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Post by HCFC45 on Jan 31, 2019 23:09:27 GMT -5
I listened to Dick Lutsk's call of the game for parts of the first half and the noise behind him from the BU club sports Spirit night guys and gals was off the charts. Dick kept saying he had never heard any fans that loud and he's been calling games for half a century or so.Then when I had time to watch the game on the PLN during the second half, I saw the club sports guys in just their jockey shorts going nuts on the coldest night of the year. Hat's off to BU for that show of school spirit. We used to have our own New England Jesuit Turnpike Trophy. It was called the O'Melia Award, but times change and we move on. I hope whoever is in charge of student school spirit at Holy Cross was taking notes last night. Attending a game in skivvies is very, very optional, however, imo. At halftime, Dick interviewed Coach Kavanaugh of the HC Track and Field program. There are well over 100 student atheletes participating in that one sport. BU has dropped some varsity sports (football, baseball) but obviously has a thriving club sports program. Each approach has validity. The loudness was "over the top"! You could not hear yourself think! The music (if that's what you call it) was cranked up! It went on through the entire game and halftime as well. I had to walk out at halftime to take a breather and give my ears a rest! Maybe BU has a good Ear Nose Throat program and they need more future patients! ! I know it was Club Night, but the guys with the speedo bathing suits did not belong there! ! Shame on BU for allowing that to appear in person and on TV!
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Post by bfoley82 on Feb 1, 2019 2:45:33 GMT -5
Wouldn’t you guess that comparing attendance to enrollment, BU would likely be among the dozen lowest schools in D-1? I do understand that people other than students go to games, but school enrollment certainly increases the target audience New Hampshire is pretty low with an average crowd of 385 through ten games
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Post by trimster on Feb 1, 2019 7:28:59 GMT -5
Wouldn’t you guess that comparing attendance to enrollment, BU would likely be among the dozen lowest schools in D-1? I do understand that people other than students go to games, but school enrollment certainly increases the target audience New Hampshire is pretty low with an average crowd of 385 through ten games Wonder how UVM draws. Solid program in a decent sized city but kind of in the middle of nowhere once you leave Burlington.
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Post by WorcesterGray on Feb 1, 2019 7:54:30 GMT -5
New Hampshire is pretty low with an average crowd of 385 through ten games Wonder how UVM draws. Solid program in a decent sized city but kind of in the middle of nowhere once you leave Burlington. They drew about 3,000 per last year, and are doing 2,600 so far in `18-19. Hockey is still king there (~4,000 per), but good turnout for hoops.
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Post by trimster on Feb 1, 2019 8:03:38 GMT -5
Wonder how UVM draws. Solid program in a decent sized city but kind of in the middle of nowhere once you leave Burlington. They drew about 3,000 per last year, and are doing 2,600 so far in `18-19. Hockey is still king there (~4,000 per), but good turnout for hoops. Those are pretty good numbers. Winning certainly makes a difference.
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Post by bison137 on Feb 1, 2019 8:45:42 GMT -5
They drew about 3,000 per last year, and are doing 2,600 so far in `18-19. Hockey is still king there (~4,000 per), but good turnout for hoops. Those are pretty good numbers. Winning certainly makes a difference. The top four Northeastern midmajors for attendance in 2017-18 were Penn, Siena, Vermont, and Bucknell.
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Post by hchoops on Feb 1, 2019 9:13:21 GMT -5
Those are pretty good numbers. Winning certainly makes a difference. The top four Northeastern midmajors for attendance in 2017-18 were Penn, Siena, Vermont, and Bucknell. but of course why not list 3, or 5 ? just jealous
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Post by gerry on Feb 1, 2019 9:28:05 GMT -5
>>The top four Northeastern midmajors for attendance in 2017-18 were Penn, Siena, Vermont, and Bucknell.<<
You mean LOW majors. URI is a true "mid major" and they average more than the low majors you cite.
