Let'sGoZips94
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Posts posted by Let'sGoZips94
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29 minutes ago, zippy5 said:
Watching this makes me think this should have been us at least once from 2007-2017. Blah
This.
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9 minutes ago, UAZippers said:
If you think one season changes opinions, you are sorely mistaken.
What?
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The big 3 of Buffalo's guards accounted for 75% of their scoring.
Go look at who Groce has offered. There's a reason he's targeting a bunch of guards. It gives me confidence he knows what he's doing.
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4 minutes ago, UAZippers said:
If Akron ever wants to be respected at all on a national level, we will need at least one more MAC team to make a jump with us. Buffalo sure seems like the most likely candidate. Go Bulls!
During the peak of Akron's dominance, OU beat Georgetown and then made a Sweet Sixteen run two years later. The year after the Sweet Sixteen run, it took the nation's longest winning streak and a creative marketing ploy (the hashtag) for voters to put us in one of the polls.
We need nobody but ourselves.
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For bracket purposes, Zona losing here would help me out.
This does nothing for Akron, and I'm not rooting for Buffalo to win.
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5 minutes ago, Zip44 said:
You don’t give up on a talent like Cotton, especially with his ability to want & make a game winning shot as a Freshman. Those are hard to find.
Remember What Ivey was like as a Frosh/Soph. Does that mean Groce would have given up on him too.
His transfer is a big loss.
It was mutual. They "gave up" on each other, which I think is a bad way of putting it.
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Bittersweet. I think his potential, talent wise, was quite high. But ultimately he wasn't the best fit for this team and the culture Groce is trying to build.
Having two scholarships open is huge in my opinion.
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1 hour ago, NWAkron said:
Tubby to DeKalb? Tubby to Kalamazoo?
Is this our version of BobcatAttack's TOS thread?
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1 hour ago, kreed5120 said:
Having Antino might have added a few regular season wins, but at the end of the day we still wouldn't have had the depth nor talent at the bigs to compete this season.
We would have at least reached the MAC tourney semi finals. All bets would have been off from there.
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3 hours ago, kreed5120 said:
The MAC's issue is we have a few above average teams and a bunch of mediocre ones. It's much better to be a top heavy heavy conference like the WCC if the goal is to get multiple bids.
On another note, the season is over now. Can we put to rest the Duquesne - Akron comparisons please?
Until Dambrot retires, I don't think the comparisons will ever be put to rest. Dambrot made it well known his frustrations with Akron and the MAC. Duquense and the A10 is pretty much exactly what he was looking for. Nobody cares about Duquense; we care about Dambrot at Duquesne. Let's see if it was Akron/the MAC holding him back, or if his ceiling is lower than he thinks and has been reached.
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7 minutes ago, UAZip0510 said:
Too bad they couldn't finish strong like we did...
Dilly Dilly
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So the A10 puts 3 teams in the NCAA tournament, yet still finishes behind the MAC in conference RPI. How bad is the rest of that conference?
Skip, have you heard if any Pittsburgh-area mechanics have reached out to Duquesne to offer their services? There was a lot of oil leaking from the men's basketball program during the second half of the season. Who knows if the rest of the engine/transmission blew with the double digit loss to a 20-loss team in the conference tournament...
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1 hour ago, LZIp said:
WMU is losing their would-be 2nd leading returning scorer for next season.
How Hawkins still has a job is beyond me.
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1 hour ago, skip-zip said:
I'd say that reaching deep for an obscure piece of data like the score differentials of NCAA games that Buffalo played in, vs. the score differentials of NCAA games that Akron played in, with no other factors involved, is a clear attempt to accomplish just that. And that's what was in your post that prompted the reply I posted.
I actually found that data doing a quick search to confirm that this indeed will be Buffalo's third trip to the NCAAs in the last four seasons. It was sitting on the Wikipedia page. I'm not sure what other factors you want to look at. Just thought it was interesting that they seem to be more competitive on that stage than we were during our great run. A jab a Dambrot? Maybe. But hey, facts are facts, right?
23 minutes ago, skip-zip said:Yes, absolutely. I can agree with you on this. They were playing THEIR best basketball near the end.
Where this thread got "Off The Tracks" was when someone started the ridiculous crap about this team playing better than the previous 2 teams at the end of the year.
You can compare this particular team against themselves, and say that they played some better basketball near the end. It should end right there.
26 minutes ago, UAZip0510 said:I can accept that THIS team played its best basketball late. It's the suggestion that they finished stronger than past year's teams that I find laughable.
