The learning curve for rookies is a sliding scale even if every rook enters the NBA dreaming of 20 and 10 a night. Only eight rookies in 2011-12 averaged more than 10 points per game. The guy who becomes the rookie of the year is one of the few whose role can make or break his team, but there’s a huge gap in the roles the rookies will be asked to tackle. While many will be given scraps of playing time, these are the 10 who will be asked to do the most in their first year in the NBA. Read More »

It doesn’t matter if it took two extra overtimes, seeing a game end up with 289 points is crazy. Kevin Love channeled his recent anger to go berserk for a career-high 51 points, and yet the Thunder dominated the final overtime. Russell Westbrook scored the first points there and ultimately led OKC to a nine-point win with 45 points. Kevin Durant chipped in with 40 points and 17 rebounds, but as well as the Thunder’s big-name players balled, the rest of the team was non-existant. James Harden did his thing as well, but where was everybody else? They were busy making J.J. Barea (25 points, 14 assists) look like something other than a pretty good backup … Read More »

Now that we know the brackets and who will be playing where, the real fun begins. Anyone can fill out a bracket with four No. 1 seeds cutting down the nets and making the Final Four. But what fun is that? And more appropriately, how often does that even happen? There will be upsets and inevitably, a mid-level team will get hot. Take a look at LSU in 2006 (as a No. 4 seed) or Alabama in 2004 (as a No. 8 seed). Read More »

The Baylor men’s basketball team, currently 17-1, is off to their best start in program history. While Scott Drew’s club features two potential NBA lottery picks in Perry Jones III and Quincy Miller, a new addition to the team may serve as a greater catalyst. Back-court issues tempered Baylor’s chances for greatness this season. It is now evident that the Bears’ guard-play can compete with any program in the country, courtesy of one junior college transfer. Without further interruption, it’s my pleasure to introduce Pierre Jackson. Read More »

Coach K is a pretty cool dude. Always smooth. Always chill. But at about the 12.9 second mark of the second half last night – after he had seen Michigan State chip into Duke’s lead and Mason Plumlee get called for a five-second violation – he had to be feeling that sweat on his brow just a little bit. But after a Spartan miss, the biggest drama of the night was over, the Dukies had won 74-69 and Mike Krzyzewski had the record. He’s now the winningest coach in Division I men’s basketball history with 903 wins, passing one of the men calling the game, Bob Knight. Seriously though, this joint couldn’t have been scripted any better: in MSG, against another great coach in Tom Izzo, playing against a gritty and tough team, and with his mentor looking on, Coach K got what he came for. 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 »

After going up against the likes of Anthony Randolph and Willie Warren in high school, Quincy Acy took his explosive game to Baylor. Since then, the 6-7, 225-pound junior forward has established himself as one of the best in-game dunkers in the Big 12 – recording 10 dunks in one game against Texas last year. In an exclusive Dime Q&A, we sat down and talked with Acy about Baylor, Texas basketball and how he learned to dunk. Read More »

Earlier this morning we gave you four Players to Watch in the Midwest region. Here are four more from the South…

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E’TWAUN MOORE, Purdue, SG, Jr. The Boilermakers don’t need to look hard for motivation. Pretty much everybody wrote them off when star forward Robbie Hummel went down with a season-ending knee injury in late-February, and the remaining stragglers signed Purdue’s death certificate after Minnesota ran through them in the Big Ten tournament. If anybody is going to cover for Hummel’s absence, it’s Moore (16.6 ppg). Read More »

It’s Championship Week in college basketball, otherwise known as the week of tournaments before THE Tournament. And honestly, it seems this year people only really care about two conference tourneys: the Big East and the Big 12 … maybe the ACC based on history and hype.

So far I’ve previewed the Big East and the Pac-10 (hometown allegiance); next up is the Big 12. Read More »