1981 grad

Good luck Kwan. It is great to know that former Zips can make a career playing pro ball. Enjoy the ride. Best of luck in the pros.

A big strong physical guard who can get through picks, rebound and won't get pushed around under the basket. Looking forward to watching him play next season.

You have to feel bad for Aaron in that he did not have a very good year. As an underclassman he was like the energizer bunny, he would come in off the bench and bring energy to the game. He made a lot of hustle plays. In the beginning of the year he played double digit minutes. Like everyone else, he liked to shoot the 3. This year he only shot 22% from the 3 line and was 0 for 8 once we hit MAC play. He hardly played toward the end of the season. I remember when he was in a game and playing well KD pulled him after a couple of minutes and he gave KD a look like why are you pulling me. I did not see him getting major minutes this year. I wish him the best of luck and hope that he obtained his degree.

With Antino leaving, we have no guards left from last year. After we got killed in the second game of the NIT, my thought was that we will never win a NCAA tournament game with the guards we have on the team. Of course, I had no idea that a month later none of them would be returning. If our goal is to win a tournament game, that was not going to happen with Noah, Antino, Josh, and Dunn Martin. They were too small, not athletic, poor rebounders, difficult stopping penetration and weak when it came to penetrating against defenses. (If anyone disagrees please rewatch the Texas Arlington game or the last 2 MAC finals.) Antino was probably our best guard on defense and slashing at the basket but at best he was an average MAC guard. KD liked to play inside out which meant our guards often stood on the wing or behind the 3 point line and shot the 3 ball. I cannot remember any of these guys back cutting to the basket or diving for a loose ball all season. When there was no double team, they struggled offensively against better athletes because they could not create their own shot and just shot the 3 ball. (Gonzaga game). There strength was their 3 point shooting and playing within the KD system of feeding the ball to Big Dog, waiting for the double team, and then shooting the 3 ball. I know that we will struggle next year with 4 new guards but hopefully we can pick up some athletes who can keep their man in front of them, rebound, move and cut without the ball and show athleticism in attacking the basket.

You guys make a great point. After the season, I rarely look at the board or post anything. But this year I have been checking the board to find out if KD is leaving, who our coach is going to be, what players are leaving, and what new players are coming. This board is more active than during the season. Maybe we should change coaches more than once in every 12 years to generate more interest in Akron basketball. (LOL)

I am happy that both Noah and Antino will received their degrees in 3 years. They seemed like really bright students when I heard them on the radio. However, it seems a little one sided that Akron holds a scholarship open for him and is prevented from recruiting another player while they shop around to transfer to another school. I hope they make up their minds quickly or Akron gives them a time period to make their decision.

Is he going to be a graduate student next year? I have not seen that anywhere.

I disagree that KD misused Antino or that he is a better player because he is receiving offers from other schools. First, I really think that it is in Antino's best interest to stay with the program. Akron has found a solid coach, one who has coached in the Big Ten, and a coach who has had success taking a MAC team for a run in the NCAA tournament. If Antino's goal is to play in Europe, he would be postponing a paycheck for a year if he transfers with no guarantee of improving his status as a player. His 3 point shooting improved this year to 40% but he still averaged 11 points per game, the same as last year. He has been a solid player for Akron and I have enjoyed watching him play the last 3 years but if he believes there is greener pasture somewhere else he has the right to leave. I would rather recruit a frosh that wants to play basketball for Akron than somebody who does not want to be here. Akron has done what it had to do. Now Antino and the rest of the players have to make a decision on what they want to do so the program can move on.

In the beginning of the year he looked decent for a first year player. Reminded me of Big Dog his first year. He then hurt his back. After he came back he did not do much. I thought he was not fully recovered but who knows. I did notice that when he was injured he was always the first one off the bench congratulating the team so I did like his team spirit in the beginning of the season.

Is Hughs following Dambrot? Considering that he hardly played this year, it would be foolish for him to transfer and then wait another year to play. He is a big guy but did not show much last year because of injury. I just wonder if he would get that many offers.

Thanks for sharing that. It is impressive that Antino's decision to consider leaving Akron was not a knee jerk reaction to KD deciding to leave. The players have a right to be upset with KD since a big part of his pitch to them was that he was not leaving Akron. If Antinos goal is to play in a big 5 conference, he will be competing against bigger and more athletic guys to get playing time. He has to realize that it is risk since he may not get the playing time coming into a new program. If he wants to play pro ball in Europe as many other Akron athletes, the safer move would be to stay with Akron where he is guarenteed playing time and is already part of the system.

Thanks for posting the video. I find it amazing that a guy that was just fired can be that thankful to the school that just fired him. I think it is great that he indicates academically his team did great in the classroom and that he had great relationship with his players. I am very impressed with this guy. He indicated that he takes responsibillity for his team, his record, and did not have any excuses. I hope he gets the job and I am optimistic for the future if he is our coach.

