In an otherwise relatively interesting piece in the PI regarding the passage of Tuesday's sports-financing ballot measure, I came across this nugget from UW AD Todd Turner.
"And Turner, in an interview, said losing the Sonics could hurt Washington's recruiting efforts of elite basketball players, who like being in an NBA town."
So having the Sonics will make the difference for the Huskies, huh? Maybe if Turner would take a look at the top 10 teams in the pre-season AP poll, he might re-evaluate that position. Of the top 10 schools, guess how many play in cities with an NBA team?
Two. That's right, 8 of the top 10 teams are in cities sans NBA. Shocking, I know, that a "sports executive" would use a flat-out false statement to make a point. It's a pretty good rule of thumb that when people make up ridiculous arguments to back up their points, their points aren't worth making.
How exactly is that a flat-out false statement? He didn't say (nor am I saying it now) that that's the only reason a kid would choose a school, but I'm pretty sure it helps.
ReplyDeleteLet's face it -- it's not like UW has the tradition of NC or Kansas or GTown or even Arizona. Florida has, well the fact that it's in Florida and LSU is only about 75 miles from New Orleans -- major attraction for any college-bound kid. What exactly does Washington have to offer to say, an east-coast kid? Or a California kid? Maybe after a title or at least a few more years of sustained excellence, they might be able to pitch the program, but for now I would think every little bit helps.