GoZips

Well, well ... the University staff finally did something right concerning women'sbasketball.Jodi Kest the current head coach at Texas-Corpus Christi is to be named the newLady zips head coach.

CAP'N, I recently attended Ashland's Spring football game. Lee Owen's wasn't likely trying to pound on I-AA competition so much as he just loves gadgetplays. After one side had scored the first TD Owens ordered a fake kick and ran a passplay to attempt (they failed) a two point play. This is just pure Lee Owens.Just as Owens loved gadget plays he feared turning his defense loose. Like actual Zipsgames there was no pass rush or blitzing allowed in the Ashland Spring game. Soundfamiliar?Jon Fergusson, heir appearant per coach Jim Meyer, looked out of sync most of hissnaps. Freshman Chris McCarty of Akron East HS easily outshown Fergusson. I mighthave this name slightly wrong as the game was two weeks ago.Ashland is likely to improve on their 9-2 record of last season and probably make thedivision 2 playoffs and national ranking. All in all, pretty good for a team that neverputs on a pass rush let alone a blitz. A huge influx of I-A and I-AA caliber of playersserves any division 2 school well. I look for Ashland to make the jump to I-AA if Owensremains there.One last thing. The Ashland boosters put on a darn fine pregame feed and playerintroduction. Akron could learn from this event. They had a larger crowd than pre JDattendance at Akron. I'd estimate approximately 800 people in attendance.

ZIP WATCHER, thanks for the belly laugh.Apparantly you do not follow basketball closely. Your position selections may well beyour views of how it should be. But, it is simply not going to fall that way. I tried togive as concise a position assessment as I could based on player experience, coachcomments, year in school, etc.Dru Joyce will be the starting point guard. This is fact. His back up is likely to be thetalented, tall, athletic freshman Steve McNees. With Joyce being a senior, a suitablereplacement for him has to be groomed.Junior Nick Dials is light years ahead of a talented Jimmy Conyers who has zero collegelevel playing time. Dials will be graduated before Conyers has that level of experience.Besides, Conyers is looking like the potential back up for the small forward position.Cedric Middleton who brings a ton of dynamite off the bench and can, when called upon,play the point is the experienced and talented shooting guard.Nick Dials is at Akron not because he could not cut it at Suckeye State, But because offormer coach Jim "where the hell am I now" O'Brien. Dials left OSphew prior to thearrival of current coach Thad Matta. In all likelihood, Dials would still be their startingshooting guard. He is an incredibly talented player.Russell? Russell who? I presume you meant to say Darryl Roberts. Roberts is a qualitypoint/combo guard that the Zips can afford to red shirt providing there are no seriousback court injuries.As of right now, Nate Linhart is the starting small forward. The staff will likely groomJimmy Conyers as the back up SF. Conyers already has an excellent guard game.Giving him time at SF makes him a stronger and better player over the long run.John Rybak, himself only a sophomore in the fall, is a big man body capable of playingthe power forward position. He will be taught more of the PF role so his aggression andlarge upper body can be used in an "enforcer" role. This does not mean a nasty player.Rather, a player who stunts opponents who attempt to dominate by intimidation.ZW, you have the 4 and 5 slots picked right. I my opinion, Bardo will be red shirted sothat his talents can be honed. He is not needed this coming year. He will be a muchmore effective player as fifth year senior.Chris McKnight will understudy Romeo Travis. Ten, fifteen minutes a game would allowTravis more rest and time to play the post when needed. Like the Joyce situation, Travisis a senior and a replacement player needs to be in the mix. This is Chris McKnight.IF Jeremiah Wood is as ready as claimed he will provide the bulk of the postplay. Quade Milum showed at Temple that he can play inside effectively. Look for Milum to see more floor time this coming year.The Zips should be the odds on favorite to take the MAC. They have the talent andcoaching to be a late season Top-25 team getting a lot of "ink". Expect it. Enjoy it. Just for the record: I, like many of you, would love to snag a big man. I had my hopespinned on getting a JUCO post player. This is coach Dambrot's team. Until such time as he screws up (23-10 is not screwing up) we need to relax and let him make thedecisions.

In my opinion, there are several differences in what I have learned and whatSKHORBOTLY lists.First, ZIPSFAN81 is correct about Chad Mraz. Coach Dambrot praised Mraz at thebanquet and mentioned that Mraz is NOT returning.Second, if you look carefully, the Zips are loading up on athletes. Any one who sawQuade Milum at the banquet has to realize that Quade has made major strides ingetting an athlete's body. As coach stated, Quade has the potential to be an impact player. From the conditioning he is investing in and the way he handled NBA boundTemple star Mardy Collins this is a genuine possibility.Third, walk ons are a great help to the team. Do not under sell them.My view:PG - Dru Joyce (nothing like senior leadership), Steve McNees (true freshman back up)SG - Nick Dials (sparkplugs the show), Cedric Middleton (best sixth man in the conference)SF - Nate Linhart (solid, aggressive, plays defense), Jimmy Conyers (going to be great)PF - Romeo Travis (all MAC), Chris McKnight (understudy), John Rybak (enforcer)C - Jeremiah Wood (all MAC), Quade Milum (showing he can earn it)redshirts - Darryl Roberts, Mike BardoLastly, replacing Bubba Walthers with Steve McNees is an incredible step up.

