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 »

In honor of Matty D’s College Basketball Preview, today’s Reebok Still Talkin’ Quote of the Day comes from the college ranks and Oklahoma sophomore guard Willie Warren. ESPN the Magazine asked Warren to give them scouting reports on all of the teams in the Big 12. Warren was not at a loss for words for any team with the exception being Texas A&M (when asked about Texas A&M he just said defense….maybe?). He described Kansas as “War” since that’s what their games are like and Texas as “respect” because that is what their games are about. His best trash talk came before he even gave the scouting reports. Read More »

That’s right, the start of the college hoops season is just one week away and you know what that means: it’s time to unleash the mother effing fury! For the past seven months, I’ve been bottling up a vicious mixture of excitement and rage, just waiting for the moment to release my emotions onto the rest of the world. Well that time has come. Your boy Matty D is back to give you a look at the top teams in the country and to separate the champs from the chumps. Read More »

Before all the Jeff Capel, Willie Warren and Griffin brothers hype surrounding the University of Oklahoma, a 6-1, buck-seventy pound point guard ran Soonerville. Hollis Price, originally out of New Orleans, was the star of Norman throughout his four years on campus. Read More »

Harrison Barnes is the best high school ballplayer in the country. As the 6-6 wing from Ames, Iowa, navigates through the hectic recruiting process such a title entails, he agreed to chronicle his thoughts for us during each of his five official visits. First up was UNC; now Barnes recaps his trip to Oklahoma from the weekend of Oct. 3. Here’s an excerpt:

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Campus was a little dead because of the Oklahoma-Miami football game, but we still found some things to do that kept us entertained.

The next day we got up early and had breakfast. Then we toured the football facilities because the current football facilities that Oklahoma has is what the basketball team will have by the time I’m a freshman. Read More »

The NBA preseason is underway, meaning it’s time again for Dime’s team-by-team season previews. Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — predicting the respective ceilings and basements for each team. In other words, what is the realistic best-case and worst-case scenario for the 2009-10 campaign?

Added: Jordan Hill, Darko Milicic, Toney Douglas, Gabe Pruitt Read More »

Not exactly worth getting up at 9:30 a.m. on a Saturday before (if you’re on the West Coast), this Celtics/Bulls series just got a whole lot more interesting. After Chicago sloughed their way through a loss to the Raptors and gave up the 6th seed Wednesday night, nobody would have picked the Bulls to make much of a dent against a healthy, focused Celtics team that’s feeling disrespected with everybody penciling the Cavs into the Finals. But then Thursday morning came around, and with it, the news that Kevin Garnett (knee) could be out for the duration of the playoffs. Read More »