2014-2015

[Zipmeister]

Read my post more carefully. In addition to saying no high majors will agree to come to Akron, I also said that not many good mid-majors will agree to come to Akron. Coach Dambrot told me of one specific good mid-major who some on this forum would consider easy to schedule a home and away series with because they previously played at the JAR, but now absolutely refuses to come to Akron and will only play the Zips at their place. He won't do that because he recruits against this team and it would send the wrong message to recruits.

Coach Dambrot typically has a fairly tough OOC road schedule and wants to offset that with a mix of different strength OOC home games each season. Middle Tennessee and Marshall are the two strongest this season. UMBC, Bryant, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Western Illinois, Blufton and Coppin State are lesser challenges. But they fit with his philosophy of scheduling less tough OOC opponents in seasons when less experienced underclassmen will be playing significant minutes for the Zips.

As for A-10, Horizon and MVC teams complaining that they can't get home and away series with quality opponents, you'd need to ask each one of them if they'd do it with UA. The Zips coaching staff has already spoken with some of them and gotten turned down.

I think most of the upper tier A-10 and MVC teams probably wouldn't be interested in a home and home with the Zips, but the rest from those conferences and virtually every team in the horizon would be willing to do so.

[Dave in Green]

Sure, the Zips had a 2-game series with the Horizon's Youngstown State just a couple of years ago. They even agreed to come play in Akron for both games. It didn't generate a lot of excitement here on the forum, and the games at the JAR drew a whopping attendance of 2,408 and 2,527. When the Horizon's Valparaiso visited the JAR a few years ago attendance was 2,825. The teams that will agree to play in Akron, even when the Zips agree to a return game at their place, just don't have the name brands to generate fan excitement.

[LZIp]

Do we really see our team as inexperienced? We lost Diggs who we are used to playing without and Harney (may or may not have been known at the time of scheduling). We are going to lose at least a guy or two every year. Are we always going to be inexperienced?

[Zipmeister]

Sure, the Zips had a 2-game series with the Horizon's Youngstown State just a couple of years ago. They even agreed to come play in Akron for both games. It didn't generate a lot of excitement here on the forum, and the games at the JAR drew a whopping attendance of 2,408 and 2,527. When the Horizon's Valparaiso visited the JAR a few years ago attendance was 2,825. The teams that will agree to play in Akron, even when the Zips agree to a return game at their place, just don't have the name brands to generate fan excitement.

And with CSU.

You said we couldn't get good mid-majors to trade games with the Zips to upgrade our OOC schedule. That is not true.

You didn't say we couldn't get home games with mid-majors that were guaranteed to fill the arena.

[Hilltopper]

Do we really see our team as inexperienced? We lost Diggs who we are used to playing without and Harney (may or may not have been known at the time of scheduling). We are going to lose at least a guy or two every year. Are we always going to be inexperienced?

Harney, Diggs,Betancourt and Evans combined for 87 minutes per game last year. That's almost 1/2 of the minutes for each game. I am quite confident that Betancourt will not be getting 17 minutes a game this year. Neither will Evans get 21 minutes a game. We still will only have 3 seniors on this team including Evans. We are going to have 2 true freshman point guards and and 2 redshirt freshmen getting significant minutes.

[Dave in Green]

And with CSU.

You said we couldn't get good mid-majors to trade games with the Zips to upgrade our OOC schedule. That is not true.

You didn't say we couldn't get home games with mid-majors that were guaranteed to fill the arena.

I said that not many good mid-majors will agree to come to Akron. A few will, and the Zips have at least a couple on the schedule every season. Cleveland State is a good example in recent years. Detroit is another. I'll also repeat that some mid-majors who some on this forum believe could easily be had for a home and away series have refused offers from the Zips and will only play the Zips at their place.

In addition to this, I was also addressing the separate issue raised by someone that the reason for poor attendance at the JAR is due to not scheduling big name teams. They cannot be scheduled if they refuse to come. The type of mid-majors that will come to Akron are not the marquee names that would draw big crowds.

[Dave in Green]

Do we really see our team as inexperienced? We lost Diggs who we are used to playing without and Harney (may or may not have been known at the time of scheduling). We are going to lose at least a guy or two every year. Are we always going to be inexperienced?

