VCU Vs. Akron

[Hilltopper]

My prediction;

Michigan will shoot more than 30 free throws and VCU will lose. No way do the refs let VCU manhandle UM like they did us in UM's backyard.

[a-zip]

Funny, The Perfect Storm kept running through my head this morning and many have you seem to be thinking the same thing.

Lost starting PG weeks ago.

Freshman PG gets first starts in Conference Tourney and then the NCAAs

Starting guard rushed to hospital the night before the game, cannot play

Back up center comes down with same illness right before the game

And finally (most importantly) we play VCU and the Havoc pressure

All of these factors are physically and emotionally draining, the timing is devastating. If they guys were nervous or panicked, they deserved to be. If we had played ANY other team in the NCAAs (including #1, #2, #3, #4 seeds) we would not have gotten blown out like we did.

In football it would be like losing your quarterbacks and centers and then facing the nastiest blitzing defense (while having all world wide receivers). We did not have players that could get the ball to our playmakers.

VCU is a real good team - they looked great (I am glad I did two brackets this year - one with UoA, one with VCU)

One other thing - how dare anyone question Coach Dambrot!!!!!! He is the MAN and has handled all of this with class and dignity.........I feel bad for him. Overcoming stuff like this only happens in the movies.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Anyone blaming the coach for last nights game is wrong.

The only way you can lay any on him is if you want to say he didn't recruit enough athletic guards.

Other than that, the only way we would have won is if we had the Buford, McLaughlin backcourt last night.

Great season with a horrific ending.

Shawn Roberts and Doug Schutz wouldn't have stood a chance.

Zeke +Tree+2 Bufords and 2 McLaughlins + Marcel Boyce...and I think we would have been competitive.

[Dave in Green]

Speed kills. It killed the Zips last night. It wasn't the only thing. As someone else mentioned, it was a perfect storm of everything going right for VCU and everything going wrong for the Zips, right down to which team was affected by the flu. From all I've read and seen about VCU's havoc, I thought I knew what to expect. It's different being up in the stands watching it play out on the floor in front of you in real life. I had read an article acknowledging that VCU was loaded with great athletes, but questioning if they were sufficiently skilled. Last night they certainly were. This was a far different VCU team from the one I saw at the JAR last season.

It wasn't too many minutes into the game before I had a sinking feeling that the Zips were not going to turn this one around. The Zips were under constant pressure on both offense and defense. Look at the playing time for the individual players on both teams. VCU had 11 players with 10-26 minutes played. The Zips had 4 players with 30+ minutes played. The deep Rams just kept rotating fresh players in while running the shorthanded Zips into the ground. It's hard to believe that Melo survived 31 minutes against this. In the best possible scenario, with both Abreu and Q playing and everyone healthy, the Zips could have put up a much better fight last night. The Zips were really good this season in spite of more adversity than I can recall with any previous Zips team. Last night, VCU was simply great.

[GP1]

One other thing - how dare anyone question Coach Dambrot!!!!!! He is the MAN and has handled all of this with class and dignity.........I feel bad for him.

Why can't Dambrot be questioned? We are not talking about John Wooden here.

How come the word "classy" gets thrown around so much on this board after we lose?

I don't feel bad for Dambrot. The guy has a $500K a year job until he retires regardless of whether or not he ever wins a NCAA Tournament game. What is there to feel sorry about?

[GP1]

From all I've read and seen about VCU's havoc, I thought I knew what to expect. It's different being up in the stands watching it play out on the floor in front of you in real life.

That's exactly how I felt when I saw them play UNCC. It is shocking how good their perimeter defense is and even more shocking to see it in person.

[legendofzippy]

I'm genuinely surprised by the level of stupidity in this thread. I guess that's my problem.

Go zips!

Never be surprised by the stupidity of your fellow man.

Last night was hurtful - I feel like I was in a bar fight just watching it - but let's not forget the Zips lost to VCU in OT last year, so let's not act like the program is suddenly a mess.

We ran into a buzzsaw and were undermanned, so it was a whupping. No one expected it, but this was still a very good team.

Step back from the ledge. Losing Zeke stinks, but lots of talent coming back next year.

[mes102]

Fire him?

WTF???????????????????????????????

He took the team to the regular season and MAC tourney championship and the Dance.

WTF????????????????

