Thanks for all the cards, letters, flowers, and gifts. Or, the handful of emails and nice note over at Storming…more coming but I appreciate the kind words.

Short version: we’re putting the brakes on CAA: LAMM. I don’t know exactly how or when, but we’ve run our course here. At some point in the very near future, thishere form of early web 2.0 dish is moving into the history books. Cue Carol Burnett.

***

Long version (with self-serving content and inside jokes) that hopefully gives a legitimate reason for moving away from blogging the CAA, because I’m not even sure it is the right decision:

It became very clear to me in February that CAA: LAMM suffered from a significant and deadly lack of vision. I probably knew this in November, but it became obvious as the 2007-08 basketball season wore on. I also knew then that this day was a matter of time. We didn’t have the rush of college basketball’s most historic tournament run as a backbone; we didn’t have the research and information generated by the book; and we didn’t have the euphoria and intrigue of what “the season after” held.

I admittedly faked my way through much of last season, and I apologize for that. You deserved better.

I desperately wanted to bring you all the wonderful tidbits–both news and features–of this league and mid majordom. The approach I sought was very much a blend of straight reporting, commentary, analysis, and fun. It’s the very bedrock of what made this space great in 2005 and 2006.

However as we rolled into 2007 and the responsibilities to the book waned, so did the priority of CAA: LAMM. You see, given the choice of paying work or calling Blaine Taylor to chat about his brutal early season schedule, there really was no choice. I like Blaine and I like you, but I like paying the electric bill more. I could no longer devote the time it took to make this blog great and sleep at night. Don’t let anybody fool you–time is our greatest and most important asset. I didn’t have it, the quality of this space fell, and I can’t produce crap but for so long.

Oh, we tried on a bunch of stuff for size. We dabbled with video and a new linking strategy. We offered up non-college hoops content. We did the “guesties” thing. None fit. It was like putting a Band Aid on a wound that required a tourniquet.

We even begrudgingly dipped our toes into offcolor humor, but I could never bring myself to go that route. Too cheap, too available, and too amateurish for my not-even-thinly veiled ultimate goal: somebody in management hearing about some mid major basketball blog, stopping by to read, and deciding that the author had a wonderful blend of information and humor. Management loved the loose yet direct writing style. And they would pay me to write on a national scale.

Making pithy comments about an unattractive female sports personality–deemed sexy for no other reason than she is a woman who works in sports–wasn’t going to get it done. That’s not me. Heck, I remain shocked the Radfords and Mulls of the world still talk to me. I crossed the line more times than I wished I had.

(Side note, because the signoff post needs a side note: at this moment, I’m watching my dog bark furiously at our vaccum cleaner. Mind you, the vaccum is sitting in the corner, unplugged, as it always is when not in use. He naps beside it most days while I work. However at this very moment the Magic Blue has become a menace to his world. Not exactly Ivy League material, my dog.)

The combination of not being able to do the public-serving portion of this blog right (the lack of vision) and the self-serving portion of this blog not materializing made the decision easy. It hit me while we were on vacation last week–again, sometime between the sixth Stella and sunset–the CAA blog is neither feasible nor scalable for where I want to be, so as painful as it will be, we’re going to have to move on.

I’m not going to fake it any longer.

In the end, my hope is that you watch college basketball a little differently thanks to what we talked about here. Think a little differently. Think a little more.

But we had some fun, no? I appreciate the way you responded to some of the chicanery, nicknames, and general prediction looseness. Heck, if anything remains in the future it may be those nicknames and predictions. From Vladie Kools to Senor Crankypants, we enjoyed the indirect but important tie between pastrami and rye bread and the chances of Drexel beating Hofstra.

But for the same reason I opined George Mason may have been better served had Jim Larranaga gone to Providence, and I quote Emerson, perhaps it is best we stop now, evaluate, and come back with a new project that is better.

So what is next? Honestly, I don’t know. There are ideas and conversations but nothing of substance yet.

But here’s a guarantee: there will be something. I’m not giving in. I’ll be around, and you’d better stop and say hello.

I thank you.

However it is the best I can muster today. I spent some time over the past two days at VCUs Siegel Center, where the school hosted–through its SportsCenter graduate program–the International Showcase 2008.

