Captain Kangaroo

It is difficult to tell the crowd size for this game. Like a lot of you, I see the lack of promotion and grow concerned. Although I could go deeper into that one, that's not why I posted.Regardless of the crowd size friday, the JAR has to rock like a Zips/K.e.n.t game. The hair on the back of all the Zips player's necks has to be on-end. This can be done with 3,000 people, or it can be done with 5,500. Those of us showing up need to walk that fine line between being absolutely obnoxious and overly exuberant.I have followed Zips basketball for over 20 years. This is the biggest game at the JAR since the 1986 Middle Tennessee OVC championship game. Yes, Xavier came into here 12 years ago and was also ranked. Thanks to 44 points by Jimal Ball, we gave them a great run. However, we had no business being in that game. No reason to expect to win.We have every reason to expect to win this game. This is probably the best Zips team we've fielded in 20 years. But the JAR has to rock tomorrow for us to have a chance. And...if we win the game...I will be profoundly disappointed if the students don't rush the floor. Screw the announcer telling you otherwise...get your ass out on the floor and dance. I'm in for $50.00 towards anyone's disorderly conduct citation. Proof of AK-Rowdy membership and arrest paperwork are required.

While Miami FL has defeated Georgia Tech this season, they also have losses to Buffalo and Cleveland State to go along with their latest "mid-minor" defeat - Binghamton.If I'm Binghamton, I'm pretty happy. But Miami FL isn't very good.

Click for Some Old Re-hash, and also Some Interesting Quotes

Now if only I can get Mrs. Kangaroo to agree!

Nevada Message BoardInfo on Recent Nevada Games

Note:Hot dogs were regular price. Couldn't afford to take the $1.75 per dog loss, I guess? Must be saving "Dollar Dogs" for the Super Duper Mondo Retro Night Extravaganza?Also - The popcorn was $1.00. It was super-salted. And it was in a box 1/3rd the size of the usual popcorn. That cracked me up. They also ran out of pizza during halftime when the lines were about 15-deep.

I heard he is an animal. Is he eligible? We won't know until after next session.

Your chances of getting such a win increase dramatically if you play these teams more frequently. KD talks about wanting to be the next Creighton...Gonzaga...Butler, etc. You don't get there by playing the schedule we have this season.Trust me...I realize the beatdowns we've administered to the D-III creampuffs and D-1 dregs has enabled guys like McKnight, Conyers, etc. to get some valuable PT prior to the MAC season. But our pre-MAC schedule is what it is...too heavy on the cream puffs.

Pace was terrible this season. Whether it was due to the time off...residuals from the bad wheel...loss of heart...I have no clue. But he was terrible.

I am planning on partying a bit before the Nevada game. I want to go to a bar with a bunch of other Zips fans and raise the roof for a couple hours. Which bar wants the services of the ZipsNation? Half the bar yells, "ZI"....the other half responds "PS"!!! Hundreds of us Zippers getting primed to rock the JAR!!! Who wants my money????????!!!!!!!Hey, if the weather's warm, I might even set up a pre-game tailgate behind the Nat!

Adding Baker and Pettite-Frerre (sp?) should also give us a big boost at LB.

To be fair, Niagara was a payback game for a bracketbuster 2 years ago. That year Niagara was an NCAA tourney team. The game at the JAR that year was a good one. It sucks that Niagara has stipped so much in the past two years, but that isn't our scheduler's fault.Conversely, Marist is playing well this year, but they're hardly the caliber of and MVC team.I also believe the quality of our schedule would have jumped tremendously had we beaten UALR and played Texas Tech. We beat Texas Tech and it makes another quantum leap with the opponent the following weekend. Unfortunately, we lost Game #1.I agree the quality of opponents needs to increase next season. I'd rather be 5-4 at this point with a key win or two, rather than 7-2, with some Division III wins, and wins vs. 300+ ranked D1 teams.

Yes. And to me, he's the best of the bunch.

Reggie Corner will return to the Zips for a 5th year of eligibility. My recollection is he transferred from BG to Akron before his Freshman year began. I don't think he ever took a class at BG.2007 should boast our best secondary since the early 90's. Now, if only we can generate a pass rush!

A week or so ago.Click for VerbalIf you ever want to know this type of info, simply click on the "Search" function of ZipsNation and enter the recruit's name. You'll get a list all posts regarding that recruit.

