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Evaluating Coach Dambrot


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I'd like to point out that we can be upset about how the Zips have preformed, without calling for Dambrot to be fired.  

But on the culture side what are we building, a culture of meh?  Just everything, and everyone around the Zips organization seems complacent with meh.

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15 minutes ago, Balsy said:

I'd like to point out that we can be upset about how the Zips have preformed, without calling for Dambrot to be fired.  

But on the culture side what are we building, a culture of meh?  Just everything, and everyone around the Zips organization seems complacent with meh.

 

I'm just not sure where this thought comes from.  The coaching staff has gone to great lengths to elevate the program - trying guys like Tree and Harney, grabbing transfers like Walsh and Gilliam, looking to build recruiting hotbeds across the country (Texas).  It hasn't all worked, but some of it has, and we've had the best program in the MAC over the past ten years.  Of course we want more, and so do the leaders of this program.  Could someone other than KD and his staff do better?  Maybe, but I think chances are stronger that a replacement would do worse.  Be careful what you wish for.  

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2 hours ago, skip-zip said:

 

I can see it happening for a lot of reasons:

 

1. Where should an AAC progrum look first for a HC? Probably the ranks of successful, proven "non-P6" head coaches.

 

2. As someone posted earlier, USF needs some basketball stability in the near term. 4-8 years is a sufficient timeframe for now. He wouldn't be in the AAC Final year in year out as with the MAC but then again there would be the possibility of at-large NCAA bids.

 

3. The window for KD to recruit & coach with a nicer facility is starting to close. I think we are all seeing UA's ceiling by now and if we find it frustrating, imagine how he feels. The USF Sun Dome is a magnificent college arena (their facilities issue is on the football side).

 

4. Metro area of 3-4 million, #11-ish national media market so the potential for a large following and great attendance is there.

 

5. What is the AAC average salary? IDK, but probably more than the MAC.

 

Look at the bright side: if the AAC ever gets raided and has to bring in some new members, he would be a great ambassador for us :D

 

 

Edited by ZippyRulz
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The definition of insanity?

 

People on this thread that are apologists for Dambrot.

It's great that we make it and yes he's built this program...but we lose the same way in big games every year. He needs better staff around him or needs to reevaluate his predictable game plans.  

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17 hours ago, LZIp said:

Pretty much agree with this spot on. I like Dambrot and all that he brings, but I want more and I believe he does as well and at some point some changes need to be made. Back when Dambrot was first turning the program around, we lost Boals and Shaka to better opportunities.I may even be missing someone. That is a sign of having good assistants. When is the last time that has happened? I sense complacency with them.

 

I liked playing Creighton and Gonzaga this year, but outside of that the OOC was incredibly weak. That should be looked at. As I said in the Kent thread. Give me Kent's lackluster regular season every year if it comes with playing better teams and making it to the dance.

 

Maybe a philosophy change needs made. Some have said we missed out on Willie Jackson for the second time because he wants to be a focal point and Dambrot likes a balanced team. Nothing about this team was balanced this season. Big Dog was the focal point. Adjust your philosophy to bring in better talent. I'm also disappointed on losing Graves to Buffalo. Jimmys and Joes are worth more than X's and O's.

We didn't lose Jackson because of our style of play. Or because we didn't tell him he could be a focal point. There were other factors that we couldn't match that had nothing to do with basketball.

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Dambrot should (and will) be allowed to coach as long as he likes & go out on his own terms.  But KD's not getting any younger & should start thinking about a succession plan.  The timelines should converge quite nicely to bring Dru Joyce III in as our next head basketball coach :rock:

 

ewe-baskets112_v-slideshow.jpg

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2 hours ago, RootforRoo44 said:

The definition of insanity?

 

People on this thread that are apologists for Dambrot.

It's great that we make it and yes he's built this program...but we lose the same way in big games every year. He needs better staff around him or needs to reevaluate his predictable game plans.  

 

What coach would you rather have in the MAC?

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KD turned our program around in 2003-2005 and I am immensely grateful for that. But we already thanked him enough for that. He got raises and extensions and he has had a very comfortable and very rewarding job (not only for him but also a handful of others that he chooses to hire) for 13 years now. How much longer are we going to milk this cow?