The Beacon Journal reports that Donald Garth a All State Honorable Mention 6'2"guard from Bucthel HS will be a preferred walk-on at Akron.Any one see this kid play? He sounds like a nice "get".btw: Rydell Brooks committed to Niagara. Excellent choice for him.Donald Garth

Tom Gaffeny, Zips men's basketball writer for the Akron Beacon Journal reportsthat Jeffery Boals is Shaka Smart's replacement.Boals was an assistant coach at Robert Morris College. Robert Morris, like Akron, isan up and coming Division One program.

Dru Joyce II would be a fine addition to the Akron staff. He is a first class gentle man.His basketball skills have grown exponentially ever since he first volunteered for coachDambrot.I know the man personally. I vouch for him that he is of high caliber. He loves the kidsand the game. Admittedly, he is no Shaka Smart. Still, he is worthy of the consideration.Its unlikely that coach Joyce would join the Akron staff for financial reasons. Coach Joyceworks part time at St.V-St.M as the boy's basketball coach. He is gainfully employed ata job that current pays him substantially more than a low level assistant job would pay atthe university. Financially he would take a huge hit.

The Zips play a home game against North Texas State to full their 12 game 2006schedule. What did that cost in terms of return games and or money?According to the North Texas official web site "The Mean Green will play at Akron thisyear, which will be the first of a four-game deal with the Mid-American Conference. North Texas will host a MAC opponent at Fouts Field in 2007 and 2008 and will returnan away game in 2009."The Zips may or may not be involved with any future NTSU games. One has to expectthat the Zips will play a game AT NTSU in 2007. That is currently the only availableopen date on Akron's posted future schedule.It is possible that Akron will NOT be a part of this future scheduling package.NTSU Web Site

Captain Kangaroo that is a really nice and positive synopsis of the upcoming season.If the Roos can pull off an upset or two early on they plow right through the seasonlike an unholy terror. Let's hope that they play to their potential every time.Again, I like your positive outlook. It sure beats the hang wringing crowd moaning.

Congratulations to Coach Smart. Clemson's gain is Akron's huge loss.

Dear Director Rhoades:I protest the sacking of Kelly Kennedy.This is an incredibly BAD decision. It lacks wisdom. It smacks of petty politics.Kennedy inherited the worst division one program in the country. Not one of the worst;the worst. In four years she has managed to finally get the program turned in the rightdirection. The incoming recruiting class is her testament. Women's basketball hinges on havingtaller post players. For years no Akron coach could get a player over 6' 1" to comeplay at Akron. Now Coach Kennedy finally obtained the services of two decent, not great, decent taller players.They along with the prize recruit out of West Virginia are likely to bolt to a better programYou have single handily set the Lady Zips women's basketball program back into the stone age. You have made a disgusting, evil decision. May your days at Akron bethe shortest tenure ever held by an Akron Athletic Director. Shame on you.

Williams might be your coach of the year, but he ain't mine. I agree with RATFINK.Voting for coach or player of the year prior to the post tournament(s) is like braggingthat your girl friend is pregnant before you got lucky.As the immortal Yogi Berra claimed, "it ain't over 'till its over".

I hate seeing anyone, especially a coach, get fired.The very best to coach Kennedy. She had an awful mountain to climb with the Lady Zips.

Some things to consider ... Dambrot has 150-90 overall record as a college coach witha 42-20 record at Akron, the Zips are 26-1 in their house under Dambrot, they currentlyhave the fourth longest home court winning streak in the nation.Getting some OOC home games is a huge challenge. Right now the only home gameswe have are Nevada and the Bracket Buster.We owe away games to Niagara, Oakland and Youngstown State.If we renew with Cleveland State that would be a home game. I don't think we will.If we renew with Duquesne that would begin with a road game. There will be about eleven out of conference games next year and possibly more ifwe get into an exempt tournament.I speculate that we have some bargaining power to get a series with Temple, but they'llbe thinking they "deserve" a two for one.Look for some announced home-n-home series with CAA and MVC schools.Coach mentioned that there is a strong possibility of a tournament in Florida againstsome high majors (stay tuned). I would hope they are working hard on a home-n-homewith Clemson with them coming here first.

Count me in with ZipAnalyst and the others who see no real problem with expressingone's emotions via tears. As one poster stated, some men cry more readily than others.Jim Calhoun was on the verge of tears after his UCONN Huskies lost in overtime to oneof those undeserving mid-major schools that Jim onionless Nantz and Silly fudgePackerwhined (and nearly cried about). Well, okay, their crying was unwarranted. Personally, I'm just not a crier even though I am a very emotional person. I will notdiss a person for crying when its appropriate. It was appropriate for Adam Morrison.He brings great passion to the game. I like that.GP1 thanks for stating your view. That took a bit of brass.

