Quickzips

Also, Remy Abell to Bradley.

Updated to include Jakkar Sampson's commitment to St. Johns.

The main discussion here about the Zips need for PGs is not so much for the upcoming season, but for the 2011-12 season and beyond, at which time both Roberts and McNees will both be long gone from the team. I'm not as concerned about our PG depth this year as I am our overall guard depth. We only have four guards listed on scholarship right now. One is an unknown commodity (Abreu), one I consider to be a complete bust (McClanahan) and only two have proven to be consistent producers (McNees and Roberts). Steve and Daryl can't be expected to play all 40 minutes the entire season. Abreu is going to have to step in right away and play some significant minutes, or we will need McClanahan to have a Jimmy Conyers type season. Quincy Diggs has also been listed by some as a guard, but is listed on the official roster as a forward. He is an unknown commodity as well, but if necessasry hopefully he could take up some slack at SG. Next year is a whole different story. My concerns about our PG depth next year have been well documented, but at the same time it is still a long way away. This is pretty much what I am seeing with our overall guard situation. I'm certainly not trying to make the point that Steve might be a better SG than a PG. That might be the case. But, I still expect that our coach will see that Steve running his offense, and being our floor leader, will be the best option we have this year. I don't doubt that Steve is going to get his minutes at PG, but Alex needs to see some minutes at PG too. You probably aren't going to be able to play Alex at SG the way you can with Steve, so his minutes will likely have to come at PG. The lack of depth at the guard spots alone means that Alex needs to see significant minutes if for no other reason than to get Steve and Daryl a breather. On top of that, it would be of a significant benefit to us to have some idea of what Alex is capable of going into the 2011-12 season when he will presumably be the only PG on the roster. Getting Alex some minutes at PG this season is the best way for us to accomplish that.

Be careful what you wish for. As Bull-In-Exile stated, this is most likely not a good thing for the MAC or Akron. A split like this has been coming for a long time, but the most likely scenario has the BCS conferences fractioning off from the NCAA. This would leave the MAC, C-USA, the Sunbelt, etc. somewhere in college sports purgatory between the BCS and the NAIA. You could pretty well kiss any kind of significant TV deals goodbye, the BCS schools would be taking those with them. The NCAA basketball tournament would be a shell of its former self. The soccer team would probably take the biggest hit as the College Cup would be stripped of top competition like North Carolina, Wake Forrest, Virginia, Indiana, etc. thereby dilluting the significance of future tournament runs by Zips soccer. As much as the NCAA deserves its criticism, and needs to make some changes, this kind of harm to the organization would be akin to cutting off one's own nose to spite one's face.

The main discussion here about the Zips need for PGs is not so much for the upcoming season, but for the 2011-12 season and beyond, at which time both Roberts and McNees will both be long gone from the team. I'm not as concerned about our PG depth this year as I am our overall guard depth. We only have four guards listed on scholarship right now. One is an unknown commodity (Abreu), one I consider to be a complete bust (McClanahan) and only two have proven to be consistent producers (McNees and Roberts). Steve and Daryl can't be expected to play all 40 minutes the entire season. Abreu is going to have to step in right away and play some significant minutes, or we will need McClanahan to have a Jimmy Conyers type season. Quincy Diggs has also been listed by some as a guard, but is listed on the official roster as a forward. He is an unknown commodity as well, but if necessasry hopefully he could take up some slack at SG. Next year is a whole different story. My concerns about our PG depth next year have been well documented, but at the same time it is still a long way away.

