Don’t look now

[unlove]

but UNR looks to be legit. Generally I could care less about UNR but fair or not they’re a barometer for UNLV’s program. If UNLV is doing worse than UNR it should serve as a major red flag to the AD that the state of the program is in trouble. Obviously there are many other red flags, particularly now, but UNR is one that has an added bit of anger and frustration to the fan base. UNLV, with its facilities and history, should simply never be second fiddle to UNR in basketball. It raises questions not only of the coach but of the AD and the commitment to the program. It should be a firable offense for both. Not suggesting that Harp should be fired; he’s actually one of the few I have confidence is not at all happy with the current state of the program. But hell man where’s the pride? CKK now has all the pieces available and healthy. He better make a serious run in conference play. No excuses. Deliver or be escorted to the exit.

 

[mwsn7022012]

but UNR looks to be legit. Generally I could care less about UNR but fair or not they’re a barometer for UNLV’s program. If UNLV is doing worse than UNR it should serve as a major red flag to the AD that the state of the program is in trouble. Obviously there are many other red flags, particularly now, but UNR is one that has an added bit of anger and frustration to the fan base. UNLV, with its facilities and history, should simply never be second fiddle to UNR in basketball. It raises questions not only of the coach but of the AD and the commitment to the program. It should be a firable offense for both. Not suggesting that Harp should be fired; he’s actually one of the few I have confidence is not at all happy with the current state of the program. But hell man where’s the pride? CKK now has all the pieces available and healthy. He better make a serious run in conference play. No excuses. Deliver or be escorted to the exit.

Erick Harper had his hands tied. He didn’t hire Kevin Kruger and had to give him at least three years.

I would be shocked if Kevin Kruger gets a fourth year.

 

[rebel5280]

Erick Harper had his hands tied. He didn’t hire Kevin Kruger and had to give him at least three years.

I would be shocked if Kevin Kruger gets a fourth year.

I sure hope not, or it will be more of the same underachieving brand of basketball!

 

[j. spilotro]

but UNR looks to be legit. Generally I could care less about UNR but fair or not they’re a barometer for UNLV’s program. If UNLV is doing worse than UNR it should serve as a major red flag to the AD that the state of the program is in trouble. Obviously there are many other red flags, particularly now, but UNR is one that has an added bit of anger and frustration to the fan base. UNLV, with its facilities and history, should simply never be second fiddle to UNR in basketball. It raises questions not only of the coach but of the AD and the commitment to the program. It should be a firable offense for both. Not suggesting that Harp should be fired; he’s actually one of the few I have confidence is not at all happy with the current state of the program. But hell man where’s the pride? CKK now has all the pieces available and healthy. He better make a serious run in conference play. No excuses. Deliver or be escorted to the exit.

UNR fired their coach after two years and you have to think part of it was …. UNLV embarrassed them on the field … and the jealousy of how quickly we turned into having some element of legitimacy in just one year after being so bad for so long.

But had we scheduled Bethesda and like teams in place of four of our losses … we’d be looking great right now and our average point differential would be +22 per game and we’d be a final four darkhorse. Too bad we could only last second shuffle things to get one absolutely unnecessary game with them.

(Yeah, I lost some respect with that move and will fully admit I may have misjudged in thinking there was a tough mindset running things.)

 

[TimothyC3]

but UNR looks to be legit. Generally I could care less about UNR but fair or not they’re a barometer for UNLV’s program. If UNLV is doing worse than UNR it should serve as a major red flag to the AD that the state of the program is in trouble. Obviously there are many other red flags, particularly now, but UNR is one that has an added bit of anger and frustration to the fan base. UNLV, with its facilities and history, should simply never be second fiddle to UNR in basketball. It raises questions not only of the coach but of the AD and the commitment to the program. It should be a firable offense for both. Not suggesting that Harp should be fired; he’s actually one of the few I have confidence is not at all happy with the current state of the program. But hell man where’s the pride? CKK now has all the pieces available and healthy. He better make a serious run in conference play. No excuses. Deliver or be escorted to the exit.

