GoZips

Lancaster Gales playd a sloppy game beating Grove City. Chris McKnight gets 14.Nice Action PhotoAs you can tell by the photo, McKnight is a clone of Romeo that can sky.

UPDATE ... I was in a hurry to get to Mass on time. I knew Xavier had an NCAA tourneyautomagic bid locked up. What I was excited about is the possibility of playing a homegame as part of the "play in" to the field of 32.The Zips actually rate a "play in" bye. But, would likely be sent to a top seed in the first round. Playing a game at home, even a "play in" game is huge. We would have an excellent chance of playing at least two post season games. This is all aboutbuilding for the future.Who we play doesn't matter. Getting games does.

Found this link on the MAC bbs.If its accurate you are going to love what's coming.2006 NIT Bracket

Keith Dambrot IS the right coach for Akron right now and for the foreseeable future.Any comments contrary to the above statement are the words of a person who knowslittle or nothing about basketball at any level.Coach Dambrot has given the Zips heart. An essential component of winning. Whetheryou love or hate Mike Krzyzewski of Duke he is the embodiment of Duke. When you hearthe name "Duke" you automatically think of Coach K.Coach Keith Dambrot brings to Akron what Mike Krzyzewski brought to Duke. Duke did notbecome an instant success and national power in the first two years under Coach K.Why do you expect that to happen at Akron?Here is what Coach Dambrot has brought to Akron.First, he can recognize talent and potential better than most college coaches. Can hesign big name high school recruits? Can you? It took Mark Few eight years to buildGonzaga into a recognized national powerhouse. It is going to take Coach Dambrota few years to build the Akron program to a level that kicks ass from pillar to post.We have seen first hand how so called marginal talent (kids no other school offered)being named to the All Conference team. These were the kids that the Zips couldrecruit three and four years ago. They are great kids. They are excelling beyondexpectations.At the Cant Skate game in Cant an adult Cant fan remarked to me that kids want toplay for Coach Dambrot. They want to play for him. Get that?I'm not going to bother to rehash the season. It has been an excellent season. It hasmet every one of our expectations. In truth, it exceeded our expectations. That iswhy some are so bitter now. Simply because they dare to dream of going even farther.Coach Dambrot and his staff are going to take the Zips so much farther that your headswill spin. You will be pinching yourselves to make sure its not a dream.Take a good look at the three incoming freshmen. Two of them are most likely to beselected as first team all state in Division One. Darryl Roberts a point guard out ofToledo St. Francis DeSales is CO-PLAYER of the Year for the Northwest region of Ohio.Do you comprehend this? The best player in the University of Toledo's home town isgoing to play his college ball at their rival. Mike Bardo of Cincinnati Oak Hills is a quality center. This is a 6'9" MAN ... not a boy, a MAN. Let the coaches refine him.He is not a project. He is a player you will enjoy. Chris McKnight of Lancaster HS nearColumbus just may be the BEST HS player in Ohio. Forget the two great kids the Suckeyes got. This kid is better. Even Thad Matta admits McKnight is for real.McKnight has been likened to a clone of Romeo Travis with one caveat. As a highschool senior he is playing as well as Travis did as a sophomore in college.Add in Jimmy Conyers who brings a 6'4" frame, shooting skills, athleticism, savvy,versatility and a bundle of other attributes. Jeremiah Wood would have made the Zips the best team in the MAC this season. Noquestion about it. However, Wood sat. He still has two years eligibility. He is a studplayer. You real Zips fans know this. Wood will be back.Coach Dambrot has assembled the best staff I have ever seen at Akron. Since I ama damned sight older than most all of you I know none of you can refute that claim.Shaka Smart is a head coach in waiting. In my opinion, Coach Smart will one day benationally recognized as one of the premier coaches in college basketball. Time willprove me correct. The other coaches are also quite talented and will continue toimprove. I am pleased with all of them.Go ahead and whine and snivel. You sound like Cant Skate weasels.Me, I'm backing Coach Dambrot, the AD and the Prez with my time, my skills and mywallet.

