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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 / April 18.
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    • Articles, Recruiting

    PHILADELPHIA — Dwayne Bacon had a slew of schools watching him last week at the Reebok Classic Breakout, and the 6-foot-6 Oak Hill (Va.) Academy combo guard is looking to cut his list relatively soon.

    “Looking to cut my list after July,” he told SNY.tv.

    Bacon, who will spend his senior year at Oak Hill after transferring from  Lakeland (Fla.) McKeel Academy, listed Florida State, USF, Tennessee, Louisville, USC, UCLA and Georgetown among those he’s considering.

    “It’s just a lot,” he said. “I forget some but it’s a lot.”

    Articles, Recruiting

    PHILADELPHIA — Jarred Reuter got to test himself against some of the best bigs in the Class of 2015 last week at the Reebok Classic Breakout.

    The 6-foot-8 Reuter out of Brewster (N.H.) Academy competed against 6-8 Elijah Thomas, 6-10 Diamond Stone, 6-11 Skal Labissiere and 7-3 Christ Koumadje.

    “I held my own, played good D,” Reuter told SNY.tv. “I think I’ve proven I can play them all and hold my own, so it’s been good.”

    As far as schools, Reuter said he noticed that Providence, Rhode Island, Iowa and South Carolina attended all of his games.

    Articles

    By NICK MEDLINE

    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    This spring, Glynn Watson focused on three major schools in his recruitment: Creighton, Nebraska and Purdue.

    But as July began, with coaches in attendance, the Rivals.com four-star point guard earned even more interest.

    Maryland became the latest to offer Watson, with head coach Mark Turgeon informing him of the news on Monday.

    After watching Watson play at Riverside (IL) with his Illinois Wolves AAU team, Turgeon based his early pitch on familiarity.

    Louisville

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSL0LNtjgx0&w=560&h=315]

    Louisville has landed a commitment right in the middle of the July recruiting period.

    Deng Adel, an athletic, high-energy 6-foot-7 small forward originally from Australia, committed to the Cardinals on Monday.

    The four-star forward is now at Bradenton (FL) Victory Rock Prep and impressed Louisville coach Rick Pitino and his staff during the recent Adidas Unrivaled Camp in Chicago.

    Adel had offers a slew of schools, along with interest from Kentucky and UConn, according Victory Rock Prep coach Loren Jackson.

    Articles, SMU

    SMU freshman guard Emmanuel Mudiay will head overseas to pursue a professional career instead of enrolling at the Dallas school, but still could end up being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.

    “He stil has a chance to be the No. 1 pick regardless of where he plays,” a veteran NBA scout told SNY.tv.

    “If he continues to develop, it could come down to him or [Jahlil] Okafor for the No. 1 pick next year.”

    Mudiay is projected as the No. 3 pick in the 2015 Draft by DraftExpress.com behind big men Okafor of Duke and Cliff Alexander of Kansas.

    Current NBA players Brandon Jennings of the Detroit Pistons and Jeremy Tyler of the Knicks both skipped college in America to head overseas, with Jennings playing in Italy and Tyler spending time in Israel and Japan.

    Now the 6-foot-5 Mudiay will follow the same trajectory.

    Articles

    Coach K and LeBronBy JOSH NEWMAN
    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    At the LeBron James Skills Academy last week in Las Vegas, the newly re-minted Cleveland Cavalier was under a self-imposed public gag order.

    James was determined not to create the mess that his 2010 free agency turned into, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t willing to discuss the topic last week with someone he greatly respects.

    “I wished him luck, he looked like he was in control of the situation,” Duke and Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski said on a conference call Monday morning after USA Basketball announced its 19-player FIBA World Cup training camp roster. “I just told him, ‘Do what you feel you need to do. You don’t owe anybody, you owe yourself.’ He didn’t need any advice from me.”

    Articles, Recruiting

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo1PkdHSksA&w=560&h=315]

    PHILADELPHIA — Last week’s Reebok Classic Breakout featured a slew of talented big men in Elijah Thomas, Diamond Stone and Chimezie Metu, but 6-foot-11 Skal Labissiere was as impressive as any of them.

    Former Virginia, Providence and Xavier coach Pete Gillen coached Labissiere all week and came away saying he likes the young man’s game but that he needs to be more assertive.

    “He got better as the week went on,” Gillen told SNY.tv. “He’s such a nice young man. He’s a beautiful kid, you want your son to be more like him, but he’s gotta be more aggressive. But as the week went on he got more aggressive. In his last game he was terrific [scoring 22 points]. He was hitting shots, he was like a volcano that grew.

    “He’s a finesse post guy. You can say four/five. He’s certainly comfortable facing the basket but I think he’s a versatile post man. He can play the four or five.”

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