Sampson says Thunder has impacted OU Basketball

[OUHoops]

http://blog.newsok.com/berrytramel/2012/03/19/kelvin-sampson-thunder-has-impacted-ou-basketball/

 

[AdaSooner]

Well, success is absolutely necessary. Winning has to be part of the equation.

The schools also have to market at a high level, but I’d have to say they’ve made strides in that area. The game presentations at both schools are solid. Not NBA-quality, but much better than the old days. Pricing of tickets has to be looked at, too. Scheduling is a factor; the December directional schools won’t cut it. Even days of the week must be looked at. The NBA loves Wednesday night; OU and OSU would be better served to politic the Big 12 for other nights.

Nothing really new in Barry's blog that we haven't discussed before, except that he makes a more compelling argument about the need for change if OU (and OSU) expects to compete with the Thunder's popularity. Winning again is mandatory, of course. Another losing season and Sooner fans may never come back.

I totally agree with the points he made about ticket pricing and better scheduling, from the teams we play to the start times and days of the week. The university can't afford to ignore anything, no matter how small, that could put butts in seats. Ignore the obvious fixes, and there is almost no chance we'll ever see a return to the good ol' days when the arena sold out for all except games against the cupcakes on our schedule.

 

[schoonerdriver]

There are very few home games for the Thunder and OU on the same night. I thought it was mentioned when the Thunder first game in that they wanted to stay away from nights in which OU and/or OSU had a home game.

I see some impact but I can't say for certain the the impact is as great as it is protrayed. We will only be able to tell once OU and/or OSU returns to a similar level they were at 10 years ago. If attendance is still way down, we would then be able to say the Thunder is the main reason for the lack of interest OU and OSU basketball.

 

[thebigabd]

There are very few home games for the Thunder and OU on the same night. I thought it was mentioned when the Thunder first game in that they wanted to stay away from nights in which OU and/or OSU had a home game.

I see some impact but I can't say for certain the the impact is as great as it is protrayed. We will only be able to tell once OU and/or OSU returns to a similar level they were at 10 years ago. If attendance is still way down, we would then be able to say the Thunder is the main reason for the lack of interest OU and OSU basketball.

Being on the same night doesnt matter... People are going to know that they spent money and time being at a Thunder game on Friday, and they dont want to spend the money or time going to an OU or OSU game on Saturday afternoon.

Peoples basketball budgets for the year are going to the Thunder.

 

[KCRuf/Nek]

I'm not there so I really don't know the situation. Am I way off base to suggest some sort of combo between the Thunder and OU? Maybe OU tickets could somehow be linked/included with a Thunder game? I don't know. Maybe the rules are there against such things. maybe I'm just grasping. Dunno. I went to quite a few UNLV games when Kruger was there that were 5$ if you wore a red shirt. I don't know the pricing down there to know if any of that would be fesible.

Also, wasn't there a time when the men and women played on the same day? I can remember going to an OU/KU mens game at Lawrence and the womens game was before it and on the same ticket.

 

[vbdad]

The Thunder is the only basketball talked about in OKC area. You never hear anything about the Sooners or the aggies. It is a shame for the schools. Unfortunately the Thunder is obviously the better product and they treat their fans better than the local schools.
I'm sure it is about time for another email from Joe asking for more money to pay his million dollar a year salary.

 

[sperry]

There is no way price is the limiting factor for OU basketball attendance. It's that it's not worth your time to go. When you factor in the drive, the cavernous, half-empty LNC, and no restaurants or bars close by, you're way better off just watching the game in your own living room. The viewing experience is just going to better. Factor in the crappy team, and there's almost no incentive to going to the games in person.

 

[skyvue]

The Thunder is the only basketball talked about in OKC area. You never hear anything about the Sooners or the aggies. It is a shame for the schools. Unfortunately the Thunder is obviously the better product and they treat their fans better than the local schools.
I'm sure it is about time for another email from Joe asking for more money to pay his million dollar a year salary.