You want to fire any coach that does not make national champion?

Guess what, there is only one national champion every year. And Akron is not getting that coach. Not ever. We must grow our own.

And this team played through the loss of the 6th man of the year, the starting point guard, and two main players who got the flu. Pretty damn good performance by everyone, especially the coach.

NOW STFU

if you would of read my earlier posts, i do NOT want Dambrot fired. I'm one of the ones that have been backing him up the past 3 seasons on here (especially after the CBI loss to Green Bay). I've had OTHER people tell me that they want KD fired...please read all the context before reacting. I was simply just trying to state that if someone wants KD gone, someone has to replace him. Can't just get rid of someone and not having anyone replace him that would be better. That was my point

[a-zip]

Why can't Dambrot be questioned? We are not talking about John Wooden here.

How come the word "classy" gets thrown around so much on this board after we lose?

I don't feel bad for Dambrot. The guy has a $500K a year job until he retires regardless of whether or not he ever wins a NCAA Tournament game. What is there to feel sorry about?

GP1 you can question anyone you want and I have the right to question the sanity of anyone who would doubt Coach D. Seriously, you look at where UoA was before he got here, look at his W/L record, the recruits he has brought in, the affiliation with Lebron, the national exposure we are starting to get, the possibility of a new arena, etc. - He is the man and we are lucky to have him. For anyone that thinks he was to blame for the loss and would prefer to see him gone - get used to the JAR, say goodbye to the Zeke Marshall recruits of the world and prepare to fall back in to basketball oblivion.

I use the word classy after this loss and all the adversity that supersceded it because that is how it was handled. Heck, he has publicly supported Abreu after the guy ripped his/our hearts out and will support him personally in life (pretty classy). He has been classy in victory too - He is a great representative of our University. Next time we win, I will make a note to use the word classy.

I do feel bad for Coach Dambrot and bringing his salary in to this is pretty cheesy. I feel sorry for him because he works his ass off to help the University, players and community. He is a competitor and will lose a hell of a lot more sleep over this than you and I. He did a great job making adjustments after AA screwed up and won the MAC Tourney. He entered in to a fight last night with his good arm tied behind his back and one leg to stand on. No coach could have overcome what has happened to this team in the last weeks - that includes Coach K, John Wooden or Shaka.

Regarding his salary - what an absurd topic for you to bring in to this discussion. Yes, he does make a good living but compared to most of his peers he is not overpaid. He does not make as much as the guy he coached against last night and the majority of the coaches in the dance. I guarantee he would make a hell of a lot more if he accepted the jobs of the other schools that would love to have him.

[Buckzip]

Shawn Roberts and Doug Schutz wouldn't have stood a chance.

Zeke +Tree+2 Bufords and 2 McLaughlins + Marcel Boyce...and I think we would have been competitive.

Russel Holmes, Jimall Ball, Albert Jones and Ilya McGee would have helped too. Not sure about John Britton though.

[VAZip]

Not to pile on but thought you might like to see the view from here in Richmond. Hate that it shows Zeke, he deserves better.

[mivid12]

is this dambrots ceiling? winning the mac and losing in the first round? just askin'

[MontrealExposloveZippy]

Too depressing of a loss (I am excited for next year and I hope our OOC schedule bulks up significantly), but I really have to refocus positive energy to another sport for a little while--Indians baseball 2 weeks away and soon enough Akron football

Go Zips!

[a-zip]

is this dambrots ceiling? winning the mac and losing in the first round? just askin'

I like Coach Bobby Bowden's comment when he came in to support Terry. He said he was not a coaching genius, he said folks "it aint about the Xs and Os, its about the Jimmy and Joes"

We need more Jimmy and Joes............

[bigzipguy]

State of Virginia, enjoy it till tomorrow, a Wolverine with sharp teeth is going to bite your butt!!!!!

[MontrealExposloveZippy]

State of Virginia, enjoy it till tomorrow, a Wolverine with sharp teeth is going to bite your butt!!!!!

Yea, I don't know who to root for-- I mean when the Broncos beat the Browns all those years in the 80s, no one would be rooting for them in the SuperBowl. I would have to think the same principle applies with VCU- who cares at this point??! The Zips are out, so my interest in the tournament has dropped about 75%

[MontrealExposloveZippy]

State of Virginia, enjoy it till tomorrow, a Wolverine with sharp teeth is going to bite your butt!!!!!

