JayVaughn Pinkston, a 6-6 combo forward from Brooklyn Bishop Loughlin considered the top prospect in New York City, will announce at 3 p.m. Wednesday at his school.

The Daily News reported on its Website Tuesday that sources indicated Pinkston would announce for Tennessee, but New Heights athletic director Kimani Young said, “Nobody confirmed that.”

Pinkston is expected to announce from among Villanova, Tennessee, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Marquette.

If Pinkston picks Tennessee, it could well have an impact on what Tobias Harris says at his announcement Thursday on ESPNU since both play the same position.

“There’s no way they’re going to the same school,” said a Division 1 assistant coach recruiting one of the players.

Torrel Harris, Tobias’ dad, said it would be Tobias’ decision, but that the two players could potentially coexist on the same team.

“They’re two different players,” Torrel said. “JayVaughn is a power forward and Tobias, he can do it all. I think if he [Pinkston] did go there [Tennessee], they’ll both play a lot.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, the 6-8 Harris, a senior at Dix Hills (N.Y.) Half Hollow Hills West, had finished up his final visit — to Georgia Tech.

“We had a great visit,” Torrel said. “Coach [Paul] Hewitt is a great teacher, a lot of teaching. In the practices, his players go really hard. He’s got a great group of guys, high-character players on the team. They get a lot of guys to the NBA. A lot of one-and-dones, two-and-dones.

“We met with the president of the school, met with the academic advisors. Just watched a lot of practices and films.”

Torrel said the family would spend the next several days picking a school from among Syracuse, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Louisville, Maryland and Georgia Tech.

Conventional wisdom says Harris will pick from among Syracuse, Tennessee, Louisville and West Virginia.

If Pinkston chooses Tennessee Wednesday, we may know a little more about where Harris ends up.

“That’s not my decision,” Torrel said. “That’s Tobias’ decision. We haven’t talked about that.”

TERRENCE JONES LIKELY TO SIGN LATE

Linda Mashia-Jones, the mother of five-star forward Terrence Jones, said her son will likely wait until the spring to sign.

“It’s looking that way,” she said Tuesday. “I can’t say for sure unless he has a breakout tomorrow [Wednesday] and calls me and tells me he’s ready to make a decision.”

She added: “He’s still waiting. He still wants to wait.”

A 6-foot-8 forward from Portland (Ore.) Jefferson, Jones and his mother visited UCLA two weeks ago. He is considering UCLA, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington and Kentucky.

The early signing period runs Nov. 11-18.

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**Click the Video Player at right for the video interview with Ashton Pankey**

NEW YORK — Ashton Pankey is headed to the ACC.

After taking official visits to Maryland two weeks ago and Houston this past weekend, Pankey announced his college choice Monday in the SNY television studio.

“I’ll be attending the University of Maryland,” said the 6-foot-9, 225-pound Pankey, a Bronx native.

“I felt comfortable with the coaches. Coach [Gary] Williams is a great coach. The players, I got along with them really well. And my mom enjoyed it, too, and she thinks it would be a good place for me to attend.”

Pankey chose Maryland over offers from Houston, Rice, Drexel and Hofstra. He said he plans to sign his Letter of Intent Tuesday at St. Anthony.

A strong power forward who can knock down a short jumper, Pankey hopes to develop his face-up game at the next level.

“I can knock down a short-corner jump shot, play that four spot, be an inside presence that they’ve been lacking for the past few years. And I think I can contribute right away if I work hard,” Pankey said.

New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski described Pankey as a rebounding machine.

“You can certainly shoot to much, you can dribble too much, you can even pass to much,” Konchalski said. “But nobody has ever been taken out of game where the coach says, ‘Sit next to me, you’re rebounding too much.’

“He’s a significant retriever. The best thing he does is he goes after the ball.”

Maryland also has an offer out to Long Island forward Tobias Harris, who visited the campus this past weekend.

Does Pankey think Harris might join him with the Terps?

“I don’t really know where he’s focused on right now,” Pankey said.

Pankey is the fourth St. Anthony senior to commit Division 1, following Devon Collier (Oregon State), Derrick Williams and Elijah Carter (St. Bonaventure).

St. Patrick, which features Duke-bound guard Kyrie Irving and superstar junior Michael Gilchrist, will be the favorite to repeat as New Jersey Tournament of Champions this year, but Pankey says not to count out the Friars.

“Definitely, I think we can have another undefeated season,” Pankey said, referring to the 2007-08 campaign in which the Friars went 32-0. “There’s a lot of St. Anthony pride over there and we want to contribute and have a breakout season.”

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Check back later today on SNY.tv and ZAGSBLOG.com for his decision.

The 6-foot-9, 225-pound Pankey visited Houston this past weekend and will announce for either Houston or Maryland.

“Making my decision today .. It was tough but I’m ready ; should be in the SNY studio around 1:00,” Pankey wrote on his Twitter page.

