’ll spend a prep year at Brewster (N.H. ) Academy.

“He plays like Kyrie Irving,” one Big East assistant coach said, referring to the McDonald’s All-American from Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick headed to Duke. “He’s best friends with Kyrie Irving. His game is similar to his. He’s not really a point guard. He’s more of a scoring guard but he can play the point.”

Read the full story at SNY.

(Photos courtesy Eric Harrield)

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By BRETT BARROUQUERE

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)—Rick Pitino never said a woman who claimed the Louisville basketball coach got her pregnant after a one-night stand had to get an abortion but did advise she “go out of town” to get medical care, his longtime aide told a jury Friday.

The aide, Tim Sypher, was testifying against the woman, his ex-wife Karen Cunagin Sypher. He testified about helping her get an abortion at her extortion trial. The two divorced after she was indicted last year on charges of demanding cash and gifts worth millions from Pitino to keep secret their 2003 tryst on a restaurant table.

Tim Sypher, 49, testified that he called clinics in Indiana and Ohio before taking the woman, then known as Karen Wise, to Cincinnati, where she terminated the pregnancy on Aug. 29, 2003. Tim Sypher said he paid for the procedure from $3,000 Pitino gave to Karen Sypher for medical care.

“I just figured it was a good thing to do, go out of town,” Tim Sypher said. “Yeah, he (Pitino) said go out of town.” (more…)

West Virginia officials say basketball coach Bob Huggins’ fell and broke seven ribs after he took medication on an empty stomach and felt lightheaded.

“He said he kind of stood up quickly and apparently had a bit of lightheadedness and tripped – and I don’t know if he tripped, per se – but he fell down and hit the edge of a table,” West Virginia AD Oliver Luck told the Charleston Daily Mail.

WVU spokeswoman Becky Lofstead on Friday confirmed the report to The Associated Press. She wouldn’t say what the medication was.

Huggins, 56, fell in a Las Vegas hotel room last Friday as he was packing to head to Florida for another AAU event. He was originally said to have broken four ribs. It was later reported he had broken seven.

Luck and West Virginia president Jim Clements told the paper alcohol was not a factor. (more…)

Greedy Peterson is headed to Greece.

The 6-foot-6, 235-pound Brooklyn native and former Providence forward has inked a one-year, six-figure deal to play for the Rhodes Club of the Greek League.

Gerard Jones, Peterson’s advisor and the older brother of West Virginia sophomore forward Kevin Jones, said Peterson planned to return to the U.S. in 2011 with hopes of entering the NBA Draft.

“My game is multifaceted — scoring, rebounding and defending – whatever I am called on to do for my team,” Peterson, 21, said in a statement. “I welcome the challenge the international league brings and The Rhodes Club will see a player focused, determined and ready to step in and contribute right away. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to my family and  advisors for their support.”

Peterson leaves for Greece Aug. 23. He also had interest from clubs in Israel, Italy, Spain and Turkey, Jones said. (more…)

Andre Drummond could release a college list in August and St. Thomas More coach Jere Quinn says UConn remains in good position with the 6-foot-11, 265-pound rising junior.

“I still think it’s just too early to tell,” Quinn, the head coach at St. Thomas More, said Friday by phone. “But he’s always liked Connecticut and he’s always liked Coach [Jim] Calhoun and he’s always liked the idea of staying close to home.”

Drummond, who was born in Mount Vernon, N.Y. and raised in Middletown, Conn., recently told The Hartford Courant, “I’d rather stay pretty close to home.”

Still, Quinn added: “We’re hearing from the Kentuckys, the Carolinas. Everybody in the world wants to recruit the kid.” (more…)

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Paterson, N.J., Travon Woodall has never traveled outside the United States.

When he and his Pittsburgh teammates left Thursday for a 12-day, six-game, three-city tour of Ireland, he had one overriding fear.

“I’m nervous because the thing I’m scared of the most is Leprechuans,” cracked Woodall, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound point guard who starred at St. Anthony under legendary coach Bob Hurley.

Read the full story at SNY.

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The July recruiting period will wind down with a one-day event known as the Summer Classic on Saturday  at Fordham University.

Among the featured teams expected are: New Heights, NJ Playaz, Long Island Lightning, Metro Hawks, Expressions, NY Panthers, Team NJABC and Juice All-Stars.

Some of the top players on hand will be Maurice Harkless, Jermaine Sanders, Sidiki Johnson (Arizona), Myles Mack, Myles Davis, Desmond Hubert, Derrick Randall, Nkereuwem Okoro and Daniel Dingle. (more…)

Amar’e Stoudemire won’t travel to Turkey with Team USA because of insurance issues related to his left knee.

But he is enjoying an overseas adventure just the same.

The new Knicks forward, who signed a five-year, $100 million deal with New York but was kept out of the World Championships because of insurance concerns, is currently visiting Israel after coming to believe that his mother has Jewish roots.

“I know there are some reports that he is Jewish, but he is not,” Happy Walters, Stoudemire’s agent, told TMZ.com.  “He thinks there may be some Jewish blood on his mother’s side and he is researching it.”

Still, Stoudemire says he’s learning Hebrew on the trip.

“Jerusalem is a beautiful city, I’m at a cafe eating a late lunch,” Stoudemire wrote on his Twitter feed. “I’m learning Hebrew by the min. Keep up !! Shalom.”

Stoudemire also Tweeted before he left Tuesday: “On the flight to Israel. This is going to be a great trip. The holy land. Learn about it. This ze ha’halom sheli. Shalom.” (more…)

By BRETT BARROUQUERE and WILL GRAVES, Associated Press Writers

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A woman accused of demanding millions to stay quiet about a tryst with Rick Pitino initiated the sex by whispering to him and unzipping his pants when he got up to leave an empty Italian restaurant, he testified Wednesday.