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CJ Moore@cjmoorehoops.bsky.social · last mo.

Part 2 of the mailbag, grading the roster construction of new high-major coaches: www.nytimes.com/athletic/741...

Grading every new high-major college basketball coach’s roster: Who earned an A and who fell short? (Gift Article)

Did Michael Malone and North Carolina put together a good enough roster to be one of the top teams in college basketball?

nytimes.com

Mailbag: Which college hoops coaches will stay put through 2036, which coach would most fans be happy with winning a title and why the final AP Poll is pointless www.nytimes.com/athletic/741...

Mailbag: Which college hoops coaches will stay put through 2036, which coach would most fans be happy with winning a title and why the final AP Poll is pointless www.nytimes.com/athletic/741...

College hoops mailbag: The coaches most likely to stay put through 2036

nytimes.com

For our 90s series, a look back at the actual games played for the basketball scenes in Blue Chips and Nick Nolte’s time shadowing Bob Knight. Loved this movie as a kid. www.nytimes.com/athletic/740...

The pickup games that made ‘Blue Chips’ the most authentic basketball movie ever (Gift Article)

The 1994 film featured Bob Knight coaching a real game against Shaq and Penny Hardaway, and no one wanted to lose.

nytimes.com

Mailbag time. Drop your questions here: www.nytimes.com/athletic/740...

Submit your questions for the college basketball mailbag

Dusty May leaves reigning national champions Michigan for the NBA. What else is on your mind?

nytimes.com

Mike Boynton has been interviewing with Michigan’s administration over the last week and is hoping to have interim tag removed. Talked to Boynton last night about his plan and a crazy last week. Story (free link): www.nytimes.com/athletic/740...

Michigan's Mike Boynton pushing to replace Dusty May: 'Operating as if I'm going to be the coach'

nytimes.com

One of the best draft stories is Keaton Wagler’s. Wrote about Keaton’s journey again this week and what others can learn from how his family navigated the process: www.nytimes.com/athletic/738...

Keaton Wagler’s rise to the NBA Draft was rapid and unexpected, but it hasn’t changed him (Gift Article)

Wagler, No. 261 in his recruiting class, is the rare one-and-done freshman who didn’t set out with that as the goal.

nytimes.com

CJ Moore @cjmoorehoops.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I’ll be on The Athletic’s NBA Draft show tonight during the draft for anyone interested in an alternative (or additional) broadcast: www.youtube.com/live/mLHyQlq...

NBA Draft LIVE STREAM | The Athletic Experts react to each draft pick

YouTube video by The Athletic NBA Daily

youtube.com

Updated Top 25 with Kentucky added following the addition of Milan Momcilovic: www.nytimes.com/athletic/731...

College basketball top 25 after NBA Draft deadline: Illinois or Florida at No. 1? (Gift Article)

College basketball rosters are now mostly set, and it’s time to provide a much clearer preseason Top 25 than the early April crapshoots.

nytimes.com

CJ Moore @cjmoorehoops.bsky.social · 2mo ago

My new Top 25 with rosters mostly set now. I went slightly against what I’m assuming will be the consensus: www.nytimes.com/athletic/731...

College basketball top 25 after NBA Draft deadline: Illinois or Florida at No. 1? (Gift Article)

College basketball rosters are now mostly set, and it’s time to provide a much clearer preseason Top 25 than the early April crapshoots.

nytimes.com

CJ Moore @cjmoorehoops.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Why Dusty May hired an assistant coach he’d never met before (Free to read): www.nytimes.com/athletic/731...

Why Dusty May hired a coach working in Japan who he’s never met (Gift Article)

May has never met his new assistant coach Mody Maor, but said he wanted to "hire a coach who’s better than me."

nytimes.com

A wide-ranging talk with Bill Self on roster building in this new era, how he built his 2026-27 roster, why the turnover and what kind of budget he was working with: www.nytimes.com/athletic/729...

Why Bill Self let Kansas’ starters walk to rebuild around the No. 1 recruit (Gift Article)

Only five starters have ever transferred under Self in 23 years. This offseason, two starters left, but it was part of his strategy.

nytimes.com

Why did Bill Self decide to return coaching? We talked through his decision recently. Free to read: www.nytimes.com/athletic/728...

Why Bill Self, after visits with multiple doctors, returned to Kansas for a 24th season (Gift Article)

Self said the tail end of last season

nytimes.com

My friend Stephanie was diagnosed with leukemia 3 weeks ago and we’re holding a blood drive in her honor this week in KC. If you’re able to give, hope you’ll come through. donate.savealifenow.org/donor/umc/vi...

Donor Portal - Community Blood Center

donate.savealifenow.org

Marquette was the only high-major program not to take a D1 transfer from 2022 through 2025. Shaka Smart finally took two this spring. We talked about why he did it. Free for all to read: www.nytimes.com/athletic/728...

