I Never Thought It Could Happen, This Rappin' Stuff

Thank you for all your help in jump-starting this blog to a very successful first two weeks out of the gate.  The reception has been incredible and the support from readers has been tremendous, to say the least.  I've enjoyed a truly awesome experience so far, and I hope the same goes for all of you.  I plan on continuing to provide coverage of Canes Hoops in as timely and informative of a manner as I possibly can.

When I first thought of starting a Canes Hoops blog, I kept in mind what many of us realized after last season: Frank Haith was building something special in Coral Gables.  With new talents pouring in (from DeQuan to Durand), a new practice facility on the way, and a newer and more difficult schedule (from the Paradise Jam to Ohio State), a taste of success has brought countless new challenges to the table.

The challenge for Coach Haith and the boys is to sustain this success, and the Hurricanes are definitely doing their part early on.  After an initial #16 ranking, the Canes suffered a setback at the hands of Connecticut but are still ranked in the Top-25.  Coach Haith is bringing in a Top-20 recruiting class for 2009 (and has potentially tapped into a deep New York talent pool), and his Canes are 3-1. The team is fresh off a thrashing of a second-round NCAA tournament team (San Diego) and are on ESPN's BottomLine every time you look as a ranked team.  It's great, isn't it?  No doubt about it, the Canes are in a nice little spot right now.

Keep in mind, however, that next week is one of the most important stretches in recent memory for Coach Haith.  After a matchup with Stetson (who only lost to Florida State by two) on Saturday, the Canes face Ohio State and Kentucky the following week.  Sure, things are nice now, but the tone has the potential to become dreary sooner rather than later.  Check back at the same time next week and we'll see how optimistic everyone's feeling, ok?

In the mean time, there's a bunch of new features I'll be posting over the next few weeks.  As I mentioned before, I was able to attend Brandon Knight's season opener for Pine Crest and will be sharing my thoughts on his performance (with pictures!) from the Panthers' opening tournament at Miami Northwestern.

I'll be interviewing Canes' recruit Garrius Adams in the next week, so if anyone has any questions they'd like answered, feel free to shoot me a request at caneballblog@gmail.com.  I'm also planning on interviewing Jimmy Graham and hopefully Coach Haith in the following weeks (as well as any other requested players), so stay tuned for more progress on that.

Thanksgiving 2009 (11/27)  marks the one-year anniversary of Sean Taylor's tragic death.  Please check back for a special on #26 tomorrow.

Remember to keep checking back for updates and features in the following days.  It's been a very enjoyable past couple weeks, and I'd like to build on that by providing even more in-depth coverage of all things related to Canes basketball.  

And if you don't know, now you know.