Dayton's Recruiting Class

[udfan]

If you understand what Gregory had when he came to Dayton, (And I mean if you look at each class he had when he came in, not just the seniors.) I don't think you can make a case that he was underacheiving with his roster over the first 4 years. Dayton didn't have a very good group behind his Senior class. Gregory has recruited well almost every year and slowly brought the level up. He came to Dayton saying that he was going to build slowly with 4 year players and he did it. He had transfers in the early years, and it's stabalized considerably now that he has guys who have bought into his system and see success in it. I don't expect that UD will be an NCAA team every year, of course, but they will be very consistantly successful while Gregory is still around, IMO.

I think a lot of A10 fans underestimate the time required to build somehting really good in this league. X didn't exactly explode on the scene. You have to have a coach who can keep capitolizing on past successes by recruiting slightly better players. And the big guys that you get in this league normally take 2 years to develope into "factor players".

As far as facilities, I like the SLU Arena, but I think a lot of fans underestimate UD Arena purely because of it's age. X fans are especially guilty of this. The shiny new arenas are nice, but the things that make a basketball venue terrific have very little to do with the date of construction. And the Donoher Center, which was added to UD Arena in 1998, replaced the old Arena locker rooms, film rooms, training centers, offices, etc. In 2002, UD added luxury boxes, more premium seating, a restaraunt and a lounge for premium ticket holders on the 2nd level above each basket. Also included were large new concessions areas under the stands and new restroom facilities. So really, there isn't much in UD Arena that isn't updated or new. The University considered building a new Arena before the 2002 renovation, but decided everyone was too happy with the current facility and it had many good years left. UD built a new on-campus student PAC, and turned the old PAC into an on-campus practice facility for basketball as well. The new PAC is beautiful, and sometimes serves as a summer location for team pick-up games. I would be suprised if any team in the A10 has something on Dayton with the quality of facilities.

[Clock_Tower]

udfan. Thanks for your perspective. UD Arena still has years left and really is a nice size 13,500 or so, right??

With the improvements made, your arena/sports complex does seem state of the art. I only wish the other A10 teams would have facilities even close to what UD, X and now SLU have. I also know that UD's campus keeps growing and expanding - in particular in the direction of UD Arena - but distance from the dorms still has to be a bit of a problem. Had UD built a new arena instead, wouldn't it have been closer to campus? Not that 1 mile bus ride for your students is really far, but short bus rides here proved an insurmountable barrier. How's your student attendance, and not just for playing us, X, etc.?

If you understand what Gregory had when he came to Dayton, (And I mean if you look at each class he had when he came in, not just the seniors.) I don't think you can make a case that he was underacheiving with his roster over the first 4 years. Dayton didn't have a very good group behind his Senior class. Gregory has recruited well almost every year and slowly brought the level up. He came to Dayton saying that he was going to build slowly with 4 year players and he did it. He had transfers in the early years, and it's stabalized considerably now that he has guys who have bought into his system and see success in it. I don't expect that UD will be an NCAA team every year, of course, but they will be very consistantly successful while Gregory is still around, IMO.

I think a lot of A10 fans underestimate the time required to build somehting really good in this league. X didn't exactly explode on the scene. You have to have a coach who can keep capitolizing on past successes by recruiting slightly better players. And the big guys that you get in this league normally take 2 years to develope into "factor players".

As far as facilities, I like the SLU Arena, but I think a lot of fans underestimate UD Arena purely because of it's age. X fans are especially guilty of this. The shiny new arenas are nice, but the things that make a basketball venue terrific have very little to do with the date of construction. And the Donoher Center, which was added to UD Arena in 1998, replaced the old Arena locker rooms, film rooms, training centers, offices, etc. In 2002, UD added luxury boxes, more premium seating, a restaraunt and a lounge for premium ticket holders on the 2nd level above each basket. Also included were large new concessions areas under the stands and new restroom facilities. So really, there isn't much in UD Arena that isn't updated or new. The University considered building a new Arena before the 2002 renovation, but decided everyone was too happy with the current facility and it had many good years left. UD built a new on-campus student PAC, and turned the old PAC into an on-campus practice facility for basketball as well. The new PAC is beautiful, and sometimes serves as a summer location for team pick-up games. I would be suprised if any team in the A10 has something on Dayton with the quality of facilities.

