Tharpe Update

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Friend Of Tubby said:
Anybody who dreams to compare The Barn with Pauley, Cameron Indoor, or The Phog is just plain wrong. Those 3 are some of the greatest arenas in college basketball. The Barn is 1 of the oldest.
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Since your a master at googling things, try "best NCAA basketball arenas". I'm guessing there is one you have never been to (Williams) on 75 percent of those lists.

Or you could just copy and paste the Gophers record again. That was convincing. When you make a mistake quote some random stat to cover your complete lack of knowledge of gopher basketball history.
 

Just my opinion. But if I have John Wall's ability, the age of the Barn and whether there is a practice facility is really low on my priorities. This is what is likely important to me -
1. Coach / program that will make me NBA star ASAP (fame / fortune).
2. Coach / program that will make me a college star (PT / reputation / big venues) (fame).
3. Coach / players / program that will be most fun (friends / climate / girls / good relationship w/ coach) (fun)
4. Academics - just in case the unthinkable happens and I do not play in the NBA for 50 years
5. Blah Blah Blah
.
.
.
20. Practice Facility
.
.
50. Date of construction of the Barn.

As long as the arena is maintained, I do not think it is a big factor for the recruits. Almost every game on TV, the announcers speak very positively "One of the Great Venues in College Basketball" seems synonymous with the Barn.

If the Gophers win - and get players into NBA - the recruits will come.

The stadium does not matter, e.g., TCF "The Bank".
 

Let's drop the idea of a new stadium. It is NOT going to happen. If I was given the choice of a new arena and the "chance" more recruits would like that, or keeping The Barn and possibly losing some recruits: most of us Gopher fans, including me, will take The Barn every day of the week. And yes, FOT, we know you disagree with that.

The practice facility is another matter entirely. It needs to get done.
 

Donovan said:
Let's drop the idea of a new stadium. It is NOT going to happen. If I was given the choice of a new arena and the "chance" more recruits would like that, or keeping The Barn and possibly losing some recruits: most of us Gopher fans, including me, will take The Barn every day of the week. And yes, FOT, we know you disagree with that.

The practice facility is another matter entirely. It needs to get done.
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+1
 

Get a new, state of the art practice facility and it will impress recruits. Players spend far more time at practice than they do in games, so a new facility would help.
 


FOT, Why would Tubby Smith take the job at Minnesota if the Barn was going to hamper recruiting? There's no way he didn't realize that the Barn is looked at the same way by Minnesota fans as Phog Allen is looked at by Kansas fans.

If Tubby didn't think he could recruit to Minnesota, he wouldn't have taken the job. The barn has 2 huge positives, especially if a player actually steps on the floor: 1. It's got a great shooters background and has always had very forgiving rims 2. The floor is exceptionally springy. Anyone wanting to impress with their shooting, athleticism, or shot blocking skills would recognize the advantage of playing half their games in the Barn.
 

SoMpls said:
Why do people argue with people who have no interested in making any sense? FOT is full of hyprocrisy and excuses.

He talks about how great Tubby's recruits have been but then blames the barn for not being viable. He says school can't recruit with an old arena. Duke, Kansas, and UCLA have old arena's, then claims they are renovated. Is informed that the Barn has been renovated and has a response of a 12 year old, "Recruits are quite impressed with Pauley Pavilion, Cameron Indoor Stadium, and Allen Fieldhouse. I'm not so sure they are wowed by The Barn."

All I've heard from this guy is how great Tubby has been as a recruiter for the U and backs up his claims with whetever infomation he can find on the internet. Now he's making excuses? Amazing!!!

