“There is never a good time for something like this, but it is a decision that had to be made moving forward,” Crean said in a statement.

Crean sent McLeod recruiting on Saturday so the assistant was not with the team when it beat Northwestern 88-80 in OT at Assembly Hall.

A Jersey City, N.J. native and former standout at Duke and St. Anthony High School, McLeod was an Indiana assistant for two seasons.

He was instrumental in the recruitment of St. Patrick star Kyrie Irving, who ultimately chose Duke over several other schools.

ALLEN TO GET PENN JOB

Penn interim head coach Jerome Allen will officially be named the program’s full-time coach before the Final Four, sources close to the program said.

“Not only alum have gone to AD Steve Bilsky, but boosters, donors, parents and players have pledged their unconditional support,” a source said. “They might not even interview outside candidates.”

A former Penn standout, Allen was hired as an assistant coach in August and became interim coach when head coach Glen Miller was fired Dec. 14 after an 0-7 start.

Penn is now 6-21.

“Jerome Allen is the right person for the job,” Zack Rosen, the Quakers’ sophomore point guard and former St. Benedict’s Prep standout, told the Philadelphia Inquirer last month. “They should hire him as soon as they possibly can. They should be begging him to stay.”

(Photo courtesy CSTV)

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

After Duke beat Maryland on Saturday, Coach K referred to the Nets prospective Russian owner, Mikhail Prokhorov, and said: “The guy’s Russian, right? You think he’d hire a Polish guy?”

He added: “No one’s contacted me. And if they do, I think nyet would be easy for me to say.”

Louisville coach Rick Pitino also said he wasn’t interested in the Nets’ job and planned to stay at Louisville until he’s 65. “I hope they want to have me,” said Pitino, 57.

(Photo courtesy AP)

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.

NEW YORK — Rick Pitino

On top of his team’s ugly 74-55 loss to St. John’s at Madison Square Garden, Pitino tried to quell questions about his coaching future.

“I’ve been at Louisville nine years, and I’m hoping to go to [age] 65, and I hope it’s at Louisville, and I hope they want to have me. Maybe after tonight they want me to coach a pro team,” Pitino joked.

Read the full story here.

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.

Kyrie Irving

The Celtics won despite a huge controversy swirling around the program.

St. Patrick will be declared ineligible for the upcoming New Jersey state tournament at a New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association hearing this week because it allegedly held illegal preseason practices, according to a source with direct knowledge.

The NJSIAA said there is a “99 percent” chance the hearing will be moved to Friday from Wednesday because of the impending snowstorm.

The executive committee of the NJSIAA is expected to “rubber stamp” the recommendation of the Controversies Committee to suspend St. Patrick, the source said.

“We had several open gyms prior to the season – that was the accusation,” Celtics coach Kevin Boyle told MaxPreps.com after the Taft game. “It has to go to another committee to decide if it’s overturned or if they agree with the penalty.

“I’ll say this: something will come out that is really going to surprise people.”

The source said Boyle will receive a three-game suspension — potentially beginning with Friday’s game against Oak Hill Academy in the PrimeTime Shootout — and the program faces two years of probation.

If that happens, the Celtics won’t be able to defend the Tournament of Champions title they won last season.

“That would be very disappointing,” the Duke-bound Irving, who scored a game-high 24 points against Taft, told MaxPreps.com. “This is my senior year and I’d love to end my year winning back-to-back state titles.

“The thing is we can’t control or pay any attention to that. It’s a ruling. We have to get past all that and just play good basketball. I think we did that tonight.”

If St. Patrick can’t defend its title, the T of C would be wide open to a number of challengers, including Paterson Catholic, St. Anthony, Plainfield and Seton Hall Prep.

Boyle said he hoped his team could compete in either the state tournament or the ESPN Rise National Invitational in April.

“We’ll see what is available to us,” Boyle told MaxPreps. “We’re confident and hopeful it will be in one of those two events.”

An ESPN spokesman said the tournament will only invite teams that have been cleared by their state’s governing bodies.

“Before we will even approach a school we have to know that the state association or the governing body will allow them to play in the games,” Crystal Howard said. “If they don’t say that schools in their governance could play in our games, we won’t even consider going against those rulings and actually select or invite.”

(Photo courtesy SI.com)

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.

