Mens Program

Mulerider · **Joined:** Thu Jun 20, 2019 4:31 pm **Posts:** 481

JRK wrote:

While not the lowest rated MBB program, rating nothing to brag about for sure....

I have no problem with JUCO players if they have the academics....best are pretty well picked over by "FBS" programs but it only takes a couple to make a notable impact..

We had maybe the ultimate alumni/player in Pennell....Coach Boone needs a chance if his health allows....pretty sure he can talk the talk with recruits....after watching about 30 state playoffs games this season, there is lots of low D1 talent in Arkansas.....there is some mid to high D1 but those are heavily recruited by bigger names programs...I'' bet Coach Boone and his staff have their list of Arkansas players they would really like to have be Bears...whether we will ever again be able to keep players given the transfer portal is a huge issue....be prepared for a revolving doors of players....just like Arkansas now does....

Concessions...ugh....Rogers High School is way better. and it is nothing special ...same for football....apparently we are stuck with the UCA dining hall vendor....I must say that the game I was able to get to this past season the hot dog was good and the service excellent...I doubt many people anywhere come to mid major basketball games for the food....

Not sure any of the service academies are going to do home and home of MBB...all long costly trips both ways....as to others where travel makes sense, who might be enticed for what they would see as a D1 road win...Tulsa, La Tech, ULM, UTM, one of our old SLC friends, A-State, Lindenwood, SEMO, Mo State, Rice.....any of these make you get to a game you would otherwise skip? Which 3 would we ask AD to try to set up? Note the best two home games attendance this season was UALR (1900) and ASU (2400)..

We play Hendrix and CBC (when we play them) as courtesy games to be good local citizens....nothing wrong with that but they need to be the first games to help get ready for D1 opener.....have no idea what the story is with playing D2 Champion Christian out of Hot Springs other than they are close...I am OK with exhibition games vs non-D1 but not for games that count...we want to win 20 D1 games....

Rogers High School may have the newest basketball arena in the state....was the site for Class 6A state this season...very nice facility...seats about 2500... reportedly cost $16 million and that excludes land which was already owned and adjacent to the existing school...also uses same parking lots as the school and football....

A major upgrade of FC may be more likely....unlike high schools we do not have property taxes to raise monies.....I'll bet a good sports architecture firm could come up with a practical set of improvements.....

Now for the million dollar issue...how do you get people in central arkansas to attend? First, how to do you get students to attend? There seems to be a small core who are always there but the Greek community is not obvious as a group....

Second, how do you get the UCA alums in the area to attend? Again, there is a core that are almost always there...note that UALR avg about 2500-2600 with a couple >3000...seems like the MBB fans in the central ark area got to UALR games than UCA...we avg about 1800 with a couple in mid 2000s....this seems to say there is a small MBB market among the general public....so maybe a reasonable expectation is to get to 2500+.....some of the attendance issue is the competitiveness of the team....some is a lack of MBB fans in the general area....when I lived in St Lou true BB fans went to SLU games just to see college basketball in person not because of any connection to SLU...weak attendance by UCA alums (in all sports) is a long standing issue at UCA .. we have had a few 10,000+ at football games in years we were making playoffs but get 6500 when it gets overcast and might rain....this is at heart a marketing issue...and not just of athletics....I was on the Foundation board for a couple of terms and there was always frustration when surveys and visits showed alums were very fond of UCA and very proud it is their alma mater...then they make donations to other universities who we compete for the same students...Foundation is MUCH better today after years of hard work...

All good questions.....

Champion Christian isn't even D2. They are like somewhere in the world of a NAIA being in the NCCAA. Honestly, I would drop them just because it doesn't make sense. It would be better to play UAFS or Ark Tech.

I only think UCA can go up. As Conway get's bigger, Ive got to think more locals are going to want to go to the games. UCA has to watch that ticket pricing though.

JRK · **Joined:** Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:32 pm **Posts:** 6128

My bad re CCC......misread an article talking about "D2" which really was "D2" in their church school organization....I would drop them even if NCAA D2....other than preseason exhibition game...a program in D1 with hopes of moving to FBS needs to get away anything but D1 games....

Toadsuckhoops · **Joined:** Wed Jul 01, 2020 10:44 am **Posts:** 40

The reconstruction needs to start at the top.... The AD!

What is the Vision?
Offices
Locker Rooms
Visiting Locker Rooms
Coaching staff with true connections in the market and AAU circuit, this staff has no connections from their bios.
Attack the portal and select JUCO talent.

Build a business plan......

GreenbrierPantherFan · **Joined:** Wed Feb 15, 2023 5:27 pm **Posts:** 9

Believe facilities is in the works. Saw videos this year of what look like updated locker room for BEARS. Looked very nice.

As for recruiting - have no idea, that's why I am not a coach. But feel like a radius of 7 hours away and in have to be home runs.