I've been to one Thunder game -- a playoff game at that -- and I wouldn't trade attending 10 Thunder games for a single OU game. I don't know what you factor in when you cite the treatment of fans, but relentless noise cranked up so loud that I couldn't turn to my father and have a conversation at any point during the game isn't my cup of tea. It was like Morning Zoo radio turned up to 19, with a little basketball thrown in.

But even if the assault on your senses that is NBA basketball is precisely your cup of tea, the expectation that a state university could match an NBA franchise's efforts to "treat their fans well" is not a reasonable one.

 

[NickZepp]

Being on the same night doesnt matter... People are going to know that they spent money and time being at a Thunder game on Friday, and they dont want to spend the money or time going to an OU or OSU game on Saturday afternoon.

Peoples basketball budgets for the year are going to the Thunder.

I think that's true now because OU and OSU are terrible. But there's nearly 1.5 million people in the central part of the state. That's more than enough to put 10k a night in the seats. It's a shame how bad both schools are right now in basketball. Supposedly OSU is getting more talent next year but we've heard that story from OSU for years and it's not really came out that way. OU's had recruiting issues since Kelvin's left. We've had 2 big recruits and both did a good job, then a class that was a complete bust. That's really been it in recruiting. It's a sad state of things with both schools right now.

 

[Sid]

Nothing really new in Barry's blog that we haven't discussed before, except that he makes a more compelling argument about the need for change if OU (and OSU) expects to compete with the Thunder's popularity.

The university can't afford to ignore anything, no matter how small, that could put butts in seats. Ignore the obvious fixes, and there is almost no chance we'll ever see a return to the good ol' days when the arena sold out for all except games against the cupcakes on our schedule.

The business genius hasn't figured it out yet? I thought Lon was supposed to be a super-duper salesman.

 

[tycat947]

I've been to one Thunder game -- a playoff game at that -- and I wouldn't trade attending 10 Thunder games for a single OU game. I don't know what you factor in when you cite the treatment of fans, but relentless noise cranked up so loud that I couldn't turn to my father and have a conversation at any point during the game isn't my cup of tea. It was like Morning Zoo radio turned up to 19, with a little basketball thrown in.

But even if the assault on your senses that is NBA basketball is precisely your cup of tea, the expectation that a state university could match an NBA franchise's efforts to "treat their fans well" is not a reasonable one.

You are exactly right! The NBA is entertainment on a basketball court, not basketball.

 

[gommy]

You are exactly right! The NBA is entertainment on a basketball court, not basketball.

It might not be your cup of tea, but please dont start with the "The NBA is not basketball" argument. 99% of people out there would rather watch the best athletes in the world play against one another than a 55-52 college game that moves at a snails pace. The product on the floor is why the Thunder out draws the colleges in the state, its just way, way better. Watching a high level of talent will always be the preference for people. Its the same reason you would rather go to a PGA tournament rather than a Nationwide event. If you arent an alumni or big time fan of OU or OSU, the games just arent any fun to watch, especially when the arena's are half full and the talent level sucks. I would guess that most people on this board are either OU alumni or huge fans, so they are probably going to some games regardless, but to the casual fan (which make up the difference between an average crowd and a good crowd), its not even close.

 

[WTSooner]

You are exactly right! The NBA is entertainment on a basketball court, not basketball.

I agree.

 

[Max Power]

It might not be your cup of tea, but please dont start with the "The NBA is not basketball" argument. 99% of people out there would rather watch the best athletes in the world play against one another than a 55-52 college game that moves at a snails pace. The product on the floor is why the Thunder out draws the colleges in the state, its just way, way better. Watching a high level of talent will always be the preference for people. Its the same reason you would rather go to a PGA tournament rather than a Nationwide event. If you arent an alumni or big time fan of OU or OSU, the games just arent any fun to watch, especially when the arena's are half full and the talent level sucks. I would guess that most people on this board are either OU alumni or huge fans, so they are probably going to some games regardless, but to the casual fan (which make up the difference between an average crowd and a good crowd), its not even close.

