Zip Watcher

We have a winner and a true Zips Fan! Brian Wood, another in a long line of June signees that we pinned our hopes on for an evolution of Zips hoops. All time leading scorer in Colorado schoolboy history. Remember that? Talking about June pickups and which could move the needle? And then there was always the December surprise to deal with. CK knows his Zips better than the Falcons, because it was actually a *different* BG NBA guy, Keith McLeod that hit the jumper to send BG ahead. It was one of 3 good Hipsher vs. Dakich battles that year, centered mostly around BG working to keep the Bellvue Bomber from getting open. Byron Thompson had given us the lead before McLeod's jumper, and then Hip did get Faulkner a look at a game winner that just didn't go down. Two games in the MAC Tournament in 2002 {edit: the 1st round win was in Kalamazoo}. We thought we had turned the corner. Go Zips!

Seems like every time it occurs to me to stop by and post some game observations, the top of the board is littered with nonsense like this from dudes who (I assume) were born way after Huggins left and can't conceive of the heavy lift that KD performed at Akron. I find it unfortunate and disheartening. Well I hope everyone can bring themselves to enjoy this evening and pull for these kids and coaches who are chasing a dream together and appear to really enjoy the collective effort. The Watcher clan will be there in full force and pleased to attend yet another MAC Championship Game in seats I started buying during the years when the Zips never even qualified for the MAC Tournament. Bonus points if you can tell me the name of the starting 2 guard for the Zips the first game they actually made it to the Q. No cheaters. Shout-out to the diehards that keep the hopeful and supportive spirit of ZN.O alive, especially @Hilltopper, @ZZZips, @Dr Z, @Captain Kangaroo and The Great™ @GP1 .. hope you all have a great weekend and enjoy your St. Patrick's Day! #Porkys7Forever #4PetesSake Go Zips!

This is certainly not unique to the Zips and is sadly one of the consequences of the current rostering climate. As a guy who went to schools in the Big East and Big Ten, when I moved back and resumed watching the Zips, it was refreshing to watch guys develop over several seasons. There have been guys like Jeremiah Wood who might have gotten plucked up by a bigger program .. and we would have missed seeing him mature, rally from injury and become one of the elite Zips players of all time. A bigger loss, in my mind is guys like Jimmy Conyers and Jawanza Moore who were afforded the time to get better, have the game slow down .. and then have really impactful senior years. That's one of the reasons I wouldn't have traded my JAR seats for front row at Mackey or Gampel .. my kids could follow the program, see the same players .. get to know them a bit, and really follow the program. It will be interesting to watch as it develops. The pendulum will eventually swing a bit back in favor of the smaller programs when guys start getting left in the portal to land in D2 / D3 ... or nowhere. With the top programs eating each other up for a one year deep tournament run, teams like SDSU and FAU will become more common and succeed with continuity and togetherness and make a dent in the Sweet 16 and beyond. It takes the right people and a commitment to the mindset .. but it can be done. Stability isn't something many of the top programs value at the moment, unless they're hanging banners.

Just dropping in to echo CK's thanks and comments. It's a group effort, and a worthwhile one. Amazing to think about the Porky's Seven and how long ago that really was. Shout-out to @Z-Pouch, wherever the winds have taken him. The only unfortunate aspect of the move was losing some of those legendary "Blue Board" Dreamwater (??) posters that didn't make the move, such as "Dan_Hipshers_Seat" and "Rubber Bowl Port-o-let". We did lose some levity and brevity with the (necessary) shift to a solution that could be moderated. Have a great day everyone! Go Zips!

