zipnetter55

I probably have seen more zip games ,dating back to 1951, so don't lecture me about going to games. I like the Groce hire, I'm simply pointing out that we had a great run under K.D. and he is greatly admired and respected in the coaching community. What he "poached" was Dunn-Martin and Hughes, neither a big loss, the other departures, who knows? Groce inherited a tough situation and seemingly recruited well, next season when he has a full roster, we'll see how well he can coach, in the meantime quit bashing one of the most successful coaches in the country

all you dambrot bashers will be wishing for those 21 win seasons. this has the makings of a 10-12 win season. we are thin at all positions and 1 or 2 injuries could spell disaster be careful what you wish for

Iona is currently 12-9 and 2nd in the Metro Atlantic,with wins over Drexel,Marist, Manhattan and St.Peters,so our 14 pt win over them on a neutral court helps. UCSB is currently 9-11 and tied for 5th in the Big West and they have wins over Washington and Iona-don't know how much our 14 pt win over them helps. Looking at the remaining schedule,we will be favored in every game. Buffalo and NIU would appear to be the 2 biggest obstacles,but we get Buffalo at home and NIU has some ugly losses and is struggling. As for Cant,I have seen them twice and rivalry aside,we are the far superior team-their injuries hurt them and aside from Hall,they really don't have much scoring punch. I still believe we will run the table. GO ZIPS

A few thoughts on the game 1. CMU is the best Mac opponent we will see-veteran team with great ball movement 2. First 6-7 minutes-looked like we would be blown out,but once KD inserted BigDog,Kretzer and Josh, everything turned around as they had no answer for Big Dog 3. Antino's hot shooting barrage stunned CMU and they didn't right the ship until the 2nd half 4 2nd half was really fun-great crowd support-both teams went on unbelievable runs. As KD said in his post-game, at times the Zips played as well or better than any Zip team during his tenure-ball movement was spectacular at times. 5. Final score was not indicative of Akron's dominance- Last 3 minutes was hard to watch,and I agree, we went to the prevent defense and it hurt us 6. As I previously predicted, I believe we will run the table-I just can't see us losing to the teams remaining on our schedule-the away game at NIU could be a problem,as we have had problems winning there and they are unpredictable, 27-4 believe it

To all you schedule critics-the programs you aspire to emulate (Gonzaga,Butler, Wichita State) all have one thing in common- no division one football, As long as we are forced to commit a large share of our athletic budget to football,there will never be the resources necessary to support a nationally ranked basketball program,nor will the funds be there in order to build an adequate arena or to schedule nationally ranked teams that would attract regional fan support, Not only does the football albatross consume the athletic budget, but it also requires so many scholarships that it skews the Title 9 compliance numbers, Why do think we had to eliminate wrestling,men's tennis, swimming and now,baseball? There is and has been a golden opportunity for a highly ranked,nationally recognized, basketball program (unlike football,we don't have competition from O.S.U. the Cavs(too expensive for many fans} or from any strong northeast Ohio college program, Find a way to downgrade football and you will go a long way to building the kind of basketball program we all want,,.

The foul shot disparity is troubling,but that's what happens when you are primarily a 3 pt shooting team. Deji is about our only player who drives to the hoop(Gladden to some extent when he is in).I am on record previously as a strong K.D. supporter, but I don't understand why Deji didn't get more minutes-he was the only threat to drive,plus he was hitting from outside. The time for experimenting with lineup changes is over-olay our best 5 more minutes. Also Reggie was hitting on the 3 ball,but barely saw the court most of the second half. When this team scores over 80 pts they should never lose in the MAC.

I go way back to the Wyatt Webb/Gordon Larson(A.D.) era and the problem then was the same as the problem today. The administration and the A.D. have never committed the resources necessary for a top tier basketball program. Instead, we have foolishly invested in football. The problem is that N.E. Ohio is strong on high school football,O.S.U. and the Browns-U.A. just can't compete for attendance against that combination. Basketball,however has less competition-few in our area care that much about Buckeye basketball and the Cavs are so expensive that tickets are beyond the reach of many fans. There are many examples of mid-major schools with highly successfull,well attended basketball programs(Gonzaga, Villanova,Butler,Creighton) all of these programs spend 2-3 times more than U.A. on hoops. DIG had a posting not too long ago comparing budgets for basketball. We have the coach, we are getting better and better recruits(see next years crop) and we have a winning tradition. We need 2 things to upgrade our program- a new arena(or at least an improved one) and a basketball budget about twice the current one. This would enable us to travel to play better OCC teams and to pay teams to come here. Face it-basketball has always been a second class citizen at U.A.and now we have the albatross of InfoCision draining our athletic budget for years. I said it before-follow the money (you have to spend on basketball if you want to upgrade the program)

I have a much different slant on this game-best of the east vs worst of the west, Zips 69-58. We can't possibly miss that many free throws down the stretch. We have seen the light- Reggie and Jake are once again part of the offense. On a different front- Cant is a 1 pt favorite over Toledo-But the Flushes haven't really played anybody-I predict Toledo by plenty-say 73-60-any thoughts?

