zipboy

Per rivals.com, Rydell Brooks is visting Akron next Friday. He just visited Niagara. Also, Johnathon Jones the PG from Michigan committed to Oakland. Not sure if we offered him or not.

Thanks for the updates. A couple interesting tidbits - CMU game ended 73-59. What was the score before Charlie's junior year like 65-3? The D might have gotten 1 stop that game. In Toledo, Ray Williams had a nice run. Looks like he will play next year. Also, Toledo had 250 people for the game although it sounded like a glorified scrimmage in lieu of a spring game? Given that our fieldhouse holds over 1000 and people were 3-4 deep standing, I put our crowd around 1200.

One other point in reviewing the roster - we will be young next year as well.Only 5 seniors on offense - all starters and good players. But we should have 17 guys on the 2 deep who are underclassmen boding well for this year and 07.On D only 10 seniors were listed on the roster I counted yesterday. Maybe 4 starters and another 2 or 3 on the 2 deep.

Good post, a few other observations1. I liked the quickness of Balaam.2. Good to see the real Brandon Anderson starting. Cobham looked good in the secondary.3. I don't see much of a difference between Tuzze and McDaniel. 4. Jackson impressed me more than Jacqumein. I thought Carlton showed a good presence behind center.5. Lindsey impressed me the most of the new WRs. Jabari looked good. Long looked solid. After that, we are unknown. He played well.6. All 3 RBs, Kennedy, Allen, and McMillan looked good. Add 20 LBS, could McMillan play FB? He is a stocky looking guy.7. Best thing was no injuries.

Average bball salary is around 150K. Dambrot was signed to a 5 year, 110K per year deal. I hope with the contract extension he gets toward the avrerage.JDs base was $165K per year, in the upper half of the league. Hopefully he gets a bump as well to put him in the top 2-3.

1. Seeing George Mason make it to the final 4 showed how close we can be to getting there. There was not one team in the tourney that I did not think Akron could play with. However, I could not see us playing at that consistently high level for 4 games in a row either. 2. The tourney showed you can win with a good 6 ft 9 in guy and a couple 6 ft 6 or 6 ft 7 guys. Maybe Bardon develops into that type of guy in 2 years.3. Stating the obvious, we need to get more athletic.4. It is no coincidence that the rise of the MVC coincided with the downfall of the Big 12. It is no secret that I am not a fan of the buckeyes. And I could care less who people root for. But if you think they don't affect us, you are kidding yourself. I doubt that people who live in Omaha see Nebraska basketball as a level above Creighton.5. What has happened to the MAC the last few years? Talent level is down. Some say splitting money between football and basketball. CSU and Wright St are giving out good salaries to 2 good coaches. Basketball leagues with no football are a dime a dozen. What will separate us is growing both football and basketball. I like the MAC, but 3 years from now if the Big East is looking to add, the front runners are going to be Toledo, Akron, Buffalo, Ohio, and Miami. I never thought of Toledo as the marquee program of the league. But given there 4 TV appearances on ESPN or ESPN2, I seem to be the only one to think that way. Akron would be a perfect fit if we continue to grow the program. The next 2 years will show how far we have come in attendance. The Big East would kill for Buffalo to get good in football. All 3, Toledo, Akron, and Buffalo fit demographically into what the Big East schools are like. OU has money and they actually care. Miami would be a longshot. For as good as they are, they will draw 3K to basketball and 15K for basketball forever.Kind of rambling, but to me, the tourney showed that we have the ability to become a national power. Infrastructure is getting there. Right people are in place.

Bummer, everyone thought very highly of Shaka. Good luck to him.

If we get through the first half ok, we are set up for the 2nd half of the year with a lot of home games. I would have liked having the CMU game at the end and WMU in the beginning, but so be it. We get a good bye week before Miami, roads trips are fairly reasonable this year, non conference schedule is not a bear. Maybe WMU moves to Thanksgiving Day? My biggest worry in seeing the schedule was the short week until the MACC. North TX also a good pick up especially if we got it as a 1 for 0.

