March 2015 | Page 23 of 30 | 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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Monday / April 29.
  • NCAA Basketball: Georgetown at St. JohnAfter somehow being left off the All-Big East First Team, St. John’s senior wing Sir’Dominic Pointer brought home some major hardware on Monday.

    Pointer shared the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year award with Providence guard Kris Dunn and also won the BIG EAST Most Improved Player award.

    “I can’t imagine there’s anybody in our league, let alone the country, who influences the game at both ends of the floor and in such dramatic fashion,” Johnnies head coach Steve Lavin recently said of Pointer. “I know in my career, I’ve never had a player, there’s no one. Not even close. Baron Davis was an exceptional talent. Trevor Ariza was, some really good players, but his ability to influence the game on both ends of the floor in such dramatic fashion is really unusual.”

    BoeheimgAnybody who thought Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim would somehow pack up and go home in the face of blistering NCAA sanctions just doesn’t know Jim Boeheim.

    Of course, he isn’t.

     

    “There’s a lot of things to be said. It’s difficult right now,” the 70-year-old Boeheim told an audience of 700 at a banquet, according to Syracuse.com. “I think there’s a hell of a battle ahead of us.”

    He paused for 10 seconds.

    “I came here in 1962,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

    The crowd gave Boeheim a standing ovation for his comments.

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    Burlington (N.J.) Life Center point guard Traci Carter enjoyed his weekend official visit to Marquette for their 58-48 victory over DePaul, and has tentative visits set to UConn and Memphis.

    Carter was coming off a visit to Xavier and will also consider a fifth school to be determined.

    “I liked the commitment and the support of the [Marquette] men’s basketball program from top to bottom, starting with the President of the University and the Athletic Director down to the coaching staff, the academic support team and team managers,” Donnie Carr, Carter’s guardian, told SNY.tv. “They have a great fan base and everyone involved with the program has one common goal, to do their part to make sure Marquette basketball is successful.”

    Tyus Battle

    Tyus Battle is still considering Syracuse among his seven school despite the massive sanctions handed down by the NCAA.

    Those sanctions include the loss of 12 scholarships across four years.

    Gary Battle, the player’s father, told SNY.tv on Saturday, “As long as there is a scholarship for Tyus we feel blessed and it is business as usual.”

    The elder Battle amplified those comments to Syracuse.com.

    “At this point, now that I understand it better, as long as they have a scholarship for Tyus, as long as they can field a strong team that can compete for a national championship, I’m OK with it,” Gary Battle told the paper.

    hilliard-1Villanova guard Darrun Hilliard and Providence forward LaDontae Henton and guard Kris Dunn were named unanimously to the 2014-15 All-BIG EAST First Team, the league announced. The conference’s head coaches choose the all-conference teams. The coaches are not permitted to vote for their own players. The league announced the All-BIG EAST First and Second Teams, Honorable Mention and the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team.

    The BIG EAST Player of the Year will come from the All-BIG EAST First Team. The conference will announce Player of the Year, BIG EAST Coach of the Year, BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and the BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Wednesday, March 11. The announcement will be made on the first day of the BIG EAST Championship Presented by New York Life at Madison Square Garden at 4:30 p.m. ET. The other league individual awards will be announced Monday, March 9.

    wiltjer-1The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced the 2015 National Ballot for the John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy’s on ESPN College GameDay today. Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the list is comprised of 15 student-athletes who are the frontrunners for college basketball’s most prestigious honor. All balloted players have proven to their universities that they are making progress toward graduation and are maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA.

    Voting begins March 16, and voters, consisting of nearly 1,000 members of the national college basketball media, may take into consideration the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Voting ends March 23. Fans may vote through the fan voting site sponsored by Wendy’s, woodenawardvote.com. The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation’s top 10 players, will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament and will be the focus of a 30-minute show on ESPNU on Monday, March 30th (8pm EDT) that will announce the Wooden All-American team and the five finalists for the Wooden Award.

    Here are the finalists:

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