They do and Alford is in year 5. I watched the game and Blackshear and Lucus are legit. Also, Alford can coach and the Lobos haven’t been the same since he left for UCLA. But his performance at Reno after year 3 where Reno went 13-18, 6-12 in the MWC and finishing in 8th place would have resulted in an immediate call for his termination. Reno didn’t make the NCAA’s until year 4 as one of the last 4 in.

 

[1Tripoda]

They do and Alford is in year 5. I watched the game and Blackshear and Lucus are legit. Also, Alford can coach and the Lobos haven’t been the same since he left for UCLA. But his performance at Reno after year 3 where Reno went 13-18, 6-12 in the MWC and finishing in 8th place would have resulted in an immediate call for his termination. Reno didn’t make the NCAA’s until year 4 as one of the last 4 in.

We cannot afford to be that patient when you got all of these other sports, professional or Lady Rebels and Football being this successful. Our once proud MBB is relegated into last in the city. Not acceptable at the very least.

 

[j. spilotro]

We cannot afford to be that patient when you got all of these other sports, professional or Lady Rebels and Football being this successful. Our once proud MBB is relegated into last in the city. Not acceptable at the very least.

We didn’t need patience for WBB. Or FB. Other schools don’t require it for everything. But here at UNLV, somehow it’s absolutely required for men’s hoops for silly excuse 1-15.

Utah State. New coach, first year. Zero returning points to the program. 12 or 13 brand spanking new first year players at Utah state. No, they didn’t play the toughest schedule so far, our SOS is better I assume but it doesn’t crush theirs. But they’re 10-1 and they have some realistic hopes moving forward.

I’m not saying they’re great, we may even beat them/sweep them. But they are looking forward to the season and as our home attendance will show at being 80% empty seats - we are already looking to four games at the Mack in March and next Spring football without football even being over yet.

So the whole “look how long this guy needed” can be easily met with “look how little time this guy needed” …. The question becomes, why are we always the ones who need more time each and every time … so many excuses to avoid the recognition that perhaps we keep hiring the wrong people.

 

[Bullmastiff 1]

We didn’t need patience for WBB. Or FB. Other schools don’t require it for everything. But here at UNLV, somehow it’s absolutely required for men’s hoops for silly excuse 1-15.

Utah State. New coach, first year. Zero returning points to the program. 12 or 13 brand spanking new first year players at Utah state. No, they didn’t play the toughest schedule so far, our SOS is better I assume but it doesn’t crush theirs. But they’re 10-1 and they have some realistic hopes moving forward.

I’m not saying they’re great, we may even beat them/sweep them. But they are looking forward to the season and as our home attendance will show at being 80% empty seats - we are already looking to four games at the Mack in March and next Spring football without football even being over yet.

So the whole “look how long this guy needed” can be easily met with “look how little time this guy needed” …. The question becomes, why are we always the ones who need more time each and every time … so many excuses to avoid the recognition that perhaps we keep hiring the wrong people.

Said this many times. I think each school is different in terms of best way to approach and what is possible.

With football a quick turn around is possible, but not easy considering the size of rosters. Even with the portal it can take a season or two or three to right the ship. That said you still should see some growth every year..You'll usually know by end of year three if it was the right hire.

Basketball with much smaller rosters really shouldn't take 3-4 years. Especially with the portal. Plus one dynamic player can change trajectory of team vs football where unless you land an elite QB a single player doesn't change your team all that much.

One of the downsides to the portal is that there's so much pressure on coaches to win now, they are becoming overly reliant on it. And if you miss on guys you're back to square one the next year scurrying to find that quick fix.

 

[TimothyC3]

Is a quick turnaround possible? Maybe. But what is the probability? What are the odds, especially when UNLV won’t pay its basketball coaches?

The bottom line is quite simple. When UNLV basketball make a real commitment to winning (making ncaa on a regular basis) they will succeed. But that hasn’t occurred in 30 plus years.

 

[j. spilotro]

Is a quick turnaround possible? Maybe. But what is the probability? What are the odds, especially when UNLV won’t pay its basketball coaches?

The bottom line is quite simple. When UNLV basketball make a real commitment to winning (making ncaa on a regular basis) they will succeed. But that hasn’t occurred in 30 plus years.

Utah State has paid tons for their coaches, I guess. They’ve been better, far better, than UNLV the last 8 seasons. But I don’t think any of us want an Utah State level, either; that isn’t good enough.

