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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“He probably won’t sign until the spring. I can’t say for 100 percent sure,” Lisa Leslie, C.J.’s mom, said Saturday in a phone interview.

The 6-foot-8, 205-pound Leslie out of Raleigh (N.C.) Word of God Academy is the No. 4 power forward in the nation, according to Rivals.

He took his first official visit to Kentucky Oct. 28 for the Blue/White Scrimmage and was supposed to visit Florida this weekend (Nov. 7-8), but will have to reschedule because his high school team has a scrimmage today (Saturday).

“We thought it would be better if we just totally rescheduled it,” Lisa said of the Florida visit.

Leslie had in-home visits with Kentucky, Maryland, Seton Hall, Arizona State, Georgetown, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, Florida International and Oregon.

He plans to take four more officials — including one to Florida — but all four likely won’t happen this fall. Lisa said the family wasn’t sure which schools would get the three remaining visits.

“As of right now, we don’t know which other three schools he’s going to visit,” she said. “We’ve been so busy with the recruiting and everything that we haven’t had enough time to sit down and complete the schedule.”

Lisa said North Carolina was supposed to come for an in-home visit, but cancelled because they decided instead to focus on Harrison Barnes, the nation’s No. 2 recruit.

“Roy [Williams] must feel pretty comfortable with Barnes because Coach [Steve] Robinson called us and they were saying they didn’t want to hinder C.J.’’s recruiting by putting us on hold to see whether Harrison Barnes was going to take the scholarship,” she said.

“Coach Williams told C.J. he really wanted him, he just wishes he has one more scholarship. That was the turnaround with North Carolina.”

The 6-6 Barnes is due to announce this week and is considering North Carolina, Duke, UCLA, Oklahoma, Kansas and Iowa State.

As for Leslie, Lisa said he enjoyed his official to Kentucky but hasn’t proclaimed the ‘Cats his leader.

“He said when he went down there for the visit he really enjoyed it,” Lisa said of Kentucky. “He never said that that was his favorite school.

“He’s still saying that he’s open. I wouldn’t say that that was his favorite school.”

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Johnson chose the Wolfpack over Maryland and UConn.

“I called N.C. State today and told them,” Johnson said Sunday night. “I had a gut feeling from sitting down and visiting and talking to the coaches. I just felt comfortable there.”

Johnson visited the campus twice, once last spring and again in the summer.

He is ranked No. 30 nationally among safeties. Johnson said he wasn’t certain if he would redshirt next year or play right away.

“They say I’ll be playing the free guy back there,” Johnson said. ”I’ll play whatever is needed, the pass or the run.”

A hall proctor and a member of the Peer Leadership Program, Johnson maintains a 3.7 grade GPA.

For now, he’s just glad to have the decision over with.

“Yeah, definitely it’s  a weight of your shoulders now,” he said. “But the work’s never over. It’s never done.”

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“C.J. is still wide open with his recruitment. He doesn’t have a strong leader,” Raleigh (NC) Word of God coach Erasto Hatchett said Friday. “He’s still entertaining about 10 schools as of right now. He’s completed some home visits. He just had his last visit [Thursday] night with Georgetown. Seton Hall was there the night before.”

Hatchett said the 6-foot-8, 205-pound Leslie is considering Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Oregon, Florida and Florida International.

No official visits have yet been set and the list has not been cut, but Hatchett did say that a few schools have been involved for a long period of time.

“I think everyone is doing a good job,” he said. “There are some that have come in kind of late.  Florida, Kentucky, N.C. State, Arizona State, they’re being very consistent in the recruitment. Those guys have been around for a while and have been very consistent.”

He added:  “We’re going to take it one day at a time. It’s not really a heavy topic between C.J. and I. We’re focusing on getting better and trying to put ourselves in position to win a state championship.

“At some point in time that list of 10 will be cut to five, and then from five down to three and then he’ll make his decision.”

CLINIC TO END ALL CLINICS ON SATURDAY

Manhattan College will again play host to ‘The Clinic to End All Clinics’, an annual basketball coaches’ workshop orchestrated by Howard Garfinkel, the founder of Five Star basketball camp. This year’s clinic is scheduled for Saturday, October 3, 2009 in Draddy Gymnasium from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The event will feature sessions instructed by college basketball’s winningest coach Bob Knight (ESPN), as well as 2009 NCAA National Champion coach Roy Williams (University of North Carolina), and Leonard Hamilton (Florida State University), along with former NBA coaches Don Casey and Mike Fratello.

