Campus Tour: Chatting with The New Hampshirite from UNHblog

One of the biggest holes in the America East is the lack of student support. There's so many good stories, accessible players and coaches who sell out and don't have an eye to the NBA, and yet it's just hard to get the buzz that draws students away from girls or drinking or studying. Even worse, in the Canadian quarters of the America East, the hoops team is second or third fiddle to frozen sports.

That's why we're reaching out to college campuses to rally the troops.

First, we connected with the "The New Hampshirite" at unhblog.com, the finest student blog I've yet come across in the AE. Here's everything you ever wanted to know about the state that once defined itself by a face on a rock that is no longer there:

It all started in the spring of my freshmen year. I had a lot of free time and I thought I had some good ideas to write about UNH, such as sports, administration problems, basic student stupidity (including my own) and things of that sort. There weren't any regular student blogs about the school and it unexpectedly ended up taking off. The student paper offered me a role as a weekly columnist the following year and since then I've tried to make underlying points with most of my posts, usually in a satirical or sarcastic way that people usually take too seriously.

You have UNH hockey cheers as a tab on your blog -- which one is the best?

That's a tough one. A lot of them are common among college hockey, any involving the other team's goalie are fun, such as "Hey, (name) I wanna know, will you be my sieve?" sung to the tune of "Hey! Baby." Personally, I really like our new one "I believe" even though it rips off Utah State basketball. I take pride in it because I suggested it and it really has gotten better over the past few games. It's a call back that goes: I (I!) I believe (I believe!) I believe in U (I believe in U!) I believe in UNH (I believe in UNH!). We repeat the last part a bunch of times while clapping and jumping up and down.

Rank the sports in terms of popularity -- where does the men's basketball team land?

Hockey is a no brainer number one at UNH, followed by football. Those are the two clear favorites. Basketball is probably third. After that the field hockey team has a decent following, which our new student group The Wildcat Army started attending this year. Women's hockey and the soccer teams usually have some student support as well.

What's the sentiment about Bill Herrion? Is he on the hot seat?

The team has definitely improved under Herrion, but not as much as people expected. After winning in the first round of America East a few years back and taking Binghamton down to the last minute in the second round I think people saw that as a turning point, but we haven't gotten that far since. I think he has a lot of support from AD Marty Scarano so it would probably take a few more under-performing seasons for him to go.

Who's the most popular hoops player on campus in the last 4 or so years?

Dane Deliegro was very friendly and everyone seemed to know him. He worked at a late-night food truck that is a haven for drunk students. He could barely fit in the truck, but he would always chat up students about the team or how their night was going. Radar has been here forever and is still around. If you go to UNH and haven't met Radar at least once you probably don't leave your room too much.

How's the atmosphere for the basketball team? Do the students come out?

It's pretty disappointing. The Maine and Vermont games usually have a decent turn out, but other than that it is nothing special. The Wildcat Army is trying to get a bigger following for basketball so we'll see how this year goes.

Is Chandler Rhoads going to follow Andy Dalton's lead to Red Rifle super-stardom?

I'd say more of a Brian Scalabrine cult following, but I'm not sure if the team has a big enough following on campus yet. During the Dartmouth game the other night I joked that only a team from New Hampshire can get away with having a ginger for a starting guard. He plays really hard though so he definitely is a fan favorite.

It's a Friday night and freezing out (given). Where are we going to enjoy a few choice beverages and chat up some Wildcatettes?

Personally, I love The Knot. It's a tiny "Irish" bar (more like a dirty basement) that is the closest thing we have to a dive bar on campus, just a neat atmosphere. However, Libby's and Scorpions are the place to go for the wild kittys. They are more like your average sports bar and have dance floors and live DJs at night.

What's your projection for this year?

I think UNH will finish right in the middle of America East. If they stay healthy they could definitely make a run heading into the conference tournament. We're a little undersized and the team's shooting is streaky, but they're scrappy and play hard defense. If players like Abreu, Rhoads and Myrick get hot at the right time we can definitely compete with anyone in the conference.

And finally, but most importantly, do any of your readers have an inner basketball blogger that is dying to get

out (and write for our site)?

I'll pass the word along. I know there are a few die-hard fans out there so we'll see [Editors note: already a response from the UNH faith! Get on your horse, Maine!]