Finally! Color for the BBall Court!

General NCS Basketball48

And, after the 10th year, he proclaimed… “Let there be FUN…and personality…and some color within your basketball program!”

And there WAS fun…and personality…and some color within the basketball program!

It has been talked about a bunch since Sidney Lowe’s return to Raleigh, but now we can actually see it happening. Check out the following picture taken from the RBC’s webcam that indicates that NC State will finally do away the drab, boring, uncolored lanes and baselines that so fittingly accompanied the (lack of) personality and style of the Herb Sendek era.

New Floor

It is going to look awesome!

While we are on the topic of transitional improvements to the basketball prorgam, we’d love to hear your thoughts on what other opportunities exist for Coach Lowe and NC State to re-vamp some of the things that we do. For example, the following are some suggestions that we would like to see considered over in West Raleigh:

(1) Players names on the backs of the jerseys.

(2) Revamp of the uniforms that may simply have the word “State” on the front of the jersey? Perhaps these uniforms are “special” and used only on rare occassions?

(3) Re-address the student ticket distribution policies to create more “committed” student-fans on the sidelines and generate more “personality” from them. (Key Link)

(4) Install a Reynolds-Coliseum-like noise meter in the RBC.

(5) Better use of the scoreboard for “Pack Past” features of historic games and personalities in Wolfpack history.

^These are just some starters. We’d love to hear your thoughts on them and your own suggestions.

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General NCS Basketball

48 Responses to Finally! Color for the BBall Court!

  1. redfred2 09/08/2006 at 10:27 AM #

    All of those things should be done, it’s a no brainer. It’s time to really make the RBC home. I eluded the scoreboard thing earlier, but I was so pumped after the final hire of Lowe, that my scheme was a little too grandiose. But I do think a short clip just before the game starts, devoted to certain team, player, coach… would really help to reconnect with the past greatness of former Wolfpacker’s from days gone by. That is absolutely needed for the coming generations of fans and future Wolfpack hopeful. It would also draw immediate attention to the task at hand heighten the crowd’s excitement level from the get go instead of waiting for the early minutes and the flow of the to dictate it. It may also help in getting fans focused and to their seats earlier, in the spacious and somewhat distracting RBC.

    That’s my quantum theory on that one aspect anyway.

  2. Spin Wolf 09/08/2006 at 10:28 AM #

    Because I live in DC, I don’t get to very many games at the RBC, so perhaps my perspective isn’t the best, as the RBC hasn’t had the chance to “grow” on me, I still desperately miss Reynolds.

    Having said that, I think the game experience at the RBC is a little too NBA-like with the piped in music and such. I would get back to basics with some of the ideas that SFN outlined above. The new red on the floor is a great touch.

    I was trying to think of some more ideas, but some of the stuff we did in Reynolds back in the day was a direct result of the place being so small and being right on top of the players, ‘twould be hard to replicate in the RBC.

  3. Lock 09/08/2006 at 10:33 AM #

    While some might tie this in to the fact that I am a Sendek Sympathizer, I kinda liked the minimalist look of the basketball court.

    That said, so long as we don’t do one of these reverse-colorization schemes where the lane is left natural and the area between it and the 3-point arc is colored, let ’em paint it how they want. I’m not going to complain either way; not a big deal.

    (Didn’t we do that one or two years? Back during the Les Robinson era? Things are kinda hazy back then for me…)

    As for the five suggestions, I love ’em all except putting player names on the back of the jerseys, on which I’m neutral. I’m sure the kids like having their name in lights, but I also don’t want there to be too much emphasis on the individual. One of the things that makes college basketball so much better than pro ball is the team-oriented atmosphere, instead of the all-star-plus-supporting-cast BS the NBA peddles.

  4. Adverse2Change 09/08/2006 at 10:39 AM #

    Loving the color! I definitely agree with #4. 1,2, and 3 don’t really matter to me one way or the other. I will say though, once state started at the RBC they had some awesome intros, with the lights dimmed and music blaring (a la the Bulls)… it seemed to get worse and worse with each passing year, so I hope they improve that. It’s been 2 years since I’ve been close enough to go to a game, do they still run this type of intro and are they any good?

  5. Cardiff Giant 09/08/2006 at 10:48 AM #

    We need to give the Three Headed Rat another look. It’s the essence of style.

