So, the big rage this week in the world of entertainment is “New Moon,” the new movie in the Twilight series. I haven’t seen the movie, but apparently one of the main characters can turn himself into a wolf. Check out a trailer:

TWILIGHT TRAILER

Pretty bad-ass, huh? Well, I think there’s a future for that guy in the NBA if he wants to pursue one. I know he probably made lots of money acting in that movie, so he might not be rushing to play hoops for a living. And, I acknowledge that I’ve never seen him shoot a jumpshot. Whatever. Put that guy on any team, and the team’s defense improves instantly. Imagine him playing in the middle of a 1-3-1 trapping defense. I think the Nets should sign him quickly, before the season gets out of hand.

Now, moving on to the guys who are already playing hoops…
The big story in college hoops this week had to be the Syracuse Orange. They won the Coaches v. Cancer tournament by beating Cal and then pounding North Carolina. The Tar Heels were hurtin’ for certain. According to the rankings, Cal was the 12th best team in the country, and Carolina was the 4th. If those rankings are accurate, then Syracuse should be playing in the NBA. Dick Vitale, who was broadcasting the game, said this is the best Syracuse team he has seen in years. As a Syracuse fan, I would get excited about that kind of comment, if only Dick Vitale didn’t say something like that about 90% of the teams he covers.

The new rankings came out, and the Orange made a huge jump.

In the NBA, a big story is that the Hornets won 3 games in a row without Chris Paul, including wins over the Suns and the Hawks. Darren Collison made a few huge plays during the fourth quarter of the Suns game, and followed it up with 22 points and 11 assists against the Hawks. Props to him.

Power Rankings from ESPN and Sportsline:
ESPN

SPORTSLINE

A few highlights from the week:
LeBron finishes an alley-oop against Philadelphia.

Josh Smith slams home a game winner against Houston.

JR Smith does a 360 on the Clippers.

Vintage Jason Kidd.

Kobe shoots over the backboard.

James Harden brings the thunder.

For those who don’t watch hoops as closely as I do, my week in review can be a good way for you to stay updated on important developments in both pro and college hoops. I’ll try to post it every Tuesday.

NBA:
There are a few hot teams worthy of note:

One is Sacramento. I don’t know whether a 5-4 team counts as “hot,” but I didn’t expect the Kings to have 5 wins until January. Props to them.

And, at 9-2, Phoenix is quickly solidifying itself as a force. Remember, they didn’t make the playoffs last year. So, the teams who had designs on a higher seed (Blazers, Mavericks), and the borderline-playoff teams (Thunder, Clippers, Jazz), better knock Phoenix back to earth quickly if they want to reach their goals.

And there are a few cold teams worthy of note:
The Nets, Knicks, and T-Wolves are quickly starting to look like they are in a class of their own as the worst three teams in the league. The Wizards and Bobcats have been disappointing. The Hornets are falling apart fast.

Some players have been on fire:
Chris Bosh is fifth in the league in points, and second in rebounds. I must admit that I wouldn’t have predicted either of those things before I looked at the league leaders.
Brandon Jennings is tearing up the league. He dropped 55 points on the Warriors, which, for a rookie, is astounding — it’s like dropping 30 points on a real team. This will certainly fire up the debate about whether high school phenoms are best served by playing in college before going pro.

There have been a bunch of developments to note:
The Hornets fired Byron Scott. Denver pounded the Lakers. THE ANSWER got released. Here’s some free advice for other NBA GM’s: SIGN HIM. Chris Paul hurt his ankle. So did Josh Howard.

The Power Rankings from ESPN and Sportsline contain a few surprises:
ESPN
Sportsline

NCAA:
To be honest, I won’t be able to follow the entire college hoops universe closely enough for those of you who love college hoops to use this as a primary source of your college hoops information. I got bills to pay.
I’ll certainly pay attention to the Top 10, and also to Syracuse and Penn (my two favorite teams). This will be a good place to come for links to articles about the big picture, but if you really want to read up about the bubble teams or mid-majors, this probably ain’t the place. I just don’t have the time to watch enough games to cover the landscape.
All-American predictions (from people who know more than I do):
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/powerranking?season=2010&week=1
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/polls

And, in closing, a few highlights from the week:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bk9-gQH994
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVJ8gT1k7-M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU_gws8-fTQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO-8Alobeyw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bsjLz36T6A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MqmMxvQrxM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaJnhDxcm00
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPFQwF4PUFA