Potpourri, Jun 29

News Bits

6-foot-7 sophomore Ahsan Huff, the top rebounder in the state of California community college ranks (17.2 per game), is moving on from Columbia College and heading to Cal State Dominguez Hills in the Southland. Congrats.

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In the initial round of Tuesday's first round of the NBA draft, Stanford's 6-foot-2 freshman guard Obuka Okorie landed in Detroit at #17.

At #19, Santa Clara's 6-foot-9, 225 freshman forward Allen Graves went to Toronto.

FYI: In 2022, 6-foot-5 Jalen Williams was drafted by Oklahoma City with the 12th choice out of Santa Clara. In 2023, 6-foot-4 Brandin Podziemski was selected with the 19th pick out of Santa Clara by the Golden State Warriors. Bronco Coach Herb Sendek and his staff and working it.

6-foot-7, 240 AK Okereke has signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers. Starting out at Clovis North High, he spent three years at Cornell and this past season at Vanderbilt.

6-foot-7 Canadian Elijah Mahi is a free agent signee with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He attended West Valley College and then Santa Clara.

6-foot-7 Canadian Elias Ralph is staying close to his college program, signing as a free agent with the Sacramento Kings. He is out of Pacific.

6-foot-7 free agent forward Chris Bell is moving on from California to the New Orleans Pelicans.

6-foot-9 Graham Ike has signed as a free agent forward with the Golden State Warriors. You can't boo him now even if he is from Gonzaga.

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"Cal Men's Basketball G TT Carr returns to the Bears"

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"Tarleton State TX Men’s Basketball signs incoming freshman Caeden Hutcherson"

Out of Dream City Christian in Arizona, the 6-foot-4 Hutcherson spent his first three high school seasons at St. Ignatius College Prep and then Archbishop Mitty as a sophomore and junior.

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Verbal Commits: "2028 Archbishop Riordan (CA) G Boss Mhoon has received an offer from Utah."

He's 6-foot-5, 190 and sports a 4.0 grade point average.

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"San Francisco Lands Versatile Forward Ben Oosterbaan"

and

"Dons Welcome Dynamic Guard Yoav Vitlem"

and

RecruitLook Hoops: "2026 - Dashel Wiley commits to the University of San Francisco! It's been great working with the Wiley family & being part of Dashel's journey!"

The 6-foot-4 Wiley is out of Las Vegas and averaged 22.7 points per game this past season.

and

Verbal Commits: "2028 Centennial (CA) G Joshua Agbo has received an offer from San Francisco."

A 6-foot-4 guard, this is his eighth offer and that includes Stanford and California.

and

Verbal Commits: "2027 Mater Dei (CA) F Zain Majeed has received an offer from San Francisco."

He's a 6-foot-7 forward with a 4.3 grade point average.

and

John Chepkevich: "NEWS: Dylan Bordón has committed to San Francisco, sources tell DraftExpress. The shifty, aggressive 21-year-old Argentinian guard has spent the past four seasons in Spain, earning ACB, EuroCup, and Champions League experience. 19 PPG and 5 APG for Canarias’ LigaU affiliate."

He stands 6-foot-3.

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Verbal Commits: "North Carolina C Ivan Matleković is transferring to Pacific."

The Tigers have landed a 7-foot, 255, hefty Croatian.

and

"Andrej Mitrevski (ex Pelister) joins Pacific"

He's a 6-foot-3 guard.

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Verbal Commits: "2027 Rolling Hills Prep (CA) F Nick Welch, Jr. has received an offer from California."

He's currently 6-foot-10, 220. Cal is his seventh offer.

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Verbal Commits: "Sacramento State and Utah offered 2028 Greater Atlanta Christian (GA) F Baer Bailey."

Bailey currently stands 6-foot-9 and tips the scale at 220.

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"The Art Of Building: Hoops, Recruiting & Humor With San Jose State HC Tim Miles"

An excerpt: "That climb received a historic boost in May, when San José State Athletics announced a $4 million philanthropic commitment to the men’s basketball program. The gift is designed to support player retention, talent acquisition, and critical operational needs, but Miles sees it as more than a line item.

