Dan Dakich putting the U on the blast for bb facilities

[KyGopherfan]

Dan Dakich putting the U on blast for bb facilities

He went on an extended rant about how crappy the facilities are at the U compared with the conference brethren. He basically went down list of all the schools and put the administration on blast for not doing enough for the basketball program. He did make an excellent point of saying that our players can't practice when THEY want to unlike other B1G players.

I'm glad he pointed out on a national broadcast. Tubby may not be perfect, but thinking some mid major coach is gonna come here and clean up is a pipe dream. This basketball program needs Tubby to be successful and the administration needs to do all that they can do on their end to facilitate it.

 

[Tater]

Agreed. Wanna play with the big boys? We need to have comparable program investments ( or better ).

 

[station19]

Maybe Dakich is a Ruesse fan.

 

[920/414 Gopher]

I'm glad he pointed out on a national broadcast. Tubby may not be perfect, but thinking some mid major coach is gonna come here and clean up is a pipe dream. This basketball program needs Tubby to be successful and the administration needs to do all that they can do on their end to facilitate it.

I wasn't a huge fan of Dakich and all of his joking around tonight. That said, I'm glad you mentioned this because it's the same thought that went through my head. This needs to become a bigger concern among alumni, donors, and Gopher hoops fans in general. I get the feeling that most people realize that we need a practice facility, but it doesn't seem to be too urgent of a matter to the U. I think Dakich did a good job of really drilling the point home on national TV. He harped on it. Made it sound like it was completely absurd that we didn't have one.

 

[zambam]

I wasn't a huge fan of Dakich and all of his joking around tonight. That said, I'm glad you mentioned this because it's the same thought that went through my head. This needs to become a bigger concern among alumni, donors, and Gopher hoops fans in general. I get the feeling that most people realize that we need a practice facility, but it doesn't seem to be too urgent of a matter to the U. I think Dakich did a good job of really drilling the point home on national TV. He harped on it. Made it sound like it was completely absurd that we didn't have one.

While Dakich joked around a lot, I feel like he had better insight than a lot of the announcers that we have had this year. Felt like he actually kinda understood the team, except he called Sampson strong.

 

[920/414 Gopher]

While Dakich joked around a lot, I feel like he had better insight than a lot of the announcers that we have had this year. Felt like he actually kinda understood the team, except he called Sampson strong.

Agreed.

 

[matt]

I always laugh when the announcers say something like Dakich or the other guy said at the beginning of the 2nd half: "I'm surprised Tubby doesn't have Osenieks starting the 2nd half." You obviously don't know Tubby...

 

[gall0249]

or when they comment on the beautiful baseball facility that we have downtown and how it relates to Gopher athletics.

 

[randomjoe]

Nebraska & Iowa are putting $$ into facilities. New AD is going to have to do something big. Northwestern & Penn State should not be our basketball peers.

 

[tjgesquire]

Resources

So a practice facility is going to make the team better and more apt to compete in the BIG TEN? How about you recruit a better stable of horses. I think the point about the level of athlete was also brought up by the announcers several times. Recruiting is THE single most important resource in college basketball, and we are not good at it.
What would happen if we gave our current staff all the facilities and money they could possibly ask for? Like at a Kentucky for instance.

 

[Costa Rican Gopher]

So a practice facility is going to make the team better and more apt to compete in the BIG TEN? How about you recruit a better stable of horses. I think the point about the level of athlete was also brought up by the announcers several times. Recruiting is THE single most important resource in college basketball, and we are not good at it.
What would happen if we gave our current staff all the facilities and money they could possibly ask for? Like at a Kentucky for instance.

Clearly you weren't paying attention. What Dakich said is you can't expect to recruit elite athletes when you have bush league facilities. That was his entire rant.

 

[savagerube]

So a practice facility is going to make the team better and more apt to compete in the BIG TEN? How about you recruit a better stable of horses. I think the point about the level of athlete was also brought up by the announcers several times. Recruiting is THE single most important resource in college basketball, and we are not good at it.
What would happen if we gave our current staff all the facilities and money they could possibly ask for? Like at a Kentucky for instance.

Like I've said before, if practice facilities aren't crucial to the success of a program, then why did 4 B1G programs just open new practice facilities within the last year? That right there shows you how significant practice facilities are in the grand scheme of things.

 

[CrocShots]

So a practice facility is going to make the team better and more apt to compete in the BIG TEN? How about you recruit a better stable of horses. I think the point about the level of athlete was also brought up by the announcers several times. Recruiting is THE single most important resource in college basketball, and we are not good at it.
What would happen if we gave our current staff all the facilities and money they could possibly ask for? Like at a Kentucky for instance.

