OCCAC: Sophomore guard Charles Oliver has inked a national letter of intent to join Robert Morris University for the 2013-14 season. The First Team All-American and Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) Player of the Year will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Oliver was Lakeland's leading scorer this season and helped guide the Lakers to their first conference title in 18 years. The standout guard poured in a career-high 36 points in the regular-season finale at Sinclair, a game which clinched the outright OCCAC title for Lakeland. He averaged 19.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game for the Lakers, who finish 24-6 overall and 11-1 in the OCCAC.
Head Coach Terry Bowe understands how much of an impact Oliver had on the team.
"Charles is our third straight First Team All-American and the first to come from the guard position," Bowe said. "His ability to score from the perimeter ranks among some of the greats who have come through this program and that I have seen throughout junior college in the last 15 years."
Chicago Hoops: The Division I players are continuing to come off the board in the class of 2013 late in the game. St. Rita guard Scott Kingsley is the next in a long line of division one players to make their commitment in this senior class.
On Sunday Kingsley committed to Fairleigh Dickinson less than a day after returning from his visit. He told us why they were his choice.
“I chose them because Coach Herenda has won on every level he has coached and I want to be a part of the rebuilding process to get them back to the NCAA Tourney.”
Kingsley will be a guy that should contribute as a freshman.
Fay Observer: Robert Morris shooting guard Coron Williams is transferring to Wake Forest to play the 2013-14 season as an immediately eligible graduate student.
Wake needs to replace only outgoing shooting guard C.J. Harris, a senior, from its 2012-13 starting lineup. Backup shooting guard Chase Fischer is transferring - he recently visited Valparaiso - and Class of 2013 shooting guard Miles Overton will be a freshman next season.
The 6-foot-2, 170-pound Williams was a full-time starter each of the last two seasons, averaging 10.8 points as a redshirt sophomore and 9.1 as a redshirt junior. He scored six points in the Colonials' home win against Kentucky in the NIT.
My Central Jersey: North Brunswick High School senior guard Iverson Fleming thought he was heading to an island; Long Island that is. He made a non-binding commitment to Hofstra University early during this past season.
But when Pride coach Mo Cassera was relieved of his duties this offseason, Fleming said that he “had mixed emotions.
LIU, which had been courting Fleming well before Hofstra came into the picture, became an appealing spot for Fleming to land himself. He signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Blackbirds last Friday.
Fleming feels LIU, which has made the NCAA Tournament the last two years, is the perfect landing spot to continue his playing career.
Hartford Courant: Central Connecticut sophomore guard Kyle Vinales’ main motivation for transferring is to increase his chances of participating in the NCAA Tournament and playing against better competition.
“I was going back and forth for a couple weeks now,” Vinales said of his decision. “I feel like I could go to another school and have an opportunity at a higher level, against better competition and possibly make the tournament or be in a position to make a run at the tournament.”
Central finished 13-17 last season, seventh in the Northeast Conference for the second year in a row. The Blue Devils also lost an NEC tournament quarterfinal to Wagner each of the last two seasons.
“I thought this year, the players we had, this was our best year to [compete in the NEC],” said Vinales, who averaged 21.6 points and was on pace to shatter the Central career scoring record. “Even if we didn’t finish at the top of the league, if we would have finished in the top three, that would have made me feel a lot better about that. We should have been at top of the league, top three. I didn’t want to take a chance. You only get to play in college once.”
The Mount Fan Blog: DC Guard Byron Ashe chose Mount St. Mary's on Sunday night, becoming the fourth area product to do so recently. The Mount has grabbed three players from the DC Area in recent weeks, while Khalid Nwandu from Northeastern York PA, signed in the fall.
Ashe is a 6-1 guard who really scores the basketball. He played for Friendship Collegiate Academy the last three years and should fit very nicely into a Mount program that puts a pretty big emphasis on perimeter play. The Mount went to a four guard offense late this season, that move propelled them to an exciting finish. The Mount finished the season with nine straight wins before falling to LIU in the NEC Championship Game.
But since the season has ended the Mount has seen several players ask for and be granted their release and scholarships became available. It was reported last week that Kelvin Parker and Josh Castellanos have left the program. Gonzaga's Charles Glover and Marshall transfer guard Chris Martin quickly filled those scholarships. With the addition of Ashe it appears that the Mount has at least one more player departing, and likely two as they continue to bring talent into the program.
SI Live: Rumors that Wagner College junior center Naofall Folahan and Seahawk freshman forward Eric Fanning are planning to transfer seem to be half-true, according to sources close to the school’s basketball program.
Fanning, who was suspended for the final seven games of the season, is planning to transfer, perhaps to America East Conference member Boston University, a person with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday.
The 6-foot-4 Trenton-area product, who played a year at Perkiomen Prep (Pa.) after starting at Trenton High School, landed in the doghouse of Seahawk head coach Bashir Mason.
That was the case despite Fanning’s ability to weave together a run of four consecutive double-digit scoring games in midseason, and showing signs of someday maturing into a serious scoring threat at the Northeast Conference level.
York Dispatch: Mount St. Mary's has confirmed that former York High standout Kelvin Parker has been granted a release from his scholarship with the Mountaineers' basketball program.
That leaves the 6-foot, 3-inch guard/forward free to transfer to another university. If he transfers to another NCAA Division I program, Parker would have to sit out the 2013-2014 season. If he transfers to a Division II or Division III program, he would be eligible to compete immediately. He will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Parker was a walk-on during his freshman season in 2011-2012. He made an immediate impact, appearing in all 29 games and starting the final 26. He averaged 9.0 points and 4.6 rebounds on the year and shot 42.9 percent from the floor and 35.8 percent from 3-point range. He averaged 29.8 minutes per game.
The Mount had a head-coaching change late in that season when Robert Burke was placed on leave for undisclosed reasons. He resigned after the season concluded. The Mount finished the season 8-21.
The Mount hired Jamion Christian in the offseason and in one of his first moves he gave Parker a scholarship.
Troy Record: Less than a day after helping the Watervliet boys basketball team capture its third consecutive Section II title, senior Jordan Gleason made a decision that would impact the rest of his life.
Gleason, who is averaging 23.2 points per game for the Cannoneers’ this season, verbally committed on Sunday night to continue his basketball career at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut next year.
“I just felt like I couldn’t wait any longer,” Gleason said of the decision. “There was no point. I really feel like I can see myself there for the next four years.”
The commitment makes Gleason, who has led ‘Vliet in scoring for the past two years, the first Cannoneer to go Division I since Peter Torncello, a 1980 graduate, who spent time at the University of Rhode Island before transferring to Union College.
NEC 
By Joe Click
