Target Center or Williams Arena? All HS First-Teamers including Tyus pick Tgt Center

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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The Star Tribune unveiled its All-Metro First Team today and in it it has a Q&A where they asked each of the five guys the same questions. One of them simply asked "Target Center or Williams Arena?" - here are the answers (I couldn't find the link online, but its in the hard copy STrib today):

Tyus Jones: "Target Center. It's always nice to play where the big-timers play."

Isaiah Zierden: "Target Center, because I don't like the raised floor at Williams Arena."

Sanjay Lumpkin: "Target Center because I'm comfortable playing there and have really grown up there."

Siyani Chambers: "Target Center because I think it is the best atmosphere to play in."

Joey King: "Target Center. It's a big and bright court."

Go Gophers!!
 

My follow-up question for Tyus would be,

"Breslin Center, The Phog, Cameron Indoor or Target Center"?

If he still says Target Center, then he's "sayin' there's a chance." (Lloyd Christmas reference intended)
 


The answer that all-Metro players give to this question has not changed in the nearly 10 years the Strib has been asking them. They prefer Target Center. Boys and girls. Crazy to us, I know. But the idea that kids -- even Minnesota kids -- see any character or magic in Williams Arena is just plain wishful thinking.
 

Hates Monikers said:
The answer that all-Metro players give to this question has not changed in the nearly 10 years the Strib has been asking them. They prefer Target Center. Boys and girls. Crazy to us, I know. But the idea that kids -- even Minnesota kids -- see any character or magic in Williams Arena is just plain wishful thinking.
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None of them have played anything besides maybe a summer camp game in Williams. Benilde hasn't even made the tourney the last couple years and 4A (hopkins and tyus potentially) play exclusively at Target Center.
 


When full Williams arena is way beyond Target Center.
 

As much as I love the Barn this is kind of telling. Like the God-awful Oregon jerseys that make me a 41 year old want to vomit, that all the 17 year olds seem to love. It's not what we like, it's what they like & the kids like new & modern. Get that damn practice facility built already. Call it the Tyus Jones Center & build a statue of him out front.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
As much as I love the Barn this is kind of telling. Like the God-awful Oregon jerseys that make me a 41 year old want to vomit, that all the 17 year olds seem to love. It's not what we like, it's what they like & the kids like new & modern. Get that damn practice facility built already. Call it the Tyus Jones Center & build a statue of him out front.
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+1,000,000 I'm fine starting the statue tomorrow.
 







golfinggopher said:
The team I am an assistant coach has qualified for the state tourney and just about all of them were hoping for Williams Arena.
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Granted it was middle school-ish years, but when I played traveling I ALWAYS wanted to play at Williams, unfortunately It was always Target Center.

Never figured out why, but I don't think any non-Gopher games are played at Williams. And the Gopher game atmosphere can't be simulated or experienced anywhere outside of a gopher game. Tyus comes here and that arena will be more electric than any in the country. If anyone saw what happened with Rubio on the Wolves, I think you can double that for Tyus on the Gophers.
 



Ask any of the kids outstate where they would like to play. It ain't the Target Center. My son played for Pequot Lakes and they played in the Target Jamboree
Tourney. They never made it to the HS Tournament in his 4 years, but the goal was to always play in Williams Arena, Notice I didn't say State Tournament. That ended in 1970. All they get now are piss-ant crowds in fractured venue that I don't watch. Frankly, I'd rather watch 2 old women knit. To Tyrus Jones and the rest of the Metro players? You can kiss my Ely loving ass
 

at least in Williams you can't remove the first 5 rows as they do in the Target Center. Can't be having those riotous Ada-Borup girls basketball fans rushing the court.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
Ask any of the kids outstate where they would like to play. It ain't the Target Center. My son played for Pequot Lakes and they played in the Target Jamboree
Tourney. They never made it to the HS Tournament in his 4 years, but the goal was to always play in Williams Arena, Notice I didn't say State Tournament. That ended in 1970. All they get now are piss-ant crowds in fractured venue that I don't watch. Frankly, I'd rather watch 2 old women knit. To Tyrus Jones and the rest of the Metro players? You can kiss my Ely loving ass
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I'll give Tyus a bit of a pass since he said it is because that is where the NBA guys play. I think if you asked if he'd rather play at Indiana or the Pacers arena, it's be Pacers. If you said Kohl center or the Bucks arena, it'd be the Bucks, Cameron Indoor or the Bobcats arena, Bobcats. just my guess, but that's how I interpreted it.

He already knows he's going to play in a great college arena, his goal is to be in that NBA gym as much as possible.

The other? No clue why they'd prefer Target Center. Zierden's comment made me so happy we never even considered him. Lumpkin makes sense as many of them probably never played at Williams in their lives. Not sure why Chambers thinks the atmosphere is better at TC though, must not have gone to many wolves games before and never had a high school game at Williams.

IMO, their answers are more a product of never really playing at Williams than anything else.

If they played Eastview / Apple Valley at Williams, that place would be nuts. I doubt any of their players would prefer target center after that.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
Ask any of the kids outstate where they would like to play. It ain't the Target Center. My son played for Pequot Lakes and they played in the Target Jamboree
Tourney. They never made it to the HS Tournament in his 4 years, but the goal was to always play in Williams Arena, Notice I didn't say State Tournament. That ended in 1970. All they get now are piss-ant crowds in fractured venue that I don't watch. Frankly, I'd rather watch 2 old women knit. To Tyrus Jones and the rest of the Metro players? You can kiss my Ely loving ass
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Obese, sweaty, mountainous women?
 

