Shabazz Muhammad

The practice was yet again very intense. Can’t say enough how much Coach Kevin Boyle has made his presence felt as a coach. The team worked hard as they played an up-tempo pace of basketball.

The team went over various plays that they learned yesterday and implemented them into what they want to accomplish Saturday. Mainly the first practice was similar to the morning practice they had on Thursday.

The second practice was held at the Trailblazers facility in front of a big crowd. NBA scouts were allowed to attend the practice to watch the team. Team USA played a 40 min scrimmage with 10 minute quarters against some players who work for Nike.

You would’ve thought that Team USA would’ve beaten down a team of Nike employees in there 30′s. That wasn’t the case as the team of 6 employees gave USA a run for their money.

In four 10 minute quarters USA won 2 of them and tied one. Each quarter the score started over. The team didn’t have problems with their starting five but their bench didn’t fare well enough against the opposing team.

The players who stood out were .

Shabazz Muhammad – The undecided senior is the hardest worker here. Muhammad looked good in the scrimmage. Right off the bat he hit a couple jump shots from the elbow and was very aggressive. Some NBA scouts were comparing Muhammad to a more skilled Michael Kidd-Gilchrist who has a motor that doesn’t stop.

Archie Goodwin – Once Goodwin can knock down his jumper consistently, it’s going to be a problem for the opposition. Goodwin’s body is built for basketball and is a player you would want on your team. There isn’t anyone that can stop the Kentucky bound player going to the rim. Goodwin’s ceiling is high. Coach Cal will bring out the best of the young man next year.

Kyle Anderson – Slow Mo showed his abilities to play defense, score, and share the ball. There were some people in the crowd talking about how well Anderson will fit in at UCLA and were impressed. It’s going to be very interesting to see how Anderson game evolves in the NBA after college.

Kaleb Tarczewski – The Arizona bound Center can run the court well for size and is very crafty Tarczewski around the rim. He has the ability take his opponent off the dribble at his size. Tarczewski will help out Arizona right away.

Stephen Zimmerman

Stephen Zimmerman doesn’t live the normal life of a 9^th grader.  Standing at 6-foot-10, the Bishop Gorman center has the attention of the whole nation.  Zimmerman played for his 16u AAU team Dream Vision over the summer.  The big man displayed a mature game for his age.

While putting his name on the map, Zimmerman drew interest from many schools around the nation.

“Recruiting is going good.  I got a stack of letters from our coach the other day.  UCLA, Ohio State, Memphis, Wisconsin, Cal, UNLV, Wake Forest, USC, Kansas, Michigan State, Oregon State, Marquette, Washington, Arizona, Connecticut, and Florida have all shown interest.” (more…)

DeAndre Daniels will likely be a Husky. Nothing has been certain throughout his recruiting process.

Daniels, the best player left in the Class of 2011 by a wide margin was originally committed to Texas from July of 2009 to August of 2010. He was also formerly a member of the Class of 2010 before reclassifying to 2011. After his decommitment from the Longhorns, Daniels’ recruitment was all over the place. Texas, Kansas and Duke all traded places as the “favorite” in his recruitment. Just over a week ago, Daniels said he backed away from Duke and was considering Oregon, San Diego State and Kansas - UConn was nowhere in sight.

Chalk up the commitment as a steal for Jim Calhoun and his staff. Daniels will fill the 10th and final scholarship available to the Huskies (three have been docked due to NCAA violations).

Daniels expects to sign a financial aid agreement with Connecticut in the coming days.

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In an extremely interesting move, Louisville head coach Rick Pitino has decided to dock a  combined 22.6PPG, including his top remaining scorer, Kyle Kuric, to walk-on status.

Along with Kuric, Pitino announced at a press conference yesterday morning that Chris Smith and Elisha Justice would also be relegated from the list of scholarship players.

This move seems pretty harsh for Kuric and Smith, who were major contributors for Louisville last season. The argument to defend Pitino’s moving of Smith off of a scholarship is that he was recruited as a walk-on, fair enough. In Justice’s case, he hasn’t exactly earned a scholarship, touche. But I’m just not seeing it for Kuric – not one bit.

From what I’ve gathered, Kuric was not exactly recruited to Louisville as a walk-on, despite what the linked story above claims. Yesterday, Kuric was asked about giving up his scholarship and didn’t seem too angry. I’ll be angry for him.

Kuric was the Cardinals’ second leading scorer last season – how doesn’t that deserve a scholarship? Instead of giving Kuric a well deserved scholarship, Pitino signed 2011 SG Kevin Ware last month.

Kuric averaged 10.8PPG as a Cardinal last season.

