Friar Basketball
Home / General News / FriarBasketball.com Celebrates Three-Year Anniversary

FriarBasketball.com Celebrates Three-Year Anniversary

3-YEARS

It’s hard to believe, but Friarbasketball.com passed the three-year mark at the beginning of this month, and we wanted to take an opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us along the way, as well as take a step back and share how  the site has evolved over the past year.

Staff Changes

For me personally, this has been, by far, the most rewarding year to date.  Around this time a year ago I began having discussions with Craig Belhumeur (’11) about coming aboard to help expand our coverage as the site continued to grow. Craig spearheaded perhaps the most significant physical change to the site this year – a complete overhaul of the site’s design as we transitioned from Friarbasketball.net to Friarbasketball.com in May.  The site’s look and feel are dramatically improved and we have Craig to thank for leading that effort.

Within months of the conversion we added to our writing staff with Craig Leighton (’79) in August.  Since coming aboard, Craig has served in a multi-purpose role as a recruiting guru, while also contributing to our post-game articles and sharing a historical perspective on the tradition-rich Friar program.  His “Closer Look” articles have provided an in-person perspective on a variety of Providence recruiting targets, and in 2013 Craig’s recruiting coverage will only continue to grow.

We rounded out our staff in October with the addition of Sam Burr (’11), Friarbasketball.com’s own gamephotographer.  Sam has provided the original photos we’ve posted after Providence games at the Dunkin Donuts Center.  Sam has taken hundreds of pictures this season already, and we will look to further provide original images throughout what should be an exciting 2012-13 season.

Photo by our Sam Burr

Now a credentialed website, Friarbasketball.com is striving to provide unique and timely coverage for Friar fans.  Our post-game articles are written from the Dunkin Donuts Center and now include video recaps featuring Craig Belhumeur.  Craig has conducted a number of post-game interviews with head coach Ed Cooley and has also caught up with players as well.

Striving to add to the Providence video presence on the web, we’ve already added 11 new videos to our Video Vault since the beginning of the season.

Expanding the Reach

In September of this year we were thrilled to be be added to ESPN.com’s college basketball blog roll – one of approximately 50 sites to be featured, including the likes of KenPom, ZagsBlog and CollegeBasketballTalk.

Additionally, I made my first appearance on Cox Sports’ Friars All Access show with host Vin Parise and Providence Athletic Director Bob Driscoll.

Saturating the Recruiting Scene

The backbone of this site when it began was our recruiting coverage, with trips up and down New England and the tri-state region providing in-person reports.  We’ve also benefitted from tremendous help from local scribes and prep, high school and AAU coaches who’ve been beyond accommodating and insightful.

As an example of our commitment to providing live reports, Friarbasketball.com has been in attendance for three major prep tournaments since mid-November (the National Prep Showcase, Hoop Mountain Classic, and the Scholar Roundball Classic), continuing a three-year-long trend of seeking out PC-related recruiting angles at every stop.

Over the past 13 months we’ve been in attendance at a variety of terrific multi-day/multi-game tournaments, camps and games, including:

  • The National Prep Showcase
  • The Brewster Invitational
  • The New Hampshire Prep Classic
  • The Hoop Mountain Classic
  • The St. Andrew’s Christmas Tournament
  • BABC Prep School Classic
  • NEPSAC Playoffs and Championship games
  • National Prep Championship
  • The Providence Jamfest
  • The National Prep School Invitational
  • PC Elite Camp
  • Brewster/Tilton on President’s Day at Brewster Academy
  • New London High School/Mount Pleasant on Providence’s campus
In past years we’ve also attended a variety of prep games, high school playoffs and events like the New Hampton Invitational, the Boston Shootout, the Hoophall Classic, the Hall of Fame National Invitational and more.
Thank You
Since transitioning to the new Friarbasketball.com in May, we’ve written nearly 175 original articles on all facets of the Providence College program, as well as Big East previews and looks around college basketball.

Another of Sam’s pictures

The PC Athletic Department has been absolutely terrific to us.  From the Sports Information Department led by Arthur Parks to the Athletic Fundraising Team, the Ticket Office, and Athletic Director Bob Driscoll, we couldn’t ask for anything more.

Ed Cooley and his staff have been terrific as well, with Ed always taking time post game to answer any additional questions we may have – and doing so with the energy, attentiveness and insight that Providence fans have come to know from their charismatic coach.
We also want to thank all of the high school and prep head coaches and AAU coaches we are in contact with for their candor and accessibility, as well the talented individuals who run local recruiting sites and video services.  We’ve certainly made use of videos from the likes of The Basketball Diary, BallasTV and Crusader22 quite frequently, and of course, Adam Finkelstein’s New England Recruiting Report has been a tremendous resource.
The Providence community has been great to us, specifically Sean Holley who has done yeoman’s work with Dickey Simpkins in connecting generations of Friar greats through their Providence Fullcourt Boardroom.  PC is well covered from a media perspective thanks to stalwarts like Kevin McNamara, John Rooke and Vin Parise, the talented Brendan McGair, and fellow websites Friarblog, ScoutFriars and Friartownhoops.
And of course, a huge thank you to our readers.  All of the positivity we’ve received through either emails or conversations at various PC-related functions or games have made a lasting impact and have been what has kept me up past midnight, on the road for six-hour round trip rides to see kids who may never play for PC, and will continue to drive us as a team to find new and creative ways to share the Providence College basketball story.
Lastly, I’d like to thank my wife.  Living a decent ride from Providence, there are nights when I don’t get home until after midnight covering a game and a few days later it’s back on the road to catch a prep tournament.  Her response each and every time?  “Have fun.”  This site wouldn’t be half of what it has been without her understanding, flexibility, and occasional editorial eye (the perks of marrying a writing teacher).  For someone without the slightest interest in sports, she certainly knows more about PC basketball than she ever dreamed she would. She’s the best.

10 Comments

  1. Donna Fox

    December 13, 2012 at 9:38 am

    It is a good news that it’s already 3 years old. The Providence community has been great to them. They deserve this.

  2. Mike

    December 14, 2012 at 3:13 pm

    Congrats! Here’s to more success in the coming three years! Go Friars!

You must be logged in to post a comment Login