September 2008

BELLY OF THE BE-AST (TRAVIS BEST EDITION)

by Ray Mernagh

Is there anything better than Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee? I mean besides the fact that they now sell it in local supermarkets! I still remember the first time I had it. I was driving through Massachusetts in a blizzard — I guess it had to be around 91 or 92 — and had to stop in Springfield to drop off one load and pick up another. This was obviously before I became a highly paid author/basketball writer for sites like the NBE Basketball Report, so I was driving trucks to put food on the table. Julius (the guy I was driving with) and I had two options: stay in the musty rig while we were waiting for another trailer to hook up to, or head across the street to a Dunkin’ Donuts. The choice was obvious, at least to me, so I headed over to the donut shop while Julius, a really angry Filipino dude, stayed in the truck.

I sat down at the counter and ordered two glazed donuts and a coffee. There was an older gentleman sitting a few seats away with a paper who looked at me and said “your boys gonna win tonight?” Huh, I thought.

It took me a second to realize I was wearing my long Georgetown jacket (remember STARTER jackets)? “Who they got tonight?” I asked the old guy, “I’ve been cooped up in a truck for three days.”

“Seton Hall,” he said, “at the Meadowlands.”

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (9/30/2008)

As we have reported and referenced the last couple days, Talib Zanna Will Be a Pittsburgh Panther and Ron Bailey, publisher of i95ballerz.com, has an excellent article on Zanna and his game at our Pittsburgh Team Blog Site.

Speaking of i95ballerz.com, Ron has a recent article that caught my attention on his site, since I am a ‘child of the 80’s’ as he puts it, and that is Pony is ‘Back in the Game’ and looking to streamline their entry into Grassroots Basketball. I clearly remember Paul Evans’ Pittsburgh teams with Charles Smith and co. sporting their Pony sneakers back in the 80’s.

Elsewhere today some updates on Sean Kilpatrick, James Southerland, Mohammed Lee, Ryan Kelly, Durand Scott, Lavonte Dority, Elijah Johnson, Evan Smotrycz, Carson Desrosiers and Keith Clanton. More on the loaded Miami-Dade CC program, a couple updates on Nate Miles and Seton Hall and DePaul fill admin staff positions in their basketball programs.

Lots of good stuff today…

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CATCHING UP ON RODERICK ODOM JR.

Versatile 2010 prospect with high academics getting coaching vists

When you stand 6-foot-8 and possess skills of a guard, college basketball coaches will want to take a look at you for themselves. That is exactly what is going on with the case of Rod Odom Jr., a junior guard/forward from Middlesex School of Concord (MA).

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CATCHING UP (ONCE AGAIN) WITH TOM DRONEY

2010 guard takes visits, impresses at Charlie Weber event in Maryland this past weekend

For the last month we have been on a commitment watch for the recruitment of Sewickley (PA) Academy junior guard Tom Droney as he indicated a September decision was likely. After making visits earlier this month to Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and, this past weekend, to Wake Forest and Davidson, maybe the decision is a little more difficult for the 6-foot-6 guard to make.

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (9/29/2008)

In today’s News & Notes around the Big East we take a look at Tom Droney and his top three schools on his list. Pittsburgh adds one Maryland recruit while another will not be coming to Pitt after all. It was a busy weekend at Marquette as they hosted a 5-star visitor and another previous verbal commitment came down and got in some runs with the current team in pick-up games. Buzz Williams is definitely creating some buzz in the program and also is looking to bring in a Serbian big man for a future conference visit. Louisville also has a visitor lined up for the near future and UConn had a highly regarded player on campus this weekend.

Also in the conference, Syracuse might be down a guard for the 2008-2009 season because of injury. The future status if UConn frosh Nate Miles is very much up in the air. Could Jamie Dixon’s contract extension at Pittsburgh actually mean something?

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BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: PITTSBURGH

Verbal Commitment Alert: Talib Zanna, 6′9 (BF/C) from Bishop McNamara (MD)

Pittsburgh basketball and coach Jamie Dixon has added another verbal commitment to the impressive Pitt class of 2009 as Talib Zanna has made a verbal commitment to the Pittsburgh program today, according to a source close to the situation. Zanna visited Pittsburgh last weekend.