Coming back on point as much as I can in this smoke-filled room, here I go: We have now had two coaches and recruiting leaders leave the program in the past year -- both of whom improved the program's recruiting stance -- we were, for the first time, going toe-to-toe for High Majors, on the back of our NCAA appearance in 2009. Over the past year our recruiting position has gone back to where it was BEFORE our tournament appearance. I guess it goes to show, you have to strike while the iron's hot. We didn't. Now, as far as Quickzips' "apples and oranges" argument goes: We are able to recruit against anyone in the country in soccer because we have a long history of success in a number of different areas , please try to remember back to the age of Coach Ken Lolla. The reason why we were a good, but not great soccer program was because we COULDN'T compete with the top-10 teams for US international youth players. Now we not only compete, but normally win those recruiting wars. We long to be the Gonzaga of the East in BB. But first we have to be the Beast of the MAC. Pardon my skepticism, but I don't hear any roar from the JAR. It's up to Keith to make that jump, and legacy or no legacy, it's time to hold his hand to the fire. The time is now, not in three years -- the soccer team has just one goal -- a national title in 2010. Likewise appropriate goals to demand from the other programs are a competitive football team -- and a MAC champion in basketball. That's putting all our fruit in the same basket, and coming out with Jamba Juice. Do they have that in Green yet, Dave? Again you are trying to compare soccer with basketball when they are two entirely seperate animals. You've addressed my point about our history of success in soccer while ignoring the myriad of other differences between the two sports that make recruiting for them vastly different. Your point about going toe to toe with high majors in the recruiting process "on the back of our NCAA appearance in 2009" is not exactly valid. I presume here that you are refering again to recruiting Zeke. Zeke signed his letter of intent in November 2008, a full four months prior to us making our NCAA appearance. I ask you again to go back and take a good hard look at what the successful mid-major BASKETBALL programs are doing in terms of recruiting. Take a look at Butler, Gonzaga, Xavier, etc., etc., etc. These teams may have better recruiting than the Zips, but in large part they are NOT recruiting at the level of Akron Soccer. Yet they are still regularly making deep runs in the NCAA's because they are recognizing high major talent that is going un-noticed by high major programs and they are going hard after high-major talent that is being noticed by the high majors, but that is giving indications that they are willing to look at a mid-major school (such as Zeke). The blue-print for success in college BASKETBALL is out there, and Keith and Co. are following it reasonably well. Just because it doesn't match up with the blueprint laid down for success in college SOCCER by Caleb Porter doesn't mean it is wrong.

