Empire 8

[sjfcards]

I agree that TV has a big impact on why attendance is not as high as it should be...but also I tend to think that it is more the culture of where you are going to school...Students can make or break your attendance at any school...When I went to Fisher the first year it was more about drinking and which party to go to on a friday night...I think the athletic department did a good job while I was at Fisher of making Basketball what you did on a Friday night (Cardinal Crazies, free t-shirts, and more active promotion of the basketball team). After they started to open the door to Students attending the game, the crowds on Saturday got a lot bigger as well...

The quality of basketball is apparent in the E8, it is just a matter of schools being active in bringing fans in...Fisher always had crowdes when I was there. they do have a small gym, but it was always full.

[Caz Bombers]

Naz broke Pitt-Bradford's seven game winning streak by waxing the Panthers 81-61 tonight at Kidera Gym.  Golden Flyers now 3-2 on the year.

Tyler Smith had 22 off the bench to lead all scorers and how bout this Corey McAdam kid, 19 pts, 10 boards, 5 assists, 3 steals in 27 reserve minutes.  McAdam 8 for 9 shooting and Smith 8 for 12.

I wish Elmira had a completely insane MadHawk-esque fan so at least EC's being constantly splattered all over the place would be funny.  Actually, I just wish Elmira had a fan.  Soaring Iggles fall by 15 at home to Ferrum tonight.  Palen Andreozzi with 14 in defeat.  EC turns it over 21 times and shoots 36.2%.

[AUPepBand]

The quality of basketball is apparent in the E8, it is just a matter of schools being active in bringing fans in...Fisher always had crowdes when I was there. they do have a small gym, but it was always full.

Back when Ron Frederes coached the AU men's basketball team, the Saxons drew nice crowds, particularly around 1980-82 with Mike Wing, Brian Andrews and Co. had some great seasons including an NCAA run. McLane Center seats 2500 and back then, AU was probably drawing 1200 regularly and perhaps over 1500 for big games. AU fans pulled out newspapers and appeared to be reading them when the opposing team was introduced.

Now they don't bother pulling out the bleachers on one side of the gym...less capacity makes the crowd appear to be larger. AU's Saxon Sillies, comprised primarily of football players and AUKaz00, certainly livened games up at McLane but they all graduated and apparently failed to pass on the tradition of hilariously distracting the opposition.

[d3lifer]

In response....continuous success and players creating visibility for themselves on campus creates a vibe for the rest of the student body. St. John Fisher has done a nice job of continuing their success, and has made it one of the toughest places to play in the Northeast. It has been a trend as well that new gymnasiums are built to be more quaint which creates a great home court advantage when playing at home. If I were Fisher I would never replace the facility they have. Maybe make improvements but great home court for sure. Union College's new facility is also brought down the capacity getting away from the old fieldhouse that seemed to be just as cold inside as it was out during the middle of January. The McClane Center is a great facility but now a days there is just no need to have a huge capacity. You are better off having something that seats 1000 because it creates a much better atmosphere when full.

[John McGraw]

CazBombers, speaking of which, where is MadHawk fan? Not that I miss him, just curious.

[AUPepBand]

In response....continuous success and players creating visibility for themselves on campus creates a vibe for the rest of the student body. St. John Fisher has done a nice job of continuing their success, and has made it one of the toughest places to play in the Northeast. It has been a trend as well that new gymnasiums are built to be more quaint which creates a great home court advantage when playing at home. If I were Fisher I would never replace the facility they have. Maybe make improvements but great home court for sure. Union College's new facility is also brought down the capacity getting away from the old fieldhouse that seemed to be just as cold inside as it was out during the middle of January. The McClane Center is a great facility but now a days there is just no need to have a huge capacity. You are better off having something that seats 1000 because it creates a much better atmosphere when full.

Would agree that a smaller capacity gym that is full creates a much more electric atmosphere than a large capacity gym that's half empty....even with same numbers in attendance. AU really needs to address its basketball program if it wants to become competitive in the E8. Working on campus, while AUPepBand knows a number of players, there seems to be little done to promote the team. Fact that the head coach and his assistant are pretty reclusive doesn't help the program.

[superman57]

I agree that when the varsity gym is full it is a great place to A) watch a basketball game B) a very very hard place to come in and win....  You haven't been to a d3 basketball game if you haven't seen a fisher-naz game

[JQV]

In the end D3 hoops aren't any different from sports at most levels.  If you win, fans will pack the building (regardless of its size) because everyone loves a winner.  The arenas/stadiums that are packed for bad teams are the exception, not the rule.  Basketball can't really be compared with football either because the situations are different.

1) You play way more often so people feel like "if I miss this one, there is another one right around the corner."

2) You play on weeknights.

3) The more games makes each one less of an "event."

Varsity Gym at Fisher is incredible.  Loved playing there.

[lileyes]

Anybody know why McAdam didn't start? He has been playing around 40 mins again before this game.  As he should...he is a great player. Saw him a couple times in HS and can't wait to see a Naz game!

