Tyler Hansbrough Speaks Out on Keeping Smith Center

This plus the Hubert stuff going on at the same time. It’s about to get real ugly behind the scenes

At this point, I'm just having fun watching the drama unfold

Unc12003 said:

This plus the Hubert stuff going on at the same time. It’s about to get real ugly behind the scenes

If I'm Newmark or Bubba or Roberts, I'm a bit agitated b/c anytime this old guard doesn't like something that will help the program move forward, they'll do this and they do this b/c everybody sees them as untouchable, or, if you do something to upset them, they will dissociate from Carolina basketball. They and their emotions get handled with kid gloves. I'd call that bluff. Carolina basketball is who they are. They are nothing without it. Call the bluff, do what you gotta do. Move on. Same thing with the coaching search.

I'm not surprised by the alumni nostalgia campaign. But they need more than an appeal to nostalgia to win this argument. If they can't answer the questions about where UNC would play home games while the renovation is occurring and/or how much revenue would be lost in the meantime, then they're just wasting everyone's time.

This fanbase is absolutely the worst. The Smith Center is in a terrible spot. It is a total dump. Renovating it would be a logistical nightmare. Despite all that, there's a push to keep it. Unbelievable.

rodoheel said:

I'm not surprised by the alumni nostalgia campaign. But they need more than an appeal to nostalgia to win this argument. If they can't answer the questions about where UNC would play home games while the renovation is occurring and/or how much revenue would be lost in the meantime, then they're just wasting everyone's time.

I think the question of where they will play during the time if renovation is a VERY small part of the puzzle and should be easy to figure out. That's why nobody is really addressing that. SO MANY other questions before that one needs to be answered.

unctar2001 said:

If I'm Newmark or Bubba or Roberts, I'm a bit agitated b/c anytime this old guard doesn't like something that will help the program move forward, they'll do this and they do this b/c everybody sees them as untouchable, or, if you do something to upset them, they will dissociate from Carolina basketball. They and their emotions get handled with kid gloves. I'd call that bluff. Carolina basketball is who they are. They are nothing without it. Call the bluff, do what you gotta do. Move on. Same thing with the coaching search.

How does Carolina North help the program move forward more than renovating or building on campus?

Needless to say, Roberts and Newmark have a mess on their hands with this going on in the background of the Hubert situation (which obviously needs to take precedence).

It’s insane to me how these are being filmed in the Smith Center. Roberts has to be flipping out.

RudeBoyz69 said:

How does Carolina North help the program move forward more than renovating or building on campus?

Some people believe "new" is always the answer, but it's not sometimes.

While I appreciate the sentiment, I just don't think it's a good idea logistically. First, there needs to be a way to help traffic/parking. Second, the amount of renovations it needs is huge, might need to be torn down and built up again. Third, the hospital continues to grow and keeping it there can impede that growth. Then there is the problem of where the team will play when the renovations are happening. Too many question marks, but, at the same time, I would hate to be the person having to decide to tear it down. The difference from when we moved from Carmichael is that Carmichael is still there. There is something symbolic about tearing down that arena completely. It's going to be emotional either way.

Wonder if this pushes back the Carolina North RFP or not. Think that will tell us a lot

I still am of the belief that if money were no object, they need to put a basketball arena where the football stadium is and build a new football stadium at Carolina North. All of this infighting is only going to continue to hurt the basketball program/university.

RudeBoyz69 said:

How does Carolina North help the program move forward more than renovating or building on campus?

At the very least, it solves the problem of having someplace to play for 3 years while a desirable stadium is completed. Carmichael and Greensboro aren't options if Smith Center is renovated. Build at Carolina North, and you can just play at Smith Center until it's done.

Jamison33 said:

Needless to say, Roberts and Newmark have a mess on their hands with this going on in the background of the Hubert situation (which obviously needs to take precedence).

It may present the perfect opportunity to definitively break from tradition and forge a new, singular vision for the program that respects but isn’t beholden to the past. Severing ties with Hubert and moving on the new CN arena would be a bold move in that direction.

NYCHeel94 said:

At the very least, it solves the problem of having someplace to play for 3 years while a desirable stadium is completed. Carmichael and Greensboro aren't options if Smith Center is renovated. Build at Carolina North, and you can just play at Smith Center until it's done.

And that will move the program forward? I think what you're saying is definitely a plus for either CN or building elsewhere on campus. I think some of the CN rhetoric sounds very pie-in-the-sky. That if we build at CN somehow that will equate to program-changing money (despite costing more to build there) or that it will somehow "move the program forward". Which are both ridiculous claims.

It's the music that gets you. It's the kind of music they play on the ASPCA commercials with the dogs looking at you with those eyes or the St. Jude commercials when they show the kids battling illnesses. I've been for staying in the Smith Center from the beginning. I stand with Roy and Tyler.

Unc12003 said:

This plus the Hubert stuff going on at the same time. It’s about to get real ugly behind the scenes

At best, it will be behind the scenes. At worst, it will be a public family feud that no one wants, except for our opponents. If we renovate, are we gonna hire a new coach and tell him he's playing home games in Greensboro for a couple years? I just don't see this ending well. If Carolina North is chosen, I REALLY hope Roy and Gang put as much effort into getting behind the decision as they are doing now.

I'm going to repeat myself from another thread. If we had a coach that was winning at a high level in today's basketball, instead of a coach who has created an environment where we have to pay more than the competition for recruits because nobody trusts our development process, I'd be willing to listen to plans that don't necessarily maximize revenue. But right now we are having to spend more than our peers for worse results, and so we need every dollar possible going forward if we want to maintain a caliber of basketball program we expect.

RudeBoyz69 said:

And that will move the program forward? I think what you're saying is definitely a plus for either CN or building elsewhere on campus. I think some of the CN rhetoric sounds very pie-in-the-sky. That if we build at CN somehow that will equate to program-changing money (despite costing more to build there) or that it will somehow "move the program forward". Which are both ridiculous claims.

How are they ridiculous claims? We need to see more details, but we would likely be able to put more luxury boxes in a new arena than in a renovated Dean Dome. Also, the lifetime seat licenses at the Dean Dome would not transfer to a CN arena but would remain at a renovated Dean Dome. Those are two sources of revenue that would exist at CN but not the Dean Dome. Presumably, we would also sell out more games at a CN arena surrounded by amenities than at a renovated Dean Dome. And if the university owns the buildings where the amenities are being offered, that's extra rent money going to the university. My sense is that one of the main reasons to move to CN is because we would make a lot more money there than with a renovated Dean Dome. As far as moving the program forward, one of our main problems is that we seem mired in the past. Duke left us behind because we insisted on doing things the old fashioned way while they were paying players. How has that worked out for us? We got dragged through the mud because of the academic scandal anyway, and we're way behind in setting up our systems for paying players now. And recruits see us as old fashioned and corny. A new arena creates a better break from our corny, Carolina Way past that recruits no longer care about.

RC252 said:

I still am of the belief that if money were no object, they need to put a basketball arena where the football stadium is and build a new football stadium at Carolina North. All of this infighting is only going to continue to hurt the basketball program/university.

Yes

We are all seeing a window into the basketball program's pronounced tendency to overstep. Whether that's installing the wrong AD or insisting on a sham coaching search, using university property to upstage official decision-makers is consistent with historic practice.

You can honor the past without being shackled by it. There isn’t a practical reason to stay at DES besides nostalgia which isn’t really practical.

Probably unfair of me, but I just get the sense that the proverbial "Family" is more willing to tolerate mediocrity than the fanbase.