(01-14-2019 12:07 PM)RamDawg Wrote:  I believe it's easy to get wrapped up in the who sucks and who's good numbers. The ultimate goal is dance in March, in the case of the one bid CAA, winning the CAAT is required. How you get there, your record, who you beat and by how much becomes irrelevant

It's clear to me:
JMU improves every week.
They are beginning to play the game the right way.
They are starting to buy into a system/mentality that coach is trying to sell.
IF (a huge unknown at this point) this talented team can put the pieces together, they could be very dangerous come March 9th.
JMU will never consistently "sell out" the new convo. We could go the final four and it isn't happening, not in Harrisonburg.

JMU can and would sell out the Bank if JMU basketball improves and schedules decent teams. The convo rocked not that long ago.

(01-14-2019 03:22 PM)Purplehazed Wrote:  

(01-14-2019 12:07 PM)RamDawg Wrote:  I believe it's easy to get wrapped up in the who sucks and who's good numbers. The ultimate goal is dance in March, in the case of the one bid CAA, winning the CAAT is required. How you get there, your record, who you beat and by how much becomes irrelevant

It's clear to me:
JMU improves every week.
They are beginning to play the game the right way.
They are starting to buy into a system/mentality that coach is trying to sell.
IF (a huge unknown at this point) this talented team can put the pieces together, they could be very dangerous come March 9th.
JMU will never consistently "sell out" the new convo. We could go the final four and it isn't happening, not in Harrisonburg.

JMU can and would sell out the Bank if JMU basketball improves and schedules decent teams. The convo rocked not that long ago.

Agree.......WIN, play an exciting brand of basketball, get 1 or 2 'sexy' home games per season, beat the teams you are supposed to beat, and finish top-3 in CAA year-in/year-out and the new arena will look like the convo during the Lefty hey-days.

I know all those are easier said that done......but seriously just WINNING takes care of most issues. And if you WIN and folks don't show-up that is not on JMU Admin/Coaching Staff/Team.

I am also much more in favor of selling beer at bball games in new arena than I am at football games and that would be nice to unwind with a beer after work while catching the game.

JMU has to bring better MBB competition to Harrisonburg. The CAA schedule has weakened post Richmond, ODU, GMU & VCU all leaving the CAA and the OoC scheduling is headed towards full on ODAC DIII.

VT would rock the Bank, 8,500 tickets sold at a premium. Tech's AD is a Duke. This one should be doable of the regular.
UVa...filled the Convo 100% during the Malcom Brogden years.
Georgetown...A gift to McClung and Gate City? Not too far from Gate City. I would pay $150 for a ticker to see the Hoyas in HBG.
West Virginia...They played JMU is Charleston not too long ago.

When is the last time JMU MBB played Virginia Tech? I can't remember such a game.

(01-14-2019 03:22 PM)Purplehazed Wrote:  

(01-14-2019 12:07 PM)RamDawg Wrote:  I believe it's easy to get wrapped up in the who sucks and who's good numbers. The ultimate goal is dance in March, in the case of the one bid CAA, winning the CAAT is required. How you get there, your record, who you beat and by how much becomes irrelevant

It's clear to me:
JMU improves every week.
They are beginning to play the game the right way.
They are starting to buy into a system/mentality that coach is trying to sell.
IF (a huge unknown at this point) this talented team can put the pieces together, they could be very dangerous come March 9th.
JMU will never consistently "sell out" the new convo. We could go the final four and it isn't happening, not in Harrisonburg.

JMU can and would sell out the Bank if JMU basketball improves and schedules decent teams. The convo rocked not that long ago.

Half the size Harrisonburg, and half the size JMU averaged 6,000 for a couple years under Lefty.

I have a hard time thinking of a realistic scenario the new Arena sells out for the year. My concern is I can see the possibility the average attendance the second year could be under 3,500. That would be a shame, waste, and fail.

The only way for JMU to consistently draw large crowds is to make the students a part of the game by surrounding the court with their seats.
That would maximize home court advantage which maximizes wins which maximizes the paying public’s willingness to spend money on tickets.

It should be done. Will it be done? That is the question.

Even when JMU was drawing larger crowds a significant chunk of it was due to very strong student attendance.

(01-14-2019 04:54 PM)Hart Foundation Wrote:  The only way for JMU to consistently draw large crowds is to make the students a part of the game by surrounding the court with their seats.
That would maximize home court advantage which maximizes wins which maximizes the paying public’s willingness to spend money on tickets.

It should be done. Will it be done? That is the question.

Even when JMU was drawing larger crowds a significant chunk of it was due to very strong student attendance.