Schedule of Speakers

9 a.m. to 10 a.m. – Roy Williams

10:10 a.m. to 11:10 a.m. – Leonard Hamilton

11:20 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. – Bob Knight

1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. – Don Casey

3:10 p.m. to 4:10 p.m. –  Mike Fratello

4:20 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. – Don Casey

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Bryant was suspended because of his involvement in a traffic accident outside of Morgantown early Wednesday, after which he left the scene, according to the Charleston Gazette. He was charged with four misdemeanors, including leaving the scene of an accident. No one was injured in the accident and Bryant is free on bond.

Coach Bob Huggins didn’t specify Bryant’s violation in announcing the suspension Wednesday. Huggins didn’t respond to a text message seeking comment.

“Darryl is suspended indefinitely from all team-related activities,”  Huggins said in a statement.

Bryant was fourth in team scoring as a freshman last season at nearly 10 points per game and led the team in scoring four times. He started 28 games at point guard after Joe Mazzulla was lost for the season with a shoulder injury.

Huggins suspended Mazzulla indefinitely in April after the junior was charged following an altercation at a Morgantown bar, his second arrest in nine months.

(AP contributed)

RECRUITING NEWS & NOTES

I’m headed down to Philly in the morning (early) for Day 2 of the Reebok All-American Camp. Here’s a few quick notes:

**Word is Brandon Knight (pictured) is a no-show at the Reebok Camp, which is already devoid of a lot of big names.

**With Camp head man Chris Rivers moving to adidas from Reebok, could this be the final year of the camp Sonny Vaccaro made famous? Rivers says he’s trying to get through this year before making any decision.

**AMong the players I plan to check out [and write about] is Kyle Anderson, the 6-7 rising sophomore from Paterson (N.J.) Catholic.

His father says the following schools are already involved: Pitt, Georgetown, Rutgers, St. John’s, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, La Salle, Texas, Kansas, Baylor, Miami, Kentucky and Indiana. Quite a list, huh?

**The list for Plainfield guard Tyrone Johnson looks like this according to Derrick Bobbitt, his AAU coach: Georgetown, Villanova, Rutgers, St. John’s, Virginia Tech, UCLA, Kentucky and Seton Hall. Georgetown appears to be the favorite.

**Villanova-bound big man Markus Kennedy will end up at either Penn Wood or Neumann-Goretti now that his old school in New Jersey has closed down, according to Matt Pauls, his former AAU coach.

**Oak Hill guard Doron Lamb tells Jody Demling he plans to visit Kansas and Oklahoma later this summer.

“Kentucky is one of the schools that is looking at me, but I don’t have a main school or a favorite yet,” Lamb told Demling. “I want to take some other visits.”

The New York native already visited Kentucky, and many folks expect he’ll end up there.

“I learned a lot about the city and the system,” he said. “The campus is great. It was good, chillin’ with John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins and all of that.

**LeBron James asked Mike Gilchrist (pictured left) to lunch two years ago. Great column by Gary Parrish.

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“He’s going to N.C. State,” Hargrave coach Kevin Keatts said. “I just think he had two really good visits [to Maryland and N.C. State]. Both places were great. I think he just felt a little bit more comfortable with the N.C. state staff and he decided that he wanted to go to N.C. State.”

Painter, who initially committed to Florida last May, is the No. 18 center in the Class of 2009.

“He’s going to bring energy to the post and have a chance to score inside and out,” Keatts said. “And I think he’ll be a good player for them.”

“It’s down to the two of them, no question about it,” one source said. “It is Kentucky and Miami. The kid is leaning toward Kentucky. There is a little bit of a concern with the people closest to him that if he goes to Kentucky that they’re going to lose control.”

Said a second source at one of the schools: “That’s what we’re hearing.”

Brian Clifton, Wall’s adviser, told Luke Winn of SI.com that it was “accurate” to say that the race was between Duke, Kentucky and Miami, but my sources indicate it’s a two-horse race between Miami and Kentucky.

The 6-foot-4 Wall has not publicly cut his list. Asked by text on Sunday when he might cut it, he said, “I don’t know.”

Wall is the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2009 and has long considered Baylor, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Memphis, Miami and N.C. State.

Kentucky coach John Calipari pursued both Wall and Alabama point guard Eric Bledsoe, with the idea that Wall would start at the point and Bledsoe would play 10-15 minutes as a backup. If Wall followed former Calipari guards Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans by jumping to the NBA after one season, Bledsoe would take over in 2010.

Calipari has already secured an impressive recruiting class that includes Bledsoe, DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, Darnell Dodson and Jon Hood. The addition of Wall could make the Cats a Final Four-caliber team, although the team would still need to jell together.

