Let'sGoZips94

Scheduling P5 teams like Kentucky, Illinois, etc., is perfect. Beatable with name recognition. I fully expect to win some of these, too.

I agree with most of this, but aside from a big freshman, our next tallest guy is 6'6" right now. I think by saying, "we need some tall guys," that could be referring to anybody taller than 6'6". We have two 6'9" guys hurt and a 6'10" transfer that's sitting out. That will definitely help. We need the depth inside. KLac commits some stupid fouls, but I also wonder if his game is altered by having to play less physical due to our lack of depth at his position right now. He can't play as freely. I also wouldn't says he'snot helping us at all. He had two big blocks yesterday that helped keep us in the game. His offensive production leaves something to be desired, but he has the foundation of moves to be a force in years to come. We definitely just need more skilled depth. We're throwing out a makeshift, majority-freshman roster game in and game out, hindered even more by injuries. I fully expect to see a big step taken next year with the transfers, a full year's worth of recruiting, and current player development. We've been blown out in a couple MAC games, but have given the majority of the MAC everything they can handle. We have to keep everything in perspective this year. Most of these MAC squads are in their 4th+ year of their coach and system, and we're everything they can handle most of the time with a decimated roster and in the first year of a new coach/system. It sucks to lose to Can't, but it's promising that we were a couple baskets going our way from knocking off the team that returned 95% of its MAC Finals roster, a roster that beat us in those finals, with what we have at the moment. Great effort yesterday, and we'll get them at home. Go Zips, and be thankful every day that you aren't a Can't fan/grad.

I was watching College Gameday and the talking heads were trying to make it sound like this investigation is ridiculous. They were saying how this has been going on for a while, and that in a billion dollar business, more people should be getting paid, yada yada yada. I'm not holding my breath, but I hope the NCAA destroys all of these major programs, and the feds tell them they're not allowed to jump ship to create their own league. Make College Basketball Great Again.

Has Cotton played in the second half?

INTERCEPTION DUVIVIER!

They have several.

OFFSETTING TECHNICALS?! WHAT DID PARRISH DO?!

Looks like they might be assessing a technical to him.

It's not just that we lost, it's how we lost. The effort wasn't there, which is inexcusable. Hey, I would love to win 20+ games and NCAA Tournament games. I've never said it's an either/or; I don't believe anybody has. But during all of those 20+ win seasons, how many NCAA Tournament wins did we have?

Awesome.

Accidental double post.

Much like our different views when it comes to "success" (consecutive 20+ win seasons against mediocre teams vs. NCAA tournament wins), I view losing to our rival in the MAC tournament final with the effort we gave - or lack thereof - as embarrassing. Who did Can't lose from that team that put them at 6-7 in the MAC?

Wow.

The score doesn't tell the full story. We came out flat, lacked 100% effort & hustle, and lost a game we had no business losing. I remember it being incredibly frustrating to watch. UTA was also embarrassing, you're right.

It was flat out embarrassing to come out as flat as we did against our rival in the MAC Tournament Finals on national tv. I'm hoping for different on Saturday. We're a scrappy bunch a majority of the time, so I wouldn't be surprised if it got chippy.

Did you not understand my response? As it has become cliche to post "blessed" every time an offer is received or a commitment is made, it might have become cliche to mention the consecutive 20+ win seasons.

Success to a certain point. It's subjective. He didn't just work with those future NBA players; he founded the school that is (or was; haven't checked any high school rankings in recent years) a top prep school in the country. These kids come from high school. They pay attention to top high schools, and Huntington Prep is on there. And it's not absurd to compare. Dambrot had LeBron, but never developed anyone else who played in the NBA. Fulford developed Wiggins, Dieng, etc.

I forgot about that. I hope he sent Dambrot a basket of muffins with a "Thank you" card for choking in the MAC Tourney Finals with ZERO effort.

- Yes, because look at this through the eyes of a 16-18 year old. How do you think they view a coach that was thought highly enough of to be hired by a Big Ten school? - What do you mean what's happening right now isn't going to help either? Anybody with half a brain can see what he's working with, but he's been-there-done-that at this level with OU, and that's all he has to use as an explanation. "I took OU from the bottom of the MAC to a winner in the NCAA tournament by my second year. By my fourth year, we were in the Sweet 16, a shot away from the Elite Eight. Akron has a foundation of consecutive 20+ win seasons which we can build on moving forward to take that next step, and you would be a vital asset in taking that next step." - The long string of 20+ win seasons is somewhat valuable. It gives a foundation of success at Akron that Groce can use to build upon. But from the eyes of a 16-18 year old, winning in the MAC is what it is. Having a coach that has won in the NCAA Tournament and coach at a Big Ten school, that is the next level we need. Also, we have Rob Fulford. What an asset he is in recruiting and development. To be able to say one of our top assistant coaches founded Huntington Prep and was instrumental in the development of players like Andrew Wiggins and Gorgui Dieng, that's huge. And if there is any doubt that matters, look at the connection between Dambrot and LeBron. It's no secret that was a key in recruiting for him.

If they look at his last 6 years they'll see he was at Illinois, which is gonna carry quite a bit of weight with it being a more recognizable name. These kids can cite the streak all they want. When they receive an offer or commit, they're all gonna tweet the same thing - "blessed". Why wouldn't they all have similar answers when it comes to why they like Duquesne/KD?

He's such a baller, he has Can't at 6-7 in the MAC in one of the worst MAC fields in quite some time. I also don't want to be following any blueprints made by Mr. Pinky. I wouldn't be surprised if this is his last year at the helm of the Golden Flushes.

KLac hasn't adjusted to the speed of the game yet, but when you look at the low-post moves he already has in his repertoire, I think he'll be just fine. He LOVES to play physical, but he needs to learn better defensive positioning. He also needs to learn how to play help/weak side defense. But he'll be just fine. Torrey Patton is my #1 choice for a redshirt. I'm interested to see if anyone transfers out. Also, does anyone know if they're expecting Poke to be able to play basketball again?

Easy explanation. "The previous coach left behind a dumpster fire roster, plus two of my three centers had season-ending injuries. It was so bad, I found a 6'5" kid from the Rec Center to play significant minutes at the PF/C position. It's been proven that 20+ wins can be done at Akron. But as I get my guys in here - and I'm targeting you, so you're one of my guys - we can win 20+ and win games in the NCAA tournament." I'm not worried about losing the streak. I'm focused on building the culture and expectations necessary to take the next step as a program.

Do you know what else is a great recruiting pitch? "I took OU to the Sweet 16 in 2012 and came within a couple points of knocking off #1 seeded UNC to go to the Elite Right, 2 years after beating Georgetown in the first round."

That's 2 games against Balls that we've been literally taken out of the game/had the game stolen by the refs. We missed shots, sure, but the refs played too big a role yet again.