The Paul Pierce and Amare Stoudemire academies begin June 28 and the LeBron James Skills Academy runs July 5-8 in Akron, Ohio.

DERON WILLIAM HIGH SCHOOL KIDS

11 Jamal Branch 6-3 163 75 ½ 2011 Atascocita/Humble, TX
12 Taran Buie 6-1 ½ 172 76 ½ 2010 Bishop Maginn/Albany, NY
1 Isaiah Epps 6-1 ½ 159 74 ½ 2010 Plainfield/Plainfield, NJ
20 Gary Franklin, Jr. 6-2 183 74 ½ 2010 Mater Dei/Santa Ana, CA
2 Kyrie Irving 6-2 172 75 ½ 2010 St. Patrick’s/West Orange, NJ
4 Joe Jackson 6-0 ½ 163 75 2010 White Station/Memphis, TN
13 Nick Johnson 6-3 185 77 2011 Highland/Gilbert, AZ
14 Cory Joseph 6-3 175 76 ½ 2010 Findlay Prep/Pickering, ONT
29 Jelan Kendrick 6-6 ½ 186 81 ½ 2010 Westlake/College Park, GA
31 Brandon Knight 6-2 ½ 183 78 2010 Pine Crest/Coral Springs, FL
17 Kendall Marshall 6-4 180 76 ½ 2010 Bishop O’Connell/Dumfries, VA
15 Ray McCallum 6-0 ½ 179 73 ½ 2010 Detroit Ctry Day/Beverly Hills, MI
8 Phil Pressey 5-11 162 73 2010 Episcopal School/Dallas, TX
19 Austin Rivers 6-4 189 79 2011 Winter Park/Winter Park, FL
18 Josh Selby 6-3 183 76 2010 Lake Clifton/Baltimore, MD
5 Reggie Smith 6-1 175 76 2010 Thornton Township/Harvey, IL
16 Juwan Staten 5-10 ½ 169 74 2010 Thurgood Marshall/Dayton, OH
22 Andre Stringer 5-9 ½ 166 71 2010 Forest Hill/Jackson, MS
24 Marquis Teague 6-2 165 79 2011 Pike/Indianapolis, IN
28 Dion Waiters 6-3 ½ 201 78 ½ 2010 Life Center/Philadelphia, PA

DERON WILLIAMS COLLEGE ROSTER

32 Avery Bradley 6-2 ½ 178 78 Freshman Texas
34 Sherron Collins 5-11 ½ 228 73 Senior Kansas
33 Jordan Crawford 6-4 195 77 ½ Junior Xavier
21 Malcolm Delaney 6-4 184 78 ½ Junior Virginia Tech
10 Devon Downey 5-9 ½ 173 72 Senior South Carolina
35 Kalin Lucas 6-0 ½ 186 73 ½ Junior Michigan State
25 Jon Scheyer 6-5 ½ 183 74 Senior Duke
23 Iman Shumpert 6’5 ½ 211 81 Sophomore Georgia Tech
3 Isaiah Thomas 5-9 ½ 182 72 Sophomore Washington
9 Dominic Waters 6-1 176 74 ½ Senior Portland State
6 Nic Wise 5-10 183 72 ½ Senior Arizona
27 Chris Wright 6-1 ½ 211 75 Junior Georgetown

