November 2008 | Page 9 of 21 | Zagsblog
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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 / November 23.
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Oklahoma, Virginia Tech

Two Oak Hill seniors made their verbal commitments on the last day of the NCAA early signing period

Keith “Tiny” Gallon, the 6-foot-8, 290-pound center from Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., has committed to Oklahoma, choosing that school over Mississippi State. Gallon is close friends with Tommy Mason-Griffin, who will also play for Oklahoma.

“He always liked Oklahoma from the start and he wanted to wait until the last minute to make sure this was the right thing that he needed to do and if it was the decision that he wanted to make,” his AAU coach, Marlon Lowe, told Justin Young of Rivals. “He has a great relationship with the coaching staff, with coach [Jeff] Capel and coach [Oronde Taliaferro].”

Prep Schools

With the National Prep Showcase about to take place this weekend at Bryant University — Click here for schedule — the beginning of the prep school season is officially upon us. With that in mind the pre-season edition of the National Prep Poll has been announced.

The top three teams in the country are unanimous according to the five voting members of the National Prep Poll as Hargrave Military Academy, Brewster Academy, and Patterson School appear to be ahead of the field. But that’s where the consensus ends as each team has plenty to prove going into the season.

Dominic Cheek, High Schools, Kansas, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, St. Anthony, Villanova

Dominic Cheek’s list just shrunk to four.

With the decision by Xavier Henry to commit to Memphis on Tuesday morning, Cheek has effectively ruled Memphis out and will now choose from among Kansas, Villanova, Pittsburgh and Rutgers.

“Memphis will probably be eliminated and the other schools will probably be a stronger factor,” St. Anthony associate head coach Ben Gamble said Wednesday by phone.

North Carolina, Oklahoma, St. John's

In the marquee game of the night, North Carolina put the beatdown on Kentucky, 77-58, in front of a capacity crowd at the Dean Dome that included Ashley Judd.

Judd, a huge Kentucky fan, had promised the Carolina students that if Barack Obama carried the state, she would appear at the game. A Democrat carried North Carolina for the first time since 1976.

No. 1 Carolina rolled despite the absence of consensus National Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough, out with a stress reaction condition in his shin.

“He is dying to play,” Carolina coach Roy Williams told ESPN. “And I had to sit him down and say, ‘Now when I ask you I have got to get the truth. Don’t tell me what you want to do. Tell me the truth.”

John Wall, Kansas, Lance Stephenson, Memphis, Paterson Catholic, St. Joe's, St. Patrick

In this installment of our interview with recruiting expert Tom Konchalski, he talks about the national recruiting scene, in which a number of players will wait until April to sign: John Wall, Dominic Cheek, Renardo Sidney, Lance Stephenson and others. This interview was conducted prior to today’s announcement by Xavier Henry that he will attend Memphis.

Tom also discusses the stars of tomorrow in this area, including St. Patrick sophomore wing Michael Gilchrist and sophomore point guards Myles Mack (Paterson Catholic), Davontay Grace (Thomas Jefferson), Myles Davis (St. Peter’s Prep), Sterling Gibbs (Seton Hall Prep) and Shaquille Stokes (Lincoln).

Also, St. Joe’s announced the signing of 3 players…As reported here last night, David Bruce of Linden committed to St. Joe’s but will wait until April to sign.

Dominic Cheek, Kansas, Lance Stephenson, Memphis

In a dramatic announcement live this morning on ESPN, Xavier Henry ended the suspense about his college choice on the last day of the NCAA early signing period.

“I’m deciding that next year I’m going to take my game to Memphis,” Henry, wearing a dark suit and white shirt, said on air as he put on a Tigers baseball cap.

The 6-foot-6 Henry, the No. 1 shooting guard in the Class of 2009, chose the Tigers over defending national champion Kansas.

“The deciding factor was getting my last chance to play with my brother [C.J. Henry] at Memphis and keep my family together so everybody could watch all the games and everything,” he said.

Fordham, High Schools, Memphis, North Carolina, UConn, UMass, Villanova

ESPN is running 23 straight hours of college hoops to kick off the season. Here are some quick news and notes from the world of college hoops.

**Tyler Hansbrough won’t play in Tuesday night’s tilt against Kentucky (9 p.m., ESPN) because of his injured shin. The game features the two winningest teams in college basketball history.

“Last year, Tyler was great in guarding Patrick Patterson,” UNC coach Roy Williams said, according to Tar Heel Blue. “No one else guarded him worth a flip.”

Without the injured Hansbrough, look for junior Deon Thompson (pictured) to guard the 6-foot-9, 235-pound Patterson, who took just 4 shots in 27 minutes in Kentucky’s opening night loss to VMI. “He’s a lot to handle down low,” Thompson said. “I’m sure Kentucky will be focused on getting him the ball.”

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