This feature was originally printed in Dime 72. Check your local newsstands now to see the piece in its entirety…

Instant gratification has quickly become the M.O. of major college basketball. Recruits are showered with attention from the sixth grade through high school. Coaches are quick to tell them they are on the fast track to the NBA. Jamaal Franklin heard it. But he’s not ready to leave college just yet. Read More »

Transferring is so commonplace in college basketball some even call the issue an epidemic. NCAA transfers must sit out a year unless they are granted a waiver to play immediately. These are supposed to be granted in situations where a player must play closer to home because of family or other mitigating circumstances. However, now essentially any person looking to transfer can file a petition for a waiver and have a chance to get cleared immediately. Read More »

Avery Johnson was fired as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets yesterday, less than one month after winning the NBA’s Coach of the Month award. Ownership, after spending $330 million in the offseason on roster upgrades, wasn’t happy with the team’s progress as they went from an 11-4 record to sitting at .500 with 14 wins and 14 losses. Unfortunately for Johnson, he was never going to see the finished product on this team, as he was in a no-win position as soon as he was hired. Read More »

If you have turned on the news lately, you would be hard pressed to not know at least a little bit about what is going on in Israel right now. Missiles have been fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel over the past few weeks by terrorist organizations, and the Israeli military has responded with airstrikes designed to take out the stockpiled weapons and missile launching areas. Read More »

Lately, there has been a lot of controversy about athletes targeting specific classes at the University of North Carolina. Allegedly, these classes included no tests or quizzes, no-show professors and attendance as a large portion of the class grade. While the issue of academic fraud received some attention, and people are calling for it to get more, UNC really is not the problem here. Read More »

Losing sucks. It is just that simple. Nobody puts on a jersey, laces up their shoes and checks into the game because they want to lose. It doesn’t happen, and while losing is something nobody likes, it is even harder to take for somebody who is used to winning. For North Carolina State senior forward Richard Howell, that pretty much summed up his first two years in Raleigh. Read More »

Upon first glance, Skylar McBee does not look like a Division I basketball player. Maybe it’s the mop of long hair on his head that flops directionless when he runs up and down the court. Maybe it’s because he’s listed at 6-3 but is probably closer to 6-0. Or maybe it is the year-old mustache that seems suited more for a man going through his mid-life crisis than a 21-year-old college basketball player. Read More »

This story was originally published in Dime 70. Check newsstands nationwide now to see it in its entirety.

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Each year when Rivals, Scout and ESPN make their annual top-150 lists of the best recruits in the country, there are some players that slip through the cracks. These guys are the ones programs like Lehigh University must pursue. But sometimes, teams like Lehigh get lucky, and they find a diamond in the rough. Lehigh found that with C.J. McCollum. Read More »

There are certain streaks in sports that have lasted so long that it seems like they will never end. One such streak, the New York Mets’ streak of seasons without a no-hitter, ended at 51 when Johan Santana no-hit the St. Louis Cardinals on June 1st. Another such streak nearly ended a few weeks ago as Andy Murray sought to become the first British man to win at Wimbledon since 1936 before he lost in the Final to Roger Federer. Perhaps the most infamous streak in all of sports belongs to the Chicago Cubs, who have not a World Series in 103 seasons and there is little hope for one this year with the team currently 14.5 games out of first place. Read More »

During the Dwight Howard trade rumors, three teams have been reported as potential landing spots for Howard: the Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets (and the Atlanta Hawks have emerged as potential dark horses). For the Nets, a Howard trade is an absolute no-brainer. He wants to play in Brooklyn, which means he would sign a contract extension this season. With him in the lineup, the Nets would be an immediate championship contender, and the draw of Howard would continue to feed into the unprecedented publicity and buzz for the franchise. Despite wanting to get a deal done, the Nets recently pulled out of talks because they were tired of waiting around for the Magic. Read More »