… or all of Maryland, actually. We learned at the end of the season that the nine Maryland Division III men’s basketball programs have agreed to create an annual tipoff tournament. Each year eight of the nine teams in the state will participate: Frostburg State, Goucher, Hood, Johns Hopkins, McDaniel, Salisbury, St. Mary’s, Villa Julie and Washington College.

The tournament was inspired by the Chase Tournament, which features seven Division III teams and an NAIA team.

That makes us think — there are a few more theme tournaments we could put together at the Division III level.

Consider …

I might be away from the sites for a while. My wife is in labor. Meanwhile, take a close look at the Letter of Intent piece and the responses it generated on D3football.com — might be worth discussing here too.

It’s been a little over a month since the Final 4 and I’ve still got the symptoms of basketball withdrawal. The NBA playoffs are here and that cures some of your blues, but that’s a different kind of game than what we see in Division III

Thankfully, the Daily Dose is here to alleviate some of the blues and blahs, which we’ll do throughout the summer with a little news, a little analysis, and a little bit of humor…For example

The Top 10 Signs You’re Going Through D3 Basketball Withdrawal
From the home offices in Danville, CT

10- You sing “One Shining Moment” and “This Time of Year” in the shower

9- You actually sort of have an interest in the latest recruiting rumors

8- You watch the end of Mavericks-Rockets Game 2 and think “Wow, that guy was almost as clutch as Jason Kalsow”

7- You click on every entry marked “New” in Posting Up, and then when you’re done, you click on the message boards that haven’t gotten a post in 6 months, just in case…

6- You start taking wild guesses at the identity of the NBA coach referenced in a previous entry by Pat Coleman and shudder at the thought that Isiah Thomas might someday want to coach Division III

5- You look at the high school prospects lists and are tantalized by the possibility that the 276th best player in Texas may end up in the ASC. You then google the names of the recruits that have given “verbal commitments.”

4- You start analyzing the needs of your alma mater and think “We’re not that far off…” and then you visualize a Mike Thomas-type shot that wins them an NCAA Tournament game

3- You go to team websites and click on the schedule pages, and are shocked when you still see ’04-’05 games listed

2- You make a hotel reservation for next year’s Final 4, but to protect your identity, you book it as “Lamont Strothers”

and the #1 sign that you’re going thru Division III basketball withdrawal

1- You start wondering “Where in the world is Allen Karon???”

The Washington Square News, which is New York University’s student newspaper, wrote a fine feature piece on rising junior men’s basketball player Jason Boone. It’s worth reading, and not just because it serves as a reminder than men play ball at NYU also!