February 2014 | Page 19 of 23 | Zagsblog
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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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Thursday / March 28.
  • JaQuan Lyle is planning to visit Providence in early March, his mother told SNY.tv following a home visit in which she hosted head coach Ed Cooley and assistant Bob Simon at her home in Evansville, Ind.

    “We plan on making a visit to Providence on March 3rd or 4th,” Lumecha Garrett told SNY.tv. “I work on the weekends so we’re trying to make some visits during the week if we can.”

    She said Cooley and Simon were the first coaches to visit her in Evansville since the 6-foot-5 Lyle decommitted from Louisville and that she was impressed by that.

    “Yes, it does [make] a big impression,” Garrett said.

    Dwayne Morgan is working hard to get Rashad Vaughn to join him at UNLV.

    The 6-foot-5 Vaughn is set to announce Saturday, and he and Morgan grew close on the AAU circuit.

    “Me and Rashad correspond here and there about basketball and on how other’s seasons are going,” the 6-foot-8 Morgan out of Baltimore St. Frances, who committed to UNLV last March, told SNY.tv.

    “I tell Rashad that we definitely could use him and that with his scoring ability, Goodluck [Okonoboh’s] defensive presence and my competitive motor along with the pieces at UNLV already, we have the pieces to make some noise next year. But Rashad is good and will have a great college career wherever he goes.”

    Joel Embiid is “strongly considering” remaining at Kansas for his sophomore season, he tells ESPN’s Jeff Goodman.

    He is projected as the No. 1 pick, so it’s hard to lend that much credence to what he says in early February. Still, here is how two prominent NBA Mock Drafts would look with and without Embiid:

    CHAD FORD’S BIG BOARD 

    1. Joel Embiid, Kansas, C

    2. Andrew Wiggins, Kansas, SG

    3. Jabari Parker, Duke, SF

    4. Dante Exum, Australia, PG

    5. Julius Randle, Kentucky, PF

    Myles Turner enjoyed his weekend official visit to Oklahoma State and is still considering Kansas, Duke and Kentucky, among others, his high school coach told SNY.tv Wednesday.

    “Obviously, I think we were all impressed with how nice they were and how we were treated,” Euless (TX) Trinity coach Mark Villines told SNY.tv. Wednesday morning by phone.

    “And obviously, the Oklahoma State facilities are top-notch. As far as him specifically, they just basically said they need a player like him. They had never had a recruit of that high caliber come to Oklahoma State and that their program could really benefit from having a kid like him.”

    Huntington (W.V.) Prep guard JaQuan Lyle enjoyed his visit to Oregon this past weekend, will host Providence coach Ed Cooley tonight (Wednesday) and said he expects to cut his list soon.

    The 6-foot-5 point guard tripped to Oregon for an official visit that went well.

    “I liked everything about it,” Lyle told SNY.tv Wednesday morning. “I got to meet coach Dana [Altman] in person and meet the coaching staff. I got to see a great game, got to see all the facilities, so I like it. I like it a lot. It was a great visit.”

    Adonis De La Rosa, a 6-foot-11 center from Christ the King in New York, is planning visits to both St. John’s and South Carolina this month, Christ the King coach Joe Arbitello confirmed to SNY.tv.

    He may visit South Carolina Feb. 13 but no definite dates have been set for either visit.

    St. John’s has no signees for the Class of 2014 yet and has made De La Rosa a priority.

    Purdue, Wake Forest, Florida State, Seton Hall, SMU, Georgetown, Fordham and Hofstra have also been involved for De La Rosa.

    It’s only February and it’s always risky to ask college players what their future plans are.

    With rare exceptions like Andrew Wiggins –who told Sports Illustrated this would be his only year on campus — or Marcus Smart — who said he would leave after his sophomore season after he chose not to depart following his freshman campaign — most athletes are going to keep their options open.

    What else are they supposed to say besides some version of, “I’m not sure about the NBA. I’m focused on the season and my teammates and I’ll deal with that stuff after the year.”

    Still, Joel Embiid , a native of Cameroon who has only played organized ball for a few years, did make some interesting comments to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, saying he is “strongly considering” returning to campus despite being projected by many as the No. 1 overall pick in June.

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