Archive for the ‘YSU Basketball’ Category

Youngstown State University’s Lady Penguins returned home to face Butler Thursday.  The Bulldogs wore there special pink breast cancer awareness alternate road jerseys on the visit.  Butler got 34 points from Chloe Hamilton and came away with a 73-56 victory over the Penguins.

The Bulldogs came out of the gates fast with a 10-0 start.  The Butler lead would be as high as 16, but give Youngstown State some credit for hanging in there and cutting the halftime margin to 11.  Butler got big numbers from Hamilton who posted 20 first half points, five rebounds, and an assist.  Youngstown State, trailing 32-21 at the break, got eight from Brandi Brown.

In the first ten minutes of the second half, Butler outscored Youngstown State 24-12 to open up a 56-33 lead.  Alyssa Pittman hit a couple of threes for the Bulldogs to help compile the big lead for Butler.  Youngstown State cut the lead to 14 on some good defense when Kenya Middlebrooks and Macey Nortey each had a steal and Brandi Brown got a couple of transition baskets.  Hamilton (above), however, hit a couple of free throws to put Butler ahead 59-43.

Tieara Jones fouled out with 7:25 left in the game.  Jones had 12 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist for YSU.  With 5:21 left in the game, Hamilton again got fouled and hit two more free throws to put Butler ahead 66-46.  Monica Touvelle had one of her best games as a Penguin with 9 points.

When asked why he left Jones in the game with four fouls, Coach Bob Boldon replied, “I looked down the bench for our 6’4″ replacement player, but she wasn’t there, so I had to leave the 6’1″ player with four fouls in the game. Call it insanity for leaving the 6’1″ player in the game with four fouls, but I am insane.  If we don’t have both Brandi and Tieara in the game we get eaten alive on the boards, so I have to take my chances and leave them in as much as possible.”

With the loss, Youngstown State fell to 3-20 and 1-11 in conference play.  Brown took high scoring honors for YSU, while limping with an apparent right leg injury most of the game,  with 20 points and 9 rebounds.

Butler improved to 15-9 and 9-3 in Horizon League play.  Hamilton finished the game with 34 points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs in the win.  Senior, Brittany Bowen (below) also had 12 points and eight rebounds for Butler.

After the game, Coach Boldon talked about the struggles his team faced for a second consecutive contest.  “We just miss shots and turn the ball over.  I have never lost that many games in a season in my life.  Apparently, we are coming out not ready to play.  If an athlete comes not ready to play, there is something seriously wrong.”

Tisha Hill, former Youngstown State Coach, returned to Beeghly as a Butler assistant coach.  ” I have very fond memories of my time here.  It was weird being in the visitors locker room, it’s noisy in there. It felt good to come back and everyone welcomed me back with open arms proving just how special of a place this is.”

Senior Vytas Sulskis (above) tied a career scoring high with 26 points but the Youngstown State men’s basketball team dropped a hard-fought decision to Wright State, 74-70, on Monday evening at the Nutter Center.

Sulskis, who scored 20 points in the first half, made his first nine field goals and six 3-point attempts while freshman Kendrick Perry scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and dished out seven assists.

The Guins also made 11 3-pointers and shot 42.3 percent from behind the arc. It marked the sixth time this season the Guins made at least 10 3-pointers in a contest.  The Penuins, who shot 52.1 percent from the field fall to 8-16 overall and 2-12 in the Horizion League while Wright State improves to 17-9 overall and 8-4 in the league.

In a game that featured 15 ties and 16 lead changes and a lead of no more than five points by either team, Wright State’s Cole Darling converted two free throws with 1:18 to go to give the Raiders a 69-68 lead for the games final lead change.  WSU’s N’Gai Evans’ steal and layup gave the Raiders a 71-68 lead with 1:01 to go.

