St. John’s, Arizona, Texas A&M, and Mississippi State will tip-off the 2011 college basketball season in the 2K Sports Classic (also known as the Coaches vs. Cancer event), which culminates with the championship rounds at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Nov. 17-18.

Championship Round tickets will go on sale Wednesday at 9 a.m., Tucson time. They can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 866-448-7849 or through Ticketmaster.com.

The format for the 2011 2K Sports Classic features 12 teams from across the nation competing in the 17th annual event with St. John’s, Arizona, Texas A&M, and Mississippi State hosting regional round games from Nov. 7-11. The four hosts will then advance to the Championship Rounds, Nov. 17-18, at New York’s Madison Square Garden, while the remainder of the field will participate in subregionals held at campus sites.

Arizona will feature at least four people with New York City ties: assistant coach Book Richardson, juniors Lamont “MoMo” Jones and Kevin Parrom and freshman Sidiki Johnson.

Matchups for the Championship Rounds, as well as the entire bracket for the 2011 2K Sports Classic, will be announced at a later date.

The Coaches vs. Cancer program, a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), exists to leverage the strength and community leadership of the nation’s basketball coaches to raise awareness and reduce the risk of cancer while raising funds for the American Cancer Society’s fight to save lives from cancer. Since 1995, the event has raised nearly $5 million for the benefit of Coaches vs. Cancer.

Arizona Class of 2011 signee Sidiki Johnson is showing some great strides literally at Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy (ESPN3.com screen shot)

My first thought while watching the Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy game last night on ESPN2: Is that really Sidiki Johnson out there?

That’s not because I doubted the 6-foot-8-inch, 220-pound, power forward’s ability – for Arizona coach Sean Miller and assistant Book Richardson to think highly enough to recruit him, he must have skills.

From what I witnessed last summer during the AAU circuit games in Las Vegas to what I saw last night in Oak Hill’s 78-64 win over Arden (N.C.) Christ School, it looks like Johnson’s best move was joining coach Steve Smith‘s renowned program. Smith’s impact on Johnson’s work ethic and fundamentals is quite obvious.

Johnson’s pump fake-dip-swing move on the block against Duke signee Marshall Plumlee of Arden (N.C.) Christ School was particularly impressive. He showed hustle on some rebounds. And he looked like he wanted to be on the court, rather than on the bench nursing his sore knees – a departure from what I saw last summer.

In one sequence in the first half, Johnson actually motioned to Smith that he did not want to leave the court, but Smith, noticing Johnson’s fatigue, replaced him.

Read the rest of this entry at one of our partner sites: WildcatSportsReport.com

MoMo Jones brought his swagger from New York City thanks to his relationship with Book Richardson, who is vital to the program bringing in East coast talent (US Presswire photo/Chris Morrison)

Check out video of the Arizona-Cal game, including interviews, the most recent Pac-10 standings and a brief look ahead to ASU at our partner site, WILDABOUTAZCATS.com

Random thoughts while wondering about the publicity Arizona will receive next year in New York City with Lamont “MoMo” Jones, Kevin Parrom and Class of 2011 signee Sidiki Johnson playing in the Coaches Vs. Cancer event in Madison Square Garden …

>> Jones made the clutch shots against Cal — again, as he did in wins over UCLA, USC and Stanford previously — and Parrom played his breakout game with 25 career-best points. The Most Valuable Person, however, in the 107-105 triple-overtime thriller is Arizona assistant coach Book Richardson, a Queens, N.Y., native who was instrumental in Jones (Harlem) and Parrom (Bronx) leaving New York City and heading to Tucson, of all places. Arizona coach Sean Miller, knowing Richardson’s value as recruiter and communicator with coaches and parents, has entrusted Richardson to work on some of his West coast targets, including post players Angelo Chol (a Class of 2011 prospect from San Diego Hoover High School) and Brandon Ashley (2012, from Oakland Bishop O’Dowd). …

UA assistant coach Book Richardson

>> The 52 points combined by Jones and Parrom in the thriller Saturday is reminiscent of when two Detroit prep stars — Eric Money and Coniel Norman — followed former UA coach Fred Snowden from Michigan to place a mark on the Arizona program in 1972-73. Norman remains the school’s career scoring average leader (23.9) and Money is at No. 6 (18.6). Their names would not have littered Arizona’s record books, much like Jones and Parrom would not be wearing “ARIZONA” across their chest, if it weren’t for them agreeing to leave a metropolis for the desert. Jones, who produced a career-high 27 points, after the game said to reporters: “You’re not a New York guard, if you don’t want the ball at the end of the clock. Point blank, end of story.” …

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