By BILLY DIAMOND
Special Contributor to ZAGSBLOG.com

Facing a raucous anti-Isiah crowd, Florida International dropped to 0-2 after falling, 99-70, Friday at Monmouth’s new Multipurpose Activity Center.

Thomas, the former coach and president of the Knicks, was loudly booed as he walked onto the court to take his seat on the bench and one fan held up a sign that read “FIU: Fire Isiah University.”

“I’m used to being in hostile arenas,” Thomas said, according to The Associated Press. “As an athlete and as a former ‘Bad Boy,’ every place we went to was kind of this kind of environment. So I’m used to dealing with tough environments.”

Thomas’ team played lackluster defense and failed to shut down the opposing team’s best player, Travis Taylor, who led the winners with 18 points. Former Rutgers guard Justin Sofman added 13 points in 14 minutes in his first game since transferring and sitting out a year.

Thomas’ team was coming off an 88-72 loss Monday at defending NCAA champion North Carolina.

That same day, his mother, Mary, underwent heart surgery following a heart attack. He told reporters she’s feeling better.

“It’s been a stressful week,” Thomas told the AP.

Thomas entered the court to a raucous student section behind the FIU home basket booing at the top of its lungs. His team was down by 10 points early in the game, 23-13, to the enjoyment of most in attendance. Chants of “Magic Johnson,” “Sexual Harassment,” and “Fire Isiah” ensued.

He was constantly heckled by fans throughout the game, and he said one adult fan accosted  him and used profane language after the game.

“There was a gentleman that I don’t even think he goes to school here and he’s not even in college, but he got out of line and security put him back in line, which was good,” Thomas said. “He didn’t grab me. If he did that, then I would have had the right to go Charles Barkley on him.

“I think the students were well in line and in-bounds in terms of the chants and the things they were saying. It was all in good spirit.

“But for someone who was older to act that way and conduct himself in that manner, particularly at a college game and a college environment, he should have known better.”

Thomas  was forced to huddle his players before the first mandatory time-out in the first half. His team trailed by eight at halftime and was outscored by 21 points in the second half.

Brooklyn’s Marvin Roberts led FIU with 21 points.

Monmouth coach Dave Calloway said he believes Thomas can turn things around.

“It takes time,” Calloway told the AP. “Recruiting is a big part of it. Guys are going to want to go play for him because he’s an NBA guy. Everybody wants to play in the NBA.”

(The AP contributed)

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Isiah Thomas will make his college coaching debut with Florida International University on Monday night against defending NCAA champion North Carolina.

“She told me to go to work,” Thomas told FOXSports.com.

Thomas spent much of Sunday with his mother in Chicago before flying to North Carolina Sunday night, according to FoxSports.com.

FIU is also due to play Monmouth on Friday night in West Long Branch, N.J.

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“He probably won’t sign until the spring. I can’t say for 100 percent sure,” Lisa Leslie, C.J.’s mom, said Saturday in a phone interview.

The 6-foot-8, 205-pound Leslie out of Raleigh (N.C.) Word of God Academy is the No. 4 power forward in the nation, according to Rivals.

He took his first official visit to Kentucky Oct. 28 for the Blue/White Scrimmage and was supposed to visit Florida this weekend (Nov. 7-8), but will have to reschedule because his high school team has a scrimmage today (Saturday).

“We thought it would be better if we just totally rescheduled it,” Lisa said of the Florida visit.

Leslie had in-home visits with Kentucky, Maryland, Seton Hall, Arizona State, Georgetown, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, Florida International and Oregon.

He plans to take four more officials — including one to Florida — but all four likely won’t happen this fall. Lisa said the family wasn’t sure which schools would get the three remaining visits.

“As of right now, we don’t know which other three schools he’s going to visit,” she said. “We’ve been so busy with the recruiting and everything that we haven’t had enough time to sit down and complete the schedule.”

Lisa said North Carolina was supposed to come for an in-home visit, but cancelled because they decided instead to focus on Harrison Barnes, the nation’s No. 2 recruit.