Perry brought the Penguins within one, 71-70, with a at jumper with 37 seconds remaining, but Evans added two more charity tosses to extend the lead back to three points, 73-70,, with 17 seconds to go.  Junior Ashen Ward’s game-tying 3-point attempt with 12 seconds left was off the mark and the Raiders’ Matt Vest made one of two free throws for the final score of the game, 74-70.

The Guins shot a blistering 62.5 percent in the first half but committed 11 turnovers that the Raiders turned into 15 points and the first half had nine ties and six lead changes.  The Raiders’ largest lead was four-points, 11-7 on a 3-pointer by Vest while the Guins’ largest lead was four points at three different times in the first half.

Ward made a jumper at the 7:11 mark to go up 25-21, then made a 3-pointer with 5:00 to go to take a 31-27 advantage and Perry made a layup with 4:05 left to to up 33-29.  The Raiders outscored the Guins, 11-7, to close out the half to take a 40-38 lead at the intermission

Fresh off the heels of a huge victory over Butler, the Youngstown State Penguins welcomed Valparaiso to town for their second monstrous challenge in three days.  Having lost 11 in a row to the Crusaders and Valpo’s Homer Drew breathing down Jerry Slocum’s neck on the active coaches wins list, the Penguins pushed the Crusaders to overtime, but fell 86-78.

“”I am disappointed with 16 turnovers, 12 of them in the second half.  There was a four minute stretch that we didn’t even take a shot and when you are playing the best teams in the league, we can’t afford things like that”, remarked Coach Slocum after the loss.

In the first half, Youngstown State jumped out to as large as a 12 point lead and was ahead 38-33 at intermission.  Damian Eargle picked up a couple of quick fouls and only logged five minutes on the floor, but the Penguins were not needing many offensive rebounds in the half as they shot 53.8% from the floor and even shot over 85% from the free throw line, a recent sore spot.  Kendrick Perry and Ashen Ward had eight points each in the half. Valpo got 11 from Brandon Wood and struggled from the charity stripe shooting 7-18 (38.9%) but stayed in the game thanks in part to an 18-10 rebounding edge.

In the second half, Valpo tied the game for the first time all night at 43 apiece with 15:06 left in the game.  Eargle was fouled with 14:17 remaining and hit a pair of free throws to give YSU a 47-46 lead.  Perry (above) hit a short runner in the paint with 12:49 left in the game to extend the Penguins lead to 52-47.  YSU pushed the lead to 56-49 on a 20-foot Perry jumper on the baseline with 10:45 left.  Vytas Sulskis nailed a three from the corner to push the Penguins lead to eight, and the home team smelled another upset brewing.

Valpo took a timeout with 9:01 remaining when DuShawn Brooks received a nice feed from Perry to push the lead back up into double digits at 63-53.  However, Wood picked Perry’s pocket and went the length of the court for a layup to pull the Crusaders to 63-59 with 8:18 left.  Eargle picked up a couple of cheap fouls in the span of a minute giving him four with 7:43 left in the game forcing Coach Slocum to sit the shot-blocking specialist.

With YSU ahead 66-65, Wood hit a three to give the Crusaders a two-point lead.  Another Valpo bucket with 4:52 left in the game gave the Crusader their biggest lead of the night at 70-66.  Sulskis hit one of two free throws with 2:54 left in the game to bring YSU to within two at 70-68.  Dan Boudler was fouled with 1:30 left but could only hit one of two.  Valpo had a 70-69 lead with 1:01 left in the game and the ball when Boudler blocked a shot and got YSU the ball back with 38.4 seconds left in the game.

YSU had chances in the last 38 seconds.  Perry lost his dribble and fell, but the Penguins managed to tie the ball up to keep possession thanks to the arrow pointing toward the Youngstown State bench.  With 11.3 seconds left in the game YSU got Sulskis a 1o-foot baseline jumper that spun around the rim but wouldn’t fall.  Ryan Broekhoff was fouled and hit one of two to push the lead to 71-69 with 6 seconds left.  Kendrick Perry got the inbound, dribbled the length of the floor and hit a 15-footer thanks to a friendly roll to force overtime.

