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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.
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Recruiting, USA Basketball, USA U18 Team

By ADAM ZAGORIA

The July recruiting period doesn’t begin for another couple of weeks, but college coaches will be flocking to Canada beginning Sunday to watch Cole Anthony and the USA U18 team compete in the FIBA Americas Championship in St. Catharines, Ontario.

College coaches are now permitted to watch the USA Basketball youth teams train in Colorado Springs, CO., and compete in their various international events — even when they don’t occur during live periods. The USA plays its first game Sunday evening against the Dominican Republic before facing Panama and the Dominican Republic Monday and Tuesday. The quarterfinals, semis and finals run Thursday-Saturday.

The 6-foot-3 Anthony from Archbishop Molloy (N.Y.) is ranked No. 6 in the 2019 ESPN 60 and is the highest-ranked guard on the USA team. Coaches from Villanova, Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Oregon, Louisville, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Ohio State are among those expected to watch Anthony, who is focused on bringing home a gold medal. A spokesman for the event said at last count, they were expecting about 30 American schools to be on hand.

“Me personally, I’m wide open in my recruitment,” Anthony said this week by phone from Colorado. “I just love to see as many college coaches as I can.”

Recruiting

BY ZACH SMART

For Class of 2019 prospect Diante Smith, versatility is king.

Subscribing to the “Mr. Everything” role while developing a tighter handle and improving his shot consistency, Smith has become a highly prioritized recruit.

TCU, Alabama, Cincinnati, Dayton, Florida, and Auburn are currently putting forth the most effort in recruiting the 6-foot-7, 195-pound wing who is ranked the No. 29 small forward in the Class of 2019 by 247Sports.com.

Smith, who will attend the prestigious NBPA Top 100 Camp, is slated for an unofficial visit to the University of Florida on June 11th.

Duke, Harvard, Recruiting

By ADAM ZAGORIA

GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Wendell Carter Jr.’s parents wanted him to go to Harvard instead of Duke.

Had he done so, the 6-foot-10 Carter Jr. might have become the first one-and-done ever to come out of the Ivy League school.

Even though he chose Duke, he thinks Harvard might eventually

“It depends on the person, it depends on the athlete,” Carter Jr. said when I asked him about it following his Knicks’ workout on Friday. “If he’s willing to take that sacrifice to change the norms of one-and-done athletes of going to blue bloods like Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, if he ‘s willing to take that sacrifice, I think it’s definitely possible.”

NBA Draft, Seton Hall

By ADAM ZAGORIA

Desi Rodriguez isn’t certain whether he’ll hear his name called during the NBA Draft or not.

But he admits he has allowed himself to imagine what it might feel like. The Draft is now just two weeks away — June 21 at Barclays Center.

“It would mean a lot,” the 6-foot-6 Seton Hall product said Thursday by phone after his latest workout with the Phoenix Suns. “I think it would mean more to my family because this is all I do it for. It would definitely upset me emotionally because that’s my No. 1 goal, is to get my named called across the stage. If that happens, I will be happy.”

Whether he’s drafted or not, Rodriguez would like to help his mother, Dana Rodriguez, achieve a better life.

“I would definitely take my mom out the projects,” he said. “That’s my main goal. Get her a nice apartment and maybe work towards getting her a nice house. I know it’s a process. I know it’s not going to be 1-2-3, that easy, but definitely get my mom out the project. That’s my No. 1 goal.”

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