While that same blurb from the Courier-Journal says that there was a mutual agreement that Kuric’s scholarship was not permanent, I highly doubt that Pitino really “needed the scholarship”. Please.  Kevin Ware is a very good player, but hes not a McDonalds All-American.

You’re that heartless Pitino? You couldn’t pass on a late addition to your recruiting class for a member of your Louisville family who has played his heart out for you?

Shame on you.

As Omar Little from The Wire would say, “Its all in the game.”

For a ton of recruiting updates, commitments and coaching moves, follow the jump.

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In this day and age, having a brand name basketball program is essential to maintaining success. In just a few days, new Penn State men’s basketball coach Patrick Chambers has taken a huge step towards establishing a Penn State basketball brand

Attitude. Success with honor. Passion. Energy. Heart.

Penn State president Graham Spanier and Director of Athletics Tim Curley introduce the Pat Chambers family to the Penn State family.

Pat Chambers is giving Penn State basketball the face lift it has so dearly needed. Like a politician, Chambers is proposing solutions for everything that has plagued the program over the past several coaching regimes.

Chambers’ forte is his passion for the game of basketball and his ability to instill that very same passion into his players. At today’s press conference at the Bryce Jordan Center, Chambers reiterated his desire to motivate his players by saying to former Penn State coach Bruce Parkill, “I hope my teams play with the type of passion that yours did.” In basketball terms, Chambers has stated his goal of transitioning Penn State into an up-tempo team, “We are going to play up-tempo,” he told SID Brian Siegrist when he arrived in State College yesterday, “We are going to push the ball. We have a great point guard in Tim Frazier.”   Without hard evidence (KenPom.com is currently down) Chambers’ BU teams were generally known for their ability to score and run over the past two seasons, even in the low scoring America East.

In addition to changing Penn State’s style of play, Chambers plans to install a blue collar attitude into his players, “We’re going to play a style that you’re going to like. We’re going to get layups. We’re going to defend and we’re going to rebound. We’re going to scrap for every inch.” Think of Danny Morrissey in the NIT Championship combined with Jamelle Cornley and his wrapped shoulder – I’d like to think that is what Chambers is aiming for.

Off the court, Pat Chambers seems to be everything Ed DeChellis was and more, “We’re going to be out there and help the area.” On the recruiting trails, I wouldn’t expect any recruiting violations or many bad eggs either, “Success with Honor is our motto. We will recruit kids that are serious about their degrees and will be good representatives of Penn State.” If there is one thing that is a given with a Tim Curley hire, its a solid person outside of his or her profession.

Pat Chambers' coaching philosophy in a nutshell (or on t-shirt)

The first major Mount Nittany that Chambers has to climb is the apparent recruiting struggle that Penn State basketball is entrenched in. Without a natural recruiting base (rural Pennsylvania is known for its football players, not hoopsters), Penn State is destined to mine Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York, Pittsburgh and the New England region for recruits, just ask Chambers, “We’re gonna recruit Jersey hard. We’re gonna recruit New York hard. We’re gonna recruit D.C. hard,” said Chambers to Dave Jones of the Patriot News last Friday. “Wherever the players are that fit The Penn State Way, that’s where we’re gonna be,” he continued. Chambers rehashed the importance of recruiting today to a well populated Bryce Jordan Center audience, “We have to recruit. We have to get the best players we can so we can compete in the Big Ten. Really bring in that new attitude.” Chambers’ playing (Philadelphia University) and coaching (Villanova asst.) ties to Philadelphia are a major head start, but his work will be cut out for him. That being said, I don’t think Chambers will stop at any obstacle, he revealed Philadelphia as his main target to Dave Jones last Friday, “We are going to get into Philadelphia. We’re gonna recruit Philadelphia hard.”

While Chambers has yet to hit  the recruiting trail for Penn State, his track record speaks for itself. Boston University’s 2010-11 team contained six players from Pennslyvania (two from Phildelphia), two from New York, one from Delaware and one from Massachusetts. Only two Terriers were from outside the Northeast (Washington state, Florida). Additionally, Chambers had two recruits in the 2011 class, one from Massachusetts and one from Connecticut set to join the team. While at Villanova, Chambers played a role in recruiting local talents like Reggie Redding, Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes.

Yet another task that Pat Chambers is determined to overcome is general support for the program. He seems to be taking it in stride, “I’m going to ask Coach Washington [Penn State women's basketball] for her golf cart, and I’m going to drive around and throw out t-shirts and stuff. Whatever we’re allowed to do, we’re going to do.” Chambers continued by conjuring the dreary atmospheres of Bryce Jordan Centers past by emphasizing the importance of coming out for every game, “We need to get the BJC rocking. We need you to come out, not just for the big games, but for all the games.” Lets be real, if Nittany Nation doesn’t even want to watch Penn State take on Mount St. Mary’s, Sacred Heart, UMBC and Gardner-Webb, how can we expect the players to play them with everything they’ve got?

