March 2013 | Page 20 of 28 | Zagsblog
Recent Posts
About ZagsBlog
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.
Follow Zags on Twitter
Couldn't connect with Twitter
Contact Zags
Connect with Zags:
Saturday / November 23.

Baltimore St. Frances star Dwayne Morgan has officially cut his list to three schools and will announce on March 27.

The announcement date was first reported by Eric Bossi of Rivals and confirmed by Dwayne Wise, Morgan’s AAU coach.

The 6-foot-7 2014 star is down to Maryland, UNLV and Georgetown.

Wise had initially told SNY.tv that he thought Arizona would make the final cut, but after speaking with Morgan’s mother later Monday, the Wildcats were cut because there is no time for a visit between now and his announcement in early April.

“He wanted his three schools to be Georgetown, UNLV and Maryland because she won’t get a chance to visit Arizona,” Wise said of Morgan’s mother. “She can’t take off [from work]. She’s not going to make it out to Arizona. So we did a conference call with Book [Richardson] and said we appreciated everything he’s done. She doesn’t want him to make any commitments unless he’s seen the campus.”

NEW YORK — Charles Barkley believes that unless you’re a transcendent talent like LeBron James, you should stay in school.

Specifically, he pointed to the six players from Kentucky’s 2012 NCAA championship team and said they all probably should’ve remained on campus instead of entering the NBA Draft.

“Kentucky had six guys and ain’t none of them made an impact [in the NBA], not one,” Barkley told SNY.tv Monday morning at the Turner Sports and CBS Sports NCAA Tournament media day.

“Like Anthony Davis, physically has been hurt all year. All those other guys, they’ve been in the D-League all year.”

NEW YORK — To hear Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller and Greg Anthony tell it, the Knicks are “doomed”  without Amar’e Stoudemire.

“They can’t get past the second round, I’m not sure they can get past the first round with him or without him,” Barkley told SNY.tv Monday morning at the Turner Sports and CBS Sports NCAA Tournament media day. “It’s just going to depend on the matchups.”

The Knicks announced Saturday that Stoudemire is out for the remainder of the regular season with a right knee debridement. He already missed 30 games to start the season after coming back from left knee surgery. The Knicks must now rely on 35-year-old Kenyon Martin to play key minutes in Stoudemire’s absence.

Meantime, Carmelo Anthony is listed as questionable for tonight’s game at Golden State with a sore right knee. He missed two games last week, and the Knicks have given no further update on his status.


NEW YORK –
 Gorgui Dieng, Louisville’s junior center, has been named Big East Defensive Player of the Year by a vote of the league’s head coaches who were not permitted to vote for their own players.
The league also announced that Kadeem Batts of Providence and Michael Carter-Williams of Syracuse are co-winners of the Big East Most Improved Player Award.  Marquette junior forward Davante Gardner has won the Big East Sixth Man Award.  His teammate Junior Cadougan has been named the winner of the Big East Sportsmanship Award.
Dieng, a 6-11 center from Kebemer, Senegal, was the force in the paint who helped Louisville tie for the Big East regular-season title.  Dieng averaged 10.3 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots in all games.  In Big East play, he was the league rebounding champion with a 10.8 average and was second in blocked shots with an average of 2.8.

One of two things will happen tonight at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass.

Either coach Steve Masiello and No. 6 Manhattan (14-17) will beat Iona in the MAAC championship and qualify for the NCAA Tournament with a 15-17 record….

Or, coach Tim Cluess and No. 4 Iona (19-13) will win, sending the Gaels to the Big Dance for the second straight season — and with a chance to redeem themselves after their second-half collapse against BYU last season.

Either way, New York City-area basketball wins.

In a year when St. John’s, Rutgers and Seton Hall won’t go dancing unless something miraculous happens this week at Madison Square Garden, the winner of the Iona/Manhattan game will.

NEW YORK — Three weeks ago, Knicks GM Glen Grunwald viewed Kenyon Martin as “insurance” against the declining health of ancient big men Rasheed Wallace and Marcus Camby.

As it turns out, Martin — no spring chicken at 35 himself — may end up being the Knicks’ best insurance policy now that Amar’e Stoudemire is done for the regular season — at least — with right knee debridement.

“I’ve been blessed to be here so I’m going to take advantage of the opportunity,” Martin said after going 4-of-6 for 10 points, six rebounds and two steals Saturday night as the Knicks crushed the Utah Jazz, 113-84, in their first game since learning of Stoudemire’s injury.

X