Mount Vernon junior point guard Jabarie Hinds suffered an ankle injury Saturday but is still picking up high-major Division I interest.
Playing with the Westchester Hawks against All-Ohio Red in the Pitt Jam Fest, Hinds rolled his ankle on what Mount Vernon coach Bob Cimmino called a “freak play.”
“He was going for a break-away layup and came down in a freak way on his own ankle,” Cimmino said Monday morning. “He’s in an air cast. The X-rays were negative but he will be sidelined for a while now.”
Prior to the injury, the 5-11, 150-pound Hinds had drawn recent interest from Florida State, Oklahoma State and Villanova.
“Florida State asked if it was too late to get involved and I said, ‘No,'” Cimmino said.
As for Villanova, Cimmino said: “They have a unique way of recruiting. They’re very good at it. They don’t come on like gangbusters. But a kid of Jabarie’s talents they gotta be interested.”
Hinds, the No. 19 point guard in the Class of 2011, also lists Louisville, Virginia, Wake Forest and UNLV among his leaders, Cimmino said.
“His timetable is to take everything in over the AAU season and then sit down around Aug . 1 and set up his fall trips,” Cimmino said.
PINKSTON INKS VILLANOVA LETTER OF INTENT
JayVaughn Pinkston, a 6-6 senior standout at Bishop Loughlin (N.Y.) High School who played in the 2010 McDonald’s All-American Game, signed his national letter of intent to attend Villanova.
“JayVaughn is an incredibly talented young man who has a unique passion for the game,” Villanova head coach Jay Wright said. “He has been well-coached by Edwin Gonzalez and Kimani Young. He can play multiple positions and has been a leader at Bishop Loughlin for four years. We are thrilled to welcome JayVaughn and his mom, Kerry, into the Villanova Family.”
Pinkston averaged 25 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots per game at Bishop Loughlin, the alma mater of former Wildcat star Curtis Sumpter (2002). In April, Pinkston scored 26 points and collected nine rebounds at the Capital Classic All-Star Game in Washington, D.C.
This addition brings to six the number of McDonald’s All-Americans have signed at Villanova since 2006. That list includes 2010 consensus first team All-American Scottie Reynolds; Corey Stokes; Taylor King; Dominic Cheek; Maalik Wayns and Pinkston. Reynolds will graduate in May but the rest of that contingent will be on the Villanova roster in 2010-11.
Pinkston becomes the third player to ink a national letter of intent to attend Villanova in the class of 2014. James Bell, 6-5, of Montverde (Fla.) Academy and 6-9 Markus Kennedy of The Winchendon School (Mass.) signed letters last fall. Kennedy is expected to remain at Winchendon for a postgraduate year next season.
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