What's wrong about comparing this particular team against themselves, to previous years against themselves? If this team, with its decimated roster and all, was playing its best basketball at the end of the season, and previous teams weren't playing their best basketball at the end of the season, wouldn't that suggest that this team had a stronger finish? I'm not saying this team would beat those teams, but this team was playing its best basketball in the final month or so of the season. That's a fact.
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1 minute ago, ZIPS96 said:
I never said this team was better than the past two years I said they were playing their best basketball at the end of the year unlike the last two. Last year 2-3 to end the regular season (after being 22-4), 2016 3-2 (after being 21-5) and both years losing as higher seeds in the tournament. Is that playing their best? Anyone watching this year knows they were playing their best at the end. Don’t let basketball knowledge get in the way.
Bingo.
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16 minutes ago, dre22era said:
I admit I speak with a little bias on this topic.
I lived in Richmond Virginia in the mid 90's finishing high school there.
While I was there VCU was nothing more than a small commuter university serving as the little brother to the University of Richmond down the road.
I have many friends who are VCU graduates and big time boosters. Watching their basketball program grow from a mediocre Sun Belt Conference team to a relevant Atlantic 10
team has been beyond amazing to me and the credit goes to the fan base that started the movement beginning with the
Jeff Capel era in 2002. Now in the Colonial Athletic Association joining the conference in 1995 VCU won the Conference Championship 4 times in 10 years with 4 different coaches.
Jeff Capel left for Oklahoma after 4 years leading them to a Conference Title, NCAA and NIT bid
Anthony Grant comes in and leads them to a 28-7 record, Conference Title and NCAA Second Round out the gate.
24-8 NIT Bid
24-10 Conference Title NCAA First Round
He leaves for Alabama and is now currently at Dayton
Did VCU Fall off? Nope
The Shaka Smart Era Begins
27-9 records out the gate. They get screwed by the NCAA and NIT and goes to win the CBI (2009 Champs)
It was then the offers started coming in. The University, Boosters and Fan base rally together and push back at the Colonial Athletic Association for not speaking up and defending the conference. George Mason University who has their historic Final Four run in 2006 is also fed up with the conference. An alliance is formed also with Old Dominion to leave the conference.
28-12 NCAA Final Four Run
29-7 Conference Champs, NCAA Third Round
Shaka is Dangling one foot out the door. UCLA is calling. Not only does the University, Students and Boosters come together to help Shaka get a raise the AD seals the deal and VCU leaves the 1 Bid Colonial Athletic Association Conference for the Atlantic 10. George Mason and Old Dominion join the following year crippling the Colonial Athletic Association.
First 2 years in the A10
27-9/26/9 making it to the conference finals. At Large bids both years
26-10 and Conference Title NCAA Second Round in Shaka's last year (2014).
Shaka leaves for Texas
Did VCU fall off? Nope
The Will Wade Era Begins 25-11 Conference Final At Large Bid NCAA Third Round out the gate
Atlantic 10 had 3 Bids that season. (Must be nice)
26-8 Conference Final and NCAA Second Round (2017)
2018 under new coach Mike Rhoades is the first season VCU did not make it to any tournament declining any invites with a 18-15 record.
All it takes is Unity believing in what we have in regards to our worth and Akron can achieve this
So when I voice my constant frustration in regards to the current state of our program this is the Standard/Formula I am leaning on which I believe we can accomplish too.
What I see from this...
Anthony Grant build a solid program, and left the program in a decent condition. Shaka took over and built a very strong program. Eventually left for Texas, but left VCU with a presumably strong program still. Will Wade took over, riding the wave that Shaka's success created. He progressively got worse (NCAA 2nd Round in his first year, NCAA 1st Round in his second year), but quickly jumped ship for LSU, leaving behind a bit of a mess for Mike Rhoades, who failed to make any post-season tournament (declining the CBI/CIT, correct?) in his first year.
So what you're saying is the drop off occurs when the previous coach leaves the program a bit of a mess? Thank you for drawing that comparison to the '17-18 Akron program.
Also, thank you for bringing up VCU as a comparison. One of Dambrot's assistants left to coach VCU, and made his own luck/success at VCU, taking that school to the next level and into the A10. Did the CAA win those NCAA tournament games? Nope. Did the CAA beat those high-caliber schools? Nope. Shaka and VCU did. They didn't need the CAA's help.
And that's why I'm optimistic about next year and the future in general. I think we have a guy at the helm of our basketball program that isn't going to look for others to help him become successful. He's going to build the success on his own.
