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Post by MDIVIVVY on Mar 1, 2005 21:03:13 GMT -5
Well, you could hear all you want that the reffing was bad and it was. But gentleman, we lost that game. Up 10 in the 2nd Half and stopped attacking the basket. And when we did, we didn't make LAY-UPS. Apparently near the end of the game, we forgot about rebounding to. Well, looking at how we really play this season, can anyone be surprised? Oh well, there's always the women right? Oh, never mind. Thank God I'm a Pistons Fan
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Post by Stevev on Mar 1, 2005 21:15:55 GMT -5
I saw the game via the internet. It seemed like we had the thing in the bag and let it slip away. I'm not too surprised though. It seems like we have been living on the edge most of the games this conference season and we were due to have one go agains't us even at home. I don't think that we would have beaten Winthop this year anyway in the final, in fact it could have gotten downright ugly if we did play them. They have some impressive wins, dominated the conference and might even surprise someone in the tournament. Next year we get Elijah Miller which would replace Lightbourne in the post. We probably could use another JUCO forward unless Porter or Stewart steps it up. Interesting to see how the offseason pans out.
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Post by jimflamesfan on Mar 1, 2005 23:11:20 GMT -5
I was SO dissapointed in the loss.
Overall, though, I still think Dunton has been doing a pretty good job.
We've finished 1 or 2nd in the conference the last 3 years, and this year we managed 2nd without really having a solid center.
I hope that Elijah Miller does turn out good for us, and I hope that we do recruit another juco center, hopefully Monroe will develop as well.
From the press conference last night, it sounds like Dees plans to stay for his last two years...I think that's a smart move on his part. I hope Larry stays as well. With those two we'll have solid guards, and we're supposed to have picked up a solid pointguard from Landmark Christian or something like that.
I think this was a rebuilding year for the Flames...looking forward to a solid team next year!
In the meantime, go girls...and also go LU hockey...you can listen to the Div II ice hockey tournament on the internet...games start tomorrow...see my message under ice hockey under other sports.
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Post by Sly Fox on Mar 1, 2005 23:34:08 GMT -5
You guys are taking this one better than me. My stomach was turning as I watched the lead slip away on the game ticker. Both the 2nd & 3rd seed in the Big South both went down in flames (pun intended).
I'm glad to hear the word from Dees. Let's hope Blair realizes the grass isn't always greener on the other side.
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Post by MDIVIVVY on Mar 1, 2005 23:46:24 GMT -5
Oh i don't know about taking it better. I would boo if they were introduced at Convo tomorrow. I know the anger will subside, but honestly, I could see them all shipped off and bring in all new players. Yeah I'm P.O.'ed
PS. Remember that these are statements made out of anger!!!!
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Post by PAmedic on Mar 2, 2005 6:23:34 GMT -5
honestly, seems like this was a fitting end to a very frustrating season - I'm sure the guys want to kick chairs around too, but realistically- this was the end we could have expected. Just didn't have it this year.
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Post by Stevev on Mar 2, 2005 6:47:07 GMT -5
The thing that bothers me the most is the lack of fan support. I saw a lot of blue seats out there with no one in them and it seemed awful quiet. I think that attendence was about 2000. Terrible considering it was a tournament game. Maybe the students saw it coming or just didn't care. In the past 4000 to 5000 or more would show up but I just thinking that the Big South conference is losing its appeal as the years go by. Just my opinion.
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Post by LUconn on Mar 2, 2005 8:20:01 GMT -5
Here's something I can't stress enough:
Down by 4 with 1:30 or less with the ball, what do you do? GO FOR 2! They won't play D because they don't want to foul, and if they do, they'll wind up fouling anyway. Then foul them. We started to do that and as soon as they make both their foul shots we start chucking up 3's. GO FOR 2! I can't tell you how many basketball games I'm yelling at the TV because of that. It's the smartest way to play that situation.