In addition to losing Q and Nick, the Zips also have to face the fact that the team's biggest weakness last season was lack of consistent performance at point guard. There's a good chance if the two returning PGs haven't greatly improved that the Zips could be relying heavily on a true freshman running the offense. So, yes, this team could end up relying heavily on inexperienced underclassmen at key positions this season.

[Captain Kangaroo]

There's a good chance if the two returning PGs haven't greatly improved that the Zips could be relying heavily on a true freshman running the offense. So, yes, this team could end up relying heavily on inexperienced underclassmen at key positions this season.

Eric McLaughlin was a true Freshman for the Zips and led us to an NCAA berth. Freshman contribute heavily across the nation every year.

If neither of these two incoming PG's are an upgrade over Betancourt and Evans...or Diggs...then we made big recruiting mistakes.

I am willing to live with Freshman mistakes at the PG position through December. And I expect Dambrot will be loyal to his incumbent players early-on. But come January I expect at least 1 of the incoming PG's to have stepped up and be running the Zips' show. They have to, or Tree's senior season will be a repeat of last year's meh-fest. That would be a crime...he deserves better.

[Hilltopper]

Robotham will be the starter unless he falls flat on his face. Jackson will get some time at the 2 in addition to backing up at pg.

[Zipmeister]

More than a few interesting possibilities here.

http://www.basketballtravelers.com/game-schedule-board/?e_type=1

[Captain Kangaroo]

More than a few interesting possibilities here.

http://www.basketballtravelers.com/game-schedule-board/?e_type=1

Interesting site. Certainly squashes all speculation regarding the alleged impossibility of scheduling certain opponents.

If I'm KD, this one is interesting:

Nebraska is offering a six figure guarantee game on Saturday November 15,2015. It has to be Division 1 Opponent

[Dave in Green]

Just because a team posts on Team Travelers doesn't mean they will accept a deal if the Zips come calling. So no one should get too excited about some of the opportunities there. But there are certainly enough options there that some could be had. Could the Zips have a tougher OOC schedule if they wanted it? Yes. Would the schedule upgrade result in noticeably higher attendance at the JAR? No. Would it help the Zips be a better team? Questionable.

There are pros and cons to having a more difficult OOC schedule. Coach Dambrot has weighed all the pros and cons and schedules the level of difficulty he believes is overall best for the team, including recruiting. Winning more than 20 games per season against an OOC schedule that some consider not strong enough is one of the reasons why UA has been able to recruit some of its better players. If anyone is relying on Noah Robotham to solve the Zips PG situation as a true freshman, consider what Noah said in his own words:

“I built my career on winning, and they have 20-plus wins every year,” Robotham said. “That’s something I’m used to doing, and I don’t plan on changing.”

[zippy5]

Interesting site. Certainly squashes all speculation regarding the alleged impossibility of scheduling certain opponents.

If I'm KD, this one is interesting:

"University of Maryland is looking to start a H/H or play at a neutral location Sunday 12/21/14. Want to stay on the East Coast. Please email nimao@umd.edu or send a text to 301-717-7116. Mid Major and High Majors only."

[zippy5]

Although it looks like we have the much anticipated Bluffton matchup the night before the potential Maryland game.

[Dr Z]

More than a few interesting possibilities here.

http://www.basketballtravelers.com/game-schedule-board/?e_type=1

There are more than 2800 request on there!...NOT one from Akron. Click on other MAC schools for comparison. Can't we even try?...oh yeah I forgot "no one wants to play us." I'm really tired of reading the excuses on ZN why we can't schedule. I grow tired of the excuses.

[zippy5]

Just because a team posts on Team Travelers doesn't mean they will accept a deal if the Zips come calling. So no one should get too excited about some of the opportunities there. But there are certainly enough options there that some could be had. Could the Zips have a tougher OOC schedule if they wanted it? Yes. Would the schedule upgrade result in noticeably higher attendance at the JAR? No. Would it help the Zips be a better team? Questionable.

Would it be more fun to watch? Yes.

[Dave in Green]

There are more than 2800 request on there!...NOT one from Akron. Click on other MAC schools for comparison. Can't we even try?...oh yeah I forgot "no one wants to play us." I'm really tired of reading the excuses on ZN why we can't schedule. I grow tired of the excuses.

