Javontae Hawkins, the Rivals No. 23 shooting guard in the Class of 2012, has verbally pledged to South Florida.

“USF is getting an extremely high level athlete and scorer,” Huntington (West Va.) Prep coach Rob Fulford told SNY.tv. “Javontae will be an immediate impact player for [head coach] Stan [Heath].

“He is a gym rat who is a potential all-Big East player. I anticipate Javontae to have a huge year at Huntington Prep and we are very excited for him.”

The 6-foot-5 Michigan native chose South Florida over Cincinnati, DePaul and Iowa, Fulford said. (more…)

HOUSTON — Jamie Skeen is VCU’s leading scorer and rebounder and a major reason why they are here in their first-ever Final Four.

Skeen poured in 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds when VCU stunned No. 1 Kansas to win the Southwest Regional.

Yet had history unfolded differently, the 6-foot-9, 240-pound senior might have landed in the Big East.

Skeen considered both Seton Hall and South Florida after he was declared ineligible for the 2008 fall semester at Wake Forest for violating the school’s academic policy. (more…)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — After James Beatty scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half to lift Rutgers to a 71-62 win over South Florida on Thursday night, Scarlet Knights coach Mike Rice was questioned as to why his point guard didn’t shoot more.

Beatty himself didn’t even wait to be asked.

“I know, I know, why don’t I shoot more,” the smiling senior said as reporters converged around him. “I don’t know why. It’s funny, I’m always shooting after practice, I even got in the paint today.

Click here to read the full story at SNY.

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

And like ZAGS on Facebook

Former St. Bonaventure commit Elijah Carter will wait until the spring to sign with a school.

“Yes, I am,” Carter said by text.

Asked why he would not sign in the fall, Carter said, “So that I can bond more with the coaches I will be around for the next four years.”

The 6-foot-2 Carter, the No. 22 point guard in the Class of 2011, is still considering Oregon State, Seton Hall, Charlotte, Rhode Island and South Florida, but will now have an entire season at Brewster to mull his options — and perhaps consider other options.

“Yes, there is a chance new schools can get in,” he said.

The NCAA early signing period runs Nov. 10-17. (more…)

Ryan Arcidiacono, the No. 8 point guard in the Class of 2012 out of Langhorne (Pa.) Neshaminy, has verbally committed to Villanova.

Arcidiacono was one of many recruits to attend Villanova’s Midnight Madness event Friday night and said he called head coach Jay Wright to commit on Sunday.

“It was a great fit,” he said by phone. “They love to push the ball. They’re an up-and-down type of team.”

The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Arcidiacono said his decision came down to Villanova and Florida. But location was the deciding factor. (more…)

Boys & Girls senior shooting guard Mike Taylor is focusing on six schools, according to assistant coach Elmer Anderson.

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Taylor is looking at St. John’s, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, South Florida and South Carolina.

“Those six schools are the ones that have been consistent with him,” Anderson said Monday.

Maryland and Virginia Tech have also been linked to Taylor, but those schools have not been as consistently involved.

“He’s got the same schools that were pretty much involved with him before,” Anderson said. (more…)

Tyler Harris isn’t just Tobias’ younger brother.

The 6-foot-8 Harris — and the brother of Tennessee-bound forward Tobias Harris — is making a name for himself as one of the top ballers in the New York area.

The No. 16 small forward in the Class of 2011 out of Dix Hills (N.Y.) Half Hollow Hills West, Harris recently picked up scholarship offers from N.C. State, Virginia Tech and South Florida, according to his father, Torrel.

He previously held offers from UConn, Seton Hall, Tennessee, Duquesne, Fordham, Hofstra and Boston College. (more…)

Maurice Walker is one of the most sought after big men in the Class of 2010.

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. (more…)

With his team set to visit Pittsburgh on Saturday in a critical Big East tilt for both teams, Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez spent part of Thursday’s Big East conference call clarifying his decision to pull Jeremy Hazell with four minutes remaining in Tuesday’s 81-71 loss at No. 2 Villanova.

“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.” (more…)

Today marks one of the biggest days in college hoops in a long time, with a full slate of critical games, none more interesting than the Louisville-Kentucky tilt that features a battle between old rivals Rick Pitino and John Calipari.

Here’s a column from Rick Bozich on the relationship between the two coaches.

After his admissions of marital infidelity and a pending trial, Pitino is sure to get an earful from the UK faithful and it should be something to watch (3:30, CBS).

**I’ll be at Cincinnati-Rutgers tonight in what should be an entertaining affair. Rutgers, which won only two Big East games last season, needs to win this game to defend the RAC, while Rashad Bishop and the Bearcats are coming off a 71-69 victory over No. 10 UConn in which Lance Stephenson hit two key foul shots with .7 seconds left. The game will be shown live on SNY at 8 p.m. SNY also has the Pitt-Syracuse game at noon.

**In another key tilt, No. 1 Kansas visits Juan Fernandez and Temple. In one of three bylines he has in today’s New York Times (take a break, my man), Kevin Armstrong has this interesting feature on Fernandez‘s journey from Argentina to Philly. Kevin also has a piece on Army coach Zach Spiker.

**In the high school ranks, West Virginia coach Bob Huggins and South Florida coach Stan Heath watched as Paterson Catholic improved to 5-0 with a 70-67 OT victory over Huntington (West Va.) Prep in Wheeling, West Va.. Junior guard Myles Mack was named MVP after putting up 21 points on 9 for 15 shooting to go with 6 rebounds and 3 steals and Seton Hall-bound forward Fuquan Edwin added 19 points. Junior forward Derrick Randall added 12 points and 11 boards. PC, ranked No. 8 in the PrepNation.com poll, was coming off winning the City of Palms tournament with a win over Austin Rivers and Winter Park (Fla.).

Cougars coach Damon Wright said Heath inquired about the 5-9 Mack, who has had a tremendous season thusfar.