Lance Stephenson, DeMarcus Cousins, Terrell Vinson & Others Recruiting Update

Lance Stephenson (Lincoln, NY)

Recruiting Update: February 6, 2009

DeMarcus Cousins (LeFlore, AL) Class of 2009

DeMarcus Cousins has narrowed his list down to a final five which include Memphis, Rice, Washington, N.C. State and Kansas State. He also said that if Coach Mike Davis of UAB was to be hired at another school that university would be added to his list of schools.

Lance Stephenson (Lincoln, NY) Class of 2009

Lance Stephenson has updated his list of schools which now includes Maryland, USC, St. John’s and Kansas. That means that Memphis has been eliminated from his schools of interest. He also said he plans on making his announcement in March, hopefully after the PSAL AA championship at Madison Square Garden on the 21^st.

Kyle Irving (St. Patrick, NJ) Class of 2010

Kyle Irving holds scholarship offers from Villanova, Duke, Memphis, St. John’s, Rutgers, Seton Hall, West Virginia, Virginia, Virginia Tech, UConn, Florida, Providence and many others. He said after the season he is going to narrow it down to 10 then narrow it down to 5 sometime before next season.

#5 St. Patrick (NJ) Vs. #3 St. Benedict’s (NJ) Final 88-62

Dexter Strickland (St. Patrick, NJ)

In one of the most highly anticipated games of the season two national powers met last night at the “RAC” on Rutgers campus.

This game was between # 3 St. Benedict’s (NJ) and # 5 St. Patrick (NJ) each team boost numerous division one players across their rosters. Some of these talented players include Dexter Strickland (2009/UNC/St. Patrick), Michael Gilchrist (2011/St. Patrick), Kyle Irving (2010/St. Patrick) and Paris Bennet (2009/GM/St. Patrick) from St. Patrick, NJ. The standout players from St. Benedict’s, NJ are Tristan Thompson (2010/Texas/St. Benedict’s), Myck Kabongo (2011/Texas/St. Benedict’s), Tamir Jackson (2009/Rice/St. Benedict’s) and Lamar Patterson (2009/Pitt/St. Benedict’s).

The game ended up drawing in some of the area’s top college coaches and staff, coaches in attendance included Rutgers head coach Fred Hill, Seton Hall head coach Bobby Gonzalez and staff, UConn assistant Andre LaFleur, St. John’s assistant Fred Quartlebaum and Penn assistant Mike Martin.

At the beginning of the game it looked like this one would live up to the hype with each team going back and forth at each other in the first quarter with St. Patrick holding a slim 21-17 lead over St. Benedict’s. Kyle Irving had 10 points in the opening period for St. Patrick and Tristan Thompson led St. Benedict’s with 9 points.

St. Patrick blew a close game wide open in the second quarter outscoring St. Benedict’s 24-8 in the period. They went into the half with a 45-25 lead and never looked back from then on cruising to a blowout victory 88-62.

It seemed like after the first quarter when St. Benedict’s was getting the ball inside to Thompson and scoring buckets they went away from that. It also seemed like they just didn’t come to play last night and were disinterested in the game.

This was a big-time statement game for St. Patrick, NJ who is predicted to win the Tournament of Champions of New Jersey. They showed everyone in the state that when there at full strength they are a team to be wrecking with when it comes playoff time.

The leading scorers for St. Patrick, NJ were senior Dexter Strickland 21 points and junior Kyle Irving 21 points. Super sophomore Michael Gilchrist chipped in 8 points.

The leading scorers for St. Benedict’s, NJ were junior Tristan Thompson 13, sophomore Myck Kabongo 13 points and senior Tamir Jackson added 10 points.

Each of these teams has big-time match-ups coming up in the next week. St. Benedict’s takes on undefeated and #1 team in the country Mater Dei (CA) at the Nike Extravaganza this Saturday February 7^th at 12:00 a.m. eastern time on ESPNU. St. Patrick faces NYC powerhouse Lincoln on Friday February 13^th at 7:00 p.m. eastern time on ESPN 2.

Class of 2011 Recruit Trevor Cooney (Sanford, DE) Takes In Syracuse Game

Trevor Cooney 2011

Today one of the top shooters in the class of 2011 was at the Carrier Dome taking in the Big East match up between top 15 schools, Syracuse Vs Notre Dame. Syracuse took advantage of this big game and atmosphere to get hoops recruit Trevor Cooney to check out the school on a un-official visit.

Trevor Cooney a 6’3 shooting guard has a very impressive skill set for a player his age. He is an excellent shooter from anywhere on the court and also has the ability to finish inside when he attacks the rim. The best part of his game is his high basketball I.Q. and fundamental skills. He does a great job trying to get all of his teammates involved with his great floor vision.

He currently holds offers from Wake Forest, Syracuse, Delaware, Rutgers, St. Joseph, Virginia, West Virginia and Georgia. Others showing interest include Georgia Tech and Notre Dame amongst others.

Last season as a freshman for Sanford, Cooney averaged 18.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, while shooting 40 percent from 3-point range.

