NEW YORK — As John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” blared over the speakers at Madison Square Garden and the West Virginia players, fans and cheerleaders enjoyed a prolonged celebration on the floor, it felt for an instant as if Morgantown, West Va., had moved to New York City.
And that seemed only fitting considering [...]

NEW YORK – If you walked in to Madison Square Garden during the player introductions for the West Virginia basketball team, you might think the announcer was giving out the starting lineup for St. John’s, Rutgers or Seton Hall.
All five starters come from New York and New Jersey.
Asked how he lured so much metropolitan-area talent [...]

NEW YORK — We all  know the storied legacy associated with Georgetown centers.
Patrick Ewing.
Dikembe Mutombo.
Alonzo Mourning.
Roy Hibbert.
Greg Monroe could well be the next in that line, but he’s not ready to say so just yet.
“I’m honored to follow people that were so good  here,” Monroe said after putting up 23 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists [...]

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Fuquan Edwin played his final high school game Thursday night when top-seeded Paterson Catholic lost to No. 2 St. Anthony, 63-49, in the North Non-Public B title game at Rutgers.
The 6-foot-5 Edwin led his team with 22 points and 6 rebounds, but only one other teammate (Kyle Anderson) managed double figures.
Another Paterson [...]

Hamady N’Diaye can hardly believe his college career at Rutgers is winding down.
But Thursday on senior night, the 6-foot-11, 235-pound Senegal native will play his final home game when the Scarlet Knights face Seton Hall at the Rutgers Athletic Center.
“I really didn’t even realize it until last week when I really looked at the schedule [...]

Alex Kline of BoxofMess.com continues to put in work interviewing many of the top high school prospects in the New York metropolitan area.
In this piece, Kline gets Burlington (N.J.) Life Center stars Dion Waiters and LaQuinton Ross talking about their future goals and plans.
The 6-foot-8 Ross has already been compared to Kevin Durant by Burlington [...]

Moses Abraham has only been in this country for three months since arriving from Nigeria the day before Thanksgiving, but he’s already in very high demand.
A 6-foot-9, 237-pound power forward with a 7-3 wingspan, Abraham plays for Temple Hills (Md.) Progressive Christian. His advisor, Joe Boncore, said Abraham is in the Class of 2011 but [...]

Maurice Walker is one of the most sought after big men in the Class of 2010.
The 6-foot-10, 280-pound Toronto native is currently playing at Wolfeboro  (N.H.) Brewster Academy and plans to cut his list with his father later this week.
“We plan on sitting down this week to hash out our top five and see if [...]

Seton Hall junior shooting guard Jeremy Hazell could miss up to a week after sustaining  a deep cut on his right [shooting] hand during the Pirates’ 59-50 win Wednesday at St. John’s.
“The doctor said he would be out about a week,” a source with direct knowledge said.
The Pirates play at West Virginia Saturday before hosting Rutgers Tuesday.
Hazell reportedly received eight [...]

By Alex Kline
BoxofMess.com
Special to ZAGSBLOG.COM
TRENTON, N.J. — Here’s a complete rundown on Saturday and Sunday’’s action at the PrimeTime Shootout at the Sun National Bank Center…
In the last game Saturday night, Doron Lamb scored 49 points — three shy of LeBron James‘ 2003 tournament-record 52 — on 21 of 29 shooting but Oak Hill Academy [...]