Leaderboard

I stopped down at the EJ Thomas meet-and-greet last night. The downside was it was poorly attended. The upside was being able to spend a good amount of time talking to Groce. The guy barely knows where the JAR's located, so it wasn't really the time nor the place to ask who'll be the starting point guard next season, or who's going to round-out his staff. The conversation was "casual." He was very gracious with us. After talking to our group for an extended time period, Larry Williams had to pull him away to speak to some of the other attendees. I think he would have talked to us all night if Williams wouldn't have interjected. He said his #1 priority was getting to know the existing players, and trying to "recruit" them to stay with the Program. The signing day is April 12th, but he's giving the kids some extra time recover from the coaching changeover and make a well-thought-out decision...to an extent. He mentioned "three weeks" as the max time before he needed an answer. Based upon the tone of our conversation regarding Antino, there's a chance he sticks around once the emotions subside. He met with the team yesterday, and is meeting again with them today. I asked if he had any idea regarding the players abilities, and said he'd watched the Zips final two games in the MAC tourney. I assured him that the sparse turnout at EJ wasn't indicative of the Zips basketball following, and that we'd had 7,000 Zips fans at The Q only a couple weeks ago. He didn't seem concerned, as he knew of our respectable game day crowds from his time at OU. It was more of an event to make the guy and his family feel welcome. I think once the dust settles, he'll prove to be an approachable guy, The next 2 weeks will be fun...certainly the most intriguing basketball recruiting period since Zeke's. And the coaching staff formation will be fun to keep tabs on as well. It was fun to catch up with a couple other ZipsNation members that I had't spoken to in a while. And the University put out a really nice spread of food. Although it was a cold, crappy Thursday night I had a good time, and left with the feeling that our Basketball Program is in better shape than it was had Keith Dambrot stuck around for another season.

I hope Coach Groce feels ZERO pressure to keep the 21-win streak going. I want our team to grow with a more challenging non-conference schedule.

1350 interview was more of the same.... Nothing noteworthy.

Keith Dambrot took Akron to our first D1 NCAA Tournament appearance in 23 years (back in 2009). He took us there 2 more times. He brought LeBron to support our team and university....and did many other good things for UA some of which we may not all be aware. He is a fellow alumnus and Akron native. He is a good man and a good coach. Why can't all of us just thank him and his family and leave it at that.

When all these bad things happen will someone please remind me to care? Because right now a possible future criminal charge on a player not yet on the Zips team isn't high on my priority list of things to care about.

I'm absolutely loving me some Jimond Ivey right now. The way things are shaping up he's going to be on my personal very-short-list of all-time favorite Zips.

I think there are some very incorrect assumptions being made on here as to the desires of some of the posters. Just because a poster values the success of the KD era, or realizes that the success of a coach may result in him moving on, does NOT mean they have any lesser passion or desire to see the Zips win or go deep into an NCAA tournament.

Mine has always been Final Four (and if you get that far, you might as well think national championship). VCU and George Mason have recently done it out of the Colonial, Wichita State has done it out of the MVC and Butler did it twice out of the Horizon, so it's not an impossible dream (won't include Gonzaga this year because that is a different program than the others were).

Those folks will be happy to take that position until they start seeing .500 seasons, then the tune will change...

Only first-year Duquesne director of athletics Dave Harper prioritizes such a streak. ?

His only black mark was no NCAAT win. IDK how anyone can question his 3 tourney appearances when we only made 1 in our entire existence before Dambrot. I do agree people need to quit b******** about Groce and at least give the dude a chance. I'm going to be renewing my season tickets and I hope everyone else does too. It's a pivotal point in Zips basketball history and they need our support.

So the $350k for the first two years is confirmed. Wow. Well done by the Athletic Department to get a quality coach to sign a University-friendly contract. Incentive-based contracts are my favorite - earn your money.

I have no doubt about that. But he'll be lucky to end up like Christian and get another chance to move up out of the MAC again. This is not your typical stepping stone situation. These are people who tried to make the climb, and got knocked clearly back to the ground because of failure. Just ask Heath, another ex Kent State coach who spent 7 years at South Florida trying to revive his brief magic from many years ago after falling flat on his face at Arkansas. And he's now back to being an asst again. Groce is in the same predicament. So, finding his way back up the ladder quickly is going to be tough. He's now more than 5 years removed from those times where the college basketball world thought he was something special. He's nearly a forgotten entity already. The next several groups of up-and-comers have already taken his place.

I agree that I'm not so concerned now because it hasn't happened. However, it is beyond disgusting to read the cavalier attitude some of you seem to have about assault and domestic battery.

Nobody cares.

David Bell is leaving TOSU. 6'10" soph from Garfield Heights. http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20170407/mens-basketball--backup-david-bell-leaves-buckeyes

Is there a second group that may be ranked slightly below this? I just have trouble seeing guys leaving Duke and Kansas being willing to come to Akron and the MAC unless it would be a homecoming or something like that.

Keith will turn them, and himself, around. He needed to leave, both for himself and for Akron. He was mentally just done here; you could see it. I am grateful for what KD did here. I wish him the best. And I think he will give his best and be successful. DU in the tourney March 2020. I love the Groce hire. Time for a new era.

While Groce "only" got a B- ... I'm guessing the only reason Akron was on this list of "marquee" (that's a line in the article ... from USA Today) was because of Groce. The only other non high majors acknowledged were A-10 schools Dayton/UMass/VCU. That alone makes the hire an A+ .... Also, interesting Duquesne and KD absent from this article.