“Roy [Williams] must feel pretty comfortable with Barnes because Coach [Steve] Robinson called us and they were saying they didn’t want to hinder C.J.’’s recruiting by putting us on hold to see whether Harrison Barnes was going to take the scholarship,” she said.

“Coach Williams told C.J. he really wanted him, he just wishes he has one more scholarship. That was the turnaround with North Carolina.”

The 6-6 Barnes is due to announce this week and is considering North Carolina, Duke, UCLA, Oklahoma, Kansas and Iowa State.

As for Leslie, Lisa said he enjoyed his official to Kentucky but hasn’t proclaimed the ‘Cats his leader.

“He said when he went down there for the visit he really enjoyed it,” Lisa said of Kentucky. “He never said that that was his favorite school.

“He’s still saying that he’s open. I wouldn’t say that that was his favorite school.”

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“The list is three schools: Louisville, Pittsburgh and St. John’s,” said Gary Charles, Moore’s AAU coach with the New York Panthers. Moore made the trip with Charles and Moore’s mentor, Hunt Bresky.

Charles said Moore, ranked No. 23 among small forwards in the Class of 2010, is tentatively slated to take an official to St. John’s the weekend of Oct. 30 and to Pitt the weekend of Nov. 6.

Florida is out after getting a commitment from Jackson (Tenn.) small forward Casey Prather.

At Louisville, the 6-foot-5 Moore spoke with New York and New Jersey guys Edgar Sosa and Samardo Samuels.

“He had a very good visit at Louisville,” Charles said. “He really liked it. He got a chance to speak to the New York guys like Edgar and Samardo and Terrence Jennings [who played with the Panthers]. It was good. He got a feel for the coach. He hung out with the crew.

“We got a chance to go see the new arena that they’re building. We more or less just watched practice. He got a good feel for the way [head coach Rick] Pitino runs his practice. He got a chance to see these guys work.”

After visiting St. John’s and Pitt, Moore will be ready to announce a decision.

“The goal is for him to see everyone in the same exact element that he saw Louisville in,” Charles said.

MILK TO FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL

Matt Milk, a 6-8, 240-pound forward from Long Island now playing at Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Pinecrest alongside Brandon Knight, is “95 percent” sure he will verbally commit to Florida International head coach Isiah Thomas after weekend visit.

“He was offered a scholarship and we’re still making our final decision,” Mary Milk, Matt’s mother, said by phone.

“We told them that we’re very interested. We didn’t make a solid commitment. We’re like 95 percent sure that we want to go there.”

Mary said her son would like to visit some other schools, but wasn’t sure which ones.

Gary Charles, Milk’s AAU coach, said he would be a solid contributor.

“He’s a low post player who will do all the little things that will help you win,” Charles said. “He will hit that 10-foot jumper, he’ll do a nice job rebounding. He’ll set the pick. He’ll be a chemistry player. He’s a kid that you need to win games. He’ll be solid for them for four years.”

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“C.J. is still wide open with his recruitment. He doesn’t have a strong leader,” Raleigh (NC) Word of God coach Erasto Hatchett said Friday. “He’s still entertaining about 10 schools as of right now. He’s completed some home visits. He just had his last visit [Thursday] night with Georgetown. Seton Hall was there the night before.”

Hatchett said the 6-foot-8, 205-pound Leslie is considering Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Oregon, Florida and Florida International.

No official visits have yet been set and the list has not been cut, but Hatchett did say that a few schools have been involved for a long period of time.

“I think everyone is doing a good job,” he said. “There are some that have come in kind of late.  Florida, Kentucky, N.C. State, Arizona State, they’re being very consistent in the recruitment. Those guys have been around for a while and have been very consistent.”

He added:  “We’re going to take it one day at a time. It’s not really a heavy topic between C.J. and I. We’re focusing on getting better and trying to put ourselves in position to win a state championship.

“At some point in time that list of 10 will be cut to five, and then from five down to three and then he’ll make his decision.”

