Z-Pouch

All I could do this week was shake my head at the glass empty people writing this team off after close winnable losses to two of the leagues better teams. Oh ye of little faith- it's early in the MAC season, this team plays good defense and that will keep them in games when the youth lapses are kept in check- If the shooting comes around, anything will be possible as it looks like the East will continue to beat up on each other. It's a wide open league with no one taking the drivers seat right now. Funny, you wouldn't know it from the board but the Zips are a point blank miss by Humpty and traveling call away from 3-0 with ugly defensive wins.Good solid road win tonight with defense. Of course, there's still issues....I'm sure SZ will be happy to point them out and exaggerate their importance but KDs teams always get better as the season goes, I'm expecting no less with this team.

Does anyone remember how bad last year's team looked in Alaska? or a couple of years ago when Romeo and company laid an egg in the opener.Give it a break and some time, the sky is not falling......40 minutes of basketball and someone's predicting 10 wins! WOW- now there is some faith in your program, coach and new recruits. KD's teams have always progressed with the season - this year will be no different especially with such a young team. Was it a classic that anyone would want to watch again? No. But..We came within one possession of covering the spread. The last 5 minutes of the game, you saw this team's defensive potential with ball pressure from the quick guards. From what I understand overall shooting wise, this team will hit OPEN shots and 3's in the future (if they had in this game, it would have been a blowout earlier). AND most importantly in my mind, the key to this year's success, Brett McKnight will learn to play D.

It's great to see that Kennedy acknowledges the best coach we've ever had on our side. Here's hoping that he gives Doug Martin a well deserved lifetime contract. Sincerely and Thankfully,The Zipsnation Doug Martin fan clubWith regard to blaming the kicker, Martin should take a lesson from the Okl State coach and stick up a little bit for his players and take responsibility for other bad decisions made during the game. Real nice, bringing that back up and not letting it die after weeks.

I missed the article in the Plain Dealer but K.E.N.T also picked up this real winner- Tyree Evans. At some point, you have to believe that they are going to get burnt by signing these guys. All of the talent in the world but nothing between the ears.JUCO Transfer dropped from MarylandMaryland signing and history

For the record, I don’t think that we lost the game because of the officiating. Officiating in the MAC is just bad and I believe partially responsible for the MAC conferences overall home team winning percentage being ridiculously high. I do think that we lost because we started off by shooting 1-21 from the 3 and missed at least 10-12 lay-ups early. But.......that being said......Did anyone else notice that the tall, skinny, balding referee called a disproportionate game? I don’t know if this is true but a friend in our reserved section swears he counted that particular referee calling 13 straight fouls against Akron. My friend was counting, I don’t know if he is accurate or not but even if he is close -- I think that is pretty unlikely that this refs positioning on the court would lead to such a lopsided foul count for one team or the other. Anyone else notice this sort of bias by that ref?If the refs let them play, Can't is tough to beat - It's just their style of defense- a lot of grabbing, holding, hand checking and pushing goes on. They crash (and I actually mean crash) the boards very well going thru people to get the ball. If you get into that sort of basketball game with them - they are extremely good and tough to beat.

The guy on the court with a mic does a great job. I hope he is not graduating soon and if he is - Hire him. He's done a heck of a job all year with the contests and getting the crowd into the game.

I guarantee he won’t listen but nicely done. Of course, you are saying we would have to be 30-0 though……

Just 3 years ago our schedule (05-06) had......Mississippi State, Clemson, California, Louisville and Neveda. I think the Bracketbuster return game was a dud in Niagra. Do you have a clue what happened in the California and Louisville games? You make it out like UA has scheduled this way for the past decade. And BTW - Miss State and Clemson were part of a Tourny package. Your credibility sinks lower with every post. And, please stop with "we" on this schedule stuff. It is YOU that has the major issue. I think the majority of people on this site who follow college basketball and look past RPI/SOS get what KD is trying to do and it will improve in the future as the program develops. No one responds to the crap anymore because it's getting old. I'm sorry you dont get it but you seem to be the type of person that looks at the surface and draws these absolute conclusions without much factual support. Next year, under the same philosophy, you will be touting how great the schedule is if we manage a better preseason tourney then the Alaska fiasco that gets two lower majors on the schedule on a neutral court. BTW- since you dont EVER go into any details, thats how Can't got Illinois State and Xavier on their schedule, the won games in a preseason Tourny. These were NOT "scheduled" opponents neither were Bracketbuster commitments with George Mason and St Marys. If you were around last year that would have been like our schedule IF we had won some games in the Texas Tourny rather then losing to Arkansas LR (I, like others here, can shoot holes in your short sighted stories). Do you honestly think they are not trying on the scheduling? Trying not put us in a good situation......Cmon man. We have a huge game on Sunday and you are bogged down in countless identical posts that have been talked about since December. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP. We got your point a long time ago. I'm sure the moderators would rather spend time talking/having fun with the Can't game then looking for another picture of a horse getting beat so that you get the subtle hint. Although, I'm pretty sure that the last horse beating picture (with animation even) would be difficult to top. Can we just move on to the Can't game and the MAC Tourney ? There's nothng new here except people trying to educate you more on the "what ifs" of our schedule and history.

