Brown, Chris Gaston, Alberto Estwick and Brenton Butler have put their full support behind Grasso, the school’s interim coach.

“We’ve been responding well even though we haven’t been winning,” Brown, a 6-foot-3 freshman from Teaneck, N.J., said Tuesday morning by phone. “We’re comfortable with him and we’re responding well to him.”

Fordham finished the season 2-26 overall, 0-18 in the Atlantic 10. Brown said McLaughlin and the University will likely decide on a new coach “in the next 2-3 weeks.”

Robert Morris coach Mike Rice, a Fordham alum, and Hofstra coach Tom Pecora have also been mentioned prominently in connection with the job.

Still, Grasso appears to have overwhelming backing from his core players, including Gaston, the newly-minted A-10 Rookie of the Year, as well as several prominent local high school coaches.

“He’s the best thing for those youngsters that are on that basketball team,” said Hector Gaston, Chris’ father. “Jared’s a hard-working young man. My relationship wit him goes a lot deeper than just basketball. It’s a personal thing. Those kids respond well to him. Those kids are looking to work with him.

“The Fordham athletic department will make a big mistake if they don’t give that young man that job.”

Brown attended Paterson Catholic and one of three commitments Grasso has gotten for next year is from senior wing Jayon James of the Cougars. PC is currently ranked No. 3 nationally by PrepNation.com and meets St. Anthony Thursday night in the North Non-Public B final at Rutgers.

Both PC coach Damon Wright and St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley speak highly of Grasso.

“I definitely hope that the University gives him a shot at him coaching these kids that he’s put all together,” Wright said. “Him being as young and energetic as he is, I think he’s gonna do a good job. I hope the University gives him a chance to coach the pieces he brought in. These guys are going to buy into what he says.”

Hurley has sent three players to play for Grasso, Estwick, Gaston and former point guard Jio Fontan, who transferred to USC but maintains a strong relationship with Grasso.

“I’ve been very impressed with him, with his work ethic,” said Hurley, who has been nominated for the Naismith Hall of Fame. “I think he relates very well to kids. I think he’s really coming along as a coach.”

As for what Fordham should do, the coach added, “That’s for other people to decide.”

Brown said the players were anxious to get in the weight room and begin off-season conditioning to get ready for next year. He said the team was in many games for about 30 minutes before letting it “slip away.”

“Definitely, I think it will be good to start our postseason workouts so everyone gets better and bigger and stronger,” Brown said. “I really think we’re going to be real good in the A-10 next year.”

SOURCES: FDU TO RETAIN GREG VETRONE

Fairleigh Dickinson will remove the interim tag from Greg “Shoes” Vetrone during a 4:30 p.m. press conference today, according to multiple sources.

Vetrone and Tom Barrise were the main contenders for the job and sources said Barrise was informed Tuesday that Vetrone will get the job.

“Barrise just got word” that Vetrone got the job,” one source said.

Vin Parise first had the story at VPHoops.com.

FDU finished 11-21, losing to LIU in the NEC quarterfinals.

(Photo courtesy Fordham athletics)

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

NEWARK, N.J.

Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh on Monday denied St. Patrick’s an injunction to overturn the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s decision to ban the Celtics from the state tournament.

“The court finds that their [constitutional rights] were not [violated] and plaintiff’s application for injunctive relief is denied,” Judge Cavanaugh said shortly after 11 a.m. in Court Room 4 of the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Building and Courthouse.

The defending New Jersey Tournament of Champions winner, St. Patrick (26-3) was hoping to get an injunction in order to play in the North Non-Public B bracket, beginning Tuesday.

St. Patrick also cannot compete in the ESPN Rise High School national invitational in early April.

“The kids were looking forward to having a chance to compete in the state tournament and they’ll be very disappointed but these kids have accomplished a lot. They’re very proud of themselves, they’re great friends and they’ll move on,” a disappointed St. Patrick coach Kevin Boyle said.

St. Patrick was banned from the tournament Feb. 12 after the NJSIAA Executive Committee ruled that Boyle had conducted six out-of-season workouts last October. Boyle admitted to being present for the workouts.

Larry White, associate commissioner of the NJSIAA, had drawn up a bracket featuring St. Patrick as the No. 2 seed and St. Anthony as the No. 3 had the injunction been granted. Those two teams could have met in the semifinals.

