Rothstein: This And That Around NCAA Basketball; Larkin's Future, Fordham Rising & More
By Jon Rothstein
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- If Shane Larkin returns to Miami for his junior season, the Hurricanes will make the NCAA Tournament. If he leaves for the NBA, Jim Larranaga's team will be in complete rebuilding mode. Larkin will announce his plans on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET. During the past season, the 5-11 point guard averaged 14.5 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 40.6 percent from three-point range.
- Kansas State transfer Angel Rodriguez will visit Miami within the next week, per a source. The 5-11 floor general will have two years of eligibility remaining, and could receive a waiver to play immediately next season. The addition of Rodriguez would provide the Hurricanes with an instant successor — either this year or next — for Larkin at point guard. Rodriguez averaged 11.4 points and 5.2 assists per game last season for the Wildcats.
- UMass coach Derek Kellogg found his replacement for Chaz Williams at point guard when he received a commitment on Thursday from West Virginia transfer Jabarie Hinds. Hinds will have two years of eligibility remaining and will have to sit out the upcoming season per NCAA rules. The Mount Vernon native averaged 7.4 PPG this past season for the Mountaineers.
- Jon Severe's decision to sign with Fordham instantly makes the Rams a team that can make a serious jump in the Atlantic 10 next season. The Christ The King product was New York State's Mr. Basketball in 2013, and is a big time scorer at 6-2 that could very well average in double-figures as a freshman. With Severe, burgeoning wing Mandel Thomas, and senior Branden Frazier, Tom Pecora finally has a perimeter that will be able to match up with any opponent that Fordham faces in their conference. This team will be much better than their 7-24 mark this past season.
- Stanford is beefing up its non-conference schedule for next season. The Cardinal will play Michigan in the Barclays Center, and have agreed to a home and home with UConn, although the location for next year's game is TBD. Johnny Dawkins has every key piece returning from this past season's team that went 19-15 overall and 9-9 in PAC-12 play. Stanford will also get back their best perimeter defender in Anthony Brown, who only played four games last year due to a hip injury. This team will be in the field of 68 in 2014.
- Rutgers transfer Eli Carter will visit both Maryland and Florida this week, per a source. The 6-2 Carter will have two years of eligibility remaining and should be able to receive a waiver to play immediately next season. Carter led the Scarlet Knights in scoring this past season at 14.9 PPG.
- Iowa State will play in the Diamondhead Classic next December, and also host both Iowa and Michigan as part of its non-conference schedule for 2013-14. The Cyclones are also involved with Northern Illinois transfer Abdel Nader, who visited the Ames campus this past week. The 6-7 Nader has two years of eligibility remaining and averaged 13.1 points and 5.6 rebounds last season.
- Colorado's Andre Roberson will hold a press conference in the next few days to announce whether or not he will declare for the 2013 NBA Draft. The 6-7 forward averaged 10.9 points and 11.2 rebounds per game last season for the Buffaloes. While Roberson would be a big loss statistically for Colorado, Tad Boyle's team has the personnel in place to replace him. Lefty forward Xavier Johnson is ready to be one of the better players in the PAC-12 and just needs regular minutes to produce at a high level. The Buffaloes' staff is also very high on 6-8 forward Wesley Gordon, who red shirted this past season.
- Memphis added a "junkyard dog" in George Washington transfer David Pellom. The 6-8 Pellom is a tenacious competitor, and will be eligible to play immediately for the Tigers next season since he's already graduated. Josh Pastner has assembled a plethora of blue chip players at Memphis --- but he hasn't had anyone like Pellom. A fierce forward with a relentless motor, Pellom will instantly make the Tigers nastier up front. In 2011-12, Pellom averaged 10.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game for George Washington.
- Former UCLA assistant coach Scott Garson will be the next head coach at College of Idaho, an NAIA Division II school. Garson spent the past nine seasons in Westwood under former Bruins' coach Ben Howland, and was widely regarded as one of the better X's and O's assistants on the West Coast.
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