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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, Lincoln High School, Seton Hall

    The seemingly inevitable has now become reality.

    Dwayne “Tiny” Morton, the longtime Lincoln High School coach who mentored Stephon Marbury, Sebastian Telfair, Lance Stephenson and Isaiah Whitehead, is now officially an assistant coach at Seton Hall. The July recruiting period begins next week and Morton — who replaced Oliver Antigua, who followed his brother Orlando Antigua to South Florida — could soon be on the road recruiting.

    Kenny Pretlow, Morton’s longtime right hand man at Lincoln, is now the new head man at the Coney Island powerhouse.

    “I think [Morton’s impact at Seton Hall] is going to be immeasurable,” Pretlow told SNY.tv by phone Thursday. “Those guys [Whitehead and incoming freshman wing Desi Rodriguez of Lincoln] have a relationship with him and I think the best part is that Seton Hall is getting a great coach.

    Articles, Recruiting

    Battle-CurryIt’s never a bad thing to be compared to the MVP of the NBA Finals.

    And that’s what happened to Tyus Battle on Wednesday.

    The 6-foot-6 guard out of Gladstone (N.J.) Gill St. Bernard’s inspired a comparison to Kawhi Leonard at the Under Armour Steph Curry Select Camp in the Bay Area.

    ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla Tweeted: “I swear @kidmamba23 will be a college Kawhi Leonard. Has left it all out on court @UAassociation Steph Curry Select Camp. HIGH motor guy!”

    Battle, who won the “I Will” award at the camp for effort and energy, thinks the comparison is a fair one.

    Articles, Recruiting

    Dupree McBrayer, a 6-foot-4 2015 guard from The Patrick School in Elizabeth, N.J. and New Heights, enjoyed recent visits to Minnesota and Seton Hall, and expects to pick a prep school soon.

    McBrayer visited Minnesota last week.

    “The campus was great, the facilities was nice even though it was getting worked on, it was real nice and the weather was good, too,” McBrayer told SNY.tv by phone. “You hear a lot about Minnesota, you think it’s cold, but it was real hot out there….You thinking of cold all the way.”

    McBrayer said coach Richard Pitino is making him a priority.

    “It makes me feel good but I gotta keep working so when I get there I can contribute right away,” he said.

    Tennis

    FedThe Big 4 is down but not out at Wimbledon.

    Defending champion Andy Murray was ousted by Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets in the quarterfinals Wednesday, one day after two-time champion Rafael Nadal was excused by Australian sensation Nick Kyrgios.

    For a while Wednesday, it appeared that the other half of the Big 4 might follow Nadal and Murray off the grounds of the All-England Club.

    But top seed Novak Djokovic survived a five-set epic with Marin Cilic, 6-1, 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-2, and seven-time champion Roger Federer overcame a one-set deficit to down his Swiss countryman Stan Wawrinka, 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4.

    “Clearly it’s always a shock when a defending champion goes out and it puts even more pressure on the favorites really,” Federer told the BBC of Murray’s stunning upset at the hands of the man they call “Baby Fed.”

    Tennis

    GrigorBy JACK LeGWIN

    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    Grigor Dimitrov could win Wimbledon.

    The 23-year-old Bulgarian took it to the defending Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, blowing him off of the court 6-1, 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the quarterfinals and earning a spot in the semifinals on Friday against the winner of the Novak Djokovic – Marin Cilic match. 

    Murray was uncharacteristically uneven against Dimitrov, missing many shots he normally would make, especially off of the forehand wing. Dimitrov finished with 32 winners and 10 unforced errors.

    “As soon as we were warming up, I sensed his game was not at a high level,” Dimitrov, who won the Wimbledon warmup tournament at Queen’s Club, told the BBC.

    Articles, Duke, Kentucky

    Hurley

    Bobby Hurley is undefeated against Kentucky.

    The current Buffalo coach and former Duke star will put his 1-0 career record against the Wildcats on the line when Buffalo visits Rupp Arena Nov. 16. Hurley confirmed the game is set after Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com reported it.

    “It is exciting for our players to have an opportunity to play a program so rich in tradition like Kentucky,” Hurley, who went 19-10, 13-5 last year in the Mid-American Conference, told SNY.tv. “For me personally, I expect to be a crowd favorite.”

    Hurley, of course, was the point guard on the 1992 Duke team that stunned Kentucky in the Elite 8 at the Philadelphia Spectrum on Christian Laettner’s last-second turnaround jumper that ranks as one of the most memorable moments in the history of college basketball.

    Articles, Lance Stephenson

    LanceLance Stephenson turned down a five-year, $44 million offer from the Indiana Pacers, and the Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers are all interested, according to a report from ESPN’s Chris Broussard.

    “It’s gonna be interesting,” a league source told SNY.tv.

    “I felt all along that someone’s gonna come in and make a bigger offer. I thought Charlotte could come with $12 million a year because [Michael] Jordan’s got a taste of winning and he said he wanted to upgrade the two guard position over [Gerald] Henderson and so I thought that was a viable option.

    “I thought Chicago, I know [Coach Tom] Thibodeau likes Stephenson and after they go through the biggest names guys, obviously Carmelo [Anthony] first. If that doesn’t work they’ll look at somthing else. I heard they’re looking at [Luol] Deng again, too.

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