In the extra five minute period, Youngstown State drew first blood when Ward connected on a clutch three to put YSU ahead 74-71 with 3:41 left.  Cory Johnson hit a reverse layup to cut the YSU lead to 74-73.  Sulskis (above) then drew a blocking foul to go to the line where he hit both charity tosses to increase the Penguin lead to three.  Wood was fouled on a drive and got to the line for Valpo where he nailed one of two.  Wit YSU ahead 76-74 with half of the overtime gone, Sulskis threw an errant pass and then fouled out trying to draw a charge.

Broekhoff hit a three to give Valpo a brief 78-76 lead and YSU responded with an Eargle basket to tie the game with 1:27 left in the contest.  Johnson hit a short range shot off of the glass to put Valpo ahead 80-78.  With 50.4 seconds left Broekhoff was fouled but missed both shots.  YSU trailed 82-78 with 18 seconds left.  Perry fired a three that missed the mark and Eargle picked up a quick foul to stop the clock, his fifth.  Wood hit a pair of free throws to put Valpo up six to ice the game.

Youngstown State got 17 points and ten rebounds from Sulskis and 15 points from each Brooks and Perry.  With the loss, Youngstown State dipped to 8-15 and 2-10 in the Horizon League.

A disappointed Vytas Sulskis commented on the crushing loss.  “They didn’t beat us tonight, we beat ourselves with turnovers.  We played hard, but we have to get better and not give games away.”

Valpo got a great effort from Wood, who finished with 31 big points for the Crusaders who improved to 17-7, and 9-4 in the Horizon League.  Broekhoff hit for 11 points and gathered 14 rebounds for the visiting team.

Milwaukee shot 58 percent and hit seven 3-pointers in the opening period, and the Youngstown State women’s basketball team could never recover despite a strong second-half performance in an 81-66 loss at the Klotsche Center on Thursday.

UWM’s Sami Tucker scored 21 of her career-high 23 points in the first half as Milwaukee built a 51-28 halftime advantage. YSU trimmed the deficit to 15 several times midway through the second half and had the lead down to 68-54 with five minutes remaining. The Penguins never got closer than 14 points.

Brandi Brown finished with 19 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for Youngstown State, which recorded 16 steals. Tieara Jones added 15 points and nine rebounds, and Bojana Dimitrov scored all 10 of her points in the first half.

Tucker was 9-for-11 from the floor in the game and 8-for-9 in the first period. Lindsay Laur was an assist shy of a triple-double, finishing with 11 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Milwaukee cooled down in the second half, shooting 38 percent as the Penguins outscored UWM 38-30 in the final 20 minutes. YSU shot 34.3 percent for the game and was 7-for-26 from 3-point range.

Angela Rodriguez had 15 points behind 6-for-8 shooting, and Courtney Lindfors had 11 points for UWM. Milwaukee finished shooting 10-for-20 from 3-point range as Tucker and Rodriguez combined to go 7-for-9. The Panthers held a 40-32 rebounding advantage after owning a 26-10 edge on the glass in the first period.

YSU led 4-2 early, but two Lindfors free throws and the first of four treys in the period by Tucker gave the Panthers a lead they would never lose. Two more Lindfors free throws put UWM up 24-14 with 10:23 left.  YSU increased its pressure on the ball, and a series of Milwaukee turnovers helped the Penguins trim the deficit to 24-21 with 8:45 remaining. From that point, the Panthers closed out the half by outscoring the Penguins 27-7.

Youngstown State will travel to Green Bay on Saturday to play the first-place Phoenix. Tipoff at the Kress Center is set for 3 p.m. Eastern.

Butler comes to town once a year, like Santa Clause.  Youngstown State fans may like Christmas, but this whole Butler thing was turning into a major headache.   The Penguins were not intimidated by history or record and found a way to claw back from an eight-point deficit to put up a dramatic 62-60 win over Butler.

