Article on what UC will be entering at Wake Forest. You will be surprised -- This board is closed...go to http://209.197.233.215/modules/news/

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Date Posted: 11:31:52 01/29/02 Tue
Author: MS
Author Host/IP: 204.212.222.28
Subject: Article on what UC will be entering at Wake Forest. You will be surprised
In reply to: jlee 's message, "Wake fans don't respect us." on 22:45:29 01/28/02 Mon

This was posted from MG on GMG's board, who graduated from both institutions. Cincy is a great b-ball town, no doubt.

From the latest edition of the ACC Sports Journal
By Dave Glenn and staff

WINSTON-SALEM- Skip Prosser rarely sits still on the Wake bench, but early in the second half of a recent game against Florida State, he became particularly animated. Prosser's face grew red with exasperation, but his focus wasn't the erratic play of his Deacons, who were struggling as they have in stretches this season.

This time, Prosser's attention was behind him. After point guard Broderick Hicks slammed on the break to give Wake a seven-point lead, Prosser walked down the sideline, looking with apparent disdain and shock at the silent crowd behind the scorer's table. He put his arms out with his palms up. Less than a minute later, center Darius Songaila scored on a nifty move in the lane for a nine-point lead, and Prosser turned again. This time, he was more animated, waving his arms for the crowd to rise and cheer and yelling, "Come on!"

If anything has surprised Prosser in his first season, it's the lack of a powerhouse crowd in Joel Coliseum. Fans were filling only 61.9 percent of the seats in Joel (which seats 14,407) on average through Jan. 19, a figure that's down 8.1 percent from a year ago at this time.

Through the same date, the only ACC programs filling a smaller capacity of seats in their arenas were N.C. State (which soon will pass Wake because it's averaging 91.2 percent of capacity for ACC games) and Florida State. Even Georgia Tech, which drew 1,283 fans for Cornell on a snowy night, is filling 10 percent more of its seats than Wake Forest.

The issue is not only the number of fans, though. It's also the atmosphere created in the arena. Wake's crowd sizes are comparable to all in the ACC except UNC and Maryland. But to intimidate, fans need to fill most of the arena and be loud and rowdy. Wake fans have done neither.

Those sitting near Prosser on press row have heard him make a number of sarcastic remarks about the crowd during games this season. Perhaps it's such a source of frustration for Prosser because of two things: (1) He took numerous steps to avoid the problem, and (2) he was used to great crowds at Xavier.

Before the season started, Prosser did his best to drum up excitement. He made himself visible, talking to alumni and student groups. He changed the seating policies to try to put the students in a position to intimidate. At Midnight Madness, he challenged the student body to make a difference in the season.

The Deacons drew 8,474 for their Preseason NIT opener against UNC-Wilmington, and Prosser suffered the indignity of seeing most of the empty student section overrun by UNC-W students. He continued to issue challenges during the early going.

Before the Minnesota game, Prosser said: "I think it will be a big-game atmosphere. It's the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, and as a guy who's never been to a big game in the Joel, I'm looking forward to seeing how our fans respond and our students respond."

The game drew 9,227, and the crowd was dormant until the final three minutes.

Before the Florida State game, Prosser said, "I'm curious. From my experience in the Atlantic 10, conference games took on a life of their own. The energy level is much higher. I'm looking forward to a different buzz in the arena on game night. And I'm anxious to see how it all plays out."

It played out to the tune of 9,833 fans, leaving almost a third of Joel empty.

Since then, Prosser has chosen to keep quiet, declining to comment when asked about the crowd. A typical response has been: "I would just say I've been surprised. I'll leave it at that."

Prosser is used to a more intimate atmosphere. When he started coaching at Xavier, the team played in Cincinnati Gardens, an off-campus arena originally built for hockey. Still, the 10,100 seats were rarely less than 85 percent filled, and Xavier sold out five or 10 games a year. By the end of his stay, Prosser had championed the building of the Cintas Center, an on-campus facility with 10,000 seats.

Wake Forest fans and officials have offered a number of excuses for the small crowds this season, but the problem is not new. Last year, Wake again topped only N.C. State and Florida State in filling its arena. Since Tim Duncan left school, the Deacs have been able to draw crowds of more than 14,000 for only UNC and Duke.

The most obvious problem is that the smallest school in the ACC plays in the fourth-largest arena, but the issue runs deeper. There's an apathy about the sport that shouldn't exist for a program riding a decade of solid success.

Much of that apathy exists in the Winston-Salem community, where Wake has never been able to turn the casual fan to its side. The majority have sided with UNC, N.C. State or Duke through the years. This has happened despite numerous marketing dollars spent by the school and by local businessmen who support the Deacons.

Can Prosser change that, short of making Wake into a national title contender every year? One thing that probably won't happen is a repeat of Prosser's Xavier campaign to bring the arena back to campus. Too many things stand in the way.

For one, Joel remains a fine facility, although it has lost a lot of its concert business recently. The school fought for almost 15 years to get it built to begin with, then put up $5 million toward the cost- investments it would be hesitant to throw away less than 15 years after Joel opened. (Wake has recouped the financial investment several times over.) In addition, the athletic program has raised money for two new facilities in the last decade (Bridger Field House and the Miller Center), and it faces more improvements needed for the football program.

Prosser must look elsewhere for ways to improve his home court. He knows it has to happen soon.

"It can't be like, 'Let's go up to Winston-Salem and play Wake and make sure we get some good ribs on the way back,'" he said. "Teams have got to dread to play you in your gym."

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