Maybe a former player for the Director of Basketball Operations position. I would love to see Cedrick Middleton come back if playing in Europe doesn't work out for him. Any chance Dials would change his mind about working for the Sweaters? I know I'll get hammered for this, but it looks like the rats are abandoning the ship, like ASAP. Don't look outside your portals Zips fans, but that thar is an iceberg! One assistant coach moves on to a better position and a kid who graduated from the program 2 years ago and was never reported as having been offered a position on the staff takes a job with another school and the rats are abandoning the ship? Not sure I buy that. We've lost assistant coaches before (Shaka Smart and Jeff Boals both come to mind). I actually take it as kind of a compliment. Tells me that Dambrot is surrounding himself with good people and theres some recognition out there for the quality of program that we have been running here. Unless you are privy to some information that I'm not, I don't see how this is really an indication of a larger underlying problem. Not talkin bout one assistant coach Qz. Talkin about wholesale "changes", none of which at dis time appears mo bettah. KD is one of my favorite Akronites, no doubt, but my view from da i-lawns says da nex'two years are make or break time for UA BB. Unless Gamechanger's li'l one becomes a MAC POY type in the off season of one season, I don't see things gettin any better than last year. 4th place is not an unrealistic pick, given the circumstances. What does Dylan Ennis know that you don't? This may be your opinion, but I'd like to see guys like Euton, Gilliam, Egner, Abreu, Treadwell, etc, actually play together before I'd draw that conclusion. JohnnyZip, I wish I could share your confidence -- and, I'm hardly giving up on this team, but my analysis is, we've gone from competing with and at least once beating Big East and ACC teams for recruits, to being satisfied over taking "late-bloomers" and "hidden gems" recruited by the Wisconsin-Milwaukees and CSUs of the world. I think Dylan Ennis agrees with me. Outside of Zeke I can't think of one time where we've went up against Big East and ACC teams for a recruit and had any chance of winning out. A quick review of our history of recruiting on rivals bears that out. In fact, going back to 2004 I can only find a couple of recruits that the Zips even offered who had Big East & ACC offers. Brian Walsh-SG-2008 had offers from Maryland, West Virginia, Pitt & St. Joe's. Signed with Xavier, ironically recently transfered to Akron. Mike Shanahan-SG-2008 had offers from Pitt, Duke and West Virginia. Signed with Pitt. Zeke Marshall-C-2009 had offers from Pitt, Virginia and Virginia Tech. Signed with the Zips. Reality just doesn't line up with your line of thinking. Even the point about Dylan Ennis is invalid. Yes, Ennis decommitted from the Zips. His current list of offers, Nebraska, Northern Iowa, Rice, UIC, Creighton, and reportedly UW-Green Bay. Not a Big East or ACC school among them. People need to stop looking at Zeke's committment as some sort of sign that we are ready to consistently steal top talent from the power conferences of the college basketball world and see it for what it is. An outlier situation where all the stars lined up for us to nab a talented big man away from some very good programs. I think the main difference between my thinking, and that of Quickzips and Daveingreen is that they are readily able to ACCEPT that Akron will never be able to compete with and secure High Major type recruits, and that therefore KD and staff should not waste their time on future Zeke Marshalls and get in line with the mediocrity of the MAC, while I REFUSE to accept that reasoning. I guess I've become infected with Porteritis, while the rest of the ZipsNation has gotten your shots to prevent it from taking effect. I only hope the bug is strong enough that it is immune to KD and Co.'s vaccine. And the smoke around my head? It's a screen against the nurses of mediocrity. Comparing the soccer team to the basketball team is simply unfair. It is an apples and oranges argument. They are two different animals with entirely different factors coming into play. We are able to recruit against anyone in the country in soccer because we have a long history of success in a number of different areas (tournament appearances, sending players to the pros, etc.) and, let's face it, soccer is still a secondary sport where national biases about what programs are "good" and what programs are "bad" are not as engrained into our culture. None of those things are working in our favor when it comes to basketball. You can think of me as a pessimist or settling for mediocrity all you want. I prefer to think of myself as a realist who understands that there is more than one way to skin a cat (build a championship caliber program). You want an example, go take a look at Butler's recruiting from the last five years and tell me how many guys they have gotten who had offers from Big East and ACC schools.

Maybe a former player for the Director of Basketball Operations position. I would love to see Cedrick Middleton come back if playing in Europe doesn't work out for him. Any chance Dials would change his mind about working for the Sweaters? I know I'll get hammered for this, but it looks like the rats are abandoning the ship, like ASAP. Don't look outside your portals Zips fans, but that thar is an iceberg! One assistant coach moves on to a better position and a kid who graduated from the program 2 years ago and was never reported as having been offered a position on the staff takes a job with another school and the rats are abandoning the ship? Not sure I buy that. We've lost assistant coaches before (Shaka Smart and Jeff Boals both come to mind). I actually take it as kind of a compliment. Tells me that Dambrot is surrounding himself with good people and theres some recognition out there for the quality of program that we have been running here. Unless you are privy to some information that I'm not, I don't see how this is really an indication of a larger underlying problem. Not talkin bout one assistant coach Qz. Talkin about wholesale "changes", none of which at dis time appears mo bettah. KD is one of my favorite Akronites, no doubt, but my view from da i-lawns says da nex'two years are make or break time for UA BB. Unless Gamechanger's li'l one becomes a MAC POY type in the off season of one season, I don't see things gettin any better than last year. 4th place is not an unrealistic pick, given the circumstances. What does Dylan Ennis know that you don't? This may be your opinion, but I'd like to see guys like Euton, Gilliam, Egner, Abreu, Treadwell, etc, actually play together before I'd draw that conclusion. JohnnyZip, I wish I could share your confidence -- and, I'm hardly giving up on this team, but my analysis is, we've gone from competing with and at least once beating Big East and ACC teams for recruits, to being satisfied over taking "late-bloomers" and "hidden gems" recruited by the Wisconsin-Milwaukees and CSUs of the world. I think Dylan Ennis agrees with me. Outside of Zeke I can't think of one time where we've went up against Big East and ACC teams for a recruit and had any chance of winning out. A quick review of our history of recruiting on rivals bears that out. In fact, going back to 2004 I can only find a couple of recruits that the Zips even offered who had Big East & ACC offers. Brian Walsh-SG-2008 had offers from Maryland, West Virginia, Pitt & St. Joe's. Signed with Xavier, ironically recently transfered to Akron. Mike Shanahan-SG-2008 had offers from Pitt, Duke and West Virginia. Signed with Pitt. Zeke Marshall-C-2009 had offers from Pitt, Virginia and Virginia Tech. Signed with the Zips. Reality just doesn't line up with your line of thinking. Even the point about Dylan Ennis is invalid. Yes, Ennis decommitted from the Zips. His current list of offers, Nebraska, Northern Iowa, Rice, UIC, Creighton, and reportedly UW-Green Bay. Not a Big East or ACC school among them. People need to stop looking at Zeke's committment as some sort of sign that we are ready to consistently steal top talent from the power conferences of the college basketball world and see it for what it is. An outlier situation where all the stars lined up for us to nab a talented big man away from some very good programs.

