Another season of college basketball is upon us, tipping off this evening. As we anticipate it and the great matchups that are featured on this opening night, we also stop to take stock of tomorrow being Hoopville’s 17th anniversary a day earlier this year so as not to overshadow the game action on opening night. It’s been quite a ride, and it recently had an interruption.
That interruption was undesired, but also brought about much-needed change. It was also not one to take lightly.
In July, our host informed us out of the blue that our database had exceeded an acceptable size threshold specified in our hosting plan. This came as a complete shock to me; database thresholds are not highlighted in any hosting plan, largely because they tend not to be a differentiating factor like storage, number of web sites, bandwidth and e-mail among other things. In addition, while we have been around since late 2001, it’s not as if we serve up boatloads of content every day, so I thought, something can’t be right.
With little choice, I went right to work, wondering how this happened. I learned some things about WordPress, which our site has run on for almost a decade, the hard way, and came to understand how we got this notice. Unfortunately, there simply was not enough time for a real mitigation of this issue; no new database content would be served unless and until we got below the threshold, and we had all of one week to do it. Failure to do so would result first in being unable to access the database at all, then deletion of it.
It was time to backup the database elsewhere and change hosts to one that did not have this limit. Thankfully, this happened during a traditionally slow period for us – had this happened in, say, February, it would have been a disaster. That is especially the case considering our move to a new host was not smooth at all, involving a waiting game at times. But it was a move that had to be made, and one that was already under consideration since I already have another Web site hosted elsewhere. I also knew this was an opportunity to handle more while I was at it.
A long stretch with no ability to write or add podcasts like this is a challenge, but it also can lead to something else: experiencing life without it. I have been actively covering college basketball and everything connected to it for well over a decade; I have covered over 100 games in a season several times, have traversed much of New England’s prep schools in the fall on several occasions, and have traveled far and wide to see many of the best high school prospects and great college basketball. What would it be like if that went away?
Well, I experienced it. And let’s just say it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. As the days went by and a technical resolution did not result, I managed. That’s not to say I didn’t miss it, but I didn’t feel like a fish out of water. This was an opportunity to also change our look and feel, which was overdue, but also to fix more than that. I also understood that there is still a draw, still an opportunity to do something. There is still something about college basketball that pulls me in.
And once we re-launched about a month ago, I knew this was not the time to put an end to things. We are not done yet. Perhaps a break in the action was all I really needed, and I got that, even if it was thrust upon me instead of one taken willingly.
In past years on our anniversary, I have remarked on those who have come and gone in our space during the time we have existed. There have been many sites like us to at least some degree, and plenty still exist while others are no longer around. In October, City of Basketball Love, a well-run site by Josh Verlin around the best big city for college basketball, became the latest to depart the scene. I had the pleasure of covering games with Josh on several occasions and also seeing him at high school events in Philadelphia as well, so this was some tough news to take.
While I have felt blessed that we are still around each year, that has never been more true than in 2018. And we aren’t planning on going anywhere, either.
So with that, let the games begin for another season, and let’s hope this season can be at least as good as last season was.
Side Dishes
One thing that still hasn’t changed is the NCAA doing things that engender a lot of ill will. The latest was when Stadium reported on Monday that they suspended UMass-Lowell guard Alex Rivera for their opener at UMass after he played in a charity summer game. The 6’1″ freshman is a local product and part of a seven-man freshman class for the River Hawks, who are entering their second season of NCAA Tournament eligibility.
Stadium also reported that Baylor has suspended Mario Kegler for the first six games of the season due to a violation of team rules. The sophomore forward showed some of the promise a year ago that made him a coveted recruit, and he figures to be one of the next men up as the Bears continue to watch key players leave as seniors and someone else step into an expanded role to produce.
Alabama will be without Riley Norris for an indefinite period, as the senior guard had heart procedure last week. The Crimson Tide’s most experienced holdover, he had a cardiac ablation procedure done due to his heart beating at an accelerated rate, and is now “week-to-week” according to the school. The Crimson Tide is likely to also be without another guard, Dazon Ingram, for a shorter time due to an ankle injury.
Micah Potter is transferring from Ohio State, with no hint of where he may end up. The 6’9″ junior has dealt with ankle injuries during his first two seasons and when healthy had been a spot starter, starting 16 of the 59 games he played in.
Tonight’s Menu
Since it is election day, the most important thing to do to day is vote. Once you have done that, you can enjoy college basketball’s opening night.
- The highlight of the day is a doubleheader in Indianapolis, the Champions Classic. Michigan State takes on Kansas to get it going (7 p.m.), then Duke takes on Kentucky in a very highly-anticipated matchup (9:30 p.m.)
- An intriguing afternoon game has Northeast Conference favorite Saint Francis University visiting MAC favorite Buffalo (4 p.m.)
- A trio of interesting games tips at 6:30, as Siena starts the Jamion Christian era with a trip to Providence, Wagner heads to Seton Hall and MAAC favorite Rider travels to American Athletic Conference favorite UCF.
- Wofford hosts North Carolina in a rare instance of a power conference team going on the road to a mid-major (7 p.m.)
- Villanova begins their national title defense with a visit from Morgan State (7 p.m.)
- A nice matchup to watch is improving George Mason hosting defending Ivy League champion Penn (7 p.m.)
- A solid mid-major matchup to watch is Florida Gulf Coast traveling to Illinois State (7 p.m.), and another is East Tennessee State heading south to visit Sun Belt favorite Georgia State (7 p.m.)
- The first Philadelphia Big 5 game of the season is at the Liacouras Center, where Temple hosts La Salle (7:30 p.m.)
- The best game that tips at 8 p.m. Eastern might be South Dakota State hosting Grand Canyon, while Wichita State begins their attempt to reload as they host Louisiana Tech at the same time.
- CAA favorite Northeastern hosts arch rival Boston University in their annual opener (8 p.m.)
- A big rivalry game on tap later is Florida State hosting Florida (9 p.m.)
- Vanderbilt’s talented young players get their first test, and a good one, as Winthrop comes to town (9:30 p.m.)
- A nice pair of late-night games to check out are Western Kentucky traveling to Washington (10:30 p.m.) and BYU at Nevada (11 p.m.)
