December 2009 | Page 3 of 14 | Zagsblog
Recent Posts
About ZagsBlog
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.
Follow Zags on Twitter
Couldn't connect with Twitter
Contact Zags
Connect with Zags:
Saturday / November 23.

Ater Majok is a 6-foot-10 forward who just joined Jim Calhoun’s rotation at UConn and could make a major impact during the second half of the season.

His cousin, Majok Majok, is a 6-8 1/2, 230-pound senior big man with a 7-2 wingspan who plays for John Carroll at Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.).

He has visited Fordham and Harvard officially so far and will make his decision in the spring.  His list includes Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Drexel, Fairfield, Fordham, George Mason, Georgia Tech, Harvard, Marquette, Missouri, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Providence, Rutgers, Stanford, St. Johns,  St. Louis, Siena, Virginia, VCU and Virginia Tech. 

Paterson (N.J.) Catholic scored its biggest victory in recent memory Wednesday night when it beat Austin Rivers and Winter Park (Fla.), 62-54, to win the 37th annual City of Palms Classic at Bishop Verot High School in Fort Myers, Fla.

Trailing 51-50, the Cougars closed the game on a 12-3 run, getting four points from sophomore Kyle Anderson, who hit two clutch free throws to put PC up 60-52, and four points from Seton Hall-bound forward Fuquan Edwin (pictured courtesy news-press.com), who stuffed home a massive dunk to give PC a 62-52 lead.

Edwin finished with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals and junior point guard Myles Mack was named the ESPNU Player of the Game after finishing with 15 points, including 3 of 6 from beyond the arc.

6-foot-5 senior guard Jayon James added 11 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds while playing tough defense on Rivers down the stretch and th 6-7 Anderson added 6 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. 

The undefeated Cougars (4-0) beat Bob Hurley’s St. Anthony team last year in the Non-Public Group B playoffs and reached the New Jersey Tournament of Champions final with Tim Thomas in 1994, but this may well have been their biggest victory on a national stage. The Cougars hadn’t even played in the City of Palms event since Thomas was on the team in ’95.

“It means a lot,” Edwin said in a phone interview after the game. “Just coming here, there was a lot of nationally ranked teams here and we came here to ball out and we played hard and we got the win.

“We’re going to eat at Taco Bell,” he added.

Paterson Catholic on Wednesday will have its biggest chance to make a statement on the national stage since perhaps the Tim Thomas Era.

The Cougars will meet junior guard Austin Rivers (pictured courtesy MaxPreps) and Winter Park for the championship of the City of Palms Classic. The game will be shown at 9:30 p.m. on ESPNU.

Paterson CAtholic advanced with a wild 63-51 semifinal victory over Montverde Academy Tuesday night.

According to New-press.com, Montverde led 47-46 with 0.1 seconds left on the clock when its bench was given a technical foul for excessive on-court celebrating.

PC junior guard Myles Mack made 1 of 2 foul shots to force overtime and the Cougars outscored Monteverde 16-4 in the OT.

X