Andre Drummond,

The 6-foot-11, 270-pound Drummond will likely visit with Matt Quinn, the son of St. Thomas More coach Jere Quinn.

“He’s a good kid and I like Freddie [Hill] and those people so I’ll try to help them out,” Jere Quinn said of the Rutgers coach. “If we get him down there maybe they’ll like [Hill] a little better.”

Quinn has previously coached several players who ended up at Rutgers, including former NBA guard Quincy Douby and former Rutgers guard Justin Sofman, now at Monmouth.

Drummond could be the best player Quinn ends up coaching.

“He could be the best center in the country as a sophomore,” Quinn said. “He’s ranked the No. 1 sophomore in the country right now. He’s 6-11, 270. He runs like a deer.”

Quinn said everyone from UConn to North Carolina had called on Drummond but that he was in no hurry to narrow his list.

“Everybody in the world is talking to him right now,” Quinn said. “I told him, ‘You’re two years away and we’ll make some decisions at the end of your junior year. There are so many things that change in college basketball. To make a decision about what you’re gonna do now doesn’t make sense.’”

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

The former Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick star scored a career-high 18 points Monday to lead No. 9 North Carolina to an 81-67 victory over Rutgers at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Rutgers (9-3) closed within four points with about 2 minutes left, but Strickland hit a 3-pointer with 1:54 left that pushed the lead to 74-67.

“I mean, down four points with two minutes to go, we really gave ourselves a chance,” Rutgers head coach Fred Hill said. “But we made a mistake on the defensive end there. We didn’t pick up Dexter Strickland in transition, we made him hesitate, but he still got an open look. But you have to give him credit, he knocked down a big shot.”

Strickland, a 6-foot-3 freshman from Rahway, N.J., whose game is coming along nicely after a rough start to the season, also had 4 assists, 2 steals and 3 turnovers.

Deon Thompson added 14 points and Ed Davis had 11 points and 15 boards for Carolina (10-3), which played without injured swingman Marcus Ginyard (sprained ankle).

Mike Rosario led Rutgers with 22 points on 1o-for-21 shooting and 1-for-9 from 3. Jonathan Mitchell added 14 points on 6-for-16 shooting.

Hill gave North Carolina native James Beatty his first start playing in his home state. He went 0-for-4 from the field but dished six assists.

“James and Mike [Coburn] have both been outstanding for us at the point guard position,” Hill said. “James, being home in North Carolina, gave him the start tonight. It was his first start of the year, but I look at home as a starter. He gives us great energy, he can really push the ball up the floor. We want to play fast and I think you all probably saw a much different style than we have played in the past. And James is one of the reasons for that. He can really get the ball up the floor and get the ball to our big guys.”

Rutgers returns to action Saturday at the RAC against Lance Stephenson and Cincinnati in its Big East opener (SNY, 8 p.m.).

CARACTER PUTS UP ANOTHER DOUBLE-DOUBLE

Derrick Caracter put up his fourth consecutive double-double with 15 points and a game-high 15 rebounds as UTEP routed Norfolk State, 93-56, in the first round of the 48th Sun Bowl Invitational at the Don Haskins Center.

Read my recent feature on Derrick here.

(Photo courtesy Gerry Broome / AP)

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

Harris is headed to Tennessee, Irving to Duke and the North Carolina players are Harrison Barnes and Reggie Bullock.

The watch list was comprised by leading basketball journalists from around the country who form the national voting academy, and identify players under consideration for this award. 

In February, the voting academy will narrow the list down to five candidates, with the winner being selected and recognized by the Atlanta Tipoff Club at the end of the high school basketball season.

“This is a phenomenally talented group of student-athletes, all of whom should go on to achieve tremendous successes both on and off the court,” said Gary Stokan, Atlanta Tipoff Club president. “One of them will have the privilege of joining the esteemed Naismith Trophy family,” and we look forward to seeing who emerges as the winner.”

2010 Naismith Boy’s High School Player of the Year Watch list:

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.

And on Tuesday night, two guys I covered in the preps, Rashad Bishop of Cincinnati (pictured) and Dexter Strickland of North Carolina, both had big nights.

Bishop, a Paterson, N.J., native who played for Jimmy Ring at Paterson Kennedy and Dan Hurley at St. Benedict’s Prep, put up 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks as the No. 22 Bearcats routed Texas Southern, 94-57.