Michael Gilchrist (St. Patrick, NJ) Recruitment Update

By: Alex Schwartz (Northstar Basketball Blog)

Michael Gilchrist

Michael Gilchrist ’11 of St. Patrick’s (NJ) is arguably the number one baller in the sophomore class. A 6’7 combo forward, the sophomore sensation has carried the St. Pat’s Celtics this year, as North Carolina-signee Dexter Strickland ’09 has missed a lot of time and Kyrie Irving ’10 is still out due to transfer rules. Just yesterday, Gilchrist led his team to a come-from-behind win at Trenton Catholic (NJ), leading a massive fourth quarter comeback along with Paris Bennett ’09, a future George Mason Patriot. After Michael’s impressive 22-point performance, he was kind enough to talk to me for a few minutes. The lanky superstar, who said the Celtics pulled out yesterday’s win due to “just heart, heart really,” gave me his college list. The five lucky schools to be mentioned by Gilchrist were Seton Hall, UMass, Syracuse, Villanova, and Memphis, claiming offers from all five of them. Many people think he will end up as a Memphis Tiger, but only time will tell.

Courtsey: http://blog.northstarbball.com/

Trevor Cooney (Sanford, DE) Class of 2011 @ NHSCA Festival

Trevor Cooney Sanford (DE) Class of 2011 @ NHSCA Basketball Festival

Highlights of Trevor Cooney Sanford (DE) Class of 2011. The video is also on Premohoops youtube page in better quality.

Updated Player School Lists

Class of 2009

Players school list:

Ferrakohn Hall (White Station, TN)

Offers: Oklahoma State, Memphis, UAB and Arkansas

Showing Interest: Tennessee, Missouri and Syracuse

Favorite: “I don’t really have any favorites. I think all of those schools that I mentioned are great schools.”

Note: “I might be visiting UAB unofficially on the 20^th, but nothing’s final.” Also, as for his offer from defending the NCAA Tournament runner-up, Hall said, “Memphis offered me way back in my tenth grade summer.” In addition, Hall told me, “I’m still completely open to all colleges. I’m nowhere near making a decision on where I want to go.”

Class of 2010

Players school list:

Tobias Harris (Long Island Lutheran, NY)

Offers: Syracuse, Uconn, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Maryland, Louisville, West Virginia and others.

Showing Interest: “Right now it’s open, so any school that’s coming in right now I’m looking at.”

Favorite: “No favorite I am looking to have a top 5 after the season.”

Class of 2011

Players school list:

James McAdoo (Norfolk Christian, VA)

Offers: Florida and UCLA

Showing Interest: North Carolina, UCLA, Texas, Georgetown, Wake Forest, Clemson, UConn, Ohio State and Syracuse

Favorite: UCLA, UNC and Florida

Notes: McAdoo, who has visited Duke in the past said that “as of now, yes,” the Blue Devils are out of the picture.

Provided by Alex Schwartz (NorthStar BBall Blog)

Super Sophomore Tony Wroten JR. Ineligible

Tony Wroten

Tony Wroten Jr. has been ruled ineligible at Garfield High in Seattle, WA after a investigation into if met the district residency requirement rule. Tony is a highly ranked player in the class of 2011 who averaged 20.8 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists per game as a freshmen at Garfield High last season.

“We’re fighting because it’s wrong what’s happening,” Wroten’s father, Tony Wroten Sr., said Monday. “We’re disputing what the district claims, and we’ll handle it in a legal manner.”

The school district issued its ruling last Friday. Wroten Sr. said the family would seek a legal injunction Tuesday that would put their son back at Garfield immediately.

As of Friday at 2:15 p.m. he no longer was enrolled at Garfield. Tony has not enrolled at a new school, his father said.

Old School Sports & Athletics Top 40 Showcase

The 3^rd annual Old School Sports & Athletics Top 40 Showcase will be taking place on September 27, 2008. This year’s event will take place at Goldey-Beacom College with the first game tipping off at 8 a.m. followed by games all day long.

Old School Sports & Athletics Top 40 Showcase Schedule @ Goldey-Beacom College

Game 1 8:00am 9th Grade A vs 9th Grade B Play In

Game 2 9:00am 9th Grade C vs 9th Grade D Play In

Game 3 10:00am 9th (Top A & C) vs 9th Grade (Top B & D) All-Star Game

Game 4 11:00am 10th Grade A vs 10th Grade B Play In

Game 5 12:00pm 10th Grade C vs 10th Grade D Play In

Game 6 1:00pm 10th (Top A & C) vs 10th Grade (Top B & D) All-Star Game

Game 7 2:00pm 9th (Top 10 All-Stars) vs 10th (Top 10 All-Stars) Showcase Game

Game 8 3:00pm 11th Grade A vs 11th Grade B Play In

Game 9 4:00pm 11th Grade C vs 11th Grade D Play In

Game 10 5:00pm 11th (Top A & C) vs 11th Grade (Top B & D) All-Star Game

Game 11 6:00pm 12th Grade A vs 12th Grade B Play In

Game 12 7:00pm12th Grade C vs 12th Grade D Play In

Game 13 8:00pm12th (Top A & C) vs 12th Grade (Top B & D) All-Star Game

Game 14 9:00pm11th (Top 10 All-Stars) vs 12th (Top 10 All-Stars) Showcase Game