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Midnight Madness lit up the night. Join Hoopville for another great season!

by - Published October 15, 2011 in Full Court Sprints

This year’s Cinderella waited until midnight to get the party started.

In a month noted for pumpkins, fairy tale seasons start with the NCAA’s Midnight Madness. Fans across the country reveled in massive basketball-themed parties last night in which coaches, players and special guests hyped the potential of a magical run to the Final Four.

It’s a time for optimism, and sometimes, that energy carries through all the way to April, regardless of preseason expectations or conference affiliation. Just ask VCU and Butler.

Hoopville also is looking forward to the rapidly approaching 2011-12 season. We’ve celebrating our 10th season of excellent Division I coverage — from the recruiting trail to the final whistle in the championship game — and we’ve got several new or improved features for you.

  • This will be our first full season with our redesigned site.
  • We’ve recruited a bunch of great new bloggers to expand and diversify our content. You can find their work in the second column of the home page and story pages in the Conference Coverage box.
  • Michael Protos is revamping the Total Impact Quotient player rating system, making it far more accurate and easier to understand. Look for the final results from 2010-11 to come soon.
  • Phil Kasiecki is working tirelessly to expand Hoopville’s events for high school players on the East Coast.

As always, you can expect superior reporting from Phil — dare we say the hardest-working observer of the New England recruiting trail and most comprehensive reporter of a half-dozen Mid-Atlantic and Northeast conferences. And as the season progresses, Michael will continue to maintain the Full Court Sprints news coverage, and later in the season, he’ll break out the Bracket Breakdown NCAA Tournament projections.

You can join the conversation with Hoopville at our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Game on!

Second Practice

by - Published October 22, 2010 in Full Court Sprints

FULL COURT SPRINTS

BASELINE TO BASELINE

LAST SHOT

Go coast to coast with our roundup of the nation’s top stories.

  1. Bruce Pearl is working day-to-day after Tennessee terminates the coach’s contract for “gross misconduct” and “intolerable” behavior, according to VolQuest.com’s John Brice, who posted excerpts from a university letter.
  2. Baylor’s Scott Drew won’t say whether the NCAA is investigating the Bears’ recruiting practices after reports that assistant coach Mark Morefield violated text message rules, writes the Associated Press’ Doug Tucker. Morefield supposedly sent a text to Hanner Perea, a highly regarded recruit and Colombia native, in which Morefield basically threatened to have Perea deported if he didn’t come to Waco.
  3. Purdue’s Robbie Hummel starts another long rehab for his second torn ACL this year, and he vows to be back next season, writes the Associated Press’ Cliff Brunt.
  4. Sign of the times: Michigan State’s Tom Izzo is asking big man Draymond Green to pick up some wing skills so he can get more playing time, writes SpartanMag.com’s Ricardo Cooney.
  5. New DePaul coach Oliver Purnell hopes that Shane Larkin can work magic on the hardwood like his father, Barry, did on the baseball diamond, writes Scott Powers of ESPNChicago.com.
BleacherReport.com’s Garrett Tucker compiled a pretty decent slide show to recap the Midnight Madness festivities, complete with YouTube videos or links to other sites with footage — including North Carolina State’s Ryan Harrow introducing what he hopes will become this year’s John Wall dance.

The best part of Providence’s dunk contest during Midnight Madness? God Shammgod was one of the judges. If God says you are a 10, game over!

St. John’s might be in Queens, but the Red Storm apparently imported a referee from Harlem to shake up Midnight Madness.

STUDY SESSION

OPENING TIP

No class today! Enjoy the fall break, because you’ll have plenty of cramming to do soon when Hoopville begins posting its conference previews during the next few weeks. What’s easier than winning the UConn basketball ticket lottery? UConn Campus Daily suggests that the answer might involve Lindsay Lohan and learning how to dougie.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE

The coaches released their first poll of the season yesterday, which is pretty much an exercise in irrelevancy.

To start last season, North Carolina was ranked No. 4 while Syracuse barely cracked the rankings at No. 25. Michigan, Oklahoma and Mississippi State also started last season in the top 25. Without any on-court evidence to demonstrate how good or bad teams are, the preseason poll is purely speculation.

Of course, fans and media analysts love to speculate. It’s what we do. But a water cooler/message board conversation is entirely different than a supposedly official ranking system. Throughout the regular season, pollsters vote based on actual game results. Why not wait until after the first week of the season to release the first poll?

This year’s first coaches’ poll puts Duke at the top. It’s hard to argue with putting the reigning champ back on top, especially when the Blue Devils return most of their key contributors. But North Carolina at No. 9 and Virginia Tech at No. 23? Come on now. That’s all speculation driven by the Tar Heels’ talented recruits and brand-name value. Let’s wait until the Tar Heels prove they are better than the Hokies before ranking them so high.

Teams earn NCAA Tournament bids — let’s make them earn early season rankings, too.

Your Phil of Hoops

Charlotte wanted more but feels like they accomplished something

March 23, 2013 by

charlotte

Charlotte naturally had hoped to make the NCAA Tournament, then hoped to make a run in the NIT when it came calling instead. But the 49ers have a season of progress now in the books and should be primed to continue growing next season from what they did this year.

Despite semifinal loss, Notre Dame feels better leaving New York than when they entered

March 16, 2013 by

notredame

Amidst much talk of whether or not conference tournaments are a good idea, Notre Dame got a boost in New York. They are happy with the tournament and feel more prepared for the NCAA Tournament despite a semifinal loss.

Coaching Changes and NBA Draft

The coaching carousel is moving. Keep track of the latest coaching changes right here on Hoopville.

Also, keep track of players who have declared early for the NBA Draft.

Conference Coverage

2013 Big East Tournament quarterfinal quick hitters

March 15, 2013 by

bigeast

Georgetown vs. Syracuse lives on just a little longer in the context of the Big East. That, and more from Thursday’s quarterfinals, including one team being delayed coming to the press conference because of a special visitor.

2013 Big East Tournament second round quick hitters

March 14, 2013 by

bigeast

The second round of the 2013 Big East Tournament is in the books and the quarterfinal matchups featuring the top four teams are set. Here are some notes from Wednesday’s games at Madison Square Garden.

2013 Big East Tournament first round quick hitters

March 13, 2013 by

bigeast

The first round of the Big East Tournament saw a close overtime game and a blowout, with the former seeing a tournament record tied. We take a look back at the opening night in New York.

2013 CAA Awards: How one person voted

March 7, 2013 by

colonial

As the CAA gets ready to hand out awards, here is a look at how I voted. The biggest award was a tough call, while two other big awards were easy calls to make.

2012-13 Big Sky Conference Preview

November 22, 2012 by

bigsky

In 2012-13, a couple of consistent powerhouses should remain contenders, including one who lost an NBA lottery pick. In addition, teams with new head coaches are headed for rebuilding years.

Phil Kasiecki on Twitter

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