Doron Lamb

“Yes. At the Jordan Brand Classic,” Calvin Lamb, Doron’s father, told TheShiver.com. “We were thinking about doing it there anyway, and then they approached us so it worked out.”

Selby, a 6-3 guard out of Baltimore (Md.) Lake Clifton, previously said he would make his announcement then, too.

Selby is mulling Kansas, Kentucky, UConn and Arizona.

The 6-4 Lamb, a Queens native who plays at Oak Hill (Va.) Academy, is considering West Virginia, Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky an UConn.

“It doesn’t really matter if it’s close to home. I just want to go somewhere that it fits me and fits my family and it’s the best decision for me. That’s where I’ll go,” Lamb told me last month.

Doron is back in New York for spring break and he and his family have watched some games to look at various teams.

“I watched the Big East games, Mississippi State and Kentucky, and Kansas against Kansas State,” Calvin told The Shiver. “They’re good, and they will be good regardless next year.”

FLORIDA OFFERS GIBBS

Florida became the latest school to offer Seton Hall Prep junior point guard Sterling Gibbs.

“Yes, the offered on Sunday,” Gibbs said by text. “I plan on visiting either April the 16th or 23rd.”

Gibbs was supposed to visit Maryland last month but never made it down because of a snowstorm and hasn’t rescheduled.

Seton Hall Prep fell in the New Jersey North Non-Public A title game to St. Peter’s Prep.

Gibbs is also considering Seton Hall, Providence, Indiana, Pittsburgh, Maryland, Virginia, Rutgers, Villanova and Wake Forest. His older brother, Ashton, is a sophomore at Pitt.

He has no additional visits planned.

“I may set more as time goes on,” Gibbs said.

ABRAHAM DOWN TO TWO

As of Tuesday evening, 6-9 big man Moses Abraham of Temple Hills (Md.) Progressive Christian  is down to Georgetown and Indiana.

He was visiting with the Indiana staff on Tuesday afternoon.

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NEW YORK –

“Yo, work hard to get open. You’re not working to get open,” Isler told him.

Before Taylor could utter a single word of protest, Isler added: “We need you to get open.”

A 6-foot-6 junior guard, Taylor took Isler’s words to heart. He scored 11 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter, including a critical game-tying 3-pointer and two go-ahead foul shots, to lift Boys & Girls to a 55-50 victory over Cardozo before 3,658.

Read the full story here.

(photo courtesy Ravi Rozier)

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But Thursday on senior night, the 6-foot-11, 235-pound Senegal native will play his final home game when the Scarlet Knights face Seton Hall at the Rutgers Athletic Center.

“I really didn’t even realize it until last week when I really looked at the schedule and said, hold up, we’re playing Seton Hall on my senior day,” N’Diaye told reporters this week. “It’s nice. I love playing against them. No matter what happens, it’s always a very good game, intense, and we give it our best, and that’s what’s going to happen Thursday.”

Read the full story here.

**Some tough news out of Georgetown, where star guard Austin Freeman is suffering from diabetes. It remains unclear if Freeman will miss the Big East tournament beginning next week.

“It’s just something I’m going to have to deal with,” Freeman told the Washington Post. “It’s going to be a certain change in my diet and my life. But I know I can deal with it. I’ll be fine.”

**And here’s a good read on Pitt’s Jermaine Dixon by Dana O’Neil of ESPN.com.

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NEW YORK – Sam Young

The former Pittsburgh standout and current Memphis Grizzlies rookie isn’t shocked one bit at the success the Panthers are enjoying.

“Not at all. Even though they lost some great guys in the program, still this is a program. It’s a system and the system works,” Young said at halftime of No. 12 Pitt’s 71-64 victory over St. John’s (15-13, 5-11 Big East) at Madison Square Garden.

Young addressed the current players at the half. He was in town because the Grizzlies faced the Knicks Saturday night as part of a split college/NBA doubleheader at the Garden.