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Post by SCAR on Mar 2, 2005 10:11:00 GMT -5
I know I promised you guys an update of the press conference on Monday but that seems way irrelavant now. Monday and Tuesday were whirlwind days for me and I was rarely at my computer and I want to apologize for no update. Basically it was status quo with coaches congratulating the award winners and saying how excited they are to be in the tournament....Last night was a tough game to call at the end. I said a few weeks ago on the air and again last night during the game that free throw shooting could come back to bite LU in the rear and I think it did contribute to the loss. At this stage it is all about surviving and advancing. It does not have to be pretty. This could have easily happened last season because in a tournament anything is possible. Last year this same CSU team had the lead most of the game until a late run by the Flames sent them packing. Last night that run never came. I still would have liked to see what would have happened if we would have got to play Winthrop. We will never know. Congratulations to Jim Platt and CSU. Now they go to HPU who in my mind is talented enough to win the whole thing but they are their own worse enemy. Kyle Kallander (Big South Commissioner) told me last night that HPU had a 27 point lead and blew it before winning in OT. They don't know how to play situation basketball. When you are up 27 you shorten the game so the team doesn't have enough possessions to make a comeback. That is for another post. Back to last night. It will be sad to see Leo Lightbourne move on. I am proud of him as well as Woodson and Turner, 2 guys that were not even in uniform when this season started. Gotta throw in my boy Harry Williams too who could have been a major contributor in my opinion if not for the injury. It was a bizzare year and last night was the most surreal feeling of the season. This was a transition year and I think Risher, Porter, Stewart, Elijah Miller, and even Russell Monroe will be an exciting team to watch next year. Blair and Dees are special players and their leadership will be huge next year. Congratulations to Coach Dunton and his staff for an exciting season. They did a great job when you consider they got a second seed when everyone had them losing many conference games after the slow start. It was fun to cover this group and I look forward to doing it again next season.
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Post by Boilerflamer on Mar 2, 2005 10:31:47 GMT -5
I don't know about you guys, but I would have preferred to lose last night than to win, then lose to HPU in the vines.
Can someone explain why Dees played just 25 minutes?
sorry about the gay screen name guys. I get a kick out of the thought of a Rowdy seeing it. ;D
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Post by PAmedic on Mar 2, 2005 10:45:51 GMT -5
and here I thought you were some combination of a Purdue/LU fan (like our LUConn and LUPitt)
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Post by Boilerflamer on Mar 2, 2005 10:56:39 GMT -5
Well...I thought I was a Purdue fan after that Notre Dame game....
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Post by guest on Mar 2, 2005 18:47:34 GMT -5
Interesting that only 11 people have posted a reply concerning lastnight's game. 11...that's about the same number of fans who showed up to watch the game. Very poor fan support, even in the student section. I wonder why?
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Post by krh44 on Mar 2, 2005 19:13:20 GMT -5
Yes the crowd was not into the game all night. The dude on the cowbell tried his best to get the crowd into it. It got very silent when they hit a three w/ about two minutes to go. Of course most LU fans don't show up until the championship game, all of the sudden LU is the greatest where going to the Big Dance ( ie Last Years Big South Championshin Game) When LU missed the last attempt w/ 8 seconds it was amazing. Everyone was in shock.
Free throw shooting Robinson 0-5, Woodsen missing two late in the game doesn't help.
I love the player who kicked the chair. That was great. Reminded me of Bobby Knight.
I think Dees & Blair are great and hope they will return. Blair is a Christian and which is nice tio here.
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GOAT
Junior Member
Posts: 55
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Post by GOAT on Mar 2, 2005 19:40:56 GMT -5
I agree with Scar about the Free throw situation. I have looked at their rebounding and free throw statistics all year long and finally when it really counts it came back to bite them. It shows you the immaturity and mental state of this team. Coach Dunton and his staff have to get this team on the same page and it will make a world of difference. There is no way that during the Big South only 2200 fans show up to support their school, something ain't right. The 4 years that I played in the Vines center every game we played during BSC had over 8,000 fans. Does LU not market these games?