The bottom line is the Barn can compete. If FOT as ever been to the players lounge, locker room, or suit he would see the upgrades. It's right on par to land the type of players Tubby recruits (3 & 4 star). I've heard it plenty of times and it doesn't matter if they built a new arena, the only 5 star players that are coming to MN are MN born players. I would estimated that 4 out 5 of them love the Barn. As far as out-state recruits I thought we did a great job with some solid 4 star recruits mixed in with a few above average 3 star recruits who shoulda been 4 stars exept they had special circumstances that only made them a 3. That's what FOT and some others said. So the Barn must not be that bad after all.
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Really? I think you are completely off your rocker since we haven't even been able to get a 4 star recruit outside of Tharpe (who is borderline) and Joseph whose freaking brother plays for us to even take an official visit. Are you talking about the 3 unrated prospects from out of state that committed to us last year that we did a great job with? Man that is just asinine. Of every 4 star basketball player from out of state that we have offered since the first class, we haven't even got a sniff of one to play for us.

A practice facility would help, but a new arena would ultimately lift us above and beyond. Who cares what the fanbase thinks? Most are not diehard like the people on this message board are who are appalled by the idea. Would you rather get great recruits and win, or keep the barn and be on the bubble every year. Common sense people. Winning heals all and would put the barn in the rear view mirror. If the Yankees who won 20+ world series in Yankee Stadium can get rid of that, than surely we can get rid of the Barn. And like I said, outside of the die-hard fan-base, it wouldn't matter too much-- especially to the recruits out of state whose services we would be vying for.

-Fan sick of mediocrity
 

EG#9 said:
FOT, Why would Tubby Smith take the job at Minnesota if the Barn was going to hamper recruiting? There's no way he didn't realize that the Barn is looked at the same way by Minnesota fans as Phog Allen is looked at by Kansas fans.

If Tubby didn't think he could recruit to Minnesota, he wouldn't have taken the job. The barn has 2 huge positives, especially if a player actually steps on the floor: 1. It's got a great shooters background and has always had very forgiving rims 2. The floor is exceptionally springy. Anyone wanting to impress with their shooting, athleticism, or shot blocking skills would recognize the advantage of playing half their games in the Barn.
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You can't base an argument on assumptions. Tubby was basically all but promised a practice facility when he decided to enroll his services to this great university. He even brought up the idea of building a new arena. What does that tell you?
 

EG#9 said:
FOT, Why would Tubby Smith take the job at Minnesota if the Barn was going to hamper recruiting? There's no way he didn't realize that the Barn is looked at the same way by Minnesota fans as Phog Allen is looked at by Kansas fans.

If Tubby didn't think he could recruit to Minnesota, he wouldn't have taken the job. The barn has 2 huge positives, especially if a player actually steps on the floor: 1. It's got a great shooters background and has always had very forgiving rims 2. The floor is exceptionally springy. Anyone wanting to impress with their shooting, athleticism, or shot blocking skills would recognize the advantage of playing half their games in the Barn.
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I don't disagree with what you are saying, but the new floor is not as springy as the old and the new rims aren't as forgiving as the old. Both were new last year.
 



Friend Of Tubby said:
That's good to know. Here's how the Gophers have done in The Barn since 1928, to wit:

