RowdyZip Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Well...what'd the 'nation think?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InTheZone Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 I'm interested to hear how the night went, as I've been out of town for a while on extended business and couldn't make it tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleacher Bum Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 I don't think Proenza had to run down memory lane and talk about "The Shot." I'm done hearing about it. But the quote of the night was from Dambrot...."I look forward to finishing my career in Akron" or something along those lines. Anyone with a better memory feel free to correct me. I thought what happened tonight was great for this team and the city. The crowd was WAY better than I was anticipating and it was great to see everyone rally behind this team. I'm really psyched for the future! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyZip Posted March 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 I don't think Proenza had to run down memory lane and talk about "The Shot." I'm done hearing about it. But the quote of the night was from Dambrot...."I look forward to finishing my career in Akron" or something along those lines. Anyone with a better memory feel free to correct me. I thought what happened tonight was great for this team and the city. The crowd was WAY better than I was anticipating and it was great to see everyone rally behind this team. I'm really psyched for the future!My favorite part of coaches speech was this: "Now remember how you feel RIGHT NOW if sometime down the road we go 11-15."Video was awesome...glad they included my favorite play of the season, j wood's breakaway oop to quade. Got the fellas and coach to all sign my "fear the roo" poster. Here's a pic and a couple others just to make you all smile. sorry for the space it takes up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdy52 Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 I was there and had a great time! I agree though I dont know why we had to go back and talk about that shot but there were a lot of good comments made by the Coach and Dru and Romeo and all the guys were really nice with autographs and taking pictures. Good way to finally put a more happier cap on the season and thank the team for all their hard work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmyboy Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 I feel it was somthing very nice to send the team off with,especially the seniors rome, and dru. and a great way to start lookin forward to next year. the only bad thing that i didnt like, was that not everyone got a team picture, i know my brother, his 3 friends and I didnt get one because they ran out, and they didnt have any of the of the posters either, so i wasent able to get any autographs. but over all it was very nice, and alot more people then i expected to be there. maybe we can get some of them AK Rowdies out to some of the baseball and softball games ( if they dont go already) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoZips88 Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 A few pics from tonight ...KD giving us his word!Dru addressing the fansRomeo at the micThe fans giving coaches and players a standing O & getting our chance to say "THANK YOU FOR A GREAT SEASON!!!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valpo Zip Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 I think that the event tonight was one of the best things ever done by the Athletic Department. The fact that the president of the university and the VP for the board of trustees, in addition to the AD were all there delivered a great message of how much the University cares about this program. I was thinking that it might have been a good idea to bring some recruits to see it. The fan turnout was way beyond expectations, we're talking about around 1000 fans. Kudos to the people who put this event together, the video was very well done too.For those who were not there, i'll try to summarize the event as much as my memory helps:1- The band was playing to entertain the crowds while pizza and pop were served at the upper level.2 - Mack started welcoming every one and thanking the crowds. He mentioned how the season ended badly but everybody kept their chins up and handled the situatution right.3 - Dr. Proenza took over where he read some lines from the NY times about how the committee snubbed us etc... he also complemented KD and the boyz.4 - The VP (i am not sure what his name is) also complemented KD and the team and promissed KD that they are working all they can to make sure that this program gets the respect they deserve from the NCAA/NIT committee.5 - Mack took over again to introduce KD and he called him the best men's basketball coach in the whole nation.6 - KD returned the favour by saying that he is looking forward to finish his career at Akron.7 - Dru and Rome thanked the crowd and Rome particularly asked the community to continue supporting the team after him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmyboy Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 i am in 3 of them pictures ha ha i am suprised that the local media ( wkyc,akron canton news and fox didnt cover the event. i think they should have. either way it turned out great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyZip Posted March 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 channel five was there...no word on the news so far. only sports snippet was about greg oden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmyboy Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 channel five was there...no word on the news so far. only sports snippet was about greg oden. I seen channel 5 there, i accidently ran into the camerman as he backed up in front of me while not watching when people were lining up for the autographs lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BZip_08 Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Fans bid Zips adieuTeam is snubbed by NCAA, NIT, but cheered by backersBy Tom GaffneyBeacon Journal sportswriterIt was a ``goodbye'' and a ``thank you'' all rolled into 60 minutes of cheers, smiles and testimonials.The mutual admiration society between the University of Akron men's basketball team and its fans took on a life of its own Monday night in a celebration at Rhodes Arena.About 450 Zips supporters let their emotions -- and voices -- run free in support of the entirety of the UA season, not how it ended in such an abrupt and disappointing fashion.