Let's think about it this way. You have the options between The University of X and University of Y as a student.
Hypothetically the prices to attend and distance to the two campuses are even.

Would you as a student attend the U of X, which has excellent academic facilities and is constantly renovating buildings in order to keep their image up as a top institution or U of Y, who does not have the money to do so and has classrooms and buildings that are delapitated and haven't been renovated since they were built in the 70s.

Would you like a newer union with tons of amenities at U of X or a dump at U of Y?

What about residence halls? Would you like a newer Res. Hall with Study rooms and furnished rooms, or a cinder block box?

It's the SAME CONCEPT, except the Student Athletes are going to be using the facilities 300+ days a year. That goes for all of the facilities.

 

[savagerube]

Let's think about it this way. You have the options between The University of X and University of Y as a student.
Hypothetically the prices to attend and distance to the two campuses are even.

Would you as a student attend the U of X, which has excellent academic facilities and is constantly renovating buildings in order to keep their image up as a top institution or U of Y, who does not have the money to do so and has classrooms and buildings that are delapitated and haven't been renovated since they were built in the 70s.

Would you like a newer union with tons of amenities at U of X or a dump at U of Y?

What about residence halls? Would you like a newer Res. Hall with Study rooms and furnished rooms, or a cinder block box?

It's the SAME CONCEPT, except the Student Athletes are going to be using the facilities 300+ days a year. That goes for all of the facilities.

Exactly!

 

[scher215]

Let's think about it this way. You have the options between The University of X and University of Y as a student.
Hypothetically the prices to attend and distance to the two campuses are even.

Would you as a student attend the U of X, which has excellent academic facilities and is constantly renovating buildings in order to keep their image up as a top institution or U of Y, who does not have the money to do so and has classrooms and buildings that are delapitated and haven't been renovated since they were built in the 70s.

Would you like a newer union with tons of amenities at U of X or a dump at U of Y?

What about residence halls? Would you like a newer Res. Hall with Study rooms and furnished rooms, or a cinder block box?

It's the SAME CONCEPT, except the Student Athletes are going to be using the facilities 300+ days a year. That goes for all of the facilities.

I like that analogy. I also threw out this one in a different thread awhile ago:

Would you take a job, all other things equal, at a company who's office is rented space in a strip mall or one that is a sky scraper downtown, with plush offices, a fitness center and full restaurant? None of those things really help you work better, but that company with the perks will get to hand pick the best employees (see: apple)

 

[scools12]

So a practice facility is going to make the team better and more apt to compete in the BIG TEN? How about you recruit a better stable of horses. I think the point about the level of athlete was also brought up by the announcers several times. Recruiting is THE single most important resource in college basketball, and we are not good at it.
What would happen if we gave our current staff all the facilities and money they could possibly ask for? Like at a Kentucky for instance.

Tubby's last years at Kentucky the recruiting had gone down. He did have the facilities and all the resoucres needed he just wasn't getting the top players.

Just because a new facility is built does not guarantee Johnny 5 Stars are going to line-up and come play basketball for Tubby.

 

[savagerube]

Tubby's last years at Kentucky the recruiting had gone down. He did have the facilities and all the resoucres needed he just wasn't getting the top players.

Just because a new facility is built does not guarantee Johnny 5 Stars are going to line-up and come play basketball for Tubby.

You're right, but getting a new practice facility guarantees that we're staying on pace with the B1G. I don't think anyone is expecting "Johnny 5 Stars" to line up and play for Tubby solely because of a new facility. If we don't get a facility, we will have trouble landing Johnny 4 stars.

 

[station19]

A new practice facility will not 'guarantee' better recruiting of players, but rest assured it will help in recruiting the next head coach.

 

[GopherinPhilly]

A new practice facility will not 'guarantee' better recruiting of players, but rest assured it will help in recruiting the next head coach.

This is what I have been saying for a while...no practice facility - no top coach will touch us!

 

[bga1]

Clearly you weren't paying attention. What Dakich said is you can't expect to recruit elite athletes when you have bush league facilities. That was his entire rant.

I've become resigned to the idea that Tubby is not going to go seriously and hard after the elite guys (beyond state borders) regardless of the facility situation. I don't think he likes the process or the work anymore. That said- I think we need a new facilities plan including a plan for the arena as soon as possible so that we can attract the next coach in a few years and start anew. The Tubby era will not likely see the practice facility but it can start the construction phase.

 

[34Gopher]

You're right, but getting a new practice facility guarantees that we're staying on pace with the B1G. I don't think anyone is expecting "Johnny 5 Stars" to line up and play for Tubby solely because of a new facility. If we don't get a facility, we will have trouble landing Johnny 4 stars.

It's frustrating that it seems we are always trying to "stay on pace" with other schools rather than being first to the party.

