ESPN columnist says Reed floor worst in college basketball
Fightin' words: Read Forde's column (opens in new window)
Game Wrap-up: Aggies beat Cyclones

By MATTHEW WATKINS
Eagle Staff Writer

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Buy this photo Eagle Photo/Butch Ireland Some Aggies disagree with an ESPN columnist's assessment of the Reed Arena floor design. "Texas is that big," A&M senior Justin Ferro said

Texas A&M basketball fans would have a difficult time finding something ugly about their team's 73-49 victory over Iowa State on Wednesday night.

Finding something ugly about the Reed Arena court the teams played on would be a lot easier - at least for some.

In his weekly column on the popular ESPN.com Tuesday, writer Pat Forde placed the Reed Arena floor atop his list of worst college basketball floors in America.

"The Aggies just had to have a bigger state of Texas outline than the Longhorns, so theirs stretches very nearly from key to shining key," Forde wrote. "Combine that with parquet and a too-large logo on top of the state outline and you have [my] vote for the ugliest floor in America."

In the column, Forde was critical of schools who put large symbols in the middle of their courts, especially state outlines. A&M is guilty of that supposed offense. The court has an outline of Texas on the floor that is so large players can shoot from El Paso or Beaumont without straying more than a foot from one of the three-point lines.

A&M fans, however, are not so sure that the size of the logo is a bad thing.

"Texas is that big. It's a big state," A&M senior Justin Ferro said at the game Wednesday night. "I like it."

Forde was also critical of parquet floors, in which the wood on the floor is arranged in a checkered pattern instead of the usual parallel layout.

"Just because it worked for the [Boston] Celtics doesn't mean that it will work for you," Forde wrote. "In fact, most schools with parquet floors are notably lacking in significant hoops tradition."

A&M's floor uses the parquet style. The Texas in the middle and the sidelines are painted over the parquet with a translucent tan color that keeps the court's wood finish but makes the painted areas darker.

Texas A&M football player Martellus Bennett, who was also on the basketball team until he announced Monday he was quitting to focus on football, said that Forde may harbor his opinion of the court may be because he has not seen it in person.

"It is ugly on TV," said Bennett, who added that he does not read ESPN.com. "When you are here in person, it looks a lot better."

Other A&M fans said that they don't pay attention to the court.

"When I was [attending A&M], we still played in G. Rollie White, so it looks pretty good to me," said Terry Browning, who graduated in 1972.

Browning said he doesn't pay attention to the court, only how the team plays.

"I don't care what the court looks like, and I don't care what ESPN says," he said.

Bennett said that he and his former teammates feel the same way.

"The court don't make the difference," he said. "The players and the fans make the difference. They make the court good."