Thursday, December 27, 2012

Should the Big Sky Look at Portland State's Scoreboard?

I should preface this by saying that I have never been to the Stott Center, so it's tough for me to give my opinion on this article. But Bob Meseroll (Montana beat writer for The Missoulian) watched the Weber State/Portland State game last week, and didn't like what he saw from the scoreboard.

If the Big Sky Conference has protocol on how and when scoreboards can be used, then it needs to revisit the issue. The worst offender is Portland State. PSU added a jumbotron-style scoreboard at Stott Center two years ago. The thing is ridiculously large for an arena that seats fewer than 2,000 people, but that’s not the point. The scoreboard is positioned so that it does not line up with the court, but it’s nevertheless in the line of sight for players on offense at that end of the court. While watching the Weber State-Portland State game last week, you could see the scoreboard flashing DEE-FENSE while Weber State had the ball. The green light was so brilliant it was reflected off the court. For Weber State, players to the left of the lane were shooting directly into the obnoxious flashing sign. The scoreboard should not be in use when the ball is in play.
I know the Stott Center has a good sized scoreboard, especially relative to the size of the gym. For those that have been there, do you see this happening (scoreboard flashing like that during the game) and do you think it is an issue? Would love to hear thoughts.

EDIT: Below is a picture taken by Brett Hein of The Upset, which gives a good indication of the glare on the court:


And here is a reaction I got off Twitter:


EDIT 2: Just going to quote Brett Hein again, because he stated the point succinctly on twitter:

"The issue isn't with the board itself. It's with the graphics being used during play... when just showing video, it's okay. But flashing DEFENSE graphics affect the game... and are of course not going to be used when PSU is on offense facing that basket"

Follow me on Twitter @bigskybball

14 comments:

  1. Please quit whining and maybe try writing about something people give a shit about.

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  2. Thata boy Jon, gotta keep a sense of humor in this business.
    Bob M

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  3. Anonymous - So, your whining about Jon's whining is kosher? Let me know when you get off your arse, start your own blog and provide something of substance to the hoops conversation. -MTJack

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  4. By the way, keep up the good work, Jon. Thanks. -MTJack

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  5. OK Anon, you started this line. Jon's point is valid. That Jumbotron is so out of place in a building that small, and running it during game action is not good. It is a valid discussion point, not just whining!

    Hey, I'm Anonymous too!

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  6. The BSC should force PSU to give their video board to Sac State. ;)

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  7. It seems like something silly to regulate, but it's probably best if the conference does so. If I'm not mistaken, school bands aren't allow to play during game action (and especially when teams are shooting free throws). I remember a few years back at ISU when some students showed up in the bleachers behind the backboard with large posters of women in bikinis. It was silly, but the refs confiscated them the first time the opposing team was set to make free throws.

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  8. Exactly... it seems silly that it would be something that the conference would need to worry about, but it seems like they need to.

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  9. I think the band playing is an NCAA thing. As far as the posters in the stands go, SDSU's student section has all kinds of crazy signs and posters during games, I'm surprised the refs took them away at the ISU game.

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  10. Based on the fact that he got nearly 4 times as many views yesterday than the previous 30, it seems like people do care about this and when it makes that big of a glare facing the players and flashes directly at them during the course of play it should not exist.

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    1. Jon is the "go to guy" for BSC hoops. He does need to watch is tone with the jinxes though.

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  11. I asked a few of the players that have played with the jumbotron in their face and it's darn annoying to them. It should only be allowed to show anything at time-outs and half-time.

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