If you want to keep reminding me that we had Hipsher and KD turned the program around, I will remind you that he had CMU and we turned his career around too. It is a win-win situation. It is a great partnership. We appreciate him and want him to REMAIN the head coach at Akron and be more successful. He has to change his ways about a few things.

There is nothing wrong with that... I have a boss and I get pressured to do certain things in a different way. Is that too much to ask?

  

 

Edited by Valpo Zip
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11 hours ago, UAZip0510 said:

 

1-Not going to even get into this debate again, but it's been shown in the past that scheduling has improved over the years.

2-Shaka Smart did pretty well for himself.  Jeff Boals moved on to OSU.  Rick McFadden is currently being looked at as a head coach by several schools.  Couldn't disagree more on the quality of assistants.

3-I'm not at practice (and I know you aren't either) so who knows, but Zeke Marshall, Big Dog, and Pat Forsythe had pretty nice careers.  

4-I'm sure they practice free throws.

5-Ivey (Soph), Williams (Soph), TDM (Fresh), Utomi (Fresh), and Olojakpoke (Fresh) all played significant minutes throughout the season and last night in the championship game.  

 

1 - Nothing has "been shown" it is your opinion vs my opinion.

2 - Shaka Smart and Jeff Boals were NOT KD ex-players and they were great and I miss them. Add Lamont Paris to that list. Rick McFadden will not be the head coach at any of those schools next year. You know that better than I do.

3 - Zeke Marshall did not reach his potential. Forsythe was a better Freshman than he was a senior. Kwan spent 4 years in the program and still doesn't know how to post up a shorter player without being called for a charge. I will give you big dog.

4 - Are you happy with the FT situation? Are you ok with things remaining the same way?

5 - Again, this is a subjective issue.   

 

But just to make sure I understand your argument, you think that none of my criticism points are valid, nothing should be changed and we should keep doing everything the same way and expect a different result next year?

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12 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

Dambrot should (and will) be allowed to coach as long as he likes & go out on his own terms.  But KD's not getting any younger & should start thinking about a succession plan.  The timelines should converge quite nicely to bring Dru Joyce III in as our next head basketball coach :rock:

 

 

I think the successor is the current Director of Basketball Operations.

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18 hours ago, UAZip0510 said:

 

I'm just not sure where this thought comes from.  The coaching staff has gone to great lengths to elevate the program - trying guys like Tree and Harney, grabbing transfers like Walsh and Gilliam, looking to build recruiting hotbeds across the country (Texas).  It hasn't all worked, but some of it has, and we've had the best program in the MAC over the past ten years.  Of course we want more, and so do the leaders of this program.  Could someone other than KD and his staff do better?  Maybe, but I think chances are stronger that a replacement would do worse.  Be careful what you wish for.  

 

What does that matter when we lose whenever it really matters?  

 

Again, I'm going to stress that I AM NOT CALLING FOR DAMBROT TO BE FIRED.  I am calling for The Zips to give a damn about changing the culture of meh.  Because honestly, I'm personally getting more and more bored with following the Zips.  Win 20 games a year and lose in the MAC C is boring to me.  Win 20 games and lose to any team worth a damn is boring to me.  Sorry, it is.  Maybe I was spoiled because we went to the NCAA every-other-year when I was in college...but the program to me has lost a lot of spunk.

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57 minutes ago, Balsy said:

 

What does that matter when we lose whenever it really matters?  

 

Again, I'm going to stress that I AM NOT CALLING FOR DAMBROT TO BE FIRED.  I am calling for The Zips to give a damn about changing the culture of meh.  Because honestly, I'm personally getting more and more bored with following the Zips.  Win 20 games a year and lose in the MAC C is boring to me.  Win 20 games and lose to any team worth a damn is boring to me.  Sorry, it is.  Maybe I was spoiled because we went to the NCAA every-other-year when I was in college...but the program to me has lost a lot of spunk.

