Ryan Kelly, a 6-foot-10 forward from Raleigh (NC) Ravenscroft School, will announce his college choice Thursday at 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU’s Recruiting Insider.

Kelly will decide between Notre Dame, Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt and Georgetown and Ravenscroft coach Kevin Billerman, a New Jersey native, says he doesn’t know if Kelly has decided yet.

“We had a meeting on Sunday and we talked about all the schools, he and I and his parents,” Billerman said Wednesday. “He’s taking a couple of days to decide what he wants to do and then he’s going to start calling the coaches because I gather he hasn’t decided yet.” (more…)

Lance Stephenson and Dominic Cheek, who guarded one another in the Boost Mobile Elite 24 event in August, both plan on visiting Kansas for “Late Night in the Phog” Oct. 17.

Stephenson, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard at Brooklyn Lincoln, has made Kansas the first of his official visits, with several more still in the works.

“We’re going to Midnight Madness at Kansas Oct. 17,” said Hassani Stewart, Stephenson’s AAU coach with Raising Champions. “Right now Kansas is the only one we’re sure about.”

If Stephenson spends the weekend at Kansas, it is possible he would miss the 2nd Annual Jim Couch Reunion Game on Oct. 18 at John F. Kennedy High School in the Bronx.

Stewart said Stephenson also hoped to visit Memphis, USC and UCLA, although none of those are set yet. Stephenson recently took an unofficial visit to St. John’s. (more…)

Greg Echenique’s stellar play at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship has earned him a prestigious invite.

The 6-foot-9 Echenique, an incoming freshman at Rutgers who played at St. Benedict’s Prep under Dan Hurley, was invited to play for Latin America in the upcoming adidas Basketball Experience in Dallas Aug. 7-12.

“They saw him play down in South America and he’s going from Venezuela to Brazil up to Dallas,” said Scott Smith, a St. Benedict’s Prep assistant who is close to Echenique.

Playing for his native Venezuela, Echenique was among the tournament leaders in scoring, rebounding and blocks at the U18 Championship, which ended with Argentina beating the USA in the title game.

The adidas Basketball Experience includes seven international teams, each of which will be coached by a former NBA head coach and will include current NBA players as mentors. Paul Silas is the Executive Head Coach of the American team. Each of the seven regional teams will consist of 12-15 of the top players from each region.

The American team includes Derrick Favors of Atlanta, perhaps the No. 1 player in the Class of 2009; Brooklyn Lincoln star Lance Stephenson; Dominic Cheek of St. Anthony; and North Carolina commit Dexter Strickland of St. Patrick.

Good story today by Gary Bedore of the Lawrence Journal-World about how Kansas coach Bill Self is more recognizable on the recruiting trail this summer after winning an NCAA championship.

“One thing that is a positive … we are a little more recognizable now. You walk in a crowded gym, and they may recognize you. We’ve gotten a little added airtime,” Self told Bedore.

Self and his staff, including Jersey’s own Joe Dooley, are working on a number of high-profile targets, including Xavier Henry, a 6-foot-6 guard/forward from Putnam City (Okla.) High, who averaged 24 points a game at the Nike Peach Jam.

Henry says he’s down to Kansas, Memphis, UCLA and Texas, but we hear it will be between Memphis and Kansas. Both his parents attended Kansas.

Self and his staff are also targeting Brooklyn Lincoln star Lance Stephenson, the No. 2 shooting guard in the Class of 2009, and St. Anthony standout Dominic Cheek, ranked No. 4. Both players have listed Kansas among their choices, with Stephenson saying it’s down to Kansas, USC, UCLA, Tennessee, Texas, Memphis and St. John’s. His father’s list did not include Texas and Tennessee.

Dooley has already proven he can recruit the Northeast hard, having landed St. Anthony guard Tyshawn Taylor, St. Patrick big man Quintrell Thomas and twins Marcus and Markieff Morris out of Apex Academies in South Jersey.

Speaking of Cheek….

St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley had this to say about Cheek and the USA U18 National Team losing in the gold medal game to Argentina. (more…)

The U.S. U18 team lost to Argentina, 77-64, in the gold medal game of the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Formosa, Argentina.

It was the first loss of the tournament for the Americans, who already qualified for the 2009 FIBA U18 World Championship in New Zealand.

UConn-bound guard Kemba Walker was named MVP of the tournament after scoring 21 points and dishing 3 assists in the final. UCLA-bound guard Malcolm Lee scored 13 and Kansas frosh TRavis Releford 12. Dominic Cheek scored just 5 points. Alabama commit JaMychal Green posted a double-double of 10 points and 14 boards. (more…)

The 2008 USA Basketball Men’s U18 National Team (4-0) earned its fourth victory in as many days after collecting an 82-66 victory over Canada (2-2) in a medal semifinal contest on Thursday night at the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Formosa, Argentina.

