St. Bonaventure Recruiting

BASKETBALL RECRUITING NOTEBOOK (8/20/2010)

Its been a busy week on the recruiting front and things are unlikely to slow down at all from now until Letter of Intent Day in mid-November. Players are busy trimming thier lists, making unofficial visits, setting official visits and anxioulsy awaiting September 9th when college coaches can begin in-home visits and trip to watch open gym workouts at high schools and prep schools across the country.

On this Friday edition of the Basketball Recruiting Notebook, we take a look at the upcoming decision of Trey Burke, the All-Ohio guard who is looking like he will decide between one school in the Big 10 and one school in the Big East in the very near future. Another player nearing a decision is Jervon Pressley, who has a Big East school among his two favorites and another Big East school in his top three. Also, Eli Carter is on a visit right now and Chris Martin updates the status of his recruitment as he plans two visits to an Atlantic 10 school and a Big East school as they are showing new interest in him and names his three favorites.

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read today’s jam-packed Basketball Recruiting Notebook for August 17, 2010. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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NYC SUMMER CLASSIC PLAYER & RECRUITING NOTES

BY JEFF BORZELLO

BRONX, N.Y. – After a busy July live period in which NBE was front and center at events across the country – from the King City Classic and LeBron camp to the Peach Jam and the Adidas Invitational, and from Las Vegas and the Desert Duel to the AAU Super Showcase/Nationals and various Hoop Group events – the NYC Summer Classic at Fordham University was the perfect way to cap the period. The top teams from the area were in attendance at the one-day event, and even teams like Expressions (R.I.) and East Coast Elite (Del.) came. Although some of the marquee players took the day off to rest, there was still plenty of talent and competition in the Bronx on Saturday.

Khem Birch, 2012, Expressions: Birch has really developed over the past several months, and his ranking among the top-10 players in his class is well-deserved. He is extremely long and athletic, and he can run the floor as well as any big man in the class. He blocks shots and rebounds well, at both ends of the floor. Offensively, he is solid in the high post with his passing ability, and his length and athleticism give him an edge on the offensive boards.

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read more on our coverage from Fordham, including the evolution of Birch’s recruitment as he has exploded up the 2012 rankings. Plus the same on Ricardo Ledo, Angel Nunez (who gives info on his leaders), Derek Millinghous and more on Myles Mack, Reggie Cameron, Jason Boswell, Davontay Grace and others. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (8/2/2010)

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Its been quite a month of July for players, coaches, scouts and writers alike, criss-crossing the country on the AAU basketball and elite camp tour. Not it is time to settle back into the normal routine and the calendar has flipped to August and, believe it or not, school is right around the corner!

So, as we work on some site maintenance today, updating of team rosters and long overdue recruiting database updates and team page overhauls, here are some of the latest News & Notes from around the Big East that have been kicking around the web the last several days. The big news is an important commitment earned by the new Rutgers staff over the weekend. We also catch up with Pitt on their tour of Ireland and some notes from South Florida as the Bulls ready to become Team USA in international competition in Brazil. Of course, there is plenty of recruiting information as well, with Anthony Davis, JaKarr Sampson, Eli Carter and more updated below. Plenty of news and notes to chew on for Big East fans and more…

Read on below for all of the latest News & Notes around the Big East basketball conference. Sports fans should also visit StubHub.com – The Safe Way to Buy & Sell Tickets Online for tickets to any NCAA event or NBA, MLB, NHL game or UFC, WWE or concert tickets at an arena near you this spring.

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MERNAGH: ORLANDO AAU NOTEBOOK

Things are still going strong in Orlando as the 16-U AAU National Championships have their quarterfinal match-ups set for Thursday afternoon:

BABC Sophs vs. Southern Kings Gold
Rising Stars Gold vs. Southern Select
All-Ohio Red vs. Boo Williams 16’s
Arkansas Wings vs. TM Daniels Q6 AS

Also, bracket play in the 17-U classification gets underway as pool play is completing tonight.

Ray Mernagh runs through some of the players that he has gotten a good look at in his first couple days in Orlando below…

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read more of our coverage from Orlando as Ray takes a look at players such as Donny Hale (Purdue commit), Jaylen Bond (Pitt commit), Andrew Nicholas (former Rutgers commit), Kadeem Jack, Omar Calhoun, Aaron Thomas, Shaq Boga and more with some recruiting tidbits and observations added. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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RUMBLE IN THE BRONX: THE FINAL RUNDOWN

BY JEFF BORZELLO

BRONX, N.Y. – As the weekend wound down at Fordham University in the 2010 Rumble in the Bronx, several surprises occurred across the bracket in the playoffs. The top AAU team in the country, the NJ Playaz, suffered an upset at the hands of New Heights in the quarterfinals, while East Coast Elite, a team from Delaware, was rolling through the bracket. The New England Playaz and New York Gauchos also dropped surprising match-ups in the quarterfinals. In the U-16 division, no New York teams ended up reaching the championship game, as a loaded BABC team would take on the PA Playaz and its one-man show of Ryan Arcidiacono in the finals. Despite most of the top talent not appearing in the semifinals and finals, the Rumble in the Bronx did not lack for excitement.

Domonique Bull, 2012, BABC: Bull, one of the top New England guard prospects in the class of 2012, is built like his last name would indicate. He is very strong with the ball and has improved his athleticism and quickness since last summer. Bull can get into the lane with the bounce and distribute it to open teammates for easy baskets. He rarely plays out of control, and remains calm under pressure. He did not turn the ball over much, and was highly effective.