You are all over the place on your scheduling argument - First, it's Can't’s way of which you cannot provide details because they historically have the same philosophy as us (KD is just a little more vocal about it nationally trying to make it a point – which is smart in a lot of ways). Then, you admit that Can't will be in the same spot as us last year if they lose 1 more regular season game and don’t win the tournament further proving everyone's point #1. No one is saying you have to win every single game, you have to win the big ones when you get the opportunity on center stage - Daytons, VCUs, Nevedas, etc – and take care of conference business with only minor slips. Look at the history of the NCAA tourney, mid majors are not going to get into the tourney at 20-10 due to their conferences -- It takes 25 or 26 to get considered and then they’ll look at your resume on the center stage and program’s winning history. That gives you 5, 6 maybe 7 games to lose no matter what your OOC looks like. So, you have to win. It's life at Akron, It's life at any mid major. Captain- It's burned into my memory......

Please check facts on Kents way and how they got here and more importantly their historical schedules before starting a their way/our way argument. (Hint and to save you the work – I’m telling you there are no facts to support it.)Their two marquee wins (George Mason, St Marys) are compliments of the Bracketbuster and return game. Can't is one regular season MAC loss away from being very much on leaning off the at large bubble. Watch, after they lose 1 of the remaining 3, their stock will plummet. If they make it clean thru the regular season and lose in the tourney, I'll give you the at large birth but one misstep and I think you will see the committee “why nots” come out of the wood work quickly. Especially, if George Mason continues to slide and St Mary's struggles with Gonzaga.

I personally would love to see a detailed post about why you are so enamored with Can't’s schedule. I don’t see much difference with our current philosophy and theirs. They try to schedule high mid majors –so do we, they schedule cupcakes to help get their 20 win seasons and develop a winning tradition – so do we, they enter a preseason tournament with quality teams and try to advance as far as possible- so do we, - they play in the bracket busters and get a return match –so do we……….We DON’T go play a Tier 1 BCS school like Duke, NC or Kansas (their game next year) on the road in a money/exposure game – That is the only philosophical difference and one that I happen to agree. Can't will have to deal with a real issue when it comes to the selection committee on the bubble– What does a 30 point blowout to NC mean – Is it positive or negative on the resume? And don’t kid yourself if you think it will count for scheduling points….I’d guess the likely interpretation from the big boys would be negative and compare it to a last place ACC team who might have even kept the NC score closer. Please review past Can't schedules and I think you will see that there is very little difference. And remember just 3 years ago, we played one hell of a schedule. Someone else already said it on the board - Can't’s number was up this year – They won the games they had to win –we didn’t, Their mid major opponents are having good years, ours are not.Here’s a what if for everyone? Go back to the Jan 23rd Can't game – 2nd half, we don’t falter and go on to win the following league games and avoid injuries. I think we would have been 21-4 or so going into a bracketbuster game with a very good draw. We don’t get St Marys (they are home, we are home) but a very good Drake ….maybe George Mason….maybe still VCU but still a top away team. So now we are sitting at 22-4 or something with a marquee bracketbuster win, close game with Dayton (doesn’t mean much) and wins over all our major conference foes who have RPIs under 100 and clearly the class of the MAC. Are we ranked in the top 25?This scheduling talk just nauseates me around here when people don’t look past the “current” RPI and into more details or get so caught up in "this " year. I’d recommend that anyone looking for scheduling history and information search posts from GoZips on the board – A lot of insight and behind the scenes information that helps explain how we got here – how the Great Alaska tourney turned sour on us. There’s just too much misinformation being spread on scheduling in these posts on what was done, tried and didnt work. One other thing – Every Mid major with aspirations wants to schedule the lower level BCS conference schools – that’s not rocket science. It’s also not rocket science that lower level BCS schools know how dangerous those games are to their program and avoid them or require package deals that favor them significantly for putting their butts out there. I love the argument that Can't schedule is so great because they are able to schedule lower level BCS schools – Sounds great but back to reality- Look at the past schedules and back things up with facts rather then knee jerk reactions. Can't's schedules are historically filled with enough cupcakes to keep the winning tradition and 20 win season thing alive. I apologize for the length of the post. Just my frustrated opinions on this ongoing beat to death subject.