[superman57]

See at fisher you always get a decent crowd for all games...but you have to be there an a hour or two early for the girls game to get in the gym for fisher-naz....I now that there have been outcries from some more of the hard core fisher crazies to get everyone to come to all of the games not just fisher naz never worked

[d3lifer]

Well now that for the most part the non-conference season has been completed, does anybody have a feelings on changes in the standings or is the non-conference schedule not as good a marker than it could be?

It seems as though the Empire 8 is fairly strong in comparison to the two other leagues within the New York State.

[e8bballfan]

what i gotta say after non-conference play...

fisher- won their 2 biggest games (UR, geneseo) with a little help from the officials it looks like. anyone at the UR game would tell you they got handed that one, UR not only got screwed by the refs but also at the line, they shot 12-28from the line i think it was...and then according to this board at the geneseo game there was a brutal call that decided the game. that's unfortunate...fisher lost a lot, not a very intimidating team anymore after the loss of their starting 1, 2 and 3 (obrien, bennett, mcgee) and their new guards are nothing. baltz isnt any good, these freshmen need some serioussss growing to do before theyll be effective. but mcsweeney is legit, and beigel a nice sidekick when he isnt a dumb meathead getting in foul trouble and sticks to doing his job (boards and being assertive on offense)..i lke smalt off the bench too...what they got going for them is theyre deep thanks to rob kornaker keeping a roster fit for a football team...

elmira- lost their big man, which means big loss for them...with a bunch of scrappy, ok guards...sitting on a 1-8 record now. got punched by Cortland and Clarkson, and lost to pitt-bradford...another tough season for the soaring eagles...


hartwick-sitting on 7-2 now with wins over teams i dont really know well..Jan's a really solid player with a decent supporting cast. don't know too much about these guys so won't say much...should be interesting to see how jan can carry them...

ithaca-big losses with bellis and others gone...burton is a solid scoring pg should be interesting to see how many good looks he gets this year w/o bellis on the floor...4-4 now with losses to UR, wins vs Cortland, Morrisville and Hobart...wonder if bostic can keep up the good play and compete with the big guys of fisher, naz, utica...

utica- 6-1 with lone loss @ hamilton...ray bryants a grown ass man bottom line...herring is damn good and looks like lightall is playing well too...possibly another trip to the NCAAs for utica this season....theyre gonna be real tough plus Goodemote can coach...

rit- you never know with these guys...6-2 now with a big game coming up soon vs UR...zeinfeld's already put up over 70 three pointers...if these guys are hitting theyll win, if theyre not, theyll lose...bacons a solid solid big man, and bobby mcvean knows how to coach...this UR game will show how good these guys actually are..we'll see about them...

naz-  sitting on 4-2...can they put it together this season? whats the deal with ryan mcadam hasnt played in a game yet...would form a killer combo him and his bro on the floor together. team struggled last year without a pg, so corey mcadams helping them a ton but can he handle the pressure as a freshman with big minutes...big men can play with any other big guy in the league...shouldve beaten UR but they (UR) decided to hit every free throw that game unlike vs fisher..could potentially win the league but depends on what's up with ryan mcadams and on canori...should be interesting...

alfred- 2-6 now got smoked by a solid NYU team and losses to cortland and geneseo...dillon stein is good, so we'll see if he takes control on his final year in the league...loss of quentin bryant is huge, most athletic guy in the league last 2 seasons...dont know about this squad, heading down to randolph-macon after x-mas so that might be a tough one for them...theyll be good for perhaps a couple surprising conference wins...


conference champs? it's up in the air but if i were a betting man id put my money on utica, they're gonna be tough...

[sjfcards]

I agree with most of that...

I think that Fisher's guards will get better and better, and Fisher always has as much talent as anyone in the league.
Utica does look like a tough team to beat. The battle will be between Fisher and Utica for the E8 championship and the automatic bid...It may very well come down to coaching this year, and who can find a way to avoid upsets and bad losses. Utica's coach is obviously a good one, but UC usually finds a way to lose a game or two in Rochester...plus I will take Kornaker against any coach in the league.

I know it is a rebuilding year, and Fisher did lose a lot from last year, but I still like their chances for another (5th straight) empire 8 championship.

I do have a bias however...

[AUPepBand]

I will take Kornaker against any coach in the league.

Of course, everyone knows he's an Alfred grad, right?

[FisherDynasty]

Good analysis about the E8 teams so far this year.  However, Fisher guards, young and weaker then previous years but will get better as the season goes on.  Utica is a very tough team.  However, U guys can say what you want, but the E8 is Fisher league until someone takes it from them i dont care how good everyone thinks Utica is this year.  Truthfully, knowing most of the players on the team, they arnt all that good compared to the good teams in the rest of the country.  If they are better then Fisher  this year, then it is going to be a slight difference, therefore, Fisher still owns the leagues until someone takes it from them whether it be Utica, RIT, Naz, or Ithaca.  If you guys think your schools deserve the title or should get the respect then beat Fisher plane and simple.  Enough said.