CLINIC TO END ALL CLINICS ON SATURDAY

Manhattan College will again play host to ‘The Clinic to End All Clinics’, an annual basketball coaches’ workshop orchestrated by Howard Garfinkel, the founder of Five Star basketball camp. This year’s clinic is scheduled for Saturday, October 3, 2009 in Draddy Gymnasium from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The event will feature sessions instructed by college basketball’s winningest coach Bob Knight (ESPN), as well as 2009 NCAA National Champion coach Roy Williams (University of North Carolina), and Leonard Hamilton (Florida State University), along with former NBA coaches Don Casey and Mike Fratello.

Schedule of Speakers

9 a.m. to 10 a.m. – Roy Williams

10:10 a.m. to 11:10 a.m. – Leonard Hamilton

11:20 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. – Bob Knight

1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. – Don Casey

3:10 p.m. to 4:10 p.m. –  Mike Fratello

4:20 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. – Don Casey

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The U.S. 2010 team is undefeated at 3-0 with victories over USA 2011, Latin America and Africa.

Here are some quick updates on Brandon Knight, Marquis Teague and Cory Joseph.

**BRANDON KNIGHT

The top-ranked player in the Class of 2010, Knight is not playing at adidas nations, only watching, because of a broken right foot suffered at the Peach Jam.

“I’m still in a cast right now, I’m still recovering,” Knight said.

As far as colleges, Kansas, Connecticut, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Miami and Syracuse are all on his radar, but he hasn’t yet formulated a list.

“I don’t have a list yet, but I plan on narrowing it down soon,” Knight said. “Me and my parents haven’t really discussed it yet, but I’m sure we will sooner or later.”

Knight told Jayhawkslant.com on Wednesday that he would like to have Kansas Coach Bill Self in for an in-home visit and would also like to take an unofficial or official visit to KU.

Kentucky is involved with nearly every top point guard in the nation, including Knight, Teague, Joseph, Joe Jackson, Josh Selby, Kyrie Irving and Doron Lamb.

“They’re recruiting me, so I’m definitely considering Kentucky,” Knight said.

Knight said he wants to be a floor general when he gets to college.

“Just a leader, a guy who can run the team and try to be the coach on the floor,” he said.

**MARQUIS TEAGUE

The 6-2, 170-pound Teague out of Indianapolis (IN) Pike said he has a Top 5 of Louisville, Ohio State, Wake Forest, Kentucky and Indiana.

“I’m going to visit Kentucky sometime this month,” Teague said.

Teague has been to all of the other schools.

He also hopes to lead his team at the next level.

“Someone who can lead the team, make sure everything’s going right on the floor, a coach on the floor,” he said. “Just work hard and win games.”

**CORY JOSEPH

Canada is 2-1 at the event, with a loss to Europe.

The 6-3, 175-pound Canadian point guard who plays at Henderson (NV) Findlay Prep still has about 15 schools on his list.

His list includes Villanova, Louisville, UConn, Kansas, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Cal, Mississippi State, Memphis, Syracuse, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Minnesota, UNLV, Texas A&M and Ohio State.

“After I get home from this event I think I’m going to sit down with my mom and Coach Ro Russell and cut it down,” he said.

FERGUSON TO FIU

Isiah Thomas continues to bring in talented players to Florida International.

Dominique Ferguson, a 6-9, 210-pound power forward from Indiana who will play at Chatham (VA) Hargrave Military, chose FIU on Friday during a visit to the school.

He chose FIU over Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Indiana and UCLA. He is the No. 6 ranked PF in the nation according to Rivals.

“The main thing in my decision to come to FIU is Coach Thomas’ past success in the NBA as a player and coach,” Ferguson told the Miami Herald. “He knows what it takes to get to the next level and that’s what I eventually want to do.”

That is the same thing big man Chris Coleman, a 6-10 junior center from Buffalo who attends Durham (NC) Mt. Zion, said when he committed last month to FIU. Thomas also landed a commitment from point guard Phil Taylor, a Brooklyn native who plays at Marietta (GA) Wheeler.

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Coached by Rafer Alston of the Nets, the New York Panthers won the U17 championship at the Hoop Group Summer Classic in Neptune, N.J. with an 84-63 victory over God’s Glory.

