College Hoops: Digital ACC Preview - Team #10: Georgia Tech

It's time to crack into the top 10 of the ACC, as we continue to take a peak at the conference through the eyes of how they are generating online excitement about their programs. This is a chance for coaches and teams to share what it means to be a part of their system. And not all digital is created equal. We last left the story here, talking through #12 Boston College and #11 Miami.

Let's keep rolling.

#10 Georgia Tech

To me, Georgia Tech is that program with the tools in place to succeed but lacking the right system to make it work. I pulled up their site. At first glance, there seemed to be no easy way to keep in touch with the program from their athletics home page (link here).

Then I figured it out. If you choose "Multimedia", you get access to two things: RamblinWreck Tube (their YouTube channel) and their iTunes Podcast. So I went from disappointed to excited as I clicked into the YouTube channel, hoping I'd see some intimate looks at the program. I found 143 videos that ranged from women's basketball to softball to swimming to football. So while I loved the access, the kitchen sink feel to it scared me away. (I did not subscribe here). Sadly, if you click on "Men's Basketball", then multimedia, you get access to the same kitchen sink YouTube. No specific hoops area to be found. Sigh.

Reluctantly, I clicked into their iTunes podcast (super cool idea). What I found here was another collection of every sport... but, off to the side, I found related podcasts... one of which was a Georgia Tech Basketball podcast. (image below). Why I couldn't get here from the GT basketball page?

GT also has a few Twitter feeds, but they are equally tough to find. If you look at the home page, click on "Fan Zone", you'll find a Twitter list. The list is a good start as they attempt to show all the interaction places you can have.

This page is a great start. But they need to make it simple. What sports are Coach Heppler or Shelton for? What does GTWBB mean? (I know it's women's hoops, just saying this needs to be more exciting!) And they leave off Hoops Assistant Coach Peter Zaharis, who's the only one I could find on Twitter - albeit a pretty small feed of only 21 followers and 4 posts. (find him here and help him rack up the followers!)

As you can see above, Georgia Tech does have an athletics Twitter feed here. It's got over 2,500 followers, but like most else here it is athletics in general. Not hoops specific and, if I'm a top recruit, not overly exciting.

In sum, GT has some pieces in place, but the good stuff is super hard to find, and when you do find them they aren't extremely deep or basketball focused... and they left me wanting more. (Which, it turns out, you can find tomorrow. See you then!)

Andy

College Hoops: Digital ACC Preview - Team #11: The U of Miami

We continue our journey through the ACC in search of digital goodness - taking a look at the conference through the eyes of high school athletes hungry for excitement on these programs.

Technology is changing the recruiting world. It's a chance for coaches and teams to share what it means to be a part of their system. And not all digital is created equal. We last left the story here, talking through #12 Boston College.

Let's keep rolling.

#11. Miami

Hitting the U's athletic department site (link here)was a little disappointing, witnessed by this low ranking. There were two key things going for it: 1) access to follow the program through Twitter (see the link deep down on this image) utilizing the Twitter logo and 2) Putting "For Recruits" in the navigation. These are two big points of difference, but sadly are all I could find going for the school. But we do have a program with 2 key pieces that I'll dive into now.

The department does have a Twitter site, here. They've got around 1,100 followers and had 132 posts at press time. But it is general. There is no simple way to follow basketball. From what I could tell, none of the hoops coaches are on Twitter.

Back to the site, check out the top navigation. There is a nice, bold "for recruits" tab. Wow. That is just an amazing setup, and the U clearly recognizes this site traffic is recruiting influenced. Then we get to the content beneath (see image below). This is never sport-specific, unless you call football only sport specific, with national titles listed. The rest of the content focused on NCAA rules or simple contact information and not exciting content a high school athlete might want to check out... or to check out the site again once you've seen it once.


Ironically, the Twitter site is not listed under the recruits tab.

If you click under Multimedia, you also get a look at Hurricane Podcasts. It doesn't look like these are very updated or managed, which is sad as there is a great thought here. I see a sample of post-practice hoops interviews (sadly merged with non-basketball content). But this idea is again, startlingly good, if they can follow through.