 

[CrocShots]

It's frustrating that it seems we are always trying to "stay on pace" with other schools rather than being first to the party.

This +1,000,000,000 (except in hockey, sometimes). This is what we'll be looking for in a new AD, FYI (Please).

 

[Bad Gopher]

This is why the subject of fundraising is brought up every time the subject of the vacant AD position is brought up. Many if not most schools that build these facilities do so with a lot of donated money. That we have a school in a major metro area with Fortune 500 companies and numerous successful alumni should give us some kind of advantage that we just haven't been taking advantage of. Like most universities, the school is going to have a hard time funding this on its own. The one sector of the economy that has done well is the personal wealth of the wealthy. Gotta tap that. Obviously each of us would be in for what we could spare as well.

 

[MotherNight]

Tubby's last years at Kentucky the recruiting had gone down. He did have the facilities and all the resoucres needed he just wasn't getting the top players.

Just because a new facility is built does not guarantee Johnny 5 Stars are going to line-up and come play basketball for Tubby.

I agree, but it does set us up better for life after Tubby. That is what our next AD should be focusing on. IMO we can't do better than Tubby right now. Tubby probably coaches for 4-8 more years. Then what?

 

[tjgesquire]

these aren't average students

Let's think about it this way. You have the options between The University of X and University of Y as a student.
Hypothetically the prices to attend and distance to the two campuses are even.

Would you as a student attend the U of X, which has excellent academic facilities and is constantly renovating buildings in order to keep their image up as a top institution or U of Y, who does not have the money to do so and has classrooms and buildings that are delapitated and haven't been renovated since they were built in the 70s.

Would you like a newer union with tons of amenities at U of X or a dump at U of Y?

What about residence halls? Would you like a newer Res. Hall with Study rooms and furnished rooms, or a cinder block box?

It's the SAME CONCEPT, except the Student Athletes are going to be using the facilities 300+ days a year. That goes for all of the facilities.

You completely miss the point. Johnny 5-star and his friend Johnny 4-star care about one thing and one thing only, THE NBA. What school gets me to the NBA faster or gives me the best chance of being a lottery pick. That's it. If you don't agree then you haven't been around enough of these kids. Put John Calipari or Coach K at Middle Tennessee, the star recruits would still be banging down their doors. Their players like them and they turn out pros.

 

[LongLiveMilesTarver]

Dakich also said he hadn't seen a team not play hard all season long like the Gophers did for most of the first half (sorry for the double negative). You can't pin that on a lack of practice facility.

 

[GopherInPittsburgh]

Soft non-conference schedule yielding a good start to the season. Mediocre conference record squanders the good start. Unable to get to the next level. Bad facilities. Coach not trying hard to land great recruits. This sounds very familiar...

 

[station19]

Dakich also said he hadn't seen a team not play hard all season long like the Gophers did for most of the first half (sorry for the double negative). You can't pin that on a lack of practice facility.

It's never just one issue.

 

[EG#9]

I thought Dakich was excellent last night from calling out the "U" on a lack of a practice facility to openly questioning why Oto did not start the second half and why the Gophers went back to man to man when the zone was working previously.

I think a practice facility is a HUGE issue and it's a disgrace that the University of Minnesota does not have one. That said, there are other huge issues within Tubby's control that make recruiting difficult. The first one is the 5 in 5 out substitution patterns that limit minutes and the second is the slow style of play. Recruits want a lot of playing time, and failing that, they would prefer to play in an uptempo system. If you are not currently an elite team and offer neither major minutes nor an exciting style of play, it's tough to land top talent. Further, Tubby's unwillngness to strongly commit to staying at Minnesota when his name came up in job openings also has probably been a detriment.

 

[BOUNDOUTPASSDUNK]

I said this previously in an new AD thread. Within the first 30 days of the new 'administration,' the new AD should announce that he has assigned Mr. Bigwig as chief fundraiser for the new Gopher BB practice facility. This is just so obvious and that's why Dakich laid it out. We support non revenue sports, we built two hockey arenas and TCF Stadium, all great investments and assets. Public dollars helped build a high quality Twins' Stadium, I think the intent of Dakich's point of reference. The Vikes will get their stadium too - MN can't afford to allow them to leave. Now let's join the 21st century in D1 basketball. I bet there are high schools and prep schools with better practice facilities than MN. It's absurd that anyone would debate this. I'm not saying we have to build the Tajmapractice Hall. But no Metrodome style build it on the cheap either. It's a relatively small investment with a big bang for the BB program and University prestige through improved BB product. Most of the funding will come from corporate and alumni donations. GH should write a letter to Kaler. Build it to modern standards and more consistent high level recruiting will come, for Tubby and his predecessors. This ends P.F. rant - we now resume normal dialogue.