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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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Articles, Recruiting, USA Basketball

15 mu16 trent 800jpgTwo years ago, Duke landed a big man and a guard in a package deal that eventually resulted in the 2015 national championship.

Now, just a couple of months after Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones led the Blue Devils to the NCAA title, two other young prospects have discussed a similar package deal while soaking in the ice bath at the USA Basketball training facility in Colorado Springs, CO.

That would be 6-10 big man Wendell Carter Jr. of Atlanta (GA) Pace and 6-5 shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. of Apple Valley (MN), two Class of 2017 stars who made the USA U16 team.

“Me and Gary, we kind of decided to go to school together,” Carter Jr. told SNY.tv by phone just as Game 1 of the NBA Finals was about to begin. “I don’t know if it’s going to be official but we’re going to try to. We’re going to try to put Jarred [Vanderbilt] in the [mix] too.”

Andre Drummond, Articles

SAMIR-DOUGHTY-140111-PROBy JACK LeGWIN

Samir Doughty has committed to VCU.

“Im extremely proud to announce that I’ve committed to VCU ,” Doughty tweeted.

Doughty, a former St. John’s commit under Steve Lavin, said that there were multiple reasons behind his decision.

“Great family atmosphere,” Doughty told SNY.tv. “The campus is really nice and distance wise it’s close enough for my family and friends to see me play a lot. On my visit I could tell Coach [Will] Wade and the other coaches really cared for the players growth and development. Academically, I saw how they made sure you stayed on top of your work, and I need that structure.”

Articles, Kentucky

NCAA Basketball: Final Four-Wisconsin vs KentuckyBy JOSH NEWMAN

Kentucky head coach John Calipari addressed the media on Thursday morning in Lexington. His answer to the very first question echoed what a lot of college basketball fans thought as his Wildcats’ pursuit of a 40-0 season was stopped by Wisconsin in the Final Four.

“First of all, I never thought we were going to lose last year,” Calipari said. “When we won a couple of games and how we won them, and then what we did to West Virginia (a 78-39 Sweet 16 win), I just didn’t think we’d lose. It hurts because we had a chance, and even though we made history, we had a chance to be one of those iconic teams.

“I haven’t spent a lot of time reflecting, but the thing with this job is that stuff never ends. You’re always doing something. Even when I took some time earlier after the season, we were still in the throes of recruiting and I was on the phone, but it hurt us all. We all thought we were winning the whole thing. We thought we were going 40-0.”

Articles, Recruiting

Jamal Murray actionCanadian point guard Jamal Murray is taking a visit to Oregon beginning today (Thursday), his father told SNY.tv.

The 6-foot-5 floor general out of Orangeville Prep (Ontario) recently visited Kentucky and this is his second official visit.

Led by head coach Dana Altman and assistant Michael Mennenga, Oregon has recruited several Canadians in the past, including rising sophomore forward Dillon Brooks and incoming point guard Dylan Ennis, who transferred from Villanova.

Oregon has four players committed for 2015, including point guards Tyler Dorsey and Kendall Small.

Murray is currently listed as the No. 21 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com, but that’s not good enough for the ultra-competitive point guard.

Articles, Hurleys, St. Benedict's, St. Patrick

Jan 13, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) and forward LeBron James (23) help guard J.R. Smith (5) get up during the fourth quarter against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. Phoenix won 107-100. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers feature three players who played high school ball in New Jersey in Kyrie Irving (2), J.R. Smith (5) and Tristan Thompson (13). Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

This was at 5 a.m. on a spring day in 2007 when Tristan Thompson and Myck Kabongo, two young basketball players from Ontario, Canada, jumped into a rental car with their coach from the Grassroots Canada AAU program, Ro Russell, and embarked on a seven-hour drive to St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, N.J.

The two players didn’t know much about the school – other than it had produced an NBA guard.

“I knew it had J.R. Smith [then of the Denver Nuggets],” Kabongo told me back in 2009. “I was like, ‘They must have a good coach. I want to play at that level.'”

The coach was Dan Hurley, then of St. Benedict’s Prep and now leading a rising power in the Atlantic 10  at Rhode Island.

Articles, St. John's

CGnc_rhWQAA7G5FWhen he took the head coaching job at his alma mater, Chris Mullin proclaimed that he wanted the best talent from New York and New Jersey to stay at home and play for St. John’s.

“I think it’s really important that we dominate New York,” Mullin, who played in a charity softball game along with John Franco on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium, said April 1. “If there’s a good player in New York City, he needs to come to St John’s if he wants to play the best basketball.”

This weekend St. John’s will continue to target some of the top local talent in New York and New Jersey when it hosts 15 players in the Classes of 2016, ’17 and ’18.

That group includes 2017 guard Nate Pierre-Louis and 2018s Atiba Taylor, Naz Reid, Louis King and Jahvon Quinerly — all from the Sports U AAU program run by Ed Bright and Brian Coleman, who confirmed the visits to SNY.tv.

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