Dave in Green

I just took a virtual tour of the Consol Energy Center on their website, and there is no question that it's optimized for Pittsburgh Penguins NHL hockey games and is compromised for basketball.You can look at a detailed seating arrangement for each event, and it's really nice for hockey.On the other hand, if you look at the detailed seating for a basketball game, there are 10 rows of individual folding chairs set up at floor level at each end and 3 rows of chairs on each side. The first raised permanent seats for basketball are pushed way back from the court.This is a great example of something that Zips basketball fans would hate. We need a tight, intimate arena where the permanent seats start right on the edge of the court and go up at a steep angle. This would give all basketball fans a great view of the court. Getting us closer to the court might help generate more noise and enthusiasm from the fans, which can rattle visiting teams and produce more of a home court advantage.Surely there's a better example of a multi-use arena that's optimized for basketball first.Consol Energy Center Basketball Seating Chart

From what I was told, the EKU scrimmage was closed.

Just as we would never have known if they could have scored the 2-pointer if they had gone for the tie instead.Woulda, coulda, shoulda. It's all over now.I hate the result about as much as I dislike predictable coaches. I like that Ianello is finally opening up things a little and becoming less predictable.My favorite college head coach is Les Miles. He may not technically be the "best" college coach, but to me he's the most entertaining. He's a riverboat gambler who does crazy things, and the LSU fans were screaming for a new coach after some of his craziness backfired. Now they love him and want him to sign a lifetime contract.I'm OK with Ianello's goofy mistakes as long as he becomes less predictable and more of a riverboat gambler like Les Miles.

CK, I think I could add a few more names to your short list, but no need to quibble over minor details. You are a reasonable man.

We've already discussed the dimensions of a hockey rink in another thread, and they appear not to create a major problem as long as there is flexible seating at the ends that are optimized for basketball first and hockey second, not the other way around.I do recall reading about another problem with basketball courts laid over ice rinks, however. I remember reading instances of condensation forming on basketball courts when there was ice under them, and the condensation leading to problems with basketball players losing their footing and slipping.Considering this, I would only want to see a hockey rink included in the arena if it was a make-or-break deal, and if it employed the best possible engineering design to eliminate any problems for basketball.Otherwise, I'd be dead set against including a hockey rink in an arena on speculation that enough interest in hockey could be drummed up in Akron to justify the increased costs. I seriously doubt there'd be many paying customers for hockey in Akron.

Thanks for the calm and rational analysis, Doug.

Not true. ..... So you're telling me you honestly believe that most of the critics on this forum would have praised Ianello for going for a tie if the Zips had lost in OT, and most would not have criticized him for not going for the 2-point conversion?I will tell you with 100% certainty -- NO ONE would have complained if he took that game to OT. NO ONE.My son is 10 years old. He knew better. Everyone did.And I will tell you that in all of the years I've been following football, I have NEVER seen a situation where a coach played for a tie and lost in overtime that some fans didn't criticize him for not going for the 2-point conversion. You cannot seriously be trying to tell me that would not have happened on this forum about this coach.

One point about basketball is that there are many more games than football, and most of them are evening or weekend afternoon games. This really invites combining a basketball game with a dinner or lunch out -- either an early one before the game or a late one after. The friendliest setup for something like that would be to have the basketball arena within easy walking distance of downtown restaurants and parking decks. That's one factor in favor of a downtown arena right on the western border of the UA campus.The same reasoning would also apply to other events at this facility. Some people would be more likely to attend if they could combine the evening or weekend afternoon event with dinner or lunch at one of the nice downtown restaurants, all within easy walking distance of the major downtown parking decks.But that's just one factor. There are other factors that favor having a basketball arena close to the other UA sports facilities. It doesn't really matter that much to me. But for the folks signing the loan agreements to get this done, every little point must be considered and added to the bottom line. It's important to them that the facility be financially successful and not just get good reviews from a few rabid basketball fans on ZN.o.