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Post by Tom on Feb 1, 2019 9:31:18 GMT -5
I listened to Dick Lutsk's call of the game for parts of the first half and the noise behind him from the BU club sports Spirit night guys and gals was off the charts. Dick kept saying he had never heard any fans that loud and he's been calling games for half a century or so. Then when I had time to watch the game on the PLN during the second half, I saw the club sports guys in just their jockey shorts going nuts on the coldest night of the year. Hat's off to BU for that show of school spirit. We used to have our own New England Jesuit Turnpike Trophy. It was called the O'Melia Award, but times change and we move on. I hope whoever is in charge of student school spirit at Holy Cross was taking notes last night. Attending a game in skivvies is very, very optional, however, imo. It should be noted, however, that Boston U normally has almost no students at all in attendance. Over the course of a year, far fewer than Holy Cross. Boston U's average home attendance is 688 and surely exaggerated. That ranks 9th in the PL. We - and that includes me - make fun of the Turnpike Trophy. Scheduling this event and its outstanding execution when HC was in town suggests BC takes the Turnpike Trophy more seriously than we do
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Post by Tom on Feb 1, 2019 9:49:26 GMT -5
HC b-ball fans, ya' think we have it bad? I have been an unfortunate Knicks fan since 1953. Enough said. LoveHC . . . . so you really enjoyed 1970 and 1973?
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Post by jkh67 on Feb 1, 2019 10:06:31 GMT -5
Good discussion. CBC is not John Wooden, but I am not calling for him to be fired. He is a career professional who has a small group of hardworking kids with gaps in talent, size, speed, depth, etc. He is trying to patch together a system that allows them to be as competitive as possible and the team sports a 12-10 winning record. Today's T&G article had candid comments from both the coach and players about the team's faults - not all that different from the gist of many comments on this board - just that Carmody and the players have more credibility than us anonymous posters hunched over a keyboard in our Mother's basement. My bias is to support Coach Carmody through the end of his contract and use the hundreds of thousands saved from not paying two coaches at the same time as a resource to be as competitive as possible when we attempt to find the next young Doggie Julian. If CBC turns things around and wants to stay, go year to year as would be age appropriate. As you say, Renospalding has kicked off a good discussion. Some of my thoughts are as follows: 1. This board only having a dozen or so regular contributors, it's puzzling...scary almost...that anyone would pay a whole lot of attention to its ruminations. And, though I hate to say it, the fact that there are so few active contributors may also speak volumes about the interest (or lack thereof) that the overall HC community has in Crusader basketball. 2. I don't believe that critiques of the performance of the team (including identifying individual players by name) should be off limits, as long as not stated in personally pejorative terms. That goes even more for the coaching staff. Players at a school like HC may indeed be genuine student-athletes, but they are also paid performers via athletic scholarships. Criticism for sub par performance comes with the territory. (By the way, board commentary is rarely offensive in my experience.) 3. The biggest problem we have is that HC basketball has been wallowing in mediocrity (at best!) for a long time now. That has an obvious...and understandable...tendency to generate a negative mind set among those interested in the program. We all want success on the hardwood, perhaps those who are super-critical of the status quo most of all. When we don't get it, complaints are inevitable. 4. At the end of day, the only test of success is a winning track record. I fear that the College administration may have a different view. If so, I suggest they jettison athletic scholarships and go back to the original PL model. There's no point giving out scholarships and hiring expensive coaches if winning doesn't really matter. 5. When all is said and done, you need to attract quality players who can have a real impact on the court. Coach K has a formidable reputation as a "basketball mind", but he surely would not be where he is without consistently attracting outstanding athletes to the Duke program. The head coach is key to recruiting the caliber of players the program badly needs. 6. Which takes me to Coach Carmody. Given the unsettled state of the athletic administration following Pine's departure, I think it would be insanity to terminate Carmody now. It's going to take some time to find the right head coach for the intermediate to long term. We need to preserve as much stability in the program as we can while that process unfolds. 7. The College motto is "In hoc signo, vinces." By this sign, you shall conquer. Let's do it! .