Read the full story here.

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Maurice Walker

The 6-foot-10, 280-pound Toronto native is currently playing at Wolfeboro  (N.H.) Brewster Academy and plans to cut his list with his father later this week.

“We plan on sitting down this week to hash out our top five and see if we can schedule our visits for the spring and get that portion of things wrapped up,” Craig Walker said Monday by phone.

Walker is ranked No. 12 among centers in the Class of 2010 and No. 118 overall by Rivals.

Craig Walker said the current list for his son includes Seton Hall, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Marquette and St. John’s. He added that South Florida, Oregon State and Memphis have also expressed interest.

“My thoughts are that Maurice  will probably stay in the East somewhere,” Craig said. “As parents, we’d rather he play in the East side of the country in the Big East. We know we can hop on a plane and be there in an hour.”

Craig said Seton Hall assistant coach Scott Adubato had come to Brewster three or four times.

“The guys from Seton Hall have shown a lot of interest,” he said. ”

“Seton Hall, the one thing that they’ve made very plain to us is that they are very interested.”

Pitt and Georgetown also appear to be high on the list.

“We’ve always been interested in Pitt. They’re playing really good basketball right now,” Craig said.

“Georgetown, we’ve been interested as well. They’ve show some interest. The coaches from Georgetown have gone up a couple times,” he added.

He added that Marquette and St. John’s “have shown interest” and that virtually every school in the Big East except for Louisville and Syracuse has made contact.

Craig also mentioned that Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson had reached out by phone.

“They recruited him a year ago. They have kind of thrown their hat back in the mix,” Craig said.

Maurice plays alongside five Division I commits, including C.J. Fair (Syracuse), Austin Carroll (Rutgers) and Will Barton (Memphis).

Craig said Barton had also talked to Maurice about having him join him at Memphis.

“Will is more than happy to pass him on to Memphis,” Craig said.

Brewster begins the NEPSAC playoffs March 3 and Craig said a few visits could be coming up soon.

“He’s got his school playoffs and national tournament coming up,” Craig said. “We’re gonna go through that and maybe in the next week or two see if we can visit some schools.”

(Photo courtesy Torontoobserver.ca)

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BoxofMess.com

Special to ZAGSBLOG.COM

TRENTON, N.J. -- Here’s a complete rundown on Saturday and Sunday’’s action at the PrimeTime Shootout at the Sun National Bank Center…

In the last game Saturday night, Doron Lamb scored 49 points — three shy of LeBron James‘ 2003 tournament-record 52 — on 21 of 29 shooting but Oak Hill Academy fell to St. Peter’s Prep, 84-81.

Lamb’s college list now includes five schools: Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, UConn and West Virginia. West Virginia assistant Larry Harrison was in the house.

“Coach [Jim] Calhoun’s leave of absence got me a little worried, but now he is back so I am not concerned,” Lamb said of his decision to add UConn to his list.

In the win for St. Peter’s Prep, Myles Davis had 33 points, while St. John’s-bound forward Ron Roberts had 23.

Davis and Plainfield junior guard Tyrone Johnson attended the Georgetown-Rutgers game Sunday at the RAC, won by Rutgers,71-68. Georgetown just offered Johnson last week.

***Earlier Saturday, Life Center knocked off Our Savior New American for a second year in a row at the Primetime Shootout, 75-58, behind 34 points from Syracuse-bound guard Dion Waiters and 14 points from uncommitted junior LaQuinton Ross, who transferred from Murrah (Miss.) High.

LaQuinton on his transfer, “My people thought it was time for me to play in some better games against some better competition.”

LaQuinton’s list, “Villanova, Georgetown, UConn, the ‘Cuse, Mississippi State, Mississippi, Florida, Texas, the list goes on.”

On visits, “I plan to take some visits this summer.”

On a college decision, “Probably next year. I’m going to narrow it down to a top 5 by the end of the summer.”

