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Post by Garry Gilbert on Dec 4, 2010 21:11:22 GMT -5
OU punched UMKC in the mouth in the first five minutes of this game and never let up. Too bad the Grizz couldn't get to the 100-point mark. Still, this 99-62 score against a decent Kangaroo team will be raise some eyebrows around the Summit League.
I saw Reggie Hamilton play when he was at UMKC ... he looked like a decent player then ... but I had no idea he was this talented. He played like a possessed man tonight with speed and intensity. He can score in a variety of ways.
And what can you say about Kito Benson?
In the post-game press conference, Coach Kampe said he was disappointed in the size of the home crowds so far ... because Benson is a special player and he has only nine home games left. Kampe said OU may never have another player quite like him.
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Post by dantheman on Dec 4, 2010 22:16:48 GMT -5
Great game to be at. Glad to come out of this 2-0, as Kampe said, that is what was most important.
Very very interesting to hear Kampe's comment about attendance. The most interesting thing about it was the fact that no one asked a question, which tells me that it was something he really wanted to say.
I'm not terribly sad about this for an early season game, considering few people are thinking about basketball now. Student attendance has been not too bad, especially considering it is finals week. I know of a fair amount of dedicated fans who did not come because of studying. Hopefully that games after break will be better.
Another thing I wondered: why we have never converted one of the OU billboards into an ad for the basketball team? Especially since we have a player like Kito. The one near 75 would be perfect for it, and it would obviously advertise the school as well.
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Post by Kim Jong Skillz on Dec 4, 2010 22:21:20 GMT -5
Another thing I wondered: why we have never converted one of the OU billboards into an ad for the basketball team? Especially since we have a player like Kito. The one near 75 would be perfect for it, and it would obviously advertise the school as well. thats a great idea because we dont really need a billboard of OU in this area. all the local residents know OU is here, so its just wasted advertising. being able to feature a NBA center would be huge in this market. off topic but i really felt the same way about ford field yestaday. the MAc championship football game was there. i would have gone if i had known, but i hadnt heard seen any commercials on tv or heard any on the radio. my group of friends & i were watching friday night football & were like "man we would have gone had we known this game was there". |
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Post by dantheman on Dec 4, 2010 22:21:57 GMT -5
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Post by blackandgold on Dec 4, 2010 22:37:43 GMT -5
Wow! That is a great photo. And couldn't agree more about the billboard idea, dantheman. Seeing a gigantic Keith Benson and Grizzly head would seem to spur interest. Kampe is right though, folks should be at these games. While Reggie has been stealing the spotlight, I've been really impressed with Larry Wright the past two games. I wrote about this more in my latest recap post ( here), but almost all of his baskets the last two games have been the result of a great move to the basket when his team needs it. He hasn't forced the issue, and it has resulted in a lot of high percentage shots that make use of his athletic ability. Just like with Ledrick, I wouldn't mind if I never saw Larry shoot another three again. He is accomplishing a lot with this newfound approach. |
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Post by Garry Gilbert on Dec 4, 2010 23:02:35 GMT -5
Good idea, Dantheman. A few years ago, the billboard on I-75 near the Silverdome said something like "This is Golden Grizzly country."
I liked that. It was intriguing. Probably 40,000 drivers went past that sign each day with no idea what it meant, but they had to wonder.
Put pictures of Kito Benson and Will Hudson up there. Nine homes games remaining to see these guys.
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Post by Germane on Dec 5, 2010 0:49:59 GMT -5
Glad Kampe said something about how important it is for people to come out to see Benson. Amen. We should all be missionaries bringing people to the O'Rena.
And, to beat a dead horse, by any normal standard the local media should be consistently all over Benson as a major sports story in this area. How many completely unheralded recruits around here blossom into first round NBA picks?! I think Kampe should have pointed this out in his remarks about attendance. It won't necessarily change anything at the Freep or Detroit News or local sports radio, but it should still be said.
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Post by biglew on Dec 5, 2010 1:44:05 GMT -5
Nice idea dantheman. I would also like to see some TV spots for OU basketball. A nice 30 second spot or two would be great!
I just had an idea for my fellow Grizz Gang members....
E-Board,
Would it be possible to place "GAME DAY" signs at each entrance to the university? I know we have the current "GAME DAY" sign by the caf., but I think some signs with information about the Grizz Gang student section, basketball game day info, the game time, and ticket price would be great. I am thinking like election quality signs.
I also think the same type of signs could be placed along the side walk leading from the dorms to the O'Rena on each game day. We could have like 10 signs along that path. (We could even put arrows on the signs leading the way).
Having these signs out all day I think would spark some interest.
Could we get WXOU to do their game day preview in the caf. during dinner before each home game?
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Post by biglew on Dec 5, 2010 2:18:14 GMT -5
Wow! That is a great photo. And couldn't agree more about the billboard idea, dantheman. Seeing a gigantic Keith Benson and Grizzly head would seem to spur interest. Kampe is right though, folks should be at these games. While Reggie has been stealing the spotlight, I've been really impressed with Larry Wright the past two games. I wrote about this more in my latest recap post (here), but almost all of his baskets the last two games have been the result of a great move to the basket when his team needs it. He hasn't forced the issue, and it has resulted in a lot of high percentage shots that make use of his athletic ability. Just like with Ledrick, I wouldn't mind if I never saw Larry shoot another three again. He is accomplishing a lot with this newfound approach. I like the attendance figures from 2007 - 2010 in your recap. OU and OU fans should be proud of those numbers. The D1 program is just over 10 years old and the steps OU has taken so far are tremendous. It takes time to build a program/tradition and the entire OU community should be proud to be apart of the construction. Just think, five years ago the student section was small. Now the Grizz Gang Student Section is always full, and is a student org. with over 1,000 members. I think the 2010 ORU vs OU homecoming game is a great example of the growing OU basketball community. BUT Kampe has a point...this is a team to come out and watch |
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Post by dantheman on Dec 5, 2010 12:19:17 GMT -5
Thanks for the ideas for the Grizz Gang biglew.
Everyone is making good points about his team being a team to watch, but what will be interesting to see is how well people come out when we aren't beating SL teams but 30 points. How good is attendance when we are picked to be 4th in SL, and so on. Now hopefully our string of relative might will continue, as I believe it will, but it will be a good test of our fanbase to see how we are doing A.K. (After Kito)
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