West Virginia Recruiting

MIKE TAYLOR BASKING IN PSAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Boys & Girls junior guard shines on MSG floor with 25 points leading ‘Roos to first title since 1979

They have been close before, but this time the Boys & Girls High School Kangaroos finished the job with a 55-50 victory over Cardozo to give the Brooklyn high school their first PSAL championship since 1979. It was their third trip in the last four years to the AA finals and the win made Ruth Lovelace the first female coach to lead a PSAL team to the boy’s title.

Junior (2011) guard Mike Taylor led the ‘Roos with 25 points and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. The 6-foot-3 shooting guard, who is being pursued by the majority of the Big East, understood the historical aspects of the win, relaying the weight of the accomplishments to NBE last night while returning to Madison Square Garden to take in the 2010 Big East Tournament as a fan.

“It was a good win on Saturday,” said Taylor. “We were down 10 at halftime, we just came out halftime and played hard. The last time we won was in 1979, so it was a 31 year drought. This was Coach Ruth Lovelace’s first championship.”

For more on Taylor’s thoughts on the PSAL championship and an update from him on his recruitment, you can sign up for NBE Premium access and SUBSCRIBE (HERE) read on below…

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NATIONAL PREP CHAMPIONSHIP OPENING DAY

by PAT STEVENS

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Gerard Coleman (Tilton/Providence) had the day’s high of 43 points as the fourth annual National Prep Championships are underway, this year from Albertus Magnus College.

Big East signees Isaiah Epps (Pittsburgh), CJ Fair (Syracuse) and Austin Carroll (Rutgers) all helped their teams to victories that have them slated for Wednesday’s semifinals and potential championship game.

Epps and No. 1 seed Hargrave Military Academy meet No. 5 Northfield Mount Hermon and Fair and Carroll lead No. 2 seed Brewster Academy against No. 6 St. Thomas More, with the championship set for 7:30 p.m.

Read on for more on the opening day of the National Prep Championship, including recruiting updates on Cleveland Melvin, who has plenty of Big East interest and plans a Big East visit in the near future, and Bryon Allen, who is likely to take a Big East official visit this spring. Both were previously Big East verbal commitments and still might land in the conference next season. To see the latest you can sign up for NBE Premium access and SUBSCRIBE (HERE) to read on below…

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NIA PREP ON THE RISE ON THE PREP SCHOOL SCENE

Jamir Hanner headed to Seton Hall; Kelvin Amayo & Shaquille Thomas lead next group of NIA Prep prospects

By Matt Whitfield

The New York tri-state area is a hot bed for high school basketball. With perennial powers St. Anthony’s, St. Benedict’s, St. Patrick’s, Paterson Catholic, Rice, Lincoln and others, it is no surprise a plethora of talented high school players graduate to play in college and then sometimes at the highest level. Despite being such a breeding ground for talent the area also sees many talented players leave the area for stops at prep programs in New England such as Winchendon Prep, South Kent Prep, and others, to pepare them for college on and off the court. A rising program aims to begin to change the migration of talented NYC/NJ-area players to New England and keep them in the tri-state area as Alif Muhammad’s NIA School in Newark (NJ) has put itself on the prep basketball map this season. With the addition of former Bishop Loughlin head coach Rudy King to the coaching staff at NIA School, NIA Prep is posied for bigger things in the future.

NIA Prep’s basketball program is in it’s second season on the court and in it’s first year under Coach Rudy King. The team is 29-11 as of Monday and according to school President Alif Muhammad had it’s best stretch to date in late January/early February when they beat Mack Academy and then went up to Rhode Island for the National Prep Showcase and beat Westwind Prep and Brewster, all of who were ranked high amongst the ESPN top prep school schools. The school has taken on a national schedule this season, playing a mix of traditional New England prep powers as well as the top programs in New Jersey, including Paterson Catholic and St. Anthony’s. NIA Prep owns a two-game season sweep over a loaded Brewster Academy team, which recently captured the NEPSAC Class A championship.

The team right now has several Big East caliber players with the best of those right now being Jamir Hanner, according to Muhammad.