Looking over our remaining schedule,I can't see us finishing any Attendance was worse than 21-10 or 22-9(barring injuries) We have already played the best in the west and now we get to play the rest of the west with the exception of return games vs Toledo and Western. All the remaining games vs the east appear winnable-Buffalo at home and Cant at home could be tough, but certainly we will be favored in both. I fully agree- a remarkable job by KD. . I have been posting for the past 3 weeks that they need to find a way to get Reggie involved in the offense. Finally happened- shows what is possible if you have him moving around instead of just standing in the corner-it also helps when you have players who can drive and dish,as this frees up the shooters(see Deji and Robo). Reggie hit on at least 1 mid-range jumper as well as a putback and a dunk on a beautiful pass. Give him some meaningful minutes and he will give you scoring which is badly needed by this team. Still too much dribbling and eating up the clock so we are often forced to settle for a last second shot. MORE PASSING needed. Scary how good we might be if Big Dog ever got in basketball shape Attendance was somewhat better and the crowd was more into the game,especially the last 5 minutes. Still no concessions on the second floor-anyone know why?.

Best game to date-defense was awesome. The accolades for Deji,Pat and Robo are well deserved, but (to all the KD detractors) major credit goes to the coach for a brilliant defensive plan. The double team completely took Holmes out of the game and as KD said post-game, he is not a great passer,so their offense just bogged down when he got the ball. Also,the pressure on their guards made them use up most of the shot clock and forced them to take ill-advised shots, More than anything this was a veteran coach completely outcoaching a newcomer. On a side note,Reggie just doesn't seem to be a part of the game plan-he is immediately sent to the corner,then rotates to the opposite corner and seldom gets the ball-he seems lost-I wish they would find a way to get him worked into the offense so he could get hisi confidence back.

The KD detractors don't seem to realize the impact on recruiting made by all those 20+ win seasons and our coaching stability. Prior to KD (and even in his early years) our recruiting area was primarily Summit and Stark county and ,a little from central Ohio and Western Pa. Now we are able to pull from Texas,Nevada,N.Carolina and even from Puerto Rico. Ask any of those recruits why U.A.over other offers. They always refer to 20+ wins and KD. Sure,as some of you have suggested,we could go on the road and,play high majors,but would 18-11 or 17-12 yield the type of recruits we are now getting? Do you really want to return to recruiting the likes of Matt Futch,Josh Egner and Steve Sweich? Be careful what you wish for. I for one love the direction of our program. Remember the "good old days" with Bob Rupert or Coleman Crawford coaching? Be patient,let KD recruit a few more prospects nationally and perhaps THEN we can go on the road,play 1-2 top tier teams and have a realistic chance of winning Win a few such games on the road and then, like Gonzaga,you might be able to lure better teams to a hopefully updated JAR.

Best performance of the season by far, Defensive effort was spectacular. Am not a fan of playing 11 players,but must admit that it keeps them fresh on defense. Saw Big Dog signal to come out twice-hard to believe that he can't play 5-6 minutes without being gassed-did he not work out during his recovery from the broken wrist-if not-why? Imagine what he could produce if he ever dedicated himself to getting in basketball shape. Still concerned about Reggie and Kretzer-Jake finally hit a 3, but it just seems like they are not part of the offense. Antino played much more under control and Aaron Jackson gave glimpses of what we might see over the next 3 yrs. On the downside-poor attendance for the MAC opener against a quality opponent-once again there were no programs,no comcessions on the second floor and no band-they are really cheaping out. If they play like tonight, they can beat Toledo,so GO ZIPS

If you look back over the last 7 yrs., the hallmark of KD's teams has been 3 point shooting- we seem to live or die by the 3. Don't know whether it's a coaching philosophy or a byproduct of the talent we recruit which often seems one dimensional. Cases in point-Cheatham-prefers to play like a small forward-does not drive to the hoop, Kretzer-seems limited to shooting the 3 from the corner,Gladden-a slaher,not a shooter,McAdams-a real puzzler-I believe he is capable of much more than he is being assigned-he handled the ball a lot in high school and in the state tournament, but he too seems to be stuck in the corner as a designated 3 pt shooter-wonder what would happen if they gave him a chance to drive and to spot up for 2s? When you begin to look at the above, it seems as if it's the type of players we can get-they don't get recruited by the big programs because their games are limited .so I guess we "dance with them that brung you" Once in a while we get a Robothan who has a chance to become an all-around player,but how often can we expect to get a player rated as one of the best in his state? I agree this team is very erratic,but capable of beating many MAC teams IF our 3s are falling. I have never seen the Zips so unsettled on a lineup-seems to change from game to game- We need to settle on a 7-8 player rotation and let them learn how to play together. See you all at Tuesday's game

