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Hurleys Finish 1-2 in Nation

Bob Hurley still is the boss when it comes to his younger son, Dan.

Bob's St. Anthony team finished No. 1 in the final prepnation.com poll after going 32-0 and winning its 10th Tournament of Champions crown. Danny Hurley's St. Benedict's team finished at No. 2 after going 24-1.

Lance Stephenson's Brooklyn Lincoln team ended at No. 6 after winning the New York State Federation Tournament of Champions title.

St. Anthony and St. Ben's also finished 1-2 in the USA Today Super 25 rankings and the ESPN High Elite 25.

So the obvious question is, What has to be done to get those two teams in the gym to face off for a one-game state and national championship?

Mitchell Watt Update (Updated)

Here is the latest on Mitchell Watt, a 6-foot-9, 205-pound senior forward from Arizona Desert Edge High.

After de-committing from Cornell, Watt is looking at Buffalo, Pepperdine, Rutgers and Davidson, all strong academic schools that he feels will also offer a competitive level of basketball. Watt hopes to sign during the late period, which runs April 16-May 21.

"I've kind of closed my recruiting down because I don't want too many people to be involved," Watt said Monday by phone.

Watt visited Buffalo this past weekend and said he enjoyed it.

"I really liked the school and the coaching staff and the players a lot," he said. "It was a nice area, Buffalo's a nice town."

Melvin Oliver Update

Melvyn Oliver, a 6-foot-11, 330-pound senior center from Mississippi Elite Christian  Academy, has a slew of schools recruiting him, but Seton Hall, Baylor, Nebraska and Southern Miss are his leaders, according to his coach, Victor Evans.

"I don't think he's in a hurry (to make a decision)," Evans said Monday by phone. "He just wants to make a good decision."

Oliver averaged 20 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks and is qualified to play in college, Evans said.

"Melvyn is probably one of hte best passers that I've ever seen at his size," Evans said. "He has great hands, great feet. He's a great low post scorer. He has all the drop step moves, a lefty hook, a righty hook. He shoots in the high 70s (percentage) from the free throw line. He has a great mid-range game. He's very skilled."

Evans was in the process of faxing Seton Hall head coach Bobby Gonzalez his transcripts Monday, and Evans said he is close friends with Seton Hall assistant Derm Player.

"(Oliver) is going to take probably four visits and Seton Hall will probably be one of them," Evans said. "We have not scheduled any as of yet. but he will be taking visits. When his dad comes down here next week, we will put a schedule together."

Flowers to Remain at Chipola; Turner Has Final 3

There is news on the Gary Flowers and Chris Turner fronts, but it may not exactly be the kind of news Seton Hall fans want to hear.

The 6-foot-8 Flowers plans to spend another year at Chipola (Fla.) College before coming to a Division I program. The 6-5 Turner, meanwhile, has narrowed his list to Seton Hall, East Carolina and Wake Forest while eliminating Kentucky.

"(Flowers) is going to come back for another year at Chipola," Chipola head coach Greg Heiar said Monday morning by phone. "He loves the schools he's got (offers from), Seton Hall, West Virginia, South Florida. He loves them all, but Gary and I think he needs another year to be ready to go in and impact the Division I level the way he's capable of impacting it."

Flowers, who averaged 13 points and 8 rebounds, would then have two years of eligibility at the D-1 level after next year.

Heiar said Flowers was a non-qualifier coming out of high school and needed to make up some coursework. Even though he was enrolled at Oklahoma State as a freshman, he was Clearinghouse-pending, Heiar said.

"He needs the summer classes; he's not a qualifier," Heiar said. "He's a 4-2-4. He's a non-qualifier coming out of high school. He'll take classes next year; he needs summer classes to graduate."

Memphis in Final Four; Evans, Ebanks Update

It is entirely possible that within the next few weeks, Memphis could play for the national championship and also land a recruiting class that includes five-star players Tyreke Evans and Devin Ebanks.

First things first. Memphis looked extremely impressive Sunday in routing Texas, 85-67, behind 21 points, nine assists and six rebounds from freshman guard Derrick Rose to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 1985. Memphis will meet UCLA in one national semifinal, while fellow top seeds Kansas and North Carolina do battle in the other.

Despite numerous Internet reports that the 6-foot-5 Evans, the MVP of the McDonald's All-American Game, is a done deal to Memphis, sources close to the American Christian program tell us he hasn't made up his mind yet. Villanova, UConn, Texas and Memphis are his Final Four and he will announce his decision April 16 on ESPNU.

