Practice Facility

[AnnapSpider]

Old Dominion graduate Kent Bazemore, a third-year player for the Atlanta Hawks, has made the largest gift ever by a former Monarch athlete to a capital project, donating an undisclosed amount to the basketball program's new practice facility, the school announced today.

I wonder how our facility in Milhauser is going?

 

[SpiderFan]

We need one, everyone tries to justify that we can just practice on the actual court. But at some point we need to keep up with the rest of the country in men's and women's basketball with a specific practice facility. Facilities definitely make a difference in recruiting not only the athletes but coaches as well.

 

[Eight Legger]

Old Dominion graduate Kent Bazemore, a third-year player for the Atlanta Hawks, has made the largest gift ever by a former Monarch athlete to a capital project, donating an undisclosed amount to the basketball program's new practice facility, the school announced today.

I wonder how our facility in Milhauser is going?

So how much did he give, $500? He's only on a 2-year/$4M deal, so I doubt he gave more than $50k or so. Not exactly enough to build a $20M facility.

I continue to feel pretty 'meh' about a practice facility. The fact is, we CAN practice on the actual court, and we do. The Robins Center is a pretty damn nice practice facility. Maybe we could stand to have some additional training rooms/film rooms and some other amenities somewhere, I don't know, but I don't think the lack of a practice facility is holding us back with recruits.

 

[spiderman]

I feel the same way. If you have trouble with court time, I can see a separate practice facility. or if your main court doesn't have the amenities like a top notch weight room, trainers room, etc. but I think we have everything. does the main gym just sit empty while team are in their practice facility? that makes no sense.

 

[AnnapSpider]

This board was alive with enthusiasm when it was announced that we were going to turn
Milhauser into a first rate practice facility. Old Dominion has a nice arena, why are they building
a practice faculty? Maybe you guys should point out the errors of their way.

 

[Ulla1]

This board was alive with enthusiasm when it was announced that we were going to turn
Milhauser into a first rate practice facility. Old Dominion has a nice arena, why are they building
a practice faculty? Maybe you guys should point out the errors of their way.

Arenas at places like odu, vcu and others are used for many events outside of basketball (see link). The Robins Center is a basketball facility that is only occassionally used for other events, e.g. graduation and Presidential debates. IMHO, our basketball program has an ideal situation save for being in the A10.
http://www.richmond.com/news/local/traffic/article_792e5274-049c-11e5-b0bd-1bb216d2012a.html

 

[SFspidur]

Currently, ODU frequently practices in a gym at the Jim Jarrett building due to scheduling conflicts at the Constant Center.

http://www.odusports.com/PhotoAlbum.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31100&PALBID=935822

 

[fan2011]

Why would you not want to practice on the actual court you play games on? The only reason every team doesn't do this is because their weight room, offices, and other amenities are not in their stadium, and they have trouble getting time to practice on their own court due to it being used for other functions. Since none of these things are a problem for our team it would make absolutely no sense to build a practice facility. Even if we built the best practice facility in the country our home court would probably still be the better practice option.

 

[SpiderK]

I agree with Fan 2011, That's what "Home Court" is all about!!

 

[keefusb]

If I was a player or a coach, I would always want to practice on the same court/baskets/rims that I would be using for home games. Don't see why a new practice facility would be a priority at this time, would rather invest the money in some other area(s) of the program.

 

[SpiderTrap]

Its not about needing a practice facility, but simply keeping up with the rest of our competition that we recruit against.

Do we need private jets to fly the students back and forth to games? Probably not, but we do it anyways. I am sure they could make out just fine flying commercial. Do you need fancy and luxurious locker rooms as some big time programs boast? I doubt it. Remember - Locker Rooms on where kids get changed after practice, keep their shoes and practice gear, and might hang out from time to time - why does that have to be a million dollar investment?

Its all about having the latest and greatest and nicest things when it comes to recruiting. Sure - some kids might not care about the practice facility, or how nice the locker room is, or how you fly to and from games? But when the school your recruiting against can flash all those things to a 17 year old kid - it might just sway them. Because remember - these are still High School kids you are trying to convince to come to your school. And news flash - academics is not at the top of the list.

