Loyola @ Valpo (2/21) Game Thread

[MattCarter]

[The bad HLN connection]  It was probably because of the large amount of people who were trying to access it.  After all, its still the internet and is never perfect.  If all of a sudden a couple thousand people try and get on at the same time...well u get the idea...not that it helps any

Yes, sure.  But, you can also pay for a better connection.  Did they just not anticipate the number of users, and the load?  Or did they choose not to pay to support it?  Were they let down by their provider, who couldn't deliver on promises?

I also use the UStream service (for other things) that Horizon Uses.  I can tell that they are a premium, paid user of the service because there are no google ads or takeover commercials.  As to what level they subscribe to, I do not know.  I would assume that they purchase based on the entire league's volume at the highest tier but if they ran out of bandwidth, that could explain it.

[covufan]

Bryce just does not seem like the same situation as Scott.  He seems to have pride in his alma mater, likes the community, and already made a good amount of money playing professional basketball.  I would have to think it would take a special university/situation to take him away with these factors.

Agreed.  The Baylor situation was Scott's chance to build a program - new facilities, agreements with administration for several years before competitiveness, program at bottom, in big conference, oh and $$$.  I don't see another situation like that coming around. 

[KL31NY]

PS: Haven't gone through the whole topic to see if this has been addressed, but how weak was the court storming yesterday? It was more like a trickle of water from a faucet than a true rush IMO.

I wasn't there in person.  Did they let them on the floor, or did a small number sneak past?  I know that in past games they've sort of roped off the victory bell.  Maybe they've also roped in the students?

Most games they have had the rope, but they also will let students and players interact if the team comes over. Last night, the people I talked to pre-game said they'd use that rope to escort Loyola and the refs out and allow the students to rush the court.

However, one of my friends inadvertently let the news of CSU's loss roll through the student crowd. With "less significance" to the game, I guess people weren't as enthused when the staff let them run out. A group of around a dozen launched out early, and then it was two or three people at a time following them out in a "trickle" like I stated before. It was nowhere close to Butler last season where they was a clear storming by the students en masse.

[valporun]

Yeah, one student blurting out the details that could have waited until after the game ruins the fun, although how many students thought about rushing the court, then thought, "Why rush the court after beating Loyola?" I wouldn't be surprised to see more students rush the floor Friday night with a win over Butler at home, mostly because the game will be on ESPNU again.

[valpospartan]

Wow, just went to wikipedia and did not know he was from Indiana.  Weird that he went to TCU, as not many Hoosiers come to play basketball in TX!

My first memory of Lee was that same year (or the year before) when he punched a guy from UNLV in the first 2 minutes of the game to be ejected.

Here's a trip in the wayback machine...Lee Nailon and South Bend Clay beat Bryce and Valpo to win the Indiana state championship in 94.

Thanks a lot for reminding me of this game.  I was there & couldn't believe that Valpo let the game slip away.

[KL31NY]

Yeah, one student blurting out the details that could have waited until after the game ruins the fun, although how many students thought about rushing the court, then thought, "Why rush the court after beating Loyola?" I wouldn't be surprised to see more students rush the floor Friday night with a win over Butler at home, mostly because the game will be on ESPNU again.

Thread hijacking: Question for debate- should students storm the court after a win over Butler? I lean "Nay." Butler is the two-time reigning NCAA finalist as a positive argument. However, last year's storming was 18-odd years of frustration released, especially after the close call in '08. It just wouldn't be the same. Any other thoughts while this question is up?

[vuweathernerd]

Yeah, one student blurting out the details that could have waited until after the game ruins the fun, although how many students thought about rushing the court, then thought, "Why rush the court after beating Loyola?" I wouldn't be surprised to see more students rush the floor Friday night with a win over Butler at home, mostly because the game will be on ESPNU again.

Thread hijacking: Question for debate- should students storm the court after a win over Butler? I lean "Nay." Butler is the two-time reigning NCAA finalist as a positive argument. However, last year's storming was 18-odd years of frustration released, especially after the close call in '08. It just wouldn't be the same. Any other thoughts while this question is up?

i go strong "no." 2 time defending national runner up or not, the fact of the matter is that we're ahead of them in the standings. and the only argument i can come up with to support what happened the other night is that the win clinched the regular season title. so we aren't even playing for that on friday. there is no good reason to have the students rush the court friday night. but due to the apathetic nature of the majority of the current student body, they won't know any better and will probably rush the floor anyway. hopefully some current students can take the lead, recognize that there's no reason to do so, and prevent a needless storming.

[valpotx]

We should not storm the court unless we win the HL tournament championship.  When you are the team on top of the conference, you are not supposed to storm unless it is an opponent you weren't supposed to beat (Butler last year).  We can beat Butler, and have beaten them twice in a row = no need this time. 

Run, do you remember us ever storming the court from 1999-2004?  I really can't remember seeing/being a part of that.  We were always expected to win our conference home games, the tournament, as well as just about every visiting non-conference opponent. 

[valporun]

tx, at that point, we didn't storm because we were so used to winning it didn't matter. Now that we're the team on top, these kids will copy what they see on ESPN, and its sister stations, because they don't care what game it is, it's ESPN. That's all they think about, otherwise they would be at every game, no question. ESPN coverage changes how students react to the outcome of games. Plus, from 1999-2004, how often was there really national tv exposure for Valpo? Mostly, once a year, and that was on ESPN2 from Fort Wayne or Kansas City. Now that we're on ESPNU two or three times a year, we have the exposure, and that's why the students show up, because they like the "being seen on tv by their parents and friends".

The current court storming fad, without proper leadership of a handful of seniors saying, "NO, DON'T DO IT TONIGHT", won't change. They just react to what they see happen. I don't know if any of you saw the SWAC game Monday night on ESPNU with Texas Southern and Mississippi Valley St., but the MVS students stormed the court, and they won their conference by about 4 games, and that didn't stop those kids, so I don't see it stopping Valpo students from doing it either.

[humbleopinion]

I don't care if the students storm the court every night if there are enough students to fill more than the center circle.  If storming the court would be matched with 500 students in attendance, I'd be quite content.

My daughter, who is a student and not much of a sports fan, attended Tuesday's game, had fun, and is looking forward to coming to the Butler game with friends.  It's possible that the idea of seeing bball as entertainment is getting some traction.

[KL31NY]

Just read all the comments. I was hoping for some fine points and I believe we had that all around. Good opinions everyone, especially valporun w/ depth getting at the heart of the student section makeup these days. humble, lol. tx and vu, very true.

Long story short, a win over Butler should not be enough to storm the court. Let's see if the student section agrees come Friday.

[historyman]

a needless storming

Sounds like a book title about fan support for Valpo athletics. So many exciting things yet the fans get excited over the wrong things because they are just a few steps behind.