The students will not be surrounding the court. They are going to be in a much, much better location than they are now without a doubt. Based on the flythough video released a while back, they are planning on putting the students behind the left hoop, which looks pretty close to what they did with the students at Bridgeforth.
Also the club area looks to cover the middle third of the back of the court (based on renderings- i am calling the back the side that the JMU logo wall is located).
The students need to come out in much larger volumes for this to even be a discussion honestly. I understand that some of it is due to the terrible seating situation at the Convo, but most of the reason is due to the results on the court. To be honest, I don't blame them.
The seating at the UB&T is a step in the right direction.

(01-14-2019 03:22 PM)Purplehazed Wrote:  

(01-14-2019 12:07 PM)RamDawg Wrote:  I believe it's easy to get wrapped up in the who sucks and who's good numbers. The ultimate goal is dance in March, in the case of the one bid CAA, winning the CAAT is required. How you get there, your record, who you beat and by how much becomes irrelevant

It's clear to me:
JMU improves every week.
They are beginning to play the game the right way.
They are starting to buy into a system/mentality that coach is trying to sell.
IF (a huge unknown at this point) this talented team can put the pieces together, they could be very dangerous come March 9th.
JMU will never consistently "sell out" the new convo. We could go the final four and it isn't happening, not in Harrisonburg.

JMU can and would sell out the Bank if JMU basketball improves and schedules decent teams. The convo rocked not that long ago.

Since my statement kind of hits a nerve with some, let me clarify.

I don't think the Bank will sell out of season tickets regardless of how successful the program gets. Student participation in all sports is low across the country and I don't see the Harrisonburg community having the numbers to bump up the participation numbers. How many Alumni from Richmond and NOVA are going to drive 2 hours each way to watch 2 hours of basketball, especially during the week regardless of how good the team is. How many corporate sponsors does JMU BB have that are local? Sponsors give away tickets and sometimes those folks become dedicated fans and buy their own seats.

I'm not saying the Bank will never sell out just that it won't be the norm. The numbers just don't add up to 6500.

(01-14-2019 05:27 PM)RamDawg Wrote:  

(01-14-2019 03:22 PM)Purplehazed Wrote:  

(01-14-2019 12:07 PM)RamDawg Wrote:  I believe it's easy to get wrapped up in the who sucks and who's good numbers. The ultimate goal is dance in March, in the case of the one bid CAA, winning the CAAT is required. How you get there, your record, who you beat and by how much becomes irrelevant

It's clear to me:
JMU improves every week.
They are beginning to play the game the right way.
They are starting to buy into a system/mentality that coach is trying to sell.
IF (a huge unknown at this point) this talented team can put the pieces together, they could be very dangerous come March 9th.
JMU will never consistently "sell out" the new convo. We could go the final four and it isn't happening, not in Harrisonburg.

JMU can and would sell out the Bank if JMU basketball improves and schedules decent teams. The convo rocked not that long ago.

Since my statement kind of hits a nerve with some, let me clarify.

I don't think the Bank will sell out of season tickets regardless of how successful the program gets. Student participation in all sports is low across the country and I don't see the Harrisonburg community having the numbers to bump up the participation numbers. How many Alumni from Richmond and NOVA are going to drive 2 hours each way to watch 2 hours of basketball, especially during the week regardless of how good the team is. How many corporate sponsors does JMU BB have that are local? Sponsors give away tickets and sometimes those folks become dedicated fans and buy their own seats.

I'm not saying the Bank will never sell out just that it won't be the norm. The numbers just don't add up to 6500.

I think you meant to write "add up to 8500"...which is what the new arena will seat.

With the right coach and a winning program, you could well see 6500 fans in attendance (as in the golden days of Lefty), and a fair number of those in attendance would be students (if they have decent seats). The arena's location on campus next to so many dorms and in proximity to the off-campus apartments could definitely promote a renewed students presence, which would be welcome, and would mitigate the need for long-distance commutes by alums.

(01-14-2019 04:07 PM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  When is the last time JMU MBB played Virginia Tech? I can't remember such a game.

Jan 2, 2006 at 4 pm. Attendance was announced as 4,520.

in addition, all the home games are on madizone. when the game is going to be on tv, it gets hard to rationalize a 4 hr round trip drive for a 2 hr game

We average 6-8k students a game for football. Don’t see why we couldn’t average half that for a successfull b-ball program.

In addition to getting a top draw opponent to help fill the place, schedule some great half time shows too. After watching today's hot twitter storm I suggest booking that UCLA Gymnastic gal. I got a double hernia just watching her.

