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Tuesday, December 26, 2000
More great stories about great 'barns'
By Joe Lunardi
Special to ESPN.com
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It's cold, it's snowing and I just walked into another great college basketball "barn." Some topics -- like the old arenas themselves -- simply won't die.
This trip is to E.A. Diddle Arena at Western Kentucky, where every seat is painted an alternating red or white. The rollaway bleachers on the baseline put the students thisclose to the playing floor, and it's easy to see how the Hilltoppers (and Lady Hilltoppers) have hung so many NCAA banners from the rafters.
We were planning a return to stat chat this week, but the "venue menu" keeps growing ... along with the volume of responses. Let's give it one more shot.
First, let me say that I appreciate getting your point of view on college basketball. However, I was shocked not to find either the
current or past home of the Arkansas Razorbacks on your list.
Let's take a look at old Barnhill Arena. This gym hosted games with greats such as Houston's Phi Slamma Jamma (including Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwan), the Triplets (an Arkansas' trio including Sidney Moncrief), May-Day (Lee Mayberry and Todd Day), Oliver Miller, Byron Scott, Joe Kleine, James Worthy, Shaquille O'Neal and, yes, even the
greatest, Michael Jordan. Was it the formidable fundamental basketball of the Razorbacks that defeated such greats? Not entirely.
These players were lucky to dribble the ball with the tremors that rocked the earth beneath Barnhill. Herds of elephants, you say? Nay! These are the rabid fans of HawgBall! They had a decibel meter that measured beyond a jet engine in an arena which was routinely filled and could hold no more noise. Eddie Sutton really began this marriage of
basketball and Razorback fans back in the 1970s.
Today it's coach Nolan Richardson who has brought the team to the cutting edge of basketball. We're not talking about that boring,
halfcourt, "plant an oak tree in the lane" basketball that those tired Carolina teams persist in. We're talking about "40 minutes of hell."
This is a "must-see" on your Hoops Venue Tour. Arkansas now plays at Bud Walton Arena, otherwise known as the basketball palace of the Midwest. It has given birth to an NCAA championship team, an NCAA runner-up and a
host of conference banners in less than a decade.
If you are unfamiliar with the old Barnhill Arena, then please have a research analyst (I'm sure you have several at your disposal) uncover the golden days of basketball from Arkansas. As for the "palace," come see some great basketball with the most exciting atmosphere you'll find in college basketball. Even in a sub-par season, you can watch an unranked Arkansas team beat the likes of No. 5 Kentucky and No. 2 Auburn in the same week (1998-99). I'll give you the tickets myself.
One catch, though. You have to "Call the Hogs!"
If Barnhill were still around, it absolutely would have made the "must-see" list. Bud Walton, being so new and so big, will have to wait its turn behind the truly historic gyms.
My best memory of Barnhill as an outsider was a visit by No. 1 UNLV during the 1990-91 season. The May-Day boys were thought to be the only team capable of giving that Rebel juggernaut a game. Although UNLV eventually prevailed, Barnhill was the loudest arena I ever "heard" on television.
From my experience, your excellent picture of Arkansas basketball has only one omission: I think the Hogs have the best pep band in America. A buddy and I even went to see it at FanFest during the 1995 Final Four in Seattle. The band was so good, we briefly stopped looking at the cheerleaders.
Oh, and by the way, my next "researcher" will be the first.
I know you already posted the replies to the "best barns," but I read the article a little late and had to give you my two cents. If you are going to talk barns, you have to include "The Barn."
The rightful owner of the name resides in Minneapolis. The place is crazy, and the raised floor and old style seating add to the ambiance. Even when the Gophers have a mediocre team (by Big Ten standards), they beat good teams at home because of "The Barn" and its fans. Thanks and keep up the good work.
I have a first cousin in Minneapolis who has yet to invite me to Williams Arena. If I'm lucky enough to attend this year's Final Four in the Twin Cities, count me in for a "side" trip.
I love the new Box Score Banter. Reading stories of the environment at a basketball game sparks memories of my own.
I grew up in Waterloo, Iowa. I loved the Hawkeyes. Carver-Hawkeye Arena was the first place I watched a Division I basketball game. Later on in life, I attended the University of Northern Iowa. I was a manager on the
men's basketball team and got to travel to many venues.
I can remember all of them, good and bad. Some of the good:
Redbird Arena in Normal, Illinois. I can always remember, in the early '90s, they would fill that place every time we came to town. Great student section.
