GoZips

I plan to be there.

per the article: "Paul is the third transfer Illinois has received since the end of the season. Illinois State junior forward Jon Ekey and Seton Hall sophomore guard Aaron Cosby also recently opted for the Illini." A wee bit of enticing and/or tampering going on at Illinois? Makes me wonder.

Well, Keener, they can polish a lot of turds for $35 million. However, $35 million would not build a new basketball arena. The field house is more like a large shed. It certainly could use upgrading. Please do not post pix of the Stiles. We do not want the responsibility of Cant folks jumping off bridges. That is one building that is the definitive pig. No amount of lipstick will make a shed shine.

Perhaps he sees himself as a deeply committed Zips basketball fan. I see no reason to excoriate a person for providing excellent, well researched opinions. Personally, I think you are way out of line.

The number one item on upgrading the MAC Center has to be restrooms. If you think the JAR has poor amenities get a load of the MAC Center. Pure stone age.

LBJ...? Lyndon Bains Johnson ... what does he have to do with Akron? Seriously, LeBron does quite a bit for the University of Akron. Most of this is not ballyhooed. Shoes, uniforms, gifts and not least of all, LeBron spends a part of his summer playing hoops with Zips players and "coaching" them. He is also behind the scenes an ambassador in recruiting. Being good friends with Keith Dambrot LeBron has affection for the Zips. Even if LeBron never donates any money for a new arena he has still done far more for Zips basketball than most of us ever could. Yes, I am pro-LeBron because I an pro-Zips. Be glad that LeBron saw fit to help his alma mater. It is a great and generous gift.

LOL ... !!!!

So, according the the MAC rules the penalty for changing schools with in the conference is stiffer than first realized. The student athlete who transfers after his sophomore year will be a Senior eligibility-wise after sitting out the required year. This implies that the student athlete can not transfer after their Sophomore year. A student athlete has five years to complete four years of eligibility. Transferring reduces that eligibility to just three years.

QUOTE(GoZips @ Apr 24 2013, 01:53 PM) * In reference to Darius Paul; NO. The MAC has rules to prohibit transferring from one MAC school to another. These rules are the result of the tampering of Akron player Bubba Walther. He was lured to Ohio by an assistant coach. I apologize for taking so long to respond. The fact is: GoZips is correct. The MAC prohibits any MAC school from offering financial aid in any form (i.e. scholarship) to any player seeking to change schools with in the MAC. A player MAY pay his own way and transfer. He or she would have to sit out one year under the regular NCAA transfer rules. This rule was instituted as a result of the Bubba Walther incident. I verified this with the men's coaching staff.

I attended the Spring Football Game on Saturday. My observations as follows. 1) The ten buck buffet was the best deal in a decade. Great food, more than you could eat. Far surpassed the meager fare at either the men's or the women's celebration dinner. The women's buffet topped the men's by a country mile. 2) The fifty-eight yard field goal was a sight to behold. The best play of the first half. 3) The fifty-four yard field goal was a sight to behold. The best play of the second half. 4) The buffet will cost $18 during home games. Any one who cares to venture to the fifth floor can not only pig out on excellent food they can also watch the game from a great vantage point. The bourbon bread pudding is to die for. I think $15 would be a better price and more than make up in volume in revenue than the $18 price. Not good marketing. 5) The Zips still sorely miss having depth on both lines. Fix that and they have a genuine shot.

In reference to Darius Paul; NO. The MAC has rules to prohibit transferring from one MAC school to another. These rules are the result of the tampering of Akron player Bubba Walther. He was lured to Ohio by an assistant coach.

I, too, heard the radio interview of Nyles Evans. I was surprised that he played mostly the two guard. That is not happening at Akron. Nyles was recruited to bolster the point position. Big time programs do not run five-eleven two guards. Brian Walsh was the size of big time two guard; six-five. Nyles is not likely to see much if any time off the point. Akron needs a point guard who fills all the functions of playing the point. That is, bring the ball up court, distribute the ball, take selected shots, provide leadership, ball handle, be quick as a kat, etc. As a point guard Nyles Evans slides right into a starting role. At the two he has at least two decent players ahead of him on the depth chart. Nyles is a quality point guard and that is where he fits.

