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.
Jake Forrester, the 6-foot-9, 210-pound power forward from the Westtown (PA) School and the PSA Cardinals AAU program, took the first of five scheduled visits to Seton Hall late this week.
“It was really fun, they showed a lot of love,” he said Saturday by phone. “The campus is a lot bigger than I thought it was. I had a good time.”
Duke continued its recruiting roll by landing a pledge from Cameron Reddish, the No. 2 player in the 2018 ESPN 100.
The 6-foot-7 guard/forward from Westtown (PA) School and Team Final also considered Kentucky, Villanova, UCLA and UConn.
Reddish averaged 10.7 points and 4.3 rebounds for the USA U19 team that finished third at the FIBA U19 World Cup in Cairo, Egypt while playing for Kentucky coach John Calipari.
“To me, basketball is about what you do when no one’s watching,” Reddish wrote on the Players’ Tribune. “The way I see it, I’m not a prospect. I’m a work in progress. There’s always more to learn.
“And that’s why I’m going somewhere that I can be challenged as a leader, challenged as a student, challenged to grow up, on and off the court.
“That’s why I’ll be attending Duke University.”
Reddish is a truly special player, as both of his coaches indicated to ZAGSBLOG.
“Cam is the most complete player I’ve ever seen,” Westtown coach Seth Berger said. “He has a chance to be one of the best to ever play the game.”
Said Team Final coach Aaron Burt: “Cam is the full package. he has a chance to be one of the best ever to play this game if he focuses on the important details of the game and competes. He’s going to school with great tradition that will only allow him to compete. He is a work in progress with a whole lot of talent.”
Reddish has been linked to several other Duke commits and targets, including guards Tre Jones, who has already committed to Duke, and Darius Garland, with Garland saying at the Peach Jam that he and Reddish might take some of the same official visits.
As for ending up at the same school as Garland or Jones or 6-foot-11 Marvin Bagley III, who has already enrolled for 2017 and is in the mix for the No. 1 overall pick in 2018, Reddish said: “It’s a possibility. At the end of the day I have to do what’s best for me. I will make my decision off of what I feel like I need, not anybody else.”
Duke also remains in the mix for Canadian guard R.J. Barrett of Montverde (FL) Academy, who is in the mix for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
UConn has landed a pledge from St. John’s transfer Sidney Wilson.
“Sid is going to UConn,” his father told ZAGSBLOG.
The 6-foot-7 wing from The Bronx who spent last season at prep power Brewster (N.H.) Academy after transferring from St. Raymond’s High School announced his transfer from St. John’s this week. He must sit out the 2017-18 season and can suit up for the Huskies in 2018-19. UConn is expected to file a waiver request with the NCAA seeking permission for Wilson to play immediately this season.
“It was a difficult decision to leave St. John’s but this was best for Sid and his growth,” Sidney Wilson Sr. told Rivals. “Not just on the basketball court but mentally, as well. Being in the city was more of a burden, which was really the first reason why I moved him from out of it to Brewster. I kind of lost sight of it when he came back.
“Him not being home for a year and a half, I missed him a lot and so did his sister. However, I forgot the initial reason why I moved him: to get some growth and to become comfortable with losing his mother [in 2015].”
With the loss of No. 5 seed Marin Cilic and No. 10 John Isner on Friday at the US Open, the bottom half of the draw is now officially wide open.
“You’re about to be able to drive a Mack truck through the bottom half of the draw,” John McEnroe said on ESPN after the Cilic loss.
Cilic, the 2014 US Open champ, fell in the third round to Argentinian Diego Schwartzman, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-4, paving the way for a first-time finalist on the bottom half of the draw.
Isner, the highest remaining seed after Cilic’s loss, then fell in straight sets to Mischa Zverev, the left-handed serve-and-volleying older brother of No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(5). Alexander Zverev, who many had predicted to make a run to his first Grand Slam final, fell in the second round earlier this week.
‘My brother is No. 6 in the world. I was expecting him to be here in the Round of 16, not me, so…’ Mischa said on court.
Kyrie Irving says he hasn’t spoken with LeBron James since he requested a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers, but called James “one of the greats” in NBA history.
“No, I haven’t spoken to him,” Irving said at the introductory press conference for himself and Gordon Hayward with the Boston Celtics in response to a question from ESPN’s Jeff Goodman.
Led by James and Irving, the Cavs reached three straight NBA Finals, winning the title in 2016 and losing to Golden State in 2015 and ’17.
Yet Irving requested a trade following this year’s loss to the Warriors after sources in his camp said his relationship with James had become irreparable. The trade went down on Aug. 22, but wasn’t completed until this week when the Celtics agreed to include a 2020 second-round pick after the Cavs expressed concern over Isaiah Thomas’ health.
