*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 – we’ve previewed each of the top 16 teams in the country. Today is the final one. After we broke down contenders Ohio State and Kentucky yesterday, we’ll finish this off with the best team in the country, No. 1-ranked UNC (ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll).* Read More »

What’s the difference between 82 and 78? Four. In the grand scheme of most things, that’s not a whole lot, especially if we’re talking NBA games. An 82-game schedule pretty much went out the window after last week, but the NY Post is saying if a deal is finalized sometime this week, we could be looking at a 78-game affair. We’ll take it. They’re saying it has to be an even number of games, and that David Stern is willing to push the season back enough to fit in as many games as possible, maybe even push a possible NBA Finals Game 7 to just a few days before the draft. That might affect the way the games are played, but for us it just means more basketball packed into a shorter time. That wouldn’t be such a bad thing … Read More »

There ain’t nothing like going home. Except for Kobe Bryant because home is a number of different places for him: in Philadelphia where he went to high school and first received a brush with fame; in Los Angeles where he’s become world famous, and in Italy where the first seeds of a love affair with a game took him to places none of his childhood friends thought possible. Wouldn’t it be fun to go back there and shove it all in their faces? See how good I’ve become. See how successful I’ve become. The Mamba has a great chance now to do that. Hoping that chance would appeal to his competitive fire, the Italian club Virtus Bologna has offered Bryant a one-year deal for $6.7 million to play for them. Read More »

This past weekend, the Phoenix Suns came into L.A. looking to capitalize on a pair of games against the city’s two hometown franchises. While the Lakers would hand them a crushing 3OT loss this past Tuesday, two days earlier, the Suns were busy mopping up the Blakers for a nice 108-99 win at Staples Center. This was also the same Sunday that both Duke and North Carolina were fortunate enough to escape serious second-round upset bids from both Michigan and Washington, respectively. After the Suns’ victory over the Clippers, we were able to catch up with one of Tobacco Road’s most famed alums, Vince Carter, to get his take on the NCAA Tournament thus far. Read More »

After an efficient sophomore year in which he averaged 13.0 points on 45.5 percent shooting, including 47.4 percent from distance, Marquette guard Darius Johnson-Odom upped his scoring average by nearly three points this season and made big strides on the defensive end to became an All-Big East Second Team selection. On Sunday, DJO poured in 17 points, including the game-winning triple with 25 seconds left, to lift Marquette to an upset over 3-seeded Syracuse that clinched the school’s first Sweet 16 birth since the Dwyane Wade era. Friday, DJO will look to continue his hot play against No. 2 North Carolina, a school that he grew up about 40 minutes from in Raleigh, N.C, yet still wasn’t recruited by. Here are his words: Read More »

Second Baptist School (Houston, TX) junior L.J. Rose is one of the most gifted point guards in the country. Despite suffering from nagging foot and ankle injuries last summer that limited him in the crucial AAU/camp season, he still has everyone from Kansas to Kentucky to Arizona trying to lure him to their schools. Rose has agreed to give Dime and High School Hoop exclusive access by chronicling his thoughts in a regular diary. Here’s an excerpt from his newest entry: Read More »

I’ve grown so accustomed to college basketball’s one-and-done culture that now it’s startling to see an NCAA team with as much veteran poise as Duke. The current landscape has also trained me to stop looking at a team like North Carolina and making predictions for next year.

In the Blue Devils’ latest win over their blood rivals this week, the defending national champions were down 14 at halftime as Carolina was beating Duke at their own game in their own gym. Read More »

Some surprising news hit campus this morning: North Carolina junior point guard Larry Drew II will transfer from the university, Coach Roy Williams announced Friday.

“This morning, around 9 o’clock, I got a message to call big Larry,” said Williams at his Friday press conference in reference to Drew’s father, the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks. “At that point he informed me Larry was leaving, and we had a long discussion, most of which should be kept private.” Read More »

In his first nine months as majority owner of an NBA franchise, Michael Jordan has been through a few years’ worth of experiences:

He watched his Charlotte Bobcats make their first-ever playoff appearance, then watched them suffer their first-ever postseason series sweep. In free agency he re-signed a promising future building block (Tyrus Thomas), then let a potential All-Star point guard walk (Ray Felton). Now he has helped facilitate the departure of his team’s head coach, Larry Brown, meaning Jordan’s next big task will be hiring a replacement. Read More »

Following a year of disappointment that ended without an invite to the Big Dance, North Carolina is still left scratching their heads after a 4-2 start this season. The hype around this year’s Tar Heels surrounds the arrival of Harrison Barnes, the 6-8 versatile small forward who was seen by most as the No. 1 player coming out of high school. Story sound familiar? Barnes is in a similar situation as Carmelo Anthony during the 2002-03 season when he arrived at Syracuse. The Orangemen were coming off a 2001-02 season where they went 23-13 and also missed the tourney. Read More »