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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.

Six Bob Cousy award finalists were named on Friday, and two of them played high school basketball in New Jersey.

The six finalists are Kyle Anderson of UCLA, Aaron Craft of Ohio State, Tyler Ennis of Syracuse, Shabazz Napier of UConn, Marcus Paige of North Carolina and Fred Van Vleet of Wichita State.

Anderson, now a sophomore at UCLA, led St. Anthony to back-to-back New Jersey Tournament of Champions titles in 2011 and ’12, going 65-0 in two seasons.

BarclaysHaving the ACC Tournament at Barclays Center beginning in 2017 would be a home run for the league.

So says everybody from Jim Boeheim to Rick Pitino to Coach K to Roy Williams to Jay Bilas.

“I think it would be a great marriage because the best of the ACC and the Big East would be in New York,” Bilas told SNY.tv by phone Friday morning.

“It helps everybody. It would be the hottest ticket in basketball. I think it would be a huge win.”

2013 Jordan Brand ClassicThe recruitment of 2016 Canadian point guard Jamal Murray is heating up.

Larry Blunt, head coach at Athlete Institute in Orangeville, Ontario, told SNY.tv that Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, Syracuse and Georgetown are all coming after Murray hard and plan to offer him soon.

“It’s heating up,” Blunt told SNY.tv. “It’s picking up going into his junior year. A lot of people are waiting until they can legally offer him.”

PitinoRick Pitino has some words of advice for Eddie Jordan.

After Louisville destroyed Rutgers, 92-31, in an American Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinal game Thursday in Memphis, Pitino said: “I’m not really sure what to say. It’s one of those nights where everything went really well for us and nothing went right for them…

“You go right to the bar, forget the game, have a drink and get ready for next year.”

McDermottBy JOSH NEWMAN
Special to ZAGSBLOG

NEW YORK — Having blown out Villanova twice during the regular season, Creighton came East this week as the favorite for its first-ever Big East Tournament title.

Their status only became more entrenched when Seton Hall stunned the top-seeded Wildcats early Thursday afternoon.

And once the ball went up for the Blue Jays’ Thursday evening quarterfinal against DePaul, it didn’t take long for Creighton to showcase itself as the favorite. More specifically, it took six seconds.

Creighton’s National Player of the Year candidate, Doug McDermott, canned a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the 19:54 mark, setting off the most remarkable individual half the Big East Tournament has ever seen. McDermott scored 27 of his game-high 35 points in the first half as the Blue Jays overwhelmed the Blue Demons, 84-62, in front of a raucous, pro-Creighton crowd at Madison Square Garden.

NCAA Basketball: Big East Tournament-Providence vs St JohnsNEW YORK  — Make no mistake about it.

This year must be considered a failure for Steve Lavin and St. John’s if they don’t make the NCAA Tournament.

And after losing to Providence 79-74 in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals on their home floor Thursday afternoon, it certainly appears as if the Johnnies are bound for the NIT.

“If we get in the NIT our goal is to win it,” D’Angelo Harrison, who went for 21 points and 10 rebounds in the loss, said after at Madison Square Garden. “If we get in the NCAA our goal is to win it.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfHzJMTQ8JU&w=560&h=315]

NEW YORK — Sterling Gibbs not only knows how to hit a step-back, 19-foot game-winner.

He knows his math, too.

The Seton Hall sophomore guard is well aware that the Pirates must win four games in four days here at Madison Square Garden to make the NCAA Tournament with the Big East’s automatic bid.

Two down, two to go.

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