72 Roo

Gotta agree Zach. Another long season ahead of us.

Root ... It's good to see you have your priorities straight. With this kind of critical thinking I'm sure it will be a group all can support.

Finally, a wide receiver with decent height. Welcome Tyrell. Is this kid a receiver or QB? Not rated by Rivals or Scout - seems like we are grasping at straws. OK all you ICoach supporter - point out one recruit where Akron was chosen over a quality BCS team? A person that is going to AKron because he was impressed by ICoach. So far I am not impressed Hey! Wait a minute. We beat out Stony Brook!

Finally, we have a cornerback with decent size. Yes he has good size for a CB. That should make us all happy if he has the speed. But if he truly was recruited at LB I have serious misgivings. I don't care if he has been in a weight program or not. At the desparate stage we find our team in now we need someone who can give us productive playing time after one year in our program. He may be too small for that at LB. Putting him in the average size of our current LB's means nothing because they are almost all undersized and under-performing. If we are to build the program we all want, our recruits will have to be better than what we have rather than equal to our average size. Now we are turning our noses at 3 star players because they don't fit "your" mold of what we should be recruiting. My god the negativity about everything Ianello does is getting annoying. Be thankful we got a 3 star "athlete". Let the coaching staff determine where he should play once he gets here. I've seen lots of three stars come to Akron who can't play in the MAC. The negativism comes from being 1-11 and having a coaching staff that did not make the team any better from the beginning of the season to the end, like Miami did last year when they went 1-11. This is not being negative, it's being realistic in the assessment of the program. We can't get better until we objectively assess what we have and then go get what we need. We need size and athleticism at LB.

Sold out vs. butts-in-seats are two different things. While it's nice for the University to have those seats sold out every game it looks bad for the program when a third to half of them are sitting empty for the vast majority of the games. Good point Quick. I agree with all you stated. We should reserve the right that any seats in the lower bowl that aren't filled after 10 minutes into the game can be sold by the university to someone else. That way we get the lower bowl filled, bring more pressure to the palying area, project better on TV and give a vitality to the JAR that is sadly lacking. One other thing, all seats in the lower bowl should carry with them a season's supply of blue-gray hair dye and free use of difibulators. Maybe that with get those folks to cheer.

Finally, we have a cornerback with decent size. Yes he has good size for a CB. That should make us all happy if he has the speed. But if he truly was recruited at LB I have serious misgivings. I don't care if he has been in a weight program or not. At the desparate stage we find our team in now we need someone who can give us productive playing time after one year in our program. He may be too small for that at LB. Putting him in the average size of our current LB's means nothing because they are almost all undersized and under-performing. If we are to build the program we all want, our recruits will have to be better than what we have rather than equal to our average size.

Everyone looks good coming out of high school where small LB's can excel. Put a 6"0" 207 lb LB in a full season of D1 football and you will see why size is needed. Good luck to this recruit, but don't kid yourself. In the MAC size is needed at LB. We don't seem to be getting it with many of our recruits. We will pay down the line when 230 lb running backs hit us up for 5+ yds/carry.

I didn't realize icoach was a past coach. When did he become a past coach and has a replacement been located? Wisful thinking.

Isn't he supposed to be in class now? If our team has a GPA of near 3.5, i bet it's safe to say he isn't exactly at the top end of the spectrum if he's taking this much time away from class. Or does he make it up in the summer?

This isn't as big as you might think. InfoCision (I'm sure) put up more for naming rights to your football stadium and the Stiles family probably put up $5 million to name the fieldhouse. The most interesting fact is that $8 million is the largest gift ever to BGSU. That's not much in the broad scheme of things. Yeah i'm not too worried. The new "Stroh Center" doesn't even impress me, and i'm sure it wont impress recruits either. UA needs to stop playing around with this rinky dink MAC schools and go bigtime. Let's woo a big donor ourselves and get a real arena built on campus or lets really renovate the JAR into something special so we can begin our domination. The Stroh Center has a max capacity of 5,000. That speaks volumes as to where BG feels their program is going. The JAR is becoming one of worst facilities in the MAC. No big news there. But in spite of that I would not build a new facility until we regularly fill what we got. Over the KD years we have done a piss poor job of building attendance. Hell, the students don't even turn out and our on campus student population has increased significantly over the last few years. Our lack of attendance tells us that the university and local fan does not care for Zip BBall. Let's get off LeBron. It sounds like a bunch of whining babies wanting someone else to do things for them. Let him go his own way, whatever that is, and let's build something great with the folks who care for Zip sports. Use soccer as a model. Porter got his first big break when Ampai signed on. KD Has his own version with Zeke. Coach 'em up and play an exciting brand of ball and others will want to join in. When they get rolling, the crowds build and the facilities follow. The Info has surely taught us that no facility can carry a lackluster program.

