Despite the fact that they were the top seed in the weakest region of the NCAA Tournament, you could pretty much guess that Gonzaga was going to be the first No. 1 seed to get bounced. That scenario became a reality last night as the No. 9 seed Wichita State Shockers willed themselves to an upset vicory, 76-70, handing the ‘Zags their first loss in nine weeks … Gonzaga was in the driver’s seat deep into the second half, but WSU hit a stream of incredible jumpers down the stretch while flustering Gonzaga on the defensive end, exploiting a real weakness for the No. 1-ranked team in the country [They could have used some of this]. Gonzaga was basically playing 3-vs-5 on the offensive end, because David Stockton and Mike Hart rarely, if ever shoot, leaving everything to Kevin Pangos, Kelly Olynyk and Elias Harris to play against five guys. That might work when you’re beating up on the University of Portland, but that doesn’t fly in this setting. Read More »

It’s protocol for a team’s brass to anoint a new acquisition with all sorts of titles: He has untapped potential…he was underutilized for so long…he’s an even better person off the court…he’s so unselfish and can’t wait to finish out his career here. Politically correct answers often infect press conferences, fans get blown up with new expectations, and the resulting hype either consumes or electrifies. Mark Cuban isn’t shy at all about talking up his players. He went so far as to say his team in Dallas is better off without Deron Williams. Hard to believe. Read More »

The NBA draft process is a once in a lifetime experience for those who go through it. While there are many broad similarities between the experiences of players during this process like hectic travel schedules and grueling pre-draft training, each player takes something different away from the process. I decided to talk to ten different players eligible for this year’s draft to ask them all the same set of questions to use as a means of comparing their experiences. Read More »

If you’ve visited DimeMag.com before, you’re surely familiar with the Drew and Goodman Leagues. You know, the leagues that have brought us a 51-point performance from Brandon Jennings, a near triple-double from LeBron James, and an off the backboard slam from Kevin Durant. But D.C. and L.A. aren’t the only cities where basketball is being played this summer. Read More »

In search of its first NCAA tournament berth since 1946, the Harvard men’s basketball team suffered a devastating one-point loss in yesterday afternoon’s Ivy League playoff after Princeton’s Douglas Davis sank a fadeaway jumper with 0.2 seconds to play.

With the Tigers down one and 2.8 seconds left to determine the recipient of the Ancient Eight’s automatic bid, Princeton coach Sydney Johnson designed a play for Davis coming out of a timeout. Read More »

When the 2011-12 college basketball season opens, both the Harvard and Princeton men’s basketball teams will unveil a banner reading “2011 Ivy League Champions,” and players from both teams will receive Ivy League championship rings. But when the NCAA Tournament kicks off next week, in all likelihood, only one team will be dancing. Read More »

With Jeremy Lin’s sudden rise to the NBA out of Harvard being one of the more intriguing storylines of the summer, Crimson basketball has been getting a lot of attention it may not be used to. Not only did Harvard graduate Lin to the League, but they also recorded the most wins in their history (21) this past season and received a verbal commitment from Kenyatta Smith (one of the top centers in the country). Recently I caught up with the head man in Cambridge, Tommy Amaker, to talk Lin, academics and Coach K. Read More »

Back in Dime #48, I featured Harvard University standout Jeremy Lin. A couple of nights ago, the Crimson’s 6-3 senior point guard went into UConn’s gym and got 30 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks against the 13th-ranked Huskies. UConn ended up winning the game 79-73 over Harvard, but Lin once again proved he could hold his own against the nation’s best. Read More »