The short version: about 80 kids who have completed their eligibility are split into teams and play five exhibition games over a couple of days. The upside is that they play these exhibitions in front of NBA, NBDL, and most importantly international scouts. The goal is to give the kids exposure in hopes of securing tryouts and/or contracts to play professionally. Perhaps a few will sign with an agent.

The best part is that these players are “our” players. They come from Savannah State and Hampton and Dayton and Southern Illinois and all kinds of directional schools. They are getting the exposure they never received while in school and this is only a good thing.

It is a very “interesting” atmosphere, something only gym rats can appreciate. There are only a smattering of people in the seats. Those people aren’t just the handful of scouts alternating between furiously scribbling notes and idly checking their Blackberry. You see some family, a press guy or three, players from other teams waiting to play, and folks like me.

The games aren’t hardscrabble playground tilts, either. Not at first, anyway. Games are run in two 20-minute halves, the officials are not just real officials but they wear standard officiating garb. They also, gasp, call fouls. There is a shot clock. (Side note: I’d comment about my appreciation for the lack of four media timeouts each half, but I like to dabble in reality.)

Until players get tired, they run versions of the weave offense and work for a shot. There were several shot clock violations. In short, the kids were getting after it. And like you would expect, once everyone got tired and got their shots it became a giant garbage time exercise.

So what did I see?

I saw a familiar face that I didn’t immediately place. He was a big man with pretty good hands and some solid post moves. I checked the program to find #16 in grey was former JMU Dukes center Chris Cathlin. I’d say he looked approximately 452 times better than he ever looked in the CAA.

I didn’t see VCUs Jamal Shuler or Michael Anderson, but I heard from an unbiased source Shuler lit the place up.

The best player there, from those I saw, was New Mexico’s Jamaal Smith. That kid could shoot, penetrate, dish, and defend. Shaun Reynolds, a point guard from New Orleans, stood out as well. Reynolds seemed to have a gear nobody else could match, and I doubt anybody had more fun playing than he did.

Greg Gonzalez (Carnegie Mellon) and Beau Muehlbach (Texas A&M) also made my note cards.

We jettisoned ourselves to the land of Kenny George over the holiday. Longtime CAA: LAMM readers know we have friends that live in the western mountains of North Carolina, and their property is beautifully situated. From their back porch, on a clear day we can see Tennessee. On a cloudy day, we can see the back yard. The beauty resides in the fact that most days our view is in-between. This affords us the opportunity to see something new nearly every single trip. The camera is always packed first.

These retreats seem to fall in perfect time and order. Drinking and eating is usually bordered by periods of extreme sitting and game-playing. Oh, it isn’t the Nintendo game playing. The television is unnecessary. No, it is classics like Labyrinth that pass the time. Otherwise, I read and think about what the summer will hold, and how that will translate to college basketball. Yes, I am that geeky, but I don’t apologize.

This year I chose to do my best to validate early thoughts of what the conference was going to look like next season. In typical fashion, this type of pure, unfiltered thinking dovetailed, sometime between the sixth Stella and sunset. I’m not sure.

I started thinking about our goal here of thinking. That is, I always encourage you to think a given situation instead of rehashing what you saw somewhere else. For whatever reason that led me back to predictions, and ultimately the point of this ramble.

You don’t know what is going to happen next season. And I mean that on a far different level than “duh, of course we can’t predict the future.” What I mean is that we spend so much time thrashing about with what we do know–statistics and such–that “what we don’t know” is severely underrated.

The what we do know is easy–the same opinions are generated from the same data and obtained by using the same analysis. Sure, it makes great message board fodder, but it doesn’t even begin to gauge the impact of the unknown.

A lot of data is relatively meaningless, versus the incalculable unknown event. Here’s what I mean:

Consider Your Team’s chances to finish in the top three of the standings next season. No doubt this thinking starts with who is lost and who is added. The second step is surely to chart the “progress” of the returning players.

“Joe Smith averaged X points and X rebounds, and if improves to Y points and Y rebounds, we’re in good shape.” You will likely do that for several players, and do the same for other teams.

Don’t do it. You are wasting your time.

