PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Austin Rivers or Michael Gilchrist?
Who is the National High School Player of the Year?
“I think I have worked hard, and it would be a blessing to win,” the Duke-bound Rivers said Thursday by text.
Speaking on behalf of Gilchrist, St. Patrick coach Kevin Boyle said: “On the year he had with the schedule we had, he has as much right to that as anybody, Austin Rivers or other guys that are mentioned, without question.” (more…)
**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**
WROTEN LISTS NEW TOP 5
Seattle (Wash.) Garfield junior guard Tony Wroten listed a new top five on his Twitter page Thursday.
“My top 5. 1.uconn 2.nova 3.syracuse 4.uw and the5th choice is up to my bro @QCook323.”
As for UConn, Wroten wrote, “i wanna play wit kemba walker and i love coach calhoun.”
On Villanova, he said, “Villanova= 4 guard offense,there no better offense for me to play for. I love coach wright and malik wayns is my dude. Pause. Love philly
On Syracuse, “Syracuse= love the big east and i loVe that 2-3 zone and syracuse coaching is great.” (more…)
Derrick Caracter was planning on continuing his basketball career at Long Beach State when his mother received a phone call last December that changed his life.
If you are any kind of a basketball junkie, you must read this tremendous piece of reporting and writing by Kevin Armstrong of SI.com on Tom Konchalski.
Dubbed “the only honest man in the gym” by hoops writer John Feinstein, Konchalski, 63, is as constant a fixture in metropolitan area gyms as baskets and backboards.
Kevin spent about a year working on this story and the research shows. He has tremendous detail on Tom’s background and influences and even went inside the inner sanctum that is Tom’s Forest Hills apartment. (more…)
Devon Collier’s list is now down to four schools, with Maryland out of the mix.
“The schools that have been recruiting him the hardest are St. John’s, Seton Hall, Providence and Oregon State,” said New Heights coach Adam Berkowitz.
Maryland will get visits from Collier’s St. Anthony teammate, Ashton Pankey, Oct. 16 and Long Island forward Tobias Harris sometime in November.
Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson, Barack Obama’s brother-in-law, is out today to watch the 6-foot-8 Collier during a workout at St. Anthony.
After that visit, Berkowitz and Collier will plan visits. (more…)
After I initally posted this earlier today, I came across Kyrie’s interview with DimeMag where he says this about Duke.
“I guess you could say that I’m leaning toward Duke. I’m just not ready to commit. It was my first visit and of course I’m really high on them and like I said I have that feeling, but I think it’s only smart to compare it to something,” the 6-2 Irving said.
He added: “Well, I’ve got that feeling with Duke, but I want to go on a few more visits to compare it all. I’m not ready to commit yet. I just want to make sure everything is right. Duke and Indiana were my top two schools, and Duke is up there, but I like the other schools too.” (more…)
**Check out this interview where Tom talks about some of the top players in the area in the Class of 2010, including Jayvaughn Pinkston, Kyrie Irving, Tobias Harris, Devon Collier and Doron Lamb.**
Now that Lance Stephenson is off to college at Cincinnati, the top high school player in New York City in the Class of 2010 is Bishop Loughlin forward Jayvaughn Pinkston.
But the 6-foot-6, 250-pound Pinkston very nearly left the Big Apple to play for Oak Hill (Va.) Academy, a national powerhouse that features former Loughlin guard Doron Lamb.
“There was some thought of him transferring, but we feel confident after meeting with the coaching staff [led by first-year coach Ed Gonzalez] and the guidance counselors that Loughlin is the best place for him right now,” said Kimani Young, the athletic director of the New Heights AAU program and an advisor to Pinkston. (more…)
New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski has known Lance Stephenson since he was in the 4th Grade. In this interview Tom talks about Lance’s background, hype and what Cincinnati fans can expect from “Born Ready.”
For more on Lance:
**Lance to Cincinnati breaking news story.
**What impact will Lance have for the Bearcats? Answer the poll.
Tom Konchalski talks about the recruiting classes at UConn, Villanova, Rutgers, Seton Hall and St. John’s.
Just to clarify, an edit was done so that we skip ahead from Rutgers to Seton Hall at one point. The dividing point begins when we talk about Seton Hall recruit Ferrakohn Hall.
For more from Tom on Lance Stephenson, John Wall and Kevin Parrom, click here.
Recruiting expert Tom Konchalski talks Lance Stephenson, John Wall and Kevin Parrom.
LANCE UPDATE NO. 1: A source within the Lincoln High school athletic department said the school is “planning a press conference at Lincoln within the upcoming weeks” to announce Stephenson’s decision. Take that for what it’s worth. No date has been set, and as far as we know Lance has still not made a decision.
LANCE UPDATE NO. 2: Lance scored a game-high 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting (including 3-for-3 from 3) Saturday as the New York Panthers beat NYABC 91-81 in the second-round of the Is8/Nike Spring High School Classic.
The Panthers will meet Syracuse-bound guard Brandon Triche and New York Elite in the quarterfinals on Sunday at 1. (more…)
“Adam Zagoria sees the story behind the daily happenings.”
~ St. Anthony Coach Bob Hurley
Zagoria covers the New York Knicks and Big East hoops for NBA.com and SNY.tv. He also appears as a Big East Basketball Insider on SNY and 1050 ESPN Radio.
He is an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, SI and Basketball Times.