 

[spiderman]

just when I thought we adecuately explained why we don't need one ...

you don't build a 2nd nice gym so the 1st nice gym sits empty! if gym #1 gets used a lot so you have to practice in a crappy old Milheiser or something, then yes you need an upgraded practice facility. we don't.

 

[SpiderK]

So we need a $25 Mil facility to practice to play in the $100 Mil facility. Hmmmm? Oh well it's only money!!

 

[fan2011]

Its not about needing a practice facility, but simply keeping up with the rest of our competition that we recruit against.

Do we need private jets to fly the students back and forth to games? Probably not, but we do it anyways. I am sure they could make out just fine flying commercial. Do you need fancy and luxurious locker rooms as some big time programs boast? I doubt it. Remember - Locker Rooms on where kids get changed after practice, keep their shoes and practice gear, and might hang out from time to time - why does that have to be a million dollar investment?

Its all about having the latest and greatest and nicest things when it comes to recruiting. Sure - some kids might not care about the practice facility, or how nice the locker room is, or how you fly to and from games? But when the school your recruiting against can flash all those things to a 17 year old kid - it might just sway them. Because remember - these are still High School kids you are trying to convince to come to your school. And news flash - academics is not at the top of the list.

The difference between your private jet analogy and the practice facility situation is that a private jet will almost always be a preferable option to flying commercially. That is not the case for us building a practice facility, practicing on our home court would still be the preferable option even if we had a state-of-the-art practice facility.

There is no reason for us to spend money on something that would be a downgrade or a sidegrade compared to our current situation.

 

[SpiderK]

Fan, that's what I said, just using less words.

 

[SpiderTrap]

So your saying every school out there with a practice facility NEEDS a practice facility? Your telling me they can't find ways to book their gym/arena accordingly to allow for ample practice time? Hard to believe. Just like the private jet - the practice facility is just a preference. It gives kids 24/7 access to a gym to play and practice in at all times.

And I agree - we don't NEED a practice facility. We can probably practice in the Robins Center almost 90% of the time that coaches/players want to. But this is not about NEEDing a practice facility. It simply about having the nicest facilities to attract the best players. And when your trying to convince a 17 year old kid to come to your school - its not about the academics, business school, or school rankings. Its about - your coach, your conference, your NCAA appearances, and your "stuff" - like arena, weight room, locker rooms, practice facilities, private jets, gear, etc.

Look at some of the successful schools that maybe we recruit against or at least play against in our conference.

Xavier - they got a practice facility within the Cintas Center.
VCU - building a practice facility as we speak.
Davidson - semi-practice facility. Their gym has three full courts within itself. Bleachers retract and two more courts are exposed.
Dayton - no practice facility. But in the process of 3 year renovation of arena.
St. Louis - practice facility attached to arena.

 

[fan2011]

So your saying every school out there with a practice facility NEEDS a practice facility? Your telling me they can't find ways to book their gym/arena accordingly to allow for ample practice time? Hard to believe. Just like the private jet - the practice facility is just a preference. It gives kids 24/7 access to a gym to play and practice in at all times.

And I agree - we don't NEED a practice facility. We can probably practice in the Robins Center almost 90% of the time that coaches/players want to. But this is not about NEEDing a practice facility. It simply about having the nicest facilities to attract the best players. And when your trying to convince a 17 year old kid to come to your school - its not about the academics, business school, or school rankings. Its about - your coach, your conference, your NCAA appearances, and your "stuff" - like arena, weight room, locker rooms, practice facilities, private jets, gear, etc.

Look at some of the successful schools that maybe we recruit against or at least play against in our conference.

Xavier - they got a practice facility within the Cintas Center.
VCU - building a practice facility as we speak.
Davidson - semi-practice facility. Their gym has three full courts within itself. Bleachers retract and two more courts are exposed.
Dayton - no practice facility. But in the process of 3 year renovation of arena.
St. Louis - practice facility attached to arena.

According to your post two of the five schools you listed don't have practice facilities...