“It’s the wind beneath your wings,” Miles said.

The commitment grew from conversations that began roughly 18 months earlier, when an anonymous donor group asked a direct question: What would it take for San José State to make the NCAA Tournament? Over months of meetings with the donor group and university leadership, the program built out a vision to operate like a top-three Mountain West program."

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John Bynum Jr.: "Kanyon Rice (Yuba) committed to Chaminade University. Rice averaged 9.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists last season for the 49ers."

He's a 6-3 sophomore out of Rocklin High and now headed to Honolulu.

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Modesto Junior College Men's Basketball: "Excited to welcome 6’8 F/C Jayden Fakhouri to Pirate Nation! The former Venture Academy standout returns to Northern California after Cal Lutheran. A skilled stretch big with size, IQ, and deep range, Jayden adds versatility on both ends."

He's a 6-foot-8, 255 sophomore-to-be and out of Venture Academy in Stockton.

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John Bynum Jr.: "Zion Yeargin (Chabot) has committed to Cal Poly Humboldt. Yeargin averaged 18.9 points and 5.8 rebounds last season for the Gladiators.

He's a Salesian Prep graduate.

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Verbal Commits: "2027 Bella Vista Prep (AZ) F Jalen White has received an offer from San José State."

He's 6-foot-7 wing.

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Chico State Men's Basketball: "We are extremely excited to welcome Donjae Lindsey to the Wildcat family!! Donjae comes from Stanislaus State Warriors, where he averaged 12.0 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 50.8% from the field and 38.3% from three."

Lindsey is out of Weston Ranch High.

and

Chico State Men's Basketball: "We are extremely excited to welcome Mike Wilson to the Wildcat family!! Mike comes to Chico State from Dominican University, where he started all 28 games and averaged 9.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 33.8% from three."

He's out of Sacramento High and Sacramento State.

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Tobias Bass: "NEWS: Kimario Sherman Jr. will take an official visit to Santa Clara, July 20-22nd. The 7’2 prospect has recently received offers from Ohio, Iona, Stetson and East Carolina."

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Verbal Commits: "2027 Salesian (CA) G Nathalio Gray, Jr. has received an offer from Loyola Chicago.

The 6-foot-1 guard has transferred over from The Branson School and also plays AAU ball with Team Lillard. He also owns offers from Washington State, Nevada, Yale and UC San Diego.

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Meet Noah Kirsch-Lopez

In the 2028 class and attending St. Ignatius, 6-foot-6, 210 pound Noah Kirsch-Lopez is a unique player and person on and off the basketball court. Why so? Because in addition to his plus rebounding and scoring contributions on the hardwood, he is constantly studying with an unyielding focus what's taking place in front of him on the court, analyzing and processing what he is seeing and learning what offensive and defensive techniques work, when and why. Even when he is taking a breather on the bench during a game, he continues to study the action and dissect what is happening. Secondly, might he find himself in the stands at a game or watching one on the television, be it college or the NBA, it's always another opportunity for studying and learning, adding to his repertoire of knowledge. Add in his perusing game film and that completes the triad of his continuing construction of basketball knowledge.

Kirsch-Lopez is already making noise as he was recently named to The San Francisco Chronicle 2025-26 All-Metro Honorable Mention squad as a sophomore. To a query about his best hoops skills, Kirsch-Lopez quickly offered, "What I hope makes me special is my basketball IQ, rebounding and shooting." Note what he lists first in his response.

Also, Kirsch-Lopez currently plays AAU ball on the Adidas 3SSB circuit with the Sin City Select out of Las Vegas..

Leadership

Later in our conversation, the subject of leadership was broached and in particular his includes quite a telling achievement. Besides being on his school's Student Council, as well as the Service Club and Block Club. In middle school, Kirsch-Lopez won the school's Changemaker Award after landing a grant to financially help with fulfilling the needs of underprivileged kids. What an amazing achievement for anyone at that age or older considering most of us were achieving very little beyond surviving in middle school.

