As recently as a year ago, if you were being recruited to play basketball at the University of St. Thomas and you wanted to see the weight room, you might be met by a blank stare. Johnny Tauer, who has coached the Tommies men’s hoops program for more than a decade, admitted that in the past, recruits would have to ask three times before they were allowed to see the weight room, which one alumnus jokingly compared to a broom closet in size.

On Wednesday, as members of the media got their first peek inside Lee and Penny Anderson Arena, the $183 million new home for the Tommies men’s and women’s basketball programs and men’s and women’s hockey programs, Tauer practically beamed when talking about all he and his program can offer those who want to dibble, pass and shoot for St. Thomas in the

See Full Page