EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Turns out the Vanderbilt Commodores don’t need Festus Ezeli to win a tournament after all.

Behind a combined 27 points from John Jenkins and Jeffery Taylor and a clutch jumper by Brad Tinsley with 4.5 seconds left, Vandy won a tight contest over previously unbeaten Oregon State, 64-62, to capture the Legends Class Monday night at the Izod Center.

“We want to win championships and this is the start, so we got it and we’re feeling good,” Jenkins, a 6-foot-4 junior guard, said after being named tournament MVP. (more…)

With the NCAA early signing period for basketball beginning on Wednesday, several top New York-area stars are still mulling their decisions and may sign late, while others appear on the verge of announcing.

JayVaughn Pinkston, a 6-foot-6 forward from Bishop Loughlin considered the top prospect in the Big Apple, hasn’t picked a school yet and may or may not sign late.

“We cannot say definitively,” New Heights athletic director Kimani Young said Wednesday morning. “There’s still a possibility that he commits early.

“He’s still going through the recruiting process even as of this week to figure out if he’s decided 100 percent where he wants to go to.”

Pinkston, who recently led New Heights to the is8 championship by scoring a combined 59 points in the semis and finals, will choose from among Villanova, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Tennessee and Marquette. (more…)

Rod Odom has decommitted from Arizona and is now headed to Vanderbilt instead.

“Yes,” the 6-foot-8 Long Island native wrote Monday in a text message. “It’s a better fit for me academically and its closer to home.”

Odom, ranked No. 88 overall in the Class of 2010 and No. 19 among small forwards, initially committed to Arizona earlier this month.

Odom, out of Concord (Mass.) Middlesex, called Arizona head coach Sean Miller Sunday night and told him he had changed his mind and would no longer be headed West.

“I knew that he had a conversation with Coach Miller last night,” Rod Odom Sr. said Monday. “But I know that a couple weeks  ago he mentioned that he was having mixed feelings. It was a real tight race between Vanderbilt and Arizona.

“I said, ‘Listen, if you feel the same way in the next couple weeks you need to get on the phone with Coach Miller and you guys need to talk’ and I guess he made that call yesterday.”

Odom initially chose Arizona over Vanderbilt, Boston College, West Virginia and Harvard.

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Rod Odom is headed West.

“I am an Arizona Wildcat,” the 6-foot-8, 210-pound Odom, a senior from Long Island who plays at Concord (Mass.) Middlesex, said by text.

Reach by phone a little after 6 p.m., Odom said he made the decision “about 10 minutes ago.”

Odom chose Arizona over Vanderbilt, West Virginia and Boston College. He is ranked No. 88 overall in the Class of 2010 and No. 19 among small forwards.

“I was real close to going to Vanderbilt last night but I’ve been talking it over with my mom and my dad and we made that decision,” Odom said. (more…)

Rod Odom took his final official visit to Boston College this weekend and is now set to decide among four schools.

The 6-foot-8, 195-pound Odom out of Concord (Mass.) Middlesex says he will choose one of the following four schools: Arizona, Boston College, Vanderbilt or West Virginia.

“I’m pretty much done taking visits,” Odom said Sunday afternoon. “I’m just looking to talk things over with my family the next couple of days.”

Odom, a Long Island native, says there is no favorite.

“I wouldn’t say there’s any favorite,” he said. “Every school has real good things to offer. At this point they’re all pretty much even.” (more…)

Villanova head coach Jay Wright met Tuesday with JayVaughn Pinkston and now the Wildcats have separated themselves in his recruitment.

The 6-foot-6 Pinkston, a senior forward at Bishop Loughlin, is the top player in New York City and the No. 67-ranked player in the Class of 2010 according to Rivals.

“It was a great home visit today,” said Kimani Young, the New Heights athletic director and an adviser to Pinkston.

“[Coach Wright] talked about how Jay would fit in and what they’re doing. He talked about the success he’s had with guys from New York City, Allan Ray, Curtis Sumpter, Jason Fraser, and now with Corey Fisher and Antonio Pena.

“He talked about how at a place like Villanova it’s important how well they do academically. A kid like Curtis Sumpter was a future NBA first round pick and then had two torn ACLs. Now he’s an average player overseas but he has his Masters degree and has a  future in the finance world. You can’t say that would’ve happened at other schools. (more…)

Rod Odom, the 6-foot-8 wing from Concord (Mass.) Middlesex, is on his way to Arizona this weekend for his first official visit.

“I’m in the airport waiting to go,” Odom, the No. 19 small forward in the Class of 2010, said Friday morning.

After the Arizona visit, Odom will take an official to Harvard next weekend and then  Boston College Oct. 3.

Odom is also considering Vanderbilt, West Virginia and Georgia Tech but has yet to plan official visits to those schools. He has visited every school except Arizona unofficially.

“I don’t really have a favorite right now,” Odom said. “I’ll probably have one after this visit because this [Arizona] is the only school I haven’t been to.” (more…)

Just got back from the Federer-del Potro U.S. Open final and I’m still a little shocked at what transpired…also a little sad that the Open is over. I’m a big tennis guy and these are two of my favorite weeks of the year.

Props to my boy Chris Chaney, the former Patterson (NC) School coach, who predicted del Potro earlier Monday (maybe before that). Someday I plan to cover Wimbledon and maybe even the Australian Open. So stay tuned for that…

Anyway, here are the hoops highlights of the night:

**Dallas Episcopal point guard Phil Pressey confirmed to me via text tonight that he committed to Missouri.

“Yes, I did,” he said.

The 5-foot-10 Pressey is ranked No. 13 among point guards in the Class of 2010. He chose Mizzou over LSU, Baylor, UCLA and Arizona. (more…)

Cameron Wright, a 6-foot-4, 195-pound combo guard from Cleveland (OH) Benedictine who initially committed to Ohio State, committed to Pittsburgh on Sunday night after visiting the school Saturday.

“Yes, I did about an hour ago,” Wright said by phone.

Wright chose Pitt over an impressive slate of schools including Indiana, UCLA, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and Cleveland State. Florida and West Virginia also showed interest.

“Pitt was constant,” Wright said. “Their system fits  my style perfectly. I’m a-pass first team player. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win.” (more…)

One of the hottest names on the AAU circuit this summer is J.J. Moore, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound senior wing from Brentwood, N.Y. who will play at South Kent (Conn.) this fall.

Virtually every Big East assistant I spoke with had interest in Moore.

Now he is in the process of planning his visits.

“This week we’re going to set up a schedule to start planning visits,” said Hunt Bresky, Moore’s mentor. “Nothing has been scheduled, although we’re hoping that by the end of August we’ll do a few unofficial visits.”

Bresky said the list looks like this right now: UConn, Pittsburgh, Louisville, St. John’s, Providence, Marquette, Rutgers, Florida and Oklahoma. Seton Hall was “just getting in on it.” (more…)