Let’s say Joe Smith averages exactly the same number of points and rebounds. Let’s say three players all average the same numbers as last season, and only a marginal freshman improves his numbers. Is that really the different in second and seventh place?

No way. A couple of points/rebounds here and there cannot make that big of a difference. It is the unexpected event that will shape the season.

Practical example?

Two seasons ago, VCU went from sixth place in the conference to first. Do you think that was because BA Walker and Jesse Pellot Rosa and Jamal Shuler all improved their averages and impacts marginally from the previous season? Partly, yes. But the big impact was an unknown named Eric Maynor that went from a handful of minutes per game to an All Conference performer and dagger shooter. Nobody could (legitimately) see that coming.

I’m wagering nobody put into their calculations two seasons ago that TJ Carter would injure himself to the point of missing an entire season. Sure, UNCW lost Temi Soyebo and had a new coach, but those were marginal compared to the unexpected loss of Carter, and certainly not reasons that would take you from 25 wins to seven.

It’s also why I imagine we’re going to have to look more closely at recruiting here at CAA: LAMM. That is the hotbed of the unknown. We’ll call that the Fonzie Dawson rule, in honor of the best freshman last season nobody knew anything about.

It’s what you don’t know. Think about what you don’t know and give it the proper consideration. Just think.

I know I will.

Until now, I think there are three people in the free world that know this fact. Two have likely forgotten. It isn’t a big deal, but it is one of those random tidbits that helps to shape the picture of why we keep rolling along with this endeavor two years after the book was published.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s I had a fling with the Big West Conference. I have no idea why, but I couldn’t get enough of it. Perhaps it was all the Cal-Hyphens or the mystery of the west coast, but no matter. I could rattle off the Santa Barbara lineup and openly rooted against UNLV. (Where have you gone, Ced Ceballos?)

Full circle? I received a random email last night from a kid by the name of Jayme Miller. He played for Cal State-Northridge (love those hyphens) and created a documentary for a class he is taking.

I present it here for no other reason than it represents what is very good about college basketball. Miller is the kind of kid you hope and believe will be successful.

A huge section of the Odds and Ends file is devoted to scheduling. There are so many issues it is impossible to deal with them all in a single, coherent fashion. Here’s today’s version: I don’t get the scheduling flap sometimes.

I spent 15 minutes this morning on Basketball Travelers, a site chock full of highly interesting information. I was able to glean, in that 15 minutes:

UNCW is looking for a home-and-home, December 3 of this year. Charlotte is looking for a home-and-home, December 3 of this year. Both teams want to stat at home, but really, if you want a game and need a game surely a handful on Benjamins could persuade one of these schools to start on the road, no? Seems like it would be a nice regional matchup. Just me.

An Excel spreadsheet, a few phone numbers, and some persuasion skills and I may start the college basketball version of Match.com.

There is that need.

Just in time to head to the beach. However, we are tracking:

1. Tommy O’Connor closing in on the Commish-ship of the Atlantic Bunch.

2. A new book that I’m wagering you enjoy.

3. Movers and shakers. (Players, coaches, etc.)

4. Odds and ends. (Culling the random notes I didn’t get to during the season.)

5. Five is a good number.

The Blaine Taylor-to-Stanford spin cycle continues to hammer away at fans of both schools. Neither side is forthcoming with anything–and they shouldn’t–which has the ODU faithful madly purchasing tarot cards, tea leaves, and eye of gnut.

Yes, Taylor is deep in the throes of renegotiating his contract with Jim Jarratt and the crew in Norfolk, and that can only be a good thing. Oh, it has nothing to do with the Stanford job. It just means a good coach and good guy is going to have a little more security when he heads out to the ocean. Atlantic or Pacific remains to be determined.

VCU has finally officially announced Anthony Grant’s second raise in two years. (Memo to AD Norwood Teague: I am available.) Their words, not mine:

Virginia Commonwealth University President Dr. Eugene P. Trani and Director of Athletics Norwood T. Teague announced today that the university has reached an agreement in principle to extend and upgrade the terms of the contract of head men’s basketball coach Anthony Grant.

“I am thrilled that we are extending Anthony’s contract, as well as providing him an increased financial package,” Teague said. “His impact on our basketball program has been outstanding and it is our intention for Coach Grant to serve as our head men’s basketball coach for many years.”

