|
Post by GBPhoenix1 on Jul 14, 2020 8:54:30 GMT -6
From what I understand GB has had record years for fund raising prior to Covid 19 striking down fury upon that area of all programs.
The issue isn't that people weren't donating. The issue is the big names that weren't donating and the amount that people who did give were giving. It is fair to say that Coach Darner wasn't helpful in this regard even if he wasn't hurting it. Unless you really know Coach Darner he isn't an electric personality. He certainly didn't think raising money off the court was an important part of his job. Right or wrong the athletic department raised money and could raise more if they get help from the coaches. Once people have a personal vested interest they give more. Coach Darner didn't give a lot of people a reason to have a personal vested interest. That isn't being critical of him. He sees himself as a hoops coach but to really get to the highest levels you have to be more than that. Hopefully he changes at his next stop. I don't know him well but he is a good dude to talk to, he just didn't let many people see that for whatever reason.
As for ticket prices lowering season ticket prices wouldn't have helped attendance for Darner. The prices are cheap already and they lowered by $3 per game for season tickets only. That isn't much of a savings and doesn't apply to how the average community member has been buying tickets of late. People aren't suddenly going to buy tickets to save $50 without a new catalyst for excitement like a new coach brings.
I know some people want prices to go down further. That is folly. If you give your product away nobody will ever pay for it in the future. They need to create more value for the tickets not lower the price. The problem is they have a small athletics staff to try new things and some of those staff have been closed to new ideas. It is going to take a more sustained effort to create a more valueable experience. There are many free to cheap things to try to add value but the road blocks have been far greater than one would think. The crowd size dropping is a shared responsibility. The coach has to be the face of the program and the athletic director and staff have to keep the coach in the public eye. Neither side did their part of late.
However, to quote one of my favorite sports movie, Major League, "who gives a sh*t it's gone." Okay that is crass but debating the decision itself isn't going to change it. It distracts from the future of Phoenix basketball if anything. Coach Darner will land somewhere else and I will watch his games and want him to win just like I do for other former GB coaches. However, I can be disappointed in his tenure ending while still being excited about Coach Ryan's beginning. We tell players to play for the name on the front of the jersey not the back. For me that is true for the coaching staff too. Whichever person is wearing that suit is my guy because I will still be a Phoenix fan after they have moved on.
|
|
|
Post by GBPhoenix1 on Jul 14, 2020 9:19:13 GMT -6
One thing I forgot to mention, the season itself.
Unlike in this past March people are looking for solutions to play. That might not be enough but it is a mindset difference that is important to note.
Just my guess but there will be a league schedule but probably with no fans in the stands.
I personally think they could do non conference with no fans as well. Airlines and hotels take precautions to make travel safer but the optics of non conference look bad to some so I can see that not happening.
|
|
|
Post by GBPhoenix1 on Jul 14, 2020 20:36:54 GMT -6
Much has been made about Amari Davis taking more 3's. I know it has been mentioned that people are wondering or are worried that Will Ryan will try to change Amari.
I don't know the answer to this but I did find some info that might be interesting.
Last year for Wheeling the leading scorer was Jordan Reid, a 6'1" guard. He scored 18ppg for the season. He attempted 321 fg's and made 164 fg for a 51.1% average. Of his 321 FG's only 29 were 3FG and he made 8 for a 27.6% average. He shot 202 FT's and made 151 for a 74.8% average.
The third leading scorer was Emmanuel Ansong, he scored 14.4ppg. He is a 6'4" forward. He attempted 268 fg's and made 148 fg for a 55.2% average. Of his 268 FG's only 32 were 3FG and he made 13 for a 40.6% average. He shot 83 FT's and made 51 for a 61.4% average.
Wheeling as a team took 1599 FG and these guys combined for 589 of them. Wheeling took 463 3FG as a team and these guys combined for 61 of them. Wheeling took 593 FT as a team and these guys combined for 285 of them.
