New Jersey will be coming for that NYC crown soon enough, but at least for now, the Knicks are still the big brother. Even if it was preseason, New York gets bragging rights for at least a few more weeks, beating the Nets in Newark 92-83. While we can’t take too much away from a preseason game – c’mon, Renaldo Balkman led everyone with 20 – both teams got some nice contributions from their role players. Rookie Iman Shumpert (16 points) outplayed every other perimeter player for the Knicks, and rookie Marshon Brooks (10 points) and Anthony Morrow (15 points) put in work from the perimeter … At least offensively, Amar’e Stoudemire (10 points) and Carmelo Anthony (17 points in three quarters) looked pretty in-tune for the first preseason game. Read More »

Yesterday’s ambush of trade and free agency talk tipped off with a rather awkward rumor: The Celtics weren’t actively shopping Rajon Rondo, but that they’d be open to a deal should anything materialize. In the sports world, that’s basically code for other teams to start calling so they can start the bidding. Danny Ainge and Boston were hinting at something. We just didn’t know what it was yet. So naturally the response from most fans was: WTF? It didn’t help that Rajon Rondo trade rumors are an offseason rite of passage by this point. It doesn’t feel right unless we get a few of them. Read More »

One thing was clear coming into this season of college hoops: the excitement was at a high not seen in about five years. For the first time since the 2006-2007 season, college basketball has a collection of talent that rivals nearly any other time before it. That season, talents like Greg Oden, Kevin Durant and Mike Conley all played their obligatory one year of college basketball before entering the NBA.

This year we have an impressive group of freshmen starting that same journey and numerous key figures from last year all returning for another year on campus. All of this talent has scouts flooding gyms across the country to see who is going to be the right guy for their team in the upcoming draft. Read More »

You can’t not enjoy March Madness. Games all day long. Upsets. Bracketology. Skipping classes to see Indiana State and Oakland. Considering yourself an expert on Belmont because you watched their conference championship for about eight minutes. It doesn’t eclipse the NBA playoffs for me as far as enjoyment, but it definitely has it’s share of Shining Moments. Take away brackets and polls, and the main reason why I watch the field is to find the future pros, the guys who’ll be All-Stars down the road, the different makers, the next Taj Gibson, the next Jared Jeffries (more fun than you might realize). March will reveal sleepers who turn out to be busts. It’ll reveal nobodies who get their first glimpse of the big time. Frauds will emerge. Stars will develop. Read More »

Sometimes when you’re putting together an issue it takes on a life of its own. That was definitely the case for Dime #66. Typically this would have been our NBA Preview Issue, looking at all the stars and storylines for the upcoming year. But with the 2011-12 NBA season indefinitely on hold until a new collective bargaining agreement is in place, a central theme began to arise while we were planning. 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. After we broke down two teams looking to improve on last season’s finish yesterday, we’ll keep this going with No. 12-ranked Baylor (ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll).* Read More »

If ever there was a story that was very Kobe-like, then the tale of how his game at the Drew League came to be is definitely it. If you aren’t up on your summer league scheduling, the Drew League finished recently with a championship. Kobe’s people called just before the title game was about to be played, saying he wanted in, or wanted the chance to play. Of course, no league is going to throw him in for the championship. That’s just wrong. So instead, they adopted the idea of a celebrity/All-Star/random game for Kobe. Read More »

After last week’s NBA Draft, you are probably left wanting more, right? Well, with the NBA Summer League cancelled and the lockout looming, the next best thing we can analyze is the 2012 NBA Draft. With that, here is a list of the top 15 prospects that will hear their names called by David Stern next year. Read More »

Even though Perry Jones has decided to prolong his college career, we though we’d take a look at his NBA potential. It’s not often that a potential top-5 pick decides to return to school, but unlike Harrison Barnes or Jared Sullinger, the first word that comes to mind with Jones is “potential.” Take a look as we debate the potential of one of the best talents in college basketball. Read More »

Yesterday, Baylor freshman forward/center Perry Jones III – a would be damn near Top-5 lock in this June’s NBA Draft – declared publicly that he would return to school for his sophomore year.

In his first year in Waco, Jones dropped in 13.9 points and 7.2 boards a game on 55 percent shooting for the 18-13 Bears. With Jones returning, Coach Scott Drew and company now have a loaded and talented young core slated for next season. Read More »