  6. vtpackfan 09/08/2006 at 10:51 AM #

    awesome! Living in NC means you got to be proud of who you are and we’re red.

  7. class of 74 09/08/2006 at 11:13 AM #

    From bland to vibrant that just reflects the direction our basketball program is headed!

  8. class of 74 09/08/2006 at 11:19 AM #

    Sorry, forgot to mention anything to reconnect to our past glorious history is right on! Let’s do it with dignity, class and plenty of style. We do have alot to be very proud of with our basketball history.

  9. Wulfpack 09/08/2006 at 11:27 AM #

    Awesome stuff! Let’s drown those “blues” in a sea of RED!

  10. nycfan 09/08/2006 at 11:40 AM #

    Looks a thousand times better already. I thought the floor was too bland as it was, had no character — well, its character was muted, neutral, polite, but hardly a “this is our house” statement. Now if only you guys could get the purplish seats to match.

    I think most of the other suggestions are good ones, although based on recent crowd participation at the RBC, I don’t know if a noise meter is such a good idea just yet. Also, I understand the love of the old “State” jersies, but just having State is so generic now, I’m not sure it will drive the brand recognition you guys need right now.

    If Lowe restores the national profile of your program, then maybe just State works. For now, though, I think a big part of what needs to be done is to raise NCSU’s national profile and generic references to State, however steeped in nostalgia for hard core NC State fans, won’t help so much on the national stage.

    I do think you could get a big burst of national coverage if you named the court after V or Sloan or Case, though — some big gesture type moment that could be televised just before a big conference game or something … ESPN eats that stuff up.

  11. JimValvano 09/08/2006 at 11:55 AM #

    Names on the back of jerseys??? People really think that not having names on jerseys makes a difference during ballgames??? Not having names on jerseys…promotes teamwork??? You’ve got to be kidding me. I would hope that the boys are a little more into the game to be thinking about their name being on the back of their jerseys while deciding whether to shoot or pass. I never have bought into that concept. Put the boys names on the back of the jersey…it adds more color to the uniforms, and you can use it during recruiting as a tool to show recruits what their jersey is gonna look like. It hits home a lot more when their name is on the back. Just a thought.

  12. nemesisj 09/08/2006 at 12:01 PM #

    How about making it so the TV cameras display the logo on the court right side up? It’s really annoying how on a lot of FSN games, the logo is constantly upside down.

  13. Dan 09/08/2006 at 12:09 PM #

    Kudos on #3. There has been too many efforts to tone down the students. Les Robinson started it when I was there. They actually took seats away from us behind the visitor’s bench for a Carolina game one year. Some nonsense about “sportsmanship”.

    I like #2 as well.

    My biggest desire is to see more seats added around the court, and the full walkway removed. Get more of those dedicated students on the freaking court. That’s where they belong.

    Man, I miss Reynolds.

  14. BJD95 09/08/2006 at 12:09 PM #

    Names on jerseys increase fan and media familiarity with the players. That’s the only real impact I see, and don’t understand how it can be viewed as a negative. Not everyone watching will be a fanatic that has every player’s number committed to memory.

    I very much like the idea of connecting more to past great teams, games, and seasons. Showing, for example, Monroe’s putback that sent the Wake game to the first of 4 OTs – would certainly get the crowd fired up and teach our younger fans about our history.

  15. BJD95 09/08/2006 at 12:11 PM #

    Like Dan, I don’t understand the emphasis of “toning down” students. As long as they aren’t committing or threatening violence – LEAVE THEM ALONE. The environment should be hostile. Screw civility.

  16. redfred2 09/08/2006 at 12:34 PM #

    New face…New place

    Same face…Same place

    New heartbeat…Old heartbeat

    New life…”OLD” results…

    NC STATE UNIVERSITY
    1983 Atlantic Coast Conference Champions
    1983 National Collegiate Athletic Association Champions

    New coach…old player/coach on the hardwood at Reynold’s Coliseum

    Now Head Coach- SIDNEY LOWE

    Sorry but I’m getting a little overly pumped up again and silly about the new lease on life for Wolfpack Basketball.

    I’ll cut back on the coffee.

  17. redfred2 09/08/2006 at 12:46 PM #

    Lock

    You are a true blue HS sympathizer through and through. But you’re always up front and honest about it, even now. That is admireable. The guy ought to come back and personally give the folks like you a big wet sloppy kiss for sticking by him.

