ZipAnalyst

Districtballer is correct. VCU needs to play its game. If they stay hot they could win the tournament. But the problem with having a singular approach is that there is another side of the coin. I saw VCU play Temple earlier this year. I tuned in on the game in progress. I was shocked how far behind VCU was at the time. They did recover somewhat but the game was pretty much lost by the time the recovery happened. We Akron fans need to realize that the Zips need more basketball tuned athletes in terms of quantity and quality. The Zips are getting there. The silver lining in the blow out to VCU is that our underclassmen now know first hand what a championship contending team looks like and how they stay on task questing to perfect their style. As they mature and are joined by upgraded fresh talent, the Zips will during Dambrot's tenure become a championship level team. Districtballer makes the case to me that Shaka Smart managed the team the way he should have.

From The Repository: Dambrot says he will be at Akron 'for the duration' '" ... Dambrot told the Pro Football Hall of Fame Luncheon Club on Monday. 'I am the University of Akron for the duration.'" On the new arena: "'I believe there’s more momentum for it now than anytime I’ve been at Akron,' he said. 'The question is where it is and who controls it.'"

Interesting article on Jatavis Brown

See Egner stats in Jackson game against Boardman: CLICK HERE

A fascinating part of the story:"So Ostergren, like other Akron backups, approaches each practice with a game-like zest.'It’s intense, and it’s passionate, ... We want to win as much as possible, whether it’s in a game or practice. Because there’s so much talent ... when we split up in teams and scrimmage, our second team is pretty much as good as most teams that we play.'"

As we all "painfully" know, the Zips were 3 (W) and 9 (L) this year. All the 3 and 9 Zip players were recruited by the Brookhart regime. Should Zip fans be all that concerned about the 2010 Brookhart recruits that are vacillating already on their verbals? Is the new coach duty-bound to accept Brookhart recruits?

http://www.cantonrep.com/highschool/x19452...ad-Jackson-boys

Good choice.But can The University of Akron:" Go get him, and pay him."Does this link indicate the "real" price?http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2...-somebodys-job/

What did not come out in the newspaper article is the likelihood that he wanted to do the BS/MD (NEOUCOM) program which takes students to Akron, Youngstown and Can't for the first two years (in which they complete their undergrad work) and then onto the Rootstown medical school campus to complete their four years of medical school.A daughter of mine, was a NEOUCOM/Akron, student was clearly capable of playing and contributing to the the Lady Zips basketball program could not because of the strenuous load of doing four years in two years. There is no way that you can play basketball or another intercollegiate sports program and do the NEOUCOM thing too.Another daughter walked on at Can't for basketball and found the basketball/academic regime very demanding.

"Bad coaching doesn't define the Zips football program over the past 23 years, it is stupidity that defines it." (Comment by GP1 on another topic)Stupidity is part and parcel of bad coaching. It starts with recruiting. What is the classroom record? In the dialogue between recruiter and a prospect, situational football talk should be part of the evaluative process. For example, borrowing on GP1's example (the from the end zone run), would be a good "what if" question. The question: What if you were the lone running back in the backfield and the play call was for you to run off right tackle, but on getting the ball you think you see a wide open field veering off the right and, although there is room to run off tackle, it looks as if there is only a yard or two to gain, at best. What would you do?More work needs to be done by coaches to identify recruits who can make consistently wise decisionsYesterday the ESPNU announcers were amazed that the coaches decided to punt with about 5 to 6 minutes to go in the game with the Zips in reach, though, admittedly, the chances were slim of overtaking BG. They did everything but call the coaches stupid. In my estimate there has been plenty of stupid coaching and playing over the past 23 years.It seems to become a cultural thing with Zip football.When the AD goes about getting candidates to replace JD, one of his prime quests should be to get someone who will break they cycle.And that will require the AD having the intellectual wherewithal to identify the smart coaching candidates who, in turn, will select smart recruits and then combo exists that creates conditions where "on-the-field-adjustments" can "realistically" occur.

Only mention of progress of Akron is the new stadium.Here is the article: Alliance Review on MAC Football

Stark County's Josh Egner (Jackson High School) verbally commits to the University of Akronhttp://www.cantonrep.com/sports/highschool...etball-at-Akron

From the uakronkid: "JD and his staff will spend countless hours going over the tape from the Cinci game. There is tons to learn from a game where virtually any play could have decided the outcome. Watch carefully to see if some of the mistakes are corrected next week. It's the sign of a good coaching staff. If it's the same old stuff we still might win, but you can't count on beating anybody else."A very astute observation!

Ditto!I made a point of watching Hitchens in the state playoffs in the semi and the final. He will be a terrific complement to the Zip inside people as he was for his teammate Chambers.Kudos to Nick Dials for getting the most out of himself in is time at Akron but he did not have the innate ability that Hitchens has. I haven't seen Steward, however, from what other ZipsNation folks are saying, he is special also.Have any links been posted on ZipsNation showing Steward in action?There is no doubt that Hitchens will be a special player for Zips in his own right. What's more, the value added to the remaining four on the court will be a sight to behold. Indeed, it's a "can't wait" for all of us.

All Zip fans should watch this kid in action on Saturday at 10:45 a.m. on Sports Time Ohio. He will be going up against one of the very best in the state perhaps nation at his position.KD did qualify his analysis with a "if he continues to develop." What he will do for the team is make the McKnights, Bardo and Linhart better. He is just so-so on defense. The "continue to develop" mostly applies to his defensive abilities.With his "stop and pop" ability and his agility he is able to play under control while performing at full speed.This kid will draw fans to the JAR just to see him play. We will all get an added value because he will be the catalyst to make the overall team much better. His playing style is "unselfish" even though he is the best overall skilled player on the court.