Do you think the Zips don't use this list to try to schedule games? Who ever said "no one wants to play us"? Look, I said earlier in this thread that I'd like to see the Zips play a little tougher schedule. I had a chance to speak directly with Coach Dambrot about it, and he explained how he has looked at everything we fans have looked at and more, and after weighing all the pros and cons, he schedules the degree of difficulty he thinks is best overall for the team.

By the way, Basketball Travelers is no revelation on ZN.o. We've discussed it several times. I referenced it last year here to point out the availability of good teams looking for opponents that the Zips might call. Going back to 2010 it was pointed out here that the Zips had requests posted on Basketball Travelers. The fact that the Zips currently don't have requests posted doesn't mean they aren't calling to inquire about other teams' offers.

The bottom line is that while there are some good teams Coach Dambrot would like to schedule that won't play ball, he's not making excuses because he's satisfied that he has the right balance of tough and not-so-tough teams on the schedule. He understands that some fans will never be satisfied with what he believes is best for the team. If anyone on here thinks they can convince him to change his scheduling philosophy, go discuss your thoughts with him. He's easily approachable and appreciates talking with passionate Zips basketball fans.

[UAZip0510]

I'd like to discuss the roster, rotation, and depth chart as the season nears.

I think this is how we'll start:

Johnson/Forsythe

Treadwell/Cheatham

Kretzer/McAdams

Ibitayo/Gladden/Aa. Jackson/Evans

Robotham/An. Jackson/Betancourt

I also think Gladden will be the starter over Deji sooner rather than later.

[zipsrule]

Does anyone see them using a smaller lineup at times with:

Treadwell

Kretzer/McAdams

Gladden

Aa. Jackson

Robotham

[UAZip0510]

Does anyone see them using a smaller lineup at times with:

Treadwell

Kretzer/McAdams

Gladden

Aa. Jackson

Robotham

Replace Aaron with Antino and yes.

[Dave in Green]

Just to close out the Zips SOS discussion, now that we've all expressed our opinions, let's take a more objective look at where they stand in the rankings. According to Team Rankings, last season out of 351 D1 teams the Zips had the #101 strongest OOC SOS, best of any team in the MAC ahead of #115 Eastern Michigan, #124 Toledo and #142 Miami. While I still wouldn't mind seeing the Zips schedule just a little bit tougher, I have to give Coach Dambrot credit for booking a tougher OOC schedule than any other team in the MAC, tougher than all but one or two teams in most other conferences, and tougher than more than 70% of all teams in D1. That's better than I had expected the numbers to show.

[zippy5]

Forget the numbers, outside of the tournament, what games are you excited to watch?

[LZIp]

Forget the numbers, outside of the tournament, what games are you excited to watch?

I'm excited to watch Toledo, OU, Can't St, and WMU games.

[Dave in Green]

Forget the numbers, outside of the tournament, what games are you excited to watch?

Forget the notion that other mid-majors have scintillating home OOC schedules. Every college basketball team in the country plays some weaker home OOC opponents who aren't fun to watch. Go look at some other mid-majors' home OOC schedules. Take Middle Tennessee for example. When the Zips signed their home and away series with MTSU most Zips fans appreciated playing them because they were one of the better mid-major teams and presented a strong challenge for the Zips. What games would you be excited to watch on MTSU's home OOC schedule this season?

Martin Methodist (Exhibition)

Ohio Valley

Murray State

Southern University

Northern Arizona

Chattanooga

Tennessee State

[zippy5]

Forget the notion that other mid-majors have scintillating home OOC schedules. Every college basketball team in the country plays some weaker home OOC opponents who aren't fun to watch. Go look at some other mid-majors' home OOC schedules. Take Middle Tennessee for example. When the Zips signed their home and away series with MTSU most Zips fans appreciated playing them because they were one of the better mid-major teams and presented a strong challenge for the Zips. What games would you be excited to watch on MTSU's home OOC schedule this season?

Martin Methodist (Exhibition)

Ohio Valley

Murray State

Southern University

Northern Arizona

Chattanooga

Tennessee State

If most "better mid majors" have a schedule like that, all that I get from your response is most of them would be ecstatic to get a team like the Zips at home, just as we were happy to get MTSU at home. I think we've successfully beat this one into the ground, so that's all I have to say.