January 2015 | Page 21 of 26 | Zagsblog
Recent Posts
About ZagsBlog
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.
Follow Zags on Twitter
Couldn't connect with Twitter
Contact Zags
Connect with Zags:
Saturday / November 23.

FIBA U17 World Championships - DubaiKentucky’s John Calipari, Kansas’ Bill Self, Duke’s Jon Scheyer and Arizona’s Joe Pasternack are among the coaches expected in Thursday night to watch 7-foot 2016 Australian sensation Isaac Humphries of La Porte (IN) La Lumiere when they play Wasatch Academy (UT).

Weather could be a factor that could impact the coaches’ travel, head coach Shane Heirman said, but Humphries has already attracted attention from Kentucky and others high-majors.

“He’s new, he’s intriguing, he’s 7 foot, he’s really agile and skilled so he’s someone I think [Kentucky] would be interested in,” Brad Johnstin, La Lumiere’s associate head coach, told SNY.tv.

Craig VictorArizona transfer Craig Victor is considering numerous future landing spots and hopes to make a decision by this weekend, Gregg Holmes, Victor’s AAU coach from New Orleans Elite, told SNY.tv.

The 6-foot-7 freshman from New Orleans is considering Seton Hall, Tulane, Oklahoma State, San Diego State, LSU, Oklahoma and Tennessee. He averaged 3.1 points and 1.1 rebounds per game at Arizona, and will be eligible after the first semester in 2015-16.

Holmes said no visits are planned, but he could potentially take one later this week.

“He’s not really comfortable on taking a visit,” Holmes said. “He wants to get it done and enroll in school and start the process.”

BY JEREMY FUCHS

USATSI_8316529_110579513_lowres

NEW YORK — In his last two games, Villanova junior forward Daniel Ochefu has grabbed 37 rebounds.

In the first half of No. 8 Villanova’s 90-72  victory over No. 24 St. John’s (11-4, 0-3) Tuesday evening at Madison Square Garden, the 6-foot-11 Ochefu played just nine minutes. He grabbed eight rebounds.  He finished the game with 13 rebounds in just 22 minutes, going up against St. John’s forward Chris Obekpa, who averages 8.4 rebounds per game and had just five in this game.

The Wildcats won the rebounding battle, 41-21, including beating St. John’s 14-5 on the offensive glass. Ochefu added 13 points. In a span of 46 minutes between the game against Seton Hall and the first half of the game against St. John’s, Ochefu pulled down 33 rebounds.

NCAA Basketball: Mississippi at KentuckyBy CHRIS RUSSELL

The dream of a perfect season remains alive.

No. 1 Kentucky survived and continued its undefeated season in thrilling overtime fashion by defeating Ole Miss 89-86 Tuesday night in Rupp Arena.

In a back-and-forth matchup that consisted of eight lead changes and 13 ties, Kentucky (14-0,1-0) fought to keep their undefeated hopes alive as Ole Miss (9-5,0-1) tried to pull the improbable upset on the road in the SEC opener for both teams.

In the end, it was Kentucky that prevailed thanks to shooting guard Aaron Harrison’s season-high 26 points on 6-for-14 shooting and a career high five made three pointers.

“We knew we had to step up to win and that’s what we did,” Harrison said. “We’ve been in big games before, so we knew what we had to do.”

NCAA Basketball: Villanova at St. JohnNEW YORK D’Angelo Harrison limped into the Madison Square Garden press room with his left knee wrapped in ice and his lower lip busted up.

Harrison played bravely, scoring a game-high 25 points as No. 24 St. John’s lost to No. 8 Villanova, 90-72, but the state of Harrison’s body mirrored the state of the St. John’s program at the moment.

They are battered and bruised, having gotten off to an 0-3 Big East start one year after their 0-5 beginning doomed their NCAA Tournament hopes.

“I’ll be alright for Providence,” a defiant Harrison insisted after his team lost to Villanova for the sixth straight time. “I’m fine, I’ll be alright.”

4_995450BY JEREMY FUCHS

Burlington (N.J.) Life Center point guard Traci Carter told SNY.tv Tuesday that he is not considering only Louisville, Seton Hall and Indiana, as originally reported on Saturday.

Carter told SNY.tv that in addition to those three schools, he is being recruited by Manhattan, Creighton, DePaul, Memphis and Temple, among many others. As he said Saturday, he is not leaning towards any one school.

Carter also confirmed to SNY.tv that he was at the Prudential Center on Saturday to watch Seton Hall’s upset victory over Villanova.

X