Coach Dambrot needs to coach

[The Hip Zip]

I loathe that saying.

I certainly hope that it is something that you will soon get over.

Go Zips !

[Valpo Zip]

This lethargical attitude is the biggest problem to our programs and it scares me to think that our coaching staff are thinking along the same lines.

Did we run out of excuses inside the university so now it is the city of Akron that has nothing to offer?

What does spokane, WA have to offer? what does Indianapolis have to offer? and Wichita, KS... Or let's get closer to home. What did Can't have to offer for K.S.U to make an elite 8 run? and what did Athens have to offer for 3 NCAA wins in the last 5 years?

Seriously people, for the millionth time: NO ONE HERE IS ASKING FOR DAMBROT TO BE FIRED.

All what some of us are saying is that the guy does not walk on water and the program hasn't made any progress in the last 5 years. Someone should take a look at why that is. Is that blasphemy?

[Zip_ME87]

I loathe that saying.

I certainly hope that it is something that you will soon get over.

Go Zips !

So, you're saying you hope that I get over wanting to improve myself and things that matter to me? Thanks. I like you, too.

[Dave in Green]

... I, too, am happy to have Keith Dambrot. That doesn't mean I shouldn't expect any more from him.

... Seriously people, for the millionth time: NO ONE HERE IS ASKING FOR DAMBROT TO BE FIRED.

All what some of us are saying is that the guy does not walk on water and the program hasn't made any progress in the last 5 years. Someone should take a look at why that is. Is that blasphemy?

I think both of you have shown that you are good Zips fans who want the best for the men's basketball program. In previous discussions we established that no one is asking for Coach Dambrot to be fired and everyone wants to see the Zips take the next step up from what they've accomplished over the past decade. So we shouldn't even have to debate those points. I hope we can continue to have productive discussions without misinterpreting each others' positions. Fair criticism is fair, and it's also fair to question the reasoning behind various criticisms. It's fair to point out what we perceive as negatives in the program, and it's equally fair to be reminded of the positives.

[ROCK1]

What does spokane, WA have to offer? what does Indianapolis have to offer? and Wichita, KS.

Larger arenas and rabid fan bases.

[Valpo Zip]

What does spokane, WA have to offer? what does Indianapolis have to offer? and Wichita, KS.

Larger arenas and rabid fan bases.

This is the good old chicken and the egg dilemma...

More fans and larger arenas come after success not the other way around.

[Dave in Green]

Elton has obviously been reading ZipsNation.

MAC EAST

Akron (8-4) -- Fickle Zips fans complain about coach Keith Dambrot's schedule, but take little note only one MAC team equaled Akron's four Top 100 RPI games in non-conference play, and the Zips are the only team with a Top 100 RPI win (South Carolina, and USC) to start the week. With improved guard play, 6-8 sophomore Kwan Cheatham (10.2 points, 4.8 rebounds) and 6-3 senior Deji Ibitayo (9.6 points), the Zips can sit at the top of the MAC East this season.

[zippy5]

I don't think anyone really thinks the schedule as a whole is that bad. The main complaint, or mine at least, is the home cupcake lineup.

[morris buttermaker]

I don't think anyone really thinks the schedule as a whole is that bad. The main complaint, or mine at least, is the home cupcake lineup.

I for one think it's lousy in total

[Sportsjunkie330]

I don't think anyone really thinks the schedule as a whole is that bad. The main complaint, or mine at least, is the home cupcake lineup.

Pick me! Pick me!

[1981 grad]

As a season ticket holder, I am tired of seeing the same teams over and over again. Who wants to watch the same movie 10 times. As a general rule, if I have no idea where the school is located, it is a cupcake: Bluffton?

[LZIp]

Elton lists Kwan as a guard, therefore I am having trouble buying any other part of his story. He's most likely giving us selective stats at best.

[zipnetter55]

The KD detractors don't seem to realize the impact on recruiting made by all those 20+ win seasons and our coaching stability. Prior to KD (and even in his early years) our recruiting area was primarily Summit and Stark county and ,a little from central Ohio and Western Pa. Now we are able to pull from Texas,Nevada,N.Carolina and even from Puerto Rico. Ask any of those recruits why U.A.over other offers. They always refer to 20+ wins and KD.

Sure,as some of you have suggested,we could go on the road and,play high majors,but would 18-11 or 17-12 yield the type of recruits we are now getting? Do you really want to return to recruiting the likes of Matt Futch,Josh Egner and Steve Sweich?

