Notre Dame Recruiting

TARIQ CAREY UPDATE; LAWHORN DECIDES, HANNER CLOSE

by JEFF BORZELLO

One of the more underrated players nationally in the class of 2012 is New Jersey product Tariq Carey.

College coaches know all about the 6-foot-1 sophomore guard, though.

Carey is getting plenty of early attention from Big East schools and he has a ‘dream school’ out of the ACC showing him interest. NBE gets the latest update from the 2012 prospect that is sure to become a well-known name in recruiting circles in the near future…

Also, Danny Lawhorn contacts NBE about his commitment and a source updates Jamir Hanner who might be closing on on his…

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PRIMETIME SHOOTOUT RECRUITING & PLAYER NOTES (PART II)

On Saturday afternoon at the 2010 Primetime Shootout Finlday Prep (NV) took on the Hotchkiss School (CT) at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton (NJ). Playing without Texas-bound forward Tristan Thompson, Findlay was still too deep and too big for Hotchkiss as Cory Joseph and Nick Johnson tossed in 19 points each to lead Findlay to a 64-48 victory.

Matt Whitfield was in Trenton for all the action on Saturday and Sunday and following the game between Findlay and Hotchkiss he was able to touch base with some of the top players to get the latest recruiting information from Nick Johnson, Winston Shepard, Godwin Okonji, Cory Joseph and Dekeeba Battee Aston from Findlay with updates from Derrick Wilson and Clyde Smith of Hotchkiss…

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QUINN COOK GETTING LOOKS FROM NCAA’S ELITE PROGRAMS

College basketball mega-powers have been in to see him this season with offers from top programs

By Matt Whitfield

Quinn Cook is universally regarded as one of the elite point guard prospects in the high school class of 2011. With his silky smooth handle and great court awareness, Cook, when it’s all said and done will likely be enshrined with former DeMatha Catholic guard greats of recent vintage such as Keith Bogans and Joseph Forte to come through the storied program. This season, even with the attention of being recruited by many of college basketball’s glory programs, Cook still has his eye on the prize and wants to win another City Championship with his teammates.

“I’m just focused on winning another championship this year,” stated Cook after Dematha’s gut-wrenching loss to St. Anthony’s of Jersey City in the recent Newark Invitational.

Cook also took the time to speak to the NBE Basketball Report after the game on his recruitment, the season to date and the recruiting process that has seen him become one of the most coveted players in the nation.

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NPSI DAY THREE RECAP

BY PAT STEVENS – J.J. Moore and Shabazz Napier were two of the top performers leading their teams to wins as the 12th annual National Prep School Invitational rolled along for a third day on Saturday at the University of Rhode Island. South Florida’s Eric Skeeters was the lone Big East assistant in attendance.

-South Kent’s J.J. Moore (6-6 WF/Pittsburgh) led all scorers on the day with 30 points in a 70-69 win over the Canarias Basketball Academy of Spain. Russ Smith (6-1 PG/Louisville) scored 11 points as the two teams’ traded baskets down the stretch with South Kent eventually pulling away.

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NPSI DAY ONE RECAP

BY PAT STEVENS — A number of coaches made the trip to Rhode Island for the 12th annual National Prep School Invitational, with South Florida’s Stan Heath the lone Big East head coach and he was joined by conference assistants such as Connecticut’s Pat Sellers, Georgetown’s Mike Brennan, Louisville’s Ralph Willard, Providence’s Pat Skerry, Seton Hall’s Scott Adubato, and West Virginia’s Larry Harrison all taking in the first day of play.

The Big East-bound matchup of Waverly Austin (South Florida) of Heat Academy and David Nyarsuk (West Virginia) of Mountain State Academy went the way of the Sudan native. Nyarsuk scored 13 points and had eight rebounds with two blocks in 31 minutes. Austin had eight points, five rebounds and three blocks in 31 minutes as well. MSA went up 17 at the half, 37-20, and went on to win 75-47. PJ Lockridge, who visited Louisville last weekend, had six points and four rebounds in 28 minutes for Heat Academy.