Regarding his presence on his St. Ignatius squad, he said, "I think of myself as a leader. How hard I play shows," giving him the credibility necessary in interacting with his teammates. "I'm always work to be a better teammate and I'll see what the team needs and try and fill in the gap. I also work to pick up teammates if they are down or something has gone wrong."

Minus any previous family treading the hoops path, Kirsch-Lopez participated in baseball, soccer and basketball when he was younger but watching Steph Curry and Draymond Green drew him to focus on the latter. That and the enticing back and forth speed of the game.

One event early on solidified with him that he was on the right road.

Early Recognition

"What has always stuck with me is early on (fifth/sixth grade) attending a (Golden State) Warriors camp featuring 300 players. At the end-of-the-week awards ceremony, I was named Hustle Player of the Week and was given different kinds of Warriors paraphernalia." Then, a few minutes later it was also announced, "I earned Player of the Week award and received gear autographed by Steph Curry. I was super happy." If his family has a home safe, then it's likely the Curry-signed apparel is residing there.

Kirsch-Lopez sports a 3.8 grade point average which will make him attractive to a broad academic range of college suitors, including high academic colleges. He's unsure of a major as yet, but is leaning towards "the business/finance sector". At the D1 level, he sees himself "likely as a guard or an undersized wing."

He thanked his parents for "all their time involved and the money they have spent on traveling" thus far in facilitating his basketball journey, "all my coaches who believed in me" and 'my longtime trainer Kenny Hatch," who also played at St. Ignatius as well as Cañada College and Texas A&M International.

Trainer Kenny Hatch on Kirsch-Lopez

Here's Hatch on his protege: "Noah has been great to work with - we started when he was in the 7th grade. He's been a competitor since the first session we had. He goes hard in every drill, takes the coaching that I give him, etc. You can tell he wants to play this game at a high level and that he has a passion for it."

"I told him to use me as a resource to navigate the basketball world - as it's not easy. Same with his parents. I've told them to always reach out if they had questions about schools, basketball, etc."

"I'm excited to see him develop in the next few years. He's definitely a division 1 player - as I have already received messages about him from Division 1 coaches asking me about him, his game, family, etc. so I know he's not far from his goal of playing Division 1 basketball."

With two remaining seasons of high school eligibility, Kirsch-Lopez will undoubtedly emerge from Honorable Mention to a higher status as he continues to gobble up basketball information like an AI algorithm and apply it accordingly.

Potpourri, Jun 15

News Bits

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USF adds a sextet of talent.

"Men's Basketball Inks Elite Scorer Abdul Bashir"

and

"Dons Add Local Forward Jaroslavs Pihtovs"

and

"San Francisco Signs Center Ismaila Diagne"

A native of Senegal, he's a 7-footer coming off being a member of the Gonzaga basketball squad for two seasons.

and

Adam Tyson: "1000% Committed."

He's a 6-foot-7 small forward attending the SoCal Academy in the Southland.

Here's a Tyson scouting report.

and

Wisdom Fode: "100% committed!!"

He's a 6-foot-3, 200 point attending Bella Vista Prep (AZ).

and

Jon Chepkevich: "NEWS: Gustav Knudsen has committed to San Francisco, his agent Jaime Alonso tells DraftExpress. The 6’9” multifaceted 23-year-old forward carved out a significant role in Manresa’s ACB and EuroCup rotation. Brings several years of Danish senior national team experience."

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Pacific Men's Basketball: "Got one from across the pond... Welcome to Pacific, Vincent!"

He's a 6-foot-8 frontcourter who first took up the game at age 10. He's Nigerian, lived in Dublin for a number of years and now his family is based in Milton, MA.

"Milton basketball star Vincent Osazee commits to Pacific"

and

Pacific Men's Basketball: "🚨We got a Tiger🚨 Nishayne is coming to the 209!"

He's a 5-foot-11 guard at Bella Vista Prep in AZ and out of Canada, Head Coach Dave Smart's stomping grounds.