Most of us here seem to be thinking the same thing about our offensive offense. I’ve seen a lot of posts here in the past right after we lost Wood about our inside/outside game and post players. I didn’t agree with much of the conversation – It seems to me that you have to evaluate the talent you have and then use them accordingly within a system. With Wood, the inside/out worked beautifully – He was a force, he had to be double teamed, he was a great passer – Heck, he was the MAC tourney MVP until the bank shot and serious POY candidate this year until the injury. Forward to life without Wood – does the same inside/outside work ALL the time – NO, we just don’t have that same type of player in the post – C and B McKnight are better facing the basket right now, Quade is Quade, Bardo is young, Linhart is a wing/slasher, Conyers development has been stunted because he is also a wing/slasher that has been hog tied for 2 years (is it me or is the BB a hot potato with that guy looking to make a pass asap) – What it all adds up to is the offensive scheme has to be tweaked to the talent. Right now, we are stuck in the old analogy of the square peg in the round hole. It’s just not working.What I would like to see - By no means do we abandon the OPEN 3 point shot, that is the great equalizer of the college game. But we have lost our open 3 point shots because our inside/out Wood approach has been taken away. What we seem to have now (and more recruits on the way) is some kids that can drive and score ---OR kick out to our strength the open 3 when the defense collapses – We used to do this to compliment the inside game (See Cedric hurt…). Now, KD doesn’t seem to trust anyone but Dials driving – ie when Brett, Roberts, McNees do it, they get yanked…..we’ve all seen it. While KD may not be comfortable with these guys driving the hoop as turnovers are going to inevitably increase, it’s what we’ve got left in talent. If teams start to respect our driving capability, you will see basically the same potent offense that was there with Wood – the means to the end is just tweaked. If we can get back to Open 3s, the MAC tourney is wide open for us. There’s no dominant team in the MAC that cannot be beat. Maybe I’m wrong, but I can’t stand watching more off balance 3 pointers off of high screens as the shot clock runs down or forcing players into schemes that they are not going to be successful. You can’t tell Bardo/C.McNight – we’re going to run the offense thru you and you better see the court, make the right pass and develop Wood like footwork over the next week/month. I don’t think we get to 20 wins with that mentality.Sorry for the way too long post but the NI game really bugged me on a lot of aspects. Maybe, it was just an anomaly and I can go back to being fat and happy with wins/coaching and just reading the board.

No doubt KD is great for the program but tonight, he was Tim O'Shea. That was his worst coaching job since taking over by a long shot. I'm still scratching my head over the substitutions or lack of throughout the game. I guess I understand sticking with your seniors to some degree but at some point when guys are hurt (Middleton) and unproductive/lost (Milum), you have to go to others for extended periods and let them play. I thought Roberts, B McKnight and even C McKnight were well on their way to stepping up tonight untill they got nailed to/lost on the bench the last 10 minutes. In general, the players didnt have it tonight and we needed KD to find the right rotations and step up guy for a victory. Instead of finding it, he looked confused and pulling players in/out at random to the point that no one was able to get into the flow of the game. And can someone tell me why no one is allowed to drive to the basket on this team - McNees, Roberts, Linhart can all slash to the basket but we are always so concerned about setting up the perimeter offense. You have to have some allowance for penetration in the offense by someone other then Dials. To me, Kd is just not making very good adjustments to life without Wood.I dont want to hear about losing Wood...losing Middleton.....Dials playing on one leg......losing Joyce....losing Romeo. It's all unfortunate but get on with it and play some of the other talent for extended time loosening the leash alittle and letting others heal up for the MAC Tourney. Maybe a little more confidence and work in the younger guys would go a long way (the Roberts/B McKnight/McNees combo actually put us back in the game). We cannot limp into the tourney with nagging injuries and have any realistic shot. As for Quade playing well tonight - I must have watched a different game and missed all his blocked shots on the interior. He was a non factor.

