KSU-Bowling Green live blog from the beautiful Stroh Center…
Great facility!
This place is perfect for the Mid-American Conference.
I was just talking to Toledo Blade beat writer John Wagner, and he said one of the few complaints about the Stroh Center in its first year has been the size. Actually it’s been more of a question, along the lines of “if you are building brand new arena, why make it so small?”
But to me this is the perfect size. It’s a very intimate setting. They would probably only need more seats for one game (Toledo), but for the rest the 4,700 seats is perfect for a program that doesn’t threaten to sell out. Smaller crowds will look larger in this place. If KSU were to build a new place or renovate, something between 5,000-and-6,000 would probably be ideal. Who knows, a little smaller may create enough demand for the Akron game that KSU may end up selling a few more season tickets.
So, will a renovation or a new construction ever happen in Kent?
The pressure is on with Akron starting to move forward on a new arena.
Someone just pointed out to me that Kent State is giving its donors a tour of the Stroh Center, presumably to show just how much of a have-not KSU is.
On to more important topics … blog-unsanctioned black uniforms tonight.
Related posts:
- KSU vs. Bowling Green, live blog from M.A.C. Center…
- Kent State vs. Bowling Green … live blog …
- Savage – a model for changes to M.A.C. Center?
- Bowling Green, Miami, Gates and Harrison’s return…
- KSU at Toledo … live blog
Category: General Discussions
Dave, I did not get a chance to see the video of the 2002 tournament run during halftime of the CoC game. Is it available somewhere? Thanks.
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Hi yablonda,
I didn’t see it either, in part due to where press row is. The only video board visible is on the other side of the arena and you can’t hear audio in our little corner.
I’ll ask at the game tomorrow if there is posted somewhere.
All things considered, I think we are starting to see why porrini has been at quite a few different schools. It seems that he was all in last year and this year he has tried too make it his team, instead of Justin greenes team. He is a bulldog, but his energy needs to be honed and focus needs 2 b team 1st. If those things happen, he could provide an end of the year spark, hard double downs, hard on ball defense, hard help defense ending in bad shots or blocks….relentless drives to the basket….if guyton & porrini can penetrate 5-10 times, each per game, this team could b dangerous
If they would relax, settle into the offense, if the transition isn’t there and make the opponent defend 4 most of the shot clock, they will wear them down and get 2 the free throw line, which, btw, this team shoots a higher % @ the line this year vs last yr…
I was just thinking about last yrs postseason run, was at the Colorado game, & even with cu havin 2 NBA players & the best 3Pt shooter in school history, ksu was in it til the end, running the offense and getting out, intelligently, in transition.
Shermans steadying influence is completely understated…..injuries, sore muscles, & tired legs are facing every team this time of yr…..all it boils down to, is which team has the biggest 5 hearts, commits 2 team defense, & has momentum will win
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If ksu has any heart/toughness they will show up tonight, no matter the crowd size, and put it to ou…..ou embarrassed ksu earlier this yr and this Ksus chance 2 show the league/ou Which ksu team will b showing up in cleveland….
Who on the team is goin 2 take ownership & shutdown offuttt & Cooper?
If Greene & porrini r banged up, play Jackson & brewer a little bit more, as those guys r goin 2 have 2 step up at some point over the next few weeks….
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Agree 100% on Porrini, and its a shame.
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For those who would like to see a rerun of the 2002 team playing Pitt, go to http://vault.ncaa.com/ and click on “TEAMS”, “KENT STATE” and you can see how Kent State basketball used to be played. I watch it several times a year and swell with pride.
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Hi guys,
There’s plenty of blame to go around if we all (fans, players, coaches, etc.) want to go in that direction.
Yes, there are some character, selfishness and prima donna issues with this team. There are also some basketball IQ issues with some players that make others look like they are playing worse than they really are. And there certainly are some injury issues. While it is true there are players all over the country who are trying to play through pain, some of the injuries on this team are pretty debilitating.
The question is, when things aren’t going well, what do you do differently? If injured, do you try to do things you can no longer do on the injury and compound problems? If coaches and teammates are angry with you about missed assignments, do you sulk or fight back, or do you try to understand exactly what it is you are supposed to be doing and make changes in your play? If coaches are getting on you about a me-first attitude, do you try to be a better teammate and worry less about individual numbers and how many shots you are getting?
From what I understand, players are trying to adjust and do the right things and coaches are trying different avenues to get guys to comprehend what is expected of them. Guys are realizing this is it! There’s room for one last run in the regular season and one run in the postseason. So how do you spur those runs? I haven’t been at practice this week, but I like what I’m hearing.
Let’s see what happens!
