Big East Basketball Report - for Big East Conference Basketball news and recruiting as well as an occasional game coverage

BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (9/3/2010)

*********Follow NBE Sports on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NBESports***** We send readers off on the long holiday weekend with a News & Notes entry to close out a busy week. With college football gearing up this weekend it also means official visits are gettign under way. The biggest mover and shaker this weekend on the visit front is Louisville and Rick Pitino is taking advantage of the home football game with Kentucky to host a VERY impressive group of prospects. Other news includes UConn’s date to respond to the NCAA has been pushed back once again. One of their two German recruits... [Read more.]

WHILE RICE & LAVIN SCORE IN 2011, SHU HOSTS BIG 2012 RECRUITS

New staffs of NYC/NJ Big East schools serving notice they mean business on recruiting trail by RAY MERNAGH When it comes to the St. John’s/Rutgers/Seton Hall triumvirate we need to get honest for a second: All three Big East schools in the New York Metro area have, when it comes to recruiting battles, been pretending for some time. Sure you had the exceptions, like the “McDonalds All American” going to Rutgers, but any huge recruiting coups for the three locals where few and far between. The “battle of the sharks” that was promised/anticipated between Gonzo... [Read more.]

TARIQ CAREY LIKES ACC; HAS EARLY FAVORITE

Newark (NJ) guard in 2012 class is looking for respect as one of best in his class by MATT WHITFIELD Perhaps overlooked and underrated because he doesn’t play at one of Northern New Jersey’s perennial Top 25 USA Today programs, Tariq Carey feels he deserves some respect. Carey is an active guard with good athleticism and size for a rising junior. The Newark (NJ) Eastside product plays hard on both sides of the floor and has really improved his all-around. He has an ability to get into the lane and finish or distribute. Carey can score with contact at the rim and showed a much improved ability... [Read more.]

RYAN ARCIDIACONO ADDS TWO MORE OFFERS

While it has been just over three months since Ryan Arcidiacono blew up nationally with a strong spring performance on the AAU circuit with the PA Playaz, NBE has been following the class of 2012 guard out of Neshaminy (PA) for quite some time. It came as no surprise to us when Arcidiacono blew became the talk of the Bob Gibbons’ Tournament of Champions back on Memorial Day weekend with his gritty toughness and ability to raise the play of his entire team. We have been seeing him do the same time and time again since June of 2009 when we first began writing about him as one of the top prospects... [Read more.]

MICHAEL CAREY SEES RECRUITMENT HEAT UP OVER SUMMER

Texan guard has offers and interest from schools across the country as one of 2012’s top prospects by JEFF BORZELLO Michael Carey has had a pretty good two months – basketball in July and the Bahamas in August. Not a bad way to spend a summer, especially for someone entering their junior year of high school. “[I] just got back to Houston yesterday from the Bahamas, to visit my fam,” said Carey, a native of the Bahamas. The 6-foot-5 point guard from Texas deserved the break, after turning heads on the AAU circuit during the spring and summer with the Franchize All-Starz where he... [Read more.]

BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (9/1/2010)

*********Follow NBE Sports on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NBESports***** Where did the summer go? Well, temperature-wise, summer is still here and brining the heat as the mercury is climbing again today in the Northeast, but we flip another page of our calendars and we welcome September! September brings us college football, on-campus official visits, coaches hitting the road for open gyms and in-home visits and we are one-month closer to the 2010-2011 college basketball season. Of course on a day I have to head out of the country, news seemed to break every half hour or so and drained the battery... [Read more.]

BIG COMMITMENT FOR ST.JOHN’S; RUTGERS UP NEXT

By Ray Mernagh Maurice Harkless is the prototype that St. John’s coach Steve Lavin loves: a long athletic small forward who can get buckets at a high and consistent rate. Harkless is also the first local product — a highly ranked one at that — to announce that he’s all in with Lavin and the rebirth the new coach intends on bringing to the once-great Johnnie program. A source close to Harkless has confirmed that the bouncy 6′6 rim-rocker from the South Kent School has given Lavin and staff his verbal commitment and will be part of their 2011 class. Obviously a HUGE... [Read more.]

