Rick Pitino promised his Louisville players that if they won the NCAA Tournament this season, he would get a tattoo. This morning, the internet’s atwitter with photos of Rick following through with his promise.

If you want to see an old shirtless guy’s ink, have it: Read More »

Each Wednesday, we’ll be assessing how the top prospects of the 2013 NBA Draft are faring in college and overseas. Stick with us each week for assorted thoughts, including the biggest risers and fallers, the standouts, the sleepers and what we know and don’t know about the next NBA Draft class… Read More »

For those of us who follow the recruiting process, rankings aren’t always an accurate data point when measuring the likelihood of immediate success at the collegiate level. Sometimes, the biggest factor is player retention. Which freshman will be given an opportunity? Sometimes the biggest factor is “fit”. How does this new crop of talented freshman adapt to playing for a new coach in a new system? Read More »

About an hour from now there will reportedly be an official announcement via Michigan that Mitch McGary and Glenn Robinson III will be returning to school next year instead of entering the NBA Draft.

Nobody’s stock rose faster during the NCAA Tournament than did McGary’s – to the point where we were asking big questions about how high he could go in the draft. Glenn was also projected to be a first round pick, making these two and this monster the latest to buck conventional wisdom and turn down guaranteed NBA money. Read More »

Each Wednesday, we’ll be assessing how the top prospects of the 2013 NBA Draft are faring in college and overseas. Stick with us each week for assorted thoughts, including the biggest risers and fallers, the standouts, the sleepers and what we know and don’t know about the next NBA Draft class… Read More »

Last night the basketball Twittersphere was going nuts because Oklahoma State freshman point guard Marcus Smart indicated that he would not be entering the NBA Draft … despite the fact that he would likely be a Top 3 pick this summer if he entered his name. “What?! He’s not going to take the immediate NBA money?!!” was the general feeling going around last night.

So what’s the big deal about Marcus? Let’s be honest, unless you’re a college basketball freakshow who pays to get ESPN12, you have probably only seen him play, max, maybe a handful of times in the last year. The kid is a beast. Read More »

This was supposed to be Indiana’s year. Magazine covers. A No. 1 ranking. A No. 1 seed. A few All-American candidates. The Hoosiers looked like the best team in the nation for much of late 2012, and even if they never turned it up before the NCAAs started, their talent convinced some (hint: this guy) they could overcome that. Read More »

Each Wednesday, we’ll be assessing how the top prospects of the 2013 NBA Draft are faring in college and overseas. Stick with us each week for assorted thoughts, including the biggest risers and fallers, the standouts, the sleepers and what we know and don’t know about the next NBA Draft class… Read More »

There’s always a huge letdown on the morning after March Madness finally ends (even if it is technically April). You see the game. You watch “One Shining Moment” and then boom, no more brackets, no more upsets, no more score checking at work or office pools or Saturday afternoons spent in front of the television with the added benefit of actually valid excuses. The world is so much more dull. Read More »

Serious question for the Dime community: If he declared, am I crazy to think that Michigan freshman Mitch McGary could potentially be the No. 1 pick in this summer’s NBA Draft?

I am trying, reeeally trying, to avoid buying into the hype surrounding Mitch’s meteoric rise over the past few weeks and to look at him objectively. The media, reliably starving for new stories and always willing to beat story angles to death, would have you believe that Mitch is the second coming of Bill Walton. Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t, but if I am an NBA GM with No. 1 pick in the draft, I am taking a long look at Mitch McGary with that selection.

Before I get into McGary’s potential, let’s talk about the one thing that what we know about the rest of the draft field: It stinks. Read More »