CJ Fair (Syracuse) had 25 points and four blocks in 31 minutes as Brewster Academy ran away from Hotchkiss School in the second half, 95-64. Naadir Tharpe, who has interest from Providence and West Virginia, had 13 assists in the win. For Hotchkiss, its backcourt of Derrick Wilson (2011) had 26 points and Clyde Smith (2012) had 18 points in the loss. Both recently received Notre Dame offers according to their coach.

Ron Giplaye (Providence) scored 12 points and four rebounds in 24 minutes as Notre Dame Prep held off a comeback by the Canary Islands’ Basketball Academy, 63-51. Cleveland Melvin (Connecticut verbal) did not play but was with the team.

Calvin Newell (6-1 CG/Evelyn Mack Academy), one of the top five performers back at the National Prep Showcase in November, says he has interest from West Virginia and Connecticut to go with Baylor and Nebraska. Bob Huggins was in to see him last month and he said he hopes to visit later February. Newell scored 13 points with three assists in a 67-57 win over Progressive Christian.

Kelvin Amayo (6-4 SG/NIA Prep) is being tracked by Seton Hall and will be a 2011 prospect, according to his coach. Shaquille Thomas (6-8 WF), who has several Big East schools interested, had 25 points while Amayo scored 14 with eight rebounds to lead NIA in its second-half rout of Arizona’s Westwind Prep, 94-66.

Andre Drummond, one of the nation’s top prospects, scored 14 points and had 10 rebounds in St. Thomas More’s 88-55 win over Wilbraham & Monson of Massachusetts. The 6-foot-11 sophomore center played 25 minutes while one-time West Virginia commit Bryon Allen added four points and four assists in 17 minutes as St. Thomas More maintained its 20 point lead from before halftime.

Moses Abraham, who has interest from Georgetown and Connecticut, was not with Progressive Christian of Maryland as he plays with their high school team rather than their prep team.

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See the Big East stars of today on the big stage as our 2010 Big East Tournament & Tickets page has the links needed for Big East basketball fans to purchase tickets to any or all of the 2010 Big East Tournament sessions. The Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden is an event Big East fans must experience when they have the opportunity and here is your chance to get your tickets early before they become harder, and more expensive, to find. Stub Hub and the Big East conference have teamed up to provide fans with quality tickets and you can get tickets to ANY Big East conference or non-league game by following this link: StubHub.com – The Safe Way to Buy & Sell Tickets Online

NBE PREP CORNER – UNDERCLASSMEN UPDATE (PART II)

BY PAT STEVENS — As mentioned in Part I of the Prep Corner’s Underclassman Updates, the group of young talent in the NEPSAC this season is pretty unprecedented when comparing to recent years.

The 2011 class has a pair of point guards who are among the best in the country at their position in Shabazz Napier (Lawrence Academy) and Naadir Tharpe (Brewster Academy). Two more have already given verbal commitments to Big East schools in Michael Carter-Williams (St. Andrew’s) to Syracuse and DaShaun Wiggins (Bridgton Academy) to Seton Hall.

Evaluating the 2012 class is still in the early stages but Andre Drummond (St. Thomas More) started at center to lead the USA U16 team to a Gold Medal this past summer at the FIBA Americas Games and Khem Birch (Winchendon School) will be one of the select few underclassmen who will play at this June’s annual NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp. Ricardo Ledo (St. Andrew’s) and Alex Murphy (St. Mark’s) have high-major offers from teams across the nation.

Expect the Big East to be in for another loaded year if the top talent elects to stay home.

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NBE PREP CORNER – UNDERCLASSMEN UPDATES (PART I)

BY PAT STEVENS — This year’s New England prep schools are especially loaded with talent among its underclassmen, more so than past years.