VINCE CARTER HIGH SCHOOL ROSTER

17 Daniel Alexander 6-8 192 78 2010 Dripping Springs/Austin, TX
2 Anthony Brown 6-6 184 79 2010 Ocean View/Huntington Beach, CA
29 Russell Byrd 6-7 189 79 2010 Blackhawk Christian/Fort Wayne, IN
38 Cameron Clark 6-6 184 78 2010 Sherman/Sherman, TX
26 Perry Ellis 6-7 206 78 2012 Wichita Heights/Wichita, KS
28 CJ Fair 6-7 196 77 2010 Baltimore City College/Baltimore, MD
37 Dominique Ferguson 6-8 209 87 2010 Morris/Indianapolis, IN
16 Michael Gbinije 6-6 194 75 2011 Benedictine/Chester, PA
27 Terrence Jones 6-8 219 84 2010 Jefferson/Portland, OR
15 Jamail Jones 6-6 200 78 2010 Greenforest Christian/Stone Mtn., GA
14 CJ Leslie 6-8 205 84 2010 Word of God Academy/Raleigh, NC
30 Tony Mitchell 6-7 215 86 2010 Living Faith Christian/Grand Prairie, TX
18 Dwayne Polee 6-7 181 79 2010 Westchester/Los Angeles, CA
4 Casey Prather 6-5 189 77 2010 Northside/Jackson, TN
11 Jereme Richmond 6-7 195 79 2010 Waukegan/Waukegan, IL
36 Mike Shaw 6-8 208 78 2011 De La Salle/Chicago, IL
40 Evan Smotrycz 6-9 212 77 2010 New Hampton/Reading, MA
12 DeShaun Thomas 6-7 221 80 2010 Bishop Luers/Fort Wayne, IN
39 Tristan Thompson 6-8 240 81 2010 Findlay Prep/Brampton, ONT

VINCE CARTER COLLEGE ROSTER

19 Al-Farouq Aminu 6-8 218 84 Sophomore Wake Forest
1 Matt Bouldin 6-5 224 77 Senior Gonzaga
20 William Buford 6-5 198 78 Sophomore Ohio State
22 Devin Ebanks 6-7 204 81 Sophomore West Virginia
23 Wesley Johnson 6-7 206 84 Junior Syracuse
24 DeQuan Jones 6-6 212 79 Sophomore Miami
25 Tasmin Mitchell 6-6 249 78 Junior Louisiana State
31 Delvon Roe 6-7 229 79 Sophomore Michigan State
32 DeShawn Sims 6-8 230 81 Junior Michigan
33 Chris Wright 6-7 217 79 Junior Dayton

**Height measured in sneakers and weight measured without sneakers

Jeff Hewitson

Friday, Jan. 22, West Virginia University

6:00 pm  – Morgantown (WV) vs. Chester (PA)
7:30 pm – Woodrow Wilson (WV) vs. Trenton Catholic (NJ)
9:00 pm -  Mountain State  (WV) vs. Columbia (GA)

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 – WVU

12:00 pm –Woodrow Wilson (WV) vs. Chester (PA)
1:30 pm – Paterson Catholic (NJ) vs. Lake Clifton (MD)
3:00 pm – Half Hollow Hills West (NY) vs. College City (MD)
4:30 pm – Westchester (CA) vs. Rice (NY)
6:00 pm –Oak Hill Academy(VA) vs.Columbia(GA)
7:30 pm – Arlington Country Day (FLA) vs. Hotchkiss School (CT)
9:00 pm – Huntington Academy (WV) vs. Mt. Lebanon (PA)

Friday, January 29th, 2010 – Villanova University

5:00 pm –Pennington Prep (NJ) vs. East Long Meadow (MASS)
6:30 pm – Plymouth-Whitemarsh vs. Imhotep Charter
8:00 pm – Pennwood vs. Coatesville
9:30 pm – Chester vs. Trenton Catholic (NJ)

Saturday, January 30th, 2010 – Villanova University

12:00 pm – Parkland vs. Lower Merion
1:30 pm – Friends Central vs. Hill School
3:00 pm – Westtown vs. Shabazz (NJ)
4:30 pm – Camden Catholic (NJ) vs. Malvern Prep
6:00 pm – ANC vs. Hotchkiss School (CT)
7:30 pm – Mt. Lebanon (Pittsburgh) vs. Archbishop Carroll
9:00 pm – Roman Catholic vs. Bartram

Friday Schedule – February 12th, 2010 at Rutgers

5:30 PM– Pennwood (PA) vs. Ridge (NJ)
7:30 PM– St. Patrick’s (NJ) vs. Oak Hill Academy (VA) (ESPN 2)
9:15 PM – Plainfield (NJ) vs. St. Joseph’s (Metuchen, NJ)