Darryl Roberts HS career over. His Toledo St. Francis DeSales team bows out with a tournament loss to cross town rival St. John's.From the Toledo Blade:"At the outset, it looked like St. Francis (18-3) would avenge its 44-42 loss to theTitans in the City playoffs 16 nights earlier.Behind senior City League and district co-player of the year Darryl Roberts, who hit three3-pointers en route to scoring 12 of his team-high 20 points in the first quarter, the Knightsjumped to a 20-7 lead after eight minutes.St. Francis still led 26-13 after Roberts' 10-footer found the net 4:54 before halftime."St. John's took the game over. St. Francis was, like the HS of Akron's other two recruits,one of sixty-four Division One teams in the state finals. Mike Bardo's Cincinnati OakHills and Chris McKniht's Lancaster teams have advanced to the select thirty-two.

In answer to your questions and a couple observations of my own, GP1.1. Yesterday's win DID give the Zips the momentum boost that they sorely needed.The past few games were the most difficult of the season. All three losses were on theroad against quality opponents. It is not like they folded against the Little Sisters OfThe Poor (albeit, they are having a great year, just ask Duke).Also, you made a great observation that the kids need to focus and play 40 minutes ofbasketball each game. This seems to be the biggest hold over from the Hipsher era.That the Zips play well in spurts and rarely take command of a game wire to wire.2. Going directly to the "Q" is huge. That extra "play in" game pretty much dooms anyof those eight teams from having the legs to play well enough to beat more restedteams in the championship game. It will be tough enough to win three in three days.3. This is a great question. Miami coach Charlie Coles is a fox in the craftiest sense.This man is the best tournament time coach in the conference. Miami has the bestadvantage of any team facing Cant Skate. That being that beating a team three timesin a given season is nearly an impossible task. Coaches know this and dread facing anopponent they have twice beaten. I predict that Miami, not Cant Skate, will be the teamfrom the top bracket in the Championship game.4. There is a lot of evidence that KD has some sort of personal vendetta against DP.Darned if I know the reason why. Prediction, based on the fact that coaches love to win,KD will start DP in all remaining games. DP will then step up like a man and deliver.5. I am torn on this question. Who will step up? You make an excellent case for Cedwhom I greatly admire. Still, the real, over the long haul this season, guy who hasconsistently delivered is Rob Preston. Most people like to call the MAC a guard's league. I have long disagreed with this idea.To me, teams that win do it with their big men. Thus, I am going to go with RomeoTravis as the man who carries the Zip's into the NCAAs.Finally, After getting four NIT bids last year and doing pretty well with them, I would loveto see the MAC get multiple NIT bids this year. I am hopeful of at least two NIT bids.Knowing that several teams have technically earned an NIT bid the pall of the NCAAtake over of the NIT and the money driven NCAA/ESPN monopoly spells doom. The MAC will only get two NIT bids. Cant gets one as regular season champs. The loserof the Akron vs. Miami championship game gets the other one.

Here is a fresh post by one MSOPHER (who pretends to be a Zips fan). This post is in the thread "MAC West Champions"."Assuming we beat BG, we'll see you guys in Cleveland. I'll still don't think this team will put it all together for the tournament, but maybe this is they year that Joplin finally wins a MAC crown. _________________I consider Akron fans to be more idiotic than Huskies fans or even Marshall fans."

Outstanding job by the Rowdies to hold their turf.The slick new old gold Fear the Roo tee shirts prevented any unwanted intrusion to theend zones. Swapping wrist bands and ID check in didn't hurt either.Some one commented that they were pleased by the very sportsman like way the cheerswere done by both schools. Bloody nonsense.Every time the Cant Skaters began their spew the Rowdies overwhelmed them.AK-Rowdies you did us proud.Hey, Cant Skaters, "OU sux!" made your house seem like a toilet last Tuesday.Don't try it in our house.Zips 75Cant and the officials 67

There was an extremely satisfying moment for me personally this afternoon.I am not accustom to having Cant Skate fans sitting right next to my long held seasonticket seating. But, there they were. What a smug and pompous dude for the first twothirds of the game. He loved giving me the fishy "we got you by the a$$" stares.In the final seconds he and his lady companion slithered away quietly without comment.I despise lousy officiating. We had plenty of it today.Akron out played an excellent team. That is the most satisfying part.Zips 75Cant and the officials 67

Like the rest of you posters I have long puzzled over the extended doghouse stay thatDarryl Peterson has endured. It speaks well of his strength of character to responds tothe extended stay behind the wood shed.Darryl acquitted himself magnificently today.May Darryl see many more minutes of playing time this season.Zips 75Cant and the officials 67

