No NBA? No problem.

By Justin Young
National Hoops Report

Follow @JustinDYoung

If you woke up this morning and went to your favorite sports website to look at the box scores of the NBA games from last night, well, keep looking. That ain’t happening.

Your consolation, at least for now, is a tremendous college basketball season with future pros abound. Nearly all of the stars came back to college. Instead of watching Dirk defend the title and LeBron doing what he does in the fourth quarter, whatever that is, we have a full slate of games that should appease your pro pallet.

Advertisements

A lot love or much more to consider regarding UConn SG Jeremy Lamb?

By Justin Young
National Hoops Report

The United States U19 team is coming home with the fifth place title from the FIBA World Championships.

The end result wasn’t the goal that the team wanted, of course. In fact, the tournament sparked a line of tweets about Jeremy Lamb from Jonathan Givony of Draft Express wondering about the good and bad about the UConn star.

The curious case of John Riek

John Riek was once thought to be a top five prospect in the country. Now he's off to a Division II school. (PHOTO: NY Daily News)

By Justin Young
National Hoops Report

Follow @JustinDYoung

John Riek was playing college basketball last season. Did you know that? I honestly didn’t.

Now he’s leaving Mississippi State and looking for a Division II school to attend. Riek saw action in 25 games during his time in Starkville. His presence never warranted any kind of attention on a national scale.

How does a player that was once thought to be one of the top five prospects in America fall from grace like that? He played in 14 games last season, averaging 1.2 points and 1.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore.

Inside the Pac-12: June 27

By Brantley Watson
National Hoops Report

This past week, the newly-aligned Pac-12 Conference saw six of its perennial stars from last season selected in the 2011 NBA Draft from five different Pac-12 universities: UCLA, USC, Arizona, Washington and Washington State.

Which teams will be affected the most? How will these schools replace those that were drafted?

10@10: Pre draft chatter

By Justin Young
National Hoops Report

Follow @JustinDYoung

The NBA Draft is tonight and that means 30 young men will become millionaires and projected saviors to the teams that draft them. Here’s what is on my mind less than 12 hours before David Stern shakes hands and poses with players much taller than him.

Mocking the draft: Hoops writers style

With the NBA Draft right around the corner, I thought it was a good time to roll out a mock draft from those that cover college basketball.

Meet the mockers:
Matt Prehm, 247Sports.com
Jeff Borzello, CBSSports.com
Justin Young – National Hoops Report
Mike Miller – Beyond the Arc, NBC Sports
Rob Dauster – Ballin’ is a Habit
Brian Snow – Scout.com

The Jimmer is on fire

By Justin Young
National Hoops Report

The Jimmer is back to doing what he does best – knocking down the long ball.

Senior moments: Understanding the value of the four-year player

Duke senior Nolan Smith could be a long-term NBA player. History proves he probably will be. - Getty Images

By Justin Young
National Hoops Report

The NBA Draft is all about the future. It is a true youth movement. Young players get the fan base excited with the thought of upside and potential. The unknown and unproven have a bigger learning curve and register higher on the “what-if” scale.

Then there are the seniors.

Buyer beware: Are international players worth the first round draft pick?

Darko Milicic was selected No. 2 overall in the NBA Draft. He's the poster child or drafting international players over the last 10 drafts.

By Justin Young
National Hoops Report

With Dirk Nowitzki getting ready to play for his first NBA championship on Tuesday and with the NBA Draft coming up less than a month from now, I wondered…just how good are international players in the League?

The answer? Not good. Not good at all.

Inside the #s: NBA Predraft Combine

Georgia Tech guard Iman Shumpert was one of the top athletes at the NBA Predraft Combine.

By Justin Young
National Hoops Report

The NBA released its information from the NBA Predraft combine. The numbers are interesting to sift through. Who stood out for the right reasons? Who disappointed in the strength, speed and jumping tests?