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Keith Dambrot statement from UA news release


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There are things in life that you can't put a price tag on, KD gets it.

“I am extremely happy to be the head coach at my alma mater and I am not a candidate for any other coaching positions. I grew up in Akron, my mother taught here and this is where my friends and family live. The University administration and I are committed to our goal of making the Zips one of the top mid-major programs in the nation.”
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KD is a special person. He's fortunate to have his dream job, and UA is fortunate to have him. Ideally it would be great if he could continue to build Zips basketball to a higher level, and then when he eventually retires has a young assistant with the talent and abilities of a Shaka Smart to turn the reins over to.

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It is great he is staying. My only concern is the attitude. WHY do we have to be the BEST MID Major. Why are we not shooting to be the best major?

Am I missing something here?

This is like the being the best of the worst No glory in that.

I don't expect a Duke but why not aim higher than a mid major? Are we locked into be a mid major?

Maybe I don't understand.

:wave:

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It is great he is staying. My only concern is the attitude. WHY do we have to be the BEST MID Major. Why are we not shooting to be the best major?

Am I missing something here?

This is like the being the best of the worst No glory in that.

I don't expect a Duke but why not aim higher than a mid major? Are we locked into be a mid major?

Maybe I don't understand.

:wave:

I believe every "Major" conference is an American Football BCS conference. Until our American football team improves, our basketball and futball team are stuck at the "mid-major" level.

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It is great he is staying. My only concern is the attitude. WHY do we have to be the BEST MID Major. Why are we not shooting to be the best major?

Am I missing something here?

This is like the being the best of the worst No glory in that.

I don't expect a Duke but why not aim higher than a mid major? Are we locked into be a mid major?

Maybe I don't understand.

:wave:

One step at a time my friend...

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@Carol, as @bobbyake says, the MAC is a mid-major conference. You can't be a major team in a mid-major conference. But there are always rumors out there that UA is looking to move up. If the Zips moved to a conference like the Big East, for example, they would become a major team overnight. Then the problem becomes one of consistently winning against higher-level competition as the Zips under KD have consistently done against lower-level competition. Becoming a mid-major power by regularly knocking off major teams in OOC play as Gonzaga has done would be a good first step.

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It is great he is staying. My only concern is the attitude. WHY do we have to be the BEST MID Major. Why are we not shooting to be the best major?

Am I missing something here?

This is like the being the best of the worst No glory in that.

I don't expect a Duke but why not aim higher than a mid major? Are we locked into be a mid major?

Maybe I don't understand.

:wave:

All I can think of to say about that is: :rolleyes:

Not to mention, :horse:

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How to overstate and understate the accomplishments of KD and UofA basketball all in one paragraph.

"This season, Dambrot led the Zips to their first-ever Mid-American Conference regular-season championship. He has guided the program to seven-straight 20 win seasons as Akron is one of just 17 programs nationally to reach the 20-win mark during that stretch. Akron's 184 wins in Dambrot's eight-year tenure are the most in the MAC. The Zips have appeared six-straight MAC title games, the second longest active streak in the nation, and has appeared in the postseason in six of the last seven seasons."

Overstatement: Akron is one of only 17 programs to reach the 20-win mark during that stretch (the last 7 years).

The truth: There are scores of teams that have had 20 win seasons during the last seven years.

Understatement: The Zips have appeared (in) six-straight MAC title games, the second longest active streak in the nation.....

The truth: No team has a a longer active streak of appearing in MAC title games. We are #1.

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Overstatement: Akron is one of only 17 programs to reach the 20-win mark during that stretch (the last 7 years).

The truth: There are scores of teams that have had 20 win seasons during the last seven years.

I think they're referring to seven consecutive 20-win seasons.

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Dambrot deserves at least a base of $600,000. If a bad school like Duquesne can afford it, we can too. Forget about soccer and football for a second, and shelf over some money for basketball. Attendance and Zips basketball is on the rise. Many games were packed last season, and with any luck we can carry over our success and start the season strong in 2012-13. I've always felt UA took KD for granted. They really don't know the impact he has had, and the crushing blow it would be to our program if he left. You aren't going to find another KD out there UA, if you don't secure him it WILL cost people their jobs.

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Dambrot deserves at least a base of $600,000. If a bad school like Duquesne can afford it, we can too. Forget about soccer and football for a second, and shelf over some money for basketball. Attendance and Zips basketball is on the rise. Many games were packed last season, and with any luck we can carry over our success and start the season strong in 2012-13. I've always felt UA took KD for granted. They really don't know the impact he has had, and the crushing blow it would be to our program if he left. You aren't going to find another KD out there UA, if you don't secure him it WILL cost people their jobs.

