Day 2 Morning Thoughts
> Live on-location in Richmond, VA at the CAA Tournament
Good morning everyone! I hope you’re as ready for day 2 of the CAA Tournament as I am! I’ve been here (at the Richmond Coliseum) since about 10:45; I love getting to the arena early when it’s essentially empty. I actually beat the VCU Rams out onto the floor for their shoot around. I’ve always enjoyed watching everyone else filter in a get set for the game, even during my broadcasts for the student radio at Maryland, its fun to see the Comcast Center near empty.
Anyway, I’m all set for another 12 hour day of basketball and blogging, so without further ado here are some random notes and observations from my day so far.
- On the bus ride over here from my hotel I was sitting in front of a couple of old time CAA fans and got to listen to them chat basketball. One gentleman was a graduate of VCU and was in his mid-fifties while the other was an alumnus of William & Mary and in his early sixties. As I quietly listened in they talked about old time CAA hoops for a while before turning to local high school basketball. Both agreed that too many coaches today didn’t teach enough shooting and relied only on defense in order to win games. I found that interesting since in recent years teams at the college level like VMI have gotten recognition for their relentless offensive style. Either way though, both felt that prep hoops needed to return to the run-and-gun style of their days on the hardwood. So with the current maxim that defense wins championships I pose a question for you to all just think about: does defense win championships, or does offense? Feel free to email me your thoughts at jwhelan1@umd.edu
- Even though yesterday was an exciting day of basketball, you can just tell being in the arena today that it’s a whole different ball game now that we’ve reached the quarterfinals. For one, the top four seeds are now ready to get rolling, so we get our first real look at the CAA’s big dogs.
- The fans are ready to go, there is no doubt about that. VCU and Towson have the noon game today and there were Rams faithful lined up around the block by the time I got here this morning. Their student section is already packed and making noise. One rather gutsy member of the Towson basketball team turned to the VCU cheering section and asked “Are you ready to see us beat them?” as he motioned to the Rams warming up at the other end. The fans of course let him hear it.
- Lastly, the Towson pep band just started a “T-U” chant to hype up the Tigers as they ran onto the floor. Of course two middle aged VCU fans situated behind me started chanting “P-U” while holding their noses in response to this.
That’s all for now, check back in a little bit for my preview for today’s first game, Towson vs. VCU!
Good morning everyone! I hope you’re as ready for day 2 of the CAA Tournament as I am! I’ve been here (at the Richmond Coliseum) since about 10:45; I love getting to the arena early when it’s essentially empty. I actually beat the VCU Rams out onto the floor for their shoot around. I’ve always enjoyed watching everyone else filter in a get set for the game, even during my broadcasts for the student radio at Maryland, its fun to see the Comcast Center near empty.
Anyway, I’m all set for another 12 hour day of basketball and blogging, so without further ado here are some random notes and observations from my day so far.
- On the bus ride over here from my hotel I was sitting in front of a couple of old time CAA fans and got to listen to them chat basketball. One gentleman was a graduate of VCU and was in his mid-fifties while the other was an alumnus of William & Mary and in his early sixties. As I quietly listened in they talked about old time CAA hoops for a while before turning to local high school basketball. Both agreed that too many coaches today didn’t teach enough shooting and relied only on defense in order to win games. I found that interesting since in recent years teams at the college level like VMI have gotten recognition for their relentless offensive style. Either way though, both felt that prep hoops needed to return to the run-and-gun style of their days on the hardwood. So with the current maxim that defense wins championships I pose a question for you to all just think about: does defense win championships, or does offense? Feel free to email me your thoughts at jwhelan1@umd.edu
- Even though yesterday was an exciting day of basketball, you can just tell being in the arena today that it’s a whole different ball game now that we’ve reached the quarterfinals. For one, the top four seeds are now ready to get rolling, so we get our first real look at the CAA’s big dogs.
- The fans are ready to go, there is no doubt about that. VCU and Towson have the noon game today and there were Rams faithful lined up around the block by the time I got here this morning. Their student section is already packed and making noise. One rather gutsy member of the Towson basketball team turned to the VCU cheering section and asked “Are you ready to see us beat them?” as he motioned to the Rams warming up at the other end. The fans of course let him hear it.
- Lastly, the Towson pep band just started a “T-U” chant to hype up the Tigers as they ran onto the floor. Of course two middle aged VCU fans situated behind me started chanting “P-U” while holding their noses in response to this.
That’s all for now, check back in a little bit for my preview for today’s first game, Towson vs. VCU!
posted by Joey, Staff at
11:32 AM
