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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.
  • BUUGKUVOJDKTCBY.20100408130210Iona College has extended the contract of head coach Tim Cluess through the 2019-20 season.

    “Coach Cluess continues to lead our men to tremendous success,” said Iona College President Dr. Joseph E. Nyre. “We have always believed he is the right man for Iona basketball.”

    “Five straight 20-win seasons and postseason appearances has never happened in the rich history of men’s basketball at Iona College” said Director of Athletics Rick Cole Jr. “Tim Cluess remains committed to Iona athletics’ mission of building champions both on and off the court and we’re proud to have him as our head coach.”

    NCAA Basketball: Duke at St. JohnMichigan State coach Tom Izzo was one of several college coaches who recruited but failed to land Duke big man Jahlil Okafor, the projected No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.

    The 6-foot-11 Okafor ultimately chose Duke over a list that included Kentucky, Kansas and Baylor.

    Before that Okafor was considering Michigan State, Arizona, Illinois and Ohio State.

    “When’s the trade deadline up? I’d still trade,” Izzo joked about Okafor on Thursday in Syracuse a day ahead of Michigan State’s Sweet 16 matchup with Oklahoma.

    “If it’s before [Friday], I’m still doing it.”

    NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament-2nd Round-San Diego State vs St. John'sNEW YORK — Steve Lavin and his higher-ups at St. John’s have begun their annual end-of-year talks but have not yet discussed an extension, a source told SNY.tv Wednesday evening.

    Lavin, 50, is on record saying that he believes he will get an extension and that he needs one to be effective in recruiting going forward.

    A St. John’s University spokesman told SNY.tv on Wednesday that there was nothing new to report.

    Assuming an extension is forthcoming, it is “more likely” to be a four-or five-year rollover on his current six-year deal than the three years which one outlet reported. Lavin just completed Year 5 of his initial deal and and would need an extension to avoid being a lame duck entering next season.

    NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament-Kentucky PracticeBy JOSH NEWMAN

    With Kentucky at 36-0 going into a Midwest Regional semifinal on Thursday night against West Virginia, give Mountaineers freshman guard Daxter Miles Jr. credit for at least being confident.

    At the same time, given the Wildcats are four wins from the first-ever 40-0 season, it might have been a good idea to let sleeping dogs lie on the eve of the biggest game of the season.

    “I give them their props,” Miles Jr. told reporters on Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. “Salute them to getting to 36-0. But tomorrow they’re going to be 36-1.”.

    “No one’s invincible. Their time’s gonna come. We’re going to pull it out.”

    CASHMAN2-master675-v2Count Yankees GM Brian Cashman among those rooting for Kentucky to finish the season 40-0 and win the national championship with the first perfect record since Indiana in 1976.

    According to a great story from David Waldstein of The New York Times, Cashman grew up a huge Kentucky fan in Lexington and fantasized about ways he could help the Wildcats beat Denny Crum’s Louisville Cardinals.

    Cashman also relishes the parallels between Kentucky and the Bronx Bombers.

    Between 1949 and 1998, every time Kentucky won the national championship, the Yankees won the World Series. It happened in 1949; 1951; 1958; 1978; 1996, when Cashman was the assistant general manager of the Yankees; and then again in 1998, which was Cashman’s first season in charge.

    Bobby HurleyBuffalo coach Bobby Hurley still plans to interview at DePaul on Saturday despite a report that he has agreed to a new deal at Buffalo, multiple sources told SNY.tv.

    “Yes, 100 percent,” one source said.

    ESPN’s Jeff Goodman reported similar news after earlier reporting that Hurley was the “front-runner” at DePaul.

    According to a report from the Buffalo News, Hurley, 43, will become the highest-paid coach in the Mid-American Conference – surpassing Ohio’s Saul Phillips, who makes $550,000 annually. The deal, which sources said Hurley “partially agreed to,” would also include a contract extension beyond his current deal, which goes through 2018-19.

    Hurley reportedly made $300,000, plus a percentage of the gate.

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