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We look back at the third annual New England Elite 75, where a few players opened some eyes. |
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His college career complete with a great senior year, DeMario Anderson now seeks pro opportunities. |
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Our New Jersey trip concludes with a day of games at the Joe Brown Memorial Tournament. |
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The past adversity behind them, Duquesne is ready to take more steps forward next season. |
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Summer Classic East gave plenty of prospects a chance to show college coaches what they can do. |
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Zach looks back at the Mount St. Mary's success story in the 2007-08 season. |
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The July live period kicked off with Hoop Mountain having perhaps its best talent haul ever at Super Week II. |
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With July upon us, we take a look at some of the talent observed in New England during the spring. |
Gregory Looks to MAC for Assistant: Dayton coach Brian Gregory has hired Western Michigan assistant coach Cornell Mann to join his staff. Mann replaces Anthony Solomon, who left Dayton to work at Notre Dame. A veteran of the Mid-American Conference, Mann played for Akron for three seasons and worked at Central Michigan for two seasons before his most recent five-year stint with the Broncos. [6/24/08]
Demon Deacons Will Start Without Skeen: Wake Forest sophomore forward Jamie Skeen will miss the first semester of his junior season because he violated an academic policy. Skeen averaged 5.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game last season. On a young team that returns all its major pieces, Skeen needs to provide some veteran leadership. [6/24/08]
Paladin Junior Transfers to D-II Team: Furman junior forward Stanley Jones will leave the Paladins to transfer to Francis Marion, a Division II school. Jones saw his playing time diminish during the past two seasons after starting 26 games in his freshman season. Jones averaged 6.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in eight games this past season. [6/24/08]
Center on Blue Devils' First Tourney Team Dies: Former Duke Blue Devil Junior Morgan, 74, died Saturday of prostate cancer. Morgan led the Blue Devils in 1954-55 with 9.1 rebounds per game, which helped guide Duke to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in team history. The Blue Devils lost the first game in the tournament against Villanova. [6/24/08]
O'Shea Returns to New England for a Challenge: Ohio coach Tim O'Shea is leaving the Bobcats to coach Bryant University in Rhode Island. The Division II program will begin the transition to Division I play this season. It has an invitation to join the Northeast Conference after the four-year transition period. O'Shea has experience working in New England as an assistant coach at Rhode Island and Boston College. He replaces Max Good, who left the school to become an assistant at Loyola Marymount. [6/23/08]
Recruiting Resolution Dealt a Blow: Proposal 2007-30-C, which would eliminate the April live periods for Division I coaches starting in 2009, will not go into effect as it has received the necessary 30 override requests. The proposal was adopted on April 25 and was in a 60-day override period, which was to end on June 23. Many of the override requests came in the past three weeks. The legislation isn't quite dead at the moment, as the NCAA Board of Directors could decide in August to make its fate decided by a vote of the membership during the NCAA Convention in January 2009. [6/11/08]
Anderson Returns to Memphis: After testing the NBA Draft waters, Memphis junior guard Antonio Anderson will return to the Tigers for his senior season. Anderson averaged 8.6 points per game in addition to totaling 136 assists and 49 steals. Anderson said the projections placed him as a second-round pick, and he wants to improve his game to become a first-round pick. [5/24/08]
Williams Moves Closer to Home: Former Providence sophomore guard Dwain Williams has decided to transfer to Long Beach State to be closer to his family in California. Williams is from San Diego originally. He averaged 11.0 points and 2.3 assists per game. Long Beach State coach Dan Monson said he is excited to get a guard with Big East experience. [5/24/08]
Jarvis Returns to Coaching: Florida Atlantic has hired Mike Jarvis to be the Owls' next coach. Jarvis has been out of coaching since St. John's fired him in 2003. Jarvis has experience as the head coach of St. John's and George Washington. He also coached Patrick Ewing in high school. Jarvis replaces Rex Walters, who left Florida Atlantic to become San Francisco's coach. [5/24/08]