In the first half, Youngstown State did all they could to keep the Bulldog offense to a minimum.  In fact, the Penguins held a first half lead behind a ten-point effort from Damian Eargle.  Butler got nine points in the opening half from Andrew Smith and six from Shelvin Mack, but Youngstown State went into the locker room with a 25-22 lead.

In the second half, YSU came out and immediately hit a pair of three-point shots to open the lead to 31-22, their biggest lead.  Butler nipped away at the margin, but YSU again built the lead to nine with just over 17 minutes remaining.  At that point, Hahn and Mack started making just about anything they were throwing up from long distance.  An alternation of the two Bulldog shooters produced a 57-52 lead with 4:04 left in the game.

YSU showed life and heart clawing their way back from eight down, capped off when Kendrick Perry hit a big three with 20.9 seconds to go in the game giving YSU a 62-60 lead and driving the crowd of about 3,000 into a mad frenzy.  Eargle was fouled on an inbound with 6.1  seconds left but neither team was in the bonus.  Youngstown State inbounded again and fouled Blake Allen with 2.2 seconds left, allowing the Penguins to have a chance to win this game from the free throw line.  Allen missed the front end of the one-and-one, but Butler threw the rebound away.  Ashen Ward was fouled with 1.6 seconds left in the game and Ward had the chance to ice the game for the upset.  Ward could not connect, but Butler could not get off a quality shot.

Butler lost their third in a row and fell to 14-9 and 6-5 in the Horizon League.  The Bulldogs got 18 points from Mack and 12 from Matt Howard (above).  The Bulldogs lost valuable ground to Cleveland State in the chase for the Horizon League title.

Youngstown State got a big game from Eargle who finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.  K Perry ended up with 14, and Allen had 11.  Also to be noted, Ashen Ward’s nine points were clutch.  The Penguins improved to 8-14 and 2-10 in the league.

Coach Jerry Slocum commented on Eargle’s performance.  “All of the guys played great and really showed heart.  Damian [Eargle] had a tremendous game.  He guarded both of their big guys and really showed progress from the beginning of the year when he was getting thrown around.”

“I am so proud and happy for our kids. We have been in close games all year and in this one we showed some toughness and didn’t buckle.  Butler is the prominent team in this league and they have great talent and a great coach.  It’s one of our biggest wins since I have been here and I really couldn’t be prouder”, remarked Slocum after the upset win.

YSU hosts Valparaiso on Saturday at 7:05.

Although she is a long way from home, Bojana “Boki” Dimitrov is doing just fine here in the United States.  Dimitrov is a senior who never runs out of spirit on or off of the hardwood floors.  Boki is helping the transition into the new Bob Boldon Era.  She has a passion for life that few student athletes possess and one of the best personalities of anyone I have ever interviewed.  She remembers where she came from, knows where she is at, and envisions where she wants to get to.  I recently interviewed Boki about the losing streak, the new and old coaches, and just why chicken wings are so good to her.

Paneech: How big of a deal is basketball in Serbia where you grew up?

Dimitrov: Oh yeah, it is a big deal.  I started practicing when I was only eleven years old and went to basketball camps when I was away from home, sometimes for months, it was very tough.

Paneech: If you weren’t playing basketball, is there another sport that you might have tried to play?

Dimitrov: Actually, I like tennis.  I am a big tennis fan and there are some very good Serbian tennis players.  Also soccer, I don’t like it all that much, but I am very good at soccer.  I didn’t have any Barbie’s as toys growing up.  My favorite first toy was a soccer ball and after that, I got a basketball.  I don’t remember why, but I dedicated myself to the sport of basketball.

Paneech: How often do you talk with the people back home?

