UAZip0510

Source?

I had no idea CJ was voted as a captain. Best of luck to him.

Nice to see. Still can't believe they picked Mayor Don for the bobblehead though.

I did forget the redshirt...I was looking at the scholarship chart posted elsewhere on ZN and didn't realize it wasn't updated.

I'm not knocking Justice or his ability, I'm just not sure where he fits. Abreu is the obvious starter at PG, with Betancourt backing him up. Gilliam, Walsh, and Diggs will play the wing, with McAdams possibly being in that mix as well. Marshall, Treadwell, Harney, and Egner will be our post players. That leaves both Ibitayo and Justice on the outside looking in. That means that barring injury both, at the earliest, will be rotation players their junior years. Will that be acceptable to both?

He told someone on Twitter that he'll be on scholarship. I wouldn't be shocked if Blake Justice was leaving the program (pure speculation - just doesn't seem to fit).

Beat me to it. It all depends how you define "turning it around"...winning 3-4 games? A winning season? MAC Championship?

So you came on, called our discussion dumb, then just threw something out there rules-wise that you didn't even know was true or not (and it's not)?

Agreed. I'm not saying it hasn't helped or it won't, just that there is no measurable proof that it has. Until I see evidence of an LBJ recruiting impact, I'll continue to give full credit to Keith Dambrot and his staff, who have - in my opinion - done a hell of a job recruiting.

Not really...again, nobody is arguing that he hurts us. We're debating how much he helps...whether it's a significant amount or not. I'm not a fan of James, but his association to UA doesn't bother me...it can't hurt. LeBron James, who does have an impact on recruits and chooses to help OSU and UK but not UA, getting credit for Keith Dambrot and his coaching staff's efforts does bother me.

Dambrot was questioned about if LeBron hurts him now post-"Decision"...he responded by saying nice things and saying he helps... We all agree that he helps...but where's the proof that he helps in a significant way? Find me one current, former, or future Zip quoted that LBJ had ANY impact on them attending UA and I'll believe he has a serious impact. Until there is actual evidence (KD saying nice things about his former player doesn't qualify) of LBJ having a major impact on our recruiting, that argument just doesn't hold up.

Think it's possible that has anything to do with 2 NCAA Tournament appearances in the last 4 years? Or the possibility that Keith Dambrot and Rick McFadden are pretty damn good recruiters? It's one thing to insult your fellow forum members in this discussion...it's another to insult the ability of our coaching staff to bring in quality players on their own. As for the recruiting violations, take a look at this link: "As Windhorst notes, LeBron consulted Tyreke Evans, John Wall and Sullinger before they chose their collegiate destination. Interestingly enough, Evans and Wall went to play for Calipari before jumping to the NBA. Also of note? Buckeyes coach Thad Matta has made LeBron an honorary alum." I guess Kentucky and Ohio State will be getting the death penalty soon...

If LeBron actually did "show up" for the program in some capacity, he'd certainly make a difference. He could help us in recruiting, getting a new arena, outfitting us in his exclusive "LeBron line" uniforms/gear...but he doesn't do any of those things, he instead chooses to help Ohio State and Kentucky. That's OK - he didn't go to UA, so he had no obligation to do any of that. Again, the occasional tweets are nice, but it hasn't produced any measurable positive impact to our program.

I agree that, despite no evidence of him helping our program, his loose ties can't hurt anything. I guess I just get tired of our fans/alumni/program catering to him when it serves him when he could be making a significant impact to our program (recruiting, arena, etc) and instead chooses to help Ohio State and/or Kentucky.

Me? I've yet to see any evidence provided against my argument. It took me 2 seconds to find evidence via Google that he has helped both Ohio State and Kentucky in recruiting. I'd love to see some evidence that he's helped us as well. Just name me one player in the nine years since he graduated from St. V that James has influenced in any way, shape, or form to come here.

