Rivers to Indiana

[THEGYMBAR]

Playing in NBA arena means something to these kids. I do not get it, but it really is an advantage. I have known every MU coach since Al do some extent and everyone of them has stated being an NBA city means something in recruiting. Over the years every MU player has been spottedwatching the Bucks or better yet playing with them in the summer.

The Al and BC are two major recruiting advantages. I'll say again that if MU, and TC did, embraced our history we could proudly state MU is borderline elite. Our history is in the top 20 in the country over the past four decades. We need to stress this to a greater degree.

[ChicosBailBonds]

scratching my head about this nba arena thing-
I suppose the question ought to be how many perennial top 25's teams are located in an nba city?  or vice versa?  you might get more of a match.. or not... by taking that into consideration.

No NBA around- it's early so correct the list-:
Duke
UNC
MSU
KY
UConn
UL
UW
Ill.
Kansas

I mean, besides potential matches like Philly/Nova, or NYC/St Johns, or Meadowlands/new equiv./Seton Hall or RU, UCLA?
it seems like nba and ncaa hoops don't coexist well in most instances.
so the how many ncaa teams play in nba arena stuff is jaded at best.
imo

That is correct, there aren't a ton and somehow those teams excel without an NBA arena.  I guess I would position it this way....would you like to have a 15,000 seat arena that is home of MARQUETTE or be a renter of a NBA arena where you are an equal tenant with an IHL hockey team and used to be an equal tenant with an indoor soccer team?

Look, I like the Bradley Center...it's very nice.  It serves MU well, but I just don't get all the love for it.  Does it really help us?  I know some folks think that being in the same city with the Bucks is advantageous because of the players and access.  I suppose it might be, but has that hurt Kentucky or Wake Forest, or UNC, or Duke or Gonzaga or any number of other teams from putting players in the NBA since they don't have that "access'?  Of course not.

As for schools that share teams in the same city, of course it will be limited.  There are only 30 some teams in the NBA.  A lot more pedestrian teams then ones that are doing well.  Quite frankly, I'd love to see the Bucks leave Milwaukee but that's another story that I'm sure is not shared by 99.99% of Milwaukeans. 


Going off memory

UCLA / USC / Loyola Marymount
Utah
Minnesota
Washington
Portland State
Stanford / Cal / USF
Rice / Houston
TCU / SMU
Temple / Villanova / Drexel / Penn / St. Joe's
St. John's
Seton Hall
Georgetown
Miami
Tulane / New Orleans
DePaul / UIC / Northwestern
Arizona State
UT-San Antonio
Detroit-Mercy
IUPUI
Charlotte
Harvard / Boston College / Boston U.
Sacramento State
Denver
Memphis
Cleveland State
Georgia Tech

[ChicosBailBonds]

AnotherMU84 is dead on correct.... Chicos and norman and others keep saying Crean is going to sign these big time talented 5 star recruits to compete with the top teams in the Big ten.  well if that is the case he better start quickly.   The simple fact is Crean now has 10 scholarships tied up for the next 2 years, he has at least 8 scholarships tied up for the next 4 and possibly nine if sutton commits and by the latest articles he is close.  additionally, he has 2 juniors already commited and another junior from bloomington that seems ready.   so the bottom line is he has a curent list of commits that includes 1 4 star ranking.  basically he is only going to have a total of 2-3 scholarships to give away over this summer and next.  not saying he cannot or will not sign any 5 star guys , my point is if he wants to ahve 2-3 5 star guys on his roster that is all he better recruit or offer becuase he only has a couple left to give  and becuase he kicked, off ran off, or whatever the entire sophomore and junior classes no scholarships are going to be freed up thru graduation.  That is my point, he is in such need to fill a roster that it will be all freshman and sophomores and they are all 2 and 3 star kids.  maybe Crean will run some of those guys oput of the program in the next couple of years to find room for some 5 star guys?  i do not know.  But for all these 5 star kids some say he will get he needs scolly's and this is all presuming the NCaa does not take any away.