All below are confirmed verbals as of 1/24/06. Matt Little and Brian Brickowski were added:1.) Ryan Brinson On campus. RB Canton McKinley2.) Vince Hill - Verbal on hold - UVA has entered the picture. Awesome talent. Grades are boarderline. (Friendly HS) Fort Washington, MD 5-10/1753.) Zac Kasparek -Verbal. Had strong interest from Penn State and Northwestern.(New Brighton Area HS) New Brighton, PA 6-6/300/5.104.) Jerome Royal -Verbal (Cleveland Heights HS) University Hts, OH 6-2/1805.) Gary Pride -Verbal. QB of the #1 D1 HS in Ohio. Will likely be an all-purpose back at Akron. (Colerain HS) Cincinnati, OH 5-9/1806.) Matt Rodgers -Verbal. Set the WPIAL on fire this season. (Seton-Lasalle HS) Pittsburgh, PA 6-3/180/4.707.) Sean Fobbs -Verbal. Projected to be a strong safety. (Miamisburg HS) Miamisburg, OH 6-1/200/4.508.) Da`von Moore - Verbal. RB. (Brentwood SHS) Pittsburgh, PA 5-11/2059.) Paul Simkovich - OL - Verbal. De-commit from Mich State. 6' 5" 285 lbs. Latrobe HS (Pa)10.) Jarvis Givens - Verbal- Columbus FL HS DT 6'2", 290 lbs *new addition*11.) Jake Anderson -Verbal- Great player (OL). Courted by several BCS schools. (McDowell SHS) Erie, PA 6-5/29012.) Joe Rash -Verbal - Big DL from a great program. (Penn Hills SHS) Pittsburgh, PA 6-2/25013.) Jalil Carter -Verbal - Very good player. Had a lot of BCS school interest. (St. Johns Jesuit HS) Toledo, OH 6-1/17514.) Casey Estrada -Verbal - JUCO OL from Sacremento. 6' 5" 285 lbs.15.) Dan Ronsman -Verbal - OL Lindenhurst (IL) Lakes Community 6' 3", 250 lbs.16.) Shane Shead -Verbal- DE Chatham (VA) Hargrave Military - 6-foot-5 225 lbs17.) Miguel Graham -Verbal- 5' 9" 162 lbs. Should be on campus in January '07. Coffeyville JC in Kansas. 4.41 40 yd dash.18.) Aaron Williams - Verbal - 6' 0", 200 lbs Penn Hills (Pa.) - Tremendous LB prospect from a great HS program. 3-star by Scout, 2-star by Rivals. And don't ask me what equates to a "star"...19.) Marquinn Davis - Verbal - The Youngstown Rayen DE . 6' 6", 245 lbs and runs a 4.7 40 yard dash. He had offers from both Toledo and K.e.n.t. The Zips were the first to offer, which was a big factor in his decision to attend U of A. He also runs hurdles on their track team.20.) Dan Marcoux - Verbal - 6' 4" 250lb DL from Ramsey (NJ) Don Bosco Prep21.) Bryan Williams - Verbal - 6' 0" 200lb CB/RB from Valley Forge Military College, via Akron Buchtel. Has been timed at sub 4.4 in the 40.22.) Matt Little - Verbal - 6' 3" 195 lbs. LB/DB prospect. From North Carolina. Very fast. A 3-sport athlete. Was offered by Mississippi State early on. Looks to get up around 220lbs once he fills-out. 23.) Brian Brikowski - Verbal - 6' 4" 206 lbs. Freehold Township (New Jersey) - 2-sport athlete, playing hoops on a very good HS team. Has the frame to support about 250 lbs. Looks to be an LB, but in time could be a TE or DL. Excellent athlete

Maybe I know what I'm doing after all?

Having seen 100's of U of A basketball games at the JAR, give me some credit for knowing the student section can be somewhat unpopulated during break. I will add the following points regarding the stupidity of this move:We've never played a Top-20 team during break. And if we have played a decent team during that time, our team was so pathetic it didn't warrant attending. The Nevada game is unprecedented. It should not be treated like games in the past. This is a game where we need our "Rowdiest" fans on the floor.Yes, U of A is primarily a commuter school. But the near/on campus population is bigger than anyone ever admits.The students that live at home live in Stow, Cuyahoga Falls, Green, etc. For the Nevada game, they would have shown up in numbers to fill the lower JAR.Lastly and most importantly: It is the way it was handled. The students were apparently ambushed with this one. Perception is reality, and the perception is they were bitch-slapped. If U of A wanted to sell those tickets, they could have done so on game day assuming the students didn't show up. A simple announcement saying: "If you aren't at the game and in your seat by 7:15pm, you are not guaranteed a seat in the lower JAR" would have been all it took. Then it is on the students if it isn't filled and Mack isn't the villain.What they should have done is the above...and then passed out tickets for the lower section to any student entering the gates with a valid ID. Whether they're officially a "Rowdy" or not.It reminds me of how the football parking situation was handled. "F you guys that have parked here forever...get the F out....we're selling your spots to $5,000 donors." Is there a "Tact 101" course at the University that someone could offer to the Athletic Department?

The Ak-rowdies get a bitch slap from the athletic department? It appears so. Profoundly disappointing.Click for an all-time lowI guess the fact that the kids didn't pack the house for Tiffin, Hillsdale and Winston-Salem-Marlboro is their own fault. I'm up for an alternative point of view here. Someone tell me why you'd alienate your student body for a measly $1,500? I can't wait until we beat Nevada and the rich old farts storm the floor in their walkers.Hey...on the other hand, it appears the "AK-Oldies" has officially formed?

