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I've also found that is good for helping recover from some of my analytical commentaries. Don't know how they vote on this, but the NJCAA lists Blanton as an honorable mention D1 All-American, one of 20 forwards on the total list including 1st, 2nd and 3rd team plus honorable mentions: NJCAA All-Americans Maybe it's true that he selected the Zips because he wanted to stay close to home. Maybe he's as good as the NCJAA rates him, and maybe he's as good as the rating services rate him. Until proven otherwise, I'm going to go with the theory that KD has latched on to a hidden gem. I generally like the kind of players he has been coming up with recently. I'm going to lean in that direction for the time being as well. When I see a guy who's had success against other 19 and 20 year olds, it shows me that he's still grown as a player since high school. The reasons why he's here?...maybe we'll find out some day.

It's the MAC, if OU can do it, why can't we? If they can't produce at least somewhat as a freshman, then what did we recruit them for? Note the word "expect" If there is a Cooper in our group of freshman recruits, I'll be celebrating right along with you guys.

I don't know anything about Blanton, but I do know that there is nowhere close to the amount of talent in the JUCO ranks as there used to be with more and more kids going he prep route instead. Rivals doesn't include Blanton on their list of the Top 150 JUCO prospects, and a lot of those guys are haven't committed anywhere, or are headed to lower D1 schools. My guess is that he could have had an offer from some Low-major, but choose walk-on at Akron and play close to home. Now we might be gettin somewhere. I thought there could possibly be more to this story. So, maybe he wasn't really one of the best dozen or so JC players in the country? Or, even one of the best 150? Who listed him as a JC All-American? It would still surprise me though, with his numbers, if he didn't get any D-1 offers, even from lower level schools. But maybe he did, and he chose Akron instead. That would be nice if that happened.

I actually enjoy many of your analytical commentaries. My brain just needs a long rest after some of them Yep...we'll be seeing a lot of new faces this coming year. We haven't had to deal with that for several years. As far as the backcourt is concerned, I'm really hoping for something that I really can't count on right now, which is that we'll suddenly see more out of McClanahan than what we've seen so far. I think some of the new guys are going to have to get ready really fast. And I've never felt comfortable about being in the position of having to expect production out of new people.

I see your point. I can think of numerous situations where someone is from somehwere in NE Ohio, or even Akron specificially, and they are claimed by Cleveland as their "hometown kid". I bet many people outside of our region think Cleveland is LeBron's hometown.

A couple of good points here, but you might be overanalyzing something a bit. His height, what position he played, etc., really isn't a big overwhelming concern to me. I've seen plenty of guys of prototype size that can't play basketball, and vice versa. This guy has a record of accomplishment at a post-high-school level. On the surface, that doesn't even seem like a gamble to me on a scholarship, even for two years. If anyone else here has some indepth knowledge of JC basketball, you know that you see guys with a far lower record in JC play have no problems getting their last two years of college paid for, with as little as a general knowledge that they can play successfully against guys at a higher level than high school. I'll be curious to hear more about this story. And I realize this is only one example, but back in the early 80s, we had a JC All-American role through here. He was left handed, and a very thin forward. Yet, he averaged nearly double-digits in rebounds and became a conference MVP.

You can "aspire" and "want" until the cows come home...if no one wants to offer a scholarship, you either accept being a walk-on, or give up the dream. So, it doesn't surprise you that a guy with 2-years of post-high-school experience, with his accolades, was not offered a scholarship by at least a MAC-level school? It really surprises me. 17-year-old kids with a lot of questions about whether they can perform at a higher level get MAC scholarships. Makes me wonder. Dave...at least on paper, it seems like a pretty good find to me. We'll see.

As far as Temple is concerned, I remember back about 10 years ago, when I looked at Marshall's exit from the MAC as a better opportunity for the Zips to win the league. I don't look at that situation the same way anymore. We should want our league to be better overall, and want rising programs in our league. Temple presents such a situation....a former BCS conference football team that happens to have an even-more-recognized basketball program. I like having Temple around. And if we don't continue to seek teams that have the potential to make our league stronger, and increase our visibility, we'll continue to play for nothing more than what we play for every year........an "empty" conference championship that means vitually nothing to anyone who we are trying to influence in the upper levels of the college football community.

What surprises me is that a Juco All-American would move to a MAC schoool as a walk on. I would think that someone who is that kind of talent at the JC level might have higher aspirations, or would at least be wanting a D-1 scholarship.

I think.... If the goal here is to keep LeBron around, why not do everything we can to convince him to stay? Whether it appears to be cheesy or not? And, although I don't think this will be a big impact for the University, I do see some benefit in having more people visit Infocision Stadium who might not have previously been in the facility for an Akron football game.

It is what it is. I don't care either. We're talking about a large University, only 2 hours away, that we compete against for students, athletes, faculty, media attention, and fan interest. Whenever they fail, it's good for the Zips.

