Vandy's Memorial Gym. Has there even been a gym more perfect for a player?

[CatPhight]

Plenty of room to bring our own chairs and set up our bench where every other team at every other level places them.
What's to stop us? Bring some duct tape and set up our own coaches box in the D&D Theater/Gym.

 

[Friedas_Boss]

I've always heard that, as well from people old enough to have been alive when it happened and to be in the know. However, that site is so accurate it's amazing. It's enough to question what I've always been told. Heck, even the talking heads will mention it tonight. They always do

Thanks for chiming in.

There have always been a very few UK fans that get upset by this story and it really boggles the mind as to why???

This isn't an accusation, it's what I have been told and apparently what you had been told. It definitely could be false, but it makes perfect sense and there is absolutely no evidence to the contrary.

 

[OriginalChiDore]

It is sorta funny that people who are saying "there's no way Adolph Rupp could've have forced the SEC to make Vandy change the benches".....

are also the ones saying "the SEC should totally make Vandy change their benches!!"

 

[Blueaz]

I already did.

This really is a hilarious topic. Can't believe there are humans that would spend an ounce of energy being so upset about it.

Strange world...

Miserable Gymnasium.

I hate that place. Almost as bad as Friedas Boss (CVF) on this board. Still see you talking down to Rafters' posters as well as getting in your not-so-subtle digs.

First of all, (water is wet) FB is a poser extraordinaire, always has been, always will be. He'll head on back to wherever the hell other Candy fans goto to post about CBB and stab everyone in the back that posts here with his asinine sarcasm and up your butt cynicism.

Yeah, keep on keeping on CVF, you haven't fooled anyone and you wore out your welcome a LONG time ago. Personally, although I think you should get hit with yet another perma ban on posting on this board, I really don't mind seeing you coming over here to post your drivel. You don't see us hanging around the Candy board. Hell, we don't even visit. Yet here you are. What's the matter? Can't talk basketball to any other Candy fans?

You're practically the only Candy fan that ever posts on this board and its' hella' pathetic, kinda' like how a dog hangs around a dinner table hoping for some scraps.

So here ya' go, little buddy. *pats you on the head*

Judging by pre-season predictions, Candy has been the biggest disappointment in the SEC. (by a mile - again - water is wet). Quite possibly the biggest disappointment in the entire country this year. We're getting to the point of wanting Stallings to stay at Candy like we want Clappy to stay at IUsedtobe.

And if Candy manages the upset, I'm sure you'll be here tap-dancing like the little prick you must be in real life.

Only problem is, you'll still do nothing in the post-season (as usual - water is wet). Candy will still be on the losing side of the overall series. Speaking of which, why don't you tell us where you stand now .... is it 46 wins vs. the 141 other ass-kickings you've had at the hands of the Big Blue?

Yeah, good luck with adding something else to your trophy case. I've a feeling that the lonely college world series title will be there collecting dust without any other friends for the rest of your natural life.

Candy sad. Very sad.

just added Frito's dictator to ignore...very condensing asshat

 

[.S&C.]

You're a better/braver man than I am. No way in hell would I teach high school in Memphis. That's putting your life at risk. It would probably be bad teaching middle school there also. I can't imagine the crap you see or have to put up with daily.

I know that there are a couple of nice places in or around Memphis but the majority of the city is a dump. Get out while you still can S&C lol.

I already know. But I make it clear to all the students. I don't care about political correctness. I don't care what moron wants to come along and take your side over mine because its politically beneficial.

You f*** with me in the wrong way, I'll put you down. My kids either respect me, or ask out of my classes. I don't allow phones, back talk, talking, or any other disrespectful action. They will either learn to be productive and take instruction, or they will get the hell out.

I had to bury a student that I really broke through to who was involved in lots of gang activity. I had him on a path to college, out of the gangs for the first time since he was 11, and actually believing he could do more. He was gunned down by street thugs about 3 miles from me. Kind of made me want to give it up. The bad part is he told me weeks before that they were targeting him because he left the life, and I told him to keep going.

 

[BigBlueDiehard]

If Coach Rupp was able to use his influence to get the benches at Vandy moved, then good for him. But the notion that the word of 3 old guys at a tailgate is somehow more reliable than the research of Jon Scott (the preeminent authority on UK basketball history whose website contains more data, copies of old new stories, and historical information than one could possibly consume in a week's time) is laughable. Even the Vandy historian that Scott spoke with agrees that Rupp wasn't responsible for the change.

