Robert Upshaw, a 6-foot-11 center from Fresno (Calif.) San Joaquin, verbally committed to Kansas State Monday.

Upshaw is the Rivals No. 8 center in the country, and an AAU teammate of Shabazz Muhammad, the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2012. Their Dream Visions  AAU club reached the final of the adidas 64 event in Las Vegas in July.

Upshaw’s mother, Ceylon Sherman, told Gopowercat.com he picked Kansas State over Georgetown, Fresno State and others.

“It was a close run,” Sherman said. “He had a lot of great schools, but when it came down to it, him and all of us family just all had Kansas State. For Robert, it was about how much he liked the guys out there. He had chemistry with them.”

Kansas State also has a commitment from Laimonas Chatkevicius, a 7-footer from Lithuania who is now at South Kent (Conn.).

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SOUTH KENT, Conn. — While Ricky Ledo and Chris Thomas figure to be the stars of this year’s South Kent (Conn.) team, Kelvin Jefferson’s club is loaded with strong role players, too.

Two of those players were placed at the prep school by the Kansas State staff, and may end up with the Wildcats.

Zedric Sadler is a 6-foot-2 postgraduate combo guard from Detroit (pictured at left), and Laimonas Chatkevicius is a 7-foot junior from Klaipeda, Lithuania. Both are 2012. (more…)

After dropping back-to-back games to Atlantic 10 bottom feeders St. Bonaventure and Fordham, St. John’s and coach Steve Lavin finally have reason to smile.

The Johnnies won their second in-season tournament with an 85-69 victory over previously-unbeaten Northwestern in the championship game of the Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden.

Dwight Hardy scored 24 points and Justin Brownlee added a career-high 21 and was named Most Outstanding Player as St. John’s shot 80 percent from the field in the second half to hand the Wildcats their first loss of the season.

“It is rare to shoot 80 percent in a half so I think our players executed well in two gears, in transition when the opportunity was there and then probing for good looks,” Lavin said. “It was all an indication of sharing the ball. I thought we were crisp, in sync, playing with a high confidence level and our defense picked up in the second half. You put it together and we had a breakthrough. If you keep working there’ll be a breakthrough.” (more…)

Perry Ellis, the No. 6 power forward in the Class of 2012 and the two-time Gatorade Kansas Player of the Year, has cut his list to six, according to his mother, Fonda Ellis.

The 6-foot-8, 224-pound Ellis is considering Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Memphis, Wichita State and Oklahoma.

Numerous other schools have also offered, including Texas A&M, Wake Forest, Iowa, Stanford, Wichita State, Georgetown and UCLA.

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Perry Ellis, the No. 6 power forward in the Class of 2012, is looking to cut his list to five or six, according to his mother, Fonda Ellis.

“He is looking to trim his list for Christmas,” she said by text.

The 6-foot-8, 224-pound Perry is currently considering Memphis, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Texas A&M, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Iowa, Stanford and Wichita State.

“Georgetown and UCLA are just getting involved,” Fonda said.

UCLA came to watch him practice Monday night in advance of Thursday’s game at Kansas.

Kansas (Friday), Kansas State (Tuesday) and Oklahoma (Tuesday) are also expected in soon.

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NEW YORK – It isn’t exactly The Beatles playing Shea Stadium, but Duke and Gonzaga will draw a crowd Monday in Kansas City.

Some 43 NBA scouts have requested credentials for the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic Championship Round to see players like Duke’s Kyrie Irving and Kyle Singler and Gonzaga’s Steven Gray.

“Forty-three is a lot,” said Ray Cella of the Gazelle Group, which is putting on the event Monday and Tuesday. “Obviously, when you get quality teams coming to one place everybody wants to come out.” (more…)

Perry Ellis, the No. 6 power forward in the Class of 2012, is looking to cut his list before his season starts in early December, according to his mother, Fonda Ellis.

“He’s trying to narrow it down to 5 or 7 by the time the season starts,” she said Saturday by phone.

The 6-foot-8, 224-pound Perry said his list currently includes Memphis, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Texas A&M, North Carolina and Wichita State.

Iowa and Wake Forest have also offered and his mother said Georgetown, UCLA, Miami and Stanford are also interested. (more…)

Perry Ellis is from Kansas, but he grew up a Duke fan.

“I actually grew up liking Duke but not [any] more,” the 6-foot-8, 212-pound rising junior said by phone from the Kevin Durant Skills Academy in Chicago. “That’s what I liked growing up more.”

Now a member of the USA Developmental National Team and one of the top small forwards in the nation, Ellis has a slew of elite programs after him — but he isn’t counting Duke among them.

Ellis lists Kansas, Memphis, Kentucky, Kansas State, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Stanford, Oklahoma and Wichita State as college options.

“Nobody has a an edge. I’m just looking,” said Ellis, who carries a 4.0 GPA. (more…)

Anthony Davis is ranked as the No. 2 power forward in the Class of 2011, yet hardly anyone knew who he was before this spring.

After growing seven inches in a year, Davis is now 6 feet, 9 inches and 187 pounds.

“He went through a major, major growth spurt,” said Anthony Davis Sr. “He’s eating us out of house and home, for sure. He just won’t gain the weight.”

Davis burst onto the national scene this past spring and was named Most Promising Prospect at the recent NBA Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, Va. (more…)

While the Jordan Brand Classic games were going on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, Elijah Carter was up in Bridgeport, Conn., playing in the JCC Schoolboy Classic.

Carter, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound guard from Jersey City (N.J.) St. Anthony who has signed with St. Bonaventure, played every minute of the game because his team brought only six players.

And he still dropped a game-high 42 points in New Jersey’s 124-119 double-OT loss to Connecticut.

It was the most points scored in the event since Jeff Ruland dropped 45 in 1977, according to the Stamford Advocate. Aishon White, an uncommitted guard from Union, N.J., added 39 points. (more…)