Dion reflecting on the list of 5, “Next year they going top 5 and Syracuse is gonna be in there.”

Dion jokingly talking about not being selected to the McDonald’s game, “They jerked me, that’s motivation man, they jerked me, I know I deserved to be there.”

AND ON A DIFFERENT NOTE….. LaQuinton Ross does not know who Van Gogh is….

***Lincoln defeated Middle Township 61-47 behind Shaq Stokes who had 17 points and Kamari Murphy finished with 7.

Shaq Stokes on when he will commit, “Next year before the season starts”

Shaq Stokes’ list, “Florida, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Stanford, and some more.”

Kamari Murphy’s list, ”Seton Hall, Virginia Tech, Auburn, Rutgers, Providince, Virginia, Pittsburgh.”

Kamari Murphy on when he will commit, “This summer”

Kamari Murphy’s favorite, “Virginia”

Ethan Telfair on early favorites (despite not having much interest or offers), “Syracuse”

Tiny Morton when I asked if I could ask him any Lance Stephenson questions, “Oh please no, no, no. I get that to much.

Tiny on Kamari’s Recruiting, “Kamari will most likely reclassify. I see Shaq going D1.”

Tiny on the upcoming AAU Season for Juice All Stars, “I have something new I’m going to try. I am canceling all of April to do individual training with all the players to get them better for the summer. (Later in the interview) “You’re the first one to know that.”

***Coming off Friday night’s nationally televised loss to Oak Hill at Kean College, St. Patrick was led by Michael Gilchrist and Kyrie Irving, who combined for 39 points, as they knocked off Rice, 74-56.

Irving on one thing most people don’t know about him, “I was invited to play for both the Australian and U.S. National teams. I was born in Australia so I have dual citizenship. Both invites are a big honor to me.”

***In Sunday’s action, Half Hollow Hills West defeated Christ the King, 73-69, as Tyler Harris’ free throws sealed it at the end. Tobias Harris, despite fouling out, had 19 points, while Tavon Sledge led the way with 22. Omar Calhoun led CTK with 24 points.

Among the coaches on hand were UConn’s Jim Calhoun, Villanova’s Jay Wright, Pitt’s Jamie Dixon and Rhode Island’s Jim Baron.

Tyler Harris’ list, “It’s going a lot better this year. West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Indiana, a lot of Big East and ACC schools. I’m getting more offers like Seton Hall.”

Tobias Harris on Tyler Smith being kicked off Tennessee, “No, not at all. They’re just taking steps up after that.”
Tobias on being a McDonald’s All American, “It’s an honor, it feels great. I’m excited to have a lot of fun.”

Tobias on one thing most people don’t know about him, “Not to many people can beat me in ping pong.”

Omar Calhoun’s list, “Villanova, Rutgers, Louisville, UCLA, Kentucky, Pittsburgh, St. John’s, …. the list goes on.”

Calhoun’s visits, “I visited Pitt and St. John’s unofficially. St. John’s was fun and so was Pitt.”
Calhoun’s college decision, “By my junior year.”

Calhoun on possibly playing for John Calipari, “It would be great. I’m not going to think about that now. I’m just going to keep getting better so I can in that situation.”

Calhoun on location, “Location will not be a factor for me.”

Despite Jayvaughn Pinkston getting in foul trouble, Bishop Loughlin beat Cherokee 55-36. Kareem Canty led Loughlin with 13 points.

Pinkston on being a McDonald’s All American, “It’s a big honor. It’s a big basketball and it’s a great honor for me, you know.”

Pinkston on why he didn’t sign yet, “No, I’m signing in April. I was originally going to commit to Tennessee but some things happened along the way so I went with my 2nd option in Villanova. Tennessee was my first.”

Pinkston on one thing most people don’t know about him, “I’m a good kid.” (smiling)

Coach Calhoun on how he is doing, “I’m doing pretty good.”

