February 2015 | Page 8 of 20 | Zagsblog
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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.

Omari Spellman, a 2016 forward from the MacDuffie (MA) School, has committed to Villanova.

“To honor my mother’s birthday and our bond I would like to announce my commitment to Villanova University! #Wildcats,” he Tweeted.

The 6-foot-9 1/2 Spellman is the No. 5 center in the Class of 2016 according to 247Sports Composite rankings.

He also considered Kentucky, Ohio State, UCLA, UConn, Pitt, Arizona, Miami, West Virginia, Virginia, Florida, Indiana, Wake Forest, St. John’s and Seton Hall in no order.

Spellman last visited Villanova Feb. 7 for the Georgetown game.

“He picked Villanova because he had a great relationship with Jay Wright,” David Gates of the PSA Cardinals AAU program told SNY.tv. “I think he did a wonderful job, him and his staff, of recruiting him and just being up front with him with what they want from him as a player.”

MCWSyracuse coach Jim Boeheim killed the Philadelphia 76ers for dealing former Orange point guard Michael Carter-Williams to the Milwaukee Bucks, a deal that will unite Carter-Williams with another former Syracuse point guard in Tyler Ennis.

“I have no idea what they’re doing,” Boeheim said of the tanking 76ers last night on TK99, according to Syracuse.com. “It’s hard to know what they’re doing down there. It’s hard to figure that out.”

He added: “They have to feel that [Carter-Williams] is not the answer for them. I’m sure that’s what their thought process is. I guess, more or less, they just gave up on him being a point guard for their team. … Unless you have a top three or four draft pick, there aren’t that many players who can help your team right away. That’s really the problem in the NBA.”

St. John'sIf the NCAA Tournament began today, St. John’s would have to battle through a play-in game against N.C. State just to make the main draw, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.

Yet senior guard D’Angelo Harrison says he firmly believes the Red Storm will go dancing next month.

“It means everything to me and that’s all I want to do,” Harrison told reporters Thursday in advance of Saturday’s game against Seton Hall. “I haven’t done it yet. We have done everything else from the lowest to the highest, so there is no other way to go but up. We are confident in making the [NCAA] Tournament but we need to win Saturday first.”

Ivan RabbIvan Rabb and Davon Dillard are planning to take official visits to Cal the weekend of Feb. 27.

The 6-foot-11 Rabb out of Oakland (CA) Bishop O’Dowd attended an Arizona-Cal game last month and has been on the Cal campus several times.

A McDonald’s All-American, Rabb is considering Cal, Arizona, Kentucky, Kansas and UCLA, and has already visited Kentucky and Arizona. He will sign in the spring.

“We are setting up an official with Cal the 27th. We plan on visiting both UCLA and Kansas,” Tami Rabb said.

ESPN’s Jeff Goodman reported on ESPNU last month that Cal coach Cuonzo Martin offered Rabb’s high school coach, Lou Richie, a job at Cal when Martin was first hired, but Richie declined. Still, Cal is heavily in the mix.

thon_maker_dunkWhere should Thon Maker spend the 2015-16 basketball season?

In the opinion of several NBA personnel, the 7-footer from Orangeville Prep (Ontario) who has been compared to Kevin Durant and Kevin Garnett would be best served by going to college for at least a year, as opposed to playing professionally overseas.

“In my opinion he should go to college,” one NBA executive told SNY.tv. “It is a low-risk move. If he goes overseas you never know what kind of coaching he will get, what the strength program will be, etc. If he goes to college he is almost guaranteed to be coached well because of all of the top schools recruiting him, and those schools all have development programs in place. No guarantee of that anywhere else.”

Ed Smith, Maker’s guardian, previously told SNY.tv. that Kentucky, Kansas, Indiana and Duke were among the schools recruiting the 17-year-old Maker the hardest, and that they planned to take several college visits after the re-class decision. He also mentioned UCLA, Wake Forest and Missouri. Maker Tweeted Wednesday that he was on track to graduate.

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