phil

Assuming that that the players around him stay the same (no injuries or further suspensions) and the referees treat him fairly, I believe that Zeke can score between 10 and 20 points the rest of the season. His teammates are looking for him more often and he has been scoring 3 dunks or layups each game. Based upon his recent aggressiveness, rebounding and going to the hoop, he should get to the foul line for another 4 points. I thought that the game on Monday he missed some shots and still scored 11 points. He also did not play the last 6 minutes. When Zeke gets easy baskets early in the game, he seem to get in an offensive rythem One of the reasons he is scoring more is that he has better hands this year and is controlling the ball better once he receives it. But more importantly, Zeke is developing a very good chemistry with his teammates. Keith seems to have found a good rotation. Zeke has athletic and strong guys around him that can drive to the basket aggressively. With Tree you have a very aggressive rebounder. I believe this team has the capability to get offensive rebounds and break down defenses. The athleticism on this team will help Zeke score. This is something that we did not have the last 2 years since we liked to pass around the perimeter and shoot the 3. I hope that I am not being overly optimistic but I like what I am seeing out on the floor even if the competition might not have winning records.

Zeke has really improved this season and especially the last few games on how much he has been on the floor. Last year he seemed to get winded easily and would ask for a breather, especially if he was working hard at both ends of the floor. This year his conditioning is much better. He has also stayed out of foul problems this year, especially at home. I wonder how much Keith complained about the ticky tack fouls called at the JAR last year. It seems like this year, at least at the JAR, they are letting Zeke play. He has not been close to fouling out during the recent home stand. Compare that to the away games where Zeke would get called for a foul if he even breathed on a player. His offense also has improved, especially when he knows what he want to do on offense when he gets the ball. (ok dunks are easy, just slam it down). I noticed that when Zeke holds on to the ball for a long time before he goes to the hoop, his chances of scoring go down. When he makes his move quickly, he seems to score. I really like when he takes that open 12 footer. The Cavs Z made a living off that shot and Zeke is developing a nice open shot at this range. Obviously, watching him block shots is worth the price of admission. Hoping that the foul trouble is a thing of the past.

I watched Egner play a last few games and was hoping that the local kid would get some meaningful minutes. On Saturday night I watched him play for 13 minutes and not have any rebounds and had 4 fouls. I also observed him getting pushed around on the boards. Tonight I saw him make a stupid goaltending when the ball was clearly on the way down. He seems to be pressing on offense and has missed several shots around the basket. He needs to learn that on this team he is going to have to earn minutes by playing tenacious defense, boxing out and rebounding. I don't see him being strong enough to do that right now. I would love to see him succeed but he is going to have to play stronger and play with more tenacity if he is going to see any meaningful minutes. He certainly hasn't helped himself the past few games.

You raise a legitimate question. How did we get to be so bad so quickly. Since I coach has taking over the team, we have not been competitive at the division 1 level. You blame JD and his recruits. Most people on this board blame I coach. Assuming the school does not fire him, you believe that within the next 2 years this team will improve greatly since I coach will have his own players. I hope that you are right but I fail to share your optimism. I did get to know coach Brookhart and he was a hard working guy who had a very good reputation in the community. In this era of coverups, he did the right thing when he dismissed his starting quarterback on the eve of their first game because of a violation of team rules. Further, he never publicized the infraction protecting the quarterbacks privacy. He had roots in this community and he told me that he passed on other opportunities that paid more money when he was at Akron. When the AD decided to fire him with one year left on the contract, he understood that was the nature of the coaching business and had no complaints. JD was a good guy and had several successful seasons at Akron. I do not believe he is the one to blame for the last 2 losing seasons.

The coaching decisons never cease to amaze me. When the anemic offense finally gets to the Miami 35, down 14 or points, why punt the ball? The ball ended up in the end zone for a net of 15 yards. At best the punt only nets 30 yards.When they did go for it on 4th down on their own 29 yard line, why call the same play that failed on 3rd down and failed to gain a yardl. Not only did they run the same play, they put a man in motion who hesitated at the hole where Akron was running the ball each time they ran the play. Each time the play netted 0 yards.I was hoping Akron would score a touchdown to see if the offense went for 2 being down 30 points. I guess will have to wait for next week.This team is so bad I do not think there is any quick fixes. For those that want to fire the coach, just remember the same guy who picked coach I will be picking the next coach.

