skip-zip

This is always the time of the year where these debates come to the forefront. Personally, although the 07 Zips and the 08 WMU team both had weak SOSs, the difference between having 12 losses and 7 losses is a pretty significant difference that can't be overlooked. If WMU has any leg to stand on, it's that they had a couple of good wins. But, that's not going to overcome having 12 losses with their SOS. I'm with skhorbotly on this one.

If we look at Akron's program.............we have a lot more to lose by Can't advancing in the tournament than we have to gain.

This is another part of the argument that we will see go on for years. Whenever a team does not have a strong RPI or SOS, they point towards their key wins. And WMU does have some really good wins on their resume. Unfortunately for them, they play in the MAC West, which kills their overall SOS. If any of you watched the interview with the NCAA Selection committee chair last Sunday, you hopefully noticed how much he mentioned OOC SOS. We need to listen to those kinds of things.

One big thing that we haven't talked much about yet.....This game will be at Noon on a Saturday...on "the" ESPN. That will be great exposure.Does anyone ever remember us having a basketball game on ESPN? I don't.

Well, now that CSU is gone, maybe that puts us back on the radar.I was most bothered by the fact that one of the stations mentioned the area teams that were in the NIT and did not even MENTION us.I did see the sports on the evening news from the local networks, and one of them did show a short recap of our game last night. I didn't notice even a mention on the rest of them.

Well said uakronkid. I especially like your point about the younger players getting more tournament experience.

I read the article. Seriously, I hope that kids that are as troubled as him make something out of their life. But I don't agree with stories that seem to glorify the situation. This kid has made a continual series of "mistakes", both before he came to Can't, and several times since he has been there. In my opinion, this kid should not even be allowed to be a student there anymore, let alone be on the basketball team. On a side note, have any of you seen the picture?? According to the caption, it shows his "defensive pressure", but shows what appears to be him climbing over another player, and pushing him to the floor, while going after a rebound. The same kind of play that we seem to never get a call on from MAC refs. How Funny.

I did hear French mention that the fans were still down there talking, even long after the game was over. I wonder what really transpired.

The problem is....I don't think that "defensive stopper role player" is in Jimmy's plans. And that usually makes a guy think seriously about leaving. Especially when he's already been a starter, and has fallen that far out of the loop.

K-Roo. Please read my first post. There IS a story about the game in the sports section today. But the front page "teaser" mentions OSUs win, but not Akron's.

Sure, this might be "the way it's always been". But, that certainly doesn't mean that we should stop complaining about it. We are probably in the NIT this year because of the attention we got last year when we collectively made an effort to let people know about our snub. Sitting back and not saying anything is a certain way to make sure that nothing ever changes.But really.....I only started the thread to vent a little bit. I know that this had commonly been the way things go for us in these kinds of situations. And I started this thread by saying "this won't come as a big surprise to anyone". So, I know this isn't really bringing any new information to the forefront.

Thanks Zen. I am specifically pointing out the coverage that the Suckeyes and CSU are getting for being in the same tournament as us. And not really that they are getting more coverage, but in some cases, we are not even mentioned as even being there. We all know that the NIT is not going to get coverage like the NCAA.

Zen...I have a feeling that if the Suckeyes got to the NIT title game, and we were their opponent, that we would STILL be fighting for coverage.

I know this is nothing new to any of us, but have you guys noticed the lack of coverage about us being in, and winning in the NIT?I seem to be doing nothing but catching interviews with Gary Watters (Cleveland State) and Can't's coach on the tv. I even caught one of the local tv station's sports guys saying the other night that "Can't is not the only local school playing in the postseason....Cleveland State and Ohio State will be playing in the NIT" (ummm..did you forget someone???)Then I open up our hometown paper this morning, and see a sports section "teaser" on the front page entitled "The NIT", but underneath it only mentions the Ohio State victory last night. NOTHING about Akron's big win at all until you open up the sports page.On the sports page, we have a small article, right next to a HUGE article and picture about Singletary at Can't. Funny enough, the picture appears to depict what I tend to observe with their rebounding technique....climbing right on someone's back.I'm just venting....sorry...but is anyone else noticing the same lack of coverage?