Finally, I'll end my tour of the U with this comment. The navigation stays consistent no matter where you are. Which sucks when you (as the stud high school athlete) select basketball. Check the image below... and there, prominent on the page is a tout to the football program's success. Show me the hoops program's success - after all they were in the NCAA tourney in 2008 and hit the Sweet 16 in 2000.

I see potential in Miami (don't we all love that P-word?), if they can build on their strengths. That said, there is a LONG ways to go.

Stay tuned for Monday, when I'll bring us into the top 10 (of the ACC).

College Hoops: Digital ACC Preview Team #12 - Boston College

How many of us would consider moving across the country to take a new job without first checking out their website? Or at least doing a quick Google search? You probably would, right? Something tells me just about every high school athlete (and their parents) is living on school sites as they evaluate programs.

Digital is changing the recruiting world. It's a chance for coaches and teams to share what it means to be a part of their system. And not all digital is created equal. I've decided to start with the ACC (conference preview here). Today begins my deeper dive, rolling through the conference team by team -- looking at this from a high school basketball player's point of view. At the start of the basketball season, I'll then rank the conferences as a whole.

#12. Boston College

Boston College has been to the Dance 18 times, including last season. They made the Sweet 16 in 2006. But you wouldn't know it by visiting their athletics site. I couldn't find this history celebrated anywhere. In fact, I really couldn't find anything that got me hyped about BC basketball... anywhere.

Now, what did BC offer? Well... BC did offer mobile alerts, which seems pretty cool but is currently limited in that it is simply a alert or no alert question. (Want basketball updates? Cool. You also can have these hockey and tennis updates with them.) They also offered mobile wallpapers and ringtones - which are probably good for alumni, but I don't feel they are that solid for recruits... The fact that BC recognizes mobile is important is a starting point. Here's a view of that screen.


There is no mention of Twitter anywhere on the site (not even for football). That said, if you dig around, you will find that hoops assistants Mo Cassara and Preston Murphy are twittering. They have a total of 95 followers and 101 tweets between them. Their video coordinator, Dan McDermott, is the most active Twitterer with 78 followers and 801 tweets. Maybe he'll get the rest of the staff moving? And maybe we can get BC to offer up these updates somewhere on their site?

For now, the lack of any real basketball connection or ways to keep in touch with the program sticks Boston College in the basement of the ACC.

College Wednesday: Digital Marketing and Recruiting, My ACC Breakdown Begins Tomorrow

I came across a great read in the Washington Post around fans and how they are attempting to influence recruiting more and more in this digital age. And it is pretty scary. (full story here)

"An ESPN-affiliated web site that covers the University of Maryland recruiting, http://www.InsideMDSports.com, offered a subscription bonus if prospect Lance Stephenson committed to the school.... if any top-10 recruit from NY commits to Maryland, everyone who has purchased an annual subscription will receive two free months added."

Wow. I guess I'm glad it didn't work out.

The fact that a reward even came out is scary. Not that two months of a free web subscription is a big bounty. I guess that's what surprises me -- it's almost like why bother with that level of reward? What it does signal is the growing emotional connection between fans and their team, and for real time information on your program.... Shining a light on just how critical the actual team sites are going to become (and already are) in driving excitement around their current team!

Which serves as a great prelude for tomorrow. I'll begin my journey through the ACC, ranking the programs from bottom to top from a digital point of view. Here's my conference preview, in case you missed it. Which school does the best job of generating excitement around their program? If you are narrowing down your wish list of schools, the digital version makes a big impact. I'm pumped to break this down for you!

I'll move from conference to conference across the D-1 landscape over the coming weeks, so come back early and often - you won't want to miss anything!

Gaming Friday: Player Progression... or Regression?

I've been super interested in this concept lately, I guess driven by the fact that within the span of a week we got to see Michael Vick and Brett Favre return to Madden 10 after what's likely for each of them to be an offseason that wasn't exactly spent blowing people away in the weight room. It came a little stronger to me after I watched Favre play last night. If by play you mean drop back, look a little frantic, and look completely out-of-sync with his receivers. Granted he's practiced for 2.5 days. But that's exactly the point.

