Givon Crump, a 6-foot-7 wing from Washington, D.C., has  decided to transfer to Fresno State from Baylor.

Crump, who also considered Rutgers and Seton Hall, averaged 0.4 points and 0.3 rebounds in 16 games as a reserve forward at Baylor last season. He will have three years of eligibility remaining.

“I feel comfortable with the staff at Fresno State,” Crump said by text. “I trust that Coach Q and Coach [Steve] Cleveland have sincere interest in my success as a basketball player and a young man.”

JAMAICA WRIGHT ON THE MOVE (UPDATED)

Joel ‘Air Jamaica’ Wright, a 6-6 forward from Brooklyn Thomas Jefferson, will visit Rutgers Sunday, Robert Morris on Monday and Rice Thursday. (more…)

Now that Andy Toole has been tabbed as Mike Rice’s replacement at Robert Morris and Book Richardson has opted to stay put at Arizona, Rice’s staff at Rutgers should come into a little bit clearer focus.

Rice had expected Toole to get the Robert Morris job  after he took over at Rutgers, and that news came down on Monday.

“I got a voicemail from Andy at about 1 o’clock saying he got the job,” one prominent Atlantic 10 coach said, referring to Toole.

Rice offered Richardson the job of associate head coach, but Book opted to stay put under Sean Miller.

His goal is to coach in the Final Four and he has now turned down offers from both St. John’s and Rutgers to come back home and coach in the Big East…so he must feel that Arizona is closer to making a deep run in the NCAA tournament than either Big East program. (more…)

Tommie Patterson can speak firsthand about the ability of new Rutgers coach Mike Rice to unearth rare recruiting gems in the Garden State.

During the 2007-08 basketball season, when he was an assistant coach at Paterson (N.J.) Eastside High School, Patterson tried to interest several Division I teams in a diminutive, yet explosive combo guard named Karon Abraham.

“Karon had a couple of low D-2 schools [interested] and a couple guys thought that he was just too small to play at the Division I level,” recalled Patterson, now the head coach at Clifton (N.J.) High School. “I called FDU [Fairleigh Dickinson University]…and they pretty much gave us the cold shoulder and said that he couldn’t play at that level because of his size.

Read the full story at SNY.
(more…)

Mike Rice will be the next head coach at Rutgers, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to SNY.

A press conference is expected later this week.

Rice, 41, signed a contract extension April 9 at Robert Morris through the 2016-17 season. But that was before the Rutgers job came open when Fred Hill resigned April 19 after unleashing a profanity-filled tirade at a Rutgers baseball game and then defying Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti’s order to avoid future games.

Read the full story at SNY.

(Photo courtesy Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

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Robert Morris coach Mike Rice will meet Wednesday with Seton Hall officials.

The news was first reported by Jeff Goodman on Twitter and I confirmed it with a source with direct knowledge.

Rice, 41, led Robert Morris to the NCAA tournament for the second straight season, nearly toppling No. 2 Villanova before falling 73-70 in OT last Thursday in Providence.

Rice declined comment when reached.

“I think Mike Rice would be a good candidate for any job,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “He’s got great passion. He’s an excellent leader. He’s a very good recruiter. And I would recommend him for any job.” (more…)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Scottie Reynolds didn’t start Villanova’s first NCAA tournament game of his senior season.

But he sure did finish.

After getting benched to start the game because of what Villanova coach Jay Wright called a “teaching moment,” Reynolds hit a clutch 3-pointer and then two foul shots with 9.1 seconds left in overtime to help No. 2 Villanova escape with a 73-70 victory over No. 15 Robert Morris in a first-round South Regional game at the Dunkin Donuts Center.

Read the full story here.

**Meanwhile, No.  Georgetown was humbled by No. 13 Ohio U. Greg Monroe says he’ll return for his junior year, but head coach John Thompson III says not so fast.

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Before this season began I accepted a gig covering Knicks home games for NBA.com.

Initially, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle covering both the Knicks and Big East basketball for SNY.tv. But aside from being out of the house and away from my family several nights a week, things have worked out pretty well so far.

Except for one thing.

I’ve seen a lot of bad basketball.

During a five-day span this past week, I saw Seton Hall (at Villanova), St. John’s (to West Virginia) and the Knicks (to Milwaukee) all lose.

Then on Saturday things got even worse.

The Knicks and Nets were both in action in the NBA, as were all three local Big East teams:  Rutgers, Seton Hall and St. John’s.

The collective result?

Those five New York-area teams lost by a combined 74 points. (more…)

Doron Lamb, Josh Selby and Harrison Barnes enjoyed their weekend official visits to Kansas but are all still involved in the recruiting process.

Lamb, 6-foot-4 combo guard from Queens, N.Y., who plays at Oak Hill (Va.) Academy, tripped to Kansas for “Late Night in the Phog” with his father, Calvin. Lamb was hosted by former St. Anthony guard Tyshawn Taylor.

“The highlight [of the visit] was when I walked out with the others [recruits]and the crowd was cheering and gave us a standing ovation. I’ve never had anything like that happen to me,” Lamb told Gary Bedore of the Lawrence Journal-World & News.

“It was a cool visit. I liked meeting the players, coaches and seeing the campus. Coach [Bill] Self is cool. He’s real. He tells you the truth.”

Calvin said he had never seen anything like “Late Night” before. (more…)

Doron Lamb may visit Oklahoma the weekend of Oct. 3 for his first official visit, according to his father, Calvin Lamb.

“We want to visit Oklahoma in early October,” Calvin said Wednesday morning by phone.

A senior from Queens, N.Y. who plays at Oak Hill (Va.) Academy, the 6-foot-4 Lamb is the No. 3 shooting guard and No. 21 prospect in the Class of 2010.

“From what I’ve heard him say, I think his top three would be Kansas, Oklahoma and the next one I couldn’t tell you. It was Kentucky. But they haven’t been in here to see him yet,” Oak Hill coach Steve Smith said Wednesday by phone.

He added: “I think Doron wants to sign early.” (more…)