Justin Sofman, who earned a scholarship from Rutgers as a junior in high school, is walking from the game.

Sofman, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound junior wing at Monmouth, informed head coach Dave Calloway of the decision on Tuesday after making the choice a day earlier. He says he plans to transfer to Division 3 Ramapo College and not play basketball.

“I’ve been in limbo between wanting to play and not wanting to play,” Sofman, 21, said by phone. “I always thought I’d get the passion back for it and I never did. I’ve been too consistent with my feelings about it so it’s not an impulsive decision.” (more…)

Melquan Bolding, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound sophomore wing from Mount Vernon, N.Y., will transfer to Fairleigh Dickinson from Duquesne, according to his AAU coach.

Bolding, who played at Bishop Stepinac and Notre Dame Prep, must sit out a year before he can suit up. He will have two years remaining.

“Mel is going to FDU,” said New York Panthers coach Gary Charles. “The papers have been signed. He had a prior relationship  with Coach [Greg] Vetrone from camp. He also has friends on the team and felt extremely comfortable on campus.”

Bolding himself wasn’t quite ready to say he committed.

“I haven’t signed anywhere,” he said.

Bolding, who initially committed to Louisville, averaged 11.8 points and 3.9 rebounds last season at Duquesne.

He averaged 18 points and seven rebounds at Notre Dame Prep during his last year of prep school.

(Photo courtesy Duquesne Athletics)

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If the Seton Hall basketball team has a distinctly European feel to it next year, don’t be surprised.

The Pirates are involved with Torgrim Sommerfeldt, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard from Norway, and Ozan Dilik, a 6-4 point guard from Turkey.

Sommerfeldt visited the South Orange, N.J. campus last weekend and will likely choose from among Seton Hall, Rutgers, FDU and Florida International in the coming weeks.

“It looks like Rutgers or Seton Hall,” said Matt Fisher, Sommerfeldt’s Baltimore-based mentor. “He had a great visit at Seton Hall. They blew him away. Those guys are pretty impressive.” (more…)

Lance Brown and three of his Fordham teammates spent Monday morning asking athletic director Frank McLaughlin to make Jared Grasso the school’s full-time basketball coach.

Brown, Chris Gaston, Alberto Estwick and Brenton Butler have put their full support behind Grasso, the school’s interim coach.

“We’ve been responding well even though we haven’t been winning,” Brown, a 6-foot-3 freshman from Teaneck, N.J., said Tuesday morning by phone. “We’re comfortable with him and we’re responding well to him.”

Fordham finished the season 2-26 overall, 0-18 in the Atlantic 10. Brown said McLaughlin and the University will likely decide on a new coach “in the next 2-3 weeks.” (more…)

Tom Barrise has not yet been named head coach at Fairleigh Dickinson University, but all signs point to him being named the head coach as early as next week.

Barrise spent Wednesday night scouting Wayne (N.J.) Valley senior point guard Jason Rosenberg put up 18 points and 9 assists when Passaic Valley beat Wayne Valley, 68-60, in a North 1, Group 3 playoff game at PV.

Barrise, who still works for the Nets and was their interim head coach for two games this year after Lawrence Frank was fired, has also scouted Paterson Kennedy senior wing Shondel Stewart.

Barrise indicated he would reach out to the coaches of those players “next week,” a source with knowledge said. (more…)

Wagner athletic director Walt Hameline said the school is in the process of taking resumes for the men’s basketball coaching vacancy created by Monday’s firing of Mike Deane and that he hoped to have a decision made “toward the end of the month.”

“We’re taking resumes,” Hameline said Wednesday morning by phone. “Obviously, we’ll see who’s applying and then there will be a committee put together on campus. Hopefully by the end of the month we’ll get people on campus.”

Asked when he hoped to make a decision, Hameline said, “I’m looking somewhere toward the end of the month.” (more…)

Tom Barrise is one of five candidates for the Fairleigh Dickinson men’s basketball job and has already interviewed for the position, multiple sources said.

A Paterson, N.J. native and former two-sport star at Fairleigh Dickinson, Barrise was most recently interim head coach of the Nets for two games after Lawrence Frank was fired.

Yahoo! Sports recently reported that Barrise was the “favorite” for the FDU job.

Greg Vetrone is the current interim head coach at FDU.

Sources said the five men under consideration for the job include Barrise, Vetrone, UConn assistant Pat Sellers, Division 3 Ramapo College head coach Chuck McBreen and UMass-Lowell coach Greg Herenda, a former Seton Hall assistant.

“They are looking to make a decision as soon as the season ends,” a source said.

Barrise was the head coach for three seasons (1992-95) at Ramapo College. He has also coached at St. Peter’s, Fairfield, East Carolina, Jacksonville, William Paterson and FDU.

The Knights are 10-19 overall, 9-7 in the Northeast Conference. They are tied for fifth in the conference and have qualified for the NEC Conference tournament.

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ENGLEWOOD, N.J. — Sterling Gibbs is only a rising junior, but the Seton Hall Prep point guard may make the call on college this summer.

After scoring 16 points and grabbing 6 rebounds in the New York Panthers 59-58 semifinal loss to Team NJABC at the Joe Brown Memorial Tournament, Gibbs said he plans to take unofficial visits this summer to Oklahoma, Indiana, Villanova, Kentucky and Duke.

His father, Temple Gibbs, said his son could decide later this summer.

“We want to make a commitment by the end of the summer. I just want to get him set,” Temple said. (more…)

Jessica Simpson is back on the market after Cowboys QB Tony Romo dumped her on the eve of her 29th b-day. Harsh.

In hoops news, Knicks guard Nate Robinson could be headed to Greece. Newsday reports that Olympiakos, the Athens-based team that last summer lured Josh Childress away from the NBA, has offered Robinson a two-year deal worth $10 million...Tobias Harris had 27 points and 11 rebounds to lift the Albany City Rocks to a 75-73 victory over the Louisiana Select in Peach Jam action on Tuesday…Pittsburgh guard Jermaine Dixon broke the fifth metatarsil in his right foot and will be out eight weeks. He will return in mid-September. It’s the same injury former Pitt guard Levance Fields and former Marquette guard Dominic James had…The semifinals of the Joe Brown Memorial tournament (formerly the Playaz Ball) will take place today at the Hoop Zone in Englewood, N.J.  The New York Panthers meet Team NJABC on one semi, and the Playaz take on Team Philly in the other. Semis at 2, championship at 3:45…Former Seton Hall big man Mike Davis is transferring to Coastal Carolina...Javon McCrea, a 6-6 wing from Newark, N.Y., has not committed to Georgetown, despite an Internet report to the contrary. A source close to the New England Playaz club said the Hoyas had not offered McCrea, who visited campus unofficially last week.

VETRONE WANTS TO NAME FDU COURT AFTER GREEN

NEPTUNE, N.J. — It isn’t often that a basketball coach wants to dedicate his school’s court to the guy he replaced.

But that’s exactly what’s going on at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey. (more…)

NEPTUNE, N.J. -- After spending two days in Philly at the Reebok All-American Camp, I drove back to Manhattan Friday night in time to take my daughter Gracie out for ice cream and sleep in my own bed. Took the kids to the playground this morning, had Vietnamese lunch with the family and then braved the Jersey Shore traffic down to the Hoop Group Summer Classic. Here’s a quick notebook:

COACHES SWARM TO SEE IRVING

Think Kyrie Irving is in high demand?

Coaches from about a dozen high-majors watched the 6-foot-1 senior combo guard from Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick drop 24 points as the New Jersey Roadrunners pulled out a one-point win over Philly Pride. (more…)