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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.
  • Here’s an interesting excerpt from an upcoming episode of Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel about Houston Rockets forward Royce White in which he talks about his mental health and No. 1 draft pick Anthony Davis. The episode airs on HBO Jan. 22.

    Royce White, the 16th overall pick in last summer’s NBA draft, has yet to play for the Houston Rockets.

    The 6-foot-8 power forward’s absence isn’t due to lackluster performance or injury, but an anxiety disorder that, among other things, makes air travel extremely difficult for him, something no NBA franchise has had to face before with such a high-profile individual.

    Determined to ensure that the club, league and players association accommodate his needs, the Minnesota native refused to report to the team last fall until a “mental health protocol” was prepared and signed by all parties.


    Aquille Carr Big AppleNEW YORK
    — Seton Hall commit Aquille Carr is not playing up to his ideal level during a tour of the area that included a game in New York Saturday at the Big Apple Basketball Invitational and one slated for Newark on Sunday.

    The 5-foot-6 Carr scored 20 points on 5-of-22 shooting –including 1-of-8 from deep — as Princeton (Md.) Day Academy lost to Brooklyn South Shore, 64-63, on a game-winning layup by UConn signee Terrence Samuel.

    Carr, who also had five assists, two steals and three turnovers, said he’s been bothered by the flu and an injury to his right hand that required tape.

    “I’ve really been just trying to get in and break a sweat because my stomach’s been real bad and my hand been messed up,” the McDonald’s All-American Game nominee told SNY.tv. “Yesterday in the game I messed [my hand] up. And I just came and tried to get it done for my team and we just came up short at the end. One little mental mistake lost us the game.”

    Terrence Samuels Big AppleNEW YORK — Princeton (Md.) Day Academy coach Van Whitfield told his team to watch out for Terrence Samuel.

    In the final seconds of a back-and-forth game, Whitfield knew the Brooklyn South Shore guard would have the ball in his hands.

    Yet despite the warning, they still couldn’t stop Samuel as he drove through the defense for the eventual game-winning layup as South Shore beat Princeton Day, 64-63, at the Big Apple Basketball Invitational at Baruch College.

    “We were prepared for it,” Whitfield said. “We knew it was going to be [Samuel]…And we said do not let anyone get behind you. We let their best player get behind us. He made his play, that’s what good players do.”


    Dwayne Morgan Big appleNEW YORK –
    Dwayne Morgan brought his sublime skill set here Saturday afternoon when his Baltimore St. Frances team played Curtis (N.Y.) in the Big Apple Basketball Invitational at Baruch College.

    After St. Frances got down 20-5 early, they stormed back for a 51-46 victory behind Morgan’s 14 points and seven rebounds. UNC-Greensboro bound shooting guard Tevon Saddler was named the MVP after finishing with 15 points and five boards.

    Rhode Island commit Hassan Martin had 15 points and 14 rebounds in the loss.

    Forty-eight hours after a 17-year-old boy was shot and killed following a high school basketball game in Chicago, games were cancelled in Paterson, N.J., Friday night because of the threat of a gang-related shooting.

    A source with direct knowledge said the Englewood and Paterson Police Depts. were in touch about a “possible incident in the game tonight” at Paterson Kennedy High School.

    Dwight Morrow of Englewood beat Lakeland in the first game.

    “It was in the best interest of everybody to err on the side of caution,” Paterson Kennedy coach Jimmy Ring told SNY.tv after the Coaches vs. Cancer event was cancelled.

    Ring and Kennedy were to have faced Bob Hurley’s unbeaten St. Anthony team at 8 p.m.

    At 15-0, Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict’s Prep hasn’t lost a game so far this year.

    Neither has Jersey City (N.J.) St. Anthony, which is 11-0 and counting.

    In fact, Bob Hurley’s club hasn’t lost a game since March 2010, a winning streak that is now running at 76 games over the last two-plus seasons.

    “It never comes up,” Hurley told SNY.tv Friday. “The only time it comes up is when somebody asks this question. We’re just working on 26 games [in the schedule] this year. We haven’t lost a game yet.”

    Hurley’s club has three games in the next four days — all in showcase events.

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2eqK_UsvIA&w=560&h=315]

    By DANIEL PONEMAN

    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    CHICAGO — Chicago State University is located in a notoriously crime-infested area of Chicago’s South Side, near the intersection of 95th street and Martin Luther King Drive.

    But still Chicago Public School boys basketball games are held there regularly, usually incident-free. People’s worst fears were realized this Wednesday, as an exciting basketball match between South Side rivals Simeon and Morgan Park ended in tragedy.

    A 17-year-old boy, Tyrone Lawson, was shot and killed in the Chicago State University parking lot, an innocent bystander waiting for his mother to come pick him up from the game.

    Two suspects are in custody. University police pulled over their Jeep that night and found the handgun inside. The university released a statement Thursday morning saying it was “deeply saddened by the tragic shooting death.”

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