Ever since the NBA raised its minimum age limit from 18 to 19 years old in 2006, the one-and-done phenomenon has taken off. Since players can no longer jump right from high school to the pros, many elite basketball programs are now mere checkpoints for top players on their way to the NBA. In the last few years, no program has personified this one-and-done phenomenon more than the University of Kentucky. Read More »

College basketball will always be preluded with the idea that the underdog can fight for another day. It precipitates the rise of an unknown team from small-town, America and gives them a chance at momentary grace with the upset of a legend. Read More »

The sting of an extraordinarily disappointing season that ended last night in a first round NIT loss to Robert Morris hurts a little bit less this afternoon for Kentucky fans.

In a press conference at his high school, 6-9 five-star recruit Julius Randle (Prestonwood Christian Academuy, Dallas, TX) officially committed to Kentucky, choosing the ‘Cats over Florida, Kansas and Texas.

So while the Wildcats may have skulked off the court in embarrassed fashion last night, Randle joins an incoming class that will likely have John Calipari‘s squad ranked No. 1 when next season starts. Read More »

Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski was adamant last August that his second Olympic gold medal as Team USA head coach would be his last. Essentially everyone took him at his word, until a report three weeks ago by ESPN said that his Team USA boss didn’t Read More »

Rajon Rondo is one of the best defensive point guards in the NBA. The Boston Celtics, over the past 6-7 years, have been one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. And yet Rondo nor the C’s could do a damn thing with Kyrie Irving last night. On his way to 40 points, Irving dominated the fourth quarter and handed out buckets to the guys in green like they were demo CDs … Read More »

Midnight Madness is over, and with it went the smoke machines, dunk contests and laser shows that kick off the season. College basketball begins now, and while the excitement still remains it’s time to peel the hype back and see who the nation’s best truly are. That’s why Dime has you covered with individual previews of the nation’s top 15 teams and a few others just outside, all over the course of the next few weeks. Today, Kentucky. Read More »

Did you watch Duke/Kentucky last night? It was a great game, and a strong heavyweight matchup at the start of the season.

During this halftime interview, John Calipari didn’t hide his displeasure with Duke’s flopping on defense: Read More »

John Wall is that No. 1 pick whose team has never progressed out of the high first round picks around him. How much of that is on him now? It’s a subject we’ve written about at length when we put him on our cover twice in the last year. Today his college coach, John Calipari said it’s not all on Wall — even after conceding that he “must improve” in between the rim and the three-point line — and that a 19-year-old shouldn’t be saddled with “the weight of the world” on his shoulders. Read More »

As if the pageantry, history, fan fervor, national TV exposure, insane winning percentage, and the John Calipari hard sell isn’t enough to get you to commit to Kentucky, here comes another recruiting bullet in the Wildcat recruiting arsenal: a brand new, palatial dorm built just for the basketball team [Click for photos at the end of the post].

In a video posted on Calipari’s personal site, the coach gives viewers a tour of the brand new dorm, aka “The Wildcat Coal Lodge.” It’s a pretty good answer TO THIS. The dorm is ridiculous. Read More »

For the coaches in the college recruiting race to land Julius Randle, play time is officially over. Check out how Roy Williams showed up John Calipari on Tuesday night. Read More »