Crowdsourcing with students

Eat crow, Traxler.

I might have to do that with regards to my previous comments about the student section relocation at Frost Arena. In a crucial conference game at Frost Saturday against Western Illinois, the students made a difference. That was the word when students were moved from their better (I don't think anyone can argue this) to behind the baskets on each end.

WIU, who normally shoot 65 percent at the free throw stripe as a team, went 3-of-11 from the line against the Jacks.

"That’s one of our weaknesses," Leatherneck head coach Jim Molinari said. "We shoot a good percentage as a team but we’re not a great shooting team. That's something we need to be better at."

I feel this was mainly because of the students, who would either all jump forward as the player was shooting the free throws or sit down at the same time. It worked. Either that or the Leathernecks suck at free throws. Both are theories.

This much I know: No team has shot that poorly against SDSU over the last 12 seasons and that's all the farther the records go.

But how much of a difference have the students made on the free throws this year? Let's go to the grid.

There's the last two seasons worth of home games at Frost Arena and the free throw shooting of SDSU's opponents. The 2012-13 shooting is a blip better than than last year and while the end of the season (when the students got more involved with the free throw distractions) are low, the numbers don't show a ton of difference. SDSU allowed far less free throw attempts in 2012-13, however.

Hats off, students. You did what college kids should do. I'll be impressed if it happens next season as well and more importantly, what kind of student turnout is in Sioux Falls. It's not over Spring Break this year, so I'm expecting a lot. 

I think the move has worked out fine and students have responded positively but I HATED the way it was done. Basically, the administration said, "We're moving you. If you don't like it, too bad."

The point I brought up on The Sports Lounge show Monday(which can be listened to on demand here) is that SDSU might want to consider moving its "renovate Frost Arena" plans up in the grand scheme. Honestly, maybe ahead of Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.

There's no doubt that CAS needs to be rebuilt but if the Jackrabbits want to reach the next level as a mid-major, they need the budget and the facilities to do it. Frost may not need more seats but they certainly need more good seats, as many of the wood bleachers are at tough viewing angles.

A lot of elements added up to get three sellouts in Brookings this season, mainly No. 3 at point guard. But the program is only going to grow and, if nothing else, both facilities should be worked on at the same time.

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It's hard not to think about the Summit League tournament, especially when there's a local media ad for the four-day dance airing every three minutes. In advance, I wrote this for the Sports Lounge blog earlier today about what sort of tourney is shaping up. 

For much of the season, the race to become the Summit League’s top dog has been cloudy. However, I have looked at the crystal ball and the future is becoming clearer.

SDSU’s men’s basketball team is the team to beat when the conference converges on Sioux Falls in March for the Summit League tournament.

There’s a lot of candidates — and honestly, who would have thought there would be four legitimate teams challenging for the conference title when the season started — but the Jackrabbits have emerged as the odds-on favorite.

Sure, there have been a fair amount bumps along the way. Those ugly performances the Jacks had in December seem so far away and even in last weekend’s loss to Oakland at the O’rena, SDSU looked like a team that could be in the field of 68 again.

But as Brett Favre famously said during the Vikings’ 2009 season, “the pieces are in place.”

Their defense (more on this later) has been quite good, the Jacks are a strong three-point shooting team (especially at home) and SDSU has the best player in Nate Wolters, who is taking over games once again.

Of course, one of the biggest parts of the Jacks chances’ is having a decidedly home court advantage in Sioux Falls. In each of their games (regardless of opponent), there will be at least 5,000 people screaming in their favor and riding each up and down. To me, this is the biggest part for the Jacks. Western Illinois has seen this atmosphere twice now — last season’s conference title game and Saturday at Frost Arena.

“You can’t win a game in this atmosphere unless you play perfect basketball,” Molinari said after the Leathernecks’ loss at Frost Arena.

Molinari said something almost exactly like this after his team lost in the championship game last year. It stuck out like a sore thumb because I believe the quotes were so similar.