ERIC KATENDA PLANNING 2 ACC OFFICIAL VISITS

Uncommitted 2011 forward has Big East, Big 10 and others in pursuit By Matt Whitfield Eric Katenda showed to be one of the top remaining uncommitted forwards in the Class of 2011 this spring. However, unlike most high school players entering their senior year, Katenda didn’t spend many summer days traveling around the country playing basketball, he spent them in a bed recovering after getting his appendix removed and recovering from tendinitis. “I was in the hospital for a month,” Katends said. “I got out around July….but now my knees feeling a lot better and I’m starting to... [Read more.]

BASKETBALL RECRUITING NOTEBOOK: FIVE-STAR CAMP NOTES

On Sunday Matt Whitfield of NBE ventured to Brewster (NY) for the invite-only Five-Star Super Session at the Brewster Sports Center. Top rising sophomores, juniors and seniors from the Northeast and a few high-level “out-of-towners” participated in the two-day camp which concluded with an Orange/White All-Star game Sunday afternoon. In addition to games and skill instruction with Five-Star’s innovative and historic teaching stations, the mental aspect of the game and success was also covered as campers spent three-sessions with sports psychologist and performance coach Dr. Pam... [Read more.]

BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (8/30/2010)

*********Follow NBE Sports on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NBESports***** A quick version of Big East hoops News & Notes today as there was not a whole lot of news over the weekend. Providence adds a player for the 2010-2011 season and a local article on their recent 2012 verbal commitment is found in the links below. While Louisville has seen a couple players they hoped would contribute not be available this season, they hope Preston Knowles is ready for a more consistent season as a go-to player. West Virginia’s 2010 freshman class got smaller in numbers and a lot smaller in stature... [Read more.]

ANDRE DRUMMOND, KURAN IVERSON TAKE UNOFFICIAL VISITS SUNDAY

There’s been lots of speculation regarding 2012 big man Andre Drummond. One topic of conversation on the recruiting trail is that Drummond is already a UConn lean but his camp seems to dismiss this whenever they do talk about possibly the most prized recruit in a loaded 2012 class. Another rumor making the rounds is that Drummond might possibly make the jump back up and be a part of the 2011 class. It seems to definitely be something he and his camp are exploring. Well, NBE has the latest on Drummond and where he was yesterday, plus somebody who was with him in highly touted 2013 class member... [Read more.]

FIVE-STAR NEW YORK SUPER SESSION ALL-STAR ROSTERS

Over the weekend an impressive roster of talented basketball prospects came together for the invitation-only 5-Star Basketball Camp’s New York Super Session held at the Brewster Sports Center in Brewster (NY). In true Five-Star camp fashion, “where teaching never stops”, the players were put through the famous Five-Star camp stations in addition to playing five-on-five games over the course of Saturday and Sunday. Five-Star offered campers skill instruction with Five-Star’s innovative and historic teaching stations and campers spent three-sessions with sports psychologist... [Read more.]

GARY HARRIS TAKING UNOFFICIAL; DARION ATKINS & PAT CONNAUGHTON SCHEDULE OFFICIALS

by RAY MERNAGH Gary Harris is shown here putting on a show at the Adidas May Classic in, well, May! The Hamilton Southeastern HS product (Fishers, IN) is one of the more sought after shooting guards in the ‘12 class with suitors throughout the Midwest including multiple Big Ten and Big East schools. NBE has learned that Harris will trip, unofficially of course, to one of those places tomorrow in an effort to get a better feel for a program that’s been on him pretty much since day one. You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month... [Read more.]

