North Carolina headlines 2012 Maui field

The Maui Invitational has officially announced its field for 2012, headlined by North Carolina.

The tournament, hosted by Chaminade, is scheduled for Maui's Lahaina Civic Center, also includes Butler, Illinois, Marquette, Mississippi State, Texas and Southern Cal.


The 2011 tournament, held over the Thanksgiving weekend, features Duke, Georgetown, Kansas, Memphis, Michigan, Tennessee, UCLA and Chaminade.

N.C. State basketball recruit headed to Oak Hill

Forsyth Country Day point guard Tyler Lewis (12), a rising senior, already has committed to N.C. State. DIEDRA LAIRD - dlaird@charlotteobserver.com

N.C. State basketball recruit Tyler Lewis is taking a step up in competition. Lewis, one of the top point guard prospects in the country, will finish his prep career at Oak Hill Academy.

Lewis, who will be a high school senior, averaged 27.2 points and 7.4 assists last season for Forsyth Country Day in Lewisville.

Lewis, who started as an eighth-grader at Forsyth Country Day, dominated the private-school league and leaves as the school's career leading scorer with 1,927 points.

He joins the perennial prep power in Mouth of Wilson, Va., which counts ACC guards Nolan Smith (Duke), Ty Lawson (UNC), Steve Blake (Maryland) among its litany of stars in the past 25 years.

"You want to play against the best competition," Lewis said. "I think it's the best thing for me to get ready for N.C. State."

ESPN's Dave Telep rates Lewis, a 5-11 point guard, as the 73rd-best prospect in the class of 2012. He joins top prospects Jarnell Stokes (ranked No. 18 by ESPN), D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera (32) and A.J. Hammons (63) in the Oak Hill lineup.

Lewis, who committed to State last October, was one of the best players at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in Raleigh in May and has seen his stock rise on the recruiting circuit with a strong spring and summer.

"He will go down as arguably the greatest basketball player in [school] history and his efforts on the court will be hard to duplicate," Forsyth coach Craig Dawson said.

-- J.P. Giglio

McKillop Receives NABC Honor

Davidson's Brendan McKillop has been named to the Honors Court by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, a recognition of his academic performance during his senior season.

McKillop graduated in May with a 3.29 cumulative grade point average and a degree in sociology. He started all 32 games he played in and
averaged 9.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists as a senior. His 216
career 3-pointers made ranks fourth in school history and his 254 career
assists ranks 16th.

McKillop finished his career with 831 points, 254 assists, 215 rebounds and 70 steals in 117 games.

Wake's Tabb, Walker suspended

Wake Forest's quest to improve on a disappointing 2010-11 basketball season ran into an obstacle Monday with the announcement that Melvin Tabb and Ty Walker were suspended indefinitely for unspecified violations of athletic department rules.

Walker, a 7-foot senior center, played in 32 games with nine starts last season. He averaged 3.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots per game.

As a freshman last season, Tabb played in 14 games and averaged 1.6 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.

Ken Tysiac

Thom Becomes Davidson Hoops Director Of Operations

Billy Thom is the new director of operations for Davidson basketball, head coach Bob McKillop announced Wednesday.

Thom graduated from Davidson in May and has been a part of the Wildcats' basketball program since his freshman year. A native of Cold Spring, N.Y., Thom began as a student manager and became student director of basketball operations as a junior and senior. He worked as video coordinator for the Wildcats and helped with travel and scouting.

"Billy came to Davidson with aspirations of becoming a basketball coach as his father is a prominent high school coach in New York," said McKillop.
"He knows our system inside and out, carries Davidson basketball in his heart and is one of our own. I¹m very pleased he has joined our staff."