I understand you, I'm with you as long as any of those guys didn't actually graduate from OSU...but that statement is just sad. You must be a Cavs/Indians/Browns/Zips fan, if you are, I'm sorry. On any given Saturday afternoon, how many of those OSWho fans in bars do you really think actually went to school there? Not an Indians fan. Not a Browns fan. Somewhat of a Cavs fan during the LeBron era. A huge Zips fan. And I did enjoy it as much as I say I did

Yes, you're lucky. But just like every year, I just sit back and wait for them to play a bad game and . Because I know that with their cake schedule, a loss is likely going to eliminate them from the national championship picture. I remember a few years ago, when they had that unexpected loss to Illinois. I was at a Dave and Busters in the Cleveland area. The place was so silent you could hear a pin drop. You should have seen the looks on all of those people's faces. The look of "I can't believe this is happening" in a large room full of red and silver shirts. It was priceless. One of my most enjoyable moments ever as a sports fan

Very interesting. It all makes sense when you think about how much ground the Big 11 has lost in recent years. Although it seems like bad news for the Zips, and the region, that less talent in available in the area, I actually think it's good news for the Zips because it should add another factor (the first being the lowering of scholarship numbers a few years ago) to the equalization of the D-1A schools in the midwest.

Or any of his time.... The guy is an absolute do nothing. Funny how Obama actually knew a few players on the Bulls when he knew NOONE on his supposed favorite team (the ChiSox). And I love how the media writes a fluff piece on him once a week or so. A few weeks ago was the "newsfl@sh" about how he loves pastry, the one week was his love of college hoops, and this week we hear how he's campaigning to steal away our basketball star. What a great job he's doing, he's like the Can't State of Presidents.

You have to remember the mindset of a typical basketball coach. They all believe that they can teach these kids to become a basketball player.

I think that's a safe bet. In fact, I'd be shocked if nobody from the top 10 becomes a Zip.

Interesting development. And I do understand some of the disappointment. Here is how I see it... Let's get the obvious point out of the way first. You simply HAVE to produce benefits to garner donations. And priorities on seating and parking are two simple ways to accomplish that. However, I can also see the other side of the issue. The lower level of the JAR is maybe half full on average...true. And this parking lot at Info will probably be half empty by mid-season...true. But, if money is the main goal, does it really matter? The seats are paid for, and the parking passes are paid for, whether those people show up or not. Right? Which leads me to a great point that was made by the Captain about investing in potential future donors. I think this needs to be considered when making such a change. Today's loyal, younger fans could potentially be tomorrow's $5,000 donors. But, on the other hand, you could say, "what does that do to help us pay our bills today." So, the real question should be....how exactly do you balance the dire need for operating revenue with the risk of alienating the younger die hard fans? I just hope that the people who are against the road "money" games are not the same people who are complaining about this new parking policy. If so, maybe this is a wake up call that it takes a lot of money to operate a D-1A football program, and our beloved University may just be trying to find every way possible to try to increase revenue in the short term.

I like your thinking here. The problem is, a couple hundred other mid/lower tier D-1 schools are going to realize the same thing.

great topic! this is a question that i can speak to. the answer is simple....pitching pitching pitching! if you are an above average pitching prospect in the state you are either going to osu or Can't State. the other teams fight over the rest. another issue is the facilities. the bullpen is a joke and the field needs re done badly. until they find a way to bring in quality pitching and upgrade the facilities we will continue to see teams that are young and get beat up on only to mature to .500 teams that can hit a little. pains me to say that but that's where the program stands Just a question, since you seem so knowledgable about the baseball program..... We won a MAC title about 10-12 years ago. Beat OU in the title game, if I remember correctly. Were the elite player not going to OSWHo and Ken+ at that time? Facilities could not have been an issue either, since I believe the facilities were the same? What did we have then that we don't have now? And...I have watched some baseball games over the years.....I have not experienced a time where there was more than maybe....maybe....100 people at a home game on our home field.

1. Why would you want your brand on TV getting its ass kicked by the competition? The last thing we want is the Zips on TV getting a beat down. This is like watching Kyle Petty race a car. You know he isn't going to win and you know he is a bad driver. Nobody goes to watch K playyle Petty. 2. They may fill the coffers, but when Joe Akron sees they are 1-3, they aren't going to fill any seats at The Big Dialer. 3. Give the players what they want? Why? They are the same guys who got the last coach fired. Why would we listen to them? Why would we have an AD? Just let the players run the program. Because it's better than the alternative, which is beating a nobody team, which NOBODY notices. And it IS an opportunity to win a game that would get attention, nationwide.

I think "being" in the tournament helped a little bit. Unfortunately, as far as our performance was concerned, a few people will remember that we "hung tough" for 30 minutes.....but most will only remember the final outcome.

Why, people watched the Browns in droves (3 times as many as we need to fill the stadium)? The Browns over the last decade could hardly be called "entertaining football". Easy Answer: No matter how bad the Browns might be some years, or how un-entertaining they might be, they are still playing for a chance to win NFL titles, and against teams that win NFL titles. The Zips play for a chance to win a bottom-of-the-barrel conference title, and play against people who also have no chance of being much more than a bottom-of-the-barrel conference champ. There's not very much you can do to change that.

I'm sorry, but I just can't see why anyone wants to defend why we should play a "lighter" schedule. Wouldn't you want to see us playing a BCS school as opposed to Morgan State? Isn't it more exciting for fans? We're a MAC school. Going 7-5 or 8-4 makes no differnence to anyone on the large platform of college football. Therefore, scheduling a game against a nobody over a game against a BCS school makes no sense at all to me.

UB will go 1-3 against these teams in each of the seasons they play them. I'm not sure why this is such a good schedule for them. You are right...they should schedule Malone, Prairie View and SW Texas State instead. If you really think MAC teams should not strive for schedules such as this, why do you even bother paying attention to Akron games? Your small potato schedules will keep the program dormant for years. I would rather lose to a BCS than beat a garbage team nobody has heard of. It at least draws somewhat of an interest from the community as opposed to NONE. JACKPOT!!!!!