The jokes are easy to make, but the reality is another sad cautionary tale that gifts can be taken away as swiftly as they are realized.

Just two years ago as a 6-10, 270-pound freshman, Joshua Smith came to the UCLA Bruins as the key cog in a recruiting class that was meant to replenish the talent lost in recent years. 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, UCLA. Read More »

Dime will be in the building all week for the 2012 Pac-12 basketball tournament to bring you updates on how the league is screwing with the NCAA selection committee’s collective head and the awesome Staples Center buffets.

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Day 2 of the Pac-12 Tournament just had to be better than Day 1 as far as quality was concerned. I knew this from the onset, but I didn’t know how crazy of a day it’d become. Look, this is a conference where some silly people think the regular season winner could potentially miss the Big Dance. Read More »

For anyone that was free to sit in front of the television all day, they were in for a treat. Between eight NCAA Tournament games and six NBA contests, there were enough highlights to make sure SportsCenter didn’t feel compelled to show us any B-roll from the NFL lockout negotiations. And if you’re a fan of amazing individual performances, you had eight guys drop 30-plus: Jacob Pullen (38), Jimmer Fredette (34), LeBron James (33), Dwyane Wade (32), David West (32), Shelvin Mack (30), Brandon Knight (30) and Blake Griffin (30). So let’s get started … Read More »

If there were a general consensus among NBA scouts of having a “type,” those once-in-a-lifetime prospects that they’ve got to have, then the 6-10, 300-pound big man with a silky jumper and crafty footwork would be it.

You know, guys like the the Sacramento rookie DeMarcus Cousins, who can shoot from 20-feet out before overwhelming opponents in the paint, scoring with their feathery hook shots with ease. Those are the type that can win you a ring. Only if they came without the baggage. By my count, college basketball has two of those guys: Mississippi State’s Renardo Sidney and UCLA’s Joshua Smith. Read More »