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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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Wednesday / December 4.
  • By JOSH NEWMAN

    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    NEW YORK — Viewed as one of the NBA’s media-friendly superstars, Amar’e Stoudemire had not addressed reporters since March 24 when he went down with a bulging disk in his lower back.

    He has missed 12 games since, including Tuesday night against the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden, and details of the injury, the rehabilitation process and a potential return date have been scarce. That is, they had been scarce until Tuesday night.

    After New York Knicks interim head coach Mike Woodson finished telling the assembled media during his pregame availability on Tuesday that Stoudemire is “feeling good, won’t play tonight, speculation is probably Friday,” the 6-foot-10, 10th year power forward unexpectedly showed up in the Knicks’ locker room 50 minutes before game time.

    Flanked by all five starting underclassmen from his national championship team, John Calipari announced Wednesday what the basketball world has long expected.

    All five — Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones, Marquis Teague and Doron Lamb — are headed to the NBA Draft, as is senior Darius Miller.

    Davis is the presumptive No. 1 pick, while Kidd-Gilchrist, the freshman out of Somerdale, N.J., and Jones, a sophomore, are likely lottery picks.  

    Knicks interim coach Mike Woodson says he thinks Larry Brown is a great hire for SMU, which will join the Big East in 2013.

    “I say congratulations,” Woodson said Wednesday when informed that Brown had reportedly accepted the SMU job.

    “He’s a great coach,” added Woodson, who worked under Brown in Philadelphia and Detroit and also followed him in the list of Knicks coaches. “He’s won at every level. He knows what it takes to win in college.”

    NEW YORK — Remember when it was Carmelo Anthony who had to go?

    Remember when the dominant paradigm among Knicks fans was that Melo was a ball-stopping cancer who ought to be run out of town on a rail?

    Ah, yes, it wasn’t that long ago that Linsanity dominated the Knicks — and the NBA — and practically everyone questioned how Anthony fit into the free-flowing, Mike D’Antoni-inspired, Lin-run offense.

    But that was then and this is now.

    Former St. John’s freshman Moe Harkless will sign with agent Happy Walters within a week or so, his mentor, Nate Blue, tells SNY.tv.

    “It’s a great agency,” Blue said of Rogue Sports. “They have tons of young clients and will work to get Moe in the right situation as he did with Iman [Shumpert] and others. He’s very smart and respected and will give him great advice.”

    As first reported by SNY.tv in early February, Walters attended a St. John’s game and scouted Harkless then.

    Savon Goodman is weighing his options about whether to attend college in 2012 or ’13, his high school coaches tells SNY.tv.

    Philly Constitution coach Rob Moore says the 6-foot-6 Goodman is eligible to go to college in 2012 but may opt to prep until 2013.

    Moore meets this week with the Temple staff and said UNLV, Missouri and Pittsburgh are also interested in the former Villanova commit.

    “Savon has met the requirements on the NCAA sliding scale to receive a D-1 scholarship in 2012,” Moore told SNY.tv.

    Duke freshman Michael Gbinije will transfer out of the program, school officials announced on Monday.

    The Chester, Va., native averaged 1.7 points and 0.8 rebounds per game while playing in 19 contests last season. Gbinije leaves Duke in good academic standing and is expected to transfer to another Division I school.

    Sean McAloon of Benedictine (Va.) High told SNY.tv that Rutgers, Georgetown, Syracuse, Villanova and Alabama are among the schools that have called.

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