Sterling Gibbs of Seton Hall Prep, Deshaun Wiggins of Wings Academy, Winston Graham of Lee Academy and Ryan Rhoomes of Cardozo all played well for the Panthers.

Wiggins had a team-high 20 points in the final, Graham scored 18, Gibbs tallied 15 points and Armani Cotton added 12. Rhoomes added 10 points.

The Panthers played without Rod Odom (who was in Springfield) and J.J. Moore (back injury).

“It just means were still consistent,” Panthers head Gary Charles said. “Skip [Alston] came in and  did a nice job with these kids and he’s been practicing for three weeks. We’re extremely happy to be able to win the Reebok Summer Championship.”

In the semifinals, Gibbs had 16 and Wiggins 15 as the Panthers downed Kyrie Irving and the New Jersey Roadrunners. Irving and Paterson Catholic’s Jermaine Peart scored 16 apiece.

Coaches from Duke, Indiana, Texas A&M, Seton Hall, Rutgers, West Virginia, Fordham, La Salle, George Washington, Siena, Rider and Quinnipiac all watched the Gibbs-Irving battle.

“Lost in the semifinals to ny panthers,” Irving tweeted. “Overall good tournament…a new road I’m taking and alot more steps to climb to reach my potential.”

Anybody doubt this guy’s commitment to improving? He later tweeted that he will work out on Monday at St. Patrick.

ISIAH LANDS POINT GUARD

Florida International coach Isiah Thomas has received yet another commitment, this one from point guard Phil Taylor, a 5-9, 160-pound a Brooklyn native playing at Marietta (GA) Wheeler.

“It’s a really, really good get for him [Isiah],” Dave Telep, national recruiting director of Scout, told Jeff Goodman. “He’s a small guy with quickness and toughness who has one of those personalities where he can attract other kids.”

Thomas got a comittment last week from 6-foot-10 Chris Coleman, who chose FIU over high-majors like UConn and Syracuse.

“It’s my dream to play with someone in the Hall of Fame,” Taylor told Goodman. “He does what I do and as a kid, he’s one of the guys I patterned my game after.”

Taylor  averaged 21 points and 7 assists last season while leading Wheeler to a state title. He said he was also recruited by Miami, Oregon, Xavier, Arizona and Richmond.

RECRUITING NOTES

**Gibbs, a rising junior whose older brother Ashton Gibbs is a rising sophomore at Pittsburgh, previously told me Villanova was his favorite school.

Still, he said he plans to visit Oklahoma, Pitt, Villanova, Indiana and DePaul this summer. Indiana, Rutgers, Seton Hall and Georgia Tech are also involved.

“I’m wide open with my recruitment,” he said last week. “I hope to take some visits in August and see where it goes from there.”

**The 6-8 Rhoomes has drawn interest from George Washington, Temple, Rhode Island, George Mason, Virginia Commonwealth and La Salle.

**Seton Hall and Rutgers both watched Plainfield guard Tyrone Johnson of New Jersey Elite, according to Alex Schwartz. Johnson has a lot of interest but Georgetown is thought to be the leader.

**Seton Hall assistant Scott Adubato was on hand to watch Irving and the Pirates are the only team to watch him at every one of his games so far during the July period. Head coach Bobby Gonzalez and assistants Adubato and Derm Player watched Irving in Cleveland and Adubato or Kevin Murphy has been on hand the last few days at Reebok.

**SHU’s Player is at the Peach Jam checking out a slew of talented players: Michael Gilchrist, Doron Lamb, Rakeem Christmas, Tony Wroten, Shane Southwell, Kyle Anderson, Myles Mack, Derrick Randall, Desmond Hubert, Vaughn Gray and Seton Hall commit Fuquan Edwin.

**The 6-5 Edwin had 14 points and 6 rebounds in a 60-7 Playaz win over the Oakland Soldiers.

**The 5-8 Mack, also out of Paterson (N.J.) Catholic dropped 25 points  in a loss to Mack Irvin from Chicago in the 16U bracket.

