You might remember reading about Stalley in Dime #58, but since then he’s been around the globe and back again. From Beijing to London to his hometown of Massillon, Ohio, Stalley is set to release his next project, Lincoln Way Nights (Intelligent Trunk Music), next week. With that, we caught up with him while he was back home shooting with MTV to talk about the album, college hoops and who the Cavs should take with the No. 1 pick this June. Read More »

Ask yourself: How many people had Duke as a preseason national title favorite last year? Outside of Durham, N.C., close to zero. The Blue Devils were ranked 9th and 8th, respectively, in the preseason AP and ESPN/coaches polls. They were considered a dangerous team, but not on the level of Kansas and Kentucky.

Over the course of the schedule, however, the realization hit that Duke possessed most of the pieces you’d want for a national title run: Experienced guards, quality shooters, versatile forwards, solid defense, good coaching and NBA-caliber talent in the right spots. Throw in a healthy “Us against the world” mentality (because they’re Duke) and a favorable NCAA Tournament bracket, and the Evil Empire was back on top of the game. Read More »

We gotta admit, even we jumped the gun about a week ago, all but booking the Lakers’ ticket into the 2010 NBA Finals. But with the Suns taking care of business at home in last night’s Game 4, the Western Conference Finals is now tied up, Steve Nash and Co. have all the momentum, Kobe is frustrated, and the guys in purple and gold look like a college team unable to figure out a simple zone defense. Kobe might want to break out his Team USA phone book before Game 5, hit up Jim Boeheim and talk about how to attack the zone … The Suns were up one going into the fourth quarter, before their bench put the game away with an 18-3 run against the L.A. starters. Read More »

Trevor Cooney knows the Andy Rautins comparisons are inevitable. They’re about the same size, have in the gym range and are highly valued by Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim. But the Wilmington, Del., native isn’t settling for a pre-determined fate. While he admits the Rautins comparisons are flattering, the high school junior has his own goals. We caught up with him this weekend at the Boo Williams Invitational following a tough loss to E1T1 Elite (featuring Austin Rivers) to discuss his AAU team, his Syracuse future and some of his other interests. Read More »

What’s up everyone? Yeah, your boy CGF is back…and I have to get some stuff off my chest. Last night Pat informed me of his favorite Duke Blue Devils of the past 25 years list and like a lot of you guys, I am in shock. I know, I know it’s a “favorite” list but still no Jay Will or C-Booz?!?

With that said, I needed to get in on this being that I am huge Syracuse Orange fan. ‘The ‘Cuse has always been my team, growing up in New York I used to go to St. John’s and LIU games with my uncle. For some reason I never felt like a fan. There were players I though were nasty like Felipe Lopez and Mike Campbell, but I never really rooted for their respective programs. Even when Syracuse had tough seasons, the Orangemen (no the Orange) were always my squad.

Here are my Top 10 players of the last 25 years: Read More »

*Dime’s NCAA Tournament Day 2 coverage*

This was the first-round game I wasn’t gonna miss for anything, even if I had to watch it on my little computer screen. Clemson likes to run and gun; Missouri thrives on a full-court press taught by Mike Anderson, a disciple of Nolan Richardson and “40 Minutes of Hell.” Mizzou’s J.T. Tiller is a defensive demon and one of my favorite college players, while Clemson’s Noel Johnson is the son of ex-NBA player “Cheese” Johnson, who always makes sure to call up the Dime office and update us on his kid’s progress since we did a story on Noel in 8th grade. AND Gus Johnson is on the mic? You couldn’t drag me away. Read More »

Too old. Too slow. By now it sounds like a recording for the Boston Celtics, but there’s a new problem beginning to surface that may be the real reason why this team is looking like a fake contender. Forget age and speed — these Celtics aren’t as hungry as they were in ’08 and ’09. During last night’s 20-piecing at home at the hands of the Grizzlies, the Celtics looked a lot like the UConn men’s team when they went through the motions before quitting in the Big East Tournament; maybe it’s something in the New England water … Rudy Gay (28 pts, 8 rebs) is exactly the kind of motivated thoroughbred giving Boston problems. Read More »

It’s Championship Week in college basketball, otherwise known as the week of tournaments before THE Tournament. And honestly, it seems this year people only really care about two conference tourneys: the Big East and the Big 12 … and maybe the ACC based on history and hype.

Yesterday I previewed the Pac-10 as a tune-up, but now it’s onto the real heavyweights. First up: the Big East. Read More »

From Pearl Washington to Gerry McNamara, Syracuse has a rich tradition of point guards. After the latest great one, Jonny Flynn, moved on to the NBA in 2009, Brandon Triche was handed the keys to the palace. What he does with them could find the Orange celebrating their second national championship in 2010.

Coming off last Thursday’s win at Georgetown, the Orange (25-2, 12-2 Big East) are ranked in the Top-5 nationally. The freshman Triche has started every game, averaging 9.0 points and 3.1 assists, but his production and PT has been spotty over the last couple of weeks. Earlier in the season, Triche was featured in Dime #55: Read More »

While the news in the NBA may be slow today, some of the top programs in college basketball got one step closer to a National Championship. Jim Boeheim and Syracuse added all seven feet of top 5 prospect Fab Melo to an already stacked Class of 2010, while Roy Williams and North Carolina landed one of high school’s best shooters in P.J. Hairston. Read More »