tpsjugglerdude Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 2 hours ago, LZIp said: 2 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said: Maybe I am misunderstanding your post, but they beat the Zips at BG on February 21st. They beat us last season at BG Whoops. I missed that game! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZippyRulz Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 I am assuming we won't give any new scholarships this year for new players coming in to replace those transferring out(?) Is there a yearly scholarship limit on how many we could give next year after returning to a normal recruiting cycle? Is it possible to cherry pick a couple of good Div. II players this year to fill the gaps without them having to sit out a year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 17 minutes ago, ZippyRulz said: I am assuming we won't give any new scholarships this year for new players coming in to replace those transferring out(?) Is there a yearly scholarship limit on how many we could give next year after returning to a normal recruiting cycle? Is it possible to cherry pick a couple of good Div. II players this year to fill the gaps without them having to sit out a year? Given the number of scholarship players potentially leaving, I wouldn't be surprised if we have 1-2 unused ones next season, which wouldn't be a terrible thing. If Noah leaves we'll only have 1 scholarship senior, 2 if we give Eubanks a scholarship, which we might as well. It would be nice to set ourselves up with 3-4 scholarships available next year when our next coach would have a full cycle to recruit. An unused scholarship would also provide us an opportunity to pick up a mid-season transfer like Toledo did this year with Willie Jackson. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odhgibo Posted April 3, 2017 Report Share Posted April 3, 2017 On 3/31/2017 at 0:15 PM, bUAkronG said: I've been off the ZN board for quite awhile because, frankly, I had grown more than a little disillusioned with the program and, more generally, the conference. For the past several years, Coach KD loved to cite the number of consecutive 20+ win seasons. At first, I enjoyed seeing the Zips mentioned with Div. I blue bloods but, eventually, I realized that this was statistical cover, if not an excuse, for stagnation. The conference has gotten significantly worse over the past couple decades, so the mountain on top of which KD had been sitting was rapidly approaching mole hill status. The following is based on Jeff Sagarin's rankings, which I picked because nearly 20 yrs worth of data is readily available. If you prefer another analytics source, feel free to confirm or refute elsewhere. The last year of the Ball-Bosley-Andrick era (with Hipsher as coach) was 1999-2000, which also happens to be the oldest year of Sagarin data available. The Zips had a 78 rating and were ranked 91st in the country. The MAC was the 9th best conference in the country, one slot above the A10, From there, the Hipsher slide began. Eventually, KD took over and, in 2004-05 (Joyce and Travis were sophomores), the team got back to a 78 rating (#89 nationally). The team hit its (statistical) peak in 2006-07 (Joyce and Travis were seniors) when it reached an 81 rating (#63 nationally). Unfortunately, the MAC had slipped to 11th although, interestingly, the A10 had slipped even farther. The Zips then slid back for a few years until Zeke came along. In Zeke's senior season, the team had an 80 rating (#68 nationally). The MAC, however, had fallen to 16th while the A10 had jumped to 8th. Since then, the team has tread water in the 74-78 rating range, all while the MAC has settled into the 12-14th range, roughly on par with the Colonial. The team was sliding, even though it's relative position within the conference wasn't changing. To make matters worse, the team's style of play changed into something akin to watching paint dry. I'm surprised that I'm saying this, but the time for a complete reset probably had come. That might entail a step back for a year or two, which none of us will enjoy, but moving beyond the status quo might require such measures. On 3/31/2017 at 0:15 PM, bUAkronG said: I wasn't saying we were miles ahead of everyone. But we definitely have been the top of the MAC for more than a few years. Safe to say that the playing field is a bit more even in the MAC right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odhgibo Posted April 3, 2017 Report Share Posted April 3, 2017 Sorry, I screwed up the quote feature Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted April 3, 2017 Report Share Posted April 3, 2017 odhgibo: "To make matters worse, the team's style of play changed into something akin to watching paint dry. I'm surprised that I'm saying this, but the time for a complete reset had probably come. That might entail a step back for a year or two, which none of us will enjoy, but moving beyond the status quo might require such measures." Spot on. Well said. My thoughts, exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bUAkronG Posted April 4, 2017 Report Share Posted April 4, 2017 22 hours ago, odhgibo said: Sorry, I screwed up the quote feature I was going to say, 'wow, I don't remember posting that!' lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UAZip0510 Posted April 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2017 Ty Dalton WILL return next year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 38 minutes ago, UAZip0510 said: Ty Dalton WILL return next year I would have preferred he leave, if I am being honest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wadszip Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 42 minutes ago, UAZip0510 said: Ty Dalton WILL return next year Lol, you've been spot on with the Groce stuff. Wake me now when Antino says that he has a change of heart (he should look at what Groce did with Cooper, seriously) and Noah confirms he is staying. I'm assuming that Jimond and Utomi were always solid. Somehow bring those four back, with Poke, maybe Hughes, Parrish and the kid from Stivers (blanking on him and don't feel like googling) and I don't see any falloff from what my expectations were with KD (18 or so wins). And if Groce could work some late magic and get a contributor or two, this team could be in business year