I don't know what is in store for Amari and I am sure he wants to be the most well rounded player he can be. With that said it doesn't look like Will Ryan trys to make guys go away from their strength.
|
|
|
Post by Former uwgb men’s manager will on Jul 16, 2020 7:38:32 GMT -6
It’s possible that all sports were cancelled already but there hasn’t been a announcement already it makes sense they closed down going into buildings until January
|
|
|
Post by uwgbbill on Jul 16, 2020 20:26:10 GMT -6
In an article in The Press Gazette Scott Venci states that the Phoenix have 13 scholarships filled. The last being Ansong from Wheeling. There is a question on him, whether he will be able to play this year or sit out this year.He would have to get a waiver going from div. 2 to div. 1. Miles is also one of the 13. There is a question when he got the scholarship, under Darner or later. He didn't mention any walk on's in the article.
|
|
|
Post by thetulsawarrior on Jul 16, 2020 21:18:29 GMT -6
Walk-on can be offered but the coaches can't comment on them until they are enrolled. Word probably would come out via Twitter from the player or an AAU source.
|
|
|
Post by commissioner on Oct 29, 2020 7:03:52 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by phearthephoenix on Oct 29, 2020 9:20:43 GMT -6
As always, well done Commish. This line made me laugh: I agree that the we will probably see a lot of three guard lineups with Pipes / Jefferson / Davis in the backcourt. Just to nitpick a little bit (everybody loves that), Terrance Thompson was a pretty highly regarded recruit that had some fairly solid offers at one point: www.verbalcommits.com/players/terrance-thompson. Ironically I think that he fits in better in what Coach Ryan is going to run, he might have gotten Manny Patterson'd if Darner had not been let go. I like Kellogg's versatility but could also see Paris Taylor getting the start to give a true post presence despite being a little undersized at 6'6". I wouldn't be surprised to see a starting line up of: G: Pipes G: Jefferson G: Davis F: Kellogg / Paris Taylor F: Thompson
|
|
|
Post by gbbrl97 on Nov 2, 2020 12:51:41 GMT -6
Is there any precedent with Bo/Will Ryan or those coaches in the tree that have run their version of the swing offense with a guard-dominated/up-tempo roster? We want to be able to play to those player's strengths without totally going the deliberate style of the sing offense we have seen recently with the Badgers.
Our biggest problem was defense. The RP40 system looked good on a t-shirt and that was about it. If last year's team played average defense, Linc might still be here.......Maybe Will Ryan will give this roster a more principled approach to D. They won't be the Bennett teams of the late 80's-early 90's but anything will be an improvement.
|
|
|
Post by shooting the J on Nov 2, 2020 22:48:44 GMT -6
Is there any precedent with Bo/Will Ryan or those coaches in the tree that have run their version of the swing offense with a guard-dominated/up-tempo roster? We want to be able to play to those player's strengths without totally going the deliberate style of the sing offense we have seen recently with the Badgers. Yes there is. Will Ryan's team a year ago was tiny, and played fast or at least fastish.
|
|
|
Post by uscg2012 on Nov 3, 2020 12:14:30 GMT -6
It’s been awhile since I have posted. Weird and crazy times. I just want basketball back and can’t wait for it to get here. What are my expectations this year? I want to be competitive in every game which means be consistent. My biggest thing with Coach Darner was the lack of consistency. You just never knew which team would show up. We could beat Wright State at home and then turn around and get blown out by IUPUI on your home court. This is what turned fans off from Darner which led to lack of attendance. I caught myself sometimes not wanting to watch a game coming off a bad loss like that. In the end I always tuned in because GB Phoenix BBall is that important to me. I want to see Amari Davis step into a leadership role this year. Pretty soon this will be his team to lead forward might as well start now. PJ Pipes and Josh Jefferson need to do their thing every night. Be those senior leaders and help build the foundation of the Will Ryan in year one. Now I know coaches get fired based on potential of players but with the incoming recruiting class we have now and then add in Cade Meyer, Dailey and McGee, there shouldn’t be a a reason Green Bay isn’t fighting for Horizon League championships for years to come. I didn’t even mention the development of Kellogg, Moore and Ansong Long story short, I want to finish in the top 5 in the Horizon League. Amari getting first team Horizon, TT averaging double figures and Damontae Taylor getting about 10 plus minutes a game. Lastly, since there is likely not going to be fans this year at the Resch (just a guess) still do your part and support the Nix by donating to the Phoenix Fund!
