June 2011

KEVIN NOREEN HELPING YOUNG MOUNTAINEER TEAMMATES LEARN THEIR WAY

By Lauren Kirschman

Kevin Noreen is the lone player on his summer league team that played a game for the West Virginia Mountaineers last season.

The remainder of the squad is made up of freshmen and two transfers—Aaric Murray (La Salle) and Juwan Staten (Dayton).

The team played its first game together on Monday.

The players all met for the first time on Saturday.

“We’re all on the same team in this league and we’re just getting to know each other really well,” Noreen said. “I think in these two games we’ve already gelled and have a good camaraderie going on so far.

Although the Mountaineer roster isn’t completely lacking experience with seniors Darryl Bryant and Kevin Jones as well as junior Deniz Killcli, none of those players are on Noreen’s team this summer.
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2011-2012 BIG EAST HOME & HOME GAMES REVEALED

The official release from the BIG EAST is expected today, but main television partner ESPN has the information already and Andy Katz posted this summary on the college nation blog earlier this morning:

Cincinnati: Villanova, Marquette, St. John’s

Last season: DePaul, Georgetown, St. John’s
Finish: 26-9, 11-7 (NCAA)
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Connecticut: Notre Dame, Seton Hall, Syracuse

Last season: Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame
Finish: 32-9, 9-9 (NCAA)
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DePaul: Louisville, St. John’s, Seton Hall

Last season: Cincinnati, South Florida, West Virginia
Finish: 7-24, 1-17
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Georgetown: Marquette, Providence, St. John’s

Last season: Cincinnati, St. John’s, Syracuse
Finish: 21-11, 10-8 (NCAA)
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Louisville: Pitt, Syracuse, DePaul

Last season: Connecticut, Providence, West Virginia
Finish: 25-10, 12-6 (NCAA)
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Marquette: Cincinnati, Georgetown, Villanova

Last season: Connecticut, Notre Dame, Seton Hall
Finish: 22-15, 9-9 (NCAA)
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Notre Dame: Connecticut, Rutgers, West Virginia

Last season: Connecticut, Marquette, St. John’s
Finish: 27-7, 14-4 (NCAA)
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Pittsburgh: Louisville, South Florida, West Virginia

Last season: South Florida, Villanova, West Virginia
Finish: 28-6, 15-3 (NCAA)
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Providence: Georgetown, South Florida, Syracuse

Last season: Louisville, Rutgers, South Florida
Finish: 15-17, 4-14
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Rutgers: Notre Dame, Seton Hall, West Virginia

Last season: Providence, Seton Hall, Villanova
Finish: 15-17, 5-13
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St. John’s: Cincinnati, DePaul, Georgetown

Last season: Cincinnati, Georgetown, Notre Dame
Finish: 21-12, 12-6 (NCAA)
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Seton Hall: Connecticut, DePaul, Rutgers

Last season: Marquette, Rutgers, Syracuse
Finish: 13-18, 7-11
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South Florida: Pitt, Providence, Villanova

Last season: DePaul, Pitt, Providence
Finish: 10-23, 3-15
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Syracuse: Connecticut, Providence, Louisville

Last season: Georgetown, Seton Hall, Villanova
Finish: 27-8, 12-6 (NCAA)
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Villanova: Marquette, South Florida, Cincinnati

Last season: Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse
Finish: 21-12, 9-9
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West Virginia: Pitt, Notre Dame, Rutgers

Last season: DePaul, Louisville, Pitt
Finish: 21-12, 11-7 (NCAA)
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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (6/30/2011)

In today’s News & Notes section around the BIG EAST recruiting tidbits dominate the discussion as there is some more about Zach Auguste as well as some touching base with Josh Fortune, Jaylen Bond and Daniel Dingle. Also so more on West Virginia players in this summer’s Pittsburgh Pro-Am summer league and the status of star incoming freshman Jabarie Hinds.

We will also be following closely the summer leagues in DC and Milwaukee when they get underway soon and hope to have some coverage of the Jersey Shore Basketball League in the near future (fingers crossed).

