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I'll make the point again that I have been making ever since I first appeared on this board...You need to appear as if you are gaining ground on a national level. Just winning games is not enough. Most college basketball fans in NE Ohio couldn't even tell you that Akron has won well over 20 games the last two years. An NCAA tournament appearance would go a long way towards giving people that feeling. And if we managed to win a game or two? Wow. I think our history over the last few decades tells the entire story:Winning 20+ games and almost winning the MAC in basketball? No Winning a game in the NIT last year? NoWinning the MAC in football and going to a bowl game? YesWinning the OVC and making the NCAA tournament in 1986 in basketball? YesNow...this might explain some things, but I will remain perplexed about why there is not at least a decent amount of student participation...at least for "something to do". More students live on campus than ever before, and its free. I don't get it.

uazipsman...the team down in Cowlumbus competes on a national scale, will always have it's front-runners, and will always get the attention of the so-so sports fans who are just looking for something to associate with. But, it's hard to attribute our current lack of student interest to that factor since it's always been a factor. Frankly, the atmosphere I have seen at most of our home games this year (with the exception of Dayton) has been so dull that I get mad when I bring people there for the first time since I previously described an Akron basketball game as a fun and exciting experience.I will be very interested to see if "Zeke-mania" will bring much higher student attendance numbers at the start of next season.

Let me share a little bit of old history as well...maybe this will help...Back in the early part of the Huggins era, when I was still a student, we didn't have internet, facebook, etc., or needed signs all over campus to get people to games. Now, I know this isn't the typical example, but the year after our first NCAA tournament appearance, we played a ranked Cleveland State team in Rhodes. The students packed the entire upper section designated to them (what is now "upper reserved") BEFORE THE WOMEN'S GAME EVEN ENDED (it was a double header that night). If you wanted to even go to the bathroom, there was no way you could. Do any of the other older folks remember this?We did have other games similar to this during that era, but not to the same magnitude. But, I am thoroughly convinced that if they had allowed students to sit in the end sections down low back then, we would have been fighting over those seats. And this was a period of time from about 83-88, when we had about the same success rate as we've had the last few years. And I can assure you, paying a fee to be in an official club to have that priviledge would have totally been acceptable to that contingent. The question is...what is different now? More students are even living on campus now than we had back then. Are people turned off by "joining a club" these days? Is the typical student less interested in the basketball games on campus than playing their new video game in their dorm in their free time?I think there's just a lack of interest.....and I don't know why. And I don't think that the lack of marketing is the culprit.

Here's some of my thoughts after last night's game....Now, I know I've probably leaned more to the negative side in many of my comments, and I don't think highly of our chances this year, but I will point out a couple of positives first.1) On most nights, this team competes. I think they understand that they can play defense and stay in games, and through our first two conference games...it shows.2) I'm feeling a little bit better today than I have in the past about the McKnight's being able to produce in the paint. We need it...badly.Negatives:1) Still far too many silly turnovers. And you simply can't have that when you are not shooting the ball well. Every possession must count. We know who the main culprit is, and I sure hope he continues to work himself out of that problem sooner rather than later. My fellow old basketball buddies sitting around me were impressed with KDs decision to go with the more experienced Roberts and McNees at crunch time with the ball in their hands in the backcourt. Although, that long drive to the basket by Roberts that resulted in a charging foul was dumb. I saw that coming several seconds before it even happened. And we nearly had the game in hand when it happened. Ouch. 2) I stilll don't understand how Bardo can only grab 2 rebounds in 22 minutes of play. 3) I saw way too many (and I'll be nice) "ill advised" shots. Watching guys drive into the paint and throwing up wild shots that would maybe hit the basket 1 out of 20 times is really painful. I'd rather see us shoot 3-pointers all night than do that. 4) I really believe at this point that Nate simply isn't able to change his past role. He isn't producing what we need offensively, and I can't really blame him when it is such a diversion from what he has been asked to do the past 3 years. But I sure wish he would get more aggressive with the basketball offensively. 5) Am I the only one who sees the benefits of having Cvetinovic on the floor more often?6) I'm really dissapointed in the attendance (especially the no-shows in the lower sections), and moreso with the lack of enthusiasm from the fans who are there. Ok, we know we aren't as good as we've been the last couple of years, but should that change people's attitudes about yelling and screaming for their team? Is it just that our style of play this year is a little boring? Is it because we don't seem to have players with excitable personalities that we can rally behind like Jeremiah and Nick? I just see a real lack of connection between the fans and the players this year.

Captain....I don't know where you find some of this stuff....but thanks for the laughs.Regardless of how I feel about our chances this year, I still hope that we can win the majority of our home conference games. And I don't think Buffalo is as good as some think they are. But they have size, and will likely be one of those games where we simply don't have the talent to get it done.Buffalo 58Akron 54

Yet...he started our MAC Championship game two years ago against Miami...because of Nate's eye problem. Does this story remind anyone of the Dennis Kennedy story?? It sure does to me. And I sure hope that Jimmy's story here at Akron ends the way the Kennedy story did.

Captain...interesting thought.Could Ronnie have helped us last year? When we really had NO true ball handlers? We'll never know.

