UAZip0510

Except the other 200 teams didn't earn their way to playing Ohio U in the MAC championship game.

Considering we lost a one point game and Walsh had a great look that would have given us the lead with little time left on the clock, yes, it could have been us. You simply can't compare a team one week removed from a gigantic letdown playing in a meaningless tournament to the emotional high that comes with playing in an NCAA Tournament game. There's no guarantees on anything, but I feel like we could have beat both Michigan and USF. Unfortunately, we'll never know. Scrolling through this board, I don't think anyone is satisfied - players, coaches, or fans. There's a big difference between being optimistic for next season and being satisfied. To me, this season was a failure. Many will argue that, but anything less than the NCAA Tournament is failure to me. There were some great accomplishments, but they didn't reach their end goal. With that being said, I'm not going to sit here and say our team sucks, our program sucks, our coaches suck, OU is unbeatable, etc etc etc. I am not satisfied until we do what OU has done. I am optimistic that we will do what OU has done next year.

I'm going to bump this because I think Ohio's run brings forth many thoughts: 1) Maybe instead of thinking the Zips underperformed, what they accomplished this year was actually underrated. The Bobcats are a Sweet Sixteen team, and we split the regular season with them and lost by one point in a game that could have gone either way. We're clearly pretty even with them, and they are going to the Sweet Sixteen. 2) Reaching the Sweet Sixteen almost assures that John Groce is gone. While the Bobcats will bring everyone back, they will have to adjust to a new head coach. It may also impact Kadeem Green transferring, as well as verbally committed recruits. 3) This puts the target squarely on Ohio's back next year in the MAC. Personally, I feel like the Zips perform better in the "underdog" role. 4) "If Walsh's jumper went in, could this have been us?" Hopefully that thought makes Dambrot, his players, and his coaching staff hungrier than they've ever been before to get a 2nd chance and finish the job this time. This team has just as much, if not more talent than OU. The 2012-2013 NCAA Tournament representative might be decided by who works the hardest this offseason.

I still think UNC wins handily. I'm not sure who stops Zeller and Henson.

I hate both OU and Cooper with a passion, but who said or is acting like they dominated the MAC?

Can't see Cooper transferring at this point

One of the TNT announcers just said he's been told Shaka will be the next coach at Illinois. Hear anything like that Districtballer?

I think Abreu could be that guy. I posted this in another thread, but will re-post here: Abreu's 2011-2012 Averages (Rounded): 30 Minutes, 6 FG Attempts, 10 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 2 steals; .457 FG%, .430 3PT%, 82 FT% Cooper's 2011-2012 Averages (Rounded): 32 minutes, 12 FG attempts, 15 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 2 steals; .356 FG%, .316 3PT%, 74 FT% I'd like to see Abreu become more assertive as our team leader and "go to" guy next season.

I took it as him saying Cooper just does it better, which I can't argue with to this point. I can't stand Cooper, but you can't deny that he steps his game up when it matters most. He's also a year ahead of Abreu, which is why I think next year will be Abreu's breakout year. The numbers aren't that far off from this season, especially when you consider Abreu played at less than 100%. Abreu's 2011-2012 Averages (Rounded): 30 Minutes, 6 FG Attempts, 10 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 2 steals; .457 FG%, .430 3PT%, 82 FT% Cooper's 2011-2012 Averages (Rounded): 32 minutes, 12 FG attempts, 15 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 2 steals; .356 FG%, .316 3PT%, 74 FT% Statistically, Abreu is a more efficient scorer. I'd like to take him "take control" even more next season like Cooper does almost every game.

I didn't say he didn't have any skills, but he was certainly a project coming in, despite his size and athleticism.

I think we saw flashes of this from Alex Abreu this year. He's always had the toughness and confidence, and by the end of the year I think he was becoming our leader. I really think 2012-2013 will be a breakout year for AA.

This.

I agree, this is my biggest concern moving forward. We don't even necessarily need a star big man, just someone with some extra size down low.

From a recent Ohio.com article: “No one understood that he didn’t pick up a basketball until he was in eighth grade when I made him pick it up. I’m the one who got him onto that court,” Bozeman said. Zeke was nothing close to advanced coming out of high school. He was a high school All-American because he was a 7'0" tall athletic freak. He was absolutely a "project" coming in as a freshman. Zeke now has the skills necessary to become a POY candidate. He's improved his free throw shooting, cut down on bad fouls, and even developed an inside game, including a nice jump hook. Zeke's flaw is toughness: mental (getting frustrated after a bad start, not handling pressure well at times) and on-court (not going up strong, getting less aggressive against players who are physical against him). I'm not sure his flaws are correctable through coaching. Between the coaching staff and his mother, I know that Zeke has plenty of outside motivation. He has the tools he needs to be POY his senior year. It's up to Zeke if that happens or not in his senior year, not the coaching staff.

Good points all around. I wouldn't be shocked to see one of them leave. Maybe the coaching staff could find a JUCO/transfer big man if that did happen.

Just to reset this thread a bit, I'd expect Akron will go with a solid nine for the most part. 5-Marshall 4-Treadwell 3-Gilliam 2-Walsh 1-Abreu 6-Diggs 7-Harney 8-Egner 9-Betancourt With the addition of Betancourt, it really makes me wonder if Blake Justice and/or Deji Ibitayo consider transferring elsewhere. If Betancourt is as good as advertised, neither would have the opportunity to play much until their senior year.

Wonder where Zeigler's son goes. He had offers for Michigan State, Michigan, UCLA, and a few other major programs.

I understand that viewpoint, I've just never been a big "it's good for the MAC" guy. I imagine Akron's coaches visiting a recruit, making a solid pitch, and impressing the recruit. Then I imagine OU's coaches visiting the same recruit, pointing out to him that they've defeated us twice, showing him tape of their two NCAA Tournament wins, and leaving with a LOI. That's just my thought process though...I know there are solid arguments to both sides.

I was just curious to see another perspective...didn't mean to cause a stir.

...but who wins/won has a significant impact on Akron, and that's what we're discussing. Again, I was just asking...just curious.

I guess I'm just not sure how that helps us in accomplishing that goal.

We go after the same recruits. Now, if a guy is torn between us and them, they can say they beat us twice in the Title game AND won two NCAA Tournament games. The only positive to me is that they may now have a new head coach next season.

Count me in as those supporting OU. When they came to the JAR, I kind of expected their fans to be a little cocky, considering they had just made the Final Four. They were extremely classy though, and Smart is fun to watch. Go VCU!

Not being a dick, just really curious...why?

This sucks...I hate OU