HoopsHQ is destined to become the Blue Ribbon of basketball websites

Now's your chance to get in on Seth Davis's newest project

I met Seth Davis more than 20 years ago, when he called to ask if I would be interested in joining the Sports Illustrated team as a correspondent. He didn’t have to twist my arm.

I spent about a decade working with Davis and other stars of the publication, including Alexander Wolff, one of the greatest basketball writers in history, the late Grant Wahl, who became, arguably the best soccer writer in history but who, like Seth, Alex, and me, is enshrined in the United States Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame. It was great to work with talent like that, and occasionally I got to speak with Rick Reilly and Gary Smith, two of the best ever in their respective areas of expertise, columns, and long-form profiles.

Eventually I moved on from SI and took over Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, which has previously been just a seasonal gig, on a full-time basis. Seth and I stayed friends, and when he became editor of The Athletic’s college basketball coverage, he again reached out to me. I wasn’t there long, but long enough to see two of the coolest NCAA Tournament games in history, including Nevada’s epic 22-point halftime comeback against Cincinnati in the second round.

I remember Seth calling me as I made my way to Nevada’s locker room. “Blow it out man,” he told me. “We need 2,000 words at least.”

I was proud of the story that resulted from that game and Seth’s 2K-word mandate, so much so in later years I would take my sports writing students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on a step-by-step tour of how I got it done on deadline. There was plenty they could take from my experience that night.

Davis and I eventually left The Athletic, but as always, we stayed in touch. So when he texted me recently with his plans to start a new college basketball website, I was interested. He wanted experienced writers—like, for example Jeff Goodman—who know people and know their way around the game.

Yeah, I wanted in on that action, too.

To paraphrase my favorite band, let me introduce to you, the one and only HoopsHQ, a new comprehensive basketball website run by Davis and assisted by several of his pals in the business. I’ll be writing a twice-monthly column focusing on the Southeastern Conference, a league I’ve covered for the better part of 30 years.

“For whatever reason, there are very few media companies that are all-in on college basketball anymore,” Davis says. “I’m talking about all day, every day, 12 months a year. This is weird to me because there has never been more to cover. Not just the games, but the explosion of the women’s game, and the chaos of the transfer portal, NIL, conference realignment, the coaching carousel and recruiting.

“So I’m psyched to be able not just to write about all this myself, but to assemble a team that will help me do it. This is an audience that really wants to be served. I’m really hoping they’ll find what they’re looking for at Hoops HQ.”

Trust me, if you love Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook (which you can order here if you haven’t yet), you’re going to love HoopsHQ. The two share the same mission—to give true basketball fans all the information they need to enjoy their favorite game.

HoopsHQ is subscriber based, but it’s economically priced, especially considering all the great content it will offer. Go to HoopsHQ.com to subscribe.

You’ll thank me later!