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“There is a lot of misinterpretation, a lot of misinformation. I’m the head coach of this program and I make those decisions—not the athletic director, not the administration, not a prep school coach, not a high school coach. I make the decisions. There’s been a lot of confusion out there and I just want to make sure there is no confusion,” Gonzalez said of the decision to pull Hazell, who had 32 points in the game and is the second-leading scorer in the Big East.

“I didn’t take Jeremy out just because of shot selection. People think he missed some shots and I yanked him. What needs to be cleared up is Jeremy didn’t run back on defense, which is basically a cardinal sin.”

“The other thing is you can’t stand outside of the huddle and not join your teammates in the huddle. I don’t want to call a guy out but I want to make it clear that the stuff he did was unacceptable. Those were the reasons why he didn’t go back in the game. It has nothing to do with waving the white flag or giving up.”

“Going forward, I’ve had a meeting with Jeremy, I’ve talked to him about how he has to understand that given the same situation he has to handle things differently.”

Seton Hall (12-8, 3-6) visits a Pitt team (16-6, 6-4) coming off back-to-back losses at USF and West Virginia and will be hungry to right the ship. The Pirates beat the Panthers, 64-61, Jan. 24 in Newark.

The game marks a homecoming of sorts for Seton Hall forward Herb Pope, an Aliquippa, Pa. native who told me he hasn’t been back to his hometown in six months because he’s trying to stay on the right path. Pope was shot five times as a senior in high school in March 2007 during a party in his hometown. He now leads the Big East in rebounds (11.5).

“The Pitt game is going to be unbelievable for me, first time I get to play Pitt,” Pope said before the teams first met this season. “That’s part of the reason why I transferred back, to have the opportunity to go home and this is the year we play them twice.”

Gonzalez said he believes five Big East teams — Villanova, Syracuse, Georgetown, West Virginia and probably Pitt — will make the Big Dance. For everyone else, it’s a crapshoot.

“From six to 12 or 13 [in the Big East] it’s just totally wide open,” Gonzalez said. “We have nine games left. We’ve come close and been on the fence but we have to be able to get over the hump against the elite teams. You’ve got to try to beat the teams you’re supposed to beat, but in this league, who are you supposed to beat?”

JONES, USF ARE RED HOT

South Florida coach Stan Heath sometimes calls recruits after games.

But after Tuesday’s 72-64 upset of No. 7 Georgetown, several recruits called him.

“I actually got a few phone calls initiated by the recruits,” Heath said. “That was a little subtle change.”

Those things will happen when your team is the hottest in the Big East.

The Bulls (15-7, 5-5), who had previously never won back-to-back Big East games, have put together four straight wins, including back-to-back wins over Top 25 teams Pittsburgh and Georgetown.

During that stretch, USF guard Dominique Jones has averaged 35 points per game.

Against Georgetown, Jones scored 22 of his 29 points in the second half and added eight rebounds and four assists.

According to the AP, with his team up by eight points late in the game, Jones walked to the crowd and twice yelled: “Y’all come watch Dominique Jones play!” He flexed his muscles at the final horn and told the local USF radio crew his “heart was beating too fast” to do a postgame interview.

Forgive the kid his bravado, but his team is on fire.

“We felt like he was the most unguardable guy we’ve seen this year in terms of one specific guy,” said Seton Hall’s Gonzalez, whose team lost at USF, 76-74 in OT, Jan. 28.

The Bulls have gone on this run without 6-10 big man Gus Gilchrist, out since December with an ankle sprain. Gilchrist, averaging  18.8 points and 7.4 rebounds, could return Sunday at Notre Dame. 

Heath said there is a definite “buzz” around Tampa and the campus but that he’s trying to keep his kids focused on the next game, which comes Sunday at Notre Dame.

“It’s been a lighting bolt for the city of Tampa and our basketball program,” he said. “It’s really created a buzz that we’ve never experienced before.

“We’re a little bit in uncharted waters. We’re trying to keep our focus because as fast as things have gone in one direction, things can swing around because there’s so many good players and teams in our conference.”

