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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.

Look out for Kadeem Jack.

A 6-foot-9, 210-pound senior big man from Manhattan Rice High School, Jack will visit Arizona Wednesday night and return Friday in time for the SNY Invitational beginning Friday at Long Island University in Brooklyn.

“I’m going to get back on Friday morning,” Jack said by phone.

Jack plays on a loaded Rice team that includes Kansas-State bound guard Shane Southwell and star junior Jermaine Sanders, who is being recruited by numerous Big East programs.

Jack only began playing hoops in the summer before ninth grade, yet he has quickly blossomed into one of the most exciting and accomplished big men in the nation.

He recently dropped 24 points and 20 boards on Villanova-bound forward JayVaughn Pinkston and Bishop Loughlin.

Oak Hill Academy guard Doron Lamb has cut his list to four schools.

The 6-foot-4 Lamb, a Queens, N.Y. native ranked No. 3 among shooting guards in the Class of 2010, is considering West Virginia, Kentucky, Kansas and Arizona.

UConn and Oklahoma had previously been in the mix.

The news was first reported by BlueGoldNews.com.

Lamb scored 20 points  Saturday when Oak Hill downed Decatur (Ga.) Columbia, 63-56, in the Primetime Shootout at the West Virginia Coliseum.

NEW YORK — Jason Kidd won’t play for the Dallas Mavericks today against the Knicks because of “personal reasons.”

“We knew it was a possibility,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said before the game. “You lose a guy like that, it’s gonna change the way you play.”

The 36-year-old Kidd has started all 43 games for Dallas this season, averaging 8.8 points and 9.2 assists.

With its 65-64 victory over Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick Saturday night in the Coalition to House the Homeless Classic in Elizabeth, St. Benedict’s has thrust itself into contention for a high school national championship.

Texas-bound guard Myck Kabongo, pictured at left courtesy The Star-Ledger, went coast-to-coast and scored on a layup with 5 seconds remaining to give the Gray Bees the victory.

“Yeah, I just got it and put a little bank shot runner and it went in,” Kabongo said by phone.

He scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and defended Duke-bound guard Kyrie Irving, who scored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth. After the game, Kabongo made the case that he’s the best guard in New Jersey.

“I just feel like I have a case,” he said. “He [Irving] might be a senior but I feel I do a lot more. I’m a different type of point guard. I’m not a scoring point guard. I just want to show the rest of the country that I’m alright. I’m not just a player. I wanted to show that Canada can produce great players. A bunch of people in New Jersey don’t really know me like that.”

Rutgers-bound forward Gilvydas Biruda added 13 points for St. Ben’s and Temple commit Mike Poole scored 11.

Seton Hall athletic director Joe Quinlan, who has clashed with men’s basketball coach Bobby Gonzalez over the past several seasons, is operating without a contract and will leave the school in June, according to multiple reports.

“We knew he didn’t have a contract all year,” a source told The Star-Ledger. “They’re essentially firing him. They’ve told him, ‘You’re not coming back.’ Joe has no say over anything. That’s gone on all year, and it’s gotten worse.”

The story was originally reported on Jerry Carino’s Gannett New Jersey blog Friday evening. Carino cited four sources close to the situation who said Quinlan would leave in June.

“I don’t have anything to say about that,” Quinlan told The Star-Ledger. “The university has a policy about not discussing contracts and I have always adhered to that.”

When the Ledger asked if he was unhappy at the school, Quinlan responded: “No, I’m not.”

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