Mines
hoopsters getting new hardcourt
By Peter Centineo
The RC Weekly News
Over the past several
years the School of Mines has done a lot of upgrading to its athletic
facilities, and this spring it’s the school’s basketball court that’s
getting an upgrade.
According to Athletic Director Hugh Welsh a crew has been hard at work since
May 6 replacing the old gym floor with new maple hardwood which was long
overdue.
“The old floor had been there for about 16 years. They had actually glued
the wood court onto the existing court so there was no sub-flooring. That
made the court very hard,” Welsh said. “After a while it takes a toll on
your legs.”
Because there was no sub-flooring on the old court, it lacked cushion. The
new floor will make it a little easier on the players as well as the coaches
and referees.
“I think the refs felt it just as much as the players,” said Welsh.
Head men’s basketball coach Jason Henry said he was very pleased that a new
court is being installed. He said many times when planning practices he had
to take into consideration the court and how it would wear on his players.
“We never had any specific injuries due to the floor itself, but when you
get some big guys out there it wears them down,” Henry said. “We’re talking
about guys who are 6-5 and well over 200 pounds. We’d have camps in the
summer and a lot of times we’d run a lot of half-court practices to avoid
running up and down the court.”
Henry said replacing the floor may not seem like a lot, but it makes a
difference to the players already on the team and when showing the
facilities to new recruits.
“For me it’s like Christmas. Everybody likes something new, even if it’s
only new for a short time,” he said. “Players love new stuff. We had a
recruit in a week or so ago and when he saw the new floor going in he just
smiled.”
Welsh said workers will lay each 4x8 piece of flooring down individually and
work from the middle of the court out. By putting sub-flooring and new wood
on top of the existing court, the court will be raised more than two inches.
“Everything is affected. You have to raise the baskets, closet doors,
everything has to be adjusted. When they get towards the bleachers they’ll
probably have to pull those out to work and then adjust the seating also,”
Welsh said “It’s a process but it’s worth it.”
According to Welsh the whole project costs about $165,000, which was
provided by the state. Each state school gets a certain amount of money for
improvements and this time around school officials decided a new floor for
the gym was called for. New bleachers were installed on the south side of
the gym in the past couple of years.
The new gym floor is just one in the latest in a long line of improvements
to sports facilities at Mines.
Five years ago a new track was put in at Dunham Field which was paid for by
School of Mines and the Rapid City School District. New turf on the football
field was paid for by Mines, the school district and funds from the city’s
2012 fund. New locker room facilities were put in at the football field and
skyboxes were added at the stadium as well, which were funded by donations.
“After we get this done I’d say we’re pretty well covered,” Welsh said.
“We’ve had a lot done over the past few years. We want top-notch facilities
and we’ve achieved that with the help of a lot of people.”
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