NCAA WiretapMay 2020 NCAA Wiretap

Tyrell Terry To Stay In 2020 NBA Draft

Jul 31, 2020 3:25 PM

Tyrell Terry will keep his name in the 2020 NBA draft and leave Stanford after his freshman season.

"After talking with those closest to me and careful consideration, I came to the conclusion that taking this next step is something that I'm ready for," Terry said. "I'm confident in my game and ready to compete at the highest level, against the best players in the world, and to learn from the best coaches in the world. I still plan on continuing my education and getting my degree from Stanford. But for now, I'm ready for this challenge."

Terry is the No. 44 prospect in the ESPN 100, though he is ranked No. 8 by The Ringer.

"It was a difficult decision for me considering the circumstances the world is going through right now," Terry said. "No one knows what the future holds with this global pandemic. But seeing how well the NBA has handled everything from the start, and with the bubble going well so far, that gave me confidence in my decision to put my trust in Adam Silver and the NBA leadership."

 

Jonathan Givony/ESPN

Tags: Tyrell Terry, Stanford Cardinal, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NBA Draft Declarations

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Jalen Hood-Schifino Decommits From Pittsburgh

Jul 28, 2020 1:14 AM

Jalen Hood-Schifino announced that he will decommit from Pittsburgh and re-open his recruiting.

Hood-Schifino is ranked No. 23 in ESPN's top 60 for the 2022 class.

Hood-Schifino is a top-5 player at the shooting guard position in his class. 

"Now that I have reopened the process, I will have a chance to build relationships with other coaches and see other programs. I rushed the process only being a sophomore. I'm still a long way from entering college. It's going to be very important who I play with and what will be the best system for me," said Hood-Schifino.

Jeff Borzello & Paul Biancardi/ESPN

Tags: Jalen Hood-Schifino, Pittsburgh Panthers, High School, High School Recruiting, NCAA, NCAA Commitment

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Top-Ranked California Prospect Peyton Watson Commits To UCLA

Jul 28, 2020 1:06 AM

Peyton Watson announced his commitment to UCLA on Monday.

Watson is the top-ranked player in California, and is No. 25 in ESPN's top 100 for the class of 2021.

Watson chose UCLA over Gonzaga, Washington, Arizona, Oregon and Michigan.

"I'm the No. 1 player in California, and I feel like UCLA is the original blue blood. It's hard to pass up an amazing school where my parents can see me play and have the support of my community behind me," Watson told ESPN.

Jeff Borzello/ESPN

Tags: Peyton Watson, UCLA Bruins, NCAA, NCAA Commitment

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Malaki Branham Commits To Ohio State

Jul 23, 2020 1:29 AM

Malaki Branham announced his commitment to Ohio State on Wednesday.

Branham, a top 30 prospect in ESPN's 2021 class, chose Ohio State over Alabama, Baylor, Louisville, Missouri, Marquette and Xavier.

"They've shown me how I can flourish in their system with my versatility at the guard position. They also believe in my abilities at the highest level," said Branham.

Branham is Ohio State's third top-100 prospect in their 2021 class. 

Jeff Borzello/ESPN

Tags: Malaki Branham, Ohio State Buckeyes, NCAA, NCAA Commitment

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Top 35 Prospect Matthew Cleveland Commits To Florida State

Jul 22, 2020 1:19 AM

Matthew Cleveland, a top 35 prospect for the class of 2021, announced his commitment to Florida State.

Cleveland chose Florida State over KansasMichiganStanford and NC State.

Cleveland, who plays at Pace Academy in Georgia, is ranked the No. 7 forward in the class. 

Jeff Borzello/ESPN

Tags: Matthew Cleveland, Florida State Seminoles, NCAA, NCAA Commitment

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5-Star Prospect Kendall Brown Commits To Baylor

Jul 21, 2020 1:15 AM

Kendall Brown, a 5-star recruit, announced his commitment to Baylor.

"Coach Drew has lots of energy and he is a player's coach. My versatility and their style of play on offense fits me. I believe he will help me get to the next level. They have had a lot of success with big athletic forwards such as Taurean Prince," said Brown.

Brown is the third Baylor commit in the past week, following Langston Love and Jeremy Sochan.

Brown, ranked No. 16 in ESPN's top 100 for 2021, is the highest ranked Baylor recruit since Isaiah Austin in 2012. 

Jeff Borzello & Paul Biancardi/ESPN

Tags: Kendall Brown, Baylor Bears, NCAA, NCAA Commitment

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Jermaine O'Neal, Tracy McGrady Announce Plans To Start Agency

Jul 20, 2020 11:18 AM

Tracy McGrady and Jermaine O'Neal are opening a player representation agency this fall called Seven1 Sports Group and Entertainment.

McGrady and O'Neal, who are both 41 and live in Texas, believe they can offer young players wisdom from their experience in the NBA.