And 99% of the people don't truly understand the game of basketball and the nuances of offensive and defensive sets you don't see when you play 24 sec iso.

 

[scrybe]

It might not be your cup of tea, but please dont start with the "The NBA is not basketball" argument. 99% of people out there would rather watch the best athletes in the world play against one another than a 55-52 college game that moves at a snails pace. The product on the floor is why the Thunder out draws the colleges in the state, its just way, way better. Watching a high level of talent will always be the preference for people. Its the same reason you would rather go to a PGA tournament rather than a Nationwide event. If you arent an alumni or big time fan of OU or OSU, the games just arent any fun to watch, especially when the arena's are half full and the talent level sucks. I would guess that most people on this board are either OU alumni or huge fans, so they are probably going to some games regardless, but to the casual fan (which make up the difference between an average crowd and a good crowd), its not even close.

These attitudes are like a microcosm of society in today's world.

 

[MisterF]

I share four Thunder season tickets with two other families. So I go to 1/3 of the Thunder games......no way they are more entertaining than OU was during the Tubbs era. Kelvin's teams with Hollis was also more entertaining to me than the Thunder. I enjoy the Thunder, but would rather watch OU with a quality team.
The timing of the Thunder and their success, along with the trend of shrinking college basketball interest across the board, plus the mess down in Norman the last five years has created this lack of OU interest.

 

[DenverSooner]

I don't see why OKC can't have both OU basketball and Thunder basketball succeed.

 

[campbest]

I don't see why OKC can't have both OU basketball and Thunder basketball succeed.

It can, it's just one of the products is terrible in comparison to past teams.

 

[SilliSooner]

I don't see why OKC can't have both OU basketball and Thunder basketball succeed.

They can succeed and to imply that good college basketball can't exist where there is NBA basketball is totally erroneous. I could name dozens of examples but a glaring one is Butler U playing down the street from the Indiana Pacers.

College basketball has it's entertainment values but the 35 second clock isn't one of them.

Women's college ball uses 30 seconds. The WNBA and the NBA 24 seconds and International ball uses 24 seconds. Billy's teams rarely took over 15 seconds to shoot.

To infer that college teams can't pass the ball fast enough or create an open shot fast enough to exist within a 30 second or 24 second clock is short selling the college game. When you watch an NBA you appreciate how quickly the players find the open man and how many times they do it when it looks like their tossing blind passes. They're also committing fewer turnovers in 48 minute games with more possessions than college teams do with the 35 second clock.

I'd be for dropping the clock to the 30 seconds the women use.

 

[jmizzy4ou]

I urge some of you to attend an NBA game and watch the offensive and defensive sets. Watch the precision of the passes, the physical play in the paint, the ease ultra talented PG's seem to move around with handling the ball with both hands, etc. Watch the bigs battle for rebounding position, 7 footers making 25 footers look like layups, etc...

No one can tell me I'm not watching basketball. Turn on your typical college game and watch sub par talent, trying to audition for the NBA.

The NBA can be a coast along league at times because the season starts about one week before the playoffs. That is my only knock of the on court product. IMO, everyone who thinks the NBA game isn't basketball hasn't watched the Spurs vs the Heat in person.

Anyone who thinks Popovich doesn't game plan better than most every college coach is crazy. The NFL is just as much about entertainment as the NBA is, yet people love it. HMMMM?????? That has always confused me. The NFL where a DB can't touch a drama queen receiver, and no one better lay a hand on pretty boy QB's, yet it is considered a higher level/brand of football than college football??? What is so different about the NBA/College Hoops??

I actually love them both, but I know in my 35+ years of following both closely, I have never understood the notion of the NBA not being" real basketball".