Still, Heath said he was allowing his team to dream of an NCAA tournament bid.

“They want to play in the postseason, they want to go to the NCAA tournament,” he said. “It’s something that none of the players have experienced before…I don’t think it’s a bad thing to point to what we want to attain.”

FREE THROWS

Some idiot threw a coin at Pitt assistant Tommy Herrion during West Virginia’s win over Pitt Tuesday night in West Virginia. The coin missed Herrion’s eye by a half an inch. It also could have hit a student-athlete. Mounties coach Bob Huggins took the mic and told the crowd it was “stupid” and said fans should point out anyone they saw doing it…Deniz Kilicli, a 6-9 forward from Turkey, had nine points in his debut for West Virginia. Kilicli had to sit out the first 20 games of the season after playing with a professional player in Turkey. He comes to MSG Saturday when WVU faces St. John’s… The Johnnies are coming off Tuesday’s loss at Rutgers that has many Red Storm fans upset with the direction of the program. St. John’s is 12-9, 2-7 in the Big East. “We just didn’t play with the energy we needed to,” Johnnies coach Norm Roberts said…UConn coach Jim Calhoun has missed five straight games with health issues and associate head coach George Blaney said he expects to coach Saturday against DePaul. “I’m assuming I’m coaching Saturday,” he said, adding that there was no timetable on Calhoun’s return.

(Photos courtesy Seton Hall Athletics & AP)

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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.

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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?

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That’s when Pittsburgh comes to the Prudential Center to face Pope and Seton Hall (2 p.m.).

Pope, a native of Aliquippa, Pa., who initially committed to Pittsburgh out of high school, can’t wait.

“This is the only game that I think I circled…because I’m big into my school spirit and all that,” Pope said after scoring 10 points and grabbing 7 boards in Thursday’s win over Louisville.

This is a huge game for the Pirates (11-6, 2-4 Big East), who must continue to take care of business at home if they are to have any shot at the NCAA Tournament.

No. 9 Pitt (15-3, 5-1) is coming off a tough home loss to Georgetown on Wednesday.

“The Pitt game is going to be unbelievable for me, first time I get to play Pitt,” Pope said. “That’s part of the reason why I transferred back, to have the opportunity to go home and this is the year we play them twice.” Seton Hall also visits Pitt Feb. 6.

Pope initially committed to Pittsburgh and then changed his mind and opted for New Mexico State because he said he felt more comfortable with then-head coach Reggie Theus‘ style of play.

“New Mexico State played the up and down tempo,” he said. “With him being a guy from Louisville, Reggie Theus, it was basically like a Louisville offense.”

After opting to leave New Mexico State, Pope said he considered Pitt the second time around, but chose Seton Hall because he didn’t want to be too close to home. He was shot four times his senior year at a party and hasn’t been back there in six months.

“The second time around I almost did go to Pitt,” he said. “It was an option for me.”

Pope said the style of play at Seton Hall also suited him better, even if head coach Bobby Gonzalez’s personality is on the opposite end of the spectrum from Pitt coach Jamie Dixon.

“He’s calm,” Pope said of Dixon. “He wants to coach you and pull you to the side and talk to you as opposed to the other coach. As soon as it happens that’s when you hear it [from Gonzalez].

“The other coach [Dixon], he’ll wait for you to pull you to the side to talk to you.”

Pope used to be friendly with former Pitt big man DeJuan Blair (now with the San Antonio Spurs), but doesn’t know anyone on the current team.

Another Aliquippa native, Darrelle Revis, will be busy Sunday also. The Jets cornerback will be playing against the Colts in the AFC Championship game at 3. Unfortunately, the games are at basically the same time, so the crowd in Newark may be sparse.

“I’m going to hear things as as soon as the game is over,” Pope said. “I just want him to win it. But I’m more concerned with the Pirates trying to beat the Pittsburgh Panthers.”

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