VCU is building their practice facility because:

"Currently, the VCU men’s basketball team practices in the Franklin Street Gymnasium. The 30+ year old building lacks air conditioning and hosts multiple other uses, including academic and other team practice facilities. The Franklin Street Gymnasium is located five blocks from the coaches’ offices in the Siegel Center and is slated to be replaced in the future by an academic building." - Statement-of-Needs RFP 5157697JH

The other teams you listed have practice facilities attached to their arenas, which is essentially what we have (weight rooms, locker rooms, lounges, coach's offices etc. are all inside or attached to the Robins Center) However we also have use of our court essentially 100% of the time so their is no need to build another court, or an entire other facility.

 

[SpiderFan]

So your saying every school out there with a practice facility NEEDS a practice facility? Your telling me they can't find ways to book their gym/arena accordingly to allow for ample practice time? Hard to believe. Just like the private jet - the practice facility is just a preference. It gives kids 24/7 access to a gym to play and practice in at all times.

And I agree - we don't NEED a practice facility. We can probably practice in the Robins Center almost 90% of the time that coaches/players want to. But this is not about NEEDing a practice facility. It simply about having the nicest facilities to attract the best players. And when your trying to convince a 17 year old kid to come to your school - its not about the academics, business school, or school rankings. Its about - your coach, your conference, your NCAA appearances, and your "stuff" - like arena, weight room, locker rooms, practice facilities, private jets, gear, etc.

Look at some of the successful schools that maybe we recruit against or at least play against in our conference.

Xavier - they got a practice facility within the Cintas Center.
VCU - building a practice facility as we speak.
Davidson - semi-practice facility. Their gym has three full courts within itself. Bleachers retract and two more courts are exposed.
Dayton - no practice facility. But in the process of 3 year renovation of arena.
St. Louis - practice facility attached to arena.

AMEN BROTHER--most on here don't seem to understand that. You a good reason why Oregon gets a ton of kids at the highest to visit and many times commit. A lot of it has to do with their facilities. They spare no expense--I'm not saying we need to do that at our level, but keeping up with everyone else or what will be the norm needs to be done. Those who think not are kidding themselves.

 

[fan2011]

AMEN BROTHER--most on here don't seem to understand that. You a good reason why Oregon gets a ton of kids at the highest to visit and many times commit. A lot of it has to do with their facilities. They spare no expense--I'm not saying we need to do that at our level, but keeping up with everyone else or what will be the norm needs to be done. Those who think not are kidding themselves.

You are kidding yourself if you don't think our facilities are on par or superior to our peers'. Just because we don't have our weight rooms, lounges, offices etc. in a separate building from our arena doesn't mean we don't have them. All these things were upgraded to be state-of-the-art in the past couple years. Our facilities are an asset in recruiting, not a liability. We don't need to build a practice facility because our ARENA is available to our basketball team first and foremost, which is not the case at many other institutions. This puts us at an advantage, not a disadvantage, in terms of facilities.

 

[Ulla1]

According to The Princeton Review, our athletic facilities rank #11 in the nation.
http://www.princetonreview.com/schools/1022700/college/university-richmond

 

[Eight Legger]

Hey I'd love for us to build a $50-million practice facility with 13 individual courts for every scholarship player, a row of hot tubs, a complete weight room, a game room, a few lounges, etc. But there are a lot of things I want and won't get. I don't think we "need" a practice facility like that to compete at the highest level. I get that lots of programs are building them, and that's fine, it's their prerogative. I did find it interesting that the A-10 school shown above without one – Dayton – has had the most success on the court recently.

 

[97spiderfan]

This is strange to me, but we're talking about practice man, we're not even talking about the game... the actual game, when it matters... We're talking about practice.

 

[AnnapSpider]

I'm going to do something that is very rare on this site- and admit that I have had my mind changed.
We can do without the upgrade to Milhauser.

But now, how about that football; baseball; lacrosse practice facility?

 

[SpiderK]

How do you think they would pay for a $25 Million practice facility? Think the student's (parent's) cost will rise or maybe the faculty and administration will take a pay cut??

 

[AnnapSpider]

It would have to be totally separate fund raiser. Where did the money come from to upgrade Robins Center,
or build the football stadium. Same sort of thing.-
Maybe they have some seed money they were going to use on the upgrade of Milhauser.

