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He wouldn't make us a Top 25 team. He could get us what OU has right now and I would take an 8-9 win season in a second. I actually think a lot of guys could win at Akron given the chance. Jim Tressel is one of the top 5 coaches in America. He's also an incredible recruiters. Trust me, we'd be Top 25 within 2-3 years. How often has any MAC team broke the top 25? And how quickly did they fall? I have a hard time believing that any MAC team could be a consistent top 25 team. Its so unrealistic for any MAC team and if it was, its almost guaranteed the coach will be leaving at season's end for greener pastures. If you want to get to the top 25 and stick around that area, youre not going to do it in the MAC... How many MAC teams have coaches as talented and as prestigious as Jim Tressel?

He wouldn't make us a Top 25 team. He could get us what OU has right now and I would take an 8-9 win season in a second. I actually think a lot of guys could win at Akron given the chance. Jim Tressel is one of the top 5 coaches in America. He's also an incredible recruiters. Trust me, we'd be Top 25 within 2-3 years.

All true, but I think you forgot the biggest one. He would draw a crowd at Infocision. All that being said, I am still against it. I don't like rewarding a multiple rule breaker and hypocrite. I'm not against it as much as I once was. The program is in such disarray right now, his pros may outweigh his cons in this case. Nah, I still hate that smug look on his face. Jim Tressel screwed up, but he's not a bad person. He's a great coach, his players love him, he'd make us a Top 25 team, fill Infocision Stadium, get national media attention...how anyone could be against his potential hire is beyond me.

Before this season started, most of us expected that this team would take awhile to gel. Many predicted a slow start, figuring it would take awhile for the rotation to get sorted out. The Mississippi State win, while still important, made us lose sight of that. You are right in noting that this team has no leadership right now. Cvetinovic isn't setting the example and Marshall and McClanahan don't have "take charge" personalities. One of the young players is going to have to step into that role. Quincy Diggs could be the one, but he may be in the same boat as Marshall and McClanahan. Chauncey Gilliam and Nick Harney look like future leaders, but I'm not sure either can fill that role quite yet. The best candidate seems to be Alex Abreu. He plays fearless, he isn't afraid of big game situations, and he's certainly the Zips' best floor general. He's only a sophomore though...will he be able to step into that role so soon? I predicted at the end of last season that we would miss Darryl Roberts more than we expected...that certainly appears to be true thus far.

I forgot all about that. A similar play happened early to Valpo and they awarded them a timeout immediately. That play changed the entire game. In a game that was decided by one possession, yes, it did change the entire game.

How would you measure an even game? It appears to me the only way to do that is measure fouls. I don't buy the theory, but this is the logic of the blame the refs crowd. If the only way to make a game evenly refed is to look at fouls, then the only way to have a fair game is to have an even number of fouls. This idea does not look at how one team might have outplayed another or one team doesn't perform the way it should. I happen to believe the Zips didn't perform up to their ability last night. The Zips lost, not the refs. It does a disservice to the Zips to blame anyone but them for the outcome last night. I think too much of this program to do that. You measure it by looking to see if there is a somewhat reasonable difference in fouls committed. It doesn't have to be perfectly even, but I would expect it to be within 10 or so, unless one team is just entirely outmatched by the other. 38 free throws for one team and 7 for the other is not a reasonable difference in fouls committed between two closely matched teams. I'll ask two questions once again: 1) Did you watch the entire game? 2) Do you feel like the Zips played such a low level of defense and that Valpo played such a high level of defense that 38-to-7 is a reasonable depiction of how the two teams played defensively? Again, I agree that the Zips should have still found a way to win the game...that's what champions do, and they didn't get the job done. But I feel it does a disservice to them to ignore the incredible discrepancy in fouls committed and ignore the huge impact it had on the game. I think too much of this program to do that.

Maybe the Zips shouldn't have fouled so much. I never understand the basketball fan who believes the refs should be looking at the scoreboard and keeping the number of fouls even. In football, when a team has a bunch of penalties, they lose a game and it is one of the major factors in losing and that team is to blame for it. A basketball game should be looked at in the same manner. Did you watch the game? Nobody is saying the referees should be tracking team fouls to make sure they are even. I am just saying that - unless you believe the Zips had that little of control on defense, and that Valpo had such great control on defense, that the referees didn't call anything close to an even game.