Grading college basketball's biggest coaching hires

That depends on who you are playing/beating. I think the overall point of people saying "losing more games" is they would rather play tougher competition even if it means they don't hit that "21" magic number, but it has them more prepared for March. Plus, the college basketball works (where strength of schedule is the biggest determining factor in rankings), you can actually win 18-19 games and be ranked significantly higher than a team who won 26 ... just look to about any 18 win high major this year (say Illinois) as proof. Of course, those schools have the advantage of playing 10-plus games against other top 50-100 types in league play. I'm not advocating playing 10 in the OOC portion, but the Zips should try to get 4-5 of those ... then hope the MAC can produce 1-2 more.

I'm starting to think the cookie needs its own thread. AND Keener needs to change his icon.

I talked to one of those zn.o members that CK was catching up with last night on the telephone today. Very interesting conversation. He assured me we are in good hands with JG. Listening to what he said, I believe him. Everyone should be thankful we got this guy. Now I am even more extra super bummed out that I couldn't make the event last night.

Yes, and there were about 60 of them left over. They were delicious, as advertised! Brought one home for the kid. Loved it.

I don't think any incumbent player that wants to stay with the team is not welcome to stay. I'm only referring to the kids who've expressed an interest in transferring, or graduating early. Groce is giving them, and their families, time take a step back and assess the situation before making a final decision.

Do you know that we've also WON the most title games of anyone in the league in that period of time also? Every program in this league would love to have our titles vs. their titles. Because we have more. And the fans of those teams would have loved to have as many Saturdays in Cleveland as Akron fans have enjoyed. Nobody here, I can guarantee you, thinks that it's OK to lose any game.

Mine is the sweet sixteen, and it is realistic. I watched Kent State do it. I'm not disagreeing with you. Only trying to support your point.

As a coach, I can't stand that mentality. Where I coach high school basketball, our ultimate goal is to win a state championship. Will we ever win a state championship? Maybe not, but if you don't put the work and commitment into what it takes to win a state championship, you never will win a state championship. Now, we're nowhere near a state title right now. But we're working towards giving ourselves a chance. Won our first tournament game since 2010, and we're now set up to make a nice tournament run the next few years, with a chance at a state championship. It doesn't happen overnight at the high school level, and you have to go through lifting, conditioning, practicing, and game preparing like a state championship-caliber team would. And over time, you give yourself a chance. What's your ultimate goal here as a Zip fan? Mine is a national championship. It's not realistic, but should be the ultimate goal of every college basketball program. Maybe the coach is hindering my mind as a fan, but I just can't stand the mentality of it's okay to lose in the MAC Championship game just because we've been there 9 times in the past 11 years and the history of the last 30+ years of the program.

yes

Absolutely appropriate to mention this, Kreed. I even read an article recently that said, "do you know how hard it is to get to 9 MAC title games in 11 years"? What was the next highest? Maybe 3 or 4 ? Unbelievable. I actually put much more weight on this accomplishment than the string of 21+ win seasons. That program and the teams under Keith had amazing resolve. Battling back to the title game year after year showed the character of a team that renewed their commitment to winning as many games as possible every year, despite the desire to "want more" when the previous season ended. I'm actually really disappointed that I see so many posts that indicate that so many people are fine with mediocre seasons from here forward as long as we get a chance to win an NCAA tournament game. That's not what some of you folks really want. Admit it. That's all a result of putting your greatest desire so far ahead of all of the WINS that it takes to get there.

As an Alum I am in this to make Akron Athletics the Best Goddamn Sports Department in the Nation! Im sorry but "always inferior" my ass. "we don't have their resources i.e. money" - Thats not in Stone. We can change that. #Believe

They have a real good radio show on that 1350. They do a real nice job over there on that AM dial.

If there is anyone who would be aware of this it would certainly be you.

My god...we are talking about losing a coach before he has even coached a game for us. Enjoy the ride, as we will hopefully be able to do.

This is the mindset that all MAC coaches that want to "Think Bigger" should have. The MAC is a stepping stone for these guys, not a career gig.

Sooooo, ummmmmmmmmm, how about that Boals recruiting record at OSU???

Thank you. That's reasonable to me.

No accusations...just posting about your posts. Would you like to clarify the meaning of them?

Anything else? Are you finished or is there are some more accusations you want to throw out there? But unless Groce was there encouraging them I'm not that concerned. Dambrot did PLENTY to try and protect his players who got in these situations.

Wouldn't be anything we haven't experienced before.

Groce is a real breath of fresh air to this program. And our best player Jimond Ivey is obviously 100% committed to the new coach and Akron. He's being a leader and was front row center for the new coach. That is good for me.

We basically took the easy road and hired a familiar name which is a cop out to me. I hope im wrong

Portage County loves 'em some Sendy right about now, though.

To elaborate more on the Dailey comments, Bowden basically said he is as talented of a corner as Akron has seen in a long time. Now maybe I am biased, but I think we have had some pretty decent players at the collegiate level in the defensive backfield and even have some pretty talented young guys as well. Saying that about Dailey has me pretty excited.

C-USA has performed worse than the MAC in both football and basketball since the latest realignment. I'll pass on that.

WHY. DO. THEY. NEVER. DO. A. TEST. RUN. EVER. And why does this happen with Akron more often than not? Why is no one on ZN.o surprised. Even a little. Simply, and entirely, inexcusable.

Nice gold jacket. Who knows? Maybe we'll get a uniform in the actual school colors now.

That bottom one looks like an imitation of Groce breaking the clipboard against Akron years ago.

What need would Akron have for a 2nd outdoor concert venue?