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.
Hamilton to Wichita State, Gray to LSU, Diallo to Cal
By JACK LeGWINSpecial to ZAGSBLOG
Three players from the class of 2014 committed late on Wednesday.
Eric Hamilton became the fourth player to pledge to Wichita State, joining power forward Rashard Kelly, shooting guard Corey Henderson and JUCO center Bush Wamukota.
Hamilton, a 6-foot-8, 200 pound power forward out of North Gwinnett (GA), chose the Shockers over Georgia and Cleveland State.
“Coach Marshall said that he’s recruiting me to fill a role my freshman year,” Hamilton told SNY.tv. “That role is to take over for Cleanthony Early, and I feel like I’m up to it. I feel like with the right player development, and the right coaching staff, which they have at WSU, that I know I’ll be able to succeed in that.”
After committing to Florida State earlier in the fall, Odessa JC point guard Josh Gray has decommitted from the Seminoles, and has committed to LSU.
The 6-foot-1 Gray becomes the fourth player in the class for the Tigers, joining Elbert Robinson, Jalyn Patterson, and Aaron Epps. Ben Simmons, a 2015 forward who is Patterson’s teammate at Montverde (FL) Academy, also pledged to the Tigers.
Gray, a former Mississippi State commit, arrived at Texas Tech his freshman year under Billy Gillispie, and averaged 9.3 points and 3.2 assists per game. After his freshman year, he transferred to Odessa and is currently averaging 34.6 points and 6.1 assists per game, through eight games.
A native of Lake Charles, LA, Gray told JucoRecruiting.comthe proximity of LSU to home was a big factor in his decision.
“My grandmother is getting older, my dad has heart problems, my little brother’s always wanted to see me play along with family and friends,” he said. “That’s been going through my head throughout the whole process. At the end of the day, I knew I was going to sign there, so I didn’t want to waste anyone’s time or take anymore visits. I wanted to be home with my family so they could watch me play the last two years. Unfortunately my mother can’t.”
Gray chose LSU over UNLV, Marquette, Missouri, Providence, Illinois, Texas A&M and others.
Idrissa Diallo is headed to Berkeley to play for Mike Montgomery and the Cal Bears.
A very mobile big man with a solid mid-range game, Diallo joins four-star Montverde Academy (Fla.) point guard Ahmaad Rorie in the class of 2014 heading to Berkeley.
The 7 -foot, 230 pound three-star center out of Cathedral (CA) chose Cal over Colorado, DePaul, Oregon State, Virginia Tech, UNLV, UCLA and UTEP.
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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
By JACK LeGWIN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
Three players from the class of 2014 committed late on Wednesday.
Eric Hamilton became the fourth player to pledge to Wichita State, joining power forward Rashard Kelly, shooting guard Corey Henderson and JUCO center Bush Wamukota.
Hamilton, a 6-foot-8, 200 pound power forward out of North Gwinnett (GA), chose the Shockers over Georgia and Cleveland State.
“Coach Marshall said that he’s recruiting me to fill a role my freshman year,” Hamilton told SNY.tv. “That role is to take over for Cleanthony Early, and I feel like I’m up to it. I feel like with the right player development, and the right coaching staff, which they have at WSU, that I know I’ll be able to succeed in that.”
After committing to Florida State earlier in the fall, Odessa JC point guard Josh Gray has decommitted from the Seminoles, and has committed to LSU.
The 6-foot-1 Gray becomes the fourth player in the class for the Tigers, joining Elbert Robinson, Jalyn Patterson, and Aaron Epps. Ben Simmons, a 2015 forward who is Patterson’s teammate at Montverde (FL) Academy, also pledged to the Tigers.
Gray, a former Mississippi State commit, arrived at Texas Tech his freshman year under Billy Gillispie, and averaged 9.3 points and 3.2 assists per game. After his freshman year, he transferred to Odessa and is currently averaging 34.6 points and 6.1 assists per game, through eight games.
A native of Lake Charles, LA, Gray told JucoRecruiting.com the proximity of LSU to home was a big factor in his decision.
“My grandmother is getting older, my dad has heart problems, my little brother’s always wanted to see me play along with family and friends,” he said. “That’s been going through my head throughout the whole process. At the end of the day, I knew I was going to sign there, so I didn’t want to waste anyone’s time or take anymore visits. I wanted to be home with my family so they could watch me play the last two years. Unfortunately my mother can’t.”
Gray chose LSU over UNLV, Marquette, Missouri, Providence, Illinois, Texas A&M and others.
Idrissa Diallo is headed to Berkeley to play for Mike Montgomery and the Cal Bears.
A very mobile big man with a solid mid-range game, Diallo joins four-star Montverde Academy (Fla.) point guard Ahmaad Rorie in the class of 2014 heading to Berkeley.
The 7 -foot, 230 pound three-star center out of Cathedral (CA) chose Cal over Colorado, DePaul, Oregon State, Virginia Tech, UNLV, UCLA and UTEP.
Follow Jack on Twitter
