DETROIT — Carl Henry says his sons “should have their releases [from Memphis] as early as Monday” and are still trying to determine if they will be able to play together next season at Kansas or Memphis.
C.J. Henry is a non-scholarship player at Memphis and would have to get an NCAA waiver to suit up immediately next year after transferring. He did not play as a walk-on last year because of a broken foot. Xavier Henry chose Memphis over Kansas last November and could wind up playing for Bill Self.
“I’m thinking they would like to play together,” Carl said Saturday morning by phone. “If it doesn’t happen and C.J. wants to play right away, Xavier could leave and go where he wants to go and C.J. would have to stay right here in Memphis.”
And where does Xavier want to go?
“He does want to go to Kansas,” Carl said.
The father added that the chances of both brothers following former Memphis coach John Calipari to Kentucky seemed remote.
“It would have to be Kansas because I don’t think the NCAA would let both of them go to Kentucky,” Carl said. “Xavier could play right away at Kansas.”
He said he doesn’t imagine that the NCAA would let both kids play for Calipari at Kentucky.
“I don’t think the NCAA would allow C.J. to leave Memphis to go to Kentucky and be able to play right away,” he said. “The whole idea was to go to a school and play for a coach together. They might look at [Kansas] different because Kansas is where they originally wanted to go.”
If Xavier ends up at Kansas, look for Brooklyn’s Lance Stephenson to potentially end up at Maryland or St. John’s. As one Kansas source said of Henry and Stephenson, “They both can help. Lance is a power player, X is more of a jump shooter.” Carl said there was still a possibility that both sons could play at Memphis under a new coach, possibly Avery Johnson or Reggie Theus. “They [Memphis] told us a couple days ago that they would release both kids,” Carl said. “They told us to wait to make a decision until they make a hire. “If they want to play together, that might be the only place they could play together.” FLYNN TO TEST NBA WATERS
Syracuse guard Jonny Flynn will test the NBA waters by putting his name in the draft by the April 30 deadline, going through a few workouts and finding out where he stands, according to ESPN’s Andy Katz.
“He’d have to be top-10,” Orange coach Jim Boeheim told Katz. “He came in and wants to stay, and I do think he’ll come back unless he’s fairly high.”
Flynn, a first-team All-Big East selection, previously said he would return for his junior year.
CHAMBERS ON BRINK AT BU
**Villanova associate head coach Pat Chambers appears on the brink of accepting the Boston University job. Chambers told me he will meet with BU officials on Tuesday, the day after the NCAA championship game.
“I am very excited to be involved,” Chambers said.
First things first, Chambers and Villanova will meet North Carolina tonight in one national semifinal, while UConn faces Michigan State in the other.
Memo to the NCAA: Let’s never hold another Final Four in Detroit again. Ever. This place is a disaster on so many levels.
BROWN, GASTON REMAIN COMMITTED TO FORDHAM
**Speaking of Fordham, Trey Blue and Mike Moore have received their releases.
But blog reports that Brown and Gaston would decommit if and when Fontan gets his release are false, according to Brown and Gaston.
“That’s definitely not true,” the 6-3 Brown said Saturday by text. “We will be there no matter what.”
I also reached out to Ron Cope, Lance’s uncle and a close friend of Gaston, now at New Hampton prep.
“Not true at all,” he said by text. “Lance is a Ram! In today’s society we have to look at more than just basketball. Fordham provides so much more and that’s why he chose Fordham. The coaching staff has been very supportive of Lance and we support their effort to turn around Fordham basketball. We love Jio. He was the person that pushed to get Lance to Fordham. We hope everything works out and he is a Ram. I think this team can be good two years from now.
“Fordham is really trying to develop a chemistry, a family atmosphere. Jio, Lance, Chris Gaston and Joel ‘Air Jamaica’ Wright. Jamaica came there because of these guys.”
St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley thinks so too, and is encouraging Fontan to remain at Fordham, but the family wants him out…Should be interesting to see where this all heads.
FINAL FOUR REUNION FOR DANNY GREEN
**Check out my feature on North Carolina guard Danny Green of Long Island, whose father, Danny Sr., will watch him here in Detroit after missing last year’s Final Four because of legal problems related to an arrest for drug trafficking.
BUIE TO PENN STATE
**Albany Bishop Maginn guard Taran Buie committed to Penn State for the 2010-11 season, according to the Albany Times Union.
Penn State coach Ed DeChellis received the commitment after the Lions beat Baylor 69-63 to win the NIT final Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
“He called me (at 11:45 p.m. Thursday) and told me he gave Coach DeChellis his commitment,” Bishop Maginn coach Rich Hurley told the Times Union.
Buie, a top 40 junior, chose Penn State over Notre Dame, Maryland, Georgia Tech, Marquette, Miami and Rutgers.
OAK HILL DOWNS ST. BEN’S IN ESPN RISE SEMIS**Lamont “Momo” Jones scored a game-high 22 points and Oklahoma-bound forward Keith “Tiny” Gallon had 13 points and 14 rebounds to lead No. 1 Oak Hill Academy to a 74-66 victory over No. 5 St. Ben’s 74-66 in the semis of the ESPN Rise National Invitation Tournament at Georgetown Prep. Oak Hill is now 40-0 on the season and has lost just 13 games this decade under head coach Steve Smith. The Warriors will Findlay Prep in the championship game on Sunday at 3 on ESPN. Rice-bound guard Tamir Jackson led St. Ben’s (24-3) with 20 points and junior forward Aaron Brown added 18. Texas bound sophomore guard Myck Kabongo scored 14. St. Ben’s coach Dan Hurley, whose team lost Texas-bound forward Tristan Thompson in February, is 128-8 in his last 136 games as coach. RECRUITING NOTES Gilvidas Biruta, a junior forward from Lithuania who plays for St. Ben’s, is considering Kansas, Seton Hall, Creighton, Colorado and Harvard…. Oak Hill’s Jones is down to USC and Florida and Smith said he will most likely end up at USC… Jackson of St. Ben’s won the Honor Courage Commitment Award with a 3.4 GPA...