(01-14-2019 05:14 PM)JMad03 Wrote:  

(01-14-2019 04:54 PM)Hart Foundation Wrote:  The only way for JMU to consistently draw large crowds is to make the students a part of the game by surrounding the court with their seats.
That would maximize home court advantage which maximizes wins which maximizes the paying public’s willingness to spend money on tickets.

It should be done. Will it be done? That is the question.

Even when JMU was drawing larger crowds a significant chunk of it was due to very strong student attendance.

The students will not be surrounding the court. They are going to be in a much, much better location than they are now without a doubt. Based on the flythough video released a while back, they are planning on putting the students behind the left hoop, which looks pretty close to what they did with the students at Bridgeforth.
Also the club area looks to cover the middle third of the back of the court (based on renderings- i am calling the back the side that the JMU logo wall is located).
The students need to come out in much larger volumes for this to even be a discussion honestly. I understand that some of it is due to the terrible seating situation at the Convo, but most of the reason is due to the results on the court. To be honest, I don't blame them.
The seating at the UB&T is a step in the right direction.

I think this is the relevant part of the current communication...

What are plans for student seating?
The students are a critical part of the gameday experience. We are exploring different options for lower bowl seating to further engage our students in order to enhance their positive impact on the game.

The correct answer is simple and easy to figure out. The question is, will JMU get it right?

Putting students on one baseline is the wrong answer. In fact, it would be a downgrade from the Convo. In the best Convo configuration of glory days gone by, JMU had students on both baselines and it was a good homecourt advantage.

Put students on 3 sides in the UB&T and it is an upgrade. Put students on all 4 sides and it is a homerun.

(01-14-2019 07:29 PM)Hart Foundation Wrote:  

(01-14-2019 05:14 PM)JMad03 Wrote:  

(01-14-2019 04:54 PM)Hart Foundation Wrote:  The only way for JMU to consistently draw large crowds is to make the students a part of the game by surrounding the court with their seats.
That would maximize home court advantage which maximizes wins which maximizes the paying public’s willingness to spend money on tickets.

It should be done. Will it be done? That is the question.

Even when JMU was drawing larger crowds a significant chunk of it was due to very strong student attendance.

The students will not be surrounding the court. They are going to be in a much, much better location than they are now without a doubt. Based on the flythough video released a while back, they are planning on putting the students behind the left hoop, which looks pretty close to what they did with the students at Bridgeforth.
Also the club area looks to cover the middle third of the back of the court (based on renderings- i am calling the back the side that the JMU logo wall is located).
The students need to come out in much larger volumes for this to even be a discussion honestly. I understand that some of it is due to the terrible seating situation at the Convo, but most of the reason is due to the results on the court. To be honest, I don't blame them.
The seating at the UB&T is a step in the right direction.

I think this is the relevant part of the current communication...

What are plans for student seating?
The students are a critical part of the gameday experience. We are exploring different options for lower bowl seating to further engage our students in order to enhance their positive impact on the game.

The correct answer is simple and easy to figure out. The question is, will JMU get it right?

Putting students on one baseline is the wrong answer. In fact, it would be a downgrade from the Convo. In the best Convo configuration of glory days gone by, JMU had students on both baselines and it was a good homecourt advantage.

Put students on 3 sides in the UB&T and it is an upgrade. Put students on all 4 sides and it is a homerun.

Agree with this, but afraid the admin currently does not. They seem to have been actively suppressing the basketball home court advantage the past few years, with respect to the pep band, etc. It's sad, because it would be so easy to get this part of a winning experience right.

As much as I hate to admit it, GMU does it better with their pep band. Not in terms of "musical quality" but in terms of having a fun experience that makes life a bit difficult for the opposing team. JMU was the place that teams absolutely hated/feared playing at in the past. It should be that way again.

(01-14-2019 06:54 PM)#YEEHAWDUKES Wrote:  We average 6-8k students a game for football. Don’t see why we couldn’t average half that for a successfull b-ball program.

Yep- team wins consistently (they haven’t for 20 years) and the students will re-engage. Competition and named opponents help by in football that often isn’t the case and they still fill up to see the Dukes crush. I think the Bank will be rocking - it’s overdue and will get people back for a game or more both students alumni and the local community will flood the bank early on to see the next in a long line of state of the art facilities by Jmu and that’s when the momentum will reach a new level that coincides with the team being good. An energetic home crowd can be worth 5 points per home game and be what puts us over the top.

(01-14-2019 08:42 PM)NJDuke97 Wrote:  

(01-14-2019 06:54 PM)#YEEHAWDUKES Wrote:  We average 6-8k students a game for football. Don’t see why we couldn’t average half that for a successfull b-ball program.