I guess each year we are going to get a bonehead call from the I coach who has won 1 game in his career at the division one level. Last year it was the kicking to the opposition at both the start of the game and at the half.This year it was the "let's go for 2 when we are losing 20 to 6. The decision makes no sense, especially in the 4th quarter. If the score is 20 to 7, you score 2 touchdowns and you win the game 21-20. If you go for 2 and make it and score 2 touchdowns, you win the game 22 to 20. There is no other coach in the NCAA that could legitimize this decsion.If it was an automatic decsion, then some coach should have told the team not to use it after that touchdown. It would be appropriate for the coach to recognize it as a mistake and learn from it.I am amazed that this decision cost Akron the 'game because I would never have predicted that the offense could score 2 touchdowns in the 4th quarter. The offense is the first 3 quarters was horrendous. I don't think we had more than 6 first downs in the first half. Moore held onto the ball way to long and could not find any open receivers. The interception was a stop and go, the same pattern that scored a touchdown for OU last week. However, the defender never went for the fake and he was 10 yards behind the receiver when he started upfield. Moore still through the ball and it went right into the defender's hands. He has to learn to throw the ball away if the play is not there. The running game was ineffective. We simply could not move the ball until the trick play on the reverse. My favorite play of the year.Still looking forward to basketball

We do stink. I always enjoyed going to Akron U football games for many years and I would take my 3 boys. This is like torture because we simply cannot compete. I have gone to 4 games the last 2 years and seen 3 blowouts losses and a loss to Gardener Webb.Our defense cannot stop the pass or run. O U had over 500 yards in total offense. Our safeties are 20 yards off the line of scrimmage but when their receiver did a hitch and go they were nowhere to be found. We had almost no pressure on the quarterback and he picked us apart by scrambling when there was pressure.The coaches calls were suspect when he runs the ball twice being down 20 points and when he has 3rd and one he passes the ball and it goes incomplete. Our only cometitive touchdown was set up by a comical lateral turnover that nobody could pick up and then an Akron player took it down to the 6 yard line where we finally scored on fourth down.Our offense cannot maintain a touch down drive. Our running back did not attack the holes but seemed to go wide on almost every play till the 3rd quarter. He was ineffective the 1st half but seemed to do better the 2nd half. It is sad watching people leave after the half and during the 3rd quarter. The fans around me were disgusted by the lack of competance with this team. The kickoff returner dropped the ball twice and several times we started our drive from our own 15 or worse.Our receivers had several nice catches but their routes were not very crisp. The best catch of the day was a one handed grab by the OU receiver.After we scored to make it 23-10 I was hoping the we would try on onside kick. It was our only hope since our defense could not stop their offense. We kicked it away and they shoved the football down our throat. I finally left when they were on our one yard line and it was third and one. We used a four man front and the safeties and linebacker were 5 yards in our end zone. It was an eay score with a run right up the middle. I was done.It is difficult being an optimist but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Basketball season!

If I cannot win 3 games this season, I will resign.

under-over-achievers

I went to a dozen games this year and I am going to miss this group playing together. A class coach who recruits great kids. The Mac tournament was great to watch. Each game a different player stepping up and keeping Akron on top. I hope Nik stays one more year. He has really matured on the court and has improved his game. Good luck to the seniors. They gave us a great year!

Thanks. I must add that I thought the refs did a good job at the Can't game last night. It is easier to compliment the refs when your team is not playing.

This was by far the best reffed game for the Zips. They let the guys play basketball and called a great game. Zeke finally got the opportunity to show off his abililities without the "ticky tack" fouls that have slowed him down all season. He stepped out several times and brushed the ball handler and there was no whistle. The game had a great flow to it. I did not celebrate at the end of the game because I wasn't sure if the refs had blown a whistle because the Q was so loud. It was only when the players started celebrating that I knew we had won the game. Congratulations to the team. Ms. Marshall should be very proud of her son! He played the best game of his career and deserved the MVP

Another great game at the Q!! I thought Akron played great D the first half but also Miami looked really tight. I knew that it would not last the entire game. It was great that McClanahan had a career game. He found his shot after struggling the last few games and carried the team with his shooting. McKnight also played strong in the overtime and had a great steal before he got hard fouled. This team showed a lot of character after Miami took the lead. They did not fold but kept fighting. There were some big time shots and rebounds in the overtimes. They also controlled the boards most of the game. I am hoping that McNees, Nik or Zeke to have a big game tomorrow. Even though they played 2 overtimes, this team does not want their season to end. Go Zips!!