But they showed, among others, you can pay less and get more than we’ve achieved.

Doing better than we’ve done shouldn’t be a pipe dream. Regardless of what we are doing. Are you saying we’ve come near expectations the past several seasons? When we don’t, some people just want to extend it not because they think it’s what’s best, they want to be right about it instead … and if it stays south, they just disappear for awhile.

It’s looking like I was wrong, dead wrong … I did have mixed feelings but I was pretty damn certain we’d be much better than we were with Otz and Menzies. We haven’t been. It might be worse.

I’m not going to double/triple down so I get a chance at a long shot “I told you so”. Something like that will never be my primary motivation. For some people, it’s more important than the game itself. That hanging on with the need to be right instead of facing the realities that a person sees but ignores … that’s what gets you to 2000 fans and games against Bethesda in the Cox.

It looks like I terribly misjudged the level we’d reach under Kevin. Oops. My bad, I was, gasp … wrong …

I was also wrong about Dedan. I thought he’d be solid and very good eventually. Dead wrong. He’s been really good immediately. I misjudged that one completely. Some others it looks like I was more on target.

Admissions aren’t hard, nobody is going to get 100% or close to it.

 

[rebelwithacause]

Utah State has paid tons for their coaches, I guess. They’ve been better, far better, than UNLV the last 8 seasons. But I don’t think any of us want an Utah State level, either; that isn’t good enough.

But they showed, among others, you can pay less and get more than we’ve achieved.

Doing better than we’ve done shouldn’t be a pipe dream. Regardless of what we are doing. Are you saying we’ve come near expectations the past several seasons? When we don’t, some people just want to extend it not because they think it’s what’s best, they want to be right about it instead … and if it stays south, they just disappear for awhile.

It’s looking like I was wrong, dead wrong … I did have mixed feelings but I was pretty damn certain we’d be much better than we were with Otz and Menzies. We haven’t been. It might be worse.

I’m not going to double/triple down so I get a chance at a long shot “I told you so”. Something like that will never be my primary motivation. For some people, it’s more important than the game itself. That hanging on with the need to be right instead of facing the realities that a person sees but ignores … that’s what gets you to 2000 fans and games against Bethesda in the Cox.

It looks like I terribly misjudged the level we’d reach under Kevin. Oops. My bad, I was, gasp … wrong …

I was also wrong about Dedan. I thought he’d be solid and very good eventually. Dead wrong. He’s been really good immediately. I misjudged that one completely. Some others it looks like I was more on target.

Admissions aren’t hard, nobody is going to get 100% or close to it.

I thought Kevin would be better - It took me about 5 minutes of watching the team in the beginning of the season to determine that in year 3 Kevin apparently has NO idea of what The F*** he is doing.

Does he plan out on how to assemble teams and a roster ? does he even have a plan ?

Kevin seems like he is too reactive, and needs to be more proactive. It Reminds me of the lack of work his Dad's staff had in his approach to recruiting in certain circles. almost like a "well its a complicated and sticky area that we just choose to avoid" Yeah that's called a "Chicken Shit" approach. and you lose every time to the boys who figure it out and roll with the ever changing recruiting landscape. UNLVs bball staff seems like they have been the "garbage collectors" when they assemble a roster. whatever 5th year transfer recruit they can get and then you can mix with whoever is available at that position bla bla bla. Its ragtag coaching with out a SYSTEM.

I know one thing - a head coach should be able to identify "toughness" better. A UNLV head coach should freaking DEMAND toughness from the sideline.

GET in their FRICKEN ASS and elicit some change in your players - Teach them how to move their bodies faster and quicker and harder - Practice HARDER !!! IDGAF if they are 5th years seniors - They ARE kids - they are NOT playing 100% effort and they need to represent UNLV better than what they have been showing.

the product on the floor is unacceptable - its not UNLV basketball

I dont feel sorry for him - He will be fine - He gets a whole year off to play golf when he gets bought out. He can then get a decent assistant job.

I was wrong last year too when I gave him the benefit of the doubt on the weak schedule - now his m/o is noticeably "the ala Marvin Menzies -chicken shit approach"

Live and Learn

 

[j. spilotro]

I thought Kevin would be better - It took me about 5 minutes of watching the team in the beginning of the season to determine that in year 3 Kevin apparently has NO idea of what The F*** he is doing.

