September 2013 | Zagsblog
Recent Posts
About ZagsBlog
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.
Follow Zags on Twitter
Couldn't connect with Twitter
Contact Zags
Connect with Zags:
Wednesday / December 4.
  • Ronnie Harrell, a 6-foot-7, 179-pound small forward from Denver East, verbally pledged to Creighton Monday.

    Harrell said he also considered Kansas State, Purdue and Loyola Marymount.

    “I liked their fan base,” he told SNY.tv. “They have amazing fans. I feel like I can go there and get a great eduation. The players out there are second to none. All of them are great guys. They treated me liek I was already part of the team.

    “I liked Coach [Greg] McDermott, all the coaches. They’re all great guys. I felt like it was the school for me.”

    Rickey McGill Jr., a 6-foot-1, 165-pound 2015 point guard from Spring Valley (N.Y.) High, has verbally committed to Manhattan.

    McGill is head coach Steve Masiello’s first pledge in the Class of 2015.

    “I like the coaching staff, I like the style that they play,” McGill Jr. told SNY.tv. “They play an uptempo game. I felt like it was the best fit for me out of all the schools.

    “My heart gave me a feeling to commit now [for 2015] rather than later.”

    He also considered La Salle and Iona, among others

    “Rickey is an extremely quick guard with a huge motor,” his AAU coach with House of Sports, Andy Borman, told SNY.tv.

    Josh Martin is headed to the Big Ten.

    The 6-foot-8, 230-pound power forward out of Bothell (WA) committed to Minnesota on Monday, choosing the Gophers over Pitt and Florida State.

    “Officially committing I the university of Minnesota,” he Tweeted.

    He visited Minnesota two weeks ago.

    “It was an easy decision in my mind,” Martin told the Star Tribune. “It was actually not as hard as most people think. It was hard to evaluate and whatnot, but when I was down there, everything just clicked.

    GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Metta World Peace recently visited with the St. John’s basketball team, but he apparently remains unclear about what league they play in.

    The man formerly known as Ron Artest asked reporters at Knicks’ Media Day if St. John’s was still in the Big East and then was the brunt of a joke.

    “He thinks St. John’s is in the ACC, he don’t know,” teammate Carmelo Anthony said.

    Anthony and World Peace were asked if they plan on attending the Syracuse-St. John’s game Dec. 15 at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks play homes games Dec. 14 and 16, and thus will be around for that contest between former Big East rivals.

    “If we’re here I’ll go,” Anthony said. “Metta don’t want to talk about that, he wants to talk about a whole lot.”

    Ben Bentil is headed to the Big East.

    The 6-foot-8 Bentil out of Middletown (DE) St. Andrew’s announced Monday for Providence, choosing the Friars over St. Joe’s, Temple, Miami and UCLA.

    “I’ve decided to go Providence college. ( FRIAR NATION) ,” he Tweeted.????????????

    This is a nice pickup for head coach Ed Cooley after he and his staff missed out on Expessions Elite forward Abdul Malik Abu, who picked N.C. State over Providence, UConn and Florida.

    Bentil is a powerful four man who can transition into a three.

    He joins 7-1 center Paschal Chukwu and 6-7 wing Jalen Lindsey in Providence’s increasingly strong 2014 class.

    Entering the 2013-14 college basketball season, Steve Lavin has arguably the best team of his four-year tenure at St. John’s.

    Lavin has a full complement of returning players along with several key additions as his club enters the new-look Big East.

    The coach is confident and has high expectations for the Johnnies as a result.

    “We’re right in stride and we probably have higher expectations for ourselves than people outside the program have,” Lavin said Saturday at the Third Annual Dribble for the Cure event. “For us it’s about the next step. It’s about making the NCAA Tournament and winning the BIG EAST Conference Tournament, it’s why we all came here. It’s always the same goals every year but this year we’re in position to do something special and that’s what we’re working towards every day.”

    } });
    X