Basketball

There appears to be no end in sight to the NBA lockout, but if you're lucky enough to secure a ticket to a friendly pickup basketball game being held Tuesday night at Morgan State, you'll likely see a wealth of NBA talent squaring off. Baltimore native Carmelo Anthony has recruited a group of friends that includes two-time league Most Valuable Player LeBron James, as well as All-Star point guard Chris Paul, to form the Melo All Stars. In an effort to raise money for Anthony's various charities and stay in basketball shape, they'll take on another team stocked with NBA players led by league scoring champ and Washington native Kevin Durant.

Let's look at what we know so far about Maryland's men's basketball nonconference schedule. We know about the Kentucky game in Brooklyn (the Barclays Center Classic) on Nov. 9. We know about the game at Northwestern in the ACC / Big Ten Challenge on Nov. 27. Maryland is committed to play again in the BB&T tournament at Washington's Verizon Center in December. While final details are being worked out, the Terps are expected to play George Mason this year. And then there are three more games - LIU-Brooklyn, Morehead State and Lafayette - that the Terps will host as part of the Barclays tournament.

They have survived badly sprained ankles and torn knee ligaments, mild concussions and more than their share of poor shooting days. Ralph Piersanti, one of the oldest in a group, has had two heart attacks. But they keep playing a game that used to be thought of for mostly younger men and women. Three times a week, more than two dozen men in their 60s, 70s and even a few like Piersanti, in their 80s, typically show up at the Bykota Senior Center in Towson - normally thought of as a place for more placid activities such as bingo and line-dancing - to play basketball.

As a freshman at Kenwood, Trevis Buckhanon Jr. was targeted regularly by opponents looking to embarrass the gangly big man. The son of a former Douglass star and Baltimore City hoops champion, the younger Buckhanon had been raised to play football, and only recently gave up the gridiron to focus on basketball - which he started playing in seventh grade. So despite Buckhanon's 6-foot-4 stature, freshman year on Kenwood's JV squad was a challenge. “They came at me,” Buckhanon said.

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Athletic department officials from the nine existing Atlantic Coast Conference schools as well as the two schools that will join the league next year, Miami and Virginia Tech, will meet today and tomorrow in Charlottesville, Va. The issue of scheduling, particularly for football and basketball, will be the primary agenda at the league's annual fall meetings. The meetings will take place on the University of Virginia campus. Currently, the league plays a round-robin schedule for football as well as in men's and women's basketball.

Basketball playoffs begin Friday in the IAAM, with most teams taking a break until Tuesday's quarterfinals. The title games are scheduled for Feb. 18 at UMBC's RAC Arena with the C Conference at 1 p.m., the B Conference at 3 p.m. and the A Conference at 5 p.m. Following are Tuesday's quarterfinal matchups, scheduled for 5:30 p.m.: A Conference Mercy/Severn at McDonogh Seton Keough at Roland Park St. Frances at Pallotti ...

Sun columnist Mike Preston weighed-in on the NFL lockout yesterday. He wrote about the skyrocketing costs of gasoline, the tsunami in Japan and the rising national debt. His point was simple: There are things in life more important that millionaire athletes bickering with billionaire owners. There are things in life more important than sports.  President Obama, it seems, has a different take. Instead of spending every waking hour concerning himself with America's stagnant economy or whether the U.S. should take action against Libya, Obama has been spending his time researching college basketball to make his March Madness picks  for a segment on ESPN.

SARASOTA, Fla. - Each time Orioles outfielder Jai Miller crosses the plate after hitting a home run, his eyes turn upward and both of his hands point to the sky. It's a routine he's been doing since he was a teenager, one of many ways he tries to honor his mother and grandmother, both of whom he watched die in a car accident when he was 13 years old. But Miller's greatest tribute comes every day he's on a baseball field as he continues his...

Arundel senior David Nicholson, an All-Metro second team guard who averaged 18.1 points this past season, has committed to Widener University. A three-year varsity player, Nicholson averaged four rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.5 steals as the Wildcats (24-2) captured the Anne Arundel County and District V championships. For more on Nicholson, read the Q&A we did with him during the season .

Et cetera D.C. United to play Juventus on July 28 D.C. United and Juventus, Italian soccer's most storied club, have finalized plans to play a friendly July 28 at RFK Stadium. A formal announcement is expected this week. The Turin-based team clinched its 28th Serie A title two weeks ago and recorded the first undefeated season (23-0-15) in the country's top division since 1992. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tickets, priced from $35 to $65 before service charges, will go on sale Monday.