Bull, who passed up the NIKE Hoop Jamboree to attend the Rumble in the Bronx, is receiving interest from Western Kentucky, Miami (Fl.), Providence, Florida and more. He likes Miami (Fl.) a lot, and will attend the Elite Camps of both Florida and Wisconsin.
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You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read more on NBE’s Rumble in the Bronx coverage from Saturday, and any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage.

The Final Rundown content below includes Jeff Borzello’s ranking of the top 15 Rumble performers from the class of 2011 and the top eight from the class of 2012. Also, like the Bull update, there are player evals and/or recruiting updates on Nerlens Noel, Malcolm Gilbert, Ryan Arcidiacono, Jermaine Sander, Travon Allen, Jaylen Bond, A.J. Mathews, Maurice Harkless and MORE…

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RECRUITING NOTEBOOK FOR MID-MAY

Over the course of the last few weeks the staff and contributors to NBE have been out on the road checking on some of the biggest events of the spring AAU season. Through the travels and in between we have accumulated quite a notebook in recent weeks of recruiting updates and it is time to clear out that notebook with a recruiting list frenzy of some of the players we have seen and talked to on the AAU trail.

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership and read the latest on Trashon Burrell, Tavon Sledge, Derrick Randall, Cecil Kirk trio of Antoine Meyers, Durand Johnson and Antoine Allen who is transerring from Miami, Eugene McCrory and Justin Miller, as well as any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage.

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SOUTHERN JAM FEST PLAYER REVIEW & RECRUITING NOTES (PART III)

BY JEFF BORZELLO

HAMPTON, Va. – The Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, Va. is quickly becoming the place to be for AAU events in the spring. It hosted the first leg of the Nike EYBL a few weeks ago, and then hosted the Southern Jam Fest, run by the Hoop Group, this past weekend. While not as loaded as the EYBL, the Jam Fest featured several of the top AAU teams in the mid-Atlantic region, with teams also coming from various states throughout the country (and Canada). In Part I of our Review (found HERE), we took a look at some of the key players with Team Loaded, Boo Williams, Grassroots Canada and more, while in Part II of our coverage (found HERE), we broke down the always talented DC Assault program. Here is the third installment of our look at some of the top players, and their college recruitment, from the weekend with the CP3 All-Stars program as well as Westchester Hawks, Team NJABC and more.

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read more of our coverage from the 2010 Souther Jam Fest, as well as any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage.

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BALTIMORE ELITE INVITATIONAL NOTEBOOK

Myles Mack, Khem Birch & Ricardo Ledo show the goods to be landing at the high-major level in the future

by RON BAILEY

May 12, 2010 – Last weekend’s Baltimore Elite Invitational heated up the Washington-Baltimore AAU landscape, as talented players from as far north as Canada traveled to Chantilly, VA’s Hoop Magic Sports Academy, and were joined by travel teams hailing from parts south as deep as North Carolina. The Eastern Seaboard was in full effect.

With organizations such as Nike Baltimore Elite, Team Takeover, Canada Takeover, Team Final, Team Philly, Expressions and a host of others, BIG EAST recruited athletes like Desmond Hubert, Rakeem Christmas, James Robinson, Mikael Hopkins, Tyrone Johnson and Kyle Anderson were in abundance.

Future Class of 2011 Syracuse student-athlete Trevor Cooney laced ‘em up, as did younger standouts being recruited like Jerami Grant (Georgetown, Oklahoma State, others), and BeeJay Anya (Georgetown, Maryland, others).

In an effort to supply NBE Basketball Report readers with up-to-date information not widely available, three players are featured below; Khem Birch, Myles Mack and Ricardo Ledo. The last pair have been known to be BIG EAST targets for awhile. The first may mildly surprise recruitniks. All have a strong chance of landing in the B-EAST.

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read more on Birch, Ledo and Mack as they go into detail about their recruiting and games with Ron Bailey (also some exclusive audio content as well), as well as any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage.

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SOUTHERN JAM FEST REVIEW: DC ASSAULT EDITION

BY JEFF BORZELLO

HAMPTON, Va. – The Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, Va. is quickly becoming the place to be for AAU events in the spring. It hosted the first leg of the Nike EYBL a few weeks ago, and then hosted the Southern Jam Fest, run by the Hoop Group, this past weekend. While not as loaded as the EYBL, the Jam Fest featured several of the top AAU teams in the mid-Atlantic region, with teams also coming from various states throughout the country (and Canada). In our Part I of our Review (found HERE), we took a look at some of the key players with Team Loaded, Boo Williams, Grassroots Canada and more. Here is the second installment – and the D.C. Assault edition – of our look at some of the top players from the weekend.

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read more on players such as Quinn Cook, Jordan Goodman, Eugene McCrory and more from one of the nation’s top AAU programs, as well as any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage.

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (5/10/2010)

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We try and catch up with the regular news of the day around the Big East and basketball recruiting. The weekend usually provides an influx of columns on conference expansion and realignment, and this past weekend was no different. Also some recruiting notes on Kadeem Jack, Branden Dawson, Remi Dibo and a C-USA transfer that could find his way closer to home in the Big East.

Also, commencement and graduation parties might not be a place where many perceive Bob Huggins to be this time of year, but since landing at WVU it has been on his calendar more than many might want to believe. Jim Calhoun signed a new contract last week and is looking forward to the future. One player from last season will not be joining him for the ride and a local newspaper takes issue with his 25% pay increase based on the last 12 months. Also an interview is linked with one of NBE’s top 50 All-Time Big East players.

Read on below for all of the latest News & Notes around the Big East basketball conference. Sports fans should also visit StubHub.com – The Safe Way to Buy & Sell Tickets Online for tickets to any NCAA event or NBA, MLB, NHL game or UFC, WWE or concert tickets at an arena near you this spring.

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