Last night we posted the story that Darnell Dodson Will Not Re-Enroll at Pitt and today they added a new recruit and will still pursue guard prospects this recruiting period as well.

We will have more on Zanna, a 6-foot-9, 220 pound BF/C later tonight…

PROJECTED 2008-2009 PITTSBURGH ROSTER:

Seniors: Levance Fields (PG), Sam Young (F), Tyrell Biggs (F)
Juniors: Jermaine Dixon (G)
Sophomores: Gilbert Brown (SF/G), Bradley Wanamaker (G), Gary McGhee (C), DeJuan Blair (PF)
Freshmen: Travon Woodall (PG), Nasir Robinson (G/F), Ashton Gibbs (G), Dwight Miller (PF)
2009 Commit: Lamar Patterson (SG), Dante Taylor (PF), J/J. Richardson (F), Talib Zanna (BF/C)

2008-2009 BIG EAST PREVIEW: 13) RUTGERS

It is a long way up from the bottom of this Big East conference and that is exactly where Rutgers is starting from. This is the third season under Fred Hill Jr and the first two have not gone well. With a head coaching record that now sits at 21-39 and a Big East record of 6-28, Hill enters an important year #3. While we are not likely going to see Ben Howland (Pitt), John Thompson III (Georgetown) or John Beilein (WVU) third year bump, this is the season that progress needs to be shown at Rutgers and, from where we sit, we think it will be coming.

However, you can not expect miracles. In the Big East, you need to have talent and you need that talent to be mixed with experience. On paper, Rutgers seems to have that with three seniors that have all played key roles since they came to Rutgers, but as you can tell from the records, that has not brought along any success. Now, two of those seniors (Jaron Griffin and JR Inman) could be suspended well into the out of conference portion of their schedule, meaning the youngsters might be called on earlier than anticipated, which could be both good and bad.

Read rest of article here: 2008-2009 Rutgers Preview

DARNELL DODSON NOT TO RE-ENROLL @ PITT

The NBE Basketball Report has learned from a source close to the situation that Miami-Dade Community College forward Darnell Dodson is ineligible to re-enroll at Pittsburgh due to Big East rules. In an effort to make it happen, Pitt has exhausted all possibilities, but the staff foresaw the possibility and has kept on recruiting.

Last weekend the Panthers hosted New York City guard Durand Scott for an official visit as well as Talib Zanna, a power forward from Bishop McNamara in Maryland. On Sunday night, the Pitt staff will also have an in-home visit with St. Anthony’s (NJ) star shooting guard Dominic Cheek. The source indicated the Panthers are looking to add another guard and another big man to a class that includes verbal commitments from Lamar Patterson of St. Benedict’s (NJ), Dante Taylor of National Christian Academy (MD) and JJ Richardson from Hightower (TX).

Dodson was a class of 2007 commitment for Pittsburgh, but found out last September that he was not going to be cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse. Since Dodson was enrolled at Pittsburgh and declared a non-qualifier, he was not allowed to be on scholarship at Pitt due to the Big East rule not allowing member schools to accept non-qualifiers and he ended up enrolling at Miami-Dade. Dodson sat out last season and will have three years of eligibility after this season once completing degree requirements at Miami-Dade CC.

For a recent story on Dodson, see our Catching Up With Darnell Dodson story from earlier this month.

Chris Dokish contributed to this report.

2008-2009 BIG EAST PREVIEW: 14) ST. JOHN’S

After (finally) qualifying for their first Big East Tournament under Norm Roberts in the 2006-2007 season, it was back to the ‘norm’ for St. John’s in 2007-2008 as their young and inexperienced squad again missed out on participating in the conference’s year-end party at Madison Square Garden. A team dominated by freshman struggled to a 5-13 Big East record and finished 11-19 on the season. Not exactly what fans had in mind, a rebuilding season in year four without any postseason appearances in the NCAA or even NIT to this point.

