Archive for June 1st, 2012

UConn will not take part in 2012 Big East/SEC Challenge

Friday, June 1, 2012 by:Kevin Duffy
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UConn was not among the 12 schools selected to participate in next season’s Big East/SEC challenge, a tradition that began in 2007.

The event is on rotation, a University spokesperson said, and it wasn’t UConn’s year to be in. The spokesperson said UConn is hopeful it will land a road game with an SEC school next season. Along with the Huskies, Pitt, Syracuse and Louisville were left out.

In the event’s five-year history, the Big East holds a 16-12 advantage. UConn, a winner over Arkansas last season behind Ryan Boatright’s 23 points, is 1-1 all-time. In their only other appearance, the Huskies lost to John Wall and Kentucky, 64-61, at Madison Square Garden.

Here’s a look at this year’s games:

Nov. 29: Marquette at Florida; Seton Hall at LSU; Kentucky at Notre Dame; South Carolina at St. John’s

Nov. 30: Syracuse at Arkansas; DePaul at Auburn; Tennessee at Georgetown; Georgia at South Florida

Dec. 1: Alabama at Cincinnati; Rutgers at Mississippi; Mississippi State at Providence; Villanova at Vanderbilt

Recruiting Spotlight: Kentan Facey

Friday, June 1, 2012 by:Kevin Duffy
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First there was Jerome Jordan, then Samardo Samuels.

Now, it’s Kentan Facey, the next big product of the Jamaica Basketball Development Camp, an event designed to send the nation’s best players to the United States and, eventually, to a major Division I college.

A 6-foot-9 rising senior at Long Island Lutheran, Facey has been in America for less than two years and already has a lengthy list of  offers, including UConn, Florida, St. John’s, Rhode Island and Drexel.

“It’s extremely hard in Jamaica to come out and come to college,” Facey said. “We all came from the same program.”

Jordan left Jamaica for Florida Air Academy before signing with Tulsa. Samuels, the most celebrated Jamaican high school prospect in recent years, played for powerhouse St. Benedict’s (N.J.) and was widely considered a top 10 recruit when he committed to Louisville.

Facey, who played soccer and ran track before hitting a growth spurt (“I got to about 6-5 or 6-6 and my coach told me I should try basketball,” he said), moved to New York so he could increase his chances at earning a college scholarship. He has made unofficial visits to Rhode Island and Drexel, and said his guardian is planning an unofficial to UConn.

“I’m trying to get a feel of how the whole recruiting process works,” he said.

In Jamaica, basketball takes a backseat to soccer and track, and even the athletes themselves don’t closely follow NCAA hoops. Facey’s knowledge of the sport started when moved to New York for the 2010-11 season (UConn happened to win the national championship that year).

Facey said he’d like to make a college decision “before fall” of his senior year. He plays AAU with UConn targets Jermaine Lawrence and Terrence Samuel.

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