*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, Arizona. Read More »

With the college basketball season underway, the Championship Rounds of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer begin on Nov. 17 at Madison Square Garden with Texas A&M meeting Mississippi State at 7 p.m. and Arizona facing St. John’s at 9 p.m. Why should you care? Let us tell you: Read More »

So no ultimatum? That’s what happened. The thing with this lockout is that it’s entirely too difficult to predict just what’s going to happen. Everyone’s throwing threats, ultimatums and “take it or leave it” offers when the truth is that both sides aren’t going to abide by this stuff. Yesterday, there was a 5 p.m. deadline… and the talks ended up going on long into the night. The lockout may not have ended, but significant progress was made. A 50/50 split appears to be the likely scenario, and now the two sides are working on system issues. The players have given up a lot and now they want to win this part. Read More »

Thank God for Steve Blake. The man who couldn’t hit a shot to save the Lakers’ season in the playoffs might just be bold enough to save the NBA season. Sam Amick and Adrian Wojnarowski broke the story on Twitter, saying Blake is doing whatever he can to rally the troops, and gain support for a vote by Wednesday. He’s irate at the union and wants to play. He’s not pushing them to take the deal; He just wants a vote. A few other players, and some big names like Kobe Bryant and LaMarcus Aldridge, are willing to look into this deal the owners are offering. Amick even said he called two agents who represent 19 players in total, and that every one of those players wanted to take the NBA’s deal. Read More »

*College basketball is here (unlike the NBA), and this year might be one of the best in recent memory. The powerhouse is back, while the Cinderellas believe. That’s a deadly combination. We know some of y’all have been asking for some previews. We have you covered – the top 16 teams in the nation will be previewed individually in the next few weeks, starting with No. 16 Arizona (ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll). After Oregon and Cincinnati last week, we’ll keep this going with the ‘Cats.* Read More »

Sean Miller is rolling through the recruiting circuit heading into only his third season at Arizona. On Monday, the Wildcats’ head coach pulled in his biggest recruit yet, landing a top-5 overall prospect in the Class of 2012, Brandon Ashley, to a verbal commitment.

The 6-8, 215-pound power forward transferred this summer to Findlay Prep in Nevada following his time at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, and chose the Arizona over Oregon, UCLA and Kentucky. Scooping Nike U and the country’s best recruiter in Kentucky’s John Calipari is surely a sign of things to come for Miller at Arizona. Read More »

It wasn’t long ago when what was the Pac-10 had teams that ran out rosters with multiple NBA stars-in-the-making. The 2008 NBA Draft class contained 12 players from the Pac-10, and that meant there was the talent and notoriety for the league to send more than half of its teams to the NCAA Tournament.

The UCLA Bruins were the dominating factor, making the Final Four for three consecutive seasons from 2006-08. Kevin Love, Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook beat up on squads with guys like O.J. Mayo and Jerryd Bayless. But since then, those talents have been bleeding into the NBA, leading to a weak reputation and poor postseason showings. Read More »

With the impending lockout upon us, basketball fans worldwide need something positive to look forward to. Rest assured, I’m here to deliver it. So regardless of when the NBA season starts next here, college basketball will be flooded with a freshman class of high flyers, headlined by Deuce Bello en route to Waco to play for the Baylor Bears. Enjoy!

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With 14 teams hoping for the ping-pong balls to bounce their way at tonight’s NBA Draft Lottery, everyone’s vying for a chance to draft Arizona’s Derrick Williams. Following the departure of this year’s Pac-10 Player of the Year and the Wildcats’ leading scorer, the weight was going to presumably transfer over to the shoulders of rising junior point guard Lamont “MoMo” Jones. Instead, Jones announced Monday that he will transfer to another school. Read More »

Maybe I’d been spoiled over the last few years and become too familiar with seeing my hometown represented at the McDonald’s High School All-American Game.

Since 2003, when Aaron Brooks ended a drought of nearly 20 years as the Seattle area’s first McDonald’s selection since Quin Snyder (1985), we’ve been cranking out certified All-Americans pretty consistently — namely Marvin Williams, Martell Webster, Jon Brockman, Micah Downs, Spencer Hawes, Abdul Gaddy, Peyton Siva and Josh Smith. Read More »