[udfan]

udfan. Thanks for your perspective. UD Arena still has years left and really is a nice size 13,500 or so, right??

With the improvements made, your arena/sports complex does seem state of the art. I only wish the other A10 teams would have facilities even close to what UD, X and now SLU have. I also know that UD's campus keeps growing and expanding - in particular in the direction of UD Arena - but distance from the dorms still has to be a bit of a problem. Had UD built a new arena instead, wouldn't it have been closer to campus? Not that 1 mile bus ride for your students is really far, but short bus rides here proved an insurmountable barrier. How's your student attendance, and not just for playing us, X, etc.?

Student attendance has been spotty for UD in the last few years, which is very disappointing to me. We have a large student section, and in most games, it is only half-full. Big games are great with students overflowing into nearby sections, but our home schedule outside the A10 has been weak for a few years. I think there are a few factors that hurt student attendance in recent years. First, UD is just regaining some swagger as a power in the A10. Next, the students have been unhappy with the system of ticket distribution. It is based on points accumulated from attending other UD sporting events. The "Red Scare" group of organized student fans is large and incredibly loyal in their attendance. We have a large and very supportive student pep band too, but they combined only fill half of the section. The other students only pack it in when the games start getting bigger during the A10 schedule or if we have a headliner opponent. The need for busing also must hurt attendance. I'm not sure why, but I still see a large number of students walk to the Arena on cold days, and last year the bridge between campus and the Arena was out during a rebuild, so, unless they wanted to swim, that was no longer an option for the year. This year, a new bridge is in place. I think this is the last piece we need to fall into place for our home games. When the student section is full, the Arena is capable of really rocking.

I don't believe that a new Arena would be placed on the newly aquired land between the current campus and the Arena. I spoke with a university employee earlier this year, and I think they have plans for new university buildings there and even some commercial development. I think when a new Arena does eventually go up, and I think it is a long way off, it will sit on the same site as UD Arena. That land is landfill next to the river that was donated to the university for the Arena construction in 1969. That area has been developed in recent years with a new football practice facility, a new baseball stadium and a new softball field. Also, a hotel was built across from the Arena as a convenient location for visitors to Arena events. It seems like the whole area is now set aside for athletics, and because it is right next to an on-ramp for I-75 and the I-35 connection, it is an ideal location to disapate 13,500 fans as quickly as possible after the game. If the Arena was on the other side of the river on the new land, the bridge would be a big bottleneck, I think.

[kevinfootes]

It looked like Romar had finally landed some of the guys he wanted before he took the Washington job, but that all faded away when he left.

Please list all these "guys?" Randy Pulley, Jason Edwin, Floyd McClain, John Seyfert, Nick Kern?? Hollins is only one (1) kid.

"some" might be a little too much. Hollins would have been a very nice player at SLU. A difference maker. The problem I had with Romar is that he kept coming in second place with recruiting and didn't have a backup plan. I'm not a big Romar fan, but I'll certainly give him credit for Hollins. How many NBA players have we had in the past 30 years?

[davidnark]

Student attendance has been spotty for UD in the last few years, which is very disappointing to me. We have a large student section, and in most games, it is only half-full. Big games are great with students overflowing into nearby sections, but our home schedule outside the A10 has been weak for a few years. I think there are a few factors that hurt student attendance in recent years. First, UD is just regaining some swagger as a power in the A10. Next, the students have been unhappy with the system of ticket distribution. It is based on points accumulated from attending other UD sporting events. The "Red Scare" group of organized student fans is large and incredibly loyal in their attendance. We have a large and very supportive student pep band too, but they combined only fill half of the section. The other students only pack it in when the games start getting bigger during the A10 schedule or if we have a headliner opponent.

Damn, I swear you just wrote that paragraph about the SLU students.

[kevinfootes]

Damn, I swear you just wrote that paragraph about the SLU students.

Except for the half full part.