Hog Calls : Hogs join in on latest hoops rage
Posted on Monday, July 21, 2008
Demanding a practice floor in addition to the home court has become all the rage with bigtime men's college basketball coaches.
Such a rage that raging about them spending unnecessarily during hard economic times and soaring energy costs likely will fall on deaf ears.
Probably the coach not pleading for a practice facility isn't doing his job, lest he be perceived as indifferent to competition one-upping his program.
So don't ridicule John Pelphrey as a lead singer in the "Gotta Have A Practice Court "blues. Just lump the Arkansas coach as part of a chorus deserving a nationwide "No !"
And don't designate Arkansas' Jeff Long as a potential knee-jerk spendthrift. Presume he's weighing his coach's needs, which athletic directors are supposed to do Just too bad there couldn't be massive AD collusion for all to say," No," to basketball coaches craving a practice facility in addition to where they play games on campus.
Basketball is an indoor sport after all without the case for a foul-weather practice alternative like football during a snowy December on-campus bowl practice.
Pelphrey was asked during Wednesday's SEC Basketball Coaches teleconference if he had asked Long about the UA adding a basketball practice facility.
Both the Razorbacks' men's and women's basketball teams practice in Walton Arena - "the show place of Mid-America"according to the public address announcement prefacing the games there.
Seems the "show place of Mid-America"would suffice for practice.
Pelphrey said of course it does even while noting he and Long "have had conversations"about having a practice facility.
"We certainly are," Pelphrey said," very, very blessed at the University of Arkansas to have great facilities. Certainly during the season there is not a whole lot of scheduling conflicts with Bud Walton because both (men's and women's ) basketball programs basically have complete access to it."
And yet …
"I do think," Pelphrey said "a practice facility will add a lot to the mix for the basketball program. I think there's a great need for one especially in the offseason. There are other things going on after both our seasons are over with where we continue to train."
Yeah, there is graduation for a week in May and the early-summer week the Wal-Martians envelope the arena named for Bud Walton and High School All-Star week.
However with the HPER Building courts and public playgrounds and area high school gyms, it would seem those summering Hogs could get by for a week here and a week there of pickup games around town without the costs of constructing another on-campus edifice.
Ah, but here comes the real reason. Everybody's doing it. And if you're not doing it, you aren't keeping up.
"It's something that is prevalent now across the board," Pelphrey said. "I would be surprised if there are too many schools in the SEC that don't have one under construction or with plans to have one."
Keeping up with the Joneses always has been a college athletics trademark prompting big boosters to cough up from their coffers.
But today's economic times might start curing those coughs quicker than Robitusson.
As keeping up with the Joneses go, though, from here it's better to spend money on superflous practice facilities than this practically cradle-robbing recruiting that has some college basketball coaches evaluating sixth graders and offering scholarships to some still in junior high.
The National Association of Basketball Coaches has urged college coaches to wait until after a high school player's sophomore year before offering a scholarship.
That was discussed on Wednesday's teleconference.
Generally, the SEC coaches seemed for it as long as they could be convinced rival coaches wouldn't start wooing recruits still in junior high or below.
"The recruiting process starts way too early," said Trent Johnson, the new LSU coach and former Stanford coach. "It used to be kids were completing their junior year when we were gauging their interest level in schools."
Some coaches responded to the pros and cons if they actually could project a ninth grader as ready to be a Division I signee in the next four years. However, none cut to the chase more eloquently than Alabama's Mark Gottfried. "I understand the dilemma we face as a coach," Gottfried said," but looking at the big picture, it's healthy to wait both academically and as a player. I think it's the right thing to do."
• • • Nate Allen's Razorback column appears Mondays in The Daily Record. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
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