I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday last week with friends, family and George Bailey. Yes, that was an It’s A Wonderful Life reference, but you all know that because you joined me for my annual Christmas Eve live tweet of the movie. (One of these days I’m going to have to live tweet Almost Famous. That would be incendiary, don’t you think?) All of those things were a nice diversion from the annual college hoops holiday lull, but it’s now time to awake from your slumber. Conference play gets underway in earnest today. Things are about to get real.

As we wind down the last few days of 2024, Hoops HQ will roll out some year-end content, beginning today with Eden Laase’s choice for Woman of the Year (care to take a guess?), my interview with the legendary Dickie V about whether and when he'll call a game this season and Alex Squadron's rankings of the top 10 moments of the year. We’ll have some more pieces over the next couple of days. Then on Wednesday, we turn the page to 2025 and our transition game kicks into high gear.

On a personal note, I want to thank all of you who reached out to me on social media in response to my column about Greg Gumbel. Writing that brought me solace and I’m gratified to know that it did the same for so many others, including Greg’s family, my CBS colleagues and so many of my friends throughout the sports media business. If anybody tells you we live in a cruel world, they are dead wrong. There’s a lot of kindness out there if we’re willing to tap into it. Greg always was.

Happy New Year, everyone, and thanks as always for supporting Hoops HQ.

—Seth

Will Dick Vitale Return to the Mic This Season?

By Seth Davis

Dick Vitale has lived a remarkable and very public life. He was the head coach at the University of Detroit for four years and then got hired by the NBA’s Detroit Pistons. He was fired 12 games into his second season and latched on with a fledgling all-sports network called ESPN. Vitale called the network’s very first college basketball game on December 5, 1979 and has been the voice – and face – of the sport ever since.

Vitale’s voice has been silenced of late by multiple bouts with cancer, most recently vocal cord cancer. He underwent surgery and weeks of radiation treatment and was recently pronounced clean. Now Vitale, 85, is hoping to get back on the mic before the season ends. In the meantime, Vitale has continued to apply his famously undying enthusiasm towards his efforts to raise money for pediatric cancer. This has been the true cause of Vitale’s life. Vitale agreed to let me interview him for Hoops HQ but asked that we conduct the conversation by text message.

Hoops HQ 2024 Woman of the Year: Caitlin Clark

By Eden Laase

To sum up Caitlin Clark’s 2024 simply in terms of basketball wouldn’t be enough. Her year on the court, from being a senior at Iowa and playing in the national title game to being drafted No. 1 overall and embarking on her WNBA career, was only a small part of her impact. Because Clark was so much more than just a figure on a court – whether she wanted to be or not.

Clark was made into a savior for a league that didn’t need saving. She was used as a tool to divide fans and for most of the year, she walked a tightrope. She answered questions without revealing too much and did her best not to take a stance. That in itself generated discourse, headlines and controversy.

Farewell to My Friend Greg Gumbel

By Seth Davis

Greg Gumbel had a strong aversion to eggs and a Constanza-like ability to act hilariously annoyed at small things. He loved a lot of things, too, like stand-up comedy and slapstick movies and Howard Stern.

Today is an immeasurably sad day, not just for me of course but for the countless people who knew and worked with Greg all these years. When people die, you always hear tributes about how great they were and how much everyone liked them. But I’m telling you, in all my years in this business, I have never heard anyone say one negative thing about Greg Gumbel. As far as I could tell, his only character flaw was his disdain for Bruce Springsteen, but I loved him for that, too. It’s what made Greg, Greg.

In Case You Missed It

🏀 Miami coach Jim Larrañaga quits as the program's NIL money dries up

🏀 What college football fans complaining about the playoff can learn from March Madness

🏀 Here, Hoops HQ's not-at-all scientific ranking of the 10 Most Suprising Teams of the season. So far.

🏀 Meet the Glue Guy on the No. 1 team in the country

No. 3 Iowa State at Colorado: A shot at revenge for Colorado. When these schools met at the Maui Invitational a month ago, Iowa State won by 28 points. The Buffaloes have won four straight since then and will have their home crowd behind them. Can they kick off conference play with a major upset? 9:00 p.m. ET on CBSSN