Arizona State Lands Buffalo Transfer Shannon Evans
Shannon Evans, a 6-foot-1 sophomore guard and
Shannon Evans, a 6-foot-1 sophomore guard and
New St. John’s coach Chris Mullin has signed his first recruiting class and remains hopeful that he can land uncommitted 2015 big man Cheick Diallo after meeting with him for a second time on Wednesday.
The Red Storm announced the signings of Darien Williams (San Francisco, Calif.), Tariq Owens (Odenton, Md.) and Ron Mvouika (Paris, France).
Williams, a 6-foot-8 junior college transfer, and Mvouika, a 6-foot-6 graduate transfer, will be available for the 2015-16 season. The 6-foot-10 Owens comes to St. John’s from Tennessee, and per NCAA transfer regulations, he must complete one full academic year of residency before competing for the Red Storm.
“Darien, Tariq and Ron are part of the new foundation we are in the process of building for our program,” said St. John’s first year head coach Chris Mullin. “These three players add a mix of size, skill and athleticism to our roster, and they all have experience at the collegiate level, which will help offset the graduation of our five-member senior class.”
UConn coach Kevin Ollie has removed himself from consideration for the Oklahoma City Thunder coaching job, multiple sources told SNY.tv on Thursday.
“He is calling [Thunder GM] Sam Presti and pulling his name out due to very personal reasons,” one source said.
“[Oklahoma City] made it clear that they really did want him but there were a variety of reasons as to why he decided not to do it,” a second source said.
Sources previously told SNY.tv that Ollie, a former Thunder player, was “listening” to what Presti had to say and that he was “their No. 1 target” in part because of his strong relationship with stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Durant will become a free agent in 2016, and Ollie was seen as a critical piece both in keeping Durant with the franchise and in balancing the Durant/Westbrook dynamic.
Tyus Battle, one of the top recruits in the Class of 2016 out of Gladstone (N.J.) Gill St. Bernard’s, could make his college decision by June.
“I’d like to see him get this over with by June,” Gary Battle, the player’s father, told Syracuse.com. “Tyus is undecided on that.”
The 6-foot-6 Battle is coming off back-to-back official visits to Duke and Louisville, where he had dinner at home with both Mike Krzyzewski and Rick Pitino, according to Syracuse.com. Battle also had an in-home visit Wednesday night with Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim and assistant coach Mike Hopkins.
A slew of high-major Division 1 college coaches will flock to see the New York Rens AAU team this weekend at the Adidas Gauntlet stop in Indianapolis.
Why?
Well, the Rens have not one, but two, high-major players in 2016 guards Rawle Alkins and Mustapha Heron, who decommitted from Pittsburgh last week.
Duke, Arizona, Kansas, Miami, Michigan, Villanova, Indiana, Cincinnati, N.C. State, St. John’s, VCU and Marquette all reached out this week to Rens coach Andy Borman to tell them they would be watching beginning on Saturday at 8 a.m. at Best Choice Fieldhouse.
Some schools have inquired about taking the 6-foot-5 Alkins and the 6-5 Heron as a package.
Drexel transfer Damion Lee is headed to Louisville and, he Tweeted.
#L1C4 Louisville First Cards Forever.
— Damion Lee (@DameX_0) April 23, 2015
The 6-foot-6 junior guard also considered Arizona, Gonzaga, Maryland and Marquette.
The nation’s fifth-leading scorer, Lee averaged 21.4 points and 6.1 rebounds last season for the Dragons.
Lee will graduate from Drexel in June and will be immediately eligible to play next season.
“A great get for us,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said, according to Eric Crawford. “Much needed.” Pitino said the additions of Lee and Cleveland State transfer Trey Lewis “allows us to stay in the mode we’ve been in last five years.”
Chris Walker, once a heralded prospect and potential one-and-done player, is leaving Florida, sources confirmed to SNY.tv.
It remains unclear if he will try to transfer or play professionally somewhere.
“I’m definitely hearing that he’s leaving,” one source said, adding he had heard the news earlier this week. “He needs to transfer. I don’t think he might get drafted at this point.”
Evan Daniels of Scout.com first reported that the 6-foot-10 sophomore was leaving Florida.
