NEW YORK — Spike is a Serena fan.
Knicks fan extraordinaire Spike Lee sat in Serena Williams’ players’ box Monday during her 6-3, 6-4 rout of Ana Ivanovic at the U.S. Open.
Lee believes that Serena, despite being the No. 28 seed, will win her fourth U.S. Open title and 14th major championship.
“She’s gonna,” he told CBSSports.com in a video interview.
NEW YORK — The Serena Express rolls on.
Serena Williams, the No. 28 seed, rolled over No. 16 Ana Ivanovic and into the U.S. Open quarterfinals Monday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory inside a windy Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Knicks fan extraordinaire Spike Lee sat in Serena’s player’s box for a match that lasted just 1 hour, 14 minutes.
Williams, who remains the prohibitive favorite despite her low seed, will next meet 20-year-old Russian, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the No. 17 seed, in the quarters.
The Russian upset No. 7 Francesca Schiavone, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, in 2 hours, 41 minutes.
“As I said even before the match, I think she’s the favorite for the tournament,” Ivanovic said of Serena. “She’s been playing really well, and it’s gonna be tough, you know.”
Brandon Taylor, a 6-foot-7, 240-pound power forward
Ricky Ledo has committed to Providence.
Again.
After committing last Christmas Eve and then decommitting, the 6-foot-7 Notre Dame Prep wing called Providence coach Ed Cooley Monday to announce his pledge.
“I grew up in Providence and it feels like the perfect fit,” he told ESPN.com. “I trust coach Cooley. He’s one of the reasons that Providence can get back on top.”
NEW YORK — The Kyle Anderson tour will resume this week when the St. Anthony point guard takes unofficial visits to Georgetown (Tuesday) and St. John’s (Wednesday).
After that, his next, and last, visit will be an official one to Florida the weekend of Sept. 16-17. He will also host several in-home visits as well before announcing Sept. 20.
“From the neck on up, he’s the best high school player in America, irrespective of class, right now,” New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski said Monday during an interview at the U.S. Open.
“He elevates your basketball IQ. He has a basketball IQ on steroids.”
By ALEX KLINE
BURLINGTON, N.J. — When Basketball Spotlight’s Mike Melton put on another terrific event in the JEM All Star Classic at Life Center on Saturday, a number of incoming freshmen stole the show.
The North team defeated the South by a score of 96-90 in a game that featured players with offers and even a few potential McDonald’s All Americans down the road.
By far, the biggest story of the day was Karl Towns, a versatile 6-foot-10 2015 forward from Piscataway, N.J. who released where he would attend high school for his freshman year.
“I’ll be attending St. Joseph’s in Metuchen,” he said. “The school has a great combination of education and athletics. It’s not to far from home, as well.”
Dan Hurley won’t be in Mar del Plata, Argentina Monday afternoon for the Olympic qualifying game between Venezuela and Puerto Rico, but his imprimatur will be all over the game.
Four of Hurley’s former St. Benedict’s Prep players will suit up when the two teams battle it out in the second round of the FIBA Americas tournament.
Venezuela features Creighton forward Gregory Echenique and former Marquette player David Cubillan, while Alex Galindo and John Holland play for Puerto Rico.
“They were four of the most respected student-athletes at St. Benedict’s over the course of our nine years,” said Hurley, entering his second season at Wagner College. “They were a huge part of our program.”
