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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.
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Friday / April 19.
  • ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla knows foreign basketball players about as well as anyone. I caught up with Fran at the recent Steve Nash Nike Skills Academy and he spoke very highly of Knicks draft pick Danilo Gallinari, saying Knicks fans have a lot to look forward to.

    “The thing about this kid is, first of all, his mental makeup is through the roof,” Fraschilla said. “He’s been around basketball his whole lifeĀ  because of his father. He’s a very tough-minded kid. I was talking to (Knicks scout) Mark Hughes. He played in the NBA and played overseas. We were talking about him and they’re ecstatic about him. He would’ve been a first-team All-American. He would’ve been like Tyler Hansbrough and (Kevin) Love and (O.J.) Mayo.

    “I like Eric Gordon and I like (Jerryd) Bayless. This kid at worst will be Detlef Schrempf. You never predict a guard’s going to be a superstar, but he’s going to be a solid, solid player.

    The Tobias Harris World Tour continued through June and concluded Sunday with a stop at Rutgers.

    Harris, a 6-7 rising junior guard/forward from Dix Hills (NY) Half Hollows West, visited Marquette, Texas, USC, UCLA and Rutgers for team camps over the final week of June.

    “Tobias said the Rutgers Camp was awesome,” said Torrel Harris, his father. “The coaches worked him and the other elite players very hard. He learned a lot and really enjoyed himself.”

    Harris, ranked highly by Rivals in the Class of 2010, holds offers from Louisville, Texas, Rutgers, UConn, Indiana, Maryland, Arizona, Marquette, Baylor, St. John’s, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Miami, Virginia, Delaware and Hofstra. He is a high priority for Rutgers, but he’s no secret on the national scene.

    Gary Parrish of CBS Sports has gone ahead and ranked the Top 30 pro prospects for 2009, with Blake Griffin, Demar DeRozan and BJ Mullens as his top three.

    Devin Ebanks, an incoming freshman at West Virginia from Long Island City, N.Y., chimes in at No. 24.

    West Virginia coach Bob Huggins thinks the 6-foot-9 Ebanks, whose chose the Mountaineers over Memphis, Rutgers and Texas, can eventually fill the role of the departed Joe Alexander, who went No. 8 to the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Draft.

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