Saturday Schedule – February 13th, 2010, Sovereign Bank Arena

12:00 PM – Our Savior New American (NY) vs. Northern Guilford (NC)
1:30 PM – St. Raymond’s (NY) vs. Middle Twp. (NJ)
3:00 PM – St. Peter’s Prep (NJ) vs. Carmen Sol (PR)
4:30 PM – Hotchkiss School (CT) vs. Findlay Prep (NV)
6:00 PM – St. Anthony’s (N.J.) vs. Montrose Christian (MD)
7:30 pm – Trenton Catholic (NJ) vs. Oak Hill Academy (VA)
9:00 pm –Rice (NY) vs. St. Patrick’s (NJ)

Sunday Schedule – February 14th, 2010, Sovereign Bank Arena

11:00 am – Pennington Prep (NJ) vs. Montgomery (NJU)
12:30 pm – Nichols School (NY) vs. Albany Academy (NY)
2:00 pm – Shabazz (NJ) vs. Thomas Jefferson  (NY)
3:30 pm – Christ The King (NY) vs. Half Hollow Hills West (NY)
5:00 pm – Findlay Prep (NV) vs. Huntington Academy (WV)
6:30 pm – Trenton Catholic (NJ) vs. Carmen Sol (PR)
8:00 pm – Monroe (NJ) vs. New Egypt (NJ)

(Photo courtesy Star-Ledger)

The NJ Celtics — featuring Kyrie Irving (pictured), Michael Gilchrist, Derrick Gordon, Kevin Boyle Jr. and Chase Plummer — went 7-0 to win the recent Providence Jam Fast.

The Celtics beat the Mass Rivals in the final after knocking off a Boo Williams team in the semis that included Carolina-bound Kendall Marshall, Duke-bound Andre Dawkins and Georgia Tech commit Travis Mckie (2010).

St. Patrick coach Kevin Boyle said Rob Kennedy of the Hoop Group told him: “I don’t know who Oak Hill and Findlay [Prep] get [next year], but I don’t know a high school team that’s going to be better than you guys.”

Irving, a junior ranked the No. 4 point guard in the Class of 2010, poured in 42 points in a quarterfinal win over the Albany City Rocks.

“In four games he had 150 points ,” Boyle said.

Irving recently cut his list to about a dozen schools and said he planned visits to Texas A&M and Indiana.

Irving told Jody Demling of the Louisville Courier-Journal that he “really liked Indiana a whole lot” and has built a strong relationship with Indiana coach Tom Crean and assistant Roshown McLeod, a former St. Anthony standout.

“When I was at [The Montclair (N.J.) Kimberley Academy)], Coach Crean was at Marquette and they sent me my first big-time letter,” Irving told Demling. “He went to Indiana and the relationship developed from there. They have showed me a lot of support and love.”

Kentucky coach John Calipari also recruited Irving when Cal was at Memphis.

“Not too long ago, I talked to coach  Calipari and he said the interest level was the same that it had been at Memphis,” Irving said. “I know that Kentucky is basketball country. I know the fan support is amazing. I want to learn more about it.”

Irving said his goal is to “show people I’m more than a point guard.”

“I want to show people that I can do it all,” he said. “I’ve been working hard on my mid-range game and my overall strength, just working hard every day and giving it my all every time that I work out. I want to be the best I can be.”

VASIL TO BLOOMFIELD TECH

Former Plainfield (N.J.) and Clifton High head coach Pete Vasil has gotten a new coaching gig.

“I just accepted the offer to be the new head coach at Bloomfield Tech,” Vasil said. “Obviously, I’m flattered that they have the confidence in me to accept the challenge of bringing it back to the level that they’re used to being at.”

Vasil has yet to finalize his staff.

“It will be assembled real soon,” Vasil said.

