You see Billy it’s like this, you either smoke or you get smoked. And you got smoked.

I’m back! Didn’t think I’d show, did you? Well, here I am. Welcome to your one-stop spot for basketball news. Every week I’ll help you stay up to date with everything going on in the world of basketball. NBA, College, and High school recruiting all in one place. Pretty sweet huh? No need to thank me, I can see it in your eyes. Let’s get started.

The Association:

• NBA training camps are underway and preseason games have begun. That means one thing: Who’s going to win it all? Don’t worry, our buddies at Bovada have posted their current championship odds. The reigning champs are the current favorites at 11/5, with the revamped Lakers coming in close behind at 5/2.
• Speaking of preseason, the Boston Celtics played their first game against Fenerbahce, a turkish professional team last Friday. And they lost. After you get done laughing and thinking about Bill Simmons, realize it’s really not that big of a deal. The Celtics have several new players to incorporate and these guys are just starting to get their legs back. We can still laugh though!
• Kobe Bryant has two years left on his current contract with the Lakers and is starting to give those long, reflective interviews that players whose careers are winding down do. Ken Berger over at CBS Sports had a particularly good article on the 16 year old vet. Obviously, Kobe needs to win now. Breaking news, I know.
  

  Now or Never

• If you’re one of those rare people that can rationally try and compare Michael Jordan and Lebron James without wanting to murder anyone who disagrees with you, Tom Haberstroh has some comparative numbers between the two as of age 27. What stands out the most to me is that Jordan’s career shooting percentage was 52% when he was 27 years old. That’s insane.

College Basketball

• The college crew over at CBS Sports put together their list of the top 100 players next season. If this list tells us one thing, it’s that next year is going to be wide open. The top 5 consists of two freshman (Muhammad and Noel) and two guys from mid-majors (Doug McDermott from Creighton and Isiah Canaan from Murray State).
  

  2012 NCAA Player of the Year

• Questions continue to surround the University of North Carolina as they are embroiled in an academic scandal. While originally centered around the football program, the basketball team (and their family members) appears to now be involved.
• Not to be outdone by their rival, Duke finds some controversy at their own door. Specifically, how did former player Lance Thomas acquire $100k in jewley?
• Nerlens Noel, the #1 incoming freshman in America, reclassified to join Kentucky this year. While he’s been cleared academically, the NCAA is still reviewing his amatuer status. So to recap: The NCAA cares how you pay for a few unofficial visits to schools, but not how you put $30,000 down on jewelry and received a loan for the remaining $70,000 balance. Got it?
• Final NCAA violations story, I promise. UCLA’s highly touted freshmen Shabazz Muhammad and Kyle Anderson are also under investigation regarding their recruitment.

High School Recruiting

• One of the greatest package deals of all-time, the Harrison twins, announced they would attend the University of Kentucky. The duo represents the #1 point guard and #1 shooting guard in the country and gives John Calipari a head start towards yet another elite recruiting class.
  

  Harrison twinsattend the University of Kentucky last Thursday. The duo represents the #1 point guard and shooting in the class and gives the beginning of another monster class for John Calipari.

• James Young, the #2 shooting guard and consensus top 10 player, is also expected to pick Kentucky on Thursday. Don’t believe me? Check out the Kansas message boards, they know what time it is.
• Jabari Parker, the top player in 2013 according to some sites, has cut his list to 5. Parker, a devout Mormon, also has to now decide if and when he will go on mission as many young Mormons do.
• Finally, here’s a complete look at Scout.com’s list of the top 100 players.

I’ll be back next Wednesday to talk about the official start of practice in college ball along with more preseason NBA games.