Rice Basketball

[50's PONY]

March 14, 2005, 11:54PM



RICE NOTEBOOK
WAC coach says creaky Autry Court may be holding the Owls back
By MOISEKAPENDA BOWER
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

That Willis Wilson and Cristy McKinney have their basketball teams in the postseason for a second consecutive year speaks to their coaching ability and recruiting savvy.

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According to Hawaii coach Riley Wallace, the fact Wilson has the Owls playing competitively qualifies as a minor miracle, considering the facilities he and McKinney have to work with — namely that cozy, antiquated barn called Autry Court.

"I played in this place in 1960, and it was old then it seemed like," said Wallace following the Owls' 80-61 victory over the Rainbow Warriors on Feb. 27 at Autry. "Willis does a great job here, and unless Rice ever helps him by building an arena where he can recruit to, they'll never be able to compete much better than what they're doing right now because kids don't want to come and play in this box.

"I understand they can write a check anytime they wanted to."

Autry Court was already 10 years old when Wallace, then with Centenary, visited four decades ago. Aside from renovations, little has changed, but that's news to no one.

When the ruckus concerning Rice athletics was raised last spring, the Board of Directors pledged its support and discussed the need for a student convocation/recreation center that could include a basketball arena. Little progress has been made on the issue, though, and it is the belief of many that Wilson and McKinney can only do so much with Autry Court. With the Owls in the NIT and the Lady Owls in the NCAA Tournament, both Wilson and McKinney have shown a penchant for succeeding despite limitations. But it'd be unfair to suggest either has enough in terms of facilities to maintain such excellence.

However, suggesting Rice or anyone affiliated with the university could "write a check" — an assumption based on Rice's $3.3 billion endowment — is equally unjust. Southern California will replace the Los Angeles Sports Arena with the 10,258-seat Galen Center in the summer of 2006 at a cost of $114 million — not exactly small change. It will take a significant contribution on the part of some entity, but it is clear many are watching.

[Pony_Fan]

Moody is better, but gee that sounds familiar. Kids would rather play in nice facilities obviously.