There's a thing about statistics, damn lies .. etc. Or statistics are for losers .. can't recall. Regardless, LCJ did play 4 years .. just happened that his Freshman Year wasn't at Akron. Dude is a legit UA legend, I'm in agreement with you. He also is the most recent, which keeps it fresh. In my original post, he's listed behind McNees, but that's wholly inadvertent .. he'd be my 3rd guard behind McLaughlin and Brown. It is splitting hairs, but over a 4 year span it breaks down like this: Points 1810 vs. 1783 (wash) Assists 476 vs. 433 (marginal difference) Steals 178 vs. 105 (significant) The Cricket leads in all categories, but for me the steals thing is not small. Not intimating that LCJ wasn't a good two way player, just that Cricket excelled on both ends of the court for several seasons. If one were to look at shooting percentages and efficiency, they'd see more of the story. Cricket was so good, the Suckeyes needed to throw him under the scorer's table and injure him to escape the NIT game at St. John Arena. Fantastic players, both of them. Of all my posts on ZN.O, this is my most recent. Hope you are all well. Go Zips!

Cricket #3 in scoring, #2 in assists and #4 in steals. Both were the key guys on their team, but Cricket a better shooter and better distributor. Also stronger on the other end.

Quick reaction to the question: Point Guard: Cricket Shooting Guard: Brown SF: Linhart PF: Wood (Zips D-1 MVP) Center: Johnson 6th Man: Senior year Conyers (guard 4 spots) Halftime Show: Red Panda after the McNees explosion vs. Miami Next Up: Point: McNees, LCJ Shooter: Diggs, Ivey SF: Hipsher (before the back injury), Harney PF: Travis, Cvetinovic, Treadwell Center: Freeman, Marshall Haven't seen a ton of the team in person the past few years, so I'm not able to judge much past LCJ and Freeman, who both are exceptional and appear to really love the game. I struggled with the SG spot, maybe because of clarity of roles. I'm going with both Cricket and Brown as my starting back court, even though I think they were both PG's. McNees was everywhere and had a hand in lots of big moments. Big Dog vs. Marshall vs. Freeman was my toughest decision. I'm just not sure Marshall really wanted it in the end. Freeman probably ends up on top in the end. Championships matter. Other guys who came to mind that occurred to me, but I guess not at this level: The McKnight brothers were great. Middleton changed the program. Utomi and Jackson left. Dials was gritty. I'm sure there are others. It speaks to the high quality of the program over the last 20 years that this isn't easier. Prior to his back injury, Andy Hipsher was the only player we had that I thought had a real shot at an NBA career. He was dynamic, competitive and clutch. Go Zips!

