COOL DOWN
TECHNOLOGY
We do not recommend “friending” current players or even former players who don’t know you. To follow Xavier on Facebook, follow: • Xavier University (university-wide information) • Xavier Musketeers (athletics information) • #1 Xavier Musketeers Fans
You may fi nd others but they are not as active. On these Facebook pages, you will fi nd other Xavier fans.
TALK TO EACH OTHER
The best places for Xavier fans to interact with each other are: • xavierhoops.com: As of early September, there were 2,745 members and more than 18,000 discussion threads. There are discussions about men’s basketball, of course, but also other XU sports, recruiting, and the BIG EAST Conference. • musketeermadness.com: Here you find separate chatboards for men’s and women’s basketball, an archive of stories about both programs, and some key links to other websites. • MusketeerScoop.com: Part of the rivals.com network. • MusketeerReport.com: Part of the scout.com network.
WEBSITES XAVIER’S NEW-ANDIMPROVED SITE
These are places in which you can discuss the relevant, mundane, and minutia of the program, dissecting every game, every comment, every article and, well, much more. It’s not always rational. It’s sometimes polarizing. But it’s rarely boring. Oh, and occasionally a fan from an enemy team pops in to stir things up. That’s always fun—or annoying.
The official website of the Xavier athletic department, goxavier.com, relaunched October 23 with a new look and cleaner navigation. This is where you fi nd photos, video, and all kinds of information about every sport at Xavier. Here are five things to look for:
If you can’t get enough recruiting news, bookmark these sites that provide some of the best breaking news and profi les on recruits:
1. Responsive design that makes the site more compatible and user-friendly for all mobile platforms.
2. espn.go.com/college-sports/ basketball/recruiting/index (Twitter: @ESPNRNHoops)
2. Brighter, cleaner look to the pages. 3. Streamlined navigation tools.
3. future150.com (Twitter: @Future150)
4. Exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the men’s basketball program.
4. hoopniks.com (Twitter: @Hoopniks)
5. New exclusive video content.
5. basketballrecruiting.rivals.com (Twitter: @Rivals)
In addition, there will be a regular video feature at least once a week using players or others in the program playing the role of reporter, interviewing players and staff connected with the program.
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KEEP TABS ON RECRUITING
1. 247sports.com (Twitter: @247Sports)
6. scouthoops.scout.com (Twitter: @scoutrecruiting) 7. verbalcommits.com (Twitter: @verbalcommits)
KEEP TABS ON RANKINGS
If you are obsessed with college basketball rankings, especially as the NCAA Tournament nears, these are sites you will have fun checking out: 1. dancecard.unf.edu: Jay Coleman (University of North Florida), Mike DuMond (Charles River Associates), and Allen Lynch (Mercer University) developed a “Dance Card” formula to predict at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament. Their website says it was 35 of 36 last season. 2. kenpom.com: Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings. 3. Live-RPI.com: Ratings Percentage Index rankings in real time. 4. sagarin.com: Jeff Sagarin’s computer ratings for college basketball run on usatoday.com. Sagarin has ratings for many other sports. 5. TeamRankings.com: This also provides ratings for several sports. Click on NCAAB for college basketball. You can find all different kinds of predictions here.
BLOGS BLOGS TO FOLLOW
Of the countless college basketball-related blogs on the internet, we recommend checking out these five: 1. Shannon Russell, Cincinnati Enquirer, cincinnati.com/sports/xavier: Provides an insider’s view of Xavier athletics. 2. Rick Broering, MusketeerReport.com: Powered by Scout.com, it has excellent info on XU recruiting and chat rooms to debate with friends. 3. Banners on the Parkway, bannersontheparkway.com: An SB Nation website where blogging brothers Joel and Brad Dobney submit posts, facilitate dialogue, and interact with commenters on Xavier hoops. 4. Mike DeCourcy, The Sporting News, sportingnews.com/author/mikedecourcy: Excellent features and commentary on games. 5. Andy Katz, ESPN.com, espn.go.com/ mens-college-basketball/blog/_/ name/katz_andy: Must-read for the college basketball junkie.
XavierNationMagazine.com