Does he plan out on how to assemble teams and a roster ? does he even have a plan ?

Kevin seems like he is too reactive, and needs to be more proactive. It Reminds me of the lack of work his Dad's staff had in his approach to recruiting in certain circles. almost like a "well its a complicated and sticky area that we just choose to avoid" Yeah that's called a "Chicken Shit" approach. and you lose every time to the boys who figure it out and roll with the ever changing recruiting landscape. UNLVs bball staff seems like they have been the "garbage collectors" when they assemble a roster. whatever 5th year transfer recruit they can get and then you can mix with whoever is available at that position bla bla bla. Its ragtag coaching with out a SYSTEM.

I know one thing - a head coach should be able to identify "toughness" better. A UNLV head coach should freaking DEMAND toughness from the sideline.

GET in their FRICKEN ASS and elicit some change in your players - Teach them ho to move their bodies faster and quicker and harder - Practice HARDER !!! IDGAF if they are 5tgh years seniors - They ARE kids - they are LAZY AF and they need to represent UNLV better than what they have been showing.

the product on the floor is unacceptable - its not UNLV basketball

I dont feel sorry for him - He will be fine - He gets a whole year off to play golf when he gets bought out. He can then get a decent assistant job.

I was wrong last year too when I gave him the benefit of the doubt on the weak schedule - now his m/o is noticeably "the ala Marvin Menzies -chicken shit approach"

Live and Learn

With last seasons schedule, I consistently pointed out that it was a fluffy record and we weren’t nearly as good as it showed … of course, some people don’t like hearing that … but you couldn’t be sure … and then conference season showed up to show the OOC was indeed a joke. And that team, the one before vs this team … we had a couple of one on one players that could get their own and they bailed out the same offense we are seeing this year. Hero ball (it wasn’t quite that, but certainly one person dominant) made our current offense look palatable. Not always, but when they were hitting it looked fine. Dedan is our best player, easily … but he’s not a high volume scorer. So our offense this year is exposed as a poor offense that in its scheme creates very little opportunity .. it needs a high volume scorer to look decent. And the defenses of the three teams, rebounding … has been subpar across all three teams.

If we are going to continue to garbage collect from the portal, it’ll be a crapshoot every year, cross your fingers and hope … and that hasn’t worked well.

 

[WarthogRebel]

Utah State has paid tons for their coaches, I guess. They’ve been better, far better, than UNLV the last 8 seasons. But I don’t think any of us want an Utah State level, either; that isn’t good enough.

But they showed, among others, you can pay less and get more than we’ve achieved.

Doing better than we’ve done shouldn’t be a pipe dream. Regardless of what we are doing. Are you saying we’ve come near expectations the past several seasons? When we don’t, some people just want to extend it not because they think it’s what’s best, they want to be right about it instead … and if it stays south, they just disappear for awhile.

It’s looking like I was wrong, dead wrong … I did have mixed feelings but I was pretty damn certain we’d be much better than we were with Otz and Menzies. We haven’t been. It might be worse.

I’m not going to double/triple down so I get a chance at a long shot “I told you so”. Something like that will never be my primary motivation. For some people, it’s more important than the game itself. That hanging on with the need to be right instead of facing the realities that a person sees but ignores … that’s what gets you to 2000 fans and games against Bethesda in the Cox.

It looks like I terribly misjudged the level we’d reach under Kevin. Oops. My bad, I was, gasp … wrong …

I was also wrong about Dedan. I thought he’d be solid and very good eventually. Dead wrong. He’s been really good immediately. I misjudged that one completely. Some others it looks like I was more on target.

Admissions aren’t hard, nobody is going to get 100% or close to it.

"But I don’t think any of us want an Utah State level, either; that isn’t good enough."

My expectations have drastically changed over the years. I want a team that is top 3 in the Mt. West and competing for 1st place reg season in March. I want to go to NCAA's 3 out every 4 years. I want at least 1 NCAA Tournament win twice every 4 years. I want a final four before I die.

 

[j. spilotro]

"But I don’t think any of us want an Utah State level, either; that isn’t good enough."