HIP HOP I have to strongly disagree. Phil Bova seems to take pleasure in "homering"Akron. I know this man superficially and he makes my skin crawl.The other two officials were inconsistent and bloody awful. A fairly called game andCant loses by close to twenty. It was Akron's house and day. The terrible officiatingkept Cant in the game. It was ugly.As one poster suggested, the league office needs to review this game AND sanctionall three of the referees. I pray that we see not one of these cheaters in Cleveland.On national television they are the shame of the MAC.Frankly, Cant Skate is a very, very good basketball team. Honestly, they are a betteroverall team than Akron is. Both are excellent teams and both deserve to have theirseasons extended into the post season.Zips 75Cant and the officials 67

Hey Maroon, get a real life.I just saw a whole gaggle of big, strong, well conditioned Zips bling bling their MAC championship rings at the JAR at half time.They earned those rings.They ARE the MAC champs.They ARE on top of the world.A champion is always a champion. Its not about last year or any other year, its onlyabout THIS year.Zips 75Cant and the officials 67

No mention of "wait until next year" because such a thought was not entertained. Mypost was intended to give Zips fans a view of what is coming. The strengthening ofunder manned areas and a look at far more firepower. No comparison to Cant Skateor any other school was implied or intended. How sad that the TROLL thinks every oneis like him. Here then IS a little look into Cant Skate's future in men's basketball. Always remembering of course that Cant does not have a football team.Now that the NCAA "APR" has been released I think we can know how Christian "reloaded." Can't apparently (i.e., Christian) ran off several players thus freeing up several scholarships.This allowed him to recruit better quality kids simply because the original kids were recruitedback before Can't had a small string (two or three) of twenty win seasons. While running scholarship players off might harm one's reputation it at least allowed Christianto improve the stock. Tip: this is a good argument about how "good a guy" he is. Mostcoaches do not wholesale run off kids. Its frowned upon and can lead to an NCAA investigation. The implementation of the APR put a dagger into Can't's hide. I fully expect for Jim Christian to find a new place of employment before next season. If heremains at Can't after this season it is only because no other school (of which he will applyto many) made him an offer. He may have made himself a pariah.

Another Akron recruit, Darryl Roberts, was named to the TOLEDO BLADE all cityteam. Darryl was the leading HS scorer in the Toldeo area as a junior. As a senior hisstats relect a more well rounded player. Still, Darryl managed to average more thaneighteen points per game as a senior. He is a stud guard.Darryl Roberts All City

Chris McKnight became Lancaster, Ohio HS all time scoring leader during a win over Northland HS in the Sectional Finals.McNight Article

A TROLL posting on our board got me to thinking. Just what kind of a coach red shirts aseven foot tall player? Only reasons I can surmise are, one, he has two seven footers inhis current rotation; two, the seven footer is a medical red shirt; three, the seven footer is a project. Care to guess which one fits Cant Skate?Me thinks the said coach plans to be long gone before next season begins.Sizing up the Zips.Mike Bardo the incoming freshman is going to give the Zips something they have lacked for a long, long time. Bardo is a true back to the basket post player. He will see playingtime as a true freshman.With Bardo in the post J Wood and Travis can play the power forward position or the wingin a number of combinations. The front line strength is going to be far superior to anythe Zips has had in recent years. Incoming Chris McKnight at 6'6" has been likened to a Romeo Travis clone. Expect himto understudy Travis and be productive right away.Nate Linhart has a solid grip on the wing. He will only get better. While McKnight and Travis can play the wing the true understudy to Linhart needs to be John Rybak. Rybakwill need to get beyond the freshman quality play and step up if he wants floor time.Zips fans will enjoy the talented, athletic play of 6'5" Jimmy Conyers. Conyers has thetools to play point, swing and shooting guard. Here is a player that has every chanceto be the MAC POY. A lot of carping about KD's recruiting will disappear when you seethis kid play. Bank on it.Young and undersized Darryl Roberts may see plenty of time as a back up guard. Thecurrent trio of guards of Middleton, Dials and Joyce give the Zips plenty of talent andbackcourt experience. Joyce needs to take command and be a senior leader of thisteam.Quade Milum, Chad Mraz, Nick Goddard, fan favorite Zach Sowers and Jeremy Sallee arerole players who contribute far more than most fans realize. Their everyday work ethicin practice and their collective heart help lift this team. While they will not see muchfloor time barring injuries they still contribute a lot. Support them.All that said, the Zips still need another BIG man with some space filling capacity andmore help at the guard. Depth at guard cannot be over emphasized.Trust coach Dambrot and his staff to recognize and fill the team needs.GO ZIPS ... !!!

