Elite 80 Recap & Carolina Challenge Recap 2011

The past weekend saw two significant events in the state of North Carolina, the Carolina Challege and the ScoutsFocus Elite 80.

The Carolina Challenge is held in Raleigh and ESPN has a write up here.

The Elite 80 Spring Showcase took place over the past weekend and there’s a full write up on the top players here.

There are several potential ACC targets playing in these events.

Devin Coleman Commits to Clemson

Brian Snow of Scout.com is reporting that Devin Coleman (SG, 6’3″, 2011) has committed to the Clemson Tigers. Coleman has seen his stock and interest rise over his senior season but decided to play for the Tigers in the ACC instead of some of the schools closer to his home state of Pennsylvania. Coleman also had offers from Delaware, Drexel, La Salle, St. Joseph’s, Temple and St. Bonaventure.

Gerald Henderson talks UNC vs. Duke

The biggest rivalry in college basketball kicks up again this week, and to start things off, here’s a few comments from former Duke star Gerald Henderson on the rivalry:
UNC Duke Rivalry

Clemson Lands Small Forward

Clemson has landed Kevin McDaniels (SF, 6’5″, 2011), a player from Birmingham, AL, and who committed to the Tigers just a few days after receiving an offer.

It was no secret that McDaniels favored Clemson, after his visit he said as much and said the visit had been the best so far. This is the third commitment for Clemson head coach Brad Brownell in the 2011 class.

Troy Williams Basketball Interview

BasketballElite.com has an interview with Troy Williams (SF, 6’7″, 2013), who has interest from Virginia, Virginia Tech and Georgetown. Williams is the nephew of Boo Williams, and he talks about what he’s working on his own game and what he thinks he will be able to bring to a college team.

Anthony Fields to Wake Forest

Anthony Fields (PG, 6’1″, 2011) has committed to Wake Forest. Anthony is currently playing at Quality Education Academy, which, like Wake Forest, is located in Winston-Salem, NC. Fields chose Wake Forest over offers from Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan. He’ll be expected to shore up the depleted point guard spot, which lost Ish Smith last season to graduation and the NBA, and lost this year’s incoming PG Tony Chennault to a broken foot.

Triad Pro Am Highlights 2010

We’ve discussed the Triad Pro-Am in previous years, a summer league that features a lot of the Wake Forest incoming players and some other area college players. This year featured several new Wake players, including J.T. Terrell and Travis McKie, along with guys who just finished up their careers at Wake such as L.D. Williams.

Here’s some video highlights of this year’s summer league:

Austin Rivers: A Player We’d Like To See In the ACC

It seemed like Austin Rivers was destined to stay near his home in Florida.

After he committed to the in-state Florida Gators, it seemed like a done deal. The Gators would get one of the best point guards in the 2011 class, Austin would stay close to home (Gainesville is relatively close to Winter Park, FL) and everything seemed settled.

But as Rivers continued to improve, he began to consider that he may have committed too early, and after mulling it over, eventually de-committed from the Gators and decided to weigh other offers. He still is considering Florida as a high possibility, but the full court press from other schools such as UNC and Duke is now in full effect.

Rivers, whose father is the famed ex-Atlanta Hawks PG, Doc Rivers, knows all about the world of basketball from his father’s current job as coach of the Boston Celtics, and an older brother who plays for Indiana:

“[Doc Rivers’] four kids like the idea of having a father who coaches in the NBA. Spencer loves shooting baskets at TD Garden before games. Austin Rivers is accustomed to seeing his father at a lot of his Winter Park High School games and fully understood that he had other responsibilities. Jeremiah Rivers will be a redshirt senior guard at Indiana.”

So where will Austin Rivers end up? Right now it’s still up in the air, but he is a special talent that we’d love to see in the ACC.

Finding NBA News and College Basketball News In The Digital Age

We love college basketball around here.

As the season ended a couple of months ago, a lot has happened in the world of college basketball, even as the sports world turned its’ attention away from the Final Four and March Madness, and focused on the NBA Finals, and then the 2010 World Cup.

But that did not mean teams like UNC and Duke suddenly took a long break. The players immediately started working for next season, as being a high profile, high potential athlete today means “no offseason”.

So even as the demand for NCAA betting news might wind down for the rest of basketball nation, there are still a lot of basketball related news stories that just don’t make the front page, such as our recent coverage of the Chris Paul camp, where top NCAA players showed up just to work on their skills. Or the summer pro-am leagues, where players from Wake Forest, NC State, Duke and UNC are already playing against each other. For most fans, the first time they will see incoming UNC phenom Harrison Barnes playing against Duke returning upperclassman Kyle Singler will be sometime in February. However, Barnes has already been playing against the Duke star in the summer. So, who covers these events?

The answer is, “not many people”. There are a handful of sites and a few published media who even pay attention to what happens in college basketball once the final buzzer sounds on March Madness. That’s what makes the modern Internet age so wonderful for fans, in that when these events used to happen, no one knew about it. Now, with online media outlets able to provide at least some information, fans are slowly realizing that their favorite sport doesn’t stop.

Following their favorite players on Twitter, fans realize that those players aren’t just stars that show up a game time. College players tweet about class schedules, their opinions on current events, and talk to other team mates, giving an insight into their world.

It makes us wonder: what would Wilt Chamberlain have tweeted about?

For NC State, It Has To Be This Year

By Marcus Shockley

Sidney Lowe has been feeling the pressure.

It is, unfortunately, the very same pressure that built to the point that it sent Lowe’s predecessor, Herb Sendek, to the desert clime of Arizona State, even after several years of making the NCAA Tournament. It’s the pressure of two major basketball powerhouses within minutes of NC State’s campus in Raleigh.

Duke and North Carolina aren’t just tough competition. Considering that the school own the last two national championships, and three of the last six, the two behemoths of basketball are beating the entire nation, not just the ACC. Add in the pounding that the rest of the Atlantic Coast Conference can lay on any team and it’s a hard fight to win.

Sidney Lowe took over the team and pledged to make it competitive, but a quick slide back into obscurity has made the Wolfpack faithful edgy. Last season’s team finally showed some spark at the end of the season, but still lacked the deep reserves of talent that will be needed if they want to climb back out of the ACC cellar.

The recruiting class that Lowe has coming in this season can get it done. Much like Paul Hewitt last season, Lowe has the horses to compete, even though they will be young.

Now, he just has to prove he can coach a talented stable of young players, because one or more of them might bolt early.

Three five star players are coming in, and all of them might have futures beyond college. C.J. Leslie is coming in off a high school All-American season, Ryan Harrow, the speedy point guard, will be able to see time on the court quickly and Lorenzo Brown will finally add his combo guard skills after taking a year long detour. Added with NC State’s returning roster, it’s time for Lowe to prove himself by returning back the NCAA tournament.

Anything less, and the pressure from Chapel Hill and Durham will probably force him out the door.