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I really wish we could get past the persistent "Dambrot argument" on here. There's way too much knee jerk reaction on both sides of the "argument." Just because a poster supports Groce, likes some of the changes and may have been unhappy with certain aspects of the team under Dambrot (i.e. strength of schedule, lack of tournament success...), that doesn't mean they don't appreciate everything KD did for this program. On the other side of the "argument", one can be an unabashed KD supporter and still wholeheartedly support the Zips and Groce. I for one, was critical of some of the aspects of the KD program, but appreciate everything he did. He certainly made UA basketball relevant. If I'd have been overall unhappy, I'd have voted by not consistently renewing my season tickets and showing up to every game. I'm certainly not giving up those 20 win seasons and MAC titles. Thus far, I'm happy with Groce and that will keep my butt in the seats with good memories of KD AND hopes for Groce's future with the Zips.

I'll admit it, I'm fixated on the NCCA tournament, and willing to" trade" just about anything (in the program) for a tournament win. The tournament is arguably the greatest event in sports.

I am safely in the "really believe" camp as someone who hasn't had a reason to even drive through the state of Ohio in years, but yet possesses his very own Zippy bobblehead.

Best wishes to Joao. At the beginning of this past season, I thought that the zips would lose in the NCAA round of 32 because I did not know what to expect from the 2 center backs. I had no idea that Joao would be the best player on the team that Daniel Strachan would also be outstanding. The 2 great freshman center DB's propelled this team to the final four. Thank you for everything , Joao and do super in MLS.

I mentioned that those private schools don't have football, but some of the other mid-majors do have football. The Info's financial situation certainly hurts UA's athletics budget, specifically men's basketball, but we still turn revenue that ranks in the upper half of the MAC, a conference that has had several schools make serious NCAA Tournament runs (OU , Can't , etc.). I apologize for my fixation with the NCAA Tournament. I didn't realize millions upon millions of people filled out brackets for the regular season, and took time off work to watch a day's worth of regular season college basketball. The NCAA Tournament is one of the greatest events in sports, and I'm sorry for my wish that Akron has success in the tourney. Myself and a few others are being realistic. We had a coach that, in 13 or so seasons, had zero NCAA Tournament wins despite consecutive 21+ win seasons against low-level competition. In 4 years of that same time period, our current coach took our rival, OU, to the 2nd round and the Sweet Sixteen. My takeaway from those stats is realistic optimism that we made the right hire to take this program to the next level, which is winning in the NCAA Tournament. I don't see a banner in the JAR for our 21+ win seasons; I do see a banner (I believe) at the Convo that shows their 2nd Round and Sweet Sixteen accomplishments.

From Joao’s Instagram account

I covered this in a previous post by mentioning the majority of schools that have made tournament runs had coaching changes. The same applies to OU. Ask Caris Levert why he committed to OU before decommitting and going to Michigan when Groce left for Illinois.

Thanks. I appreciate your thoughts as well. And I agree with you on that last sentence.

Skip I really appreciate your posts and enjoy the back and forth but chill on telling us what we care and don't care about. Dambrot methods v. Groce methods is a fun debate perfect for a sports blog. And considering the dull nature of the season so far that debate is the only game in town until this team pulls off some big wins or something else crazy happens.

I think you're misunderstanding those of us that poke fun at the 21 game thing. Winning a lot of games is good. I want to win a lot of games against good teams, too.

When your legendary coach is Earl Bruce you tend to have some lopsided rivalries. My goal is that the rivalry with Cant gets so far out of hand in our favor I don't even consider them a rival anymore.

You can see the trees, but not the forrest. Those mid-major don't have football, hence much of their athletic budget goes to MBB.nor do they have an annual debt service on their stadium of 4.3 million per year for 20 years. I have never given up on the Zips, I have seen nearly every home game for 40 plus years. What I fail to understand is the constant Dambrot bashing and the fixation with the NCAA tourney.and your willingness to trade a tournament win for 21 win seasons and MAC finals. To be clear, I am hoping for success this season and next, but unlike you and a few others, I am trying to be realistic.

Look no further than OU. It can happen

No one is discussing our current team. Everyone (almost?) knows you're a pretty long shot to make a tournament with 9 active scholarship players, 5 of whom are Freshman. The discussion is regarding why some people think what's possible/expected for North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, Ohio U, MTSU and on and on and on... is somehow impossible for The University of Akron.

One other note. I stayed true to the Zips all the way to the bowl game, even so much as to get my car washed at Zips in Memphis. I wore my Zips pin until it got replaced by a Liberty Bowl pin as my most recent road trip for the Cyclones.

Sounds to me like you don't have to bet or root against "your" Zips, considering you've already written them off. A fellow MAC school recently advanced to the Sweet 16, two years after advancing to the second round, with our current head coach. Look at the financial numbers; there isn't much of a difference, except they teach budgeting down in Athens. Gonzaga, Butler, Xavier, Creighton are all private schools I believe, without football; I wouldn't use them as comps. Other schools to win an NCAA tournament game since 2013 (our last appearance): Stephen F. Austin (twice), Arkansas Little Rock, Georgia State, Northern Iowa, UAB, Harvard (twice), Mercer, La Salle (Sweet 16), Florida Gulf Coast (Sweet 16). How many of those teams would you expect Akron to beat in a normal, non-rebuilding year? I'm sure their financials are equal to, if not worse than Akron's basketball financials. The Xaviers, Butlers, Creightons, and Gonzagas of the world all came from the same place: nowhere. They came out of nowhere, built solid programs, enjoyed success on the national stage on numerous occasions, and now their private school budgets are bigger. Big whoop. Akron can be them, we just need the right leader to get us there and build the proper program culture.

Zipmeister and ZipsWin post? Can GP1 be far behind? Happy to have K92 back.