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No, I haven't heard that at all. I don't know why it's a shock to some people that there are supporters of a longtime coach who wanted him to be retained, and are pissed that he's not still here. Isn't that going to be the case with any coaching change? I'm sure that we just won't know for a long time how strong that legion of supports is, or how long they might be pissed.

Of course they do. That's not where the displeasure among some people is coming from at all. It's about whether we should have done more to keep him.

That's the likely consequence of any change like this. Especially when you had a guy here for so long who certainly had his loyal supporters. I personally know one other big supporter who's already indicated his extreme displeasure over the change, and says he's done. You just have to hope that some of them come back sooner rather than later once the dust settles, and/or a new group of supporters emerges. I can tell you that I am already being asked to meet to indicate what I plan to do for the upcoming year. I am far from deciding yet. Everyone is going to handle this in different ways, and I have no idea what the overall thought is among the majority of money-givers yet.

Thanks.

I'm sure it would, as long as they don't wait too long so that the "newness" of the situation hasn't worn off. But, I was just trying to find out how many people attended. I think there's a few posters here who think I am entering a debate over why there should have or shouldn't have been more people there. I don't even know how many people were even there.

That's the part that was puzzling to me. Thanks for pointing that out.

But wait, many of those Indians baseball players in the 70's had big afros, so you probably just THOUGHT that Charlie looked bigger than Antino

I think we've already acknowledged that.

I was hoping someone could tell me how many people were in attendance at the Meet and Greet event. I know at least a few of you guys were there since I already heard the Cookie Stories.

And just think, this entire time we've been referring to someone else as "Big Dog".

Wow. Very divergent opinions here. I expect a basketball player to have his height exaggerated a bit. And since he's listed at 5'-11", I'll guess that he has to be shorter than that. And especially since he's an undersized guard, I wouldn't be surprised if he's exaggerated by an inch or more. Then someone is missing something at the U of A. If he's listed at, or under his actual height.

I have to admit that I didn't hear about it until after it had taken place, but I had been out of town that entire period on a business trip. I'm not surprised that there was little knowledge of the event. I'm just hoping that a decent amount of people showed up, but I have no idea what some of you mean by "nobody".

I just had to come here and say that I am a little concerned that nobody has talked about our new coach for 2 days. Although I'm not sold on the hire, and I voted in this thread along with many others that I am "not sure" how this will turn out, I'd still expect a ton of enthusiasm to linger for a long time among some fans who have their minds set on the idea that we're headed towards a better future. If there was anything that's come up in the last week that I am puzzled about, it's the fact that several of you have indicated that "nobody showed up" at the new coach's welcoming event at EJ Thomas. Can someone please elaborate on that? Other than the jokes that there were plenty of leftover Zippy Cookies, I haven't heard anyone state any numbers. I'm hoping that "nobody" means that there was still at least several hundred people who showed up.

I have no idea who Tayvis Powell is, or why I was supposed to hate your reference to him. But I see the picture you are trying to paint, and I like it. I see that he's a key guy who is committed to staying. However, I have not heard anything at all about him being courted by anyone else.

You talkin bout THE Charlie Spikes? The one of mid-70's-ish Cleveland Indians fame? Now I know you're probably an old man like me.

They're usually here to train all summer, so why not be taking classes?

As I look back now many, many decades later, I often wonder who's responsible for creating these impressions among 16 year old kids that they will have so much more of an advantage in their careers by having a degree that will cost them $100,000 more than the "public institution" nearby. The same goes for grade point averages making someone so much better than someone else. I look so much more at so many other attributes in evaluating people.

I guess that's another possible factor. I didn't realize that they two cities are only about 4 hours apart. On the other hand, would he have come to Akron if distance was an issue? However, a lot can change after a long 3 years and 3 basketball seasons in the Midwest for a kid who might have been looking to just "get away" when he was 17 yrs. old, and was originally making that decision. I know a guy who skipped his Sr. year as a key player at Wichita State, just because he was homesick and left his girlfriend back here. You just never know what's going through their heads.

Best option for what? I tried to state what I was saying purely on the surface, since we don't know what he wants. The opportunity to play in that league, and in those arenas for one year to close out your career seems pretty enticing offer for an Akron grad transfer. But I agree that his max playing opportunity would probably be here with the exodus of Guards. Again, we don't know what he's thinking. But I think we can surmise that his "thank you letter" was probably a pretty clear indication that he already has both feet pointed out the door.

Not happy with the current situation in Akron, and a chance to play in the SEC for your last year? That would be a hard one to pass up, I would think.

But if you are a 20 win team, as opposed to a 15 win team, you probably have demonstrated some level of superiority over the rest of the league, which increases the likelihood of winning the tournament title. And you'll be seeded higher, which also increases your chance of winning the tournament title as well. I feel like some people here have regressed back into this thought that if we win just one game each year, the rest of the games don't matter. Yet, winning games throughout the course of the season is what helps you get those opportunities to win tournament titles.

Just like anything else in life, I think people will suddenly see the value in winning a lot of basketball games every year, when we are no longer winning a lot of basketball games every year. Right now, some people seem content with the idea that the winning isn't necessary to get MAC titles and NCAA bids. But unless we're going to pull rabbits out of hats here, winning games is a necessary part of the process of getting to the other two.

He did. I agree. Maybe you've never been an athlete. You take criticism all the time from coaches, fans, the media, and even your own family members. The things that people share about you on a message board are no different. Trust me. The way that Keith has talked to some of these guys would make anyone transfer if they were thin skinned.

I'm sharing what I know. If you don't agree, feel free to share what you know instead of posting an empty statement like that.