Now that the Zips have all the pieces folks can start figuring out their line ups. Akron returns three starters from this past season. Demetrius Treadwell at power forward; Nicholas Harney at small forward; Carmelo Betancourt at point guard comprise the returning starters. In all likelihood incoming JUCO junior Nyles Evans will command the point reverting Melo to back up status. The other positions are up to speculation. Almost forgot center Pat Forsythe. Could be a real battle between Pat and Isaiah for the post position. By all means factor in the return of Quincy Diggs. Diggs is considered one of the best players on the team. While he would be an incredible force as the "sixth man", that is not likely to happen. Jake Kretzer pretty much has a lock on the back up power forward. Reggie McAdams is versatile and can play both forwards and even play the point in some situations. btw, the same holds true for Nick Harney. Four talented high school players were added to the player list. Center/power forward Isaiah Johnson out of Cincinnati Walnut Hills will strongly compete for playing time. Youthful Kwan Cheatam at six-nine could play. Add in BJ Gladden a six-six guard/forward and athletic six-five guard/forward Aaron Jackson. Where do Blake Justice and Deji Ibitayo fit; if at all? Could they be caught in a numbers game? And who, if anyone gets red shirted?

Remember that Quincey won the Sixth Man award for the entire conference last year. Q is more than a forward. He can actually play all five positions when called upon. Q got mauled at West Virginia when he had to run the point. All this did was further his resolve. He became a serviceable point guard partially from that embarrassing night. I truly believe that Diggs could now provide capable, even above average play at the point today. No way VCU clobbers the Zips if Quincey was in the line up. Having Quincey back truly "reloads" the Zips.

I suspect that given a choice KD would prefer the Anaheim Classic. His reasoning being the time differential. A three hour time zone difference is less difficult to recover from than the five or six hour time differential going to Hawai'i brings. Personally, I love Hawai'i and will always instantly prefer Paradise to southern California parking lots. Besides, Z.I.P. would be there to enjoy the games and help us enjoy Hawai'i. Hey, Brudda is Ono's still a great place to eat? Ono's is the one place KD really enjoyed the last time he was in the islands. Mahalo.

Gamechanger, I will have three seats saved for you. Go zips

Dress casual like you would on casual Friday at work. Jeans, not so much. And, I love wearing jeans now that I am fully retired. Damned, tired at that. Fricking prostate. Grrrrrr.

I think that when one considers the quality of playing talent signed by the Zips in the Rick McFadden era one can safely conclude that the Zips coaching staff knows what they are doing. Neither Nick Harney or Demetrius Treadwell were "ranked". You want to run them off the team? How about Jake Kretzer and Reggie McAdams? Both finished high school as Player of the Year and people were whining about recruiting two "unknowns". I trust the coaches. Especially given that they are repeatedly bring in winners. When I look at other MAC web sites I do not find fans bragging that they out did the Zips. No, in fact, they moan that they want to be like the Zips. When is the last time you remember Coach Dambrot saying that he wants Akron to be like Cant? Long time ago.

I like him already. He bears a resemblance to our much loved Tree.

Dan Hipsher, former University of Akron head coach is announced as the new head coach at University of Texas-Pan American. Big Dan Gets A Gig

Call Amanda in the Men's Basketball office before Five PM TODAY to buy your ticket(s) for just Twenty dollars . 330-972-7781

All three remaining MAC women's teams went down to defeat.

Just what were you expecting Pat Forsythe to do? Sit NBA bound Zeke Marshall down? Pat performed very well. His role was to be a foil for Zeke to beat on in practice; which he did well. And give 10-15 minutes in a game to give Zeke a rest. Again, Pat performed well. He even gave a few minutes against VCU when he was dog sick. That makes him a trooper and worthy of praise. Which the coaches gave him. Pat will have an entire off season to hone his skills. This luxury he did not have coming in as a transfer. Like another poster commented, why the continual negativity? There is plenty of heart ache burning in Zips fans right now. There is no need to add to it. It is time to be positive and forward looking. Akron has for several years been a quality and highly respected mid-major. The coaching staffs of several sports have given us a lot of victories and name recognition.

If you heard the broadcast the unnamed incoming point guard is Nyles Evans. Coach could not mention his name simply because Evans can not sign a Letter of Intent until April. Also significant is that Coach Dambrot expects Quincey back in a Zips uniform. Please, Lord, do not let there be too much rust. And just maybe, Quincey has been working on point guard skills. I would love to have a six-six senior point guard.

Minnesota fired Tubby Smith the day after his team lost in the NCAA tournament. First name mentioned ... Shaka Smart. Turns out the current AD at Minnesota is formerly of Virginia Common Wealth. He hired Shaka at VCU. But, hold on to your hats, USC, UCLA and some other higher profile schools just might lure the back stabbing Smart away from Minnesota.