Might keep kids from entering that portal / staying closer to home

JRK · **Joined:** Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:32 pm **Posts:** 6128

It will be interesting to see how lower mid majors adjust to the transfer portal.....if the player is NBA caliber expect them to transfer where the Final 4 path is pretty good and/or the NIL money is good...of course there are a lot more who think they are NBA level who are not....still, if I was 19 and could transfer to a team that has a good chance to go to Final 4 or at least Elite 8 that would be hard to pass...

But you have a good point of finding players close to home.....the normal or better player (not elite) often finds playing where extended family can come to games maybe more important than a sports broadcasting head could imagine...or can get home for some of Mom's food is also a plus....

Of course, NIL money will be needed at all D1 levels....

joshuca · **Posted:** Thu Apr 13, 2023 11:58 am

HE'S BACK!!!!

Mulerider · **Joined:** Thu Jun 20, 2019 4:31 pm **Posts:** 481

joshuca wrote:

HE'S BACK!!!!

This is a big deal for UCA. The question is... will others buy in to his Passion? His team? Future Recruits? Coaches? Most importantly... Administration?

Go Bears!

Beau · **Joined:** Thu Dec 04, 2014 4:08 pm **Posts:** 492

Mulerider wrote:

joshuca wrote:

HE'S BACK!!!!

This is a big deal for UCA. The question is... will others buy in to his Passion? His team? Future Recruits? Coaches? Most importantly... Administration?

Go Bears!

HUGE deal….Only time will tell. You ask a lot of questions, but the
Administration ? That ain’t happening.

JRK · **Joined:** Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:32 pm **Posts:** 6128

Per ucasports Cam decommitted from Butler to return to UCA....

Toadsuckhoops · **Joined:** Wed Jul 01, 2020 10:44 am **Posts:** 40

The kid is back because there is no NIL money and Butler recruited over him.... Cooper kid will be back because NO one beating his door down.

This program is dead on arrival and over/under less 10 wins in 2024... Champions and Hendrix dont count.

Teague does not support Basketball period!

1868Alumni · **Posted:** Fri Apr 14, 2023 3:09 pm

Maybe NIL $ builds championship teams in this new world. Perhaps the focus should be getting corporate sponsors, which leads to higher quality talent, which leads to athletes sticking around for four years, which leads to better coaches, better facilities, & higher quality outcomes. Kind of a snowball effect, although it doesn’t feel like the right way to build a team…

BearOnCampus · **Joined:** Sun Oct 20, 2019 5:10 pm **Posts:** 77

Bears have nailed down some HUGE recruits the past few days. Cam coming back is so big for the program. They landed a D2 transfer from West Florida. 6'7" wing that holds the 3PT record all time at UWF. Also landed a transfer forward from Bowling Green State University. Originally from NLR. 6'9" forward. Watched him in HS and he can really play.

Also added a HS kid from LRCA that looks to be a pretty solid player.

Program went from not a lot to be excited about to quite a bit to look forward to in the matter of 3 days

JRK · **Joined:** Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:32 pm **Posts:** 6128

CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas men's basketball program has added two new signees to its roster for the 2023-24 season.

The new signees are Ubongabasi "Glory" Etim, a transfer from Bowling Green University, and Ben Fox, a senior at Little Rock (Ark.) Christian High School.

Etim is a 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward from Richmond, Calif., who played at North Little Rock (Ark.) High School. He played in 15 games last season at BGU, with six starts as a redshirt freshman. Etim, who has a 7-foot wingspan, had a season-high 10 rebounds against Ohio.

"'Glory" fits our style of play very well, a forward with a very high motor who loves to run the floor," said UCA head coach Anthony Boone. "We lookforward to adding his energy and effort to our program. More importantly he is a high-character young man who takes great pride in his academics."

Beau · **Joined:** Thu Dec 04, 2014 4:08 pm **Posts:** 492

BearOnCampus wrote:

Bears have nailed down some HUGE recruits the past few days. Cam coming back is so big for the program. They landed a D2 transfer from West Florida. 6'7" wing that holds the 3PT record all time at UWF. Also landed a transfer forward from Bowling Green State University. Originally from NLR. 6'9" forward. Watched him in HS and he can really play.

Also added a HS kid from LRCA that looks to be a pretty solid player.

Program went from not a lot to be excited about to quite a bit to look forward to in the matter of 3 days

I agree….these additions look good.
Let’s see what the entire team looks like.

Right now, I would say that I am ultra cautiously optimistic.
Just want to see improvement….ANY improvement.

JRK · **Joined:** Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:32 pm **Posts:** 6128

With Cam and Collin coming back I think we have back 45-50 points of scoring.....got to see more of the new guys and for the returning players to step up a notch individually...the player from Bentonville West may have some surprising upside as freshman...

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