I am hoping that the Zips can make one more run to the finals in this tournament. The last few years have been exciting. The keys to a Zip victory: Rebounding. The Zips seemed to turn things around when they started rebounding the ball. I loved Zeke's aggressiveness under the boards on Tuesday. If he gets double digit rebounds were looking good. Taking shots in or around the paint. Our guards made several layups on Tuesday and we were getting great looks inside. Cvenitovic has been great going to the basket along with McKnight. Would love to have both of them in double figures. Work the ball inside and that will open up the perimeter. McNees always seems to shoot the lights out at the Q. If he or McClanahan can get hot we will be tough to beat. Defense. Our guards have to keep their man in front of them and not let them penetrate like at Can't. Luck. Sometimes the difference between a win and a loss

I have enjoyed watching Zeke play basketball and find it difficult to understand why people blame him when the team is not playing well or is not winning. Zeke is an great shot blocker and has just set the Akron record for blocked shots. He wins the opening tip every game potentially giving us an added possession each game. He provides a safe pass on the inbouds play by passing him the ball where nobody can get it. Most importantly, he intimidates other players by having them change their shot in the lane or by passing the ball out or forcing a bad shot so that it will not be blocked. His rebounding has improved and he has grabbed numerous rebounds in heavy traffic. Zeke is a much more intensive player on defense than he is on offense. Currently he is better at blocking shot than at scoring. However, he is only a 2nd year player and he still has potential to be an outstanding offensive player. He has displayed a nice jump hook early in the season. But he does not have the confidence to consistantly take the ball to the basket when he is one on one. With practice and hard work he can improve his offense. I look forward to watching Zeke play in the tournament and maybe in a couple of years he will be setting some offensive records.

Don't give up on Zeke! He had 9 rebounds on Wed. night and he is a great shot blocker and can intimidate the other team in the middle. His offense still needs work but he is only a soph. He needs to work on his inside game and have the confidence to take the ball to the hoop. The refs did not help him last night by calling a ticky tack offensive foul off the ball 7 seocnds into the game. Each one of his fouls were non calls that had no effect on play. His second foul he ran into a Buffalo player getting back on defense and his 3rd foul the Buffalo player lowered his shoulder into Zeke getting position and when Zeke touches the guy on defense they call a foul on Zeke off the ball. (I dislike refs that call fouls off the ball that do not effect play but swallow their whistle when players get hacked driving to the basket) But look at the difference a year can make. Cvenetovic's game is so much better today than it was last year. Remember how he used to hesitate at the foul line, hesitate making his move to the basket, would try to draw offensive fouls at least 2-3 times a game and then get upset when he would miss shots or not get the calls. Now he is playing with great confidence and scoring from the paint. He and Brett are taking the pressure off the outside shooters by scoring in the paint. This team is playing great basketball without Zeke being the go to guy. There is nothing wrong with this and I still believe he will be a valuable contributor during the remainder of the season.

Both McNight and McNees have always stepped up their game the past few years during the Mac tournament. Two years ago McNight scored the game winner on an out of bounds play where he received the ball in midair and put the ball in the basket. McNees seems to shoot the lights out at the Q. He has hit some deep 3s at the end of the games. When he first played as a freshman I remember he used to throw some crazy passes and would turn the ball over. He has matured every year. Bardo is really playing well and has helped this team. These players will be missed next year. Lets hope they each get to play in one more NCAA tournament before they leave!

A great game by Nik and McNight on the offensive end. Each game he is playing with more confidence. As long as he and McNight keep taking the ball to the basket this team can stay with anyone. I was also glad to see Zeke play with more confidence bringing in 9 rebounds and a couple of blocks. This team is moving the ball well and there was some nice give and goes for easy baskets. We started slow with only 5 points in the first 5 minutes but they did not get down on themselves. Looking forward to the final few games and hoping they can keep up this high level of play.

This year the attendance at all of the Akron sports is down. I remember last year soccer had a couple of sell outs and this year with a better team I don't remember any sell outs and the attendance seemed to be down. The football team attendance was a fiasco. I went to 2 games and have never been so disappointed at the product that was on the field. It certainly didn't help the athletic program when the primary sport with a new stadium was getting blown out at home. I believe that many fans felt the same way and wonder if this disappointment carried over to the attendance for the basketball team. The attendance at the basketball games is certainly disappointing. I expected a better crowd at the Creighton game. The team is winning and playing good basketball. I liked the band leader getting the fans off their feet because it was spontaneous. I personally do not like someone getting paid to lead the crowd to cheer for the team. That should come from the game, the players, the fans, the coach and the bandleader and his cow bell.

