For information on the past, present, and future of this site as well as how you can help support it, click through to read after the jump.
It’s finally basketball season once again. The most exciting Michigan basketball season in over a decade provided a breath of fresh air to a frustrated fan base and, luckily, drove many of you here.
I started this site in the middle of the tumultuous 2007-2008 season and I was worse at blogging than that 10-22 team was at basketball. Yet for some reason, some of you found the site and came back for more. 100 readers per day became 1,000 and then the basketball team took care of the rest. A few big wins over UCLA and Duke to kick start the 2009 season and the bandwagon was full, people headed here in droves.
I want to thank those of you who have found your way to this site, whether it’s once, twice, or a thousand times. The site has continued to grow and without all of you readers, commenters, and e-mailers the site would be nothing.
Along the way this site began to consume more time than I ever expected. From writing game previews at 8:00 AM on a Sunday morning to posting recruiting news at 9:15 on a Friday night and writing NCAA tournament previews during midterms, I’ve loved every minute of it. 740 posts, 17,900 comments, and over one million visitors later I’m proud to have established a Michigan basketball community.
But last year is over and we’re starting fresh. The off season was fun — I love following recruiting and Michigan landed three commitments. Reliving last year through report cards, positional breakdowns, and whatever else I could come up with has certainly been a great way to keep the season alive. But here we are, diving in head first into the new season.
However, keeping the site up and running with fresh content is a tough adventure for just one person. The problem is that this site has not only become time consuming but expensive. Last year’s traffic forced a move to a more expensive server where the site will be stationed yet again within a week.
I have no intention of ever charging people to read this site. And yes, there are banners on the site. – and they cover about 1/20th of the time I put into writing, researching, editing, and everything else involved with running the blog.
Many of you have generously donated money in the past and I want to thank you again. Donations help me keep this site going and prevent me from drowning under the weight of the site.
I am always looking for ways to expand coverage on the site. I would love to expand recruiting coverage in some ways but am very limited financially. I am also working to get a redesign completed as well as add some new functionality. This year you can expect the same basics as last year with previews and recaps of every game with complementary live blogs, analysis, recruiting information, and links. Of course, if you have an idea, don’t hesitate to e-mail suggestions.
The best way to not only expand coverage but also keep up with everything else is to ask for donations. You should by no means feel obligated, but if you are able to donate, rest assured that your donation would be very much appreciated. You can donate through PayPal by clicking the donation button below (also stationed conveniently in the sidebar).
Basically, I love doing this. I love Michigan basketball. I love having a community of people to come talk to about Michigan basketball year round. I love that when Michigan beats Duke or Clemson I can come here and read hundreds of comments. I love when Evan Smotrycz or Carlton Brundidge commit to Michigan and I can talk about it here with Michigan basketball fans in the middle of the summer. I’m not going to stop doing this anytime soon.
Having said that, it does take a lot of time and I’m only a college student. There are obviously enormous time commitments that go along with not only running this site but with school. If you donate anything, it’d be greatly appreciated. If you can’t, please keep coming back. This will be a great season, and you can count on this site to be there for every twist and turn. Go Blue.