Clearly, Clifton has some reservations about Wall joining Bledsoe at Kentucky.

“The knee-jerk reaction, and justifiably so, would be to take a minute of pause to look further into it. Because I can’t imagine, to get a player like Eric Bledsoe, that [Kentucky] would tell him, we’re going to recruit over you immediately and not play you very much as a freshman,” Clifton told SI.com.

“There had to be some assurances made to him about being able to share the ball, that would inspire him to commit despite the possibility of John still coming there. … So we have to revisit that situation and make sure it’s going to be great to have two of the top four point guards on the roster at once.”

Clifton told SI.com he hopes to talk to Calipari and Bledsoe’s camp to see what their expectations are for next season at Kentucky.

“It’s definitely not a deal-breaker, but I’d be remiss in my duty as a guy that’s helping John and his family if we don’t explore it fully,” Clifton said.

Clifton is also clearly amenable to the idea of Wall going to play at Miami. Head coach Frank Haith has recruited New York combo guard Durand Scott, whose Rice team beat Lance Stephenson and Lincoln in the New York State Federation title game.

“And being in Miami is significant in and of itself,” Clifton told SI.com. “If you’re going to be away from home for a year, or two years, or four, there are much worse places to be.”

Still, Wall has also said he may want to stay home in North Carolina to be near his ailing mother.

COLLEGE & RECRUITING NOTES

**A third Fordham player, freshman forward Lamar Thomas of Littleton, Col., obtained his release yesterday, bringing to three the number of Rams who are leaving the program this year. Trey Blue is headed to Illinois State and Mike Moore to Hofstra. Yet somehow the program won’t let freshman point guard Jio Fontan out? How does that make any kind of sense?

**Fabricio De Melo, a 7-foot, 267-pound native of Brazil who is currently in his junior year at Sagemont High School in Weston, Fla., visited Syracuse over the weekend but didn’t commit, according to the Syracuse Post-Standard.

Known as Fab Melo, the 7-footer has also visited Louisville and Connecticut and will visit Florida Sunday.

**Khalif Toombs, a 5-8, 150-pound jet-quick point guard out of IMG Academies in Bradenton, Fla. who can step out and shoot with range, will visit La Salle this weekend.

“He is our best pure point guard since Taurean Green,” IMG coach Dan Barto said. “He matched up and held his own against the Florida JUCOs and had a great showing against Johnny Lacy and KC Ross-Miller as well.”

Toombs, originally from Atlantic City, averaged 16 points, 6 assists and 2 steals per game this year.

**Jeremee Davis, a 6-2, 185-pound lead guard also from IMG, has interest from William & Mary, St. Francis (Pa.), Norfolk State and North Dakota State, Barto said.

**Various college players are training at IMG for the upcoming NBA Draft, including Pitt’s DeJuan Blair and Louisville’s Earl Clark.

“We will be adding Tashid Carr, Marcus Thornton and possibly Ricky Rubio to our pre-draft routine,” Barto said.

**No update on Quintrell Thomas. The Kansas forward is expected to announce for Siena, St. Joe’s or UNLV any day now.

**2010 guard Steve Rennard of St. Joe’s Metuchen (N.J.) committed to Penn.

“Yea,” Wall wrote in a text message Thursday.

The 6-foot-4 Wall is the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2009 and is considering Baylor, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Memphis, Miami and N.C. State.

He said he has yet to cut his list.

“Not right now,” he said.

Kentucky coach John Calipari pursued both Wall and Bledsoe, with the idea that Wall would start at the point and Bledsoe would play 10-15 minutes as a backup. If Wall jumped to the NBA after one season, Bledsoe would take over in 2010.

Calipari has already secured an impressive recruiting class that includes Bledsoe, DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, Darnell Dodson and Jon Hood. The addition of Wall could make the Cats a Final Four-caliber team.

RECRUITING NOTES

Providence is no longer in the running for former Florida forward Allan Chaney. The Friars are holding the ship for 2010. Chaney has visited St. Joe’s and Temple and will go to Virginia Tech Friday and Xavier at a later date. He may still visit Rutgers and/or Seton Hall…Latavious Williams of Humble (Texas) Christian Life Center will visit Georgetown again this weekend. Williams is considering the Hoyas along with Memphis, Kansas State and FLorida International….Former St. Patrick forward Quintrell Thomas will visit Siena this weekend with his mom. Thomas, who is transferring from Kansas, has visited St. Joe’s and UNLV…Speaking of Seton Hall, Jeff Goodman reports that the Pirates have locked in a home-and-home series with UMass. … Goodman also says former Florida forward DeShawn Painter is now considering Virginia Tech, N.C. State, Maryland and Marquette.

