Ben Speas, the new LeBron James?

[GauchoMike]

Greetings from California. I may be a die hard UCSB fan, but I am fond of Akron. Rooted for you guys in SB last last and was thrilled that you won the Cup. Still much respect for your program and hope you do well (just not at our expense).

I also really dislike the big conferences, particularly the ACC when it comes to soccer.

Well, I stumbled upon an article on Ben Speas and noticed these comments in an article that discussed his transfer from Akron. Just in case you face UNC in the tourney, I thought this might make for useful bulletin board material:

“I never had been here, and when we came here, it was crazy,” Speas said. “It was so nice. We went on Franklin one day, and it wasn’t like Akron at all. It’s like the exact opposite of Akron.”Now living in Chapel Hill, Speas is glad he made the move.

“It’s the nicest place I’ve ever been in my life. It’s like I’m on vacation or something,” Speas said.

“And in a month and a half, there’s not going to be two feet of snow on the ground. I cannot wait for that.”

http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/arti...r_a_bluer_pitch

[tbozeglav]

I wouldnt go so far as to put the "lebron" title on him. Its not like he was a Teal or Darlington caliber player that decided on his own to up and leave the program he had lead to this point with little to no communication with the coaches or athletic department all because he wanted to play with buddies. He left on his own terms, yes, but he did so for the betterment of himself as a player, and did it with class and respect of our program and coaches. When even Porter agrees that it was better for him to leave, you can't really fault him for that. Im happy for him, really, that he's found a new home and likes where he is now. Perhaps at UNC he'll get the chances to shine he had hoped he get here that were taken up by even better players than he.

[Z.I.P.]

Yeah, welcome back to the ZN.o Big Mike -- and thanks alot for not mentioning anything that happened on your coast last week

The thing with Speas is, we wish him well and all that, but he knew he wouldn't be seeing much playing time in his hometown. Now I kinda can't wait to hear about the first blizzard to hit the Raleigh-Chapel Hill area.

Have one, or four for me an' the Rowdies at Gio's tonight!

[GauchoMike]

Yeah, welcome back to the ZN.o Big Mike -- and thanks alot for not mentioning anything that happened on your coast last week

The thing with Speas is, we wish him well and all that, but he knew he wouldn't be seeing much playing time in his hometown. Now I kinda can't wait to hear about the first blizzard to hit the Raleigh-Chapel Hill area.

Have one, or four for me an' the Rowdies at Gio's tonight!

My name is Mike and I was at the College Cup, but I'm not the Mike you're thinking of... but I know who you're talking about

[Zip_ME87]

Hey Mike. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoyed myself again at UCSB on Oct 5th, except for the result. You guys are great fans. Only one fan made a classless comment after the game. Not sure why folks resent fans of the other team cheering for their team, but I'll set him aside. Not sure of future schedules, but I would love to see the Gauchos return the favor and come to Akron in the early season, perhaps for our tournament.

I don't know about others, but I don't have an issue with Ben. As others have said, he likely wasn't going to start at Akron; so, he moved on to do what he thought best for himself. (Although, I wonder if he might have been a good option for us this season as box-to-box mid-fielder.) Personally, I'd like to see him do well since he's from the area. It was always cool talking with him. His parents still attend Akron games from time to time and are supportive of our team/players...great people.

Keep the wins coming at UCSB. We need to help each other as best we can with RPI.

[plowerman78]

it is a 1 and 1. UCSB will be at "The Pouch" next year

[fknbuflobo]

The way this is shaking out, it seems as though Speas did not like the prospects of the team in Spring. If you recall, we were all saying the team looked mediocre (at best) during the Spring. Combine that with no guarantee of starting and his decision looks completely understandable. It just bothers me that given what we have now, and seeing his production @ UNC, I think Speas would be starting for us.

To be clear, there is no cause for ill will in Zips Nation toward Ben Speas, none whatsoever.

[yazan07]

I often wonder if Speas would have started this year too. I think he definitely could have started during the pre-Holmes stretch, but I'm not sure about now. No way he takes Darren's spot, and as of lately, Tommy has just been lighting it up game after game. Sometimes when Luke gets the ball, it blows my mind how good his touch is. Someone suggested that maybe he could have played as a box-to-box guy, but if I'm not mistaken, I had heard that one of the criticisms of Ben when he was here was that he wasn't that good at defending.

[Zip_ME87]

it is a 1 and 1. UCSB will be at "The Pouch" next year

Thanks for verifying that. I thought it was but wasn't sure. When I mentioned to UCSB fans at UCSB that they needed to return the favor, they looked at me like "Are you nuts?".