“What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player.” – John Wooden

There are many things in a child’s life that help to determine the path that he or she will follow. A series of events, achievements, successes, and failures all help to mold that particular child into the person whom he or she will one day become. Most importantly, though, it’s the people in a child’s life who ultimately have the greatest impact. Parents, siblings, relatives, teachers, friends, they all play an integral role in a child’s development. As time goes on, you begin to think back on your childhood and about all of those people who were a part of your life at one point or another. You think about all of the advice and morals they’ve instilled in you and how you’ve taken it all and benefitted from it. Some people stand out more than others, but for all of us, there are always those one or two people you can point to and say, “That was the person.” For me, one of those people came in the form of a basketball coach. Read More »

My New York people will hate me for this, but you can make a solid argument that Los Angeles is really the Mecca of basketball. The Lakers are one of the most popular pro sports franchises on the planet, UCLA has the most national championships in college history, L.A.’s high school powerhouses regularly crank out NBA players, and the playground scene is alive and thriving at spots like Venice Beach and The Hangar. Read More »

The NBA Finals is a simpler time in the Dime office. With just one series going, one game every few days, after each one we can break it down 800 ways before the next tip-off. Following the Game 1 blowout, we looked at Rajon Rondo‘s personal hell, the key differences between the ’08 and ’10 Finals, how Andrew Bynum and Tony Allen will swing this series as X-factors, the biggest problems Boston needs to fix in Game 2, and any other subplot you might have missed. But they say you can never be over-prepared, so at least we’re ready for Sunday’s Game 2 … Even when LeBron isn’t trying, he can overshadow the Finals. Larry King‘s 1-on-1 interview with LBJ aired yesterday. Read More »

In what has been a banner season for the NBA’s D-League — with a record 23 players getting called up to the bigs — no one has been more of a success story than Reggie Williams.

The Virginia Military Institute alum was dropping 26 points a night for the Sioux Falls Skyforce when he was brought up by the Golden State Warriors in early-March, and has stuck with the team ever since, averaging 14.9 points per game and cracking the starting lineup. Read More »

Harrison Barnes is the best high school ballplayer in the country. While navigating through the hectic recruiting process such a title entails, the 6-6 wing from Ames, Iowa, agreed to chronicle his thoughts for us during each of his five official visits. After North Carolina, Oklahoma, Kansas and Duke, Barnes recaps his trip to UCLA last weekend. Here are a couple excerpts: Read More »

It’s hard to believe that John Wooden turns 99 today. The former UCLA coach is legendary for leading the Bruins to an amazing 10 NCAA championships in 12 years during the ’60s and ’70s. The Wizard of Westwood, who still attends UCLA games, plans to make it to 100. Read More »

With the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony taking place today, we wanted to give the true diehard fans of the Dime Magazine community an opportunity to write about the 2009 class. Dime reader Dave Harrison, one of the most insightful Jazz fans we know, and who covered the team for a Salt Lake City TV station in the ’90s, shares his thoughts on John Stockton:

*** *** ***

There’s more than one reason the legendary John Wooden never hesitated to say “John Stockton” when he was asked who his favorite player was. Read More »