Grass root campaign for Steve Swiech

[Quickzips]

I find this all quite intriguing. I'm not completely sold yet that mes isn't just jerking everyone around. I have no idea who he is, or what connections, if any he has to the basketball program and the athletic department. If what he says is true we are looking at a substantially different team next year. We are almost certainly looking at losing more than just the two contributing players (C.McKnight and Conyers) that we thought we were going to be losing. If we are in for a backcourt exodus then it has to come from Humpty, McClanahan, Steward and Sullivan. It makes zero sense for McNees and Roberts to leave at this point because they only have one year of eligibility left. Unless they planned on transfering out of IA, they won't be able to sit out the mandatory year and still have any eligibility left. I also have a hard time seeing Steward walking away after the coaching staff has stuck with him this long and was still able to carve out some playing time for him this year as he tries to work back from all these injuries. I have thought from the beginning that Sullivan is the most likely candidate for a transfer. He simply got lost in the numbers game with our backcourt. I already addressed Humpty and McClanahan a little while ago and was promptly asked for the winning lottery numbers, won't make that mistake again.

Edit: Just thinking this over, I wonder if mes isn't trying to get us all worked up over a minor move. He hasn't told us that the three alleged transfers are all scholarship players. I wonder if Kyle Peterson might be one of the alleged three.

According to Dave in Green's scholarship/walk-on list, the 3 players are scholarship players and the one maybe is a scholarship player and has had more PT this year than the 3 confirmed combined all year.

I'm not trying to be a troll. I heard something, and saw someone say "very interesting offseason" and i was putting my take on it. You asked, I answered with what I know without giving out the names. If the moderators think I'm being a troll, fine...I'll delete my account from ZN and just read as a guest and never comment on here again. I'm a student at U of Akron so this is how I find out my information. My major is sports-related and I have friends in my classes that are even closer friends to the players. I talk to a football player 3 times out of the week about their practices and workouts and he told me what he thinks about Coach Ianello and the rest of the coaching staff. Do I expect you to believe me, of course not. Can you respect that I tried to give you some info(even if it's not the players' names) while being told not even to mention it to anyone? Well, that's up to you, but I hope so. We are all fans of our Zips and I know that everyone that write on here is to talk about Zips(well, we have the occasional Can't, ohio, and buffalo fan comment), and the last thing I would do is give some false information that once the official report comes out, would embarass me and ruin my little reputation already as a fan. All I ask is just please give me a chance, and if I fail, ignore all my posts or just burn my account away...I'll leave that up to the moderators.

In one of my classes alone, I have a softball player, a baseball player, a soccer player, and a women's basketball player in my one class along with someone that works in the AD's secretary office as an aide...that's all i have to say...see you all at the baseball game today...cause that's where i'll be at when 3pm gets here.

mes, I respect what you are coming on here and trying to do to a degree. My posts have not been intended in any way to accuse you of trolling or to try and run you off. But you have to understand, that I don't know you from Adam, the same way that you don't know me. I learned a long time ago that blind faith in everything you read on an internet message board is not exactly a great way to go through life. Until we see some hard facts from the athletic department I pretty much have to take a skeptical approach to this information. It is nothing personal against you, just my approach overall to internet message boards. I have found over time that very few people who claim to be "insiders" actual have any useful and truthful inside information.

[mes102]

I understand...when i heard from the basketball player i talked to, i was still a little skeptical if he was telling me the right info or not since he might of been just jealous that he doesn't get enough playing time. I just took it as credible cause i heard the same info from other people and other players also...

[Dave in Green]

One of the cool things about internet forums is that each of us leaves behind an electronic trail of posts that can be checked at any time to get an idea of anyone's general credibility. A quick look at mes102's history shows lots of positive posts with no BS, so I take that as a good sign of credibility.

The more I think about this, the more I go back to the team chemistry thing. That's a really critical component of a winning team that's not easily measured by stats. You can have a team full of good individuals who for some reason don't all get along really well with each others' styles. It's not necessarily the fault of any individual, so trying to assign blame often causes more harm than good. Sometimes these things can be worked out, and sometimes it's best for all if one or more move on to a place where they think they'll fit in better.

