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.
Council to Visit Rutgers, UCF; Thomas to Cincy; Crater on the Move; Duke Self-Reports Violation
Vincent Council, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound point guard from New York, will visit Rutgers this week and will attend the Pittsburgh game on Wednesday at the RAC.
“I’m going on the 30th,” Council, who plays for Chris Chaney at The Patterson (NC) School, wrote Sunday in a text message.
Council is also supposed to visit Central Florida the weekend of Jan. 10.
Council is basically down to Providence, Rutgers and UCF and his father, Vincent Council Sr., said he will announce in early January.
As I detailed in an earlier post, Rutgers is in dire need of a point guard for next season. Otherwise, the Knights will have to use Mike Coburn, who is not ready to be a starting Big East point, or Corey Chandler, who is more of a combo guard.
Beas Hamga, a 7-foot native of the Cameroon who is transferring from UNLV, will also visit Rutgers for the Pitt game.
Rutgers is in the midst of playing the No. 1, 2 and 3 teams in the nation, the first time any team in history has done that. The Knights play at No. 1 North Carolina Sunday night and visit No. 2 UConn Jan. 3.
Council’s teammate, 6-3 wing DeAndre “Big Daddy” Kane, recently committed to New Jersey’s other Big East program, Seton Hall.
THOMAS TO CINCINNATIJeff Goodman is reporting that former Oklahoma State big man Ibrahima Thomas will commit to Cincinnati.
The 6-foot-11 sophomore averaged 8.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game this season while playing 20.6 minutes, but was unhappy with his role.
“He took a visit to Cincinnati this weekend and loved it,” a source told Goodman.
Thomas is friendly with Rutgers big man Hamady N’Diaye and recently attended a Rutgers home game, speculating thought he might wind up there.
CRATER ON THE MOVE
Former Ohio State point guard Anthony Crater is on the move and is considering South Florida, Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas and Notre Dame, according to his AAU coach.
The AAU coach, Carlos Fordham, told The Columbus Dispatch OSU coach Thad Matta “lied” to Crater about his playing time.
Crater also was told by Matta last spring that the acquisition of junior-college guard Jeremie Simmons “wouldn’t affect his playing time,” Fordham said, because Simmons was “coming in as a combo guard, a backup, because they needed another shooter in the program.”
Simmons has started all 10 games at the point and averaged twice as many minutes as Crater.
“We don’t like people to lie to us,” Fordham said. “That was a lie.”
DUKE SELF-REPORTS VIOLATION / WALL REMAINS UNDECIDED Duke is self-reporting a possible recruiting violation by one of its associate coaches.Jon Jackson, Duke associate athletics director for communications, said associate head basketball coach Chris Collins’ alleged violation is being reported to NCAA officials, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer said Sunday.
Jackson said Collins had attended the GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational high school tournament last Friday in Raleigh, N.C. The event was taking place during a three-day period in which college coaches are forbidden from attending any high school games.
Jackson told the Observer the situation allegedly was an oversight on Collins’ part, adding details of the incident had been given to the school’s NCAA compliance staff.
“Obviously he would not have been there if he had known it was a dead period,” Jackson said of Collins.
Collins attended the event because it featured Ravenscroft High, which features Duke commit Ryan Kelly, and uncommitted point guard John Wall of Raleigh (NC) Word of God (pictured).
Wall, the No. 1 recruit in the land according to Rivals, lists Baylor, N.C. State, Duke, Oregon, Kansas and Memphis.
Word of God coach Levi Beckwithtold the News & Observer Wall is preparing in his own way for his decision.
“John has let the schools know that he doesn’t want to be pressured,” Beckwith said. “If a school needs to get a commitment now from a point guard, then they should do that. John understands.
“But John isn’t ready to decide.”
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.
Vincent Council, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound point guard from New York, will visit Rutgers this week and will attend the Pittsburgh game on Wednesday at the RAC.
“I’m going on the 30th,” Council, who plays for Chris Chaney at The Patterson (NC) School, wrote Sunday in a text message.
Council is also supposed to visit Central Florida the weekend of Jan. 10.
Council is basically down to Providence, Rutgers and UCF and his father, Vincent Council Sr., said he will announce in early January.
As I detailed in an earlier post, Rutgers is in dire need of a point guard for next season. Otherwise, the Knights will have to use Mike Coburn, who is not ready to be a starting Big East point, or Corey Chandler, who is more of a combo guard.
Beas Hamga, a 7-foot native of the Cameroon who is transferring from UNLV, will also visit Rutgers for the Pitt game.
Rutgers is in the midst of playing the No. 1, 2 and 3 teams in the nation, the first time any team in history has done that. The Knights play at No. 1 North Carolina Sunday night and visit No. 2 UConn Jan. 3.
Council’s teammate, 6-3 wing DeAndre “Big Daddy” Kane, recently committed to New Jersey’s other Big East program, Seton Hall.
THOMAS TO CINCINNATI
Jeff Goodman is reporting that former Oklahoma State big man Ibrahima Thomas will commit to Cincinnati.
The 6-foot-11 sophomore averaged 8.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game this season while playing 20.6 minutes, but was unhappy with his role.
“He took a visit to Cincinnati this weekend and loved it,” a source told Goodman.
Thomas is friendly with Rutgers big man Hamady N’Diaye and recently attended a Rutgers home game, speculating thought he might wind up there.
CRATER ON THE MOVE
Former Ohio State point guard Anthony Crater is on the move and is considering South Florida, Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas and Notre Dame, according to his AAU coach.
The AAU coach, Carlos Fordham, told The Columbus Dispatch OSU coach Thad Matta “lied” to Crater about his playing time.
Duke is self-reporting a possible recruiting violation by one of its associate coaches.
Jon Jackson, Duke associate athletics director for communications, said associate head basketball coach Chris Collins’ alleged violation is being reported to NCAA officials, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer said Sunday.
Jackson said Collins had attended the GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational high school tournament last Friday in Raleigh, N.C. The event was taking place during a three-day period in which college coaches are forbidden from attending any high school games.
Jackson told the Observer the situation allegedly was an oversight on Collins’ part, adding details of the incident had been given to the school’s NCAA compliance staff.
“Obviously he would not have been there if he had known it was a dead period,” Jackson said of Collins.
Collins attended the event because it featured Ravenscroft High, which features Duke commit Ryan Kelly, and uncommitted point guard John Wall of Raleigh (NC) Word of God (pictured).
Wall, the No. 1 recruit in the land according to Rivals, lists Baylor, N.C. State, Duke, Oregon, Kansas and Memphis.
Word of God coach Levi Beckwith told the News & Observer Wall is preparing in his own way for his decision.
“John has let the schools know that he doesn’t want to be pressured,” Beckwith said. “If a school needs to get a commitment now from a point guard, then they should do that. John understands.
“But John isn’t ready to decide.”