 

[I-M-UR]

So your saying every school out there with a practice facility NEEDS a practice facility? Your telling me they can't find ways to book their gym/arena accordingly to allow for ample practice time? Hard to believe. Just like the private jet - the practice facility is just a preference. It gives kids 24/7 access to a gym to play and practice in at all times.

And I agree - we don't NEED a practice facility. We can probably practice in the Robins Center almost 90% of the time that coaches/players want to. But this is not about NEEDing a practice facility. It simply about having the nicest facilities to attract the best players. And when your trying to convince a 17 year old kid to come to your school - its not about the academics, business school, or school rankings. Its about - your coach, your conference, your NCAA appearances, and your "stuff" - like arena, weight room, locker rooms, practice facilities, private jets, gear, etc.

Look at some of the successful schools that maybe we recruit against or at least play against in our conference.

Xavier - they got a practice facility within the Cintas Center.
VCU - building a practice facility as we speak.
Davidson - semi-practice facility. Their gym has three full courts within itself. Bleachers retract and two more courts are exposed.
Dayton - no practice facility. But in the process of 3 year renovation of arena.
St. Louis - practice facility attached to arena.

If i was a player i'd want to practice in the main arena, the depth perception when shooting, floor feel for dribbling, cuts, etc. is a big advantage if you see it everyday.

 

[MolivaManiac]

I'm going to do something that is very rare on this site- and admit that I have had my mind changed.
We can do without the upgrade to Milhauser.

But now, how about that football; baseball; lacrosse practice facility?

I agree. As I see it, the priorities for future athletics capital improvements should be:

1- Further improve Pitt Field. Stands, dugouts, etc.
2- Multi-Sport practice facility - Football is already falling behind other CAA schools in this area.
3- Robins Center "Phase 2" new entrance, concession, ambulatory areas, etc.
4- Hoops practice facility.

#1 and #2 are very important to our continued success in the affected sports.

 

[SpiderTrap]

No one NEEDS a practice facility - end of discussion.

VCU gave a reason - but guess, have they not done just fine without one? They have made the final four and 5 out of last 6 NCAA tournaments, including the last 4 - so I think they are doing just fine without one.

It simply an arms race to keep up with the competition IF you want to compete at the highest level. Plain and simple.

Does UR need one? Of course not. Do we have other projects - such as Pitt Field, maybe better football practice facilities, etc - you bet we do.

But truth of the matter is half the "stuff" in college athletics is not really NEEDED, it simply done to outdo the competition. If they build a 20 million dollar practice facility - you better build a $21 million dollar practice facility. Remember - we are adults having this discussion, but your doing all of this to sway the mind of high level 15, 16, or 17 year old to commit to your school. They are not worried about how high your business school was ranked, or the pretty lake in the middle of campus. They are more concerned with the coach, the team, and the "stuff". That is how a teenagers mind works.

 

[spiderman]

Trap, somehow you're still missing the point. the schools building a practice facility NEED A PRACTICE FACILITY.
if we put a $20 mil practice facility on campus and told recruits we practice there, they'd wonder why the hell can't we practice in the $100 mil RC?
the RC is better than any practice facility! it's where they want to be. not in some 2nd rate practice facility that some school have to use because they can't get gym time in their own arena.

an indoor practice facility for other sports, that I see the benefit of. not sure it would justify the cost, but I can understand wanting one.

 

[Rivercup]

Maybe no one has thought about this but Milhauser's basketball court is smaller than regulation. How is this as a practice facility going to help the team?

 

[Ulla1]

No one NEEDS a practice facility - end of discussion.

VCU gave a reason - but guess, have they not done just fine without one? They have made the final four and 5 out of last 6 NCAA tournaments, including the last 4 - so I think they are doing just fine without one.

It simply an arms race to keep up with the competition IF you want to compete at the highest level. Plain and simple.

Does UR need one? Of course not. Do we have other projects - such as Pitt Field, maybe better football practice facilities, etc - you bet we do.

But truth of the matter is half the "stuff" in college athletics is not really NEEDED, it simply done to outdo the competition. If they build a 20 million dollar practice facility - you better build a $21 million dollar practice facility. Remember - we are adults having this discussion, but your doing all of this to sway the mind of high level 15, 16, or 17 year old to commit to your school. They are not worried about how high your business school was ranked, or the pretty lake in the middle of campus. They are more concerned with the coach, the team, and the "stuff". That is how a teenagers mind works.

