Jump to content

Dambrot says 'yes' to Duquesne this time


Recommended Posts

3 minutes ago, skip-zip said:

 

Yes, Gilliam.  But they did not come from Juco's.

 

4 minutes ago, akronzips71 said:

 

You may be correct. I was thinking of Brian Walsh and the guy from UMBC



Yep, and even Diggs wasn't JUCO. He was at New Orleans that got rid of their basketball program and because of that, he was able to go anywhere to play right away. So not many JUCOs at all.

Edited by mes102
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Roo said:

His excuse over multi bid league is a joke.


He has nobody but himself to blame for the lack of NCAA appearances. He never scheduled a quality schedule, so he could never get quality wins and challenge his team so when tournament time came, he choked year over year.

 

He couldn't recruit at Akron, so how is he going to recruit at a high enough level to compete in the A10? A $40MM reno won't help him any. Hopefully he gets fired within three years when they see he is a fraud. 

 

That being said.......Akron will also never grow as a program as long as they play in a HS arena in a league that is among the worst in the NCAAs. So until they get a big league arena or decide to go D2, they are in no mans land.

Sorry but I disagree. 

The MAC hasn't had an at large bid since Miami of Ohio in 1999. Thats unacceptable. The perception and respect of the MAC is an absolute joke and the Commish is basically a puss for never speaking up and defending the conference. 
I wish Akron would up and leave as the MAC does not benefit us at all. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

51 minutes ago, tpsjugglerdude said:

Tonight 2017 prospect Torry Patton tweeted he got his first division 1 offer from Akron. 14 minutes later he tweeted he got his second offer from...Duquesne. KD moving quick. 

I wonder if those two offers came from the same # before and after #TheDecision.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, dre22era said:

Sorry but I disagree. 

The MAC hasn't had an at large bid since Miami of Ohio in 1999. Thats unacceptable. The perception and respect of the MAC is an absolute joke and the Commish is basically a puss for never speaking up and defending the conference. 
I wish Akron would up and leave as the MAC does not benefit us at all. 

 

Conferences don't earn at-large bids, teams do. Weak OOC schedules are the problem, but we don't want to risk ending our 20 wins/season streak, right?

 

As for trying to blame the commissioner for not speaking out for the MAC to the selection committee- he doesn't have to, Ohio AD Jim Schaus is on the committee. I have no doubt that he will fight passionately for any MAC team that has an at-large worthy resume. No excuses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, OU Dude said:

 

Conferences don't earn at-large bids, teams do. Weak OOC schedules are the problem, but we don't want to risk ending our 20 wins/season streak, right?

 

As for trying to blame the commissioner for not speaking out for the MAC to the selection committee- he doesn't have to, Ohio AD Jim Schaus is on the committee. I have no doubt that he will fight passionately for any MAC team that has an at-large worthy resume. No excuses.

12 Conference Teams

18 Years = No At Large

Im sorry but I find it hard to believe that a lack of strength of schedule is the reasoning for no MAC team getting a bid the past 18 years. 

Arguably our best team in school history 26–7 (13–3) in 2007 lost the MAC Tourney Final on a buzzer beater and didn't even get a NIT bid. 

We are defending a conference who hasn't done a good enough job defending itself 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm interested in finding out about the current coaching survivors.  Will they ALL leave for Pitt?  I find that hard to believe for some with families, especially Terry.  Feel for those screwed by this lack of loyalty.  It still makes no sense to me.  Hopefully someone will remain, and is already reaching out to ex-Zips Jeff and Lamont.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll be feeling a little sick today.  I'm sure I am not alone.  

 

After sleeping on this, and not really having a chance yet to get much from anyone else involved or knowledgeable about the situation, here's a few thoughts about what we have here so far.

 

1) It appears that loyalty to his longtime staff, and everything they've done to grow the program further despite all of the late-season heartbreaks, was a big factor in the move.  We can all argue about who is to blame, whether it be scheduling, etc., but I'm sure it was indeed weighing heavily on all of them. I can only wonder if anything would have been different if we would have returned to the tournament in either of the past 2 years.  

 

2) On the other side (Duquesne), they had the right timing in terms of making a huge commitment to their program now, after several failed attempts to lure Keith in the past.   

