It’s a good thing Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook didn’t get much help last night. Phoenix fans went to the arena expecting to see competitive basketball, not some bloodbath. Durant and Westbrook didn’t need any help, taking the Suns on 2-on-5 and still getting it done for OKC, 102-90. Read More »

Apparently, there is nothing that N.C. State’s C.J. Leslie can’t do. Not only was he a monster in his team’s 84-76 upset victory over No. 1 Duke yesterday (racking up 25 points in the process), but he also saved the life of a wheelchair-bound fan who stormed the court as the final buzzer sounded. Read More »

It’s a new day in Washington, D.C. They finally have a real basketball team. In last night’s 93-83 win over Atlanta, John Wall played for the first time this season to a standing ovation. Then he went out and put in 14 points and four dimes in 20 minutes off the pine. He was also a catalyst in the game’s biggest stretch. With both teams in a daze to start the fourth, Wall came in and had back-to-back double-pump buckets in the lane that woke the Wizards up. Read More »

Midnight Madness is over, and with it went the smoke machines, dunk contests and laser shows that kick off the season. College basketball begins now, and while the excitement still remains it’s time to peel the hype back and see who the nation’s best truly are. That’s why Dime has you covered with individual previews of the nation’s top 15 teams and a few others just outside, all over the course of the next few weeks. Today, North Carolina State. Read More »

It takes a full-time job, or a full-time class schedule, for one to truly appreciate a four-day weekend. And when those two extra days off come courtesy the Thanksgiving holiday, the full-time college basketball fan (or writer) goes into overtime mode.

Just about every D-I team in the country seemed to be playing in a holiday tournament this past weekend – from the balmy paradise of the Bahamas to the cold-ass bustle of New York City on Black Friday. When it was over, some top dogs were going home with their national-championship promise in doubt, while some underdogs returned to campus with brand-new hero status.

Here are the highlights and lowlights from the long weekend: Read More »

Lorenzo Brown and his teammates have a job to do in Raleigh next season: get NC State back to the NCAA Tournament. The Wolfpack hasn’t gone to the Big Dance since Herb Sendek was the coach back in 2006. With new head coach Mark Gottfried at the helm, there’s no reason why Brown and his partners C.J. Leslie, Alex Johnson, C.J. Williams, and DeShawn Painter can’t compete with the Dukes and North Carolinas of the world.

Taking some time out from his busy summer league schedule, ‘Zo chatted with us about his new coach, the Greater NC Pro-Am and the atmosphere at NC State. In his sophomore season in Raleigh, we’ll all find out what Brown can do for you. Read More »

Once upon a time, high school basketball players were generally not as athletic as the pros. Back then, if you went to a high school game you were significantly less likely to see players go above the rim. Not anymore. We’ve come a long way since Hoosiers, to the point today where kids in the 15-to-18 year old set are unleashing the same — and sometimes better — level of vertical leap and style on their dunks as the grown-ups who get paid to do it. Read More »

No college basketball rivalry can touch Duke vs. North Carolina, but with the defending national champion Blue Devils a notch above the ACC right now, there is a less talked-about Tobacco Road rivalry that should be wildly entertaining, fiercely competitive, and could grow to approach that Duke/UNC bitterness in due time:

That would be North Carolina vs. NC State. Read More »

After the NBA Draft and before Midnight Madness, it seems nobody really talks about college basketball. While free agency and trades in the pros dominate the headlines, now is the time where your favorite NCAA team is gearing up and building the chemistry that could carry them to a national championship. The recruits are on campus, the returners are learning their new roles, and coaches are devising game plans. Here is my pre-preseason national Top-10: Read More »

Remember last summer when Jerry Stackhouse got in John Wall‘s way? Well, check the Top 5 plays from the same NC Pro-Am. There are some gems in here Ryan Harrow, Kyrie Irving, C.J. Leslie, John Henson, Justin Watts and Charles Ward. Oh yeah, and these are just from Tuesday night.

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