Baltimore Sun: John Carroll point guard Rodney Elliott has spent the past four years starring against local competition. For the next four years, the Baltimore Sun first-team All-Metro selection will stay close to home and attempt to do the same in the America East.
"It's a great feeling. I'm glad I got it off my chest," said Elliott, who committed to UMBC on Tuesday. "I felt pressure the last two days that it was coming up on the [spring] signing period. I just wanted to get it off my chest."
Elliott, a co-captain and four-year varsity player, led the No. 7 Patriots with 16.6 points per game, also averaging 4.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals in his senior season. He closed out his high school career with 1,116 points, 287 assists and 171 steals.
John Carroll coach Tony Martin said UMBC is "a great fit for Rodney in that it's a school known for its tremendous academic situation. This season, Rodney was a classic example of a boy growing into a young man and to see him grow and take on that leadership role was very rewarding. [UMBC] is getting a first-class kid who is going to step in and compete from Day 1 and make them proud off the court as well."
Washington Post: Coolidge’s David Kadirihas orally committed to the the University of Maryland Baltimore County men’s basketball team, the 6-foot-8 center confirmed Thursday morning.
Kadiri committed late Wednesday afternoon, looking to end a recruiting process that didn’t start to bud until his senior season. He chose the Retrievers over NCAA tournament darlings Florida Gulf Coast, North Carolina A&T and Duquesne, among others.
He cited the close proximity of UMBC to his family, as well as the comfortability with the team when he took his official visit to campus earlier this year as the primary factors in choosing the school.
“I feel like [their] style of play fits me as well,” said Kadiri, who averaged 13.7 points per game and was one of the best interior rebounders and defenders in the DCIAA. Coolidge finished 25-6 and won both the DCIAA and DCSAA titles.
Bangor Daily News: When Justin Edwards signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Maine in 2011, many basketball fans wondered how the Black Bears were able to acquire the talented Canadian.
UMaine wasn’t able to hold onto the dynamic guard, who on Thursday announced his intention to transfer to another Division I program.
“I simply want to gain exposure playing at a higher level of basketball for my next 2 years, and look forward to the challenge that lies ahead,” Edwards said Thursday afternoon in a series of posts on his Twitter account [@Justedwards14].
Edwards, who was not made available to the media for an interview, will transfer upon completion of the spring semester in May, according to a UMaine athletics press release.
Boston Globe: It took vision and hard work, but also a planets-are-aligning set of circumstances for the University of Massachusetts-Lowell to schedule a Thursday morning news conference at Tsongas Center, where school officials will announce that its athletic teams, starting this fall, will compete in Division 1 as a member of the America East Conference.
A driven, respected chancellor — former US congressman Marty Meehan — last spring established a strategic planning committee for athletics, which made the recommendation of bumping the River Hawks from Division 2 (they’ve been in the Northeast-10 Conference since 2000) to Division 1 in all sports. Except for men’s hockey, that is. UMass-Lowell has been a member of Division 1’s Hockey East since 1984.
The desire to join the more prestigious and visible Division 1 is one thing; nowadays a home is required. Opportunity presented itself, unexpectedly and nearly simultaneously, when Boston University decided to leave America East for the Patriot League, which it will do on July 1. Suddenly, a school that felt qualified and ready for the leap to Division 1 athletics had an interested conference — headquartered in nearby Cambridge, no less — seeking replacement options.
NERR: Phillips Exeter Academy’s senior Chris Braley made a verbal commitment to Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell on Thursday night before announcing his decision on Friday.
“Chris has found the ideal school to further develop as both a student and athlete,” Philips Exeter head coach Jay Tilton said. “Coach Pikiell has created a winning culture based on high character and toughness and Chris is the perfect match for that.”
The six-foot-four swingman began his career at Nokomis High School, emerging as one of the top players in the state of Maine before transferring to Exeter and repeating his junior season, earning all New England nods in his first year in the NEPSAC.
This season, Braley is not only one of the top players in Class A, but he also has his team atop the class standings with an 18-1 record going into the final weeks of the regular season.
NERR: Boston University head coach Joe Jones landed his second commitment in the class of 2013 on Monday, this one from St. Thomas More post-graduate Dylan Haines.
Haines is a six-foot-eleven big man who came to STM from Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, incredibly, without any division I offers.
That quickly changed after arriving in the prep school ranks as he was one of the primary attractions of STM open gyms this fall.
While he still needs to get stronger and more assertive playing against contact, Haines’ upside is absolutely through the roof. He’s tremendously skilled for a player his size – able to score with great touch around the rim or stretch opposing defenses all the way out to the three-point line. He also has very soft hands and is an excellent passer.
Wasington Post: When Maret’s Marlon Beck saw Binghamton Coach Tommy Dempsey in the stands prior to his team’s game against Potomac School on Tuesday, he didn’t think much of it. The senior guard knew the Bearcats were interested in him and playing in front of recruiters was nothing new for Beck.
Little did Beck know, he was in for a major surprise.
After scoring a team-high 10 points to lead the Frogs to a 50-41 win, Beck met with Dempsey, who proceeded to extend a scholarship offer on the spot. Beck, who had already tabbed Binghamton as one of his top choices, responded with a commitment.
“When he offered, I immediately accepted and the first thing that came to my mind was ‘Finally,’” Beck said in a Wednesday phone interview. “I knew I wanted to go there. I had planned to commit somewhere in the fall, but I’m glad I waited because I know I made the right decision.”
North Pole Hoops: The 6’9 Forward strolls into the coffee shop with a look of innocence on his face that can be spotted from a mile away. Nick Madraywalks in with a booklet that he is excited to share, which reads Binghamton Basketball.
That is correct. NPH #7-Ranked Canadian prospect is officially a Bearcat.
It came as a shocker to most (including myself) given that he was being recruited by programs with much higher allure– programs such as Boston College, and earlier in the game, Syracuse University.
Binghamton recruited Madray the hardest, brought every coach to watch his games, investing time in the Mississauga, Ontario product. And they got a steal.
“Everything was perfect. The location is close to home, the coaches, the opportunity to play…it’s all there,” Madray explained with confidence. “There is no football team so the basketball program has a lot of support behind it.”
NERR: Six-foot-five senior forward Roland Nyama committed to Stony Brook on Sunday after visiting the school officially this weekend.
Nyama is in his second season at the Holderness School after arriving last October.
While Nyama earned honorable mention All New England honors last season, he was flying largely under the radar before this summer's July evaluation period when he became a popular name at Hoop Group Elite Camp and then ran with the Westchester Hawks for the remainder of the month.
Nyama and his family are originally from Cameroon, but he grew up in Germany where he turned down a professional basketball contract last year in order to come to Holderness and pursue his education.
The Mt. Zion Prep 2013 wing verbally committed to Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) on Saturday, becoming the first Division I commitment for the new Mt. Zion program.
The high-flying 6-foot-4, 185-pound Taylor also had offers from Loyola, Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State.
“I felt I could come in right away and just get it done,” Taylor said of his reasons for picking UMBC. “It’s an up and coming school, and what they said is a player like me can come in and make it even better.”
America East 
