Laley23;1486597 wrote:Lucas Oil holds 70k for basketball. I dont think the Champions Classic will care to much about the 5k less than the Georgia Dome. Particularly since it is going to be a much better atmosphere in Indy (closer) than it will in Atlanta or NYC, imo.

They won't, which is why I said I believe that it should be held in New York, Atlanta and Indianapolis the next cycle.

Laley23 wrote:Also, in no Universe is Atlanta Midwest...

Midwest was the wrong term. It's still the only other major city with an enormous venue that is somewhere "in the middle" -- if not technically true -- of Duke, UK, Michigan State and Kansas. For example, with these four teams as participants, the event would never be held in LA or anywhere else west of the Mississippi.

reclegend22;1486679 wrote: Midwest was the wrong term. It's still the only other major city with an enormous venue that is somewhere "in the middle" -- if not technically true -- of Duke, UK, Michigan State and Kansas. For example, with these four teams as participants, the event would never be held in LA or anywhere else west of the Mississippi.

Yeah that is true. Atlanta is the south for major sports. There is a reason everyone south of Cincy and east of New Orleans is a Brave, Falcon and CBK fan lol...

SportsAndLady;1486608 wrote:It should be in Chicago every weekend.

But of course I'm biased. Lol

Ha please all the teams ever do when the B1G Tournament is there is complain. Paul Keels went on a little rant about how bad the setup is there. Players families can't afford the hotels and cabs that are required there and the city itself has so much going on that the event seems to get lost in the shuffle. Unlike Indy where they are obsessed with college bball and have nothing else to do

Classyposter58;1487158 wrote:Ha please all the teams ever do when the B1G Tournament is there is complain. Paul Keels went on a little rant about how bad the setup is there. Players families can't afford the hotels and cabs that are required there and the city itself has so much going on that the event seems to get lost in the shuffle. Unlike Indy where they are obsessed with college bball and have nothing else to do

Indy in general is just a fantastic place to host major events. So many road right into the city. Affordable. Lots of great bars and restaurants. Everything is walking distance from the hotel to the event to the bars to whatever.

But, as you said, the city completely embraces whatever is taking place at the time.

Classyposter58;1487158 wrote:Ha please all the teams ever do when the B1G Tournament is there is complain. Paul Keels went on a little rant about how bad the setup is there. Players families can't afford the hotels and cabs that are required there and the city itself has so much going on that the event seems to get lost in the shuffle. Unlike Indy where they are obsessed with college bball and have nothing else to do

Dude I was fucking kidding. Seriously?

Not college anymore, but random chatter nonetheless...

http://www.elevenwarriors.com/2013/08/24664/deshaun-thomas-bound-for-spain

Have you guys seen pics of Nebraska's new arena? Pretty impressive looking. I know they're not known for basketball, but it should help with recruiting.

Venue: Pinnacle Bank Arena
Capacity: 15,147
Cost: $186,000,000

Year opened: 2013
Comment: Nebraska drew an average of just over 10,300 fans in its final season at Devaney but has already soldout its new home court.









[video=youtube;MeS9DkLZ0DY][/video]


More pics and info
http://journalstar.com/arena/?icn=Arena&ici=hpArena

I've read about it, but hadn't see it. That looks pretty awesome. I do think in basketball, things start at the very top of the athletic department, trickles down to the funding and alumni support, and then to things like facilities and media promotion. Auburn, like Nebraska, built a quite awesome arena that opened in 2010 (not quite as big, but it's pretty sweet). However, it hasn't necessarily led to on court success. Like Nebraska, Auburn was mired in a coaching change as well, but my point being, it takes a lot more than an arena to make a big splash.

I havent clicked on the link for the other pics...but that lockerroom is really blah in comparison to the other new shit being built around the country. If I was a recruit, I would be very underwhelmed by that. But the arena itself is pretty awesome.

