April 2009 | Page 11 of 17 | Zagsblog
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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 / March 28.
  • Jarrid Famous will announce his college decision April 22 at Westchester (N.Y.) Community College.

    The 6-foot-11 Famous will have his jersey retired that night and will then announce his school during the celebration.

    As first reported here, Famous will take an official visit this weekend to Arizona. Arizona recently named Sean Miller its new head coach and Arizona assistant Book Richardson of New York recruited Famous while he was at Xavier with Miller.

    Missouri head coach Mike Anderson and assistant Melvin Watkins also visited Famous at his Bronx home last weekend.

    Several other schools, including Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, South Florida, UConn and Villanova, have been in the mix.

    ROSARIO, HAZELL HONORED

    Rutgers freshman guard Mike Rosario, a CollegeInsider.com Freshmen

    The Jordan Brand Regional Team held its first practice today and some of the leading stories revolved around Rutgers commit Dane Miller and Xavier commit Kevin Parrom….Here’s the update.

    Miller, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound wing out of Rochester (N.Y.) Rush-Henrietta High, said he may miss Saturday’s game at Madison Square Garden due to a rotator cuff injury suffered at the end of his high school season.

    “I don’t know [if I can play],” Miller said Tuesday by phone. “The doctor asked me where the pain was and he checked me out a couple times and said it was my rotator cuff.”

    Miller said his doctor would re-examine the shoulder Wednesday in Rochester and then make a decision whether or not he could play.

    To the surprise of virtually no one UConn center Hasheem Thabeet will enter his name into the 2009 NBA Draft.

    NBADraft.net has Thabeet going at No. 2 to the Los Angeles Clippers, following Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin at No. 1. Draftexpress.com projects Thabeet at No. 4 to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

    “After spending time with my family and friends and speaking with Coach [Jim] Calhoun, I have decided to give up my final year at UConn and enter my name in the 2009 NBA Draft,” said Thabeet. “I have had a great experience at Connecticut and cannot thank my coaches and teammates enough. I look forward to the challenge of playing professionally and know that my time here at UConn has prepared me to be successful in the future. I also want to thank all of the fans in Husky Nation that have followed my career, especially those from my homeland of Tanzania, and hope they will all be as supportive of me at the professional level as they have been to this point.”

    Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich both announced Monday night at the 2009 Awards Banquet that they would return to Kansas next season.

    “I can’t wait till next year when we try to go for one more,” Aldrich, who averaged 14.9 points and 11.1 rebounds, said at the banquet, according to Gary Bedore and Jesse Newell of KUSports.com.

    Collins averaged a team-high 18.9 points for a Jayhawks team that lost to Michigan State in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and finished 27-8.

    “We’re always actively recruiting, but we just signed our two biggest recruits there,” Kansas coach Bill Self said.

    Sophomore guard Jonny Flynn will sign with NBA agent Leon Rose, who is also LeBron James‘ agent, according to Mike Waters of the Syracuse Post-Standard.

    Flynn, a first-team All-Big East selection, had initially said he would test the waters and leave open the option of returning for his junior year. If a player doesn’t sign with an agent, he can return to campus.

    Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris have already said they will leave Syracuse for the pros. Now Flynn will join them.

    Lance Stephenson was courted by both Kansas coach Bill Self and St. John’s coach Norm Roberts this weekend and it appears that he will choose between those two schools in the coming days.

    The NCAA late signing period begins Wednesday.

    Self flew up to visit with the 6-foot-5 Stephenson at his Coney Island home on Friday afternoon. Stephenson and his family later took an official visit to St. John’s that included the standard campus fare as well as a visit to Roberts’ home in Dix Hills, N.Y.

    “The visit went well,” a St. John’s source said. “There is no timetable [on a decision]. He and his family had a good time.”

    A source close to the Stephenson family told me the other day that Lance was inching closer to a decision.

    “They’re getting closer to making a decision,” the source said. “They [the coaches] are all making their last minute pitches and I think this is St John’s last chance to beat the other couple [schools]. This is their best opportunity right now. This is their last chance right now.”

    A week into his tenure as the new coach at Arizona, and Sean Miller has already added two people to his staff and landed a pair of recruits who could help his depleted team immediately.

    Miller hired former Xavier assistants James Whitford and Emanuel “Book” Richardson (pictured).

    “I’m interested in finding the best people for my staff,” said Miller, “and I believe that James and Emanuel are two outstanding coaches.

    “Obviously, we’ve had a great deal of success together and I look forward to continuing that here at Arizona.”

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