Basketball Practice Facilities Question

[BleacherBull]

I need some help from our resident basketball experts.  I understand the need for football practice facilities.  But I don't understand why anyone would want to practice basketball with a different floor and baskets than they will use for home games.  What am I missing here?  Is this really an equipment/weight training issue, a Dome scheduling issue, or are these facilities just prestigious plums to lure recruits?  Please advise.

[South_Florida_Flip]

The problem you run into is that since the Sun Dome hosts other events the floor might not be down every day. The Corral is home to the volleyball team, so that could be booked early on in  the season as well. Having a facility that is exclusive to basketball only would alleviate these issues.

I do believe many programs have a separate practice facility.

[Velcro]

Is this really an equipment/weight training issue, a Dome scheduling issue, or are these facilities just prestigious plums to lure recruits?  Please advise.

yes, yes, and yes.... all 3.

[JoeB]

All good programs have seperate facilities.  I just heard Jay Bilas say that UK has a 35 million dollar practice facility.  That is outrageous, but then again so is UK basketball........

[BleacherBull]

Thanks guys.  I assume Dome improvements are a higher priority for us than a practice facility at this point anyway.

[NormalBull]

Bleacher:  Having a basketball facility is certainly part 'keeping up with the Jones' but you have to remember that the guys on the team work on their games year round.  If a player wants to shoot some hoops or work on ballhandling drills at say 10:00 on a Tuesday morning, he may not be able to at USF because the Dome is being set up for a trade show and the Corral is scheduled for some other team.  A facility dedicated to basketball is all hoops 24/7.  It makes a big difference.

Normal

[bulls96go]

make it part of the plan and get it done in 3-5yrs