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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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Tuesday / December 3.
  • My man Jeff Goodman of FoxSports says Kansas coach Bill Self and St. John’s coach Norm Roberts “are basically the only (D-1 coaches) actively recruiting (Lance) Stephenson” in Las Vegas.

    Lance Stephenson Sr. previously said USC and UCLA were also on the short list, and Lance, the No. 2 shooting guard in the Class of 2009, has also mentioned Texas, Tennessee and Memphis.

    Coaches aren’t allowed to comment on specific recruits, but Roberts told me earlier this week that he would love to land an impact player from the New York area.

    Rutgers football coach Greg Schiano said today that he’s focused on the upcoming football season and not on recent reports about several secret aspects of his contract.

    “I don’t worry about that stuff. What’s important to me is my family and my football team. Thank God both of those groups are doing well,” Schiano told reporters, including myself, after a press conference announcing a new partnership between the Big East Conference and SNY.

    The Star-Ledger reported this week that Rutgers had agreed to pay Schiano an additional $250,000 a year in compensation through a vendor (Nelligan Sports), and had an arrangement with the coach enabling him to walk away from his contract if the Rutgers Stadium expansion project is not completed by 2009.

    The Ledger was the first to report these parts of the contract, and the news has since triggered interest from State Senator Loretta Weinberg.

    Just came back from the press conference announcing that SNY has become the Official Home of the Big East.

    Beginning this September, SNY will feature more than 800 hours of Big East programming, including a minimum of 16 football games per season and the Saturday afternoon “Game of the Week.” The network will also air an ensemble of weekly Big East football coaches’ shows. SNY is now the exclusive TV home of Rutgers football, which includes a weekly sit-down interview with head coach Greg Schiano, his Monday morning press conferences and “Inside Rutgers Football with Greg Schiano.”

    “This is huge for the Big East Conference to have this presence in New York City,” Schiano said.

    Here are some highlights from Day One of the Las Vegas tournaments…

    **In a matchup of highly ranked guards at the Reebok Summer Championships, Team Breakdown knocked off the Northwest Panthers, 85-73, behind 37 points, including 6 3-pointers, from Kenny Boynton (pictured) and 22 from Brandon Knight. Abdul Gaddy scored 26 for the Panthers and Avery Bradley had 18 while trying to defend Boynton. Numerous head coaches were in attendance, including Bill Self, Billy Donovan, Lorenzo Romar, Paul Hewitt, John Thompson III, Rick Barnes, Darrin Horn, Sean Miller, Kevin Stallings, Tim Floyd, Lute Olson, Frank Haith and John Calipari, according to Jeff Goodman of FoxSports. You can get a replay of the game here at some point.

    **The 6-2 Boynton, the No. 3 shooting guard in the junior class, told Goodman his list includes Memphis, Texas, Florida, Duke, Kansas State and USC. Many observers expect him to ultimately pick Duke. Knight’s list features Georgia Tech, Duke, Florida, Miami, Kentucky, Wake Forest, Syracuse and Memphis.

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