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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 / October 22.
  • Big East officials are denying an Orlando TV report indicating that the conference will invite Central Florida and Memphis to join the league “as soon as next week.”

    “We are denying the Orlando report,” Big East spokesman John Paquette said by text.

    A second league source said “That would be news to me,” when asked about the expansion report.

    The Big East currently features 8 football teams and 16 basketball schools.

    The league has long talked about adding a single football program to make nine teams and balance out the schedule, which now features some teams having four home games and others three.

    Quincy Miller has plenty of college options and he’s not shutting any doors right now.

    A 6-foot-10, 210-pound power forward from High Point (N.C.) Westchester Country Day ranked as the No. 3 player at his position in the Class of 2011, Miller rattled off an impressive list of college offers.

    “Syracuse, Kentucky, Wake Forest, Illinois, Duke, Memphis,  Texas, Tennessee, Baylor, N.C. State and Oklahoma,” Miller said by phone from the USA U18 team trials in San Antonio, Texas.

    Miller said he has no favorites and no timetable in mind.

    Few people in the country will be as nervous for Game 7 of the NBA Finals as Austin Rivers.

    “Oh yes, I’m nervous more than excited,” Rivers, the son of Celtics coach Doc Rivers, said by phone from San Antonio, where he is training with the USA U18 team.

    “I’ll be real nervous. It’s more than just a game for me, it’s part of my family.”

    Rivers and his U18 teammates will watch the game on a big screen TV in the dorms, with Austin sweating it out as the Celtics try to win their second title in three seasons without injured big man Kendrick Perkins.

    Monmouth transfer Travis Taylor has taken two visits so far.

    He saw Seton Hall last Saturday and Boston College last Sunday and Monday. The 6-foot-7 Taylor is scheduled to visit Temple on Sunday and Monday.

    “Right now that’s all the visits the Taylors have set up,” said Bill Diamond, Taylor’s mentor.

    “I will sit down with Travis and his parents next week after the Temple visit and get a feel if they would like to utilize the remaining three visits (Seton Hall was an unofficial). Tennesse, Clemson and Fordham have expressed an interest to me and are under consideration. We wanted to wait until the Temple visit before we sat down and met again, so we can compare the three visits he’s taken. This is an extremely important decision for Travis and he and his parents want to explore all of their options and do their homework and research before making a well thought out and informed decision.”

    Remi Barry lives in California but he’s rooting for the Boston Celtics to win the NBA championship on Thursday night.

    “I just want them to win because they have Rajon Rondo,” Barry said Wednesday night by phone.

    By the time the 6-foot-7, 220-pound Barry boards a plane to New York on Saturday, he will know whether the Celtics or Lakers are world champs.

    Barry also hopes to know after his visit whether he will pick St. John’s, UCLA or Arizona State as his college destination.

    “I still have no idea,” Barry said. “I’m not going to Arizona State for sure, I’m not going to UCLA for sure. It depends on what’s going to happen this weekend and where I feel most comfortable.”

    Omar Calhoun picked up three major offers on Tuesday, the first day college coaches could call 2012 players.

    Calhoun, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound shooting guard from Christ the King, earned offers from Florida, Arizona and Rutgers.

    “We had a tremendous day [Tuesday],” Omar Calhoun Sr. said. “We had quite a few calls and Coach Billy Donovan called us and offered Omar personally. We thought that was very important and exciting. We had picked up an offer from Billy Donovan himself.”

    Calhoun Sr. said Rutgers assistant Van Macon and Arizona assistant Book Richardson also called to offer.

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