I'm sure that those who are closest to the team all have different ideas about what might be going on beneath the surface. Hopefully the coaching staff has the best understanding of the situation and is doing all the right things to improve things. Whatever may happen -- from having a team meeting to clear the air and everyone shaking hands and moving forward together, to one or more players deciding it's best for everyone if they transfer -- the important thing is that everyone come together as a close-knit team after whatever happens.

The one thing that can really be destructive is to have a team chemistry issue turn into a nasty public fight. I know there are people who are close to every player on the team who are tempted to want to tell their side of the story and lobby on behalf of the player who's closest to them. But those kinds of feuds can easily get out of control and poison any chance of good team chemistry.

So I really hope for the sake of the Zips team that everyone exercises discretion in what they say on this forum about any internal team issues.

[Dr Z]

Anybody follow any of the boys twitters?

[zipboy]

This is from Mike Rasor's blog dated Nov 11th. I am not concerned with the names as that was speculation but from the wording multiple players were expected to transfer at the end of the year and that is what we see happening. Whoever leaves, I hope that they do well and are successful.

A side question is: Who leaves the program? Dambrot has promised three scholarships. Only two are presently available. Dambrot apparently has an understanding with some players, who intend to transfer if they cannot find a place in his rotation this season. Judging on playing time last night, it appears as if one of the big men will be the one left out — either Steve Swiech or Mike Bardo. Alex Sullivan is another possibility because of the crowded backcourt.

[RootforRoo44]

Is there a timeline for transferring? Like if they don't decide by April 15th then they don't get their paperwork signed? I would think that the staff has some kind of deadline set up, so they can devise a plan going forward without having to worry about any more players leaving.

I dont know if a timeline exists for our team but i can tell you that some of the players in question may have spoken to other schools and they obviously would have to make a decision about transferring by some designated deadline. I'm guessing most other schools cannot wait too long to hear back.

btw, Mes, i know you're credible and i'm glad that you at least mentioned it on here. I heard the rumors then checked to be sure and i was wondering what Zipsnation would say if player A or player B transferred.

Speaking of which, i would agree with you VMD. I would not be too happy if someone like Zeke, Humpty, or Nik left just because of one season not living up to their expectations or them not getting the playing time they expected. If you make a commitment you stick with it. People like Sullivan, Steward, or Swiech i can understand a little more as they have potential to start elsewhere and they may not have been given a fair chance here.

[Dave in Green]

This is from Mike Rasor's blog dated Nov 11th. I am not concerned with the names as that was speculation but from the wording multiple players were expected to transfer at the end of the year and that is what we see happening. Whoever leaves, I hope that they do well and are successful.

A side question is: Who leaves the program? Dambrot has promised three scholarships. Only two are presently available. Dambrot apparently has an understanding with some players, who intend to transfer if they cannot find a place in his rotation this season. Judging on playing time last night, it appears as if one of the big men will be the one left out — either Steve Swiech or Mike Bardo. Alex Sullivan is another possibility because of the crowded backcourt.

At the time that Rasor wrote that blog, there was only 1 transfer required to open up the 3rd scholarship for the 3 incoming forwards, and Rasor simply threw out 3 possible names for that 1 transfer. I don't see where Rasor's wording implied that there would be multiple transfers at that time.

EDIT: OK, after rereading this, I see where you're coming from: Dambrot had an understanding with several players, only 1 was really required to transfer to open up the 3rd scholarship, but now possibly more than 1 of the "several" may want to transfer even though only 1 scholarship needs to be freed up. Makes sense.

Link to Rasor's Nov. 11 Blog

[Zipmeister]

I'm 110% with Quick on this one. You absolutely cannot believe everything you read on the Internet. That's how World War One got started.