Yep- team wins consistently (they haven’t for 20 years) and the students will re-engage. Competition and named opponents help by in football that often isn’t the case and they still fill up to see the Dukes crush. I think the Bank will be rocking - it’s overdue and will get people back for a game or more both students alumni and the local community will flood the bank early on to see the next in a long line of state of the art facilities by Jmu and that’s when the momentum will reach a new level that coincides with the team being good. An energetic home crowd can be worth 5 points per home game and be what puts us over the top.

Amen to that. As poor as the crowds have dwindled to in the Convo, when the Dukes go on a roll (like early in the 2nd half against Towson), the old gal can still get really really loud - even with what's likely (truthfully) no more than about 1.5K people. A guy and I at halftime were talking about imagining how loud the place could get with just another couple thousand folks in there (still though not even half full, that is). Further, how much of a difference it can be one day in the future at the UB&TC with a packed loud house.

One thing I've always known about JMU folks is they will get behind a winner and will root their hind parts off. I mean, we had folks all of a sudden becoming LAX fans last spring who had never seen a game before. We had jam packed softball stadium for the NCAA regionals and super regionals a few years ago. When my daughter was a freshman at JMU, they filled a bunch of buses of students to ride down to Richmond to see the Dukes win the CAAT. But, the winning must get there first. This is something Rowe is having to try to recruit through without the luxury of having packed home games or very much history of success (at least since he was a player wearing purple).

Hopefully, he can turn some corners during the remainder of this season. Paint me skeptical at the moment, but not giving up. I can share some first-hand good times stories from my past of situations that went from what JMU MBB looks like right now and just a few years later turned into an extremely hot ticket.

Off topic, but further proof how wacky college basketball can be...

...Syracuse 2 nights ago lost at home to a mediocre Georgia Tech team by 14 pts. 2 nights later, they travel to #1 Duke and beat them in Cameron Indoor Stadium in overtime.

If not for a 3 at the buzzer in Tallahassee this past Saturday, Duke would be 2-2 in the ACC. Big game in the Commonwealth tomorrow night as the Hokies travel to UVA. Hokies beat them in JPJ last year for UVA's only ACC loss.

UVA travels to Duke this upcoming Saturday night with I believe ESPN Game Day in Durham.

(01-14-2019 10:50 AM)PGJMU2 Wrote:  

(01-14-2019 10:29 AM)JMU_Newbill Wrote:  

(01-14-2019 09:06 AM)JMU08 Wrote:  

(01-14-2019 08:30 AM)JMU_Newbill Wrote:  I still can't believe the level of mediocrity people are willing to accept for MBB given our budget and us not being FBS.

Last I checked, our MBB budget isn't the highest in the conference. I think it's somewhere in the middle of the pack, but things could've changed since I last looked.

Big picture my friend, big picture. We spend way too much money, especially with the heavy reliance on student fees, to not play FBS football and have such a bad basketball team. One or the other may be justifiable, but not both at the level of our budget. You can look at just the basketball program in isolation if you it makes you feel better though.

I am so tired of the athletic budget complaint. We have a FB national title and runner up, woman's lax title, womans softball on a national level and a final 8 mens soccer team. The woman's basketball team is consistently in the top 75. All of our woman's programs are top of the conference. We have top notch facilities. That seems like a pretty good return on investment. What is the complaint? Mens hoops, Baseball and that we are not FBS?

We are making a $90 million investment in hoops that i believe will change those prospects.

Baseball showed some promise this year.

FBS - 1000 + thread on this

I am so with you on this. It is unbelievable to me that people would complain about JMU spending too much on athletics. There has been so much success across the board yet some on these boards still complain. Men’s basketball is the one program that has struggled yet some focus on it alone ignoring the across the board success. JMU is spending $90 million on a new facility to help the one sport that is struggling. Why is that a negative? Mind boggling.

(01-14-2019 06:51 PM)AssyrianDuke Wrote:  

(01-14-2019 04:07 PM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  When is the last time JMU MBB played Virginia Tech? I can't remember such a game.

Jan 2, 2006 at 4 pm. Attendance was announced as 4,520.

“Back in the day” we played them in Harrisonburg and beet them 102-88....1989. In 1990 we beat them 73-58 in the RTD tourney. But the game I remember was a loss earlier that year when Chancellor Nichols, a man among boys, scored 28 at Blacksburg. What a game- 91-89 was the final. Chancellor Nichols, the transfer from Miss St., caused a great delay at the convo one night because he bent the freaking backboard stanchion. We beat WVU, FL, Auburn, among others at home back in those days.