“I thought our defense was good from the start. I think our offense was not together at first. We put it together and got some easy baskets,” Bishop said.

On a team that features Deonta Vaughn, Yancy Gates and Lance Stephenson, Bishop has been the team’s best player on at least a couple of nights.

As for the 6-5 Stephenson, he threw a halfcourt alley-oop pass to Darnell Wilks that made SportsCenter’s top plays. Stephenson finished with a team-high 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 7 points on 3-for-9 shooting and is averaging 10.7 points and 5.5 boards for the 5-1 Bearcats.

“When I signed Lance Stephenson, people asked how I would coach him,” Bearcats coach Mick Cronin said. “I asked if anyone had seen him play. He is an unbelievable competitor. The only question he asked me was if we would really win. He wanted to be atop the BIG EAST. It’s all the guy talks about. He shuts down the top players in Maui. I think it helps our locker room. The only time he gets upset with guys is when the other team scores and we aren’t playing well. Sean Kilpatrick is the same way. They know basketball, and they play to win. That attitude has affected our team.”

Former Cincinnati great Nick Van Exel is now an assistant at Texas Southern and spoke to the players after the game.

“We all knew who he was from watching him play. I have seen him play in the NBA. Rashad probably wasn’t born yet. When we were in the hand shake line, Nick told us to beat Xavier,” Vaughn said.

As for Strickland, a North Carolina freshman guard out of Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick, he scored 9 points, dished 3 assists, had 2 blocks and made 0 turnovers in an 89-82 win over Michigan State in a rematch of last year’s NCAA title game.

He was all over the SportsCenter highlights with a coast-to-coast drive and a pull-up 3-pointer that ended with him sticking out his tongue a la Michael Jordan.

“The key thing in the first half was everyone that came in gave us something positive. Dexter Strickland gave us something positive, Z  [Tyler Zeller] gave us something positive,  John Henson gave us positive things,” Carolina coach Roy Williams said.

Strickland is still making the transition from shooting guard to point, as I wrote last week.

Yet in this game he showed tremendous aggression and poise, contributing to an 11-2 first-half ending run in which all the points were scored by frosh.

Carolina has now won five straight against the Spartans.

Things won’t get any easier for the Heels, who visit John Calipari and Kentucky Saturday afternoon.

HARKLESS TO CUT LIST, WILL DECIDE SOON

Maurice Harkless, a 6-foot-7 junior wing from Forest Hills High School, will cut his school list to six by the weekend, according to his AAU coach, Nathan Blue.

Harkless is currently considering Seton Hall, St. John’s, Florida State, Arizona, Pitt,
Providence, Kentucky, UConn, Hofstra, Cincinnatti, Villanova, and Rutgers.

“Harkless is coming back from a stress fracture in his left foot and will visit as many schools as possible before his decision is made before Christmas,” Blue said.

He has a 7-2 wingspan and is ranked No. 50 in the Class of 2011 by Rivals. Blue also said he has an A- average.

“Harkless will be a similar small forward as Devin Ebanks, Trevor Ariza or Stanley Robinson,” Blue wrote in an email recently. “Playing mostly under the basket in his high school season, Harkless will handle the ball a lot more this season.

“He’s one of the better small forwards in the country at his position. I don’t see anyone other than Michael Gilchrist, Angel Nunez and Kentavious Caldwell, with the same potential after high school.”

(Photos courtesy Cincinnati & UNC Athletics; Harkless courtesy Daily News)

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

12:30 - Knicks practice in Greenburgh,  N.Y. Knicks are coming off just their second win of the season last night in Indiana and the Allen Iverson buzz grows stronger every minute.

12:30 – Press conference for Newark Invitational in Newark. Bob and Dan Hurley and players from St. Anthony and St. Ben’s will be on hand to promote this stacked event Jan. 30, which includes a showdown between Duke-bound point guard Kyrie Irving of St. Patrick and Memphis-bound point guard Joe Jackson of Memphis (Tenn.) White Station.

6 p.m. - Iverson due to clear waivers and become a free agent. Is he a Knick by later today or tomorrow?

6 p.m. – Tobias Harris will announce his college choice at the ESPN Zone in midtown. The 6-foot-8 Harris out of Dix Hills Half Hollow Hills West High has already decided and will announce for either Tennessee, Syracuse, West Virginia, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland and Georgia Tech. I’m thinking I may hit this and then hoof it quickly down to the Garden for…

7 p.m. – Syracuse vs. Cal in the Coaches vs. Cancer event at MSG. Will Jim Boeheim be celebrating Harris’ commitment to the Orange or lamenting his commitment to Tennessee or West Virginia?