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Post by SCAR on Mar 2, 2005 21:35:17 GMT -5
LJ you are right about the attendance back in the day but the 8000 is a little inflated. It was more like 5-6000 but we get your point. for the Tournament we did set attendance records even in the first round. There was tremendous fan support. There is a lack of enthusiasm from the student body this year in my opinion. It seems like the same people that show up to the games come to all the games and others are apathetic until they get deep into the tournament and then everyone shows up. Last night did not seem like a major home court advantage especially during crunch time. Marketing is a big part of that and promoting school spirit is big as well. There seems to be a lack of both. There were 353 people at Katie Feenstra's final home game! That is a shame and a smack in the face for coach Green and company. They deserve better. She is going to be a 1st round draft pick and no one cares. Maybe there is too much other fun stuff to do on campus now. I don't know. When we were in school there was nothing within walking distance around the campus (the mall was the closest thing) and there was nothing to do on campus but we had 3000 people in that tiny Schilling center most nights. only 5000 kids attended liberty during that time so that is most of the student body. I would think less than 10% of the kids were at the game last night.
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Post by Stevev on Mar 2, 2005 22:01:19 GMT -5
I believe the students and the Liberty fans are getting tired of the Big South conference. Back when we had 5000 to 6000 fans for conference games the Big South was kind of new to Liberty and we were happy just to be in a div 1 conference, period, and our consistent success back then also helped bring em in. Times have indeed changed with some of our rivals of the past gone on to better conferences (Towson, UNC Greensboro, Campbell, and Elon to name a few). We still have Radford and Winthrop but little else. The Big South conferences low ratings and seedings in the tournament are no secret to anyone. The women's team is consistentely getting screwed every year with lower than expected seedings as a result of the conferences low ratings. So let me repeat myself. WE NEED TO GET OUT OF THE BIG SOUTH. Hopefully the New AD will help out in this area.
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Post by jimflamesfan on Mar 2, 2005 22:33:28 GMT -5
I think I know why there weren't as many students.
When I was at LU, they gave away free tickets to the Big South tournament games for the students. You would just have to wait in the morning, or even get them at the gate with your ID.
This year they made the students pay. It was only $3 instead of $5, but I'm amazed at how many wouldn't pay the $3 to see the game.
Regarding the last girls game...it snowed about 5 inches that night, most things were closed...that's why there weren't many people there.
One of the things that fans seemed to like last year was Gabe Martin's slams. Dees and Blair and Lightbourne could slam, but it wasn't the same as last year. We didn't have that player that could just slam and rock the Vines center this year...unless you count that one guy on the slam dunk team that performed during halftime of the Radford game...um...he should try out for the team.
In the 7-8 years I've been attending LU sporting events, I never heard the crowd roar so loudly as when Gabe Martin slammed during the 2003 Big South semi-finals against Radford.
Hopefully, Elijah Miller can throw it down! That will bring more people next year.
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Post by PAmedic on Mar 3, 2005 7:09:25 GMT -5
Man, I see what you're saying w/ regard to lighting up the crowd- but if we can only draw fans when our players can dunk spectacularly- thats a very depressing state of affairs for the program. I'm no B-ball officianado (due to being 5'5") but where's the respect for the game itself? A true fan appreciates the nuances of the game- rebounds, guarding the lane, free throw %, etc. Maybe that's too much to expect from the limited attention span of today's college kids? (no offense to "youz guys" still on campus)
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Post by guest on Mar 3, 2005 8:14:35 GMT -5
I thought LU hired some local company to help market the games. Last year they were supposed to have a drawing for a free vehicle(Hummer-I think) for people who bought season tickets. They never gave away the vehicle because they couldn't sell enough tickets. After LU won the championship in 94, there were great crowds for games for the next 2-3 years. Somethings wrong with the marketing or the program because the interest just isn't there. It's even worse that the students are not showing up. What a shame. The Vines is a great site for college basketball when it's packed out.
