Districtballer

Yeah I've heard this from a lot of fans of different schools. It almost always means defense and not offense. It sounds like most fans who talk about that want to play like we do at VCU and that's what I saw described in this thread. That is EXTREMELY difficult to do because it requires tremendous work ethic and discipline within the system to pull off. I think Akron has the athleticism and talent to play that way. I have no idea about whether they have the work ethic to run that kind of system however. That's something only KD and those who know the players mental make-ups can answer. I know how hard we work here at VCU and a lot of college coaches think it's very extreme. That's what it takes to run that kind of system effectively though.

Jack Gibbs committed to Davidson today.

That's a good thought Dave, but unfortunately you can only have 13 scholarships of any kind on a basketball team at a given time. An academic/track/football etc. scholarship would count against that limit just as red shirts do. If you were allowed to do that you would see many teams try to game the system by offering academic/other sport scholarships to get more scholarship players than the NCAA allows. Anyone playing beyond the 13 scholarship players has to pay their own way. I'm sure financial aid in the form of loans and whatnot are possible, but that would be the same as any other student studying at Akron.

Kwan Cheatham, 6'8 2013 forward out of Winton Woods in Cincinnati verballed to the Zips today! Congrats!

FWIW, Shaka has been doing similar with VCU over the last couple of seasons as well. We end up with 1 more guy than we have scholarships. We ended up having a kid take a medical hardship waiver after knee surgery with one guy, another JUCO who was academically ineligible after his first season, and another player transferred out for more PT. There ended up being legitimate reasons for over signing and with Shaka coming from the Keith Dambrot school of coaching, I bet that KD's process is similar to Shaka's in that regard. As the talent level is upped there in Akron, you're going to start recruiting players who all expect to play. There are X amount of minutes and Y number of players expecting Z number of minutes. Inevitably players will move on. The staff has to prepare for that. It'll keep the competition level in practices high and morale (which is just as important) at a high level. A locker room cancer can destroy a season for a basketball team.

The big man from Cincinnati popped for the Zips today! Congratulations the Zips are putting together a nice class that addresses several needs! If I were a rival MAC fan I'd be worried about what Coach Dambrot has going on over there!

Per several sources, Jackson committed to Akron tonight! Congratulations.

What? lol I don't follow women's soccer at all. Or men's soccer for that matter. I'm really just a basketball nut, always have been, always will be. I understand Akron has a beast men's program in soccer. That's pretty cool. I think our men's coach was an assistant at Akron before coming to VCU. Neat connection. Anyway, Gladden looks like a nice add for the Zips and should be a player in the MAC. It's also a nice indication that Akron's success is paying dividends with a farther geographical reach going into Charlotte, NC for a well-regarded recruit.

2013 Charlotte (Olympic) 6'5 wing BJ Gladden committed to Akron this morning, per his high school coach. Congrats to the Zips! He's a solid get and I know the Rams looked hard at him and offered at one point in his recruitment. He also has had a number of high major offers over the course of his recruitment. He's a very solid addition for Akron. ESPN: http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketba...6073/bj-gladden (lists a Tennessee offer) Rivals: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/re...-Gladden-120705 (offers from Wake Forest, Xavier, VCU, Charlotte, Winthrop, ECU, UNCW, UNCG) Scout: http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p...amp;nid=5674349 (offers from Tennessee, Charlotte, VCU, Wake Forest, Xavier, and Wyoming) KD is bringing in some good talent and the future looks bright up there.

This is great news for Akron! Glad to see KD is sticking around! Good luck to the Zips this season!

Looks like VCU is joining Butler in the Atlantic 10 as well. http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/b...murphy/19042989

Yeah good move for us. Although that would mean no more Bracketbusters and being paired up with Akron yet again!

Haha they're on the VCU plan, huh?

Yeah I watched their game tonight and he's got a lot of energy and put together a pretty darn good team there. For DJ Cooper to go 3-20 and still take UNC into overtime says a lot. I especially like Baltic's game. That guy is extremely quick and has great vision for his size. I suspect Illinois will likely end up with John Groce, and he looks like he could do a good job there given all the inherent advantages being Illinois without any real competition in state and a ton or recruiting hotbeds close by. After not getting Shaka, the fan base might go 'meh' but it's a hire that looks to show real promise as he gets settled in.

Me too. He's about as atypical a young, hot coach as there is in America. I don't know many who would say no to what Illinois was offering.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/colleges/11...hing-offer.html We have a special one folks.

I have no doubt that he'll try.

LOL. Steve Lavin is talking out of his ass. He has absolutely no connections to Shaka to be able to make such a statement. Shaka will be in Richmond next year as it stands. Thanks for the support from Zips Nation! We're losing one player off this squad so we're hoping to be back and making even more noise next year.

Thanks guys, we have our garbage bandwagon fans just the same as any successful school, but our core fans who have been around a while and seen us through the bad and the good are as knowledgeable and cordial a fan base as they come. Hopefully you guys can help root us on to a victory against the Hoosiers of Indiana tonight! Down with the Big 10!

Guessing Groce will be gone in that case, so I guess there is a silver lining there. Heard Nebraska's interested in him.

Thanks guys, really appreciate the support! Don't worry your time is coming soon enough. Dambrot's obviously got you guys trending upwards and once all this young talent matures, you'll be pretty formidable. I had to say I was noticeably agitated when I flipped to the Ohio-Michigan game and saw that the Bobcats were leading. You guys must have rubbed off on me or something!

Thanks Dave! Totally agree with your sentiment. It was awful that we got matched up in the first round. Wichita State could have made a deep run. Glad we were able to hold on to knock 'em off! What Shaka has done with replacing 4 of our top 5 players from last year is nothing short of incredible.

Humpty was honored at the Annual CAA Awards Banquet today in being named 3rd-team All-CAA by the coaches and media. I thought you guys would like to know that the former Zip has availed himself quite well this season. He's been a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing season for the JMU Dukes.

Yeah they look ridiculous right now. 23 point game and they are absolutely hitting bombs from outside. As soon as the Zip player went under on the ball screen for Kellogg I knew he was going to take it. Cooper and Kellogg have some impressive range out there. Zips have to rise to the occasion in these nationally televised games for the country to take Akron basketball seriously.

Definitely looks that way right now. Somewhat surprised, but Ohio is playing some solid defense as well. Akron seems to be playing very rushed and one-on-one ball instead of running their sets. Undisciplined ball like that will kill you against the the kind of pressure that Ohio is displaying on defense. I'm sure KD will be tearing them a new one in the locker room. Hopefully the guys will listen and play smarter but spotting the opposition 19 points at half-time isn't going to help them stay patient. Not a good showing for Akron tonight so far.