Instead, Paterson Catholic remains the top seed and St. Anthony is the No. 2. Should those two teams meet March 11 in the sectional final at Rutgers, the winner will likely be the favorite to win the T of C.

The Celtics played what turned out to be their final game of the season Saturday, when they beat Plainfield, 82-45, for the Union County championship at Kean College.

The St. Patrick lawsuit alleges that the NJSIAA violated the school’s “fundamental constitutional and civil rights, including its right to procedural due process. Specifically, in addition to violating Plaintiff’s Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures and its First and Fourteenth Amendment right to the free exercise of religion, the NJSIAA also violated Plaintiff’s Fourteenth Amendment right to procedural due process.”

Kevin Marino, the attorney for St. Patrick, spoke for 54 minutes before Judge Cavanaugh. The core of his argument was that Patrick J. Reilly, the NJSIAA’s private investigator and a retired New Jersey state police captain, violated St. Patrick’s rights to due process and unlawful search and seizure by entering school grounds under false pretenses and videotaping high school players while trying to determine if the basketball-playing brothers Chris and Julian Washburn had been illegally recruited to the school.

The NJSIAA ultimately found no evidence of illegal recruitment, but during the Washburn investigation Reilly videotaped the  out-of-season workouts last October. Boyle later admitted to being present and involved in the workouts before numerous Division I coaches, including Kentucky’s John Calipari.

Marino said allowing St. Patrick into the state tournament wasn’t the primary motivation for the lawsuit, but that was clearly the most immediate concern because the tournament starts Tuesday.

At one point during his presentation, Marino said that Monday’s Star-Ledger featured a preview of all the top players in the state tournament, adding, “You know who isn’t listed there? Michael Gilchrist isn’t listed there and he could be a National Basketball Association lottery pick. Kyrie Irving isn’t listed there and he’s going to Duke to play point for Mike Krzyzewski.”

“We have enormous respect for Judge Cavanaugh and we’re disappointed in the decision, but we will proceed in our lawsuit,” Marino said after the ruling. “It’s unfortunate that the team will not be permitted to compete in the state tournament but my expectation is that at the conclusion of this litigation there will be substantial changes within the NJSIAA. That’s what we’re hopeful of.”

Mike Herbert, attorney for the NJSIAA, maintained that St. Patrick violated NJSIAA rules related to out-of-season coaching and that Boyle admitted as much.

As for the private investigator, he said Reilly was an “arm of St. Patrick’s and 433 other schools. He’s doing the work of the NJSIAA.”

Herbert  summed up his speech by saying he was  speaking on behalf of the 433 NJSIAA members who do play by the rules.

“I’m speaking on behalf of 433 schools who are saying, “We’ve got these rules. We’re going to try to abide by them and we need somebody to enforce them,’” he told the court.

Speaking after the hearing, Steve Timko, executive director of the NJSIAA, said: “The final decision of the Controversies Committee and the Executive Committee was upheld today. I also felt that the NJSIAA did not violate any constitutional rights.

“We’re very sorry that anybody is taken out of our championships but we do have rules and regulations and it’s  the expectation that the rules and regulations have to be followed.”

(Photo courtesy Star-Ledger)

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.

Basketball fans had looked forward to a possible matchup of the two programs in the New Jersey state tournament.

But with just three days to go before the start of the tournament and St. Patrick’s future in the hands of the courts, we still don’t know if the teams will meet this year.

“I am hoping to play against St. Pat’s,” said Paterson Catholic senior guard Jayon James, who has verbally committed to Fordham. “I want a rematch with them to prove to everyone that we are undefeated for a reason.”

A year ago, the Celtics routed the Cougars, 79-54, in the North Non-Public B final and many expected this year’s meeting to be more competitive.

St. Patrick filed suit and is seeking an injunction to overturn the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s decision to ban the Celtics from the state tournament. The hearing at the federal courthouse in Newark was moved to Monday at 9 a.m. from Friday afternoon because of the snowstorm.

The Celtics were banned from the state tournament Feb. 12 because head coach Kevin Boyle was present during six out-of-season workouts last October.

Now the Celtics, who feature Duke-bound point guard Kyrie Irving and star junior Michael Gilchrist, are hoping Federal District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh issues an injunction Monday so the Celtics can join the North Non-Public B bracket in time for Tuesday’s games.