No excuse losing to an FCS team like that. Two games in and Ianello has alienated the fan base with his behavior, been utterly un-prepared for the season opener, botched the simplest play of the game (the coin-flip) and handed the Zips probably their most embarassing loss in program history. Nothing about this team leads me to the conclusion that we are in store for anything other than pure missery for the foreseeable future. I haven't been following the football team too much lately as it is, but I am at the point where I think it's time to completely ignore it. Keep tabs on the soccer team and the basketball team where you can at least see an entertaining product that can win some games. Someone make sure to PM me if we ever find a coach who has any idea what he is doing.

Maybe a former player for the Director of Basketball Operations position. I would love to see Cedrick Middleton come back if playing in Europe doesn't work out for him. Any chance Dials would change his mind about working for the Sweaters? I know I'll get hammered for this, but it looks like the rats are abandoning the ship, like ASAP. Don't look outside your portals Zips fans, but that thar is an iceberg! One assistant coach moves on to a better position and a kid who graduated from the program 2 years ago and was never reported as having been offered a position on the staff takes a job with another school and the rats are abandoning the ship? Not sure I buy that. We've lost assistant coaches before (Shaka Smart and Jeff Boals both come to mind). I actually take it as kind of a compliment. Tells me that Dambrot is surrounding himself with good people and theres some recognition out there for the quality of program that we have been running here. Unless you are privy to some information that I'm not, I don't see how this is really an indication of a larger underlying problem.

First I have seen or heard of him discussed as a PG. A lot of the publications I've seen have him as just an average ball-handler at best. May just be a case of a kid who has always been so athletic that he was able to get by purely on out-running and out-jumping his opponents and is just now learning the finer points of the game. I don't know.

In the continued spirit of attempting to get this topic back on track, Ibitayo comments on his recent commitment to the Zips: http://blogs.suntimes.com/hoopsreport/2010...its_to_akr.html http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/deji.html

I've been trying to keep this topic out of the Deji thread, but it seems like we have now officially been hi-jacked, so I'll weigh in. Reasons I want to see Abreu at PG and McNees at SG: -McNees' biggest asset is his long distance shooting. Though he is capable of running the point, his strength has never been playing the role of distributor. Playing him off the ball where he can potentially get some better looks at the basket will theoretically make him a more efficient weapon for us. Further, Abreu's assist numbers in high school and for the Peurto Rican U-17 team indicate that he can be the kind of distributor that would make Steve, and everyone else on the team more effective. -Though he has gotten better over the years, Steve is far from what you would call a great defender. He struggles in particular against the quicker PG's that are becoming more the norm in the MAC. The film I've seen on Abreu shows the makings of a pretty good defensive PG who can stay with quicker guys and who has a knack for getting into passing lanes and forcing turnovers. -With Abreu being the only thing close to a PG we have on the roster for 2011-12, you almost have to get him some significant minutes this season to get him prepared for next year when he will seemingly be called on to play a lot of minutes.

