Dave in Green

I know everyone knows this in the back of their minds, but it's probably worth bringing it to the front of our minds right now: Some people are seriously interested in tracking down rumors to see if there is any truth in them, and others are humorously interested in messing with people like that by sending them off on false leads. This would be a good time to take a deep breath and try to keep all the rumors in perspective. Some may be false and some may be true, and many we have no way of confirming one way or the other. I would not get overly excited about any rumor right now unless it comes from a solid, known source.

Has anyone considered this: Michigan fans beware: Akron is scheduled to play in Ann Arbor in 2013, in which Tressel could bring his 9-1 record against the Wolverines into the Big House. Might Tressel have something like this to say upon being hired by the Zips? The internet is coming alive with creative speculation.

How about just slipping a GPS device into his pocket and transmitting direct to an internet site so we can all follow him live on a map?

A reliable source tells me that as of 11:30 a.m., there are no TV trucks or cars with news organization logos anywhere near the Martin House. If a Tressel annoucement were being made there around lunch time today, one would expect TV trucks already setting up and a lot of media activity going on.

You'll have to speak with Chris Beaver to find out why he personally believed that KD and Zeke and all the rest of the Zips deserved all those personal and technical fouls.

The Zips would have lost tonight without the help of the refs. But one ref in particular did make questionable calls in favor of WV and against UA all night long, while the other two appeared to be more neutral. For those of us there at the game, it may have been more obvious than to those who weren't there. If it were not for the calls of this one ref, the results of the game would have been at least a little more respectable for the Zips. Oddly enough, there was one ref in the Duquesne game who caused similar problems for the Zips. Turns out it was the same ref -- Chris Beaver. If Mr. Beaver ever graces the JAR with his presence, those of you who haven't had a chance to watch him in action can make your own judgments about whether or not he has a special place in his heart for KD and the Zips. As for the Zips' play, it was obviously not so swell. Huggins knows how to go for the jugular, and the Zips' jugular was fully exposed by the lack of an experienced point guard. WV went hard after the ball all night, and the Zips often couldn't find an open man or just plain had their pockets picked. When the Zips went hard after the ball, WV usually hit the open man. That was the main difference in the game. While Tree's presence was missed, Rico's presence was critically missed. We all knew the Zips would be vulnerable if anything happened to their one true experienced PG, and our worst fears were confirmed in this game. Q and Deji just don't have enough experience at the point, and Deji doesn't have enough college experience on top of it. They both tried hard. But WV's guards were quicker and savvier. Hopefully this experience will contribute to the team coming together. The Zips are blessed this season with great individual talent. But they are a long way from being a smooth, cohesive team, especially playing under the adversity of having no experienced PG to run the offense. As with other KD teams, expect them to make big gains by the end of the season. But also expect them to have a fair number of losses during the learning process.

The earlier the announcement, the more likely it is to be Tressel. Still not guaranteed, but more signs are pointing in that direction. I'm getting ready to head out for the WVU basketball bus trip. But I'm sure we'll all be checking our cell phones on the bus for any updates on ZN.o.

My professional background is more communications than HR. But, yes, I believe that a UA-Tressel relationship could be crafted to benefit all. Would it satisfy everyone? Heck, no! As is often stated on this forum, haters are going to hate. Some are going to rip Tressel and some are going to rip UA. There would be some bad PR. That goes with the territory. But big rewards are worth big risks as long as the risks are well managed. No hire would generate more publicity, and P.T. Barnum's quote might be applicable here: “I don’t care what you say about me, just spell my name right.” A big, bold move like this would require Dr. Proenza's complete attention. He would need the best advice from both attorneys and communications specialists, because a Tressel hire would not simply be an athletic department hire, but a reflection on the entire university. Even under the best of circumstances, success could not be guaranteed. No football coach coming to UA comes with guarantees. I expect that UA would not be frozen with inaction while awaiting a response from Tressel. I expect they would be moving forward with alternatives. But I do believe Tressel gets first right of refusal, and that even if he were to refuse the job that he would offer good advice to UA on who he thought would be the best choice. So I think it's appropriate for most of our attention to be focused on Tressel right now. I suspect we'll all know pretty shortly how this works out, and if it doesn't, there's plenty of time for us to shift the main focus to other candidates.

Based on all the information I've been able to gather from a variety of sources, my best estimate as of this morning is that it's almost certain that UA has met with Tressel to discuss taking the head coaching job. The big mystery remains the one of how likely Tressel is to accept. There's quite a range of estimates on that, ranging from not likely to nearly a done deal.

