First night report

[semper]

Who has the news? I thought the Yard would be filled with all kinds of details, pix, etc. Let's bring 'er on! The coverage was a total bust, so we need you eye witnesses....How were they looking? What were the recruits up to?

 

[EricLA]

not a peep. maybe everyone came h ome and went right to bed. after all, the average of the UCONN WCBB fan is ... comatose, right?! <g>

 

[JoePgh]

I was there, and it was very impressive given that no actual basketball was played. The men and women were introduced together in mixed order -- one man, one woman, starting with the freshmen.

The biggest surprise was that it was packed to the rafters -- not an empty seat, and a lot of people like me trolling the aisles trying to get a good look. I don't remember packed houses on the previous first nights that I attended.

KML and Bria represented the women in a 3-point shooting contest with 2 of the male players. Each contestant shot 4 balls from each of 5 positions at the 3-point line and had to finish in one minute. KML made 12 shots and Bria made 11. One guy made 5 and the other (Niels Giffey) made 17 to win the contest. (The last shot from each location was the "money shot" and was awarded 2 points, so the 17 doesn't quite represent 17-for-20 shooting.) See my comment on the Bria thread about her shooting.

At the end, as I was leaving, there was a "Simon Sez" game in which all the male and female basketball players participated. The finalists were Niels Giffey (again) and Stef. That may say something about their ability to be coached and to follow instructions precisely.

 

[tomcat]

I watched as much of it as I could stand on ESPN3 -- and as much of it as they would broadcast (what a lousy effort on their part!). I can remember years ago going to the earlier incarnation of this event and actually being entertained. Now it's a glorified pep rally. I have to admit that if I lived in the Hartford area now, I would never even try to go to it, because it has almost no news value whatsoever, unless you count a dancing exhibition as newsy, which I don't. The whole event has been reduced to silliness....
...and maybe I am becoming a curmudgeon, but it's hard to see what used to be an interesting way for fans to connect with the athletes diminished in this way.

 

[DaddyChoc]

enjoyed the ESPN3 showing, good enough for me in the comfort of my home.

Of course there could have been more stuff for the women to do but... I enjoyed the dancing and watching Bria shooting the 3. Keeping in mind, the Men are the NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

The mens dunk contest was great.

Im glad the had it because they didnt have to, its not required!

 

[EricLA]

great stuff. thanks Joe!!

 

[semper]

Recruits?

 

[DaddyChoc]

Recruits?

I agree... not a word!

John A does say the X-Man was there... Im sure he was happy to see Ray Allen

BTW nothing on Susie Bird?

 

[pap49cba]

I agree... not a word!

John A does say the X-Man was there... Im sure he was happy to see Ray Allen

BTW nothing on Susie Bird?

John A. reported Sue is in California for a wedding.

 

[DaddyChoc]

thank you

 

[EricLA]

Recruits?

we don't usually hear much about recruits. usually someone will report they saw all of them, that they looked to be enjoying themselves, and sometimes we even get a picture. last year we had something like 7 recruits, 6 offers, and 5 verbals. this year i think we only had 2 who haven't verbaled anywhere yet. and IIRC both said they intend to have other visits. i'm not sure we will see/hear any activity any time soon on them. probably by the signing period in November-ish.

 

[Dairyair]

we don't usually hear much about recruits. usually someone will report they saw all of them, that they looked to be enjoying themselves, and sometimes we even get a picture. last year we had something like 7 recruits, 6 offers, and 5 verbals. this year i think we only had 2 who haven't verbaled anywhere yet. and IIRC both said they intend to have other visits. i'm not sure we will see/hear any activity any time soon on them. probably by the signing period in November-ish.

I was there, but even with all the info I get from the Boneyard, I have no idea if ANY recruits were there. As another curmudgeon, I still liked it better when they had separate events for the men and the women. I was great to see a full house, though. Hopefully, someone who is a more astute observer will say if any of the recruits were there...maybe one of the Horde???

 

[ed4ourgirls]

Like dairyair, I liked it better when the women had a seperate show and
when they scrimmaged for ten or fifteen minutes so we could see them
in action.

