2008 Woodie Awards
In the game on home court
Joe Williams
Issue date: 2/22/06 Section: Sports
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It is time for Reed Gym to undergo a facelift. Reed Gym should be a loud and intimidating environment for the visiting team. We should have a home court advantage when the game is on our home court.
In the last two years the men's basketball team is a measly 4-8 at home against Big Sky foes. They are just 1-6 in the conference when the games are decided by 10 points or less. That's not exactly a home court advantage.
If the Bengals are going to be an elite Big Sky Conference basketball team, they have to defend their home floor. Our athletes are capable of getting the job done, but we do not have the environment.
Being a solutions-oriented person, I have compiled a list of eight things that must be done to establish Reed Gym as the "6th Man."
The first thing we need to change is the attendance. ISU students need to come to the games and come on time. On most nights the building is fairly full by the time the second half rolls around, but is pretty sparse for the opening tip-off.
The second thing we need to do is make Reed Gym a sea of orange. If you turn on ESPN and watch a college basketball game, odds are that the entire student section will be wearing orange or blue or whatever the home color is. The student sections at Reed Gym usually have some orange here and there. It should be all orange. It wouldn't hurt to have a few painted faces in the crowd either.
Sitting underneath the hoops is the place to be at Reed Gym. That's why the third item on my list is for ISU to make a rule that students can only sit under the hoops if they are dressed in orange. That's what a student section should look like.
Change number four is to get more students down on the floor. The student sections underneath the hoops are the only student sections down on the floor and there isn't room for very many of us down there.
ISU needs to find a way to increase those numbers. Often times, the loudest fans at the game end up sitting all the way at the top of Reed Gym. We need them to be closer to the action to create that intimidation in the opposition.
In the last two years the men's basketball team is a measly 4-8 at home against Big Sky foes. They are just 1-6 in the conference when the games are decided by 10 points or less. That's not exactly a home court advantage.
If the Bengals are going to be an elite Big Sky Conference basketball team, they have to defend their home floor. Our athletes are capable of getting the job done, but we do not have the environment.
Being a solutions-oriented person, I have compiled a list of eight things that must be done to establish Reed Gym as the "6th Man."
The first thing we need to change is the attendance. ISU students need to come to the games and come on time. On most nights the building is fairly full by the time the second half rolls around, but is pretty sparse for the opening tip-off.
The second thing we need to do is make Reed Gym a sea of orange. If you turn on ESPN and watch a college basketball game, odds are that the entire student section will be wearing orange or blue or whatever the home color is. The student sections at Reed Gym usually have some orange here and there. It should be all orange. It wouldn't hurt to have a few painted faces in the crowd either.
Sitting underneath the hoops is the place to be at Reed Gym. That's why the third item on my list is for ISU to make a rule that students can only sit under the hoops if they are dressed in orange. That's what a student section should look like.
Change number four is to get more students down on the floor. The student sections underneath the hoops are the only student sections down on the floor and there isn't room for very many of us down there.
ISU needs to find a way to increase those numbers. Often times, the loudest fans at the game end up sitting all the way at the top of Reed Gym. We need them to be closer to the action to create that intimidation in the opposition.