1928–29 4–13 1–11 none none
1929–30 8–9 3–9 none none
1930–31 13–4 8–4 none none
1931–32 15–3 9–3 none none
1932–33 5–15 1–11 none none
1933–34 9–11 5–7 none none
1934–35 11–9 5–7 none none
1935–36 7–17 3–9 none none
1936–37 14–6 10–2 none none
1937–38 16–4 9–3 none none
1938–39 14–6 7–5 none none
1939–40 13–8 5–7 none none
1940–41 11–9 7–5 none none
1941–42 15–7 9–6 none none
1942–43 10–9 5–7 none none
1943–44 7–14 2–10 none none
1944–45 8–13 4–8 none none
1945–46 14–7 7–5 none none
1946–47 14–7 7–5 none none
1947–48 10–10 5–7 none none
1948–49 18–3 9–3 none none
1949–50 13–9 4–8 none none
1950–51 13–9 7–7 none none
1951–52 15–7 10–4 none none
1952–53 14–8 11–7 none none
1953–54 17–5 10–4 none none
1954–55 15–7 10–4 none none
1955–56 11–11 6–8 none none
1956–57 14–8 9–5 none none
1957–58 9–12 5–9 none none
1958–59 8–14 5–9 none none
1959–60 12–12 8–6 none none
1960–61 10–13 8–6 none none
1961–62 10–14 6–8 none none
1962–63 12–12 8–6 none none
1963–64 17–7 10–4 none none
1964–65 19–5 11–3 none none
1965–66 14–10 7–7 none none
1966–67 9–15 5–9 none none
1967–68 7–17 4–10 none none
1968–69 12–12 6–8 none none
1969–70 13–11 7–7 none none
1970–71 11–13 5–9 none none
1971–72 18–7 11–3 NCAA 2nd Round none
1972–73 21–5 10–4 NIT 2nd Round none
1973–74 12–12 6–8 none none
1974–75 18–8 11–7 none none
1975–76 16–10 8–10 none none
1976–77 24–3 15–3 none
1977–78 17–11 12–6 none
1978–79 11–16 6–12 none none
1979–80 21–11 10–8 NIT Runner-up none
1980–81 19–11 9–9 NIT 3rd Round none
1981–82 23–6 14–4 NCAA 2nd Round none
1982–83 18–11 9–9 NIT 1st Round none
1983–84 15–13 6–12 none none
1984–85 13–15 6–12 none none
1985–86 15–16 5–13 none
1986–87 9–19 2–16 none none
1987–88 10–18 4–14 none none
1988–89 19–12 9–9 NCAA 2nd Round none
1989–90 23–9 11–7 NCAA Elite 8 none
1990–91 12–16 5–13 none none
1991–92 16–16 8–10 NIT 1st Round none
1992–93 22–10 9–9 NIT Champions none
1993–94 21–12 10–8 NCAA 2nd Round
1994–95 19–12 10–8 NCAA 1st Round
1995–96 19–11 10–8 NIT 2nd Round
1996–97 31–4 16–2 NCAA Final Four
1997–98 20–15 6–10 NIT Champions
1998–99 17–11 6–10 NCAA 1st Round
1999–00 12–16 4–12 none none
2000–01 18–14 5–11 NIT 2nd Round none
2001–02 18–13 9–7 NIT 2nd Round none
2002–03 19–14 8–8 NIT 4th Place none
2003–04 12–18 3–13 none none
2004–05 21–11 10–6 NCAA 1st Round none
2005–06 16–15 5–11 NIT 2nd Round none
2006–07 9–22 3–13 none
2007–08 20–13 8–10 NIT 1st Round none
2008–09 22–11 9–9 NCAA 1st Round none
2009–10 21–14 9–9 NCAA 1st Round none
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why not post the home records?
 


JackiO said:
Really? I think you are completely off your rocker since we haven't even been able to get a 4 star recruit outside of Tharpe (who is borderline) and Joseph whose freaking brother plays for us to even take an official visit. Are you talking about the 3 unrated prospects from out of state that committed to us last year that we did a great job with? Man that is just asinine. Of every 4 star basketball player from out of state that we have offered since the first class, we haven't even got a sniff of one to play for us.

A practice facility would help, but a new arena would ultimately lift us above and beyond. Who cares what the fanbase thinks? Most are not diehard like the people on this message board are who are appalled by the idea. Would you rather get great recruits and win, or keep the barn and be on the bubble every year. Common sense people. Winning heals all and would put the barn in the rear view mirror. If the Yankees who won 20+ world series in Yankee Stadium can get rid of that, than surely we can get rid of the Barn. And like I said, outside of the die-hard fan-base, it wouldn't matter too much-- especially to the recruits out of state whose services we would be vying for.