Roberts now enters his fifth season at the helm of the Redstorm and owns a career mark of 48-67 as the head coach with St. John’s and a 20-46 record in regular season Big East action. Despite the poor results on the court, there is some hope that inroads are being made off the court as a revamped staff has given SJU some strong local recruiting ties in the New York City area. Already one highly coveted area player, Omari Lawrence, has committed for the class of 2009. The hope for the future might be getting slightly brighter, but this season’s outlook remains somewhat gloomy.

Read rest of article here: 2008-2009 St. John’s Preview

BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (9/26/2008)

In today’s quick tour around the Big East conference, we have recruiting updates for St. John’s as they hosted numerous recruits last night for their Stormfest celebration to kick-off the upcoming season. Also, individual stories on Lance Stephenson, Tom Droney and Arsalan Kazemi. Also, Bob Huggins hits the recruiting trail, UConn’s Nate Miles finds himself in some hot water, Jamie Dixon proves himself and gets rewarded and Jay Wright fills out his Villanova coaching staff.

NBE Basketball Report hits the road this weekend taking in some action at the Charlie Weber event on the Maryland campus and possibly some fall league basketball in the Chicago area, look for reports next week!

The 2008-2009 team previews will continue tomorrow morning as well…

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BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: GEORGETOWN

Verbal Commitment ALERT: Markel Starks, 6′1 (PG) of Georgetown Prep

Projected 2009-2010 Roster:

Seniors: Dajuan Summers (F)
Juniors: Austin Freeman (SG), Chris Wright (PG), Omar Wattad (F), Nikita Mescheriakov (F), Julian Vaughn (PF)
Sophomores: Jason Clark (G), Henry Sims (BF/C), Greg Monroe (BF)
Freshman: Hollis Thompson (SF), DaShonte Riley (C)
Early 2010 Commitments: Markel Starks (PG)

The Little Hoya Chooses Big Hoyas (CapitolHoops.com) as Markel Starks verbally commits to the Georgetown Hoyas after making a campus visit earlier today. The Georgetown Prep point gaurd is the first commitment of 2010 for John Thompson III and the Hoyas.

For more on Starks commitment and an overview on the Hoyas’ recruiting efforts, please be sure to visit our Georgetown Team Blog Site and see the latest updates.

PITTSBURGH REWARDS COACH JAMIE DIXON

Dixon Signed to Three Year Extension

By Anthony Jaskulski

The Pittsburgh men’s basketball program made its biggest announcement of their upcoming season this afternoon, as head coach Jamie Dixon was signed to a three-year extension through at least the 2015-16 season.

“I don’t believe I’ve ever known a coach who cares more about his players than Jamie does,” Athletic Director Steve Pederson said. “I have great admiration for how he puts his players and his team first.”

Dixon, who is a combined 132-40 in his five years as head coach, has led the Panthers to two Big East titles, two Sweet Sixteen appearances and is the first coach in Pitt basketball history to reach five consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (9/25/2008)

Exciting evening at St. John’s is scheduled tonight as their ‘Stormfest’ takes place and they look forward to hosting an impressive group of area recruits for the festivities. Connecticut has a deep and talented team for 2008-2009 and their staff is hard at work on the recruiting trail this month.

Jarrid Famous and Durand Scott have weekend visits lined up, James Padgett has a new school entering the mix as a previously mentioned school seems to have moved on. Anthony Johnson might be altering his priority list of schools, Darius Smith might have new attraction to a Big East school, Matt Vogrich update is also available.

Cincinnati looks to be losing an interesting walk-on player, Pittsburgh extends the contract of Jamie Dixon who hits the recruiting road once again this weekned. Syracuse is making progress on a new practice facility expected to open next year and they have an interesting walk-on candidate that will be part of their team. Also, Jay wright no longer has an inexperienced team and he likes what he sees with his experienced squad.

See our ‘Donate to NBE’ page for more details on our site donation drive!

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (9/24/2008)

Been a little quiet around the Big East for a few days. Today there are recruiting updates on Givon Crump, Sean Kilpatrick and Dominic Cheek to read, courtesy of Zags. Aaric Murray’s decision is explained a little deeper. Jim Calhoun and Jim Boeheim are in DC fighting for a cause that means a lot to them. At Providence, Keno Davis faces new pressures in his new surroundings, but will have Sharoud Curry back to run the show.

