legendofzippy

Are you looking at kids Akron is interested in? I don't see any commits beyond a few next year.

I was working in that area when they were tearing Richfield down. It was sad to see.

First, maybe we should discuss when to use "a" and when to use "an". Anyway, are we seriously going to question who other teams beat? They have three wins, that's impressive. It doesn't mean they're a great team - I feel like OU has been a little overrated the past few years - but you have to respect three wins. The last time we had three wins was 2009. Morgan State, Can't and Eastern Michigan. Jesus, now I'm depressed. As sad as that season was it would be huge for us now.

If you're trying to promote your team by pushing the conference as a whole, you're wasting your time. Last year the MAC was getting tons of credit and attention for being a very good mid-major conference. This year we're seen as mostly garbage. It fluctuates too quickly. Worry about your own house and the rest will work itself out. Look, overall we still stink. Better, but not good. If we can pick up a MAC win - hopefully against Can't - then it's progress. Sadly.

Overall I agree with what you post, but I'm ok with one and done's. In the end it's more competition, and the younger guys have to work to push them out. Competition breeds excellence. Top programs plug new guys in each year, so I think it's ok. I wouldn't say this is a one-time deal either. We should always supplement the roster with these guys. There will always be guys who just didn't catch on at a bigger place. If Terry makes us a nice landing spot, so be it.

Oh wait, all that "root for Can't against Ohio State" logic to help conference pride is having a great effect! USA Today only ranked 7 MAC teams outside their top 100! Go Can't!!! I'm a convert! NCAA re-rank: Our list from 1-125

Maybe you should spend less time worrying about other people, and imposing your rules upon them.

Because many of those players are still on the roster.

So only college graduates can root for a college football team? Sounds elitist. And I guess it sucks for any ten year old that wants to cheer for someone. You must not root for any pro teams then? I mean, you didn't play for them, so what gives you the right to be a fan? Also by your logic, you'd root for Can't to beat OSU. I can't wrap my head around any of this.

I think they're already on the ledge with one foot hanging over.

Epic. LeBron does a lot for Akron. Who cares if he also helps someone else. It's not like he was standing with Can't.

Good post. Everyone is jumping off bridges right now, but let's remember how awful we've been. It's going to take a lot longer than 1.5 seasons to turn that around. We just need a few MAC wins this year. BG was never going to be one of those wins. We jumped to a nice lead, but the better team wore down their opponent and cruised in the second half. This happens all the time. Like GP1 says though, there is still effort being given. Akron is at least fighting each game. We're not getting blown out in embarrassing fashion anymore. It sucks, but this is progress.

Last week a few felt like it was the most important game of Bowden's career - I suppose because it would have kept momentum going. Since it didn't happen, how important is this game? A road win over a strong MAC team would be huge, but how bad would another loss be? I don't know if it's that big of a deal, but at some point the Michigan game will be perceived as a fluke unless we pick up some more wins.

I said meets expectations. Thought we'd be 1-3 and we are. The scores weren't what I thought though. Now the real test begins. We absolutely cannot go 0 for MAC again.

This is nitpicking I guess, but FAMU wasn't the Vandy replacement, SDSU was. FAMU was always a scheduled game. Announcers got that wrong. But the larger point is correct - every major school started scheduling cupcakes years ago when losses counted so heavily in the formula. Now everyone is scrambling to pick up tougher opponents. Good for football, but good for Akron? I think we'll be ok. Schools can't exclusively play top 25 opponents, so a MAC game on each schedule should still be fine. But the FAMU's of the world are going to be hurting.

I'm ok with that. If you go to an Akron game, you should wear Akron stuff. On campus I don't think it matters as much. Look, OSU is on a roll in two major sports, there are going to be a lot of fans. But we're on a roll in two sports (soccer isn't major) so why does everyone care what they're doing? Take football for example, they were talking about this on 1350 yesterday. OSU is going to get the top SVSM kids, like they're already doing. We need to make sure the next level of kids pick Akron. Dambrot has basketball to that level, now Bowden needs to do the same for football. What OSU - or any other top 25 team - is doing really doesn't matter to us.

That's a good point. The last coach was a joke. BTW, was any staff worse than what Weis assembled at Notre Dame? But yes, the last coach built a team that you just couldn't take pride in. Maybe there were all nice kids, but they weren't MAC players. Apologies to those still on the roster! It's still going to take some time to recover from that, but at least we have a real coaching staff.

I still don't get the obsession here. If you picked your college based on your favorite sports team, you're a moron anyway. I grew up an Ohio State fan. Akron had a better engineering program so I went to Akron. I still like Ohio State, and the two teams rarely play. What's the big deal?

We have more talent, I'm certainly not saying that, but I don't think it's a simple matter of "learning how to win". Sometimes teams are down, sometimes up, I get that. But over the course of the season, talent is going to show in your record. Two years ago we were a bad division II team. So yes we've upgraded a lot, but time will tell just how much. The MAC seems a little down this year, so maybe things will work out. We have a brutal MAC schedule though.

I don't think this is true. We have more talent that last year, but I'm not convinced we're caught up to anyone. Let's not forget what a disaster this team was two years ago.

Well said. A disappointing loss, but at some point everyone needs to realize the reality of where our program is. We're improving, but still near the bottom of Division I, or whatever you want to call it. Things are moving in the right direction. Pohl will continue to improve over the next few years. D finally getting better. But we have a long way to go.

Ok, but I asked why he would be a better prospect than Zeke, which was the original statement. But I'll bite. Quincy is a very good player, but based on what I've seen in the past, he won't be drafted.

So dramatic.

I think you're highly underestimating how difficult it is to make an NBA roster. Why would Quincy have a better shot than a 7 footer? And good lord don't start the blame the media stuff. Javon is a great player. If he wins POY he'll have deserved it. I like our players, but let's focus on defending the MAC crown.

I'm ok with the Sagarin ratings. And yes, recruiting rankings are subjective, but it does show where the 4 and 5 stars are going. In recent years Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame (including them as a mid-west school) have been landing tons of 4 and 5 stars. Heck, even a heavily sanctioned Penn State has been getting some nice recruits. That just isn't what the MAC is. Again, who cares? I want to see us win our conference more than once in my lifetime. What's going on in the top 25 has no bearing on that.