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Jonathan Givony: "NEWS: SoCal Academy's Oliver Kullamae has committed to San Jose State, coach Julius Von Hanzlik told DraftExpress. The 6'3, 18-year-old Estonian PG led the U18 EuroBasket B Division in assists each of the past two seasons. High-level distributor and pick-and-roll operator."

SJSU needs a point who can come in and perform right away. The Spartan coaching staff offered him way back on 9/27/25.

"Oliver Kullamäe latest Estonian basketball star to be snapped up by US college team"

and

SJSU has apparently signed 6-foot-4 French guard Aurèle Brena-Chemille but there is a snafu with his paperwork. His coming aboard was officially announced then deleted. He's already 22 years old—don't yet know what his college year classification will be if he does become an official signee.

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Dinos Trigonis: "Former Belmont Shore F, @PangosAACamp Top 60 Game pick & @FCPPangos Premier 80 alum 6-7 2026 Caspian Jones has signed with UC-Davis. Former St. Mary's/Phoenix AZ star spent a post-grad year at CATS Academy/MA this past season. 1st team All-NEPSAC (post-grad division) has 3.9 GPA.'

The Aggies need help upfront and this guy looks solid. Love the name.

and

UC Davis Men's Basketball: "Let’s get to work 💪   1️⃣1️⃣ is back for the Aggies!"

The 6-foot-8, 220 guard talent sat out this past season after coming over from Modesto JC. He should be a major element for Coach Jim Les in the 2026-27 go-around.

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Parks Weaver: "First weekend with De La Salle."

This is a bigtime transfer for the 6-foot-4 2028 guard who has departed from Folsom High.

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Former Shasta College assistant coach Taylor Angley has returned to the school as the new head coach. Angley had been coaching the boys basketball squad at University Prep in Redding.

Here's a 2022 feature on Angley.

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"Brandon Clarke said it’s ‘just kratom.’ His death has the substance under scrutiny"

Clarke was a former SJSU player. I was prescribed kratom by an herbalist for pain issues and it was trippy. A couple of doses and I was done with it and so glad it was done with me.

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San Jose City College sophomore guard Jeremiah Butler is headed to Southwest Baptist University. He's 6-foot-2, 225 and out of Inderkum High. Butler scored 12.5 points per game this past season, shooting 47%, 38% and 71%.

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Modesto Junior College Men's Basketball: "Excited to welcome 6’10 PF Fallou Dioum to the Pirate Family! Italy / Sénégal native who played with Nanterre in France. Stretch 4. Defensive force."

and

Modesto Junior College Men's Basketball: "Excited to welcome 6’7 G/F Ladji Kante to the Pirate Family! D1 transfer from Northern Illinois via France 🇫🇷. Athletic, versatile, impact player."

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"Frank Allocco Announces Retirement from University of San Francisco"

and

"Brent Blaylock Named New Director of Athletics"

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"Cal Signs Gabe Sularski As Newcomer For 2026-27"

Sularski will be a 6-foot-6 freshman and possesses FIBA U16 Eurobasket experience.

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"SAN JOSÉ STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL ADDS MAURICE RIDDICK TO COACHING STAFF"

It appears Bay Area native Damany Hendrix is no longer on the staff.

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"Stanford men’s basketball coach Kyle Smith explains why he’s excited for his program’s future"

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Potpourri, Jun 1

News Bits

This is our last post of the season. We'll start back up in November, possibly October. We'll likely post some player 'signing' articles between now and then. KM

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"The NAACP’s boycott call is a wake-up moment for the American Black athlete" Howard Bryant

and

"Hit Them Where It Hurts   Asking Black athletes to sacrifice for the greater good could reshape college sports and national politics alike. But it won’t be so easy." - Jemele Hill

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San Francisco Men's Basketball: "Congratulations to our guy Aidan on graduating summa cum laude with a BSBA in finance. Proud to call you a Don!"

Aidan Braccia is also a graduate of Sacred Heart Prep and attended Belmont University (TN) prior to USF. What an academic achievement!