With the month of July bearing down on us…the main focus of course will be recruitng! Now…on to today’s News & Notes…

New England Hoop News has a series titled July or Never and today’s focus is 6-foot-8 New Hampton Prep forward Zach Auguste. As we detailed in yesterday’s BIG EAST News & Notes (6/29/2011) Auguste visited Connecticut earlier this week with prep teammate Noah Vonleh. The athletic forward has a lot of potential and will be on the circuit this July performing in front of the masses of college coaches on the road with the Mass Rivals in July as well as with the Albany City Rocks, during the Nike Peach Jam. In New England fans and coaches can look for Auguste at Elite 75 and Hall of Fame National Invitational, both starting on July 10th in the Western Massachusetts area.

According to Auguste’s Mass Rivals AAU coach, Vinny Pastore, schools that have offered scholarships include Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Boston College, Providence and Virginia to name a few.
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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (6/29/2011)

College basketball is a year-round sport. In the summer there is news of players coming and going from programs to keep track of, a busy recruiting season and more and more summer leagues that offer the players a chance to stay sharp against high-level competition. While many incoming freshmen just celebrated their high school graduation in the last few weeks and even days, many are already on a college campus and competing in the summer leagues and attending classes with their new teammates.

Today we take a quick run through some of the latest stories in the BIG EAST that touch on each of those subjects…

In Mike Helfgot’s Recruiting Notes in the Chicago Tribune there is an update on 6-foot-2 rising junior Jaylon Tate, who recently confirmed rumors he will be transferring from De La Salle High School to Chicago Simeon. At Simeon Tate will join a loaded roster that includes classmates Jabari Parker and Kendrick Nunn and senior Steve Taylor. All four players are considered sure-fire high-major recruits.

As for Tate, Helfgot reports that has offers from Northwestern, Providence and Xavier, according to his mother, Arisa Johnson, with several other high-majors such as DePaul, Marquette, Tennessee, Florida State and, as of this week, UCLA, expressing serious interest.
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DANTE TAYLOR: HIS TIME IS NOW

Pitt junior looking to be latest player to break out in junior season for Panthers

By Lauren Kirschman

It’s the summer before his junior season at Pittsburgh and Dante Taylor said it’s time for him to stop making excuses.

“I’ve been working hard my past two years and it’s my third year here,” Taylor said. “It’s time for me to just get out on the court and play.”

He said this could be the season that he takes a step forward.

After all, it wouldn’t be the first time that a Pitt player transformed his game before his junior year.

Former point guard and current assistant coach Brandin Knight became a third team All-American and the Big East Player of the Year as a junior.

Sam Young went from averaging 7.2 points per game as a sophomore to leading the Panthers with 18.1 points a game a year later as the Big East Most Improved Player.

2011 graduate Gary McGhee scored 6.9 points and grabbed a team-leading 6.8 rebounds per game as a junior after totaling 38 points and 48 rebounds his entire sophomore season.

This year, Taylor could see similar improvement. A former McDonald’s All-American, the 6-foot-9 forward contributed off the bench throughout his first two seasons with the Panthers.
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JASON BOSWELL, TARIQ CAREY ON THE MOVE; RECRUITING UPDATES

The summer time brings news daily on recruiting and also of high school players looking for new homes for the fall. Two players NBE plans to see quite a bit this summer have decided on new schools for the 2011-2012 school year.

Jason Boswell, a Class of 2013 forward out of New York City who will be on the AAU circuit this July with the Long Island Lightning program, has decided to leave St. Patrick’s of Elizabeth (NJ) and attend Trinity Catholic High School in Stamford (CT). At Trinity, Boswell will play for head coach Mike Walsh.

“Trinity Catholic has a strong academic program which offers great basketball opportunities,” Boswell said by text this morning. “My commute will be significantly reduced to approximately 30 minutes as oppsed to the two hours traveled each day to Elizabeth.”

The 6-foot-7, 182-pound rising junior told NBE just over a week ago that he has heard from Cincinnati, La Salle, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Miami, Xavier, Houston and Dayton shortly after the June 15th timeframe when college coaches were allowed to contact players in the Class of 2013. Boswell is looking forward to continuing his career on the basketball court at Trinity.
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KEY RETURNEES GEAR UP TO DEFEND NATIONAL TITLE FOR UCONN

By Doug Ferguson

One would think that the Connecticut Huskies would be basking in the glory of their National Championship, earned last April capping an improbable post-season run for the ages. In talking with two key cogs in the UConn title run this weekend at the Nike Skills Academies however, that was the furthest thing from their mind.