[Dr Z]

Has anybody transferred out of Akron in the last 10 years to a bigger program? No. So if somebody is transferring, they would be transferring "down" Why would a kid at Akron transfer "down"? Playing time would have to be the number one reason. So I would start my list of players with the ones that aren't seeing the floor. I'm not going to post names, but that's how my thinking goes on the subject. For me, I'm really not that interested until I see something official. I think back to when JD was let go and a few posters stated that half the team was leaving including PN7. I can wait. Bubba was an exception, but many would argue that it was addition by subtraction.

[Dave in Green]

Pretty easy to look through the Zips season stats and see the individual player numbers on games played, games started, minutes, and average minutes played per game.

Here it is, sorted by average minutes per game from high to low, with strikethroughs of players who have graduated and are definitely not returning, and asterisks for walk-on players.

Due to the graduation of 3 frontcourt players who together averaged 57.6 minutes per game, there will be about that much time available for frontcourt players to pick up next season, and 3 new incoming frontcourt players.

With no backcourt graduations, there would be no freed-up backcourt PT unless 1 or more backcourt players leave the team.

Player .......................... GP-GS ... Min ... Avg

-------------------------------------------------------

McNEES, Steve ............ 35-28 ... 966 ... 27.6

CONYERS, Jimmy ......... 35-31 ... 940 ... 26.9

HITCHENS, Anthony .... 33-22 ... 836 ... 25.3

ROBERTS, Darryl ......... 35-19 ... 833 ... 23.8

McKNIGHT, Chris ......... 35-16 ... 742 ... 21.2

CVETINOVIC, Nikola .... 35-13 ... 708 ... 20.2

McKNIGHT, Brett .......... 34-13 ... 661 ... 19.4

MARSHALL, Zeke ......... 35-28 ... 588 ... 16.8

McCLANAHAN, Brett ..... 35-4 ..... 434 ... 12.4

STEWARD, Ronnie ........ 30-0 ..... 186 ..... 6.2

BARDO, Mike ................ 29-0 ..... 175 ..... 6.0

CARROLL, Tim .............. 16-1 ....... 50 ..... 3.1 *

SWIECH, Steve ............. 6-0 ........ 14 ..... 2.3

SULLIVAN, Alex ............. 6-0 ........ 12 ..... 2.0

PETERSEN, Kyle ............ 4-0 .......... 5 ..... 1.3 *

OLDHAM, C J ................. 0-0 .......... 0 ..... 0.0 *

EGNER, Josh (incoming)

EUTON, Dakotah (incoming)

GREEN, Michael (incoming)

[Quickzips]

Pretty easy to look through the Zips season stats and see the individual player numbers on games played, games started, minutes, and average minutes played per game.

Here it is, sorted by average minutes per game from high to low, with strikethroughs of players who have graduated and are definitely not returning, and asterisks for walk-on players.

Due to the graduation of 3 frontcourt players who together averaged 57.6 minutes per game, there will be about that much time available for frontcourt players to pick up next season, and 3 new incoming frontcourt players.

With no backcourt graduations, there would be no freed-up backcourt PT unless 1 or more backcourt players leave the team.

Player .......................... GP-GS ... Min ... Avg

-------------------------------------------------------

McNEES, Steve ............ 35-28 ... 966 ... 27.6

CONYERS, Jimmy ......... 35-31 ... 940 ... 26.9

HITCHENS, Anthony .... 33-22 ... 836 ... 25.3

ROBERTS, Darryl ......... 35-19 ... 833 ... 23.8

McKNIGHT, Chris ......... 35-16 ... 742 ... 21.2

CVETINOVIC, Nikola .... 35-13 ... 708 ... 20.2

McKNIGHT, Brett .......... 34-13 ... 661 ... 19.4

MARSHALL, Zeke ......... 35-28 ... 588 ... 16.8

McCLANAHAN, Brett ..... 35-4 ..... 434 ... 12.4

STEWARD, Ronnie ........ 30-0 ..... 186 ..... 6.2

BARDO, Mike ................ 29-0 ..... 175 ..... 6.0

CARROLL, Tim .............. 16-1 ....... 50 ..... 3.1 *

SWIECH, Steve ............. 6-0 ........ 14 ..... 2.3

SULLIVAN, Alex ............. 6-0 ........ 12 ..... 2.0

PETERSEN, Kyle ............ 4-0 .......... 5 ..... 1.3 *

OLDHAM, C J ................. 0-0 .......... 0 ..... 0.0 *

EGNER, Josh (incoming)