Said Dr. Trani, “Coach Grant has had a significant positive impact on the entire university, not just athletics. We have tremendous confidence in what he will be able to do going forward.”

The deal now runs through the 2013-14 season.

“My family and I are extremely grateful for the confidence and commitment shown to us by Dr. Trani, Norwood and the entire VCU and Richmond communities,” Grant said. “I am excited, honored and privileged to be a part of the present and future of VCU and the City of Richmond.”

VCU is 52-15 in two seasons under Grant. The Rams have finished first in the Colonial Athletic Association both seasons. Grant has a 31-5 record in CAA regular season games. No CAA team has won more league games in a two-year span.

In 2007, VCU advanced to the second round of NCAA tournament, beating Duke in the first round before losing to Pittsburgh in overtime. In 2008, the Rams competed in the National Invitation Tournament and finished with a 24-8 record.

Grant was named CAA Coach of the Year in 2007 after his first season with the Rams.

“Coaches the caliber of Anthony Grant are rare,” Teague said. “We’re glad to have him and we look forward to a long association with him.”

Eric Maynor, who I guess we can now call the “defending” CAA player of the year, has chosen to remain at VCU for his senior season. Every quote you read is exactly what you would expect–he is honored, he has things to accomplish, the pros can wait, he talked with his family and coach…the net is that he is returning to terrorize the CAA one last year.

Here’s the thing. If you read between the lines this wasn’t a surprise, and it is certainly smart. Many were shocked Maynor didn’t go the test-the-waters route and delcare for the draft but not hire an agent. If he went that route, he could attend pre-draft camps and work out for scouts, but as long as he didn’t hire an agent and pulled his name out of consideration prior to the draft, he could retain his collegiate eligibility.

Many websites that follow NBA draft progress had Maynor as high as a late first rounder and definitely in the second round. The logic is simple: go and impress people and possibly make yourself a sure-fire first rounder and the guaranteed contract money that goes with it. If not, head back to school. It was a no-lose proposition.

But the truth is this: most of these websites don’t have any more insight than we do. The real insight in this scenario comes from Anthony Grant and the people he knows throughout collegiate and professional basketball. They don’t look at websites, they look at players. My hunch is that there was a consuensus of opinion from people that know–not people that report but people that know–that Maynor would be fortunate to be a second round pick. And to Maynor that gamble just wasn’t worth it, and there was no sense in pretending.

Maynor’s telling comment was that he needs to work on his defense and his strength. To me, that is an awfully specific line of reasoning that surely came from those that know. Off the court, Maynor is a huge winner: he is a 3.0 student who will get his degree.

Smart, and easy.

If only everything were this exciting yet this simple.

Some recent news that may or may not have hit your radar screen, complete with CAA: LAMM comments that have definitely not hit your radar screen:

Hofstra’s Antoine Agudio and Charles Jenkins were honored by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association. Agudio earned first team honors while Jenkins was the rookie of the year. Comment: This is basically an All New York team. Also, Jenkins is a better player now than Agudio was as a freshman. But Agudio worked his buttocks off between his freshman adn sophomore years.

Marist’s leading scorer, Jay Gavin, is transferring to VCU. Gavin will be eligible for the 2009-10 season and will be a sophomore (basketball-wise). Comment: Gavin’s old coach calls him a scorer and hard worker. That fits Anthony Grant’s needs from a player and person perspective. Shuler is gone this year and Maynor next, and one college hoops differentiator is having a kid that can just plain score. VCU was after Gavin fairly hard when the player was in high school.

They are talking about Blaine Taylor replacing Trent Johnson at Stanford. Comment: This is very, very interesting. Why? Because most of the time these things are 98% writer-speculated stories. (Who can I make a logical case for? Good, I’ll write about that guy.) I know this for a fact: 75% of the time a coach’s name is discussed about a new job no chatting ever takes place between the coach and the school.  That said, the interesting part is that there is a reason a Stanford Clause exists in Taylor’s contract at ODU.

Georgia State has a presser today to announce they will begin playing football in 2010. Comment: With ODU cranking up the slobberknockers in 2009, suddenly the CAA has all kinds of options for both football and basketball when realignment shows its head again. And good for Georgia State.