Click the Video Player at right for my interview from Wednesday with Rice senior guard Shane Southwell and senior center Kadeem Jack, seen here throwing down a dunk courtesy of the Daily News.
Rice plays in the SNY Invitational this weekend at LIU-Brooklyn and will open up against Boys & Girls on Friday night. The championship game takes place on Saturday at 4.
“I think this is big for us as a school. It gives us a chance to play on TV, which is very big for us as basketball players,” Southwell said. “It gives the whole city a chance to know who we are and prove that we’re the best team in New York right now.”
The 6-foot-6 Southwell previously committed Kansas State on SNY.tv, while the 6-9 Jack visits Arizona Wednesday-Friday and is considering a number of other elite schools, Arkansas, UCLA, Florida, Georgia, Miami, Providence, UConn, Seton Hall and St. John’s.
“It’s going to be fun finally go out there and take an official visit,” Jack said. “I’m kind of excited to go somewhere far because I like Arizona, they play my game. And then I come back out here on Friday and I try to get the win and get the championship on Saturday. It’s going to be an exciting week.”
One Division 1 assistant coach told me of Jack: “He has a legitimate shot to play in the NBA because of his freakish athleticism and he works really hard.”
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AZhoops / January 28, 2010
Kadeem Jack! You need to sign with Arizona!!!!! You’ll be playing in the front court with super freshman Derrick Williams and the athletic freak Jamelle Horne. Throw in a back court of Josh Selby/Doron Lamb and Momo Jones and Arizona might be the most exciting college basketball team in the nation next year.
Hey Zags… the pipeline from NY is headed down to Arizona, not Kansas. Book Richardson is killing it!
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JessieWildcat / January 28, 2010
Good Stuff AZ–
K.Jack has arrived.
Everything is looking real good.
KJ has a full day on campus.
And then …Bear Down with a Beat Down of Stanford.
KJ is a good addition to a 5 member class.
No1 class?
Book It.
Note:
So, the news of Ernie is out.
Nikey is looking.
TJ is looking.
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JessieWildcat / January 28, 2010
Woody,
Whatz up with Kansass “Gangster U”.
So, they now finally got the message- Kansas is OUT for Knight.
Kansas LOST OUT again ,on another of their TOP priority recruits.
(Barnes…ouch. that hurts.)
And KU is making a rush for Josh Selby.
In the crowd, attempting to show some love.
Whatz up.
Did Cook also say NO?
Little too late ?….Desperate times calls for desperate measures for KU.
Note:
I understand if you can not say much…with the Self new policy “Shut your mouth”.
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RockChalkWoody / January 28, 2010
Jessie, are you still going to run your mouth when Selby is wearing Crimson and Blue next year? KU has been on Selby since the beginning so you can stop acting like he’s our Plan B PG.
Why don’t you worry about your own problems.
(The NIT…ouch. that hurts.)
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AZhoops / January 28, 2010
“(The NIT…ouch. that hurts.)” Considering all that has happened in the last couple years with Lute Olson retiring, then coming back, then retiring, then coming back, then retiring again, I think we made it through the transitionary period alright. Look at Indiana, they’re still trying to find their way out.
Arizona will be right back up at the top with the big boys in a year or two.
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ZonaWildcat / January 28, 2010
Hell Arizona wasn’t even picked to win 4 games all year long till Sean Miller got here. I would say he’s done a pretty damn good job considering he got on the recruiting trail really late in the game and has been playing a schedule ranked in the Top 10 all year long.
Now Arizona is contending for the Pac10 crown and getting serious consideration from top talent, so I would say the transition has been pretty smooth and Arizona should be on the national radar in a year or two.
As far as Selby goes; both Kansas and Arizona are a perfect fit so it’s going to come down to what coaching staff he likes best and what the university and surrounding area has to offer. Selby is just waiting on Knight’s decision.
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Friar14 / January 28, 2010
I know Keno Davis, Pat Skerry and former Rice HS point guard Vincent Council are wooing Kadeem to Friartown and the Big East Conference.
It will be interesting to see if Kadeem verbals while out in Tuscon or if he comes home with the intention of making other visits. This late bloomer is certaily a hot commodity!!
I’d be interested in (the professor) Tom Konchalski’s take on Jack as a player
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RockChalkWoody / January 28, 2010
AZhoops, if you’ve spent any time here you’ll know why I said what I said. Jessie is a complete a$$bag who claims to have inside info (which is complete $hit). He’s an embarrassment to UA.
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mazer23 / January 29, 2010
I hope Arizona can get Jack and Shelby. It’s going to be tough, but its possible. Oh I wish Jessie would please just stop with this nonsense. What I don’t understand is if he has such “inside” knowledge, why doesn’t he have his own blog? and Why does he copy and paste from other blogs and call it his own “insider” knowledge. He had his own blog at once, and he even stated he didn’t go to Arizona, that he went to Pima Community College. Plus he says he has an “insider” with Nike, and that Nike wants Arizona to get the #1 recruiting class. dude this kids is ridiculous.
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blasphemy / January 29, 2010
Where did all of these Zona fans come from all of a sudden? They have been coming in droves for a few weeks now. Attack of the Zona fans for a movie pl0x?
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