``Thank you so much for being here. This means the world to our team, our coaches and our staff,'' athletic director Mack Rhoades told the audience as part of the program. ``We have a special group of student athletes, a special group of coaches, but we also have a special group of fans.''The fans saw a five-minute video of the season's highlights. They were treated to entertainment by the school's cheerleaders and pep band. And they received free pizza, soft drinks and team pictures, courtesy of the Varsity ``A'' Association.But, mostly, they were there to recognize a team that set a Division I school record for victories with 26 and then did not receive a postseason bid.``Sometimes through adversity and some setbacks, you find out about your community, your university and your team,'' Zips coach Keith Dambrot told the audience. ``We did it the right way.``This is a sleeping giant, just scratching the surface. I am very proud of the university and the community is unbelievable. This is a great turnout. And I am very proud of our players.''The Zips' season ended in the Mid-American Conference championship game at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland on March 3. UA, which won the MAC East for the first time since 1998, lost to Miami 53-52 when a late start of the game clock was helpful to Doug Penno, who banked in a desperation 3-pointer with less than one second left.``All of us felt a lot of things on that painful evening in Cleveland,'' UA President Luis Proenza told the fans. ``We certainly didn't think the right calls were made. Yet the team came home and held their heads high.''The news did not get any better the following day, when the Zips were snubbed by the NCAA and the NIT. Their 26 victories was the most of any Division I team in the nation not to reach the postseason.``None of us in this arena agreed with the way the season ended,'' Rhoades said. ``But what I will remember always is how our student-athletes, our head coach, our fans and our administration dealt with it all... in an absolute first-class manner.''The biggest ovations of the night were for seniors Dru Joyce and Romeo Travis, Akron residents and St. Vincent-St. Mary graduates.Joyce, a point guard who finished as the school's career leader in assists, said he was proud of the Zips' record (68-27) from 2004-05 through 2006-07.``I wanted to help bring tradition back to Akron,'' he said. ``Over the last three seasons, we achieved a whole lot.''Travis, a power forward who finished seventh in the career scoring list, said the Zips' success will continue.``I never could have imagined we would accomplish the things we accomplished here. We did it together,'' he said. ``This is just the beginning. Me and Dru leaving is not the end. This is the beginning of something great.''UNDER 9 LNsABJ's Take on the Evening Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 What a great event!! He had to do something like this, but I wish that maybe a couple thousand people could have been there. I don't suppose that a 75 degree sunny afternoon helped the attendance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w00t Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 About 450 Zips supportersI thought there were well over 450 people there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmyboy Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 What a great event!! He had to do something like this, but I wish that maybe a couple thousand people could have been there. I don't suppose that a 75 degree sunny afternoon helped the attendance. it also sucked that it was on the first day back to class from spring break. I talked to a few of the female basketball players and asked them if they were going, and they didnt know anything about it because they were out of town for spring break... had it been a little later then the first day back to classes, i think that alot more people woulda showed up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BirdZip Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 But the quote of the night was from Dambrot...."I look forward to finishing my career in Akron" or something along those lines. Anyone with a better memory feel free to correct me. I liked that comment, but I thought it was followed with him saying "...but that's going to be hard." Not really sure what he meant by that.I liked the event. Someone had to say something about the shot and the snub--we wouldn't have had that event if that hadn't taken place. They acknowledged it and moved on.Here's hoping we don't need another one of these next year and are celebrating differently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziptrumpet87 Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 I think KD's comment about it "going to be hard" meant that we may have a down period sometime in the future and like he said (parapharasing as best I can remember), "remember that when we only have 12 wins or so". All teams will have a down period at some point (except Can't... they always suck).I also thought there were more people there than the "450" that Gaffney estimated; more like 600-800. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hip Zip Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Agree that we did not need Dr. Proenza rehashing the end of the Miami game but other than that thought the program was pretty well executed. You could see that Keith was very pleased by the event. I enjoyed Romeo's words a lot, very genuine and from the heart. I talked with French and he told me that Rome was emotional and told him that he almost lost it up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyzip84 Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Hey The Hip Zip,Was it you that I heard on WNIR this morning? Either way, it was nice to hear a Zip supporter during an otherwise (typically) mundane time of the day Frenchie seemed to think the crowd was at least in the 650-700 range from his comments today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hip Zip Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 Hey The Hip Zip,Was it you that I heard on WNIR this morning? Either way, it was nice to hear a Zip supporter during an otherwise (typically) mundane time of the day Frenchie seemed to think the crowd was at least in the 650-700 range from his comments today. Yes sir it was I. Also, I was able to cop a gift certificate from Luigi's from Frenchy as well. It's all good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exexec Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 I have nothing negative to say-thought it was just great as it was!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w00t Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 I was able to cop a gift certificate from Luigi's from Frenchy as well.Mmmmmm... Luigi's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyzip84 Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 Also, I was able to cop a gift certificate from Luigi's from Frenchy as well.To quote Bill Murray in "Stripes" (to Sgt. Hulka),"You old dog!!!"Luigi's.....a TRUE Akron landmark, worthy of its praise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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