“This was a road game,” WIU head coach Jim Molinari said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not making excuses. But I think you have to be 10 points better to win here and we weren’t tonight. I knew because of the crowd that they would never let the game get away from them.”

Ah, yes. There it is.

Western Illinois is just a good team, said SDSU head coach Scott Nagy. He’s right. Summit Leaguers like to stress WIU’s defense but they are good on offense and have pretty talented players like Ceola Clark III and Terrell Parks underneath the hoop.

Nagy said he stressed that the Feb. 16 game wasn’t the conference championship but I wouldn’t be surprised if the ‘Necks and Jacks play for the title March 12 in Sioux Falls. That’s my pick for now.
We are two weeks away from knowing the seeds but it’s hard not to look ahead. So, as for the rest of the tournament …

North Dakota State is a confusing bunch right now. They posted 36 points against Western in a loss but have effectively defeated everyone else they’ve needed to beat and convincingly. They have a defensive style that is similar to WIU and can effectively stop teams. I can’t get away from the fact that they have been an early out from the tournament in the last three seasons. The X-factor remains to be Marshall Bjorklund, who still leads the country in field goal percentage but the Jackrabbits and Leathernecks have effectively shut him down in the two most recents meetings. He had four points on five shots against Western and four points against SDSU in late January. Since scoring 23 points against USD Jan. 3 (a game where he shot 11/13 from the field), he’s had nearly as many games in single-digits scoring (5) as he has in double digits (7). Maybe Taylor Braun is the difference but Drue and I agree that the problems seem to go further than the return of Braun.

Oakland is certainly capable of winning the tournament but there’s a few things standing in their way: 1. They don’t exactly play great defense. That’s not new. 2. They are far too reliant on Travis Bader and their three-point shooting.

This is actually the big one. Oakland has good players, including Corey Petros underneath the basket but I don’t feel like they have been utilized as much as possible. Considering Drew Valentine’s profile two seasons ago in the Summit League, he has been as quiet as anyone as a junior or senior. As Bader goes, so go the Grizz.

Depending on crowd turnout, USD could be a semifinal candidate and for sheer interest and atmosphere’s-sake, I hope they are in the final four. Say what you will about the Coyotes (and as a student at the Brookings school, I hear plenty of people say bad things about them), it would be great to have them win a game at the tournament. That would increase interest in the 2014 tournament, in my opinion and show the red fans what the event is really about.

I would also laugh if Kansas City makes a run for the finals, considering they are leaving the league for a trash heap and it would show that they can win in the conference. They’ll be out right away, though. It’s a bad year for Omaha to be out. They would be in the 4/5 game if they were eligible.

Defense

Our friend Travis Kriens always digs up the stats. He says the Jacks have been giving up 65.1 points per game, the lowest average since 1984-85, when the Jackrabbits allowed 64.4 PPG. Over the last 58 seasons of SDSU basketball, it is the second-lowest PPG allowed season average.
He says the defense story hasn’t received the coverage it should, so here’s some coverage, Travis.

Frost Arena Fallacies

*I’ll keep this short because it’s Finals Week and this is a terrible time for me to be addressing this in a ungraded blog post but I feel this is worth the time.

I’ve made my point pretty clear over the past few days about how I feel regarding the SDSU athletic department’s decision to move student seating for basketball games at Frost Arena from the sidelines to both ends. If you want a refresher, check out my Twitter page.

You won't see SDSU's student section like this anymore.

I’ll start right there. I don’t think that it’s a very good idea to split what has become one of the best student sections in the Summit League. Two smaller groups located on each end will not be as impactful as the one solid contingent that occupied the sideline in prior seasons. I point to one of the most anticipated Summit League regular season games the SDSU men’s team has ever played earlier this season when the Jackrabbits hosted Oral Roberts. The students were on their game for this one, with the venom clearly directed at the conference leading Golden Eagles. Mind you, not a nearby rival but a team that has asserted themselves as a pesky foe in the conference because of ability, not proximity.

