Wants to play at the home of every D1 school in the state so as to promote Hoops to all Arkansans according to today’s Demozette.
He sounds like a politician that wants everybody to love and adore him.
The best way he can promote basketball is to get past Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament.
His basketball team won but was outrebounded once again last night by an inferior team. If he doesn’t get his team to do the hard work (play defense and fight for rebounds) this season will be just like the past few.
The lack of rebounding is a problem for all the teams he has had at Arkansas! It’s almost like they don’t practice with the intent to emphasize getting the rebound. That’s what stops your opponent. You will not outscore everyone you play.
Arkansas out-rebounded UAPB 35-34.
Army, have you seen them practice?
Gary Blair scheduled the team to play in North Little Rock and Hot Springs. I don’t think this is much different. The only difference is the opponent was an Arkansas school and not a team brought in from elsewhere. Blair knew that the way to build interest in women’s basketball was to go to the people and not wait around for them to come to him. He’d take any speaking engagement he could get to spread the word about women’s basketball. Neighbors does the same thing. Taking the team on the road to Pine Bluff, Jonesboro, Conway or Little Rock is an extension of that.
UALR has a great women’s program and UAPB seems to have something going for it with the two McDonald’s All-Americans who have transferred there. Those games have the potential to help the team grow.
Agreed, Matt. One Gary Blair’s characteristics Mike Neighbors emulates is his tireless promotion of women’s basketball in general and his program in particular. It served Gary very well.
No! But by watching games since he has been the coach the team hasn’t been good rebounding it has been a weakness!
Last year he said when asked he expected this year to rebound much better. Prior to the season last year he said last year’s team would rebound better but then he lost his center. Still rebounding is not part of his game. When we rebound better it would obviously be strange since rebounding is not something he coaches.
They finished next to last in SEC in rebounding last year. While I’m at it, UAPB finished tied for last in the country in rebounding last year.
I guess that means UAPB likely ranked lower than the second less proficient rebounding team in the SEC?
Actually Matt it is worlds apart from the time Gary Blair worked to build statewide interest in women’s basketball in our state. Television nor WiFi was prevalent in that era and promotion of game attendance was the objective. I recall shortly after Gary left LR/NLR attracted the SEC Women Basketball Tournament to the now Simmons Arena. Tennessee was the dominant power in SEC at the time with most program trying to step-up understanding no one else was putting forth the money necessary to compete with Pat’s women. Arkansas’s round game had a great turnout but even with the draw of Tennessee interest dropped with Arkansas’s loss. I seem to recall the tournament played once in Hot Springs after that. Back to Mike, applaud his efforts to build statewide interest. It is pretty clear 2500 is an average SEC attendance for a ceiling at BWA and he needs the support of fans outside NWA. The idea of playing the four schools is a good one, particularly for women basketball. Playing home I see is also a good idea since the draw for these games in Fayetteville is not but it is not great either. Reading the game story it is the 3000 in attendance last evening created a great game atmosphere and was enjoyed by Razorback players as well as he UAPB Lions. Again my issue is more around maximizing hos opportunity…televise the games. make it condition of playing the four schools.
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