Captain Kangaroo

Is there such a thing as a Twitter Tantrum?

What they're saying about the Groce hire

We have two common streets? In the interest of full disclosure, in chronological order: Bulger 132 Annadale 419 Brown (now demolished) ? Sumner (rent was $50/mo for the summer, utilities included) 526 Gage

I was from Gage Street. 526 Gage Street, to be specific. But I couldn't play worth a damn.

Of the Zips all-time great players, how many were from Akron? Some...sure. But many were from elsewhere. You limit yourself if you focus on "locking-down" the Akron area. If we have a great coach and a great program, the better local kids will organically gravitate towards UA. Show them a little recruiting "love," and they're a Zip. If the Zips want to compete as a high mid-major, they still need to recruit regionally/nationally.

Hunter Yurachek: "So what kind of player is Antino Jackson? Can he help us?" Keith Dambrot: "Good little guard. Senior. He's not a world-beater, but he'll be good for 20 minutes per night for you. I'd recommend you take him." And the Tweet soon followed.... Hope Noah's knee is solid, cuz he's gonna play 40 minutes every night next season.

Ewing is a solid choice for Georgetown. He's a Hall of Fame NBA player, and he's been an NBA assistant for some time. His hire keeps the John Thompson loyalists...many of whom are former NBA players with deep pockets...happy. He might actually do a good job...who knows? FYI - If we hired Loyer, we'd be getting someone with more NBA HC experience than Patrick Ewing.

I would say the primary things working against Rick McFadden are: 1.) He's never been a head coach at any level. If you recall - Coleman Crawford was an assistant to Bob Huggins. That staff continuance didn't help the Zips. In fact, it was really really bad. 2.) This is THE hire for Larry Williams. It's his chance to make a splash/impact hire that takes him to the next AD level. If I'm Larry Williams, do I want to turn my nationally recognized top mid-major program over to a completely untested/unproven assistant? 3.) I haven't seen any comment from Rick McFadden that he wants the job. He's out-of-site-out-of-mind. He's already listed as a Duquesne assistant. If he wants the job, he needs to pick up the phone and call the PD and Beacon...get on the local talk shows...he needs to campaign for it. 4.) Rick is a Youngstown kid. He knows Jim Tressel from Tressel's days at OSU and Akron. He served on the same Akron staff as former YSU HC Dan Peters. Yet he wasn't really even considered for that lowly job. Yeah, YSU's preference isn't the best barometer for determining a D1 basketball Coach's merit...but the fact that he is a local kid with such close ties to Tressel, yet was never a serious candidate, is a concern. 5.) Even if McFadden is "The Second Coming of Keith Dambrot," is he the best available Head Coach candidate in the nation? 6.) Dambrot's last couple recruiting classes have been disappointments. If Big Dog blew an ACL, we'd have been at the bottom of the MAC. In the past 2 seasons we've essentially seen a mix of transfers, and projects. I would disagree. But if it is indeed not a good job, it's because there have been too many recent BJ Gladden's and Peter Agba's. We need some pillars to allow projects like Olijapoke to grow, and we haven't seen any pillars recruited for a couple seasons. What role does McFadden play in that dry spell? 7.) In this era of athletes Tweeting every thought that pops into their head...I haven't seen one existing Zips player stumping for Rick McFadden? I recall when Lee Owens left (football), the players universally clamored for Paul Winters to get the job. Typically when a HC departs, if there's a beloved assistant, the players let you know it. 8.) Dambrot had his prejudices against the MAC. A lot of fans became tired of hearing about the JAR facilities...the "1-bid league" complaints. Maybe Dambrot is right. Maybe it is impossible to win at a level beyond what he accomplished. But maybe he's wrong? Maybe there is a better coach out there who can recruit a little better...assemble a little better staff...strategize a little better...take us to another level? Obviously not a "Gonzaga of the East" level...I think we all realize we don't have the $$$ to play in that game. But we can be an "MTSU". I would say the primary things working FOR Rick McFadden are: 1.) He dropped a football scholarship at OSU to play basketball for the Zips. That alone should make him a UA folk hero. 2.) He's been around the Program for over a decade, and I've never heard a bad word spoken about his character. He's a solid guy. 3.) He brings continuity to a program that's been very successful at the MAC level. He knows the bus trips, the hotels, the opposing coaches and players...he basically just needs to move into KD's bigger vacant office and he's ready to go. There's a lot of value in continuity. 4.) If successful, he'd likely be here for 10 years. He's obviously not a job-hopper. 5.) I'd like to be a fly-on-the-wall in his interview, so I'd know what he states he'd do differently than Coach Dambrot. If he says "Hey Larry...I'm going to give you exactly what you've had for the past 12 years," I probably wouldn't hire him. If he gave a convincing, fresh, passionate plan for the next 10 years I'd be intrigued. I see Rick McFadden as a viable candidate to interview. But do I really think he's the best available mid-major HC candidate in the nation? Probably not. If becoming a HC is his goal, he needs to break free from Dambrot and coach at Tiffin...Wittenberg...Wooster...Hiram...somewhere and cut his teeth at the HC level before taking-on a nationally-respected mid-major program like Akron. Build a staff. Grow something. Then, interview at UA. But that's just one man's opinion.