The team returns seniors Kevin Philemon, Asaad Bell, Aaron Gowans and Rashid Sabur, junior Wilson Codey and sophomores Tyrone O’Garro, Corey Winston and Mychal Corbit, among others.

Vasil, 46, resigned from the Plainfield job last June after he was told to re-interview for his job.

Vasil went 63-19 during his three-year tenure at Plainfield, winning two Watchung Conference titles, a sectional final and leading the Cardinals to their first Union County Tournament final in more than two decades. In 2006, he was named the Union County Coach of the Year by the Star-Ledger and the Union County Coaches Association.

Bloomfield Tech became a state power under former coach Nick Mariniello, who is now the head coach at Hudson Catholic.

Mariniello posted a career record of 186-50 during nine years at Bloomfield Tech. He led the Spartans to four Group 1 state titles, two Tournament of Champions finals and one Essex County championship.

“We scrimmaged against Nick’s teams in 2007 and 2008, so I am familiar with some of the players,” Vasil said. “It’s important for the kids to identify that the school has tradition.”

Bloomfield Tech will join the new Essex County Superconference that includes Seton Hall Prep, Science Park, Montclair, Irvington, East Orange, Columbia and Newark East Side.

“I’m very familiar with all of those programs so I’m going to renew those rivalries,” Vasil said. “It will renew a rivalry with Montclair coach Major Jennings from my Clifton days.”

In other Jersey prep news, St. Benedict’s guard Tavon Sledge is transferring, although it remains unclear where he’s headed.

(Photo courtesy MyCentralJersey.com)

Johnson was a second-team All-CHSAA selection who averaged 14 points and 4 assists. He chose Howard over Central Connecticut, Stonybrook, Holy Cross, Marist and Bowling Green.

“When he went on his official visit he really got along with Coach [Gil] Jackson really well,” Ray’s coach Oliver Antigua said. “They got a good feel for the kid when he went on his visit two weeks ago. They got a lot of young talent on the team.

“They need a lot of playing time from the point guard position, which was their biggest need. He has a chance to play right away as freshman.”

BUFFALO TRANSFERRING

Mike Buffalo, a 6-3 combo guard from Wings Academy, is transferring to South Kent (Conn.), according to his AAU coach, Hassani Stewart.

Buffalo will join New York City products James Stukes (Rice), Russ Smith (Molloy) and possibly Keith Spellman (Thomas Jefferson) on Kelvin Jefferson’s roster at South Kent. This year’s South Kent team featured New York natives Omari Lawrence (St. John’s) and Kevin Parrom (Arizona or Pitt).

“[Buffalo's] current list includes Arkansas, South Carolina,  VCU, George Mason, South Florida, UMass, Bucknell, Lehigh, Harvard, St. Peter’s, LIU and Oregon State,” Stewart said.

PINKSTON, GRACE HONORED

Deloitte will honor some of the top prep players in New York on May 16 at the North Meadow Recreation Center in Central Park.

The following players will be honored:

8th Grade – Jordan Washington

9th Grade – Omar Calhoun (Christ the King)

10th Grade – Davontay Grace (Thomas Jefferson)

11th Grade – Jayvaughn Pinkston (Loughlin)

Tobias and Tyler Harris

“It’s 99.99 percent that Tobias and Tyler Harris will be transferring back to Half Hollow Hills West after the school year,” said Torrel Harris, the boys’ father.

Under New York State rules, you are allowed a one-time exemption back to your home district, meaning the boys could suit up immediately if they returned to Half Hollow Hills.

“I can’t comment on kids who aren’t enrolled in our school,” Half Hollow Hills coach Bill Mitaritonna said. Apparently there was an incident between Torrel and LuHi coach Brian Carey over the weekend in Glens Falls, N.Y.

Tobias Harris scored 27 points and added 15 rebounds to earn MVP honors as LuHi routed Jamesville-DeWitt 68-51 in the Class A final Saturday at the New York State Boys Basketball Federation Tournament of Champions.