Someone posted earlier about the CAA, MVC, WAC, and MAC taking their top 6 teams and playing each other non conference. That is a great idea if true. Kind of what the Bracket Buster was supposed to be. The Bracket buster has not turned out like I originally hoped. Put what 5 games on ESPN or ESPN2. The other games make no sense. Let each conference pick their top 5-6 teams and have team get a home game and each get a road game. Good way to build RPI for the conference.

Any word on if extensions are getting done with KD and JD? I hope we can also do something to give these guys some more money. For basketball, I remember KD signing a 5 yr contract for 110K per season. I am guessing that he gets another 20K or so in camps, coaches show, etc. There is an article in the Muncie paper that said O'Shea gets around 200K, top in the league and that the average was around 150-160 for the league. Even Jay Smith has a base salary of 156K for next season. Charlie Coles was at 155K for base. So those guys are probably in the 175K range. We talk about facilities etc which is so important. But if the MAC is going to do anything, they need to get comparable to other mid major conferences in terms of salary. I know most of those other conferences don't have football, but still, we need to invest in people. And within the league, KD needs to get a serious bump.And JD needs a bump as well. I remember that JDs base was around 165K. Solich is tops in the league at 240K. Some other numbers I found, Montgomery's base was 140K last year. Hoke at Ball St was 130K. At least within the league, JD seems near the middle to upper half. If we are even thinking about losing 100K in womens bball, take that money and give both of those guys a one time bonus instead.

Bummer, where did that come from? He played well last year. Guess he is closer to home, but not that much closer. And he played a lot last year so playing time should not be an issue. I wish him well.

I finally got to hear the show last week. Some stuff that was mentionedJoe Moorhead - Said that Kennedy and Alleman have really stepped up and impressed him. Other than those 2, he just pretty much named everyone on the 2 deep and said the team was working hard.Jim Fleming - He was excited abou Doug Williams move to LB. Said that Williams needs to learn the new position but could really give us something that there that no on the team can. He also liked the FR to be, Wayne Cobham (sp). He did not mention about Anderson transferring. Tough loss if he did transfer.Joe Dunn - Mentioned that KD was looking on the East coast for recruiting, maybe Baltimore, Philly, DC area. Tommy G - Great job recalling his top 5 Zips sports moments of the year. I got chills listening to those highlights

Rick Chryst was on during halftime of the Temple game. I thought he said that the league was going to 16 regular season games this year, a great move if they do. With 12 teams in the league, 16 makes a lot of sense, 10 interdivision and 6 cross division.He also said there was going to be some mandate for at least X home games or neutral games. Not sure I understand that one. Instead they should have a mandate, no Div 3 teams.The schedule this year was a step in the right direction. I hope to keep CSU and make YSU a longtime rivalry. Hopefully someone similar to Westfield steps up and sponsers a tourney here that gives us some good name teams at home. I know that is a longshot, but still a hope. Heck, take the money we were going to waste on Kennedy, keep her 1 more year, and pay someone to come here. Also, did anyone see the NCAA is looking to expand the tourney? Even adding 6-8 more teams gives us a shot at a 2nd team every other year.

I saw 1 game this year and listened to about 5-6 on the radio. I don't think that I watched enough to even give an opinion about Kennedy. In interviews, I like her. In watching the kids, they seem to like her. They definitely play hard. She has not increased the talent level very much. McCoy and to a lesser extent Crooks are the only 2 players that I could see the top 5 teams in the MAC finding playing time for.I doubt she turns it around in 1 more year. But I don't want to waste $100,000 on womens basketball. Even if we brought a great coach in who would win the MAC next year, we still would not make that up in ticket sales. Hopefully Mike is wrong on this one and we save the money. I appreciate Mike's blog. If he jumped the gun, a good learning experience for a college kid that will help him in his professional career.

Sorry, meant to add there are all access stories about the LB. I don't subscribe so that was just in the heading. If anyone has access and wants to add to the comments, that would be great.

