Anyone going? I'll be there.

http://etsubucs.com/mbasketball/news/201...or-oct-29/

For $50 a ticket, I'm expecting it to be a smallish group and more intimate, but I dunno.

Not going, but a report from you or others there would sure be nice for those of us eager to learn more about the new team.

(10-27-2015 08:17 AM)swvabucsfan Wrote:  Not going, but a report from you or others there would sure be nice for those of us eager to learn more about the new team.

I will do my best, but my "technical" knowledge of basketball is a lot more limited than others. I grew up cheerleading (from the age of 5) and the only sport I played was soccer. However, watching basketball (as well as football to an extent) got in my blood and I just feel like something is missing when I go too long without being in a gym, hearing the thud of the ball dribbling, the squeaking of the shoes and the cheering of the crowd. I suck when I attempt to play and I don't know all the ins and outs of the game as well as others, but that's not why I watch. I guess I'm just an eternal cheerleader at heart!

Yes, please send a report back for us out of towners. I really wish I could attend these things.

Yeah, I was disappointed that this was gonna be $50, but I TOTALLY get why they are doing it. The bigger donors are the ones who paid to ship you-know-who out of town, so give them their fifty buck plate of spaghetti and we'll call it even. I do hope we get a report.

For what it's worth, I'm gladly gonna donate the $50 to the gas fund to ship myself to Asheville, Greenville, and Knoxville in the next 10 weeks. GO BUCS!

(10-27-2015 09:56 AM)CaptainJackAubrey Wrote:  Yeah, I was disappointed that this was gonna be $50, but I TOTALLY get why they are doing it. The bigger donors are the ones who paid to ship you-know-who out of town, so give them their fifty buck plate of spaghetti and we'll call it even. I do hope we get a report.

For what it's worth, I'm gladly gonna donate the $50 to the gas fund to ship myself to Asheville, Greenville, and Knoxville in the next 10 weeks. GO BUCS!

I hear that. Tickets to the UT game were a great xmas present to the family last year, and I'm doing the same this year.

Fortunately, I only live 40 min from Asheville. Seeing as I'll be driving out two-three times and all for the championship. :)

I don't consider myself a big donor. In addition to the season tickets and donation requirements for those, I give a little through payroll deduction each check and my company matches 100%. I'd give more, but have to wait to put my own kids through school, then I can shift a small fraction of that toward helping others get scholarships. (I also give to the ETSU Foundation for non athletic scholarships as well.)

My husband knows that following basketball and football is one of my few hobbies that has a higher price tag. He has his hobby budget and I have mine. He humors me and comes to games, even though he doesn't like sports like me. Going to the Holding Court thing, even with a pricey ticket was just another part of that budget. I wish our schedule allowed for going to more away games, but we just usually have too much going on.

I will be there.

The first version of this kickoff idea from 2013 was the one with Jay Bilas, Sonny Smith, and Les Robinson. They had Calipari, Coach K, and Mark Few join in for facetime video interviews.

Last year was the Roy Firestone event.

This year's version is lower key. No celebrities. It's a pleasant, harmless thing. Bluenanaza is more oriented to students. Holding Court oriented more toward old farts like me.

Fans get a little official start to the season.

Any updates from tonight?

(10-29-2015 09:00 PM)Buced_Up Wrote:  Any updates from tonight?

Nice affair. A lot of interaction with Coach Forbes. Good food. The practice was OK to watch and was fast moving. At the end the players went around and spoke to all in attendance which was a nice touch I thought.

Nice event.

Was a lot of fun.

Had a cocktail hour at the Gordon Ball practice court , coaches and athletic department were all available for conversation.

Coach Forbes outlined the many improvements for the basketball team ( computer system, with terminals for the team members to use as a teaching tool, new automatic ball returns to aid in individual shooting practice, key swipe on entrance doors so that team members can use the practice facility 24/7, a tour of the remodeled dressing room, a video room, a TV lounge and new leather furniture, everything was first class. Forbes also said there was no difference in Wichita and Johnson City as far as having a top notch basketball team.

Had pasta diner at tables surrounding the entire court.