If Memphis wins the title and head coach John Calipari decides to leave for a potential NBA job, it may increase the chances that Evans would go somewhere else. Rose seems a lock to go pro, but Calipari is the great variable. If Memphis doesn't win and Calipari sticks around, logic would dictate that Memphis would have a better shot at landing Evans.

Lance, Lincoln Win Back-To-Back Titles

Lance Stephenson and the Lincoln Railsplitters won their second straight Class AA title in the New York State Federation Tournament of Champions title Sunday afternoon with an 87-67 victory over Holy Cross in Glens Fall, N.Y.

Stephenson posted a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds to earn tourney MVP honors.

Justin Greene added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Railsplitters (19-1), who also got 20 points from Darwin Ellis and 14 from Khalif Staten.

Sylven Landesberg, named Mr. New York Basketball on Sunday, scored 31 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead the Knights (22-9), while Kayvon Roberts added 19 points.

The 6-foot-5 Stephenson, who is the star of an Internet reality series entitled "Born Ready," is being recruited by numerous major D-1 programs, including USC, Memphis, North Carolina, Georgetown, Seton Hall and Louisville.

Herald News All-Area: Theodore, PC, Davis Honored

The Herald News released its All-Area Player, Team and Coach of the Year selections today.

LESLIE BARBARO / HERALD NEWS

Player of the year

Jordan Theodore, Paterson Catholic - Click here for story

Team of the year

Paterson Catholic - Click here for story

Coach of the year

Donald Davis, Eastside - Click here for story

1st-Team selections

Click here for story

Final Top 10

Click here for rankings

For The Record's selections....

adidas Nations Profile #1: Dominic Cheek

St. Anthony junior wing Dominic Cheek said he's up in the air about which college to attend but that he hopes to decide by the end of the summer.

"New schools are popping up every day," Cheek said after Saturday's morning workout at the adidas Nations event at Seton Hall. "UConn just popped out of nowhere and offered me a scholarship. They want me to come and visit the campus, and Florida, too."

Cheek, ranked by Rivals as the No. 4 shooting guard in the Class of 2009, said he had no visits planned yet, but "we're going to set up a date soon (with UConn)."

Villanova, Texas, Wake Forest, Seton Hall and Rutgers are also involved.

Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez is working hard to land the 6-foot-6 Cheek. Gonzalez had a private meeting with Cheek in his office for about 15-20 minutes during a break in Saturday's action.

"Rutgers and Seton Hall both have a chance," said Cheek, whose averaged 12.3 points and seven rebounds for a St. Anthony team that finished a perfect 32-0 and won New Jersey Tournament of Champions, the 10th in St. Anthony's illustrious history.

Hey Michael Wilbon, Learn What a Blog Is

I'm as much of a Michael Wilbon fan as the next guy, but while blogging tonight I happened to hear Wilbon discussing the Dallas Mavericks blogging controversy on "Pardon the Interruption."

Apparently Mavs owner Mark Cuban banned all bloggers from Dallas' locker room because he didn't want to make a distinction between professional and non-professional bloggers. When this policy met with resistance from the Dallas Morning-News, Cuban changed course and allowed all bloggers into the locker room.

Tony Kornheiser's take: "I also know newspapers are dying, and maybe blogging is the way that you save them...If (bloggers) are going to show up and talk to the players, I'm for that."

Marist, NJIT Openings

Some interesting names are being floated for the coaching openings at Marist and NJIT....

**According to the Times Herald-Record and the Seton Hall Trove board, Villanova assistant Brett Gunning, Pittsburgh assistant Tom Herrion, Columbia head coach Joe Jones; Louisville assistant Steve Masiello (left); and Seton Hall Director of Basketball Operations Steve Sauers are interested in replacing Matt Brady at Marist. Brady moved on to take the James Madison job. St. John's assistant Fred Quartlebaum was also mentioned. St. Benedict's coach Danny Hurley was mentioned as well, but he told me that was news to him and he's not a candidate.

"I am in the process of talking to coaches already,'' Marist AD Tim Murray told the newspaper. "As an A.D., you are always watching games and following certain programs. "¦ I am not going to say I have a leading candidate right now but there are some people who are intriguing to me and I have been watching for some time. I am going to pursue some of those people that I have watched.''