I agree with you. If things stand as-is, we'll win 20 games. If we get lucky, our gritty little bunch could get hot in the tourney and win it. The MAC doesn't appear to be too strong (I'm being kind here). But if we want to get into the NCAA's and actually stand a chance of winning a game, we need others to step up.Conyers needs to get a clue. Every game I watch him it seems less and less likely it'll happen in 2007. But I keep my fingers crossed.McKnight needs to play better D. Offensively, he's pretty much at Travis' level. Defensively he's struggling. He's also a freshman, so I am betting he'll be increasingly better with every passing week.Wood needs to play. This may be the biggest unknown...can he stay healthy and be the low-teens double-double machine that we need? Linhart - For every good play he's made this season, he's given two away. Freshman jitters are over. He needs to assert himself. Based upon his play thusfar, his job is Conyers' for the taking...if only Conyers wanted it.Milum - Spectacular dunker and shotblocker...but that's good for about 4 points and 3 blocks in a game. He needs to get in the 7-8 rpg area to really help us. We really need him to show up vs. Nevada.Lots of "ifs" if we are to have a breakthrough season in 2006-7. It will be interesting to see what KD does to light a spark underneath this team.

Here...I'll change my analysis. Nick Dials is the best player ever. Period. The guy in un-freaking-real. Everyone else sucks. Personally,I think their game suffers because they are all in awe of Dials. Who can blame them? It has to be distracting to play in His presence.Dials

Who cares if Travis only scored from 3' in? That's his job. He was totally spent at games end, and did a hell of a job against a much taller front line. And he did it with little help from any other big men.You and I watched different games. I'll leave it at that.

I can't stand it. Locked.

As I watched the game I jotted down the following notes:* I saw on the game thread that Travis was taking a beating. I disagree. With no help from any of the other #4/5's he played an awesome game. It isn't his fault he's playing 39 minutes against a team that's got guys going 6'9" and 6' 11". Travis was a warrior Saturday. MAC POTY is his award to lose.* Who wasn't a warrior? I don't know the severity of his injury, but Jeremiah Wood sitting on the bench did us no favors. After seeing him miss 1 1/2 seasons with a knee injury, it was disappointing to not see him give it a go yesterday. If he doesn't play vs. Nevada we will lose by 15 points on our home floor. Wood needs to suck it up and play.* Dials was solid. He hit every one of his open shots, and many of thse were "clutch," keeoing the Zips in the game. He was in great defensive position all night too. The opposing guards rarely could turn the corner on him.* Joyce was always a step or two slow. Gray toasted him on numerous occasions. Dru's worst game of the season, by far. Bad, "I quit" effort at game's end too. Body language said it all. * Nate Linhart brought to mind the old John Wooden quote "Activity doesn't necessarily mean achievemant." Nate ran around a lot, but he's been making terrible decisions with the ball lately. Way to many turnovers, and if I'm drawing up a final play of the game, Linhart shooting a 23-footer with 14 seconds remaining is about #8 on my option list. * A Marketing rant-of-the-Day: F-ing stop it with the "I played sports all through high school..." commercial. Can someone get off their a$$ and find a sponsor willing to pay a couple bucks for a real commercial? Don't we have all these great corporate partners? Ketchup soup commercial days have officially returned. I turn off the radio at breaks.* McKnight played fine, from what I saw. I do rhink he got lucky with his two long-range shots dropping. With wood sitting our, we needed his 6' 5" body on the glass where we were getting mauled. Matt Futch part #2?* Nice FT shooting. Did anyone want to win a key OOC road game? You don't do it by choking at the line. Dru's missed were particularly disappointing.* Conyers continues to play with no signs of a clue. I thought he was going to be the David Harvey Story - Hoops version. Dead wrong on that one. He's looking more like his rap-artist buddy John Rybek every game.If I was an impartial observer, I would say it was a very entertaining basketball game. UIC is a very solid team, with decent big men, athletic forwards and quick, sharp-shooting guards. That Gray kid is insane with his shot selection...but he seems to make them...and he hits hit FT's. I like their team. To go one step further, when the camera panned to UIC's bench during crunch time, their players were loose, and dripping with confidence. Their coach too. You knew they weren't going to fold. I give them all the credit in the world. They played a great game. * The Comcast announcers were the best I've ever heard do a MAC game. Very fair, very well-informed. * Cedric was clutch. Great show for his family. Too bad it was a losing effort.* Travis late-game leg cramps hurt his rebounding at game's end. That's why UIC players were going over him so easily (at that time). He couldn't jump.* We can't beat anyone when we give up 80+. And that's what we did. We'll kill Sster's of the Poor St. Francis Tuesday. We LOOOOOOOOOVE the cupcakes. But who cares....the game of the year for the Zips is Nevada. It sets the tone for the remainder of the season. A win gives lifts us up another rung on KD's ladder of success. We've never beaten a ranked basketball team in the history of the program. A loss...and we're the same old Zips. No moral victories vs. Nevada. We need a win B-A-D. Don't let anyone tell you different.

The only thing I've seen on him is from the Boston Herald column from early December.Work has been to busy lately & I'm slacking on my "hobby." I'll try to get more info next week.Searching through here might yield additional info:Click for Bishop McCourt SiteI have dial-up at home and that page takes too long for me to load...just like GoZips.com.