Earlier this week, I wrote that Butler’s Shelvin Mack could make an immediate impact in the right situation next year as an NBA rookie. While Mack’s current projection is slated somewhere between the late-first and mid-second round, there are still a ton of other possible hidden gems strewn throughout the class. With this on the brain, UCLA’s Tyler Honeycutt immediately came to mind. Read More »

If there were a general consensus among NBA scouts of having a “type,” those once-in-a-lifetime prospects that they’ve got to have, then the 6-10, 300-pound big man with a silky jumper and crafty footwork would be it.

You know, guys like the the Sacramento rookie DeMarcus Cousins, who can shoot from 20-feet out before overwhelming opponents in the paint, scoring with their feathery hook shots with ease. Those are the type that can win you a ring. Only if they came without the baggage. By my count, college basketball has two of those guys: Mississippi State’s Renardo Sidney and UCLA’s Joshua Smith. Read More »

Whoever has the job of producing We’re Not So Bad: The Story of the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers has some tough editing decisions following last night’s loss to the Miami Heat. This was clearly the Cavs’ defining game of the year, and barring a surprise playoff appearance, the one night when they would have millions of eyes on them. But not only did the Cavs lose, they lost big, and they let the plot’s villain — former local hero turned pariah LeBron James — rampage all over their home court and leave them unconscious and twitching in his wake. When recounting the Cavs’ story, do you just act like this never happened, or stomach the carnage? … Read More »

More often than not, a reliable warning sign that a power conference is struggling is if its signature program is having a hard time. Last season was a bad year for the SEC; and in a completely related story, Kentucky missed the NCAA Tournament.

I’ve argued before that the Pac-10 isn’t as bad as most experts are saying, but if UCLA’s play is any indication, the conference is headed for a season more jacked up than the “Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew” cast. Read More »

Understand that six days out of seven, I’d rather watch college basketball than the NBA; that I’ve been a Georgetown fan since I was a kid; and as a West Coast native, I’m both loyal and defensive when it comes to the Pac-10.

Also understand that I’m far from an expert at the X’s and O’s of basketball. I don’t run plays on NBA 2K10, and I would never coach at any level beyond the littlest of Little League. The kids deserve better.

That said, even I found myself wondering W-exactly-TF Ben Howland was doing in the latter stages of UCLA’s loss to Cal State-Fullerton last night. Read More »

Harrison Barnes is the best high school ballplayer in the country. While navigating through the hectic recruiting process such a title entails, the 6-6 wing from Ames, Iowa, agreed to chronicle his thoughts for us during each of his five official visits. After North Carolina, Oklahoma, Kansas and Duke, Barnes recaps his trip to UCLA last weekend. Here are a couple excerpts: Read More »