“It’s always there in the back of my mind, but I try not to think about it too much,” St. Patrick senior forward Chase Plummer told The Star-Ledger. “I’ve enjoyed my four years with these guys so much I would hate to end my season with a chip on my shoulder, like ‘Oh, man, we’re not in the states.’ I try not to think about it too much, but it’s always lingering.”

St. Patrick (25-3), No. 8 in the USA Today Super 25, will meet Plainfield for the Union County championship on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Kean College. If the judge doesn’t grant an injunction Monday, that will be the Celtics’ last game of the season.

Undefeated Paterson Catholic (23-0), No. 6 in the USA Today poll, will play Paterson Kennedy for the Passaic County championship on Saturday at noon at Wayne Valley.

The Cougars, who feature James, Seton Hall-bound forward Fuquan Edwin and fellow seniors Trevor Clemmings and Jermaine Peart, are seeking to become the first Passaic boys team to three-peat since Kennedy did it from 1998-2000.

As of now, the Cougars are the top seed in North Non-Public B, while St. Anthony is No. 2. Those teams could meet for the sectional title March 11 at Rutgers.

If St. Patrick is reinstated to the tournament, the bracket would have to be redone, with PC remaining as the top seed.

“There was no guarantee we would’ve played [St. Patrick’s],” PC coach Damon Wright told the Bergen Record. “But our kids know the St. Patrick’s kids. They crushed us last year, and I just think our kids could have made it a better game this year, and it was probably something that they were looking forward to. But right now, we have our eyes set on the [Passaic] County tournament.”

Without St. Patrick, legendary St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley said PC remains the favorite to win the bracket.

“I would say Paterson Catholic is probably still the favorite,” said Hurley, whose team has won 10 T of C titles. “I haven’t seen them since the beginning of the season. Early on they looked like a very, very good team. I know we’re happy we’ve improved since the beginning of the season. We still have a bunch of games to play. Everything we’re doing is geared toward being ready for the states.”

While the winner of North Non-Public B would likely be the favorite to win the Tournament of Champions, watch out for St. Peter’s Prep, which recently beat national power Oak Hill Academy at the PrimeTime Shootout.

St. Peter’s features St. John’s commit Ronald Roberts and star junior guard Myles Davis and is the No. 3 seed in North Non-Public A, which also includes No. 1 Seton Hall Prep.

“Don’t discount St. Peter’s Prep,” New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski told SNY.tv. “They were up by 10 against St. Anthony late in the game back in January on a neutral court. And they have a lot of weapons. They’re probably the favorite to win Non-Public A. They’re goign to have to defeat Seton Hall, but I think St. Peter’s Prep is right there in the mix.”

**Click the Video Player at right for my interviews with Tom Konchalski, where he talks New York and New Jersey high school playoffs and recruiting**

(Photo courtesy Star-Ledger)

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.

As expected, Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick was officially banned from the New Jersey state basketball tournament and put on two years probation Friday by its state association.

Head coach Kevin Boyle, found guilty of holding illegal preseason workouts – so his players could be seen by college coaches – was suspended for three games.

Read the full story here.

HURLEY TALKS ST. PAT’S SUSPENSION

Also, these quotes didn’t make the story (because of length), but legendary St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley calls Paterson Catholic the favorite to win the Tournament of Champions.

“I would say Paterson Catholic is probably still the favorite,” said Hurley, whose team has won 10 T of C titles. “I haven’t seen them since the beginning of the season. Early on they looked like a very, very good team. I know we’re happy we’ve improved since the beginning of the season. We still have a bunch of games to play. Everything we’re doing is geared toward being ready for the states.

“From a competition standpoint, we’re 1-2-3 in the state in one section,” Hurley added, referring to St. Patrick, Paterson Catholic and St. Anthony. “Now we’re 2-3 in one section. It’s still a tough section but it’s a little more winnable now.”

Paterson Catholic, which features Seton Hall-bound senior forward Fuquan Edwin and star junior point guard Myles Mack, has lost to St. Patrick six times in the state tournament since 1997. The Cougars advanced to the Tournament of Champions final once, when the Tim Thomas-led team lost in the finals to Orange in 1994.

“There was no guarantee we would’ve played [St. Patrick’s],” PC coach Damon Wright told the Bergen Record. “But our kids know the St. Patrick’s kids. They crushed us last year, and I just think our kids could have made it a better game this year, and it was probably something that they were looking forward to. But right now, we have our eyes set on the [Passaic] County tournament.”