Why Shaka Smart and Marquette dipped into the portal after 4 years without taking a transfer (Gift Article)

How Smart landed at that decision is not as cut and dried as it may seem. He says it wasn’t just about the results of a 12-20 season.

nytimes.com

Why the expanded NCAA Tournament makes a Cinderella story even less likely www.nytimes.com/athletic/726...

Why the expanded NCAA Tournament makes a Cinderella story even less likely

A simulation run by The Athletic found that mid-majors would have seen their upset odds drop significantly under the new 76-team model.

nytimes.com

Five portal fits I liked. (Free link) www.nytimes.com/athletic/726...

Men’s college basketball transfer portal fits: 5 of the best pairings this offseason (Gift Article)

Winning the portal means finding players who fit a vision and role, and putting them in a system that pulls out their greatest strengths.

nytimes.com

The NCAA is trying to get out of the waiver business with a rule change that would give everyone five years to play five. I asked coaches what they think and what the best version of this looks like: www.nytimes.com/athletic/725...

NCAA's 5-in-5 rule has basketball coaches' support — but will it fix eligibility chaos?

nytimes.com

How do college basketball coaches feel about NCAA Tournament expansion? I called around this week to ask coaches at multiple levels: www.nytimes.com/athletic/724...

College basketball coaches react to NCAA Tournament expansion, focus on how field should be picked (Gift Article)

"Cinderella is what helped make the tournament what it is," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. "I hope we don't lose that piece of it."

nytimes.com

A look at the biggest winners and losers of the offseason thus far: www.nytimes.com/athletic/721...

Who are the early winners and losers of the men's college basketball offseason?

nytimes.com

Agents are asking for money and most high-major teams have a bigger salary pool this year. But will all these deals get cleared? Is cheating back? This one is free for all: www.nytimes.com/athletic/719...

What I'm hearing about the transfer portal: Building a contender may cost $10 million — at least

nytimes.com

The Athletic @theathletic.com · 4mo ago

The Athletic’s transfer portal rankings are back. The list will continue to grow and grow and grow. Here’s our initial top 30: www.nytimes.com/athletic/718...

Ranking the 30 best players in the men’s college basketball transfer portal

The transfer portal has never been more important for team building in today's game. Here are the best available players in 2026.

nytimes.com

The rankings will be updated periodically until the start of the season, but this is a super-early look at who @cjmoorehoops.bsky.social thinks will be good. www.nytimes.com/athletic/717...

2026 men’s college basketball too early Top 25: Where Duke, Michigan, UNC rank

Where does your team rank after season's end?

nytimes.com

I asked Dusty May if I could walk back to the team hotel every time he left the stadium this week. Come along for the ride, including one final celebratory walk last night. Free link: www.nytimes.com/athletic/717...

Stride for stride with Michigan's Dusty May on a late-night walk of champions

nytimes.com

Illinois couldn’t make a shot last night. That was partly due to UConn’s defense, but another contributing factor was UConn’s unique offensive system. It takes your legs and is the special sauce to this dynastic run. Free to read: www.nytimes.com/athletic/717...

How Dan Hurley’s UConn became inevitable in April: Huskies can win third title in 4 years (Gift Article)

"Wearing this jersey when you get later in this tournament," UConn coach Dan Hurley said, "becomes a benefit.”

nytimes.com

David Mirkovic is hilarious. We asked the Illini for their best stories on the freshman forward. They delivered. Free link: www.nytimes.com/athletic/717...

Meet David Mirkovic: Illinois' karaoke king and DJ who refuses to lose

nytimes.com

We polled 51 coaches on what’s the best job of college basketball: www.nytimes.com/athletic/716...

What’s the best job in men’s college basketball? Coaches say it’s Duke — then the field

We surveyed 51 head and assistant coaches in the sport, asking them: What are your top five jobs?

nytimes.com

A YouTube video, a recommendation from an old friend and an old coach adapting to a changing game… let me take you through the moments that led Illinois to the Final Four (free link): www.nytimes.com/athletic/715...

Illinois bet big on recruiting an international roster. It just paid off with a Final Four

nytimes.com

Ben McCollum is one of the most detailed-oriented coaches in his game preparation. I talked to McCollum and those who know him best about to what that looks like in the final 24 hours before a game. Free link: www.nytimes.com/athletic/715...

Iowa's coach never stops looking for an edge — even at 3 a.m.: 'He's always up'

nytimes.com

The story of Bennett Stirtz and Ben McCollum just keeps getting more absurd. Tried to put it in perspective last night. This one is free for all to read. www.nytimes.com/athletic/715...

He still mows lawns in his hometown. He's also the star of the Elite Eight's biggest surprise

nytimes.com