Cleveland State lands a big fish in Cleveland Central Catholic Three Star PF Anton Grady. http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/index....09/post_15.html

I'm still waiting for some information that indicates that there is any chance that our coach would replace his current starting PG, who he obviously trusts to run his offense, is a senior, clearly our floor leader, and has come up big for us in several critical, pressure situations over the last couple of seasons. And we'll replace him and turn the reigns of the team over to a guy who's yet to even wear a Zips uniform? I'm thinking the chances of that happening are pretty remote. I'm not talking about this year. I'm looking ahead to 2011 since this is a thread on a 2011 commit. Got it. I'm still surprised at the number of comments we get here about Steve being replace at the point this year. I'll be the first to admit that I'm among those leading the charge to see more McNees at SG this year, and I have my reasons why, but that is really a discussion for another place and time.

I'm still waiting for some information that indicates that there is any chance that our coach would replace his current starting PG, who he obviously trusts to run his offense, is a senior, clearly our floor leader, and has come up big for us in several critical, pressure situations over the last couple of seasons. And we'll replace him and turn the reigns of the team over to a guy who's yet to even wear a Zips uniform? I'm thinking the chances of that happening are pretty remote. Steve is a senior. We can't just be thinking about this year. 2011 we still have only one PG on the roster (Abreu). That is more of what people are concerned with right now. We should be alright at PG this year with Steve and Alex. The debate about who should get the bulk of the minutes at PG is a whole different topic.

I doubt we will find that out until next spring. I don't think even KD and the staff really know at this point. Just like this past recruiting season, you might see one or two guys leaving the program either at the request of the staff (such as Swiech) or on their own accord (such as Humpty). No idea who that might be, although with the logjam at the forward spots it wouldn't surprise me at all to see one of our forwards make a move looking for more playing time. Could also come from Harney or Treadwell not making the grades to obtain their scholarship or a late de-commit.

Athleticism seems to be a new focus for Dambrot and Co. on the recruiting trail, which I think is a welcome sign for most folks around here. We've gone about as far as we are going to go recruiting under-sized and not particularly athletic guys who have high basketball IQ's. It was time for a change. We've gotten a lot of guys now over these last two classes that are much more athletic (Egner, Gilliam, Diggs, Treadwell, Harney, Ibitayo). But at the same time I think we need to recognize that this approach is not without its risks. Highly athletic guys don't always make very good basketball players. The best athlete in the world isn't going to help much on the floor if he has no grasp on the fundamentals of the game. The first example that comes to mind for me is always Quade Milum. Athleticism to spare, but could never put it all together. Just didn't have that good grasp of the game that was needed to be a consistent performer on the floor. Now hopefully we are getting guys who are not simply athletes but also have the necessary understanding of the game that they need to succeed. From the sounds of it, guys like Gilliam, Treadwell and Harney all fit that bill. Ibitayo appears to have some work to do when it comes to fundamentals. Egner and Diggs look to fall somewhere in between. If it all works out, I think this approach can get us to the point where we can make some deep tournament runs. If a lot of these guys don't pan out, the potential is there for us to take a big step back. KD is taking a big risk here. I think it needed to be done, but I'm certainly interested in how it pans out. I see absolutely no risk. If KD wants to elevate the program, he's had 6 years to see what 5'11" guards can do for him. He's hit the ceiling with his "Plan A" recruits. Now it is time for Plan B. He's not recruiting any thugs. No kids with checkered pasts. The Prop 48 kids he's recruited in 2010 all come from good families and are, character-wise, good kids. But both did not take their HS studies seriously. Hence why both are so ridiculously talented, yet only played 1 yr of HS ball each. I fear absolutely nothing with the Zips new recruiting philosophy. It has worked for K.e.n.t. State for 12 years, through 3 different coaches. K.e.n.t. has been kicking our ass in hoops. If we want to compete with K.e.n.t., we needed to change something. Might our graduation rates dip a bit? Yes. But they might not. Might the Zips have a greater upside now? Yes. With Plan A, they would not. I look forward to matching up with the size and athleticism of the better A-10 schools. It will be fun. So will beating K.e.n.t. I've got no qualms at all about our recruits as far as academics go. Some kids take some time to truly grasp the importance of academics, even though they are otherwise solid, standup citizens. It sounds like Harney and Treadwell fit that bill. No problem with that. The uneasiness I have is with on-court performance, particularly with guys like Ibitayo where he's shown flushes of what he can do with all that athleticism, but has never consistently put it all together. Incredible athletes who are described with phrases like, "slowly improving his skill level," "will have to continue making strides," and "work on the mechanics of his jumper," scare me. I guess it is just residual nightmares from getting excited over watching the last uber-athlete we had through here (Quade) tantilize us with one brilliant game and then disappear for the next two months. Nothing is to say that Deji or any of our other guys will end up like that, but when you start focusing on athleticism you do take the risk that you will end up with a bunch of athletes who couldn't put the ball in the ocean from the beach. I'm also not quite as concerned with beating Can't as you. Don't get me wrong, I love beating Can't. I also realize that the way we've been built the last few years we don't match up well with Can't. I just don't want to get so focused on the rivalry that we build a team that is solely designed to beat the flushes and struggles against a lot of other programs.

