An Early, and Welcomed, Return to Hoops

Welcome back to "Keepin' Track of the MAAC."

This is an early, unexpected but much-welcomed return to blogging about MAAC basketball happenings.

The MAAC has graciously offered the opportunity to blog about hoops year round. And, considering that yours truly is a year-round hoops junkie ... the chance to do that is just too good to pass up.

What goes on in the off-season?

Plenty, from recruiting, to scheduling, to comings and goings (players and coaches) ... just about everything and anything. It's also a good chance to opine, reminisce, whatever.

So, hopefully, this will be an internet destination for all you Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference basketball fans. And, I know, there are plenty of you out there.

This begins my 21st season of being connected with the MAAC, first as a newspaper "beat reporter" and, now, as a blogger. My experience has taught me there is a a large audience for MAAC-related content, an audience that far surpasses that of almost any other mid-major basketball conference.

Why is that? My educated guesses are that the conference programs are well-established and have fan bases that have developed over long periods of time, that the league brings in a high-level of athletes, that the league schedule is always competitive, that fans can get greater access to players and coaches at this level than at the higher levels, that MAAC athletes are students first ... in essence that the league epitomizes what college sports is meant to be.

And, as fans, we are the beneficiaries. We appreciate it.

Now, I hope, the faithful readers of this space will be the year-round beneficiaries of opinions, insights, news and anything else this blogger can find of interest to write about concerning both men's and women's basketball.

Thanks for reading.