Council, Hamga Still Deciding

Vincent Council and Beas Hamga both missed their recruiting visits to Rutgers for last Wednesday’s Pittsburgh game and are still deciding on their future destinations.
“He never made it to the Rutgers visit,” Vincent Council Sr. said. “So they’re going to reschedule another one.”
The 6-foot-2 Council plays at The Patterson (NC) School, the No. 1 prep [...]

Hamga Considering Rutgers; Thomas Gets Release, Considering Big East Schools

A couple of tall African basketball players — Beas Hamga and Ibrahima Thomas – are back on the market.

Hamga, a 7-foot, 225-pound native of Cameroon, is considering transferring from UNLV to Ole Miss, South Carolina or Rutgers. He secured his release from UNLV.
“I know he’s going to visit Ole Miss and South Carolina and he’s [...]

Johnson, Loving Leaving Mount Zion; Thomas Booted From OSU

Oklahoma State commit Karron Johnson and former Wadleigh (NY) star Curtis Loving have been dismissed from Mount Zion (N.C.) Academy and will enroll at Laurinburg (N.C.) Prep, according to a source.
Johnson, a 6-foot-7, 210-pound power forward, recently chose Oklahoma State over UAB, Memphis and Seton Hall. Loving is a 6-5 small forward. We hope [...]

St. Benedict’s Goes 2-0; Gallon Needs MRI

St. Benedict’s Prep finished a perfect trip to the Marshall County HoopFest by beating Whitney Young of Chicago 69-55 Saturday night.
Texas-bound junior Tristan Thompson led the Gray Bees, No. 4 in the ESPN poll, with 22 points, Rice-bound guard Tamir Jackson added 16 points and sophomore point guard Myck Kabongo scored 12. Gilvydas Biruta added [...]

St. Benedict’s Wins, Gallon Getting X-Rays

The Marshall County Hoop Hoopfest continues to be a good place for Dan Hurley’s St. Benedict’s Gray Bees to play.
A year ago, Tamir Jackson lit up Brandon Jennings and Oak Hill for 29 points in an upset victory on the ESPN networks.
This year, Texas commit Tristan Thompson (pictured) posted a double-double of 18 points and [...]

Big East Hoops Recruiting Notes (Updated)

Here are a few notes from around the world of recruiting…
**Patterson (N.C.) head coach Chris Chaney says point guard Vincent Council of New York has offers/interest from Providence, Rutgers Charlotte and Arkansas and is “leaning toward Providence.” The 6-foot-2 Council is averaging 13 points and 10 assists for Patterson, ranked No. 3 in the National [...]

Akol Cleared; Riek May Miss the Whole Year

Spoke today to Fatah Muraisi, the adviser to Teeng Akol and John Riek and he had these quick updates on his guys…
**Akol, who once played at Our Savior New American on Long Island, was cleared by the NCAA on Monday and practiced for the first time yesterday with Oklahoma State. The 6-foot-11 native of the [...]

After Difficult Upbringing, Karron Johnson Settles in and Picks Oklahoma State

Karron Johnson, a 6-foot-7, 210-pound power forward from Mount Zion Academy in North Carolina who has been compared to Kenyon Martin, committed to Oklahoma State head coach Travis Ford on Wednesday night.
“It’s true,” said James Shange Black. Black and his wife are mentors who live with Johnson in Raleigh, N.C. “He just [...]

Cheek’s Kansas Visit; Indiana Up Next

The parade of college coaches continues to come through Jersey City to visit with St. Anthony senior guard Dominic Cheek.
Kansas head coach Bill Self and assistant Joe Dooley had an in-home visit on Monday night with the 6-foot-5 Cheek, his uncle, Omari Knight, and St. Anthony head coach Bob Hurley.
“It was good,” Knight said by [...]

Parrom to Xavier; Franklin to OSU

Kevin Parrom committed to Xavier Saturday, choosing that school over St. John’s.
“I committed to Xavier today,” the 6-foot-6, 195-pound Parrom, a senior shooting guard/small forward at South Kent (Conn.), said Saturday by phone from Xavier where he is on an official visit with Chris Braswell. “I like the coaching staff and the players. They’re going [...]