I don't have all american access, but here a couple of recruits that we hae offered toLisbon LB New To Recruiting Scene Whatever it is that Akron knows about Vincent Browne of Lisbon David Anderson, the rest of the Division I world is likely to find out sooner or later. Akron offered this Division V linebacker in January and would love to keep him all to their self. But at 6-5, 237-pounds, Browne is just one good 40-yard dash time away from entertaining offers from any of the elite programs in the country.Also from Bill Greene on jjhuddle on Devon Torrance, a RB from Canton SouthTorrence has been offered scholarships for football by Akron, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and today by Penn State. Also 1 of the top baseball prospects in the state and only a junior. Still hoping for Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame to offer.

A few interesting things1. Joe Tresey is the new DC at CMU. Looks like the Zips are at Central this year.2. MN at Can't for the season opener? Does Martin get fired after that debacle waiting to happen?3. Looks like all the contenders can't find tough teams at home OOC and the mid packers to bottom dwellers are playing good teams at home. I see that BC landed at CMU. The yellow backs from Boston knew they would have had a tough one in Akron.

Given how Turner played last year, Brandon may be greatful he has an out to bench him.

One other note, when the on campus stadium is built, I would like to see some Thursday night games. I think that might draw well but would not draw as well at the Rubber Bowl. Of course by that time, we will be packing the place anyway with our annual top 25 ranked football team.

I love the 6 PM games. Do the family, kid stuff in the day, no one else to compete with at night. Keep the times consistent year to year as well which we have done. I do agree in Nov having the games early afternoon. I also like 6 vs 7 so you have a chance to go out after or get home at a reasonable hour.

Good posts, if we do start getting good kids from Ohio, it tells me that there is a new respect closer to home. JD said in the past that the old perceptions are most closely linked around here and recruiting is easier further away. Anyone we get is going to be good. If we get 5-6 local kids next year, that would these were kids high on everyone's list and they picked us. We will win with or without them, but I do think it is good for our reputation locally to continue to improve.

I found a listing of college endowments as of 2005 listed at the National Association of college and university business offices. Here is a run down of the MAC schools. Note that 746 schools (I don't know how many exist counting Div 3, etc) responded and are on the list. Harvard was #1 at 25 billion. Believe me, it drops from there pretty quick. Overall ranking out of 746 with amount at the school is below.168 Miam 281 million222 Ohio 196 million239 Buffalo 172 million254 Akron 158 million264 WMU 150 million275 Ball 142 million293 Toledo 142 million314 BG 114 million427 CMU 59 million534 EMU 38 millionNIU - not on list. Can't - not on list. However, Can't was listed in the 2002 list. They were at 42 million back then in 440 place. Frankly I am shocked that Can't is that low. Everyone else kind of falls where I would expect with the exception of us being as high as we are.I hope someone who understands this better can comment, but I see an endowment as kind of your bank account. The more you have in it, the more campus improvements, improving quality of programs, etc can be done. I was pleasantly surprised that we are 4th in the league and in the top 33% of the country. Also, given all of the money that has been poured into the school over the last 5 years, it seems like we still have a healthy amount of money in reserve and can keep the improvements going. You also look at this list, and the ones at the top seem to have the nicest campuses and have done the most improvements over the past few years. No offense to BG and Can't but their campuses seem stuck in 1970.

Why would he not want to go to Akron? After watching the tourney today, he can be part of a sweet sixteen run in 2 years.

French mentioned WMU on one of the broadcasts. Also since we played NIU and Ball State the last 2 years, I don't think that we play them again.

