March 2009

NBE PREP CORNER WITH PAT STEVENS (VOL. 1.1)

Pat Stevens fills in readers on the happenings in the world of prep school basketball

The NBE Basketball Report would like to welcome Pat Stevens as a new contributor to the site. Pat has been around the basketball recruiting and reporting scene for several years. Since 2004, Pat has covered the Prep School ranks, New York City AAU events, and the top All-American camps primarily for Hoopmasters.com. He launched CSTV.com’s recruiting coverage in 2006 as its Recruiting Editor and has additionally contributed to Scout, Rivals and MaxPreps. You can also see more of he recent reporting at Pat Stevens Basketball in anticipation of his launching a new national site in the coming week.

Look for Mr. Stevens to be a regular contributor with NBE in the upcoming months.

PREP SCHOOL CORNER

By Pat Stevens

First let me thank the NBE Basketball Report for the opportunity to contribute. The site has clearly made an impact with its following and is a clear and concise resource for the fans who not only follow their team but also the league that’s given us plenty of memories over the years.

It’s fair to start with some background on the Prep School basketball scene that has evolved over the years. ..

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BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: CONNECTICUT

VERBAL COMMITMENT ALERT: Darius Smith, 6’2 PG from Chicago (IL) Marshall HS

Projected 2009-2010 Roster:

Seniors: Jerome Dyson (G), Jonathan Mandeldove (C), Stanley Robinson (F), Gavin Edwards (PF/C), Hasheem Thabeet (C)
Juniors: Donnell Beverly (G), Chukwuma “Charles” Okwandu (C)
Sophomores: Kemba Walker (PG), Scottie Haralson
Freshmen: Alex Oriakhi (C), Jamal Coombs-McDaniel (F), Jamaal Trice (SG), Darius Smith (PG)

One of the strangest recruiting sagas out of the Windy City has come to a close as standout Marshall High School guard Darius Smith is a Husky (Hartford Courant) as the 6’2 prospect surprises many following his recruitment by picking Connecticut over Marquette, DePaul, Cincinnati, Missouri and Indiana.

For more on the commitment of Smith and the Huskies recruiting situation, please visit our Connecticut Team Blog site and see the latest updates.

BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (3/30/2009)

The 2009 NCAA Tournament Final Four is set and the Big East is well represented with half the field remaining. Villanova, on the strength of their thrilling last second win over Pittsburgh in the Elite 8, and Connecticut, who brushed distractions aside in their run through the West, will represent the conference.

To this point, the Big East is 17-5 in the NCAA Tournament, 16-4 against non-Big East schools.

We run through the news and notes around the Big East as the spring recruiting period will heat up very quickly. Also, the coaching carousel will begin to spin, for head coaches and assistants, players will decide to stay or go, either in regards to the NBA Draft or the transfer route and some are looking towards to next year following the end of this season.

Also, the spring AAU travel season kicked off last weekend and Matt Whitfield has the report on Saturday at the Playaz Spring Fling (Phase I) event as many top Big East targets of the future were in action.

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SATURDAY AT THE THE PLAYAZ SPRING FLING (PHASE I)

Big East targets of the future were on display in travel season’s opening event

The 2009 AAU travel season kicked off this past weekend with The Playaz Basketball Club hosting their annual Spring Fling (Phase One) this past weekend at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck (NJ).

This past weekend featured teams competing at the 16-U, 14-U, 13-U and 12-U age groups. The NBE Basketball Report swung by on Saturday to check out the action in the 16-U age group to get a sneak peek at some of the players to watch this spring and summer on the AAU trail.

The action will pick up this weekend as well with Phase II taking place at the RAC on the Rutgers campus Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A whose who of the east coast AAU super powers will be at Rutgers competing in the 17-U age level, including the Playaz, NY Gauchos, DC Assault, Team Takeover, NE Playaz, New Heights, NY Panthers and NYC Metro Hawks, to name a few. Again, the NBE Basketball Report will be checking out the action.

Read on below for a look at some of the highlights from this past Saturday.

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SCOTTIE REYNOLDS FOR THE WIN…

‘Nova junior guard scores with 0:00.5 left to lift VU into Final Four

Gone in five seconds. That was Pitt’s season.