Still, a number of top Big East players spent not just their post-grad or senior years in the prep ranks but multiple years, most recently being the likes of Antonio Pena (Villanova/St. Thomas More), Jerome Dyson (Connecticut/Proctor Academy), Rob Thomas (St. John’s/South Kent and St. Thomas More), Gilbert Brown (Pittsburgh/South Kent), Lazar Hayward (Marquette/Notre Dame Prep) and Devin Ebanks (West Virginia/St. Thomas More), along with current freshmen James Southerland (Syracuse/Notre Dame Prep), Mike Marra (Louisville/Northfield Mount Herman), Alex Oriakhi (Connecticut/Tilton and Winchendon) and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel (Connecticut/Tilton and Winchendon).

In this first installment, four teams with a pair of future Division I players are highlighted…

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (1/26/2010)

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One of the most traditional and storied Big East rivalries was renewed last night and for the first time in 20 years both teams came in with top 10 rankings. Georgetown and Syracuse met in the Carrier Dome before a Big Monday TV audience and 26,000+ fans. The Hoyas got off to a hot start, but it was Syracuse that ran away from them in the end.

Two games on the schedule tonight in the Big East out in the Midwest as WVU travels to DePaul and Marquette hosts Rutgers.

In other conference news and notes, UConn looks to keep their momentum rolling and their recruiting efforts in line with Jim Calhoun on his indefinite medical leave. West Virginia, like Marquette, will be getting a late season freshman addition to the line-up next week. Providence looks to rebound from their devastating loss over the weekend. Pittsburgh hopes to get Ashton Gibbs shooting at a high clip once again and improve their defensive efforts. Also, a recruiting update on Aaron Cosby, a 2011 guard several Big East programs are taking note of.

Also, it might be another month and a half away, but our 2010 Big East Tournament & Tickets page has the links needed for Big East basketball fans to purchase tickets to any or all of the 2010 Big East Tournament sessions. The Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden is an event Big east fans must experience when they have the opportunity and here is your chance to get your tickets early before they become harder, and more expensive, to find. Stub Hub and the Big East conference have teamed up to provide fans with quality tickets and you can get tickets to ANY Big East conference or non-league game by following this link: StubHub.com – The Safe Way to Buy & Sell Tickets Online

Read on below for all of today’s News & Notes…

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HOOPHALL CLASSIC REPORT: MONDAY

BY JEFF BORZELLO

Archive on Monday’s Hoophall Classic live blog coverage: HERE!

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – After a light Sunday with only three national teams playing – called “the calm before the storm” by one media member – the Monday of the 2010 Spalding HoopHall Classic at Blake Arena in Springfield, Mass. was one of the best days of the year in high school basketball. There were four national games, all televised on ESPNU. St. Benedict’s Prep (N.J.) faced Bishop O’Connell (Va.), St. Anthony (N.J.) took on Westchester (Ca.) and DeMatha Catholic (Md.) battled Mater Dei (Ca.). Furthermore, the marquee match-up of the tournament was St. Patrick (N.J.) against Findlay Prep (Nev.). The gym was packed with fans, coaches and plenty of media, and the games were certainly not a disappointment. Here is a look at some of the top performers of the day:

Note: Top committed players that were featured on Monday included Kendall Marshall (14 points, 5 rebounds and 7 turnovers, North Carolina), Myck Kabongo (20 points, 6 rebounds and 12 assists, Texas), Sidiki Johnson (5 points, Arizona), Aaron Brown (14 points, Temple), Devon Collier (1 point and 6 rebounds, Oregon State), Ashton Pankey (DNP, Maryland), Derrick Williams (21 points and 7 rebounds, Richmond), Eli Carter (9 points and 5 rebounds, St. Bonaventure), Kareem Jamar (17 points and 6 rebounds, Montana), Kyrie Irving (30 points, Duke), Derrick Gordon (10 points, Western Kentucky), Chase Plummer (4 points, UMBC), Josh Daniel (6 points, Wagner), Tristan Thompson (8 points and 6 rebounds, Texas), Victor Oladipo (15 points and 16 rebounds, Indiana), Tyler Lamb (23 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists, UCLA), Keala King (9 points and 5 rebounds, Arizona State) and Gary Franklin (17 points, California).

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2012 PROSPECT KHEM BIRCH ON BIG EAST RADAR

Another native Canadian in New England prep school scene with a big future

Winchendon School is the home of an intriguing prospect in the class of 2012, 6-foot-9 native Canadian Khem Birch, who has drawn interest from many high major programs already.

