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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.

PHILADELPHIA — One year ago, top basketball recruits in the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia corridor weren’t talking about Minnesota as a possible destination.

Not even a little bit.

Now, it’s hard to find a top recruit in this area who isn’t mentioning Minnesota and new coach Richard Pitino among the schools working the hardest for their services.

“He came at me with a great recruitment,” 2014 Brooklyn Lincoln guard Isaiah Whitehead said of Pitino Sunday at the Mary Kline Classic.

Former Missouri shooting guard Michael Dixon has committed to Memphis on a visit, according to CBSSports.com.

The 6-foot-1 Dixon left Missouri last November after two sexual assault claims became public, although he never faced criminal charges. He will apply for a waiver to play for Memphis this season, CBSSports.com reported.

Dixon averaged 13.5 points as Missouri’s sixth man in 2011-12.

PHILADELPHIA — Ron Patterson’s eyes lit up when he saw that Syracuse was slated to host Indiana Dec. 3 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

“It’s going to be a good one,” Patterson told SNY.tv Sunday at the Mary Kline Senior Game. “I’ve been wanting it for a long time since I left there, so it’s going to be a good one.”

The 6-foot-3 Patterson initially committed to Indiana but reportedly failed to meet academic requirements in summer school and was then denied admission to Indiana. He then opted to spend the year at Brewster instead of transferring. He ultimately committed to Syracuse in November.

Asked why he felt the way he does about Indiana, Patterson previously told SNY.tv, “Just the way they did me. Like I was screwed over. They said it was academics, but I don’t think it was. I think there was more to it.”

Featuring three players with prior USA Basketball national team experience and 29 collegiate athletes overall, USA Basketball  announced the roster for the 2013 USA Basketball Men’s World University Games Team training camp, which will take place June 24-30 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

“The committee has assembled one of the strongest World University Games training camp rosters USA Basketball has ever had,” said Jim Boeheim, head coach at Syracuse University and chair of the USA Men’s Junior National Team Committee. “It includes some of the top players in college basketball, several of whom have international experience. Selecting the players for the final roster is going to be a real challenge.”

PHILADELPHIA — Ask Kuran Iverson about Memphis’s incoming recruiting class and he’ll tell you it’s better than Kentucky’s historic No. 1-ranked group.

“We can be great,” the 6-foot-9 cousin of Allen Iverson told SNY.tv after scoring 12 points as Team Perseverance lost to to Team Courage, 116-110, in the Mary Kline Senior Game on Sunday.

“Everybody talking about Kentucky hype, but there ain’t really gonna be no Kentucky hype. There’s gonna be some Memphis hype.”

Former Louisville point guard Peyton Siva has a big week ahead.

Siva will work out today (Tuesday) for the Philadelphia 76ers, Wednesday for the Washington Wizards and Friday for the Utah Jazz.

Siva, who averaged 10.0 points and 5.7 assists for the NCAA champions, has also worked out for the Boston Celtics, the Detroit Pistons and at the Nets’ group workout.

“Peyton has come so far, he plays completely under control now,” one veteran NBA scout recently told SNY.tv. “Rick Pitino’s done a great job with him and he listened to Rick, so it’s a win-win. You had a great coach and you had a

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLy_XHGhvaY]

By JACK LeGWIN

Special to ZAGSBLOG

Schools out West are making Josh Perkins a priority.

The 6-foot-3 Colorado point guard who recently transferred to Huntington (W.V.) Prep visited UCLA May 31 while out West for the Pangos All-American Camp, and plans on visiting Gonzaga this weekend.

“I went to UCLA [Friday],” Perkins told Fox Sports in the above video. “Beautiful campus and me and coach Alford really have a good relationship, so I like UCLA a lot.”

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