Friday's p.m. links and notes

Jeff Portnoy and Gib Arnold conversed last night and the former liked what he heard and saw.

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Chris Murray has a post on the staying or going situations facing big-time talents and those lesser lights. We repeat: LB has nothing to gain basketball-wise by remaining -- it will have to be another reason or reasons keeping him in Reno.

Chris also says that former Wolf Packer Ahyaro Phillips is heading back to the D-1 ranks -- just imagine the media uproar if the school was Virginia Tech.

We will never forget the unintended irony of Phillips listing his hobbies as "playing basketball and shopping" -- although, in fairness, shoplifting charges were dropped against him from the Scheels store incident.

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 Jason Groves blogs about possible/actual recruiting targets of Marvin Menzies.

The highly athletic Simmons was highly regarded -- Utah invited him to it's elite camp in July -- but his numbers 12.8 points and 3 rebounds per game -- appear just so-so.

Cantino seems to be the NMSU prototypical recruit: well-traveled.

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Matt Sonnenberg isn't kicking back in the off season -- he offers a feature on Utah State point recruit Brockeith Payne.

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Dale Grummert's Lewiston Tribune article on Idaho recruiting is posted here.

Two paragraphs from it:

"...More complicated is the case of [Djim] Bandoumel, who took a good-sized hiatus from basketball before his junior-college career and therefore faces questions about his eligibility clock. It could be weeks before the NCAA makes a ruling. Having blocked 65 shots this year for Monroe College in New York, he could help fill a void left by graduating UI post Marvin Jefferson.

The Vandals appear to have a scholarship available for Bandoumel. Verlin said Thursday that point guard Marcus Lawrence, who was under scholarship as a redshirt in 2008-09, was docked to walk-on status as a disciplinary measure this past season, and is slated to remain a walk-on next year as a senior..."

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Leon Rice is looking at backcourter Brady Heslip -- a Boston College November signee who is now a back on the market due to the coaching change at Chestnut Hill:

Sanders and Heslip leaving BC
Mark Blaudschun
Boston Globe
April 15, 2010

Just another wild and crazy day at the Boston College basketball office today which began with the request--which was granted-to transfer of junior forward Rakim Sanders and freshman guard Brady Heslip.

New BC coach Steve Donahue said that nothing was official yet, but confirmed that Sanders, a 6-foot-5 inch unior was indeed leaving. Although nothing can be formally done until the paper work has been filed, sources familiar with the situation say that Sanders will be headed to Fairfield to play for former BC assistant coach Ed Cooley., Sanders will have to sit out next season before he can conclude his collegiate career
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Donahue also granted the release of Heslip, who spent the fall at New Hampton and enrolled after Christmas, but did not play this season. Heslip is visiting Boise State this weekend...

Go here for the remainder.

Here is Heslip's Twitter account.

Here is a SLAM article on Heslip followed by another link to an interview.

Here is a second interview with Heslip.