While helping his team off to a 13-1 start, Birch told NBE Sports late last month that he was averaging approxomately eight points, 10 rebounds and three blocks a contest. NBE got a good look at what has caught the eye of college coaches back in November at the National Prep School Showcase. While Birch is still growing into his game, he looks to be a dynamite player once it all comes together. He has great athleticism and leaping ability, and can play above the rim at both ends. Birch blocked shots and grabbed rebounds effectively. He is not overly skilled on the offensive end just yet, instead relying on his athleticism to get points.

In part because of his 15-point performance against Mack Academy, which Birch told NBE was his personal highlight of the season so far, he was singled out as one of the National Prep Showcase Top Performers selected by Jeff Borzello during his coverage for NBE Basketball Report of the event.

“Providence, Siena, Virginia, UConn, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Pitt, Purdue (and) Notre Dame,” responded Birch when recently asked by NBE what schools are actively recruiting him at this point.

The list of schools has grown considerably since November at the National Prep Showcase where he indicated Siena and Providence could be leaders in his recruitment. While it is early on in the process, the list is likely to get longer and when NBE followed up for an update Birch indicated that there are no leaders at this point.

In order to improve his offensive game, Birch is working to become more comfortable with his back to the basket and develop some post moves in the low post. The development from an athletic post player with potential and an impressive wingspan to a polished low post scoring option involves a lot of hard work. Birch aknowledges that and has a very good idea of the system he will be looking for in college to maximize his talents in a team that fits his style of play.

“I like to run the court so a team that does alot of fastbreaks and runs (a) motion offense will be the school I go to,” said Birch.

Keep an eye on this one folks…you can be sure many college coaches will be over the next few years!

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NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL HOOPS FESTIVAL REPORT

BY JEFF BORZELLO

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. – When it is a Saturday during the college basketball season and there are still dozens of assistant head coaches in the stands at a high school tournament, you know it must be a loaded event. That was the case at the National High School Hoops Festival at Wise High School in Upper Marlboro, Md. on Saturday. Coaches from Connecticut, Virginia, South Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts and many other schools were in attendance to watch 10 of the best schools in the mid-Atlantic region.

The day started with Paul VI (Va.) vs. Wise High School (Md.), followed by Mountain State Academy (W.V.) vs. National Christian Academy (Md.), St. Mary’s Ryken (Md.) vs. Montrose Christian (Md.), West Charlotte (N.C.) vs. Bishop O’ Connell (Va.) and wrapping up with a showdown between DeMatha (Md.) and Benedictine (Va.). Here is a look at some of the top players in the event:

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HOOP SKILLS RECRUITING SCUTTLEBUTT: FINDLAY PREP EDITION

by RAY MERNAGH

Findlay Prep of Henderson (NV) won the State Farm Tournament of Champions this past weekend in Peoria, IL. The three wins has Findlay at 7-0 on the young season, with the mega-star-outfit from Vegas averaging 102.4 points per game while only allowing 67.6 points per.

Cory Joseph, Findlay’s elite guard (see NBE scout Doug Ferguson’s report on him here) was named the tournament MVP after averaging nearly 24 pts, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals for the event on 60% shooting from the field. The all-tournament team included Joseph, Tristan Thompson, Jabari Brown, Quality Education’s Quincy Miller and IMG’s Dwight Powell.

Findlay assistant Todd Simon caught up with me via email right before hopping a flight to Kentucky for this weekend’s Marshall County Hoopfest, where Findlay will face their “first big test” of the season according to Simon against #11 ranked Christ School (NC) on Friday and Our Savior New American (NY) on Saturday.

Here’s a rundown of the uncommitted Findlay kids and the schools Simon is fielding calls from on their behalf…

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2009 STATE FARM TOC RECAP

by DOUG FERGUSON

The fourth annual State Farm Tournament of Champions was a 5-day event that took place this past Thanksgiving weekend. Most of the tournament action took place at Washington Community High School in Peoria (IL) with Illinois Central College also hosting games from four separate national high school and prep school basketball challenges. The main attraction was the Team Works National Classic that featured the nation’s #1 prep powerhouse Findlay Prep. Findlay took on all comers in the four team bracket, which was rounded out with IMG Academy, Brehm Prep and Winston Salem QEA.