Dimitrov: Everyday.  God bless the internet and Skype because it allows me to communicate with them every single day.  Every Summer I go back for two or three months and last Summer was just the best Summer ever.  This is my last year of college basketball, I would like nothing more than my mom being able to come here for my Senior Night.  That would be great and we are still talking about that.

Paneech: What are you studying here at Youngstown State and what plans do you have for the future?

Dimitrov: I am majoring in Sociology and will have a minor in Psychology.  Right now I am applying for some grad schools for Clinical Psych where hopefully I can get my Masters and maybe my PHD too.  When I get done I will go home to visit, but I think I will live here.  maybe not in Youngstown, but possibly Cleveland or Pittsburgh.  I am 24 years old and it may not be the most popular decision with my family, but they do support me so much.

Paneech: How does a girl from Serbia end up playing basketball in Youngstown, Ohio?

Dimitrov: I played at a junior college in Oklahoma and a lot of schools were recruiting me.  Last year, Coach Martin and Coach Scott were very consistent in recruiting me and came to watch a few of my games.  They would call every week.  I signed before I even visited the school.  In some ways it was tough because we had a bad year.  I think we are improving this year and I am glad to be a part of that.  I was recruited to Oklahoma, even though I didn’t know what Oklahoma really was (laughs) I ended up there.

Paneech: Being in the U.S. for six years now, what are the major culture changes you deal with?

Dimitrov: The language was a big thing.  I had a tough first year learning all of the proper English.  At first I could understand everything, but couldn’t say anything.  People would talk loud like my IQ was low.  The second thing is that Americans just like to eat and enjoy food way more than European people do — and I don’t have a problem with that.  I eat healthy, but I have to have chicken wings once a week.  Barbecue and garlic wings. Time management is also very different in America.  Over here, time means money and in Europe there isn’t a lot of money, so time means something different.  Sometimes I am still running on Serbian time and am late.  It is not good to be a Division I athlete and be late.

Paneech: How are you adjusting to a new coach and what kind of coach-player relationship do you have with Coach Boldon?

Dimitrov: When we got a new coach, everything is totally different.  Coach Boldon’s way is totally different than Coach Martin’s ways were last season.  We don’t have a choice, we have to adjust if we want to win.  I’m a senior, but in this regard, I am a freshman too.  I think we are doing a good job and we are getting there.

One Word Answers

Favorite Restaurant: Olive Garden.

Favorite Winter Olympic Sport: Skiing.

Person You Want To Meet : I would like to say a few words to Bill Clinton.

Favorite TV Show: South Park.

Favorite Music: Hard Rock.  Scorpions and Queen.

Animal You Are Most Like: Horse.  I love horses.

Best Cartoon: The Simpsons.

Favorite NBA Team: Oklahoma Thunder.

Best American Holiday: Thanksgiving Day.

Worst Class Ever: (laughs)  Environmental Science.  I didn’t have a good teacher.

Best Class Ever: Social Stratification with Dr. Kiriazis.

 

The Youngstown State men’s basketball team will host Mid-American Conference member Bowling Green in the annual BracketBusters game on Saturday, Feb. 19, at the Beeghly Center. Tipoff has yet to be determined.  The Penguins (7-14) host the 2010 National Runner-Up Butler Bulldogs, Thursday, Feb. 3, at 7:05 p.m. at the Beeghly Center.  Bowling Green (10-11), the winners of nine of their last 12 games, visits Northern Illinois, Wed., Feb. 2, at 8 p.m. in DeKalb, Ill.

This will be the 12th meeting between Youngstown State and Bowling Green but the first since 2004. The Falcons own a 9-2 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to 1939, and have won the last eight contests.

In the two most recent meetings, the Falcons defeated the Penguins, 81-59, on Dec. 11, 2004, and 76-64 on Feb. 21, 2004.

The Penguins have not defeated the Falcons since a 56-53 victory on Jan. 21, 1943.