JABARI BROWN UPDATE: BIG EAST VISIT SET

by RAY MERNAGH Jabari Brown is one of the most sought after shooting guards in the 2011 class. At 6′4 or 6′5, Brown is well put together physically at 210 lbs and when his shot starts falling he’s been known to put up astronomical scoring numbers. In fact Brown spent the AAU season doing just that — putting up numbers — for the deep and talented Oakland Soldiers. Brown has had a list of seven schools for a little while now and NBE learned tonight that he will officially visit one of those on September 25th. The kid from the Bay will make the trip cross country to check... [Read more.]

ATER MAJOK LEAVING UCONN?

Multiple sources are telling the Hartford Courant that Ater Majok is Likely to Leave UConn. The 6-foot-11 forward, who turned 23 on July 4, averaged 2.3 points, three rebounds and 14.6 minutes last season as a freshman for Connecticut after a protracted recruiting process that led him to Storrs. The Sudan native committed to UConn in the spring of 2008 with the hype of a top 20 recruit. Academic inquiries by the NCAA delayed his enrollment in college until January of 2009 and he made his on-court debut nearly a year later in December. His career almost never lasted that long as Majok declared... [Read more.]

MALICK KONE PICKS RUTGERS; PROVIDENCE ADDS ‘12 VERBAL

BY JEFF BORZELLO The Dave Cox connection continues to pay off for Rutgers. It started when the former Georgetown assistant snagged a commitment from former Hoya-commit Jordan Goodman in June, and struck again on Thursday, as Malick Kone committed to the Scarlet Knights. Kone is 6-foot-6 small forward from Blue Ridge (Va.) who, like Goodman, runs with DC Assault on the AAU circuit. “Coach Cox was recruiting me when he was at Georgetown and he never gave up on me,” Kone said. “He trusted my game.” According to DC Assault coach Damon Handon, Kone chose Rutgers over Virginia... [Read more.]

BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (8/27/2010)

*********Follow NBE Sports on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NBESports***** Friday edition of the Big East Basketball News & Notes has some bad news for Louisville as, not one, but two Cards expected to make big impacts this season will not be with the team due to academic shortcomings. At Cincinnati, Dion Dixon looks to turn over the page from last season’s bad memory at Madison Square Garden. Also, Rutgers and Providence add new verbal commitments. Rutgers’ efforts in NYC continues as they host another highly touted player for an unoffcial visit and are getting closer to another... [Read more.]

BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (8/26/2010)

*********Follow NBE Sports on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NBESports***** Some interesting News & Notes around the Big East today. First, bad news for ‘Nova as an incoming freshman is out indefinitely. Another incoming frosh, CJ Fair, is poised for his rookie season at Syracuse. Andy Katz goes into detail on how the Big East conference slate is determined in regards to home and home opponents. The coaches actually vote in May on how they expect the teams to finish and the leagu breaks those results into tiers. Katz examones those tiers and the home and home match-ups. Other Big... [Read more.]

JERMAINE SANDERS RECRUITING UPDATE

Rice High School standout setting up Big East visit, looks to make decision soon on college The talent that has come out of Rice High School in recent years has been impressive and often times winds up in the Big East. The next Raider prospect that has colleges making their best recruiting pitch is 6-foot-5, 215-lb wing Jermaine Sanders. After a strong showing on the AAU circuit with the New Heights program, Sanders is preparing for his senior season with Rice and working throught the recruiting process. Sanders is looking to make his college decision in the near future and is looking to visit... [Read more.]

BASKETBALL RECRUITING NOTESBOOK (8/25/2010)

In today’s Basketball Recruiting Notebook we update the recruitment of Phil Greene, Keith Coleman and Ameen Tanksley in the class of 2011 and we give readers a brief introduction to Barnett Harris, an intriguing 2012 prospect picking up some recruiting interest of late. Greene recently took an unofficial visit to St. John’s of the Big East and fills us in on the first two official visits he has scheduled. Coleman is an uncommitted big man drawing a wide range of college interest at this time. Tanksley is also setting up his visits for the fall and gives NBE the latest below. You can... [Read more.]