Below is a recap of the top 10 players who impressed NBE in the event and some recruiting tidbits as well.

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NATIONAL PREP SHOWCASE TOP PERFORMERS

BY JEFF BORZELLO

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – With nearly every top prep team in the country at Albertus Magnus College this past weekend for the National Prep Showcase, there was plenty of talent on hand for spectators and coaches to watch. There was something for everyone – post-grad prospects, senior signees, junior gems and sophomore superstars. However, with all the top-notch talent on hand, it was difficult to pinpoint the best players at the Showcase – but I will try my best.

2010 Top 10 Standout Performers (listed alphabetically)

- Will Barton, Brewster Academy, Memphis: On paper, Barton was the best player at the event. In reality, he struggled to find open shots but passed very well.

- Lorenzo Brown, Hargrave Military Academy, North Carolina State: Constantly put on a show when in the game, Brown is going to be a star in the ACC.

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NATIONAL PREP SHOWCASE RECAP, PART II

by JEFF BORZELLO

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The highly-anticipated National Prep Showcase got off to a somewhat slow start in the first couple of days, with one-sided affairs and blowouts galore. Only two games on the first were decided by fewer than 10 points, and those were seven and nine point differences. The second day wasn’t much different, as the first three games all had margins of at least double-digits. With plenty of quality basketball left to be played, though – including a match-up between Brewster Academy and Worcester Academy – there was a chance for the games to be more competitive. Seemingly on cue, Mack Academy (N.C.) had a furious comeback against Winchendon (Mass.) – before falling late, 79-77 – to jumpstart what would be an exciting final day and a half of basketball featuring several tight contests.

The three best games of the event came during day three. In the first one, NIA Prep overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to force overtime against second-ranked Brewster Academy. In overtime, the team from New Jersey pulled off the upset, 103-99. Immediately following that, Bridgton Academy and Tilton School went down to the wire before Seton Hall-commit Dashaun Wiggins hit a half-court three-pointer at the buzzer to give Bridgton a one-point victory. In the fourth game on Sunday, South Kent Prep (Conn.) defeated Champlain St. Lambert (Can.) on a lay-up at the buzzer by Nemanja Djurisic. Here is a look at some more player evaluations from the second and third days of the Showcase, in addition to those we wrote about on Friday:

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (11/20/2009)

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The Big East, considered to be down this year, improved their cummulative record last night to 35-0, remaining as the only conference without a loss to date. The most impressive vistory was registered by Syracuse, who demolished nationally ranked Cal in Madison Square Garden 95-73. Tonight, the Orange will definitely put the gaudy Big East record on the line when they meet North Carolina in the finals of the Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic. Out of conference opponents early in the year can struggle very much against the SU zone…we shall see what it does to the Tar Heels, who have a lot of new pieces this year.

Another big challenge to the Big East will come this afternoon when a short-handed Villanova squad meets nationally ranked Dayton. The Wildcats needed a late three-pointer by Isaiah Armwood to get past George Mason yesterday in the San Juan Shootout. South Florida will try to put the off court distractions aside, much like they did last night when beating Davidson in the Charleston Classic. Tonight another tough match-up is on deck when they meet South Carolina in Charleston.

Other winners last night included Pittsburgh and Notre Dame. Others in action today include DePaul in the Paradise Jam, Seton Hall visiting Cornell of the Ivy League. Rutgers facing Drexel in the Legends Classic at the RAC and St. John’s hosting Brown to open the Philly Hoops Classic.

In other news, an update on UConn verbal commitment Cleveland Melvin and recruiting updates on 2011 forward Branden Dawson, 2011 guard Donivine Stweart and 2012 guard Omar Calhoun. Tobias Harris oficially announced for the SEC last night and this weekend is the highly anticipated National Prep Showcase and NBE will be there for ALL of the action!