UIC used a strong rebounding effort and converted 85.7 percent of their second-half free throws to defeat the Youngstown State men’s basketball team, 83-61, on Saturday afternoon at the UIC Pavilion.  The Guins were outrebounded by the Flames, 53-26, and UIC made 18-of-21 free throws in the second half to seal its first Horizon League win.

Youngstown State falls to 7-14 overall and 1-10 in the Horizon League while the Flames improve to 6-16 overall and 1-9 in the league.

Sophomore Blake Allen led the Penguins with 14 while senior Vytas Sulskis added 11 points.

Over an eight-minute span in the second half, the Flames turned a tie game, 38-38, at the 16:57 mark into a 17-point advantage, 65-48, with 8:43 to go after a 27-10 run. The Flames converted 13 straight free throws during that span to put the game out of reach.  In the first half, the Guins and Flames battled through two ties and five lead changes before the Flames lead 34-32 at the intermission.

The Guins took a 23-18 lead after a DuShawn Brooks 3-pointer at the 9:50 mark before the Flames scored nine straight points to a take a four-point lead, 27-23.  Junior Ashen Ward drained a 3-pointer at the 6:45 mark to cut the deficit to one, 27-26. 

The Flames again rebuilt a six-point, 32-26, before another 3-pointer by Ward, a jumper by Sulskis and a free throw by Tre Brewer brought the Guins within two, 34-32, at the half. 

The Penguins, who made nine 3-pointers, return home to host Butler, Thursday, Feb. 3. Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m.

Youngstown State sophomore forward Brandi Brown scored 24 points and had seven rebounds, but Cleveland State shot 54.2 percent from the field and used a big second-half effort to hand the Penguins an 86-65 loss on Saturday afternoon at the Beeghly Center.

With the win, Cleveland State improves to 12-8 overall and 4-4 in the Horizon League. The Penguins are now 3-17 and 1-8.

On the heels of her peformance, Brown has now scored 707 points while grabbing 503 rebounds in her 50-game Penguins career. She is the just the third player in school history to score 700 points and grab 500 rebounds during her sophomore campaign.  Also for the Penguins, Kenya Middlebrooks scored 16 points, 15 of which came in the first half while Bojana Dimitrov had 13.

Both teams had an impressive first half offensively.  YSU shot 53.8 percent making 14-of-26 from the field while connecting on 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) 3-point attempts. CSU made 18-of-34 attempts (52.9 percent), most coming from inside the paint.

The Vikings scored 30 of their 47 points in the paint and held an 8-0 advantage in second-chance points. On the other hand, the Penguins scored 21 points from behind the 3-point arc compared to just six from deep by CSU.  Both teams combined to go 16-19 from the free-throw line as well.

YSU scored the first four points of the game, but following a 8-0 run by the Vikings had to play catch up the remainder of the half. The Guins cut the deficit to 8-7 on a three-point play by Bojana Dimitrov before the Vikings scored the next five to go on top 13-7.  The Penguins tied the game at 13 scoring the next six points, but CSU scored 11 of the next 14 points grabbing a 24-16 advantage at the midway point of the half.

With 5:07 left before halftime, the Guins pulled within 31-29 on a Middlebrooks 3-pointer.

The Vikings scored 30 of their 47 points in the paint and held an 8-0 advantage in second-chance points. On the other hand, the Penguins scored 21 points from behind the 3-point arc compared to just six from deep by CSU.

YSU cut the deficit to 37-36 on a Brown putback at 3:08 and was within 42-39 on a triple by Middlebrooks with a minute to go. The Vikings scored the next five points, but Middlebrooks drained another three just before the buzzer to pull YSU within 47-42 at halftime.

The Vikings scored the first 11 points of the second half and the Penguins could not get back in the game. After falling behind 58-42, YSU was only able to get within 14, at 60-46 on a 3-pointer by Brown at the 16:16 mark.

The Penguins return to the road on Thursday when they visit Milwaukee. Tipoff for the contest between YSU and the Panthers is set for 8 p.m.

