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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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Thursday / May 2.
  • PISCATAWAY, N.J. — When Greg Schiano first arrived as the defensive coordinator at the University of Miami in 1999, he already knew he wanted to be a head football coach some day.

    Schiano’s boss at the time was Butch Davis, and he spent two years learning everything there was to learn about being a Division I head coach from Davis, from fundraising to drug testing to recruiting.

    “I’ve been blessed to work for some great head coaches in a short amount of time,” Schiano said. “At the stage of my career when I went to Miami, I really began to think about being a head coach, not just as a dream but as something that could happen in the foreseeable future, and Butch really helped me a lot.”

    Read the full story at SNY.tv. (And yes, that is me in the khakis in the background of this photo.)

    The Lamont “Momo” Jones Saga has taken yet another turn.

    Jones, a 6-foot point guard from New York City, will arrive tonight at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., and suit up for head coach Steve Smith. Jones will replace Tommy Mason-Griffin, who opted to head back to Houston (TX) Madison after initially planning on playing at Oak Hill.

    “Hopefully, (Jones) will bring a lot of leadership and ability to run our team,” Smith said by phone. “That’s what I’m banking on. That’s what I expected Tommy to do, so I’m expecting Momo to do the same thing. I think he’s very capable. He kind of evolved from a two to a one. He used to be looked at as a guy who shot it a lot. I think he’s a guy that I can coach and can be a productive point guard on our team, like the last six or seven points guards on our team. I’ve been spoiled.”

    Dominic Cheek will begin a series of in-home visits tonight (Tuesday) and Seton Hall head coach Bobby Gonzalez will get the first shot.

    The meeting will take place later this afternoon at the home of St. Anthony head coach Bob Hurley in Jersey City and will include Cheek, Gonzalez, Seton Hall assistant Scott Adubato, Omari Knight, Cheek’s uncle, and Cheek’s grandmother, Izaphine “Ice” Howard.

    “I’m sure it’s going to be highly emotional,” Hurley said, referring to Gonzalez’s recruiting style.

    Of the possibility of playing at Seton Hall, Knight said: “He can probably get a lot of minutes, be an impact player and have a major role and do some good things.”

    Here are Greg Schiano’s press conference quotes about Thursday’s nationally televised ESPN game with North Carolina. Visit the blog and SNY.tv in the next few days for more stories on the game. The full press conference is also available at SNY, the home of Rutgers and the Big East.

    On team’s practices:

    “So far we have had some good preparation after what was a tough loss. I think our guys are preparing the right way to get ready for North Carolina. UNC is a good football team. They are talented, and offensively, they have two great receivers and a quarterback who can get the ball to them. They have a very big, physical offensive line, and they have some running backs that are very athletic. They haven’t played the position very long but are very athletic, so it’s very worrisome as we prepare to face them. Defensively, they are big up front. Maybe the biggest line we have ever played against here at Rutgers. They have an NFL size defensive line. Three-hundred pounders across, the linebackers run very well, the inside guys run very well, and the cornerbacks have some experience. It’s going to be a challenge, no doubt, but it’s exciting to do it on a national stage here at Rutgers Stadium against great competition, and it should be a great challenge for us.”

    Not long after he was added to Norm Roberts’ coaching staff at St. John’s, Kimani Young spoke to his old college coach, Don Haskins.

    “I spoke to him about two weeks ago and he was very proud of the fact that I had this opportunity at St. John’s,” Young, a Brooklyn native pictured here with Haskins. “I tell people all the time that my passion for coaching the game of basketball is directly related to my experience at UTEP and my experience playing for Coach Haskins.”

    Haskins died Sunday of congestive heart failure at the age of 78. Young received the phone call not long after from Fred Reynolds, a friend of Haskin’s and a mentor to Young.

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