Running 2023-24 NCAA Basketball Thread

[Cosmo]

It was thanks to that tradition that I got to see my Tar Heels play in person for the first time. He brought the Heels to Indianapolis for Eric Montross and played at Butler in the fall of '92. That was in Barry Collier's early years of turning Butler around not long after the university seriously contemplated dropping out of DI and turning Hinkle into a rec center for undergrads. Or in other words, not the Butler teams of a decade or so later that might threaten to win that game. It was fun though.

Roy Williams kept the tradition going, although not quite as frequently in his era of star players only being there for a year or two and conference challenges dictating certain road games. The 2015-16 team played at Northern Iowa for Marcus Paige. The 2006-07 team played at St. Louis for Tyler Hansbrough.

The 2012-13 team played at Long Beach State but that wasn't for a player, it was a pit stop on their way to Hawaii. Same with the 2008 game at UC Santa Barbara mentioned above. They also played road games at his former assistants' schools - so they did UAB for Jerrod Haase in his first year and UNCW for C.B. McGrath - and they've helped open new arenas for Elon and UNC Asheville. They also played at Tulane during Mike Dunleavy's first year there, but I don't really know what the connection was, if there was one.

I always appreciated Roy's willingness to do mid-major and low-major road games, even if they were usually for a specific purpose that might be one off for that particular school.

Thank you, I was trying to find this because I remember something about it happening. I think others have done this as well.

I'll give Tony Bennett credit here, too. He's taken Virginia down to the Siegel Center to play VCU. He's also gone to Harrisonburg to play JMU. VT used to play roadies against in-state teams like VMI, Liberty and ODU but that stopped once Greenberg got there and hasn't really materialized since.

 

[Big Circus]

Thank you, I was trying to find this because I remember something about it happening. I think others have done this as well.

I'll give Tony Bennett credit here, too. He's taken Virginia down to the Siegel Center to play VCU. He's also gone to Harrisonburg to play JMU. VT used to play roadies against in-state teams like VMI, Liberty and ODU but that stopped once Greenberg got there and hasn't really materialized since.

Hopefully he's gone to JMU for the last time after he agreed to play there to open their new arena and was serenaded with F-bombs for his efforts.

In reality, I doubt that's the case, considering UVA Health System is JMU's court sponsor.

 

[HanSenSE]

Auriemma does the same scheduling with UConn.

 

[da man]

Yep, she was just a ray of sunshine.

E

She can be pissed at the performance but still somewhat OK with it inside for the reason noted. Plus, if your message as a coach to the players is "you can't live on last year's glory," you need to present a less-than-pleased face to them.

 

[Flip Wilson]

I understand that they want to bring in some tin cans to put on a show for the locals. But take a look at some of the opponents last night for Division I programs.

• Spalding
• Fort Lauderdale
• North American
• Kansas Christian
• John Jay
• Erskine
• Piedmont
• Covenant
• Sarah Lawrence
• Southwestern Adventist
• Penn State - Wilkes-Barre
• Champion Christian
• Johnson (Fla.)
• William Carey
• Jarvis Christian
• Blue Mountain
• Saint Mary of the Woods

And my two favorites:

• Toccoa Falls
• Northwest Indian (not Northwest Indiana, Northwest Indian)

At least Bishop Sycamore isn't on the list.

 

[swingline]

yet

 

[dixiehack]

I understand that most of these players didn't come to play school, but transferring from Oral Roberts to Loyola-Chicago still has to be a head-turning experience.

 

[Machine Head]

Yes. Look up Sanford and the Dakotas. That family has a huge stake in health care up there, Sanford Health. Pretty sure they're based out of Sioux Falls.

Thing of it is? They're not hosting these games at Sioux Falls' main arena, which is a modern facility that seats 8K and I think hosts the Summit tournament. It also carries the Sanford name.

They play at the Sanford Pentagon, which is a 3,250-seat mini-arena on the outskirts of town.

I went up to Sioux Falls on several football trips on a previous job, but on my last trip, I stayed at a hotel in the same development as the Pentagon. (Which might also be the same development where the Summit League is HQ'd. Sanford money wooed the conference office to Sioux Falls.) It's weird. You walk out of a Courtyard and there it is, basically, just random, but it's allegedly swanky inside.

Sanford money has largely bankrolled the rise of both North Dakota State and South Dakota State in football. Both probably do deserve to be FBS now with the facilities they have compared to when they entered D-I in the late 2000s.

Look up T. Denny Sanford

 

[DanOregon]

Mulkey seems like one of those people who are only happy when they are miserable, and miserable when they are happy. Nice outfit tho!

I have to think a few people - maybe even some women - dressed up as Kim Mulkey for Halloween.

 

[Starman]

VCU writes it into a coach's contract that if they leave for a power-conference job, they have to come back with their new school when they leave. That's how Texas and LSU ended up playing in Richmond. Penn State was scheduled to visit anyway during the pandemic year before the game was called off, but I'm sure Rhoades will be bringing the Lions down this way soon.

How are they going to enforce that? What do they do if the departing coach just says "stick it?"

 

[dixiehack]

How are they going to enforce that? What do they do if the departing coach just says "stick it?"

Liquidated damages.

 

[justgladtobehere]

That Kent State floor is a forking mess.