  18. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 09/08/2006 at 12:58 PM #

    The loss of Reynolds is probably the biggest mistake in NC State sports history. We play in the Hurricane’s arena now. You would of thought that the powers that saw the awful mistake that is the Dean Dome would of not repeated the same mistake but they did.

    State basketball has been hurting ever since Robinson removed the championship rubber floor.

    Leaving the names off the uniform is a huge mistake for recruiting. The BS team concept. There may be no I in team but there is a me. The players were tatting their names on the arms. I still remember that awful Inge on his arm.

    I don’t think they play any music during State baskeball games. I’m pretty sure it is only the band and you can’t hear them. I have not gone to many bball games at the RBC because the place sucks and I never wanted to show any support for the pathetic Arizona State coach. I would love to hear some sound coming through the amps like the Hockey games it would get the crowd a little more up. At the vary least get the band through the sound system.

  19. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 09/08/2006 at 1:03 PM #

    “I’m sure the kids like having their name in lights, but I also don’t want there to be too much emphasis on the individual.”

    that sounds so Sendekian- Are you a Communist?

  20. Wulfpack 09/08/2006 at 1:05 PM #

    ^It’s the 21st century. No disrespect to Reynolds, we all loved the atmosphere there. But moving to the RBC was an excellent business decision, and last time I checked, Wolfpack faithful are still flocking to ball games in large numbers.

  21. redfred2 09/08/2006 at 1:19 PM #

    Well, one thing’s a positive, I guess, we didn’t have to worry too many times about where to send a jersey for name printing when they needed to be hung in the rafters. That stuff is expensive when you do it one at time and decades between ordering.

  22. Lock 09/08/2006 at 1:25 PM #

    *shrugs* I think what I think. I don’t see why everybody has a death wish for Sendek; I appreciate what he did. Pardon me for seeing the good in that.

    I don’t quite appreciate the insinuation that it makes me somehow less of a State fan. I wore my red when we were dealing with the Robinson years in basketball, I wore my red when we were dealing with the O’Cain years in football. When I was a kid, everybody was either Duke or UNC fans. It wasn’t ‘cool’ to be a State fan. I didn’t care. I went to State and lived for the sports seasons. I skipped classes to catch basketball games; I listened to audio broadcasts in Thompson comp lab to catch NCAA tourney games during classes I couldn’t skip. I stayed up all night to camp out for football tickets when campouts were banned. I yelled until I couldn’t make any noise, and I came back again the next game to do it again. So stop with the ‘Sendek fans aren’t true State fans’ BS.

    And alphabet-for-a-name: I explained why I felt that way. You’re free to disagree, and I understand the disagreement. I said I was neutral on the subject. Names or no names, I don’t care, I see the arguments both ways. I just despise the pro game, but I doubt names on jerseys will have that much of an effect. Ultimately, it’s a non-issue I have a personal preference on. Not worth crucifiction or blacklisting.

  23. Lock 09/08/2006 at 1:29 PM #

    And before anybody says anything any more ridiculous…if State were to play Arizona State, I’d be cheering for the Red and White. I respect Sendek; I bleed Wolfpack Red.

    So give it up already.

    I’m sorry this got off-topic. The court looks good. I’m ready for the season. What’s happened has happened, let’s move on. I’m looking forward to it.

  24. redfred2 09/08/2006 at 1:42 PM #

    Sorry Lock,

    I was trying to pay you a compliment, did not at all mean to offend you. I have stuck and stuck and stayed loyal NC State when my friends and others ragged me to death about about. I wouldn’t change a thing.

    Your loyalty to what you believe IS admirable!!! No matter what I say.

    I think you’ll that same loyalty to NC State will suit you well in the near future and there won’t be any need to defend it to anyone.

  25. Lock 09/08/2006 at 1:51 PM #

    Redfred: Ah, sorry man, guess I’m a little defensive being the odd-man-out of late (though there are, I have noticed, those who do find it a shortcoming). ‘True Blue’ and ‘sloppy kiss’ kinda threw me, ya know?

    I hope you’re right. And I do feel that Lowe can get it done. I’m excited to know that we’re reaching back to our glory days and doing what we can to recreate them.

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