Well there's certainly an opportunity in all of this football and basketball realignment for the creation of a soccer power conference, and UA is not a bit player in that world. I would expect Coach Porter to be all over this opportunity.

We've pretty much been discussing most of these things in other threads except how they might relate directly to John Carroll.I'll say that after watching a Zips basketball practice last week, they've come a long way since the last practice I saw prior to the Canadian trip. But there's also still plenty of room for growth, especially with the younger players.Anyone like me who took catnaps when the Zips were running their novacaine offense last season should get their naps in before this season's games. These guys were run, run, run, running their butts off in practice. Everything was moving so fast that I actually found myself more engaged in the practice than I was at some of the games last season. I think the Zips are going to be playing my kind of basketball this season. I'm really anticipating the return of Zips basketball this week as I love to watch fast-moving, aggressive basketball.One of the cool things about watching practice was to see Matt Futch playing hard D against Zeke. Matt was using his substantial body to move Zeke around while he was trying to shoot, simulating what Zeke will be facing from competitors this season. Zeke was handling it pretty well, so the experience against Matt is obviously helping. It was also nice to meet Matt for the first time. He's a great addition to the Zips' coaching staff in more ways than one.Overall, the Zips are going to be more athletic this season, but probably less disciplined, which will contribute to KD's aging process. This will lead to some spectacular moments as well as some frustrating ones. The athletic players are going to need to learn enough discipline to give them the right balance to be consistent winners.One thing I found interesting was the Serb's focus on outside shooting. He has obviously been practicing a lot on his outside shot, and it looks much better. He's not going to be a designated 3-point shooter. But there's no reason to hold your breath every time he shoots from more than 12 feet. He stayed long after formal practice ended working on that outside shot, so he's obviously serious about being a more complete player. His senior leadership will be important along with the other senior, Nitro.You can only tell so much from practice, though, so it's going to be educational to see how all the players perform against John Carroll. It's easy to blow off an "easy" game against a "weak" opponent like John Carroll unless you've paid attention to GoZips' post about D2 Seattle Pacific upsetting 16th-ranked Arizona in their first game of the season. When this was mentioned to KD, you could almost see the stomach acid flooding through his system.The best part of attending the Zips' practice was how KD came over and sat down with us after practice and spent a half hour discussing basketball. He's really a great person, and anyone who doesn't appreciate what he means to Zips basketball is just not aware of all the facts. KD's assistants are all wonderful people, as well. He brings in quality people as assistants and quality kids as players.Now we just have to work on winning that first NCAA tournament game.

Ha! The Big 12 isn't so big if they don't include soccer. The MAC should make a big effort to attract West Virginia in soccer. They'd make a good conference rival for UA.

akron football brings the same subject up every few days, and we keep responding the same way. So we're all guilty of contributing to turning ZN.o into a rerun channel.Please allow me to be the first to take the public vow to opt out of future reruns.Over and out.

Not true. ..... So you're telling me you honestly believe that most of the critics on this forum would have praised Ianello for going for a tie if the Zips had lost in OT, and most would not have criticized him for not going for the 2-point conversion?

Great attitude! When you look at the size of some of the other top universities and the advantages they might have with more students living on campus, nicer weather, etc., what has been accomplished already in terms of UA's soccer attendance is pretty special. I'm impressed.

Nope, I want to see the Zips play more aggressively all the time. I want confidence and aggressiveness stamped into their DNA. I want them to continue to believe they can do it even after they fall a few inches short. I want them to know they're never going to be second-guessed by me as long as they are not playing passively and conservatively.

If the Zips had played for a tie and lost in overtime, many of the same critics would be complaining about not going for the 2-point conversion. Regardless of circumstances, winners are praised and losers are criticized.

