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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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Tuesday / March 19.
  • Andrew Wiggins, the top overall player in high school basketball, could decide as soon as this week whether to reclassify to the Class of 2013 and that decision will have a profound impact not only on his recruitment but on future NBA Drafts.

    “His parents are supposed to come down this week or next,” Huntington (West Va.) coach Rob Fulford told SNY.tv Wednesday.

    “Andrew’s really at this point, he doesn’t want to make any decisions without his parents, which is obviously a smart move on his part,” Fulford said. “He just has to get in front of his parents and they need to have a conversation to get that process started on exactly what it’s going to be.”

    Arsalan Kazemi is the latest player to leave the Rice basketball program, the sixth to be exact.

    “There have been more than 450 basketball transfers — a record high — in collegiate athletics over the past year, and unfortunately, Rice is not immune,” Rice AD Rick Greenspan said in a statement. “We take pride in the high graduation rate of our Rice student-athletes, and we’re always sad when a student-athlete leaves without finishing his or her degree, but we wish Arsalan all the best.”

    Kazemi, a 6-foot-7 senior who averaged 12.1 points and 10.3 rebounds last season, told Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com he is considering six schools — Kentucky, Texas, Oregon, Ohio State, Florida and Cincinnati.

    Cincinnati is not an option, a source close to the program told SNY.tv.

    Tyler Roberson isn’t the only player at Roselle (N.J.) Catholic High School pulling high-major coaches into the gym.

    Malachi Richardson, a 6-foot-5 2015 shooting guard, is drawing some attention, too.

    North Carolina assistant Hubert Davis is expected to come in within the next two weeks, and Indiana, West Virginia, Ohio State, Miami, Auburn and Florida are also coming in, head coach Dave Boff told SNY.tv.

    Kentucky head coach John Calipari and SMU coach Larry Brown are both expected Tuesday night for Roberson, and Kentucky’s Orlando Antigua and Kansas’s Joe Dooley were in last week for Roberson, and also saw Richardson. Florida coach Billy Donovan is due in Friday.

    Jordan Mickey is down to five schools and looking to make a decision relatively soon.

    “Probably the end of this month or the beginning of next month,” the 6-foot-9 Mickey, the Rivals No. 20 power forward in the Class of 2013 out of Arlington (Texas) Grace Prep, told SNY.tv Monday night.

    As first reported by SNY.tv, he is considering Ohio State, LSU, SMU, Oklahoma State and Arkansas.

    Mickey took an official to SMU last weekend.

    “It went great,” he said. “[Coach Larry Brown] was just telling me that he really wants me to be a part of his team next year and he’s looking forward to being able to see him in the next few weeks.”

    The good news just keeps rolling in for N.C. State and head coach Mark Gottfried.

    Two days after securing a verbal pledge from 2013 point guard Anthony “Cat” Barber, N.C. State will learn that freshman guard Rodney Purvis has been “fully cleared” by the NCAA, a source with direct knowledge told SNY.tv.

    Purvis was initially ruled ineligible after the NCAA Eligibility Center examed Purvis’ high school coursework at Upper Room Christian Academy, but was cleared after an appeal, which rarely happens.

    Louisville has nabbed maybe the best available point guard out there and has it’s floor general for the post-Peyton Siva era.

    Chris Jones of Division I JUCO power and 2012 national runner-up Northwest Florida State offered up a verbal commitment for 2013 to head coach Rick Pitino and the Cardinals on Monday morning.

    “He visited Louisville over the weekend and came back and told me how much he liked it,” Northwest Florida State head coach Steve Forbes told SNY.tv. “Then he slept on it and I asked him [Monday morning] if he felt the same way and then he called coach Pitino.

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