one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 12 minutes ago, LZIp said: I would have preferred he leave, if I am being honest. What exactly are you baseing this opinion on? You have never even seen him play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 Ok Groce, lets see what you've got as a recruiter. We need this guy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 6 minutes ago, Hilltopper said: What exactly are you baseing this opinion on? You have never even seen him play. I have seen him play, just not in person. I don't ever see him being a key contributor nor am I much of a fan of players wanting to jump crap at the first sign of a little adversity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1981 grad Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 1 hour ago, UAZip0510 said: Ty Dalton WILL return next year I saw him on the roster but he did not play. Did they red shirt him this year. Is he a scholarship player? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 28 minutes ago, Hilltopper said: Ok Groce, lets see what you've got as a recruiter. We need this guy! Go get em John. If you're actually our coach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 29 minutes ago, LZIp said: I have seen him play, just not in person. I don't ever see him being a key contributor nor am I much of a fan of players wanting to jump crap at the first sign of a little adversity. So you know nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wadszip Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 (edited) 40 minutes ago, Hilltopper said: Ok Groce, lets see what you've got as a recruiter. We need this guy! I could definitely see him ending up at Akron (though as I mentioned on the recruiting board, this transfer has been known since Christmas ... so this doesn't seem to have any relation to Groce ... but maybe the timing of making it official means a little something). Still, coming here has to be appealing since the guard spot now is a huge question mark. Another guy I mentioned previously who I thought may have considered Akron was former St. Edward standout Kipper Nichols, who signed with Tulane and then asked for his release just prior to the 2015-16 season (before he was ever enrolled) citing he wanted to be closer to home. He ended up going to Illinois ... with you know who. Maybe he follows Groce, but unfortunately, he already lost one year post HS with the move to Illinois. But eligibility wise, would just be a sophomore. So, could be a possibility. And I wonder if LePear Toles will be in play? I'm guessing this hire wouldn't do anything to hurt those chances. Edited April 5, 2017 by wadszip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 20 minutes ago, Hilltopper said: So you know nothing. I suppose time will tell, won't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UAZip0510 Posted April 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 41 minutes ago, 1981 grad said: I saw him on the roster but he did not play. Did they red shirt him this year. Is he a scholarship player? He was a walk-on this year and was expected to get a scholarship next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UAZip0510 Posted April 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 1 hour ago, wadszip said: Lol, you've been spot on with the Groce stuff. Wake me now when Antino says that he has a change of heart (he should look at what Groce did with Cooper, seriously) and Noah confirms he is staying. I'm assuming that Jimond and Utomi were always solid. Somehow bring those four back, with Poke, maybe Hughes, Parrish and the kid from Stivers (blanking on him and don't feel like googling) and I don't see any falloff from what my expectations were with KD (18 or so wins). And if Groce could work some late magic and get a contributor or two, this team could be in business year one. TDM obviously announced his intentions but several other players (Antino/Ty/Hughes) have had interest in going with KD and/or going to a "bigger" school. Two issues: #1 - A "bigger" school has to want you, #2 - Akron could decide to block the transfer. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out. I'll also note that many in Akron were upset that TDM announced he was going to Duquesne almost right after the news broke that KD was leaving because of how that appeared. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akronzips71 Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 10 minutes ago, UAZip0510 said: TDM obviously announced his intentions but several other players (Antino/Ty/Hughes) have had interest in going with KD and/or going to a "bigger" school. Two issues: #1 - A "bigger" school has to want you, #2 - Akron could decide to block the transfer. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out. I'll also note that many in Akron were upset that TDM announced he was going to Duquesne almost right after the news broke that KD was leaving because of how that appeared. And the interesting part of that is this: TDM is a SHRIMP. He could not hold his own in the MAC. He will not be a real contributor in a real conference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 Meh we can be a little classier I think 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valpo Zip Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 The more interesting part: is Dambrot willing to reserve 4 scholarships for average MAC players (Except Tino) to sit out a year and play afterwards? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 I recall when Huggins left for Cincinnati, he recommended Anthony Buford stay at Akron. Buford may have been the best basketball player in Akron history, so it was admirable that Huggs didn't try to poach him. Buford stayed for his Junior season, and then transferred to Cincinnati for his Senior year, where he was the starting 2-guard on their Final Four team. Different era I guess... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpsjugglerdude Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 So we obviously have a good start to our OOC schedule with the solid lineup in the early season tournament. What else do we know about the schedule? Did Dambrot fill it up or will JG get to put his touch on the schedule? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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