Harris is the No. 9 power forward in the Class of 2010 and has numerous scholarship offers.

NIA PLAYERS COMMIT

Y’Von Raymond, a 6-4, 190-pound G from NIA PREP in Newark N.J., has committed to St. Peter’s College. Raymond averaged 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals per game.

Sean Berry, a 6-8, 270-pound forward, has committed to University of Maryland-Eastern Shore. Berry averaged 18 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks. Berry was the MVP of the Apex Regional Prep Tournament.

Nick Mariniello

After a year off, Mariniello, 42, took the job at Hudson Catholic in Jersey City on Thursday.

“The school has a very rich tradition in athletics and academics,” Mariniello, who will continue to teach at West Caldwell Tech, said Friday by phone. “I think a lot of things are in place to be successful.”

As a Catholic regional school, Hudson Catholic can draw on players from throughout North Jersey and the state. Mariniello brings a proven track record of success and of sending kids to college, so you have to think it would be an attractive spot for some top players.

Mariniello posted a career record of 186-50 during nine years at Bloomfield Tech. He led the Spartans to four Group 1 state titles, two Tournament of Champions finals and one Essex County championship. He was named the New Jersey Coach of the Year in 2002-3 by the Star-Ledger. Mariniello was also the MSG Tri-State Coach of the Year in 2006-7. The Spartans were nationally ranked by USA Today in 2003-4 and in 2005-6 they finished 17th in the nation.

In 2007, Mariniello was named the head coach of Sonny Vaccaro’s original Roundball Classic. A year later, he was a head coach in the Jordan Brand Regional Game at Madison Square Garden.

Mariniello has sent 10 players to the Division I and II ranks, including Casiem Drummond of Villanova, Da’Sean Butler of West Virginia, Rashon Dwight of Iona, Wesley Jenkins of St. Peter’s and RJ Hall of Marist.

He said the year off helped him immensely.

“I was able to see a lot of practices and games, and watched a lot of former players play games,” he said. “I recharged my batteries and now I’m ready to go.”

The rosters for the Jordan Brand Regional game have been announced. The game is set for April 18 at Madison Square Garden.

The City Team will include O.D. Anosike (St. Peter’s/Staten Island, NY), Dan Jennings (St. Thomas More/Oakdale, CT), Sean Johnson (Christ the King/Middle Village, NY), Omari Lawrence (South Kent/South Kent, CT), James Padgett (Abraham Lincoln/Brooklyn, NY), Kevin Parrom (South Kent/South Kent, CT), Russell Smith (Archbishop Molloy/Briarwood, NY), Keith Spellman (Thomas Jefferson/Brooklyn, NY), James Stukes (Rice/New York, NY) and Chaz Williams (Bishop Ford Central Catholic/Brooklyn, NY).

The Suburban Team will feature Karon Abraham (Eastside/Paterson, NJ), Tevin Baskin (Trinity Catholic/Stamford, CT), Paris Bennett (St. Patrick/Elizabeth, NJ), Lance Brown (Paterson Catholic/Paterson, NJ), Tamir Jackson (St. Benedict’s/Newark, NJ), Austin Johnson (Blair Academy/Blairstown, NJ), Dane Miller (Rush-Henrietta/Henrietta, NY), Lamar Patterson (St. Benedict’s/Newark, NJ), Brandon Triche (Jamesville-DeWitt/DeWitt, NY) and Sherrod Wright (Mount Vernon/Mount Vernon, NY).

The City Team will be coached by Rudy King (Bishop Loughlin High School/Brooklyn, NY) and Lawrence Pollard (Thomas Jefferson High School/Brooklyn, NY) while the Suburban Team will be have Damon Wright (Paterson Catholic High School/Paterson, NJ) and Geoff Billet (Christian Brothers Academy/Lincroft, NJ) on the bench.