Here's an interesting article: The subject was where to take one's talents. Chris Walker asked and LeBron James answered. Walker is a 6-10 junior forward at Holmes County High School in Bonifay, Fla. He’s one of the top recruits in the 2013 class -- currently ranked No. 5 in the ESPNU60 -- who has the interest of many of the programs in the nation. He’s also a big James fan and thinks so much of him that Walker sent James a message on Twitter asking where he should go to college. Apparently, it was a serious question. “I’m a top 5 player in the country in class of 2013. Where should I go to college Mr. James?” Walker asked James on Twitter. “If LeBron hits me back and tells me where he thinks I should go, I'd do it,” Walker told ESPN’s Jason Jordan in an interview this week. “In my opinion, he's the best player in the league and I really look up to him. Plus, he’s the king. Gotta listen to the king, right?” When James heard about the request he offered some advice, and a few school suggestions. "The advice I would give Chris Walker is to follow his heart and go where he believes he can help the program and they can give him a great education,” James told ESPN.com. “Of course Ohio State and Kentucky are my two favorite programs for many reasons. They have great basketball programs, great coaches, players and are two of the best colleges in America. But with that said, Chris, you will know where you want to go when the time comes. I'm looking forward to seeing you make the decision and take your talents to that program and shine.” This time, it seems, James is being politically correct on the "taking of the talents" issue. James has been a supporter of Ohio State's basketball team, which started wearing his Nike brand of uniforms and shoes four years ago. Earlier this week James cheered the Buckeyes on in their victory over Duke. Several years ago, Buckeyes coach Thad Matta made James an honorary alum of the program. It’s possible that the Buckeyes might have the inside track. Over the summer, Walker said in several interviews that he was favoring Ohio State. Now James is nudging him, at least partially, in that direction as well. Over the last two years, though, James has also developed a new relationship with Kentucky. Coach John Calipari has been close with James for years. One of James’ lifelong friends, Brandon Weems, is on Calipari’s staff. He’s attended several Kentucky games, practices and camps since Calipari arrived in Lexington. Both Kentucky and Ohio State have been recruiting Walker, who has the size of a power forward but the athleticism of a small forward and is regarded as having huge potential once he adds some weight in the next few years. He’s also had offers from the likes of Florida, Kansas, Louisville, Connecticut, Memphis and Syracuse, to name a few. “The whole recruiting process can be a little overwhelming at times,” Walker said. “So many great schools want me to come and play for them. It’s hard to decide.” James is in a unique position when it comes to recruiting high school athletes. For the last five years, he has hosted the majority of the nation’s top high school players for Nike-sponsored camps in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. He’s gotten to know and offer advice to top players like Tyreke Evans, John Wall and Jared Sullinger before they made their college picks. There’s a good chance Walker will be in Akron at James’ camp next summer. Until then the two might just keep in touch via Twitter. With nearly 2.9 million followers, James recently moved into Twitter’s 100 most followed people. He’s the sixth most-followed athlete in the world and is third among American sports stars. Serious questions for those who believe LeBron has a serious impct on our team: 1) How do you feel about him openly helping Ohio State and Kentucky get recruits? 2) Our only "major" recruit has been Zeke Marshall, who said he didn't know James was connected to Akron until he visited here. His mother also said LeBron had zero impact on him signing. With the power that James seems to have, if he was trying to help Akron, wouldn't at least one "top" recruit have come by now? LeBron James loves Akron. He likes The University of Akron. He'll throw us a Twitter shout-out every once awhile, and I'm sure he likes to see us win. However, he doesn't come to games anymore (and hasn't since Romeo/Dru graduated). He doesn't try to help us recruit like he does for Ohio State and Kentucky. He doesn't give our team the special "LeBron line" jerseys, warmups, etc that Ohio State, Kentucky, and Miami get. There is zero existing evidence that he has helped us (even a little bit) land a recruit in any way, shape, or form. He likes us, but we're not special to him. His ties to Dambrot and the city of Akron don't hurt us, but they really haven't done much for our program either. I respect those that belief that he does more than this...I just don't agree with it until I see some actual evidence to support it.

I'm thoroughly enjoying your "zero evidence presented" argument, so I guess we're even.

That's cool for Chris, but it falls into the same category as LeBron's occasional "Akron U" tweets - can't hurt, but how has it helped us as a program? I'm still waiting for ANY evidence that LeBron had even a little bit of an impact in a recruit coming to UA instead of another school.

So when we get to the "big stage" and they talk about Dambrot coaching LeBron in high school instead of our program's accomplishments, that's a good thing...?

The only downside to LeBron is that both times they have made the NCAA Tournament, the CBS announcers spent almost as much time talking about Keith Dambrot being his former coach than the Zips players that worked so hard to get to The Dance. I wanted to scream when they played Notre Dame - I feel like it was all they talked about the first 5-6 minutes. Our players deserve that spotlight and attention.

Now that Tressel has officially started at UA, I figure we can keep track of what he's doing in this thread. It seems as if UA is already getting him out there quite a bit. Tressel spoke at Manchester High School last week. ESPN Cleveland's website is featuring an advertisement for a luncheon with Tressel on May 31st. This blog claims that Tressel planned to retire from coaching after 2012, before the scandal even occurred. Finally, I'll share a cool story from a friend of mine that I think you will all appreciate. He said he was sitting on the steps of Buchtel Hall in between his classes and was wearing an Ohio State t-shirt. An older gentleman in a suit approached him, smiled, and said, "Hey, we need to get you to the bookstore to get a new shirt." He looked up to see the man was none other than Jim Tressel.

It's odd, I just did a Google search...I found this: And this... ...for some reason though, I can't find any pictures of LeBron wearing the gear of "his adopted team"...maybe it's because he never wore any and hasn't attended a Zips game since Travis/Joyce graduated? Also: - Our team is sponsored by Nike, but we do not get the unique "LeBron line" gear that he has given to Ohio State, Miami, and Kentucky. He just lets us advertise his logo in our arena. - His tournaments are no longer being held here Again, nobody is saying it's a bad connection to have. There's just zero proof that the little that he has done has made any measurable impact on our recruiting efforts, which means his impact on our program has been minimal at best (which is obviously still better than nothing).

It's up to you to prove the benefit to recruiting. Name me one recruit who listed one of the reasons he came to UA as the connection to LeBron. Again, I'm not saying it hurts...just that his minimal impact on this program is largely overblown.

CK made the claim that LeBron benefits our recruiting (which would certainly impact our program) , while some (like myself) respectfully disagree due to lack of evidence.

Sounds like Dambrot and Zeke saying nice things about LeBron and his "UA impact" because they knew the writer was writing an article about LeBron. It's interesting that the writer - who surely had full access to interview any Zips player - had zero quotes from current players saying he had any kind of impact on them signing with UA. I've never heard a recruit being quoted that LeBron's high school ties to Dambrot had anything to do with them signing with UA. Until one does, I just can't buy the argument that his impact is any more than minimal at best. It doesn't hurt, but his impact to this program is completely overblown.