Texas-bound guard Myck Kabongo, pictured at left courtesy The Star-Ledger, went coast-to-coast and scored on a layup with 5 seconds remaining to give the Gray Bees the victory.

“Yeah, I just got it and put a little bank shot runner and it went in,” Kabongo said by phone.

He scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and defended Duke-bound guard Kyrie Irving, who scored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth. After the game, Kabongo made the case that he’s the best guard in New Jersey.

“I just feel like I have a case,” he said. “He [Irving] might be a senior but I feel I do a lot more. I’m a different type of point guard. I’m not a scoring point guard. I just want to show the rest of the country that I’m alright. I’m not just a player. I wanted to show that Canada can produce great players. A bunch of people in New Jersey don’t really know me like that.”

Rutgers-bound forward Gilvydas Biruda added 13 points for St. Ben’s and Temple commit Mike Poole scored 11.

St. Patrick played without star junior Michael Gilchrist, who suffered a sprained ankle in Monday’s loss to Findlay (Nev.) Prep at the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass. Gilchrist was out of the state with his family during the game.

“I don’t really have much to say about that,” Kabongo said. “We were ready to play if  he was playing or not. We just played the game.”

St. Benedict’s coach Dan Hurley, whose team is ranked No. 10 by USA Today, beat No. 4 St. Patrick for just the second time in nine meetings.

“We weren’t ranked in the preseason as highly as we have been in previous years but I like our team,” Hurley told me before the game. “It’s a different type of team than I’ve had in the past.

“We only took one transfer who’s in our rotation, [Arizona-bound junior] Sidiki Johnson. All the guys that pretty much are in our rotation were on the team last year. It makes it a fun group of kids to coach.”

St. Benedict’s is not a member of the New Jersey State Athletic Association and doesn’t participate in the state playoffs, but Hurley hopes the team will be invited to the ESPN RISE National High School Invitational in April.

“In years past we haven’t had the state tournament but now we’ve got this national high school invitational where they get the best eight teams that they can get. It’s something to shoot for even if we don’t get the top spot,” Hurley said.

St. Benedict’s beat St. Patrick, 68-62, in 2008 when current Louisville sophomore Samardo Samuels was a senior for the Gray Bees.

Last year, Irving and current North Carolina frosh Dexter Strickland tallied 21 points apiece as the Celtics hammered St. Ben’s, 88-62, in the Hoop Group Showcase at Rutgers.

“We’re obviously were very disappointed the way that we played last year,” Hurley said. “We got exposed in that game. We got exposed in the Mater Dei game out in California the same week as not being a team that focused on the things that are going to help you win.

“We spent more time this year working on our halfcourt defense. We’re a lot more well-rounded team than we were last year.”

Hurley made the point that elite high school basketball is kind of like the BCS in football.

The teams that are ranked at the top to begin the season tend to stay there, making it harder for the lower teams to leapfrog.

A single loss can drop a team from contention for the national title, and two pretty much eliminates all chances.

“A lot of the local high school teams are in national rankings where us, St. Pats, St. Anthony and Paterson Catholic this year are all competing. We all want to finish No. 1,” Hurley said.

“High school basketball has become like college football, like the BCS, where you lose a game and you’ve ruined your season. Try coaching with that type of mentality where you lose one game and your season is a disappointment. That’s an enormous amount of pressure.”

You don’t have to tell St. Patrick coach Kevin Boyle about that.

St. Patrick’s dream of a national title appears to be out of reach now that the Celtics have lost twice in the span of six days.

Still, the Celtics will be the favorite to win their third straight Tournament of Champions crown in March, although Gilchrist’s health going forward is uncertain.

“First of all, as a member of the state, the one thing is you have that to fall back on is to try to be a state champion if you’re out of the national picture at any time,” Boyle said before the game.

Boyle said it was conceivable St. Patrick could ask for an exemption to skip the state tournament and focus on the national event.

“There’s that national tournament,” Boyle said. “Most likely we’ll be in the state tournament but you could choose to pass and go in that if it made sense for you.

“Nothing’s ever impossible. You look at all your options. Obviously, you’d have to deal with the state on that as well and does it makes sense for you to do it or not. But that would be a possibility.”

