We all know about the NBA Draft combine. Every year, the future All-Stars and Hall of Famers get tested on everything from standing reach to their hand size. But this year marked the first year the NBA put together a combine for potential draftees and underclassmen still deciding whether or not to stay in the Draft. On May 7-8, 44 underclassmen, even including a few seniors, RSVD’d to attend the “testing the waters” combine. For them, it was another opportunity to showcase themselves and get a feel for what their value would be should they stay in the draft. Read More »

Five NCAA teams that got my attention this past weekend for various reasons:

1. NORTH CAROLINA (2-2) Those who thought the Tar Heels were overrated — cracking the AP preseason Top 10 following an NIT finish — were proven right after UNC lost twice at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic, which happened to be their first encounter with major-conference competition. Read More »

Ask yourself: How many people had Duke as a preseason national title favorite last year? Outside of Durham, N.C., close to zero. The Blue Devils were ranked 9th and 8th, respectively, in the preseason AP and ESPN/coaches polls. They were considered a dangerous team, but not on the level of Kansas and Kentucky.

Over the course of the schedule, however, the realization hit that Duke possessed most of the pieces you’d want for a national title run: Experienced guards, quality shooters, versatile forwards, solid defense, good coaching and NBA-caliber talent in the right spots. Throw in a healthy “Us against the world” mentality (because they’re Duke) and a favorable NCAA Tournament bracket, and the Evil Empire was back on top of the game. Read More »

It’s Championship Week in college basketball, otherwise known as the week of tournaments before THE Tournament. And honestly, it seems this year people only really care about two conference tourneys: the Big East and the Big 12 … and maybe the ACC based on history and hype.

Yesterday I previewed the Pac-10 as a tune-up, but now it’s onto the real heavyweights. First up: the Big East. Read More »

That’s right, the start of the college hoops season is just one week away and you know what that means: it’s time to unleash the mother effing fury! For the past seven months, I’ve been bottling up a vicious mixture of excitement and rage, just waiting for the moment to release my emotions onto the rest of the world. Well that time has come. Your boy Matty D is back to give you a look at the top teams in the country and to separate the champs from the chumps. Read More »