My expectations have drastically changed over the years. I want a team that is top 3 in the Mt. West and competing for 1st place reg season in March. I want to go to NCAA's 3 out every 4 years. I want at least 1 NCAA Tournament win twice every 4 years. I want a final four before I die.

I think the only way to “survive” as a fan is to drastically reduce your expectations and quite frankly, forget any of the past glory.

But for some, it’s hard to compromise THAT much. Reducing expectations is one thing, but this is expecting and appreciating and lauding a former straight A student who now is now skipping 15 days a semester and getting D’s.

It’s the tremendous gap that is the issue, not that there is an actual gap.

It’s hard for me to comprehend that people are ok with where we are, make excuses for where we are, will call tinsel on a dog turd a beautiful tree … we all see it … call it what it is.

So you drive yourself crazy with expectations or give an exasperated sigh and let go a little bit more year after year. And then there are those that do neither because they somehow (I’ll never understand how they do it) convince themselves that it’s all good or will be good. Hey, we all have our defense mechanisms but God didn’t grant me that level of delusion/cognitive dissonance.

 

[rebel5280]

I think the only way to “survive” as a fan is to drastically reduce your expectations and quite frankly, forget any of the past glory.

But for some, it’s hard to compromise THAT much. Reducing expectations is one thing, but this is expecting and appreciating and lauding a former straight A student who now is now skipping 15 days a semester and getting D’s.

It’s the tremendous gap that is the issue, not that there is an actual gap.

It’s hard for me to comprehend that people are ok with where we are, make excuses for where we are, will call tinsel on a dog turd a beautiful tree … we all see it … call it what it is.

So you drive yourself crazy with expectations or give an exasperated sigh and let go a little bit more year after year. And then there are those that do neither because they somehow (I’ll never understand how they do it) convince themselves that it’s all good or will be good.

This can be said about a few select folks on the football board too! UNLV is where they are because of bad hiring and it did not have to be that way. I appreciate that this board is a place to vent and also give an opinion but some folks can’t stand it if you don’t agree with the kool aid drinking, silver lining bs that we are okay. Football and basketball can be much better, especially basketball but to say so is wrong and you should just be happy with where and who we are. I will never be okay with settling and I will keep giving my opinion because that is what a message board is about, different opinions! We need to move on from Kevin and we need to have better players in both football and basketball but basketball needs a new HC!

 

[j. spilotro]

This can be said about a few select folks on the football board too! UNLV is where they are because of bad hiring and it did not have to be that way. I appreciate that this board is a place to vent and also give an opinion but some folks can’t stand it if you don’t agree with the kool aid drinking, silver lining bs that we are okay. Football and basketball can be much better, especially basketball but to say so is wrong and you should just be happy with where and who we are. I will never be okay with settling and I will keep giving my opinion because that is what a message board is about, different opinions! We need to move on from Kevin and we need to have better players in both football and basketball but basketball needs a new HC!

It definitely cuts both ways.

To me it shows inherent flaws, an inability to have some mental flexibility, some objectivity, if you are ALWAYS on the same side of negative/positive outlooks.

The ones for me that are the funniest are - when something is glaringly obvious to 99.9% of people, but the 0.01% that sees things differently is so more vehement about their stance than any of the 99.99% are in theirs. The 2+2=4 crowd vs the no it doesn’t crowd.

 

[rebel5280]

I would love to see things change but after last year going 10-0 and I was saying we have turned the corner only to be smacked in the face with the rest of the season, well it will take something I can see before I say we are moving in the right direction again. I gave Kevin the benefit of the doubt this time last year, now he needs to go I have seen enough. Here’s hoping we become a football school but I don’t believe that starts tonight though!

 

[Bullmastiff 1]

Utah State has paid tons for their coaches, I guess. They’ve been better, far better, than UNLV the last 8 seasons. But I don’t think any of us want an Utah State level, either; that isn’t good enough.

But they showed, among others, you can pay less and get more than we’ve achieved.

Doing better than we’ve done shouldn’t be a pipe dream. Regardless of what we are doing. Are you saying we’ve come near expectations the past several seasons? When we don’t, some people just want to extend it not because they think it’s what’s best, they want to be right about it instead … and if it stays south, they just disappear for awhile.