|
|
|
Post by thetulsawarrior on Nov 10, 2020 9:35:18 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by GBPhoenix1 on Nov 10, 2020 12:15:20 GMT -6
I don't know who Amari Hardy is in their projected starting lineup but I hope he is really good for GB I thought this line was interesting, "Darner's departure may be down to his weak starts as Green Bay entered the New Year .500 or worse each of the past three seasons and despite his Horizon success (51-39 conference record, 1 tournament title) there just wasn't much interested in the program." That directly reflects scheduling mandates and a lack of invest in home games. When you come in every year with 3 to 5 buy losses and pair that with 2 or 3 non D1 wins it signals to the general public that this isn't a program able to make noise. It signals small time. It signals check back in February and if things aren't better check back in the conference tournament. I don't know if the powers that be understand just how damaging this is but it can not go on any longer. This is a program capable of a lot more. Fans have drawn their line in the sand, they will get involved when GB gives them a reason to. Playing the games they have played in the past has given fans no reason. I implore the leaders to invest in better scheduling. It is field of dreams time, "if you build it they will come." As for the Marquette game, MU is bigger at every position than GB. This will be a tough early season test. With MU going to no fans but still playing at Fiserv Forum that should help GB keep it competitive as the atmosphere won't overwhelm them. Though MU is bigger they are still working in a lot of key new pieces as well.
|
|
|
Post by tsissicran on Nov 15, 2020 9:07:02 GMT -6
I Have a few things to say about several posts. First RP40. Up tempo style does not mean poor defense. It does mean more possessions for both teams. It is a style meant to wear the other team down. It is obvious that the fans of Green Bay prefer the slower pace basketball.
I understand the frustration with the inconsistent play of Darner's teams on many nights. I am sure he felt the same way at the end of many of those games. I am also sure the players felt the same frustrations. It is always much easier to be a critic when you are not the one doing the job. Darner did not have a lot of support from his Athletic Director so I am sure that made his job incredibly difficult. (I will explain why I say this in a moment) Darner's job was to find players who could be competitive every night and win the Horizon League. (all out of Wisconsin according to numerous unhappy fans) I find it interesting that now one fan's expectation is be competitive every night and finish in the top 5. Top 5??? It wasn't good enough that Darner finished in the top 3.
Darner was set up to fail at his job. Why do I say this? He had an athletic director who did not hire him. Apparently that is a big problem for athletic directors and their egos I guess. Darner's team had to play a ridiculous schedule of money games-5 last year. Why?? I would assume to make money for the athletic department. Why was it the boys basketball coaches job to raise so much money for the athletic department?? So you play a ridiculous schedule before conference starts and your team is tired physically from all the travel and mentally from losing. But the Athletic Director wanted the easy money. The few people on here make assumptions about Darner's personality and what he was or was not doing when I highly doubt you really know what was truly occurring.
I am sure once our lives return to something normal the leaders will invest in better scheduling. Darner is gone and the Chancellor and Athletic Director will never do to Will Ryan what was done to Darner. Will Ryan has the protection of his father and the community.
|
|
|
Post by thetulsawarrior on Nov 15, 2020 11:41:59 GMT -6
Success in life has everything to do with the combination of person, place, time, and luck. Without the right combination of those factors, you cannot have success. The Nix had that with Dick Bennett and haven't been able to put together the magic combination since then. Darner had enough of those factors in his first season to make a late run. Wardle came close several times but never had the luck element going for him. (there was also a maturity issue that needed time to deal with) Kowalczyk's timing suffered from a fan Bennett success hangover and never finding a point guard that could make his system work. For Ryan to succeed it will take a fullcourt press involving community leaders, the Chancellor, the AD, and the Bo network. The first signs are encouraging.
Best wishes to Coach Darner and his family.
|
|