Thursday, December 20, 2012
Day 2 notes from City of Palms
By Dave Telep
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Day 2 from the City of Palms Classic is over. For a 12-hour day, Wednesday went by quickly. The next few days will yield a Jabari Parker announcement that will require myself and Paul Biancardi to step away for a few hours. We’ll return to a Thursday night slate of games that should be among the best this season. Dickie V will be courtside for the stars as he makes his yearly appearance in Fort Myers.
Here are some additional news and notes from Day 2 at City of Palms on Wednesday:
No. 4 prospect Julius Randle wasn't in action Wednesday, but he still gained plenty of attention.
• With No. 4 overall prospect Julius Randle sidelined in a boot, Prestonwood (Texas) got drubbed by Memphis Southwind (Tenn.). Here at the City of Palms, when the score gets out of hand they utilize a running clock. That happened in this game. Randle gave no timetable for a return this season.
• I like what NC State did. The Wolfpack brought in assistant coach Orlando Early and sat him in the stands to stare at Randle even though he couldn't play. Randle visited Florida and Kentucky early, and he’ll be at NC State in January when the Pack take on North Carolina (ESPN’s "Gameday" will be there as well). He’ll visit Kansas when the "Gameday" crew rolls into Lawrence, and he'll finish up at Texas later this season for the Horns' game against either Kansas or Oklahoma. This means Oklahoma, where he’s visited unofficially, is out of the mix for an official visit. The Sooners were a long shot regardless.
• Georgia native Chris Davenport transferred out of Montverde Academy (Fla.) to be closer to his parents in Atlanta. He attended the Montverde game on Wednesday, however, and afterward rattled off a list of Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Murray State, Florida Atlantic and Georgia Southern.
• Callaway (Miss.) needs sophomore Malik Newman to shoulder the load. A 5-for-17 performance from the field against a team the caliber of nationally ranked Lone Peak (Utah) makes for a long evening. Newman is the primary ball-handler and chief scorer. LSU sent an assistant to watch him.
• Coincidence or the cosmic alignment of forces of the basketball gods? No. 1 2013 center Dakari Johnson and No. 1 2012 overall prospect Nerlens Noel shared the same final three schools: Georgetown, Syracuse and Kentucky.