Forbes took the team through an hour of practice, explained how he called plays, said team would press a lot, showed how team would play in transition, how to guard the out of bounds play, run the fast break, man to man D, delayed break etc. All-in-all was very informative hour.

Team played quick, fast, under control, ran plays, played very hard on D and played entire hour up-tempo ( no standing around. very little dribbling ). Offense was inside out ( high screens and low screens ) and D was in your face man to man.

Had an auction for seven items, away game trips, home games, dinner with coach Forbes, etc. Raised approx. 15k. Other games will possibly be offered for bid at a later date.

As far as attendance, Forbes said they had a similar event at Wichita St. that drew 70 fans, he said there are a whole lot more here tonight. When I bought my tickets on Monday, I was number 85. I would estimate 100-125 were in attendance,

We had a great time. Dear me, those boys are TALL this year. I loved that Coach Forbes had them go around and shake hands and talk to the crowd. Poor guys - I can tell that some are fairly shy about that kind of thing. Others are a lot more outgoing, but they were all gracious and seem to be a good group.

Saw some good stuff during the practice. I do like the fast pace Forbes has the guys doing. It's going to be interesting to see how it all comes together in game play.

Appreciate the updates.

Hate I missed it.

(10-29-2015 10:06 PM)buc73 Wrote:  Team played quick, fast, under control, ran plays, played very hard on D and played entire hour up-tempo ( no standing around. very little dribbling ). Offense was inside out ( high screens and low screens ) and D was in your face man to man.

I wasn't there, but I saw the first open session a couple weeks back. I love the way Forbes runs a practice, the pace, the intensity of it. If you're going to teach uptempo ball and pressure defense, that surely seems like the way to do it. And this team really seems to respond to it.

I like your comment about Petey in another post. He's always been good at pushing the ball up hard, even after made baskets, with great court vision and the ability to fire the quick pass without over dribbling. Forbes practice style really seems ideal for him - watching him in that first session was a revelation.

Any thoughts about how the front court players are looking, Jurkin, Holley, Stokes, Lufile, Banks?

(10-30-2015 07:32 AM)swvabucsfan Wrote:  Any thoughts about how the front court players are looking, Jurkin, Holley, Stokes, Lufile, Banks?

Jurkin - He's not only tall, but he's got a wingspan that is a bit terrifying. He barely has to stretch or jump to reach the rim. He's not quite as fast as the others, but that reach is going to make up for it. He seemed to have a good eye on the ball, always going for the rebound and not assuming the outside shot made it.

Banks impressed me with his improvements from last year. He's bulked up a lot and he's quick. I like watching him drive to the basket. At least in practice, it looked smooth and explosive at the same time. I hope that continues in game play.

You'll have to forgive me, but it's gonna take a few weeks to keep the rest of the front court guys matched up with names, numbers and faces. Like mentioned before, Forbes runs the practice very fast paced and my attention span was lacking last night. I'm having a hard time keeping them all straight right now.

Overall, it's a very different team than last year and a very different style of play than I think we are used to seeing. I'm so excited for the games to start now.

Banks and Nigel Holley looked good last night with their movement and flow in the pace of the practice. Banks seems much more confident than he was last year. The freshman Stokes also looks good but but I heard Coach call him out several times. He is impressive looking physically. A lot of the drills they were running fed the post so the front court guys had a lot of dunks.

In the back court Guyn seems to have separated himself as the floor leader and he is quick! Overall the outside shooting was not as good last night hopefully because of defense.

(10-29-2015 10:06 PM)buc73 Wrote:  Forbes also said there was no difference in Wichita and Johnson City as far as having a top notch basketball team.

As far as attendance, Forbes said they had a similar event at Wichita St. that drew 70 fans, he said there are a whole lot more here tonight.

Love hearing stuff like this. ^^

Thanks for the updates.

Looking forward to hearing any news this weekend regarding the scrimmage against Longwood. Really interested in hearing how this team does against another division 1 school.

4 and 5

First rotation was Banks and Jurkin

Second rotation was Lufile and Holly

Third rotation was Stokes and Perea ( not eligible this year )

Coach emphasized that a starting line-up has not been set. The Sat. scrimmage would go a long way in deciding the starters.