Austin Rivers must’ve known I was there because he tied the perfect bow to the end of a trip that started in Hoboken, New Jersey and ended with a once-defeaning crowd of 21,750 eerily silent. The buzzer beater that won it for Duke set off hysteria for the party behind Duke’s bench – Doc Rivers and his crew – but for the rest of us there, it was more quiet than the school’s library. If you’ve been keeping up with my posts the last few days, you know I was in New Jersey for the launch of the Air Jordan 2012, and that Jordan Brand also brought me down to Chapel Hill to see one of the biggest rivalries in all of basketball up close and personal. Read More »

When Dime‘s own Sean Sweeney ventured into the Dean Dome last night, all we wanted was an overtime or a buzzer beater. We got what we came for. Austin Rivers is a stone cold assassin. He’s like Vincent from Collateral, except with blacker hair, and just doesn’t give a you know what. On the final possession of the biggest game of his life, Rivers came off the screen and roll just as he had probably 30 other times throughout the game, sized up Tyler Zeller and unleashed hell to bring Duke a one-point win on the road. Read More »

In a presentation hybridizing performance, art and sustainability, Nike released a new series of its Hyper Elite Platinum uniforms this morning, making another move in the advancement of style meeting sport. The nine teams featured will each wear the jerseys once this season, against non-Nike opponents nonetheless. Read More »

Watching Jay Williams address the completely enrapt New Hampton Prep basketball team late Sunday night at the Hoophall Classic, it was clear he was firmly in his element. Basketball has obviously always been a big part of Williams’ life, but you could make a case he’s never been quite as immersed as he is now.

As an ESPN college basketball analyst, Williams splits his time between calling games and working on studio shows, while also commentating for the network’s rapidly expanding interest in high school ball. The latter assignment gives him the opportunity to take part in one of his favorite pastimes: mentoring young athletes. There isn’t a player on any level that doesn’t have the utmost respect for the former No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft, and he commonly takes time to pull players aside and offer a few words of wisdom. Read More »

Shabazz Muhammad certainly knows how to leave a lasting impression.

With about 30 seconds left in Bishop Gorman’s 73-65 victory over No. 5 Dematha at the Hoophall Classic on Monday, the No. 1 player in the Class of 2012 punctuated a 37-point performance with a sensational windmill dunk, later named No. 3 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays. Even Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, sitting two seats down from Kentucky counterpart John Calipari on the baseline, raised an eyebrow. Read More »

A few weeks ago, Detroit dismantled St. John’s on national television. While this may have surprised a few people, it came as no surprise to hardcore basketball recruiting fans. Ray McCallum denied offers from the likes of Duke and Kansas to play for his father at Detroit. While it is unlikely that McCallum’s decision would have been for Detroit had his father not been the coach, his decision brought up an interesting question: should high-major recruits turn down big offers to play for lower-level schools? Read More »

With Twitter and such slashing attention spans and news cycles, our culture more than ever possesses an instant gratification mentality that screams, “What have you done for me lately?” Never mind your last performance, you’re only as good as your last moment.

How else to explain the relentless early-season scrutinization of Duke freshman guard Austin Rivers? Read More »

In our Hit List this past week, we couldn’t wait to see exactly how good Indiana was. They were 3-1 after last week, but had yet to play anyone better than the league’s ultimate scrubs. Finally last night, they checked into South Beach… and were obliterated by the Heat. Miami didn’t even have Dwyane Wade (out nursing his foot) and yet ran away from the Pacers by 35. James literally ran right through Indiana; On one three-point play, he jumped and bumped into Lou Amundson in midair. James came down. Sweet Lou ending on the floor with the photographers. So LeBron took care of the offense. Read More »

When Kyrie Irving was chosen No. 1 in the 2011 NBA Draft, he knew his rookie year would be impacted by the league’s lockout. He just didn’t know how great that impact would be. After his close brush with unemployment, the Rookie of the Year front-runner can now resume the business of proving he belongs here. Read More »

I’ve been to some good games at some great venues – Madison Square Garden for the NBA, CenturyLink Field in Seattle for the NFL, Busch Stadium in St. Louis for Major League Baseball – but I doubt there’s a better place to watch a big game than Assembly Hall at Indiana University.

The house that Bob Knight turned into NCAA hoops holy ground was the site of not only the best college basketball game of the season on Saturday, but maybe the best game of any sport in 2011. Sports Illustrated writer Seth Davis tweeted afterward that Indiana’s buzzer-beating upset of No. 1 Kentucky might have been the best regular-season game he’s ever seen. Read More »