Disillusionment

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restovich

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I probably speak for many here. I used to be a *huge* Gopher basketball fan. Season tickets all six years 1978-1984 I was there, and then following them avidly from points south since 1984.

Not much anymore. With the Hawkins news I hardly can get myself to care, other than just being disappointed.

Sure, its NIL. But it was the way the NCAA treated North Carolina. And how Arizona and Kansas got almost no penalties for doing much worse then the actions in 1997 with Clemgate. I see NCAA spokesweasels talk about the greatness of the sport, and my grouchy old man reaction is I wish I could just punch them.

I expect I will be taking a break from this Board. This stuff is just too painful.
 

I cannot imagine being a coach- even one of the coaches on the winning end of this mess. Imagine having 6-7 players on a team each making 6 figures + that are 20 years old? The amount of trouble kids can get into with that kind of money in their hands..... and then they have another 6-7 players on the team not making much money at all. How do you manager that?

I think that we have to put to rest the saying that players and coaches use: "It's about the name on the front of the jersey"..........
 


bga1 said:
I cannot imagine being a coach- even one of the coaches on the winning end of this mess. Imagine having 6-7 players on a team each making 6 figures + that are 20 years old? The amount of trouble kids can get into with that kind of money in their hands..... and then they have another 6-7 players on the team not making much money at all. How do you manager that?

I think that we have to put to rest the saying that players and coaches use: "It's about the name on the front of the jersey"..........
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Totally agree
 

restovich said:
I probably speak for many here. I used to be a *huge* Gopher basketball fan. Season tickets all six years 1978-1984 I was there, and then following them avidly from points south since 1984.

Not much anymore. With the Hawkins news I hardly can get myself to care, other than just being disappointed.

Sure, its NIL. But it was the way the NCAA treated North Carolina. And how Arizona and Kansas got almost no penalties for doing much worse then the actions in 1997 with Clemgate. I see NCAA spokesweasels talk about the greatness of the sport, and my grouchy old man reaction is I wish I could just punch them.

I expect I will be taking a break from this Board. This stuff is just too painful.
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You should want to punch the administration at the U. It’s their fault.
 


NCAA basketball is just a much worse version of the NBA. They aren't as good at basketball, they are less loyal, there is way more turnover and teams are skipping the NIT to focus on the portal, and it's operating like a terribly designed pro league.

If we are watching professionals, it makes more sense to follow the ones who are better at basketball.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
NCAA basketball is just a much worse version of the NBA. They aren't as good at basketball, they are less loyal, there is way more turnover and teams are skipping the NIT to focus on the portal, and it's operating like a terribly designed pro league.

If we are watching professionals, it makes more sense to follow the ones who are better at basketball.
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I have boycotted the NBA since the mid-80's. NCAA basketball is quickly getting to that point.
 

bga1 said:
I cannot imagine being a coach- even one of the coaches on the winning end of this mess. Imagine having 6-7 players on a team each making 6 figures + that are 20 years old? The amount of trouble kids can get into with that kind of money in their hands..... and then they have another 6-7 players on the team not making much money at all. How do you manager that?

I think that we have to put to rest the saying that players and coaches use: "It's about the name on the front of the jersey"..........
Click to expand...

Seeing millions in your bank account probably takes some of the sting out of being a power conference coach. But I agree, it would be really difficult being a HC in todays mess
 





Bob_Loblaw said:
NCAA basketball is just a much worse version of the NBA. They aren't as good at basketball, they are less loyal, there is way more turnover and teams are skipping the NIT to focus on the portal, and it's operating like a terribly designed pro league.

If we are watching professionals, it makes more sense to follow the ones who are better at basketball.
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The only reason NCAA-level basketball is profitable is our historic affinities to the schools.

Most other minor leagues don't pay well at all and operate on the edge of bankruptcy, especially if not supported by the top league.

If the players have zero affinity to the schools, why will the fans? If they want to run like a professional minor league they may get treated like one in the ways they don't want.
 

fmlizard said:
The only reason NCAA-level basketball is profitable is our historic affinities to the schools.

Most other minor leagues don't pay well at all and operate on the edge of bankruptcy, especially if not supported by the top league.

If the players have zero affinity to the schools, why will the fans? If they want to run like a professional minor league they may get treated like one in the ways they don't want.
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As long as the TV money is still there the schools probably won't care. College football and basketball are less and less about the fans every year.
 





fmlizard said:
The only reason NCAA-level basketball is profitable is our historic affinities to the schools.

Most other minor leagues don't pay well at all and operate on the edge of bankruptcy, especially if not supported by the top league.

If the players have zero affinity to the schools, why will the fans? If they want to run like a professional minor league they may get treated like one in the ways they don't want.
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Agreed. If the connection to the schools is gone, why would I choose Gopher basketball over Timberwolves basketball?
 

Gopherbbdude said:
TV money will go away if nobody is watching
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Sports have the TV markets by the throat. They are the only thing that still makes people get YouTube TV, cable, or any of the other live TV services.

I don't know if TV money will go away any time soon.
 