I came across this analysis of Favre's ratings on the Sporting News. It goes into details on how the Madden team feels Favre's offseason regimen with the local high school team has impacted his game. Now, granted, this is solely a rating at launch - they will tweak these ratings through the season... and if he looks like he did against the Chiefs, tweaking will be a bit more drastic.

But I wanted to contrast that against what I read here about NBA Live 10. As you know, I'm a big fan of Dynamic DNA (see my post here). But my fan-crush on Dynamic DNA is not based on where we are today, but on where we could be soon. And this read made me feel like soon is coming faster than I thought. NBA Live 10 will feature roughly 70% of player performance that is based on real life data, not judgment calls. (I don't know what percentage NBA Live 09 was, but I'd guess it was much lower).

So, here's the big question I have... how can we take data - that looks at how players' games advance or regress based on things like age, injury, playing time, system they play in, and coaching and end up with a more scientific adjustment for players in each sport? I'm guessing Favre's awareness should have regressed a little. But that's just a guess. (Then again, is he really that aware of anything beyond his own needs?... Sorry repressed Packer fan comment there). If we can get to that point, we can actually see gaming as a tool to help players maintain or advance. And for players to see that there games could get maximized in the right system.

For now, I will stand by, excited to see how science is going to make NBA Live 10 much better!

College Hoops: Your Digital Season Preview Begins with the ACC

OK, it's about time for the school year to start... which means it is also nearing the time to dig into the new College Basketball season previews. And to get us going, I'm going to start off by going conference by conference through D-1. I'm going to mix it up, from high-major to mid-major to low-major. I'm going to take a look at the conferences as a whole, and then team-by-team. We'll shine a light on what's amazing about each conference, and well... what isn't quite as hot.

I'm pretty excited about this project. I mean, how many of us would take a new job, across the country without taking a look at that employer's website? Or without doing a little Google search? For high school athletes (or their families), it's even more amplified. So I'll look at everything through the eyes of the 16 year old basketball player. How easy is it to get excited about a program?

Naturally there's a time bias. As we won't unveil every conference at once, the ones later have more time to evolve. But we should get a feel for a consistent snapshot of each conference.

So, I'll kick this off with a tour into the ACC.


What's good?
Take a quick look at the upper right hand part of the site -- it's super easy and intuitive to find the ACC on Twitter, or on Facebook. They leverage the Twitter and Facebook logos and colors. And these are ways fans can stay connected wherever they may go.

12 Days of ACC football is original content produced by the ACC. I'm guessing we'll see something similar when we get close to hoops season. They released a different team video each day (and, of course promoted this via Twitter).

The Twitter feed (available here) is not too bad. As of press time (can I say press time on a blog?), they had 3,167 followers.

What could get better?
When you go deeper into the site, by clicking on Men's Basketball, the Twitter and Facebook call outs disappear. There really isn't any elevated Men's Basketball connectivity here. So, you're able to stay in touch with the conference at a high level -- just not at a sport-specific level. Now I'm not saying it is easy for every sport should have their own Twitter feed... but imagine a world where they did. And at least start with the most critical sports (basketball and football)...



There's also no place, as of now, for me to connect as an ACC fan. Twitter or Facebook can offer this, but I see the conference as a place that can direct me to other sites. Maybe it is the top bloggers for each school? Or a list of all coaches in my sport that are blogging? Wouldn't it be amazing if there was even a men's basketball Twitter feed with posts from every coach in the conference who uses Twitter? That'd be crazy! And it'd make me come back!

One final call out. It's a simple thing, but one that I think could be powerful. Especially if there were sport-specific Twitter sites in the ACC. Who does the ACC follow? Imagine if those boxes in the right hand side contained images of all the ACC coaches who tweet... and all the school sites... and ACC alumni in the Pros (Chris Bosh anyone!) If I go to the ACC's Hoops Twitter feed, fill it with basketball goodness!



OK I'm going to close each conference overview with a couple of things. A pre-season poll and coach of the year. No science here at all, just my guess as to how active each school is online and which coach is the most active. Then I'll dive into each school to see how impressions go into reality.

