Sixteeen Nike-sponsored universities from eight college conferences are getting closer to creating a branded tournament as a tribute to Nike co-founder Phil Knight in 2017, ESPN reported yesterday. The names, as expected, are some of the biggest headliners in college basketball — Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky included. Technically, it will be two eight-team tournaments because NCAA rules prohibit two teams from the same conference playing at the same regular-season tournament. Working around that means the party for Knight’s 80th birthday is ready to go, as long as it can find a TV partner (and ESPN is very interested). Read More »

Elite college basketball programs all have unique identities carved by their head coaches’ visions of what championship basketball leans upon. Defense wins championships, but offense has a more delicate balance of what’s right and what’s wrong. Does the system have restrictive bounds? Or is freedom important to a certain extent?

The answer lies within a thin grey-area of allowing players to utilize their own strengths and talents within an organized playbook. Balancing those two schemes defines winners. Who’s job description fits that? The point guard. Read More »

Just a year ago, Ryan Harrow was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Georgia after averaging 32.4 points, 6.3 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game at Walton High School (Marietta, Ga.). But after a season in Raleigh, N.C. at NC State, the rising sophomore point guard decided to take his talents elsewhere and transfer to another program. By this Friday, Harrow will make his decision. Read More »

Austin Rivers, Anthony Davis and Michael Gilchrist have received the most attention amongst the Class of 2011 high school prospects, but you’d be crazy to overlook Myck Kabongo. The 6-2 point guard headed to Texas has a handle that can break down just about any defender, an innate ability to hit the open man and a lethal jumper with deep range that will cause issues for Big 12 opponents next year. We got up with the Toronto product this past weekend at the Jordan Brand Classic in Charlotte to discuss his off-court interests, his high school career – that included stops at two of the country’s premier programs – and his goals for next year. Read More »

If you’ve been checking the hardwood during March Madness, you’ve most likely noticed that a bunch of guys have been wearing the Nike Hyperdunk 2010. With that said, check out what Nike Basketball put together for Texas this season. Maybe it’s the colorway, or maybe it’s the school logo on the tongue, but either way I like it. Check ‘em out: Read More »

Do not get Kobe Bryant fired up to the point where he wants to steal your soul. Just don’t do it. In an intense, physical game in L.A. last night, the Portland Trail Blazers awoke the sleeping giant that has been Kobe over the last few games and paid dearly for it. Portland was in control until the last seven or eight minutes of the game, when the tide started to turn. Kobe was the best he’s looked since hurting his ankle a few games ago and was more emotional than we’ve seen him in a long time, fist-pumping after shots and stops, extra animated when jawing with the refs, and he had a serious scowl going for the entire fourth quarter. The Lakers eventually took the lead and Bryant hit his patented right baseline, pullup fadeway over Brandon Roy to put them up six and essentially end the game. Bryant went nuts after the shot fell, high-fiving fans, fist-pumping, yelling, and almost ripped his off own jersey. Lakers color guy Stu Lantz screamed, “The best finisher in the game comes through in the clutch!” … Immediately after the game, a Lakers sideline reporter asked a still visibly agitated Kobe what he was thinking before that jumper. Read More »

The basketball legend of Chris Paul really began in 2002, when as a high school senior, Paul scored 61 points in one game to honor his grandfather, who had been killed just days beforehand. After he’d scored his 61st point, Paul missed a free throw on purpose to stay at that number for the 61 years Nathanial Jones lived.

Sheldon McClellan, a senior at Bellaire (Texas) High School who is ranked the 35th-best player in his class by Scout.com, made headlines similar to CP3 earlier this week when he honored a fallen former teammate with an emotional scoring explosion of his own. Read More »

With the college basketball season coming up in a little more than a month, we decided to catch up with Texas’ guard-forward Jordan Hamilton, who’s looking to have a breakout season this year. Hamilton was ranked as the eighth best high school player in the nation two years ago and took his game to Texas where he averaged 10.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. The rising sophomore tells us about his game’s progression, along with a little bit about his past. Read More »

Now that the AAU season has basically ended for the summer, if you’re into prep hoops, it’s time to turn your attention to college basketball. And with that in mind, we decided to catch up with one of the game’s most talented scouts, Evan Daniels. As a National Basketball Recruiting Analyst for Scout.com, Daniels gives his two cents on what he’s thought of the nation’s best high school players this summer, as well as how he got into the game. Read More »

Winter Park (Fla.) High School point guard Austin Rivers is one of the best prep players, pound-for-pound, in the country. HighSchoolHoop.com ranks the 6-4 junior second overall in its national Top 50. Having recently de-committed from Florida, he has Duke, North Carolina, Texas and Kansas now vying for his signature.

The younger son of Celtics coach Doc Rivers and younger brother of Indiana Hoosiers PG Jeremiah Rivers, Austin has agreed to give HSH and Dime exclusive access by chronicling his thoughts in a regular diary on everything from his personal life to his AAU season to his thoughts on Duke and Florida. Here’s an excerpt from his latest entry: Read More »