Read all about these and more in today’s News & Notes links below…

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (11/16/2009)

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A busy weekend of Big East hoops concluded with three more games on Sunday as Seton Hall moved to 2-0, Providence won their third game already on the young season and West Virginia opened their season with a victory. However, the news at WVU was more about who did not play for the Mountaineers than who did play.

Notre Dame and Rutgers opened their seasons on Saturday with victories and five Big East teams hit the court on Monday night. Connecticut is in action as a regional host of the NIT Tip-off tournament when they host Colgate. Villanova opens Big 5 play by hosting Penn of the Ivy League. Notre Dame is back in action hosting St. Francis (PA) and South Florida hosts Virginia of the ACC, looking for their second win on the season. Opening their season tonight is Cincinnati as the regular season debut of Lance Stephenson takes place when the Bearcats host Prairie View A&M.

In other news around the league, the Syracuse big men are not taking advantage from the charity stripe. Will that cause more pain for the Orange this season since their experience is in their frontline as opposed to the backcourt like last year? Also, recruiting news on George Marshall, Roscoe Smith, Tobias Harris and Doron Lamb from the weekend.

Lots to cover today…check it out in the News & Notes links below…

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HOOP SKILLS BIG EAST SIGNING DAY ROUNDUP

by JEFF BORZELLO

- Chip Smith, the AAU coach of the Tennessee Tigers, said that Michael Bradley signed with Connecticut today. “Mike was scheduled to sign at 10 this morning,” Smith said. “As far as I know, all went well.”

- Cameron Wright’s high school coach at Benedictine (Oh.) confirmed that Wright did indeed sign with Pittsburgh this morning.

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JERMAINE SANDERS HAS BIG EAST INTEREST; MORE RECRUITING UPDATES

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Rice junior has focus on upcoming season, recruiting can wait

By Zach Smart

For Jermaine Sanders, recruiting is an afterthought right now. Talk to him at the end of the season, this probably won’t be the case.

Right now, however, the subject of the electrifying 6-foot-4 wing’s recruitment is in the shadows.

So, what’s front-and-center on the Rice HS forward’s agenda? First and foremost is the ready-to-be filled scoring void left by high-volume scoring machine Durand Scott, who was claimed by June graduation.

Scott, now a freshman at Miami, was a highly sought after recruit last season. He ended up spurning UConn and Pittsburgh, both of which hounded him throughout the recruiting process last year, for the Hurricanes.

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JABARIE HINDS WEIGHING OPTIONS; BIG EAST RECRUITING NOTES FROM IS8

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by ZACH SMART

It was during a Westchester County high school football game under the evening lights when I encountered Patrick Theodole. Beyond the Section I sports junkie pleasantries, we became immersed in conversation.

The topic? Not football.

Instead, we talked the leaps-and-bounds growth of Jabarie Hinds. Hinds, who cooked opponents to the recipe of 37 points per game down at Bob Gibbons and has evolved into more of a prolific scorer while developing a dependable jumper, has become the hunted in the world of Big East recruiting.

I rattled off a number of top-flight Division-I schools that were actively hounding the latest guard from Westchester’s richest hoops real estate. It certainly elicited a response from Theodole, who’s one of the Knights’ many assistant coaches under longtime coach Bob Cimmino.

“Oh, there’s more schools on his list than that,” Theodole said, reacting to my list of around 8-10 potential Division-I suitors for Hinds.

Theodole—who teaches at Hastings High School, my alma mater—is not wrong here.

“They all seem hungry,” said Hinds, a junior guard who was Pippen to Sherrod Wright’s Jordan, operating offense for the Knights last season.

“I got offers from Oklahoma State, UNLV, Wake Forest, Seton Hall, St. John’s, James Madison, Louisville, and a couple more.”

Hinds has no favorites, no leaders yet. He hasn’t cut any schools from a list that’s akin to a 7-year-old’s Christmas gift list in length.

You can’t write off any team yet. The blink-quick, springy guard still has two years of high school remaining.