Predicting the schools, from most to least active digitally:
1. Duke
2. North Carolina
3. Wake Forest
4. Maryland
5. Virginia
6. Florida State
7. Georgia Tech
8. Boston College
9. Virginia Tech
10. NC State
11. Clemson
12. Miami

And my pre-season coach of the year guess goes to Tony Bennett, Virginia... he is young and came from a program (Washington State) where you have to think differently in order to compete against the powers.

Stay tuned for my ACC breakdowns in the coming days...

Quick Reactions to NBA 2K10 Draft Combine

2K10 announced they will be releasing a game, NBA Draft Combine 2K10, in September -- the first NBA game to hit the markets this season. You can read a full review of the game here. But the concept is super intriguing. You create a player, define what style they want to become, and then practice to try to make that player draft-eligible. Then, you work with that player trying to carve a role on your new NBA team (assuming you get drafted in the first place!) As the game puts it, "if you are a shooting guard drafted by the Lakers, good luck!"

I'm not quite sure how to take this one. On one hand, I'm super excited. It's another reason to get pumped about basketball season approaching. And it narrows the time between now and when we can see a hoops video game. On the other hand, it feels a little forced and limited to me. Let me get right into it with a little point - counter point.

Point: Derrick Rose is the cover athlete, fresh off his rookie of the year performance.
Counter point: If the idea of this game is to prove yourself, to even make it in the league, why not use a rookie to be? Stephen Curry anyone? This seems like a forced cover decision that doesn't fit the game.

Point: This allows you to go in, create your own player from scratch to the details of head and nose shape of your player.
Con: This doesn't leverage photo-real technology, so it's tough to make it truly you. If we can't make it literally ourselves, is it worth the investment? (Choose from a list of real draft eligible players, for example?)


Point: The fact that you can customize what you want to become is super cool. For example, as a point guard, you can choose Pass first, scoring, defensive, 3-point specialist, athletic, or all-around. And you train to become that. Goal setting. Measurement. Challenges. Competition. Nice!
Counter Point: I love the idea, but wouldn't this have been better if it was actually in parallel with the NBA calendar? I mean, I'm supposed to get excited about training a guy to get drafted now? This would have been hot had it been out in June... but now it feels just behind the basketball calendar.

Point: It's a good first mover advantage play. If you invest the money (and more importantly the time) in this, and you have a player ready to load into NBA 2K10, you are definitely going to choose NBA 2K10 over EA's NBA Live 10.
Counter Point: But do I really want to invest the time (let alone $5) to do that?

Time will tell how this plays out. As you can tell, I'm super interested in the concept of setting a goal, training for that goal, and seeing how that goal plays out in terms of a draft. Then how do you fit with your new team, your coach, etc. But timing is everything!

Gaming Friday: Madden 10 Launch

Today marks the official launch of Madden 10. How could I blog on anything else? I'll even insert a timely Vick Eagles image (they have him on the August 19 roster update!) and dream about the offensive options they suddenly have with Vick added to the stable of McNabb, Maclin, and Westbrook. But rather than simply run down this year's game, I wanted to do comment on what I love and what I want to see next season. Come on Madden 11!!!

1. Realistic Stadiums. So we are starting to get there with a feel of the parks. The new Cowboys Stadium (read here). They got this down to the details of the support structures of the ridiculous Texas-sized 20 yd line to 20 yd line video screen. (Ridiculously amazing). Now bring me the sound of the stadium. Let me hear the Arrowhead Stadium crowd yell "The land of the CHIEFS." (like this)
2. In Game Decisions. I love the addition that you see a minor injury and have to make a call to re-insert the player or not. Pretty cool. But imagine if we could add an element of sound to it. Think team leaders. Give me something from the captain, or veterans. This is hot tied to an injury, but it is even hotter tied to the game emotion. Maybe it's pre-game. Maybe it's after a turnover or a big play? Just add that interaction, that sound from my teammate to get me going. Or let me record that sound and add it into the game.
   
3. Highlights of the Game, meet Facebook. I love the inspiration behind Highlights of the game. You see highlights and stats of YOUR game at the half and in post game. That's pretty sweet. But let me share this, STAT.
   
4. Highlights of the Game, meet Miked Up: While the in-game highlights are sweet, they also feel like they may get very old very quickly. Now contrast that with the highlights of a game, Miked Up. (See the Brett Favre example below). Imagine this implemented where possible in game... Wow. All it requires is you take the motion capture shoots that are being done already and add a little voiceover... or maybe the NFL will allow EA to implement it in game. I love this.
   