9:30 p.m. – North Carolina vs. Ohio State at MSG. Second semifinal features former St. Patrick star Dexter Strickland and new-look defending NCAA champs against Evan Turner and the Buckeyes.

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

**First off, how about this loaded schedule that North Carolina has in the next couple of weeks? The defending NCAA champion Heels could play five ranked teams in an eight-game span.

They face No. 15 Ohio State Thursday in the Coaches vs. Cancer semis at MSG and could then face either unranked Syracuse or No. 13 Cal in Friday’s title game.

After two tilts against Gardner-Webb and Nevada at home, the Heels host No.2  Michigan State Dec. 1 and visit No. 4 Kentucky Dec. 5. After a home game with Presbyterian, the Heels play at No. 3 Texas Dec. 19.

“Perhaps I took one more game this year than I probably should have for this team,” Carolina coach Roy Williams said.

“You look at the poll and you have Michigan State, Texas, Kentucky 2, 3 or 4 and we’re playing all three of those and only one of them in the Smith Center. It is something that is difficult but the Texas game is the last one I took, but the idea of playing the first college basketball game in the Cowboys Stadium was intriguing to me. And looking back on it and looking at it as we get closer and closer, I said maybe I shouldn’t have done that but we’ll see how it works out.”

The Heels host Marshall, Rutgers and Albany before playing at the College of Charleston to close out the non-confernce. They begin ACC play Jan. 10 against Virginia Tech at home. 

Carolina hosts No. 9 Duke Feb. 10 and plays at Cameron Indoor to end the regular season March 6.

“We have played really good schedules but I think it’s important to be tested before you get into conference play because when you get into conference play I think you have to raise your play another level even over those big-time national games,” Williams said.

**Speaking of Duke and Carolina, I asked Strickland his thoughts on the recent commitments of former teammate Kyrie Irving (Duke) and Irving’s close friend Harrison Barnes (Carolina).

Strickland and Irving teamed up to lead Elizabeth (NJ) St. Patrick to the New Jersey Tournament of Champions crown in 2009, the program’s third in four years. This year the Celtics are ranked No. 1 in USA Today’s preseason poll and, with Irving, Michael Gilchrist, Derrick Gordon and Kevin Boyle Jr., are favored to win a fourth in five years.

Strickland on Irving’s decision: “I wasn’t surprised really because we’re close friends so we talked about it. I just told him before he picked to make the right decision and if you’re comfortable with it that’s a good school for you.”

He added: “I think it’s a good pick for him I just hope that that system doesn’t change who he is as a player. He’s a good scorer looking to score and I know Coach K is going to want to run the program and make him fit into the system. I told him to just to stay on top of your game and just focus and have a good time at Duke.”

 Strickland on Barnes’ decision to announce for North Carolina via Skype on ESPNU: “Honestly, everybody was surprised. Coach Williams was surprised himself. [Barnes] did a good job of keeping on a straight face and not letting anybody think he was going here or think he was going to another school.

“I was surpsried. When he called us on the Skype I was really surprised and I’m happy also.”

(Strickland Photo courtesy UNC Athletics)

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

In a press conference at Ames (Iowa) High School, the 6-foot-6 Barnes sat at a table showcasing the insignias of each of his final six schools. He then praised each program before calling his final choice via Skype.

After the connection appeared to briefly drop out, Barnes looked at the computer and said “Coach Roy Williams.”

A picture of Williams and his North Carolina players popped up on an oversized screen in the auditorium.

At that point the crowd at Ames let out a roar of applause. Duke fans probably dropped to the floor wherever they were.

“We’ve got the whole team here,” said Williams, coach of the defending NCAA champion Tar Heels.

“I can see that,” Barnes replied.

“I need to get going signing my Letter of Intent here but I just wanted to let you know I’ll be joining you guys next year on the squad and I can’t wait to play with all you guys,” Barnes added.

“All right,” Williams exclaimed.

Barnes joins a powerhouse class that includes Reggie Bullock and Kendall Marshall.

“You’re talking about getting to a national championship game next year for the North Carolina Tar Heels,” ESPN’s Paul Biancardi said.