As of this morning (Tuesday) ONN's program guide only shows the Saturday eveningchampionship game being aired on ONN. It begins with a pre-game show at 8 PM.The game itself starts at 8:30 PM.

Incoming Zips recruit, Chris McKnight leads his Lancaster Gales to the Ohio Division OneFinal four. Chris scored 18 points on 9 of 10 shooting and pulled down 11 rebounds.Trotwood Madison is next for the Gales. Possible title game against Canton McKinleylooms.From the Cleveland Plain DealerCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Chris McKnight hit nine of his 10 shots from the field and Lancaster held off a last-minute charge from Cincinnati Elder for a 52-49 victory Saturday in the Division I regional finals.Lancaster (25-1) will face Trotwood Madison in the big-school semifinals on Friday.After Lancaster's Jordan Lucus made a free throw for a 52-49 lead with 35 seconds left, Elder worked to get a 3-pointer, but an off-balance shot by Kyle Rudolph as time ran out fell short.McKnight scored 18 points and had 13 rebounds for Lancaster, which will be making its third straight state tournament appearance.Rudolph had 15 points and Brian Hamrick 14 for Elder (22-3).

Chris McKnight had sixteen points and eleven rebounds as Lancaster edges Columbuspowerhouse Brookhaven 57-56.Thriller

I received an e-mail reply from the Philly sports writer . As follows ..."Yo, forget about the game. A kid got hurt. That was the only thing that ultimately mattered. Good luck at Creighton. You won the game, so what's the problem?Turns out I didn't write about the game, because of everything else that happened."At first I felt a tad sheepish because of Mardy Collins injury. Then I got to thinking.I wrote this gentleman several hours, in fact, the next day after the game. Collinsinjury had long since been determined as minor.What I detect in Mr. Kern's response is part of what is being written by RASOR and othersthat the NIT is pretty much meaningless booby prize to big name schools use to goingto the "dance". The other part being a certain arrogance that comes from licking one'swounds inflicted by a lesser. Not unlike a bully getting his butt kicked by the scrawnykid he had singled out as today's victim.

"I feel like absolutely crying," a student said as he walked out of the place.Taken from the Philadelphia Inquirer.Crying about what?That the Temple Owls got out physicalled?That they lost to a better team?That John "the Mugger" Chaney is finished?That A-10 and Temple in particular is a pretty ordinary conference and team?That Mardy "the crasher" Collins ran into a wall of muscle?That less than one thousand of the Owl faithful showed up for a post season game?That "big time" basketball is over rated?That neither Silly fudge Packer or the Temple Owls have the onions to show up in Akron?That losing hurts?That the damned Zips were dressed in the same colors St. Joe's wore last year?Or, was the fan just a sore loser big baby?

I had read the Mike Kern article a couple of hours ago. So, I wrote him a short note ...."Dear Mike, Just read your piece on the game. I would like to point out as a Zips fan that the referees spent most of the evening swallowingtheir whistles. It is a pathetic shame that an entire game is played where Temple fouls atwill and your singular comment is about Temple fans crying for a foul to be called on Akron. The truth is, and you know this is the truth if you were at the game, Mardy Collins committedthe foul. Its called "charging." Perhaps its time to write an article on Temple fans lack of knowledge about basketball. Thenagain, a thousand fans for John Chaney's last ever college game as the head coach? Whatthe heck is going on in Philadelphia? Write about that, too. The Zips would have sold that game out. Not to mention, that realistically, Akron was abonafide four seed and had no business even being in Philadelphia. College basketball isa mess. That game was no upset. If Temple has visions of competing in the MAC be it football or basketball they best improvetheir skills before they come knocking. For the past year MAC fans have endured thesenseless taunts of Owl fans. Last night just confirmed what MAC fans knew. That inthe MAC, Temple would be a pretty ordinary middle of the pack program in basketball and dead last in football."

Temple's leading scorer, Mardy Collins, is being taken off the court on a back board bythe para-medics.Collins injured himself when he drove to the basket into four Zips. The Zips need to MAKE the free throws they will be shooting IF they manage tosuccessfully inbound the ball. The Zips will be shooting two shots if they get to the line.Just one makes it a two possession game.Oh, Lord, this could be a HUGE victory for Akron.

Butler 53Miami 52That's a final.

Butler 53Miami 52That's a final.

At an 11:30 AM press conference carried live on ESPN2 John Chaney retired as theTemple head coach. This decision becomes effective at the end of the season.As if the taller, more athletic Owls needed and extra kick to pound on the Zips.Actually, its a great ploy to motivate the Owls through the NIT tournament.Let's end John "the Thugger" Chaney's season Tuesday evening there by providinga lot of heart felt relief for the basketball community.Go Zips