Be careful what you wish for. I for one love the direction of our program. Remember the "good old days" with Bob Rupert or Coleman Crawford coaching? Be patient,let KD recruit a few more prospects nationally and perhaps THEN we can go on the road,play 1-2 top tier teams and have a realistic chance of winning Win a few such games on the road and then, like Gonzaga,you might be able to lure better teams to a hopefully updated JAR.

[GJGood]

I get the fact that 20+ win seasons may help recruiting. I have to admit I am tired of seeing teams with 300+ RPIs on the schedule though. I am not saying I want them to go crazy with scheduling an impossible gauntlet opponents or anything. I would just like to see opponents ranked between, say, 170 and 260 more often. Also, if we are going to schedule that many cupcakes at least make them different cupcakes each year. How many times do we have to play UAPB? Nothing against them but variety would be nice.

As far as things like RPI and other rankings go, do teams get rated higher for road wins than home ones? If so, I wouldn't be entirely against playing a non-conference team that Akron should have no problem with at all as a road game. I have always believed that road games early in the season help a team "grow up" or "gel" more than home games do. So why not have a near sure thing road game very early on in the season?

I remember a few years ago there was talk of the MAC getting a challenge together with another conference, like the Big Ten does with the ACC and the Big XII does with the SEC. Anybody heard anything about something like this lately? If it were to happen what conference should the MAC be paired with to try to get close competitive games from top to bottom of the leagues?

[Blue & Gold]

I think we should go into the lion's den twice a year.

Firstly, it'd be two $$ games and we need more $$.

Secondly, and most importantly, the soccer team regularly plays, and beats, Columbus, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Maryland, etc. If we want Joe A. to take us seriously, we have to schedule and beat the B1G boys.

I don't want a Miami Redhawks type schedule. Just two per year. Not asking for the moon. We went to Penn State this year. I respect that. Now add one more.

[Dave in Green]

... As far as things like RPI and other rankings go, do teams get rated higher for road wins than home ones? ...

... I remember a few years ago there was talk of the MAC getting a challenge together with another conference, like the Big Ten does with the ACC and the Big XII does with the SEC. Anybody heard anything about something like this lately? If it were to happen what conference should the MAC be paired with to try to get close competitive games from top to bottom of the leagues?

The current RPI formula counts a home win as 0.6 win, a road win as 1.4 wins, a home loss as 1.4 losses, a road loss as 0.6 loss, and a neutral site (tournament) game as 1 win or 1 loss. So if you can win a lot of games on the road and avoid home losses, you can pump up your RPI. But the only real value of RPI is when vying for an NCAA tournament at-large invitation and NCAA tournament seeding if you make it to the big dance.

The RPI required for a MAC team to receive an NCAA at-large bid is outrageously high and not a realistic goal. Over the years a number of teams from better conferences than the MAC have failed to receive NCAA at-large bids despite having RPIs in the 20s and 30s. The NCAA selection committee would tinkle all over a MAC team vying for an at-large bid with an RPI in the 20s or 30s.

I believe the conference most often discussed for a challenge series with the MAC was the Horizon League. Almost every season the MAC and Horizon have similar conference RPIs, and there could be many good matchups from top to bottom. Haven't heard much about this in awhile.

[Sportsjunkie330]

The KD detractors don't seem to realize the impact on recruiting made by all those 20+ win seasons and our coaching stability. Prior to KD (and even in his early years) our recruiting area was primarily Summit and Stark county and ,a little from central Ohio and Western Pa. Now we are able to pull from Texas,Nevada,N.Carolina and even from Puerto Rico. Ask any of those recruits why U.A.over other offers. They always refer to 20+ wins and KD.

Sure,as some of you have suggested,we could go on the road and,play high majors,but would 18-11 or 17-12 yield the type of recruits we are now getting? Do you really want to return to recruiting the likes of Matt Futch,Josh Egner and Steve Sweich?

Be careful what you wish for. I for one love the direction of our program. Remember the "good old days" with Bob Rupert or Coleman Crawford coaching? Be patient,let KD recruit a few more prospects nationally and perhaps THEN we can go on the road,play 1-2 top tier teams and have a realistic chance of winning Win a few such games on the road and then, like Gonzaga,you might be able to lure better teams to a hopefully updated JAR.

KD has been at Akron for 10 years.

