Hello all. I think it’s high time I introduce myself. I’m Joe Szymanski, I’m a junior at George Mason and I’m a new contributor here at Giant Killer/By George.

You’ve probably seen a couple of my recaps across the last half of the season, but this time I want to tell of my first experience covering the A-10 tournament.

First of all, it was an absolute blast. It was great to hang out with Bryan, Chris, Daniel and Ibrahim throughout the three days I spent at the tournament and also meet a couple of other A-10 contributors from other teams.

Hanging around the press room and striking conversation with some of my fellow basketball fans and analysts was great. They also feed you in these areas, with both snacks and actual meals, which let me tell you for a college kid, that is a fantastic deal to get.

Now, the actual basketball being played was great. While it did suck to see Mason get knocked out in the first round within the first hour I was there…

Scratch that, it actually really sucked. But I believe in this team and specifically this coaching staff and I’d encourage the rest of you to do so too. But past that, there was a lot of good basketball I got to see from our assigned spot in a press tower.

UMass-George Washington was a fun shootout game to watch, and it was nice to see the Colonials suffer the same fate as us. Then Rhode Island vs Richmond that night was crazy. Richmond looked dead in the water until the second half, and that game started their incredible run to the title.

Then the next day, I started with the St Bonaventure vs St Louis, which was an incredible game. Bonnie nation, you guys showed out! I was impressed, and I felt bad that you all lost in such a heartbreaking way in what was truly an incredible game. Also getting to see VCU fans leave disappointed after being upset by Richmond? Priceless.

Both semifinals games were great then. Davidson showed off how dominant they can be, and Richmond storming back from another deficit to win and head to the championship game? What a game that was.

Sadly, I did have to head home to PA before the title game, but I thoroughly enjoyed my first go round covering the A-10 tournament. It was a lot of fun and is something I won’t soon forget.