“We’re just always trying to get better” said guard Shabazz Napier.

Napier spoke of how he would have big shoes to fill with the loss of Kemba Walker, but he is confident that they can achieve great success again this upcoming season as well. Napier averaged 7.8 points a game in his freshman season and was second on he team with 3.0 assists a game. The 6-foot guard was often paired in the backcourt with Walker and will take on a much larger role in his sophomore season.
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GILBERT HOPES TO BECOME PITT’S FUTURE MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE

By Lauren Kirschman

When asked what he wanted to bring to the floor for Pittsburgh this season, incoming freshman Malcolm Gilbert said “a really big defensive presence.”

And since he’s entering a program that consistently focuses on excelling defensively, Gilbert should fit in just fine.

The 6-foot-11, 215-center joins the Panther frontcourt along with classmate and 6-foot-9 McDonald’s All-American Khem Birch.

The two add size to a Pitt roster that already holds 6-foot-9 forwards Talib Zanna and Dante Taylor. Gilbert said the team wants to use that size to its advantage.

“The guys and I were talking about we got trees now,” Gilbert said. “We just want to clog up the middle and just swat everything.”

He added that even with a focus on defense, his game has improved offensively.
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BEEJAY ANYA ESTABLISHING HIMSELF IN ’13; UCLA VISIT IMPRESSED YOUNG BIG MAN

Anya’s game is taking shape

By Ron Bailey

June 26, 2011 – A late entry to this year’s National Basketball Association Players Association Camp, Beejay Anya was taking a step up in competition by competing. It’s not that he hasn’t seen this level of play before as a standout with Team Takeover (AAU) 17u and DeMatha Catholic (MD), but the NBAPA TOP 100 offers not only a talent filled attendees list, but solid coaching and imparting/reinforcing new concepts as well. Anya stepped up to the challenge.

“It’s a good level of bump up here. I feel like the competition is great. I’m trying to hold my own and I’m holding my own” said the 6’7”, 275 plus-pound center forward in the Class of 2013, midway through camp. From a team standpoint, Anya played with the camp’s Thunder team; he went on to note “today my team didn’t do so well. Hopefully we’ll stay together and play better.”

Individually, Beejay showed power around the rim, where he stepped into opponents and finished, hard. Possessing long arms, Anya’s a surprising shot blocker and good rebounder when remaining active. Not a gazelle but having good feet, Beejay displays solid low post footwork (a developmental focal point of his), and at times fills lanes.
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REST IN PEACE COACH FRANK DISKIN: TRIBUTE TO A COACH WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE

By Ray Mernagh

“Never let go of your faith” – Frank Diskin

It’s strange how a car trip to Kansas, made over thirty years ago, is one of my clearest memories.

My father and I were making the trip with my brother Jimmy. I didn’t understand at the time that Jim was beginning his journey to becoming a man. I did understand though, the more I watched my dad drive and the more the hours and miles kept passing, that it was going to be a long time before I saw my brother again. Jim had played one season of JUCO ball after some knee issues had made a higher level impossible. He was never the fastest point guard before the knee problems, but to this day I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a guy with a better handle or vision on a fast break. Teams would press his high school team and everyone would just clear out and let the one-man press break do his job. Usually it resulted in a layup. Hackett High was definitely a team you wanted to zone from 1978-80.

Somehow the coach at St. Mary of the Plains College, Frank Diskin, found out about my brother. Or maybe my brother found out about him.

Either way, the three of us were in a car headed to the real life Dodge City to drop my big brother off for his second year of college. To the world of NAIA basketball during an era when NAIA was really good. My family had moved from Brentwood, Long Island to the Kalamazoo, Michigan area when I was a toddler. I’m told it was a big change. My parents left a lot of family back on the Island and in the boroughs of New York City.

That change wasn’t close to the type of change my brother was stepping into. Dodge City was a different world. To this day I can tell you with great certainty there’s a reason there are so many brush cut/flat tops in that area of the country. If Donald Trump ever stepped foot on to those Plains full of prairie dogs, the wind would grab a hold of his hair and lift him into the great unknown. In every picture we have of any of us in Dodge City, our hair is blowing, out of control.

And the campus? It was small, flat and desolate. And exactly what my brother needed.

