December 2016 | Page 18 of 23 | 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.

Junior Angel Delgado scored 16 points, none bigger than his hook shot jumper with 49 seconds remaining to lift Seton Hall to a 60-57 victory over California at the Pearl Harbor Invitational in Bloch Arena. Delgado finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for his third consecutive double-double.

The Pirates improved to 7-2 on the young season and earned a big neutral site win over a fellow Kenpom top-50 team in the Golden Bears, who fell to 7-2. The invitational is being played to help honor and memorialize the tragic attack on Pearl Harbor, which claimed the lives of over 2,400 Americans.

“It was a great honor to play at Pearl Harbor and play on the 75th anniversary,” Pirates coach Kevin Willard said by text. “It’s always special when you get to play in front of the men and women who provide the freedom to play this great sport. It’s an experience that will last a lifetime.”

Future Kentucky guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was on hand to see his future team on Wednesday night.

The 6-foot-5 Alexander visited Rupp Arena with his Hamilton Heights (TN) teammates as the No. 6 Wildcats handled Valparaiso, 87-63

On a night when 27 NBA scouts were in attendance, freshman big man Bam Adebayo went for 16 points and 7 rebounds, Malik Monk scored 15 points, Derek Willis tallied 12 and Isaiah Briscoe finished with 10. De’Aaron Fox had 9 points and 5 assists and now has 67 assists on the season. Tyler Ulis, who set the single-season assist record last year, had 37 at this point, per ESPN’s Chris Spatola.

NEW YORK — On a night when Madison Square Garden was chock full of stars, Scottie Lewis and Bryan Antoine sat courtside and soaked it all in.

The two Class of 2019 players from the Ranney School (N.J.) and the Team Rio AAU program sat in the third row for Duke’s 84-74 victory over Florida in the Jimmy V Classic.

They were joined in the crowd by two pretty good former New Jersey and Duke guards in Kyrie Irving of the Cavaliers and ESPN’s Jay Williams.

“It’s always a great experience to be able to watch college basketball, just see how the teams play, watch the coaches, watch the publicity around the game, it’s just an honor to be here,” Lewis told me.

The 6-foot-5 Lewis is a small forward ranked No. 16 in the 2019 ESPN 25, while the 6-4 Antoine is a shooting guard ranked No. 8.

NEW YORK –– If people in the basketball world were wondering just how Duke would look once they started getting their star-studded freshmen class on the floor, Jayson Tatum gave them a pretty good idea on a national stage on Tuesday night.

The 6-foot-8 freshman forward looked silky smooth in going for 22 points on 7-for-12 shooting with 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals as No. 5 Duke handled No. 21 Florida, 84-74, in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. You wouldn’t have known that he went down with a foot sprain during an NBA Pro Day back in October.

Tatum, currently the projected No. 6 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com, put on a show in front of former Duke and current Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving and a slew of NBA personnel at the Garden.

NEW YORK –– Duke could get an early Christmas present in the form of a projected NBA lottery pick.

Freshman big man Harry Giles is expected to make his debut against Tennessee State on Dec. 19, a source told ZAGSBLOG. The Blue Devils play UNLV on Saturday before playing Tennessee State and then Elon on Dec. 21 — both in North Carolina.

“Harry’s practicing, he hasn’t had as much contact yet,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said Tuesday night after freshman forward Jayson Tatum went for a career-high 22 points and 8 rebounds in his second game of the season as No. 5 Duke beat No. 21 Florida, 84-74, in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.

NEW YORK (AP) —Bobby Hurley used a variety of phrases to describe his team’s effort in a 97-64 loss to No. 18 Purdue Tuesday night in the in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.

None of them were remotely flattering.

Hurley used the words “soft,” “very disturbing” and said his team lacked “backbone.”

Perhaps most importantly, Hurley said his team did not honor the legacy of Jim Valvano, for whom the event is named.

“To look like that it was embarrassing,” said Hurley, who was making his coaching debut at the Garden on the same bill as his alma mater, Duke, played Florida. “And then the cause, such a great cause that we’re playing for tonight. Did my players play as hard as the people that are going through what they go through in cancer, as families go through their personal situations? I don’t think so.”

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