Barnes, No. 2  in the Class of 2010 according to Rivals, chose Carolina over Duke, UCLA, Oklahoma, Kansas and Iowa State.

“Not only is Coach Williams so good at instructing the game but I felt that I had developed a great relationship with the players and I’m just so anxious to play with them,” Barnes told ESPNU.

In choosing Carolina over Duke, Barnes opted not to join his good friend Kyrie Irving, the point guard from Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick who referred to Barnes as an “big brother” when he announced.

What will it feel like when Barnes makes that first trip to Cameron Indoor with the Heels in 2010?

“I think it will be one of the greateset feelings to be able play in front of the Cameron Crazies because I’ve been and I’ve seen the North Carolina rivalry and I think it will be absolutely great and I think it will be a great game,” he said.

How does Barnes fit in with Carolina’s program and what will his role be?

“They play a very up and down tempo and that’s something I like to do,” he said. ”I hope that I can just come in there and add my contributions to hopefully help us win a national championship.”

Barnes’ mom works at Iowa State and his father played  there, but Barnes said, “It was so  close to home and I would’ve done so much there. But at the same time I will take Iowa wherever I decide to go.”

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

We don’t know which program because Barnes is keeping his cards very close to the vest.

Barnes, ranked No. 2 in the Class of 2010 by Rivals and out of Ames (Iowa) High, will announce from among Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Oklahoma, UCLA and hometown Iowa State.

The smart money says it’s either Duke or North Carolina.

“I would say I’ve just scratched the surface of how deep that lies,” Barnes told the Des Moines Register in reference to the hatred between those two Tobacco Road programs. “I kind of expected it would be that way, because they’re two of the top programs in the country and they’re only miles apart.”

The 6-foot-6 Barnes has connections to both schools, He and Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick guard Kyrie Irving are very tight, with Irving referring to Barnes as his “big brother” when he recently announced for Duke.

“I’ll let the Duke coaching staff handle that,” Irving told ESPNU. “Harrison’s like a big brother to me. We talk all the time, but mainly it’s not about Duke. He’s his own man and he’s going to make his own decision and whatever decision he makes I’m going to be happy for him.”

Barnes also has a friendship with North Carolina commit Kendall Marshall and visited the Carolina campus the weekend they had their alumni game featuring none other than Michael Jordan.

Fun,” the 6-foot-6 Barnes wrote in a text after that visit. “The atmosphere. The past and present were all together and it was fun to think of being part of a tradition like that.”

Brian McLawhorn, publisher of Devils Illustrated.com, told the Des Moines Register there might be an epic meltdown if Barnes picks North Carolina over Duke.

“That would be an end-of-the-world scenario,” McLawhorn said.

The potential end-of-the-world is only a few hours away now… 

BIG VISITS ON TAP

Several of the highest profile players in the Class of 2010 will take visits this weekend as a prelude to likely signing n the spring:

**Lake Baltimore (Md.) Clifton guard Josh Selby visits Indiana. He is also looking at Kentucky, Kansas, Miami and Syracuse.

“We’re going to sign late, because it’s only fair to give every school that he’s interested in an opportunity,” Selby’s mother, Maeshon Witherspooon, told USA Today. “We’re going to visit Indiana this week, and we’re working on setting a date to visit Kentucky and Syracuse.”

**Oak Hill (Va.) shooting guard Doron Lamb will visit UConn this weekend (Saturday-Monday) and will likely sign late. He has visited Kansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma and may still visit Arizona.

**Brandon Knight, the nation’s No. 1 prospect out of Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest, will visit Florida this  weekend. He has been to Kentucky, Kansas and UConn and appears to be signing late.

**Dix Hills (NY) Half Hollow Hills West forward Tobias Harris heads to Maryland today and Georgia Tech next week. He has already seen Syracuse, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisville and West Virginia. His father says he will sign Nov. 18 and announce Nov. 19.

BEYOND THE X’S AND O’S CLINIC

The Yogi Berra Museum in Montclair, N.J. will host a clinic called “Beyond the X’s and O’s” on Nov. 20 from 8:30-noon. The speakers include former Nets coach Butch Beard, Rutgers men’s coach Fred Hill, Montclair State coach Ted Fiore and Seton Hall women’s coach Phyllis Mangina. All coaches will receive four hours of professional in-service credit. For more info contact David Kaplan at david.yogi@montclair.edu

(Photo courtesy AP)

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter