December 2009 | Page 6 of 14 | 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 / April 18.
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    • High Schools, Oak Hill Academy, Paterson Catholic, St. Anthony, St. Benedict's, St. Patrick

    A lot of folks have been emailing me asking about high school hoops tournaments and providing schedules. Here’s a preliminary list of upcoming events. Click on the event name for the link to the schedule. Feel free to email me at zagoria@hotmail.com if I’m missing anything.

    Dec. 18-19: NEW HEIGHTS HOLIDAY HOOP FESTIVAL (The Bronx, NY) featuring Bishop Loughlin, Cardozo, Lincoln & Christ the King

    Dec. 18-23: CITY OF PALMS CLASSIC (Fort Myers, Fla). featuring Paterson Catholic, St. Benedict’s, Winter Haven (Fla.), Westchester

    Dec. 19-20: HOOP GROUP TIP-OFF CLASSIC (Union, NJ) featuring St. Patrick, St. Anthony, Lincoln and Plainfield

    Dec. 26-29: JINGLE BELLS JUBILEE (Paterson, NJ) featuring Paterson Kennedy, Don Bosco, Hudson Catholic & Passaic

    Dec. 26-29: SLAM DUNK BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT (White Plains, NY) featuring Peekskill, Long Island Lutheran, Xaverian and White Plains

    Jan. 3: NEW YEAR’S JUMP-OFF (Teaneck, NJ) featuring St. Anthony, Paterson Catholic

    St. John's

    St. John’s redshirt senior forward Anthony Mason Jr. will miss the next three weeks while continuing to recover from a hamstring injury.

    Mason Jr. was examined on Monday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. An ultrasound scan revealed that the hamstring, which was injured in September and then re-aggravated on Oct. 16, is not yet fully healed.

    “We’re disappointed for Anthony, because we know he wants to be out there. We have to give him time to recover so when he joins us on the court, he’ll be 100 percent,” head coach Norm Roberts. “We’ll obviously be very happy and excited to get Anthony back. He is such a versatile scorer, and makes our team that much deeper.

    Fordham, Seton Hall, St. John's, Villanova

    **Click the Video Player at right for Parts 2 and 1 of my interview with Fordham interim coach Jared Grasso, who, at 29, is the youngest Division 1 coach in America***

    NEW YORK — Back in September, Villanova coach Jay Wright sent Jared Grasso a text message offering his support.

    “Keep doing a great job at Fordham. Make Fordham your dream job and the rest will take care of itself,” the text read.

    Grasso and Wright share a deep history.

    Grasso is a Long Island native who was recruited by Wright when Wright was the Hofstra coach. Current Hofstra coach Tom Pecora got his first job working under Fred Grasso, Jared’s dad, at Jericho High School. Grasso’s first job, in turn, was as a GA under Pecora at Hofstra.

    Now Grasso and Wright will square off as head coaches when Fordham (2-6) meets No. 8 Villanova (9-1) Saturday afternoon at the Izod Center.

    Grassroots, Jayvaughn Pinkston

    The best high school basketball programs from across the United States and Canada will descend on New York City for the first annual New Heights Holiday Hoop Festival on Dec. 18-19.
     
    Teams from Illinois, Canada, Connecticut, Massachusetts, DC, Pennsylvania and New Jersey will square off in this unique eight-team holiday tournament to be held at the famed Rose Hill Gymnasium at Fordham University. Not to be left out, four of the best high school programs from New York City – Bishop Loughlin, Lincoln, Cardozo and Christ the King – will participate in two Showcase Games.      These borough rivals rarely face each other, so this is a unique opportunity to witness the best of the PSAL against the best of the CHSAA.

    “You’re going to have on display exactly what New York City basketball players have to offer: competitiveness and determination,” says Christ the King coach Joe Arbitello. With early-season bragging rights on the line, expect all four teams to play passionate, hard-nosed basketball.

    Coaching moves, Fordham, Kansas State, Maryland, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, USC

    Maryland is the latest team to express interest in former Fordham point guard Jio Fontan, according to those close to the player.

    Todd Washington, an advisor to Fontan, said the Maryland staff reached out about the 6-foot-1 Fontan, who received a conditional release from Fordham that prevents him from playing in the Atlantic 10 or the tri-state area.

    Washington said the current list of schools involved with Fontan includes Miami, USC, Tennessee, Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Maryland.

    He also mentioned Virginia Tech, Alabama and UCLA but said there has been no contact.

    Florida, Florida International, Fordham, John Wall, Kansas, Kentucky, UConn

    John Calipari has sent back-to-back guards to the NBA lottery and is working on a third.

    Is Brandon Knight next in line at Kentucky?

    The 6-foot-3 Knight, the top prospect in the Class of 2010, has narrowed his list to four schools — Kentucky, Kansas, UConn and Florida — and will sign in the spring.

    Considering Kentucky freshman John Wall will likely be the top pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, does it make sense that Knight will end up following in Wall’s foosteps?

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