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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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Friday / March 29.
  • JaQuan Lyle and Antonio Blakeney will both visit LSU this weekend, when the SEC school plays Alabama in football on Saturday night.

    SNY.tv first reported the Lyle visit, which he then confirmed via Twitter, “Going to LSU for an official this weekend.”

    Both Lyle and Blakeney are former Louisville commits, meaning LSU will have two former Rick Pitino commits on campus, along with 2015 commit Ben Simmons.

    The LSU staff will no doubt pitch the idea of playing with the 6-foot-8 Simmons, who is considered a future pro, to the two guards.

    Andrew HarrisonBy JOSH NEWMAN

    Neither the University of Kentucky, nor Duke University have ever had a recipient of the Bob Cousy Award, given annually to the nation’s top point guard.

    Mathematically, the college basketball blue bloods have a better chance than anyone else in the country of receiving the award this season after each had two players named to the Bob Cousy Award Watch List on Tuesday afternoon. The Wildcats’ Andrew Harrison and Tyler Ulis, along with the Blue Devils’ Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones were four of the 36 players named to the initial list.

    The list of 36 will be cut to 20 in early February, then down to five in early March with the winner being announced on Championship Monday at the Final Four in Indianapolis.

    Quinnipiac junior guard Giovanni McLean was the latest former Westchester Community College player taken down by the transcript scandal that swept through that school.

    The NCAA gave McLean a waiver allowing him to continue his studies through the fall semester but he cannot play or practice with the team, the Journal News reported.

    “The NCAA has issued a temporary waiver allowing Giovanni McLean to continue his studies,” school spokeswoman Lynn Bushnell told the Journal News, which first broke the story of the transcript scandal. “He is, however, prohibited from playing and practicing with the basketball team until the NCAA issues a final decision.”

    Jahlil OkaforBy JOSH NEWMAN

    Just a few years ago, the notion of a freshman being named to the Associated Press All-America Team seemed silly. Now, the honor is becoming commonplace.

    Highly-touted Duke freshman Jahlil Okafor became the third freshman since 2010 to be named to the five-member AP Preseason All-America Team, which was released on Monday afternoon. Okafor, a 6-foot-11 forward projected as the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft according to DraftExpress, joins North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes in 2010 and Andrew Wiggins of Kansas in 2013 as the other two recent freshman sensations to be named AP Preseason All-America.

    “I just have to realize that it’s just the preseason expectations and to try to live up to those expectations during the season,” Okafor told the Associated Press.

    Tyus Battle, one of the most sought after players in the Class of 2016 and the subject of our SNY.tv mini-documentary “The Battle Plan,” cut his list to 11 schools Monday morning.

    The 6-foot-6 Battle out of Gladstone (N.J.) Gill St. Bernard’s is now considering UConn, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Syracuse, Villanova and Virginia.


    SNY.tv profiles Battle, a junior who is already being recruited by the top college programs in the country…

    http://web.sny.tv/media/video.jsp?content_id=36891205&topic_id=6479520


    Diamond Stone, the 6-foot-10 big man from Milwaukee (WI) Dominican, enjoyed his weekend official visit to UConn but has no specific target date for announcing his decision.

    “No date is set,” DeShawn Curtis, Stone’s coach with the Wisconsin Legends AAU team, told SNY.tv Monday morning.

    There had been reports that Stone would announce Nov. 12, the first day of the NCAA early signing period.

    UConn head coach Kevin Ollie and assistant Ricky Moore will also be in Wednesday to see Stone, Curtis confirmed to SNY.tv.

    Stone recently cut his list to UConn, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State and Maryland, and  has now visited all four schools.

    By DREW MESSMER & ADAM ZAGORIA

    Tevin Mack plans to commit in the fall, but hasn’t yet decided when.

    The 6-foot-6 2015 wing out of Columbia (S.C.) Dreher has trimmed his list to UConn, Georgia, South Carolina, Clemson, and VCU.

    On Georgia: “I can go there and help them win. I can make an immediate impact, but I can do that anywhere I go.”

    On UConn: “They win big. They are on the big stage! They have a great coach and a great program. I can also go there and have an impact.”

    On VCU: “Shaka is a great coach. They have great fans, and they win a lot of games!”

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