clarkwgriswold

...and a much more aggressive kangaroo as our mascot.

You mean we should value the judgment of a person who has spent their career coaching basketball and who sees the kid play 10 to 12 hours a week over fans who see a kid in games maybe 50 minutes a week? Don't get me wrong. I get frustrated with KD at times as it seems like he makes substitutions off of a predetermined schedule, often taking out a player that is hot at a given time in a game. That being said, I figure he is in a far better position to make those calls than me. Regardless, this thread is a great commentary on Deji. As Dave points out, Deji hasn't always been held in such high regard by Zips fans. He has obviously worked very hard to improve his game and it shows, and the result has been him going from one of the Zips most critiqued players to a fan favorite. I hope he has a huge night on Senior Night and a nice tournament run to end his career.

They are undefeated this year when they've had to play 5 games in 6 nights!

Sounds like we need the Wizard of Oz on our coaching staff.

Amen.

Another late game failure. Ugh. No one stepping up. Plenty of bad decision making.

Pat's short range misses are going to drive me to drink.

Too much standing around on offense. MAKES...ME...NUTS!!!

I don't see anyone on Akron's squad that can stop Moss inside. I was impressed with Ford too. I hope this is where the Zips turn the corner and break out of the funk, but I am not optimistic.

Even after the Zips won the recent game at Akron, I concluded they'd lose at Buffalo. With the injury to Noah and the general funk that's taken over in the last couple of weeks, I'm even more certain of a Bulls' win.

This has been a problem on many Zips team. We tend to have a lot of balanced talent, but not that go to guy you can count on in the clutch.

Exactly Dave. While the season has had its low points, we've been in much better hands at point guard with the three freshmen this year than we were with Carmelo and Evans.

I'm just glad Harney scored those 48 at Fairmont State. My blood pressure has dropped into the healthy range since he left. As for Evans at the point, let's not forget he split time at PG with Carmelo Betancourt, to combine to be the worst point guard tandems in recent memory, and when everyone is healthy, he is at best our 4th point guard. I like the kid, but I am not ready for a regular diet of him at the point.

I hope Nyles works it out. He always plays hard. I'd hate to see him end his time at Akron on a down note.

I chased down some info on the Evans and Robotham situations. Robotham's bickering with the trainer had to do with the trainer telling him he shouldn't go back into the game after he was hurt. Noah may have taken it a little too far, but that's a result of his competitiveness. Looks like the trainer was correct at this point. Evans spent the entire second half watching from the hall in street clothes. Apparently, something happened in the locker room at halftime. As the team went into the locker room after the Toledo game, his mother was screaming at KD from the stands about how her son was used. Maybe the situation boiled over.

How about you can only use your dorm food credits on the night of a game for concessions at the game? LOL.

Joe Dunn had Noah on his daytime show a couple of months ago and I could not have been more impressed. Very composed, well spoken and a kid concerned with his education. UA is lucky to have him.

Can anyone enlighten us on: 1) Noah's spat with the trainer; and 2) Evans second half disappearance?

I don't know that it is as talented on the top end, but it is the deepest.

Is Dambrot perfect? No. Is he the most successful basketball coach in the last 30 years of Akron basketball? Absolutely. If he did not have that elephant skeleton in his closet, he would have moved on to a larger program long ago. Sometimes, players just suck and there's nothing you can do as a coach to fix it. They are human beings and sometimes they have off nights and no matter what you do with rotations and substitutions, nothing works. This is a young team that lost its best player. The teased us with some big wins, but as a young team with average talent, they are going to be inconsistent.

And the hits just keep coming. He's a class kid. I wish him well. I guess now we use the time to rush Antino and Malcolm's growth. Certainly, we are in a better position now than we were when Abreu lost his mind.

I was unable to make tonight's game. Thank goodness. Looking at the box score, it appears that it must have painful to watch. I expected much more of Jake and Reggie this year. I love that they are good kids and students, but their lack of production is becoming most frustrating.

I just spoke to the game day staff and they are going to move chuck a duck to 10 minutes before the game and allow the winner to sing the Anthem.

Ohio.com had an ad for a game two days after it had been played.

Exactly. Last week, the Seton School choir sang the Anthem. There had to be 25 kids in that choir, all from the Hudson area. I'll bet between the parents, grandparents, and siblings, there had to have been at least another 50 to 75 tickets sold.