zipnetter55

Very thorough and fair analysis by NWAkron. I usually have not agreed with many of his posts, but I can see both arguments. As to our future, those of you predicting a quick turnaround because of Groce, it's going to take time and patience. We have only 2 scholarships available next year and we lose our most experienced player. While some of the freshmen (Parrish and Sayles) have shown a few flashes, we actually have only 2 quality players returning (Ivey and Utomi).yes, we have 4 redshirts, but all inexperienced and unproven. After a losing season, recruiting will be difficult (yes winning records do help). Looking at the full picture, the most optimistic outlook would be for 2020, so keep rooting, buying tickets, and remain patient and perhaps we will see those 20 plus seasons again.

I have purposefully refrained from commenting for last 4-5 wks to listen to all the K.D. haters and Groce lovers, but I think Skip is spot on. I have seen nothing from K-lack to suggest he will be anything more than a 5 minute a game, bottom of the bench player. Many of you posters who preferred 1 meaningful win to 21 win seasons are now calling 1 win over CMU "meaningful" I know some of you are hoping for 1 home game in the tournament as "meaningful" my how perceptions have changed let me be clear, I am not anti-Groce. He inherited an impossible situation and did the best he could. So he gets a pass. What I do find bewildering is the notion that K.D. accomplished so little and that 1 or 2 tournament wins trumps everything. We shall see how a 12-13 win seasons helps or hurts recruiting

Does anyone know the status of Sayles for the EMU game?

Skip, I totally agree, we have to ... win 20 plus games and at least make it to the MAC finals BEFORE talking NCAA. TO be clear, I never included you among the Dambrot bashers

The 2 goals are not incompatible. I too hope for tournament success, but it is not as all-important as you suggest. I watched season after season of bad teams under Crawford, Hipsher,Rupert and others and it wasn't much fun. Ask yourself which is a better recruiting tool, ten 21 win seasons, or an occasional tournament appearance? Just ask Noah Robot ham or Antonio or Big Dog what sold them on Akron. To me, a banner honoring an NCAA appearance in the 2nd round or Sweet 16 carries less significance then ten 21 win seasons and numerous MAC finals, but I certainly understand your preference. Perhaps you never suffered through all those poor teams and bad seasons, if you had, you might have valued what Dambrot did for the program

You can see the trees, but not the forrest. Those mid-major don't have football, hence much of their athletic budget goes to MBB.nor do they have an annual debt service on their stadium of 4.3 million per year for 20 years. I have never given up on the Zips, I have seen nearly every home game for 40 plus years. What I fail to understand is the constant Dambrot bashing and the fixation with the NCAA tourney.and your willingness to trade a tournament win for 21 win seasons and MAC finals. To be clear, I am hoping for success this season and next, but unlike you and a few others, I am trying to be realistic.

Zippyfan34, I won't bet or root against my Zips. I am not anti-Zip or anti-Groce, simply realistic. This team lacks the players to win more than 4-6 MAC games for all the reasons previously stated. As for those who were bored with 21 win seasons and MAC finals, no I would never trade that for 1 win in the Big Dance. Do any of you really believe that a school like Akron has a realistic shot to advance I i n the NCAA tourney? If you want to know why not, just follow the money, compare our MBB budget with Xavier, Butler, Creigjton, Gonzaga or any other top mid-major. .

As usual ,Sklp is correct. There was no apocalypse coming under K.D. and Noah, Antonio and Hughes would still be here and we would have a full roster instead of being 3-4 players short. It sure didn't take long for the Groce bashers to surface, but he gets a pass this season as he just doesn't have the players. We have no post offense and are entirely dependent on our 3 pt shooters. We have only 2 scholarships for next season, so as I posted before, barring super recruiting, we are seasons away from being truly competitive in the MAC. Perhaps by seasons end, some of you K.D. bashers will be wishing for those 21 win seasons and MAC finals

Yes, a few seasons. We lose our most experienced player and floor leader. We add depth and, hopefully quality with our redshirt guards, but only 1 big, Riak. Even if he is an improvement, it will take time and another recruiting class , so I'm hoping for 2019 at the earliest for any meaningful MAC contention.

