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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.
  • NCAA Basketball: Hofstra at South FloridaHofstra coach Joe Mihalich has twin boys in their mid-20s, so he knows a little something about how twins communicate.

    And while Hofstra juniors Ameen Tanksley and Juan’ya Green are not twins, they remind the coach of his sons.

    “I know what it means when people talk about twin talk, I live it every day,” Mihalich told SNY.tv. “When I see these two guys together, they’re like twins. These two guys are just so close and they play so well together, and they’re best, best, best friends. They’ve been roommates, they’ve been buddies since they were 10 years old.”

    The two juniors from Philadelphia have helped the Pride get off to a quick 5-2 start, with the 6-foot-5 Tanksley averaging 18.4 points and 5.9 rebounds and the 6-2 Green averaging 18.3 points and 6.7 assists.

    NCAA Basketball: Texas at ConnecticutVery few teams in America have the size to compete with Kentucky and their massive front line of future pros.

    Texas is one of those teams.

    I’m not saying No. 6 Texas (7-0) is going to beat No. 1 Kentucky (7-0) on Friday night in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge in Lexington, but the Longhorns — who I saw twice last week when they won the 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden — do have the size to matchup.

    Jonathan Holmes is 6-8, Cameron Ridley and Connor Lammert are 6-9, Prince Ibeh is 6-10 and freshman Myles Turner is 6-11.

    Kentucky, of course, has four guys 6-10 or bigger in 6-10 Trey Lyles, 6-11 Karl-Anthony Towns and 7-footers Dakari Johnson and Willie Cauley-Stein.

    Here’s the Naismith Trophy Men’s Watch List that was issued Wednesday:

    Name Class Position School Conference
    Cliff Alexander Fr. F Kansas Big 12
    Brandon Ashley Jr. F Arizona Pac-12
    Ron Baker RS Jr. G Wichita State Missouri Valley
    Ryan Boatright Sr. G Connecticut American Athletic
    Malcolm Brogdon RS Jr. G Virginia ACC
    Willie Cauley-Stein Jr. F Kentucky SEC
    Branden Dawson Sr. G-F Michigan State Big Ten

    Two days after visiting Kentucky for their win over Providence, Thon and Matur Maker visited Louisville Tuesday night for the No. 5 Cardinals’ 64-55 victory over No. 14 Ohio State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

    The visit was confirmed by Orangeville Prep coach Larry Blunt.

    Matur Maker is a 6-10 2017 forward, while the 7-foot Thon Maker will decide by January whether to reclass to 2015 from 2016.

    Thon is considering Louisville, Kentucky, Kansas, Duke and Indiana, among others.

     

    Duke’s entire coaching staff along with North Carolina’s Roy Williams, Hubert Davis and several players watched 2016 power forward Harry Giles of Wesleyan (N.C.) Christian go for 38 points and 19 rebounds Tuesday night.

    The news was reported on Twitter by @RodgerBohn and @jhardy575.

    Duke assistant Jon Scheyer and Kentucky’s John Calipari and Kenny Payne also watched Giles last week.

    The 6-foot-10 Giles tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus while playing for the USA Under-16 team last summer and missed his sophomore season of high school basketball. He finally returned to the court this May after 11 months of rehab and recovery. Giles has shown some signs of rust which is natural when returning from an injury of that nature.

    LR- Jaylen Brown - Adidas Gauntlet Indy (Day 1)-1Here’s a few quick hits on some of the top uncommitted prospects in the Class of 2015.

    **JaQuan Lyle says he has no visits planned at the moment. The 6-foot-5 guard out of Indiana is now at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., and most recently visited LSU with LSU-bound big man Ben Simmons and uncommitted guard Antonio Blakeney. A onetime Louisville and Oregon commit, Lyle recently told SNY.tv he’s being recruited by Indiana, Oregon, Missouri, Ohio State and Xavier. Lyle’s former head coach at Huntington (W.V.) Prep, Rob Fulford, is now an assistant at Mizzou. Florida State assistant Dennis Gates also watched Lyle at practice on Tuesday.

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