I remember coach Diskin impressed my father on the phone — not an easy task — as a coach that would help my brother beyond basketball. Dad was also immediately impressed with Diskin’s assistant, a tall black coach by the name of Cordell Cunningham — known as “C” — who was in charge of the JV team. Still, as we stood outside the car trying to say goodbye, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I was sobbing. My brother was crying too but trying to hold it together, and my dad was busting both our chops in only a way he could. He probably said something like “Christmas or Easter will be here before you know it, now stop crying and get in the damn car, we’ve got a long drive home.”

And as we drove away, I looked back at my brother for as long as I could, and as he got smaller and smaller I remember thinking — I hope those men are good to Jimmy. Then I turned around and saw something I’d never seen before, a tear rolling down my dad’s face. He cupped my head with the palm of his hand and pulled my over beside him and said “he’ll be fine, this is a good place for him.”

And he was right. Those men were fantastic for him. (In fact, I still have the cards “C” sent me during a very rough time. He was like an angel to me for no other reason than he cared about my brother — therefore, he cared about me).

Basketball, the game we all love, was a nightmare for my brother while in Kansas.

Injuries continued. One year, his senior season I think, he had started to play well. I remember the newspaper articles quoting “C” complimenting my brother pretty often (he had moved up after a few years to coach the varsity). Then another knee injury hit and that was that. Jim started helping coach. And that’s what Jim was meant to do. Coach and teach.

My brother has done that for years now. He’s the best guy I know, by far. He’s a great father to his children. He has a wonderful wife who knows exactly how to handle him. And he has the affection of just about anyone he’s ever come into contact with who’s worth a damn. Frank Diskin and C are a big reason for that. They took what my parents started and they finished the job about as well as anyone could. They took the New York Kid and made him a Kansas Man.

Coach Diskin died tragically yesterday in a rafting accident while on a vacation with his family in Colorado. An awful lot of folks in Kansas, Oklahoma, and across the country are hurting right now. Please keep his wife Mary, his six children, and all the people who loved him so much in your thoughts and prayers.

Coach D was what a coach is supposed to be.

He dedicated his life working to help young people, largely without fanfare, as a coach, a mentor and an Athletic Director. He not only spoke to them about faith, family and love, he showed them how to incorporate those things with his everyday actions.

His work is now left to be carried on by all the people — like my brother and “C” and hundreds of others — that he touched and influenced.

Coach D’s work is done.

May he rest in peace and God bless his family and friends.

“The next effort’s the most important” – Coach D

FOR NERLENS NOEL THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS

By Ron Bailey

Nerlens Noel – 6’10”, 215 lb junior center, Tilton School (NH) – When discussing Noel’s game, defense is front and center. Just ask him.

“I think the strong part of my game is my defense, just anchoring the defense, trying to be as vocal as I can” he said between games at the recently concluded National Basketball Player’s Association Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, VA. “Blocking shots, rebounding. Defense wins championships and that’s what I strive to do.”

And that’s what he did, rejecting shots at a prodigious rate. When he did not send them awry, he pressured shooters, thereby forcing them into difficult attempts and/or missing. Noel’s a fly swatter, one with long arms and the ability to get off the ground quickly.
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UNC VISIST MAKES BIG IMPRESSION ON ’13 R.J. CURINGTON

Despite only entering his junior season next fall, R.J. Curington has been a player many have kept an eye on for a couple years around the country. After terrorizing local players around Dyer (IN) in junior high school Curington made the move to Oak Hill Academy as an 8th grader, spending two years on the ‘Red’ squad at the elite basketball powerhouse. This past season Curington moved up to the ‘Gold’ squad as a sophomore and he has had a huge spring on the AAU circuit with CIA Bounce and is beginning to fulfill the potential many saw in him early on.

Standing at 6-foot-5 and weighing in at 195 pounds Curington combines excellent size for a young wing with tremendous athletic ability. He has become a lethal scorer this spring and early summer as his skill development has been right on schedule and his confidence in his improved perimeter scoring skills is evident. Those traits have quickly raised his recruiting profile into one of the top targets for many schools in the Class of 2013.
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NEGUS WEBSTER-CHAN LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT FIT & RELATIONSHIP IN COLLEGE CHOICE

By Ron Bailey

Negus Webster-Chan, 6’6”, 190 lb senior shooting guard, Huntington Prep (WV) – Another of the Canuck invasion, Webster-Chan has just been in America full-time for about a year. Of course he’s had to adjust, on and off the floor.

