North Carolina State University Athletics
Haynes' World: ACC Tourney is Dome Bound
3/5/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By: Tony Haynes
My oh my, what would Everett Case think about this. For the first time in its illustrious history, the ACC Tournament will be held in a mammoth indoor football stadium this week. For the 48th annual affair, the Georgia Dome in Atlanta has been configured to accommodate more than 40, 000 fans. And, naturally, the league is already boasting that it will set an NCAA Conference Tournament record for attendance this weekend.
How nice. For those of you in the upper deck, I said HOWWWWWWW NIIICCCE!!!!!
We sure have come a long way since coach Case and his Wolfpack captured the first three ACC Tournaments between 1954 and 56. Back then, the tourney was played at State's very own Reynolds Coliseum, which held 12,400. In 1954, everyone thought Reynolds was absolutely gigantic.
In case those of you in the upper deck missed what I said, the word was GIGAAAAANTIC!!!!!!
In their attempt to come up with an angle this weekend, the scribes and TV talking heads will ask a lot of questions about how a dome affects one's ability to shoot the ball. The general theory is that the unusually deep background in a dome makes the basket appear closer than it actually is.
But at least the players will be able to see the basket, unlike some of you up there.
I said, SOME OF YOU UUUUUUUUP THERE!!!!
Another atmospheric condition that can affect shooting in a dome is the wind. That's right, I said the wind. Some domes are so big they actually create their own weather systems. With that in mind, it would be advisable to take a heavy coat, a sweater and a bathing suit-ESPECIALLY THOSE OF YOU SITTING ON THE NORTH END OF THE STADIUMMMMMMMMMM!!!!
And while the move to a domed stadium is new, the format that will be used this year is not. Following a two-year hiatus, the Thursday night play-in game between the 8th and 9th seeded teams is back. And with that, the tradition of playing four quarterfinal games on Friday has also been restored.
The fans, especially those sitting at home watching on TV, seem to prefer the "four game Friday" format, but for those of us who will broadcasting the games on radio, it makes for a long and interesting day.
The radio networks representing six of the nine schools broadcast every single game of the tournament, including ours at NC State. Obviously, we at the Wolfpack Capitol Sports Network hope you will turn down the sound on your television sets and listen to our radio call throughout the weekend. But if that's not a part of your plan, at least consider listening to the final game on Friday night. By then, yours truly and my partner, Gary Hahn, will be slaphappy. In other words, anything could happen.
Broadcasting his first ACC Tournament in 1991, Hahn actually lost his voice. His throat problems were so severe that he missed the Wolfpack's games in the NCAA Tournament a week later.
That leads us to a trivia question. Who called the play-by-play for the Wolfpack Radio Network in NC State's last NCAA Tournament game against Oklahoma State 10 years ago?
A Garry Dornburg
B Wally Ausley
C Tony Haynes
For those of you who said 'C', you are correct.
Please don't hold it against me for blowing my own horn. In fact, a horn is about the only thing the fans can hear in the upper reaches of the Georgia Dome.
