Duke is seeking an interpretation of an NCAA rule as to whether a recruit can speak to a coach by phone if the recruit is still on the road, but not actively playing in a tournament.

According to a source, Alex Poythress called Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski Tuesday night after his Georgia Stars AAU team was eliminated from the AAU Super Showcase in Orlando.

ESPN ranks Poythress as the No. 17 overall recruit of the class of 2012.

Duke, according to the source, would likely accept any penalty associated with a secondary violation if it were deemed to be one.

Zak Irvin picked Michigan over Butler on Sunday.

Irvin is 6-foot-6 and will be a junior at Hamilton Southeastern. He is ranked No. 97 by Rivals in the class of 2013.

“I’ve liked Michigan for a while,” said Irvin. “But it was a really tough decision because I felt like I had a good relationship with (Butler coach Brad Stevens).”

Irvin, who averaged 11.4 points and 2.7 rebounds as a sophomore, also had offers from Baylor, Illinois, Indiana, Miami (Fla.), Purdue, Tennessee and Xavier. 

Irvin sees himself being used in a similar way as Tim Hardaway Jr.

“They talked a lot about how they can use me coming off ball screens, either shooting or creating,” Irvin said. “I watched them a couple games in the NCAA Tournament last year and watched how Tim Hardaway Jr. played. I think I can play the same way.”

Gary Harris, a top-20 recruit of the 2012 class, is playing in his final AAU tournament this weekend in Fort Wayne.

Indiana's Tom Crean and assistant coaches Tim Buckley and Steve McClain have been in town watching, as has Louisville assistant coach Wyking Jones amongst others.

Harris is a 6-foot-4 guard and Indiana, Louisville, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Purdue are recruiting him the hardest.

Kentucky has been following Anthony Bennett 6-foot-7, 245-pound Toronto native who starred for CIA Bounce. Bennett, who attends Findlay Prep in Nevada, will be in the incoming class of 2012.

His long list of colleges includes Kentucky, Connecticut, Florida, Georgetown, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Oregon, Florida State, Washington, UNLV, Arizona and Oklahoma.

“I’m wide-open,” he said, noting that he might not pick one until April. “I’ll probably cut it down after AAU, and then I don’t know how many or when I will take my visits.”

Bennett was asked if he would visit Kentucky.

“Yes, probably. Kentucky is a power school and all of the top players want to go there, and they do great. I have heard the fans are crazy, so I want to see the environment.”

Kevin Ollie has one season of coaching experience as an assistant at Connecticut.

But according to sources in and around the university, Ollie will be a prime candidate when Jim Calhoun eventually retires.

Ollie played for 11 different NBA teams in 13 seasons.

His work on the recruiting trail and on the bench with the Huskies in one season has received highly positive marks.

Ollie also has a legacy as a Connecticut starting point guard, outplaying seemingly more talented players.

"Pressure is something you make in your own mind," Ollie said. "If God blessed me with that opportunity, fine. If he doesn't, I'm going to still live my life the way I've been living and hopefully have my family support me in any decision I make. It's going to be family first.

"I don't put myself in a box. I've got different things I want to do," Ollie added. "Of course coaching UConn would be a dream come true. But if it don't come true it's not the end of my life."

Ricardo Gathers gave St. John's a verbal commitment on Saturday.

The AAU coach of Gathers compares him to a cross between Charles Barkley and Karl Malone.

"That's huge," Gathers told The Post. "Those are a couple of NBA Hall of Famers. I understand what he's saying. Those guys knew rebounding wins games just like defense. I go into every games trying to get at least 10 rebounds."

Gathers is the Red Storm's first 2012 recruit.

Steve Lavin and his staff still are going hard for St. Anthony point guard Kyle Anderson, Philadelphia power forward Amile Jefferson, D.C. shooting guard Darrick Wood and California shooting guard Katlin Reinhardt.

Gathers is rated by Rivals as the nation's No. 11 power forward and the No. 34 recruit overall. Jefferson is ranked as the No.10 power forward and No. 33 overall.

Brandon Ashley heads what many scouts and observers say is the strongest Bay Area recruiting crop in years.

Bay Area coaches “are putting the time in, but it’s almost like the game changes when the bigger programs come calling,” said Mark Olivier, director of the Oakland Soldiers, a powerhouse A.A.U. team that features several top recruits, including Ashley. 

Arizona head coach Sean Miller arrived in San Francisco after his team's elimination from the 2011 NCAA Tournament, where he predicted “an absolute war” over Bay Area talent. 

“If you gave me one area of the country to be successful recruiting the next two years, the area that I would pick is this one right here,” Miller told a group of Arizona fans during a May 19 speech at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Miller has already signed two Oakland Soldiers players: guards Josiah Turner and Nick Johnson, who committed to Arizona last year.

Ashley, ranked by ESPN as the No. 6 recruit in the country, has Arizona on his short list, along with U.C.L.A., Kentucky, Oregon, Texas, Syracuse and Georgia Tech.

“Let’s say Cal or Stanford finished last year like Arizona did,” Olivier said. “I guarantee that would probably make it easier to recruit.”

In 2003, when the region had its last big talent surge, Cal signed three highly rated Bay Area recruits, including the future N.B.A. player Leon Powe out of Oakland.

“It would be huge for a Bay player to come into a Bay college and lead them to success,” Ashley said. “But it comes down to players’ really wanting to come to the school where they can win and that’s going to help them the most.”

The class of 2013 includes Aaron Gordon, a 6-foot-7 forward at Archbishop Mitty High in San Jose; Jabari Bird, a 6-foot-6 guard at Salesian High in Richmond; and Stephen Domingo, a 6-foot-6 forward at St. Ignatius High in San Francisco. Gordon, Bird and Domingo are currently ranked 9th, 11th and 57th among 2013 recruits by ESPN.

Mississippi State will participate in the 2012 Maui Invitational.

The Bulldogs will join a field that includes Butler, Illinois, Marquette, North Carolina, Texas, USC and Division II Chaminade, the host school.

Enes Kanter is considering playing professional ball in China next season if the NBA lockout persists.

Kanter's agent, Max Ergul, told The Salt Lake Tribune on Friday that his client has official offers from two Chinese teams. 

Ergul does not want Kanter to miss another year of basketball, as he was forced to sit his freshman season at Kentucky.

"It's very interesting stuff," said Ergul, who said he could not reveal the names of the clubs because details of the negotiations are still confidential. "We'll be entertaining those ideas as well as the lockout progresses. He's a ballplayer — he has to play."

Duke is investigating a possible recruiting violation committed by Mike Krzyzewski.

Alex Poythress told CBSSports.com that Krzyzewski spoke to him earlier this week while he was in Orlando, Fla., for a tournament with his AAU team, the Georgia Stars, and offered him a scholarship.

NCAA rules prevent coaches from contacting recruits before they are finished playing in tournaments.

Duke spokesman Jon Jackson said in a statement Saturday that the school is gathering facts and that "proper adherence to NCAA bylaws has always been, and will continue to be, a cornerstone of Duke Athletics."