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I can only wonder if they had any inkling that they would abandon the Richfield Coliseum and build a new Downtown arena at the time that they decided to build the 13k CSU arena. According to what I am seeing, the CSU Arena was completed only about a year or two before they broke ground to start building Gund Arena. Bad planning?

That's pretty much how I remember it. Your research supports that. I knew you'd look that up, Dave !! Although, I do agree with those who feel that they built the new arena waaaay too big. This is interesting too. To help Dave, our research guru, I actually was able to find some attendance numbers from game they moved from Woodling Gym over to Public Hall. It shows that between 1981 and 1989, their attendance at this location ranged from 4,100 to 7,400 in the games they played there.

At least as far as our schedule is concerned, OUs 2012-13 team clearly qualified as upper tier competition.

No question. But the demand is what got the arena built.

I have a few thoughts today on a new arena. First, I don't think the bleachers is a make-or-break issue. Internally, it sounds like the location of the track is a much bigger concern. The seating is an excuse that some people in Akron circles like to make, just like they all said that better bathrooms would make them go to all of the football games. Secondly, whenever I see an article about "filling the current arena...so we can get a new arena", I agree. And here's a local comparison. Back in the early 80s, when Cleveland State's basketball program was starting to emerge, they were playing in Woodliing Gym, a bleacher-filled, "big high school" type facility of only about 3k to 4k in capacity. They packed the place, and it was nothing remotely close to the comfort level (if I can say that) of Rhodes Arena. Bottom Line: People wanted to see a Cleveland State basketball game. This forced them to play some high profile games at Public Hall, which has tremendous character, but is ancient, and more fitting as an event hall than a basketball arena. And still, it was a mecca of excitement when the Vikings played there. Of course, the end result was the eventual construction of a brand new 13k arena. A high level of DEMAND to see Akron Basketball is the only thing that's going to get this done sooner rather than later. And we don't have it right now. And it disappoints me just as much as the rest of you.

Like I said, keep an eye on it. Because I think we've often run some of those isolation plays with Quincy, even when there is another point guard on the floor. Or, are we running different plays because Quincy is the actual point guard? What might really surprise me is if we completely abandon the option of Harney being up top, like a "point forward" at times. How can we ever forget that we blew out OU using this option. Regardless, we really do need those young ball handlers.....at least one of them.....to emerge.

I agree with you. Yes, lets hope West Virginia never repeats itself. As we saw, Quincy becomes underutilized, in many respects, when he's asked to be a ballhandler.

I'm going to ask you guys to watch something. I don't ever think that we are intending to have Diggs run the point, minus the game at West Virginia when we had no other option. Over his 2+ years here, it simply appears that we are putting the ball in his hands to spread the floor and isolate him on a defender as a called play. Once again, I will assert that he's the most talented guy on the team when it comes to being able to dribble the ball, one-on-one, and get to the rim. We have probably never had a guard who can dribble and elevate quite like that. It's an offensive weapon, and a play I have seen Keith use from time to time, and I think people need to separate that thought from the idea that he's actually being asked to "run the point", or be a backcourt ball handler. I'd guess that it's merely just part of a play that we are calling in certain situations. Lets keep an eye on this.

I have no doubt that's why they went early.......to find a way to get adjusted before the game. The late night practices make sense to me. NOTE: Having made that trip out West many, many times, the real problem is going to be readjusting once they return.

If NIU gets to a BCS bowl game two years in a row, its going to be big for them, especially if they can be more competitive this time. But, the conference's ability to recruit has to be enhanced when a player sees that he can get to a major bowl game from our conference, which means that we will get some benefit from it as well.

For years, I've been OK with pretty much any rating that has us in the Top-100 early in the year. But, I'm wondering if that #24 ranking has planted a new seed in my brain, and if I will be disappointed if we don't move up quickly enough. It's hard to start low and get to that point, unless you have a major win streak (like last year). I'm just wondering if the fact that we've "raised the bar" will change my outlook and expectations. I like Keith's comment about not playing the young guys too much because he was getting tired of losing early season games. Thankfully, we've grown much more aware of the impact of those "bad losses", on both our rankings later in the year, and our at-large chances. Lets avoid those potential "bad losses", at all costs. There will certainly be plenty of opportunities during blowouts to get those young guys more playing time.

Umm. I already said I won't be able to wait that long to see how it ends. So, I can't resist just catching the last 5 min. or so as soon as I get up. Plus, it's not like a have a spare hour at that time of the morning.

