HOOS Place, Inc.

My first college basketball hero was Ralph Sampson. When I moved to Virginia at the start of high school, I became a Wahoo in reaction to the obnoxious Carolina fans surrounding me in southern Virginia. Given the chance to be an actual Wahoo, I seized it, then seized it again to become a Double Hoo. Never regretted it, even in the Gillen-Leitao-Groh-London years.

Writing has been in my blood longer than sports, and once the web came along, I hopped on. I founded HOOpS Online at the crest of the first wave of internet publishing, turned down a chance to found the Virginia Rivals site because I didn't want to follow a formula and make others rich, then founded HOOS Place more than a decade later.

Thanks to Tony Bennett, I finally saw my Hoos win a national championship, and was in the arena for one of the top five moments in NCAA Tournament history. Kihei Clark to Mamadi Diakite, from despair to elation in 5.7 seconds.

Now here I am.