**Boyle and Hurley to coach in college? Read about it here.

HARRIS DROPS 36 AND 14 FOR HILLS WEST

Tennessee-bound forward Tobias Harris dropped a game-high 36 points on 12-for-17 shooting and was named Most Outstanding Player as Half Hollow Hills West beat Chester, 82-72, in the Primetime Shootout Saturday in West Virginia. Harris added 14 rebounds and 6 assists.

Tyler Harris, a junior forward and Tobias’ brother, put up 11 points, 8 rebounds, 6 steals and 4 assists. The brothers combined for 15 points in a 25-6 third-quarter for Hills West.

FREE THROWS

Manhattan Rice senior C Kadeem Jack will visit Arizona Wednesday.

(Photos courtesy The Star-Ledger, St. Benedict’s Prep & Rivals)

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

The top junior in the nation, Gilchrist had been out with a right knee strain suffered in a win over Union Jan. 2. He underwent an MRI on Jan. 5.

“He played [Thursday] night,” St. Pat’s coach Kevin Boyle said. “He ran in practice, worked out and then he got the OK to give it a go. I gave him about 10-15 minutes [in the game] to see how he reacted and he seemed fine.”

The 6-foot-7 Gilchrist had 11 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks in the Hun game. Duke-bound point guard Kyrie Irving poured in 30 points.

“[Gilchrist] looked good,” Boyle said.

Boyle said the team is obviously happy to have him back.

“Without question,” Boyle said. “Moreso for him. He’s a young kid. Nobody wants to miss the season when you’re a junior in high school and especially with the number of games we have coming up.”

Boyle said Friday’s practice would be key to make sure Gilchrist is feeling OK.

“Obviously, today’s always a big day. The day after, to make sure nothing went wrong after a game situation,” he said.

Villanova and Kentucky lead for Gilchrist, often touted as a future NBA lottery pick.

(Photo courtesy SI.com)

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.

Sterling Gibbs, a point guard out of Seton Hall Prep pictured at left, Myles Mack of Paterson (N.J.) Catholic and Tyler Harris of Half Hollow (N.Y.) Hills West were all behind the Pirates bench at the Prudential Center.

“It was a good game,” Mack said. “Seton Hall pulled it out. I love the atmosphere but when the student body gets back it’s going to be better.”

The 5-10 Mack has not officially been offered yet by Seton Hall, but sources said head coach Bobby Gonzalez planned to offer him. He has led Paterson Catholic to a Top 10 ranking nationally.

Asked if he had any favorites, Mack said, “Not really, no favorites.”

**Gibbs says his current list includes Seton Hall, Providence, Indiana, Pittsburgh, Maryland, Virginia, Rutgers, Villanova, Florida and Wake Forest and that he hopes to visit Florida and Wake Forest soon.

“Florida and Wake Forest are involved. Providence recently got involved,” Panthers coach Gary Charles said. “No dates are set. Everything right now is unofficial.”

**The 6-8 Harris holds offers from UConn, West Virginia, Seton Hall, Hofstra, Fordham and  Delaware and interest from Syracuse, Georgia Tech, Maryland and South Florida. He and his father plan to attend Wednesday’s Syracuse at Rutgers game to check out the Orange.

**6-3 Plainfield junior point guard Tyrone Johnson did not make the game but plans to visit Virginia Tech and West Virginia, in addition to Rutgers, Seton Hall and Villanova, when he has a break in his schedule.

**Seton Hall is also involved with 6-10 center Maurice Walker of Brewster (N.H.) Prep.

“He’s hearing from a lot of schools right now, such as Pitt, Seton Hall, Oklahoma, Marquette, Kansas, LSU, etc.,” Brewster coach Jason Smith wrote by text. “He’s from Toronto. He will take visits in the spring after the Final Four.”

**In other recruiting news, the Arizona Daily Star reports that Rice forward Kadeem Jack will visit Arizona Jan. 26-27.

Jack holds offers from St. John’s, Seton Hall, Florida and Arizona, and Florida International coach Isiah Thomas has called, Rice coach Moe Hicks said.

“He has no favorite right now,” Hicks said. “He’s not going to do anything until late.”

**Duke-bound point guard Kyrie Irving dropped 30 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists Sunday as St. Patrick downed Trenton Catholic, 78-52, in the Scholarship Fund for Inner-Children Festival at Kean University’s Harwood Arena in Union, according to The Star-Ledger. The Celtics continue to play without junior Mike Gilchrist, out two weeks with a right knee strain.