NEW YORK

“When I first walked back in the gym, they all stopped practicing and ran over to me,” Jones recalled. “All the guys on the team, even some of the new guys who I never really met, told me how happy they were that I was back. I was overwhelmed by that. This whole ordeal has been pretty emotional to me.”

Both Jones and former Jefferson assistant Tyrone Davis were shot in separate incidents in October. Davis, 52, lost his life, while Jones, 48, spent “three long, grueling” months in the hospital rehabilitating.

Read the full story here.

Speaking of Jefferson, head coach Lawrence Pollard said senior guard Keith Spellman “should be good to go” for the team’s PSAL playoff opener March 3. Spellman missed Sunday’s borough championship game against Lance Stephenson and Lincoln with a back ailment but has since seen a chiropractor in Queens.

(Photos courtesy Christina Santucci)

Lance Stephenson confirmed that he will visit Kansas and both Stephenson and North Carolina-bound guard Dexter Strickland will play in the McDonald’s All-American Game April 1 in Miami.

The two players made the news after Strickland scored 16 points on 6-for-6 shooting to lead St. Patrick over Lincoln 63-58 in the Nike Super 6 at Fordham University.

The 6-5 Stephenson, ranked No. 1 in the nation by Hoop Scoop and No. 9 by Rivals, confirmed that he will visit Kansas Feb. 21 for the team’s game against Nebraska. The news was first reported Thursday by ZAGSBLOG.

“Oh, yeah,” said Stephenson, who scored a game-high 21 points on 9-of-23 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds.

“I can see myself fitting in their progam. They play as a team and they’re just willing to win, so I’m just going to see what they’re about and see how can I fit into the program.”

Kansas head coach Bill Self and assistant Joe Dooley had an in-home visit with the Stephensons last fall and Self later watched Lincoln lose to Duncanville (Texas) earlier this year on ESPN.

“I’m thinking about going to play with Bill Self,” Stephenson said. “I think he’ll change me around and [make me] be a smarter player and more focused.”

Stephenson’s list now consists of St. John’s, Kansas, Maryland and USC and he has said he could announce March 21 after the PSAL championship game at Madison Square Garden, assuming Lincoln gets there.

[Somebody needs to tell the ESPN graphic folks that Lance is not looking at Kentucky and UCLA.]

He recently took an official visit to Maryland, where his teammate James Padgett has signed. He has been to St. John’s several times unofficially.

He said he had no immediate plans to visit USC.

“As of right now, no,” he said. “The list that I gave everybody, I’ll make sure I go to all of them. But right now I’m just worrying about Kansas and my season.”

Stephenson said he watched Kansas lose to Missouri this week on ESPN.

“I didn’t finish watching the game, but I saw the beginning of the game and they weren’t really playing that good,” Stephenson said. “But I think if I was playing, that would be a good look”

Lincoln is in the midst of playing five games in six days, but will have a break next week enabling Lance to take the visit.

Asked if the odds of of him going to St. John’s were stronger than the other three schools, Stephenson said,” I can’t tell you that. I can’t tell nobody that….We’ll see, we’ll see.”

STRICKLAND, STEPHENSON GOING TO MICKEY D’S

As for the Jordan Brand Classic and McDonald’s All-American Games, both Stephenson and Strickland were left off the former, but made the latter.

“I think McDonald’s is more important than anything,” Stephenson said. “If I didn’t make the McDonald’s I’d be more mad, but the McDonald’s I’m happy to be in it.”

Strickland said he was “surprised” that he wasn’t chosen for the Jordan Brand game, but “I just moved on from it.”

“I just look at it as other players getting an opportunity to showcase their talent,” Strickland said.  “But God Bless anyone making it.

“But I’ll have an opportunity to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game.”

As reported here earlier, the Senior Showcase in Orlando on April 18 has also reached out to both players, along with Villanova-bound guard Maalik Wayns, to play in their event.

“We’d love to have Lance, Dexter and Maalik,” said Sean Russell, publisher of Faaz Magazine, the title sponsor of the showcase.

(Photo courtesy Richard Orr)