This is likely just another myth that gets repeated over time and eventually comes to be accepted as the truth by some...much like the myth that Bear Bryant left UK for Texas A&M because the school gave Rupp a new Cadillac and only gave Bryant a cigarette lighter.

I was at Henry Clay when Chip Rupp played there prior to going to Vandy. He was a few years older than me, but a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend told me that Chip said his grandfather was not responsible for the Vandy benches being moved to the baseline. So there you go...completely irrefutable...mystery solved.

 

[drbubba]

I always wondered how Vandy was able to get an exemption to the NCAA rule that team benches had to be on the sidelines. Univ. of Minn. has the same configuration and had to move their benches to the sidelines. The teams used to sit with their seats below the floor level and when Tubby was there, he used to sit on a stool up on the sideline.

It's not a gym even. It's a Jr high auditorium.

 

[CharlieT71059]

I think we win at vandy in spite of their awesome gym

 

[JPScott]

A couple comments on this:

1.) As most people probably realize, it's nearly impossible to prove that something didn't happen. I've heard this 'rumor' over the years and to date have simply not seen any evidence supporting it. It's not a question of being angry or anything. It's just a simple matter of searching for the truth behind claims that some people accept as dogma without really knowing whether they're actually true or not.

2.) I don't expect Vanderbilt fans to take my word for it. But when someone like Bill Traughber (who is essentially the equivalent to Vanderbilt basketball that Russell Rice was to Kentucky basketball) states unequivocally that the benches were not moved due to Rupp, then that should be taken as pretty authoritative, unless someone can provide actual evidence showing the contrary.

It's on the page, but what Traughber told me was:

• 
  "When they built Memorial they wanted it to be used for other purposes than basketball. Therefore the floor was raised for plays and other campus performances and events. Putting the benches on the sidelines blocked the view from premium seats. There was a time they tried to put the benches on the sidelines down on the floor by the seats. But the players had to climb up onto the floor. So it went back to the end. I can tell you as powerful Rupp was with the SEC, Vanderbilt would not yield to his will since they built the gym to be competitive and take basketball serious and to beat Kentucky."

3.) The evidence that I was able to find does support that Vanderbilt started out on the endline. Again from the page, there's a photo from 1952 which clearly shows the benches in the corner along the endline.

Note that the photo that was provided by OriginalChiDore, which shows a shooter from directly in front of the goal may not necessarily be indicative of where the benches were actually located, since the bench may just be out of the picture.

It would be more useful to find a photo where the benches are actually shown on the sideline.

4.) Traughber did indicate (in the quote above) that Vandy did try at some point moving the benches to the sidelines but it didn't work.

Did Rupp complain at that time? Maybe. I've asked for specific time frames as to when these changes were made, as that would make it much easier to try to locate any quotes or articles associated with the changes, but to date no one has provided any details.

And yes, certainly there would have been newspaper articles etc. about such a move, especially if it was dictated to Vanderbilt by Rupp and/or the SEC office. Fred Russell of the Nashville Banner, for example, had a daily column which he certainly would have discussed it. In addition, the SEC meetings were covered by the newspapers and there were also minutes taken as well, so if would be pretty straightforward to track down if they had done something like this.

5.) Related to #4, I have asked a handful of times on Vanderbilt message boards specifically about this and no one has ever been able to provide any details whatsoever.

Again, that doesn't prove that it didn't happen, but it does call into question exactly what the basis for this rumor is, especially since it makes no logical sense.

 

[Friedas_Boss]

A couple comments on this:

1.) As most people probably realize, it's nearly impossible to prove that something didn't happen. I've heard this 'rumor' over the years and to date have simply not seen any evidence supporting it. It's not a question of being angry or anything. It's just a simple matter of searching for the truth behind claims that some people accept as dogma without really knowing whether they're actually true or not.

2.) I don't expect Vanderbilt fans to take my word for it. But when someone like Bill Traughber (who is essentially the equivalent to Vanderbilt basketball that Russell Rice was to Kentucky basketball) states unequivocally that the benches were not moved due to Rupp, then that should be taken as pretty authoritative, unless someone can provide actual evidence showing the contrary.

