Basketball

Former Lower Merion boys' basketball player Darryl Reynolds commits to Villanova. Sports, D2 .

NEWARK, N.J. - Rutgers' board of governors will meet Tuesday to sign off on a contract that will allow Los Angeles Lakers assistant Eddie Jordan to take over the Scarlet Knights' scandal-marred basketball program. The university said Monday morning that the board is expected to discuss the proposed appointment in a conference call. In a statement released later in the day, the athletic department announced a basketball news conference at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, in which Jordan will likely be introduced.

In a development that could have a major impact on the South Jersey basketball scene over the next two seasons, a 6-foot-10 transfer student from Nigeria has enrolled at Camden Catholic High School. Demola Onifade, 16, is a sophomore at Camden Catholic. He is living at the school's Nazareth House, an on-campus residence that is home to approximately 35 international students. Onifade's trip to this country was arranged by officials with YIS Team Speed, an AAU program that features several top South Jersey players.

Cetshwayo Byrd, who led Camden High School to South Jersey Group 3 boys' basketball titles in his two seasons, has been removed from his position as Panthers coach. Byrd said Saturday that he has been suspended for the 2013-14 season by Camden administrators. Byrd said he had no intention of reapplying for the job after next season. He declined additional comment. Camden athletic director Mark Phillips was not available for comment. Two sources close to the situation said Byrd received a letter from the Camden school administration in early February indicating that he would be suspended for the 2013-14 season because he had allowed an independent filmmaker, Tony Paris, to produce a documentary on the 2011-12 season without approval from the Camden Board of Education.

Prosecutors are recommending that Villanova University basketball forward JayVaughn Pinkston be given probation in connection with his alleged assault of a man at a 2010 party. Pinkston, 21, is expected to be admitted to Montgomery County's Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program (ARD), generally used for first-time offenders charged with nonviolent crimes. A formal recommendation will be made at a hearing next month, said Assistant District Attorney Lauren McNulty. At the end of the proposed two-year probationary period, if Pinkston has complied with all required court terms and remained out of trouble, he would be able to ask that his record be expunged, she said.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - Rutgers University's board of governors resumed talks of mergers and strategic plans Thursday as the school attempted to move beyond the controversy over the firing of basketball coach Mike Rice. The board's first meeting since ESPN reported on Rice's physical and verbal abuse of players focused on the university's future, including the pending absorption of the University of Medicine and Denistry of New Jersey. But the Rice fallout lingered. The governors pledged a thorough, independent investigation; players begged for normalcy; and president Robert L. Barchi created a diversity office.

A little birdie won't be telling us, but a world-class tweeter will. Rysheed Jordan, a first-magnitude basketball star at Roberts Vaux High, is expected to announce his college decision early Thursday morning via Twitter. Jordan, the Daily News City Player of the Year, darn near lives on Twitter (@sheedjordan), peppering the site with interesting and/or funny comments. The 6-4 guard, who owns a national profile, is down to Temple, St. John's and UCLA, and recently there have been indications he's headed for the school in NYC. A source in New York told the Daily News via email, "We're hearing a lot of rumors, saying he'll go to St. John's .

La Salle made the deepest run of any City Six team in the NCAA tournament, and the Explorers were rewarded with a place in the final ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll of the season. John Giannini's crew is ranked 24th, a spot ahead of Florida Gulf Coast. Atlantic Ten rivals Virginia Commonwealth and St. Louis are also ranked, at No. 23 and No. 16 respectively. The top four teams were the final four teams: Louisville, Michigan, Syracuse, and Wichita State. Temple was the only other local school to receive votes, and finished the equivalent of 37th.

The Connecticut Huskies ran through the NCAA women's basketball tournament en route to their eighth national title. With heralded freshman Breanna Stewart, sophomore Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, and most of the team back, this could be the next great UConn era. Over the last three seasons, UConn has lost 11 games - including twice in the Final Four. The Huskies went 35-4 this season. "We feel like all we can go is up from here," said Mosqueda-Lewis, who scored 18 points in the 93-60 rout of Louisville (29-9)