Athleticism seems to be a new focus for Dambrot and Co. on the recruiting trail, which I think is a welcome sign for most folks around here. We've gone about as far as we are going to go recruiting under-sized and not particularly athletic guys who have high basketball IQ's. It was time for a change. We've gotten a lot of guys now over these last two classes that are much more athletic (Egner, Gilliam, Diggs, Treadwell, Harney, Ibitayo). But at the same time I think we need to recognize that this approach is not without its risks. Highly athletic guys don't always make very good basketball players. The best athlete in the world isn't going to help much on the floor if he has no grasp on the fundamentals of the game. The first example that comes to mind for me is always Quade Milum. Athleticism to spare, but could never put it all together. Just didn't have that good grasp of the game that was needed to be a consistent performer on the floor. Now hopefully we are getting guys who are not simply athletes but also have the necessary understanding of the game that they need to succeed. From the sounds of it, guys like Gilliam, Treadwell and Harney all fit that bill. Ibitayo appears to have some work to do when it comes to fundamentals. Egner and Diggs look to fall somewhere in between. If it all works out, I think this approach can get us to the point where we can make some deep tournament runs. If a lot of these guys don't pan out, the potential is there for us to take a big step back. KD is taking a big risk here. I think it needed to be done, but I'm certainly interested in how it pans out.

Not sure yet how I feel about this pickup. The video is kind of grainy and doesn't always give you good angles of his play. He certainly seems to know how to finish around the rim, but his form on his jump shot doesn't look very strong to me. Seems to hold the ball kind of low and has a long release. He'll struggle to get that shot off at the next level, and it seems KD likes to put a lot of emphasis on guards who can fire away from long distance. As far as where this scholarship comes from I have no idea, but then again, we went through this last year as well with the late addition of Euton. The staff has to either be expecting someone to transfer out, or that one of the two greyshirts (Harney and Treadwell) won't be able to make the grades.

So what your saying iCoach is that, if we do a better job on defense, offense and special teams, then we will be a better team? Thanks for clarifying that one.

Lindys and Athlon released their 2010-11 preseason publications and projections. Lindys has the Zips finishing 4th in the East behind Ohio, Miami and Can't. Athlon has Akron 2nd in the East behind Ohio and claiming an NIT bid. No big surprise that the rags would be picking Ohio as the pre-season favorite coming off the way they ended the season, but the bobcats do have some significant question marks headed into the season (particularly at SG and C). What surprises me more is Lindys choosing Akron 4th in the East. I have a hard time seeing that. The Zips have seen a considerable turnover from last year, but we still bring back a number of key contributors (Brett McKnight, McNees, Zeke, Cvetinovic, Roberts) while only losing a few guys who were even in the rotation last year (Conyers, Chris McKnight, Humpty). Can't has had at least as much, if not more turnover than us (losing Singletary, Simpson, Henry-Ala, Evans, Parks) and is still picked ahead of us. Miami wasn't very good last year and doesn't appear to have added a lot this year. In the end these preseason projections don't matter to much, but they are interesting.

