After what i witnessed Tuesday night at Indiana State, i am completely convinced that this team needs a practice facility. I'm all in. Where do i donate? haha
Just two cents from someone who worked for the basketball program during the Hinson era :
Basketball would benefit greatly from a practice facility. The arena is often available on paper, but there were many times where things just wouldn't be configured in the most efficient way. On days of games for example, you only would have 2 hoops availble. And this would impact the men on women's gamedays and women on men's gamedays. Or after graduation or a concert, the hoops wouldn't be on the floor at all. The managers would roll them out, but the maintenence people had to be the ones to actually hook them into place, so they weren't exactly stable. Davies was the backup facility, and its not a full sized floor if I recall correctly. Is it a first-world problem? Yes. Could SIU spend its money on something better? Probably. But if you're going to invest in athletics, I'd say a practice facility in the Arena parking lot would be a good one. You could probably put a small one in the north arena lot, connect it to the weight room.
That would be the best location as the huge south parking lot is never full unless there's a game. The rec center is for the general student population and should stay that way.
I really question the need for one, however. That arena is unused the majority of the time.
Maybe Tedrick should put his $6 million into a practice facility.