Do you think you might be overreacting a little?

Dambrot doesn't deserve a raise and he doesn't deserve to be the highest paid coach in the league. He did less this year than the year before with more in his favor. In the real world, that doesn't get you a raise.

Forget about football after just bringing in the best coach at the school? That's nuts. The soccer program is a national championship contender and we are going to forget about them? That's nuts as well.

I'm going to save Big Zip some typing since he as been saving me some typing recently. KD leaving wouldn't crush the program if we had a competent AD. Takes me back to when Bill Cowher retired and every handwringing Yinzer worried they would never get a coach as good...They got one better. KD has been at Akron for going on nine years. We have seen two senior classes go through. He is what he is at this point and the program may be at the highest point it is going to be with him. If you like winning 20 games, making the MAC Championship game (losing more often than not), making the post season and probably going one and done, he is a great choice. It's not a bad place to be and we should all be proud of the program. There are better places to be though.

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$600k for a coach that has only one MAC regular season title, zero NCAA tournament wins, and no major upset on his resume? That is reaching...

It's great he is from Akron and all and wants to stay but he is only a competitive coach in the MAC..Akron is not competitive in the mid-major ranks, let alone even sniffing a chance at winning in the tournament which we rarely get to because he blows the championship game.

He has done a great job at getting this team to be competitive in the MAC, but with how soft the schedule is, I would be alarmed that he isn't getting 20 wins. Akron is also near the bottom in the NCAA in attendance. Has zero major wins for the program to hang its hat on. Only made it to the NCAA tournament twice despite 6 league championship games and still doesnt have the best program in one of the worst conferences in the NCAA.

A real discussion needs to take place if we don't start growing and whether or not we actually have the right coach for the program if we have another couple of years of failing to live up to expectations.

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KD has done a lot of the things that some of his biggest critics have requested.

The Zips need to bring in quality transfers if they can't get enough quality players directly out of HS. KD brought in three good ones.

The Zips need more athletic players. KD brought in a bunch of them.

The Zips need a tougher OOC schedule to get a higher RPI. KD scheduled a top 100 SOS for the first time this season and earned an RPI in the 50s for the first time.

When considered objectively, the efforts to improve the Zips are clear to see. Some of the results are also clear to see. But it's not unreasonable to point out that the big result that everyone wants to see -- winning one or more NCAA tournament games -- has not yet been reached.

The real question is whether progress is being made toward the big goal, or if the team is just treading water or slipping backwards. On any issue like this there are going to be disagreements that have been made clear in this thread and previous threads on this subject. It's fair to say that whatever the results, fans always want more.

Personally, I'm pleased with some of the results and disappointed with others. But overall I like where KD is taking the program, and the way he's going about doing it. I enjoyed watching this season's team much more than previous editions even if they didn't reach that higher goal we were all hoping for. But I expect to see further improvements next season and beyond. For example, I'd like to see all the players be in better physical condition, especially as it relates to endurance, and I'd like to see them press more on defense and run more on offense.

If I ever thought that KD had peaked and that the Zips were no longer making progress toward the next level, I'd join in with those looking for a replacement.

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A real discussion needs to take place if we don't start growing and whether or not we actually have the right coach for the program if we have another couple of years of failing to live up to expectations.

Roo... respectfully, are you nuts?!

Fact 1) Akron's basketball program at the D-I level has never, ever, been stronger or more competitive than it is today. Fact 2) Keith Dambrot is the reason for Fact 1). He's made an impact since year one, the only team more talented than the one he had this year will likely be taking the floor next year. While you might not be overly impressed with the job he's done here, people who know more about college basketball than any of us fans do seem to hold KD in pretty darned high regard and consider him an outstanding coach.

Was this year disappointing? At the end, yes, sure it was. Did we lose to an inferior team in the MACC game? No, we did not. We lost by a whisker to a damned good Ohio team that missed the Elite 8 by a single missed free throw. We'll get another bite at the apple next season, and maybe things work out better, or maybe the MAC gets more than one team in the tourney. But whatever happens over the next couple of years, there is no conceivable scenario I can imagine where there could be a serious discussion about retaining one of the best coaches in the history of our program.

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If I ever thought that KD had peaked and that the Zips were no longer making progress toward the next level, I'd join in with those looking for a replacement.

As long as TW is the AD, there is no way I would ever allow him to get rid of KD. I wouldn't trust TW to hire a quality replacement.

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