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23 minutes ago, skip-zip said:
So, I guess I can't ever say you don't give up.
Now you're touting Buffalo's recent success, and attempting to use that to disparage the most successful era of Akron Basketball ever, yet again?
For what reason?
I'm sure Keith didn't try to steal your wife. You have to give this up, man. You're at the edge of the cliff, hanging on by your fingernails.
See, you take all of my comments as shots at KD. Some of them are, some of them are strictly comparisons.
This is the thread for thoughts on the season that just ended. Some of the board members have a positive, optimistic outlook after the season. Others believe it was quite a disappointing season. Our most recent history has been used to come to both conclusions.
Zip44 insinuated that nobody can duplicate what Dambrot accomplished during his time here. I simply used Buffalo's current run as a rebuttal.
I find it funny that arguably the best marketing slogan during Dambrot's time at Akron was "Think Bigger" yet I and others are constantly ridiculed for thinking bigger.
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2 minutes ago, dre22era said:
I want in the American Conference
+1
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8 minutes ago, Zip44 said:
Dambrot takes Akron to the MAC Championship game 7 years in a row, 9 of 11 years.
wins championship 3 times.
2007 loses to Miami on 2 missed foul shots & a prayer 45’ of the board buzzer beater
2016 loses to Buffalo on 25 footer
Remember Abreu would have been reinststed ,but got busted again, Treadwell was kicked off team & Forsight tapped out at end of year. Big Dog got over worked. Still in position to win.
that team w/ all the firepower in tact was a sweet sixteen team or better
2017 best record in Akron history - lose to Kent because Walker was unstoppable. This year he is a bust.
9 championship games out of 11
3 tourney champs. Without some bad look could have been 6.
you really believe anyone can duplicate that?
He brought in some great players, made us proud to be a Zip, gave us great excitement & he loved Akron. He was & still is one of us.
Give him his due credit, quit bad mouthing him
& move on.
Buffalo is making their 3rd NCAA tournament appearance in 4 years. It's being duplicated and possibly bested right before our eyes.
Side note: both of their previous appearances were single digit losses. Still losses, but much more competitive on that stage.
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7 minutes ago, UAZip0510 said:
I think you and maybe some others here don't appreciate how hard it was to do what Akron did over the past 13 years. Saying they had success because the MAC wasn't strong, that a loss to Ohio State was "inexcusable", seemingly suggesting players didn't play hard.
I think you are giving breaks to Groce that you did not afford to KD. Some of that is absolutely warranted, but trying to say this team finished strong and the past few year's teams haven't is a real stretch. This season ended with our 2nd-to-last in the conference team blowing a 20 point lead to Eastern Michigan, which was followed by a press conference in which Groce chose to openly question his 's attitude. I don't know how in the world that is finishing strong.
I like Groce. I think he'll do well here. I've said before that I think he'll get s a tourney win. But it doesn't mean we have to play down past achievements or play up current ones, which I respectfully believe you are doing here.
I'm not saying what Akron has accomplished was easy. The reason for their success wasn't strictly based on the MAC's overall weak field. I also never said the players didn't play hard (not saying they did, but it wasn't good basketball, that much I know). The OSUcks loss was inexcusable considering OSUcks SUCKED that year, and all we had to do was shoot better than 40% from the free throw line to win that game in regulation; the FT problems in that game are magnified by the overall poor free throw shooting by Akron during Dambrot's time here.
I'm not giving Groce any breaks that I didn't afford to KD. My issues with KD came in second half of his 13 years as head coach of the Zips. Actually, I will be grading Groce much tougher in years 3 and 4 due to the overall higher level of the program that KD took it to. Groce doesn't have 13 years in my book to accomplish what Dambrot did in his 13 years. Groce has 3-4 years to get me to the next level that Dambrot wasn't able to accomplish in 13 seasons.
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1 hour ago, Blue & Gold said:
He was a grad transfer like Malcolm was for us.
His transferring out really hurt our team. We could have had an electric, experienced veteran running the PG spot & it would have enabled Malcolm to play off the ball at a more natural 2G spot. That would have made a world of difference, IMHO.
100% agree.
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11 minutes ago, dre22era said:
So you were fine with 19-15 Vanderbilt not only making the Tourney last season but as a 9 seed over any MAC team resume wise
The greed and corruption involved in the tournament bids and seeding is what it is. It's wrong, but I doubt it changes.
