Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
PHILADELPHIA – Brandon Jennings made an unscheduled appearance here at the Reebok All-American Camp — as a fan only. The 6-foot Jennings recently announced that he would skip next season at Arizona and play ball in Europe instead. He stopped by press row and mentioned that he might possibly play in Italy, Spain, Russia or Israel. Other than that, he’s not doing any formal interviews.
**Despite 19 points and 13 boards from Renardo Sidney, Pump Omni beat Answer XII, 70-66, in the Championship Game. Raymond Taylor led Pump Omni with 15 points, Maurice Creek added 12 and Oscar Griffin 11.
Nobody but Sidney reached double-figures for the losers, but Fuquan Edwin and Erik Swoope each had 8. Sidney told me his Top 6 include Texas, Texas A&M, Arizona State, USC, UCLA and Memphis.
“(I’m going to decide) after my season, after my senior season,” the 6-9 Sidney said.
**Pump Omni also featured 6-5 Paterson Catholic junior Fuquan Edwin, who holds offers from Rutgers, Seton Hall and Xavier and is a star on the rise. He was a monster as a frosh at PC, grabbing double-digit rebounds and scoring “like we breath,” to quote Tom Konchalski. Then he had a bit of a letdown as a sophomore. Look for a feature from me next week on Edwin, who is now playing in the Underclassmen All-Star Game.
**Super sophomore La’Quinton Ross of Jackson, Miss. has an extended college list that includes USC, Mississippi State, Baylor, Ole Miss, Maryland, Alabama, Memphis, Syracuse, Florida and Texas.
**Jayvaughn Pinkston, a 6-5 combo forward from Bishop Loughlin, scored a team-high 12 points to lead Finish to a 75-66 victory in the Underclassmen All-Star Game, but somehow his teammate Ashton Pankey was name Co-MVP. Go figure. Pinkston said he likes Florida, USC, Memphis and Louisville.
“I want to go away for school,” he said. That may rule out the locals, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Rutgers.
**Wayne Blackshear of Chicago tallied a game-high 16 points for the losers and LeBryan Nash added 10, including a couple of rim-rattling one- and two-handed dunks. New Jersey players Sterling Gibbs and Myck Kabongo each scored 3 points.
**The Philly Inquirer has a feature today on Aaric Murray, a 6-9, 256-pound big from Philly’s Glen Mills who is being recruited by a number of schools and listed Marquette, West Virginia and St. Joe’s as those recruiting him the hardest. Word is he could end up at West Virginia.
**Onetime Indiana guard Jordan Crawford has transferred to Xavier, an interesting move since Xavier already has a bunch of guards, including IU transfer Terrell Holloway, and is hard after Omari Lawrence (out for the summer with a separated shoulder) and Durand Scott. Xavier had no scholarships available so they convinced Andrew Taylor to give his up (presumably) paying his own way, and then go back on ship next season. Crawford, meanwhile, will try to get a waiver and not sit a year, arguing that he got inadvertently caught up in the IU recruiting scandal under Kelvin Sampson.
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
PHILADELPHIA – Brandon Jennings made an unscheduled appearance here at the Reebok All-American Camp — as a fan only. The 6-foot Jennings recently announced that he would skip next season at Arizona and play ball in Europe instead. He stopped by press row and mentioned that he might possibly play in Italy, Spain, Russia or Israel. Other than that, he’s not doing any formal interviews.
**Pump Omni also featured 6-5 Paterson Catholic junior Fuquan Edwin, who holds offers from Rutgers, Seton Hall and Xavier and is a star on the rise. He was a monster as a frosh at PC, grabbing double-digit rebounds and scoring “like we breath,” to quote Tom Konchalski. Then he had a bit of a letdown as a sophomore. Look for a feature from me next week on Edwin, who is now playing in the Underclassmen All-Star Game.
**Jayvaughn Pinkston, a 6-5 combo forward from Bishop Loughlin, scored a team-high 12 points to lead Finish to a 75-66 victory in the Underclassmen All-Star Game, but somehow his teammate Ashton Pankey was name Co-MVP. Go figure. Pinkston said he likes Florida, USC, Memphis and Louisville.
“I want to go away for school,” he said. That may rule out the locals, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Rutgers.
**Wayne Blackshear of Chicago tallied a game-high 16 points for the losers and LeBryan Nash added 10, including a couple of rim-rattling one- and two-handed dunks. New Jersey players Sterling Gibbs and Myck Kabongo each scored 3 points.