Worse schedule ever for a defending champion? Date	Opponent / Event	Location	Time / Result
10/29/13	vs. KENTUCKY WESLEYAN *	KFC YUM! CENTER	7:00 p.m. ET
11/06/13	vs. PIKEVILLE *	KFC YUM! CENTER	7:00 p.m. ET
11/09/13	vs. COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON	KFC YUM! CENTER	1:00 p.m. ET
HALL OF FAME CLASSIC
11/12/13	vs. HOFSTRA	KFC YUM! CENTER	7:00 p.m. ET
11/23/13	vs. Fairfield	Uncasville, Conn.	2:00 p.m. ET
11/24/13	North Carolina/Richmond	Uncasville, Conn.	1 or 3 PM ET
11/15/13	vs. CORNELL	KFC YUM! CENTER	7:00 p.m. ET
11/29/13	vs. SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI #	KFC YUM! CENTER	7:00 p.m. ET
12/04/13	vs. MISSOURI KANSAS CITY	KFC YUM! CENTER	7:00 p.m. ET
12/07/13	vs. LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE	KFC YUM! CENTER	1:00 p.m. ET
BILLY MINARDI CLASSIC
12/14/13	vs. WESTERN KENTUCKY	KFC YUM! CENTER	12:00 p.m. ET
12/17/13	vs. MISSOURI STATE	KFC YUM! CENTER	9:00 p.m. ET
12/21/13	at Florida International	Miami, Fla.	5:00 p.m. ET
12/28/13	at Kentucky	Lexington, Ky.	4:00 p.m. ET
12/31/13	at UCF #	Orlando, Fla.	5:00 p.m. ET
01/04/14	at Rutgers #	Piscataway, N.J.	2 or PM ET
01/09/14	vs. MEMPHIS #	KFC YUM! CENTER	7:00 p.m. ET
01/12/14	vs. SMU #	KFC YUM! CENTER	2:00 p.m. ET
01/16/14	vs. HOUSTON #	KFC YUM! CENTER	7:00 p.m. ET
01/18/14	at Connecticut #	Storrs, Conn.	9:00 p.m. ET
01/22/14	at USF #	Tampa, Fla.	7:00 p.m. ET
01/30/14	vs. CINCINNATI #	KFC YUM! CENTER	7:00 p.m. ET
02/01/14	vs. UCF #	KFC YUM! CENTER	9:00 p.m. ET
02/05/14	at Houston #	Houston, Texas	9:00 p.m. ET
02/13/14	at Temple	Philadelphia, Pa.	7:00 p.m. ET
02/16/14	vs. RUTGERS #	KFC YUM! CENTER	6:00 p.m. ET
02/18/14	vs. USF #	KFC YUM! CENTER	7:00 p.m. ET
02/22/14	at Cincinnati #	Cincinnati, Ohio	12:00 p.m. ET
02/27/14	vs. TEMPLE #	KFC YUM! CENTER	9:00 p.m. ET
03/01/14	at Memphis #	Memphis, Tenn.	2:00 p.m. ET
03/05/14	at SMU #	Dallas, Texas	7:00 p.m. ET
03/08/14	vs. CONNECTICUT #	KFC YUM! CENTER	2:00 p.m. ET
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
03/12/14	First Round	Memphis, Tenn.	TBA
03/13/14	Quarterfinals	Memphis, Tenn.	TBA
03/14/14	Semifinals	Memphis, Tenn.	TBA
03/15/14	Championship	Memphis, Tenn.	TBA

Holy crap, I thought Ohio States non conference schedule was that, that is straight embarrassing.

The non-con might be tougher than the conference. Jesus, that is terrible after the realignments.

Louisville, UConn, Cincy and Memphis basically. The conference is pretty awful. Houston and SMU have some potential, but yeah, a huge downgrade from the Big East.

Looks like Ralph Sampson ended up at Kentucky after all! I saw this on CP and shocked at how much Cauley-Stein looks like Sampson.

I've been playing basketball with Willie at least a couple days a week this summer. I honestly never saw him with a mustache lol.

WCS is an interesting character. Wouldn't be surprised if he planned it for the photo...

Azubuike24;1490286 wrote:WCS is an interesting character. Wouldn't be surprised if he planned it for the photo...

His offensive game seems to be much improved this year. I wouldn't be surprised to see him average 15 and 10. Unfortunately he hasn't gotten any stronger in the offseason. Almost seems as if he's gotten leaner so far this summer.

At least Louisville will only have that awful schedule for one year. They'll get to add Carolina, Duke, Syracuse, etc. after that.

The OOC schedule sucks. While it's not the Big East or the ACC, Memphis, Cincy, Connecticut, etc..that's not terrible. Better than the Pac 12 the last few years before last season.

Players

Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State

D'Angelo Harrison, Saint John's

Jarnell Stokes, Tennessee

Johnny O'Bryant, Louisiana State

Damontre Harris, Florida

Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky

Trevor Releford, Alabama

Aaron Craft, Ohio State

Marshall Henderson, Mississippi

Quinn Cook, Duke

Perry Ellis, Kansas

Aaron Harrison, Kentucky

Wayne Selden, Kansas

Not terrible thus far. Had the #15/18 picks in the recruiting draft, so I think those 2 Freshman were steals.

Eli Carter granted immediate eligibility at Florida.

Guy was a really good player at Rutgers. Almost 15 PPG. Big addition for a team who lost 3 starting guards.

Carter is a chucker who shoots a terrible percentage. Another Erving Walker.

Yeah, Carter was a chucker. Has talent, but idk if he can play on a good team at the same level (15ppg) he was playing at Rutgers.

So, he's another Mike Rosario?

Anyway, the Gators were looking at only 3 true guards. Wilbekin is suspended. They are going to be without 4 starters for that Wisconsin game. Without Chris Walker until December, at the earliest.

Rosario turned into a pretty decent all around player by his Senior year.

There was a picture of Andrew Wiggins on SI today comparing the kid to Wilt The Stilt Chamberlain, so we'll see how that goes. Definitely excited to see what he has in store in Chicago at the Champions Classic in his prime-time debut. The Wiggins-Parker duel offers the potential to produce one of the great individual matchups in recent memory in the college game.

Got a good laugh at SI, though, as not six months ago, Jabari Parker was on the cover above the caption "Best High School Player Since LeBron." So which is it? With that said, I personally think that Wiggins is the better overall player and will have a better pro career. He's a freak athletically, which is not Parker's strongest suit, and, with the rare exception of a Larry Legend, that kind of athleticism is often the hallmark of the ones that go down as the greats.