April 2013 | Page 23 of 32 | 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.

Cody ZellerOne day after his Indiana teammate Victor Oladipo announced he was entering the NBA Draft, 7-foot sophomore forward Cody Zeller is following suit, according to multiple reports.

Zeller averaged 16.5 points and 8.1 rebounds for Indiana, which was ranked No. 1 for several weeks this season but fell to Syracuse in the East Region semifinals in Washington, D.C.

Draft Express has him as the No. 6 overall pick in the NBA Draft.

http://web.sny.tv/media/video.jsp?content_id=26160181

With their 120-99 victory over the Washington Wizards Tuesday night, the Knicks won their 13th straight game and, more importantly, captured their first Atlantic Division title since the 1993-94 campaign.

That team reached the NBA Finals.

“It says a lot, it says a lot about our team,” Carmelo Anthony, who notched 36 points, eight rebounds and six assists, told MSG after the game. “We reached one of our goals that we set at the beginning of the season. We been playing phenomenal, we came together as a group, we set our goals, we reached one of them and and we just trying to prepare ourselves for the postseason.”

Niagara coach Joe Mihalich will be the new head man at Hofstra and will be introduced on Wednesday at noon, sources confirmed to SNY.tv.

SNY.tv previously reported that Mihalich interviewed at Hofstra last month.

The news was first reported by Newsday.

Hofstra first targeted Iona coach Tim Cluess, a Hofstra grad and Long Island native, but he opted to re-up with the Gaels instead.

Mihalich, who was named the 2013 MAAC Coach of the Year and the 2013 Skip Prosser Man of the Year, takes over a Hofstra program that went 7-25 last season and had six players arrested for off-the-court incidents.

BY MATT SUGAM & ADAM ZAGORIA

Rutgers has lost two commits a week after the Mike Rice fallout began.

South Kent point guard Shane Rector and junior college wing Chris Griffin have both reopened their recruitments, SNY.tv has learned.

“Shane is officially re-opening his recruitment,” Rector’s dad Deshon told SNY.tv. “He will keep Rutgers on his list.”

While Rector is still open to going to Rutgers, Griffin’s AAU coach Chris Ayers said the player has “decommited.” It does not appear likely Griffin is going stick to with Rutgers.

By JOSH NEWMAN
Special to ZAGSBLOG

Ben McLemoreThe day after the college basketball season ends usually signifies the unofficial start of NBA Draft news beginning to pick up.

With that said, a trio of big-name underclassmen, Ben McLemore of Kansas, Indiana’s Victor Oladipo and Louisville’s Russ Smith, made their intentions known on Tuesday afternoon as all three will enter the NBA Draft on June 27

Meantime, Creighton junior forward Doug McDermott is “not close to a decision” regarding his future, his father and coach, Greg McDermott, told SNY.tv Tuesday.

By JOSH NEWMAN
Special to ZAGSBLOG

Ricky LedoHaving not played a second of college basketball, Providence College freshman Ricky Ledo is heading for the NBA Draft, the Providence Journal reported on Tuesday afternoon.

The 6-foot-7, 20-year old Providence native committed to his hometown school in Sept., 2011, but never gained eligibility to play for head coach Ed Cooley thanks to his failure to meet NCAA academic standards.

Despite never getting on the court at Providence, NBA scouts had been impressed with what they had seen at practices throughout the winter. So much so that there are indications that despite not playing in a game since his final year at South Kent School, Ledo could find himself chosen in the first round.

“I think he’s a 25-30 guy and if not, certainly in the top of the second round,” one veteran NBA scout told SNY.tv. “He’s an intriguing prospect, but it’s a very tricky deal as far as you haven’t seen him play at a high level.”

 

ATLANTA — Can the state of Kentucky win three NCAA championships in a row?

That will be a dominating storyline for much of the next year in college basketball.

The Bluegrass State now has won two straight, with Rick Pitino and Louisville cutting down the nets in 2013 and John Calipari and Kentucky winning it all in 2012.

Both teams figure to be right back in the mix in 2014, with Kentucky’s boatload of McDonald’s All-Americans likely to make them a preseason favorite in the eyes of many folks.

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