Dan Hurley won’t be in Mar del Plata, Argentina Monday afternoon for the Olympic qualifying game between Venezuela and Puerto Rico, but his imprimatur will be all over the game.

Four of Hurley’s former St. Benedict’s Prep players will suit up when the two teams battle it out in the second round of the FIBA Americas tournament.

Venezuela features Creighton forward Gregory Echenique and former Marquette player David Cubillan, while Alex Galindo and John Holland play for Puerto Rico.

“They were four of the most respected student-athletes at St. Benedict’s over the course of our nine years,” said Hurley, entering his second season at Wagner College. “They were a huge part of our program.” (more…)

While many of his fellow high school basketball standouts are finishing up on the AAU circuit, Ricky Ledo is training with the Puerto Rican National Team and planning his college visits.

The 6-foot-7 Ledo, the No. 1 shooting guard in the Class of 2012, said he is planning to visit Syracuse, UConn, Kentucky and Providence, although no dates have been set.

“I plan on visiting Syracuse and UConn and Kentucky and some other schools,” he told SNY.tv Thursday by phone.

“Those are just schools I want to visit. I don’t have a top [five]. I have friends at UConn and friends at Syracuse.” (more…)

Notre Dame Prep shooting guard Ricky Ledo has accepted an invitation to visit next week with Puerto Rico Basketball Federation executives, practice with the team and see if he wants to represent Puerto Rico in Olympic qualifying.

“Ricky’s dream has always been to play for the USA team, that’s his dream,” Todd Quarles, a close family friend and founder of the Expression Elite AAU team, said Friday by phone. “And he wants to make sure that if he goes down there [to Puerto Rico] it won’t hurt any possibilities, but at the same time to explore every opportunity. (more…)

Kentucky coach John Calipari would be “crazy” to coach the Dominican Republic National Team this summer because they “don’t have any money and have a horrible reputation in the region,” a well-connected Caribbean source  told SNY.tv.

“They don’t have a clue,” the source said of the Dominican Federation. “They screwed up the FIBA event in the DR last summer. Players were slipping all over the floor as they hosted an event in an arena with no air conditioning. Roy Hibbert and other NBA players were required to stop playing.” (more…)

NEW YORK – Count Sacramento Kings swingman Francisco Garcia among those who’d like Kentucky coach John Calipari to lead the Dominican national team at next summer’s Olympic qualifying event.

“He’d be more than welcome, you know, he’s a good coach, great coach,” Garcia said after scoring 8 points and grabbing 5 rebounds as the Kings downed the Knicks, 93-83, Friday night at MSG.

The Dominican team could feature as many as four NBA players in Garcia, Al Horford, Charlie Villanueva and Trevor Ariza. (more…)

One day after Louisville head coach Rick Pitino used the word “confused” to describe a FoxSports.com college basketball writer, Art Alvarez of the Miami Tropics said he never believed Pitino took the Puerto Rican National Team coaching job to gain a recruiting edge.

“I disagree with what was written that Coach Pitino had only taken the job for recruiting purposes,” Alvarez said Thursday by phone from Miami, referring to a column for which he was interviewed suggesting Pitino agreed to coach Puerto Rico in 2011 Olympic qualifying in order to land 2012 shooting guard Ricky Ledo, who has since committed to Providence. (more…)

When Louisville coach Rick Pitino announced last week that he would coach the Puerto Rican National Team during 2011 Olympic qualifying, Todd Washington was one of the first to applaud the decision.

Washington, a senior adviser to the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation and the son of Charlotte Bobcats co-owner Robert B. Washington, believes that this is the first of many Federations in the region that will go in that direction.

“In the last week I’ve gotten calls from several coaches who expressed an interest in learning more about the development of basketball in the region,” Washington said. “The Pitino announcement has really helped bring attention to the sport in this part of the world. It baffles me why more coaches are not spending time down here recruiting players.” (more…)

Rules prevent Carmelo Anthony from competing for Puerto Rico in international competition, but that doesn’t mean they won’t try and land him for Olympic qualifying.

“Carmelo is a future plan because right now we don’t do anything to get Carmelo,” Carlos Beltran, president of the Puerto Rican basketball  Federation, said Wednesday in a phone interview.

“That is a decision of Carmelo. But everybody know that he have Puerto Rican roots. Maybe in the near future it’s a possibility.” (more…)

Can Rick Pitino become the Coach K of Puerto Rico?

Pitino is following in Coach K’s footsteps on the international stage after announcing Monday that he will coach the Puerto Rico national basketball team in preparation for a 2011 pre-Olympic qualifying tournament.

Pitino will coach the national team in the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship basketball tournament to be played in Mar del Plata, Argentina on Aug. 25-Sept. 8, 2011, at the 8,000-seat Polideportivo Islas Malvinas. Puerto Rico must finish among the top two teams to advance to the 2012 Olympics in London. (more…)

Rick Pitino and John Calipari already share a rivalry within the Bluegrass State.

Could they be expanding their rivalry to Latin American basketball?

Multiple reports indicate Pitino, the Louisville coach, is on the verge of accepting a job as Puerto Rico’s next national coach, while a blog report has Calipari, the Kentucky coach, considering coaching the Dominican Republic.

Pitino will reportedly meet Sunday in Miami with Carlos Arroyo of the Miami Heat and J.J. Berea of the Dallas Mavericks before their teams play Monday night. They are the only two Puerto Rican players in the NBA. (more…)