Words. Aron Phillips

For a summer filled with so much uncertainty, one thing has become undeniably clear: Basketball has never been better. After an epic NBA Finals, pundits around the world saw July 1’s expiration of the collective bargaining agreement as the “End of Days.” Instead, we witnessed NBA superstars Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose and Chris Paul fly to the Philippines for an exhibition game; Kevin Durant, Brandon Jennings and John Wall hit every top-flight Pro-Am across the country; and two of the most well-known summer leagues – D.C.’s Goodman League and L.A.’s Drew League – battle for bragging rights in our nation’s capital.

But amongst all that, we could not help but find ourselves completely enraptured with an electric 5-7 point guard from Baltimore named Aquille Carr. MORE >

Words. Martin Kessler

Meet the next big name in women’s hoops: Diamond DeShields. A 6-1 forward out of Georgia’s Norcross High School, DeShields is coming off a monster season in which she posted 19.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game to lead Norcross to its second consecutive state title. The 2011 Gatorade Georgia Girls Basketball Player of the Year, DeShields is currently in Chile suiting up for the Team USA at the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship.

Oh, and by the way, she’s only 16 years old. MORE >

Words. High School Hoop

Seventeen of the nation’s top 19-and-unders, including seven possessing prior USA Basketball experience, have accepted invitations from the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee to attend the 2011 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Championship Team training camp. The training camp, which will be held June 17-24 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., will be used to select the 12-member team that will represent the USA at the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship. MORE >

Words. Aron Phillips

Back in November, we got up with Roscoe Smith to talk about his list of UConn, Duke and Georgetown, and this past Friday, the 6-foot-8 senior from Baltimore (who currently attends Oak Hill Academy) made his decision: He’s heading to Storrs. MORE >