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Modesto Junior College Men's Basketball: "Congrats to sophomore Daniel Huerta on his commitment to Division II Menlo College (PacWest). Daniel earned First Team All–Big 8 honors this season. Wishing you the best moving forward, Daniel!"

Huerta is 6-foot-5, 180 and also out of St. Mary's High in Stockton.

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TJ Filkins: "Next chapter!! Great day with Feather River College Coach Derek Jensen. Blessed to say I have committed to Feather River College."

Filkins is a 6-foot-5 swingman out of Franklin High.

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Sam Lancr: "Tulane transfer Scotty Middleton has committed to San Jose State, he told TheFieldOf68. Averaged 6.9 points and 4.0 rebounds for the Green Wave last season."

In 33 games at 6-foot-6, 195, he made 19 starts, shot 37% from three-point range overall, 41% in conference play. Middleton began at Ohio State, then Seton Hall and Tulane. He did block 26 shots.

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West Valley College Men's Basketball: "Let’s welcome Angelina College (D1 NJCAA) 6’10 Cheikh Diebakhate to WV! Cheikh will give WV an immediate boost in the Front court, coming off a freshman campaign where he averaged over 3 points & 3 rebounds per game. Having all the tools, Cheikh is poised for a big year!"

He shot 49% overall and blocked 18 shots, playing 8.1 minutes a contest. Diebakhate weighs 235 pounds.

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Jaylan Virgil: "New chapter. Excited to announce that I’ll be attending Coronado High School (Las Vegas) for my senior season. Grateful for everyone who helped me get to this point. Ready to work, compete, and prove myself every day."

A 6-foot-1 point out of Laguna Creek High plus high school in San Diego, his 6-foot-6 brother Ty attended Sheldon High before moving on to a couple of prep schools in Arizona prior to entering the college ranks.

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"Andrej Stojakovic’s silence is becoming deafening for Illinois basketball"

The NBA draft deadline has passed and Stojakovic is returning to Illinois.

Andrej Stojakovic announced on Twitter that he will take his name out of the draft pool and return to Illinois for his senior season. Stojakovic said at the combine that he had “both feet in” regarding the draft process, but he also never gave up on the idea of staying in school and helping the Illini return to the Final Four in 2027, Colleen Kane of The Chicago Tribune writes in a subscriber-only piece.

“That’s the goal — go back to the Final Four and then strive for a national championship,” Stojakovic said during combine week. “Understanding what we have back at Illinois is extremely special, I’ve just got to make the right decision.”

Another year in college could improve Stojakovic’s draft prospects, Kane adds. The 6’7″ guard averaged 13.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists in his first season at Illinois after transferring from California, but while he shot 50% from the field he only connected at 24.4% from beyond the arc. He was projected to go 50th in ESPN’s latest mock draft, and Kane states that he’ll have to expand his scoring range if he hopes to receive first-round consideration next year.

“Another year of proving what I can do, coming back even more ready next year if I do decide to go to school,” Stojakovic said during the combine. “One thing I showed this year is being able to adjust my role and make an impact when I’m not having the ball constantly like I’m used to it.”

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In this NBA draft preview, two Bay Area college talents go back to back:

"19. Toronto Raptors. Ebuka Okorie, PG, Stanford. Playing for the Cardinal meant that Okorie has been largely overlooked, but he is a candidate to rise up some boards in the coming weeks. The 6-foot-8 wingspan he registered at the combine will help.  He averaged 23.2 points in the ACC last year, though there are questions about how his game translates to the NBA. The Raptors need backcourt depth and if they keep this pick, expect them to look at point guards."