We have as good of talent as any team in the league. If we are weak in one area (guards who can defend) we make up for it in other areas. But we are not playing well. Despite the stats we protect the ball poorly. Our TO's are killing us at crucial times. More than that we play with no clear vision of what to do. If we don't hit the three we are dead. We are not playing as a team. Until we do, we will not achieve much. Right now, Ohio and K.e.n.t. are playing better than us. KD has got to take ownership and fix it. BTW, I agree with the other posters who say he should stop blaming the players. We need leadership now, not the blame game.

There is so much going on in the entire athletics dept. why limit the questions to only men's and women's BBall? Open it up to all Zip sports and you may get far more content. This way you could cover recruiting, spring soccer, winter track , spring track, tennis, softball, coaching hires, facilities upgrades, campus improvements, etc. I think this could make for a more entertaining show and get greater involvement of ZNO and students. Just a thought.

Additional Confirmation (beyond Facebook ) Not sure why it's talking Rivals, ESPN, and Scout so long to have him listed as a commit. That's encouraging news. Last year was a wake-up call that we need more talent at QB. But I suppose that's true for every position, including coaches. It appears to me that we are getting a higher caliber recruiting class than in the past, so I'll give credit to coach I. But it's qualified credit because I want to see if he can actually coach them up and they perform on the field. It's nice to have some hope return to the fans.

Crew8 ... Thanks for posting this interview with Caleb. I just finished listening to both halves of it. What a compelling discussion. I'm really charged up! Caleb is a great ambassador for the university and the future of soccer. After listening to his interview is there any doubt he will be the US men's team coach one day. When he does get it he will put the US at the top. Until then let's enjoy him while we've got him.

Hilltopper .... Are you sure your kid is not a closet K.E.N.T. fan and he/she wanted to destroy the evidence? This erasure of your DVD could be a warning sign. Sounds like it's time for an intervention and not let him/her go to the dark side. We are all with you during this possible time of family crisis. My uncle is a priest and I'm sure he could do an exorcism of any K.S.U. demons. He says they're wimps anyways. Figures. It's 9:43 and ....

Jake ... Thanks for what you do for us. It is getting better all the time. I enjoy all you do to help us follow the Zips.

His tweets aren't any worse than some of our current athletes. I will say that eventually he and all the Zips using social networks will hopefully realize that everything they say is public and will be read by prospective employers and if they make it big young people looking for role models. Some are smart enough to keep their profiles private so they don't say something that their coaches (yes, of course they monitor that stuff) might not like. The University needs to monitor some of our guys twitter accounts more. There are some pretty terrible things posted on some guys accounts. Not the way you want the University to be represented. I understand the freedom of speech issues that go into this, but some of these guys need some lessons in accountability. Quick... Isn't it paradoxical that the world today seems to abhore accountability, but the teams that accept and embrace it are winners. Ask the Socceroos. Just my observation: today's ballyhooed high school kid wants more attention to himself than desires to pay the price to win championships.

I have not been impressed with the maturity or class of many athletes coming out of Glenville. The tweets of this athlete seem more of the same. At any program, athletes who come off as doing you a favor by signing with your college team fail to impress me. Act like you want to be a Zip and I'll be glad to welcome any player the coaches recruit.