I think I had a kneejerk rejection to what I thought was the premise of this thread but I can sympathize with what you are saying and now that I think about it, perhaps you are right.  Maybe even if it's not an audit from the top-down, perhaps Keith Dambrot himself needs to re-evaluate the nature of his organizational approach, strategy, and philosophy, perhaps by seeking outside consult.  Like I said before, the fear is that we go backwards by rattling the cage, but surely this is an irrational fear and there is no need to get defensive, and something seems to be needed to get over the hump to the next level

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I feel we have been rattling the cage. We've moved to being a team that focuses on creating looks from 3 or near the basket while minimizing mid-range attempts, which is what advanced metrics says we should do. We've expanded our recruiting footprint, perhaps at the expense of losing some local guys we wanted to schools like Buffalo. People, including myself, have complained about the sub par OOC schedule, but we're going to be playing in a very stacked Diamond Head Classic next season. It's certainly not because we haven't tried new things that we haven't made it over the hump. The MAC is a very competitive league and even in our best years we aren't above dropping games in conference to teams that have a comparable level of talent as us. Dambrot does a great job of getting the most out of his players and putting them in a position to succeed, but it's not like we are landing 3* and 4* players. We're landing guys who have flaws that made it so they trickled down to Akron whether it be TDM or Antino being "too short" or E being "too raw or Big Dog putting on a lot of weight after suffering a leg injury. I feel our problem is more Jack and Joe related and less X's and O's.

Edited by kreed5120
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12 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

I feel we have been rattling the cage. We've moved to being a team that focuses on creating looks from 3 or near the basket while minimizing mid-range attempts, which is what advanced metrics says we should do. We've expanded our recruiting footprint, perhaps at the expense of losing some local guys we wanted to schools like Buffalo. People, including myself, have complained about the sub par OOC schedule, but we're going to be playing in a very stacked Diamond Head Classic next season. It's certainly not because we haven't tried new things that we haven't made it over the hump. The MAC is a very competitive league and even in our best years we aren't above dropping games in conference to teams that have a comparable level of talent as us. Dambrot does a great job of getting the most out of his players and putting them in a position to succeed, but it's not like we are landing 3* and 4* players. We're landing guys who have flaws that made it so they trickled down to Akron whether it be TDM or Antino being "too short" or E being "too raw or Big Dog putting on a lot of weight after suffering a leg injury. I feel our problem is more Jack and Joe related and less X's and O's.

Do you think some of that could improve with a new conference?  I agree the MAC is competitive with respect to parity, but I think the quality of play is questionable in the eyes of the national basketball observers. 

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3 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Do you think some of that could improve with a new conference?  I agree the MAC is competitive with respect to parity, but I think the quality of play is questionable in the eyes of the national basketball observers. 

The only upgrade "available" would be the AAC and they have no desire for a perpetual 5-7 MAC football team that attracts 10k fans on a good day.

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I just lurk now. Used to be a regular. Invented the I Hate Kent Haiku more years ago than I care to consider at the moment. I love The University of Akron. I am a Zip. My first game at Memorial, the coach was Laturza. Listened on the radio when Earl the Pearl dropped a 50-spot on Akron with possibly our best team ever.

 

You idiots questioning KD? I hate to call people idiots, but that is what you are if you want a new coach. Just stop. Please.

We are in the MAC. That is who we are. It is not the best conference, but winning it's conference tournament is never easy, especially when your best player ways 290 pounds and has to play three games in three days.

 

I am still all in with this program. Shout-out to those who are all-in with me.

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George Thomas on the NIT & on Dambrot turning down USF to stay at Akron.

 

I appreciate GT highlighting the lousiness of the J.A.R. as compared to USF's Sun Dome and calls on the community to do something about it:

 

It’s a worst-kept secret that Rhodes Arena is in need of a significant overhaul or replacement. Word is that behind the scenes there are those working diligently to accomplish that at UA. But the fact that Dambrot is getting offers should surprise no one. A significant part of any program is the facilities it can offer athletes. If the community at large appreciates what Dambrot has accomplished with the Zips, it needs to show support.

 

Thanks, GT! :rock:

Edited by Blue & Gold
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