But I have to concede that if the object is to get the students involved
they have succeeded wonderfully. I don't recall ever seeing a full house
for this event before.

So while we geezers may grumble about the good old days, I think that
gearing the show to a younger audience is better in the sense of
providing our girls with a sense of great fan support that I'm sure they
appreciate. It may be more impressive to potential recruits as well.

 

[DaddyChoc]

So while we geezers may grumble about the good old days, I think that gearing the show to a younger audience is better in the sense of providing our girls with a sense of great fan support that I'm sure they appreciate. It may be more impressive to potential recruits as well.

well said... but they'll be shocked at gametime cause its library-like!

 

[EricLA]

well said... but they'll be shocked at gametime cause its library-like!

only in blowouts. not in games that are close or feisty or against rivals...

 

[DaddyChoc]

75% of the games are blowouts so 3 out of 4 are library settings.

 

[EricLA]

75% of the games are blowouts so 3 out of 4 are library settings.

well you didn't say that in your original post. you said that the recruits would be shocked at game time cause it's library-like. since i live in San Diego, i honestly don't get to nearly as many games as people back in CT, but your post implies that UCONN fans are boring and comatose during games. i felt that was unfair to UCONN fans, but i'll leave it to people who actually go to the games. based on your posts, i assume you attend all the home games? i mean that's the only way you could know this correct?

i believe the thing recruits will be shocked at is the fan and media attention that UCONN women garner. most of them have never played in front of 10,000 screaming fans. just wait till they get to experience any UCONN game against another top team. in fact, several of the newbies this year have already exhibited amazement at the incredible support shown by the fans.

i think recruits will be much more surprised and "shocked" by the amazing fan support a tiny state like Connecticut gives it's teams...

i guess my point is it seemed like you were taking a shot at the fans. to say an entire game is "library-like" implies there is not a single peep from the fans for the 2 hour game. while i dont' disagree that a game where the final score is 98 to 46 won't have fans screaming on their feet the entire 2 hours, there will certainly be an appreciation for any great plays by the UCONN players. your posts just seemed like an unnecessary pot shot at UCONN fans.

 

[Icebear]

75% of the games are blowouts so 3 out of 4 are library settings.

You guys are approaching this the wrong way. What we need to do is create noisier libraries.

 

[DaddyChoc]

well you didn't say that in your original post. you said that the recruits would be shocked at game time cause it's library-like. since i live in San Diego, i honestly don't get to nearly as many games as people back in CT, but your post implies that UCONN fans are boring and comatose during games. (seriously I wouldnt be far off) i felt that was unfair to UCONN fans, but i'll leave it to people who actually go to the games. based on your posts, i assume you attend all the home games? i mean that's the only way you could know this correct?

i believe the thing recruits will be shocked at is the fan and media attention that UCONN women garner. most of them have never played in front of 10,000 screaming fans. just wait till they get to experience any UCONN game against another top team. in fact, several of the newbies this year have already exhibited amazement at the incredible support shown by the fans.

i think recruits will be much more surprised and "shocked" by the amazing fan support a tiny state like Connecticut gives it's teams...

i guess my point is it seemed like you were taking a shot at the fans. to say an entire game is "library-like" implies there is not a single peep from the fans for the 2 hour game. while i dont' disagree that a game where the final score is 98 to 46 (as I said 75% of them are) won't have fans screaming on their feet the entire 2 hours, there will certainly be an appreciation for any great plays by the UCONN players. your posts just seemed like an unnecessary pot shot at UCONN fans. can I use the "Im entitled to my opinion" card?

games at the XL Center have NOT been like FIRST NIGHT ... so yeah they"ll be shocked (maybe a strong word, I know how some are about words). Big close games will get loud but anything else NOPE.

again, thats why I asked about "music" etc. and does the NCAA have a policy against it. keep in mind "music" was being played at First Night so real games may come close but not as exciting.

 

[doggydaddy]

Somehow I dont' think anyone will be shocked that a blowout game would be a lot quieter than a made for loud noise event like First Night.

 

[Icebear]

Shhhhh! You will wake them up.