Want more Madden coverage? Well look no further (than the next few sentences):

• If you want to read a collection of reviews from people playing the game, EA serves them up on the Madden message board, here.

• You can get game play pointers or you can download all 32 NFL squads' playbooks here.

• Looking for support because you are playing too much? ESPN reporter Pat White played Madden for 24 straight hours... link here.

Hope you get to check it out!

College Wednesday: Offseason Workouts = MTV Cribs of Recruiting?

Yes, they still have MTV Cribs on the air.  Here's a link to their site, where they are counting down the top 15 Teen Fab Pads.  Feel free to click for a moment -- I'll stick around and be here when you are back.

OK, glad you're back.

What was (and I guess is) great about MTV Cribs is that it gives you, the fan of an artist or athlete or actor the chance to see what it looks like inside their house, when no one is there except for that celebrity.  You can imagine what it's like to be them, in their world.  And you connect to them on a different level than before you watched the show.

That's what has struck me as amazing about this video.  Disclaimer:  It is not a polished show ala MTV Cribs.  But it gives you a look into the University of Portland hoops program.  You see what it is like in their house, when no one is around except the team and coaches.  You see how they are working out, not in the details, but in the style and intensity.  You see the facility.  You see the players and coaches interact.  And you see their gear.

Now, I stumbled onto this by reading Coach Eric Reveno's Twitter feed (link here).  And it was just that journey that had me wondering how schools can really create a connection with their potential recruits, with the families of current players, and with supporters of the program.

It really was kind of simple when you think about it -- a coach films the workouts and edits together a nice video.  It's posted on YouTube (here's their channel).  The head coach has a Twitter account and links to it, as hopefully do others in the university.  

Somewhere else, a recruit is considering this school.  They sign up to receive updates from the coach and get this link.  Suddenly they are able to visualize what it means to play in this program -- how the players interact, how hard they are pushed, and where they work out. Quickly, a connection is formed.

Somewhere else, a company is evaluating what kind of program they want to be affiliated with, to support.  They need to understand what the values are.  How hard players work.  Are they dedicated?  Is this program going to advance to the next level.  Videos like this show the inner workings of that engine.  Of the passion.  And connections are deepened.

I think we are just on the beginning.  Videos like this are quick to do, but thanks to the reach of Twitter and YouTube, they can have a monumental impact.

Madden 10: What I've learned about the Packers

So, I've been fortunate enough to get to demo Madden 10 on PSP this week, and I've got to say I'm all over this.  It's clear there are some big gameplay improvements to Madden 09 on the PSP (graphics and tackling are MUCH better).  I'm really intrigued by the new momentum factor.  One of the things I've found frustrating in past games is the lack of ability for players to adapt (better or worse) based on how they are playing.  If Aaron Rodgers is 10-10 passing, his confidence is up.  That is going to impact other aspects of his game...  if he's 1-10 with 3 INT's, you'd expect the reverse to be true.  And Madden 10 builds this into the game - letting you ride the hot hand.  Here's the initial commentary back to this feature on the EA blog.  (link here)

But I want to focus this post on what I have learned about the Packers just by playing a few games of Madden 10.  (Note, the Packers team is rated a 78 by Madden).  And this handy list is a nice indicator of just how crazy a tool gaming is becoming for evaluating personnel, teams, and systems.

1. The Pack will be great in a 3-4 system.  The defense got predictable last year, and the 3-4 really offers them options for moving people around.
   
2. Matthews and Kampman will be great on the outside.  I really dug playing with this quickness on the edges.
3. They had better sign Raji, quickly.  I tried playing with him on the bench and... the depth is brutal.  (Ted Thompson, please play Madden 10!)
4. Offensively, I'm worried about our right tackle position.  Giacomini is a 63, as our starter.  Moll is a 58 as a backup.  Yikes.
5. Ryan Grant played pretty well, but seems really slow.  (He is an 85, but felt pretty slow getting to the hole)

Here's a link to all the Packers ratings.