In terms of the hardwood, Webster-Chan said of Huntington Prep “That was my first year in the States going to school out here. It was a real good experience; I got a lot bigger and gained more weight. I went up against better competition than I’m used to. Everybody had a big name in high school.”

Off the floor, he not only had to deal with a different style of life amongst youth in America, but Huntington, WV and perceptions of Canada as well. “That was real hard because I come from a big city” said the Toronto native. Moreover, “They (teammates) think we have a whole bunch of snow every day, it’s not like that. It’s sunny right now at home. It’s hot!”

Negus played solidly during NBAPA Top 100 action, displaying a penchant for perimeter play whether shooting, passing or driving. Lateral quickness can be improved, a point he acknowledges. If you ask Webster-Chan, he’s “working one everything. Everything can be improved.”

This Canadian indicated he considers himself “a combo guard, but they are using me as a two guard out here”. Webster-Chan admitted Top 100 was “like my first camp ever” and took away from it the opportunity to “learn a lot off the court about life skills and on the court from the optional workouts we had in the morning.”

According to him “Seton Hall, Marquette, Virginia, USC, South Florida, Texas, Iowa State, Oregon” plus “more schools” have offered.

Webster-Chan had originally made a verbal commitment to Louisville during the past season, but re-opened the process earlier this spring.

What are his college criteria?: “I’m just looking for a place that fits me…like how they want to use me, I’m comfortable there. (Where) I’ll have a great relationship with the head coach. (If) My parents are comfort able with it. It doesn’t matter if I’m East Coast or West Coast.”

RICARDO GATHERS SHOWS BIG AT NBA TOP 100; PLENTY OF BIG EAST INTEREST & MORE

By Ron Bailey

Ricardo Gathers, 6’7”, 250 lb senior power forward, Riverside Academy (LA) – If there was a BIG EAST prototypical four man, a guy that at first blush one would say belongs in the nation’s most physical league it’s Gathers, who looks like he might be very comfortable attacking quarterbacks from the defensive end position. Despite reportedly claiming he doesn’t push iron, Gathers looks as if he lives in the weight room.

It’s evident to say he’s a physical beast on the hardwood.

“I’m a power man. I can play finesse but I mean, I’m bulling everybody” he said of his NBAPA Top 100 Camp play. It was an accurate description, as Gathers routinely muscled his way into scoring and rebounding position, while also playing stout interior defense.

But that doesn’t mean he’s wed to only playing that way.

“That’s when I’m going to start using my mind, thinking it out more” responded Ricardo to the need for diversification in college. “You know, finessing people.”

Doing so dovetails with his goal to “try and become the three (small forward) by the time I set foot on the college campus”. He understands that work needs to be done. Subsequently, Gathers indicated “I have to live in this gym; just watch the players at that position, so you can learn.”

Ricardo on whether hitting jumpers from around 15 feet and attacking the rim off a couple of dribbles is advantageous: “Of course. A 15-17 foot jumper is going to help; I’m mean that just makes the game a whole lot easier. Then being able to beat your defender off at least one or two dribbles, I mean, that’s just domination right there. 15 feet in, that’s what I’m trying to work on.”

The shooting work is starting to show; while not draining outside shots left and right, Gathers did hit open ones from about 17 feet, including fast break pull ups.

Where do schools envision him playing? “Some say four, some say three” he shared.

BIG EAST institutions “St. John’s, West Virginia, Syracuse, UConn, Seton Hall, South Florida” are recruiting him, and have offered according to him, as have “LSU, Texas, Baylor, USC, Cal, Arizona” and others. The choice will be made “Probably my decision after the summer, like mid-Fall maybe” with “atmosphere, would I love being there if I wasn’t playing basketball” as “It’s not guaranteed, I might get hurt or anything. And then just academics and stuff” driving the decision. Ricardo expects to major in “finance or something.”

Does he think favorably of the B-EAST?

“It’s tough. (Great) Preparation for the NBA” was the response. “Eighteen teams in one conference, I mean it doesn’t get any better than that.”

AFTER A YEAR OF WATCHING, EPPS & WRIGHT READY TO CONTRIBUTE FOR PITT

By Lauren Kirschman

Last season, when Pittsburgh claimed the Big East regular season title with a victory over Villanova, all redshirt freshmen Isaiah Epps and Cameron Wright could do was watch.