Anyone who drives on Route 422 to get to or from Youngstown State University will notice a huge structure being erected.  That structure will be called the WATTS, as many of the local readers already know.  Tim Stuart (above) will be in charge of many of the scheduling and personnel decisions as well as the day-to-day operations of the center.  I recently got a chance to interview Stuart about the facility and learned many interesting points that I did not know.

Paneech: I called the new facility the WATTS Center when I first learned about the plans to build it, and Matt Morrone nearly took my head off correcting me.  Why is it wrong to call this place the WATTS Center?

Stuart: WATTS stands for Watson and Tressel Training Site.  So if you called it the WATTS Center, you would be calling it a training site center.  It would get a little redundant, so we just call it the WATTS.

Paneech: How long before it opens and what will it be used for?

Stuart: We anticipate the facility not being used until May.  With some of the inclement weather we have had this past Fall and so far, this Winter, things have gotten backed up a little bit.  Once it opens, it will be used for all of our sports and we anticipate it being used 365 days a year.  It will be used by recreation and intramural sports.  There will be a 300 meter track, a 7500 square foot mezzanine on top of our offices that we will be utilizing for batting cages and stuff like that.

Paneech: Was the concept developed as a way to keep up with the Joneses or was it designed out of necessity?

Stuart: A little bit of both actually.  It will most definitely be used as a recruiting tool against the Kents and Akrons.  It is a great tool for us.  Regardless of weather, it allows all of our athletes to train in a climate-controlled environment.  If we get a week of rain in April, our baseball and softball teams can be in there practicing.

Paneech: The average distance of a centerfield fence is about 400, is there space for all that, or will it just be fungo and cages?

Stuart: There is netting that will be draped.  The netting is so tight that you will not be able to hit a golf ball through it.  It contains a full-length football field, or 120 yards from the back of one end zone to the back of the other end zone.  Obviously, they will not be able to play a baseball game because it isn’t a full field, but many simulations can be accommodated by the great amount of space between the walls.  Hitting, pitching, and fielding practice will be just like practicing outside.

Paneech: So how long before Hively Construction throws you guys the keys and says you can start moving in?

Stuart: We are still, a few months away.  The in-ground heating is in. (*Note – The heat will be on the ground and move upward toward the ceiling not to lose much for optimum temperature control. )  We are almost done with the windows and once everything gets enclosed we will be able to really get rolling.

Paneech: Tell me what your role is.

Stuart: I have been appointed to be the manager of the facility.  I will be overseeing the scheduling as well as coordinating what will simultaneously take place in Beeghly and Stambaugh.  Whether that is scheduling practices, basketball events at Beeghly, football events at Stambaugh, or whatever is coming must be coordinated by us.  With the renovation of Kilcawley Center, all three of these facilities are going to be used more than ever.  We will be in charge of scheduling camps for our programs as well.  In the past, camps have always been restricted to the two facilities and trying to coordinate intramural activities and regular practices was becoming more and more of a challenge.  The WATTS will eliminate many of these overcrowding problems and time conflicts.

Paneech: Because it generates the most money traditionally, will football be the top priority or is there more of an even-split attitude about who gets first use of the facility?

Stuart: It is an all-sports facility.  Obviously when football is in-season, it will take precedence over other sports, but it is so big that as long as there is coordination between the coaches, there will be enough room for multiple sports at any time.  Football can be on the field having practice and baseball pitchers and hitters can be throwing and hitting on the mezzanine at the same time.  We now can stretch things out a little with the extra facility so everyone will have a place for adequate practice times and conditions.

Tom Morella, the Assistant Athletic Director, spoke about the WATTS opening soon as well.  “I really can’t wait for the day we can get in there.  It will make everything in the two existing buildings smoother as far as time commitments.  It is a nightmare in Stambaugh and Beeghly Center some days because there just isn’t enough space for everything.  This facility is a tremendous asset to not only the sports programs, but also for the students.