I fretted about this column all last week. I wanted to write so many different things in this space that I couldn’t settle on one, and it bothered me.

I wanted to share how I’ve always felt like I was born with basketball in my blood, how my parents delayed going to the hospital when my mom was in labor so she could see the end of Michael Jordan’s 63-point performance in the NBA playoffs. (Our hometown team, the Boston Celtics, won that game, by the way — and swept the series.)

I wanted to share how I learned to shoot a basketball backward as a 2-year-old. Or how my brother and I invented a dice game to simulate college basketball scores and, much to the consternation of the elderly ladies at church, frequently used it to pass the time, even on Sunday mornings. We diced an entire college basketball season during one spring break, then served as the selection committee and put together a 64-team bracket, playing out each game in the driveway.

I wanted to share how that love of watching, playing and studying basketball fuels my passion for writing and trying to explain the why behind what we’re seeing play out on the hardwood.

Then, a few mornings ago, my wife reminded me of another huge aspect of why I love journalism: I love sharing great stories.

I’m bringing all of that — a lifelong passion for the game; a relentless, driving hunger to figure out why things play out the way they do; and a deep love for storytelling — to The Athletic. I’ll be the Louisville basketball writer for The Athletic College Basketball, following the program as it begins a new chapter in its history with a new cast of characters. You won’t see print-deadline fueled game recaps or minutiae reporting here; my goal is to provide a deeper understanding of the team for fans who want more comprehensive coverage.

Let me tell you how I got here.

I played sports just about every day of my childhood. I was obsessed with basketball, even if soccer, my second love, was the best fit for me.

In our driveway and front yard, I dribbled against imaginary defenders and blocked my own shots. I didn’t just do the made-for-television “ohs” and “ahs” of the invisible crowd, and I didn’t just imitate the catchphrases of my favorite sports broadcasters, either. I actually did the play-by-play and color commentary as I played, with commercial breaks and timeouts. I did the same thing playing soccer in the yard, only I used an English accent.

Our neighbors, just like the old ladies at church, were concerned about the boy next door talking to himself, but it made (at least a little) more sense to them when my parents explained that I wanted to be a sports broadcaster. (But OK, looking back on it now, yeah, that was some weird stuff.)

In college, at Pitt, I discovered writing.

I was a voracious reader of the Boston Globe and Providence Journal’s sports sections growing up. But I didn’t see a future in writing until my sophomore year at Pitt when I started at the student newspaper, The Pitt News.

Thirteen years later, I’m still in love with writing and storytelling.

I loved my time at the Louisville Courier-Journal. I made great friends, and I am so proud of the relentless, dogged reporting we did in my five years there. I still very much believe that local newspapers play a major role in the community.

I came to The Athletic to lean into what I love the most about this job — taking time to be thorough and thoughtful; to share stories in a meaningful way; to connect serious Louisville fans with fun and serious in-depth coverage of their team. My work will be presented on an easy-to-navigate, ad-free, video-free, Google survey-free, popup-free app and website.

I hope that sounds appealing to you, and I hope you’ll subscribe to The Athletic and join me as I chronicle this new era of Louisville basketball.

If you haven’t subscribed yet, join now with this special 30% off link: theathletic.com/cbbexpansion

(Top photo: Jamie Rhodes/USA TODAY Sports)