Long Island Lutheran junior Achraf Yacoubou told Villanova's coaches that he intends to enroll there in September 2011 to continue his promising basketball career. Having already made an unofficial visit to Philadelphia over the summer, he selected the Wildcats over many prospective suitors, including Connecticut, Kentucky and Wake Forest.

   "Jay Wright is a great coach," Yacoubou told the New York Daily News this week. "I felt like I had a good relationship with him. And I feel like he can get me to the next level."

   Yacoubou averaged 21.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore, teaming with touted forward Tobias Harris (who has since transferred back to Half Hollow Hills West) to earn a state Federation Class A championship in Glens Falls.

   The 6-foot-8 Harris, by the way, will announce his college choice at the conclusion of the one-week early-signing period Next month according to ZagsBlog.com.

   Harris has visited Kentucky, Syracuse and Tennessee, and he also has plans to visit Louisville and Maryland. He's also considering Georgia Tech and West Virginia.

   Sharp-thinking Post-Standard college hoops reporter Mike Waters notes that Syracuse will be playing California in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 19 -- the day of Tobias' scheduled announcement.

   Girls recruiting notes: Former St. Michael's Academy 6-2 forward Jelleah Sidney, one of the top girls players in the state last winter as a senior, will enroll at Syracuse University in June 2011 after enrolling at IMG Academies in Bradenton, Fla., To work on academics and round out her game.

   Sidney, who tore the ACLs in both knees early in her scholastic career, helped lead the Eagles to CHSAA and state Federation championships last season. At Syracuse, she's be reunited with former St. Michael's point guard Tasha Harris. Sidney made her decision shortly after St. Michael's senior Jennifer O'Neill, a 5-foot-6 guard, announced she'll attend Kentucky next year.

   The week's other top recruiting announcement was the decision by North Babylon point guard Bria Hartley to commit to Connecticut. The 5-10 senior visited attended Midnight Madness there last weekend. Hartley, who was also considering Kentucky and North Carolina, averaged 22.4 points, 5.5 steals and 5.3 assists as a junior and was selected the state Gatorade Player of the Year.

   Ellenville coach charged: State police have charged Ellenville teacher and coach Tom Nolan, 39, with sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl, The Times Herald-Record reported.

   Nolan was charged yesterday with third-degree rape, a felony, and endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor, the paper reported. He was arraigned before Fallsburg town Justice Bart Rasnick and later posted bail of $25,000.

   Ellenville police Chief Phil Mattracion said school superintendent Lisa Wiles sought police help Sunday after the girl's mother reported the abuse to officials. Wiles said Nolan has been placed on administrative leave.

   Nolan, a social studies teacher, coaches girls basketball and golf. He did not return a call to his home Thursday, the paper said.

   Separately, Brian Egan, 40, a teacher at S.S. Seward Institute, pleaded not guilty yesterday in Florida Village Court, the paper reported. He was arrested Oct. 8 and accused of having oral sex with a female student in the school on multiple occasions from September 2004 to April 2005. Egan was a JV basketball coach at that time.

   The court adjourned Egan's case until Dec. 17 pending a grand jury evaluation. Superintendent Douglas Burnside said Egan is currently not teaching in the district.

   Forfeits foil big season: The Bronx JFK boys soccer team had an 11-1-2 season turned upside down by forfeits that ended hopes of a PSAL 'B' title. The Knights dropped to 6-7-1 after the league determined they used an ineligible player in the first seven games, The New York Daily News reported.

   PSAL officials told the paper AD James Cunningham reported the infraction to the league before the boys

RoadToSyracuse.com Football Site

soccer seeding meeting last night in Queens. The playoffs get underway this weekend. The unidentified player took prerequisite courses, which accrue fewer credits, instead of the standard PSAL-accredited courses. Cunningham said he misinterpreted information on the player’s report card.

   JFK, which finished 14-0 in the 2008 regular season and and reached the PSAL 'B' playoff semifinals, will miss the '09 tournament because of its sub-.500 record.

   Flu hits Section 2 schedules: A pair of Albany-region football games scheduled for this weekend have been pushed back due to illnesses, The Post-Star reported.

   The Warrensburg at Bishop Gibbons game was been switched to Sunday at 3 p.m. from Saturday afternoon because the Burghers have been missing numerous players. Salem at Stillwater, scheduled for today, was pushed back to Monday because the Generals have been shorthanded.

   Tennis streak hits 171: St. Francis Prep boosted its girls tennis winning streak to 171 matches after blanking St. John the Baptist 7-0 this week to win the CHSAA Nassau/Suffolk title.

   And the streak may be a bit of a curse.

   "It hurts us in terms of playing good teams,” coach John Brennan said. "I didn’t play as many matches as I’d like because teams wouldn’t play us."

   Brennan told The New York Post several downstate powers won't even return his calls when he inquires about setting up non-league matches. "I get tired of it,” he said. "It really does bother me."

   Speaking of streaking, The Times Union has pieced together some of the longest streaks in various sports, inspired by Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake running is Suburban Council skein in girls volleyball to 280 this fall. You can check out what they've found here.

   'Newsday' strategy change: Newsday will start charging some readers $5 per week for access to its Web site beginning Wednesday. Parent company Cablevision Systems Corp. hopes the move drivers non-subscribers back to buying the paper. Customers of either the paper or the cable system will still be able to view the site for free.

   The site's home page, classifieds, weather, movies, stocks and obituaries will still be accessible for free.

   Extra points: Hofstra-bound guard Devon "Fatty" McMillan has returned to Uniondale on Long Island after being enrolled for about six weeks at Abraham Lincoln, The New York Post reported. McMilllan, who grew up in Bed-Stuy, lives on Long Island with his father. He averaged 12.9 points per game to help Uniondale to a 21-2 record and a berth in the state semifinals last winter.

   Rome Free Academy field hockey coach Linda Harjung improved her career mark to 300-131-50 with a 6-1 victory against Weedsport over the weekend. Harjung, in her 23rd season, guided the 1994 Black Knights to a 23-0 record and a state championship.

   Larry Decker, who coached football, basketball and tennis during a 29-year career at Medina, died Saturday in South Carolina, while traveling with his wife, Judy, the Democrat and Chronicle reported. He was 64.

   Christian Brothers Academy in Colonie and La Salle Institute in East Greenbush will continue operating independently after rejecting a move to merge, The Times Union reported. The all-male schools had studied merging into one campus or a new facility due to declining enrollments. Both offer grades 6 to 12.