I saw him on the roster but he did not play. Did they red shirt him this year. Is he a scholarship player?

He just brought in a great recruiting class before he was fired, http://www.fightingillini.com/news/2016/11/17/mens-basketball-groce-and-staff-reel-in-top-10-recruiting-class.aspx?path=mbball He has MAC experience, can recruit, took Ohio to the sweet 16, and probably will be hesitant to go to the next level after his experience with the Illini so he should be here for a few years. I hope this happens soon so he can talk to our players and start recruiting since he will have at least 3 players transferring and some open scholarships.

Somebody that has more than one inbounds play in his repetoire of coaching skills!

If Groce gets the job, it would only be fitting if he brings in Brian Walsh as an assistant. Groce owes his success to Brian. If Brian made a 12 foot jumper instead of it rimming out, Akron goes to the NCAA in 2012. (Does it seem like Akron was snake bitten in MAC finals) Ohio does not make their sweet 16 run, Groce, does not get the Illinois job and make a million dollars. I also liked Brian as a Zip, a tall guard that could rebound and played tough defense. Somebody we could definately use as a coach.

I understand why Josh wants to go play with his brother. He has 2 years left of eligability. I understand why Dunn Martin wants to follow KD to Pittsburgh, he has 3 years left of eligability. However, I am still hopeful that Antino will stay after Akron gets a coach. He only has 1 year left of eligability and would have to sit out a year unless he has enough credits to graduate. Also, he has not announced a school so it does not look like he has a defininate plan on where he wants to go. Hopefully, after Akron gets a coach, he will give some consideration to staying. He would have the opportunity to play next year, add to his 1000 point career at Akron and finish out his senior year with his teammates. I really think this may be his best decision in order to further his playing career after he graduates Akron.

I just did a quick internet search on him and found this analysis from last year when N.C. state was looking for a coach. He is a home town guy who played for N.C. Ashville and was an assistant there for many years. http://www.backingthepack.com/2017/3/3/14807990/nick-mcdevitt-nc-state-coaching-search-basketball

Even if that was their plan, a tournament run in the MAC or NIT would improve their marketability greatly. Nobody threw in the towell.

I watched Kent play with UCLA, one of the top teams in the country for 35 minutes. Kent earned the championship, we did not give it away. The weakness on our team is that our guards were undersized, weak defenders, and could not slash to the hoop. If we were not shooting the 3 well, we were doomed and we did not shoot the 3 ball well in the MAC championship. There is no question the effort was there but we were just not good enough in the most important game of the season.

Did he indicate where he is going?

I wish Kd nothing but success in the future. However, afte thinking about Dambrot's decision to leave the program, I can't help but feel a little bitter about his leaving for the following reasons: He always indicated that Akron was his dream job and would never leave the program. Talked about using that statement as a selling point to recruits. All season talked about how Kwan and Big Dog graduated from Akron, could have gone anywhere but were loyal to the program. Always talked about building Akron as a successful mid major and becoming the Gonzaga of the East. The University treated him well making him the highest paid coach in the MAC, and honoring him when he became the winningest coach in Akron history. After learning that Antino and Josh were leaving the program as upper classman (don't know if this is true but has been discussed on this board) and losing in the MAC finals the last 2 years, I just get the impression the KD seemed to give up on the goals that he had set for our program. Even with all of the above, I still think he has been an asset the University the past 12 years and hopes that he finds the satisfaction that seemed to elude him here the past few years.

I think Antino is making a mistake if he thinks he can go to a bigger school and become a starter as senior, especially if he has to sit out a year. He had a great career at Akron. However, he was not a dominating guard on offense and did not look good in the MAC final or against Texas Arlington. All of our guards had difficulty getting through picks and defending the dribble penetration. If he goes to the next level he will be competing against bigger and stronger guards. I think he will have more success in a lateral move. Regardless, I wish him the best of luck and hopefully he will not regret his decision.

Senderoff kicked our butts in the MAC finals and had his team play great basketball against UCLA in the NCAA tournament. They were only down 5 points late in the second half. I also admire the guy on that senior night he started his bench and non scholarship senior players and also got them into the NCAA game the last minute. Our non scholarship player never saw the court after the MAC season started.

I had indicated in an earlier post regarding the 2016-2017 year, there were a lot of positives but at the end of the day I was not satisfied with this team. KD basically said the same thing. He was not happy with 27 wins and was looking for a change. You have to admire his honesty. During the season he kept saying when we were winning that these guys could play better and we had not seen their best basketball. Unfortunately, he could not get them to play their best basketball, especially when it counted. (Houston was the exception). I wish him the best of luck. Taking over a program like the Dukes there is a lot more upside. It sounds like he could not take another year of the same old same old.