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Post by MDIVIVVY on Mar 3, 2005 9:21:09 GMT -5
I don't know why there aren't as many fans. I know that at times I have work to do but I watch the game on tv while I work. Maybe Dwayne needs to make the games mandatory for all PL and SLD's (now there's a thought). I understand why for the girls. There just seems to be no competition. Watch the games for next week. You thought it was low for the men!! There are just too many students here that follow other teams. And with V-Tech joining the ACC, alot of Tech fans here follow them instead of us. That and the students just seem to be let down by the team. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe we need a more exciting team. I know what wouldn't hurt is a much more exciting Midnight Madness. Lately they just seem to suck. Have a mixed game between the men and women. Can you imagine Katie smacking a Dee's shot. I'd go see that!!! Or watch Blair make Daina look silly. That to me would be great. It wouldn't have to be physical, just a friendly pick up game. I dunno, I don't have all the answers but maybe if you start right it would carry? I dunno. By the way, I spoke to Dees Tuesday night and he seemed very philosophical like one team had to win, they wanted it more. I was kinda hoping for more remorse or something, like a chip on their shoulder, something to motivate. Again, I'm so glad I'm a Pistons fan
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Post by Sly Fox on Mar 3, 2005 10:36:07 GMT -5
Winning solves all woes. But I agree with the general sentiment that its very disappointing to see the growing apathy on campus for the program.
As for the comment about Dees, you have to keep in mind times have changed for athletes. I am sure he is extremely disappointed like the rest of us (probably much moreso). But today's hoopsters have gotten to where they play games yearround due to summer ball. As a result, they are conditioned to not let losing get to them. Its an epidemic that is made manifest in the NBA everyday.
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Post by PAmedic on Mar 3, 2005 11:47:08 GMT -5
and to continue that thought Sly, its (the NBA) becoming more of a showcase for individualism and theatrics than a team sport concept- therefore, no pressure from 4 other guys (do it for the team/ "win one for the gipper" sentiment) to stay focused. As long as a guys PERSONAL stats are good and they make that salary- nobody cares about the overall quality of the game. Look at the olympic team.
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Post by gest2b on Mar 3, 2005 13:28:48 GMT -5
First, I would like to know what this "NBA" is.
I agree with the earlier sentiments about Gabe Martin. Having Martin and Mantlo on the floor made the games exciting. Those two were exceptional players to watch.
As for the ticket price feasco, charging (more than a dollar) for the student tickets to the first tournament game would be like Blockbuster revoking the "no late fees". Cheap college students get used to paying nothing for the games, so they expect to pay nothing, save for maybe the semifinals or finals.
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aLUmnus
Full Member
old school LU
Posts: 192
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Post by aLUmnus on Mar 3, 2005 14:20:27 GMT -5
One problem is that there is no promotion before or during the games. When I was at LU, the games were a big event, and they tried to make it fun. The gave out tons of free stuff and the half-time shows always got the crowd involved in a big way. Now, most of the time there isn't ANYTHING during halftime, and no word of the game beforehand except a mention during convo.
There's also a ton of apathy towards Liberty by the students for some reason. They must come here just for all the hot chicks. They don't care about the school at all. And most people already have their favorite teams, which consist of big name schools, and care much more about them than their own school.
The definition of what's 'cool' now is much different than it used to be, and going to an LU sports event just isn't that 'cool' anymore. Most students would rather be online or boozing it up or sleeping around. You may think I'm being stupid, but I'm more right than you think. I honestly don't think fan support will ever be the same unless something changes about LU sports and the program becomes popular outside of the university.
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Post by MDIVIVVY on Mar 3, 2005 15:20:06 GMT -5
Whoa whoa whoa. let's not condemn the whole university. Although I do agree that may students enjoy alternative activities to B-Ball games (not all of which are LU Way or are enjoyed by the entire student body), there are some who really enjoy the sports here. As far as the price, Movies 10 Tuesdays are pretty big and .75 for a movie that you'll enjoy (and there were some pretty decent ones this week) vs. 3 dollars for a team that your not all excited about, well you know how it ends. That maybe one reason.
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Post by Pessimist on Mar 3, 2005 17:54:35 GMT -5
I don't know, but any arena filled a quarter-full should strike fear in enemy eyes. 2200 fans is bad.
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Post by krh44 on Mar 4, 2005 22:06:41 GMT -5
SCAR I hate to admit this but LJ was right about the attendance. I do not know about all 4 years he played but in the 97 media guide
1996 Tournament Big South Quarterfinals vs UMBC Attendance 8,157 Big South Semifinals vs UNCA " " 8,257 Big South Finals VS UNCG " " 8,173
Hard to believe
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