AO54 said:
at least in Williams you can't remove the first 5 rows as they do in the Target Center. Can't be having those riotous Ada-Borup girls basketball fans rushing the court.
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I agree and think that it looks silly on TV and makes little sense that they remove all five or six rows of the courside seats and essentially put the basketball floor down in a hockey seating configuration at Target Center for the BB tourney. With

Having sad that, it would be interesting if some games could be played at the Xcel Energy Center as they were around the time the building opened. Obviously the WCHA, and NCAA hockey games make that less likely.

I went to a Wild game last week and the steepness of the seating areas combined with the number of levels of open concourses at Xcel would make for an interesting basektball environment. I would like to see the Gophers play a couple of NC BB games there at some point.
 

oak_street1981 said:
I would like to see the Gophers play a couple of NC BB games there at some point.
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Me, too. Or, even better, the "2nd" and "3rd" rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The X would be a great arena for the first couple rounds of the tournament. Set-up wise, I'm sure they could make it work just fine.
 

AO54 said:
None of them have played anything besides maybe a summer camp game in Williams. Benilde hasn't even made the tourney the last couple years and 4A (hopkins and tyus potentially) play exclusively at Target Center.
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This is true. Unfortunately, 98 percent (or more) of the HS guys from around the country who we recruit, including Minnesotans, won't have a chance to play there before they commit to a college.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Me, too. Or, even better, the "2nd" and "3rd" rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The X would be a great arena for the first couple rounds of the tournament. Set-up wise, I'm sure they could make it work just fine.
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That would be awesome, but could never happen. WCHA Final Five is that weekend, and the Big Ten Tourney once that starts up. On years the Big Ten tourney is somewhere else, one of the other hockey conferences will have it there. Although, NCAA would be a much bigger draw, I just dont see it happening.
 

AO54 said:
None of them have played anything besides maybe a summer camp game in Williams. Benilde hasn't even made the tourney the last couple years and 4A (hopkins and tyus potentially) play exclusively at Target Center.
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What does playing in the state tournament have to do with not liking Williams Arena?
 

DLguy said:
That would be awesome, but could never happen. WCHA Final Five is that weekend, and the Big Ten Tourney once that starts up. On years the Big Ten tourney is somewhere else, one of the other hockey conferences will have it there. Although, NCAA would be a much bigger draw, I just dont see it happening.
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Good point. Has the Big Ten committed to holding the Big Ten playoffs at the X in the first couple seasons? I haven't heard that.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Good point. Has the Big Ten committed to holding the Big Ten playoffs at the X in the first couple seasons? I haven't heard that.
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I don't think it's official, but all the reports have it happening at first because the B1G knows it will run well. Kind of like how everyone knew the B1G title game in FB was going to start in Indy. The only remaining I discussion I have read is whether there will be a rotation with another site like Detroit to improve the travel situation for non-Minnesotans.
 


I think you guys are reading way too much into these comments. Ruppert says all out-state kids say Williams? Ya, sure, despite the kids I know from my graduating class and my area all would have loved to play in Target Center, I'll take your word on that though. :rolleyes: I know if I had a choice between the pro arena or the college arena I would choose te place the pros play.
 

I don't think the question was given enough context. Some of them could've been thinking "Which has better popcorn: Target Center or Williams Arena?"
 

I loved Williams Arena when I was in high school only because I thought the raised floor was neat. Now that I go there fairly often, I really think it is an out dated dump. I can understand why these kids think this way. The place needs some major renovations. MAJOR
 

zambam said:
I think you guys are reading way too much into these comments. Ruppert says all out-state kids say Williams? Ya, sure, despite the kids I know from my graduating class and my area all would have loved to play in Target Center, I'll take your word on that though. :rolleyes: I know if I had a choice between the pro arena or the college arena I would choose te place the pros play.
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We've have lived in the Brainerd, Nisswa,Crosslake, area for the past 23 years. We put three kids through Pequot Lakes HS. They all were involved in sports.
I coached basketball from the tikes up to 7th and 8th grades; both girls and boys. With the coaching and our kids playing we went to numerous games/tourney's zambam in towns you probably never heard off all way up to Lake of the Woods. So when I tell you that the outstate kids would rather play in Williams Arena than the Target Center you can take that to the bank and remove the "roll your eyes sig." Kids also have a different set of core values coming from smaller communities. You don't see them hanging around strip malls and drinking liquids through a straw because their mouths are pierced up
.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
We've have lived in the Brainerd, Nisswa,Crosslake, area for the past 23 years. We put three kids through Pequot Lakes HS. They all were involved in sports.
I coached basketball from the tikes up to 7th and 8th grades; both girls and boys. With the coaching and our kids playing we went to numerous games/tourney's zambam in towns you probably never heard off all way up to Lake of the Woods. So when I tell you that the outstate kids would rather play in Williams Arena than the Target Center you can take that to the bank and remove the "roll your eyes sig." Kids also have a different set of core values coming from smaller communities. You don't see them hanging around strip malls and drinking liquids through a straw because their mouths are pierced up
.
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You talk about a lot of towns up north, but I'm from south of the cities and recently graduated from HS. Trust me, the kids down here would rather play at Target Center. You're just one of those people that considers my area not part of out-state, but it definitely is.
 

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