Earlier that season, they watched when the Panthers jumped out to a 19-0 lead over Syracuse in a match-up of top-5 teams at the Petersen Events Center.

They watched Kemba Walker sink Pitt’s Big East Tournament Championship hopes with a last-second shot in Madison Square Garden.

And when the Panthers lost a heartbreaker to No. 8 seed Butler in the NCAA Tournament, Epps and Wright could only watch.

When asked if that redshirt season was difficult on him, Wright’s only reply was an emphatic, “Yes. Without a doubt.”

How did he get through it?

“God.”
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RECRUITING NOTEBOOK: ELITE PROGRAMS REACHING OUT TO 2013 PROSPECTS

The live July evaluation period is right around the corner. Once again NBE will be out in full force during both 10-day recruiting periods, stretching from East to West and North and South to keep up with all the recruiting information. It is always a fun process to see what college coaches are out on the recruiting trail and who they are watching.

In the meantime, the phones of top prospects in the Class fo 2013 have been ringing off the hook as colleges are permitted to contact a recruit once a month on the phone or via email. June 15th was the first day contact was allowed and programs wasted little time reaching out to prospects.

“Santa Clara called me at 12:00 on the dot,” said Tyler Ennis. “Oregon State, Santa Clara and Iowa State all did.”

Ennis is a 6-foot-3, 178-pound guard who plays on the AAU spring and summer circuit with CIA Bounce out of Canada. He attended St. Benedict’s in Newark (NJ) last season and has had a busy early summer season with trips to LA for the Pangos Camp and to the University of Virginia campus for the recent NBA Top 100 Camp. His play has drawn very good reviews and it shows in the latest list of schools that have been in contact since the 15th.
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JOHN JOHNSON READY TO MAKE IMPACT AT PITT

By Lauren Kirschman

Most of the hype surrounding the Pittsburgh recruiting class of 2011 centered on McDonald’s All-American Khem Birch, but on the opening night of the Pittsburgh Basketball Club’s Pro-Am summer league it was John Johnson who stole the show.

Johnson grabbed the attention of the crowd by hitting his first shot of the night—a contested 3-pointer—that caused several onlookers to check their rosters in an attempt to figure out the newcomer’s name.

The interest in the 6-foot-1, 170-pound point guard grew as he continually made moves to the basket and finished with ease. By halftime, Johnson had 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and was the main topic of conversation among fans.

The point guard might have arrived at Pitt under the radar, but he quickly made a name for himself Monday night.

Although his team eventually lost 69-63, Johnson finished with 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting and showed early signs that he could contend for minutes this season.

He said that although it took some time for him to adjust, it felt good playing his first summer league contest.

“I think it’s good publicity to play in front of reporters and Pitt fans,” he said. “I had great teammates. Everybody played defense and everybody rebounded.”

He added that the Pro-Am league is important to help incoming freshman blend with the current members of the team.

“If they see me play well then they’ll have more confidence in me when I’m on the court with them,” he said.

He made an impact on at least one current member of the Panther squad as Lamar Patterson came away impressed with all of the incoming freshmen, but especially Johnson and Birch.

Patterson has spent time helping Johnson and another incoming Pitt freshman, Durand Johnson, find their way around campus.

Johnson said that Patterson and J.J. Moore have assisted the two in navigating Pittsburgh since the freshmen arrived.

But that doesn’t mean Johnson has a handle on his new city quite yet.

“I’ve been lost,” Johnson said with a laugh. “When I first came over, I was lost for hours trying to find the Petersen Center…My phone had no service. I was just walking around for hours.”

As Johnson adjusts to the campus, he’ll find his place on Pitt’s team as well. While he acknowledged that he has plenty to work on before the season begins, he knows he’ll bring energy to the Panthers.

He said he decided to bring that energy to Pitt mainly because of how head coach Jamie Dixon interacted with his players.

“When I first came up here, I met Coach Dixon,” he said. “On the court, he’s a coach. He disciplines. Off the court, he still disciplines but he’s more of a father figure.

“I grew up without a father and I wanted to come to a place where I would have a father figure and somebody to look up to.”