Three of Pankey’s St. Anthony teammates have already committed to Division 1 schools: Devon Collier (Oregon State), Derrick Williams (Richmond) and Elijah Carter (St. Bonaventure).

KNIGHT DENIES REPORT HE’S DOWN TO THREE

Brandon Knight, the No. 1 prospect in the nation out of Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Pine Crest, denied a report in the Orlando Sentinel saying his top three schools were Kentucky, Kansas and Florida.

“Not right,” Knight wrote Monday morning by text.

The Orlando Sentinel cited an unidentified source in saying that Knight was targeting those three schools.

Knight visited Florida this past weekend for the season opener, an 74-46 victory over Stetson.

Knight declined to offer a list or a timetable on his decision.

He has previously visited UConn, Kansas and Kentucky.

Pine Crest coach Dave Beckerman told me he believes Knight will wait until the spring to sign.

If Knight were to pick Florida, it would impact the recruitment of junior guard Austin Rivers, who has verbally committed to Florida but is also considering Duke.

“Duke wanted to recruit me, but they wanted to do it the right way out of respect for Florida. It’s two unbelievable programs and I feel fortunate that they both want me,” Rivers told the Sentinel.

“Both have really good coaches, really good programs, really good recruiting,” Rivers said. “There are a few differences and a lot of similarities.”

LESLIE TAKING HIS TIME

Raleigh (N.C.) Word of God forward C.J. Leslie is taking his time with his college choice.

The 6-8 Leslie has visited Kentucky, but told Newsobserver.com he is also considering N.C. State, Florida, Oregon, Georgia and UConn. He is the No. 4 power forward in the Class of 2010.

Newsobserver.com reported that Leslie made a surprise appearance Wednesday when Marietta, Ga., point guard Ryan Harrow signed his letter of intent with the Wolfpack. Harrow said he wanted Leslie to join him at N.C. State.

His mother, Leslie, recently told me the family was also trying to schedule a visit to Florida.

“I just wanted to get out and experience this recruiting thing because it’s definitely a one-time thing and make sure I chose the right school that’s best for me,” Leslie told Newsobserver.com.

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The 6-foot-8 Harris, a senior forward at Dix Hills (N.Y.) Half Hollow Hills West, visited Maryland this weekend and heads to Georgia Tech today (Sunday).

“The trip to Maryland went well,” said his father, Torrel. “We visited the business school and it was awesome, particularly the entrepreneur department. We meet with the head of admissions. We watched Maryland’s first game of the year [an 89-51 rout of Charleston Southern on Friday]. The fans are crazy and fun. My family had a great sit-down meeting with Gary Williams, who I value as a great coach because he always finds a way to beat Duke and North Carolina with less talent, without All-American players every year. He helps a lot of his players reach their potential.

“I don’t think Coach Williams gets enough credit for his success as others coaches around the country. I consider him a future Hall of Famer. I went with my sons, T.J. and Terry, and the coaches to watch the football game while Tobias, Tyler and the Maryland players went to the movies.

“I was impressed that even though the football game was a blowout [a 36-9 loss to Virginia Tech ]the Maryland fans were loyal to their team. We had a great meeting with the strength conditioning and strength coach. We just had a very good time at Maryland. It’s a great school, academics through basketball.”

Harris has now visited Syracuse, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisville, West Virginia and Maryland.

After returning from Georgia Tech Tuesday, Tobias will decide.

“We’re going to break it down Tuesday to Thursday,” Torrel said. “It’s going to be tough. I don’t even know myself. I don’t know what school Tobias is going to pick.”

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Four St. Anthony players will sign that day: Pankey, Devon Collier (Oregon State), Derrick Williams (Richmond) and Elijah Carter (St. Bonaventure).

Two years ago, Bob Hurley’s team sent six players to the Division 1 ranks: Mike Rosario (Rutgers), Travon Woodall (Pitt), Jio Fontan (Fordham), Alberto Estwick (Fordham), AJ Rogers (St. Joe’s) and Tyshawn Taylor (Kansas).

Pankey visited Maryland last weekend and heads to Houston this coming weekend. He will then choose between the two.

“After that I’m going to decide between the two. I’ll probably sign by Tuesday,” said Pankey, a Bronx, N.Y. native.

Pankey and his mother thoroughly enjoyed the trip to Maryland.

“It was great,” he said. “I liked the overall atmosphere of the school.  I made some friends on the team. The coaches did a great job of showing me and my mother the campus. They took us to the football stadium. They took me to the business school because I told them I wanted to major in business.”

Hurley said Pankey wanted to take a second visit so he had something to compare Maryland with.

“He really liked Maryland and I know he wants to be able to compare Maryland to another school,” Hurley said.

Pankey wants to see what Houston has to offer.

“I might love Houston so I still might commit there,” he said.  “Right now Maryland’s at the top of the list.”

***For the full breakdown on the early signing period in the NY/NJ area, click here.

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