VoyForums

[ VoyUser Login optional ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, [4] ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 05:44:34 01/09/09 Fri
Author: LU 65 (While not the best....certainly not a fraud)
Subject: Re: MBB- Are we a fraud?
In reply to: LU MAN 's message, "MBB- Are we a fraud?" on 08:37:29 01/08/09 Thu

LU never met a team they couldn't beat this year in OOC play and ended up beating a couple of opponents few gave us a chance to win, e.g., Rutgers and Albany. This, while others - most notably BU and AU - tangled frequently with the giants of college basketball, e.g., Maryland, Wake Forest, Georgetown, and Oklahoma. That said, even the most casual fan has to be impressed with LU's comparative league stats entering PL play (see below). Couple these numbers with what I like to think is the habit of winning a 10-4 team brings to the table, and I think the Mountain Hawks have a real chance to make some noise in the PL this year. Will we win it all? Perhaps not, but a good showing can be expected.

LU is.....

2nd in Scoring Offense @ 69.1 ppg
3rd in Scoring Defense @ 63.3 ppg
1st in Scoring Margin @ +5.8 ppg
1st in FG Defense @ .381
2nd in 3FG Defense @ .305
1st in 3FG Offense @ .359
2nd in Rebounding Margin @ +5.7 rpg
1st in A/TO Ratio @ .99

Here's another stat that must be mentioned: 1,065

That's our average home attendance figure for the '08-'09 program. It ranks 6th in the PL. You'd think at least 2,000 people (aided by 400 + students) in the Lehigh Valley would show up on any given night to enjoy DI college basketball - not to mention, as is the case this year, winning basketball! Let's hope that regardless of how we do tomorrow down in D.C. against the PL's top rated (RPI) team, AU, that a good crowd in on hand for our home opener against Navy on Wednesday.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

[> Re: MBB- Are we a fraud? -- EngineHawk, 08:45:06 01/10/09 Sat

The average basketball game crowd is about 1/2 that of the wrestling crowds and that is traditional. Lehigh has never been a basketball school but has always been a wrestling powerhouse with a strong alumni and local following.

People like coming out to see high school state champions in the Brown and White singlets taking on the likes of Big Ten opponents like Michigan and Penn State toe to toe.

I don't see too many All State basketball players on the floor of Stabler for either the men or women and the Patriot League isn't exactly a hotbed of basketball. Basketball would be more exciting if played in Grace Hall.

[ Edit | View ]
[> [> Re: MBB- Are we a fraud? -- Realist, 23:41:37 01/10/09 Sat

There are actually a few all-state performers on both the men's and women's teams.

Secondly, if Stabler Arena was where Grace Hall is located, I guarantee you men's basketball would draw more student fans then wrestling. Shoot, soccer might as well. Wrestling does have a niche in the local market here, but everyone knows basketball is a much bigger draw on every campus in the country and would be at Lehigh with a better set up as well.

[ Edit | View ]
[> [> [> Re: MBB- Are we a fraud? -- Ted, 06:35:54 01/11/09 Sun

Realist makes a great point. Lehigh wrestling is very exciting and the fans are as loyal as any, but look at the numbers. Even the wrestling match in Stabler didn't draw 3,000 people. Basketball vs. Lafayette and maybe even Bucknell will reach near or surpass that number.

Basketball would definitely out-draw wrestling if played on-campus. But it's not, and that's not changing. The challenge for the marketing people is to figure out how to get more students over the mountain for more than just one or two games.

For the community at large, getting to Stabler is easier than Grace.

[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> [> Re: MBB- Are we a fraud? -- ngineer, 19:08:06 01/11/09 Sun

If the product is entertaining enough the people will show up. They did in the 1980's when Queenan and Polaha were leading the program out of the Dark Ages. Same venue.
When Lehigh played basketball at Grace Hall, the biggest crowd was for Lafayette, and even then Grace wasn't near filled. Maybe,now, with women on campus that demographic changes things, but there will be no changing venues. The student body isn't into rah-rah as much as in the past it seems. The Administration has instituted harrassing policies toward the students aimed at curbing drinking so students don't show up at University events and are either studying, playing on all their X-Boxes and what-not, or binge drinking off campus.

[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> [> [> Queenan/Polaha Attendance -- bison137, 05:24:02 01/12/09 Mon

>>>If the product is entertaining enough the people will show up. They did in the 1980's when Queenan and Polaha were leading the program out of the Dark Ages. Same venue.
<<<



As I've pointed out before, Lehigh did not draw well during most of the Queenan/Polaha years - as talented as those two players were.

For the five year when one or both were on Lehigh, the published average attendance was 1285. The average attendance for the three years when both played together was 1592. Their final season - when LU won 21 games and went to the NCAA - attendance "skyrocketed" to just over 2300. If anything, I'd imagine some of the attendance figures were overstated.

[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Queenan/Polaha Attendance -- Neighbor, 10:45:48 01/12/09 Mon

Maybe there's another approach.

Because, right now, LU students don't make much effort to attend games at Stabler, perhaps Lehigh should make a greater effort to attract fans on the "other side of the mountain."

Youth league games at half-time featuring only Saucon Valley teams, special discount coupons in local establishments, etc.

Of course, even more important to the Lehigh basketball marketing effort (if there IS one) is to push for the return of mens/womens doubleheaders, continuously running student shuttle buses, and an inexpensive re-design to the arena that would remove the current crib-like atmosphere and bring fans right down to the floor, at least on three sides.

[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Queenan/Polaha Attendance -- Rehm, 13:08:23 01/12/09 Mon

Its tough to get kids from youth leagues there on a Saturday - that's when they play most of their games. I don't think its a matter on money, residents of the Saucon Valley SD are well off.

I don't think there is much they can do about the side stands. They pulled them back 3 rows to make room for the media tables and the scorers table. Thats the least of the problems. If you have 5,000 students and only 80 show up, thats where your problem is.

[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Queenan/Polaha Attendance -- neer85, 13:21:34 01/12/09 Mon

this team is a complete fraud. the ooc schedule was an absolute joke. our saving grace will be that the league is down this year and its truly "up for grabs". we're one of the best three teams in a very down league.

[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Queenan/Polaha Attendance -- LU MAN, 07:01:49 01/15/09 Thu

0-2 league start
Maybe a more challenging non-league schedule could have helped prepare us for league play. You know, actually playing competitive games and working on executing down the stretch, which you don't get when you're always playing NJIT and Longwood. Instead, we are now in league play, trying to run late-game plays with six guys on the court.

[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Six men on the court -- bison137, 10:11:04 01/15/09 Thu

Could someone who was watching the game explain the 6-man technical at the end. Did six men go onto the court following the timeout or was there a botched-up late sub or what?

[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Good Point LU man -- Rehm, 07:38:22 01/15/09 Thu

I think the soft pre-league schedule may be catching up to us. Its hard to work on closing out a game when you are up by 10-12 points against an inferior opponet.

[ Edit | View ]

[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-8
VF Version: 2.94, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2012 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.