It’s looking like I was wrong, dead wrong … I did have mixed feelings but I was pretty damn certain we’d be much better than we were with Otz and Menzies. We haven’t been. It might be worse.

I’m not going to double/triple down so I get a chance at a long shot “I told you so”. Something like that will never be my primary motivation. For some people, it’s more important than the game itself. That hanging on with the need to be right instead of facing the realities that a person sees but ignores … that’s what gets you to 2000 fans and games against Bethesda in the Cox.

It looks like I terribly misjudged the level we’d reach under Kevin. Oops. My bad, I was, gasp … wrong …

I was also wrong about Dedan. I thought he’d be solid and very good eventually. Dead wrong. He’s been really good immediately. I misjudged that one completely. Some others it looks like I was more on target.

Admissions aren’t hard, nobody is going to get 100% or close to it.

Best way I have had this described was earlier this year.

Before Rebs played Vandy in football I listened to a Vandy podcast.

Guy on there a long time fan said.

Schools are either committed to winning or just interested in it.

UNLV has been interested. Not sure how committed.

 

[JTthe2nd]

I think the only way to “survive” as a fan is to drastically reduce your expectations and quite frankly, forget any of the past glory.

But for some, it’s hard to compromise THAT much. Reducing expectations is one thing, but this is expecting and appreciating and lauding a former straight A student who now is now skipping 15 days a semester and getting D’s.

It’s the tremendous gap that is the issue, not that there is an actual gap.

It’s hard for me to comprehend that people are ok with where we are, make excuses for where we are, will call tinsel on a dog turd a beautiful tree … we all see it … call it what it is.

So you drive yourself crazy with expectations or give an exasperated sigh and let go a little bit more year after year. And then there are those that do neither because they somehow (I’ll never understand how they do it) convince themselves that it’s all good or will be good. Hey, we all have our defense mechanisms but God didn’t grant me that level of delusion/cognitive dissonance.

We still have the best facilities by far in the conference and among the best on the west coast. I know it doesn't matter as much with NIL money being thrown around but still, we should be able to shoot for and expect a top 3 finish EVERY year and I don't think I'm being unreasonable at all. It's not like the other MWC teams are swimming in NIL money.

 

[j. spilotro]

We still have the best facilities by far in the conference and among the best on the west coast. I know it doesn't matter as much with NIL money being thrown around but still, we should be able to shoot for and expect a top 3 finish EVERY year and I don't think I'm being unreasonable at all. It's not like the other MWC teams are swimming in NIL money.

You’re not being unreasonable. We just have a subset of fans that are ultra-forgiving. They’d get beat unmercifully as a child and still say thank you for a scoop of ice cream.

 

[unlove]

So much needs to change. Even the T&M is likely on its last years. The planned NBA arena is already enticing NFR to move to that facility when built. That will put the nail in the coffin for the T&M. UNLV cannot sustain the cost of that facility with no NFR and a MBB team losing season ticket holders and drawing 2000 fans per game. Gamers don’t want the competition from a public arena undercutting deals in their arenas so they will put the screws to UNLV not to compete for events. UNLV will need to leverage gaming and the Legislature for the $$ to replace the T&M with a smaller arena more suitable for college. That should help with the game experience. Many challenges ahead for MBB on and off the court.

 

[Meister_Rebel]

So much needs to change. Even the T&M is likely on its last years. The planned NBA arena is already enticing NFR to move to that facility when built. That will put the nail in the coffin for the T&M. UNLV cannot sustain the cost of that facility with no NFR and a MBB team losing season ticket holders and drawing 2000 fans per game. Gamers don’t want the competition from a public arena undercutting deals in their arenas so they will put the screws to UNLV not to compete for events. UNLV will need to leverage gaming and the Legislature for the $$ to replace the T&M with a smaller arena more suitable for college. That should help with the game experience. Many challenges ahead for MBB on and off the court.

The NFR has extended the contract with the T&M until 2035.

 

[unlove]

The NFR has extended the contract with the T&M until 2035.

I may be mistaken but I think the contract is with LVE (effectively LVCVA). I’m not confident it won’t move if the powers that be want it moved.

 

[Meister_Rebel]

I may be mistaken but I think the contract is with LVE (effectively LVCVA). I’m not confident it won’t move if the powers that be want it moved.