It's on the page, but what Traughber told me was:

• 
  "When they built Memorial they wanted it to be used for other purposes than basketball. Therefore the floor was raised for plays and other campus performances and events. Putting the benches on the sidelines blocked the view from premium seats. There was a time they tried to put the benches on the sidelines down on the floor by the seats. But the players had to climb up onto the floor. So it went back to the end. I can tell you as powerful Rupp was with the SEC, Vanderbilt would not yield to his will since they built the gym to be competitive and take basketball serious and to beat Kentucky."

3.) The evidence that I was able to find does support that Vanderbilt started out on the endline. Again from the page, there's a photo from 1952 which clearly shows the benches in the corner along the endline.

Note that the photo that was provided by OriginalChiDore, which shows a shooter from directly in front of the goal may not necessarily be indicative of where the benches were actually located, since the bench may just be out of the picture.

It would be more useful to find a photo where the benches are actually shown on the sideline.

4.) Traughber did indicate (in the quote above) that Vandy did try at some point moving the benches to the sidelines but it didn't work.

Did Rupp complain at that time? Maybe. I've asked for specific time frames as to when these changes were made, as that would make it much easier to try to locate any quotes or articles associated with the changes, but to date no one has provided any details.

And yes, certainly there would have been newspaper articles etc. about such a move, especially if it was dictated to Vanderbilt by Rupp and/or the SEC office. Fred Russell of the Nashville Banner, for example, had a daily column which he certainly would have discussed it. In addition, the SEC meetings were covered by the newspapers and there were also minutes taken as well, so if would be pretty straightforward to track down if they had done something like this.

5.) Related to #4, I have asked a handful of times on Vanderbilt message boards specifically about this and no one has ever been able to provide any details whatsoever.

Again, that doesn't prove that it didn't happen, but it does call into question exactly what the basis for this rumor is, especially since it makes no logical sense.

That is a much more fair and reasoned response than last time we did this, @JPScott ! Last time you used Traughbar's quote as gospel, this time you admitted that it is difficult to disprove. I appreciate you taking the time.

As for your very last line, that is where you lose some credibility (you should edit the line out). The logic was (as the story I've heard) that Rupp was getting older and had some sort of health problem (maybe an arthritic hip or something) that lead to his reasoning as to why he asked the SEC office to make the move. He claimed it was difficult to climb up and down the stairs to the benches at that time. That is the logic.

 

[OriginalChiDore]

This is an interesting debate because as a history buff, it's a great example of how people can view the same set of past events through completely different lenses.

I'll start by saying sports historians play in an important role to those who are passionate about hat topic. So I've lots of respect for somoene filling that role. That being said, the difference between a historian's opinion and a layman's is that the historian's is more research. Often times research yields a finding that probably bears close resemblance to the truth. Here though the research hasn't conclusively determined facts surrounding a gap.

What we know for sure: the benches are on the end lines now.

What we feel pretty confident about: the benches were on the endlines during the gym's early days.

What may have happened based on hearsay evidence: there was a time when benches on the sidelines at floor level.

What is conjectured: Rupp wouldn't have liked that.

Leading us to the point being debated: Rupp got the SEC to force VU to move the benches.

Who knows what happened? Who really cares, except that it's fun to debate because we love our basketball and its traditions? But I think the fact that enough people who would've been there to see have told the "Rupp had to climb on a stool" story that there's some basis in truth.

Rather that means he forced a change we don't know. It's sort of like "Let them eat cake." A French queen did say that but it wasn't Marie Antoinette, and what she meant was the poor should have brioche for the same price as bread if bread ran out. I reckon there was a time when benches were on the side, and I reckon Rupp wouldn't have been crazy about it.

 

[show your gold]

It goes far beyond just being a fan. The guy has put in hours upon hours of research to create his site...or, as you so condescendingly put it, his "blog". Nevertheless, you're a nobody here compared to him and quite frankly I think you may have overstayed your welcome. You've been repeatedly asked to produce your evidence yet, you haven't and it's doubtful you ever will. I'm not defensive in the least. I'm simply stating the facts that the evidence supports.
On the bigger subject, the location of Vandy's benches are completely irrelevant to me. Much like the Vandy basketball program as a whole.

Gee I sure wish I could be a somebody on a message board.