The good folks at Blue Ribbon kindly provided me with a review copy of their college basketball bible, the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. The mag provides a projected Top 25 with rundowns on each contender followed by detailed stats and analysis on each Division 1 team.
I can honestly say that this is an excellent preseason mag for any college basketball aficionado like myself. What really distinguishes this guide from the pack is the way it avoids focusing on the household names at the expense of everyone else. The magazine does have a lengthy section on its Top 25 and individual awards projections. However, I'm sure all of you are familiar with the magazines that have this section and then give you a couple of paragraphs on your favorite team. (Since the Gamecocks haven't been in a preseason Top 25 in quite some time, I'm sure you do know what I'm talking about.) That's not the case here. This magazine has a page to a page-and-a-half on every team. When I say every team, I mean from the Florida Gators to the Buffalo Bulls, so you can learn not only about your team but also about those unknown OOC opponents that come to town early in the season. The rundowns include detailed breakdowns of invidual players, coaching philosophy, and final analyses. In other words, lots of information.
Here's a final word from editor Chris Dortch:
The "bible" of college basketball’s 29th edition is available for purchase. Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, which contains 400 pages and a full preview on every Division I team, has become an essential companion to the season for hardcore fans, coaches (who use it for scouting, recruiting and scheduling), NBA scouts, CBS and ESPN announcers, radio play-by-play announcers, print media and an ever-increasing amount of the blogosphere. If you love college hoops, order Blue Ribbon at www.blueribbonyearbookonline.
com or call 1-877-807-4857. But don’t take our word for it. Check out this video that EA Sports, which partners with Blue Ribbon on its college hoops video game, made last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he4S-rEcJxI