Personally, the team itself screwed the pooch last year by laying as big of an egg as they did in the midst of all the buzz over the new stadium. It wasn't just that we lost so many games, but we were practically unwatchable for most of the season. We had an absolutely perfect opportunity to invigorate a new fanbase for Zips football on a long term basis when we opened the stadium. All we had to do was put an exciting product on the field and win a few games. Instead we went 3-9 and played a brand of football that would be a pretty good cure for insomnia. The stadium was our one big shot at a quick, easy boost to our attendance. Now, I'm not really sure what we do. I do think it all starts and ends with winning, but I also think it will take more along the way than just winning. You have to have a product that people want to come and see. That includes not just the quality of the team on the field, but the concessions, souvenir shop, ticket sales, game day activities, etc., etc., etc. This isn't something that will be fixed over night at this point. Like I said, we had the opportunity to do that and we blew it in every way. In my uninformed, completely out of thin air opinion it will take a good 5+ years of steady winning (not just 6-6 records and squeaking into bowl games) combined with a major upgrade in marketing and general fan-friendliness (is that even a word?) to start to see a turnaround. Sorry to say it, but outside of maybe the Can't games, we are looking at 15,000-18,000 as a best case scenario in terms of attendance for the foreseeable future.

You pretty well hit the nail on the head right there. I agree, outside of Cleveland State and YSU which bring some regional excitement, the home OOC schedule is a real yawner. Unfortunatly we are just good enough that the truly good teams are extremly reluctant to come to our place. It offers them no benefit in terms of RPI or national perception. If they come here and win, no big deal, they were supposed to beat us anyways. If they come here and lose its a negative headline and provides a hit to their tournament resume. As a fan I'm just happy that it at least looks like KD is softening his stance on the whole, "we won't go play at your place unless you agree to come play us at home" deal. It at least gives us some chances to beat some of those good teams on the road which could in turn generate enough interest to get a few more of the non-die-hards out to the JAR to watch us hammer Bethune Cookman. I think YSU basketball brings about as much excitement to the JAR as Wright State baseball brings to Lee Jackson Field. It is a guaranteed win... an easy-to-schedule annual home-and-home for Dan Peters (former YSU coach)... an easy road trip for the Zips faithful... but there is no amount of lipstick you can slather on the pig that is YSU basketball. People in Youngstown don't care about YSU basketball...and people in Akron care even less about it. Football would obviously be a different story. They still will likely bring more opposing fans than any other team on our home OOC schedule save CSU and MAYBE John Carroll. I suppose it shows the pathetic state of YSU hoops that our exhibition game against John Carroll could potentially bring a bigger away crowd, but still. At least people in this area have heard of them. Start asking them about Bethune Cookman, Oral Roberts or Arkansas Pine-Bluff and get ready for some blank stares.

You pretty well hit the nail on the head right there. I agree, outside of Cleveland State and YSU which bring some regional excitement, the home OOC schedule is a real yawner. Unfortunatly we are just good enough that the truly good teams are extremly reluctant to come to our place. It offers them no benefit in terms of RPI or national perception. If they come here and win, no big deal, they were supposed to beat us anyways. If they come here and lose its a negative headline and provides a hit to their tournament resume. As a fan I'm just happy that it at least looks like KD is softening his stance on the whole, "we won't go play at your place unless you agree to come play us at home" deal. It at least gives us some chances to beat some of those good teams on the road which could in turn generate enough interest to get a few more of the non-die-hards out to the JAR to watch us hammer Bethune Cookman.