Recently, Dime was invited by Nike Basketball to go through weekly specialized/individualized training sessions with professional trainers to test out the new Nike LeBron X+ as well as the accompanying Nike+ Basketball technology. Our own Jaimie Canterbury went through it. Here’s what went down… Read More »

Besides having an insanely fine wife, Steve Lavin is doing a phenomenal job at St. John’s. Coming into their matchup with Arizona last night, they were 3-0, full of life and full of potential. In a few of their wins so far, they’ve already stormed back from big deficits, letting their defense and athleticism do the talking, and with fifteen minutes left (down seven), it looked like it might happen again. They raced back, overwhelmed ‘Zona in pretty much every way possible and retook the lead. The ‘Cats didn’t have any standout performances, but they got solid games from a number of players, including Solomon Hill (15 points, six rebounds) and when they found their stroke at the end, they just had too much, winning 81-72. 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 »

Last week, St. John’s head coach Steve Lavin announced that incoming freshmen Amir Garrett, Norvel Pelle and Jakarr Sampson will be unable to play during this fall semester. After losing 10 seniors from last year’s squad, this news serves as a major hit to St. John’s Basketball. With Malik Stith being the only returning player from last year, Coach Lavin was planning on building a brand-new system compiled of young talent. Read More »

I’ve heard of people “manning up” before, but Saint John’s men’s basketball coach Steve Lavin takes the cake.

Earlier today the school announced that Lavin was diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer last fall. Instead of taking a leave of absence, Lavin did a fantastic job in turning around a once-illustrious Saint John’s basketball program that had been in the doldrums for years. The Red Storm finished this season with a 21-12 record, tied for 3rd in the Big East, and a 6th seed in the NCAA tournament. Read More »

Since Steve Lavin‘s name first surfaced as a candidate at St. John’s, I was excited. It doesn’t matter that he hasn’t coached for the past six years after he was fired at UCLA in 2003, Lavin was the right man for the job. Today, apparently the powers at be at St. John’s felt the same: according to a school spokesman, the school has hired the ESPN analyst and former UCLA coach to succeed Norm Roberts. Read More »