Fun With Camera Angles

So- Baylor opened a new gym this season! And lots of fans have lots of comments and about the camera angles from the center court position. The angle is- steep:

For comparison, notice where the hoop is compared to the old gym Baylor used:

The old gym camera angles placed the hoop on the bench, which is a more 'modern' placement. compare to Hilton:

The camera is lower and closer to the court than Baylor's old place, but the hoop is on the bench and further from the baseline.

Baylor's new angle is actually closer to Phog Allen than Hilton:

Similar to Cameron Indoor, too:

But it has a ways to go to be the angle at Gallagher-Iba before it was expanded in 2000:

(That's Fred Hoiberg guarding at the top of the key. Good times.)

Notice how close the hoop is to the edge of the lane! The game camera had to zoom out when play came to mid-court, the zoom in again at either end. You can watch the whole second half HERE.

Here is the current angle from GIA:

The angle is flatter than the old configuration, (similar to Cameron), and I suspect more in line with "normal".

Below is what I consider the most ridiculous camera angle I've seen in a game- Indiana's Assembly Hall in the 1980's:

The camera was even horizontally with the hoop! While it had a fun "sitting in the 10th row" feel, players often got clustered together visually (or blocked by a ref, as in the above example).

Above is the current camera angle. It's a bit on the steep side, but you can see what's going on.

To review- Baylor's angle is weird to modern eyes because it is closer to how things used to be. Revel in the retro feel!

Thoughts From A Doubleheader

I attended both ends of the basketball doubleheader in Ames Saturday, and as both teams won, we had fun. Some thoughts:

- Nothing I stated a year ago has changed. Rough play makes WBB really hard to watch. Like in hockey, letting the goons do what they want takes the skill players out of the game, an drives fan from your now ugly sport. The Vandy game was hideous to watch.

- I have to dissagree with how BF handles Vandy's press down the stretch. They refused to attack and punish Vandy's agression, and it almost won the game for Vandy.

- The staff did a tremendous job shutting down Vandy's #2 scorer. I read the preview after the game, and was shocked that a player who looked like she had no offensive skills was actually one of their stars. She also sported an awful set of cornrows.

- If Vandy is ranked, ISU can be really, really good by March.

- I like what facilities has done with the various banners in the rafters of Hilton.

- The MBB team looked like they needed a blowout, and it was fun to watch them deliver.

- Hat tip to Hilton staff for letting those in the balcony come down to the good seats when it was obvious most of the paid tickets were iced in at home. I recall a similar situation during the Orr years when a huge blizzard kept 6,000 at home. Those who made it saw a great win over the Gophers. The balcony buyers make more noise per person.

Peteclone