“We think it’s needed, and we have a passion for it,” McGrady said. “We’re around kids every single day because we have youth programs. It just makes sense. We see the lack of information that these kids are getting, so we would be doing a disservice to our people if we don’t lend our expertise of what we know and help guide them. This is a calling that we have.”

O’Neal intends to take the National Basketball Players Association test in January to become a registered NBA agent and hold partner status alongside McGrady. McGrady will likely step away from his broadcasting role with ESPN.

“Make no mistake,” O’Neal said, “this is very personal.”

O'Neal has built relationships with several top draft prospects at his Drive Nation sports complex in Irving, Texas. R.J. Hampton, Tyrese Maxey and Jahmi’us Ramsey came through Drive Nation, as did Cade Cunningham.

“There’s no magic wand for this,” O’Neal said. “We’re not trying to say we’re the magic wand. But we’re going to be different. You can’t name another pair of people who have had the level of success and the ups and downs that we’ve had in our careers.”

McGrady and O'Neal were both represented by Arn Tellem during their playing careers.

“At the end of the day, they can’t get all the players," McGrady said of his new rivals. "Obviously it’s going to take us some time to get our feet wet and really understand how this thing works. But we’re not intimidated by anybody. We know there’s going to be a lot of people trying to poke holes into this.”

Marc Stein/New York Times

Tags: High School, NCAA, NBA

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Jeremy Sochan Commits To Baylor

Jul 16, 2020 1:17 PM

Jeremy Sochan has committed to Baylor as part of the 2021 recruiting class.

"I really appreciate how much time the Coaches at Baylor invested in getting to know me and building a relationship with my family," Sochan said. "This helps us understand each other better, and as they've been so successful I hope I can bring even more success to Baylor from 2021!"

Standing 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds with a 7-foot wingspan, Sochan has spent the majority of his life in England but spent last season in Indiana. Sochan was born to an American father and Polish mother in Oklahoma. Sochan will spend his final year of high school in Germany. 

"It's always been my dream to play basketball in college, but it's as important to have a plan for when basketball stops. I want to play professionally and have a long career, and studying at Baylor can help me be successful both on and off the court."

Jonathan Givony/ESPN

Tags: Jeremy Sochan, Baylor Bears, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General

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Langston Love Commits To Baylor Bears

Jul 16, 2020 1:56 AM

Langston Love, the No. 22 ranked player in ESPN's Class of 2021, committed to the Baylor Bears.

"The reason I chose Baylor is because it is a Christian school, with high-caliber academics. I also have developed a great relationship with the coaching staff, and I'm impressed with the way they develop their guards," said Love.

Love also had Stanford, Texas, UCLAKansasArkansasVillanovaIllinoisTexas TechTexas A&M and Oklahoma State on his list of schools.

Love currently plays at Montverde Academy in Florida.

Jeff Borzello & Paul Biancardi/ESPN

Tags: Langston Love, Baylor Bears, NCAA, NCAA Commitment

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Moussa Cisse Commits To Memphis

Jul 16, 2020 1:47 AM

Moussa Cisse, the No. 24 ranked prospect in ESPN's Class of 2020, committed to the Memphis Tigers on Wednesday.

"Every time I talk to Precious [Achiuwa] he was always real with me. He always says how good Penny is. How he trained him to make his game develop. That's why I decided to come to Memphis," said Cisse.

Cisse picked Memphis over KentuckyLSUFlorida StateGeorgia and Georgetown.

Cisse was named Tennessee's Mr. Basketball DII-A for last year.  

Jonathan Givony/ESPN

Tags: Moussa Cisse, Memphis Tigers, NCAA, NCAA Commitment

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Jonathan Kuminga Reclassifies, Will Sign With G League Select Tema

Shams Charnia/The Athletic

Langston Love Commits To Baylor

Jeff Borzello, Paul Biancardi/ESPN

Kara Lawson Hired As Head Coach Of Duke Women's Basketball

Mechelle Voepel/ESPN

Kara Lawson Is Leading Candidate To Take Over Duke Women's Basketball Program

ESPN

NCAA Still Plan To Conduct 2021 Men's Basketball Tournament As Scheduled

Myron Medcalf/ESPN

Zion Williamson's Stepfather Allegedly Accepted $400,000 Payment Before Season At Duke

Mark Schlabach/ESPN

7-foot-1 Center Vladislav Goldin Signs With Texas Tech

ESPN

2021 Prospect Jeremy Sochan To Play In Germany Next Year Due To COVID-19 Pandemic

Jeff Borzello/ESPN

Max Christie Commits To Michigan State

Jeff Borzello/ESPN

Alex Tchikou Commits To Alabama After Reclassifying To Class Of 2020

ESPN

Makur Maker Commits To Howard

Jeff Borzello/ESPN

UConn Officially Rejoins Big East

Jeff Borzello/ESPN