Here’s an update from the U19 World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand…
Rutgers guard Mike Rosario had a game-high 28 points on 9-of-19 shooting but Puerto Rico lost to Greece 107-98 on Friday.
Fordham guard Jio Fontan added 15 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds.
In Puerto Rico’s first game Thursday, Rosario notched 17 points on 6-of-18 shooting, [...]

Mike Rosario and Jio Fontan leave for New Zealand on Wednesday for the FIBA U19 World Championship slated for July 2-12.
And don’t be surprised if they sleep with a basketball once they get there.
You see, the duo — who are playing for Puerto Rico in the event — slept with a FIBA basketball during training [...]

For the second straight game, Mike Rosario and his Puerto Rico teammates lost by one point Friday night in the World Juniors Basketball Tournament in Douai, France.
Rosario, a 6-3 shooting guard out of Rutgers, scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed 5 rebounds and Jio Fontan added 18 points, but Puerto Rico lost to Canada [...]

Jio Fontan and Mike Rosario combined for 37 points but Puerto Rico lost to France 85-84 Thursday in the World Juniors Basketball Tournament in Douai, France.
Fontan, who has said he won’t play at Fordham in the future because the school won’t grant him a release, dropped 25 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
Rosario, a 6-3 [...]

As first reported here last week, Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard is considering taking a position as an assistant under Louisville coach Rick Pitino.
“I’m just trying to weigh everything,” Willard told the Worcester (Mass.) Telegram Monday night after meeting with his players. “I’m trying to make the best decision for Holy Cross, for our kids, [...]

Here are a few recruiting and hoops notes from the local New York/New Jersey area…
**Louisville has offered Jabarie Hinds, a 6-foot, 160-pound point guard from Mount Vernon (N.Y.). Hinds teamed with George Mason commit Sherrod Wright to win the SNY Invitational this year and could be the next great player out of “Money Earnin’ Mount [...]

Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com has issued a list of 12 Division 1 basketball coaches on the hot seat and four of them are from the New York-metropolitan area, including all three Big East coaches.
Here’s what Jeff had to say about Norm Roberts, Fred Hill, Bobby Gonzalez and Derrick Whitteburg. What are your thoughts on these [...]

Fordham athletic director Frank McLaughlin wants star point guard Jio Fontan to return to school, but Fontan and his family say he will never play for Fordham again.
McLaughlin has repeatedly ignored interview requests from the media (myself included), but he did tell a Fontan confidant that the school will not release the young man from [...]

UConn point guard Kemba Walker of New York and a pair of players from Bob Hurley’s storied St. Anthony program — Villanova commit Dominic Cheek and Kansas freshman Tyshawn Taylor — have been selected to attend the 2009 USA U19 National Team Trials.
The 12-man team will compete in the U19 World Championship later this summer [...]

Jio Fontan will not return to Fordham next year and is considering a number of other options, including spending the year in Puerto Rico training with its National Team or attending a junior college.
If Fordham continues to deny the 6-foot-1 Fontan a release, he and his family are prepared to go a non-traditional route.
Jorge Fontan, [...]