Read on for more on NIA Prep, including recruiting updates on 2011 prospects Shaquille Thomas and Kelvin Amayo who are both highly coveted by Big East programs. To see the latest you can sign up for NBE Premium access and SUBSCRIBE (HERE) to read on below…

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ANGEL NUNEZ IMPRESSED WITH SYRACUSE VISIT, TALKS RECRUITING

2011 forward prospect has checked out several Big East schools, wants to see Pitt, Kentucky, UL and UConn

by JEFF BORZELLO

A record crowd was in the Carrier Dome last Saturday night to watch Syracuse knock off Villanova and take control of the Big East standings.

The electric atmosphere that was heightened by the ESPN Gameday crew and an NCAA on-campus crowd of 34,616 added to the excitment and the Orange staff took full advantage by using the festivities as a recruiting tool bringing in several highly touted recruits.

One of those in attendance was 2011 prospect Angel Nunez, a 6-7 native New Yorker now playing at Winchendon Prep (Mass.).

“It was fun. The atmosphere was overwhelming,” Nunez said. “I went with [Winchendon teammate] Khem Birch.”

Nunez talked to NBE last night about his trip to Syracuse and his thoughts on recruiting, which included his interest in visiting other schools such as Pitt, Kentucky, Louisville and UConn in the future and what he will be looking for in his future college home. To see the latest you can sign up for NBE Premium access and SUBSCRIBE (HERE) to read on below…

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2011 BIG EAST TARGET: JARROD DAVIS

2011 G/F getting a lot of interest from SHU staff and likes up and down style of PC, MU, SJU, etc in Big East

At the recent Primetime Shootout, Lakewood High School faced the difficult task at Kean University of taking on national power St. Benedict’s of Newark (NJ). It was a long night for Lakewood, especially in the second half, when St. Ben’s shook off the rust of nine days of inactivity because of cancelations due to the weather. The Gray Bees took complete control of the game in the third quarter when they outscored their overmatched Ocean County opponents 30-7 to stretch a 38-22 halftime lead to 68-29 after three quarters on their way to an 82-38 victory.

lakewood was able to keep somewhat within striking distance over the first 16 minutes with a patient offense and a strong half by junior Jarrod Davis, who scored nine of his team-high 15 in the first half. After the game, Alex Schwartz caught up with Davis to get an update on his recruitment. Davis, a 6-foot-5 G/F, is getting plenty of attention attention from college coaches and counts four current offers from Big East programs. Davis talked about his recruitment and what he likes about the Big East schools currently recruiting him…

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NATIONAL CHRISTIAN ACADEMY CLASSIC RECRUITING NOTES

BY JEFF BORZELLO

FORT WASHINGTON (MD) – With state playoffs starting around the country, there are not many inter-state tournaments left in the season. However, one under-the-radar event left to play was the NCA Classic at National Christian Academy in Maryland. The set-up was three high schools from North Carolina coming up to play three high schools in Maryland – Progressive Christian (Md.) vs. Mt. Zion Academy (N.C.), Princeton Day School (Md.) vs. Christian Faith Center Academy (N.C.) and National Christian (Md.) vs. Kestrel Heights (N.C.). Although it did not receive much attention, there were plenty of talented and highly-touted players at the event.

Players at the event gave NBE school lists that included Georgetown, Seton Hall, West Virginia, Providence, Connecticut, Pittsburgh as well as schools from the ACC, Big 12, SEC, PAC 10, Big 10 and more. Read on for scouting reports and recruiting updates from many of the top players that performed this weekend…

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2011 NYC G/F JERMAINE SANDERS LIKES THE BIG EAST

And the Big East is liking him back with several school offering a scholarship

While Rice (NYC) High School junior Jermaine Sanders does not seem to have a big reputation nationally, that is not the case in the northeast among high-major college coaches.

Sanders is a 6-foot-5 swing man/small forward that can simply score the ball in a lot of different ways. Against Westchester (CA) High School last month at the Primetime Shootout in Morgantown (WV), he was deadly from beyond the three-point line. He’s also a solidly built kid who should continue to get stronger and shows the ability to share the ball and defend within a team concept.