As for the suspension itself, Hurley said he felt bad for the St. Patrick kids.

“It’s a shame,” he said. “The kids are effected by this and I feel bad for them, particularly the kids that are seniors in high school. Everything you do is geared toward playing the state tournament. They were certainly a strong favorite to win a state championship. It’s tough.”

(Photo courtesy Star-Ledger)

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.

It gets better with time.

The Scarlet Knights over the last two days landed two four-star recruits and two three-star prospects to a class that currently stands at 24 players heading into Wednesday’s National Signing Day.

With the additions of 6-foot-6 four-star wide receiver Brandon Coleman of Forestville, Md., and 5-10 four-star safety Rashad Knight of Jacksonville, Fla., the Knights are headed strong to the finish line.

Read the full story here.

**Check out the Video Player at right later today for interviews with T.J. Clemmings of Paterson Catholic (Pittsburgh), Chris Fonti of Wayne Hills (Rutgers) and Mike Wills of Rutherford (Princeton). These guys combine to be 19 feet, 6 inches and 880 pounds of offensive and defensive linemen.

**Brooklyn Sal also has an interview with five-star DE Dominique Easley of Curtis High School on Staten Island, a top five national recruit.

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.

Coleman, who mentioned his close relationship with Rutgers QB Tommy Savage, also held offers from Boston College, Maryland, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. He is ranked No. 29 nationally among wideouts, according to Rivals.com

“He’s a tall, red-zone receiver,” CBS College Sports recruiting expert Tom Lemming said by phone. “He doesn’t have blazing speed. But he’ll be a good alley-oop option for Savage in the red zone.”

Knight, out of of Trinity Christian (Fla.) High School, is the No. 19 safety nationally, according to Rivals, but he will play CB at Rutgers. He chose the Knights over Michigan, Auburn, Georgia Tech, Mississippi, Purdue and West Virginia.

Lemming said Knight had the ability to play both wide receiver and cornerback, but “I like him more on defense.”

Rutgers also got a commitment from three-star S Jeremy Deering of Tampa, Fla, who chose the Knights over Florida State.

**For more Signing Day coverage, click on the Video Player at right for interviews from Tuesday with Rutgers OL Betim Bujari, the first member of the Class of 2010 to commit. The 6-4, 290-pound Bujari, out of Secaucus High, enrolled early and now lives on campus with fellow OL Frank Quartucci of Hamilton and Hofstra transfer Matt McBride. Bujari talks about his decision to come to Rutgers, his roommates and what his role may be in helping to replace departed OL Anthony Davis, Kevin Haslam and Ryan Blaszczyk.

**We also have interviews with West Virginia-bound LB Doug Rigg of Bergen Catholic and Syracuse commit Mario Tull, a WR/LB out of Brooklyn Xaverian. Mounties and Orange fans will want to check those out. Chris Melvin of EliteRecruits.com joined us in the SNY studio to provide his expert analysis.

**Check out SNY.tv on Wednesday for more interviews with Rutgers commit Chris Fonti, a 6-7, 305-pound OL from Wayne Hills; Pitt-bound DE T.J. Clemmings of Paterson Catholic; and Princeton-bound OL Mike Willis of Rutherford High School.

**Also tune in to SNY on Wednesday at 4 p.m. for more Signing Day coverage with SNY’s Chris Carlin, Aditi Kinkhabwala and myself. What more could you ask for?

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.

Brandon Knight

“There’s a lot of pressure on him [to go there] because it’s in Florida,” one source close to the situation said.

Knight, who did not immediately return a phone message, lists Kentucky, Kansas, Florida, Miami and UConn among his possible destinations.

“Those schools are still in the mix,” Knight recently told Jody Demling of the Louisville Courier Journal. “They’re still pretty even.”

Another source said he believes Knight will ultimately land at Kentucky, the new No. 1 team in the nation, following John Wall to play for John Calipari.

Calipari was on hand last Monday when Knight dropped 39 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists as Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Pine Crest downed Cincinnati Jefferson, 68-61, in Dayton.

“From what I heard Kentucky’s probably going to get Brandon Knight,” a second source said. “He’s going to go visit Miami and then commit to Kentucky after the visit.”

Three other elite guards  — Josh Selby, Cory Joseph and Doron Lamb — are also uncommitted.

Multiple sources said Selby, a 6-3 guard out of Lake Baltimore  (Md.) Clifton, will choose either Kansas or Arizona.