Even James Madison, which may or may not be at the bottom of his list, has a tie to Hinds. Former Mount Vernon standout Jomo Belfor, who plays against Hinds during the Knights’ traditional open gyms, played for the Dukes a few years ago.

Hinds keeps his former teammates, many of whom Mount Vernon molded and launched to Big East careers, close to his presence. Kevin Jones (West Virginia), Mike Colburn (Rutgers) and Jonathon Mitchell ((Rutgers) remain tight with Hinds.

“I learned a lot (from the older guys). I played behind Mike Colburn when he was in high school, so I learned a lot from him. (Former Mount Vernon Knights now playing in the Big East or elsewhere) always come up to the gym, in the off-season we work out. We play open gym. They teach me a lot of stuff, and you know, I teach them stuff too.”

As the lone acclaimed player—and one of the few players who played a significant role on last year’s squad—returning, Hinds has rapidly evolved into the face of this storied program.

He knows he’s going to hold some ownership of the team this year.

“Everything is mine now,” said Hinds. “I’m the captain. I’m the only starter back right now, so everybody’s got to work for a spot and go hard in practice every day.

Is keeping a perennial power intact a heavy burden?

“Always,” said Hinds.

“The pressure is there, big time. We need to play hard, go hard every day in practice, make sure we take no plays off, and we should be alright.”

If Hinds continues to orchestrate the offense and grow as a scorer, his future hardwood home should be better than alright.

JUMP BALLS:

Jordan Allen, a 6-foot-5 junior at Bayshore HS, has emerged into a highly sought after product on the recruiting market.

While Allen hasn’t narrowed his list down to favorites, he’s received an uptick in interest from Providence, UMass, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech.

Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt attended one of Allen’s practices during the last days of the contact period.

“Providence has been going pretty hard right now,” said Allen. “Coach (Pat) Skerry, I’ve been in contact with him. Notre Dame has been showing me some interest, too. That’s it for right now. Before school started, I was hearing from Seton Hall.”
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Devon Collier is currently on his visit at St. John’s. The hotly pursued 6-foot-8 forward from St. Anthony’s has also visited Oregon State—where Craig Robinson, our commander-in-chief’s brother-in-law, is loving his game—and Providence. Collier took his visit during StormFest weekend, SJU’s midnight madness.

The Johnnies look revved up to re-write the script this season, with DJ Kennedy exploding for emphatic, extravagant, and violent dunks. Newly-minted Johnnie junior Dwight Hardy, who was dominant in the Orchard Beach league this summer, was also impressive. He netted threes and showed some range.
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Corey Edwards, a New York point guard with savvy and game managing skills beyond his years, is wide open right now. The 6-foot-1 junior at Christ The King said Villanova and West Virginia are no longer the leaders. Rick Pitino and Louisville have shown interest, taking in one of his workouts during the open contact period. Coaches from Pittsburgh have also started to take notice. Edwards, who averaged 12 points and seven dimes his sophomore season is primed for a breakout campaign at Lamar Odom’s alma mater. This comes after a successful summer playing for New Heights on the AAU circuit.

Edwards, who visited Marquette over the summer, enjoying the gut-busting antics of funnyman forward Jeronne Maymon but detesting the weather, is taking his time with the recruiting process.

“No new visits yet,” Edwards said.

“George Mason coach (Jim Larranaga) wanted me to go to their midnight madness but I couldn’t make it out there. Right now, I’m wide-open. West Virginia is no longer (leading the list). They just got some guard from Cincinnati.”
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editors note – NBE has been unable to confirm the commitment for WVU that Edwards was referring to.
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Tyquan Goodlet, a 6-foot-3 combination guard at St. Anthony’s HS, is receiving the most interest from Big East schools such as Providence, St. John’s, Rutgers and Marquette. He visited Rutgers this fall, taking in the Rutgers/Pitt football game. The class of 2011 playmaker has watched his stock balloon over the summer and through the fall. A crafty guard who loves shredding up defenses and taking it to the cup on the big men, Kimani Young has Goodlet pegged as “New Heights’ favorite player to watch.”
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