Was it not posted on this board that Mo Walker and Austin Hollins were 4 star recruits? Royce was a 5 and Rodney and Trevor were 4 star recruits for the 2009 recruiting class tho those are MN players. Joseph and Sampson were both 4 star recruits. Iverson has proven to be a solid Big Ten player. Paul Carter would've also been a huge asset this year. Not to bad.

Thinking that a new arena would help the U sign 5-star national recruit is asnine, unless we hire Coach Cal. I don't think that's possible. But I think if you went to Maturi and promised him that a new arena would guarantee is 5 star players and national championships he may actually listen. Good luck.
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SoMpls said:
JackiO said:
Really? I think you are completely off your rocker since we haven't even been able to get a 4 star recruit outside of Tharpe (who is borderline) and Joseph whose freaking brother plays for us to even take an official visit. Are you talking about the 3 unrated prospects from out of state that committed to us last year that we did a great job with? Man that is just asinine. Of every 4 star basketball player from out of state that we have offered since the first class, we haven't even got a sniff of one to play for us.

A practice facility would help, but a new arena would ultimately lift us above and beyond. Who cares what the fanbase thinks? Most are not diehard like the people on this message board are who are appalled by the idea. Would you rather get great recruits and win, or keep the barn and be on the bubble every year. Common sense people. Winning heals all and would put the barn in the rear view mirror. If the Yankees who won 20+ world series in Yankee Stadium can get rid of that, than surely we can get rid of the Barn. And like I said, outside of the die-hard fan-base, it wouldn't matter too much-- especially to the recruits out of state whose services we would be vying for.

Was it not posted on this board that Mo Walker and Austin Hollins were 4 star recruits? Royce was a 5 and Rodney and Trevor were 4 star recruits for the 2009 recruiting class tho those are MN players. Joseph and Sampson were both 4 star recruits. Iverson has proven to be a solid Big Ten player. Paul Carter would've also been a huge asset this year. Not to bad.

Thinking that a new arena would help the U sign 5-star national recruit is asnine, unless we hire Coach Cal. I don't think that's possible. But I think if you went to Maturi and promised him that a new arena would guarantee is 5 star players and national championships he may actually listen. Good luck.
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Mo walker and Hollins were NOT 4 star recruits. Also if you would have paid attention to what I wrote, I said OUT OF STATE players not players from MN since 2008.
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JackiO said:
Mo walker and Hollins were NOT 4 star recruits. Also if you would have paid attention to what I wrote, I said OUT OF STATE players not players from MN since 2008.
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You are complaining about Tubby recruiting the elite talent out of Minnesota in 2009 (1-5* and 2-4*)? The fact is we had one relatively down year in recruiting last year compared to the first two classes. Had they signed Cory Joseph, it would have been a very solid class. They missed out on him, so it was a dissapointment.

They are still in on some very nice talent in Tharpe and Hollins this year and already signed the top kid out of Minnesota. It's a little premature to be complaining about a lack of talent considering the top 7 likely to contribute in our lineup is made out of 4-4* recruits. You seem to have a very short and selective memory.
 

Friend Of Tubby said:
Anybody who dreams to compare The Barn with Pauley, Cameron Indoor, or The Phog is just plain wrong. Those 3 are some of the greatest arenas in college basketball. The Barn is 1 of the oldest.
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I'm sorry, your take is stupid. The Barn is every bit as great as Pauley, Cameron, or Allen Fieldhouse. The only difference right now is fan intensity. With winning, that'll return. Don't rip an arena you know absolutely nothing about.
 

jmag21 said:
I'm sorry, your take is stupid. The Barn is every bit as great as Pauley, Cameron, or Allen Fieldhouse. The only difference right now is fan intensity. With winning, that'll return. Don't rip an arena you know absolutely nothing about.
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I grew up cheering for teams that played in Armory-Fieldhouse (UC) and Memorial Coliseum (UK). Those teams saw some of their greatest glory in those arena. But they now play in modern arenas (Shoemaker Center for UC, Rupp Arena for UK).