Owings Mills senior guard Carjahn Jenkins has made a commitment to play basketball at Bowie State University. The 6-foot-3 Jenkins, a three-year starter, averaged 14.7 points, five rebounds and three assists as a senior to lead Owings Mills to a 17-7 mark.  Jenkins helped the Eagles reach the state championship game in 2010 and the state semifnals in 2011. 

Name, Prep School and/or High School, College Cedric Blossom , Montrose Christian / Hammond, MORGAN STATE Greg Brown , Archbishop Spalding, ST. FRANCIS (PA.) JJ Butler , Patterson Mill, LIPSCOMB Sam Cassell Jr. , Notre Dame Prep (Mass.) / St. Frances, MARYLAND Daquan Cook , St. Frances, UNLV Cliff Cornish , North County, HIGH POINT Josh Forney , St. Frances, LOYOLA Bryan Harris , Massanutten (Va.)

Seth Allen wasn't quite satisfied. Sure, the Fredericksburg (Va.) Christian combo guard is part of an incoming Maryland basketball class brimming with possibility. It's a confident, five-member group that knows it has the opportunity to make a swift impact on a Terps team that was depth-challenged and faded late in the regular season, finishing 17-15. "I've got a history of playing young kids," coach Mark Turgeon said this week. "And I'm going to play the best players.

Whether teammates needed help developing their skills or just a few words of encouragement during a particularly challenging practice, Western Tech's Geraldine Ezeka and Loch Raven's Ryne Schanberger each were eager to step up. Ezeka often ran behind teammates to offer support if they were struggling with conditioning drills during Western's basketball season. She was also ready to dive for a loose ball in a practice or game, always leading by example. Schanberger, an offensive guard, was dedicated to the summer workout program for Loch Raven's football team, and learned how to punt after the team desperately needed a kicker.

They have survived badly sprained ankles and torn knee ligaments, mild concussions and more than their share of poor shooting days. Ralph Piersanti, one of the oldest in a group, has had two heart attacks. But they keep playing a game that used to be thought of for mostly younger men and women. Three times a week, more than two dozen men in their 60s, 70s and even a few like Piersanti, in their 80s, typically show up at the Bykota Senior Center in Towson - normally thought of as a place for more placid activities such as bingo and line-dancing - to play basketball.

The Annapolis boys basketball team will host a team Saturday led by one of the top senior guard prospects in the country. Upper Room Christian Academy in Raleigh, N.C., will travel to Annapolis for a 7:15 p.m. showdown against the Panthers. Upper Room is led by Rodney Purvis, the No. 1 shooting guard prospect in the country according to Rivals.com, and the No. 16 player in ESPNU's Top 100 for the 2012 class. Purvis, who averages 28 pionts, seven rebounds and five assists, has committed to North Carolina State.

The 5-foot-9 junior forward became only the fifth player in the 39-year history of the girls' state basketball tournament to score 40 or more points in a single game. Her 40-point, 21-rebound performance in Saturday's 80-62 Class 1A title-game victory over Northern of Garrett County led the No. 4 Poets to the fifth state crown in school history. Wright, who averaged 21 points and eight rebounds going into the tournament, also had 26 points and eight rebounds in the 62-54 semifinal upset of then-No.

Arundel senior David Nicholson, an All-Metro second team guard who averaged 18.1 points this past season, has committed to Widener University. A three-year varsity player, Nicholson averaged four rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.5 steals as the Wildcats (24-2) captured the Anne Arundel County and District V championships. For more on Nicholson, read the Q&A we did with him during the season .

Baltimore Catholic League commissioner Jack Degele said he's seen the five former players - Leon Dickerson (Cardinal Gibbons), Darryle Edwards (Calvert Hall), Darnell Harris (St. Frances Academy), Phil Lane (St. Maria Goretti) and Robbie O'Conor (Loyola Blakefield) - that will be inducted into the BCL Hall of Fame on Thursday evening at the Rolling Road Golf Country Club in Catonsville actually play for their respective teams. Degele also watched former Calvert Hall coach Mark Amatucci lead the Cardinals to the 1982 mythical national championship, knew former Cardinals Gibbons Athletic Director Larry Callahan and saw Barry Scroggins (Mount St. Joseph)