Villanova: Guard Tony Chennault has informed the Villanova coaching staff of his plans to transfer to another university after one season as a Wildcat. Chennault, a native of Philadelphia, played his first two seasons at Wake Forest University before transferring to Villanova prior to the 2012-13 academic year.
"We are going to miss Tony," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "He was a major part of our run to the NCAA Tournament last season. We respect Tony's decision and he will always be a part of the Nova Nation."
Chennault appeared in all 34 games Villanova played in 2012-13 as a reserve after receiving a hardship waiver from the NCAA. He averaged 3.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 18.5 minutes per game. The product of Neumann-Goretti High School scored a season-high 11 points at Monmouth on Dec. 22 and added 10 points and four rebounds in a February victory at DePaul.
Washington Post: On the surface, Mark Williams‘sdecision to transfer to Montrose Christian for his senior season made a lot of basketball sense. But the idea of leaving behind his home state of Ohio and essentially resetting the recruiting process to play for coaches he barely knew made Williams understandably anxious.
“I was nervous coming in, but I put in my mind coming here that I was on a mission,” Williams said in a Monday phone interview. “I’m thankful for the coaches at Montrose because they helped me a lot through it and prepared me mentally and physically to be successful.”
The second team All-Met forward completed his mission Monday by committing to Temple. Williams also considered Kent State and Vanderbilt, but following his visit to the Philadelphia campus this past weekend, he knew that Temple was the program for him.
“I could see myself there in three ways: academically, socially and athletically,” Williams said. “It wasn’t a fabricated-type visit; the red carpet wasn’t rolled out. So I was able to get a true sense of how things went and I really enjoyed it.”
Daily Pennsylvanian: As the early signing period comes to a close, Penn picked up its fourth commitment in the Class of 2013 in Dylan Jones.
Jones, the son of former NFL defensive end Sean Jones, is a 6-foot-8, 215-pound power forward from Houston. He committed to Pepperdine at the end of August, but shortly reopened his recruiting and announced his decision Tuesday afternoon on Twitter.
CBS Sports: When Ty Johnson arrived at Villanova in the fall of 2011, he seemed ideal for Jay Wright's offense. Aggressive and offensive-minded, Johnson was the perfect fit.
During his freshman season, though, Johnson could never find consistency. And with the arrival of two potential starters, it looks like he saw the writing on the wall. Villanova announced Wednesday that Johnson was transferring.
“We're going to miss Ty,” Wright said in a release. “He has handled this with class. We all respect his work ethic, athletic ability and commitment to this program. We want what's best for Ty.”
Johnson, a 6-foot-3 New Jersey native, averaged 3.3 points and 2.0 assists in 17.7 minutes last season.
City of Basketball Love: High-scoring senior guard Matt Howard (Columbia, S.C./A.C. Flora HS) chose to attend the University of Pennsylvania on Wednesday night, giving Quakers head coach Jerome Allen arguably his biggest recruiting coup in his nearly four years at the helm of his alma mater.
A 6-foot-4, 185-pound shooting guard, Howard Tweeted out his decision, picking Penn over offers from Stanford and Virginia Tech, according to ESPN.com; Rivals/Yahoo! also listed Virginia Commonwealth, William & Mary and Richmond as offers. A source tells CoBL that Howard also had heavy interest from Harvard; however, the Ivy League does not give out athletic scholarships.
ESPN.com lists Howard as the sixth-best player in the state of South Carolina and the 82nd-best shooting guard in the country, saying he is a “scorer who relies most heavily on his jump shot,” calling that his “weapon of choice.” Rivals has Howard as a three-star prospect, but offers no scouting report.
Harvard-Westlake (Ca.) head coach Greg Hilliard likes what he has seen from Winfield Jr., but admits that he has only seen the center in limited action.
“We haven’t had a chance to have him play a lot because he’s suffered through a lot of growing pains with his knees and he’s been in and out,” Hilliard told CoBL by phone on Monday. “He played anywhere from 6 to 15 minutes per game (in his junior year), so we’ve never actually had him as a full time player. We’re looking forward to it just from the little bits that we have seen him play at full strength.”
Winfield’s commitment on Friday was followed on Sunday by the second verbal commitment of the Quakers’ in Atlanta, Georgia point guard Tony Bagtas. A senior from Westlake High School (Ga.), Bagtas averaged 21.5 points per game and seven assists for the Lions last year, who went 17-5.
The 5-foot-11, 160 pound point guard uses his speed and great vision to get to the basket and set up his teammates for easy lay ups.
Washington Post: When Josh Hart called Villanova assistant Billy Lange on Wednesday to tell him that he wanted to be a Wildcat, the Sidwell Friends senior guard expected a warm reception on the other end. What he got was a deafening earful of screams.
“I had to hold the phone away from my ear for a good minute because he was yelling so loud,” Hart said after announcing his decision before family and friends at a Tenleytown restaurant. “He was out celebrating his wife’s birthday, so he said when people ask what he got his wife as a gift, he will say ‘Josh Hart.’”
Indeed, with Hart’s commitment, the Wildcats snagged quite the package. After averaging 19.96 points per game while leading Sidwell to a share of the Mid-Atlantic Conference title, the 6-foot-5 Hart exploded on the AAU circuit with Team Takeover this past summer. His high motor and versatile play garnered attention from the likes of Georgetown and Richmond before he narrowed his list to Villanova, Rutgers and Penn State.
Hart said he chose Villanova on Sunday but decided to sleep on his decision for a few days before making it official.
After decommitting from Temple in June, the 6-foot-3, 180-pound St. Anthony point guard decided to recommit, choosing Temple over Rhode Island, Penn State and Providence.
“I’ll be a Temple Owl,” Brown said in the SNY studio Monday. “I can’t wait to go down there and play in the backcourt with Quenton DeCosey, Will Cummings and Daniel Dingle. I also get a chance to be coached by one of the most underrated coaches, coach Fran Dunphy and his staff. And I’m going to be in Philly, a great place to be.”
Brown’s decision was a sentimental one. He chose Temple in part because his late mother, Kimberley, who died when he was 1 year and three months old, went there.
“What a lot of people don’t know is that the decision that he made is more of a sentimental decision,” his father, Richard, told SNY.tv. “He wanted to go to Temple because his mother went to Temple….It’s just an honor for him to want to commemorate her memory.”
NBC Sports: Top-100 prospect Kris Jenkins of Gonzaga College High School (D.C.) has committed to Villanova, he announced on the In and Out of Sports radio show Sunday afternoon.
Jenkins, a 6-5, 250-pound native of Washington, D.C., is an undersized big man who has the bulk down low to rebound at a high level, despite his lack of height.
Prior to his commitment, Jenkins had narrowed his list to include Villanova, Rutgers, Miami, Clemson, and Xavier.
For coach Jay Wright and Villanova, Jenkins is the first commitment from the Class of 2013, an important year for the Wildcats on the recruiting front.
The 6-foot-9 forward has one year of eligibility remaining and will be able to play right away. He will be a graduate student at Temple this fall. He chose the Owls over Boston College, Providence and Virginia.
"I chose Temple because of the success of the program and a chance for me to come in right away to contribute and compete for [an opportunity to reach] the NCAA tournament."
O’Brien decided to transfer last month because BU was banned from postseason play in the America East Conference after announcing a move to the Patriot League for the 2013-14 season. Without participating in the American East tourney, the Terriers have little to no chance of reaching the upcoming NCAA tournament.
Big Five 
