December 2010 | Page 12 of 18 | 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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Friday / March 29.
  • Rodney Purvis, one of the top guards in the Class of 2012, has verbally committed to Louisville over Duke after making the decision Friday night.

    “The coaching staff, the AD, commitment to basketball,” he said by text of his reasons for choosing the Cardinals. “And it was a great environment.”

    The 6-foot-4, 185-pound Purvis, out of Raleigh, N.C., visited Louisville last month and saw the Cardinals beat Chattanooga.

    PITTSBURGH — Jeronne Maymon is not here with the Tennessee men’s basketball team and won’t play in Saturday’s SEC/Big East Invitational matchup with No. 3 Pitt (11-0).

    However, all his grades have been posted and he “should be declared eligible” in time to play against Oakland Dec. 14, a team source said Friday.

    “All his professors have done everything,” the source said.

    Much has been made of the fact that the 6-foot-7, 258-pound Maymon, a Marquette transfer who had to sit out a year per NCAA rules, was waiting for a bowling grade to be posted in order to become eligible.

    PITTSBURGH — DeAndre Daniels is currently at Kentucky on his third official visit in the last week and could enroll in a college in January.

    The 6-foot-9, 197-pound small forward from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academies took recent officials to Kansas and Oregon. He is at Kentucky until Sunday.

    “He made a commitment to come to us for an entire year because he knew he needed to get bigger, stronger and more competitive to be the type of player he wants to be on the Division 1 level,” Andy Borman of IMG said by phone.

    “Because of his hard work and success in the last 3 ½ months, his dad [LaRon] and DeAndre and us are contemplating sending him somewhere at the semester.

    Memphis junior Wesley Witherspoon is undergoing surgery Friday for a right knee meniscal tear, head coach Josh Pastner announced early Friday morning. Dr. Barry Phillips of the Campbell Clinic is performing the arthroscopic procedure on Witherspoon’s right knee.

    Witherspoon, an Atlanta, Ga., native, suffered the injury in the Nov. 17 Northwestern State game, but continued to play. As a result of the injury, Pastner limited Witherspoon’s practice time the last two-and-a-half weeks.

    “This is a tough break for Wesley, because at the time of the injury, he was carrying us in those first five games,” said Pastner. “Since that injury, we’ve been holding him out of practices, and we’ve limited his time in gameday shoot-arounds. I’m confident, though, that he’ll bounce back quickly and be ready to go when he returns.


    JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The good news for Rutgers basketball fans concerning incoming point guard Myles Mack is twofold.

    First, St. Anthony head coach Bob Hurley sees some parallels between Mack and his older son, Bobby, who led Duke to back-to-back NCAA titles in the early 1990s.

    And second, the elder Hurley, a Naismith Hall of Famer, will be Mack’s coach for his senior season.

    “When Bobby knew he was going to go play at Duke University, he hadn’t guarded anybody until he was a senior,” Hurley said. “We always used to give him somebody else to guard and we’d have somebody else take the tougher guy. Myles is in basically the same position so it’s up to him now to spend this whole year working defensively. The other skills are there. He’s an excellent offensive player.”

    Every year I try to compile a list of some of the most high-profile high schools hoops tourneys. These events feature some of the top recruits and coaches in the nation and are great stops to see future Big East and other college standouts.

    Here is a preliminary list; click on the name of the event for schedule and details.

    If I’ve missed anything, shoot me an email at zagoria@hotmail with the tourney info and link.

    CITY OF PALMS CLASSIC, Dec. 17-22, Fort Meyers, Fla.

    KREUL CLASSIC, Dec. 17-21, Coral Springs, Fla.

    BIG APPLE BASKETBALL CHALLENGE, Dec. 18, Baruch College (Manhattan)

    HOOP GROUP TIP-OFF, Dec. 18-19, Plainfield, N.J./ South Orange, N.J.

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