This is just a thread to discuss the team, the past, the current season as we lead up to the game at PCCC. I have some construction going on at my house, so as I wait for them to leave (and not wanting to to turn on the TV and face all the bad news) I turned to my favorite topic The Zips.
This whole Groce/Dambrot thing is dividing us all a bit on here. Looking back at the Dambrot years, they were really exciting. I loved all those trips to Cleveland, but FOR ME I hated the tourney losses more. I went to Detroit for the VCU game. That was just a horrible draw for the Zips and the coaching staff knew it immediately. Having no point guard was bad enough but then two guys got the flu. What was a coach to do? Remind us a bit of what's happening now?
While I keep VCU in perspective, there were many more losses at big moments that just left me really sad as a fan. (Ok, just there I sounded like a Bobcat Attack dweller).
Dambrot Exits Stage Right: For reasons only known to the parties in the room at the time, Dambrot left for Duquense. He got a big raise and a chance to play in a better conference where good teams are forced to play on his home floor. It's a multi-bid conference where he can rack of quality wins without leaving the conference to get them. It looks like he's doing well. When he left, some players went with him and three guards transferred for various reasons. Maybe some were already planning on leaving. We also lost Big Dog and Kwan. Although, Big Dog was the really big loss and the hardest to replace. The only tall guy left at that point was Eman and the unproven (redshirt) freshman Sayles. The good news was that Ivey and Utomi stayed. So on Dambrot's departure (and to me it doesn't matter whether he poached players or not) there were two solid guys and a back up center who was a foul machine much like a certain other guy we have playing now.
Groce Enters Stage Left: John Groce. The Kitten hero and the bane of our existence along with his star guard DJ Cooper. He helped make this vicious rivalry versus Ohio. God, he was annoying. Frenchy called him "a clown." He took Ohio to the second round of the NCAA with a big upset over Georgetown. The next year, with the same team, he lost early in the MAC. That year we had probably the best game I can ever remember attending: MAC championship with over Kent. However, the next year, Ohio, Groce, and Cooper were back and took us out in the finals and then swept into the Sweet 16 with the help of a good draw and then almost took out NC. Many wonder...what if Brian Walsh made that basket? What would have happened to Groce? Well, i assume they might have made an NIT run and would be back the following year with the same team. And who knows what would have happened. Did Groce catch lightning in the bottle? I didn't follow his career at Illinois, but it obviously wasn't good enough to keep him around. They wanted him out and were willing to pay him millions to leave. But it's tough at least for me to compare Big Ten coaching situations to the MAC. So he's fired. And we hire him. We get a good deal. We save some $$ for a few years.
What is the goal? What were Williams, Wilson, and Van Horn thinking when they hired Groce? What did they want for the program? Did they want the same regular season success of Dambrot? Or did they want more of the Ohio U model? Or did they want to start over and bring a guy in who could truly bring us to dominance so that we absolutely outclass the BGs and directional schools every season. I have no idea, but I guess my hope is the third option. Maybe some of you think they weighted Groce's prior success too much. I wasn't there. I don't know.
This Season: Yes, there were those of us, myself included, who were/are absolutely pro-Groce. Of course, that is subject to change. However, at least for me I want to be optimistic. I liked what I saw with the team he and his staff cobbled together. I like the style of play, and, hell, we were winning. However, a trip to Hawaii, an ugly loss at home to Buffalo, a effortless loss to EMU away, and injuries to our two big men left us wondering what the hell has happened to our team. We certainly aren't used to this. I'm certainly noticing a few more empty seats. Maybe those who will always re-up their tickets don't make it to every game now. But anecdotally the folks I talk to at the game who have been there for years are still positive about the team and the coach.
Perspective: As noted above, those tourney losses were hard on me as a fan. I also began to realize last year that these 20+ win seasons were a mirage and not worth much to me as a fan and didn't mean anything at all if we collapsed in the final game. While that record looked good and the company we kept was good, if you knew who we played well it didn't mean that much. We had that home winning streak. Second longest in the nation. But someone on here said that wasn't too hard because we only had to get up for a few games a year at home. (Wow, to only have that problem this year.) So for me, when I heard Dambrot was leaving I was basically indifferent, and I am enjoying a new team, new coaches, and a new start even with the losses. I really want to get a game in Cleveland, but like the rest of you that seems so unlikely. I don't blame Groce for that. Next year I might. But not this year considering the big picture.
The Players: On this topic, as to who will stay and who will go I would defer to all of you. If Groce and his group are going with the third option mentioned above of building a dominant program then they may cut a few loose that may surprise us.