Klaus Zollner just PM'd you.

"Best returning big man-Hughes"?! i remember those 4 minutes and 12 seconds he played in 2017. He was freaking awesome. How will we survive without him?

I think 2011 was the last time Bill Livingston was relevant, so it makes sense.

Forget hitting up Lebron for donations... build us an arena, KD!

It was a 2-point game with 6 seconds remaining. Cal-B made 2 free-throws to ice it. Had they missed one, or both, UTA had a legit chance to tie, or win. They easily got a 3-point shot off before the buzzer that rimmed-out. That's a close game. You missed out.

Agreed. Hipsher walked into a situation every bit as bad as Bowden, post-Ianello. Hipsher's first Zips team had ONE returning player - Jarvis Catron. The rest of the roster, 13 kids, were true Freshman?! Jimmal Ball was one of the top 3 athletes ever to hoop for the Zips. Jamie Bosley was one of the top pure scorers in Zips history. He had some talent. He also coached in an era when MAC hoops was at a higher level than it is today. That said, his anger issues wore his teams down. And his recruiting talent level eroded...so he ran his course, and was fired. Hipsher took us from the bowels of hell to mediocrity, with some fun moments in-between. Time will soon tell if that completely mirrors Bowden's tenure.

I saw that too...commits to the Zips...signs with Rice...plays for Villanova...then transfers to Oregon. Advice to his wife.... get a pre-nup.

If Woodson can only play like he did against Buffalo, his career is over. If he can still sling it like he did against Marshall, the job is his. I'm just glad to have multiple options at the QB position if the starter goes down, instead of AJ Coney trying to QB us to the Bahamas Bowl.

What if it's held in November?

Not quite a "whoop": Actual score 80 - 76 It was a fun basketball game to watch. UTA played from behind all night, but never gave up. Great crowd support. The Zips should pursue a home-home with UTA.

Everyone wants to blame the previous guy for their problems. "The guy before me left me with these crappy facilities, so I can't win." "The guy before me built too nice a facility, so we can't fill it." Larry Williams was hired for one reason - to put butts in InfoCision's seats. He's had time to get the lay-of-the-land. 2017 is a pivotal year. It would be fun to see Zips football have a solid season, draw some crowds, and shut some people up. Tuesday November football is a new wild card that isn't Williams' fault. But the first 4 2017 games need to see bigger crowds, and if we are competing for a Championship in November, the Tuesday crowds would be "adequate." Albeit not as inebriated as a weekend crowd.

I don't get why InfoCision itself gets so much grief. If it were filled to 20k on average, which should be easily possible, it would generate sufficient revenue to pay the bills. Info Cision is a resource. Figure out a way to fill it, instead of grousing about it.

I think one 400 lb player is considered a surplus.

Jebidiah Corneilius Wistercill?

There was only 1 George Marshall. I don't know how it relates to Zips basketball, but I can't argue the point.

Short Akron East History (pre 2016 season) Hayes built the program from dirt in 2012, entering after an 0 - 10 season, and inheriting 17 players. I think their success is pretty amazing.