2008-2009 Season

Here's the potential players to formulate the team's roster:

FORWARDS/CENTERS

Nate Linhart
Chris McKnight
Brett McKnight
Jimmy Conyers
Mike Bardo
Steve Swiech
Tim Carroll
Nikola Cvetinovic
Andrew Parrish

GUARDS

Steve McNees
Darryl Roberts
Ronnie Steward
Rydell Brooks
Anthony Hitchens
Alex Sullivan
Brett McLanahan

That's 16 players expected in camp by my count. At first glance, I see a lot of youth and inexperience as well as question marks all around in the frontcourt.


Here's my suggestions (although I'm sure nobody is listening):

1) Take a look at some JUCO players. I know, I know...Dambrot has always refused to do this. But look at what Al Fisher and Haminn Quaintance have done for Can't - they'd be nowhere near what they are now without those two. We've had some success (Derrick Tarver) and some failure (Johnny Hollingsworth) in getting these guys...and while they have the downside of not being developed through our program, they do come in hungry game-ready most of the time. If we are serious about taking the next step, we need to look at ALL potential recruits, not just high school seniors.

2) Toughen up the schedule. This one has been debated for some time, but all you need to look at was Can't this year compared to Akron last year. Most experts had Can't State in the tourney if they simply won their first round game - their 26th win. With 26 wins and a controversial loss in the conference final, the Zips didn't even make the NIT. The difference? Can't had a strong non-conference schedule, while Akron played almost nobody. If you want to be considered one of the top schools in the country, you have to play some of the top schools in the country, even if it's on the road. You think hostile crowds bothered Can't as much after playing on the road at North Carolina? A better, stronger schedule = respect and great experience for your players.

LeBron's Effect on Akron

http://www.clevelandfrowns.com/2008/03/mac...ron-akrons.html

How Good Is Swiech?

Anyone see him play or know how he's looked in practices and workouts? He could be the X factor next year - relying on Mike Bardo to fill the middle won't be a good thing for this team.

Vent Here

I have a lot on my mind, which I'm sure many of us do...so how bout a vent thread?


My random thoughts...

- Didn't like starting Goddard and Quade...in a game that seems to always come down to the last 2 or 3 possessions, you can't afford to have any with guys who don't belong out there.

- Nick Dials' emotion is both good and bad...sometimes it fires up the team and others ride off of it...other times it seems to take him out of his own game.

- Jim Christian absolutely, positively outcoached Keith Dambrot tonight. The Zips go to Wood, who draws a foul on Hammin, who is forced to go to the bench...and instead of taking advantage of this, out comes Wood and in comes Bardo, who is completely terrified to shoot. This, to go along with endless subs and a refusal to make adjustments until it was too late cost the Zips a lot tonight.

- I won't say they cost Akron the game - Akron's shooting percentage did - but the referees were once again terrible tonight. They go from calling nothing, to calling EVERYTHING, to just making unbelievably bad calls that leave you shaking your head...MAC officials are pretty terrible overall, that's for sure.

- In a matter of weeks I've gone from thinking Steve McNees is the next big thing at Akron to grimacing when he checks in. Hopefully he'll work on working with the ball under pressure before next year.

- Is anyone else absolutely driven up the wall by Can't State fans' refusal to come up with something original? They go with "We are...Can't State" (stolen), "K-S-U" (generic), and "Screw the Roo" (a lame response to our original slogan)...just drives me up the wall.

- Classy move by the Can't State students chanting "K-S-U" during our senior night introductions...can't these morons show a little bit of sense even once or twice? You just don't do that...

- Count me in as one who thinks Can't doesn't deserve an at-large bid. Are they really better (at this point) than Akron was last year? And have they really beat that many top notch opponents? They should get consideration, but it should be NIT for them if they don't win the Tourney.

- Tell me the AK-Rowdies purposely spelled "Throw" wrong, putting "Thow" instead...tell me it was an inside joke I didn't know about...please...

- The guy who fires the crowd up is pretty amazing at doing that...he can really get people going...on the flip side, the "blind referee" thing is wayyyy played out...almost as bad as "You can't do that"

- What Akron takes from this loss may tell how we go into the MAC Tourney...Thought Process #1 would be that they shot like crap, dealt with poor officiating, turned the ball over, got outrebounded - basically played the worst game of the year - and only lost by 3. Or Thought Process #2, two losses to Can't, going into the tournament off of an embarrassing performance, nothing seemingly going right.

- Here's hoping for a big run starting Thursday...3 games left for all the marbles...let's do it this year. GO ZIPS!

Zips Groups on Facebook/Myspace

Myspace

Facebook

Pretty cool item of interest...Domenik Hixon added the Myspace page to his top friends...good to see his Akron pride continues to be strong!