**[See the documentary on Cheek, "A Star Emerges from City Streets."]

The Dominic Cheek Sweepstakes is about to end.

Ben Gamble, the associate head coach at St. Anthony in Jersey City, said the 6-foot-5 Cheek will make his announcement on Friday at 6 o’clock at the school gym.

“Dom will announce at St. Anthony on Dec. 12,” Gamble said.

Television coverage is still being worked out.

Cheek is down to Kansas, Memphis, Villanova, PIttsburgh and Rutgers and has taken official visits to all five schools.

“All the schools are still in there. Dom will make a decision this week,” Gamble said by phone Saturday. “It will be this week.” (more…)

One of my favorite All-Star events after the high school season is the Jordan Brand Classic, which will take place April 18, 2009 at Madison Square Garden. The event will begin with the International Game at 3:30, followed by the Regional (City vs. Suburbs) at 5:30 and the National Game at 8.

Recent participants include NBA stars LeBron James, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Amaré Stoudemire, Dwight Howard and 2008 Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant, as well as current NCAA standouts Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina), Blake Griffin (Oklahoma), Kyle Singler (Duke), Jrue Holiday (UCLA), Tyreke Evans (Memphis) and Demar DeRozan (USC). (more…)

Clark Francis’ rankings of the Top Seniors in the Class of 2009 are out and Brooklyn Lincoln guard Lance Stephenson tops the list.

Stephenson has said he will wait until the spring to announce his future plans. St. John’s, Kansas and USC are among the schools recruiting him, and some speculate he may also opt to follow Brandon Jennings to Europe.

Derrick Favors of South Atlanta follows at No. 2; Plantation (Fl.) American Heritage guard Kenny Boynton (Florida) is No. 3; Mobile (Al.) LeFlore center DeMarcus Cousins (UAB) is No. 4; and Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick guard Dexter Strickland (North Carolina) is No. 5.

The next five include Putnam City (Ok.) guard Xavier Henry (Memphis); Tampa (Fl.) Sickles forward John Henson (North Carolina); Tacoma (Wash.) guard Abdul Gaddy (Washington); Findlay (Nev.) Prep guard Avery Bradley (Texas); and St. Anthony (N.J.) wing Dominic Cheek. (more…)

Having completed his final official visit to Pittsburgh this week, Dominic Cheek has no timetable for making a decision but will sit down next week his coaches to discuss his options.

“Today [Friday] was our first day of practice so we’ve got to concentrate on St. Anthony right now,” Friars associate head coach Ben Gamble said in a phone interview. “And then maybe sometime late next week we’ll sit down and talk about each of the schools’ strengths, but there is no date set for a decision and no timeframe on an announcement.”

The 6-foot-5 Cheek visited Pitt Tuesday-Thursday and saw the No. 4 Panthers beat Belmont at home on Tuesday.

“He enjoyed it,” Gamble said. “He liked their style. He enjoyed the visit. He said the facilities were really nice.” (more…)

Nearly everywhere Dominic Cheek goes, he seems to run into a former teammate.

At Kansas, it was Tyshawn Taylor. At Rutgers, Mike Rosario. At Pitt is is Travon Woodall.

Of the five schools still on Cheek’s list, three feature freshmen who played alongside Cheek last year on St. Anthony’s undefeated national championship team. Only Memphis and Villanova do not.

I interviewed Woodall, a freshman point guard, tonight for a story running Friday in advance of Pitt’s trip to Newark for the Legends Classic. NCAA regulations prevent me from quoting Travon directly on what he said about Cheek. (more…)

I had a chance to catch up with Memphis head coach John Calipari on the phone today and we covered several topics, including Seton Hall, Tyreke Evans and Xavier Henry.

[For more on Seton Hall, check out Fooch's interview with Pirates head coach Bobby Gonzalez filmed in a leafy suburb]

**Memphis beat Seton Hall in the Puerto Rico Tip-off, but Pirates guard Jeremy Hazell went off for a career-high 32 points.

“He can really shoot the ball,” Calipari said of Hazell, who was named Big East Player of the Week after leading Seton Hall to a 2-1 record in Puerto Rico. “I think what they have are, they’ve got quick guards. With [Robert "Stix"] Mitchell back and the two big kids [John Garcia and Mike Davis], they’re not going to come at you with 9 and 10 guys. But the guys that they have are quick and active and have pride and have a swagger about them. I like their team. I just think we were a little fast and without Mitchell they were one guy short.” (more…)

Dominic Cheek says he enjoyed his weekend official visit to Rutgers but is still open to the five schools recruiting him.

Cheek did not commit during the early signing period in November and will choose from among Kansas, Memphis, Villanova, Pittsburgh and Rutgers and sign in the spring.

Cheek spent Friday-Sunday at Rutgers watching the Scarlet Knights beat Robert Morris Friday and then lose by one point, 64-63, in overtime to St. Bonaventure Sunday.

“I hung out with the players,” the 6-foot-5 Cheek, an All-State selection out of St. Anthony in Jersey City, said Monday by phone. “I asked them a lot of questions about the school and everything. I hung out with Mike Rosario, Corey Chandler, Anthony Farmer and Christian Morris.” (more…)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Dominic Cheek is sitting behind the Rutgers bench for today’s St. Bonaventure-Rutgers game at the Rutgers Athletic Center.

There’s not much of a student turnout today. Maybe everyone’s home watching the Titans-Jets game?

The 6-foot-5 wing from St. Anthony in Jersey City is here on his official visit and also took in Friday night’s 69-55 victory over Robert Morris in which his former St. Anthony teammate Mike Rosario went off for a career-high 27 points. (more…)

Dominic Cheek says Memphis is still on his list and had not been eliminated because Xavier Henry signed with the school last week.

“Memphis is not off the list,” Cheek wrote in a text message. “It’s never been off the list.”

Added St. Anthony associate head coach Ben Gamble: “He told me that yesterday, so they’re back on.”

Gamble had initially told me after Henry signed with Memphis on Wednesday that Memphis had been “eliminated” from Cheek’s list.

(more…)