Right now these guys (our seniors) legacy is probably at or near the bottom of the past 12 years. The positive is all the other teams are done and this group still has 11 days to shape their legacy and it will be determined how they are remembered. Sounds crazy but thats the reality of college basketball and especially the mid majors. In 5 games Porrini can be remembered as a gritty gutty performer who led us to a championship or a selfish underachiever. Manns a waste of 7 feet of talent or a kid who overcame alot of trouble but preserved and helped us win a title. Crazy differences but thats what this board will remember about these guys 3-5 years from now.
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It really is a shame that Manns never really did put it all together. With his size and athleticism he could have been a force in the MAC. And I don’t want to hear about being a late bloomer anymore, he has had enough time. He has also showed such good bursts at time but never really held it together for any extended period. The guy would have chances to just jump up and throw down a dunk and he would instead lay it in and miss from a foot out or when trying to dunk he would miss it. He did not need to have a jump shot in this league, playing next to Green provided him such a cushion too that he should have been more of a force.
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Hi Jimbo,
Here’s another way to look at the late-bloomer aspect of of it that I think makes a lot of sense.
When a guy picks up the game late, as Manns did, some of the instinctual stuff that other players get from a lifetime in the game can come more difficult.
Some guys pick it up easy, others don’t. You see that in some sports with a simple position change.
I always think of it in terms of learning the golf swing.
Learning how to play golf later in life usually leads to a more mechanical swing that breaks down, whereas learning as a child there’s a feel that you’ll have as you grow up in the game.
Feel may actually be the best way to put it. There are actually a few guys on this current KSU team who look like they struggle for a feel for the game. That can keep a guy from fully tapping into his potential.
I was just watching a rerun of the West Wing (one of my favorite things to do in my free time) and the White House was trying to help a nation moving to democracy with its first constitution. They asked help from a constitutional scholar (played by Christopher Lloyd) and were frustrated with how slow the process was going. But the scholar was trying to get into deeper meanings in democracy rather than the technical aspects of writing a constitution to the needs of the nation. The scholar’s point was that you can write a perfect constitution and have it rendered useless if the fathers of the new country don’t understand and care about all of the theories behind it.
I wonder how much theory is taught with a player like Manns who was new to the game when he got here. Coaches show him where to go and when, but its the theory of why you go where and when that leads to instinctually getting there to either help on defense or offer an outlet to a driving teammate, or whatever. Without the higher concepts, you can have a guy who goes through the motions but may be a step or two late or have a lack of conviction. May sound silly (and long winded … or written), but I think it’s a very real issue.
With his size all he needs to do is stand in the middle on defense and learn how to play alongside Green on offense. I know its not as simple as I’m saying, but its nowhere near as diofficult as youre saying either. Hes not required to run complex plays or do anything that requires too much thought or instinct. With his size and athletic ability he could have been special. See Tim Duncan and how late he took up the sport, there are many others who started late and blossomed.
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Jimbo,
I understand what you are saying,
But those things you say are what he actually is doing, and that’s why he is a serviceable Division I starting center. He stands there next to Greene and takes up some space.
To become special, it takes the other more complex things I was talking about. There are some somewhat complex things he is asked to do when it comes to defense and that’s where you see the majority of his mistakes. He doesn’t have the feel it takes to make the correct rotations or to sense what is coming and then come over to block a shot. That’s why his block numbers are mediocre-to-poor for a player his size.
Just because you are late to the game does’t mean you can’t gain those instincts. Usually it takes a special guy, though.
Tim Duncan was special. He was able to get it. Not everybody can. Everyone is different. It may also be on Manns for not working harder to get it. I can use myself as an example. Not many people know it, but I’m dyslexic. I had to work very hard to become a writer. I also got into it a little later in life because I was scared to death of the written word. I couldn’t tell the difference between a lower case “d” and a lower case “b” if they were right next to each other. I’d jump around when reading, or have a difficult time keeping a coherent thought while trying to write. I’ve made it to some extent, but I’ll also never be as good as many of my colleagues in a lot of respects. I can break a story and build the relationships that get me those stories, but there are so many of my colleagues who can write circles around me. Maybe Manns could have worked harder to overcome his own disability with regards to basketball. Getting DUI’s and multiple suspensions and being forced to miss an entire preseason because of off-the-court issues didn’t help him get to that next level. But there’s also a reason why Tim Duncan went to an ACC school and Justin Manns ended up in Kent, both as late bloomers.
To get past the disability of a late start, it takes more than just special talent in my opinion. It takes special character and a desire to be great, to do all of the extra things that make up for all you missed earlier on.
I completely get everything you said and I don’t disagree. This is just my way of looking at it.
http://ph.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100826213712AAEixy4
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We should never expect “almost nothing” from any recruit at this level. Every recruit signing a letter of intent should have expectations of contributing in some capacity. Of course nobody gets recruited to be that last guy at the end of the bench, but that is where lack of effort, heart and teamwork can land you.
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