After Pittsburgh senior point guard Levance Fields tied the game at 76-all with 5.5 seconds remaining, Scottie Reynolds took a pass from Dante Cunningham, outraced Jermaine Dixon, side-stepped DeJuan Blair and finished a contested 5-footer over Gilbert Brown to win the game for Villanova.

“It went from having a chance to get into overtime and possibly winning the game,” a stunned Fields said following the game, “to our season being over.”

That’s the NCAA Tournament. That is March Madness, that often times becomes March Sadness when a season or a career ends suddenly.

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UCONN EMERGES FROM WEST, AGAIN

Huskies Avoid Adversity, Head To Final Four For First Time Since 2004

By Zach Smart

Kemba Walker glided to the basket at will.

He left defenders sucking back wind, permeated the teeth of the defense and kicked it to the open man. He reeled of head-spinning moves that resulted in buckets.

The result?

Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun, dogged by a detailed Yahoo! Sports report that he violated NCAA recruiting violations, pumped his fist emphatically, and UConn released a sigh of relief.

The Huskies squandered an early 11-point edge, but showed poise and perseverance down the stretch, gutting out an 82-75 victory over an up-tempo Missouri team in Glendale, Ariz.

Walker, the fearless freshman from New York City powerhouse Rice High School, never wilted under the knife-cutting, cut-throat pressure.

Read Rest of Story HERE!…

KEYSTONE STATE BATTLE FOR FINAL FOUR

Pitt, Villanova square off for Final Four berth out of the East

When Villanova got past Pittsburgh 67-57 back on January 28th, ‘Nova coach Jay Wright thought he had seen the last of the Panthers for the year.

“I said to our staff after the game, I said, Thank God we played them in here on this night and we don’t have to see them again,” Wright said. “I really didn’t think we were going to see them. But here they are. And they are good.”

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Your seat for the game:

BUY NCAA Tournament East Final (Pitt vs Villanova) March 28, 2009
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For our preview of the West Region Final between UConn and Missouri, please click HERE!

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LOUISVILLE, ‘CUSE LOOK TO MOVE ON TONIGHT

The Big East is certainly representing itself quite well in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. After Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Villanova advanced last night from the Sweet 16 into the Elite 8, the Big East conference record stands at 14-2 in the Big Dance this year.

Tonight, Louisville and Syracuse look to join the Big East party in the Elite 8 and continue the conference’s unprecedented run in the ‘Big Dance.’

Below, you can click on the Big East school’s link and see our game preview and prediction on the second round match-up. Enjoy the action…

Syracuse vs. Oklahoma (-1 1/2), 7:27 PM in Memphis.

Louisville (-9 1/2) vs. Arizona, 7:07 PM in Indianapolis.

(college basketball lines are provided by BetUS.com)

BELLY OF THE BE-AST: IT REALLY IS!

by Ray Mernagh

Look, there’s been a lot of talk about the Big East not being the best conference in college basketball.

Some people actually argued that either the ACC or Big Ten was better, that only the size of the Big East made it seem like the best. Every one from the venerable Coach K at Duke, to Big Ten honks like this loser in Michigan, have all smirked that the “hype” was exactly that — hype — when it came to the Big East being the best basketball conference. The backlash was understandable, given the fact that you had some unlikeable analysts constantly carping about the league’s strength via the Disney channel. And that’s a shame, because in covering the league this year I can say that I saw the best college basketball anywhere.

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VILLANOVA SLAMS DUKE

Wildcats display Big East muscles in ripping Duke in East Semi

It is an all-Big East final in the East Regional with a ticket to the Final Four for either Pittsburgh or Villanova. The Wildcats earned their spot in the Elite 8 with a thorough beating of Duke, 77-54, at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston.

After playing two games at ‘home’ in the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Jay Wright’s club took their NCAA Tournament show on the road and buried the Blue Devils of the ACC with good ole Big East toughness and defense.

“I think kind of everything fell into place for us,” said Villanova coach jay Wright following the game. “When we got a lead to start the second half, they had to press. And we made the plays.”

Read rest of ‘Nova-Duke game story HERE!.

UCONN FOCUSED, INTO ELITE 8

Off court distractions can’t slow the Huskies in West Regional

With distractions coming left and right at the Connecticut men’s basketball team and head coach Jim Calhoun, it was a relief to get on the court and play basketball. For the two hour window that the Huskies took on Purdue in the West Regional Semifinal in Arizona, that was what mattered.