A few thoughts following the Marshall game: 1. Antino looks lost-a turnover waiting to happen 2 We need scorers-McAdams or Kretzer need to see more minutes-too many times we have to rely on marginal shooters to fire 3s 3.Big Dog is providing nothing-he is either out-of-shape,lazy,or not interested-he looked WAY better last year. 4.When Deji is on the court,we play at an increased tempo at both ends 5.Best 5 at crunch time or playing major minutes-Cheatham, McAdams,Forsyth,Deji,Robothon- next off the bench Kretzer, Gladden,Evans and Aaron Jackson-we are trying to play too many players-Antino and Big Dog fewer minutes until they improve at practice or in limited minute Final observation-too much dribbling,not enough passing-we are using nearly the entire shot clock to get off a shot-Robo needs to initiate the offense much faster by passing

A few months ago I had a very informative conversation with ex-Can't State coach, Geno Ford(now at Bradley) I asked how and why Creighton, Ill. State, Missouri State,St Louis and Bradley(in the past) were able to field top 20-25 teams, some of whom made runs in the NCAA tournament. His reply was 2 words-NO FOOTBALL. These schools have great venues (10,000-15,000 seats) and are packed for most games, as they are the only game in town.Check their athletic budgets and compare the money spent on hoops to what A.U. spends. Hilltopper was right on the money when he said the albatross of Infocision Stadium will continue to haunt the basketball program. Ford also said that if you want to know why a particular MAC school is dominant in a particular sport, JUST FOLLOW the MONEY. He said Can't State is more successful in baseball and golf because they outspend the other MAC schools by 2-3 times and A.U. outspends other Mac schools by 3-1 in soccer. In college athletics you get what you pay for. K.D is unbelievably respected in the coaching community and does a superior job with the resources he has to work with-an aging outdated arena,dismal student body support and an administrative staff that has made some serious mistakes. Just look at the progress in recruiting- 8-10 yrs ago could you even imagine getting players from Nevada,Texas,N.Carolina? We were fortunate to get players from Buchtel, Central and occasionally from Canton or Western Pa. Seems like many of you have short memories.

Was at the game-here are my observations: 1. Overall a good opening performance, Pleased to see 2 true point guards-what an upgrade. 2, Our interior defense needs work-too many easy buckets inside-no ball denial at all. Pat is not much of a defender-poor footwork causes him to be a step slow and results in fouls, Hopefully we will improve when Big Dog returns-we better or we will get killed inside by better opposition . 3. One of my complaints about last years team was that we lived or died by the 3 pointers-and it looks like more of the same-very little driving to the hoop and most of the passing seems designed to set up 3 pt, attempts. Would like to see a few more 8-13 ft shots. If we go cold on 3s(see Western Mich. game last yr) we have very little else to help us win. 4. Kwan is very raw- he will be good as a jr. and sr. but I don't see him contributing too much this season 5. Finally, I think our best lineup is with both Jake and Reggie on the floor-Reggie can play off guard especially wiqth a good point guard and I believe both are capable of a lot more than just their current roles as 3 pt. corner shooters

Wonder what will be done with Melo's scholarship- anyone know. Perhaps to Ivy,who is currently a walk-on, or maybe they hold it for next season. Also-anyone who has seen practice-what positions are Gladden and A,Jackson playing and do they figure to get many minutes?

27-4 looks attainable. As to Dave's concerns about inexperience at point guard and too many players without much game experience-did anyone watch our point guard play last season?-we had several games with our scoring ranging from 1-6 pts having watched the 2 freshmen they will be a tremendous upgrade. We have plenty of other crunch time experience(Kretzer, McAdams, Deji and Tree. Also Forsythe and Big Dog will be improved. Take a look at what most of the other MAC contenders lost from last season-only Toledo, Northern Ill, EMU and BeeGee have much experience. To me, we should have a much better and deeper team this year- our only real loss was Quincy, Even U.S.C is a winnable game- as for the other 3 potential losses, I figure a bad road game or 2 and a possible loss to either MTSU or Marshall.

Early signing period for basketball just began-anyone with knowledge of who we offered or received a commitment from?

I recognize the problem with scheduling a major,but why not an away at Dayton and the return on a neutral site? Also, how about the Missouri Valley conference- Geno Ford at Bradley and K.D. are friends,so start there- then perhaps Creighton or Witchita St- away and neutral site to begin with. Also Iona,Murray St. or U.Mass. One of them should bite.