The Zips did adjust to the referees - they stopped playing aggressive defense (their bread and butter) mid-way through the game so they would still have five players left by game's end. Look, I get what you're saying - despite the referees, the Zips still made mistakes, missed opportunities, and failed to close out a game that they had in their grasp. Despite the referees, they should be 3-0 right now. With that being said, it's also short-sighted to ignore a 38-to-7 free throw disparity. Unless you believe the Zips have little to no control of themselves on defense, and that Valpo played defense with so much more discipline, then it's clear the referees impacted the outcome of the game, which they should never, ever do. It's over and done with, and it's now time to focus on Duquesne. LETS GO ZIPS!

I forgot all about that. A similar play happened early to Valpo and they awarded them a timeout immediately.

Eastern Michigan is a great team too...coming from a quality conference <insert good MAC teams that aren't EMU>. We choked. Plenty more games to play, lessons to learn and opportunities for redemption. But we choked tonight. Disagree. We failed to overcome the many obstacles put in our way (poor officiating, no Zeke, etc) and came up short in fighting back. I agree that lessons can be learned from this, but I can't agree that it was a "choke".

It continues to amaze me how good teams get calls and bad teams get "screwed." Zips are a bad team now?

I think some people refuse to play the "refs screwed us" card, no matter how bad it gets. I can understand and respect that - I just think there's certain situations (tonight) where you have to chalk it up to that. We can agree to disagree I guess. While I'm pissed and wanted that win, there's nothing we can do now. This will be a learning experience for our young squad. This is why playing tough teams on the road is beneficial down the line. I'm fully expecting a big time effort and a "W" tomorrow.

Agree 100%. I don't know how anyone who watched the entire game doesn't reach the same conclusions.

I see your point. The two situations were nearly identical right ? Good one. It was an obvious tongue-in-cheek statement, sorry if you didn't catch that...the point remains - when a team gets blatantly screwed by an officiating crew, I refuse to say they choked.

I assume you guys thought the US National team choked against the Soviets in 1972 as well.

100% agree. Despite the officiating and everything going Valpo's way, they kept fighting. When they went down 8 early in the 2nd half, they were visibly rattled and the game seemed over. This young team collected itself and fought back and somehow, despite playing 5-on-8, had a chance to win at the end. I have no problem with the Diggs three either - say they hit a two and tie it...you honestly think Valpo wasn't going to the line on their final possession? That's definitely a great spot to go for the win.

Did you see Diggs, McClanahan and Abreu finish out? Did you see the shots? Seriously? No points for the final 4 minutes? We choked. Period. I Speak Truth...and it sometimes hurts. Don't you think it might have something to do with getting hacked every time they drove the ball only to see nothing called?

You didn't see sense of urgency tonight? They played their asses off. When one team gets 38 free throws and the other gets 7, it's going to affect the outcome of a 3 point game. It's amazing that they even had chances to win at the end.

Just not much you can do tonight. 31 fouls for Akron, 14 for Valpo. 7 free throws for Akron, 38 for Valpo. They fought and fought...just didn't have enough to overcome the officiating. This will be a good learning experience, as they certainly won't get calls should they make it back to the NCAA Tournament.

A lot of game left....huge test for Akron. Can they overcome 5-on-8?

I know there's home court advantage everywhere, but c'mon...this is laughable.

Wow, 21 free throws for Valpo, 4 for Akron in the 1st half. It's the only reason they are still in this one.

Amen. Some LeBron haters are in complete denial about his ability to help get publicity for the UofA. Yet, if LeBron doesn't tweet this to his millions of followers, it likely would have never gotten the attention of a major sports commentator. Excellent example of how that connection with Bron works for us. As I said in another thread, we might hopefully get a good indication of how much this NBA lockout benefits college basketball if there is a dramatic increase in the interest in the Akron vs. Cleveland State baskteball game. Will Cleveland area NBA fans sit on the sidelines? Or, will they turn their attention towards some D-1 college games in the area during the lockout? Any chance the NBA lockout could persuade the NCAA to allow these guys to play college ball for a year? Imagine what LeBron could do on the Zips roster. I know....that's a big dream. The same LeBron James that said he would have played for Ohio State had he gone to college? It's great that LeBron tweeted about us, but I truly believe the win would have received attention no matter what. Honestly, sometimes I wish the LeBron connection wasn't there...and I'm not just talking about his embarrassing on-court playoff performances. It sucks when our Zips do something great like make the NCAA Tournament, and all the announcers do is talk about how KD was LeBron's coach half of the time. I think he overshadows our accolades more than anything, and he has had a minimal impact on our program.

Why? In the Preseason Coaches Poll, West Virginia received 13 votes, Mississippi State 11. Our win is every bit as impressive as theirs.

I think Zeke is smart enough to know that a full four years will give him the best chance to succeed at the next level. I also think earning his degree is legitimately important to him. I think he's a four-year Zip.