"... I couldn’t help but think of how many people had helped me along the way. One of those people I wanted to personally thank for opening doors was Jimmy Raye. This book tells how some of those doors got pushed open. I’m sure you will enjoy reading about the journey!" - Tony DungyKentucky
Earvin Johnson still playing throwback role
There are no more Magic Johnsons in college basketball. That has been my thought the past decade while watching one-and-done college prospects follow each other like lemmings to the same two schools, Duke or Kentucky. Their paths are considered the easiest to an NCAA title, even...
Coach K is raking in recruits without Capel
Duke’s first game against Pitt and former Blue Devils assistant Jeff Capel on Tuesday brought up a touchy subject with Mike Krzyzewski. Capel’s surprise move to Pitt had generated speculation that Duke recruiting might suffer.Try telling Michigan State coach Tom Izzo that Coach K...
How to feel better about a Duke rout
My guys at Ferris State, who earned an exhibition game invitation from Duke as the defending NCAA Division II basketball champion, should feel more confident in themselves after watching Duke dismantle Kentucky on television. The numerical comparisons of Duke routing Ferris on...
Duke returns home still searching for glue man
Duke basketball’s three-game Canada exhibition tour confirmed – to the surprise of no one – that R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson are special. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski even said so three months before the Kentucky opener.“Zion and R.J. are a cut above everyone who’s on the...
History Loyola Chicago and Michigan State share
Loyola Chicago's run to the NCAA Final Four is a good time to relate overlooked pioneering histories shared by Michigan State football and the Ramblers' basketball program. Two watershed moments that changed the color of college athletics belong to the Ramblers and the Spartans....
Tar Heels winning without the one and dones
Two years ago it looked like the one-and-dones had won. The college basketball world was theirs to rule.Duke captured the NCAA title behind three freshmen who left early for the NBA Draft: Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow and Tyus Jones. In that same 2015 Final Four, Kentucky – led...
Pitino sidesteps controversy by winning
The cover-up is always worse than the crime. That has been a catchphrase in American politics, sports, and life in general since Richard Nixon was caught covering up Watergate crimes and resigned as president in 1974.Rick Pitino didn’t understand that lesson in 1977 when he was a...
Tubby establishing Memphis roots
Memphis basketball coach Tubby Smith’s late hire on April 14 has him off to a slow recruiting start. He has only one modest commitment in the Class of 2016 from a two-star guard, Keon Clergeot.But that doesn’t mean the sage coach is failing to find his way around the recruiting...
ACC can top SEC in conference matchups
We all recognize the SEC is the nation’s top football conference, but many of us outside the SEC like to point out that the SEC is largely top heavy.Granted, the SEC has more schools that can annually contend for a national title and it is topped by Alabama’s modern dynasty, but...
Markell Johnson latest star to reclassify
Look for Markell Johnson’s reclassification gamble to land somewhere between Jamal Murray and Derryck Thornton.The North Carolina State-bound point guard is the latest example of a high-profile basketball recruit entering college early. Johnson, a four-star point guard as a...