There is no way the University of Tulsa should have lost out on recruiting Shake. It was mostly during the Danny Manning years that he developed and a relationship with the University should have been made then. You never know the inside stories , but Memphis doesn't lose their top players to conference foes and we shouldn't either. Shea, Jason Parker, Swanson, Marcus Hill, Pooh, Eric Coley.....all stayed in Tulsa to play and are still fondly remembered. If Shake puts on the black jersey last night, that game is a toss up.
Shake Milton
- Thread starter I.I.
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After Azibuke, we have struggled with the elite local players. And if you believe the Lowe story (I have a hard time with it) then there was that.
I think it's more the cultural mindset that started with Azibuke. Before him, we were at least in the running for local players like Ryan Humphrey. Not a thing anymore.
I think it's more the cultural mindset that started with Azibuke. Before him, we were at least in the running for local players like Ryan Humphrey. Not a thing anymore.
My understanding with Milton was that Brown got him an internship with a pro team, is that incorrect?
I believe he wanted out of town as simple as that seems. It Just happen that cheater Larry was right there with a bag of BS, an internship, and whatever else he was handing out (maybe the NCAA will enlighten us someday). Kid wanted out and he got out. Wish him nothing more or less than I would for any player at SMUck and their D-Bag coaching staffs past and present.
Better fan support would be a step in the right directions in attempting to keep local kids local. Kids want to play in front of full and rowdy fans. Ours are generally neither.
Perfect point, Lawpoke.
I think it's fair to be critical of Shea...but, we need to continue to assess the fan base. Hopefully, a couple of special seasons will get the fans back in the arena.
I've been told by several "long in the tooth" fans that the TV package prevents them from needing the go to the games!
I think it's fair to be critical of Shea...but, we need to continue to assess the fan base. Hopefully, a couple of special seasons will get the fans back in the arena.
I've been told by several "long in the tooth" fans that the TV package prevents them from needing the go to the games!
Coaches are an easy and justifiable target when it comes to blame for not signing local kids. However, we as fans need to give them a game day environment which is easy to sell. Haith needs to do a better job imo of engaging the students and fans to get their butts to the games. I've never really appreciated this aspect of a coach's job until I've watch Brad Underwood over the past two months. The guy is focused almost to the point of obsession on getting people in the seats...and it's working. Would love to see Haith employ some of these rah rah tactics directed at our fans.
We need to do PSAs about not harassing fans who cheer. I was in low gear most of last night and some asshats got mad even then because I stood up a couple of times. There just be a concession stand that serves sourpuss I haven't found yet.
I went out to eat during the game, anticipating that a resturant in Dallas would have the game on. Nope! Nobody in dallas cares about smu.
Looked in the Dallas Morning news to read about the game
The got about 2 inches buried in with all the other games.
Looked in the Dallas Morning news to read about the game
The got about 2 inches buried in with all the other games.
Think it has something to do with an individuals personality. I never missed a TU basketball game when I lived in Tulsa. You see things in person you miss on TV, the atmosphere enhances the game, and you're comfortable no matter the weather. Conversely I had to really have a good reason for going to a football game where the weather could be awful and I had a better view of the action from my chair. Others think the opposite, won't miss a football game but won't go to basketball.
I would love to send a couple thousand of our fans to a game at Kansas, Iowa State, West Va, Duke, etc... to simply experience ten thousand plus standing fans cheering and screaming for their team. Funny thing is that most of these people should be old enough to remember the Nolan days at TU. Yet, they act like their watching an opera.
It's also a little easier to have rabid fans when you have 20,000+ students and a huge alumni base to draw on.
True....however, there are plenty of examples of smaller private schools with really good fan bases too. It may be more difficult but it can be done. Heck....I would argue it was done here back in the day. Winning at a high level obviously not only helps but is probably a prerequisite.
Lol. I've been to Iowa State and KU. Others I've attended are Wichita State (really good), Arkansas (was good during Nolan), OU (average), Texas (average), Texas Tech (better than one would expect). Gallagher during Sutton's years was also a crazy place.
Bucket list is Duke, UNC, Michigan St, Indiana, Kentucky.
New
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It's also a little easier to have rabid fans when you have 20,000+ students and a huge alumni base to draw on.
True....however, there are plenty of examples of smaller private schools with really good fan bases too. It may be more difficult but it can be done. Heck....I would argue it was done here back in the day. Winning at a high level obviously not only helps but is probably a prerequisite.
18 10 minutes ago
THIS!
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It's also a little easier to have rabid fans when you have 20,000+ students and a huge alumni base to draw on.
True....however, there are plenty of examples of smaller private schools with really good fan bases too. It may be more difficult but it can be done. Heck....I would argue it was done here back in the day. Winning at a high level obviously not only helps but is probably a prerequisite.
18 10 minutes ago
THIS!
Wichita State draws well and recruits well. Not from a great conference but fans are rabid even with KU in the state. We should at least emulate them. And for years we beat them like a drum. Coaching, Recruiting, and Marketing.
I was shocked that Shake didn't attend OU. Coach Kruger or one of his staff was at almost all of Shake's games, both home and away, and they seemed to have a pretty good relationship. SMU had someone watching him on an occassinal basis. I never met coach Brown.
