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Trey, not at all surprisingly, gets it. Focus is on the right thing, sees the reasoning and accepts it like a big boy. You should give Fan lessons.


Anyway, one thing I'd like to opine on ...



I agree to an extent. However, that same coach is also part of what allows us to get games at Hawaii, SMU, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Missouri and Missouri State – which is a lot more lucrative and gets the program a lot more exposure than getting a few more fans in the Farris Center. I'm for it.

If people are going to come just because of his name, they can do that just the same against Lyon as they can ... whoever. UT Martin and UMKC are decent, competitive D-I games, so there's a start.

Our fan base has historically been pretty pathetically weak – especially before conference play – so I think it's a smart move to play winnable games at home and then go play money/exposure games on the road. There'll be plenty of good competition in the Farris Center during conference season, when interest really starts to pick up.

A few years from now, when hopefully the fan base has grown and is a little more involved, then it's probably a good move to try to get a more recognizable name in the Farris Center in OOC play. Maybe UALR/ASU? I'd say those are real possibilities in the near future. A UAPB series, even, would be good.

But unlike in women's basketball - where you can go get an Alabama (in the coach's 4th season, no less) – in men's basketball there is much greater economic incentive for the "name" schools to load up on home games and not go to the smaller places. That's not to say it can't happen, it's just tougher to make happen. And in most instances where you see it, it's an in-state game ... but that requires the flagship institution actually playing other teams from within the borders.

Here's the thing that's tough about being a Division I neophyte ... you get about 13 OOC games. You're allowed four non D-I games ... a coach at a low-profile school with limited resources - particularly in the infancy of his career - is going to schedule those games. He needs the cheap payouts. He needs the wins. He needs a chance to play his entire roster and see what he's got. He needs to get kids confidence. These games do all of this. This is a reality, this is going to happen. Might as well accept it and see the value in it. Come out expecting to see some run 'n gun and the guys having fun instead of a great, competitive game. Blowouts can be fun, too.

So you take those out and now you're down to 9. This year we have six "name" opponents on the road. That might be a bit more than the norm, but maybe not. But it should usually be 4-5 anyway, because when you're at a place with limited resources and a small donor base and you make next to nothing on your gate ... you've got to find some way to pay the bills and get some things done. This is a good way to do that. This is more of a necessity than the four non-DI games even. Money talks.

Additionally, you get a non-quantifiable benefit in the name of exposure. You're in the papers and on the TV sets and getting web coverage in three Big 12 towns plus major markets like Dallas, Kansas City, Saint Louis, Tulsa, and Oklahoma City. Recruits know who you are, AAU coaches know who you are, maybe ESPN even learns who you are. You can play Southern Miss or Troy or South Alabama or Murray State (the type of teams you could hope to get in here most of the time) to a full house (unlikely) in the Farris Center and nobody blinks.

All that leaves you with only a chance for around four middle-of-the-pack games. A lot of times those are going to have to be home-and-homes. Say you split that up two each. This year we've got UMKC and UT Martin coming here. Instead of going on the road for two, we have two neutral-site games at a SFA tournament against Grambling and Chicago State. So I think it's probably a pretty reasonable expectation to only have 2-3 decent OOC home games each season, at least for the next few years. Of course, you can really change that dynamic with ASU, UALR and UAPB series. Maybe grab a Tulsa every once in awhile. This will take time to develop to that point, though.

So, all things considered, I think it's a pretty darn good schedule. It sure has a full-fledged Division I feel to it. The great thing is, of those marquee games three are on weekends and within a day's drive. Fans can make those trips. Either go the night before and drive back day of game (SMU - 2 p.m. start in Dallas on a Sunday. Probably back before the news is over, or close to it) or go day of game and stay afterward (Missouri and Missouri State are both Saturday nights) then make the leisurely drive back on Sunday.

Sure, that might take some sacrifice and/or a little planning ahead, but if you're really into it and invested you can make it happen. It's once or twice in a year.

So yeah ... I'm ready for the season to get here. I haven't been this excited for a UCA men's basketball season since '04-'05, if ever ... "sucky HOME OOC Schedule" or not.

There are 14 OOC games in there this year with the tournament/classic deal at SFA.

You would assume you beat the four non-DIs, leaving you with 10 other games. You'd like to think out of UMKC and UT Martin at home, and Grambling and Chicago State at neutral site, you can split. Then assume you lose at Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Missouri, Hawaii, SMU and Missouri State.

That gets you to 6-8. I think that's fair. 7-7 would be awesome. Improving to six wins in the league would be pretty good, doubling up last year's total and would be the highest since moving up by two full games. So that might even be unrealistic. But if you're able to do 6-10, that puts you at 12-18. In the first year, coming from where you are, that'd be just fine by me.

It's going to be a tough season for Coach W, he hasn't had a real chance to recruit the type of players he needs for his system and the players he inherited will be trying to learn his system and adjust to a new coaching style. We will need patience this year.

The fountain of Hope must shine eternal.

Since we talked about the FC earlier on this thread. I just saw this picture on UCAsports.com.



Looks like we got rid of the two hanging hoops on the ends and replaced them with removeable hoops. Now if we could just get rid of the rest of the hanging hoops. Hopefully they will post pictures of the videoboard once it is installed.