Captain Kangaroo

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Because this program is not very good right now. We need to take at least one or 2 chances a year on a kid that we normally have no chance of getting. This kid is at a BCS school if his grade were good.Am I the only one having flushbacks to a couple years ago. Seriously, it is like de ja vu all over again around here.Three comments -1.) Amato had just as many "non-qualifiers" on his roster as the Zips. While Akron had a couple kids who were Prop 48 and sat out year #1 (like Andre Jones), Amato had the same kids who went through a prep school due to grades, then enrolled at NC State. Same kid. Different path. Amato is a hypocrite.2.) There is a big difference between taking a flier on two or three "BCS-level, grade-questionable" kids per class, and basing 1/2 or 2/3rd's of your recruiting class on such kids. You can't cry about every kid that doesn't have a 3.0 GPA out of a 23 kid recruiting class.3.) UA's academic support for athletes has improved by leaps and bounds since the JD-era. Boarderline kids have a lot better chance of being successful in the classroom today than they would have in 2006.If a 2-time Mr. Football, Stark County Player of the Decade wants to attend UA, you take him. How would you feel if he'd have selected K.e.n.t. over UA?

In the history of Zips athletics, no "Mr. Football/Mr. Basketball/"Super-Duper All-Star" has ever made a meaningful contribution. In fact, all have been HUGE busts, often barely seeing the playing field or court.Marcus Sanders (#5 all time Ohio HS rusher and Minnesota transfer), Christian Morgan ("stole him" from Ohio State), Nate Robinson (#1 HS DL in the entire nation), Ryan Bain (Top 50 HS player), John Carson (Top 50 HS player), Emmanuel Smith (Ohio Mr. Basketball), Derrick Tarver (leading JUCO scorer in the nation), DeVoe Torrence (highly regarded OSU recruit - Note: His story end still unwritten)etc etc etc. I hope Howard bucks the trend and has a record-setting career. But odds are the best kid in the 2010 recruiting class will be someone who's accolade-deficient.

Fear the Ru-per?

Who was defending Kool last night?I think the idea was "let Kool shoot, don't let anyone else shoot, see what happens".Does it scare anyone that both Pierce and Kool torched the Zips for 30+? That was almost unthinkable two weeks ago?

Here's some reading material for you

Take those videos with a grain of salt. Best video I have ever watched of a recruit coming to Akron was this guy.That Sean Hakes video was a sweet one too.

Boise State should send their scrubs to play Toledo and save their 1st teamers for Va Tech. They could probably play both on the same day? It would be like when King Kong Bundy single-handedly took on a tag team duo.Interesting note - Captain Kangaroo was King Kong Bundy for a 1985 Halloween party on Annadale Avenue. If I find a photo, I am not too proud to post it.

I follow the ladies team in the newspaper, but that's about it. No knock on the program...that's just the way it isKest has done an amazing job turning around a program that was among the absolute dregs of D-1 women's hoops. If it continues, it could be one of the all-time greatest program turnarounds in college basketball history. It seemed like 5 years ago, every article in the paper mentioned "The Lady Zips were led by Sarah Tokodi..." Then it went to "The Lady Zips were led by Kara Murphy..." Now it seems a different girl's name is highlighted every game. They seem to have developed a very good team.If they make the MAC Tourney finals - I'll attend.And to address G-Mann's comments - I will go on the record as saying I was all for Kelly Kennedy-Kebe's dismissal, as well as the party posse that Kest cleaned out early-on.

As the NCAA continues to phase-out the likelihood of at-large NCAA tourney bids for midmajors, does the "Bracketbuster" name need to be changed? "NIT Buster?""Non-BCS Bitch Slap Prelims?""February False-hope Extravaganza?"Five years ago it was truly an NCAA Bracketbuster in name and in actuality. It was a good way of separating weak conference pretenders with gaudy records from from "real" mid-majors who could run with the Big Dogs. It isn't any longer.I love the Bracketbuster because it has given us 4 games with Nevada and VCU. If not for the Bracketbuster, we'd have played lesser opponents. That is a fact. And we wouldn't be on TV. The Bracketbuster is great for the Zips program, and for Zips fans. But it ain't helping us get into the NCAA tourney.My soap box comment of the day - Look for the local print, radio and blog media to pick up on this topic...and not give ZipsNation credit for the angle. I get tired of that. ZN always provides story links to various traditional media sites. It is almost unheard of that we get any credit when the scenario is reversed.

Signing Day List Filling Up

Sconiers Article - Local Paper

Hey... a wire-to-wire win against a quality opponent, and no leg crap! Hell...the women were down 9 in the 2nd half and pulled out a win?! Is the the dawning of a new era?Seriously - congrats to both men's and women's teams. A great Wednesday night.

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Guess that means he'll never see the court in the 2nd half?

It is interesting to me the different philosophies of the Brookhart and Ianello staffs regarding retention of the previous coach's recruits.When Brookhart arrived, very few kids committed to Owens were given a red carpet to stay. He basically tried to create his "own" class from contacts he'd made while at Pitt. Guys like Gary Frisbee were pretty much shown the door.Ianello seems to be hell-bent on keeping most of the kids on JD's recruiting radar? It would seem that Ianello's approach is better - he needs to get a full class, and that's tough to do on short-notice, while you're moving your family and building a staff, while also recruiting with signing day roughly 2 months away (when he was hired). I think it also speaks well for the grad assistants who kept in contact with the incumbent recruits.Maybe it speaks well for the quality of recruits JD had lined up for 2010? Time will tell.To be fair, when JD was hired there weren't nearly as many commitments. And Owens was recruiting with no stadium or field house to show off....so the recruit caliber had to be lower.Just interesting...two totally different approaches to the early part of Year #1.

I don't think Dambrot likes playing his friends. He's good buds with the Wright State coach, and mentioned he would not play them during the regular season for that reason.

It's actually been around for some time now but does not get the run that some of their spots do. Now that the Vikes are done it will probably go back to the vault.As long as you dropped by, whats the status of Devo and Kinney vs. NIU ??? Need to know for recreational purposes of course.I had wondered where the Vikings Curse began. Now I understand Favre's late-game interception (channeling Chris Jacquemain...channeling Chris Jacquemain...), and Peterson's fumbles.

Here's an alternate secretary for you (cover your eyes when scrolling past Svetlana) -"So you have a 1:45pm appointment with Mr. Ianello? Isn't that special?"

Just curious - In the last 5 years, how many prep school kids has Ohio State accepted? I'll guess zero, but I don't follow OSU closely.

I agree. I don't see the Barney connection at all.

80th Man in Camp

Svetlana AlexcovaI guess all that stuff about Ianello being able to recruit is true?

It's an interesting question. Hipsher ran the "Motion Offense," Phil Jackson runs the "Triangle." I think in the 2nd half of too many games, the Zips run the "Prevent Offense."

Recruiting updates from me will be sparse. There's a whole new group of coaches...and I have no way to meet them until signing day. Or maybe the summer golf outing.Sucks. This used to be my favorite time of year.A 3 star running back that is committed to NIU visited Akron this weekend and could very well switch his commitment to the Zips. His last name is Bowers.Does it bother any one else that a Toledo fan keeps up better with our potential recruits than we can now? If you want to know what he knows, simply pay for a scout.com subscription.I also believe rocketfootball follows MAC recruiting as a job, not a hobby. Correct me if I am wrong. He also obviously follows Toledo football very closely, and has a good knowledge of the players of which UA and Toledo have a mutual interest.