The star of the show - JPJ
The outcome of the game was a foregone conclusion - though Augusta State didn't exactly mail it home in its 78-63 loss to Virginia Saturday night in Charlottesville.
That said, the real star of the show was the John Paul Jones Arena - which played host to its first men's basketball game in the exhibition.
The first ooh from the crowd came when the lights went down before the introduction of the Virginia starting lineup - and the spotlights were cued up.
The music accompanying the intro was as loud as an airplane landing - sitting in the media section on the second level, I could feel the vibrations from my feet up my legs all the way into my seat.
The next note of interest came when those in attendance began to notice the louder-than-usual noise associated with the sound of a ball bounding off the rim - yep, you guessed it, they have tiny microphones in the rim to enhance the experience of a brick being laid.
(One suggestion - they need to find a way to put even tinier mikes in the net to make swishes that much sweeter to the ear.)
The scoreboard above the playing floor was itself transfixing - for those who prefer the experience of going to a game to watch it on TV, you can get the game live as it happens plus sideline shots of coach Dave Leitao and his staff and replays on Hoo Vision.
One other thing comes to mind for those getting ready for the 2006-2007 season in JPJ - for those sitting on the floor, be prepared to feel like you're at the bottom of Mount Everest.
Bob Moje, a Charlottesville-based architect and UVa. grad who served as the lead architect on the JPJ project, told me in an interview for my book Mad About U: Four Decades of Basketball at University Hall, that he thought it would be hard for opposing teams to adjust to the environment in JPJ because of the way the upper-deck seating was built practically on top of the court.
I spent the second half of the game over the weekend in a floor seat at center court with coauthor Patrick Hite - and remarked upon our arrival in the best seats in the house that I felt like I was about two feet tall with the scoreboard towering overhead and the upper deck reaching into the heavens.
One thing we didn't get in the exhibition is a feel for what it will be like in there with 15,000 screaming fans.
All I can say about that is, after my experience Saturday night, I wouldn't want to be Arizona or any of the other opposing teams that will have to find out firsthand.
- Chris Graham