Jump to content

John Groce Officially Hired


Dr Z

John Groce as the head coach at Akron  

88 members have voted

  1. 1. What do you think of John Groce?


This poll is closed to new votes


Recommended Posts

On 4/7/2017 at 4:17 PM, 72 Roo said:

I'm an alum too and I applaud your passion. We want the same things for UA. We don't have the resources of a P5 school or a no DI football school and that is unquestioned. Resources can be built over time if you get in the right conference. Case in point, every member in the Big Ten this year will get $37 million from the Big Ten TV package. As a member of the MAC we will get $1.7 M. I agree our situation is not etched in stone, but it only improves incrementally as each coach puts his mark on the progrum, improves it and probably moves on. I don't want him to but that what happens in the MAC. I'm sure you know better and have a solution, so know that you have my complete support as you move the Zips to a higher level. I do not want to attack you. If you took it personally I apologize. I just couldn't pass on calling out your perceptions. Go Zips!

Another reason why we should leave the MAC. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Am I the only one who feels a lot more hopeful if the word "retool" is used, rather than "rebuild"?

 

And go ahead and click on the article.  Apparently our hometown newspaper that struggles to give us enough coverage has no problem displaying several pictures of OU celebrating a MAC tournament win over the Zips.  I understand that they may have been looking for some Groce-related images, but spare me the pain.  Please.  Reminding us about a bad event in the past during this rocky time might not be a good idea.  

Edited by skip-zip
Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of the other old guys might have to clear this up for me.  

 

Hasn't Akron's football and basketball coaches always been a speaker at one of these weekly luncheons at some point each year?  It seems like we only ever heard about it when Keith was going to be there.  But, I think it goes back much further, and always had our football coach at some point each year too.  

 

If so, I appreciate that they regard us as a significant enough entity to keep us involved all of these years.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, tpsjugglerdude said:

I'm surprised we still have 8 open games on the schedule. 

 

Why? Dambrot's staff, who were the ones negotiating games, packed up and left. Groce 1st, 2nd, and 3rd priority should all be recruiting so we have enough players to field a full team. Our schedule is the least of my concerns.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

 

Why? Dambrot's staff, who were the ones negotiating games, packed up and left. Groce 1st, 2nd, and 3rd priority should all be recruiting so we have enough players to field a full team. Our schedule is the least of my concerns.

 

At the time KD left, it was late to still have 8 games not filled on the schedule. By the time he left there should have only been 2-3 games left unfilled, max. It was more a comment about how KD dropped the ball on that in his final days. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How many games is there in the non-conference schedule? Between the Hawaii games, the Coaches v Cancer season opener, and our ongoing home-and-home with Marshall (which I am pretty sure is not over yet), did KD schedule a single game for next season?

Edited by UAZippers
Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, tpsjugglerdude said:

 

At the time KD left, it was late to still have 8 games not filled on the schedule. By the time he left there should have only been 2-3 games left unfilled, max. It was more a comment about how KD dropped the ball on that in his final days. 

Makes you wonder how long ago KD really made his decision to leave.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

 

On the plus side or negative side, depending on how you look at it, those games should be more competitive this year considering all the talent we lost.

 

Ummmmm... No. They shouldn't. Our so-called "6th Man" was/is being recruited by LSU, so there should still be talent on this team (by the way, what is the rumor mill saying about Antino?). I also fully expect Groce to pull in guys that are head and shoulders above anything Adrian/Coppin State/Radford can recruit, even on short notice and late in the process. 

 

If these teams are even on the schedule, and if the games are close with then...

 

1. Dambrot's coaching ability is being WAY underestimated and he really should've won the National Coach of the Year award year-in-year-out

 

2. Dambrot's recruiting ability is awful and I will pray for Duquesne

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

those games should be more competitive this year considering all the talent we lost.

 

Again, just another reason why some people who appear to be glad that Keith is gone might someday really appreciate those "boring and meaningless" 21+ win seasons.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, lilroodude said:

 

Ummmmm... No. They shouldn't. Our so-called "6th Man" was/is being recruited by LSU, so there should still be talent on this team (by the way, what is the rumor mill saying about Antino?). I also fully expect Groce to pull in guys that are head and shoulders above anything Adrian/Coppin State/Radford can recruit, even on short notice and late in the process. 

 

If these teams are even on the schedule, and if the games are close with then...

 

1. Dambrot's coaching ability is being WAY underestimated and he really should've won the National Coach of the Year award year-in-year-out

 

2. Dambrot's recruiting ability is awful and I will pray for Duquesne

 

So you expect no drop off despite losing our MAC POY and a 2nd team All-MAC player in Kwan? Groce might recruit some good players, but I highly doubt day 1 they walk into the building and be as good as what Big Dog was his junior and senior year.

Edited by kreed5120
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it is very safe to assume the Zips are in for a down year.  They lost the 3 players with MAC honors, the starting point guard,  their 6th man, three reserves expected to contribute substantially and 4 starters.  I  hope for big things from Groce, but being a miracle worker is not one of them.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

 

So you expect no drop off despite losing our MAC POY and a 2nd team All-MAC player in Kwan? Groce might recruit some good players, but I highly doubt day 1 they walk into the building and be as good as what Big Dog was his junior and senior year.

 

1. I don't think we lost a whole lot in those two. Unlike others, I don't put a whole lot of stock into the awards like the MAC POY and All-MAC teams. The MAC was GARBAGE this year, and the only reason Big Dog was POY was because of Dambrot's system, which more or less hindered our ability to succeed at times throughout the year. Plus, Kwan pulled a Mike Napoli disappeared in big moments. 

 

2. We were head and shoulders above the MAC talent wise. Aside from Kwan and Big Dog, we lost a bench player in Hughes (who knows what he turns out to be, but he wasn't a contributing factor last year), an undersized backup PG in TDM, Josh Williams who many said was/is too slow for this level, and Noah who hasn't been the same since his injury. Antino isn't a confirmed loss. We maintained Ivey, Utomi, Eubanks, Jackson, and Poke so far. Plus, our incoming recruiting class is largely in tact I believe. 

 

3. I am also one of those people who believes Dambrot's ceiling was reached, and I don't believe he was THAT great of a coach. I am appreciative of the foundation he laid here at Akron, but too many times we were out-coached, and I think Groce will win games that Dambrot lost simply due to coaching. 

 

4. We are still in the MAC. People need to stop treating the MAC like it's the ACC. Mid-level MAC schools smack around the Radfords of the world, but a drop from a top MAC school to a low/mid-level MAC school is greater than losing what we did. What prevented us from Dancing wasn't talent - it was a better game plan, effort, desire, and heart, AKA coaching.  

 

Edited by lilroodude
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...