Welcome to Penn State, Coach.

While the fan support isn’t quite there yet, I don’t think the overplayed (yet valid) card of poor facilities and lack of support can be played this time around. Penn State president Graham Spanier gave his mandatory support for Chambers by reassuring that he “will have the unconditional support from the administration and the Penn State community.” Chambers answered the claim by verifying the love and support he has already received from Penn State, “we have eveyerthing we need. Great arena, great offices.” While this cordial exchange can be marked down as typical for a press conference, Chambers is already scheduled to visit Penn State recruit Trey Lewis (Garfield Heights, Ohio) via plane. That is some concrete evidence of change, people.

Most importantly, Pat Chambers is bringing something to Penn State that is difficult to describe. Chambers has an aura, a determination, a positive vibe about him that breathes hope into a program that despite its NCAA Tournament bid last season had collected a fair amount of dust. Chambers hopes that his breath of hope will resonate the Penn State athletics catch phrase of “Success with Honor”. As Chambers put it today, “The foundation is there, the bricks have been laid. We need to continue on that path of consistency.” In just a few short days, a charismatic Chambers has clearly laid out before Penn State and its supporters what he plans to do. The next step is putting these plans into action and succeeding, something that hasn’t been done on a consistent basis in Happy Valley.

Ed DeChellis produced ‘honorable’ basketball teams that were rarely the most talented on the court but were never something that reflected poorly on the University – he fell just short of the ‘success’ part.

“The goal is to be the best team that we can be.”

Chambers wants to finish the job.

“Play hard and play together and you’ll like the outcome – trust me.“

-Patrick Chambers

For some recruiting updates, coaching updates and more, follow the jump.

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Yesterday, Dayton decommit Juwan Staten chose West Virginia as his next destination after visiting the school yesterday. The point guard originally chose Penn State before Ed DeChellis deciding to transfer on Staten, ending up at the Naval Academy.

Starting in 2012-13, Staten will have three years of eligibility remaining.

Staten will join La Salle transfer Aaric Murray as the second big name to bring their talents to Morgantown this off-season. Unlike Murray, who will have two years of eligibility remaining, Staten will be at West Virginia for three seasons.

While Staten arguably brings baggage to West Virginia, he undoubtedly brings it on the court. Staten will compete with incoming freshmen Jabarie Hinds (Mt. Vernon, NY) and Gary Browne (Arlington Country Day School, FL) for the point guard spot in 2012.

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As promised, Maryland decommit Martin Breunig decided on a school yesterday – he will be a Washington Husky. Regarded as an underrated player and a steal while committed to Maryland, the German forward will join a talented Washington 2011 recruiting class that is led by Tony Wroten Jr.

For more information on Breunig’s decision, check out Fansided’s The Husky Haul.

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Earlier today, Southern Illinois transfer Gene Teague chose Seton Hall over Clemson, Xavier, Nebraska, Penn State and Oklahoma State. For more on Teague, check out the piece I wrote for South Orange Juice.

Teague averaged 8.6PPG & 5.3RPG in 21.3MPG over 19 games for Southern Illinois last season. Teague sat out ten games due to injury and was suspended for three.

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Commitments:

• 2012 forward Barrington Alston committed to Towson yesterday.

Transfer Wire:

• Arkansas sophomore Glenn Bryant has been released from his scholarship.

For a long recruiting update, follow the jump.

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Apparently this is one of the few times Melo listed to his coaches. Kevin Rivoli - AP

What I found interesting is the strong possibility that Melo will not stay at Syracuse based on this Facebook status. I’ve read my fair share of Facebook statuses by high school and college basketball players – this one sure sounds like a ‘goodbye’ from Melo.

While this move would certainly be a blow for the Orange, lets face it, Melo just wasn’t that good at translating his skills into solid performances on the court. A McDonalds All-American out of high school, the center tallied a mere 2.3PPG & 1.9RPG in just 9.9MPG of action as a freshman. To be quite honest, he was anything but dominant 95% of the time when on the court. Melo didn’t reach double figures in scoring or rebounds until the Big East tournament, where he did show signs of life against DePaul and St. John’s.

With McDonalds All American and the No.2 rated center in the Class of 2011 Rakeem Christmas headed to Syracuse in the fall, Melo’s future on the court at the upstate New York school doesn’t look too bright, despite the graduation of big man Rick Jackson.

If Fab Melo decides to leave, Syracuse will have a front line composed of freshman Rakeem Christmas, sophomore Baye Moussa Keita, junior James Southerland, and sophomore C.J. Fair. No other contributors are listed above 6’7.

