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 »

Few things in life are as certain as death, taxes and the L.A. Clippers’ misfortunes. So excuse me when I say with the most sincerity that a kid from Edmond, Oklahoma, has effectively taken that last tidbit of certainty, cupped its face to his nether regions and slam dunked all over it. I know this, because Blake Griffin showed me so. Read More »

Going into his senior year, Winter Park (Fla.) High School point guard Austin Rivers is ranked 2nd overall on the HighSchoolHoop.com national Top 50 list. Having recently de-committed from Florida, he now has Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky and the Gators vying for his signature.

The younger son of Celtics coach Doc Rivers, Austin has agreed to give HSH and Dime exclusive access by chronicling his thoughts in a regular diary. Here’s an excerpt from his latest entry: Read More »

Harrison Barnes is the best high school ballplayer in the country. As the 6-6 wing from Ames, Iowa, navigates through the hectic recruiting process such a title entails, he agreed to chronicle his thoughts for us during each of his five official visits. After UNC, then Oklahoma, then Kansas, Barnes recaps his trip to Duke last weekend. Here’s an excerpt: Read More »

Before all the Jeff Capel, Willie Warren and Griffin brothers hype surrounding the University of Oklahoma, a 6-1, buck-seventy pound point guard ran Soonerville. Hollis Price, originally out of New Orleans, was the star of Norman throughout his four years on campus. Read More »

Harrison Barnes is the best high school ballplayer in the country. As the 6-6 wing from Ames, Iowa, navigates through the hectic recruiting process such a title entails, he agreed to chronicle his thoughts for us during each of his five official visits. First up was UNC; now Barnes recaps his trip to Oklahoma from the weekend of Oct. 3. Here’s an excerpt:

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Campus was a little dead because of the Oklahoma-Miami football game, but we still found some things to do that kept us entertained.

The next day we got up early and had breakfast. Then we toured the football facilities because the current football facilities that Oklahoma has is what the basketball team will have by the time I’m a freshman. Read More »

Blake Griffin, the best player and biggest star in tomorrow’s NBA Draft, is a genuinely nice guy. But when he wants something, he will destroy anything in his path to get it.

*Reprinted from Dime #49*

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Blake Griffin looks out of place in a kitchen. Appliances aren’t made for 6-10, 255-pound incredible hulks, especially in University of Oklahoma student housing. Read More »