Coach Manning was in early and often, but seemed to disappear for a long stretch. He started coming to the games again after the word was out that TU was off the list.
Coach Manning was in early and often, but seemed to disappear for a long stretch. He started coming to the games again after the word was out that TU was off the list.
Guys... the atmosphere in the mid to late 90's (including convention center games) was as good as nearly anywhere.
I wished I still lived in T-town. I'd be at every game. Security would come over about every game because someone complained about me yelling too loud and standing too much. Loved when that happened. It just made me scream and stand more.
Actually used to fly down on Southwest for a couple of years from Chicago just to continue going to home games in 2000-2001 and 2001-2002. First born comes in 2002 and I had to quit that and grow up a bit.
There's no excuse for Tulsa to not sell out that beautiful on campus arena when most of these AAC teams come to town. No excuse. You are getting some great BB.
I think you'll see more butts in seats when Tulsa can do better with its OOC. Next year appears promising with the weapons back and those coming in.
I wished I still lived in T-town. I'd be at every game. Security would come over about every game because someone complained about me yelling too loud and standing too much. Loved when that happened. It just made me scream and stand more.
Actually used to fly down on Southwest for a couple of years from Chicago just to continue going to home games in 2000-2001 and 2001-2002. First born comes in 2002 and I had to quit that and grow up a bit.
There's no excuse for Tulsa to not sell out that beautiful on campus arena when most of these AAC teams come to town. No excuse. You are getting some great BB.
I think you'll see more butts in seats when Tulsa can do better with its OOC. Next year appears promising with the weapons back and those coming in.
And II...
THERE IS NO REASON TULSA SHOULD EVER LOSE A LOCAL KID TO SMU. Tulsa should physically prevent it.... under all circumstances. NEVER LET THAT HAPPEN. EVER.
THERE IS NO REASON TULSA SHOULD EVER LOSE A LOCAL KID TO SMU. Tulsa should physically prevent it.... under all circumstances. NEVER LET THAT HAPPEN. EVER.
Unfortunately the Lowe story is true, but the perceived mistreatment was due to academics, not athletics. Yes he wanted to play QB, but that's not the reason he transferred.
Humphrey thought he was too big time for TU. Couldn't hit free throws ,loved to block shots.
Everyone keeps talking about attendance...
It's pretty simple..
Product... need a team that can set the nets on fire.. defense is great if it leads to transition slams.. but plodding offense doesn't sell tickets (especially with Westbrook tearing it up nightly).. 90 points should be the nightly goal..
Pricing .. no reason for an mid pack NIT team to charge more than $25 a ticket.. there is no demand for a $45 ticket when there are so many other entertainment options
Parking.. dead horse.. but the bloated carcass still stinks..
It's pretty simple..
Product... need a team that can set the nets on fire.. defense is great if it leads to transition slams.. but plodding offense doesn't sell tickets (especially with Westbrook tearing it up nightly).. 90 points should be the nightly goal..
Pricing .. no reason for an mid pack NIT team to charge more than $25 a ticket.. there is no demand for a $45 ticket when there are so many other entertainment options
Parking.. dead horse.. but the bloated carcass still stinks..
WSU fans are great. They follow them all over the country. They hate KU, and KU won't play them because Sienna, UMKC, Cal-State Long Beach, UNC Asheville are all better opponents. This is similar to how I feel about OU and OSU. One of them should be on the schedule every year.
OU and OSU have enough attendance issues with the Thunder that they are happy to play us. Not having Sutton or Simpson around helps, too. KU doesn't have attendance issues.
It's funny to me that we've got a game tomorrow and everyone is still talking about the hippy hippy shake.
I don't think there are as many season ticket holders as you think... I can go on line for almost any game and get 4 tickets in the padded section from the Tulsa website...
I may be a little off, but looking at section 114 for example. It's sold out for the ECU and USF games 3 weeks from now. Not sure it'll be half full for those games. 105 is similar
If the holders of those primo tickets don't confirm attendance they release them for general sale at primo prices. I bought a couple a few years ago for my son and I and we got the stink eye from nearby residents, I'm assuming because we didn't seem upscale enough.
There are 7-8k who care on certain nights during the season, and really that's all that matters.
TX
Local TV blackouts. The conference as a whole is having the same problem with the exception of SMU, Cincy, Memphis, and UConn. By historical standards even UConn and Memphis are experiencing many no-shows this season. The worst has to be Houston. I'm guessing blackout provisions would have to be instituted between the AAC and their TV partners?
The TV exposure is tremendous for national recruiting but it really hurts home attendance. It makes absolutely no sense for TU to upgrade from C-USA to the AAC and not have better attendance. I believe 3-4 of the schools in the AAC are among the 20-30 winingest programs over the past 20-30 years.
It almost seems as though TU fans do not appreciate what the University has done to raise the bar. Simply buying season tickets is not good enough, going to the games and giving the team a home court advantage has a much greater impact. Many of these kids travel over 1k miles to play at TU, they deserve a much better atmosphere.
TX
I would like to know where the zones of ticket buying are around the city out of curiosity.
