February 2013 | Page 8 of 21 | 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 / November 23.

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi says he would leave defending national champion Kentucky out of the NCAA Tournament as things now stand.

“I think you have to leave them out until we see a sustained level of play without” injured freshman center Nerlens Noel, Lunardi said at halftime of the Rutgers-Villanova game on ESPNU.

He added: “The only data point we have right now is a 30-point loss…against Tennessee, a so-so team in the SEC. So when I look at Kentucky I’m saying, not that the first 24 games don’t matter, but they may not matter in the eyes of several

Not much has gone right for Hofstra this season.

On the court, the Pride have lost nine of 10 to fall to  6-20, 3-10 in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Off the court, Hofstra is still recovering from the scandal in November which saw four players arrested on multiple counts of burglary and subsequently kicked off the team.

But head coach Mo Cassara is moving forward with a whole new class of recruits.

The Pride added two players from St. Thomas More (Conn.) in 6-foot point guard Amadi Udenyi and 6-2 combo guard Marquise Moore of Queens to bring the recruiting class to six players (as opposed to the four that has been incorrectly reported by some outlets).

“I’ve known Mo for a very long time,” St. Thomas More coach Jere Quinn told SNY.tv. “He was very honest with the kids about the situation.

Remember Michael Chandler?

The 6-foot-10 big man out of Indianapolis (Ind.) Lawrence North was the No. 5 center in the Class of 2011 and committed to three different schools — Louisville, Xavier and Central Florida — before being deemed academically ineligible by the NCAA.

Chandler has resurfaced at Northwest Florida State where he is playing for coach Steve Forbes, the former Tennessee assistant, and alongside Louisville-bound point guard Chris Jones.

With all the focus on the impending breakup of the Big East Conference, the actual performance of the teams on the court this season may have become overshadowed.

Yes, the Big East will lose Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the ACC after this season.

And yes, as many as nine more teams will leave in 2014 when Louisville and Notre Dame also head to the ACC and the Catholic 7 break out on their own.

But in this, the last season of the real Big East, the league appears to be doing just fine.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EC7tbT1_sY&w=560&h=315]

Georgetown, Maryland, UConn and Temple were among the schools watching 2014 forward Dwayne Morgan put on a show Sunday — including the above dunk where he takes off from near the elbow.

The 6-foot-8 2014 forward went for 22 points, 9 rebounds, 6 blocks and 4 assists as Baltimore St. Frances beat  Mount St. Joseph, 75-62, to win the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A conference title.

“It hasn’t really sunk in,” Morgan told SNY.tv by phone. “Right now I feel like I’m dreaming because it’s my first high school championship.”

Georgetown coach John Thompson III and his whole staff, Temple head coach Fran Dunphy, Maryland assistant Bino Ranson and UConn assistant Karl Hobbs all attended, Morgan’s AAU coach, Dwayne Wise, told SNY.tv.

Gavin Schilling of Findlay Prep is one of the top uncommitted power forwards in the Class of 2013. He will be contributing periodically to ZAGSBLOG during his senior season. Here’s his first entry:

Hey, it’s Gavin Schilling from Findlay Prep!

I am a senior this year and this is my first year in the Findlay Prep program and I love it so far!

The improvements I’ve made so far physically, mentally and basketball-wise since I’ve been here have been crazy. This is definitely getting me prepared for the next level in all aspects of it.

NEWARK, N.J. — The 2013 NBA Draft class is so weak that more than a half dozen prospects from the 2014 Draft class would go No. 1 this year.

That’s what an NBA GM told SNY.tv.

“It’s a historically weak draft that, as a result, you’re going to see a lot more guys putting their name in knowing they’ll go higher in this draft, even though they may not be ready, just because next year’s class has such incredible depth that they could actually play better and improve and drop their draft status next year,” said the GM who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not permitted to comment publicly on prospects.

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