**Many coaches from the Peach Jam are raving about Gilchrist, and Kentucky’s John Calipari and Rod Strickland were also reportedly following him.

**Alex Schwartz reports that St. Anthony guard Elijah Carter told him Richmond was his top choice.

**Dave Telep tweets that Harrison Barnes, the top prospect in the Class of 2010, “needs stitches on his non shooting hand. Could b on da shelf.”

**Jeff Goodman reports on his blog that Marquis Teague, younger brother of Jeff Teague, nearly committed to Louisville a few months ago.

“I was ready, but my dad told me to slow it down,” Teague told Goodman.

Teague’s father, Shawn, played for Louisville coach Rick Pitino when Pitino was at BU.

ED BUTLER EVENT WEDNESDAY

Ed Butler is hosting an event on Wednesday at J.P. Stevens H.S. in Edison (NJ). Free Admission. The following are some of the players participating:

Matthew Washington (6′10)…(Paterson Catholic)…Redlands (OK)
C.C…looking at Seton Hall, Manhattan, Middle Tennessee & others

Madut Bol (6′8″)…(St. Anthony/Edison Academy)

Chris Abney (6′9)…Westchester (NY) C.C.

Charlton Wilson (6′8″)…(Linden H.S.)…Sheridan (WY) C.C.

Mark Kolb (6′8″)…Bernards (NJ) H.S.

Michael Simpson (6′6″)…Winslow Twp. H.S.

Daveon Boardingham (6′6″)…Shabazz H.S.

Elvonny Poole (6′5″)…Bayonne H.S.

James Albano (6′5)…Ridgewood H.S.

Dequan Simmons (6′5″)…Englewood H.S.

Zach Anderson (6′3″)…Englewood H.S.

Djim Bandoumel (6′8″)…Monroe (NY) J.C.

Miles Beatty (6′2″)…(St. Anthony/ GWU/Blinn (TX) C.C.)

Andre Blackwood (6′1″)…Paramus Catholic

Eddie Johnson (6′0)…Paramus Catholic

Jamell Cromartie (6′0)…Monroe (NY) C.C.
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PHILADELPHIA – The stars of the college basketball coaching world were out in force Friday at the Reebok All-American Camp at Philadelphia University.

Villanova’s Jay Wright, Kentucky’s John Calipari and Florida’s Billy Donovan were all in the stands trying to catch the eyes of some of the best high school players in the land.

But one coach stood out even among that heady company.

Read the full story here.

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Here are some quick notes.

***UPDATE***

**Chris Coleman, a 6-9 junior center from Durham (NC) Mt. Zion (pictured), has committed to Florida International and head coach Isiah Thomas, despite my previous post to the contrary.

“I liked that [Thomas] played in the NBA, coached in the NBA and he’s got a lot of experience and stuff,” Coleman told the NBE Basketball Report. “That is where I am trying to get, so that is why I committed.”

Coleman reportedly picked FIU over UConn, West Virginia, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Texas, N.C. State and Wake Forest.

Coleman’s AAU coach, Don Marsh, previously told me had not committed.

**Paterson (N.J.) Catholic guard Jayon James is reclassifying to the Class of 2011 and is  transferring to prep school, although it is unclear which one.

“He’s definitely transferring,” said John James, Jayon’s dad. “We’re trying to get his body right and trying to get him prepared for college.”

The 6-foot-5 James is being recruited by various Ivy League schools, including Harvard, Brown and Princeton.

“It’s still wide open, though,” John James said.

**Speaking of Paterson Catholic, 6-7 rising sophomore point guard Kyle Anderson is hearing from Pitt, Georgetown, Rutgers, St. John’s, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, La Salle, Texas, Kansas, Baylor, Miami and Kentucky. Georgetown is the only school Anderson has visited unofficially. Stay tuned for more on him later.

“His basketball IQ is so high that he can really play any position on the court,” Kyle Anderson Sr. said.

**Still more Paterson Catholic. Rising junior point Myles Mack, who’s on Anderson’s team here, says DePaul, Virginia Tech, St. John’s, Virginia and VCU have entered the picture, joining schools like Georgetown, Fordham, La Salle and Drexel.

