Words. Eric Newman

After last night’s dynamic and captivating premiere of HBO’s Prayer For A Perfect Season, I can’t help but smile at both the timing of its release and the purity that it represents. Director Marc Levin, (Brick City, Protocols of Zion and The Last Party, amongst other works) has always been known as someone that does not pull any punches as his high-stakes mentality explores the human element of each story he follow. Prayer For A Perfect Season is no different as the human side drives this film forward with every scene, floor burn and four-letter word – which starts and stops with love. The love of the game; the love of team; the love of family; and perhaps most valuable of all, the love of the journey. MORE >

Words. Aron Phillips

While I tend to disagree, people often say that high school basketball is “the last pure platform of the sport.” Where the NBA and even college ball have become all about business (see: lockout, NCAA Tournament ad dollars), high school hoop is played primarily for the love of the game. (I mean, those were my glory days.) So thankfully this fall HBO is coming out with a documentary, Prayer For A Perfect Season, on New Jersey basketball powerhouse St. Patrick High School (Elizabeth, N.J.) after following them throughout the 2010-11 season. MORE >

Words. High School Hoop

It’s tough to honestly pick an All-American team. Gone are the days when so much of the nation’s high school basketball talent was concentrated in major cities like New York, L.A., Chicago and Philly – now the game is everywhere, with superstars coming out of small Midwestern towns, previously overlooked Northwest suburbs and the football territories of the Deep South, to name a few. So even in an era where YouTube highlights and regular national TV broadcasts allow more people to see more high school stars outside their own area code, the sheer volume of quality players spread around the map can be overwhelming. As a result, hype and reputation play too much of a role in determining who gets what awards and honors, and people make lazy picks, sometimes without even having seen a kid play. MORE >

Words. Trevor Kapp

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. MORE >

Words. High School Hoop

The USA Basketball Junior National Select Team’s depth and defense helped it withstand the first triple-double in Nike Hoop Summit history as the Americans rolled to a 92-80 win over the World Select Team Saturday night in front of a national television audience and a Rose Garden crowd of 8,955 in Portland, Ore. MORE >

Words. Lucas Shapiro

Most 16-year-old boys are known for either playing sports or sitting at home playing video games. Alex Kline, however, is not your typical teenager. Alex runs TheRecruitScoop.com, writes for Adam Zagoria’s blog and has a huge following on Twitter. He is a great resource for players and college coaches that are looking to improve their stance. We had to opportunity to catch up with Alex to get to know how it all started and some of his opinions on the basketball world. MORE >