WOW...I had noticed that we did not have a Saturday home game this month until the Can't State game, but I never looked further. So, without looking, that makes 2 Saturday home games in Jan., ZERO in Feb., and ZERO in March? Wonderful.

zips win....thanks for the technical correction....but there is no disputing that NOT having to play in the first round is an advantage that bodes well for those who have it. I don't care if you have to win 4 games in 5 days, or 4 games in 4 days.....you want to do everything you possibly can to only have to play 3 games. It's college basketball....anything can happen...you have to want to play as few games as possible.

Hilltopper and Dave...nice to have fellow old timers here. Let me tell you, that 85-86 season is still so memorable to me. I wish every student could spend their senior year experiencing what I did, but it hasn't happened since. Hopefully, it will again soon.Hilltopper...thanks for the visual of what it was like to watch a game in Memorial. I never got to do that since we were playing in the new JAR my first year here.

Lots of great comments since I posted earlier....let me add a few more comments...Dave...THANKS for pointing out that the regular season has consequences. Geez...some of you guys think it's fine to just coast along in the regular season, and rest the entire season on 4 games at the end of the season. And like someone pointed out, what are the chances you can actually win 4 games in a row in March if you have not prepared all year? There's plenty to play for. Tournament seeding, byes, recruiting, national ranking, etc. Come on. Zipwatcher...I agree...we need Ronnie back ASAP. An efficient and dependable ball handler late in the game could make a big difference. Please stop with the nonsense that we can consider the MAC West schedule to be 6 wins to add to our resume. Half of those will be road games, which have caused us problems even with some of our best teams over the past couple of years. And even if all of us East teams are to go in there and clean these guys out, it all ends up as a TOTAL WASH. Even if we can say that we turned the ball over less than our opponent, it's still a problem for us. We are a poor shooting team, and need as many cracks at a basket as we can get...especially since we don't get offensive rebounds. To have as many turnovers as we have when we are a perimeter shooting team is really unacceptable. ZipsWin..right on the money. Brett finally hits a key shot when the game is pretty much out of reach. It's just hard for me to argue with the notion that the guy just loves to shoot the basketball. And that doesn't bode well for KDs idea that he could possibly be turned into our low-post workhorse.

I do hope that our guys get some sort of confidence boost from playing the way they did in regulation, defensively. I still believe that's our only chance to compete this year.....playing defense like that every single night. But some of the reasons why we're going to lose plenty more games this year are still lurking in a major way...1) Field Goal Pct. = 31%2) If we are going to be a bad shooting team, we can't afford to turn the ball over 17 times. 3) We got absolutely annihilated on the boards. Their center had 12 of them, and it's not as if the guy is the next coming of the Round Mound of Rebound.One more observation:If Nate, Humpty, and Brett are going to be the guys we rely on to take the majority of our shots this year, we cannot afford anymore repeats of last night:Nate: 3-11, including 2-6 from 3-point rangeHumpty: 3-11, including 1-6 from 3-point rangeBrett: 4-13, including 1-5 from 3-point rangeCombined: 10-35, including 4-17 from 3-point rangeMeanwhile, McNees takes one shot in 29 minutes of play? The same guy who got hot in our blowout win against Miami early last year? I don't get it.

Do I understand this right from the story? These are coaches voting?I can understand this coming from a press poll. But, you would think the coaches would get it right.I can't come up with any remotely reasonable reason for why a travesty like this could happen except the negative perception of the conference that we play in.

pdt...remember...Miami can beat you soundly and the score might still be within 10 points. So, a wide point margin is unlikely, so you don't have to worry about that. If ever there was a game that could give us a chance to build some confidence that we can compete this year, this would be it. I think that their style of play, coupled with the strange environment, has just made for a difficult combination for us to overcome through the years. And this team might be more affected by it than others. And we still have so many issues that have not been ironed out. Akron shoots 50% or better from 3 point range: Akron 55 Miami 51Otherwise: Miami 50 Akron 44

Hi Hilltopper.Wow...you probably went to games at Memorial Hall, which I never got to do. That even precedes my time here. Nice to see some old timers like myself getting active on this board. Just giving my thoughts about how I feel about our chances this year. Not only as a fan, but from the perspective of a player and coach...and someone who was born into a basketball family. Of course I will enjoy the season. Zips Basketball is such a big part of my life every winter that I drive my wife crazy. Lets hope for the best.

Hilltopper....nice response. I was looking for something to laugh about today. It's hard to be happy when you haven't been to the NCAA Tournament in 23 years. Believe me, it's a great experience for a student. I was fortunate enough to still be a student when it happened. But heck...the year 1986 probably even precedes the birth date of many posters on here. Honestly though, these are a few of the things that have me thinking negatively right now about our chances to compete this year. But, I'm also not ready to start looking towards next year anytime soon. Dave...perfectly said. Plus, it's just a lot more fun to root for a team if they are playing better than you expected.