Okorie is in the draft.

and

"20. San Antonio Spurs (from Atlanta Hawks). Allen Graves, PF, Santa Clara. The Spurs are an obviously well-built bunch, but would like to add young frontcourt depth. Graves is a late climber who is a candidate to go back to college. But he is the kind of do-it-all contributor that the analytics folks will love, and a glue-type guy for an organization that knows how to use them. Scout: “If he comes out, he is probably going to move up, because he is so efficient, he makes winning plays, he is young and he got better as the year went on. Get him in workouts and interviews and he is the kind of kid someone is going to fall in love with."

and

Jonathan Givony: "NEWS: Santa Clara's Allen Graves is staying in the 2026 NBA Draft, he tells DraftExpress. Graves, a projected top-20 pick, swept WCC Freshman, Sixth Man and Defensive Player of the Year honors, turning down significant NIL offers to start his pro career."

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"Maxime Raynaud Named to 2025-26 NBA All-Rookie Second Team"

The former Stanford big enjoyed a successful initial season.

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"New NCAA Eligibility Requirements Could Impact Top International Players The guidance issued this month largely surrounds compensation and professional team involvement, but how it will be enforced is unclear."

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"Inside Adam Olsen's rise to Auburn: 1,000 emails, the band, trailblazing and a chip on the shoulder"

"...By the end of his recruiting process, he estimates that he sent nearly 1,000 total emails. Not a single one of those emails got a response..."

Very good read.

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Simply Basketball: "Amare Chandler (2028) has received an offer from Virginia Tech."

Chandler is 6-foot-5, 180 and attending Livermore High. He is the son of former Newark Memorial High and San Jose State University player Marquin Chandler.

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Simple Basketball: "Parks Weaver (2028) has received an offer from High Point after an impressive 3SSB session."

The 6-foot-4 Weaver attends Folsom High and plays AAU ball with Team Lillard. California offered in November 2025.

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Marc J. Spears: "The Bulls have received permission to interview Cavaliers associate head coach Johnnie Bryant for their head coach job, a source said. The former University of Utah guard has 12 years of NBA assistant coaching experience and has also been an associate head coach with the Knicks."

Bryant is Oakland born and out of City College San Francisco.

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College of the Sequoias Men's Basketball: "Please welcome Matthew Wright to the GIANTS family! Matt played for one of the top programs in Northern California, Vanden HS. Strong, physical, and athletic, Matt will impact the game on both ends of the floor. Bright future ahead. Got a good one coming to the 559!"

Wright is a 6-foot-8 power forward.

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Modesto Junior College Men's Basketball: "Congrats to sophomore Prince Oseya on his commitment to Division II Biola University (PacWest). We appreciate all the sacrifices you made for the program and wish you nothing but the best moving forward, Prince!"

The 6-foot-10, 230 sophomore averaged 11.0 points plus 8.6 rebounds a game this past season.

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Mike Reynoso: "Super proud of this young man. On to the next. That’s another Owl on the move. Nothing promised…everything earned. Being promised things seems like what most these guys want now-a-days. But the ones that want to work, that’s what we do."

Will Ambidge is a 6-foot-7, 200 sophomore out of San Ramon High.

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"The shocking cost of youth sports in New Jersey"

"New investigation reveals a predatory industry leaving parents broke, exhausted and wondering how the games of their childhood took over their adult lives."

Tony Soprano needs to step in and fix it. But come to think of it, he might be causing the problems.

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CCCMBCA: "Shasta coach Kele Fitzhugh announces his retirement. Congrats coach, enjoy your retirement years!!"

Here is Fitzhugh's Shasta College bio.

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"SAC STATE SIGNS GREEK NATIONAL TEAM MEMBER GIANNIS ASIMAKOPOULOS"

He's a 6-foot-9, 220 sophomore out the the JC ranks.

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Brayden Harris: "I'm excited to announce my commitment to Fresno Pacific! I am grateful for this next chapter and want to thank Coach Orlich for the last four years and for developing me into the player I am today."

Harris stands 6-foot-9,carries 210 pounds and is finishing up/graduated from Buchanan High in Fresno. He sports a 4.0 grade point average.

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Coach Guido / Windmills Recruitment: "𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐃 | Quincy Jeremiah ➡️ City College of San Francisco! Wishing Quincy all the best with the next step!"

Jeremiah is a 6-foot-7 lefty high school senior in The Netherlands with demonstrated scoring and physical boarding prowess.

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