It's time to modernize. Retire The Barn and build a new place, at least in time for the next coach.
 


You're entitled to your opinion about The Barn, but Rupp Arena is a dump. Bad example. All it is is a drab, dumpy looking monstrosity.
 

JackiO said:
Really? I think you are completely off your rocker since we haven't even been able to get a 4 star recruit outside of Tharpe (who is borderline) and Joseph whose freaking brother plays for us to even take an official visit. Are you talking about the 3 unrated prospects from out of state that committed to us last year that we did a great job with? Man that is just asinine. Of every 4 star basketball player from out of state that we have offered since the first class, we haven't even got a sniff of one to play for us.

A practice facility would help, but a new arena would ultimately lift us above and beyond. Who cares what the fanbase thinks? Most are not diehard like the people on this message board are who are appalled by the idea. Would you rather get great recruits and win, or keep the barn and be on the bubble every year. Common sense people. Winning heals all and would put the barn in the rear view mirror. If the Yankees who won 20+ world series in Yankee Stadium can get rid of that, than surely we can get rid of the Barn. And like I said, outside of the die-hard fan-base, it wouldn't matter too much-- especially to the recruits out of state whose services we would be vying for.

-Fan sick of mediocrity
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Regarding the last point, I agree. 21-13 averages (though pretty good by Gopher historical numbers) are mediocre. 0 postseason W in 3 years, 0 B10 titles, 0 B10T championships, 0 NBA players in 3 years are mediocre numbers.
 

Friend Of Tubby said:
My point is that The Barn has seen (4) Big 10 championship teams in 82 years of existence.

I'd expect more, wouldn't you?
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I thought your point was that we can't recruit because we have an old stadium that hasn't been renovated like the others you mentioned. But hey, this point fits your cut and paste fest better.
 


Gold Vision said:
You are complaining about Tubby recruiting the elite talent out of Minnesota in 2009 (1-5* and 2-4*)? The fact is we had one relatively down year in recruiting last year compared to the first two classes. Had they signed Cory Joseph, it would have been a very solid class. They missed out on him, so it was a dissapointment.

They are still in on some very nice talent in Tharpe and Hollins this year and already signed the top kid out of Minnesota. It's a little premature to be complaining about a lack of talent considering the top 7 likely to contribute in our lineup is made out of 4-4* recruits. You seem to have a very short and selective memory.
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Tharpe as of right now is probably out of the picture wanting to wait until spring and while having a hard on for Kansas. Hollins is a nice player, but hes not even top 120 according to rivals. Here is the fact: If MN does not have a solid class of players coming out of the state, we are in trouble from a recruiting standpoint. Yeah, we have the top player in MN committed to us right now. Yet, his only offers were from Santa Clara and Iowa State all the while rumors were flying around Iowa State was his leader up until the last week or two!!! We can't even get official visits from anything 4 star unless they have some type of connection to the team (Joseph, Tharpe). Besides his first class, our classes have been very underwhelming if you size them up with the best of the big ten. Judging by the rest of the classes the big ten is bringing in, we will never crack the top 5 in the standings at the end of the year in the foreseeable future.

Tubby knows he is at a disadvantage when it comes to recruiting from a facility standpoint alone. If you throw in our geographical disadvantage, than we really are in trouble. My points are valid, since besides the class in 2008 we haven't brought in ANY blue chip players from the rest of the country for at least 10 years. The fact of the matter is the state of Minnesota produces paltry talent compared to the rest of the country. If you can't tap into the legit talent bases, you are in trouble if you want to make it past the first round of the NCAA tournament. Tubby goes after some pretty decent players as there are multiple four or five star guys from this class and previous classes with offers from us, but we never get a hint of consideration.

Right now I would considers this years class a huge disappointment given the fact we can't land a highly rated point guard who would immediately command 20-25 minutes a game next season as a freshman. That is a HUGE disappointment. Don't even get me started on last years class. That was an absolute disaster.
 