Markeese Tucker had 17 and Frantz Massenat 15 for TC.

**St. Bonaventure-bound PG Elijah Carter dropped 19 points and Richmond commit Derrick Williams had 12 points and 7 boards in the same event when St. Anthony beat NIA Prep, 62-51. The Friars continue to play without 6-8 Oregon State-bound F Devon Collier (academics) and 6-8 Maryland commit Ashton Pankey (shin splints).

**Texas-bound junior guard Myck Kabongo of St. Benedict’s dropped 19 points, including three 3-pointers, and Rutgers commit Gil Biruta added 18 as the Gray Bees crushed Our Saviour, 95-63. Mike Poole added 17 points and Arizona commit Sidiki Johnson had 7.

**St. John’s-bound forward Ronald Roberts scored a game-high 20 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists to lead St. Peter’s Prep over Hudson Catholic, 77-42.

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

The No. 2 point guard in the Class of 2010, Selby is coming off a 27-point outing in his team’s 64-25 victory over Mervo on Friday.

The 6-3 Selby decommitted from Tennessee and is now making the rounds before a spring signing.

He will visit Kansas (Feb. 13-14), UConn (Feb. 28) and Kentucky (March 7-8).

Syracuse and Indiana are also in the mix.

UConn has recently gotten back into the mix and several reports from the UConn reporters indicated that assistant coach Andre LaFleur watched Selby in Friday’s game.

Doron Lamb, a combo guard out of Oak Hill (Va.) Academy, visited Arizona Thursday-Saturday.

His former backcourt mate, Lamont “Momo” Jones, is now a freshman at Arizona.

Lamb is also considering Kansas, Kentucky, UConn and Oklahoma.

Lamb’s Oak Hill teammate, Roscoe Smith, committed to UConn Friday, choosing the Huskies over Georgetown and Duke.

The Hoyas beat the Huskies, 72-69, Saturday in Washington, D.C., and UConn writer Gavin Keefe noted that Georgetown reneged on giving Smith, a Baltimore native, tickets to the game after his decision.

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

Oak Hill forward Roscoe Smith talks recruiting at the Les Schwab Invitational last week in Hillsboro, Ore.

The 6-foot-8 Smith previously said he is considering Duke, Georgetown and UConn but in this interview he mentions seven schools.

“I still have a solid top seven schools. UCLA, UConn, Georgetown, Duke, Florida, Kansas and Texas,” he said. “Right now I’m still waiting.”

SELBY VISITING ARIZONA

Josh Selby will visit Arizona Jan. 9-11 and his mother, Maeshon Witherspoon, told the Arizona Daily Star that Selby has a longstanding relationship with Arizona assistant Book Richardson, a former coach with the New York Gauchos.

“Book and Sean Miller have always had an eye on Josh,” Witherspoon told the Daily Star. “It was always a question of whether we would [look into] Arizona. Josh and coach Book actually sat down and talked. It could be a good fit with Nic Wise leaving.”

Miller recruited Texas A&M guard Naji Hibbert, Selby’s former teammate with DeMatha Catholic and Team Melo, Pascoe reported.

Arizona is also involved with Oak Hill guard Doron Lamb and Detroit guard Ray McCallum.

Selby, who is also considering Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, Miami and Indiana, plays for Baltimore (Md.) Lake Clifton. Rivals reported that he will visit Kansas the weekend of Feb. 14; KU plays Iowa State Feb 13.

Rivals also reported that Witherspoon has recently been in touch with UConn head coach Jim Calhoun and that the Huskies could be back in the mix.

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

“He’s going to reopen his recruiting on a limited basis,” Montrose Christian coach Stu Vetter said by phone. “Maryland is still very much in the picture. He’s going to limit it to four or five schools so that he can make sure he’s making the right decision.”

Vetter confirmed a report that those schools included Kansas, Kentucky, Duke and Maryland.

The news was originally reported by Rivals.com

“He’s not going to go on the West Coast,” Vetter said. “Those are not schools he’s considering at this point.”

The 6-5, 180-pound Ross initially committed during the spring of his junior season. He won’t be able to take any officials until the high school season ends in March, Vetter said. He has four officials remaining.

“Once our season starts he’s got to be devoted to Montrose basketball and academics,” Vetter said. “In March he’ll be able to take some officials if he would like.”

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter