Blue & Gold

Did anyone catch ZipsLive last night? If so, what did Tom Lemming (sp?) have to say? Thanks in advance!

Absolutely. Andy was great. It's really a shame he was hampered physically. Dan Hipsher's players ended up hating him. Again, another shame. It was painful for me to witness. And to think of the potential those Jimmal Ball, Jamie Bosley, Ryan Andrick, George Phillips teams had. All under-achieved - almost to the point of quiting. They seemed so anxious to just get away from Hipsher. KD really seemed like a desperation hire for D-Hip. He needed a spark. KD gave the program a spark by signing Dru & Rome & Jeremiah Wood, but it was too little too late. KD wasn't gunning for D-Hip's job. He was simply happy to be back in the college ranks. Though, when the inevitable finally happened and D-Hip was let go, we all knew the perfect heir apparent was already on staff. Gotta love KD. First-class act.

My favorite post on this subject was posted in one of the other recent threads regarding this topic. I forget who posted it, but it went something like, "Maybe... just maybe... we shouldn't care about this at all?"

It's crazy to think, but a single tweet from 'Bron is probably worth more pub than our regionally televised Super Bowl commercials. Whatever it takes to keep Akron blipping on the nation's radar.

They don't use that facility for basketball. They play their basketball games at Carver Arena which seats around 11,500. Ahh, well that capacity is what I was expecting. Well, what did they build that new $50-million facility for?

Video Tour of Bradley's new arena. Gorgeous, $50-million facility. Only seats 4,200. I was a bit surprised by that. As far as a renovation goes, maybe that gives the JAR's capacity some perspective?

ABJ article As Zip Watcher said, Bradley's a fine gig. But I still think this is embarrassing for the MAC.

Duh. Who would have ever guessed that's the way to win basketball games and championships? Well, yes. Very true. But I think GP1's central point was that in the MAC, you just have to be steady-as-she-goes and wait for the other team to beat themselves.

+1. Wouldn't it have been great to see a Butler -vs- VCU final?!?! Oh, well. I guess I can look at it in this way at least one mid-major is assured of playing for the championship.

I saw the post game interview this morning. Coach Stevens is just being nice. He was by far the better coach yesterday. Saying Donovan out coached comes out a lot better than saying, "I bitch slapped Donovan." Right. I think the 'Meister knows that. The only way Brad Stevens makes those comments is if he's an incredibly self-confident guy. He was giving a lot of praise to his team & assistants. He was also being nice to Donovan. Stevens' is truly a class act. The fist interview on the espn sight w/ Phelps, Bilas, Davis & Reese really breaks down just how badly Florida (Donovan) was out-coached by Butler (Stevens) throughout the game - especially after a couple of timeouts & in overtime. I also like how both Stevens & the espn analysts notice the improvement Butler has made as a team throughout the course of this season. We witnessed a transformation of our Zips' team this year. I think we're going to have to be equally as patient next season as well, with all the new blood coming in.

Wow. What a classy and humble guy. His comments show actually show tremendous self-confidence. I also watched the first video clip where Digger Phelps, Hubert Davis, Reese Davis & Jay Bilas (I think I'm getting those names right) broke the game down during the post-game and they must have mentioned Brad Stevens' name 10 times but didn't even mention Billy Donovan's name a single time.

This was my first thought as well. Geno to Bradley? Really? He knows the Zips are going to dominate over the next two years.

I don't think the Zips are seriously looking @ any players left in the playoffs. St.V/M has an excellent PG, DaVonte Beard, but we never offered him.

Only Youngstown is like Detroit. Maybe East Cleveland too... but anyway, back on topic, does anyone think it would be beneficial to change the upper side bleachers (or just a section or two) to chairbacks and make them reserved like the other side? It would seem to be less expensive to do, might cut down on capacity but if more people attend and you can charge more for those seats, maybe it pays back quickly. I wish they'd go chairbacks for the entire JAR. If it decreases capacity a bit, so be it. Do anything to make the JAR a more desireable destination. Right now only Zip diehards attend games. The JAR honestly discourages average fans from attending games. It's an embarrassing dump. Don't spend too much though; lipstick on a pig. What we eventually need is a new facility.

When I lived in the midwest, job traveling 100 nights per year. Grand Rapids was one of my favorite places to go. It is a great town. Seeing this post reminded me of one of my favorite places to eat. Bistro Bella Vita. It is right by the arena. If you are ever in Grand Rapids, this is one of the great restaurants in the midwest nobody has heard of. Great place! Thanks for the trip down memory lane Blue & Gold!!!! Grand Rapids is actually a fantastic city that most people know almost nothing of. Extremely underrated! I've eaten/chilled-out at The B.O.B. which is also directly across from the arena. I've never eaten at Bistro Bella Vita. I'll be sure to try it this year. I vacation in western Michigan almost every year. I stay in the Muskegon area & always frequent Grand Haven - my favorite little lakeside town. I often try to take one afternoon/evening to spend in Grand Rapids.

That'd be great! KD's already described Justice as a taller version of Nick Dials.

If I remember correctly, this issue was a sticking point between the city and the university. The city wants to build a 10,000 - 12,000-seat arena whereas the university wants an 8,000-seat arena. Also, the city wants a multi-purpose arena (NBA-style also suitable for hockey, indoor soccer & arena football) whereas the university wants a basketball-specific arena (basketball, volleyball). I'm with the UA on this one. Those NBA-style arenas are, ironically, pretty awful for watching basketball. An 8,000-seat basketball specific arena, where every seat in the house would be a good one, is, IMHO, much preferable. i beg to differ. if we can get hockey in akron, and a new arena, i would be ecstatic. plus, the Q has both, and is a nice setup. Consol Energy Center (new Penguins arena) conforms to basketball, as Pitt/Duquesne have a few games there, and also have NCAA tourney games next year. and imo, Consol and the Q are great venues for either sport. granted these both seat 18,000-20,000, so i can't comment on how a 10,000 seat duel-purpose barn would look like. Here are some images of Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It's a beautiful multi-purpose arena with a seating capacity of 10,834 for hockey and 13,184 for concerts. I couldn't find a listed capacity for basketball/volleyball. While on vacation a few years ago I snuck in & checked the place out. Beautiful facility.

Brett McNight clone? Could you clarify to whom you're referring? And any word on Treadwell's game? Is he more of a power forward or a small forward?

If I remember correctly, this issue was a sticking point between the city and the university. The city wants to build a 10,000 - 12,000-seat arena whereas the university wants an 8,000-seat arena. Also, the city wants a multi-purpose arena (NBA-style also suitable for hockey, indoor soccer & arena football) whereas the university wants a basketball-specific arena (basketball, volleyball). I'm with the UA on this one. Those NBA-style arenas are, ironically, pretty awful for watching basketball. An 8,000-seat basketball specific arena, where every seat in the house would be a good one, is, IMHO, much preferable.

Hey now, we weren't that bad!

Sounds like a more athletic Cameron Black.

I agree. It will be interesting to see where he transfers, that will speak volumes. I wish him luck and hope he had a good time at Akron. I thought there was a photo in the pd or bj of him riding around laughing on somebody's back after we won the mac championship. I can't find it though. Exaclty. I really hope he had a lot of fun while here at Akron, made some good, lasting friendships, still (like Swiech) considers himself a Zip, enjoys flashing that bling he gets from being on a MAC Championship team, doesn't have any regrets or hard feelings at all, and finds a program where he can get significant playing time.

Just look at WMU's Stainbrook. Euton can play D-I ball. He can transfer and still have three years to play. Stainbrook? Really? That is your example? A guy who doesn't have the physical endurance to stay on the floor, who Zeke pretty much abused in the semi-finals from a program that we have owned for the last half dozen years or so? Excuse me if I sound a bit elitist here, but this program can and should aspire to a lot more than Matt Stainbrook. I think Zach was illustrating that Euton could find another D-1 program to play for and not necessarily have to move down to D-2. Between us on ZN, and by implication, the entire wired universe, I'm pretty excited about where KD is taking the program if less athletic players see the writing on the wall that they won't be getting any PT. It was just last season (after two decisive beatings from the school to the east) that I was lamenting our lack of athleticism. Talk about a quick 180!