Takes a pandemic to bring me back for a bit I guess .. or the Great GP1. I do think that saying "no" is a largely undervalued skill these days. What is the big picture? GP1 makes some interesting observations. What's the actual objective of adding a non revenue sport to the athletic department of an (awesome) midwestern university? What's the objective of adding a sport which is at a distinctive disadvantage to southern schools in a sport where the weather is a problem in the north, and leveling the playing field requires substantial travel budget or indoor facilities? I'm not sure .. other than perhaps pacifiying some medium (deep) pocket vendors who played UA baseball or have an affinity for it. This is interesting to me as I'm in a funny spot with baseball. Years ago, I really had a disdain for MLB after the strike shortened MLB year, and the fake manufactured season of Sosa / McGuire. Now that my kids are playing lots of baseball and softball, I really enjoy the summer evenings at the ball field. But it's the ball field with my kids playing on it .. there's no real or imagined sense that anyone out there will ever make any money playing the sport .. they're with their friends and having a good time, and hoping they can get the win before Bossie's ice cream truck shuts down at around 9PM. We like an MLB or MiLB game here and there, but it's based on the fact the kids are playing the game. Opportunity exists in chaos. And opportunity to reshape the athletic department exists in the current situation. The current climate calls for real and substantial efforts in belt tightening by the current UA Administration .. the same type of belt tightening that was called for by Scarborough (and hampered by clumsy PR) and attempted by Wilson through better administrative approaches. Understand that the lens through which I currently view sports is one defined by what my kids are currently interested in. Winter church league basketball is one of the main reasons I'm not at the JAR as much as I'd like. The simple fact for me is that a 5th grade girls CYO game on a slippery lineoleum floor in Parma at noon on a Saturday is the best use of my time and energy. As much as I love the Zips .. I love CYO hoops more. It's not close. A recent thing I've gotten exposed to due to our boys' interest is rugby. Our youngest picked it up last year as a 6 year old .. and it led our oldest picking it up as a freshman in HS. It's a fascinating sport, with its own unique culture and history. I'm certain that the biggest thing I'll remember out of this pandemic shutdown is the lost season from our oldest as he was carving out a spot contributing on his HS team. Not much exceeds the joy in seeing your kid find a sport he / she likes and gets after while also finding supportive and demanding coaches to push them. Why do I mention this? It occurs to me that if you want to add sports to an Athletic Department, you'd pick one which is a growth opportunity. What sports are growing in the US on a participation basis? Baseball sure isn't one of them. What sports are there that are currently niche sports which not every university has but are among the fastest growing in the US (look it up)? And what sports are growing in the region of the University which might be quickly adopted by the region if a University nearby fielded a team? Finally, what sports could be added which require minimal capital investment for facilities or training ground? If you ask these questions .. there are only a couple of sports that fit the bill. Sad to say, I don't think baseball is one of them. Lacrosse does seem like it's a growth opportunity. Tons of kids (boys and girls) are chewing up their parent's hard earned quid to play this now. I think they got it right in adding Women's Lacrosse. I'd also submt that rugby would be another to be considered. It's a winter / early spring sport and could leverage First Energy Field at a time that doesn't conflict with Soccer. Northeast Ohio is one of the bigger youth and HS Rugby areas in the US .. and a couple of teams in the area are among the best in the nation annually. And not a lot of Universities have it, especially locally. UA could be the regional leader in multiple GLOBAL sports .. not just an also-ran in the usual menu. While now isn't going to be a time to add sports .. cuttiing and sensible budgeting are the order of the times, I wonder if the Athletic Department has a broader view of the horizon which includes more than "what we've always done at Akron", or "what the rest of the MAC does" .. or "what we need to have to be attractive for some mythical future realignment frenzy?" Shouldn't UA be asking more fundamental and existential questions of it's Athletic Department now? What is the real objective of the department? What are the real goals? And what sports should be sponsored to help reach those objectives? A pissing match between fans who see UA as a football school vs. hoops school or vise versa isn't productive. I guess I went ful DiG here .. thanks for sticking with me. Hope all of ZN.O is safe and healthy. Go Zips!

"Building Process" .. "Big Dialer" .. good times. Pleasantly surprised to peruse the forum for the first time in awhile, in time to catch a GP1 appearance. I'd just like to drop in briefly to say hello to the Great GP1. I'd do it in a PM ... but you know .. Good health and safety to all Zips fans. #MACChamps #GoZips

You could sit in the 3rd row across from the Akron bench for less than that but you need to come to me (Richfield / Broadview Hts) to get the tickets.

I have 6 seats lower reserved across from the Akron bench. Due to family conflicts, they are largely going unused this month and early next. I'd like for them to be used by Zips fans. If you're interested in a game, find me on Twitter. GoZips! ZW

I'm Thankful this week to have snuck a peek at the football forum and caught a sighting from the Great GP1. Only a visit by the ZIPMAN would make this thread better. Go Zips.

If you haven't already dumped Spectrum, Cox .. etc and taken a look at YouTubeTV or Sling, you ought to. The *only* downside I have come across is that I no longer get Les Levine's weeknight show.

I have 2 seats available for tonight's session at the Q. Among the best seats in the house. Center court, row 9. CK and Hilltopper among others can vouch for their good location. Great Seats, competitive pricing. DM me here .. or better yet, hit me on Twitter if you're interested. (@ZipWatcher). I'm up there starting at noon for the early games, but can gladly meet somewhere to hand them off between sessions. Go Zips!

Not sure if that rule applies in college or not, but it is an NBA thing. Chris Dudley had free throw attempts in games in the 80's in which he logged zero minutes. This situation helped me in a tournament game with a 7th grade team I coach. One of our less confident shooters got hurt in a segment where my best one was on the bench. I was able to put an 80% shooter on the line for 2 easy ones in a close game.