More than 20 schools have expressed interest in Virginia Tech transfer Dorian Finney-Smith but he plans to trim his list this weekend.

Desiree Finney, Dorian’s mother, said Florida, Texas, Louisville, Iowa State and Marquette were some of the schools involved.

“We will probably narrow it down after this weekend to the last five or three,” Desiree told SNY.tv Thursday night by phone. “I’m hoping three.”

She said her son would “probably” visit three schools and then decide.

An ACC all-freshman team member in 2012, Finney-Smith averaged 6.3 points and 7.0 rebounds as a freshman. He started 30 of 33 games.

The 6-foot-8 small forward from Portsmouth, Va., opted to transfer after coach Seth Greenberg was fired.

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The shooting death of a police officer Thursday at Virginia Tech was especially painful for basketball coach Seth Greenberg because he knew the man.

“It’s tragic,” Greenberg, a New York native, told SNY.tv by phone Friday morning. “I knew the officer. It’s senseless.”

Deriek W. Crouse, 39, was married with five children and step-children. He had given Greenberg a speeding ticket a year ago as the coach was rushing to get back to his office, and had also worked security at Virginia Tech basketball games. (more…)

Allan Chaney can no longer play ball at Virginia Tech.

“Allan Chaney has been through a great deal in the last year and a half,” head coach Seth Greenberg said in a statement. “Everyone involved in our basketball program feels for him. Unfortunately, this rare condition will prevent him from continuing his career here at Virginia Tech. We will do everything in our power to assist Allan as he goes through his next procedure and support him in every way possible.”

Chaney, a junior from Baltimore, Md., transferred to Virginia Tech from Florida in 2009 and sat out the 2009-10 season due to NCAA transfer rules. In April of 2010, Chaney passed out during exercise and was diagnosed with myocarditis. He has been restricted from activity since. (more…)

As his recruitment heats up, Quinn Cook is focusing on four major schools and has three official visits set.

The Oak Hill (Va.) point guard ranked No. 7 in the Class of 2011 at his position will visit UCLA this coming weekend, Duke Oct. 15 and Villanova Oct. 22. He would also like to visit Kansas but no date has been set.

Asked if he could envision going to any school aside from those four, he said Tuesday, “Not yet.”

As for UCLA, Cook will trip there this weekend along with Memphis wing Adonis Thomas.

“I like them,” he said of UCLA. “Coach [Ben] Howland knows how to put point guards in the NBA and you’re in L.A. You can’t go wrong with UCLA tradition. That’s one of my options as well.” (more…)

Malcolm Gilbert has cut his list to six schools.

The 6-foot-11 rising senior center out of Academy of the New Church now lists Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Wake Forest, Virginia and Clemson.

Gilbert has already taken unofficials to Virginia, Ohio State, Pitt and Duke and plans to visit Virginia Tech next, possibly next weekend.

“I don’t have the exact date,” he said.

Asked if he had a favorite, Gilbert said, “Pitt.”

“He’s intriguing because of his upside,” East Coach Elite coach Terrell Myers said in June. “What people don’t understand is, they see 6-11, they look at him as an offensive player. He’s not an offensive player, he’s a defensive player.

“He can score the ball but I don’t think you’re going to throw it in and get Dwight Howard or Hakeem Olajuwon. That’s not who he is. Maybe you’re looking at more of a Greg Oden-type once he bulks up. He’s definitely similar to him.”

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Angel Nunez, a 6-foot-8 wing from Notre Dame Prep (Mass.), cut his list to 10 on Saturday.

The New York City native now lists Louisville, Arizona, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, UConn, Providence, Rutgers, Miami, Florida and Cincinnati.

Nunez, the No. 26 small forward in the Class of 2011 according to Rivals, said no visits are set “But I’m going to to visit Miami and Florida for sure.”

PIOTROWSKI TO RICHMOND

Luke Piotrowski, a 6-foot-11 center from Atlantic Christian High in New Jersey, chose Richmond over Boston University, Boston College, Arizona State, Oregon State and Siena.

“I loved so much about it,” said Piotrowski, whose father, Tom, was 7-1 and played one season in the NBA in the 1980s, and whose older brother, Mat, plays for BU. “The campus was beautiful, it had a great feel. I also developed a great relationship with the coaches and some of the players and I knew it’s a place I’d fit in well.

“It’s a program that can develop me and get me to the next level. It just seemed to have all the right components so I made the call.”

(Photos courtesy Rivals and NJHoops.com)

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Team Takeover lost in the quarterfinals of the 2009 Peach Jam, but head coach Keith Stevens believes his squad should have won the whole thing.

A year later, his Washington, D.C.-based team went a perfect 8-0 en route to winning the inaugural Elite Youth Basketball League at the Nike Peach Jam with a 70-62 victory over the St. Louis Eagles.

The game was taped Thursday and shown nationally on ESPNU.

“It’s definitely a good experience being that it’s the first time that they ever had this particular league,” Stevens said. “To be able to accomplish something like this in such a short time was definitely a good experience.”

Junior point guard James Robinson went a perfect 10-of-10 from the line and finished with a team-high 24 points. Duke-bound wing Michael Gbinije added 19 points. (more…)

NEWARK – Seton Hall had three of the top juniors in the New York metropolitan area on hand Saturday when it beat Cincinnati, 83-76, for its first Big East win of the season.

Sterling Gibbs, a point guard out of Seton Hall Prep pictured at left, Myles Mack of Paterson (N.J.) Catholic and Tyler Harris of Half Hollow (N.Y.) Hills West were all behind the Pirates bench at the Prudential Center.

“It was a good game,” Mack said. “Seton Hall pulled it out. I love the atmosphere but when the student body gets back it’s going to be better.”

The 5-10 Mack has not officially been offered yet by Seton Hall, but sources said head coach Bobby Gonzalez planned to offer him. He has led Paterson Catholic to a Top 10 ranking nationally.

Asked if he had any favorites, Mack said, “Not really, no favorites.” (more…)

Michael Gilchrist, the consensus No. 1 player in the Class of 2011, is making an unofficial visit to Villanova this weekend.

The 6-foot-7 Somerdale, N.J., native, who plays for Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick, also visited Villanova’s campus last year.

“What we are hoping to get out of this visit is more of the academic side,” Cindy Richardson, Gilchrist’s mother, told Keith Pompey of the Philly Inquirer earlier this week. “We already know what Michael is going to do for that program. . . . So we want to know what Villanova is going to do for Michael.

“We are going to find out how they are going to support Michael from a basketball standpoint and academic standpoint.” (more…)

Trevor Releford, a 6-foot, 180-pound point guard from Shawnee Mission (KS) Bishop Miege, committed to Alabama Friday over Oklahoma.

“Yes. I liked the campus, the players and the coaches,” he said by phone.

Releford, the younger brother of Kansas guard Travis Releford, previously said he likes Alabama because of his relationship with new head coach Anthony Grant.

“Alabama is the top because they’ve been there the longest,” Releford said. “I talk to coach a lot and I was his first guy. He started recruiting me.”

ODOM ENJOYING ARIZONA VISIT

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

“We are still in the midst of the visit,” Rod Odom Sr. said by phone Saturday. “Everything is going fantastic. Rod loves Arizona, he loves the ‘Cats.”

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