Monday, February 8, 2010
The crowd screaming, fans stomping on the bleachers and banners representing past glory hanging from the ceiling: All three of these factors resonate in arenas around the country, from College Park, Md. to Tucson, Ariz.
In recent discussions with friends a topic that almost always came up was the black cauldron known as the “Octagon of Doom” at Kansas State. I laughed at those college basketball experts who called a place where the No. 1 team (Texas) loses one night but Oklahoma State wins a few days later “intimidating.” This shows that we need a list of things that make a place worthy of fear. Here are my five ingredients for a home court that’s a hellhole for opposing teams.
1. Build a reputation for upsets.
No arena has a greater ability to manufacture upsets than Notre Dame’s Joyce Center back in the 1970’s and 80’s. During that span, the Fighting Irish defeated four No. 1 teams, six top-10 teams and ended UCLA’s 88-game winning streak.
2. Court History.
The Kansas State faithful have no idea what court history is. Especially, when compared with Maryland and their fabled Cole Fieldhouse. Maryland’s former home saw the first all-black starting lineup in a championship game. The players were members of the Texas Western team that played for the 1966 NCAA title. Cole was also home to the first “Midnight Madness,” a brainchild of former Maryland coach Lefty Driesell that is similar to Late Night at the Phog. Allen Fieldhouse is one of the other places in college basketball that smells like history as today’s players walk in the same space as JoJo White, Wilt Chamberlain and Paul Pierce.
3. Banner Envy.
When you walk into arenas across the country, the first place you normally look is at the banners hanging from the ceiling. Some arenas (Missouri) don’t have many while others (North Carolina and Kentucky) are practically covered. To have your banner raised at North Carolina you have to either be named an All American, ACC player of the year or National player of the year. North Carolina currently has 58 such players. That alone should scare a freshman playing there for the first time.
4. Wackiness = Sexiness.
When you see arenas on TV, many of them show a certain quirk or feature that makes that arena stand out. At Minnesota, the floor is raised and players have to stand at times if they want a good look at the action. At Vanderbilt, the benches are at the end of the floor so if a coach wants to yell at one if his players, he’ll have to do a lot of screaming.
5. Student Madness.
This may be the most important ingredient in producing a tough arena. Student sections like the Cameron Crazies (Duke), Phog Phanatics (Kansas), and the Izzone (Michigan State) are what make college basketball special. Along with a crazy student section you have to come up with a unique way to playfully torture opponents, and nobody does that better than the Cameron Crazies. In one game Maryland superstar Herman Veal, who had been accused of sexual assault, had women’s underwear thrown at him during introductions.
With all of that Craziness in mind, here are my top five favorite arenas in college basketball.
Cameron Indoor Stadium (Duke)
Assembly Hall (Indiana)
Allen Fieldhouse (Kansas)
Williams Arena (Minnesota)
Cole Fieldhouse (Former home of Maryland)
— Edited by Ashley Montgomery
No. 1 Jayhawks hold off Texas A&M
Kansas faces off against a Texas A&M team that has yet to ...
Nothing like Kansas basketball
Unique traditions add to the experience of watching a Kansas basketball game ...
The march to 2,000 victories
As the Jayhawks approach the historic mark, The Wave takes a closer ...
Rush, Wright added to 'Legends' lineup
Former standouts Brandon Rush and Julian Wright are the most recent additions ...
Profiling the legends: Owens and Brown
A brief synopsis of Ted Owens and Larry Brown's tenures at Kansas.
Raise the roof
Allen Fieldhouse is named the loudest college arena in the country.
Blog: Top seed Kansas defeats No. 16 ...
Marcus Morris finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead the ...
‘Kansan’ picks players for own honor roll
What Others Are Saying: February 2, 2007
Regional and national media's take on Kansas athletics.
Softball ranked No. 22 in recent poll
The Jayhawks' 11-game win streak and 26-3 record is now being noticed.
Montemayor: Team looks promising
Rocky semester should not tarnish chances for successful basketball season.
The past and present of 'The Phog'
Constructing Jayhawk history and tradition since 1955.
Live from the NBA Draft
Cole Aldrich, Xavier Henry and Sherron Collins will likely be selected in ...
Sarraf: Looking to the future
Through strong recruiting and consistent coaching, Bill Self is ensuring that the ...
Live Blog: No. 1 Kansas moves to ...
Bill Self picks up his 400th career victory over the Iowa State ...
Breckunitch: 2000s’ best basketball games
Highlights include two showdowns with Durant, two games from 2003 tournament The ...
Sarraf: Everyone dotes on Duke
Duke is slowly on track to becoming the Notre Dame of basketball, ...
Prices increase for sports pack
The University of Kansas Athletic Department increased the price of student tickets ...
ESPN to air raising of championship banner
National television coverage will boost the Jayhawks’ celebration of basketball success.
Blog: Predicting the Big 12 men's basketball ...
Sam Kovzan gives his take on where each Big 12 team will ...
Never in doubt, Kansas wins 73-53
Kansas scored 23 points off turnovers and Mario Little was a perfect ...
Kansas fends off North Dakota State
Bison guard Ben Woodside scored 37 points, but the Jayhawks held on ...
Live from Press Conference: Xavier Henry declares ...
Kansas' wunderkind freshman and second-leading scorer announced his intentions to enter the ...
The Hog vs. The Phog
Clark Goble answers the question: Which team has the better advantage at ...
Spartans escape with 67-62 victory
Sherron Collins missed a one-and-one free throw with 19 seconds left that ...
Kansan.com exclusive: The truth about five K-State ...
Just because K-State calls them traditions, doesn't mean they are.
Coaches in Kansas' basketball history
The coaches in 111 years of Kansas basketball.
Upsets aplenty across conference, nation
The Jayhawks didn’t play Saturday, but there was plenty of reason for ...
Legends Wayne Simien and Darnell Valentine return
Two Hall of Fame Jayhawk basketball players will return to play at ...
Report Card
Column: Ranking this season’s bowl games
Take a look at Kory Carpenter’s ranking of this winter’s college football’s ...
Fall Sports Wrap-Up
Each KU fall sport team had its ups and downs this season. ...
Brew: Fans need to support football team
Photojournalist Mike Gunnoe has noticed a steady decline in fan support for ...
Survival guide to basketball camping
Maggie Young gives the quick and dirty of the essentials to one ...
Goble: Langford deserves honor
Former Kansas guard should have jersey retired like other Jayhawk stars.
A three-horse race
The Jayhawks have a chance to be just the second team to ...
Kansas outlasts Kansas State 85-74
The Jays pulled away in the final two minutes to bump their ...
Kansas tramples Missouri in Border Showdown
No. 2 Kansas rolled over the Missouri Tigers in commanding fashion, 84-65.
The Men on the Sidelines
In 110 years of basketball, Kansas has only have eight coaches. Here ...
From backboard to surfboard
A Kansas basketball player from 1990 to 1992, David Johanning now owns ...
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
KUnited presidential candidate Libby Johnson and vice presidential ...
1 comment
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID