Iup basketball

[EyeoftheHawk]

The KCAC was humming this past weekend.

Yes, this past weekend -- while the usual residents were across the state.

Indiana High School, sponsored by Mark Arbuckle Nissan, played a boys/girls doubleheader.

The "Road to the KCAC" Heritage Conference Championship is almost always the best atmosphere of the season in there ... but this wasn't all that far behind.

IHS has a budding superstar in Aaron Webb. Webb is a 6'8", do-it-all Junior -- who recently picked up an offer to play at Penn State (main). He will soon be flooded in major D1 offers. He's the show -- and the whole WPIAL knows it. He routinely is getting double and even triple teams. It didn't matter Saturday. Dubois had no chance against him.

I'm sure the local college coach can dream, but Webb is probably never playing another game at the KCAC. He put up 40 against Dubois -- including a few dunks that would even excite Damir Brooks. He also drained some NBA three-pointers. At the high school level, he can play all five positions.

Webb's brother Darius will likely be a D1 defensive lineman. Also a Junior, he's currently at about 6'5" and 250 lbs (and growing). He's athletic and not easy to move on a high school basketball court (or football field).

Indiana High also had a fantastic PA announcer -- loud but not over the top, energetic, enthusiastic, etc.

Both teams were also introduced with the fancy light show. The players eat it up. It adds to the atmosphere. The crowd loves it. I only wish the IUP men's team would be allowed to use it. It is a state of the art arena lighting system, yet the IUP men's team won't use it during introductions. I guess Joe prefers the "put the crowd to sleep" intro instead.


Indiana High put on a great show. It was so good, in fact, it was like a tease for what the KCAC could be like on IUP gamedays. The typical atmosphere as of late for Joe's games has been, well, not good.

This is a college basketball team. IUP has a phenomenal arena -- lighting, sound system, huge video board, etc. However, I think you know where this is going. You can't treat the game like it's being played in the Field House. Use the bells and whistles. Players want them. Students want them. Play college music. Use the fancy lights.

It's maddening. Get the energy going. It's needs spice. Attendance has been terrible the past 2.5 years -- and continuing to decline. They want students to actually show up and get engaged? Get the place bumping.

It's like owning a Ferrari and keeping it under 35 mph.

One time ... when IUP forces the other team to call a timeout ... I'd love to have some lively music que'd up, etc. (like all D1 teams do). It's these little things that the KCAC is capable of doing but doesn't. These are the things that engage the crowd. Not dead silence.

IUP has never gotten this right. Ever! Local high schools pull off an entertaining game experience in their own gyms and football stadiums way better than IUP. Your music comment is interesting. I like the music, but I’m 30 years out of college, LOL. If I like it you can bet the students don’t. They had a modern playlist for the women’s Education Day game and the kids loved it. It was the loudest the building will probably be all year and it was the IUP women vs Chatham.