The 6-4 Joseph lists five schools but is expected to land at UConn, Villanova or Texas, where two fellow Canadians, teammate Tristan Thompson of Findlay Prep and Myck Kabongo of St. Benedict’s, have committed.

Oak Hill’s Lamb has cut his list to Kansas, Kentucky, Arizona and West Virginia.

Should Knight land at Kentucky, Lamb could opt to go elsewhere.

Arizona would like to land both Selby and Lamb.

UConn could need a replacement for Kemba Walker, should he leave for the NBA.

WROTEN HAS TOP 5

Seattle Garfield junior G Tony Wroten has a new Top 5, per his Twitter feed.

“OHHH BOY. a new team has made it to my top 5. 1. syracuse 2. villanova 3. UCONN 4.Tenneesee 5. washington. PS. oregon as dropped in my list.”

THREE JERSEY SCHOOLS IN TOP 10

PrepNation.com has its latest poll out and three of the Top 10 programs are from North Jersey — No. 5 St. Patrick, No. 6 St. Benedict’s and No. 9 Paterson Catholic.

That, despite the fact that St. Ben’s downed St. Pat’s, 65-64, Saturday night on a game-winning layup by Kabongo.

MaxPreps has PC No. 5, St. Ben’s No. 6 and St. Pat’s No. 12.

Bob Hurley’s St. Anthony club, meanwhile, pulled out a 49-48 win late Sunday over CBA on a late runner by St. Bonaventure-bound PG Elijah Carter.

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.

He was a tremendous high school player and a nice, soft-spoken kid. He was part of a pioneering recruiting class for Dr. John Giannini that tried to turn things around at the Philly school.

Now his college career is over.

The 6-foot-5 Barrett will have surgery this week because of a fractured bone in his right foot.

“Kimmani Barrett has a fracture in his foot and he’s probably out for the year,” Giannini said Monday by phone.

Barrett, a Paterson, N.J., native, was averaging 13.3 points per game in 15 starts and became the 47th Explorer to reach 1,000 points versus Oklahoma State. He currently has 1,057 career points.

“He brought La Salle back to respectability and is on track to have his degree,” Giannini said. “He’s accomplished everything that we wanted to academically and as a team member. It’s just a shame that the second half of his senior year isn’t going to be what we hoped.”

The other piece of bad news for La Salle is that fellow senior Ruben Guillandeaux, a 6-6 guard, may be finished as well.

Guillandeaux, a Brooklyn native who played for Kevin Boyle at St. Patrick, has been out since the fourth game of the season with a stress fracture.

“There’s a small possibility he could return this year,” Giannini said. “He would be eligible for a medical redshirt.”

Giannini had hoped that his quartet of four-year seniors, Barrett, Guillandeaux, Rodney Green and Yves Mekongo would combine with 6-9 stud freshman Aaric Murray to lead the Explorers on a big year.

They were picked fourth in the Atlantic 10 by the coaches.

But with Barrett and Guillandeaux done, the Explorers (10-9) simply aren’t the team Giannini had hoped they would be.

“We had four battled-tested, productive, good A-10 players,” Giannini said. “You add Aaric Murray and the expectations are tremendous.

“Unfortunately since the fourth game of the season we never had those four together.”

(Photo courtesy La Salle Athletics)

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

It was a showcase matchup between the two players who will likely vie for New York State Player of the Year honors.

A showdown between two elite players whose recruitments intersected in fascinating fashion.

Yet even after Harris and Half Hollow Hills West prevailed, 75-72, over Bishop Loughlin in overtime in the final game of the Big Apple Basketball Invitational at Baruch College, Pinkston proclaimed himself the best high school player in the state.

“Yes, hands down. Nobody’s better than me,” the 6-foot-6, 235-pound Villanova commit said after dominating for a game-high 34 points and 14 rebounds, including a thrilling 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer that forced the extra period.

Read the full story plus recruiting notes here.

**In Paterson, N.J. Myles Mack poured in 28 points and Seton Hall-bound Fuquan Edwin had 25 to lead unbeaten Paterson Catholic over Shaquille Thomas and NIA Prep.

**And here’s a good story about how talented the teams in North Jersey are, with St. Patrick, Paterson Catholic and St. Benedict’s all ranked among the top 12 in the nation.

(Photo courtesy Big Apple Basketball)

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.