Scholarships are one year and renewable each year....so yes, I expect some will not cut it, some will choose to leave on their own because they don't like his regimented ways and he will fill their slot with someone better.  I also expect he will struggle in year 1 and 2 and then start landing them in year 3 and beyond.   Let's mark this post and check back in a few years and see how successful IU is and how successful MU is at that point.  Hopefully both programs are doing well.

[THEGYMBAR]

Chico's---Perfect world MU would be playing in 15,000 seat joint with MU on the wall. I would not lose one second of sleep if the Bucks folded or moved tonight. But, that does not take away the perception of the NBA facility to 17 year old kids. Obviously Kansas and Duke have facilities with their name on it and blows away the NBA theory. Unfortunately we are not Kansas or Duke today. I loved my experience visiting Cameron and a ton of other on campus facilities. I actually LOVE Assembly Hall, but prior to a month ago IU was my 2nd favorite team.

[Tugg Speedman]

Let me turn the argument around.  MU is a small private uran school.  It does not have $150 million to build it's own 18,000 seat arena.  HOWEVER, it does have one just a FEW BLOCKS OFF CAMPUS (which cannot be said of most of the other schools Chicos listed).  So, it can still get a healthy number of students to walk to the games.  And for the impressible 17/18 year old recruit, it is awfully exciting the think about playing in an NBA arena.

Consider the alternative, busing kids across town to a stadium or stuck with 6,000 to 8,000 seat oversized AL. 

Finally, when MU plays all those December games against lesser talent and the kids are on break, they bearely draw 11,000.  Why not plays those games in the MECCA?  It would make for an interesting diversion.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Let me turn the argument around.  MU is a small private uran school.  It does not have $150 million to build it's own 18,000 seat arena.  HOWEVER, it does have one just a FEW BLOCKS OFF CAMPUS (which cannot be said of most of the other schools Chicos listed).  So, it can still get a healthy number of students to walk to the games.  And for the impressible 17/18 year old recruit, it is awfully exciting the think about playing in an NBA arena.

Consider the alternative, busing kids across town to a stadium or stuck with 6,000 to 8,000 seat oversized AL. 

Finally, when MU plays all those December games against lesser talent and the kids are on break, they bearely draw 11,000.  Why not plays those games in the MECCA?  It would make for an interesting diversion.

MU is incredibly fortunate to have the BC as close to campus as it is....incredibly fortunate.  As I said, it's a nice building, nice arena, but I just don't think it is as advantageous as people make it out to be. 

[bleedbluegold03]

Finally, when MU plays all those December games against lesser talent and the kids are on break, they bearely draw 11,000.  Why not plays those games in the MECCA?  It would make for an interesting diversion.

They have a contract with the Bradley Center that they will only play in that building. My thought was to have the first game of the year (preseason) in the AL considering on 6-8 thousand show up to the game. That would be an awesome way to start off the year.

[4everwarriors]

Let me turn the argument around.  MU is a small private uran school.  It does not have $150 million to build it's own 18,000 seat arena.  HOWEVER, it does have one just a FEW BLOCKS OFF CAMPUS (which cannot be said of most of the other schools Chicos listed).  So, it can still get a healthy number of students to walk to the games.  And for the impressible 17/18 year old recruit, it is awfully exciting the think about playing in an NBA arena.

Consider the alternative, busing kids across town to a stadium or stuck with 6,000 to 8,000 seat oversized AL. 

Finally, when MU plays all those December games against lesser talent and the kids are on break, they bearely draw 11,000.  Why not plays those games in the MECCA?  It would make for an interesting diversion.


When was the last time you were in the MECCA? Its an above ground dump befitting a team the caliper of UWM and nothing more. MU belongs in the BC.

