EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Sylven Landesberg left Virginia after his sophomore season with hopes of getting drafted into the NBA.

Instead, the Queens native went undrafted and ended up playing in Israel, far from home and the bright lights of the NBA.

Still, the 6-foot-6 former Queens Holy Cross star says he doesn’t regret leaving school early.

“When I came out I thought I was ready to compete,” Landesberg told SNY.tv following a workout Monday at the Nets free agent mini-camp. “Just watching myself now two years later, I’ve grown a lot as a player. Looking back, I’ve grown a lot.  I feel like I got a lot better since those past two years.” (more…)

NEWARK, N.J. — Virginia coach Tony Bennett knows that to compete with the Carolinas and the Dukes of the world, he needs as much height and as much talent as he can muster.

So Bennett is looking forward to the return of 6-foot-8 senior forward Mike Scott, who missed 21 games during the 2010-11 season with an ankle injury and received a medical hardship waiver.

“He was a key player for us, so him coming back, getting his fifth year hopefully will help us,” Bennett told SNY.tv Tuesday during an open gym at St. Benedict’s Prep. (more…)

The coaching change at Maryland has cost the Terps another commit.

Rising junior Justin Anderson of Montrose Christian announced he will head to Virginia to play for head coach Tony Bennett instead of remaining committed to Maryland.

Anderson is the third former Maryland commit to change his mind after Mark Turgeon’s hiring, following senior point guard Sterling Gibbs (Texas) and forward Martin Breunig (uncommitted). Senior guard Nick Faust remained committed to the Terps.

“The Cavaliers were always my second choice behind Maryland,” said Anderson, the No. 3 small forward in the Class of 2012 per Rivals. “Also, my family lives in Virginia. After the departure of Coach [Gary] Williams and Coach [Robert] Ehsan it just feels like the right fit.” (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.”

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

Quinn Cook has been on the road seemingly all summer.

Already he has traveled to Minnesota, California, North Carolina, Texas, Germany, Las Vegas and now Arizona.

“I’m exhausted, but I got a couple games left,” Cook, the No. 5 point guard in the Class of 2011, said Tuesday from the Desert Duel in Gilbert, Az.

Cook and his DC Assault AAU program will finish up in Arizona before playing one more local event in Virginia at the end of the month.

After that he plans to head home to Prince George’s County, Maryland and cut his college list.

That list now includes Arizona, UCLA, Villanova, Duke, Wake Forest, North Carolina State, West Virginia, Rutgers, St. John’s and Georgetown. (Rutgers was left off a list published by an Arizona newspaper.) (more…)

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…)

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. – Derrick Randall may pull the trigger before the summer ends.

The 6-foot-9 senior, 225-pound who will spend his final year at South Kent (Conn.) after competing at Paterson (N.J.) Catholic says Rutgers leads his list right now.

“I like Rutgers a lot,” Randall, a Brooklyn native, said at the Peach Jam after the Playaz beat California Supreme, 80-49, behind Kyle Anderson’s 17 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists, Myles Mack’s 16 points, Desmond Hubert’s 12 and Randall’s 7 points and 7 boards .

“I’m probably going to be making my decision in August deciding where I’m going to be committing to and then sign in the [fall].” (more…)

By ALEX KLINE

What is the significance of June 15^th to coaches, players and the class of 2012 as a whole?

It was the first day when the NCAA permits college coaches to officially recruit prospects. On this day, college coaches can make their first contact with members of the class of 2012 for the first time whether it’s to talk with them or even offer them. A number of top prospects in the class of 2012 and even one big name in the class of 2013 picked up offers Tuesday.

*North Carolina coach Roy Williams and company stayed up late to offer two of the best in the class of 2012. 6-foot-5 Shabazz Muhammad (pictured) and 6-foot-5 J.P. Tokoto were both offered by the Tar Heels.

*6-foot-10 Daniel Ochefu ’12 picked up his sixth offer, from Georgetown. Despite not visiting the campus yet, Ochefu previously stated to ZAGSBLOG contributor Alex Kline that he “likes Georgetown and Kentucky a lot,” but was not sure if they would offer this summer. The rising junior, who just had a big weekend at the Nike Hoop Jamboree in St. Louis, plans to “make a list of schools in two weeks.” (more…)

NEW YORK – If you’re holding on to your high school basketball rosters from last season, they won’t be much use once all the dust clears for next year.

After a couple of days at the Rumble in the Bronx at Fordham University, this much is clear: there is a lot of movement on the prep scene.

**Vaughn Gray, a 6-foot-5 off guard, is transferring to Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict’s Prep from Don Bosco Prep and will play for first-year coach Roshown McLeod.

“Yes, he’s going to St. Benedict’s,” said June Gray, his mother. “It was pretty much Vaughn’s decision. We wanted him to have more development and play more on a national level.” (more…)

New Rutgers head coach Mike Rice continues to bring in the top players from New Jersey and the surrounding area for visits.

The same week that Kadeem Jack unofficially toured campus, 6-foot-8  forward LaQuinton Ross of Burlington (N.J.) Life Center came to Piscataway.

“I took a visit out there,” Ross said Friday by phone on his way to Los Angeles for the Pangos all-american camp. “It was good. I liked the campus a lot and the new coaches over there.
I talked to the head coach and the assistants and I played.” (more…)