Don't the girls and boys rotate?

 

I assume they do next year, but the reason was to avoid conflct with NCAA Tournament, I thought. But they are now 2 weeks apart.

I like it and think it will add buzz to the Saturday games by creating a better defined final four. It also will allow the two finalists to have time to get more fans there for the championship game. I like the marketing potential of having a true final four with time for anticipation to build.

The Hotels and Restaurants in and around Lexington are going to love it, that's for sure!

 

This is really the way it should have been for years. Gives both the early game and the late game semi-finals winners the same amount of rest time and I believe the Semi-finals crowds in the evening on Saturday will pack Rupp!

 

Great point, the Lexington tourism folks have to love this. And because the semi's will be in the evening, folks are going to be stuck with their hotel room, so maybe it will help the finals crowd as well. Check out, go see the game. In the past for many it was check out on Saturday morning, go watch the semis, head home.

 

At first take this is something many have wanted and feel is better.

 

 

 

BUT if UK plays Saturday night, the 2 downtown hotels are going to jack prices up even more and the KABC discount is probably gone as well.

 

Excellent point. It will be very interesting to see how the area hotels handle this with UK playing. A lot of coaches stay in the downtown hotels during the Sweet 16, will the school districts ante up if the hotels jack up prices on Saturday?

 

I like it and think it will add buzz to the Saturday games by creating a better defined final four. It also will allow the two finalists to have time to get more fans there for the championship game. I like the marketing potential of having a true final four with time for anticipation to build.

 

The only way this turns out bad is if both Louisville regions, the 11th rep, and a western Ky. rep make the final four. Then attendance could get pretty dicey even for the semis.

 

I agree it has great potential, and the marketing possibilities abound. It could be a huge money maker for Lexington business', inject even more money in the KHSAA's Sweet 16 coffers, and even give a shot of adrenaline to the event itself. We'll see.

^

 

I don't know. You'd have to do some incredible damage to me to keep me from witnessing Ballard and Bullitt East in the Final Four. Add in Henry Clay or Madison Central from the 11th and I'll be disappointed if Rupp isn't packed. Those four teams will be must see basketball this season.

The more I read about this, the more I like this idea. Overall, I think this will be a HUGE success for the tournament and Lexington!

^

 

I don't know. You'd have to do some incredible damage to me to keep me from witnessing Ballard and Bullitt East in the Final Four. Add in Henry Clay or Madison Central from the 11th and I'll be disappointed if Rupp isn't packed. Those four teams will be must see basketball this season.

 

Personally, I totally agree.

 

I'm not sure the the "big city" schools would keep fans from around the state around though.

The Hotels and Restaurants in and around Lexington are going to love it, that's for sure!

 

This is really the way it should have been for years. Gives both the early game and the late game semi-finals winners the same amount of rest time and I believe the Semi-finals crowds in the evening on Saturday will pack Rupp!

 

Agreed. It should have been this way a long time ago. I recently had a discussion with a guard that played on the Breathitt County team that lost in the closing seconds (after leading for most of the game) to Earlington in the second semifinal Saturday game in 1967. He said they just ran out of gas, that they had to play the last game on Thursday night and it was a disadvantage to the teams that drew into that bracket. Their coach, Farcy Woods, was kind of like Rupp in that he played only 6 players, regardless of how much additional talent he had on the bench. Earlington, of course, went on to win the championship that night. IMO, it's asking a lot of kids to play that many games in such a short time span, and especially 2 intense games in one day.

I won't be going, it's too AAU. A Sunday afternoon final, are you kidding me? The pagentry and everything that goes with the Final just won't be the same on a Sunday afternoon. Everyone on here will say College and Pro's play on Sunday afternoon's and they would be right, but they have their finals at night. High School games to me are meant to be on cold nights. I've always wanted them to make the tourney a full week(start on Monday night) and have all the games at night all thru the tourney, guess I'm in a minority of one on this and the Sunday afternoon deal

I won't be going, it's too AAU. A Sunday afternoon final, are you kidding me? The pagentry and everything that goes with the Final just won't be the same on a Sunday afternoon. Everyone on here will say College and Pro's play on Sunday afternoon's and they would be right, but they have their finals at night. High School games to me are meant to be on cold nights. I've always wanted them to make the tourney a full week(start on Monday night) and have all the games at night all thru the tourney, guess I'm in a minority of one on this and the Sunday afternoon deal

 

Too AAU would be like the old setup to me. Play, rest and then play again. I like the advantage that rest will bring both teams. The team that plays the morning game is always at an advantage. I'm interested in seeing how well the winner of the second semifinal does in the final.

