My thoughts on Dan Hipsher

[Zip Watcher]

I know I'm late to the party with these .. but hey, work has been busy & w/ everything else going on .. this is what happens. At any rate, some of this was posted already ... I know some of this won't go over well .. but these are my thoughts.

First and foremost:

Dan did some serious heavy lifting during his tenure at the JAR. I don't care if you were a Hip fan or not .. I think we all generally agree that he left the program in a much better place than it was when he inherited it. I hope this isn't lost on us during these changing times. I know this season it was hard for me to be mindful of that at times.

Certainly we had some academic casualties in the past couple of seasons. But think back to the CC era, and there's no comparison. I don't recall ever thinking that a DHip player embarassed the university with off campus idiocy or legal troubles. I don't think giving at risk kids a chance at a world class education at UA was a bad choice, though I would have liked to see it work out more often. By and large, he was a good steward of UA's reputation and image.

We're all trying to improve things around us, whether it be in our jobs or lives in general. I think at the end of the day, Dan did that at UA. And I for one am aware and appreciative of that.

The ultimate measure of the state of the program is to compare the cupboards that DHip and now KD inherited upon getting the head job. No question KD has some tools with which to win right now.

General Musings:

- I like his systems when they worked it. Early on (years 1-6) he was almost exclusively a man-to-man D guy with good motion offense. I thought it was fun to watch during through Ball / Bosley / Shindy / Falknor years. Last 2 years, that broke down due to personnel .. but I didn't dislike his general game framework.

- There were some games where he gave other coaches fits with his strategy. A couple of nights come to mind now: Just about every time he coached against Coles & Dakich. Those were fun to watch. Great adjustments from both benches led to some entertaining hoops. Sometimes it went against us, but I think of a couple of wins against Miami & one particular game against BGSU Falknor's senior year that I'll remember. This season's Can't & Miami games were the most recent examples. The other coaches in the conference hold him in high regard as a sideline tactician.

- There were also some games where it seemed like he just gave up trying to get what he wanted out of the kids. I think of a game a few years ago (the quitters' senior year) @ Can't State and this year @ EMU .. and I shudder.

- His eldest son had the most potential of any player I've ever seen at Akron. The day he got hurt at WKU will always rank among my worst days as a Zips hoops fan.

- He did have some seniors quit on him, but he also had some seniors really go after it in their last several games. Scott Gooden, Jawanza Moore, Nate Schindewolf & Dave Falknor come to mind. Andy played with a lot of heart all the time.

- Many have said that no players improved over their time at UA playing for DHip. I don't have a long list of counter-arguments though there are some exceptions. I do find it pretty funny that the most improved player over his tenure was the one who tried to punch him during a game. Think back to Ryan Andrick as a freshman, and then think of his play as a junior and (first half of season) a senior .. and his game improved a hundred fold. Perhaps as fortunate a knee injury if there ever was such a thing. Andrick in my mind was a player that improved a great deal while he was here. Falknor another.

- DHip kept local kids coming through the program. I hope that continues, providing the players are at the level needed to play in the new era at the JAR

- He was nothing if not entertaining to watch on the sidelines. Anyone remember the time he spiked the clipboard during a game, and the pen flew onto the floor, prompting the requisite "please don't throw objects on the floor" announcement to the fans? Or how many times his gum fell out of his mouth, only to be handed back to him by an assistant coach?!!

Final Thoughts:

The MAC Tourney program, in it's discussion of DHip on the Akron page, labeled him a "rebuilder of programs." Maybe that's the right way to look at it. He came here to virtually nothing and guided the program through it's first 9 MAC seasons, and when he left it was a competitive MAC team. Perhaps he can build it to 80/90 % and can't get over the top? We'll debate that forever I guess .. but he did a solid job.

I do think it was time for a change .. the Zips have been sort of stuck in neutral for a couple of seasons, and new blood was needed. This program is in great position to move forward now .. but a change was appropriate now. Utlimately, I trust MT's judgement in these things.

As for DHip, I can only assume & hope that he lands on his feet near a bench in the very near future. He should always be welcome around these parts for his efforts and I will always respect his heart, determination & knowledge of the game. My guess is he'll find either a new head gig this spring or will be a top assistant at a big school (a la Larry Hunter) very soon (maybe TX Tech?). It won't be a long time before he's got a new DI head job & if he learns from his experiences here .. some school will get a pretty good coach. I won't be surprised at all to see him back in the MAC down the road.

At any rate thanks for your time here & good luck Dan. You left it better than you found it & you're always welcome at the JAR.

[GoZips]

ZIP WATCHER, Great post.