Not locked in as the permanent home but, they LVE and NFR are happy at the T&M.

 

[Masked_rebel]

So much needs to change. Even the T&M is likely on its last years. The planned NBA arena is already enticing NFR to move to that facility when built. That will put the nail in the coffin for the T&M. UNLV cannot sustain the cost of that facility with no NFR and a MBB team losing season ticket holders and drawing 2000 fans per game. Gamers don’t want the competition from a public arena undercutting deals in their arenas so they will put the screws to UNLV not to compete for events. UNLV will need to leverage gaming and the Legislature for the $$ to replace the T&M with a smaller arena more suitable for college. That should help with the game experience. Many challenges ahead for MBB on and off the court.

Allen Fieldhouse is what approaching 70 years old? Cameron is 83... you don't have to tear down the old just because it got old. If the big events no longer want to come, there are ways to make the experience better without tearing it down. Change the seating if you're not needing the open floor, renovate the exterior to make it look more modern, etc.. We don't need to make the Arena smaller just because, I'd rather the program get better

 

[unlove]

It’s not about number of seats but cost of maintaining the facility.

 

[mwsn7022012]

UNLV having an 18,000 seat arena in 2024 is stupid. The T&M was built before these other, more modern, arenas came on board.

Tear it down, build something around 10,000-12,000.

 

[saulpaul21]

UNLV having an 18,000 seat arena in 2024 is stupid. The T&M was built before these other, more modern, arenas came on board.

Tear it down, build something around 10,000-12,000.

So you want tear down a perfectly fine arena and build another for hundreds of millions when the real problem is our current team might not fill big high school gyms.


Unlv needs a winning coach that can generate some excitement. Do not know if that is even possible anymore.

 

[mwsn7022012]

So you want tear down a perfectly fine arena and build another for hundreds of millions when the real problem is our current team might not fill big high school gyms.


Unlv needs a winning coach that can generate some excitement. Do not know if that is even possible anymore.

The arena is out of date. Ask Rebel Robert!

 

[unlove]

My point in raising the T&M wasn’t to suggest it should be torn down but to highlight that UNLV cannot afford to operate and maintain and 18,500 seat arena with its own teams. The NFR is its only money maker and if lost the T&M and UNLV will be in a world of hurt. It’s just a matter of time before NFR is lured away. UNLV badly needs MBB to get back to being a consistent NCAA Trny program.

 

[WarthogRebel]

UNLV having an 18,000 seat arena in 2024 is stupid. The T&M was built before these other, more modern, arenas came on board.

Tear it down, build something around 10,000-12,000.

Need it for the Rodeo.

 

[dcut03]

Need it for the Rodeo.

And apparently Disney on ice. Two remaining events that generate a bunch of revenue for the athletic department.

 

[TheMatrix31]

UNLV having an 18,000 seat arena in 2024 is stupid. The T&M was built before these other, more modern, arenas came on board.

Tear it down, build something around 10,000-12,000.

They just invested $70 million into that place. No way they tear it down just to replace it.

 

[TheMatrix31]

My point in raising the T&M wasn’t to suggest it should be torn down but to highlight that UNLV cannot afford to operate and maintain and 18,500 seat arena with its own teams. The NFR is its only money maker and if lost the T&M and UNLV will be in a world of hurt. It’s just a matter of time before NFR is lured away. UNLV badly needs MBB to get back to being a consistent NCAA Trny program.

I honestly don’t think it gets lured away… maybe, but I think the NFR really likes the intimate size and location. The only thing is if it moved to a future NBA stadium on south Las Vegas BLVD, the South Pojnt people would welcome it as they are huge rodeo peeps

 

[WarthogRebel]

I honestly don’t think it gets lured away… maybe, but I think the NFR really likes the intimate size and location. The only thing is if it moved to a future NBA stadium on south Las Vegas BLVD, the South Pojnt people would welcome it as they are huge rodeo peeps

Below is a major reason why the NFR loves the T&M.

Thomas And Mack Center's Two Bay Tunnel Design Sets Venue Apart To Host National Finals Rodeo; Friday's First Performance Attendance Announced At 17,675 - LVSportsBiz

By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer The sound of a braying horse was clearly heard in the National Finals Rodeo media

lvsportsbiz.com

 

[Couev]

The arena is out of date. Ask Rebel Robert!

