Spring Break
The Star Report: Run, Rams, Run
Sean Star
Issue date: 2/20/09 Section: Sports
Earlier this week, members of the Athletics Department met with student groups to brainstorm ways to increase attendance by students at home basketball games.
A mix of giveaways and marketing strategies was discussed.
In the end, though, attendees reportedly agreed that the only sure thing is winning. (On a side note, everyone also agreed that the sun will rise every morning.)
But because the Rams can only control that winning variable so much, with the program currently in the midst of a monumental, well-documented rebuilding project, there is another solution: Take note from the Nuggets of recent past and become an up-and-down, run-and-gun, transition scoring machine. Or at least try to.
For the casual fan, watching a team score in the open court is far more entertaining than watching a team meticulously find the open man after a number of screens and cuts as part of a set offense.
Maybe, just maybe, if consistent transition basketball is something fans can expect to see, more of them will show up.
Granted, there is one glaring problem with this solution.
Tim Miles has made his mark as a tough, man-to-man defensive-minded coach who likes to run a motion-style offense.
Those philosophies don't exactly translate well into an up-tempo, fastbreak team. But as evidenced by Wednesday's near-upset of first-place Utah, the Rams are capable of getting easy baskets in the open court with speedy guards Marcus Walker and Willis Gardner taking the initiative.
CSU's 12 fastbreak points against the Utes were the most against any conference team all season and played a significant factor in coming this close to defeating a NCAA tournament-bound team for the second time this season.
Though Wednesday night's crowd was a modest 2,246, the energy the fans brought had at least some part to do with the Rams' effort and thus more transition opportunities.
"I loved our passion and our energy," Miles said. "I thought our kids went out and played the way I expect us to play every night. And I think that we've proven that when we play with that energy, we can play with anybody."
A mix of giveaways and marketing strategies was discussed.
In the end, though, attendees reportedly agreed that the only sure thing is winning. (On a side note, everyone also agreed that the sun will rise every morning.)
But because the Rams can only control that winning variable so much, with the program currently in the midst of a monumental, well-documented rebuilding project, there is another solution: Take note from the Nuggets of recent past and become an up-and-down, run-and-gun, transition scoring machine. Or at least try to.
For the casual fan, watching a team score in the open court is far more entertaining than watching a team meticulously find the open man after a number of screens and cuts as part of a set offense.
Maybe, just maybe, if consistent transition basketball is something fans can expect to see, more of them will show up.
Granted, there is one glaring problem with this solution.
Tim Miles has made his mark as a tough, man-to-man defensive-minded coach who likes to run a motion-style offense.
Those philosophies don't exactly translate well into an up-tempo, fastbreak team. But as evidenced by Wednesday's near-upset of first-place Utah, the Rams are capable of getting easy baskets in the open court with speedy guards Marcus Walker and Willis Gardner taking the initiative.
CSU's 12 fastbreak points against the Utes were the most against any conference team all season and played a significant factor in coming this close to defeating a NCAA tournament-bound team for the second time this season.
Though Wednesday night's crowd was a modest 2,246, the energy the fans brought had at least some part to do with the Rams' effort and thus more transition opportunities.
"I loved our passion and our energy," Miles said. "I thought our kids went out and played the way I expect us to play every night. And I think that we've proven that when we play with that energy, we can play with anybody."
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