The way we feel right now I want everyone to be as miserable as we are

[akronzips71]

is this dambrots ceiling? winning the mac and losing in the first round? just askin'

Coach was on the floor but I did not see him shooting, rebounding or dribbling.

Maybe you were watching a different game.

[Dr Z]

Coach was on the floor but I did not see him shooting, rebounding or dribbling. Maybe you were watching a different game.

The coach is responsible for making sure the team is ready to play. He must have a game plan and be able to communicate it to his team. I heard KD during the week tell us he knows VCU's system and "we'll be fine." We wern't. During the game, it's his responsible for making any necessary adjustments that helps the team be successful. Put the kids in position to be great. Was this accomplished last night, or were we just devoid of that much talent? If we are, do we need someone to recruit better talent? IMO, the MAC was weak this year, we need stronger competition during the year to prepare us for an NCAA tournament. Like most things, there isn't just one answer, it's a combination. I like what coach Bowden repeats, "we need to find a way to win at Akron." I'll enjoy watching Tree for two more years. I love his effort, it reminds me of Bosley. He plays with a high motor, give me three more Trees please. One last thought, I wrote this the last time we played VCU, I would be interested to see the coaches switch teams and watch the outcome. What do you think Akron's box score would look like?

[bigzipguy]

Dr Z,

When KD made these comments about being ready to play, was he anticipating 2 players, one of them your starting guard, (a position which was already short-handed),to have severe flu???

[LZIp]

Dr Z,

When KD made these comments about being ready to play, was he anticipating 2 players, one of them your starting guard, (a position which was already short-handed),to have severe flu???

A healthy Walsh is not going to make a 40+ point difference. In fact, I dont think it hurt us all that much, really. McAdams and Chauncey both have similar skill sets.

I admire KD and what he has done with the basketball program, but people getting pissed when somebody questions him is crazy. He has never won anything to make me think his is invincible. As GP1 said, he is no John Wooden.

[bigzipguy]

VCU is outstanding and played a great game. You cannot go into a game against them very short handed at the guard position and EVEN COMPETE. I am not saying that we would have won. But physically, we were not the same team as we were 2 weeks ago.

[mivid12]

Coach was on the floor but I did not see him shooting, rebounding or dribbling.

Maybe you were watching a different game.

merely asking a fair question....is this dambrots ceiling?

[GP1]

is this dambrots ceiling? winning the mac and losing in the first round? just askin'

Hard to say with the season being interrupted.

[GP1]

Put the kids in position to be great. Was this accomplished last night, or were we just devoid of that much talent? If we are, do we need someone to recruit better talent?

No, they weren't put in that position last night. Dambrot does a lot of things slowly by design. Last night was not a night to make adjustments slowly. By the time they were made, the game was out of control.

Recruiting? Let's look at this. Actually, let's look back at the game last night. Remove the score from the screen and what did we see. I saw a team much more athletic with better developed basketball skills. Faster, quicker, better shooters, etc. Put Diggs and AA on the court with a healthy Walsh and does that go away. Maybe with Diggs, but not with AA or Walsh. Heck, Walsh washed out of an A10 program.

Dambrot is recruiting top notch MAC players. These players would finish in the middle of the A10. I'm not trying to be a jerk or anything when I say that. If we want to get better, we have to know where we are and why we haven't gotten there yet. Are we not getting the players or are players not being developed? If the answer is yes to either one of those questions, then the first place to criticize is the head coach. My opinion...the team has talent that isn't getting properly developed. It's been going on for years but since the MAC is so bad, we can continue to win 20 games a year. Since we now have an untouchable coach, I can only assume it will continue because there is no incentive to change.

The guy who owns my wife's company always says, "Nothing good comes from people being completely comfortable." Dambrot is too comfortable at Akron. He needs to challenge himself to reach outside his comfort zone and make changes to the program that need to be made. He has two assistants who have been with the program for at least 8 years. If you are an assistant at Akron for eight years, you don't have any ambition so you aren't an asset to the program. Start with changing the dynamics of the program by changing an assistant or two. It sounds harsh, but change is necessary. Different ideas would be good for the program and a different location might be good for some of those assistants. Move your cheese Keith.