Even a broken watch is right twice a day. The T&M is showing its age. It was designed in 1980, and finished construction at the end of 1983. They've been spending money to try to keep it as up to date as possible, but there's only so much plastic surgery you can give an aging actress--there's only so much you can do with 40 year old infrastructure. I just don't think we can afford to seriously upgrade or change it without serious prolonged success from the men's basketball team--and the 3+ years it would take to demolish and rebuild will take so much money out of the school's coffers that I'm not sure it will be feasible any time soon.

But the only way you can think that the T&M isn't way out of date is that you've haven't seen a game at a new, modern arena.

 

[dcut03]

Even a broken watch is right twice a day. The T&M is showing its age. It was designed in 1980, and finished construction at the end of 1983. They've been spending money to try to keep it as up to date as possible, but there's only so much plastic surgery you can give an aging actress--there's only so much you can do with 40 year old infrastructure. I just don't think we can afford to seriously upgrade or change it without serious prolonged success from the men's basketball team--and the 3+ years it would take to demolish and rebuild will take so much money out of the school's coffers that I'm not sure it will be feasible any time soon.

But the only way you can think that the T&M isn't way out of date is that you've haven't seen a game at a new, modern arena.

Fair enough, but how many college teams have updated their arenas. I know when I went to the UNLV at the Dean dome ~10 years ago, the T&M was much more modern than what they had. Same thing for games I saw at Texas, granted it has been several years.
Comparing the T&M to pro arenas is a little misleading IMO.

 

[j. spilotro]

Fair enough, but how many college teams have updated their arenas. I know when I went to the UNLV at the Dean dome ~10 years ago, the T&M was much more modern than what they had. Same thing for games I saw at Texas, granted it has been several years.
Comparing the T&M to pro arenas is a little misleading IMO.

I’ve been to tons of places as old as or even older than the Mack. I don’t mind it at all. I don’t need newfangled and modern. There is something to be said about older … the buildings have battle scars and history, some personality. I like knowing that “player X” walked the same floor.

I really don’t think the Mack needs any huge upgrades to keep up with the times. It needs fans in seats. The atmosphere matters, not the bells and whistles, imo.

 

[Couev]

Fair enough, but how many college teams have updated their arenas. I know when I went to the UNLV at the Dean dome ~10 years ago, the T&M was much more modern than what they had. Same thing for games I saw at Texas, granted it has been several years.
Comparing the T&M to pro arenas is a little misleading IMO.

I was only speaking regarding the arena being outdated. For college basketball arenas, I think we're probably still the the top quarter of facilities nationally, in part due to the multiple refreshes. We're also really a large capacity arena for a college basketball place. Most newer primary college basketball arenas are being built at 12k or less. And some places care more about history than we do.

But even apples to apples, I've seen a game at the YUM! Center, and it is much nicer. I've also seen concerts at Fiserv in Milwaukee (though that's obviously used by both Marquette and the Bucks), and FedEx in Memphis (again give also if the Grizzlies) and those are both much nicer.

I never mentioned pro arenas, though when evaluating arenas without context, i think I do wrap then in, especially when they are so heavily multi use in a very similar community role as the T&M.

 

[WarthogRebel]

I’ve been to tons of places as old as or even older than the Mack. I don’t mind it at all. I don’t need newfangled and modern. There is something to be said about older … the buildings have battle scars and history, some personality. I like knowing that “player X” walked the same floor.

I really don’t think the Mack needs any huge upgrades to keep up with the times. It needs fans in seats. The atmosphere matters, not the bells and whistles, imo.

I think an intense home environment is essential to establishing home floor advantage. But I'm of a mind that we will not again regularly fill the T&M and we'll seldom have the home advantage the team needs. I believe a smaller ( 10,000+- 2,000 with steep close-in seating ) stadium would be better for us because we have a chance to nearly fill it and have an intense experience. I think it could be an addition to the existing MACK like COX currently is. If we ever become a National Contender and we are playing a huge game we can open the Mack for that game. Other than that, it's for Rodeo, concerts and skating.