If a tree falls in the forest but nobody is around, does it make a sound?
Last week, with only two months until the regular season begins, the 2005-06 ASU men's basketball schedule was released.
Of course, most of you probably had no idea it happened. There was no press release and no publicity, so unless you just happened to check the schedule on the men's basketball team's Web site in the last week, you would still be unaware.
It begs the question, why would a major-conference Division I men's basketball program do nothing to publicize their upcoming season? After all, men's basketball is one of the two revenue-generating college sports.
The answer is simple but complex. The simple part is that the men's basketball program at ASU is stuck in a rut. The complexity comes in answering why that is the case.
First and foremost, this season's outlook, along with the foreseeable future, certainly seems dim. Ike Diogu, the face of the team for the last three seasons, was a top-10 pick in the NBA draft and is now a Golden State Warrior.
However, another reason is evident when you take a look at this year's schedule. The non-conference season features such basketball heavyweights as North Texas, UC Santa Barbara, Southern Utah and Utah Valley State.
That means this season will once again see an assorted list of not-even-mid-major schools come to town this November and December, and the Phoenix area will respond with a collective yawn, and thousands of people will show up to Wells Fargo Arena disguised as empty seats.
So, what can be done to fix the problem of non-interest in what is supposed to be the No. 2 sport on campus? Here's an idea: Bring some real basketball powers to the Valley. Go out and get a team like Duke (or North Carolina, Kentucky, etc.) to come here. Even agree to go there twice for their one visit here.
You may be thinking that is a crazy idea. Those teams would destroy ASU, and you are probably right. But, people would fill the seats to see these teams, and it is not as if beating up on these small-conference teams has really helped.
See last year, ASU began 11-1, only to go 7-11 in a weak Pac-10 and miss out on the NCAA Tournament. And, who knows, maybe the Sun Devils could string together 40 magical minutes, pull off a major upset, and really get this city to take notice.
This is no cure-all for the men's basketball program, but it would be a step in the right direction.
Reach the reporter at matthew.storey@asu.edu.
