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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.
  • Briscoe SJUIsaiah Briscoe, Cheick Diallo and Brandon Sampson all enjoyed their visits to St. John’s this weekend and the Johnnies are positioned well with the trio.

    “I had a great visit to St. John’s,” the 6-foot-3 Briscoe told SNY.tv. “The coaching staff and I have a good connection and they understand what I’m looking for in a college and a program. Of course, I also like that it’s close to home and I love the city.”

    “The St. John’s visit went well,” a source close to the 6-foot-9 Diallo told SNY.tv. “The kid enjoyed the moment.”

    The 6-4 Sampson called the visit “good.”

    JabariNEW YORK — Make no mistake, Jabari Parker wants his friend Jahlil Okafor and his former Duke teammates to win the NCAA championship this season, but the Bucks rookie thinks John Calipari’s platoon system at Kentucky will work.

    Calipari has said he plans to play as many as 10-12 players 20 minutes each in order to “feed” all of his guys and help them reach the NBA.

    “Some of them [at Kentucky] will want to play more because they were All-Americans in high school, the best players on their team, so obviously they’re going to [want to] play more but I think it’s going to work,” Parker said Monday at shootaround before the Bucks played the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

    “It worked out for them last year with all that talent.”

    PoyserJalen Poyser, a 6-foot-4 point guard from Canada’s Athlete Institute and CIA Bounce, enjoyed his weekend official visit to UNLV and will hold off on any more visits for now.

    UNLV assistant Todd Simon coached Poyser at Findlay Prep before the floor general returned home to Canada to Athlete Institute.

    “Jalen Poyser’s official visit to UNLV this past weekend was very good,” Mark Poyser, the player’s father, told SNY.tv. “Coach [Dave] Rice, Coach Simon and the staff were very welcoming and made us feel at home. Jalen is a need and a priority for their program and it’s clear how his skillset fits in. Coach’s vision for the future is exciting. Their academics are on par with what we want.”

    Poyser has also taken an official to Rhode Island and an unofficial to St. Bonaventure.

    Jaylen BrantleyMaryland has landed a verbal pledge from Jaylen Brantley, a 6-foot, 173-pound point guard from Odessa (Tex.) Junior College.

    Brantley, who attended Maryland Madness on Friday night, also considered SMU, Indiana, Illinois and TCU.

    “I just felt it was the best fit for me and will help me develop my game into the best player I can become,” Brantley said by text.

    BABC director Leo Papile coached Brantley and Maryland junior forward Jake Layman with that AAU club.

    “He’s an old-fashioned lead guard,” Papile told SNY.tv. “He’s really adept at getting the ball up the floor, getting in the offense, making shots. He keeps it pretty simple but he’s a very talented young guard.

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