Hammons Student Center, Springfield, Missouri. The "Bear Hair" and the "Bear Basketball Band" are in your ear on the visiting bench and they are relentless. There was a guy in the corner across from the visiting bench that has a sign for every occasion ("Marty the sign man," I've come to find out).
Titan Gym, Fullerton, California. Only seats 3,500, but it was loud and it was Dec. 28 and 75 degrees outside (that's great for a native Iowan!).
UNI-Dome, Cedar Falls, Iowa, when there were 19,000 fans there for the Northern Iowa-Iowa game my freshman year.
Some of the worst:
UNI-Dome, Cedar Falls, Iowa. Many other games there were only 2,000 fans in the Dome. (At present they are attempting to build a dedicated basketball arena on campus).
Omaha Civic Arena, Omaha, Neb. Before it was renovated a few years ago, it was an awful place to play. I can remember UNI coach Eldon Miller smacking his head on the entrance to the arena (you had to duck to enter the floor from the locker areas) two years in a row. He was genuinely concerned he'd really hurt himself and trying not to laugh at the same time.
I guess the atmospheres in places like these have shaped my career. I am currently the associate director at Hammons Student Center at Southwest Missouri State. I love the atmosphere for college basketball games in our place. You really should make a trek out here and catch both a men's and a women's game. Jackie Stiles (currently on pace to break the NCAA
Division I career scoring record) puts on a show, and the crowd won't disappoint you either.
Chris, make that the John Q. Hammons Center. I have seen both men's and women's basketball there on consecutive nights (men's NIT and women's NCAA games in 1993). Also met Mr. Hammons, who I do not believe is related to "Marty the sign man."
As a Cal alum, I'm shocked that you omitted the best gym in America, Harmon Gym.
Probably that "East Coast bias" I'm always being accused of come Bracketology time. Mea culpa.
I know I missed the spot, but I can't help but point out that you neglected one of the best homecourt advantages in college basketball: Assembly Hall, home of the Indiana Hoosiers. Although I've not been there since the departure of coach Knight, which I disagree with, I have had season tickets for the past two years as a student. Its small size and architecture amplify even the slightest noise (including coach Knight's voice, which we have heard in the balcony). It just doesn't get any better than a game in Bloomington.
I would hope you would take this into consideration the next time you discuss "barns," so to speak. Well, I've said my piece and hope you take my advice.
Morgan Wills
Bloomington, Ind.
I also disagreed with the departure of Bob Knight in September. It should have happened years ago. As for Assembly Hall, it is steeped in the tradition of a great program and basketball state. Provided you don't get hit by a chair, of course.
Just reading your readers' responses to your selections. I have one to add to the comments of Aaron from Lawrence ("Box Score Banter," 12/15/00):
One of the most memorable moments was seeing Wilt Chamberlain back in Allen Fieldhouse 40 years after he had last played there. He was wearing the Kansas letter jacket he had kept all those years, and had tears in his eyes as his retired jersey was raised to the rafters.
As a Philadelphian, my first basketball memory is of Wilt Chamberlain for the 76ers at old Convention Hall. Those 1966-67 Sixers won the NBA title behind Wilt, Luke Jackson, Chet Walker, Wali Jones and Hal Greer. Billy Cunningham was the "sixth" man on a team still considered one of the greatest ever.
Hey, I know I'm late, but nobody wrote in about St. John Arena. I used to go there when Ohio State was awful (before Michael Redd showed up). But when games were close, that place rocked.
I remember watching on TV when OSU played Indiana in that epic Calbert Cheany-Jim Jackson matchup and not being able to hear myself think. The students sat right on the floor, the place was steep and it felt like
the fans were all right on top of you.
I love the new "Schott" and it's nice, but it's a wine and cheese crowd and the school puts the students away from the floor. St. John Arena was the best place I have ever seen a game.
My only visit to St. John was for an NIT game in 1979. I couldn't believe how steep and loud it was, especially when fans spelled out
O-H-I-O around all four sides of the building. It looked like fans in the second level were literally hanging over the court.
Speaking of hanging, I hope Santa Claus put a new hoop ornament on everyone's tree. Happy Holidays!
Joe Lunardi is a regular in-season contributor for ESPN.com. He is also
contributing editor of the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook,
www.collegebaskets.com. Write to Joe at jlunardi@home.com.
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