As you walk into West Virginia State's Walker Convocation Center in Institute, you're struck first by the lobby. The statue of Basketball Hall of Fame member Earl Lloyd is breathtaking. And to say the entrance is inviting is an understatement.
Inside, the Johnson Arena is, in a word, sweet. The video boards are impressive.
The facilities arms race was on in the Charleston area and the Yellow Jackets won.
On the court, well, it's a bit of a different story. On Thursday, a tiny bit.
State had shots to tie the game in the final seconds, but UC moved to 10-7 after sweating out a 70-68 victory over the Jackets, now 5-11.
Thursday's game between the Yellow Jackets and Golden Eagles, however, served as both a reason to get out before the storm and a time to compare and contrast the two rivals.
Overall? The teams looked about even on Thursday. But let's dig a little deeper.
State is six games below .500 with upcoming games against Concord in Athens and home games against Wheeling Jesuit and West Liberty. Odds are the record will move to 5-14 until Mountain East Conference bottom feeder Urbana hits Institute.
And it's head-scratching. Let's face it, within Division II athletics, hoops is king. State has swanky digs. It also has a winning coach.
Bryan Poore has won. And won. And won. In case you're unaware, he was a former assistant to Greg White at Marshall University and, yes, the University of Charleston. He even was the interim head coach at UC when White took a sabbatical to assist Jim Harrick at UCLA.
Poore had an absolute terrific run with the Yellow Jackets from the 2003-04 season through the 2010-11 season.
Then the hard times hit, capped by last season's 6-25 record. The natural question is why? Doesn't make sense.
The thought from here is UC and, now, with the Convocation Center, West Virginia State should always have contending basketball programs within the MEC.
Right now, though, UC seems in a better position to perk up when the Wehrle Innovation Center is in place.
"I can't wait to have a place like this," said UC athletic director Bren Stevens from Thursday's game. "We're about a month behind on the project right now, but we should be ready to open the beginning of November - just in time for basketball season. I'm excited. It's been hard not having a place this year, but it's going to be great once everything comes to fruition."
Poore is hoping to parlay his new pad into the same type of enthusiasm.
"The last couple of years, we've struggled with kids buying in and chemistry," Poore said. "Any coach will tell you that if you don't have that, you'll struggle. You have to have the right mix of guys. Then there are injuries."
And expulsions. Earlier in the week, Poore kicked off standout Robert Fomby, the team's second-leading scorer who averaged 17.1 points in eight games.
"He was on a short leash," Poore said. "He didn't do what he was told. It's sad. He's a nice kid and I love him. I knew it was going to kill us. But I'm trying to teach our kids that's the way the world works."
Credit Poore for maintaining discipline. Fomby was only 6-foot-2, but brought the energy. Now that's gone. Poore still has standout Markee Mazyck, who had 18 against UC, and nice freshman Frank Webb, but a tough road ahead. I asked about the situation, considering the new arena is in place.
"It's an eye-catcher," Poore said. "But then I say that and I see kids we didn't get. You can't say just because we have this gym, we should get more kids. More goes into it than that."
Take that as you will. Seems like just the promise of a new gym should produce more quality players. Yet maybe there's more to the story. And perhaps, just perhaps, new athletic director Nate Burton will bring fresh ideas to the table.
"I think he's going to do a good job," Poore said. "He's worked at Clemson and three or four other places in athletic departments. He has more experience than people know."
Meanwhile, Stevens and coach Dwaine Osborne are a step - and Thursday two points - ahead with the new arena looming for next season.
"We're hoping to have more community folks out, more season-ticket holders," said the Golden Eagles AD. "It was hard to sell season tickets in the old gym. Now with better seats and a better arena, I'm hoping for better sales. Also we need to do more with corporate partnerships."
She's counting on a recruiting bump.
"I would think for sure it will help," Stevens said. "You know the locker rooms in Eddie King [gym] were outdated. New locker rooms for our coaches to showcase and a nice arena will help with the recruiting aspect. Even though you don't like to say it, some student-athletes make their decisions on where they're going to play on what they're going to have.
"I think it's going to make a difference."
Hopefully, in the near future, for both area programs.