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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 / October 7.
  • 4_456368By ZACH SMART

    Providence is the latest program to show significant interest in Levi Cook. The 6-foot-10, 286-pound center has lost weight and gained high-major interest since de-committing from West Virginia.

    “I definitely like what Providence has to offer, they’re a very reputable program,” said Cook, who is currently at Elev8 Prep in Delray Beach, Fla.

    “They have a history of producing players and basketball means a lot up there. I like the way Ed Cooley coaches. He’s got a little fire in his belly. He’s a homegrown product. He’s a motivational guy and he wants them to be great.”

    Louisville v NC StateThe annual ACC Media Day set for next week in Charlotte just got a whole lot more interesting.

    All 15 of the league’s teams will be represented, but only 14 head coaches will be on hand after Louisville officially announced that Rick Pitino won’t attend on the advice of counsel because of the sex scandal.

    That leaves graduate-transfers Damion Lee and Trey Lewis — who have yet to play a single game for the Cardinals — as Louisville’s only representatives at the event, and certainly puts them in a tough, and awkward, position.

    “[It’s a] bad situation all around,” one Division 1 coach told me when I asked what he thought of the arrangement. “I don’t see a good solution to any of it except sending the SID or something like that. I can’t say I agree with sending college kids (though they are technically graduates, so you could consider them adults) into that fire, but hopefully the media doesn’t badger/assault them with questions they can’t/shouldn’t have to answer. [I’m] not blaming the media for this situation, but hopefully they can keep the questions to mostly basketball with them and save the scandal questions for Pitino.”

    101315skallabissiereThe NCAA has cleared Kentucky freshman big man Skal Labissiere, but Kansas freshman Cheick Diallo is not yet cleared, sources told SNY.tv on Friday.

    Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports first reported the Labissiere news.

    “We don’t confirm eligibility of any our student-athletes until the first game,” a Kentucky spokesman told SNY.tv.

    Kentucky coach John Calipari said this week that he wasn’t overly concerned about Labissiere’s eligibility.

    “No, I’ve said it before there are probably 50 to 60 kids who went through it and there are probably 15 more going through it now,” Calipari said Wednesday. “Last year we had five going through this at this stage, meaning our team. And so we’re comfortable where this is for him right now. He’s good.”

    072315By JACK LeGWIN

    Jordan Poole has committed to Michigan. Poole chose the Wolverines over Xavier and Indiana.

    Ranked No. 92 in the nation by 247 Sports, the 6-foot-4 shooting guard pledged to head coach John Beilein on Friday evening.

    “He has a commodity that is kind of a lost art — he shoots the ball and it goes in,” Poole’s head coach at Rufus King (Wisc.) Jim Gosz told MLive. “A lot of guys nowadays are higher fliers who go to the rim. This kid can flat-out shoot. He’s just an unbelievable shooter.”

    CSBN5elWsAAnoU3It didn’t take long for USA Basketball to name a replacement for Mike Krzyzewski .

    USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo officially announced that five-time NBA championship and longtime San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has been named head coach of the USA Basketball Men’s National Team for the 2017-20 quadrennium.

    Additionally, USA Basketball announced that Colangelo will continue in 2017-20 as Managing Director of the USA Basketball Men’s National Team and that Krzyzewski will move into a special advisor role with Colangelo and the USA National Team for 2017-20. USA Basketball’s Board of Directors approved the three selections.

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