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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.
  • Julius Randle, the No. 1 power forward in the Class of 2013, says he wants to visit Kentucky and Ohio State “real soon” in order to get a better feel for the schools, he told Jody Demling of the Louisville Courier-Journal.

    “I want to narrow it down soon and I haven’t been to Kentucky since I was a freshman and I haven’t been to Ohio State at all,” Randle told Demling during the LeBron James Skills Academy.

    The 6-foot-9 Randle lists Kentucky, Ohio State, Duke, Kansas, North Carolina State, North Carolina, Baylor and Texas among his suitors.

    Instead of going to London for the Olympics, Anthony Davis will get to spend the summer resting his sprained ankle and getting acclimated to life in the NBA.

    Davis, the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft  by the New Orleans Hornets, was cut from the Olympic roster Saturday along with Rudy Gay and Eric Gordon, according to The Associated Press. Davis had recently sprained his ankle during a workout with the Hornets and was not able to practice in Las Vegas with the Americans.

    Andre Iguodala, Blake Griffin and James Harden took the last three Olympic team spots.

    “We projected we would have difficulty getting down to a roster of 12, regardless of the number of injuries that have taken place, because they are such an outstanding group of people and athletes,” USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said. “The final selections keep us in concert with our game plan to have athleticism, versatility and strong depth on our roster. I think our final roster epitomizes all of that.”

    EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – When an NBA team drafts an international prospect like Tornike Shengelia late in the second round, he doesn’t normally come to the United States right away.

    Instead, the team will leave that player in Europe for a couple of years in an effort to have him grow and mature. Then, in a couple of years, the franchise revisits the option to bring him to the NBA.

    Jeremy Hazell, the former Seton Hall star, had a two-word thought when the Atlanta Hawks opted to trade Joe Johnson to the Brooklyn Nets.

    “Thank God,” the 6-foot-5, 180-pound Hazell told SNY.tv by phone from Atlanta on Friday.

    When the Hawks dealt Johnson to Brooklyn, it not only helped persuade Deron Williams to return to the Nets, but it opened up a chance for a guy like Hazell in Atlanta.

    “It makes me more hungry because I know that could be my starting job right there,” Hazell said.

    John Calipari and The Dominican Republic remain alive for the country’s first-ever Olympic berth, but Mike Rosario and Puerto Rico are out.

    The Calipari-coached Dominican Republic overcame a 20-point, second-quarter deficit to beat Macedonia 86-76 on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Venezuela.

    Francisco Garcia led the DR with 28 points, including four 3-pointers, and Jack Michael Martinez tallied 14 points and 13 rebounds. Al Horford notched 14 points and 15 boards.

    Karl Towns, the 6-10 rising sophomore from St. Joe’s-Metuchen High School, did not play for the DR.

    Here are the LeBron James Skills Academy rosters for high school and college. The camp runs through this weekend in Las Vegas.

    Isaiah Briscoe, a 6-2 guard from St. Benedict’s Prep (pictured), is one of only three players in the Class of 2015 invited to the event, along with 6-10 Diamond Stone, of Milwaukee and 6-10 Ivan Raab of Oakland.

    LEBRON JAMES HIGH SCHOOL ROSTER

    Stephen Clark, OKC, OK

    Wesley Clark, Romulus, MI, 2013

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