Not beating anyone worth a damn to post 25+ in the wins column, combined with head-scratching slip ups against teams like YSU, doesn't lead to at-large bids. It's not about how many wins you have, it's about who have you beaten and who have you lost to. The only inexcusable snubs recently (IIRC) have been Illinois State and Monmouth, both of which I believe had impressive resumes. I don't remember looking at any resumes of MAC schools over the past decade and thinking, "Wow. How did they not get an at-large bid?"
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1 hour ago, skip-zip said:
Since you want to ignore the obvious, and want to continue this narrative, let me add a couple more things to what UAZip0510 said earlier.
2015 - An unbelievable 3-wins-in-4-nights streak to get us to the MAC Semifinal, with a roster so decimated that we were unable to accept a postseason bid.
2016 - Advance all the way to the MAC Final
2017 - Advance all the way to the MAC Final
2018 - Eliminated in the MAC Quarterfinal. Our earliest exit from the MAC tournament since 2005.
It's inexplicable to me how a few of you continue to insist that we all should all be applauding this last-place season, while simultaneously manufacturing numerous false and disparaging comments to characterize the highly-successful previous seasons. The facts are sitting right in your face, and you choose to ignore them. Why? Did Keith pee in your cereal or something?
Don't forget 2014 - a semi-finals loss to WMU.
Here's my point of view. The '13-14 season was his 10th season at the helm of the program. To me, there should not be lulls when you're in your 10th season as the head coach of a program. We had 8 straight tournament finals appearances. What was missed in recruiting/coaching to not maintain that? I know that's a heck of a run, but when you have that kind of run, typically you take the next step with continued dominance. We didn't. We took 2 steps back. '13-14 & '14-15 ended with losses in the conference semis; I won't cut Dambrot much slack for the roster issues (I only remember Robotham?) because in your 11th season as HC, you should have better depth/talent to cover an injury or two. '15-16 ended with a disappointing loss to Buffalo in the MAC finals, and an even more disappointing loss to OSUcks in the NIT (inexcusable). '16-17 ended with a horrific loss to KSUcks in the MAC finals, and a blowout loss to UT Arlington (that Houston win does look better with them making the tourney this year). The basketball that ended those seasons, it wasn't fun to watch. We never finished strong. Those back-to-back finals appearances in '16 & '17, those were aided by the MAC being the MAC more than by us playing some of our best ball at the time.
We struggled this year from early January to early/mid February, but ended up playing some excellent, inspired ball the final few weeks of the season. THAT is finishing strong. Like I said, the lack of depth/overall talent/experience was the difference in the W/L record, not the basketball that was being played.
Nobody is applauding a last-place season. People are, however, choosing to watch the games instead of strictly basing the future on a W/L record and stat sheets. I saw zone being played this year; encouraging that we can mix it up with different defensive schemes. I saw terrific on & off the ball movement, especially as the season went on; encouraging considering the lack of time to build chemistry with a bunch of freshman mainly. I saw fight from a team that had every reason to pack it in with 2 big-man injuries and only 2 upperclassmen (not counting Smith) on the roster; encouraging when it comes to building the right culture to take that next step as a program. I saw us beat both of our rivals this year; encouraging considering both programs are multiple years into their respective coach's tenure. I saw us go toe-to-toe with the 3 seed in the quarters of the MAC tourney; encouraging that we can still hang with the upper echelon of the MAC in year one of Groce/the rebuild. Am I happy with a last-place record and a losing season? Heck no. Am I encouraged that the future is bright from what I saw? Heck yes.
Get your eyes off the stat sheets and watch the games. The positives are there, I promise you. Don't be like the Braves talent executive from Trouble With the Curve that based a player's talent and outlook strictly off what he saw on his computer stat wise. The pillars and foundation were established this year. Now bring in the talent for phase two of the rebuild.
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1 hour ago, skip-zip said:
Please don't point out the facts, and mess up someone's ridiculous misconception.
We haven't made the NCAA tournament since 2013. The comment regarding finishing strong is very true, as the team this year was playing its best basketball at the end, despite the W/L record not exactly reflecting that. Clearly we haven't finished strong the previous 4 seasons because those rosters - more complete - should have won the MAC at least once. Quite frankly, the end-of-season basketball that was played the previous 4 seasons was uninspiring. The difference in the W/L record is strictly roster-based, and that will change next year I presume.
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NCAA Tourney Thread
in Akron Zips Basketball
Posted · Edited by Let'sGoZips94
They beat Georgetown two years prior, as I mentioned. That's 2 seasons. Can't went to the Elite Eight earlier in the decade. Akron had made the tourney 3 times in 5 years, and possessed the nation's longest winning streak. What more do you want from the MAC?