Fresh off his in-home visit Monday night with Seton Hall head coach Bobby Gonzalez and assistant coaches Derm Player and Scott Adubato, Devon Collier says he will take five official visits.

“The schools I will visit are Providence, Seton Hall, Oregon State, St. John’s and probably Maryland,” the 6-foot-8, 210-pound Collier said Tuesday by phone from St. Anthony.

“I don’t have any favorite. I’m still open,” he added.

Collier, the No. 25 power forward and No. 134 senior prospect according to Rivals, confirmed that Rutgers was no longer on his list. He has yet to set any dates for taking officials. (more…)

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, for the University of Louisville, and for Rick Pitino.

“I think that every one of those considerations will provide a very invigorating and challenging outcome for Ralph Willard. I’m trying to weigh all those things.”

Willard is due to decide this week. (more…)

Georgia Tech-bound big man Derrick Favors posted 21 points to earn co-MVP honors and lead the Black Team to a 110-103 victory over the White Team in the Jordan Brand Classic at Madison Square Garden.

USC-bound big man Renardo Sidney scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half for the White Team.

In the Regional Game, Russell Smith of Archbishop Molloy poured in 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting to earn Co-MVP honors and lead the City team to a 129-120 victory over the Suburban team. (more…)

Sherrod Wright verbally committed to George Mason on Friday, according to a source with firsthand knowledge.

The 6-foot-4, 190-pound senior wing picked that school over Central Florida, Kansas State and South Carolina. He completes George Mason’s six-man recruiting class.

Wright is an athletic, strong wing player who comes from the storied Mount Vernon (N.Y.) High School program that also produced Ben Gordon of the Chicago Bulls and Rutgers players Jonathan Mitchell and Mike Coburn. Wright should have an impact immediately at George Mason, where he visited a couple of weeks ago.

“It was good,” he said recently. “I really enjoyed it. I played a couple fullcourts with the team. I met the team. I met the academic adviser, the head of the Engineering department. I’m thinking about majoring in that or Communications.” (more…)

NEW YORK – Daniel Orton will play for Kentucky next year, and he believes there’s no telling how far the ‘Cats can go.

The 6-foot-10, 260-pound center from Oklahoma City (OK) Bishop McGuinness said Thursday at the Jordan Brand Classic practice that he would remain at Kentucky despite the recent coaching change.

“I’m still at Kentucky, I’m still at Kentucky,” said Orton, the No. 4 center in the Class of 2009. “I’m going to stay here.”

When asked if he ever considered leaving after John Calipari took over for the fired Billy Gillispie, Orton said, “There was that time that from when Coach G got fired, I was little frustrated with everything. There was a thought of having to go back through the recruiting process, which is a little stressful. But I just kind of dealt with it all.”

In the end, he opted to stay with Calipari: “Coach Cal’s a great guy and he just seems like a great coach,” Orton said.

In related news, Calipari announced that he had added former Kentucky stars Tony Delk and Scott Padgett to the staff, according to reports. (more…)

DETROIT – After trying and failing to land several bigger-name coaches,  Memphis chose a member of its own staff to be its new head coach.

Josh Pastner, an assistant to former Memphis coach John Calipari, will be introduced as the Tigers new coach at 1 p.m. on Tuesday.

It remains unclear what Pastner will be paid, but the Memphis Commercial-Appeal reported that he earned a base salary of $200,000 last season as an assistant.

After Calipari accepted an eight-year, $32 million deal at Kentucky, Memphis reached (more…)

Sherrod Wright took an official visit to George Mason from Thursday-Saturday and said he’s been getting the most love from George Mason and Central Florida.

“Central Florida and George Mason are showing me the most,” said Wright, the 6-foot-4 wing from Mount Vernon (N.Y.) High.

Wright said he wasn’t certain whether he would take a visit to Central Florida April 9, or if he would visit any other schools.

“I should be planning one but I’m not sure,” he said. “We didn’t set one yet.” (more…)

The high school careers of Lance Stephenson and James Padgett came to an end Saturday…and Maryland coach Gary Williams was there to watch it.

“I was surprised to see him,” Stephenson told the New York Post.

James Stukes, an uncommitted 6-5 small forward, had 22 points and Miami-bound guard Durand Scott added 16 as Rice crushed two-time defending State Federation champion Lincoln 77-50 in a Class AA boys semifinal in Glens Falls, N.Y. Rice will meet Newburgh Free Academy on Sunday for the state championship.

Stukes, who decommitted twice from Robert Morris, will prep next year at South Kent (Conn.) and said he could still wind up at Robert Morris.

Stephenson, New York State’s all-time scoring leader, had 14 points, six rebounds and two assists for Lincoln and the 6-8 Maryland-bound Padgett posted 12 points and 10 boards.

“You gotta lose some games,” Stephenson told the Post. “I thought it would be closer. We gave up. I was surprised, but it happens.”

As first reported here, the 6-5 Stephenson is expected to announce next week that he will play at Kansas, which lost to Michigan State Friday night in the Sweet 16. Maryland and St. John’s also made Stephenson’s final list. (more…)

Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez says the Pirates will be in the top “six or eight” of the Big East next season with the additions of three transfers — Keon Lawrence, Herb Pope and Jeff Robinson — as well as big man Melvyn Oliver.

“I am very excited,” Gonzalez told the Star-Ledger at last night’s Tournament of Champions final, won by St. Patrick over Newark Science 73-57. “We finished strong this year and won seven of our last 12. I think we will be in the top six or eight teams in the Big East and a factor for the NCAA tournament. I’m excited, the sky’s the limit.” (more…)

Mount Vernon (N.Y.) senior wing Sherrod Wright is in the process of narrowing down his college options in the days leading up to the NCAA late signing period.

George Mason, Seton Hall, South Florida, Central Florida, Manhattan, Fordham, Hofstra and Duquesne are all possibilities, according to Mount Vernon coach Bob Cimmino.

“Those are the main players for him now,” Cimmino said Thursday. “I think he wants to sign in the April signing period.” (more…)