MAX ... I don't agree that iCoach will be gone next year if he doesn't win 5. His back is covered by TW for at least 3 years. I am hoping iCoach can learn and grow into being a good coach. This year he was pathetic. Here I'm not talking about his team, I'm talking about him as a coach. In almost all areas of performance evaluation as a coach I would rate him as unacceptable. Publicly he never threw in the towel so I will give him credit for that. But in two years a lot of growth can take place. Since he will be our coach I hope he seizes the opportunity. In the final analysis, if he loses the team and school we love loses more. BTW, I think we will win only 3 next year. While that is better than 1, it still makes me sick. Our standards must be set higher. Porter, Dambrot, Mitchell and Engle would never try to convince someone that that level of performance is doing things right.

Root ... Too funny! The humor on this board is sometimes world class. Great graphic!

Thanks for your good work. i enjoyed this very much and look forward to more positive discussions of Zip sports. Your greatest moments was a fun way to close last year and begin 2011 with all its high hopes and expectations.

Expanding the grandstand while providing permanent restrooms, team shop and concessions are the next steps for our program. The coaches believe if we have those facilities we can average 5,000 per game (this year we averaged 3,300 per game good for 2nd in the country behind UC Santa Barbara). I have heard, with no confirmation, that development is working with some entity interested in naming the stadium. The naming rights, if secured, will bring more cash but not enoughto pay for all the above. Momentum is on our side, though, and we many supporters determined to keep us at the top. You better believe that Caleb would not have stayed if further investment in our soccer stadium was not assured. I've got to believe that completing the stadium is a top project for TW.

When we point to the 1-11 record we can boast about how "bad" this team was. When we look at the team play the last two games of the season we find a different scenario. The Zips nearly pulled off the upset of the season (for MAC play) by barely losing to a good Miami team that went on to win the MAC championship game over a favored NIU. The win over Buffalo was expected. Still, the team showed marked progress toward the end of the season. Are the Zips really all that bad? In retrospect? I see potential and growth on the part of the players and the coaching staff. The learning curve is steep. Yet, manageable. Go American football Zips. GO Zips ... Gotta call you on this one. I don't see ANY area on the gridiron Zips where the team progressed and the coaches got better, with the POSSIBLE exception of running back. Coincidentally I don't see any coach or group of coaches who showed growth in their profession. This staff came in highly heralded, primarily by the iCoach, but with the benefit of hindsight we can see that they have questionable ability. The fact that most of them were fired or out of a job when they joined us at Akron should have been an indication of what was to come. Not one of them took mariginal talent and had it over-achieving at the end of the season. Isn't that what a coach is supposed to do? That's what my management team is expected to do in business i.e. take the talent you are given and help it to achive the goals for our business this year. 1-11 is not achieving anything. BTW, glad to see Latina go after witnessing his performance as an OC. On the plus side I do feel iCoach is bringing in better talent. I remain a skeptic regarding he and his staff having the ability to get the most out of them and create a true team of brothers willing to do anything for each other. He is our coach for the next two years so I wish him success. I just want to be realistic as his ability to deliver it. As you have said, I hope he is learning and ready to use it to create W's. Happy New Year!

Great news about the downtown! The more dynamic our community becomes the better time we will have attracting quality people to go to college here and stay for a career. FWIW, I had my in-laws in from Ann Arbor for a football and soccer game one weekend this fall. They were amazed at the vibrancy of the campus and our downtown. They went away becoming ambassadors for the town of their high school years (they moved away for college and never returned). I think it is well beyond a dream, by the ardent Zip supporters on this board, that Akron can, and will, become a great place to live with an attractive university culture/life. I'm proud of the town and our university! There growth is blossuming hand in hand

Temple, Miami, CMU, WMU, BGSU, UBuff. All trending downward. It could be a new era for teams like EMU, and possibly Akron. The relatively incompetent may have the advantage over the absolute incompetents. Let's see which category we filter into. Z.I.P. you crack me up. I've never heard our hopes described quite like you have done. Now I find myself cheering for us to gain the status of 'relatively incompetent" so we can win against the "absolute incompetents". The worst part of it is that it all makes perfect sense to anyone who has seen us play this year. Oh, and BTW, thanks for bringing home the championship in Santa Barbara. You did your job well. Mihalo