Coach Dambrot indicated in the pregame that the team worked on offensive rebounding and it showed. Bardo and Nik had 2 pretty putbacks in the game and the team husseled for offensive rebounds. The key to this team is the ability to drive to the basket. When they make moves to the basket, it opens up the permieter for wide open 3s and easy layups. McNees had several nice drives to the basket. Even if we miss our shot, the drive draws defenders to the ball and creates opportunities for offensive rebounds. Abreu did not shoot very well but was 7 for 8 from the line by driving to the basket and drawing fouls. Unfortunately, this team often settles for passing the ball around the perimeter of the defense and then taking a 3 point shot. (The first 3 minutes of Weds game). Z is the only one underneath for a rebound. By taking the ball to the basket last night, they rarely cranked up a shot with the time clock expiring. Nik is playing at his best and keeping his emotions under control. He has been their most consistant scorer and rebounder. I am hoping that they continue this type of play as it was a great game to watch.

I went to the game taking 2 of my sons and one of their friends expecting a competitive game. It was competitive for one quarter. However, Akron's defense simply could not stop the Northern Illinois Offense. They scored on every possession and did not punt until there was about 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter. I was sitting at the 30 yard line and watched the coaches talking to the defensive team. The coaches did not have any answers or the players simply could not make any plays. In the 2nd quarter Norther Illinois scored a touchdown, Akron went 3 and out, and then the kicker shanked a punt setting Northern Illinois up on Akron's 45 yard line for another score. No defense, no offense and no special teams. One problem Akron has had in the past is that the opposition each week has scored a touchdown in the last minute of the half. It didn't happen this week. Instead they scored 2 touchdownsbefore the half, sending about half of the fans home for the night. Akron looked like they were playing man to man on pass defense and they were getting beat on almost every play. When the ball was in the air our defensive backs could not get to the ball. There was little pass rush and their receivers were open much of the night. I usually like taking my kids to the football games but this was painful to watch. I stayed till the bitter end and estimated that there were 500 fans in the stadium exluding band members and the Northern Illinois fans. I am hoping this team will improve but I would not bet on it.

It's 2010....Go to ticketmaster before you leave your house, buy tickets so and then you won't have to stand in line. There is no line on the internet. You completely missed the point. This is not the way a professional organization should operate. How about a little customer service. Besides, not that it should make a difference, but my son didn't decide to go until that day. Ticketmaster runs 24/7. You could have spent five minutes on it before leaving for the game. It's 2010.....those who had to stand in line have nobody to blame but themselves. So you are making excuses for poor customer service...besides being a jerk. I have asked the AD about this a couple of times. The ticket purchase transaction time is about 3-5 min a person. Way too long for only having about 10 windows that are not dedicated to will call. They have the same problem during basketball season. A 5 person line is about 20-30 min waiting. Plus the credit card system seems to go down all the time. Hell they were manually tyoing in credit card info last year. Buy a scanner these type of issues should be handled by the director and assistant director of ticket sales...they pay them good money to sell very few tickets and providing poor customer service. Also, the Ticketmaster fees are crazy. You have to be thick skinned to support U of A athletic teams. When the team played at the rubber bowl, I would be stuck in traffic for an hour trying to get to the game when the attendance was 15,000. The reason was that the University would collect the parking fee on the streets tying up traffic for a mile. The lines at the concession stands were also very long and slow. Getting out of the parking lot was also a nightmare because nobody was directing traffic in the parking lot. My experience is that the parking situation has greatly improved at the new stadium. I also have been stuck in line at the Jar buying tickets. I noticed that the line moves very slowly because there are only 2 windows selling tickets and the clerks must use a computer when selling the tickets even for general admission tickets. A 10 second transaction becomes a 3 minute transaction whenever a computer is involved. The line really slows down when somebody buys lower level seating and can't decide where to sit. On several occassions, it has worked to my benefit because people have given me tickets while I have been waiting in line. It amazes me that the university will spend money to advertise a game but will not monitor the ticket windows in order to eliminate the lines. The biggest joke is the half time entertainment at the basketball games last year. At the sold out Can't game, I was treated to "Lets Make a Deal" with the prizes coming from the Salvation Army collection. I appreciate the Salvation Army sponsoring the Zips but that was not a great way to bring fans back to the Jar. Whether the Zips win or lose, Akron could certainly do a better job servicing the fans and making a trip to the stadium a more pleasant experience.