Team USA will face Argentina (4-0) in Friday’s final.

Two U.S. players notched a double-double, including University of Alabama freshman-to-be JaMychal Green (St. Jude H.S. / Montgomery, Ala.) with 16 points and 10 rebounds and Ryan Kelly (Ravenscroft H.S. / Raleigh, N.C.) had 12 points and 10 boards. Additionally, University of Connecticut freshman-to-be Kemba Walker (Rice H.S. / New York, N.Y.) had 13 points, eight assists and five rebounds and UCLA freshman-to-be Malcom Lee (John W. North H.S. / Riverside, Calif.) was the fourth player in double digits for points with 12.           

Also,  Rutgers freshman-to-be Greg Echenique had 21 points and 17 boards as Venezuela beat Mexico, 68-46. The 6-9 Echenique is among leaders in scoring, rebounding and blocks at the event.

Get additional stories about the USA U18 team here: (more…)

The 2008 USA Basketball Men’s U18 National Team (3-0) rolled over Puerto Rico, 106-64,  Wednesday night at the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Formosa, Argentina.

Five players scored in double digits, including University of Oregon freshman-to-be Matt Humphrey (Hales Franciscian H.S / Chicago, Ill.), UCLA freshman-to-be Malcom Lee (John W. North H.S. / Riverside, Calif.) and University of Connecticut freshman-to-be Kemba Walker (Rice H.S. / New York, N.Y.), who each scored 15; Travis Wear (Mater Dei H.S. / Santa Ana, Calif.) notched his third double-digit game with 13; while University of Alabama freshman-to-be JaMychal Green (St. Jude H.S. / Montgomery, Ala.) finished with 12 points. (more…)

Team USA beat the Bahamas, 115-51, to win its second straight game at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Formosa, Argentina.

6-foot-10 Duke commit Mason Plumlee had a double-double of 14 points and 14 boards and North Carolina-bound forward Travis Wear was the leading scorer for the second straight game, scoring 15 points. Alabama freshman big man JaMychal Green tallied 13 points, Kansas freshman guard Travis Releford 11 and Villanova commit Maalik Wayns and UCLA frosh Malcolm Lee had 10 apiece. St. Anthony senior wing Dominic Cheek had 6 points on 3 of 7 shooting to go with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 turnovers.

“Our teamwork and our toughness was there from start to finish,” said USA and Davidson College head coach Bob McKillop. “We distributed the ball very well, we defended very well and the guys have really accepted the concept that defense wins championships.”

Next up for the USA is a date with Puerto Rico on Wednesday.

Meantime, 6-9 Rutgers freshman Greg Echenique put up 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting to go with 15 rebounds and six blocks in a 94-76 loss to Puerto Rico. Think head coach Fred Hill isn’t excited about putting the St. Benedict’s big man on the floor with McDonald’s All-American Mike Rosario of St. Anthony?

Read more USA quotes here. Get additional stories about the USA U18 team here: (more…)

North Carolina commit Travis Wear tallied 15 points and 7 rebounds and UConn-bound point guard Kemba Walker of Rice added 12 points and 5 assists as the USA U18 National team downed Venezuela, 82-73, in the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Formosa Argentina.

Ryan Kelly of Ravenscroft High in Raleigh, N.C. added 12 points and 10 boards for the USA, and St. Anthony senior Dominic Cheek had just 2 points that came off a steal and a dunk. Kansas freshman Travis Releford and Duke commit Mason Plumlee added 8 points apiece.

Rutgers commit Greg Echenique of St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark tallied 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting to go with 9 rebounds and 4 blocks for Venezuela. (more…)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – When the United States’ under-18 national team heads to Argentina next week for the FIBA Americas tournament, New York’s Kemba Walker will be handed the keys to the engine, and Lance Stephenson will stay home.

A 6-foot-1, 172-pound point guard out of Manhattan’s Rice High School, Walker made the final 12-man roster for the team, as did 6-6 wing Dominic Cheek of St. Anthony of Jersey City (N.J.).

“The leader of the team is Kemba,” said Queens-based recruiting analyst Tom Konchalski. “They can’t play without him. If he gets hurt, they’re in trouble.”

Read the full story here. And get the full roster here. GAmes start July 14 against incoming Rutgers freshman Greg Echenique and Venezuela. Unfortunately, the games won’t be on TV or the Net.