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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 / December 14.
  • Anthony Mack, a 6-foot-6 wing from Blair (N.J.) Academy, verbally committed to Wyoming on Wednesday.

    Mack, who can play the 1, 2 and 3, also considered Georgia, Villanova, St. Louis and Missouri. He is a big guard who can shoot the ball well, pass effectively and should fit well into Wyoming’s system.

    “Wyoming recently won the Mountain West Conference, had a first round-draft pick and has past coaches presently coaching in the NBA,” Mack said.

    DeAndre Ayton and Mohamed Bamba are the projected top two picks in the 2018 NBA Draft per DraftExpress.com.

    Go ahead and circle Jan. 14 on your calendar because the two 7-footers will go head-to-head for the second time in a year when Ayton and Hillcrest Prep (AZ) face Bamba and Westtown School (PA) in the Spalding Hoophall Classic. (The game will likely be televised on the ESPN networks.)

    When they first met last April at the Nike EYBL stop in Brooklyn, Bamba went for 13 points, 12 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks to lead his PSA Cardinals (N.Y.) to a 69-68 win over Ayton’s Cal Supreme (Calif.) squad. Ayton, who was battling a leg injury and has since committed to Arizona, tallied seven points and nine rebounds.

    Gary Trent Jr. is done with his official visits and says it’s “possible” he could commit during the early signing period beginning next week.

    The 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Prolific (CA) Prep has taken officials to Duke, Michigan State, and UCLA.

    “We’ve got the early period coming up and it’s possible that I could decide by then, but I’m not sure,” he wrote in his USA Today blog. “We’ll have to see.”

    Trent has been linked to 5-star big man Wendell Carter for a package deal. The only school both players have in common is Duke.

    “I think both of us loved the visit!” he wrote.

    P.J. Washington, the 6-foot-8 forward from Frisco, Texas and Findlay Prep (NV), will take his final official visit to UNLV this weekend and is expected to decide during the NCAA early signing period.

    Washington, who went for 25 points over the weekend in a 70-62 victory over Chino Hills (CA), is considering Kentucky, North Carolina and UNLV, after crossing Arizona and Texas off his list.

    “P.J. will most likely decide during the early signing period,” Paul Washington Sr., the player’s father and the Findlay Prep coach said. “He could hold out but I think he’s ready to move forward with the process.”

    Washington attended Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness following an official visit in September.

    Class of 2017 point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is visiting Kentucky this weekend and is poised to make a decision sometime next week as the early signing period is set to open.

    The Kentucky visit was first reported by Evan Daniels of Scout.com and confirmed to ZAGSBLOG by a source .

    A 6-foot-5 1/2 point guard from Chattanooga (TN) Hamilton Heights Christian Academy, Alexander averaged a team-high 15.8 points and 4.8 assists for Wings Elite on the Nike EYBL circuit this year.

    Kentucky coach John Calipari and assistant Joel Justus visited Alexander on Monday and made him a scholarship offer. After he decommitted from Florida, Kentucky, Kansas, N.C. State, Oklahoma and Texas have all been in or are expected in soon to see him at Hamilton Heights.

    “Kentucky obviously came in Monday and that’s something that he seems very excited about,” Hamilton Heights coach Zach Ferrell said Wednesday by phone. “They see what he can be and what he could be just with his size and length and then his natural point guard sense in leading the team and that kind of stuff. So I think there’s definitely an excitement on both sides for them. That’s where it is with Kentucky.”

    The NCAA early signing period runs Nov. 9-16 and we will begin to see more and more Class of 2017 recruits come off the board. Here’s an overview of some top recruits who are poised to announce this month. This list will be updated going forward.

     

    11/2: Darryl Morsell, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound combo guard from Baltimore (MD) Mount Saint Joseph and the Team Melo AAU Program, committed to Maryland on Wednesday. Read more here.

    Predicton: Maryland

    Actual: Maryland

     

    11/7: Troy Brown Jr., the 6-7 point guard/small forward from Centennial (NV) High School, committed to Oregon over Ohio State, Alabama, Georgetown and Kansas. Read more here.

    Prediction: Oregon

    Actual: Oregon

     

    11/7: Daejon Davis, the 6-foot-3 combo guard from Garfield (WA) High School, announced his commitment to Washington. Read more here.

    Prediction: Washington

    Actual: Washington

     

    11/9: Garrison Brooks, the 6-9 power forward from Auburn (AL), committed to Mississippi State over Auburn, Georgia, LSU and North Carolina. Read more here.

    Prediction: UNC

    Actual: Mississippi State

     

    11/10: Collin Sexton, the 6-2 point guard from Pebblebrook (GA) High School, committed to Alabama over N.C. State, Georgia Tech, and Kansas. Read more here.

    Prediction: Alabama

    Actual: Alabama

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