As I said in another thread, even though the failed 2-point conversions led to a 1-point Zips loss, I like seeing aggressive coaching and playing decisions. I think that becoming more aggressive in all areas of the game will serve the team better in the long run than the passive, conservative style of play we've seen in the past from the team under this coaching staff. If this new, more aggressive style does not lead to more fire from the players and, ultimately, more wins, I'll admit I was mistaken.

Some good suggestions in this thread. Hilltopper pointed out during the first half that the receivers were almost all running longer routes, and both the passing and running games were ineffective. We were all yelling for more short pass routes. It really took until the second half for this to happen. The shorter passes worked and opened up the running game, and the Zips offense took off. The Zips gained less than 100 yards total offense in the first half and more than 300 yards in the second half. Why not run the second half offense for a full game?Even though the failed 2-point conversions resulted in a Zips loss, I like seeing aggressive coaching and playing decisions. I think that becoming more aggressive will serve the team better in the long run than the passive, conservative style of play we've seen in the past from the team under this coaching staff.

I see now from the stats that the Zips outshot Wake 20-10. I would have never guessed that from the first 40 minutes of the game that I was able to watch, when it seemed as if Wake was the more aggressive and effective team. I'm not giving up on what this Zips team might be able to put together by the end of the season. While they are currently not keeping pace with the very best teams in the country, I will never doubt the potential of a Caleb Porter-coached team to put together a late-season run.

Did you read posts #18 and 19 in this thread? It was not a sideline decision by the coach.It changes nothing. When there is absolutely no advantage to getting the two points, couldn't the coach be calling off the "option" of going for two beforehand? No matter what his players might see when they run out there and line up?The single point at that particular time was way too critical. It made two TDs with extra points a win instead of a tie. There should not have been an "option" in that situation. The TWO was absolutely insignificant at that point in the game.With your assumptions, you are correct. However, the game could have played out in many different ways. If it had played out in a way that 2 points on that play would have made a difference in the Zips' favor in the final results, it would have also been easy to criticize the team for not taking advantage of the opportunity presented by the CMU defensive alignment that invited a 2-point attempt. The problem was not with the choice of going for the 2-point conversion, but in the execution.Believe me, I love Monday morning quarterbacking, too. I've never lost a game on my Monday morning calls. It's a great feeling to have a perfect record.

I was only able to watch the first 40 minutes of this game. When I signed off, it was with a sense of gloom. Once again the Zips didn't appear to be a superior team. Just now signing back on, I was expecting the worst. So, honestly, a tie is almost a relief. This Zips team is undoubtedly one of the top 20 teams in the country, which fans at many other schools would be ecstatic about. But they just don't appear to be national championship caliber this season. Last season's team really spoiled Zips fans.

Did you read posts #18 and 19 in this thread? It was not a sideline decision by the coach.

Open your wallet you cheapskate. Hey, those are upper level reserved seats. They didn't cost any less than the lower level reserved seats, but we think the view is better! But the best view of the final 2-point conversion attempt was standing behind the corner of the end zone.

Our offense can't control the ball to save it's life. I can't recall one long drive this season that wasn't aided by some inane penalty or mistake by the opponent.The Zips are the Get Well Card for the MAC's downtrodden. Look for a bad CMU team to be the latest in a looooong list of D1 opponents to thoroughly drub Rob Ianallo's team on it's home field.The MAC has figured it out - stop Chisholm and the Zips are done.Its gawd awful that the Zips coaching staff has not figured this out.Chisolm has really been stopped exactly one game in a row, averaging only 2.3 yards per rush against OU. The only way the coaching staff could have figured this out in advance would have been to have ESP prior to the OU game. How about giving them a chance to see how they adjust in the next game. If they get that wrong, then we can start thinking of it as a trend, i.e. more than one game in a row.Chisel gained 130 yards on 19 carries today against CMU for a 6.8-yard average.

Ianello explained both 2-point conversion attempts in the post-game radio interview, which I just addressed in the other game thread:2-Point Decisions