Is there a grain of salt here, because it is one guy playing a few games of Madden 10 on his PSP?  Yes.  But I think it's really easy to see what the potential is here.  Gaming will become a tool for evaluating trades and the draft, and predicting team success.  For now I just hope it inspires the Packers to realize they desperately need to sign the DT!

Gaming Friday: Madden 10 Training Camp

Gaming and Training are coming on a crash course. We've all seen the titles out there - from the Wii to EA Sports Active. Things have come a long way - I remember seeing a stationary bike that you could ride while watching a tv monitor of the mountains years ago in a gym and being blown away.

Will we get to a point where you will be able to use Madden to train for on-field playing? This isn't that level of innovation, but it is funny. Sony PSP and Madden brought the competitiveness of gamers to life in these commercials for Madden 10. I just had to share.

The first one puts gamers into a training mode on the NFL field.




Here's another, showing Sean Payton of the Saints, a "Toggle" coach, and a Team Bus. Yeah, definitely feel these guys - sneaking a chance to play on my PSP any chance I get.




Only a week left til the Madden Holiday. I can't wait.

College Wednesday: The Top Money Making Teams in College Hoops

So this Wednesday I'm going to take a stab at a regular feature of this blog - a focus on college hoops. It's definitely my biggest passion area, and today's my birthday (shameless birthday plug), so I figured what better day to start, right?

Sports Business Journal published a list of the top 10 basketball revenue producers in the NCAA, for the 2007-08 season. It's a pretty interesting list:

1. Louisville $23.5M
2. North Carolina $17.8M
3. Indiana $17.0M
4. Arizona $16.4M
5. Arkansas $16.1M
6. Syracuse $16.0M
7. Duke $15.9M
8. Michigan State $15.8M
9. Wisconsin $15.0M
10. Kentucky $14.9M

As I looked at this list, I had a lot of questions. First and foremost, what is the impact that top coaches can have on this dynamic? Will Coach Calipari take Kentucky's profile and move them quickly up this list?

To think about where this might go, I wanted to take that top 10 list and rank them in terms of followers on their Twitter feeds (and provide links here, in case you want to add to their numbers!) The results are interesting.

1. John Calipari, Kentucky 532,216
2. Tom Crean, Indiana 10,307
3. Duke Basketball + Coach Wojo (no Coach K yet) 5,010
4. Rick Pitino, Louisville 3,461
5. Roy Williams, North Carolina 3,165
6. Tom Izzo, Michigan State (MSU hoops) 282
   
7. Sean Miller, Arizona 237
8. Bo Ryan, Wisconsin (Wisconsin hoops) 114
9. Jim Boeheim, Syracuse 15
10. Mike Pelphrey, Arkansas n/a

Pretty interesting, huh? If you take Twitter for what it is - a way to keep in touch with your fan base and sponsor base on a day by day (or multiple times a day by day) basis, it will be very interesting to see how this impacts money. If you feel more connected to a coach or program, you are more likely to talk, write, or blog about them. You also might be more likely to buy a t-shirt or donate. Since the last top 10 was pre-the emergence of Twitter, I'm very interested to see how this shapes up.

And, perhaps more critically, how could this trend impact the schools that aren't in the top 10 revenue drivers? I'm looking for Drake to lead this. Come on Coach Phelps! (Our assistant, Justin Ohl, is in the mix but has a ways to go at 114 followers...)

That's G.

Many of you may have noticed Gatorade's new "That's G" campaign. It's a pretty inspirational video - with a mix of great athletes and a great music mix. I could watch spots like these all day.




Smartly, they followed this up with another version, celebrating Michael Jordan hitting the NBA Hall of Fame, done through a pretty cool performance art creation. Click below to check it out.




But where I feel campaigns are going is in the direction of the one below. From what I can see, fans want to take a motivational soundtrack or voice over and make it their own. For their team, their players, their coaches. And if you have the right message and the right music or voice, they will do it. This spot was pulled together by a Missouri Valley Conference fan. My question is, how big can this go when it is easy for fans to pull together? When companies or leagues or teams make their visuals, music, and voice overs easily available to mix? I think Gatorade would love it if they could have every youth team in the country making their own "That's G" mix. And we're on the cusp of that happening.