Rhody Head Coach Dan Hurley, Scout’s Evan Daniels Join the Four Quarters Podcast
In this week's episode of the Four
In this week's episode of the Four
The NCAA early signing period is in the books and there was a flurry of activity leading up to — and just after — the final day on Nov. 16.
Wendell Carter Jr. waited until a week after the early period to announce he had signed with Duke, announcing it on Wednesday via a James Bond-style video.
That followed a busy few days in which center Bourama Sidibe picked Syracuse, point guard Quade Green chose Kentucky and forward Billy Preston opted for Kansas.
Now as we look ahead to the spring signing period which runs April 12-May 17, here are five compelling questions on the recruiting front:
Wendell Carter Jr. will join his friend and USA Basketball teammate Gary Trent Jr. at Duke, even if it took Carter Jr. two weeks longer than Trent Jr. to announce.
The 6-foot-10 Carter Jr., who this summer won a gold medal with Trent Jr. and the USA U17 team, signed with Duke during the early signing period and announced on Wednesday morning.
“I made my decision,” he said in a Bleacher Report video that depicted him as James Bond. “I choose Duke University.”
Carter Jr., out of Atlanta (GA) Pace Academy, also considered Harvard, Georgia and Georgia Tech.
— Wendell Carter Jr (@wendellcarter34) November 23, 2016
“Wendell has a varied skill set that allows him to face the basket as well as post up in a true post offensive scheme,” USA Basketball coach Don Showalter told ZAGSBLOG. “He has greatly improved his defense, especially guarding a face up offensive player.”
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — Indiana coach Tom Crean walked into his postgame news conference and got right to the point.
The third-ranked Hoosiers were outplayed Tuesday night.
The quick, precise ball movement was missing. The energy Indiana needed to handle a preseason conference favorite, on its home court, also was absent. And the stunning result was the biggest upset of this young college basketball season: IPFW 71, Indiana 68.
“The bottom line is they executed better than we did, and that’s disappointing to me,” Crean said. “They passed the ball faster and better than we did.”
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — North Carolina has won the Maui Invitational three times, championships that were a springboard to two national titles and a trip to the Final Four.
Keep playing like this and the Tar Heels could be looking at a repeat performance.
Joel Berry III scored 24 points, Justin Jackson added 22 and No. 4 North Carolina steamrolled its way into the Maui Invitational championship game Tuesday night with a 107-75 victory over Oklahoma State.
“We played a level much higher than at any other time this year,” Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said.
The Tar Heels were warned about Oklahoma State’s pressing defense, one that effectively disrupted the Cowboys’ four previous opponents.
But North Carolina (6-0) dominated the Cowboys from the start, building a 12-point lead in the opening 4 1/2 minutes. The Tar Heels kept their foot down, shooting 57 percent and going 8 of 17 from 3-point range while smothering Oklahoma State at the other end.
Next up is No. 16 Wisconsin in Wednesday’s championship game for a chance at their fourth Maui title.
“At pregame meal, they weren’t trying to scare us, just prepare us for what was to come,” said Berry, who had five rebounds, four assists and three steals. “We came out and hit them first.”
The Cowboys (4-1) had no answer.
Oklahoma State’s press was picked apart by the long, athletic Tar Heels, and the Cowboys couldn’t stop them in the half court, either.
Jawun Evans had 30 points on 13-of-25 shooting, but got little help from his Oklahoma State teammates on the offensive end. The Cowboys shot 36 percent and were 6 of 22 from 3-point range.
“Boy, did they punch us in the mouth early and it was an uphill battle from there,” coach Brad Underwood said. “They are a very, very good basketball team and if we play another team that good, I hope that it’s deep in March and we’ve had time to grow.”
North Carolina needed a little warmup time against Chaminade in the opening round before dominating the Silverswords inside for a 104-61 win.
The Tar Heels jumped on the Cowboys from the opening tip, scoring inside and out. North Carolina hit seven of its first 13 shots to open with a 16-4 run and kept pouring ’em in.
The Tar Heels hit 18 of 32 shots, going 4 of 7 on 3s, and led 51-38 at halftime.
Oklahoma State’s first-half offense was all Evans. He had 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting while the rest of the Cowboys were 4 of 21.
North Carolina hit a couple of quick baskets to open the second half, prompting Underwood to call a timeout.
It did little good.
The Tar Heels continued to pour it on, stretching the lead to 67-42 in the opening 4 minutes and cruising from there.
“They jumped on us right at the start of the second half and the game pretty much was never in doubt,” Underwood said.
BIG PICTURE
The Cowboys had little impact on North Carolina with their pressure defense and need to find someone besides Evans to carry some of the scoring load.
The Tar Heels showed just how good they can be with a dominating performance at both ends to set up what should be a fantastic final in Maui.
BALANCED SCORING
Berry and Jackson were the scoring leaders, but North Carolina spread it around, finishing with six players in double figures.
Isaiah Hicks and Tony Bradley had 13 points each, Nate Britt finished with 12 and Kennedy Meeks had 10.
“To see six players in double figures, that’s pretty crazy against a very good team,” Jackson said.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma State will face Georgetown in the third-place game on Wednesday.
North Carolina faces No. 16 Wisconsin in Wednesday’s title game.
Follow John Marshall on Twitter @jmarshallap
UConn's Terry Larrier is on crutches and
