January 2017 | Page 19 of 30 | 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.

By JACOB POLACHECK & ADAM ZAGORIA

Quentin Grimes, the 6-foot-4, 2018 shooting guard from The Woodlands College Park (TX) High School, says Baylor, Kansas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and Arizona are the five schools recruiting him the hardest.

“I really like all those schools and watch closely how they let their guards play and run the show,” said Grimes. He has taken unofficial visits to Texas A&M (Oct. 8) and Arizona (Oct. 14).

He has no upcoming visits planned.

By ADAM ZAGORIA

Spencer Joyner has never met Kyrie Irving, but he knows a lot about him.

“I never met him,” Joyner, a 12-year-old seventh-grader at The Patrick School (N.J.), said by phone. “He plays on the Cleveland Cavaliers with LeBron and Kevin Love. He just won an NBA title last year. [He was] the No. 1 pick in the Draft, went to Duke. He didn’t play so much in college because he got hurt.”

Irving is also among the leaders in votes for the upcoming NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans.

Though the two have never met, Irving is making a huge difference in Joyner’s life. Spencer was diagnosed in November with pseudotumor cerebri, a debilitating condition that results in migraine headaches and can cause vision loss. The condition kept him in the hospital for more than a week and prevents him from attending school for the time being.

By MIKE McCURRY

NEW YORK — Diana Martinez will not soon be forgotten, mainly because her grandson would never let that happen.

The tokens of remembrance are everywhere. There are the three tattoos on the left side of his body, including an image of Diana’s face right over his heart; the pink socks to promote cancer awareness donned on game days; the #Everything4Her and #RestEasyMyLove hashtags incorporated in every one of his social media posts.

On November 21st, stomach cancer claimed the life of Diana at just 54 years old.

The Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn lost a valued community member.

Odilia Martinez lost her beloved mother.

Jose Alvarado, arguably the best point guard currently on the New York City high school circuit, lost his world.

By JOHN PYE

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Six-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic drew a difficult first-round opponent in Fernando Verdasco, and Roger Federer’s fall in the rankings complicated his chances at Melbourne Park after he ended up in same quarter as top-ranked Andy Murray, No. 5 Kei Nishikori and No. 10 Tomas Berdych.

The official draw for the season’s first major was held Friday and delivered an awkward opponent for second-seeded Djokovic. Verdasco had an upset win over fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the first round here last year, and had five match points before losing to Djokovic in the semifinals at Doha last week.

Six-time women’s champion Serena Williams, aiming for an Open-era record 23rd Grand Slam singles title, drew a challenging first-round opponent in Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic – who was seeded 12th last year – and also had No. 9 Johanna Konta, No. 17 Caroline Wozniacki and No. 6 Dominika Cibulkova in her quarter.

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