Along with Fuquan Edwin, Jayon James and Jermaine Peart, Thomas was a member of a quartet that was supposed to have “Next.”

The group was supposed to challenge St. Anthony and St. Patrick for supremacy in the New Jersey Non-Public B bracket…and ultimately the state.

But a funny thing happened on the way to inevitability.

Shaq’s uncle, Tim Thomas, now with the Dallas Mavericks, pulled the 6-foot-6 Thomas out of Paterson Catholic in 2008 and that set in motion a chain of events that has led Shaq where he is now.

On Monday night, he will face his old teammates when his NIA Prep team meets Paterson Catholic — No. 6 in the USA Today’s Super 25 and No. 9 in the PrepNation.com poll — in the Freedom Fighters Hoop Challenge at Paterson Eastside.

“There’s not really a lot of emotions and stuff,” Thomas said Sunday night by phone. “I’m just trying to go out there and play my regular game and play basketball. At the end of the day it’s still a regular game. I’m going to go out there and play my game and the best team wins.”

Cougars coach Damon Wright, whose team is ranked in the USA Today poll for the first time since the 1993-94 season, when the 6-10 Tim Thomas (pictured courtesy NBA.com) was the star, admitted it will be somewhat strange seeing Shaq on the other side.

“The PC family has always supported Shaq but [Monday] will be different. We are looking forward to playing well, winning tomorrow, shaking Shaq’s hand and getting prepared for the next game,” he said.

Since leaving PC in October 2008, Thomas has attended three different schools in two states.

He first landed at Montclair High School because he lives there with his grandmother, Dorothy Thomas. But because he would have had to sit a year before playing basketball, he transferred to Beckley (West Va.) Mountain State.

But that experiment ended after last season and Thomas landed at NIA Prep in Newark, where Thomas, originally a member of the Class of 2010, is now a member of the Class of 2011.

“It was a tough transition going to different schools, meeting different coaches, different lifestyles, but I think I adjusted pretty well,” Thomas said.

NIA features eight potential Division 1 players and has enjoyed success this year, winning the Battle of the Bay prep school tournament in Tampa, Fla. Dec. 18-20.

“I think it’s an upcoming program, especially next year,” Thomas said. “We definitely like the program and the workouts.”

One of the main reasons Tim Thomas pulled his son out of PC was because he was worried about his academics.

“That’s really my main focus with Shaq, getting him on pace where he has to be education-wise and letting the basketball take care of itself,” Tim told me in 2008.

After some academic struggles at his previous stops, Shaq says he’s finally getting some one-on-one attention at NIA.

“It’s a school for kids that mess up in school and had bad grades,” he said.

“It’s definitely helping me because at other schools like Mountain State I could do work by myself but sometimes I needed help with it. Here everything is one-on-one. I can get help one-on-one, so it’s helping me a lot academically.”

On the court, Thomas starts at small forward and is averaging 14 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

Rudy King, the former Bishop Loughlin head coach who is now a head coach and recruiting coordinator at NIA Prep, said Thomas, has a bright future.

“Shaq Thomas is one of the most talented small forwards in the country and is getting better and better,” King said. “He can shoot the ball, handle the rock and fly like a bird around the rim and has the ability to  defend guards and bigs.

“Right now we’re working on his overall body development and getting him to become more fundamental to expand his game to new levels.

“Next season he will be a national treasure that all the heavyweights will inquire about. He talks about playing in the big time conferences in the nation and we always tell him it takes true dedication on and off the court to make the transition mentally, not just depending on his natural talent.”

Thomas was once on the brink of committing to Syracuse, but Tim Thomas told him to hold off until his academics were in order.

Shaq now says his recruiting is wide open and he looks forward to impressing the coaches next summer on the AAU circuit.

He says he’s still in touch with his former PC teammates. Edwin has signed with Seton Hall. James has committed to Fordham. Trevor Clemmings will play football at Pittsburgh.

“I’m still cool with them to this day,” Thomas said. “We’re still all cool, we’re good friends.”

When he looks at all the success Paterson Catholic is enjoying this year, does he regret leaving?

“Yeah, but no,” he said. “Everything happened for a reason. It was meant to be. Everything happened for a reason.”

HITTIN’ THE LINKS:

**Great story by Kevin Armstrong in the NY Times about St. Pat’s guard Kevin Boyle, who doubles as a stand-up comic.

(Photo courtesy NBE Basketball)

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.