Afternoon Rumble: Bashir Ahmed could be the best incoming JUCO, late transfers (from other schools), awesome helmets

In St. John's "news", Bleacher Report lists incoming junior wing Bashir Ahmed as the top JUCO transfer to watch in men's college basketball. He will definitely transform the Storm if he can efficiently make some of the slashing attempts and open jumpers that the team struggled to make last season.

Mike Rutherford at the SB Nation Mothership waxes poetic on the Big East being “here” (versus “on the rise”), with validation in the form of Villanova, while three other powers - Georgetown, Marquette and St. John's - need to rise. And then the power rankings leave St. John's at... tenth.

DePaul’s former big man Tommy Hamilton has transferred to Texas Tech, who recently lost backup guard CJ Williamson to transfer. Can Chris Beard’s intense style work magic on Hamilton, who has a diverse skill set but sometimes waning effort?

Colorado State brings in 6'0" four-star transfer guard Kevin Dorsey, who was dismissed from the Minnesota Golden Gophers for posting a sex video on social media. Dorsey is originally from Maryland, but chase to transfer farther from home (Minneapolis is pretty far north, but Fort Collins is much farther west.) Carmine writes more about it on Busting Brackets.

USA Basketball is not dominating the way most Americans - and the players themselves - expected. No, they haven't lost, and the stand at 5-0 going into the medal rounds, but Croatia, Brazil, Spain, and Argentina will be tough competition.

"Starting Wednesday, the pressure will be turned up. Fortunately, the U.S. has multiple guys who can save them when they need to make up for their poor defense with offensive flurries or big buckets. As bad as their defense has been and as infrequent as fast-break opportunities have been, the Americans haven't gone through any serious scoring droughts."

Air Force football has taken the helmet game from the Thunderbirds to a shark tooth helmet. Garish, crazy, and a reminder that fighter planes look really cool (IMO). Hat tip to Mountain West Connection.

Things not to do at the end of a swimming race: dunking one's opponent while reaching for the finish mark in open water.