Open your eyes Trap, the guys that UR recruits often point out how important the academics were in their decision to attend UR. They also point out the beauty of the campus as having influenced their selection of UR over other schools. It is true that some recruits view things differently, but these are not the ones that UR is after nor are they the ones who would consider UR anyway.

 

[Eight Legger]

I hear what Trap is saying and don't disagree with the premise. Why do you think we built the brand new rec center a few years back? Why did we add the ropes course on the IM field? Those were done to compete for students, because other universities were building similar things and students started to expect them or use them as key parts of the decision-making process.

That said, in this case, I think if a prospective basketball recruit says to us "Hey, all the other schools I am considering have a $20M practice facility and you don't – why not?" our answer would be a pretty good one: "Because we can practice in one of the best arenas in the nation almost whenever we want to."

 

[SFspidur]

I imagine the recruits don't even have to ask. I'll bet we mention open access to the arena right upfront as part of the selling points.

 

[spiderman]

I get that we're competing for student athletes, but in our case we wouldn't be giving them anything with a practice facility. it's like giving your kid a BMW (to continue the steroetype!) that he can use anytime, but then sweetening the deal with a KIA on the side for when he'd just rather drive a KIA.

 

[ur2K]

That said, in this case, I think if a prospective basketball recruit says to us "Hey, all the other schools I am considering have a $20M practice facility and you don't – why not?" our answer would be a pretty good one: "Because we can practice in one of the best arenas in the nation almost whenever we want to."

And that arena and court is about 8 feet from your locker room

 

[AnnapSpider]

Since I started this thread I had my mind changed, and agree we don't need a basketball practice facility.
But, If I went back to when they announced they were going to make Milhauser an practice facility I wonder how
many of you were offering the arguments that you are posting now?
Spiderman- work on your analogies. A Kia-really??

 

[SpiderTrap]

Open your eyes Trap, the guys that UR recruits often point out how important the academics were in their decision to attend UR. They also point out the beauty of the campus as having influenced their selection of UR over other schools. It is true that some recruits view things differently, but these are not the ones that UR is after nor are they the ones who would consider UR anyway.

Agreed Ulla - the kids we recruit always say the right things and say academics was a key reason they picked UR. But as we have discussed in other posts, some argue our recruiting is not where it should be and we might to look to get some of these "other" kids who might not put academics at the top of the list. Again - I don't disagree, we don't need a practice facility. But then again - I don't think anyone needs a practice facility. Your just trying to keep up with your competition.

Some would argue we didn't need the updates to the Robins Center. The court was fine, the arena is huge and from all point of views - it was usable and average facility. So why invest all the money for the video boards, sound system, upper level boxes/decks, etc??? To keep up with every other school who is updating or getting new arenas. Its not like the old Robins Center was falling apart. And it was probably still better than 4-5 arenas in the A10 - so why the upgrade? To keep up with everyone else.

 

[spiderman]

why the upgrade of the RC? to make it better.
does a practice facility improve anything? why would an athlete prefer practicing in a practice facility over the RC?
this argument is mind boggling, unless you tell me a practice facilty has something that the RC doesn't.

 

[SpiderK]

I am betting an honest poll of senior high school boys' reasons for attending a certain college would list attractive girls as number 1,2 & 3. SEC may have the A-10 whipped in that category. I am thinking practice facility is somewhere below food and parties!!

 

[urfan1]

SK, LOL, I was thinking the same thing. Why do so many schools have co-ed greeting committees? I bet they hand pick the young ladies to be on the committee also. Maybe we should push the higher percent of young ladies on the campus, as well as the other ladies at schools close by.

If we improve Millhiser it should be for a multi sport indoor facility. eg baseball, football, lacrosse, golf, and any other sport that needed it. I would move the football offices and training to the lower level (only after a major upgrade), give them a showcase location close to the stadium. The current main floor would be open and designed for most any program to use it when they needed an indoor facility. It would take major sound proofing to prevent a noise overload downstairs.