“My job today was to come and coach our basketball team, and the kids took care of that,” said coach Calhoun following the game.

UConn jumped out to an 8-0 lead and led 14-3 just 5:14 into the game on a Gavin Edwards bucket. It looked like the rout was on.

“I think our guys did fight back from that poor start that we had.” said Purdue coach Matt Painter.

A Robbie Hummel three-pointer with 3:47 left in the first half completed a 15-3 run to cut the UConn lead to 26-23, prompting Jim Calhoun to call for a timeout.

“We told ourselves all week if we got ourselves out to a good run, they were going to come back,” AJ Price said of Purdue. “They are a very game team, tough team. They proved that time and time again. Every time we made a run, they seemed to cut it back to four, two, something like that.”

Read rest of UConn-Purdue game story HERE!

PITTSBURGH MOVES INTO ELITE 8

Panthers Survive and ‘Levance’ with thrilling win over Xaiver

For the first time in their history, Pittsburgh has won three games in the NCAA Tournament to advance into the Elite 8, which they will be competing in for the first time since 1974.

It has not been pretty at times as the Panthers have had to scratch and claw for the most part to get past 16th seed East Tennessee State, 8th seed Oklahoma State and, tonight, 4th seed Xavier, but the Panthers are now just one win away from a trip to the Final Four.

“I said this was the best group, Tyrell (Biggs), Levance (Fields) and Sam (Young), that we’ve brought in,” said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon of his senior trio. “They’ve lived up to it. They’ve got the most wins in school history as a group. A huge number, I can’t keep track now, and they’ve won a lot of games.”

Read rest of Pitt/XU game story HERE!

UCONN/AGENT INVESTIGATION LINKS ATER MAJOK

Off The Court Allegations Continue As Majok Now Mentioned

By Zach Smart

On the court, UConn has mastered the art of playing above the law.

Unlike the 1993 and 1996 Chicago Bulls, however, it’s not due to preferential treatment from the boys sporting the zebra shorts. Let’s not forget, Jim Calhoun wasn’t too happy with one ref (apparently longtime Big East official Mike Kitts) when UConn suffered a bruising, black-and-blue brand of loss on Feb. 16 at the XL Center in Hartford against Pittsburgh.

While the Huskies have imposed their will and inside physical firepower on teams–thanks mainly to the tandem of monster bigs Hasheem Thabeet and Jeff Adrien–they’ve steered clear of foul trouble.

On the court, that is.

Off the court, allegations of potentially significant recruiting violations have made the Huskies look more like “cheetas,” as they say on 125th St.

Read rest of article HERE!

VILLANOVA HITS ROAD FOR SWEET 16 MATCHUP

Villanova leaves Philly for Boston for Sweet 16 encounter with Duke

For Villanova, the opening two rounds of the 2009 NCAA Tournament were enjoyed from the comforts of home. The Wildcats defeated 14th seed American, 80-67, and 3rd-seeded UCLA, 89-69, at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

In order to be eligible to play in the Wachovia Center in the NCAA Tournament, Villanova scheduled just three games in their ‘second home’ this season, but they were the home team on the floor 12 times in the previous two seasons, so it was definitely as much of a home court advantage as a team could have nowadays in the NCAA Tournament.

“What can I say? If you get to play and you don’t have to travel, it’s an advantage,” said ‘Nova coach Jay Wright yesterday. “But you can have your own place turn on you when you’re going against the underdog and everybody gets behind the underdog, that’s a little unsettling, too.”

Tonight:

East Regional, TD Banknorth Garden (Boston):

#2 Duke (-2 1/2) vs. #3 Villanova, 9:57 PM.
(March Madness betting odds are provided by BetUs.com)

Read Full Villanova-Duke Preview HERE!!…

DISTRACTIONS ASIDE, UCONN PUSHES FORWARD

Huskies have learned to worry about what is under their control, playing basketball

In timing that was used for maximum impact, Y! Sports dropped an exclusive bombshell on the college basketball world yesterday with their story that details their 6-month probe on how UConn Violated NCAA Rules in their recruitment of Nate Miles, who was expelled from school prior to playing a game with the Huskies.

With a regularly scheduled NCAA Tournament press conference yesterday afternoon, Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun quickly addressed the story as he began his opening comments with the media.

