Captain Kangaroo

Click for "The Brick"Once he plays, I want credit for the nickname.

I argee with Rasor that it's puzzling to see any hand-wringing over Dambrot's recruiting.Next year's class is awesome. Steward answers our PG vacancy. McKnight is one of the top players in Ohio and Sweich is probably the premier big-man recruit in the MAC next year. I saw him at the game Saturday...he's no Matt Seibert. He's a wide body who will be ready to contribute immediately. In the Hipsher era, guys like McNees and Bardo would be expected to play major minutes. Dambrot's recruiting depth allows us to redshirt these guys. Milum has progressed nicely. I'm guessing Bardo will follow a similar timetable. Middleton was a late pick up after Allen Hanson backed out of his commitment. Pretty nice guy to have as a fall-back...he's Vinnie "Microwave" Johnson, instant offense coming off the bench.McKnight will be like Travis. I really look forward to seeing him during his sophomore trip through the MAC. Dials is a solid player and a key to our defense.Joyce was a walk on that only Damrot...out of the 300-some D1 coaches in the United States...saw fit to bring in and untimately put on scholarship. He'll leave Akron as the school's all-time assist leader.Conyers - Who knows? I've heard too many good things about him to give up just yet. He had to take a year off with no practice. I'm hopeful a summer of ball with the team and a tour through the MAC will lead to bigger contributions next season.Linhart - He's a solid MAC player. Solid defender and decent shot. He gets sloppy with his passing, but overall, his best basketball is ahead of him.Rybek - Seems like Dambrot missed on him. When trying to project what a 17 year old kid is going to do once he's 21 or 22, you gotta miss once in a while. He's hardly the poster child for bad recruiting. Hell...he'd have been the star recruit in a couple of Hipsher's classes.Dambrot's recruiting is fine. Better than fine, it's boarderline great. My question isn't recruiting, it's whether or not he/we can win big games. Not Austin Peay at home, but Toledo in the MAC title game. Or any team at "The Q." That's the only thing he's got left to prove. Until then, the Zips are Peyton Manning, circa 1998-Jan 2007.

With the exception of the K.e.n.t. game, I don't think the secondary was bad last season. It's tough to cover guys for 10 seconds. Our DL's inability to get pressure on opposing QB's typically made our secondary look bad.

I met him a couple times. Super nice guy.

I disagree. If we lose, it means we're worse than the top OVC team. That would suck.We need to beat the top OVC team on our own court to validate where we feel the MAC stands amongst the "mid-majors." A loss is a black eye on the MAC. A loss removes all hope for an at-large bid.A convincing win is a big help to our RPI and gives us a chance at an at-large bid should we falter in the MAC finals. It also goes a long way in getting a home NIT game for rounds 1 and maybe 2, should that be where we end up.You want to know where you stand in the mid-major "world," Zips fans? You will find out tomorrow night vs. a very good A-P team.

Click for Devastating Second Place Finish

I am guessing Toledo will come to the RB this fall, and we will travel to Western Michigan?To balance that out we should get either EMU/Ball State/Temple at home.That's not great...but not bad either.I don't buy into the grousing about playing Army in Cleveland. I think that game will be a blast. I'm guessing the players will have fun with it too. Yes, we "kinda" lose home field advantage. But, we're playing freaking Army. We should beat them on a field that's "60/40 neutral," 60 being in our 45-mile-away favor.BTW - Yes I'm aware we lost to them at the RB 2 years ago. I don't really think that affects 2007 in the least.

I wonder if there's any way we can leave the MAC - soccer only. I have to believe our program is attractive to a better conference? And, Chryst has to realize he replaced Kentucky with a directional Indiana dreg in IUPUFW-FUA. If Chryst can't help us, we need to help ourselves. As long as the MAC has their automatic bid, things aren't too bad. But at some point I'm guessing the NCAA is going to review the MAC's bid status and pull it.

Beat K.e.n.t.

Speak for yourself.jupitertoo is a K.e.n.t. fan who has trolled this board and the MACbbs for years with little more to offer than third grade rants about Akron being "Hilltop High."Click Me to Read the Same Akron-hating Post jupitertoo has cut-n-patsted for 8 Yearsjupitertoo is a K.e.n.t.-loving dickwad. Not a congenial OU fan.

I thought this was a great interview:Click for Bubba-babble

I'm curious as to your opinion on this. Is it screwing the guys who will be playing the next two years with the Rubber Bowl as their "home?"Is it no big deal? The road games at IU and UConn are difficult, but winnable games. And we'll get some cash. In the big picture, in the MAC it is what you do within the conference anyhow, and we'll have four of our MAC games at the Rubber Bowl. Win your home games, worst-case split on the road and you've probably got 7 wins and you're bowl eligible.Should we drop IU in favor of a 65-0 Hampton beatdown at the Rubber Bowl just to enhance our questionable hopes of an at-large bowl invite? Why waste our energy on all the great recruits if all we want to do is beat on 1-AA dregs?Is it a given that the stadium will be functional in 2009?I'm not all that comfortable with a scheduling strategy that keeps us away from home in expectation of "marquee" games down the road. I can just see in a few years...the stadium opens...Mack and Co. depart for another college...the game contracts are voided...and we're stuck playing Hampton in our new stadium anyhow.

I agree. Toledo isn't great, but Toledo is a bad match up for us. They have speed at the guard position. We don't (offensively Cedrick does, but he doesn't play "quick" defense). Dambrot needs to come up with something to counteract Toledo's guards. Towards the end of the game, when the pressure starts rising and the pace quickens, it plays into Toledo's hands.

Zips 88OU 75

I was wondering the same thing. I spoke to a U of A coach...not a hoops coach...regarding Conyers only a week or so ago. He stated the 80% rule was still in effect for all athletes. I'll have to check up on it. Maybe, if Conyers was admitted prior to the rule change, it wouldn't apply to him? Just a guess.

Chances are...you spoke to an idiot. There was NEVER an agreement, verbal or otherwise that NC State would come to Akron. That game was set up about 7 years ago as a one-time shot.

Unless you have no life, I would fly. It'll save you 7 hours each way. Weekend weather is fine. Little snow on Friday & a high of 16F. No snow on Saturday and a high of 26F.

Frye was a senior, and it was a "fun" thing to do. If anyone from the "U" decided to make billboards for a Sophmore, they should be put in a stockade on Jackson Field and pelted with old tomatoes.

The wives of most OU grads have the same complaint.

So if you are a non-qualifier and you sit out your first two semesters, you are guaranteed 4 years of eligibility? I though you needed to be 80% of your way towards a degree by your 4th year to be guaranteed a 5th year (4 "playing years")? When did that change?

UConn game is not a rumor. It is real.Here or there??? There.

That's a tall order considering he's going to have two first-year QB's throwing him the ball? It would seem like a better idea to wait until he had a couple seasons under his belt before anointing him a Heisman candidate? Hey, make some signs and have some fun however you can...

I'm with you, UA Alum. Weather isn't a big deal. There will be a about 4 thousand on-hand. OU's recent decline, our Toledo loss and the weather will deter only a few from coming.

We haven't beat a quality team on the road since Oral Roberts about 2 months ago. We lost to Toledo last night in pretty much the same manner we lost to them in the MAC tourney last year. Playing hard is great, but we need to stop crapping our pants late in the game vs. Toledo. I was hoping last night's game was going to prove we've gotten over the hump. We're still trying to figure out how to jump the hump...Hey, it could have been worse. We could have lost to a crap NIU team at home, like OU did last night.

Not exact...but but close enough to grade-out at an A-.