Marcus Lee loves Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gym
Kentucky will travel to Nashville this coming weekend to play in Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gym, the only venue in college basketball with its benches and coaching boxes on the baseline, behind each goal.
This season the coaching boxes were extended down the sideline to the three-point line — per a request from the SEC to the NCAA rules committee — but even with the change, it is still a very unique layout for a college basketball floor.
In the past, the peculiar setup has been difficult on opposing teams as they’re left playing the first half of games without any instruction from their head coach, who is on the complete opposite end of the court. This year it will be a little easier to communicate, though still completely different than anything they will see anywhere else.
Marcus Lee loves it, he admitted last night, while previewing the game ahead. “I actually love that court,” he said. “It is probably one of my favorite SEC courts because it looks totally different. It looks like a theater. I love the way it is made and created.”
Of the difficulty in playing there, Lee told reporters, “It’s something you have to get used to. It’s just different, and some people hate it, some people don’t like it.”
Easy for Lee to say, considering he’s never actually played there. He did not play at Memorial in his 2013-14 freshman season, and Kentucky did not make the trip to Vanderbilt last year. Saturday’s game will be his first time on the floor.
When asked if it will help having Tyler Ulis out there to coach the team, Lee said it always helps having Ulis on the floor, no matter the venue.
Beat Vandy.
10 Comments for Marcus Lee loves Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gym
For the life of me why can they not lower the floor it just seems like a really stupid layout for supposedly smart school
I would actually like to see them go with some type of elevated floor at Rupp with a “mosh pit” of students all the way around the court to make noise. We could give the old folks luxury suites and seats in the rows above them to keep everyone happy. Of course, for some games it seems that even the students are asleep! Guess we’re spoiled.
Marcus likes it because he can’t hear Cal screaming at him!! 🙂
The Cats will be able to hear their coach giving instructions as long as Tyler is on the floor, he and Cal are psychically linked
We’ll have an advantage when the guys are on the far end of Memorial from Cal. We’ll still have a coach on the floor!
“a very unique layout” There are no degrees of unique. No comparative or superlative form of the word. It means one of a kind. So something can’t be more unique or somewhat unique or very unique. It’s either one of a kind or it’s not.
Don’t you sound fun.
I’m a big fan of Vandy’s weird gym too. Except for when we lose there, then it sucks.
My second favorite arena of all time behind UK’s Memorial Coliseum.
UK had benches at the end of the court through 1967.
Asking if having Ulis on the floor will help is bout like asking if having air to breath helps keep you alive. Obvious what the answer is.