“The University is taking any allegations towards it’s program or newspaper reports or anything else very responsible and tries to live under the responsibility of the NCAA rules,” said the Hall of Fame Coach. “The University is going to look into any matter, as we would, when we hear light of something with regards to we think it still falls under the guidelines of making sure that we are being compliant.”

Tonight:

West Regional, Phoenix Stadium:

#5 Purdue vs. #1 Connecticut (-6 1/2), 7:07 PM.
(College basketball odds are provided by BetUs.com)

Read Full UConn-Purdue Preview HERE!!…

PITT AIMS TO TAKE ‘NEXT STEP’ PAST SWEET 16

However, former point guard Sean Miller and Xavier stand in the way

‘The Next Step.’ ‘Winning the Big One.’

In sports, the ‘what have you done lately’ question is often asked. Fans set their expectations for their teams and the bar to achieve those goals is usually a moving target. For the Pittsburgh Panther basketball program, the question keeps arising of when will they take ‘the next step’?

In the last eight seasons, Pitt has reached the Sweet 16 in five of them, a mark only bettered or matched by Kansas and Duke. For a program that went 27 years between 1974 and 2001 between appearances in the Round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament, that is quite an accomplishment of it’s own.

“[The] Sweet 16 is an accomplishment”, Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon reminded media members Wednesday. “If it was wasn’t, teams would have got there more than we have. And there’s only two that have been there more than we have the last eight years, Duke and Kansas.”

“There aren’t any byes into the Sweet 16. I think maybe it’s forgotten.”

Tonight:

East Regional, TD Banknorth Garden (Boston):

#4 Xavier vs. #1 Pittsburgh (-7 1/2), 7:27 PM.
(College basketball betting lines are provided by BetUs.com)

Read Full Xavier-Pitt Preview HERE!!…

WAZZEL MADNESS UPDATE

The standings are extremely tight, and since the games in this round are worth 4,000 points each and the games over the weekend will be 5,000 points each, those RazorGator tickets are still up for grabs!  Get your picks in now!

You can still enter and win the prize!  It is not too late to win! Read on below to find out how…if you know college hoops, you could have tickets to any sporting event of your choice in the next year, courtesy of RazorGator!

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CLASS OF 2011 INTRO: WAYNE BLACKSHEAR

Blackshear near the top of loaded Chi-town class of 2011 studs

By Zach Smart

Smack in the middle of high school, sophomore year is hardly a time to start worring about colleges.

Instead, worries over social scenes, girlfriends, groupies, homework and perhaps fighting for burn behind a four-year senior guard are typically thrust to the forefront.

For Wayne Blackshear, a blossoming 6-foot-5, 215-pound guard forward at Curie HS in Chicago, college is down the road.

The All-American whose common blend of strength, agility, versatility, court sense, and selflessness has emerged as one of the nation’s top prospect.

Blackshear, who’s being actively pursued by a number of top-tier Division-1 programs–LSU, USC, Kentucky, Kansas and Marquette to name a few–remains focused on the task at hand.

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (3/25/2009)

Once again today we take the tour of the five Big East teams preparing for Sweet 16 action in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. Also, we have laid out links for fans to purchase the tickets to see their team in each step of the way this week as UConn, SU, Pitt, Louisville and ‘Nova vie for spots in Detroit.

The big news dominating college basketball today is the Y! Sports exclusive on recruiting irregularities by UConn in the recruitment of Nate Miles. Also, Notre Dame meets Kentucky with a spot in the NIT Final Four in New York City on the line. The coaching carousel rumors are starting to spin. A few Big East assistants are candidates at Boston U and a couple Big East coaches are being tossed into the discussion at Virginia.

Also, Marquette and Buzz Williams say good-bye to a great group of seniors, but are ready to get to work on the future. In recruiting, a former Big East target (and onetime early commit) is back on the market.

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BORN READY TO ROCK?

Indications are Lance Stephenson headed to Jayhawk country

By Zach Smart

A source close to high school phenom Lance “Born Ready” Stephenson says that the 6-foot-5 wing is “definitely” headed to Kansas, corrupting the pure thrill of Stephenson’s heavily-anticipated press conference.

Stephenson, who averaged a sublime 32 points and 13 rebounds and spearheaded the Railsplitters to their school record fourth straight PSAL title, had narrowed his list down to three schools.

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