Speaking of Dials, I know he is not your prototype point man. He doesn't penetrate well, which limits his ability to create offense at times.But, he has an excellent assist/turnover ratio, and almost always can be counted on to hit the clutch free throws down the stretch. PLUS, I heard the other day that he has compiled the 3rd highest assist total in a season for a Zip player this year.We really can't complain too much about what he's done to fill that role this year, as far as I am concerned.

Zip Watcher. If you recall, only a few people showed up at Temple a couple of years ago for our NIT game there.Don't you guys think that maybe the NIT should reconsider their "assumption" that the bigger venues/teams will draw the bigger crowds for NIT games? I certainly think so. The attendance for the OU game last night is probably a good lesson that it would not be worth our while to pay for a home game in the CBI, should we ever have that situation.

I'm glad we have 3 days rest before the next game, but UMASS will run us right out of their gym if we decide to play our starters for 40 minutes.

Speaking of how we can help attract Zeke to Akron...Wouldn't it be cool if a bunch of us would go to one of his AAU games, all dressed in Akron gear, and starting chanting "We Want Zeke"!!!I'm sure he'd love it.

I don't think that the JUCO issue is as much about people feeling strongly that we should, or should not have JUCOs on this team. The real issue for me is that our staff appears to completely rule out the idea.Same with the scheduling...We appear to have a philosophy of not playing road games without return trips against high ranked teams. Again, it's the idea that it seems that we are completely ruling out an option that can be helpful to the program. Remember, the last time we went to the NCAA tournament, one of the key factors was our coaching staff finding a guy named Marcel Boyce, a JC transfer. And he also became a conference MVP.

That's why I prefaced my comments with "there are bad apples in every bunch". I'm sure not all Akron people are poster children for good behavior. And I'm sure Can't has plenty of great fans. But as I think of all the negative incidences that I have witnessed over the last 6 months or so, they just seem to be piling up on one side.

I know that we get into discussions on here all the time about the behavior of the fans and players of our rival. And being a rational person, I try to look at things objectively, and surely will admit to the folks to the East that you will find bad apples in every bunch.But, there is a clear pattern here that can't be overlooked....and it just continues to grow larger.1) The proud display of a You-Tube video of fans repeatedly chanting "F U Akron" at a football game at the Rubber Bowl last fall?2) Throwing garbage at the Akron players towards the end of the game at Can't in January? And a player having to be grabbed around the neck by the refs to pull him out of the pile? And while this is all happening, a guy like Jeremiah Wood, who could have certainly been the enforcer in the situation, was calmly telling everyone to calm down?3) A player sticking his tongue out and taunting our players at the post-game handshake?4) A player with previous suspensions sits out one game, and stays on the team, after being arrested for a DUI?5) Someone yelling out "Go Can't State" while the crowd was completely silent during the middle of the National Anthem at the JAR last week while a local high school choir was singing?6) A collective chorus of boos coming from a group of yellow-shirted fans while a group of military personnel was taking their oath of service at halftime in Cleveland last weekend? (by the way, a Can't fan sitting a couple of rows away from us spent the entire rest of the game denying that it was the Can't fans who were doing that).7) Nate Linhart gets heckled repeatedly in the 2nd half for what CLEARLY was a CLEAN BOX OUT (watch the game film again, if you don't believe me).8) Booing Akron when they come to claim the 2nd place trophy, when they already won the game? I've been in athletics my entire life, and I have NEVER seen that. You can attach whatever terminology you wish to these actions, but they speak for themselves...don't they?

The CBI got it right. Miami and Ohio were in much better positions for a post season berth than Western. Western was only the #2 seed in the MAC tournament because they were the champ of the West Division.

sgm...your point #2 at the top of this thread is right on the money.

I can remember last year when I insisted that everyone do everything they could to make sure as many people as possible knew of our situation. We called news and radio shows, etc. etc. etc. And there were people on here who thought it would do no good.Seriously though, let's not fool ourselves that Akron's plight alone made people want to create a new tournament. But making our case to the nation had to have helped.

Why in the world would you boo the team getting the 2nd place trophy, when you just won? I'm glad I was gone by that point, and I had already experienced a slew of rude and classless behavior. And surprisingly enough, it was mostly from the older people who you would think would show a little more maturity. Apparently, Can't fans don't change as they get older.