There is a 2 year window for the current young group to do some damage on the court and they should be given every possible advantage to make that happen. The next 2 years are the most critical 2 years in the history of the program considering we have made inroads into Philly and the DMV for the first time that can be leveraged into a sustainable winner if the current players can have success. If we are unable to enjoy any success however with these players and their experience ends negatively, those inroads will close for Chambers and will be difficult to reopen for the next guy who is not going to be a world beater.
Penn State absolutely 1000% has the worse fan base for basketball in the Big Ten right now. It's not even close. You can blame that on whatever you want, it doesn't matter if the fans are justified. Coaches and players don't want to go to a place where people don't care.
I don't care if you like or dislike Pat Chambers, he has poured his heart and soul into this program and has had every headwind imaginable blow in his face along the way. Pat Chambers is respected in this business and people understand the constraints and challenges that come with leading this program.
If Pat Chambers fails, this job will be even less desirable than it was before Chambers took over. That's a fact. People with options in any industry don't seek out the poorest paying jobs with the least amount of support that provide the least amount of opportunity for success.
A 15,000 seat arena with thousands of awful seats in the middle of nowhere when every game can be consumed on TV or over the Internet doesn't work in State College, especially with all the weeknight games and a legit hockey program competing for butts/$. Arguing that winning will sell out the arena is a flawed argument because poor attendance and a lack of a home court is hurting our ability to win.
This program needs to be given every advantage possible for the next two years to give the players and coaches the greatest chance at success. Moving to Rec Hall is a no brainer.
No one in the Big Ten would want to play in Rec Hall. Relative to other venues in the Big Ten that are loud and sold out, playing at the BJC is like playing in a library. I have season tickets. Outside of the student section, the median age of a season ticket holder seems to be 70 years old and they aren't providing enough energy to compensate for 9000 empty seats. It takes A LOT to get the majority of fans excited that attend these games. I have been there so many times where I'm like, "what is wrong with you people?"
Penn State is going back to dumpster fire mode if it doesn't win the next two years. And for those too young to understand, if you think Penn State is currently in dumpster fire mode under Chambers you have no idea.
We need to leverage the home court advantage a hornet's nest like Rec Hall can provide to win games and build the momentum that is needed to have a really successful season.
If it is possible to move the team back to Rec Hall for the next years, it has to be done. The program can't afford not to win the next couple years and needs to be given every advantage possible.
And I know there will be about 6 guys who I'm ignoring who will say we lost to Princeton there 4 years ago so it won't help. That kind of logic is so incredibly flawed, but whatever.
Playing in Rec Hall helped Bruce Parkhill when we first joined the Big Ten and anyone that remembers those years knows that building was as difficult a place to play as there was in the Big Ten. The coaches hated coaching there.
Time to go back, at least temporarily. We can't blow the opportunity that currently exists because our players get no home court advantage at all. The program can't blow this opportunity. We may not get another.
Penn State absolutely 1000% has the worse fan base for basketball in the Big Ten right now. It's not even close. You can blame that on whatever you want, it doesn't matter if the fans are justified. Coaches and players don't want to go to a place where people don't care.
I don't care if you like or dislike Pat Chambers, he has poured his heart and soul into this program and has had every headwind imaginable blow in his face along the way. Pat Chambers is respected in this business and people understand the constraints and challenges that come with leading this program.
If Pat Chambers fails, this job will be even less desirable than it was before Chambers took over. That's a fact. People with options in any industry don't seek out the poorest paying jobs with the least amount of support that provide the least amount of opportunity for success.
A 15,000 seat arena with thousands of awful seats in the middle of nowhere when every game can be consumed on TV or over the Internet doesn't work in State College, especially with all the weeknight games and a legit hockey program competing for butts/$. Arguing that winning will sell out the arena is a flawed argument because poor attendance and a lack of a home court is hurting our ability to win.
This program needs to be given every advantage possible for the next two years to give the players and coaches the greatest chance at success. Moving to Rec Hall is a no brainer.
No one in the Big Ten would want to play in Rec Hall. Relative to other venues in the Big Ten that are loud and sold out, playing at the BJC is like playing in a library. I have season tickets. Outside of the student section, the median age of a season ticket holder seems to be 70 years old and they aren't providing enough energy to compensate for 9000 empty seats. It takes A LOT to get the majority of fans excited that attend these games. I have been there so many times where I'm like, "what is wrong with you people?"
Penn State is going back to dumpster fire mode if it doesn't win the next two years. And for those too young to understand, if you think Penn State is currently in dumpster fire mode under Chambers you have no idea.
We need to leverage the home court advantage a hornet's nest like Rec Hall can provide to win games and build the momentum that is needed to have a really successful season.
If it is possible to move the team back to Rec Hall for the next years, it has to be done. The program can't afford not to win the next couple years and needs to be given every advantage possible.
And I know there will be about 6 guys who I'm ignoring who will say we lost to Princeton there 4 years ago so it won't help. That kind of logic is so incredibly flawed, but whatever.
Playing in Rec Hall helped Bruce Parkhill when we first joined the Big Ten and anyone that remembers those years knows that building was as difficult a place to play as there was in the Big Ten. The coaches hated coaching there.
Time to go back, at least temporarily. We can't blow the opportunity that currently exists because our players get no home court advantage at all. The program can't blow this opportunity. We may not get another.