UA cancels classes, events By Beacon Journal staff report POSTED: 11:41 a.m. EST, Feb 12, 2008 The possibility of heavy snow today has prompted the University of Akron to cancel classes at its main campus at 12:30 p.m. Classes at the Medina County University Center in Lafayette Township are canceled beginning at 1 p.m. and classes are canceled at Wayne College in Orrville beginning at 1:30 p.m. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning through late tonight. Tonight's Forum Series lecture by Paul Rusesabagina has been canceled and will be rescheduled. Rusesabagina is the author of An Ordinary Man that recounts his fight against tribal genocide in Rwanda and which was made into the movie Hotel Rwanda. Tonight's Tuesday Musical recital featuring operatic tenor Lawrence Brownlee has been rescheduled to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at E.J. Thomas Hall. The Zips basketball game tonight at the James A. Rhodes Arena is to go on as scheduled.

Heard they were starting the two freshmanWhat does that make the starting lineup ?DialsMcNeesLinhartC McKnightBardo

Good leadership by Wood. He could whip just about anyone, if not everyone, in the conference and he is trying the calm the situation.Great Point GP1 -- I thought the same thing after seeing the picture. I'd also add Dials who was pulling players out of the mix on the video.Jeremiah Hard to understand how Mincy avoided any technical or foul on the play. On the video, he is out of control and the ref and Dials are having a hard time restraining him from going back into the mix. Odd.

and because of the snowstorm, there was open seating down low that put the depleted crowd right on top of the court. I remember it made it seem like a lot more then 1000 people (okay 500-750) were there. and who could forget the fan that showed Bubba a real outside shot.

I shudder to think how empty the lower reserved section will look on TV. Thankfully no one in TV land will be watching.I'll be one of the "blue hairs" that will be lost for this game. I usually attend home games but with the nine o'clock start on a weeknight makes it just too late. When the game is over at 11:00 or 11:30, and then the drive home makes it a little late to get up at 7:00 the next day. So six of my friends and I will be in my living room with wings and beer, and we will all be home well before midnight.Please don't let your tickets and seats go to waste. Sell/give them to another Zip fan to fill up the lower bowl. A bunch of empty lower seats for a "big?" game makes the program look like it's going the wrong direction (whatever the typical UA excuses). UA has no control over these unused seats because of your decision on the later start - Get them into someone's hands that will be able use them and keep our home court advantage. Unfortunately, I gotta believe that there are a ridiculous number of "sold" blue lower level seats that go unused every game.And nothing personal to anyone considering staying home - but sitting in your living room watching on the tube aint nothing like being there.

It's definitely suspicious. Especially Cavman's 2500 vote surge over the course of hours earlier in the week.But, one explanation for Zippy's recent surge might be that UA sent out 2 emails last night urging alumni to vote.

Frye traded to SeattleSounds like the deal is done but to Seattle ?

I think the rumor started because the Browns brought Dorsey back in town today. So everyone is assuming that someone has to go. If it is Frye, lets hope he catches on somewhere as a backup. Not the worst thing in the world for him to get away from this situation.

From earlier in the thread- in case you missed itHere is contact info for the NITNATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT60 East 42nd Street, Suite 660New York, NY 10165-0015Phone: (212) 425-6510Fax: (212) 785-0594Email participant director - jpowers@nccc.org (Some of the other committee member's email addresses may follow the same structure) Just a short email will potentially help the MAC in the future. Today is as done as last night but speak out for the sake of the MAC's future (and really all MAC fans should do this). The conference's lack of credibility hurts every member in many ways. Here is the selection committee:NIT Selection Committee Rudy DavalosDon DeVoeGene KeadyReggie MintonC.M. Newton (Chair)John J. PowersDean SmithCarroll Williams

From GoZips.com.Pre game party at the Q informationI think notices were sent out to those who had purchased tourney tickets early.

grrrrrrrrrrrrrIt's not MAC CONFERENCE... Just MAC or Mid-American Conference!I know that, My bad but really.....

Congrats to Romeo.MAC Press ReleaseHopefully, Middleton picks up the 6th man award tomorrow.