If you're a college basketball fan, there's one piece of essential reading before the season starts on Friday: College Basketball Prospectus 2012-13. It previews every single team in Division I and is available right now via PDF download for the low, low price of $9.94. I don't feel bashful about saying that it's the best bang for your buck that you're going to get in a season preview. About the book:
"Every time I pick up the College Basketball Prospectus, I learn something and see the game in a different way. It's my go-to resource." — Jay Bilas, Basketball Analyst for ESPN
In the five years since its inception, the Basketball Prospectus website has become required reading for anyone who’s passionate about college basketball and wants to better understand both the game and their favorite team. Now the kind of Prospectus hoops insight that the New York Times has called “indispensable” has been collected into one definitive book for the coming year, the College Basketball Prospectus 2012-13.
Combining the most advanced statistical analysis with intensive scouting and an inquisitive love of the game, the College Basketball Prospectus contains previews of every Division I team. You’ll also find original essays on everything from forecasting the 2013 draft and ranking all D-I teams in the preseason to defining the “sophomore breakout” phenomenon and explaining the strange and stubborn persistence of the Ratings Percentage Index. Prospectus takes note of sound bites when appropriate but is above all based on on-court realities.
Whether you’re a fan of the A-10 or A-Sun, SWAC or WAC, Big West, Mountain West, Great West, or West Coast, the College Basketball Prospectus is required reading.
And if you prefer to know the author before buying something, good news! Craig and I both contributed to this year's book. I wrote the Mountain West preview, while Craig tackled the CAA, Atlantic Sun, and MEAC. The Pac-12 preview was written by none other than Kevin Pelton, and I can vouch for its awesomeness. Our esteemed editor, John Gasaway, even convinced Kentucky coach John Calipari to write the foreword. (Not sure if that will make you want to buy the book more or not.)
If you don't like reading PDFs on your computer, I also can vouch for the fact that the PDF looks amazing on an iPad. If you prefer books you can actually hold, there will be hard copies available through Amazon shortly.