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Post by bison137 on Feb 1, 2019 10:13:15 GMT -5
>>The top four Northeastern midmajors for attendance in 2017-18 were Penn, Siena, Vermont, and Bucknell.<< You mean LOW majors. URI is a true "mid major" and they average more than the low majors you cite. Depends on your definition. Many, probably most, consider the A-10 to be a high major. Most midmajor sites don't include the A-10 in their polls or coverage. For example, see the College Insider poll, which is by far the most credible poll for this group of schools. You own't find any A-10 schools listed, which is as it should be since most spend enormous amounts of money on basketball.
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Post by timholycross on Feb 1, 2019 10:36:34 GMT -5
>>The top four Northeastern midmajors for attendance in 2017-18 were Penn, Siena, Vermont, and Bucknell.<< You mean LOW majors. URI is a true "mid major" and they average more than the low majors you cite. So is Northeastern and their attendance is extremely disappointing for the caliber of team they're putting out there. Nice ballclub they got there, in my opinion.
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Post by timholycross on Feb 1, 2019 10:38:58 GMT -5
HC b-ball fans, ya' think we have it bad? I have been an unfortunate Knicks fan since 1953. Enough said. LoveHC . . . . so you really enjoyed 1970 and 1973? Good discussion topic for a rainy day: Who's got more mileage out of championships won nearly (or exactly) 50 years ago, the Knicks or the Jets? Discuss.
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Post by timholycross on Feb 1, 2019 10:45:09 GMT -5
Regardless of the popularity of men's basketball vis-a-vis women's, would the Gibbons' situation perhaps be creating a scenario under which HC will not even look at Carmody until some time in 2019-20? jkh may have stumbled onto something here.
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Post by sader1970 on Feb 1, 2019 12:20:58 GMT -5
I wouldn't think so, tim. Gibbons is wrapping up his contract. HC doesn't have to pro-actively do anything - just let his contract run out in June. Goodbye, Bill, maybe pal Geno can help him get his next gig?.
Carmody has another full year to run. I don't think he's getting fired, especially not with an interim AD, even if the team loses every remaining game. He pulls a miracle finish, complicated by the sad fact he won't be in-game coaching many away games, perhaps he gets a short term extension. Next season, new ballgame. Gibbons is already gone. Short-term attention span of all but those here on Crossportsand the new AD has a blank slate. The team tanks and whoever is running the show next season decides based on results on the court. A swan dive and Bill takes the high road and retires to be with Barbara - as he should. Great success, he still retires with his career on an upswing and ready to pass the torch.
We know he is not thrilled with long bus rides and recruiting (and dealing with annoying fan questions and Lutsk). He's done it longer than most people in this field. He deserves to retire, hopefully on a positive note.
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Post by longsuffering on Feb 1, 2019 14:27:01 GMT -5
I believe CBC likes Dick Lutsk for two reasons. One, because when Dick was out with disabling headaches and then returned, Carm expressed real care and concern. Two, because I seem to have noticed that the Coach has opened up more in answering Dick's questions as trust has been built. Everything else mentioned is draining, I imagine.
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Post by sader1970 on Feb 1, 2019 16:37:33 GMT -5
Barbara has probably been ill for some time and I am making an educated guess that her health has a much higher priority for the coach than a game against, say BU or American, and he would understandably not have his full attention and focus on basketball. I know how it would affect me.
She is a sweetheart and a vocal but much quieter version of another person we know here who is a strong supporter of the team. Since she also did not graduate from Holy Cross, perhaps we should call her "NAB" (Non Alum Barbara).
As for me, I intend to cut Bill a little more slack here.
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Post by rgs318 on Feb 1, 2019 20:33:49 GMT -5
Well said, sader1970.
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