And why would I bother getting season tickets, when I don't even know who's on the team on a day-to-day basis? I gotta think that season tickets sales for most teams will be hurt as a result of NIL and the transfer portal.
 

MNVCGUY said:
As long as the TV money is still there the schools probably won't care. College football and basketball are less and less about the fans every year.
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Sooner or later that will collapse too. People have to watch for the networks to be popular enough to get that kind of money. Ask Di$ney how that is working out for E$PN. (or their streaming service for that matter)

You cant alienate the fans forever and hope they will just keep shelling out cash or spending 3 hours watching your product. You cannot count on the NCAA Tourny to be the big ratings draw you need the regular season to matter or those contracts will shrink.

Maybe there is evidence they are cultivating new fans, but my guess is that is only at the "Haves". If I am right that is unsustainable. And from what I have heard anecdotally even they are struggling to get new students to care.

If even half the money rumors are true the G League has become worthless as well.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
Sports have the TV markets by the throat. They are the only thing that still makes people get YouTube TV, cable, or any of the other live TV services.

I don't know if TV money will go away any time soon.
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Again E$PN is the gold standard of sports and it is having all sorts of issues. (to be fair part of that is Di$ney and their shady accounting) The ratings don't seem to be at a point where advertising dollars are making it as profitable as it should be.

Of course I am not sure putting the Title Game on TNT is the brightest idea either but whatever...
 

I was a grade school wrestler and a park basketball player with my friends. I was at a wrestling tournament in Worthington in 1990 and won a handheld radio on a raffle in the middle of the tournament and started scanning up and down the dial to see what I could tune in. The best signal was Ray Christensen calling the Gopher victory in the Sweet 16 and I had a crowd of friends and strangers leaning in to hear Ray's call. I was hooked on Gopher Basketball. I quit wrestling and switched to basketball. The MBB was my favorite sports team, even morso than the Vikings. One Christmas, I asked for a cable package my parents didn't subscribe to so I could get MSC and see the ESPN+ productions from the Barn and other Big Ten arenas on Thursday or Saturday winter afternoons. My friends and I would make the long trip to the Barn (or the Dome with then Gophers played Cal in a non-conference game there). 1997 was nirvana for me. I stuck with the team through the scandal that followed.

I don't know exactly when my interest started to wane. Probably during the Tubby Smith disillusionment. Probalby the biggest thing was the advent of the Golden State Warriors and the advent of analytics telling coaches and players that bad shooters should put up a lot of three point shots. The game is ugly. The quality of Gopher basketball has been poor for so long. I haven't watched a full game in several years. The transfer rule, NIL, and the quality of the game have turned me off. One more player entering the portal isn't the last straw to me. The last straw blew away some time ago without me even noticing.
 

I believe that major college sports is approaching a breaking point. the NCAA is getting its ass kicked in court with multiple anti-trust cases having been filed. and given recent Supreme Court rulings, the NCAA has to realize that they are literally on the wrong side of the law. We have the continued effort to have athletes classified as employees of the school.

at some point, the NCAA and the schools will have to admit defeat and agree to a totally new governing structure. at that point, I think you will see schools agree to revenue sharing - and the most important part - schools agree to direct compensation of athletes. cut out the collectives, the rich boosters, etc, and make all the money come through the schools - with negotiated rules on compensation.

it won't be the same as the college sports you and I grew up with. but I do believe that in a matter of years (5 years, 10 years ???) a new structure will emerge and we will eventually accept the new normal.
 

This board is reminiscent of the football board after Mason got fired and Brew went 1-11. It'll get better.
 

mngg11 said:
This board is reminiscent of the football board after Mason got fired and Brew went 1-11. It'll get better.
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Not sure referencing the Brewster time is going to make anyone feel better about the state of things :)

That said, if Johnson is not able to get things turned around next year his tenure will very much resemble Brew's in that he was a first time coach put in a tough situation who wasn't ready for a job at this level and who couldn't get it done.
 


MNVCGUY said:
Not sure referencing the Brewster time is going to make anyone feel better about the state of things :)

That said, if Johnson is not able to get things turned around next year his tenure will very much resemble Brew's in that he was a first time coach put in a tough situation who wasn't ready for a job at this level and who couldn't get it done.
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Time heals all wounds is all, just think, we're only a decade away from out basketball version of PJ😅
 


For those of you who are hoop centric, come to the football board and enjoy this week with us. Ain't nothing coming from this board but despair until the roster gets settled
 

mngg11 said:
This board is reminiscent of the football board after Mason got fired and Brew went 1-11. It'll get better.
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By year 3, Brew had "improved" to 6-7. He was 6-18 in the B1G (25% same as Ben) and got fired half way through year 4. Yeah, it's pretty much a mirror.
 
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howeda7 said:
By year 3, Brew had "improved" to 6-7. He was 6-18 in the B1G (33% vs Ben's 25%) and got fired half way through year 4. Yeah, it's pretty much a mirror.
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I'm alluding to the doom and gloom of this board, not Ben Johnson. It's kids playing a ball game. Have fun with what pieces of progress you can identify and forget about the rest! Life is too short
 

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