Good post ZW. Someone started an earlier post with grading the season. If I had to give a grade for this year, it would be A-. This was the best season in my 15 years of being an Akron fan. For being a finesse team, I thought that we showed a lot of toughness this year. With Wood and Conyers out, I expected 18 wins similar to last year. Unfortunately, MAC teams are judged by what they do for the 3 days in Cleveland. And that was a clunker. Some thoughts on the players and next year.Joyce - The 3rd best PG in the league this past year behind Hatcher and Haynes. He finished strong unlike last year. Generally, he is a step slower, 20 lbs lighter, and an inch or 2 shorter than anyone he goes up against. Yet he outplayed almost everyone this year. He also was the one guy who continually stepped up looking for the ball at the end of the game. I don't think he is our best option at the end, but he played fearless for the most part (sans last 10 minutes vs Toledo) and wanted the ball with the game on the line. He played 33 minutes this. I would love to see Roberts come in and play 10-12 quality minutes per game similar to what Mincy did for Can't. Dru at 25 minutes a night with little drop off from the bench makes us stronger and allows more uptempo play.Dials - Played on 1 leg, came back early, played hard. I think he hit a wall this year. The last month of the year he struggled and it showed. Too many times he was frustrated with no calls, mad at himself for missing shots, had too many turnovers. He has got to learn to control his emotions. His fiery side can be an asset but not if it clouds his judgement and ability. I did like him at the point at times. He is the only other guy I trusted besides Dru at the point. I look for bigger things next year.Cedric - I love Dambrot, but if Bubba was still here, would he have only gotten 10 minutes per night? The only guy who could break someone down on the dribble. As he learned to play aggressively in control and his confidence increased, he really got dangerous. I hope we see just as much improvement from year 3 to 2.Romeo - Another solid year, but the one guy on the team who has the ability to raise his game another notch. Last year there were times that he just took over a game on both the offense and defensive end. I did not see that this year. I would love for him to be the go to guy with game on the line, but I just don't have enough confidence in his shot. We need more games like Creighton from Rome. Given our size, he needs to just dominate the boards. He has the ability to separate from good to great.Linhart - I echo that he will be a very good player. Biggest thing for him is add 20 lbs and don't hit the wall next year. I brought a lot of different people to Zips games this year. They saw maybe 1-2 games. Interesting that several people whom I trust in knowing about basketball all commented afterward how good of a player Linhart is going to be.Quade/Rybak - They both need to give 10 minutes of solid play next year. Quade showed flushes vs Temple and Nevada. He is athletic, can run and jump. He has got to show the consistency. John knows now what you need to play Div 1 ball. Hopefully he gets quicker and stronger over the summer. All good teams need a shooter. We lose Preston and Peterson next year. The seniorsDP - Very productive for the minutes he got. I didn't have a problem with the limited minutes throughout the season due to the back and Linhart's good play. If his shot was not on, we also were a better team with Nate than DP out there. But one on one, nobody in the league could stop him in the post. I wish that he would have gotten a few more minutes vs Toledo. Thanks DP. Glad that you have the record for most games in Zips history. Preston - He added another dimension that will be missed. Kind of the unsung hero and my vote for 6th man of the year probably more so than Romeo for 1st team all MAC. It was neat to see him mature over the past 5 years. I think he epitomized the team as a finesse guy who was pretty tough. Wish the Cavs had that toughness.Futch - I count 1 other guy whose best year was his senior year, Nate Schindolwolf. Maybe Scott Gooden as well? Everyone else over the past 15 years got worse in their Zips career not better. Futch is now the 2nd guy who got better. His 1st year, if he made a quarter of his layups, we were lucky. A tough hard nosed guy, who played good, solid minutes. Except for that 3 pointer he would throw up every game, he really played within himself and gave good minutes. It was fun to see him develop as well.KD - Everyone knows I love the guy. He isn't perfect, more minutes for Middleton and DP would have been nice. But the last 2 years have been pretty fun. He has quickly instilled a toughness, confidence, and high expectations in the team and the community. He is the type of guy who I think really can lead Akron to the promised land. We have about 45 minutes to replace next year. Ideally, no starter gets over 28 minutes per game. That would mean about 55 minutes to divvy up for5 new people. I would love to see 10 guys get 10+ minuetes per game. And maybe not always the same 10. With 5 new guys coming in, that should be realistic.Also, I don't see many 6 foot 10 inch JUCCos guys who can play knocking on our door. You can with 6ft 8 in guys who can play. You just need several of them.Let's get some good OOC games and beat some people. Go Zips!