Houston commits to building $25 million practice facility

[HooperScooper]

Houston commits to building $25 million practice facility

Good to see a program in the AAC commit to their basketball program. As long as UConn is stuck in this conference they need as many teams as possible to be good. I'm happy UConn got theirs done first. If I had to read that Houston was going to get a first class building like this and UConn didn't have one I'd be pretty mad.

"When you are playing in a conference with the defending national champion and other tradition-rich programs, we need to have competitive advantages like this facility will provide," new Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson said. "Teams become better from October to March. For players to get better, it has to be from March to October. We will have a place where our players can practice, workout, shoot, develop chemistry and improve their work ethics. They can do this, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with this facility."

 

[intlzncster]

Houston commits to building $25 million practice facility

Good to see a program in the AAC commit to their basketball program. As long as UConn is stuck in this conference they need as many teams as possible to be good. I'm happy UConn got theirs done first. If I had to read that Houston was going to get a first class building like this and UConn didn't have one I'd be pretty mad.

Given the conference we are in now, not having top shelf facilities just was not an option. Once the practice facility finally got the go ahead, I was pretty pleased with the turn around time.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I think the top half of the league has a shot to be decent every season with us, Memphis, Cinci and Temple being tourney teams most years.

If SMU can make a nice hire after Larry Brown, they could be alright too as it seems the fans have bought in.

Hopefully Houston can make the leep to respectability, because the bottom half of the league is horrific.

 

[donyell34]

Yes to the above. Refresh my memory as to what our facility cost? Is our's one of the best?

 

[CallMeBruce]

With the hiring of Sampson and the effort to build real facilities, it looks like Houston is really trying to take advantage of this opportunity. Tulsa, too. After losing Danny Manning to Wake, they went out and poached Frank Haith from Mizzou. I don't think Haith is a star, but he's a real coach who has won in real leagues. I still think we should have brought in WKU instead of Tulane, but whatever. I think we're making progress here.

 

[UConn990411]

Haith is dreadful.

As much as I like to rag on this conference, props to Houston for stepping up to the plate. Next, maybe Temple will do the right thing and commit to finding a good coach.

 

[Kitaman]

Yes to the above. Refresh my memory as to what our facility cost? Is our's one of the best?

I'm not sure what the cost was, but all of the trophies make it priceless and of course one of the best.

I'd rather have a beautiful ranch house with a view, than a beautiful mansion with no furniture and no view.

 

[aceboon]

Haith is dreadful.

As much as I like to rag on this conference, props to Houston for stepping up to the plate. Next, maybe Temple will do the right thing and commit to finding a good coach.

Dunphy isn't a good coach? Haith will probably repeat the same thing he did while at Mizzou, step into a ready made team and win immediately, then regress each year as the hold overs eventually gradudate/move on.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

Haith is dreadful.

As much as I like to rag on this conference, props to Houston for stepping up to the plate. Next, maybe Temple will do the right thing and commit to finding a good coach.

Fran Dunphy is an excellent coach who had a very bad year last year.

 

[donyell34]

You bet Dumpy is a good coach , just look at his body of work. Down year that's all ; it happens.

 

[LIUCHusky]

I think the top half of the league has a shot to be decent every season with us, Memphis, Cinci and Temple being tourney teams most years.

If SMU can make a nice hire after Larry Brown, they could be alright too as it seems the fans have bought in.

Hopefully Houston can make the leep to respectability, because the bottom half of the league is horrific.

I think the top half of the league has a shot to be decent every season with us, Memphis, Cinci and Temple being tourney teams most years.

If SMU can make a nice hire after Larry Brown, they could be alright too as it seems the fans have bought in.

Hopefully Houston can make the leep to respectability, because the bottom half of the league is horrific.

Have you seen Tulsa play? Not a bad team by any measurement. If you haven't seen them play I think you will be pleasantly surprised when you do.

 

[BearJWS]

You bet Dumpy is a good coach , just look at his body of work. Down year that's all ; it happens.

Correct, Dunphy does more, with less. Temple lost a lot of firepower from it's 2013 team. It's like saying Calhoun was a bad coach in 2007 or 201o when the cupboard was bare from a major roster change.

Look at what Dunphy developed Khalif Wyatt into. He was like a 2-3 star high school player, but was an NCAA star 1 year ago. Temple appeared to be upsetting #1 Indiana, until the refs took over & wanted to help the ratings. Oladipo had to be tourney hero, not Wyatt.