"One of the Top 10 arenas in Div I even though it's 35 years old now."

Thanks for the chuckle.
 

Friend Of Tubby said:
One of the Top 10 arenas in Div I even thiugh it's 35 years old now.
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Rupp arena is completely unimpressive in person. The only thing impressive is that it's big and it's full. You can say that about a lot of places. It has all the charm and personality of an airport hangar. It's not even in the Top 40 and a full Barn beats it for atmosphere any day.

As for the Barn, I appreciate how much everyone loves it. It will not last forever. Even Wrigley and Fenway will eventually be replaced. However, it's not happening anytime soon either. The practice facility is first priority and likely won't happen until we get a decent AD in place.
 

"Rupp Arena is completely unimpressive in person. The only thing impressive is that it's big and it's full. You can say that about a lot of places. It has all the charm and personality of an airport hangar."

I second that. That's the same impression I had when I saw UK play EKU a few years back when Tubby was still at UK. I was surprised what a dumpy, "blah" arena it was. It has the charm and ambiance of a peanut-filled tird. Certainly not a sparkling arena that befits the tradition of UK.
 

JackiO said:
Tharpe as of right now is probably out of the picture wanting to wait until spring and while having a hard on for Kansas. Hollins is a nice player, but hes not even top 120 according to rivals. Here is the fact: If MN does not have a solid class of players coming out of the state, we are in trouble from a recruiting standpoint. Yeah, we have the top player in MN committed to us right now. Yet, his only offers were from Santa Clara and Iowa State all the while rumors were flying around Iowa State was his leader up until the last week or two!!! We can't even get official visits from anything 4 star unless they have some type of connection to the team (Joseph, Tharpe). Besides his first class, our classes have been very underwhelming if you size them up with the best of the big ten. Judging by the rest of the classes the big ten is bringing in, we will never crack the top 5 in the standings at the end of the year in the foreseeable future.

Tubby knows he is at a disadvantage when it comes to recruiting from a facility standpoint alone. If you throw in our geographical disadvantage, than we really are in trouble. My points are valid, since besides the class in 2008 we haven't brought in ANY blue chip players from the rest of the country for at least 10 years. The fact of the matter is the state of Minnesota produces paltry talent compared to the rest of the country. If you can't tap into the legit talent bases, you are in trouble if you want to make it past the first round of the NCAA tournament. Tubby goes after some pretty decent players as there are multiple four or five star guys from this class and previous classes with offers from us, but we never get a hint of consideration.

Right now I would considers this years class a huge disappointment given the fact we can't land a highly rated point guard who would immediately command 20-25 minutes a game next season as a freshman. That is a HUGE disappointment. Don't even get me started on last years class. That was an absolute disaster.
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Tharpe is far from out, and what is Tharpe's connection to the team, Brewster Academy? Playing time is a huge factor for him. Last quote he had said Minnesota is a clear leader. There is no doubt when Kansas offers that may change though.

Rivals makes a top 150 list, why did you cut it off at 120 for Hollins, because it makes your argument sound better? You've already written off this recruiting class, I think you are way off base. We have a good possibility of landing 3 top 150 players including the best in state player.

2008 and 2009 classes were ranked 3rd in the Big 10. A sustained run in the Big Ten and the NCAA tourney with that talent will give a gigantic boost to recruiting. A new stadium is not going to instantly put a fantastic class together. A practice facility will definitely help, but it is not priority #1. Winning is, and they've got the talent to do so this year.
 

Just off the top of my head, here are 10 arenas where I'd much rather watch a game than the eyesore they call Rupp. Some are old, some are new, some are in between.