[GJGood]

The current RPI formula counts a home win as 0.6 win, a road win as 1.4 wins, a home loss as 1.4 losses, a road loss as 0.6 loss, and a neutral site (tournament) game as 1 win or 1 loss. So if you can win a lot of games on the road and avoid home losses, you can pump up your RPI. But the only real value of RPI is when vying for an NCAA tournament at-large invitation and NCAA tournament seeding if you make it to the big dance.

The RPI required for a MAC team to receive an NCAA at-large bid is outrageously high and not a realistic goal. Over the years a number of teams from better conferences than the MAC have failed to receive NCAA at-large bids despite having RPIs in the 20s and 30s. The NCAA selection committee would tinkle all over a MAC team vying for an at-large bid with an RPI in the 20s or 30s.

I believe the conference most often discussed for a challenge series with the MAC was the Horizon League. Almost every season the MAC and Horizon have similar conference RPIs, and there could be many good matchups from top to bottom. Haven't heard much about this in awhile.

OK, so for the MAC it may not make much difference as to an at-large invite. I do, however, think playing an early road game that you should clearly win is a good thing as far as team building goes.

As far as a conference challenge goes I personally wouldn't want it to be with the Horizon League. I say this only because the two conferences already schedule each other so much anyway. I think the matchups in a challenge type event should be a little more unique than what a MAC-Horizon challenge would offer. Is there a conference that is a little less in our region of the country that may also fit the bill? Maybe the MAAC or a conference in the west or south?

[Dave in Green]

Here's a link to a comparison of current conference RPI. We all know RPI is imperfect, but average conference RPI is a commonly used system that provides at least rough conference strength estimates. I've followed this for years now, and the current #11 is as high as I've ever seen the MAC ranked. For many years the MAC was ranked from 15-20 before going to #12 last season and now #11. While the MAC has been going up in strength the Horizon has dropped down to #15.

One challenge is finding another conference with 12 teams like the MAC. There are currently only 3 other 12-team conferences in the country, and none of them look to be viable options. The Pac-12 is too highly ranked to bother with the MAC and the Ohio Valley and Big Sky are ranked too low for the MAC to bother with. One impressive thing to note is that the MAC is currently ranked just behind the MVC (#10), which is usually ranked well ahead of the MAC. Another interesting point is that C-USA, a conference some have suggested that Akron try to move to, is way down at #17.

[UAZipster0305]

Here's a link to a comparison of current conference RPI. We all know RPI is imperfect, but average conference RPI is a commonly used system that provides at least rough conference strength estimates. I've followed this for years now, and the current #11 is as high as I've ever seen the MAC ranked. For many years the MAC was ranked from 15-20 before going to #12 last season and now #11. While the MAC has been going up in strength the Horizon has dropped down to #15.

One challenge is finding another conference with 12 teams like the MAC. There are currently only 3 other 12-team conferences in the country, and none of them look to be viable options. The Pac-12 is too highly ranked to bother with the MAC and the Ohio Valley and Big Sky are ranked too low for the MAC to bother with. One impressive thing to note is that the MAC is currently ranked just behind the MVC (#10), which is usually ranked well ahead of the MAC. Another interesting point is that C-USA, a conference some have suggested that Akron try to move to, is way down at #17.

I've followed this as well, DiG, and am happy to see the MAC moving up. However, unless the MAC becomes a multi-bid league to the NCAAT, none of this matters including our standing relative to other similar conferences such as C-USA.

C-USA is a big upgrade with respect to football and men's soccer. It would also separate us from the other Ohio schools in the MAC in terms of national stature. It would put us as a third choice in the state for recruits behind OSU and Cincy in that order. It would be tough to see the days of the MACC at the Q behind us, but I think it would be the best overall option for Zips Athletics.

[zippy5]

Keep in mind the C-USA a lot of members are pulling for would include UT and OU, so imagine the RPI rankings of a UA, OU, and UT-less MAC vs a C-USA that includes those 3.

[Sportsjunkie330]

Congrats to KD on his 350th win tonight!

[Sergeant Zip]

In this interview, Dambort says he has won 88% of his games at the JAR (at about the 6:15 mark).

[Balsy]

In this interview, Dambort says he has won 88% of his games at the JAR (at about the 6:15 mark).

Not all that impressive when 80% of those games are against cupcakes.

[Big E Zip]

During the non conference schedule you could say 7 of those games are against the so called "cupcakes." (Middle Tennessee is clearly not in that category) that averages to roughly 41% of those home games against the cupcakes.