EUTON, Dakotah (incoming)

GREEN, Michael (incoming)

As I've said before, I think you can pretty well cross out McNees, Roberts, McKnight and Bardo as potential transfers. They are all seniors and only have one year of eligibility left. Unless they are talking moving down to NAIA or something like that they wouldn't be able to transfer out, sit a year and have any eligibility left. The only one who is in a little different spot is Bardo just because of his academic situation and the fact that he is unlikely to see any more significant playing time than he got this year.

[Dave in Green]

For all the speculation about Hitchens not being totally happy with everything, he represents the second highest average minutes per game of any returning player, behind only McNees by a couple of minutes per game.

[Blue & Gold]

For all the speculation about Hitchens not being totally happy with everything, he represents the second highest average minutes per game of any returning player, behind only McNees by a couple of minutes per game.

I would guess that if Humpty is unhappy, it would have more to do with the Zips' slow style of play and KD moving him to the 2-guard spot rather than a lack of minutes on the floor.

Humpty's a PG who is FAST. His talents are best utilized running up & down the floor, not walking the ball up for a half-court set. I hope KD swallows his pride and simply turns Humpty loose next year.

Humpty & Egner would be murder running the floor. Also, Zeke can really run for a 7-footer. Turn them loose, KD. They're the show, not you.

[mes102]

For all the speculation about Hitchens not being totally happy with everything, he represents the second highest average minutes per game of any returning player, behind only McNees by a couple of minutes per game.

I would guess that if Humpty is unhappy, it would have more to do with the Zips' slow style of play and KD moving him to the 2-guard spot rather than a lack of minutes on the floor.

Humpty's a PG who is FAST. His talents are best utilized running up & down the floor, not walking the ball up for a half-court set. I hope KD swallows his pride and simply turns Humpty loose next year.

Humpty & Egner would be murder running the floor. Also, Zeke can really run for a 7-footer. Turn them loose, KD. They're the show, not you.

+1

If you looked at the teams who beat us this year during the regular season(Can't twice, ohio in championship, Rhode Island, etc.), their coaches let them play a "loose" style of game...that's why they...im going to say the word... look "athletic"

[zipboy]

[quote name='ZachTheZip' date='Mar 30 2010, 09:10 AM' post='111861']

Is there a timeline for transferring? Like if they don't decide by April 15th then they don't get their paperwork signed? I would think that the staff has some kind of deadline set up, so they can devise a plan going forward without having to worry about any more players leaving.

I checked the NCAA website. Signing period is April 14th - May 19th.

[UAZip0510]

This thread is something else...a few items of note:

1) I can tell everyone with absolute certainty that if someone had "inside info" within the basketball program, they wouldn't be sharing it. And if they did share it on ZN (a site that coaches, players, etc all view), that "inside info" would stop right there.

2) Which leads us to what exactly is "inside info"...is it talking to a player off the record? Is it hearing rumors? I don't think either qualifies. Unless you're a close friend of a player, they aren't going to share that kind of information with you. Why would they risk getting in trouble with the program to appease a stranger? "Inside info", to me, is receiving concrete information from within the program...not rumors, not hearsay, etc. I don't doubt the people with "inside info" have heard these things, or that they believe them to be true...I just don't put much credibility in what they've heard.

3) Everyone with a brain can figure out Alex Sullivan and Steve Swiech could be potential transfers (and probably should transfer).

4) Listen to KD closely...he said they're bringing in a guard. We'd need two open scholarships to add two players.

Do the math

[MDZip]

So I'm assuming this thread is now moot. I liked Steve, I got to talk with him on the phone for a bit once when he called to thank Z-Fund donors. Wished he would have gotrten more of a chance to play but I hope he does well wherever he ends up. Does anyone know where any of our transfers ended up yet?

