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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 20.
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    • Recruiting

    Brian Bowen, the 6-foot-7 small forward from La Lumiere (IN), is closing in on a college decision.

    Bowen is set to visit Texas Nov. 25-27 and will likely decide soon thereafter.

    He’s also considering Michigan State, Arizona, N.C. State and Creighton. Arizona head coach Sean Miller was in to see Bowen on Wednesday.

    “We’re going to sit down and talk after that [Texas visit],” Brian Bowen Sr. said by phone. “He’ll start narrowing down his schools. Wherever you want to go, if you want that spot to still be open. He has great choices.”

    Recruiting

    Wendell Carter Jr., who this summer won a gold medal with the USA U17 team and was named to the All-Star Five Team at the U17 World Championship in Spain, will announce his college choice on Nov. 23, his mother confirmed to ZAGSBLOG.

    The early signing period ran Nov. 9-16, but Carter Jr. has already signed his NLI, his mom said.

    The 6-foot-10 Carter Jr. out of Atlanta (GA) Pace Academy is considering Duke, Harvard, Georgia and Georgia Tech.

    Duke remains the favorite for Carter Jr., who continues to talk with his close friend Gary Trent Jr. about playing together in college. Trent Jr. committed to Duke last week and said in his USA Today blog that both he and Carter Jr. “loved” their Duke visit — which they took together.

    Miami, Recruiting

    Lonnie Walker, the 6-foot-5 wing from Reading (PA) and the Team Final AAU program, committed to Miami in a bit of a surprise on Wednesday, the last day of the NCAA early signing period.

    Ranked the No. 3 shooting guard in the Class of 2017 by 247Sports.com, he also considered Arizona, Kentucky, Villanova and Syracuse.

    “I built a relationship with the coach [Jim Larrañaga] and being able to know him I felt like they were going to push and drive me like no other,” Walker told ZAGSBLOG.

    Walker joins point guard Chris Lykes and power forwards Deng Gak and Sam Waardenburg in what is shaping up to be a special class for Miami.

    “We’re gonna make big-time noise,” the 6-10 Gak, whose PSA Cardinals team lost to Walker’s Team Final on the Nike EYBL circuit, told ZAGSBLOG.

    Breaking News, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky

    NEW YORK –– Thanks to a game-winning pullup jumper by Frank Mason III with 1.8 seconds remaining, No. 7 Kansas handed top-ranked Duke its first loss of the season.

    Kansas, which was coming off a loss to Indiana Friday night in the Armed Forces Classic in Honolulu, edged Duke, 77-75, in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.

    “I just took advantage of the separation I created and I just shot the ball,” Mason III said. “It felt good when it left my hand and I just thank God that it went in.”

    After Duke’s Frank Jackson hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 75 with 20 seconds remaining, Mason III drove from midcourt, pulled up from 12 feet and drained the game-winner.

    Breaking News, Kentucky

    NEW YORK — Not every kid who comes out of Kentucky has to be one-and-done to be a success.

    Sure, current freshmen Malik Monk, De’Aaron Fox and Bam Adebayo might become the latest phenoms to emerge from John Calipari’s one-and-done factory.

    But Isaiah Briscoe is proving that if you stay at Kentucky, you can improve from one year to the next and become an effective program player.

    Playing in front of 38 family and friends and a capacity crowd that included Knicks star and Briscoe’s mentor Carmelo Anthony, the Newark native went for 21 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 turnover as No. 2 Kentucky throttled No. 13 Michigan State, 69-48, in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.

    “It feels good,” Briscoe said. “A lot of my fanbase is from New York and this place has made me who I am so it felt good to get back out there in front of my fans and perform well.”

    Copyright 2016 Zagsblog. Partner of iOne Digital / Cassius Network
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