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dukieinhebron
02-09-2010, 07:58 PM
Does anyone know why Vanderbilt's court has the coaches and bench along the baseline? I have never seen this before.

-jk
02-09-2010, 08:08 PM
The gym was added onto a half dozen times. It takes seven scoreboards for everyone to see one. The front row seats are three feet below floor level. Everything about the gym is weird.

-jk

Indoor66
02-09-2010, 08:21 PM
Does anyone know why Vanderbilt's court has the coaches and bench along the baseline? I have never seen this before.

At one time, benches along the endlines were common. For many years the Duke benches in (then) Duke Indoor Stadium were on the endlines.

jjasper0729
02-09-2010, 09:54 PM
Memorial Gym is just odd... it's basically a cross shape through the raised floor. -jk is right about the front row seats (on the side where the cameras are).

they used to have a press box in the rafters (where official stats were kept). It looks like they've taken over some of the seating across from the camera angle that used to be student seats for media (a-la georgia tech).

I haven't been in there in a while, but it's definitely an odd set up

Newton_14
02-09-2010, 10:32 PM
At one time, benches along the endlines were common. For many years the Duke benches in (then) Duke Indoor Stadium were on the endlines.

You are correct Sir. Not sure when they changed and moved the benches to the sidelines, but I recall seeing film of older games from like the 50's where the teams sat on the baselines. I can only assume it was too allow as many fans as possible in the sidelines seating areas?

I also hate the gyms that have the courts above the floor seating. Vandy and Purdue are both like that. Not sure if there are any others?

If would drive me insane if I were a coach of one of the teams. It also seems very dangerous to me, given how many times guys chase loose balls down going out of bounds on the sidelines. Seems like it would increase the chance of a bad fall and injury.

DU82
02-09-2010, 11:12 PM
You are correct Sir. Not sure when they changed and moved the benches to the sidelines, but I recall seeing film of older games from like the 50's where the teams sat on the baselines. I can only assume it was too allow as many fans as possible in the sidelines seating areas?

I also hate the gyms that have the courts above the floor seating. Vandy and Purdue are both like that. Not sure if there are any others?

If would drive me insane if I were a coach of one of the teams. It also seems very dangerous to me, given how many times guys chase loose balls down going out of bounds on the sidelines. Seems like it would increase the chance of a bad fall and injury.

The Ford Field court was raised above floor (field) level, I believe so that it would be more visible. I believe the Cowboys Stadium floor was set up the same way when Texas stopped the evil ones earlier this season. So it's not just old ones.

arydolphin
02-09-2010, 11:21 PM
The Ford Field court was raised above floor (field) level, I believe so that it would be more visible. I believe the Cowboys Stadium floor was set up the same way when Texas stopped the evil ones earlier this season. So it's not just old ones.

Get used to that setup, it's the new football stadium setup that the NCAA is going to use for Final Fours in the future. I'm going to Reliant Stadium in Houston this year for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, which is the tuneup for that venue before next year's Final Four, and the seating diagram that I've seen has the raised floor in the middle of the football field.

sagegrouse
02-09-2010, 11:35 PM
At one time, benches along the endlines were common. For many years the Duke benches in (then) Duke Indoor Stadium were on the endlines.

The reason they were moved from the endlines is because there were collisions of players with the opponent's bench and a lot of fights. E.g., Duke-UNC, 1961: Art Heyman and Larry Brown.

With benches on the sideline, this has not been a problem.

sagegrouse

CBDUKE
02-09-2010, 11:35 PM
The benches at Duke Indoor Staduim were on the end lines into the sixties. I am not sure when that was changed but Bubas was still there when it was done.

blazindw
02-10-2010, 12:25 AM
Get used to that setup, it's the new football stadium setup that the NCAA is going to use for Final Fours in the future. I'm going to Reliant Stadium in Houston this year for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, which is the tuneup for that venue before next year's Final Four, and the seating diagram that I've seen has the raised floor in the middle of the football field.

You are correct. The Ford Field setup is the setup that will be used in the future at Final Fours.

DevilAlumna
02-10-2010, 01:54 AM
The gym was added onto a half dozen times. It takes seven scoreboards for everyone to see one. The front row seats are three feet below floor level. Everything about the gym is weird.

-jk

It's another great Basketball venue, though - great place to watch a game!

The "sidelines" are wide enough that a player sliding out of bounds won't fall off the side of the raised court, but putting chairs along the sides would 1) be a little dangerous, and 2) block the view of those sitting up next to the floor (which, for Vandy games, is usually the student section.) The first row, when seated, really just sees feet at eye level.

dukeimac
02-10-2010, 09:16 AM
There are a whole host of reasons why they moved the benches.

One was because of the issue with going for a layup and running under the basket, out of bounds and into the other teams bench. There were tripping issues and when guys fell into the bench guys would hold players back.