Last weekend at the Primetime Shootout in Trenton (NJ), NBE’s Matt Whitfield caught up with the rising star in the 2011 recruiting class to get his thoughts on his recruitment…

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BIG EAST OFFER EXCITES TAVON SLEDGE

This past weekend in the 2010 Primetime Shootout a Sunday afternoon contest between Christ the King of New York City and Half Hollow Hills West of Long Island drew a lot of interested observers. With recently named McDonald’s All-American and 2010 Tennessee commit Tobias Harris saddled with foul trouble, it was junior point guard Tavon Sledge stepping up his play to hold off a Christ the King rally to lead HHHW to a 73-69 win at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton (NJ).

Sledge scored 23 points in the win and used his speed and quickness with the dribble to shoft through the defense for his points and drop dimes to open teammates. For his efforts, Sledge was named the co-Most Outstanding Player, along with Harris, for HHHW as he shot seven of 14 from the field, nine of 12 from the foul line and added four assists and four steals. Afterwards, Matt Whitfield caught up with Sledge to get a school list and NBE also got an update earlier this morning as his sparkling performance this past weekend has led to a Big East school making a scholarship offer to the 2011 guard prospect.

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LOOKING BACK AT THE NPSI

By PAT STEVENS – The 12th annual National Prep School Invitational saw Big East signees Nate Lubick (Georgetown), CJ Fair (Syracuse) and J.J. Moore (Pittsburgh) deliver while underclassmen Michael Carter-Williams, Shabazz Napier and Alex Murphy brought it in a big way.

NBE was in Kingston, R.I., during all four days of action that featured over 30 of the nation’s top prep schools.

NPSI ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Michael Carter Williams (2011/6-5 PG/St. Andrew’s, R.I.) – Most Outstanding Player/Syracuse verbal

Patrik Auda (6-8 CF/Canarias Basketball Academy, Spain)

Bo Barnes (6-4 WF/Westwind Prep, Az.)

Bill Baron (6-0 CG/Worcester Academy, Mass.) – Rhode Island

CJ Fair (6-7 CF/Brewster Academy, N.H.) – Syracuse

Jamir Hanner (6-7 PF/NIA Prep, N.J.)

Nate Lubick (6-8 PF/St. Mark’s, Mass.) – Georgetown

Majok Majok (6-7 PF/Northfield Mount Hermon, Mass.)

J.J. Moore (6-6 WF/South Kent, Conn.) – Pittsburgh

Shabazz Napier (2011/6-0 PG/Lawrence Academy, Mass.)

Javarez Willis (6-0 PG/Christian Life Center, Tex.) – Texas Tech
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BIG EAST SCHOOLS TRAILING IN RACE FOR KADEEM JACK

Plenty of Big East schools involved with Rice HS big man, but have ground to make up

Kadeem Jack is a hot name right now in recruiting circles. Having a big season at Rice High School in the powerful CHSAA of New York City, Jack is also causing a stir because he could be a class of 2010 recruit and be a coveted signature in the late signing period this April.

This weekend, Jack and his Rice teammates participated in one of the showcase games of the 2010 Primetime Shootout when they took on St. Patrick’s (NJ) at 7:30 PM on Saturday evening at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton (NJ). Afterwards, Matt Whitfield caught up with Jack to get his thoughts on where his recruitment currently stands…

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DORON LAMB HAS A LIST OF FIVE

McDonald’s All-American will decide in April, no leaders at this time among his five

The marquee match-up Friday night at the Primetime Shootout at Kean University was Oak Hill Academy against St. Patrick’s of Elizabeth (NJ). Like so many of this year’s high school showcase games of the last month, this lived up to the hype.

Oak Hill Academy overcame a 28-point performance from St. Pat’s Michael Gilchrist as Doron Lamb sank a free throw to provide the winning marking in a 79-78 win. On the game, Lamb scored 18 points on six of nine shooting from the field, connecting on his lone three-pointer, and five of six from the line. The 6-foot-4 senior guard also contributed four assists and three steals.