LEGENDS CLASSIC FIELD

Here is field for the Legend’s Classic, per Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com.

Date: Nov. 27-28 (semifinals and final)
Michigan State, Florida, Rutgers, UMass

Michigan State is the defending national runner-up. Florida should be strong if Nick Calathes returns to play point. Rutgers brings in Dane Miller and Jonathan Mitchell. And UMass will have Hashim “Big City” Bailey eligible after he sat out a year after transferring from Memphis.

Things are quiet on the point guard front right at this moment.

Eric Bledsoe, John Wall, James Beatty, Malcolm Armstead….even Jio Fontan.

No one honestly knows where these guys are going to end up, but the dominoes are on the brink of falling…and falling quickly.

The 6-foot-2 Bledsoe (pictured) is due to announce his college choice Wednesday at 10 a.m. Alabama time, 11 o’clock EST. Despite reports that Bledsoe had chosen Kentucky, sources at both Kentucky and Memphis said Tuesday that they had received no indication from the Bledsoe camp on his choice.

Kentucky is prepared to take both Bledsoe and Wall, but if Bledsoe picks Kentucky, Wall might be inclined to go somewhere else. Baylor, Duke, Miami, Memphis, Florida and N.C. State are also in the mix for the No. 1 recruit in the land.

Will Wall’s recent brush with the law scare some schools off? Possibly, but not everyone. Kentucky, for one, would still welcome him with open arms.

If Bledose does land at Kentucky, look for Memphis coach Josh Pastner to make a hard push for Beatty of Miami Dade College and/or Armstead of Chipola (Fla.).

Beatty is keeping a super-low profile and avoiding the media, but word is that he can help somebody’s program. Beatty visited Rutgers and the Scarlet Knights would love to hand him the keys to their program.

“I’m probably going to take my time. I know it’s probably killing Rutgers and I feel bad because it’s taking so long,” Beatty told the Courier News in March.

Armstead visited St. John’s recently but when Malik Stith signed with the Johnnies, Armstead was left without that option.

Chipola coach Greg Heiar previously said Armstead had a number of suitors, including Iowa, Alabama, Wichita State, Rutgers, UNC Charlotte, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Creighton, Southern Miss and Memphis.

As for Fontan, the Fordham point guard is still awaiting word on whether he will be granted a release. Despite having been turned down several times by the administration, Fontan is still seeking his release.

John Wall,

Authorities said Wall, 18, was charged with misdemeanor breaking and entering in connection with an April 27 break-in at an unoccupied home in Raleigh.

An officer saw Wall leaving from the rear of the house and detained him, police said. There was no forced entry and nothing was taken from the house, police said.

The home in question is vacant and for sale, meaning Wall and his friends could have just been guilty of hanging out in a spot where they were not allowed.

“I wouldn’t jump to conclusions,” Dave Telep of Scout told WRAL. “It’s a misdemeanor. It could be nothing more than a mistake.

“I think John is a good kid. It doesn’t feel right,” Telep added.

The 6-foot-4 Wall is due to cut his list any day. He currently lists Baylor, Duke, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis, Miami and N.C. State.

It remains unclear how this latest  charge will impact Wall’s recruitment, Will Duke or Kentucky back off? Will Coach K decide he can’t get such a player, no matter how talented, into Duke? Will John Calipari have a hard time explaining to his boosters and administration why he went so hard after a young man who has been charged with a crime? Or will the whole thing prove to be much ado about nothing?

BASKIN VISITING MANHATTAN

Tevin Baskin, 6-foot-7 senior forward from Trinity (Conn.) Catholic, says he will visit Manhattan in the next week and is also planning several other visits.

“I’m still hearing from Providence. Missouri and Georgia Southern are showing interest,” he wrote in a text. “I’m going to wait it out and see what happens and what offers come in and I’ll make a decision based on where and who I feel comfortable with.”

Last season, Baskin averaged 20.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.1 blocks for Trinity Catholic, which finished 24-4 and lost to Crosby, 82-79, in the state championship game despite 35 points and 12 rebounds from Baskin.

Last summer, Baskin averaged about 15 points and eight rebounds for the New York Gauchos. They captured two tournaments in New York and made the final of the national AAU 17-and-under championship, losing to Team Breakdown of Florida, 77-60. That squad features Kenny Boynton and Brandon Knight.