 

Plus, it could be a one year thing. UK baskeball will take Rupp Arena before the Sweet 16 eight days a week and that's all it is in this case.

Edited August 12, 201214 yr by PurplePride92

I won't be going, it's too AAU. A Sunday afternoon final, are you kidding me? The pagentry and everything that goes with the Final just won't be the same on a Sunday afternoon. Everyone on here will say College and Pro's play on Sunday afternoon's and they would be right, but they have their finals at night. High School games to me are meant to be on cold nights. I've always wanted them to make the tourney a full week(start on Monday night) and have all the games at night all thru the tourney, guess I'm in a minority of one on this and the Sunday afternoon deal

 

I don't get the AAU comment at all. Multiple games with little rest in 24 hours makes the old way more like AAU.

I don't get the AAU comment at all. Multiple games with little rest in 24 hours makes the old way more like AAU.

The Sunday afternoon final minus the night pagentry,etc. was my connection to AAU, because my experience with AAU is pool play is on Saturday moring and afternoon, finals are on Sunday afternoonor Sunday morning, never of a night and the comments that the old way compares to AAU, really? You play on Saturday morning and 6-7 hours later you play in the final, AAU games are one right after the other or maybe with an hour or two rest.

The Sunday afternoon final minus the night pagentry,etc. was my connection to AAU, because my experience with AAU is pool play is on Saturday moring and afternoon, finals are on Sunday afternoonor Sunday morning, never of a night and the comments that the old way compares to AAU, really? You play on Saturday morning and 6-7 hours later you play in the final, AAU games are one right after the other or maybe with an hour or two rest.

 

I think the "pagentry" will be there on Saturday night with a true final four type feeling to it as anticipation and fan interest builds all day unlike the current Saturday morning. Now the casual fan sometimes doesn't even know by game time who won the late Friday night game by tip off for the Saturday morning games. IMO given all day that interst will build. The same applies on Sunday. The teams with large fan bases and those Cinderalla teams who crash the title game will have the people's interst and the fans will be there.

 

Sure AAU games happen faster but without the emotions and once in the llifetime pressure that comes from playing in the finals of the Sweet Sixteen. Emotionally, mentally and phyically tired these players are worn out on Saturday night. Give everyone some rest and then play ball on Sunday. If it doesn't work then go back this is for now only a one year trial.

I won't be going, it's too AAU. A Sunday afternoon final, are you kidding me? The pagentry and everything that goes with the Final just won't be the same on a Sunday afternoon. Everyone on here will say College and Pro's play on Sunday afternoon's and they would be right, but they have their finals at night. High School games to me are meant to be on cold nights. I've always wanted them to make the tourney a full week(start on Monday night) and have all the games at night all thru the tourney, guess I'm in a minority of one on this and the Sunday afternoon deal

 

I agree 100% with this.

 

I don't like the notion of just screwing with something 95 years after it was first implemented. I feel like if this was such a great idea, that it would have happened decades ago. Adding to that is the fact that people from all over the state will now be driving home Sunday night in order to get to work on Monday. Therefore, instead of asking one, maybe two days off of work, someone has to ask for an extra day.

 

I just see it as a ploy to bring more money in, to what is already becoming an expensive event.

I think the most important thing is to bring back the program from previous years. That little thing sold this past year was terrible.

 

Back to the subject. Im not a fan of playing the game on Sunday afternoon at all. The casual fan that one spoke of earlier is just that; casual. The fan base will not increase by that much in my opinion. If your team is in the semi-finals of the state tournament and your not there, I doubt if your going to go on a Sunday afternoon to watch them play in the finals. I agree with another poster also about costing more money. The die hards are going to be there, regardless of when its played. But some now may stay home and do the "wait and see" how their team does. Which may mean bigger crowds for the semis and finals but the other games attendance might drop.

 

But I do agree with the statement that if it doesn't work, we can always go back to the other way. I just hope they do that with the program sold at the state tournament.

Are we sure this is permanent or just a one time thing since UK plays on that Saturday?