A Wake, Not a Funeral

Michael Litos was one of the first real, live, non-imaginary people we met through this humble haven of dipshittery. As first the author of Cinderella: Inside the Rise of Mid-Major College Basketball*, and then the proprietor of caahoops.com, he found common cause with our futile W&M hoops superfandom, even as his alma mater, VCU, ascended to the game's highest heights.

Through caahoops.com, Litos kept us up to date on the conference's doings, while illuminating the details that let us know we had it better, and entertaining insiders with a plethora of nicknames (some that we even invented - see, Beasthoven), predictions, and phrases turned just right (see, rockfight, Drexel University version). Beyond that, he introduced us to characters near and far, ensured we were taken care of at CAA Tournaments, and even dropped our name once or twice, which brought Eric Angevine, Jerry Beach, Gary Moore, and a number of other great hoops bloggers into our orbit. Hell, I think he got the Teej a job.

Recently, our man MGL reached one of those Frostian forks in the road. His knowledge of CAA basketball is second to none, and so is his love for the league, its history, and its characters. So when VCU headed to the A-10, we ribbed him good-naturedly about remembering the little guys on his way to fame and fortune with atlantic10hoops.com, even as he assured us he'd still be keeping the lights on in his online home.

And then the Rams made him an offer he couldn't refuse. As VCU begins its inaugural season in the A-10, Litos will be along for the ride, serving as the Rams' radio analyst. As a writer with a knack for a story, sitting shotgun as Shaka Smart's team steps up in weight class is an opportunity too good to pass up. We're impossibly jealous, happy for our friend, and a tiny bit bummed out that our gateway to CAA information is changing.

Changing, but not going away. Litos calls his new gig a sabbatical, so instead of shuttering the site, he's turned the reins of caahoops.com over to Kevin Warner, the basketball SID at JMU. Warner also teaches a sports communications class, and caahoops.com is a terrific vehicle for his students, and hopefully for those of other schools in the CAA. We've made sure they know where to go for insights into the travails of W&M fandom.

In his farewell (for now) post, Litos ponders what's next:

What does the future hold? I don’t know. Six months ago VCU, ODU, and Georgia State were part of the Colonial Athletic Association and that took about three months to change. But I’ll tell you what doesn’t change: the CAA has the best damn community in college basketball. I’ll put you up against anyone.

You haven’t heard the last of me. Too many relationships and friends in this community. I’ll still write a weekly column for collegechalktalk.com that is CAA-specific this year. After that, who knows?

We know. Terrific work on A-10 hoops and VCU's 2012-13 season, at the very least. And the occasional nugget about our very own Wrens that makes us smile. Start the damn games already, and godspeed, MGL. Thanks for being one of the big reasons we have it better.

* If you haven't read this yet, we're not going to give you the password when we turn G:TB into a pay site.