But they also moved them so that players can check into the game a lot quicker. They don't have so far to run. If you watch the pro games, the benches go so far off the court that actually guys don't need to check in any more, if they are standing "by" the table they can go in. That is because of the fan seats that are between the table and benches make the players sit so far away.

Coaches also have a better view of what was going on on the other end of the court. Easier to tell the ref he is blind if you saw the play standing at half court rather than under the basket at the other end of the court.

Coaches have better access to the refs. Sometimes they needed the attention of the refers and couldn't get them from the other end of the court. Like for timeouts. You see, as always, there should be a refer situated at mid-court (2 or 3 ref situations). Having the coach on the side lines, they can always get the attention of that half court ref. Since they went to a 3 ref situation there is always suppose to be a ref on the side of the court, not just a mid court, of where the benches are just for this reason. At Cameron there is not way Roy could get a timeout called if he was at the other end of the court.

For Vandi, it is a huge benefit. This is the only court like it and coaches and players alway seem to struggle with it. If they want to talk to their coach they have to go all the way to the other end of the court. There have been many of times during a game that this causes a player to be out of position, for the opposing team. Vandi works it just fine.

The reason for the courts being above the crowd so to speak, as in Minnesota, is because the facility is used for many other events. Sometimes there might be a hockey game one night and a basketball game the next day and a hockey game that night in that same building and this allows that to happen. They can keep the ice there and put the basketball court above it. It allows much better use of the building. You can't put the court directly on the ice because the floor would get too cold to bounce a ball on it, it would cause multiple dead spots.

Football fields are like that now because of some strange reasons. In Arizona, the field is actually rolled outside during the week and for the game during the weekend it is rolled back into the facility. This way they can say they have an indoor stadium with actual, natural grass. But the field is actually on rollers.

HaveFunExpectToWin
02-10-2010, 09:19 AM
Does anyone know why Vanderbilt's court has the coaches and bench along the baseline? I have never seen this before.

If standing in the front row of the student section, your elbows are on the court. If the benches were along the sides, no one could see the game. That's the why.

Next question is why is the floor raised? It was designed to be a multiuse facility, both a gym and a performance hall, hence the raised stage (Nashville is Music City USA). You'd be surprised at how good the acoustics are and how loud it gets when someone hits a three.

Memorial's configuration is a source of pride among Vandy fans, but people acting so surprised every single time we have a nationally televised game gets a little old (no offense). It's like being surprised to see a huge green wall in left field in Boston.

Go Dores!

wilson
02-10-2010, 09:28 AM
Get used to that setup, it's the new football stadium setup that the NCAA is going to use for Final Fours in the future. I'm going to Reliant Stadium in Houston this year for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, which is the tuneup for that venue before next year's Final Four, and the seating diagram that I've seen has the raised floor in the middle of the football field.Yeccch. I know this is about staging an event of the largest possible scale and blah blah blah, but God forbid that we play the biggest college basketball games of the year in, um, a freaking basketball arena.

Jarhead
02-10-2010, 09:30 AM
The benches at Duke Indoor Staduim were on the end lines into the sixties. I am not sure when that was changed but Bubas was still there when it was done.

It was done by Vic Bubas, as was the pep band, but I am not sure what year. Probably his second season, but it may have been his first. The Devil in a Blue Dress dance started about then, and there never were cheerleaders at the games until then. I believe that Mrs. Bubas choreographed the dance. Art Heyman was his first recruit. Something of a sea change, wasn't it?

Kdogg
02-10-2010, 09:32 AM
I also hate the gyms that have the courts above the floor seating. Vandy and Purdue are both like that. Not sure if there are any others?


Minnesota's Williams Arena

Devil in the Blue Dress
02-10-2010, 09:45 AM
It was done by Vic Bubas, as was the pep band, but I am not sure what year. Probably his second season, but it may have been his first. The Devil in a Blue Dress dance started about then, and there never were cheerleaders at the games until then. I believe that Mrs. Bubas choreographed the dance. Art Heyman was his first recruit. Something of a sea change, wasn't it?

Emily Meeker, one of the cheerleaders, choreographed "Devil with the Blue Dress On" in the mid sixties. (Sagegrouse might verify the date.) After seeing the routines of cheerleaders on the west coast, Coach Bubas requested choreographed routines many of which are still used.

Indoor66
02-10-2010, 01:39 PM
Emily Meeker, one of the cheerleaders, choreographed "Devil with the Blue Dress On" in the mid sixties. (Sagegrouse might verify the date.) After seeing the routines of cheerleaders on the west coast, Coach Bubas requested choreographed routines many of which are still used.

In the mid-60's the cheerleaders performed a dance routine at half time to The Stripper (http://popup.lala.com/popup/432627099393407810). The dance was so sexy that the fans stayed in their seats until it was completed and then went out to the concourse for a break. It was incredible!