The ride is over
High Point University lost to Winthrop University in the Advance Auto Parts Big South Semifinals 61-53. Winthrop advanced to the finals in which they prevailed against UNC Asheville.
“I was proud of our guys they didn’t lay down and we kept battling,” Panther head coach Bart Lundy said.
Arizona Reid led High Point with 21 points and nine rebounds. Gene Harris scored 21 points on seven three pointers. Michael Jenkins had 14 points for Winthrop.
The game started off well for the Panthers who scored the first five points of the game. After the first three minutes of the game, Winthrop gained the lead and never relinquished it.
The first half was all Winthrop when they on a 12-0 run over a three-minute span. The Eagles advanced their lead to as many as 18 before the break. Winthrop had a 33-18 advantaged heading to the locker room.
The Panthers shot only 31 percent from the floor in the first half. Reid or Harris scored all of the points. Senior guard Mike Jefferson only attempted one rushed three in the first half but had four assists.
The second half Winthrop kept a 10 plus point advantaged for over the first 11 minutes. The lead came as close to seven points in the final minute.
Winthrop won their 11th straight Big South tournament game setting a conference record. They also won their fourth straight championship on March 8.
Reid shot 8-27 from the floor and 0-7 from behind the arc. Reid said, “I had some good looks, I just didn’t make them. I had some open threes that rimed out. I guess today just wasn’t my day.”
“These two guys here with me [Reid and Jefferson], the sad part of it is they leave accomplishing some fantastic individual accomplishments. We are going to miss them. It is hard for me to express what they have meant to this program and how much I personally going to miss these guys. They not only are good basketball players, but great people.” Lundy said regarding his two senior leaders.
Reid’s final thoughts about looking back on his stellar two-time MVP career, “I had a lot of fun here at High Point. I had a good career. I still didn’t get the thing I came here to get.”
Reid did many things at High Point. He is the all time leader in steals, minutes played, game started and games played. He is second in points and third in rebounds. He is the Big South’s all time leader in rebounds and the only 2,000 point, 1,000 rebound man. He is the 97th player in NCAA history to achieve such a feat.
Jefferson’s final thoughts, “The coach at High Point gave me a chance being I was the last JUNCO player they took. I’m just grateful for the opportunity to play here and play with the best player I have ever played with in Arizona Reid. It was a dream and it came and went.”
Jefferson left with HPU’s all time assist record, three pointers made, third in minutes played, third in games started and a member of the 1,000 point club. He was in the nation’s top in assists per game this year and set a High Point single season record in assists.
The season is over but the team has bright spots looking ahead for next year. Jourdan Morris will be eligible after sitting out a year due to NCAA regulations over transferring. He played last year for St. Bonaventure scoring 13 points against Syracuse. <!–[if supportFields]> CONTACT _Con-3F61691828 <![endif]–>Alquan Mendenhall<!–[if supportFields]><![endif]–> will be a redshirt freshman next year. He scored 24 points a game as a junior. He scored 40 points in an area tournament game. Also coming in are two 70 rating guards on ESPN.com.
Big Joke
The Big South Conference’s regular season men’s champion hosts the semifinal of the championship tournament. As marvelous as an idea it is to allow the regular season champion host, it is extremely flawed.
Take for example this year. The second round was hosted at Asheville’s Justice Center. The Justice Center holds 1,100 fans. The gym’s court space is small as well. The “press row” was comfortable if you are less than five feet tall and 100 pounds. Not many people fit that description. The game was also broadcasted nationally on ESPNU. Grant it, not many people get the channel.
The Big South is broadcasted to 20 million subscribers that the championship is played at a small gymnasium. It was as if they thought only Liberty or Winthrop would win the conference every year.
The situation gets even worse at the championship game. The final game is played at the highest remaining seed. Example: UNC Asheville loses to Liberty. High Point beats Winthrop. That situation has both lower seeds winning. The final round would be played at High Point.
Liberty then played the opening round at home, the second round at UNCA and the final round at HPU. Five day span leaves them all across creation to win a berth to the most important basketball tournament in the land.
The Big South has a serious problem here. If the one seed loses, the ESPN family of networks is driven to two different venues. If there was one predetermined site, things would work much easier.
Imagine if Charleston Southern won the regular season then Liberty happen to get the championship game via upset. The Big South would be going from Charleston, SC to Lynchburg, VA. That would be a six-hour drive in one day for the teams and tem personnel.
The Big South needs to advert the problem before a problem happens. It is a simple solution; you want the conference to have a larger footprint? Treat it like it is big foot rather than a big joke.
I’ll give a recap of the High Point game versus Winthrop. Game time, if I can fit…
Campus Chronicle Column
The follow appeared in the Jan. 25, 2007 Campus Chronicle:
Bryan A. Rothamel
Staff Writer
It is intriguing that we are trying to make the best university possible without the sport that is most associated with college life. We are in the midst of a $225 million transformation to improve facilities, academics and student life. All too often I hear the one thing we need to improve student life is a football program.
I know if I go into the caf and ask any student about football, 90 percent of you probably would not mind a football team and would be willing to be a fan of one. But are you really ready for that?
I think High Point University does NOT need a football team because it will be financially strapping. Most students support adding a football team but would not be willing to raise student fees $100 or more. You might think that sporting events are “free” but you are paying for them through student fees.
Winthrop University has published research about adding a football team to its athletic program. WU estimates $1.68 million in start-up costs. That includes minimal facilities upgrade, uniforms and equipment, band, 30 scholarships, coaches and support personnel. That first year is deceiving, though.
The way Title IX works is a college needs be equal in both men’s and women’s sports. Football adds 50+ male athletes, and no female sport can accommodate 50+ women. Some colleges resort to adding multiple female sports. That adds multiple facilities and more expenses. Suddenly $1.68 million can easily double.
WU estimates that it costs $2.4 million annually to operate a full football program. That includes 53 scholarships (at $16,000 a piece, while our tuition and fees are almost double), band, coaches and support staff. WU also estimates a Big South school will make $500,000 in potential home and away game revenues. WU calculates it will operate at a net loss of $1.9 million each year. That is a lot of revenue that needs to be produced through other avenues.
Football is costly! Winthrop also projects it will cost $16.6 million to build an 8,000 seat stadium and football field house. Our soccer stadium is too small at 1,100 seats. The football stadium at the High Point Athletic Center holds 10,000 needs renovation to be to standards.
Are we really ready for this burden? Let’s focus on our current sports before we beg the administration to add another sport. Make the current 16 varsity sports the “high point” of the Big South!
We do not need football to have the same atmosphere. How great was it beating Winthrop? It was amazing. Bring that atmosphere to countless home athletic events instead of maybe six home football games. I’m not trying to crush your hopes and dreams; I’m just trying to raise the bar.