Afterwards he talked with Alex Schwartz for NBE to get a full update on where his recruitment stands, which is a little different than previous reports…

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BIG SEASON BRINGS BIG INTEREST FOR JAYLEN BOND

Plymouth-Whitemarsh junior forward is starring on nationally ranked squad, picking up Big East interest

Last spring the NBE Basketball Report took notice of an athletic and powerfully built class of 2011 forward named Jaylen Bond at the IS8 Spring League in NYC. Bond made the trip with several other Philadelphia area players with a team called East Coast Elite out of Delaware. The newcomers to the IS8 action more than held their own and Bond finsihed up the spring proving ground league as a player to take notice of.

Now, with his Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School team enjoying a tremendous season, currently 21-1 and the District 1 and PIAA state title favorites, his college recruiting profile is beginning to kick into high gear. Along with some of the top local Philadelphia programs, several Big East schools are also taking notice of the 6-foot-7, 215-lb forward’s multi-faceted game and picturing him in a Big East uniform.

Bond took some time out from his busy schedule to chat with the NBE Basketball Report on the big season with P-W and to update us on his recruiting…

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GOT JACK? ANOTHER WEST COAST POWER JOINS ARIZONA, OTHERS IN PURSUIT OF KADEEM JACK

by RAY MERNAGH

Kadeem Jack has watched with a calm indifference (almost amusement) as he’s gone from a “potential/long/athletic” big with some upside to one of the must-have recruits for a number of high-majors. The kid from the islands of Trinidad and Tobago takes it all in stride, so it was probably no surprise to the big fella deal when another big-time program showed up in NYC to inquire about him in the past week.

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NPSI DAY FOUR RECAP

BY PAT STEVENS – Two of the Class of 2011’s best shined as Michael Carter-Williams of St. Andrew’s locked up the MVP award while Shabazz Napier of Lawrence Academy made a push at retaining it for the second straight year as the 12th annual National Prep School Invitational concluded on Sunday.

Big East assistant coaches on hand included Connecticut’s Pat Sellers and Providence’s Pat Skerry.

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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 TWO RECAP

BY PAT STEVENS – St. Mark’s Nate Lubick (Georgetown) and Alex Murphy had big days along with St. Andrew’s Michael Carter-Williams who went for 36 points on the second day of the 12th annual National Prep School Invitational.

Assistant coaches in attendance included Rodell Davis of Providence, Craig Carter of Rutgers, Scott Adubato of Seton Hall and Eric Skeeters of South Florida.

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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 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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COREY EDWARDS SEEING BIG EAST INTEREST

Christ the King junior guard hopes to play college basketball in Big East

by MATT WHITFIELD

Saturday at the Newark Invitational at the Prudential Center saw some exciting basketball action. Near the top of the list was Christ the King’s 75-72 overtime win over St. Peter’s Prep.

Scoring five of Christ the King’s 10 overtime points was junior point guard Corey Edwards, who finished with 14 in the game. Edwards showed his ability to drive past defenders and find the open man or draw contact going to the rim. On Saturday, 12 of his 14 points came from the foul line. Edwards flashes the ‘NYC’ handle and has no problem going left or right with the ball in his hands.

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (1/27/2010)

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A couple games on the Big East schedule Tuesday night and the drama was taken out of them early as WVU led Depaul 20-4 early and Marquette was up 25-7 over Rutgers. The Mountaineers and Golden Eagles cruised to victory without much of a fight, well, DePaul did get a little feisty, from the opposition.

Tonight, two more games, with UConn trying to avoid a letdown when they travel to Providence. Jim Calhoun will miss his third straight game for medical reasons. The Friars try to put the collapse of Saturday night behind them against a team they have had recent success against. Also, Notre Dame travels to Philly to take on Villanova.

In other Big East news, Syracuse is off to a great start, but still keying on one game at a time. Pitt’s guards have been logging a lot of minutes and Jamie Dixon hopes to use his bench more, find more interior production and hope that leads to some open three’s.

We also have several recruiting updates we found across the web of interest to Big East fans, including Jabarie Hinds, Josh and Devin Langford, Desmond Hubert and Jamal Lewis.

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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