Basketball marks the latest responses from readers…big school vs. small school basketball…why so hard on Ohio State basketball…the difference in UD and Ohio State basketball…Hal McCoy…and “why are you hung up on college baseball?”
The change in weather brings with it a change in reader mood, or perspective, particularly on the subject of why more Press Pros space inventory is not dedicated to big school basketball coverage.
“There’s too much Division IV basketball on your website and you skip better basketball and the future prospects playing in Division I and Division II. Have you ever been to Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, and Cleveland?” … Life Above The Rim
Why do we do so much Division IV basketball? Location, supply, and demand!
(Ed. Note: I’d like to see your birth certificate. Were they out of ‘Butch’ and ‘Frank’ that day? If you check the stats 60% of Ohio High School basketball occurs out here in rural Ohio, and the nice thing about going to a game in Hooterville is that 99.9999% of the time you can go and get home without incident, unless you hit a deer. My years of experience in watching teams like Hoosiers play is that they’re fundamentally sound, make free throws, and they’re free of ego, bling, and ‘look at me’. They play for community, instead of the paparazzi on the baseline armed with video cameras shooting for promotional time on X and Instagram. Div. III and IV are not concerned with how many stars and how big a prospect; but they are concerned with getting into pharmacy school. So don’t knock it. Statistically, it’s a pretty good gig, after basketball, for a lot of people.)
“Thanks for reading my comments. But I question why Press Pros is so critical of Ohio State basketball? No one expected them to be more than they are. No one mistook them for being a top 10 team. And Chris Holtmann is no different than dozens of other coaches at that level of basketball? Why not write the game for what it is, Bruce?” … Donald Motz
(Ed. Note: Thanks for taking the time, Donald, but I’m afraid we’re all equal-opportunity head scratchers, writing the Buckeyes.)
“With what I see watching UD and Ohio State, I’d rather see more about UD and less about Ohio State.” … Henry Hayes
“The difference in Ohio State and Dayton basketball is the drama of what’s going to go wrong in the last five minutes of a Buckeye game.” … Bob Snyder
(Ed. Note: And still…they’re 12 and 4.)
We frequently get compliments on Hal McCoy’s writing the UD Flyers in basketball. Here are two of the best.
“If Louie L’Amour wrote sports he would be Hal McCoy.”
“First-time writer to tell you how much I appreciate reading Hal McCoy’s coverage of Dayton Flyer basketball. I used to live in the Miami Valley and now live in Duke country. But I follow the Flyers on Press Pros, still written by Hal McCoy. So cool.” … Frank Leslie
“If Louie L’Amour wrote sports he would be Hal McCoy. It’s a treat to read his Dayton basketball stories.” … James Kennedy
(Ed. Note: Thanks for the kind words, Jim, and with your blessing I will share your note with Mr McCoy. But to your point, I always took Hal as a Zane Gray guy.)
The NCAA baseball season kicks off in five weeks, but obviously…not for everyone.
“I do not understand why you spend so much time and resource writing about college baseball in the middle of the winter. Seems to me it would be better business to write more about area high school basketball. Just curious.” … Don Besecker
(Ed. Note: Since you brought up the ‘B’ word, as a matter of fact college baseball is the fasting-growing NCAA fan demographic (or ESPN and ABC wouldn’t own an exclusive on the NCAA tournament), and it’s actually better ‘business’ than a lot of other things that people suggest we cover. As for OSU baseball, Ohio State is the most popular and appreciated ‘brand’ in the state of Ohio, by quite some margin, and if the Buckeyes played Big Ten Backgammon there would be readership for it.)
“Tell me why Press Pros is so hung up on college baseball?” … James Rupay
(Ed. Note: Give me one good reason why people are so hung up on college football? I understand that it’s questionable whether baseball is still the national pastime, but college baseball, unquestionably, is still more relevant in the spring than one exhibition football game where there’s nothing at stake. Two, college baseball is the most under-utilized opportunity in college sports, especially at the smaller colleges, and it’s a good thing to promote to high school players who might benefit from playing and getting four years of NCAA participation on their career resume’. Trust it, it opens doors.)
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