Syracuse is bigger than Melo, even in his Paul Bunyan frame. Head coach Jim Boeheim can land McDonalds All Americans on demand.

Its Melo’s loss.

 
For more on Boston College’s three additions, Taran Buie’s tumultuous Penn State career and his next destination as well as recruiting updates, coaching moves and a few commitments, follow the jump.

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Steve Prohm will look to build on the consistent success that Billy Kennedy brought to Murray State.

Murray State announced at a press conference yesterday that assistant coach Steve Prohm was promoted to the head coaching position. Prohm is replacing Billy Kennedy, who was hired by Maryland’s newly appointed coach Mark Turgeon, formerly the head coach Texas A&M. Prohm has been an assistant at Murray State for four seasons and has coached under Billy Kennedy for 12 of the past 13 seasons.

Murray State AD Allen Ward said the following of Prohm, “It didn’t take long to realize that Steve Prohm was the right man to lead this program and build upon the success we have enjoyed the past few years,” Ward said. “He’s a bright, up-and-coming young coach with impeccable character that is fully prepared for this opportunity.”

The Racers finished 23-9 last season, losing to Missouri State in the first round of the NIT. Murray State has been one of the more consistent teams in the OVC in recent years, reaching an apex in the 2009-10 season when they won 31 games and knocked off Vanderbilt in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

It seems as though Murray State will be in good hands with Prohm. He has worked closely with Kennedy for over a decade and will look to continue the winning tradition that Kennedy brought to Murray State.

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The Red Storm just got greener. St. John’s planned on only returning two contributers from last season, junior backup PG Malik Stith and 6’8 forward Dwayne Polee II. Now, the Johnnies will only be returning one of these players after Polee announced his desire to transfer yesterday, citing his mother’s health issues. According to the New York Daily News, San Diego State is currently the favorite to land the Los Angeles native.

St. John's, Seton Hall and Connecticut are potential suitors for Lamont "MoMo" Jones.

St. John’s will essentially be an entirely new team next season with only one returning player and nine incoming recruits. Additionally, St. John’s was perhaps the favorite to land Arizona transfer Lamont “MoMo” Jones, who is also saying he wants to be closer to home (New York City). Jones would have to sit out the mandated full season due to NCAA regulations unless he were to seek a waiver that would allow him to play immediately. Jones is also being courted by Seton Hall and Connecticut, all three schools are close to New York City.

However, Jones would not be able to transfer to St. John’s because Moe Hicks is on their staff, according to Adam Zagoria. With this latest development, the options of other local New York teams like Iona, Manhattan and Hofstra come into the picture.

Jones averaged 9.7PPG and 2.4APG for Arizona as a sophomore last season. Most fans will remember his performance this year’s NCAA tournament, where he scored 18 points in the first round against Memphis and  put up 16 points & 6 assists in the Sweet 16 against Duke.

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Recent Commitments:

Percy Gibson (2011) to Iowa State over Georgia Tech & Virginia Tech. Gibson is a real nice get for Fred Hoiberg, especially this late in the recruiting season.

The former Dayton commit inked with Iowa State this weekend.

Stephon Wyatt (2011) of St. Peter’s Prep (NJ) to St. Francis (PA), per Adam Zagoria.

Daouda Soumaoro (2011) to Texas Tech over Washington, Tennessee, Maryland, Oklahoma & St. John’s, per Jeff Borzello.

Dederick Lee (2013) verballed to Arkansas this weekend to play for Mike Anderson.

Abdel Nader (2011) committed to Northern Illinois over Baylor and New Mexico – Nader says he will qualify. Nader was recruited by former Michigan State assistant Mark Montgomery, who is now the head coach at Northern Illinois. If Nader qualifies, he is seemingly a major steal for the Huskies.

Marcus Bradley (2011) committed to UC-Irvine, David Wishon (2011) committed to Tulsa,  and A.J. West (2011) of CJEOTO Academy committed to Duquesne.

Adam Zagoria broke the commitments of Decarlos Anderson (2011 – Norcom HS, VA) and Emmanuel Andujar (2011 – Rice HS, NY), both to Manhattan.

Youssou Ndoye (2011) of Lee Academy (Maine), to St. Bonaventure.

Former Penn State assistant coach Lewis Preston landed his first recruit at Kennessaw State in sharp shooter Delbert Love (2011) of St. Edward, Ohio. The shooting guard scored over 1,000 points at St. Edward and averaged 17PPG & 5.5RPG as a senior.

Fred Thomas (2012) of Jim Hill HS (MS) committed to Mississippi State.

Forward Thomas de Thaey of the Canarias Basketbal Academy (Canarias Islands) is headed to NC State.