 

3) One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet: Does anyone know what happens now with the 5 years remaining on his contract?  Will Duquesne simply buy us out?

Edited by skip-zip
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess I should backtrack on my comment that the MAC isn't a one-bid league by rule.  The problem is that the strength of competition in the MAC is so weak that you have to go OOC to find a quality win.  If you go to a bottom-feeder in the Atlantic 10 at least you have confirmed two games a year against top flight competition.  That makes the OOC scheduling a lot less daunting.

Edited by NWAkron
Link to comment
Share on other sites

After thinking about this situation, KD decided to leave for another program.  Does anybody want a coach who does not want to be here?  He is not making a jump to one of the big conferences, the salary although more is not astronomical, and he is going to a program that is not a name program and he will be rebuilding.  I want a coach that wants to be here.

 

 Akron has not been to the NCAA the last 4 years, there is no question he is frustrated, and he is looking for a change and an opportunity presented itself.  I agree with Skip Zip that if we get into the NCAA this year or if we made a run in the NIT, KD would be staying.  However, we got killed in the second round of the NIT playing terrible basketball and I am sure KD was embarrassed that he cannot get his team to perform.  KD mentioned the dysfunctional locker room a couple of times during the season.  Last year we did the same thing, lost our conference finals and played horrendous basketball at Ohio State.  We had a great win in Houston but that was not enough to make this a successful season.  This is mere conjecture, but maybe KD was just getting tired of the same type of season and was looking for a change.

 

Finally, I disagree with the post that KD is leaving because the MaC is only a 1 bid conference.  Akron had a chance to be an at large team in the NCAA.  During our winning streak, we were getting votes in the polls.  If we did not lost at Ohio, Kent, Bowling Green and then at home to Miami, we would have gotten an at large bid if we had only lost the conference final.  Our team was not good enough to get an at large bid.  I don't care what conference you are in, if the team does not play great basketball, it will not get an at large bid.  Being in the MAC gave us an advantage of not playing top teams each week.  We faded at the end of the past 2 seasons and have nobody to blame but ourselves.     

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If an unproven player from the MAC thinks he's going to make it in and A10, so be it.  At best, the guys purportedly jumping ship will be serviceable players in the A10.  Quite simply, if they were the types of players that were front line A10 talent, they'd have already been in the A10 or similar conferences.  In summary, don't let the door hit you in the @$$.  

 

With a new coach, we may see a completely different approach to recruiting.  A new staff, especially pressed by defections, may be more open to junior college players and transfers.

 

I get that in middle age, KD may need another challenge.  I wish him well with that.  However, blaming it on the lack of MAC NCAA seedings is running from the challenge rather than taking it on.  Stop settling for the Radfords and Coppin States and maybe you'll get a little more respect at the end of the season.   I was always a KD supporter, but the record tells us the Zips may well have reached a ceiling under him and maybe, just maybe, a change expands their horizons. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm glad to have TDM & Tyler What's-his-name's scholarships back.

 

Hughes? I hope he stays.  He was injured and I think he has potential.  When healthy he moves really well for a man his size.  

 

Plus, we need post players.  Guards and wings? Not so much this year.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

If an unproven player from the MAC thinks he's going to make it in and A10, so be it.  At best, the guys purportedly jumping ship will be serviceable players in the A10.  Quite simply, if they were the types of players that were front line A10 talent, they'd have already been in the A10 or similar conferences.  In summary, don't let the door hit you in the @$$.  

 

With a new coach, we may see a completely different approach to recruiting.  A new staff, especially pressed by defections, may be more open to junior college players and transfers.

 

I get that in middle age, KD may need another challenge.  I wish him well with that.  However, blaming it on the lack of MAC NCAA seedings is running from the challenge rather than taking it on.  Stop settling for the Radfords and Coppin States and maybe you'll get a little more respect at the end of the season.   I was always a KD supporter, but the record tells us the Zips may well have reached a ceiling under him and maybe, just maybe, a change expands their horizons. 

I ran out of "Likes" so long ago...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

I'm glad to have TDM & Tyler What's-his-name's scholarships back.

 

Hughes? I hope he stays.  He was injured and I think he has potential.  When healthy he moves really well for a man his size.  

 

Plus, we need post players.  Guards and wings? Not so much this year.  

Hughes leaving would put us in a tough spot next year

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...