[nbs95]

So I'm assuming this thread is now moot. I liked Steve, I got to talk with him on the phone for a bit once when he called to thank Z-Fund donors. Wished he would have gotrten more of a chance to play but I hope he does well wherever he ends up. Does anyone know where any of our transfers ended up yet?

Steve is transfereing to the Unversity of California PA. He is going to fisnish his two years of basketball, while he gets his masters. Steve then plans to get his degree in Air traffic control from Beaver County Community College.

Witch would not be suprise if someday his is not the head of the FAA.

We his family are very happy to have Steve playing so close so that we may be to make the games to watch him play.

As for Zip nations.org I will miss most of you but some of you I will not, you know how you are.

Well take care an thanks for the ride.

Steves Uncle

[johnnyzip84]

So I'm assuming this thread is now moot. I liked Steve, I got to talk with him on the phone for a bit once when he called to thank Z-Fund donors. Wished he would have gotrten more of a chance to play but I hope he does well wherever he ends up. Does anyone know where any of our transfers ended up yet?

Steve is transfereing to the Unversity of California PA. He is going to fisnish his two years of basketball, while he gets his masters. Steve then plans to get his degree in Air traffic control from Beaver County Community College.

Witch would not be suprise if someday his is not the head of the FAA.

We his family are very happy to have Steve playing so close so that we may be to make the games to watch him play.

As for Zip nations.org I will miss most of you but some of you I will not, you know how you are.

Well take care an thanks for the ride.

Steves Uncle

Thanks for taking the time to discuss Steve's future plans. Best of luck to Steve during his Vulcan career and throughout his life

[Captain Kangaroo]

As for Zip nations.org I will miss most of you but some of you I will not, you know how you are.

The day I walk away from ZipsNation.org, I'll probably say the same thing.

All the best to Steve. What a great kid!

[Dr Z]

Steve is transferring to the University of California PA. He is going to finish his two years of basketball, while he gets his masters. Steve then plans to get his degree in Air traffic control from Beaver County Community College.

Good luck to Steve. My Aunt went to University of California PA, turned out well for her, she married a HOF NFL'er. Don't be afraid to stop back and update us later.

[Buckzip]

When Steve verballed to the Zips there was a lot of fanfare and happiness about it.

I don't understand what happened. He never got a chance. I would understand if we still had Wood and Fuch, but we didn't.

I too wish him good luck. Seems like a great guy.

[scottditzen]

Best of luck to Steve!!!!!

[RootforRoo44]

This thread is something else...a few items of note:

1) I can tell everyone with absolute certainty that if someone had "inside info" within the basketball program, they wouldn't be sharing it. And if they did share it on ZN (a site that coaches, players, etc all view), that "inside info" would stop right there.

2) Which leads us to what exactly is "inside info"...is it talking to a player off the record? Is it hearing rumors? I don't think either qualifies. Unless you're a close friend of a player, they aren't going to share that kind of information with you. Why would they risk getting in trouble with the program to appease a stranger? "Inside info", to me, is receiving concrete information from within the program...not rumors, not hearsay, etc. I don't doubt the people with "inside info" have heard these things, or that they believe them to be true...I just don't put much credibility in what they've heard.

3) Everyone with a brain can figure out Alex Sullivan and Steve Swiech could be potential transfers (and probably should transfer).

4) Listen to KD closely...he said they're bringing in a guard. We'd need two open scholarships to add two players.

Do the math

Believe it or not, there are a few people on here who ARE close friends of some of the players.

I myself go back 15 years with one of the recent basketball players and have become good friends with a few of the current ones because of that.

Also, we all know there are others on here that have friends on the athletic teams due to a lot of people on here being former UA athletes.

So to be honest, I believe a lot of what i hear on here because a lot of people have the connections to know.

[Zip_ME87]

As I told Steve at the end of year "banquet", I wish him all the best and much success in whatever he chooses to do. He's a great guy, and even though he didn't get to play in many games while at UA, I'm confident the Zips were a better team for having him as a teammate.