Coach Hipsher may all of us wish you the very best. I know that I do.

[Guest Guest_Z.I.P.]

Not to detract from the kiss - kiss on Danny, 'cause over nine years he did manage to rebuild the program from where it started, and we all appreciate his contributions. But, I give MT some of (no, a lot of) the congratulations for getting us to where we are today, i.e., beginning to gain and exercise the resources necessary to compete in the Mid-American Conerence.

I think most of you slugs will agree with me that both Lee Owens and Dan Hipsher weren't really ready to be MAC-level coaches when they were chosen, but maybe they were, at the time, the best we could get. In both cases their replacements are head and shoulders ahead at this stage of their careers over their predecessors.

I don't know where our athletic department would be without its new leadership. Well, yes I do -- it would still be on a par with Youngstown State. And, as I said before, I think that would be a great place for Dan Hipsher -- another program for him to revive. But don't look for them on our schedule.

Shaka -- or Hook'em Horns, or somethin.

[Guest Guest]

Zip Watcher -- Get a Clue.

Are you really happy with the past nine years ? post season play ? Get A Clue

So many Zip fans are happy being "also rans" -- Your type piss me off. There is no reason this cannot be a top notch mid major -- Think big not just glad to be in the race.

[Zip Watcher]

Guest ... welcome aboard.

First, why don't you register and become a contributor here. We always need more opinions.

Second - Read my post again .. read ALL of it. Then look at my signature. Nowhere am I saying it wasn't time to move on or that I'm even remotely against the decision. It was the right call .. and probably would have been last year as well.

My point is this: He left us with more than we had when he got here. He didn't embarass the U ... but he couldn't do better than third place, so it was appropriate that we move on. We're moving onward and upward. These are the facts.

Are you really happy with the past nine years ? post season play ? Get A Clue

So many Zip fans are happy being "also rans" -- Your type piss me off.

Where exactly do I say I'm happy with the nine years? Respecting someone's professional efforts on our team's behalf has nothing to do with wanting to be an also ran. It has to do with common sense and decency.

My type!!? At no time am I happy being an also ran. How you read that, I don't understand. I also don't know any Zips fans who want to be also rans. We're all starving for a return to the traditional successes that are the history of the program.

There is no reason this cannot be a top notch mid major -- Think big not just glad to be in the race.

Here I couldn't agree more with you. We should be a top 25 team. Every year. We should be in post season games (after the MAC). Every Year

Read the comments carefully before you come in here anonymously and in the ZipsNation!

People that don't read posts and then make inaccurate generalizations piss me off.

[Zip Watcher]

Z.I.P.,

I agree .. the right coaches for the time they were brought in .. no longer the right guys for the job.

I do think we've moved upstream with both JD & KD.

Hopefully MT sticks around to see it through.

[fallingzips]

You hope MT sticks around. MT just made Akron the joke of the MAC. Akron just passed Buffalo as the worst school, administration, staff in the MAC.

[I_Miss_You_Trey_71603]

You hope MT sticks around. MT just made Akron the joke of the MAC. Akron just passed Buffalo as the worst school, administration, staff in the MAC.

Where did you find that out?

[JP Morgan]

Hipsher probably was the best caliber coach Akron could get at the time. Some of you may not remember HOW BAD the Coleman Crawford years were. He literally destroyed any semblance of a D-1 program that we had. Not many candidates were lining up to take that job. Plus Hipsher was at the time an "up and comer" for the most part, had ties to Ohio and the MAC.

Hipsher was quick out of the box. He seemed to get the most out of those early teams. Unfortunately the successes were short lived He was though, as we all know, a flush in the pan.

As someone stated before, he did not leave the cupboard bare, the program has not been a perennial bottom feeder under Hipsher. But at the same time, we have had little to no "real" success. That's where Dambrot can hopefully take us.

[zipboy]

Good post ZW. Hipsher gave it his all, he cared about the program (he could have wasted DP this year and did not), and he brought a semblance of order. AS JP said, he burned out pretty quickly.

Everyone agrees that it was time for Hipsher to move on but for the most part everyone wishes him well. I think one of his biggest downfalls was always staying too long with the veterans when they did not produce.

Off the topic, I am listening to the Joe Dunn/Fred Mowery show. Fred just brought up the heat that Joe took for saying how good Buffalo was. I like Joe, but the problem is Joe said how good of a basketball team Buffalo was the last 5 years. In the past, Zips lose at Buffalo to a 2-16 Buffalo team and we hear, "Buffalo is a tough place to play." It is dead up here, no energy, a long bus ride, blah, blah, blah."