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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.
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Articles, Marquette

By JOSH NEWMAN
Special to ZAGSBLOG

Buzz WilliamsWASHINGTON, D.C. – Buzz Williams is on the brink of joining some elite company.

The 40-year old Greenville, Tex., native is one win away from joining some legends of the profession who have all been to a Final Four.

A mere 26 hours before he has to go through one of those legends of his profession in Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim, Williams knows that he and his Texas-sized shtick shouldn’t be here, mentioned with names like Boeheim, Rick Pitino, John Thompson Jr. and Jim Calhoun.

All four have been to at least one Final Four, all four have won a national title. Williams is one game from the former and three games from the latter, yet is self-aware to the point that be believes his name and those names do not mix.

Articles, Indiana

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Cody Zeller’s stock with NBA scouts took a bit of a hit after he was smothered and dominated defensively by Syracuse’s bigs during Indiana’s 61-50 loss in the East Region semifinals here Thursday night.

“It drops him down some with a lot of the teams,” one veteran NBA scout told SNY.tv. “He’s still a Top 10 pick on his body of work.”

Said a second veteran scout: “Zeller is a good complementary player and not a franchise guy. His stock has probably slipped but not that far. Not a real deep draft as you know. Maybe he decides to stay another year.”

Articles, Florida

By JOSH NEWMAN
Special to ZAGSBLOG

Mike RosarioOver the last five years since his days at St. Anthony of Jersey City came to an end, there have been nights where Florida red-shirt senior Mike Rosario hasn’t played well, forced a coach to put him on the bench or nights where he scored a ton in a losing effort, which could pretty much sum up his two-year stint at Rutgers.

Sunday evening against Minnesota in the third round of the NCAA Tournament was different. Finally, after five years of college basketball and nearly a decade in the spotlight, Rosario, the enigmatic, combustible star of the Friars’ vaunted Class of 2008, may have figured it all out and his timing couldn’t be more perfect.

Articles, Syracuse

WASHINGTON, D.C. — After the best performance of his young life, Michael Carter-Williams walked over toward the stands at the Verizon Center, flapped his Syracuse jersey and pointed up in the direction of his family, a group that is dealing with some very tough circumstances right now.

Carter-Williams was not just celebrating his game-high 24 point-performance in No. 4 Syracuse’s 61-50 upset of No. 1 Indiana in the East Regional semifinals that set up Saturday’s Elite Eight showdown with Big East rival Marquette.

He was letting his mother and stepfather — Mandy and Zach Zegarowski — know that everything was alright, that he was carrying on with inspiration and dedication, despite a fire that on Saturday engulfed the family’s home in Hamilton, Mass.

Zach and Carter-Williams’ twin 14-year-old brothers were watching Syracuse’s second-round game with Cal at the time. Fifty-eight seconds into Syracuse’s 66-60 victory that set up the Sweet 16 showdown with Indiana, Zach noticed smoke coming from the kitchen and the whole house ultimately went up in a blaze. Carter-Williams and his family lost all their belongings, sentimental and otherwise, but fortunately no one was seriously hurt.

Articles

WASHINGTON, D.C. — ESPN.com’s college basketball editor Tweeted this out on Thursday, stirring up a frenzy in the college hoops world:

“Brad Stevens UCLA’s top target & the two sides are in contract negotiations.”

As of 9 p.m. Thursday, the Tweet was still up.

The Big Lead also posted a screen grab of the original story, written by Andy Katz and Peter Yoon, which at first read: “Sources told ESPNLosAngeles.com that the two sides were in contract negotiations.”

ESPN.com later updated the story with this caveat: “Sources told ESPNLA.com that the two sides may be in contract negotiations. However, another source dismissed the claim.”

Stevens and VCU coach Shaka Smart have long been targeted by various programs as the up-and-coming stars of the coaching business.

As Jeff Goodman pointed out, Miami, Missouri, Illinois and other schools have also made runs at Stevens in the past.

Articles, Recruiting

By JACK LeGWIN

Special to ZAGSBLOG

The point guard position is loaded in Florida. The senior class has Kasey Hill, the junior class has Joel Berry and the sophomore class has Antonio Blakeney.

A 10th grader at Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School in Sarasota, Blakeney plays for Each1Teach1 Elite 16U, and caught quite a bit of attention at the Source Hoops Travel Team Jamboree in wins over the Florida Tar Heels 16U and the Florida Vipers 16U.

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