I've been thinking about this a little bit more. Who knows...maybe we are the worst team in the East. But, the lack of an abundance of solid performances from our competitors would also seem to indicate that the door is open in the East this year. But, my negative thoughts deal mostly with what we have failed to get done over the course of our non-conference schedule to show that we're prepared to compete in our division.1) I felt like we needed to quickly develop some new low post scoring options in the absence of Jeremiah. It hasn't happened.2) We needed some newcomers to quickly emerge as contributors, and get some decent game experience prior to conference play. Besides Humpty in spurts, it hasn't happened. Most of them have barely seen the court.3) I felt like Nate needed to become a scorer this year. And at 10 ppg, I think it's not enough.4) Besides maybe Jimmy C., nobody has emerged as a strong, consistent rebounder.

I'd hate to see us finish last in our division this year, but I think we all know that many of our division foes are more experienced than us, and I'm not sure I can put a tag that says "good performance" on any of our games since the Niagara and Dayton games.

AMEN Captain...I'll take a basketball berth in the NCAA tournament any way I can get it !!! I was freaking 22 years old the last time it happened, so I am getting old....and tired....and impatient. I still have to laugh when someone gives little credit to JD for our MAC football title. First of all, its the ONLY football or basketball title we have in our 15 years of MAC affiliation. And, a major reason for it was JD bringing Getsy and Biggs on board, and turning Hixon into a receiver.

Well...you folks just educated me also. I didn't think this had anything at all to do with the U or its students. I thought this was just a further expansion of Urban Condo Living concept that we have been seeing develop recently.

GP1 and Bobbyake....you are both right on the money.I like how Buckzip feels so compelled to predict the supremacy that the almighty Suckeyes would display if given a chance to go against the likes of Boise State or Cincinnati.......when they couldn't even make a game against the mighty OU Bobcats look convincing. Note to Buckzip: OSWho started the season as the #1 team in the country, and underachieved miserably. Knowing that your team was given such a great advantage to start the season, and seeing how things turned out, would likely make me want to hide under a rock at this point of the season rather than making bold predictions.I guess we should just never allow Boise or Utah to ever pass the Suckeyes in the rankings.....since....well...they just simply HAVE to be better than those teams. Even in a ranking system that gives a CLEAR advantage to the "name" teams by way of their always-high preseason AP rankings, Boise and Utah still finished ahead of the almighty Red and Silver by season's end. That's a pretty convincing fact.

Not the point at which we want to start conference play, but it is what it is.After our entire non-conference schedule, I think there's some things that are still uncertain. But there are also some things I think we know about this team:1) Jimmy C. needs to play a lot of minutes. He's our best defender.....and much to my surprise.....has turned out to be our best rebounder. Which is something we need desperately. Personnel wise, this is just not going to be a strong rebounding team. Which still makes me wonder why Nik and SS are not getting at least some decent minutes. 2) We need Ronnie back. Whether it's fatigue (I'm sure somewhat), or just trying to make too many plays he should not (In my opinion, the biggest problem), or has mental lapses (some of the problem), we need to have someone else besides Humpty play some good minutes at PG who does a good job of taking care of the basketball. Whatever the root cause, he's now had probably his worst game 12 games into the season, which isn't leaving me too optimistic that this is a problem that will correct itself tomorrow. Steve Mc and Darryl do a good job of taking care of the basketball too, but I don't think either of them can really run the offense except in short stretches. Get well soon Ronnie. With our inability to score a lot of points to begin with, we simply won't be able to afford to turn the ball over the way we do when conference play starts. 3) This team has no real post scoring option. KD indicates that maybe Brett is out best option here. Maybe so. He has a big body, and should be able to post up some teams' thinner forwards. I had hoped that Chris Mc would end up being our best option here, but that hasn't materialized. That leaves Bardo, and we know what we can consistently get from him after 2+ years in the program. Can SS and Nik help out a little bit here too as well?

Blue and Gold...there again is part of the injustice. Even though Utah is 13-0, and has a resume to be a national champion....do you really think that even a +1 system would give them a shot? Highly unlikely!!Texas would surely get the shot at the Florida/Oklahoma winner. And if not them, it would almost surely be USC. And why does it end up this way? Because the "name" teams from the so-called "best" conferences occupy all of the top spots in the preseason polls. It makes it nearly impossible for Utah, or anyone like them, to get into that #1 or #2 spot by season's end.As far as I am concerned....Utah is the National Champion.

A few more thoughts....As far as the Big East argument goes, wouldn't that just add to the controversy by re-evaluating conferences to decide which will get automatic bids, and which will not?My beef with the entire BCS system is that it sure seems designed to make sure that the national championship cannot be won by a team outside the BCS conferences.....and the major bowl games will be occupied by the "name" programs. If Utah cannot get into the championship game, with a 13-0 record, and several wins over ranked teams, then who ever will? And if that's the case, what we have in place is not fair.And on top of that, when the system allows for Boise to be passed over to give an "at large" to the Suckeyes, then it shows there is an arbitrary element to the system, which will always lean in favor of the "name" schools. It also shows that attendance and money mean even more than wins and losses....and more importantly....your actual BCS rank.So...are we trying to decide who the best football team in the country is? Or, are we trying to make money?

You're darn right we'd rather have a road win at Miami over a road win at Rhode Island....if we had to choose