Agree with Sklp, we will be hard-pressed to get 4-5 MAC wins IF our 3 pt shooters are hitting, we have no inside game. The days of MAC domination appear over, at least for a few seasons

Unfortunatly, we may be the bottom feeders you referring to. What worries me most is an injury to any of our top 3 players, we have no adequate depth. Yes the MAC seems to be evenly matched, but only 2 other teams appear as inexperienced and thin as the Zips, so I picked Miami as our first road win.

A lot of insightful comments , I agree that we only have 2 1/22 players we can count on and that we sure could have used the 4 players sitting out. Realisticly, we will likely finish in the bottom half of the M.A.C ,but should be much improved next season. To me, Poke is just not a factor on offense against a decent team, better off the bench, Sayles looks like he could develop. By the way, the 2 players who went with K.D. we're non factors , no real loss there. Hoping for improvement tonite.

Young inexperienced team that doesn't know how to finish games, very little interior D, too many easy drives down the middle. Sayles improving, should start, not impressed with Cotton, too many bad pauses

A lot of insightful comments , I agree that we only have 2 1/22 players we can count on and that we sure could have used the 4 players sitting out. Realisticly, we will likely finish in the bottom half of the M.A.C ,but should be much improved next season. To me, Poke is just not a factor on offense against a decent team, better off the bench, Sayles looks like he could develop. By the way, the 2 players who went with K.D. we're non factors , no real loss there. Hoping for improvement tonite.

Gee, I wonder what happened to all those great out-of-bounds plays, those timely timeout calls, or that player movement without the ball? What I see is the same reliance on 3 point shooting and being out-manned by a power 5 team,and K.Ds teams didn't usually fold like that in the second half. As I stated in earlier posts, I support Groce, he was a good hire thrust into a tough situation, so enjoy the season without constantly bashing Dambrot?

I don't see any Creighton or Gonzales on this year's schedule, and what fundamentals that we lacked last year do we see now?

16 is about right. Let's See if I have this right , the K.K.D.Bashers (NW Akron, Lilroodude and others claim he had no out-of-bounds play, didn't use his time outs properly,didn't develop any top players, recruited players who were not athletic enough, yanked players who were having a hot hand, and my favorite, didn't let his assistant coaches coach) , so I don't see how we ever had all those 21 win seasons and played in all those MAC titles games ,must have been pure luck. Since the coaching is SO much better, we should easily surpass those numbers.

We are going to need some sort of scoring inside when the 3s aren't falling. Poke can't make a layup or foul shot, Sayles and K-lack need to see more time. Good win !! .

We are going to need some sort of scoring inside when the 3s aren't falling. Poke can't make a layup or foul shot, Sayles and K-lack need to see more time. Good win !! .

I actually went to the game and agree with most of the player assessments and believe utomi can be our best player and all Mac down the line realisticly, c.s u is not very good, probably at or near the bottom in the horizon league, so don't read too much into our win. I am dismayed by all the dambrot bashers, but I am ready to move on. I think groce was a good hire, especially under the circumstances. I give him a pass for this season because of the situation, but let's get real 20 wins??, we must have watched different games. Middle of the pack (8-8) would be a successful first season

Wow, "traitor. Dambrot. How many college coaches have stuck with one program as many years as he gave akron. He has too much class to go public with the real story of why he left ,but someday it will come out. I guess he didn't take the program very far, all those 21 win seasons and Mac championships must have been an accident. Just wait, you will be wishing for those 21 win seasons

A .500 season would be quite an accomplishment for groceries he has only 1 player with much Mac game experience, 4 players who have not played above high school,and very little depth. I think some of you are picking us on past reputation. Hope for the best , but prepare for the worst

skip hit it on the nose. successful season is winning the MAC and getting a bid to the NCAA or the NIT. Be realistic in your goals. We have a high school gym, a limited budget and nothing to attract top talent. We are a mid-major, but unlike Creighton, Butler, Marquette and Villanova, much of our athletic budget is eaten up by football,while all of the above schools either don't have football or are not competing in Division 1 football. Makes a huge difference. Many of those schools have 10-12,000 seat arenas and pack in the crowds- they are not competing with the Browns and Cavs and don't have the albatross of IInfocision weighing down the athletic budget, so get realistic in your expectations.

anyone attending practices, if so, do we have any walk-ons who might contribute. I like O-poke's athletisism,but last season he would get 3 fouls in five minutes-hope we have adequate backup for him. Big scoring load on Utomi and Ivey and we lost most of our 3 pt shooters- hope we have someone to replace their loss