I haven't talked to my inside source, as things have happened so quickly, I don't know if he'd be up-to-speed yet on the search. However, based on everything I've read from multiple sources, my gut feeling is it's a better than 50/50 chance. Of course, we know where Butch Davis's gut feelings got him. Don't wait too long to talk to your inside source. Some folks seem to believe things are moving along faster than others.

Did someone mention Can't?

@ZipRoo, I'm having a little trouble deciding what odds I'd put on the possibility of Tressel becoming coach. I believe there's a chance, but I don't know how good the odds are. Do you have any insight? What would you be betting if you were in Vegas right now?

An anonymous poster with no attributions? Let me know what you want to find someone saying, and I can find it somewhere on the internet.

Any late additions to the WVU bus trip? @The Hip Zip? @Keener'92? If anyone has an excuse for not going, let me know and I'll help you find a better excuse not to not go. EDIT: Oops, sorry. Someone had posted that all the WVU tickets are sold out. So too late to join now. But did anyone get a ticket who hasn't checked in here yet?

While I still think the odds are against Tressel becoming head football coach at UA, there's just enough undercurrent bubbling up here in Akron that someone in the Carolinas might be out of touch with to make me recommend not taking GP1's advice to the bank.

Don't forget the Zips are losing their second tallest player to graduation, the 6-8 Serb.

Legend has it that ZN.o's Off Topic, Smack & Jokes forum was originally known as Zipmeister's Box. One day someone accidentally lifted the lid on the box, and Zipmeister spread to all the forums. Like Pandora's Box, once the lid was lifted, the results could never be undone.

That's a little more accurate, Skip. Though, to be completely fair, it should be noted that tOSU's recruiting classes were ranked lower on average than all of those Top-5 OOC (sunbelt) teams they lost to. But the point really isn't whether or not Tressel is the very best college football coach in the land, is it? The real question is whether he's the best proven head coach UA has the slightest chance of attracting to Akron.

Ha! Definitely the top schools in sunbelt states and not the Sun Belt Conference.

Just checked the college football team recruiting rankings for 2005-2011, and tOSU's best single year ranking was 6th behind the top sunbelt teams. A few years tOSU ranked 10th or lower, including lows of 16th and 20th. Conclusion: tOSU did not have "the best talent in the country." For those 7 years, they probably averaged somewhere around the 10th best recruiting classes, and the "big games" they lost were mostly to the top sunbelt teams that ranked above them in recruiting class strength.

Forget about the grin and focus on the words: it is not out of the realm of possibilities.

I don't think it's true that tOSU had "the best talent in the country." Where did you see that? Everything I ever saw suggested that tOSU had some of the best talent outside of the sunbelt, and tOSU beat most of the teams it played from outside of the sunbelt. Most of the college recruiting reports I've seen in recent years suggested the top talent was going to sunbelt teams like Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, USC, etc. It's no surprise to me that these teams consistently beat tOSU when they played. They all had coaches as good or better than Tressel to go along with better players. Tough combination to beat. Since it's not likely that UA is going to attract a coach from Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, USC or similar, it seems to me that the next best thing would be to get the next winningest coach outside of that group. An opportunity like this doesn't come along very often for a school like UA. In fact, for most schools like UA, there is never an opportunity like this. If you want to kiss it off, then say goodbye forever to another similar opportunity in your lifetime.

@GoZips, Deji also blocked a shot and altered a couple of others with that 6-9 wingspan. It's really interesting to go back and read the original ZN.o thread about Deji and see what people were saying about him in his HS days, especially the post from Illinoisboy who said he had played against Deji and didn't think he was anything special. Original Deji Thread You also make a good point about Q. I was focusing mainly on the new players. But Q did a nice job of defending McCallum, and a good job of running the point. You could see that Q was not as comfortable playing the point as his normal wing position. But, given a few games, he could be pretty proficient there if needed. When focusing on the new guys, we also tend to take players like the Serb for granted. He very quietly and efficiently put together a complete game of being top scorer, top assists man and tied with Zeke for top rebounder. Nitro had his 3-stroke back and had some good assists. The two seniors do provide some stability for the team, even if they are not overt leader types. An often overlooked team stat is points in the paint. It was a good thing for Zips to overlook this stat in the past, because the Zips often trailed badly in this department. Against Detroit, the Zips handily won the battle of points in the paint, 42-24 -- basically the margin of victory.

Excellent summary. That's exactly the way I see it. The stars are aligning. Just need one last thing to cast the spell: Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg, and howlet's wing,-- For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

Tressel is a possibility, for reasons cited here and elsewhere on ZN.o. But it's still a longshot. It's just one of those things that would be too good to be true. Tressel could bring so much more to UA than just good football coaching. You just don't want to build your hopes too high and then have a big letdown, because the gap between what Tressel would bring to UA and what any other potential head coach UA would likely be able to attract could bring is huge.