I'll put the AllBuffs coverage of CU basketball up against anyone's. We've got a core group of fans that bring an incredibly high level of discussion. If you want to talk advanced metrics, this is the place. I love that, but I love even more that it remains accessible for the new or casual hoops fan. What valdez really got started and I babysat for a while, is reaching new heights under ScotchBuff's leadership. I can't wait to see how good it gets for the 2011-12 season.
That said, an important part of the AllBuffs mission is also to support CU athletics and increase the online presence of the Buffs. As part of this mission, we have previously had a number of posts on the various CU bloggers out there and even published interviews with them. I wanted to take a few minutes and give people my impressions of premium options for CU basketball information and discussion.
Rivals
Rivals gets the most traffic of the CU premium boards, probably all boards (even more than AllBuffs). That can often result in good discussions over there. And they've got some well-connected and informed hoops fans who regularly post. JerryCOBuffs, the hoops guy for the Denver Buff Club, posts regularly. As does TZiskin, who recently graduated and started the Facebook group for supporting CU hoops. There are other, including one of the well-connected Colorado AAU coaches. 2 years ago, it was rare that more than a few of us would respond to a basketball thread, but that has grown as the program has shown life.
Adam Munsterteiger, the publisher of the site, played a little college hoops and has a genuine passion for the game. He has been really good about bringing timely interviews and articles. As CU hoops grows in popularity, there's no doubt that content will increase along with it.
Scout
I've long felt that Scout has the best and most reliable prospect database and player ratings for men's basketball. The network does an excellent job of covering the sport, dedicating scouts to cover AAU and summer leagues in addition to high school games.
The coverage of CU hoops picked up considerably since Boyle was hired. Kyle Ringo seems to have an excellent relationship with Boyle and he has even been covering the sport more for the Daily Camera. He's had some inside info and is making a strong effort to bring good coverage. Last season, he even hired a CU student to deliver great game photography of game action (our own Buffslax2). Again, content will increase as interest goes up... and we're on the right path.
BuffScoop
AZ's BuffScoop was almost purely a football insiders site where AZ used his contact network to deliver scoop on the CU program that couldn't be found elsewhere. Fairly or not, it got a reputation as being kind of the "National Inquirer" of CU football and AD happenings. With the hiring of Jon Embree, the site has undergone a transformation. AZ's a longtime fan of Embree and is re-energized. He has been following up with recruiting prospects, conducting interviews, and invested in some site enhancements.
Importantly, one of the big site enhancements was bringing on a basketball guy - YungCoach. Yung gives great analysis of each game and spearheads the efforts on BuffScoop to keep up with men's basketball recruiting and other happenings. AZ is also making an effort to get more into basketball. A real effort is being made there and the early returns are excellent. This looks like a long-term commitment, too.
ESPN Insider & 247 Sports
ESPN Insider is actually pretty good and will sometimes have info that the other sites don't have. They do a nice long write-up on prospects. It can get dated, though, and sometimes evaluations (and measurements) will be over a year old. Same issue they have for football, really. Pretty much the only reason I have a paid membership to Insider is because my niece sells magazines as a school fundraiser every year and my wife gets me ESPN The Magazine to hook her up (and Insider comes with the sub). Insider's more valuable than the magazine, though, imho.
Not a lot to say about 247 Sports. It's a new network that started at the end of last year. In the last month or so, they finally added basketball recruiting rankings and some articles. It's a welcome addition, but they still do not have a dedicated CU site as part of the network. Because of that, it's the one premium site I still don't subscribe to.
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In short, things are not only looking up for the program but for the coverage. Certainly some of this stems from the fact that interest drives content. But it's more than just that. All 3 sites have actually been ahead of the curve with this and seem committed to take it to the next level. Truly, this is a great time to be a CU basketball fan and it looks like it's only going to get better.
That said, an important part of the AllBuffs mission is also to support CU athletics and increase the online presence of the Buffs. As part of this mission, we have previously had a number of posts on the various CU bloggers out there and even published interviews with them. I wanted to take a few minutes and give people my impressions of premium options for CU basketball information and discussion.
Rivals
Rivals gets the most traffic of the CU premium boards, probably all boards (even more than AllBuffs). That can often result in good discussions over there. And they've got some well-connected and informed hoops fans who regularly post. JerryCOBuffs, the hoops guy for the Denver Buff Club, posts regularly. As does TZiskin, who recently graduated and started the Facebook group for supporting CU hoops. There are other, including one of the well-connected Colorado AAU coaches. 2 years ago, it was rare that more than a few of us would respond to a basketball thread, but that has grown as the program has shown life.
Adam Munsterteiger, the publisher of the site, played a little college hoops and has a genuine passion for the game. He has been really good about bringing timely interviews and articles. As CU hoops grows in popularity, there's no doubt that content will increase along with it.
Scout
I've long felt that Scout has the best and most reliable prospect database and player ratings for men's basketball. The network does an excellent job of covering the sport, dedicating scouts to cover AAU and summer leagues in addition to high school games.
The coverage of CU hoops picked up considerably since Boyle was hired. Kyle Ringo seems to have an excellent relationship with Boyle and he has even been covering the sport more for the Daily Camera. He's had some inside info and is making a strong effort to bring good coverage. Last season, he even hired a CU student to deliver great game photography of game action (our own Buffslax2). Again, content will increase as interest goes up... and we're on the right path.
BuffScoop
AZ's BuffScoop was almost purely a football insiders site where AZ used his contact network to deliver scoop on the CU program that couldn't be found elsewhere. Fairly or not, it got a reputation as being kind of the "National Inquirer" of CU football and AD happenings. With the hiring of Jon Embree, the site has undergone a transformation. AZ's a longtime fan of Embree and is re-energized. He has been following up with recruiting prospects, conducting interviews, and invested in some site enhancements.
Importantly, one of the big site enhancements was bringing on a basketball guy - YungCoach. Yung gives great analysis of each game and spearheads the efforts on BuffScoop to keep up with men's basketball recruiting and other happenings. AZ is also making an effort to get more into basketball. A real effort is being made there and the early returns are excellent. This looks like a long-term commitment, too.
ESPN Insider & 247 Sports
ESPN Insider is actually pretty good and will sometimes have info that the other sites don't have. They do a nice long write-up on prospects. It can get dated, though, and sometimes evaluations (and measurements) will be over a year old. Same issue they have for football, really. Pretty much the only reason I have a paid membership to Insider is because my niece sells magazines as a school fundraiser every year and my wife gets me ESPN The Magazine to hook her up (and Insider comes with the sub). Insider's more valuable than the magazine, though, imho.
Not a lot to say about 247 Sports. It's a new network that started at the end of last year. In the last month or so, they finally added basketball recruiting rankings and some articles. It's a welcome addition, but they still do not have a dedicated CU site as part of the network. Because of that, it's the one premium site I still don't subscribe to.
*****************
In short, things are not only looking up for the program but for the coverage. Certainly some of this stems from the fact that interest drives content. But it's more than just that. All 3 sites have actually been ahead of the curve with this and seem committed to take it to the next level. Truly, this is a great time to be a CU basketball fan and it looks like it's only going to get better.
