We have all witnessed history. On many, many levels. We wake up this morning with UConn as champions of college basketball; the Huskies the last team standing at the end of an absolutely incredible postseason rampage that included winning five Big East Tournament games in five days and then reeling off the six Ws needed to win the NCAA Tournament. That type of run would have been considered unreal for a top-ranked team – the fact that it was put together by a UConn squad that wasn’t even ranked until Week 4 of the season and then entered the Big East Tourney as a No. 9 seed is just absurd. History will remember this Connecticut squad as one of the most unlikely championship teams in college basketball history … Kemba Walker should donate his kicks (Air Jordan 6-17-23) to Springfield. He’s been wearing these ever since the start of the Big East Tournament and hasn’t lost since. After the Big East tourney, he told us he was ready to go get six more Ws … To the game … Read More »

We were hyped for the John Wall/Brandon Jennings head-to-head matchup of two of the league’s best young point guards last week, but the epic battle we hoped for never really materialized. Last night we were fired up for Derrick Rose to face off with Wall, but the results were about the same as last week. Both of those guys did their thing, but the Wizards are so bad, that it never really felt like the heated battle we were hoping for as Chicago rolled 98-79 … Rose is always impressive (23 points, seven assists). He’s so fast it’s impossible to keep him from going wherever he wants to on the floor – which is usually in the paint. With a defense as poor as the Wizards’, his effectiveness is magnified. He does his thing and the defense is left so out of position trying to help on him, guys like Kurt Thomas are left wide open to drill wide-open 10-footers at will … Read More »

As the NCAA Tournament field was announced, we wanted hit you with some initial thoughts on the seedings and matchups. We will have a lot more content coming your way in terms of previews, features and more in-depth analysis, but this is what struck me off the bat. Let us know what you think and stay tuned for more…

- The four No. 1 seeds make total sense: Ohio State (No. 1 overall seed), Kansas, Pitt, and Duke. After watching all of these teams one after another this past week, it seems absurd to think of the other potential high seeds, specifically Notre Dame or San Diego State, as being among the top 4. The only legit case would have been North Carolina. They split the first two games with Duke and won the ACC regular season, but after getting cracked this afternoon, they more than took themselves out of the equation. Read More »

We argue. You decide.

CARLOS BOOZER Carlos Boozer is a beast. Attitude; toughness; well-manicured beard; he has it all. Say what you will about his injury problems and his “conniving” ways (refer to Cavs ’04), the dude can flat-out play. Having been groomed by arguably the best two coaches in basketball history for the majority of his career — Mike Krzyzewski with Duke/USA Basketball, Jerry Sloan in Utah — Boozer was molded into the disciplined, hard-nosed, high-IQ player he is today. Read More »

Coach K‘s four national championship teams at Duke University have been defined by threes. Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill ran the show in the ’90s; Shane Battier, Jay Williams and Mike Dunleavy Jr. won it in ’01; and in 2010 it was Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith.

With Scheyer gone to graduation and a few younger players taking aim at that vacant spot in the Big Three, this season’s leadership responsibilities for the Blue Devils (11-0) have fallen on seniors Smith (17.1 ppg, 5.4 apg) and Singler (17.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg) to lead a talented group aiming for a repeat. Going into tonight’s game against UNC-Greensboro (7 p.m., ESPNU), Smith talks about how experience wins championships: Read More »

Funny how everybody looks at preseason differently. If your team is killing, the exhibition games only make you more optimistic for the season. If your team is getting killed (or if your rival is killing), you’re in full “It’s just preseason, it doesn’t matter” mode. However you slice it, the Orlando Magic have turned the NBA preseason into a Rookie mode dynasty on NBA 2K. Last night’s win over the Mavs was the 21st straight preseason win for the Magic, and it seems like every one of them has been a blowout. Does it mean anything? Read More »

Winter Park (Fla.) senior guard Austin Rivers is the best high school player in the country. After de-committing from Florida in April, Rivers allowed Duke, North Carolina and Kansas to give chase, making his one of the most captivating recruiting stories in the country.

The younger son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers, Austin has agreed to give HSH and Dime exclusive access by chronicling his thoughts in a regular diary. In this entry he talks about one major development and in-home visits with his new top three. Here are some excerpts: Read More »

We argue. You decide.

CARLOS BOOZER (by Jorge Azze) Booz is undersized at 6-9, but has been the face of consistency at the power forward spot.

Since getting to the League in ’02, Boozer has averaged a double-double in five of his eight seasons, including the last four years in a row. He is a smart guy, Duke alum, with ridiculous work ethic. Read More »

Shabazz Muhammad was the breakout high school star of the summer. The 6-6 wing from Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) was already rising through the rankings before he averaged 32 points per game on the AAU circuit and really blew up.

Now every school from North Carolina to Kentucky to Duke is in pursuit of Muhammad, a junior who is ranked 8th overall in the High School Hoop national Top 50, and 3rd in his class by Scout. Muhammad has agreed to give HSH and Dime exclusive access by chronicling his thoughts in a regular diary where he’ll keep everyone updated on everything from his personal life to his high school season to his recruiting process. Here’s an excerpt from his debut entry: Read More »

Why Team USA won: Kevin Durant. He absolutely owned the last three games of the World Championship, dropping 33 on Russia in the quarterfinals, 38 on Lithuania in the semis, and 28 on Turkey in the gold-medal finale. Everyone in the building knew KD would be the focal point, and yet most of his buckets today were standstill jump shots, as he was able to play catch-and-shoot and score within the flow of the Team USA offense. Read More »