PHILLY GUYS BRING PHILLY TOUGHNESS TO NBA TOP 100 CAMP

By Ron Bailey

June 20, 2011 – Now that the National Basketball Players Association Top 100’s dust has settled, even more information can be reported on attending student athletes being recruited by BIG EAST member schools. Of course the league’s footprint was large, as kids from throughout the nation listed institutions from that conference. Two from Philadelphia are featured here.

Amile Jefferson – 6’8”, 195 lb, senior F, Friends Central (PA) – Jefferson, winner of the Camp’s Academic Achievement award put in work akin to good student’s preparing for final exams – he rebounded, filled lanes, defended, passed and scored his way to a stellar performance. To say he was one of the event’s most effective players is an understatement, as is noting Amile was a very hard worker.

What’s more impressive is that he still is not the best shooter or ball handler; Jefferson does it with effort, intelligence and grit, the last evidenced by playing around half the camp with a dislocated pinky finger on his left hand (which could demand surgery). Sure he hit shots (particularly spot up wing jumpshots from just inside the three point arc) and patted getting the rim (particularly in fast break/scatter court situations), it’s just that these are necessary points of improvement. Add getting stronger to that list ,which Jefferson recognizes as necessary.
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JELON HORNBEAK BECOMING HIGHLY SOUGHT ’12 SHOOTING GUARD

While somewhat overshadowed both with his Grace Prep High School squad in Arlington (TX) and his Texas PRO AAU basketball team because of Isaiah Austin, the consensus top 5 player in the Class of 2012, Jelon Hornbeak is giving college recruiters a reason to continue to show up this summer to see Texas PRO in action. The 6-foot-4, almost 200-pound guard has long been considered a special offensive talent coming out of the Lonestar State. His recruitment is anticipated to be hot and heavy as well and the list of schools are impressive.

“Pitt, Oklahoma, Arizona, Providence, Marquette, Texas Tech, Oregon, Cal, Miami and West Virginia,” replied Hornbeak to a message asking what schools he was currently considering that are actively recruiting him. He is planning to visit a few schools in the coming months as well.

“Texas Tech sometime this month [and] Pitt hopefully in August,” said Hornbeak when asked of upcoming visits. “That’s all I know of [now].”

Hornbeak admits he is “pretty much open” in the recruiting process at this time. Always a player that excels offensively with the ball in his hands to create offense, either with a jumper off the dribble or attacking the rim, he is working this summer to broaden his game and improve on the little things.

“Improvements [in] the physical aspect of course,” said Hornbeak when asked what he will work on the most in the summer and prior to college, adding “ball-handling and spot up shooting. Before college I want to increase my range a little bit more, become more of a vocal leader and touch up on my on [mid-range] game.”

Hornbeak will continue to hit the road hard this summer with Texas PRO as well as Family First, a team made up of players from Grace Prep. He is looking forward to just playing basketball. He does not have any timeframe in mind on when he will decide on a college, just looking to play is what he told NBE this weekend.

“No timeframe as of now, said Hornbeak when asked when he might decide on a college. “I just want to be able to play.”

College recruiters certainly know that Jelon Hornbeak can play and they will be watching him this July. Expect the recruitment for this very capable scoring guard in the Class of 2012 to become very hot in the coming months.

JERAMI GRANT & ANTHONY BENNETT CONTINUE GREAT SPRINGS AT NBA TOP 100 CAMP

By Ron Bailey

June 18, 2011 – Yesterday the action picked up even still at the National Basketball Association’s Top 100 Camp. With BIG EAST prospects in abundance, it wasn’t hard catching up to a few.

Anthony Bennett – 6’7”, 230 lb senior F, Findlay (NV) – Hailing from Toronto, over the course of two years being in the States Bennett has been involved in a transformation of sorts. The change is clearly continuing and successful.

“That’s what I’m trying to do, because when I was in Canada, I was like the tallest person so they put me down low” shared the Toronto native when asked if he is in fact migrating to the perimeter. “When I came out here (America), everybody is the same height as me, if not taller, so I had to develop my game to a three-man (small forward) and take my player off the wing.”

He’s done that in NBAPA play, attacking the tin hard, finishing similarly. He also has been solid in pick and roll situations, battled inside, rebounded against everyone, and stepped up to defensive challenges. The only thing he really hasn’t demonstrated frequently is deep outside shooting and top notch ball handling.
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