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More quotes from Whitesell in this video: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=880536935929458 Notably he mentioned that Hardnett has competition from Skogman to start, Jones is ready to play a lot of PG minutes and Mading is making a bid for a lot of minutes. I think all of this was semi-expected, but it's exciting to hear him speak highly of younger guys. We know what we have in the returners but if they're being outplayed by young guys I think that's what takes us from #77 in KenPom last year to having the ceiling of a bubble-caliber team.

You need the wins. Metrics don’t get you in without some notable wins. when a .500 Cuse gets in and they point to metrics it is because Cuse also has a few wins against top teams to go with their quad three losses. You’re not getting an at large without a marquee win.

The facility is a major issue. I would much rather have the stadiums at Albany or Stony Brook. Removing the track doesn’t solve the problem. The problem is that the seats are just too far away. Lower the field and you can add 8 rows of seating but you’re still left with 20,000 seats no one wants to sit in.

The football stadium is absolutely miserable. The stadium gets fixed the crowd will come College football in the north especially in pro football towns will always be a tough draw. The weather is a killer. Does the die hard football fan in buffalo want to spend both Saturday and Sunday in 30 degree weather out doors on a weekend? Would a roofed facility be beneficial? (If money wasn't an issue)

Agreed (it’s funny). (Seriously though) Even if their improvement is only behind closed doors in practice, they will elevate the production of their teammates. I feel either could go off for a 10&7 type game at any time, if called upon. Sure, those games may be outliers. Even reducing these numbers to 2 points and 2 rebounds per game, over the season that would be helpful.

In addition, I’d also rate the current Bertram / Fagan over their ‘18-‘19 versions.

Don’t need to capture the massive NYC audience. Just need to engage the former True Blue members who now live downstate and have them come to one game a year in NYC and give a little money to the program every year. That alone would lead to a substantial increase in donations to the program, increase in viewership on streaming services (which is a metric used for conference realignment), increase in engagement between alumni and fans in the NYC area (creating a downstate booster chapter stronghold) which would end up with the teams getting invited to the showcase events at Barclays and MSG that you see Iona, Hofstra, and Monmouth getting invited to from time to time where they get to play major programs. It’s a snowball. Yes, it will start small. But every year you build on it. That’s how you build a fan base. You can’t jump around with no vision and strategy.

This is a cop out. The push to remove the Buffalo name was a poor plan that was clunky and had the worst execution. Buffalo is the name of the school. Just like Syracuse is the name of a school. That doesn’t stop the Orange from playing in NYC to reach an alumni base. The same with how many other schools play games in large metro areas where they have a large concentration of alumni. The athletic department never made a push to reach alumni by bringing the teams to them. The thinking was that the team needed to play home games to try to cultivate local fans (while trying to remove the Buffalo brand at the same time). And the idea was that it was more important to get a paycheck from the highest bidder no matter where they were located and only play other mid-majors in tournaments if they couldn’t get into top tournaments. The issue was that the strategy wasn’t consistent. They were constantly at odds with their strategy as it changed constantly based on whatever they wanted at any given moment. Think about it… (1) We are New York’s team and need to drop the Buffalo brand because it holds us back from down state alums caring about us but (2) we need to have a major push to engage the local fans and sponsors because they are the lifeblood that will keep the program alive. (1) We need to make sure that we brand ourselves as New York’s team to gain favor with downstate so they will follow the team but (2) we need to play games in Texas against big name schools because that will get people in Texas familiar with the the Buffalo brand. (1) We need to play a non-D1 team every season because we don’t have the budget to play anyone else but (2) we can’t play a home/home with Hofstra, Albany, or Iona in front of alumni because they aren’t big time enough. (1) We need to play games that get on Regional sports networks in California and Florida because that will get people familiar with Buffalo who haven’t heard of them but (2) can’t play games against Siena, Colgate, or Cornell that will be shown across New York on cable because it will only reach people in the Eastern part of the state or downstate despite being New York’s Public Powerhouse. (1) We need to focus on recruiting in the Great Lakes region because that’s where our conference is located and where recruits are familiar with us but (2) need to drop the Buffalo brand because it makes the alumni and prospective students down state seem like they are we are in the Midwest. (1) Need to play a game against Canisius at Key Bank Center so that we are in front of our fans who don’t travel to Amherst while getting experience playing in a game that mimics the NCAA tournament but can’t play a home/home deal with Fairfield (Webster Bank Arena) which would be closer to the alumni base.

Imagine trying to capture that massive downstate alumni audience in some way (considering they aren't driving 8 hours to a game)... If only someone tried that... At any rate, the stadium is not a good experience and that needs to be worked on -- wherever it may end up. I may not be alive to see the next (large) steps of UB athletics, but at least I got to see them win a bowl game in my lifetime AND win some games in the NCAA tournament. 20 years ago, that seemed like a pipedream.

The locals made it very clear that UB doesn't represent anything East of ROC.

*Shrugs* One of the great mysteries that makes no logical sense when you market yourself as the flagship State Public Powerhouse.

Why don't they play ooc games downstate?

Jayvon has signed with the Austin Spurs, the g league affiliate of San Antonio. Good luck to him, rooting for his success!