Have to toss in my comments on this subject.I was traveling to Rhode Island for Thanksgiving that morning. The weather was so badthat my inbound flight coming from DC was forced to land at Pittsburgh. I had to switchairlines in order to complete my trip.The visibility at Cleveland Hopkins were ZERO. Planes could depart, but nothing waslanding. The wind and blowing snow was incredible. I figured that the game would bepostponed.My hat is tipped to those who braved the elements and went to the game. The luckycouple who got my season tickets as a gift reported later that they stayed for the entiregame. They claimed they had a ball.Hard to believe that any one traveling in NE Ohio that morning did anything other thanwhite knuckle driving in shear terror. I know my trip up I-71 to Hopkins was diceydespite that almost no one was on the road. Then again, if you were driving with thewind to your back it well may have looked clear.

I like the idea of giving CED a well earned start. His knee might still be bothering him.Still, he could start as a third guard. The wing position has had any number of peopleas the starter over the course of the season. Nate Linhart is not going to take offense.Starting CED as a third guard in no way slights either Joyce or Dials.I agree with several others comments that CED seems to play extra well against hisolder brother.

I plan to be there. In <gag> green.GO ZIPS ... !!!

OZONER is correct. The Cant vs. Ophew game IS Tuesday night. My Zips media guidelists the game for Wednesday. Since the game is now going to be shown on Fox SportsTV it was probably moved to Tuesday.That's cool. AK-Rowdies haven't anything important to do on Tuesday. Its not datenight. Its not five cent beer night. And I-76 to Cant wont be iced over. Go to Cantand cheer your least favorite team in green on to a victory over the dastardly Flushies.Want to own Cant? Owning their student section in their gym (that's definitely NOT anarena) is priceless.It would be nice to not have to listen to Cant weasels whine about being regular seasonchamps. Hopefully they wont be around at the finish of the MAC tournament.

I must have been sleeping. When did the Suckeyes join the MAC?

Wednesday night looms large in the MAC. We, the Zips fans have a great opportunityto help our team. Specifically, we need a repeat of the great student cheering sectiontake over up at Cant State.Ohio U is playing at Cant on Wednesday. They need all the help they can muster tobeat the Flushes. Beating the Flushers gives the Zips the opportunity to regain first.I am suggesting that the AK-Rowdies scare up something green. Yeah I know its an uglycolor worn by the ugliest teams (Marshall, Cleveland State, O phew), but for once, stop bythe VDO (Village Discount Outlet), Goodwill, Salvation Army, or borrow from a friend andhead to Cant.We need Ohio to knock off Cant if the Zips are to win the MAC regular season out right.There is no shame in helping the enemy of our enemy to victory. In fact, its one moreway to stick it to the (sic) mighty Golden Flush.

Heard at Panini's during the debacle we would all like to forget that Nevada was NOTcoming to the JAR. Supposedly this came from a source inside the university. Well,this is bullship.Nevada will play the Zips on Friday, December 22, 2006 in the JAR.Akron hosts a Bracket Buster game next February. There will be at least one moreyear of the Bracket Buster.

What I wonder about this Ray Williams deal is ... who is paying for his education?Is this convicted felon on a football scholarship? Or, is he on state aid there bygiving Toledo a "free" player funded by us the Ohio taxpayer? He sure as hellis not going to college on his own nickel.Enquiring minds want to know. <pun intended>

Porter Completes Soccer Staff With Hiring Of Brett Teach. Teach comes to Akron after sixseasons as head coach at Auburn Univeristy at Montgomery. New Soccer Assistant CoachThis guy's resume is that of a champion. I firmly believe that Caleb Porter could field aFinal Four team in 2006 even if every current Zip player bolted to Louisville to followburnt out Ken Lolla. As much as I like and respect Lolla I have to think that Ken did UA a great favor by bailing.