Agent Drops Mayo Amid Recruiting Allegations: Bill Duffy Associates and agent Calvin Andrews have dropped USC freshman O.J. Mayo from the firm's roster of athletes as allegations swirl that Mayo received gifts and money from BDA Sports funneled through an events promoter. Mayo is a likely top five pick in the NBA Draft, with some projections having him going as high as No. 2 to Miami. Bill Duffy Associates said they want Mayo to enjoy the NBA Draft process rather than having to address the potential scandal about improper gifts while in school. The firm also asked the NBA Players Association to waive the 15-day period that prevents another agent from signing Mayo. [5/23/08]
Caracter Is Academically Ineligible: Louisville coach Rick Pitino had declared Derrick Caracter academically ineligible. Caracter announced he would enter the NBA Draft in March, and Pitino thought a professional career might help Caracter mature. But Caracter has decided to return school, and Pitino doesn't think he's a good fit for the Cardinals. The sophomore averaged 8.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, but he often battles weight and concentration issues. [5/23/08]
McNeal Returns to Fulfill Goals: Marquette junior guard Jerel McNeal has pulled his name out of the NBA Draft. McNeal said he considered his options and decided that he still had collegiate goals that he'd like to fulfill. McNeal averaged 14.9 points, 3.5 assists and 2.2 steals per game. He joins returning guard Dominic James to form one of the most talented backcourts in the country. [5/23/08]
Crean Continues to Clean House: Indiana coach Tom Crean has dismissed freshman forward Brandon McGee, leaving the Hoosiers with only three returning players from former coach Kelvin Sampson's last squad. McGee averaged 1.5 points and 1.0 rebounds per game. With McGee off the team, the only holdovers are Jordan Crawford, Kyle Taber and Brett Finkelmeier. [5/23/08]
Gee Decides to Return to Tide: Alabama junior forward Alonzo Gee will not remain in the NBA Draft. After getting feedback from scouts, Gee has decided to return for his senior season. He averaged about 15 points and seven rebounds per game last season for the Crimson Tide. [5/23/08]
Horn Dismisses Sophomore Swingman: South Carolina coach Darrin Horn has dismissed sophomore swingman Chad Gray for repeatedly violating team rules. Gray was a reserve who averaged 2.2 points and 1.4 rebounds per game. Horn said he was disappointed by Gray's actions but wished him well. [5/23/08]
Class-Action Suit Challenges Ticket Distribution: Ticketmaster and the NCAA are named in a class-action lawsuit that states that the organizations are essentially running a lottery that takes "millions of dollars out of consumers' pockets." The NCAA said it has not seen the lawsuit, and a spokesman said the NCAA follows standard industry practices for "excess demand for an event." For the Final Four, fans must apply to win the opportunity to buy tickets, and the application includes a $10 fee and $6 handling free per application, with as many as 10 applications. However, even successful applicants can only win once, and they don't get their money back for unsuccessful applications. [5/23/08]
Charges Against Horned Frogs Dropped: Two former TCU players won't face prosecution for sexual assault charges after prosecutors dropped the charges. However, Virgil Taylor and Shannon Behling could still face prosecution if new evidence surfaces. The two were accused of raping an unconscious 18-year-old woman in a dorm room after convincing her to repay them for a hamburger. [5/23/08]
High-Scoring Miner Will Return: UTEP junior guard Stefon Jackson has withdrawn from the NBA Draft and will return to the Miners for his senior season. Jackson averaged 23.6 points per game last season, which placed him among the nation's top 10 scorers. Jackson said he decided that after going through the draft process without an agent, he should return to school. [5/22/08]
Olson Brings in Geary: Arizona coach Lute Olson continued to rebuild his coaching staff by hiring Reggie Geary as an assistant coach. Geary worked with the Wildcats as recruiting and basketball operations coordinator in 2005-06 before leaving to coach the Anaheim Arsenal of the NBA's developmental league. Geary played for Olson from 1992 to 1996. [5/22/08]
Holland Turns Up at Santa Barbara: Former San Diego coach Brad Holland has joined the Santa Barbara coaching staff as an assistant. Gauchos coach Bob Williams hired Holland, who worked as the Torero's head coach from 1994 to 2007. Williams is gaining a seasoned assistant who has nearly 20 years of head coaching experience. Holland was the last recruit by legendary UCLA coach John Wooden. [5/20/08]