God’s Gift is planning visits.
The 6-foot-8 Nigerian forward from Erie (N.Y.) Community College will visit Cincinnati April 8.
After that, he has tentative visits set for Washington (April 15) and St. John’s (April 21).
“The only visit that is definite is Cincinnati,” said Erie coach Alex Nwora.
Nwora said Kentucky was also interested in God’s Gift, but that the Wildcats were obviously busy with their run to the Final Four.
Great piece Sunday night on “60 Minutes” on St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley.
Here’s the text courtesy CBS News:
High school basketball is one of the most popular sports in the country, and those who follow it on the national level – particularly college scouts and coaches – are familiar with St. Anthony of Jersey City, N.J. and its coach, Bob Hurley.
Going into this season, St. Anthony had won 23 state championships and three national titles under Hurley, who is one of only three high school coaches ever inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
In nearly 40 years at St. Anthony, Hurley has never earned more than a $9,000 annual stipend, passing up lucrative college jobs to change lives in the inner city and to help save a small struggling Catholic school by putting it on a very big stage.
Cuonzo Martin is the new head coach at Tennessee.
The school announced Sunday the hiring of the Missouri State University head coach as the successor to Bruce Pearl, who was fired March 21. Martin will be introduced at a press conference Monday.
The 39-year-old Martin is a Purdue graduate who posted a 61-41 (.598) record in three seasons at Missouri State from 2008-11.
This season’s Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year, Martin’s team finished 26-9 and won the school’s first-ever Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship. The team’s 15-3 mark in MVC games set a school-record for conference wins in one season.
NEWARK – Amid a joyous celebration, Kentucky President Dr. Lee Todd was about to climb up a ladder at The Prudential Center and cut down a piece of the net representing Kentucky’s first Final Four appearance since 1998.
Kentucky’s 76-69 victory over North Carolina in the East Regional final secured head coach John Calipari’s third Final Four with three different schools, but first at blueblood Kentucky, winner of seven national championships.
The Wildcats will face Kemba Walker and UConn in one national semifinal Saturday in Houston, while Butler will face surprising VCU in the other.
“He convinced me that this banner won’t come down,” Dr. Todd said of Calipari.
The mother of Texas freshman Tristan Thompson denies he has signed with an agent.
“I didn’t sign anything,” Andrea Thompson said by phone from Canada. “We didn’t sign anything. I don’t know where this is coming from. We didn’t talk about anything yet. He’s going to finish this season. We’re just relaxing.”
She added: “Tristan can’t sign. I’m his mom. Tristan is not old enough to sign. He just turned 20. I’m pretty sure you have to be 21.”
Another source close to the situation said, “Not at all,” when asked if Thompson had signed with an agent.
NEWARK — Everywhere you look here, there are potential one-and-done freshmen starring in the East Regional.
Of the Top 10 players on Chad Ford’s Big Board, three were sent to the “Brick City”: No. 3 Harrison Barnes of North Carolina, No. 4 Jared Sullinger of Ohio State and No. 10 Brandon Knight of Kentucky.
Kentucky forward Terrence Jones is also a potential lottery pick, and fellow frosh Doron Lamb could get drafted as well.
NEWARK — There has been much hand wringing in recent years about the decline and fall of New York City basketball.
But one look at the remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament reveals that the Big Apple is represented well.
Kemba Walker of UConn, Lamont “Momo” Jones and Kevin Parrom of Arizona, Doron Lamb of Kentucky and Erving Walker of Florida are all from New York.
And all began their careers at New York City Catholic schools.
