*DeMar DeRozan got a taste of fame at an early age – it just wasn’t his own. A childhood friend and AAU teammate of Romeo Miller, better known as Lil’ Romeo, the Compton kid was exposed to the celebrity lifestyle before he even reached high school. But now in his third season with the Raptors, DeRozan has made it on his own.

This feature was originally published in Dime #68, on newsstands now.* Read More »

When the Oklahoma City Thunder visited the Celtics on Jan. 16, Kendrick Perkins‘ return to Boston was the talk of the town. But Perkins wasn’t the only player on the Thunder roster returning to the Hub that night. Oklahoma City rookie Reggie Jackson was also making his first appearance in Boston since suiting up for Boston College for the past three years.

While Boston College has been on the decline since Jackson’s departure (the Eagles are currently 7-11 overall and 2-2 in the ACC), the 6-3 guard’s career appears to be heading in the opposite direction. After being selected at No. 24 by Oklahoma City last June, Jackson is averaging 11 minutes per game for the 14-3 Thunder. Read More »

Back when Nick “Swaggy P” Young was still rocking a Trojans’ cardinal and gold uniform from 2004 to 2007, the USC athletic department was on top of the world. On the gridiron, the ’04 squad, led by Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart, cruised to the BCS National Championship. One year later, the Trojans returned to the title game where they fell to Texas.

Meanwhile, USC wasn’t doing too shabby on the hardwood, either. After finishing 12-17 during Young’s rookie season, the Trojans steadily improved, going 17-13 the next year. Then, in 2007, Young and Gabe Pruitt led the Trojans to its first NCAA tournament appearance in five years, taking them to the Sweet Sixteen. Read More »

On a team known for its experience – and bad knees – Avery Bradley is an anomaly. The 21-year-old combo guard is the youngest player on the Celtics’ roster. In fact, it was just three years ago that Bradley was putting up 19.1 points per game at Findlay Prep, a feat that earned him the No. 1 ranking in the ESPNU 100, four spots ahead of John Wall. Read More »

Boston fans and media can be ruthless. Jermaine O’Neal found that out the hard way. After posting 13 fouls and just eight points and nine rebounds in three Celtics’ losses to open the 2011-12 season, it seemed like everyone in The Hub was calling for O’Neal’s head. Writers were calling O’Neal “timid.” Others were advocating for the C’s to bench J.O. in favor of Greg Stiemsma, a 26-year-old rookie. Read More »

*College basketball is here (unlike the NBA), and this year might be one of the best in recent memory. The powerhouse is back, while the Cinderellas believe. That’s a deadly combination. We know some of y’all have been asking for some previews. We have you covered – the top 16 teams in the nation will be previewed individually in the next few weeks. After we broke down Big East giant Syracuse earlier today, we’ll keep this going with No. 4-ranked UConn (ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll).* Read More »

Friday night, Harvard University threw a party to celebrate its 375th birthday. Like most Harvard parties, this one was pretty lame (everything you saw in The Social Network was a lie). Sure there was a 15-by-18-foot cake, but the torrential downpour and the slew of old geezers rocking Vineyard Vines was a little too much to handle, so I was on my way back to my room to play some 2K12 within 30 minutes.

But while I was walking back to my dorm through the rain, I started to think about how long 375 years is (that’s almost six times older than the NBA). Read More »

On an overcast morning at Boston’s William Smith playground, faith was rewarded.

Marius Bausys arrived at the playground early yesterday after a day of traveling. Less than 24 hours before he first stepped foot onto William Smith’s blue and silver courts, Bausys was in Washington D.C. trying to punch his ticket to Alcatraz for the 2011 Red Bull King of the Rock world championship.

The outcome at the D.C. qualifier was one Bausys was familiar with: for the third straight time, he failed to reach the finals and advance to the world championship. Read More »

A little over 12 months ago, Rob Elderton and two of his high school buddies were struggling to find players to fill out the rosters for a new basketball league they were setting up in their hometown of Shelburne, Vt.

“We had some trouble finding 30 guys, so we had to go a little out of our class,” recalls Elderton. “We went with some kids that were really young and some that were a few years older than us.”

Boy does that feel like a long time ago. Read More »

It looked like the deck was stacked against Dyckman/NYAC. It’s top player, Marshon Brooks, was absent for the third game in a row. It’s starting point guard from the conclusion of the regular season, Louis Dale, was in Europe. And the squad it was slated to go up against looked more like a mediocre NBA team from the future than your typical summer league squad.

But against a lineup that featured the NBA’s Roy Hibbert and Sundiata Gaines, the D-League’s Andre Barrett, and Florida’s Erving Walker, Dyckman/NYAC pulled off a convincing 110-88 victory against the defending champions last night at the Nike Pro City Championship. Read More »