A changing of the guard

Friends, there are changes coming to OPP.

Effective immediately, my main dude Zach Oliver is taking over as the site's lead. In a moment, he'll explain his vision for the future. For now, he's given me the opportunity to say a few words.

First off, I'm not leaving the site; this post is not goodbye! I'll be around to aid Zach as best I can, primarily as an editor for him and for the team he assembles. I still plan to write for and contribute to OPP as my schedule allows.

Essentially, Zach will set the editorial direction for the site. I'm here to help him execute that plan in whatever capacity he requires.

I started OPP nearly 10 years ago as a college freshman looking for a creative outlet. In the intervening years I've improved as a writer and editor, and I've learned so much about the game I love. But now, with two part-time jobs that command my attention more than 40 hours per week on average, I simply cannot give this site the attention it deserves, at least not in a leadership role. Fortunately for both of us, dear reader, Zach is on hand to build on what I started.

I'm proud of the work I've done over the last nine-plus years establishing OPP, but I couldn't have done it all without the help of several people, among them Matt Berhnardt; Seth Pollack; Tom Ziller; Josh Robbins; John Denton; Eddy Rivera; Tyler Lashbrook; Zach; my mom and dad; and, of course, you. This site wouldn't exist without the readers. Whether you're a veteran or a relative newbie, a regular commenter or a lurker, I appreciate you. Thank you.

I'm also indebted to Zach. He joined our team before the start of last season and immediately proved himself as a young, talented voice in this industry. I'm proud of and thrilled for this dude as he takes over. I can't think of anyone better suited to lead OPP into the future. He has my full support in this endeavor, now and going forward.

Thank you all for reading. Without further ado, here's Zach.

Thanks, Evan.

This last week has been a whirlwind for me, with this being the cherry on top.

Very rarely am I not sure what to say, or how to convey it, but this is one of those times.

Over the last year, I've had the great joy of writing for OPP and working under Evan, who has helped me a tremendous amount as a writer and a basketball mind. He took a chance on bringing me in to help him, and I will forever be grateful for him taking that chance on me. I have the utmost respect for Evan and everything he's done for the site over the past nine years, and am looking forward to continuing to grow it.

Now, onto the future.

While select things will be changing, others won't. We'll still do a fair share of long-form posts that give the readers the best analysis on the team, and where they're going. On top of that, we'll be doing some more short-form, quick hitting things that give you an idea of some of the fun and great things the team is doing not only on the court, but in the community as well.

We'll be adding some new, young, talented writers, and some established writers as well to begin building a staff to bring you guys as many unique voices as possible.

This is a challenge that I'm ready and excited to take on. It won't be easy, and I know that, but it's something that I feel as though I can thrive at, and will be ready to meet any and all challenges head on.

The foundation has been set by Evan and all of his phenomenal work, and now it's time for me to take over and build on it all in a changing of the guard here at OPP.