The college basketball scene has seen this story too many times. Scratch that, the basketball world has seen this story too many times. The mystery surrounding Baylor, Connecticut and Illinois makes us wonder one thing: What is going on? These three teams all have one thing in common – one very talented big man. Perry Jones (Baylor), Andre Drummond (UConn) and Meyers Leonard (Illinois) all seem incapable of consistently leading their team to success. Read More »

The first month of the college hoops season has already had enough defining moments to warrant the Luther Vandross treatment.

There was the poignant high of Coach K surpassing his mentor Bob Knight as the all-time leader in NCAA D-I coaching wins; the gut-wrenching (and ongoing) low of Syracuse assistant Bernie Fine throwing his program into scandal; the inspiring comeback stories of Arizona forward Kevin Parrom and Kansas forward Thomas Robinson; made-for-March upsets like UNLV over North Carolina, Presbyterian over Cincinnati, and Central Florida over UConn; and big-time matchups like Ohio State vs. Duke, Kentucky vs. Kansas, and Syracuse vs. Florida that were dipped in Tournament atmosphere.

This past weekend, though, gave us the most thrilling game, the highest display of talent, and the most grand exhibition of the best of college basketball, all wrapped in one 40-minute showcase in Lexington, Ky. Here is that game, plus the rest of the best and worst of the weekend: Read More »

“Do you believe in miracles?”

I don’t speak Russian, but I’m pretty sure that’s what I heard the announcers screaming on the Russian telecast as the final buzzer sounded on their 79-74 upset victory over the United States this morning.

After going 5-1 in group play, the top-seeded Americans were dropped in the quarterfinals of the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship by a less-than-stellar Russian team that went 3-3 in group play. Read More »

And don’t think that Duke was the only one holding a dunk contest last night. Check out what the Fighting Illini had in store as redshirt freshman Joseph Bertrand defeated freshman Meyers Leonard during “Illini Madness.”

Read More »

The Nike Hoop Summit is the country’s premiere annual basketball game featuring the USA’s top high school seniors taking on the World Select Team, which is comprised of the best 19-and-unders from around the globe. Harrison Barnes, Will Barton, Reggie Bullock, Tobias Harris, Kyrie Irving, Terrence Jones, Brandon Knight, Meyers Leonard, Kendall Marshall, Jared Sullinger and Patric Young will be representing Team USA. Not in town when the ball tips at Portland’s Rose Garden tonight? No worries. The game will be televised live nationally by Fox Sports Network (FSN) and webcast live on FIBA TV. Read More »