Allen Fieldhouse (Kansas)
Cameron Indoor (Duke)
Comcast Center (Maryland)
Gallagher-Iba Arena (Oklahoma State)
Hec Edmundson Pavilion (Washington)
Hinkle Fieldhouse (Butler)
Madison Square Garden (St. John's)
Memorial Gymnasium (Vanderbilt)
Palestra (Penn/Philly schools)
Petersen Events Center (Pitt)
Pit (New Mexico)
Pit (Oregon) -- finishing up this season
Williams Arena (Minnesota)

"Newer" (see drab Kohl Center) doesn't necessarily mean better, but even so I'd still rather watch a game at the Kohl Center than Rupp.
 

JackiO said:
Tharpe as of right now is probably out of the picture wanting to wait until spring and while having a hard on for Kansas. Hollins is a nice player, but hes not even top 120 according to rivals. Here is the fact: If MN does not have a solid class of players coming out of the state, we are in trouble from a recruiting standpoint. Yeah, we have the top player in MN committed to us right now. Yet, his only offers were from Santa Clara and Iowa State all the while rumors were flying around Iowa State was his leader up until the last week or two!!! We can't even get official visits from anything 4 star unless they have some type of connection to the team (Joseph, Tharpe). Besides his first class, our classes have been very underwhelming if you size them up with the best of the big ten. Judging by the rest of the classes the big ten is bringing in, we will never crack the top 5 in the standings at the end of the year in the foreseeable future.

Tubby knows he is at a disadvantage when it comes to recruiting from a facility standpoint alone. If you throw in our geographical disadvantage, than we really are in trouble. My points are valid, since besides the class in 2008 we haven't brought in ANY blue chip players from the rest of the country for at least 10 years. The fact of the matter is the state of Minnesota produces paltry talent compared to the rest of the country. If you can't tap into the legit talent bases, you are in trouble if you want to make it past the first round of the NCAA tournament. Tubby goes after some pretty decent players as there are multiple four or five star guys from this class and previous classes with offers from us, but we never get a hint of consideration.

Right now I would considers this years class a huge disappointment given the fact we can't land a highly rated point guard who would immediately command 20-25 minutes a game next season as a freshman. That is a HUGE disappointment. Don't even get me started on last years class. That was an absolute disaster.
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Well, there you have it. Utter disaster is upon the basketball program. Anything else? :rolleyes:
 

SelectionSunday said:
Just off the top of my head, here are 10 arenas where I'd much rather watch a game than the eyesore they call Rupp. Some are old, some are new, some are in between.

Allen Fieldhouse (Kansas)
Cameron Indoor (Duke)
Comcast Center (Maryland)
Gallagher-Iba Arena (Oklahoma State)
Hec Edmundson Pavilion (Washington)
Hinkle Fieldhouse (Butler)
Madison Square Garden (St. John's)
Memorial Gymnasium (Vanderbilt)
Palestra (Penn/Philly schools)
Petersen Events Center (Pitt)
Pit (New Mexico)
Pit (Oregon) -- finishing up this season
Williams Arena (Minnesota)

"Newer" (see drab Kohl Center) doesn't necessarily mean better, but even so I'd still rather watch a game at the Kohl Center than Rupp.
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Rupp Arena is always named among the Top 10 college arenas by knowledgeable experts like Bilas, Vitale, et al.

Not everyone has to agree but those kind of folks know their stuff pretty well.
 

howeda7 said:
Rupp arena is completely unimpressive in person. The only thing impressive is that it's big and it's full. You can say that about a lot of places. It has all the charm and personality of an airport hangar. It's not even in the Top 40 and a full Barn beats it for atmosphere any day.

As for the Barn, I appreciate how much everyone loves it. It will not last forever. Even Wrigley and Fenway will eventually be replaced. However, it's not happening anytime soon either. The practice facility is first priority and likely won't happen until we get a decent AD in place.
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I do not agree about Rupp Arena. A full house there is unlike any other in college basketball.

I don't see a new arena or a practice facility until after 2014 at the earliest. Economic conditions won't allow either.
 

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