[augoman]

while a little OT, I want to toss my 2 cents in;  when the BC was built, and the arena sat 'empty', I advocated MU buying it.  We could have renamed it MU Arena, rented it out on non-game nights(UWM, circus, hockey, concerts, etc), and saved the enormous rent we currently pay to play in the BC.  While we would have lost 6,000 seats for 3 or 4 games a season, we also would have had a much more exciting atmosphere the rest of the year.  Playing in the BC is like playing in somebody's basement- grey, dull, boring, sound absorbing, too-brightly-lit, etc.  The arena always had a 'stage' feel.  All the lights dimmed and the court lights came up.  Much more exciting when the crowd was rocking.  Sigh..., what could have been...

[THEGYMBAR]

MU needs to play in 18K facility to raise revenue. We do not play eight bums a year because we want to, we play them for the money. While I hate we play these teams I understand the amount of revenue that is created. If MU played at MECCA or smaller facility it would cost the school way too much money.

AUGOMAN--Back in the day MECCA rocked. When they went to using the side/stage lighting the place looked unreal. I loved the contrast of the bright lights on the court and darkness of the stands. No doubt MECCA was very cool.

[Pakuni]

The Mecca/Arena talk is, and has always been, ridiculous.

From a financial standpoint, it would be disastrous. MU averaged 15,345 per game in 2007. So moving to the Arena would cost MU at least 3,000 tickets sold per game. Even at, say, $18 per seat, that's more than $1 million in lost revenue. and that's not even accounting for whatever revenue, no matter how small, MU generates from merchandise and concession sales at the Bradley Center.
Who thinks this is a good idea? Who thinks MU athletics would be better off with less money?

And what does Marquette say to those 3,000+ other fans/future contributors who now are squeezed out from attending games? Sorry, you can't enjoy the game, but the lucky ones who have tickets feel better about their college basketball experience?
Give me a break.

This talk was nonsense 7-8 years ago and it's even more nonsensical today.

[bma725]

while a little OT, I want to toss my 2 cents in;  when the BC was built, and the arena sat 'empty', I advocated MU buying it. 

MU was offered the Arena back then at a steal of a price, and thankfully had the foresight to turn it down.

[ChicosBailBonds]

The Mecca/Arena talk is, and has always been, ridiculous.

From a financial standpoint, it would be disastrous. MU averaged 15,345 per game in 2007. So moving to the Arena would cost MU at least 3,000 tickets sold per game. Even at, say, $18 per seat, that's more than $1 million in lost revenue. and that's not even accounting for whatever revenue, no matter how small, MU generates from merchandise and concession sales at the Bradley Center.
Who thinks this is a good idea? Who thinks MU athletics would be better off with less money?

And what does Marquette say to those 3,000+ other fans/future contributors who now are squeezed out from attending games? Sorry, you can't enjoy the game, but the lucky ones who have tickets feel better about their college basketball experience?
Give me a break.

This talk was nonsense 7-8 years ago and it's even more nonsensical today.

MU makes $0.00 on concessions at the Bradley Center.   Part of the analysis is that the 3000 extra people, many were not buying tickets, at least for the dog games.  Mostly giveaways and youth donations, etc.

Let's just hope attendance stays up because if it drops considerably, the analysis takes on a different perspective. 

[dsfire]

Marquette actually played a non-conference game against Ark-Pine Bluff at the Arena back in 2001, during the holiday break.  Maybe it was the fact that it wasn't our actual home court, or the lack of the student section (tickets were neither included in the student ticket package nor offered to students as I recall, we ended up picking up 2 from a scalper for $30...), but the only games I can remember at the Bradley Center that felt as lackluster were the sparsely-attended NIT games a few years later.  I can't imagine going back there for every game.

[bilsu]

We already know that Crean cannot leave a scholarship open, which has not worked well for him. We also know that he will hand out more scholarships than he has. I do not know if he will get 5 star recruits, but I believe he will hand out 5 scholarships when he has only three available. Which means two players of lesser caliber will transfer out. I also believe Indiana might go the way of Michigan. Michigan used to be the big program in Michigan. Now they are not even close to Michigan St. I do not think Indiana is a lock to be a super power again. Even Bobby knight did not do super there his last few years.