The students relentlessly badgered coach Scott Sutton and did the same with the players, most notably Dominque Morrison when he fouled out with four minutes or so left in the game. He marched over to the sideline, raising the collar of his T-shirt to his chin and let out a breath of frustration combined with exhaustion. The students were going after him for his signature hair and, more importantly, the fact that he was a good player.

Student sections are strong because they are cohesive and can work together. The best or most creative cheers don’t come from the cheerleaders. With the two end setup, SDSU’s student section will be anything but cohesive.

As for the money side of it, I get that season-ticket holders are the guaranteed money in sports. You have to have them and SDSU, coming off a run to the NCAA Tournament, has an absolutely golden opportunity to capitalize on that by selling more season tickets. On a personal front, SDSU could create some demand for tickets, which wouldn’t be that bad of a thing. I realize that an upgrade in reserved seating is needed because there are some real duds for seats in the arena, especially in the reserved corner sections. That said, you jeopardize your rapport with students by moving them.

According to a report from the Board of Regents, 19 percent ($2.3m of $11.9m) of SDSU’s athletic budget in Fiscal Year 2011 came from the General Activity Fund, which is driven by student fees. In FY 2010, student fees made up 21 percent ($2.4m of $11.3m) of the schools athletic income. For this semester, the GAF fee per credit was $24.95. Multiply that by 15 for the average student load per term. It’s important to note that the fee also funds the Students’ Association budget, helps fund the Wellness Center, etc. The fee will likely go up $1 in either 2012-13 or 2013-14 to help pay for The Union expansion and the current proposal to add the addition onto the Wellness Center would include a $4 increase in student fees. As you can see, this is adding up. (For reference, USD’s activity fee is $36 a credit hour.)

Of course, not every student goes to games. Some will never watch Nate Wolters dribble a basketball or watch Kelli Fiegen put down a kill or Austin Sumner throw a touchdown pass. (But that issue is a different subject.)

It is student dollars, which they have no control over because it’s not optional and the fees are something that have been around forever. However, on the reports for FY10 and FY11, only “General Funds” bring in more money to the department coffers. Not gate receipts or guaranteed money or donations. Then, the student money that accounts for roughly 20 percent of the overall budget looms large.

Back to the actual seating choice, the argument that seats on the end are just as good as the seats on the side of the court is absolute baloney. Look at the seating chart map for any professional, semi-professional or college basketball team that has seating on all four sides of the court. None of those parties charge the same rate for seats at midcourt in the 10th row as they do for seats behind the basket in the 10th row. Why? Because those seats are not the same. It’s the same reason why a seat on the 50-yard line is more expensive than a seat in the endzone at a football game.

Because of the way that Frost Arena is setup, it really is like real estate: All about the location. The student section was prime real estate to be bought out by season-ticket holders.

And is this about the money? Of course it is. This is college sports. Yes, blaming the money is the easy answer but it’s easy because it’s true. If money didn’t matter, nobody gets moved, everyone remains happy and I’m not writing this post. We know why I am.

If the athletic department values season tickets and donations, they should try looking at it like this: Students, at the beginning of each semester make donations — some knowingly and most unknowingly — to tennis and golf and soccer and equestrian. They make donations to swimming and diving and cross country and to softball. Students also donate to football and basketball and they are consistent in their donations from year-to-year.

I hope that the athletic department doesn’t take student money for granted because students are more than just a card swipe at the gate.

I also want to make clear that the Students' Association missed on this one. They had a clear chance to stand up for student seating and instead they nodded their heads and went along with this. Not exactly what you have in mind when you vote for your leaders. They probably wouldn't have been able to stop the change but at least put up a fight.

I’m not sure why I’m getting worked up about this. First, the decision has been made and with the end of semester here, there is not going to be student opposition. The seats will be done for volleyball season. I still stand by my original plan: If you’re going to move the students, move them to one end. That would keep them together as a unit, not split the group up and the group still can look imposing.

I’ve never watched a basketball game from the stands because I’ve always watched from press row. Sitting there, I would think to myself that students have pretty good seats too, all things considered.

I can’t say that anymore.


*This did not end up being a short post.