March 2011 | Page 9 of 24 | 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.
  • Kentucky coach John Calipari is getting ready to face top-seeded Ohio State in an East Regional semifinal Friday in Newark, but that didn’t stop him from scouting one of the top players in the Class of 2012 on Sunday.

    Calipari was in Glens Falls, N.Y. to watch 6-foot-10 DaJuan Coleman post 22 points and 16 rebounds as Jamesville-DeWitt cruised to its fourth straight championship with a 66-51 win over Harborfields in the Class A final.

    “They have offered,” Albany City Rocks coach Jim Hart said by text, referring to Kentucky. “This is the second game in 30 days that Cal has flown up to see DaJuan. He just earned a Sweet 16 berth [Saturday] and chose to head straight to Glens Falls, N.Y.

    “I would say he’s a top target for UK.

    West Virginia-bound guard Jabarie Hinds posted 26 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals to lead Mount Vernon to its record-ninth New York State state championship, 62-51, over Jamestown Sunday at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

    “I played well,” Hinds said. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates, though.”

    “Jabarie dominated the flow of the game with five steals, earning MVP honors,” said Mount Vernon coach Bob Cimmino.

    Mount Vernon was tied with Bridgehampton before the game with eight state crowns.

    Lekan Ajayi, a 6-foot-11 center from Quality Education (N.C.), has just returned from his official to Loyola Marymount and is still planning his final two visits.

    “I went to California,” he said of the trip to LMU. “It was nice. They have a good business management course. The school is not a big population school, it’s a medium school, with 14-20 [students] per class.

    “It’s good out there, very close to the Los Angeles Lakers arena. It’s nice. The L.A. weather is nice, like Nigerian weather. I like it out there, too.”

    Ajayi also said he set a new Quality Education record with 24 rebounds when the Fighting Pharoahs beat LaPorte (IN) La Lumiere, 55-48, Saturday in the NCSAA Division 1 Championship Saturday in Erie, Pa.

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – With Pittsburgh having been bounced from the NCAA Tournament by Butler, UConn may represent the Big East’s best chance of reaching a Final Four.

    Behind a game-best 33 points, six rebounds and five assists from Kemba Walker, the red-hot Huskies won their seventh straight game in a 12-day span by knocking off conference rival Cincinnati, 69-58, in a third-round West Regional game at the Verizon Center.

    UConn’s victory followed Butler’s dramatic 71-70 victory over top-seeded Pitt in a Southeast Regional game in which two foul calls were made in the final 2 seconds. Butler’s Matt Howard won the game with a free throw with. 8 seconds left.

    “I think all of us root for each other,” Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said, referring to the other Big East teams.

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Pittsburgh hasn’t reached a Final Four since 1941 and now the Panthers must wait at least another year after losing a wild NCAA Tournament game that featured two foul calls in the final 2 seconds.

    “I take the blame,” junior forward Nasir Robinson said after No. 8 Butler stunned No. 1 Pitt, 71-70, in a third-round Southeast Regional game at the Verizon Center. “I take the blame for this loss. I made a dumb play. I apologize to my teammate and the fans.”

    With 1.4 seconds left and the Bulldogs ahead 70-69, Pitt’s Gilbert Brown made the first of two foul shots to tie the game at 70. But when he missed the second, official Antonio Petty called a foul on Robinson for going over Matt Howard’s back underneath the basket.

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Good news for Texas fans.

    Both Tristan Thompson and Jordan Hamilton say they will return next season to play with the Longhorns.

    “I’m coming back another year,” Thompson, a 6-foot-9 freshman projected as a lottery pick by many NBA Draft outlets, said Saturday in the Texas locker room at Tulsa’s BOK Center, according to multiple reports. “I’ve already signed up for summer classes, so I’ve got to be going to school there.”

    Ro Russell, Thompson’s AAU coach with Grassroots Canada, added by text: “That’s how he feels. He loves college.”

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