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BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: DEPAUL

VERBAL COMMITMENT ALERT: Mike Stovall, 6′5 G/F from Mineral Area College

DePaul Lands Mike Stovall of Mineral Area College (Chicago Hoops) as the JUCO guard, formerly of Chicago’s Marshall High School, verbally commits to Jerry Wainwright and staff.

Projected 2009-2010 Roster:

Seniors: Will Walker (PG)
Juniors: Darquavis Tucker (SG), Mac Koshwal (PF), Mario Stula (G/F), Mike Stovall (G/F)
Sophomores: Mike Bizoukas (PG), Eric Wallace (F), Jeremiah Kelly (PG), Devin Hill (F), Krys Faber (C), Kene Obi (C)
Freshmen: No Commitments at this date

For more on Stovall’s decision to join the Blue Demon program and a look at their recruiting situation at Lincoln Park, please visit our DePaul Team Blog Site.

CHICAGO-LAND TOUR: NORTH LAWNDALE PREP

A Sleeper Emerges from Chicago

With many major players in the Chicago high school team this season, the door has been opened for a sleeper to emerge. It seems that this “sleeper” is starting to emerge a little earlier than expected as North Lawndale Prep has exploded onto the scene during the summer and fall seasons to make everyone take note that they shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Their impact was first felt at the Illinois Team Camp at Chicago’s Moody Bible Institute in mid-summer. The dog days didn’t seem to effect Lawndale as they took Whitney Young by surprise by giving them all they could handle in taking them to overtime before losing in sudden death. The consensus in the gym that day was that North Lawndale outplayed the Dolphins, who are considered Chicago’s best chance to bring home a state title this season.

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (9/22/2008)

Today there truly is something for everyone as all 16 Big East schools have a recruiting update in todays report in some form or another. I do not think we could have done it if it wasn’t for Kyrie Irving giving Alex Schwartz a list that included nearly every Big East school at the Hoop Group’s Fall Jam Fest this past weekend. Schwartz provides tons of school lists in today’s News & Notes. Also, Adam Zagoria updates readers on Jarrid Famous, provides the corrected top 5 listing for Durand Scott as well as a Freddie Riley update. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye also updates readers on some of the latest from the Midwest and there is an update on Hassan Whiteside from Hoops Weiss as well. Also, Providence prepares for the loaded Big East in the season that is coming up very quickly on us.

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CATCHING UP WITH ERIC ATKINS

2010 guard has plenty of high-level college interest in his electric game

When you think of the natural tools that makes a great point guard, traits such as great court awareness, vision and a high basketball IQ definitely come to mind. That is exactly what the NBE Basketball Report saw out of Eric Atkins when he was running the show for the DC Assault 16-U squad last spring at Day One of the DC Assault AAU Tournament, ‘Take Your Best Shot.’

Despite being just 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds, Atkins is a tough and athletic guard that plays with force when driving to the rim. His quickness with the ball allows him to create his own offense when need be, but his basketball acumen keeps him from forcing his own issue too much as his decision making is a strength of his game that observers note and he lists as well.

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2008-2009 BIG EAST PREVIEW: 15) DEPAUL

For the second time in his three years as the head coach of DePaul, Jerry Wainwright failed to lead the Blue Demons into the Big East Tournament. The once proud and powerful DePaul program, which utilized the deep talent pool of the local Chicago-land area, seems to be a shadow of its former self and this upcoming season looks like another challenging year for the Blue Demon faithful.

The 2007-2008 Big East conference schedule started out with some hope, as DePaul won four of its first six contests against Big East teams. However, the team that lost on their home floor in the out of conference schedule to North Carolina A&T and University of Illinois-Chicago returned and the Blue Demons slumped down the home stretch losing 10 of their last 12 games.

Read rest of the article here: 2008-2009 DePaul Preview.

NORTHFIELD MOUNT HERMON RECRUITING UPDATE

Competing in the rough and tumble NEPSAC Class A division, Northfield Mount Hermon plays basketball at a high level while maintaining academic excellence in the classroom. With recent alumni scoring baskets for some of the top academic colleges in America, the 2008-2009 edition of NMH Basketball is more of the same for the Massachusetts prep school.

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