 

[upstater]

By the time this thing gets built, UConn needs to be in another conference. The money bleed can't go on forever.

 

[Walker11]

Correct, Dunphy does more, with less. Temple lost a lot of firepower from it's 2013 team. It's like saying Calhoun was a bad coach in 2007 or 201o when the cupboard was bare from a major roster change.

Look at what Dunphy developed Khalif Wyatt into. He was like a 2-3 star high school player, but was an NCAA star 1 year ago. Temple appeared to be upsetting #1 Indiana, until the refs took over & wanted to help the ratings. Oladipo had to be tourney hero, not Wyatt.

Dunphy has made the NCAA tournament 6 times in 8 years. That is damn impressive

 

[intlzncster]

Correct, Dunphy does more, with less. Temple lost a lot of firepower from it's 2013 team. It's like saying Calhoun was a bad coach in 2007 or 201o when the cupboard was bare from a major roster change.

A lot of people said that unfortunately. The "game has past him by" posts on here were nauseating.

 

[metsfan2323]

A lot of people said that unfortunately. The "game has past him by" posts on here were nauseating.

Yup, the Giffey, Napier, Smith, Lamb, Wolf recruiting class was used as evidence that Calhoun could no longer recruit big time players, it ended up being one of his very best recruiting classes.

I think the question with the Temple coach is not whether or not he is a good coach, it is can he recruit at his age.

 

[BearJWS]

A lot of people said that unfortunately. The "game has past him by" posts on here were nauseating.

Hey, unless you have 3-4 Five Star recruits coming in every recruiting year, often the "gurus" call you washed up after a National Championship or Two or Three. In reality, it's how a coach develops players that makes them more successful. Seriously, Coach K and Coach Calimari have had like 20+ McDonald's All Americans in the past 5-10 years, but only 1 Championship each. They do less with more....

 

[ConnHuskBask]

By the time this thing gets built, UConn needs to be in another conference. The money bleed can't go on forever.

Realistically, I wonder how long we'll continue to pay P5 prices, when we only cash G5 checks?

 

[upstater]

Seriously, Coach K and Coach Calimari have had like 20+ McDonald's All Americans in the past 5-10 years, but only 1 Championship each. They do less with more....

...and Gregg Doyel calls them on it!

 

[UConn990411]

Dunphy isn't a good coach? Haith will probably repeat the same thing he did while at Mizzou, step into a ready made team and win immediately, then regress each year as the hold overs eventually gradudate/move on.

I like Dunphy a lot as a coach. In worried about his ability to recruit.

 

[CallMeBruce]

I like Dunphy a lot as a coach. In worried about his ability to recruit.

He's not a permanent solution at his age anyway. I wonder if the Temple name still has the draw it used to. Maybe they could lure someone like Mitch Henderson from Princeton or Andy Toole from Robert Morris. Pretty local guys, both young, with success at smaller schools.

 

[aceboon]

He's not a permanent solution at his age anyway. I wonder if the Temple name still has the draw it used to. Maybe they could lure someone like Mitch Henderson from Princeton or Andy Toole from Robert Morris. Pretty local guys, both young, with success at smaller schools.

Aaron McKie just got hired as an assistant after the Rick Brunson situation fell through. Long NBA career, known as a great lockerroom guy, has spent time as an NBA assistant, from Philly, played at Temple, wouldn't shock me if they were trying to groom him as the eventual successor ala KO. A guy like that could potentially kill in recruiting and wouldn't even have to stray far from the Philly/PA/NJ area to build a squad.

 

[bellairehusky]

Houston commits to building $25 million practice facility

Good to see a program in the AAC commit to their basketball program. As long as UConn is stuck in this conference they need as many teams as possible to be good. I'm happy UConn got theirs done first. If I had to read that Houston was going to get a first class building like this and UConn didn't have one I'd be pretty mad.

"When you are playing in a conference with the defending national champion and other tradition-rich programs, we need to have competitive advantages like this facility will provide," new Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson said. "Teams become better from October to March. For players to get better, it has to be from March to October. We will have a place where our players can practice, workout, shoot, develop chemistry and improve their work ethics. They can do this, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with this facility."

This means where they practice will be much nicer than where they play home games.