How good can PC be next year? “We’re trying to win the TOCs this year,” Mack said.

**Also stay tuned for an SNY.tv story Friday on J.J. Moore, a 6-5, 190-pound wing from Brentwood, N.Y. Moore plans to transfer from Brentwood High (which produced Seton Hall big man John Garcia) to South Kent (Conn.), where he will play alongside New York products Mike Buffalo (Wings) and Russ Smith (Archbishop Molloy). Joel “Air Jamaica” Wright (Thomas Jefferson) may also end up at South Kent, although he said he’s also considering Hargrave (Va.) Military and Winchendon (Mass.).

It seemed like every Big East coach I spoke to was there scouting Moore, who dropped a game-high 18 in a win over Joe Jackson and Allen Iverson. Moore said he plans to visit Providence, Rutgers, Louisville and Marquette and also said Syracuse has always been a favorite.

**DePaul assistant Billy Garrett is quickly making inroads in the Northeast. Moore, Mack and Anderson all mentioned him.

**Seton Hall Prep guard Sterling Gibbs is fresh off winning the gold medal with the U.S. U16 National Team in Argentina.

“It was great,” he said. “I got to visit another country and got to play with another team. I think it’s the best team I ever played with.”

Gibbs, a rising junior whose older brother Ashton Gibbs is a rising sophomore at Pittsburgh, previously told me Villanova was his favorite school.

Still, he said he plans to visit Oklahoma, Pitt, Villanova, Indiana and DePaul this summer.

“I’m wide open with my recruitment,” he said. “I hope to take some visits in August and see where it goes from there.”

**Kelvin Jefferson, who coached Omari Lawrence (St. John’s) and Kevin Parrom (Arizona) at South Kent, had thoughts on both.

“With Omari, he’s a tough, rugged kind of player. His year at South Kent he’s developed his body physically. He’s bigger, he’s stronger and he’s going to be able to take the pounding of the Big East schedule. He’s a physical slasher, but now he’s going to be able to take the pounding and finish around the rim and it’s not going to effect him so much.

“With Kevin and the Pac-10, he’s long, he can run, he can jump, he’s athletic. The nice thing about him is his diversity. He can do a lot of different things. He can handle the ball like a point forward. He can get to the rim. He’ll rebound for you. He’ll make 3’s. He does a lot of good things that will enable guys to want him to play at a lot of different positions and give him a chance to stay on the court a long time.”

**Pe’Shon Howard, a 6-3, 195-pound wing from Oak Hill (Va.) Academy, listed Harvard, Arkansas, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, Stanford and USC.

“I’ve got a lot of offers from a lot of schools,” Howard said.

He said Rutgers assistant Craig Carter has been recruiting him for the Knights.

“He’s a cool guy,” Howard said.

**Sidiki Johnson, a 6-8 junior from St. Raymond’s in the Bronx, listed Arizona, Kentucky, Providence, St. John’s, Marquette, West Virginia, Rutgers, Virginia Tech and Seton Hall.

He said he’s visited Arizona and Kentucky unofficially.

“[Arizona] was great, nice campus,” he said. ” I went to Kentucky a month ago. It was fun, lots of talented players. It was nice out there.”

“As of right now he loves [Arizona],” Bernard Bowen, Johnson’s mentor, told me recently. “He loves the coaching staff. As of right now, Arizona is the top on his list.”

Johnson averaged 11 points and 10 rebounds last season at St. Ray’s, which reached the title game of the SNY Invitational before falling to Sherrod Wright and Mount Vernon.

“I just create a mismatch wherever I’m at,” he said. “I play inside/outside, but I’ll probably be a three in college.

Johnson has modest goals for this year.

“Be Mr. Basketball in the State [of New York],” he said. “That’s my goal.”