That was 2004, and they were playing Michigan State. I think Michigan State had something like a 21-0 lead. It would have left the Zips and Charlie Frye as the only remaining bowl-eligible team. Unfortunately, Michigan State flopped, big time, and we lost our bowl bid.

DVR? I wouldn't be patient enough to wait to watch the whole thing before I know what happened.!!! AkronZips71....Letterman used to be my choice back in the 80s, but today I tend to want to watch Jimmy Kimmel. I'm just rarely up that late, unless its Friday...maybe. If only I could follow Dave's technique, and just sleep 5 hours a night

Dave, I'm with you. I used to be a night owl when I was young. And I'd still be one today, if I could choose. But, the wife is out the door at 5:45am, and I run a company, so unfortunately I've had to change my ways as I've gotten older !! I sure miss those late night talk shows

How do you know that this was the reason why he did this?

What intrigues me more than anything is to see how many Zips fans will sacrifice a night of sleep for this game. We'll find out who the REAL fans are I get up around 5am anyway, so I think I might just get up a bit early and try to catch the 2nd half.

Why would you be offending me by interjecting your opinion? But your memory of the last minutes of that game must be foggy, concerning Evans. He didn't foul out until there were a few seconds left in the game. He was running the point from about the 4 or 5 minute mark until that time. That possibly tells me something about the future, when I see a coach trying to hang onto a single-digit lead, and is putting his trust in a brand new JC transfer point guard in the closing minutes, rather than the more experienced Betancourt.

Short memory? A suspended starting point guard, another guard out with back problems, and two guys with the flu? If you truly think that VCU is 46 points better than us, that's your choice. But, you obviously missed the Overtime game at the JAR.

1) Kwan's redshirt wasn't "burned". We will need him this year. Isn't that obvious? We'll likely still be getting limited production from Pat F. in the paint, and we can't expect Tree to carry what would be a very, very heavy load. 2) I'll join those who STILL wonder what may have happened last year with Quincy. A great season may have turned into something truly magical. Forget about his offensive talents and his ability to drive from the perimeter to the rim for a second. His greatest value to us might very well be his ability to get after people on the defensive end. I just hope his mistakes last night were due to him being anxious to play and having some rust. 3) To answer the PG question, look who was in the game at the very end, when we were trying to manage the last few minutes. It was Evans. So, it would appear to me that he may be the front runner to get the most minutes at the point. 4) I have a strange feeling that Kretzer could have a really big year.

I never said it wasn't. It's just that a UMass win will have very little relevance outside of our circle, compared to the Ken+ win. (See Miami)

I have no idea how the coaches feel, but from my observations, I'd keep Cheatham and redshirt Big Dog also. I think Cheatham can help us more right now. However, there's always a little bit of risk in taking a player who is overweight and slow, and making him sit for a year. Gives him a lot more chances to be lazy, and you sometimes end up with an even bigger problem the following year.

I've always felt that allowing Ken+ to look superior to us certainly must put us at a disadvantage in local recruiting. So, I'm sure happy to have that advantage back in our favor. A somewhat "expected" win over a bad UMass team will pale in comparison. I've even had plenty of "big deal...Miami sucks" comments from people after I bragged about our domination of the Red Hawks a few weeks ago. But, I DO believe that if we get that win at UMass, and can couple that with an upset win at home against Toledo, we can hit the recruiting trail showing that we have a lot of forward momentum, carrying a 3-game win streak into the off-season. Otherwise, I just don't think a UMass win alone will turn too many heads out there, with potential fans or players. But again, the best news of all is that Ken+ appears to be quickly sliding back into obscurity.

I'm old enough to remember that, but wasn't living in Akron at the time, and actually had no idea that The Univ. of Akron even existed

When I stated on here earlier in the week that we needed to avoid any big gains by Archer, I didn't even realize just how much of an impact that was going to make. It's clear now that Ken+ has little to go with, offensively, when those plays aren't working. But, I still predicted that Ken+ would score more than 7 points, so our defense truly showed up last night. It's great to have a feeling that I haven't had on a Sunday morning in 4 years....beating Ken+. In addition, our discussions as we left the stadium reminded me that it had been 3 years since we beat a D 1-A team at home. Wow. I also like our chances to win against UMass, and be competitive against Toledo with the 2-week gaps between each game. At the very least, we should be healthier and more rested than we've been at any point this year.