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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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Saturday / April 27.
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    • Articles, Recruiting

    CL7otNaWEAE3YzZNEW YORK — Josh Jackson has enjoyed quite a few weeks for himself at the tail end of this summer.

    The 6-foot-7 wing out of Prolific Prep (CA) recently went for a Big Strick Classic-record 50 points to go with 16 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in the Big Strick Classic here in New York.

    He was installed as the projected No. 4 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com.

    And he impressed a slew of media and NBA scouts alike during the first two days of practice here at the Under Armour Elite 24, with the game set for Saturday night on ESPNU.

    Articles, Recruiting, Syracuse

    Former Syracuse commit Moustapha Diagne won’t enroll at the school and will instead head to Northwest Florida State and play for head coach Steve DeMeo, sources confirmed to SNY.tv.

    The Northwest Florida State news was previously reported by NJHoops.com. Diagne will play there alongside his former Sparta (N.J.) Pope John teammate Jeromy Rodriguez.

    Pope John coach Jason Hasson told NJ Advance Media that the NCAA is still in the process of determining Diagne’s eligibility because of one class he took as a freshman in Senegal before he arrived in the United States in 2012.

    “Moustapha is still waiting for his eligibility status from the NCAA. Unfortunately, the ruling hasn’t come soon enough,” Hasson told NJ Advance Media. “To ensure that he gets free education, he is going to a reputable two year school, thus allowing him to return from Africa, keep playing basketball, and go to classes while waiting for his final NCAA ruling.”

    Hassan said Diagne faced an Aug. 20 deadline to pick a school because his student visa required that. Thus, they chose Northwest Florida State for Diagne, who had been in Senegal, visting family.

    Tennis

    Serena Williams may well be the greatest female tennis player of all time, but John McEnroe says he could still take her.

    The four-time U.S. Open singles champ is currently 56 and playing on the PowerShares senior tour.

    “I believe that I could still take her,” McEnroe said on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live.’

    Williams, 33, will attempt to become the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1988 to win the calendar Grand Slam when the U.S. Open begins Aug. 31 in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. She owns 21 career Grand Slam singles titles and can tie Graf at 22 — second on the all-time list — by winning her third straight U.S. Open title.

    Kentucky, Recruiting

    JAMAL MURRAYBy ADAM ZAGORIA & JOSH NEWMAN

    The Canadian Olympic qualifying roster was released Thursday and it includes Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett, but not incoming Kentucky point guard Jamal Murray.

    “Unfortunately, as per University of Kentucky’s admission and attendance policies Jamal will not be with our team,” Canadian National Team coach Jay Triano told SNY.tv. “He will be part of this team in the future but we do not want to jeopardize his eligibility. It is the same situation Karl-Anthony Towns was in last year when he couldn’t play in the World Championships.”

    SNY.tv reported earlier this week that a Canadian team source said it wasn’t “looking good” for Murray to play with Canada during Olympic qualifying Aug. 31-Sept. 12 in Mexico.  Classes at Kentucky begin Aug. 26.

    “Playing with these guys is always beneficial,” Murray told tsn.ca this past weekend of his Canadian teammates. “If you’re just playing one-on-one, even that helps. Just getting to know the intensity level, how guys move, how guys play, just little tips on the FIBA game – there’s a lot of holding and moving screens. So just getting used to all that and trying to figure my way around it.”

    He added: “The team has done a good job [with me]. All the guys are willing to help me on the court and off the court, whether it’s plays or positioning on defence, stuff like that. They’ve all been good about giving me reminders on what I need to do on the defensive side, mostly.

    “I sometimes go to those guys to just be around them and see where their head’s at about my game and what I need to do more or less.”

    Kentucky

    FIBA U17 World Championships - DubaiIsaac Humphries, a 7-foot, 255-pound center from Australia, will reclassify and enroll at Kentucky for the 2015-16 season.

    “Happy to finally announce that I will be attending the University of Kentucky and reclassifying to 2015 #BBN,” he Tweeted.

    Humphries is expected to be on campus on Saturday for the start of classes next week, former La Lumiere (IN) associate head coach Brad Johnstin told SNY.tv on Thursday.

    Originally from Sydney, Australia, Humphries was a vital piece of the Australian U17 National Team that won the silver medal at the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship. Guiding the Australians to the championship game, Humphries led the team in scoring (18.9 points per game), rebounding (11.6 rebounds per game), blocked shots (3.3 blocks per game) and field-goal percentage (.576).

    “I watched Isaac when he first came over to the United States in high school in Indiana and was impressed with his skill and size,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “He reminded me of a much bigger Josh Harrellson. He’s very skilled, has great hands and is a great passer. To have a 7-footer who just turned 17, he has a lot still in front of him, and the best part is he wants the challenge of playing at Kentucky.”

    Recruiting, St. John's

    Screen_Shot_2015-07-01_at_1.02.10_PMFollowing official visits to St. John’s and Oregon, 2016 forward Kassoum Yakwe will decide between those two programs and won’t take any more visits, a source close to Yakwe told SNY.tv.

    “No more visits,” the source said. “Both are great options. It depends if he wants to stay in New York or go to Eugene.”

    The Oregon visit wrapped up on Wednesday and went well, the source said.

    “Great visit,” the source said. “They want Kassoum badly, like St. John’s.”

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