**Head coaches on hand so far: La Salle’s Dr. John Giannini; UConn’s Jim Calhoun; St. John’s Norm Roberts; Providence’s Keno Davis; Kentucky’s John Calipari; Memphis’ Josh Pastner; Oklahoma State’s Travis Ford; Indiana’s Tom Crean; Villanova’s Jay Wright; Marquette’s Buzz Williams; Virginia Tech’s Seth Greenburg; St. Joe’s Phil Martelli; FDU’s Greg Vetrone; Alabama’s Anthony Grant; BC’s Al Skinner and Temple’s Fran Dunphy.

GARLAND TO VIRGINIA TECH

Tyrone Garland, a 6-1, 165-pound point guard from Philadelphia (PA) John Bartram, announced his college choice at the Reebok Camp in a room full of family, coaches and friends.

“The school that I will be attending is Virginia Tech,” Garland said.

“The [other] schools I was considering were La Salle, Temple, Nevada and Nebraska but what sold me was a great coaching staff. It’s kind of quiet up there so you can focus on basketball. [It has a] good campus and new practice facility, too.”

Bartram coach James Brown said Garland was a “special” person.

“I say from day one that young man is special,” Brown said. “Not only do you have a great basketball player but you have a great individual sitting right there.

“You don’t get the total package that often. He’s the total package person, personality, character. Teachers around the school say the same thing about him.

“He’s special, they love him.”

His decision behind him, Garland said he can now focus on school and basketball.

“Now  I can just focus on ball and working out and focus on the rest of the AAU season and my grades,” he said.

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Bryant was suspended because of his involvement in a traffic accident outside of Morgantown early Wednesday, after which he left the scene, according to the Charleston Gazette. He was charged with four misdemeanors, including leaving the scene of an accident. No one was injured in the accident and Bryant is free on bond.

Coach Bob Huggins didn’t specify Bryant’s violation in announcing the suspension Wednesday. Huggins didn’t respond to a text message seeking comment.

“Darryl is suspended indefinitely from all team-related activities,”  Huggins said in a statement.

Bryant was fourth in team scoring as a freshman last season at nearly 10 points per game and led the team in scoring four times. He started 28 games at point guard after Joe Mazzulla was lost for the season with a shoulder injury.

Huggins suspended Mazzulla indefinitely in April after the junior was charged following an altercation at a Morgantown bar, his second arrest in nine months.

(AP contributed)

RECRUITING NEWS & NOTES

I’m headed down to Philly in the morning (early) for Day 2 of the Reebok All-American Camp. Here’s a few quick notes:

**Word is Brandon Knight (pictured) is a no-show at the Reebok Camp, which is already devoid of a lot of big names.

**With Camp head man Chris Rivers moving to adidas from Reebok, could this be the final year of the camp Sonny Vaccaro made famous? Rivers says he’s trying to get through this year before making any decision.

**AMong the players I plan to check out [and write about] is Kyle Anderson, the 6-7 rising sophomore from Paterson (N.J.) Catholic.

His father says the following schools are already involved: Pitt, Georgetown, Rutgers, St. John’s, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, La Salle, Texas, Kansas, Baylor, Miami, Kentucky and Indiana. Quite a list, huh?

**The list for Plainfield guard Tyrone Johnson looks like this according to Derrick Bobbitt, his AAU coach: Georgetown, Villanova, Rutgers, St. John’s, Virginia Tech, UCLA, Kentucky and Seton Hall. Georgetown appears to be the favorite.

**Villanova-bound big man Markus Kennedy will end up at either Penn Wood or Neumann-Goretti now that his old school in New Jersey has closed down, according to Matt Pauls, his former AAU coach.

**Oak Hill guard Doron Lamb tells Jody Demling he plans to visit Kansas and Oklahoma later this summer.

“Kentucky is one of the schools that is looking at me, but I don’t have a main school or a favorite yet,” Lamb told Demling. “I want to take some other visits.”

The New York native already visited Kentucky, and many folks expect he’ll end up there.

“I learned a lot about the city and the system,” he said. “The campus is great. It was good, chillin’ with John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins and all of that.

**LeBron James asked Mike Gilchrist (pictured left) to lunch two years ago. Great column by Gary Parrish.

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