During his 20+-plus years as the head coach of Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick, Kevin Boyle ran one of the top programs in the nation, producing players like Dexter Strickland, Kyrie Irving and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

Rutgers and Seton Hall often tried to land those players, and sometimes, as in the case of Shaheen Holloway (Seton Hall), they succeeded.

But more often than not, Boyle’s top players went to places like North Carolina (Strickland), Duke (Irving) and Kentucky (Kidd-Gilchrist).

“You always want to give the local schools a fair chance to recruit the kid, and you’d like to see them do well…but it’s also hard if you’re building, if it’s Seton Hall and Rutgers and Duke comes in, and North Carolina comes in,” Boyle told SNY.tv by phone this week. (more…)

Florida needs to go big.

The No. 13 Gators are loaded with guards now and have several signed or committed for 2012 and 2013, but they need to address their frontcourt needs immediately.

If sophomore center Patric Young jumps to the NBA after this season – DraftExpress.com projects him as the No. 16 pick in the Draft – “you lose the whole frontcourt,” a source close to the Florida staff told FiveStarBasketball.com.

Thus, the Gators are working hard on landing bigs in 2012 and ’13.

They are involved with Pittsburgh transfer Khem Birch, as well as 2012 late signees Anthony Bennett, Ricardo Gathers and JaKarr Sampson.

Click here for the full story on FiveStarBasketball.com.

**And here’s the Recruiting Big Board for Florida

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

And like ZAGS on Facebook

Mike Rosario’s return to the RAC Thursday may not turn out the way he had hoped.

“He’s still questionable,” a family source told SNY.tv Tuesday, referring to Rosario’s back issues. “He wants to play, but I don’t think he’s going to play.”

The 6-foot-3 Rosario, averaging 9.4 points off the bench, has not played since a Dec. 17 win over Texas A&M because of what the Orlando Sentinel termed a “strained back.” The source said Rosario may have a herniated disc in his back. (more…)

Billy Donovan made quite an impression on Kyle Anderson and his family during Monday night’s home visit.

“The Florida visit last night went very well,” Kyle Anderson Sr. said by text. “Coach Donovan left no stone unturned in reference to how important Lil Kyle could be to his program. What was extremely impressive and important was his video presentation.

“Lil Kyle has a very unique skill set for a kid 6-9 and all the other coaches explained to us how they would use him. Billy showed us. He showed video of similar players to Lil Kyle’s skill set — Chandler Parsons, Mike Miller and Nick Calathes — and how he allowed them freedom to make plays.  (more…)

While sources close to the Kyle Anderson camp continue to say that St. John’s and UCLA are the favorites, one source said Florida had a “puncher’s chance” to land the 6-foot-8 St. Anthony point guard.

Florida coach Billy Donovan and assistant Norm Roberts will now get their shot to persuade Anderson, who scored 35 and 31 points, respectively, in two wins for the Playaz Basketball Club Sunday at IS8. They have a home visit with him Monday night and then host the St. Anthony star this coming weekend for an official visit that will include Saturday’s nationally televised SEC football game with Tennessee. (more…)

Chris Walker is one of the top prospects in the Class of 2013, and a potential pro.

The Florida native spent Saturday on the campus of the University of Florida, one of several schools he’s considering.

“It was nice,” the 6-foot-9 Walker, the No. 2 small forward in the Class of 2013, said by text. “I watched Florida work out and scrimmage and got to have a one-one-one talk with Billy D [Donovan].

“He told me they are recruiting me the hardest and I could get it done in my own state and I could come in and be an impact player.” (more…)

Mitch McGary took an unofficial visit to Florida Monday and all went well.

“He enjoyed it,” his father, Tim, told SNY.tv. “He liked the campus. He said there’s a lot of beautiful women on campus.”

The 6-foot-10 McGary out of Brewster (N.H.) Academy won’t take any more visits until next month.

“Not until September,” his dad said. “We’re going back to Michigan. On the way back we’re going to North Carolina and Duke. We’re going to go to Kentucky but I don’t know when. We haven’t been able to line anything up but we want to go.” (more…)

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — Few teams in the country will be as loaded in the backcourt next season as the Florida Gators.

In addition to returning its two leading scorers from last season in Erving Walker (14.6 ppg) and Kenny Boynton (14.2), the Gators add Brad Beal, the reigning Gatorade National Player of the Year, and Rutgers transfer Mike Rosario.

“I think there’s going to have to be a level of sacrifice with all of our team, you know?” Florida coach Billy Donovan told SNY.tv at the Peach Jam. (more…)

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — The page has turned for Norm Roberts.

For six years as the head coach at St. John’s, Roberts tried his best to keep the best talent from the New York metropolitan area at home.

Now, he’s working on getting the top area players to leave the Big Apple for Gainesville, Fla.

At this week’s Peach Jam, Roberts and Florida head coach Billy Donovan tag-teamed to attend every one of Kyle Anderson’s game with the Playaz.

“With Norm Roberts at Florida, they become a contender,” Kyle Anderson Sr. said when Roberts was hired in April. (more…)

Former DePaul commit Walter Pitchford has verbally committed to Florida for this fall after visiting the campus this past weekend.

“He just felt it was a good fit, their style of play,” Walter Pitchford Sr. said by phone. “On his visit he had a great visit. He felt it was a good fit for them.”

The 6-foot-9, 210-pound Pitchford is a postgrad at Summit Christian Academy in East Lansing, Mich., and a native of Grand Rapids, Mich.

Pitchford joins 6-3 shooting guard Bradley Beal of St. Louis Chaminade in Florida’s 2011 recruiting class.

After getting his release from DePaul last July Pitchford considered Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Arizona State and Minnesota. (more…)