Duquesne Basketball Coach Keith Dambrot

[MDZip]

I wish Keith well and this is kind of the formula he followed at Akron but we'll see where things end up at the end of the year. If you notice in the standings they've had a pretty cupcake schedule and 12 of their games have been played at home. They are also one of only two teams in the A-10 that have not played a top 25 team. So the nice record at the beginning of the Season might still be a bit of a mirage.

[skip-zip]

Sure, I can see that some of the details of their OOC schedule were not impressive.  But you have to see this  within the context of how awful this team was before he arrived.   

 

I'm definitely not expecting some fantastic run of victories to follow that 2-0 start.  They will probably struggle yet this year. But, maybe they will surprise me again.  

 

EDIT:  Make that 3-0, with another blowout win last night.  Wow.

Edited January 7, 2018 by skip-zip

[Dr Z]

 

the strength-of-schedule should raise real doubt — 323rd-ranked out of 351 in the NCAA

[zippy5]

I remember reading an article around 2007-2008 timeframe on A&M's coach, forget who it was. His strategy was schedule easy, rack up Ws as they didn't use to be a winning program.. people will wonder if they're actually good or not, but it beats before when everyone knew they weren't. Then eventually move on to better recruits and opponents when you're seen as a winning program. Don't think he ever made it to step two, but it was interesting hearing it candidly like that from a coach. Wonder if KD will ever make it to step 2 at Duquesne

[Zip44]

On 1/10/2018 at 11:06 AM, skip-zip said:

 

I think it's fair to evaluate coaches based on what they are doing with their current talent.  Instead of just giving them a pass because they have a "young team", etc.  I think we should all expect them to show what they can make out of what they have.  

 

I think it's also fair to include what we are seeing at Duquesne right now as part of the discussion.  I doubt that they are dwelling so much on what they don't have.  On the other hand, we don't stop talking about it.  

Skip Zip has it right. At Duquesne Dambrot went through the same setup as Groce, except the cupboards were somewhat bare. He had to convince players to stay plus bring in transfers. Groce had talent back, but could not convince many to stay. 

Look what Dambrot has done: split at Vegas Tourney, started out 3-1 in Atlantic 10, having VCU on the ropes until foul trouble shot their chance.  The players have bought in & are playing intense M-M defense. No slacking off any night. There it is like Riley coming to Miami Heat.

Groce cannot use “young team” excuse any more. If no effort is shown by the players, or if they are not ready for a big game,that is on him. 

  I also don’t buy that this had to be a losing season.  Never heard Keith sat that his 2st season here nor now in his 2st season at Duquesne

 

 

 

[Zip44]

On 1/10/2018 at 10:47 AM, dre22era said:

In 4 seasons Groce was 34–30 in the MAC at Ohio U  

And so far his "prior experience" has us below .500 and getting our ass kicked on our home floor 

 

Throw in Groce awful record at Illinois, his combined MAC / Big 10 conf record is well below .500. Williams hires a leftover. No one else wanted him. If Williams does not hire him he is an assistant somewhere & no head coaching job in sight. 

You all need to know that Keith did not want to leave. It was not about his salary. He would not have left if Williams would have put into writing what he had promised for Keith’s program. All his efforts went into saving football. In the end Williams told Keith he could do nothing for him. He left Keith no choice. He should have locked Keith up well before MAC tourney started. Should have known offers would be forthcoming.

Williams showed he is reactive not proactive & proved ineffective. 

Tired of him telling people he got blind sided. He just blew it.

 

[Let'sGoZips94]

10 hours ago, Zip44 said:

You all need to know that Keith did not want to leave. It was not about his salary. He would not have left if Williams would have put into writing what he had promised for Keith’s program.

 

 

What was promised for Keith's program?

[Valpo Zip]

10 hours ago, Zip44 said:

You all need to know that Keith did not want to leave. It was not about his salary. He would not have left if Williams would have put into writing what he had promised for Keith’s program. All his efforts went into saving football. In the end Williams told Keith he could do nothing for him. He left Keith no choice. He should have locked Keith up well before MAC tourney started. Should have known offers would be forthcoming.

 

This is BS. Keith Dambrot was under contract until 2023. He was the longest tenure MAC coach and the one with the highest pay. He had the freedom to hire his assistants and create ridiculous schedules year after year. These are the facts we have at hand. If you have any pieces of evidence that prove otherwise, please go ahead and present them. Coming here with a week old account with nothing but bashing our coach and AD does not earn you much credibility. 

[ZachTheZip]

1 hour ago, Valpo Zip said:

This is BS. Keith Dambrot was under contract until 2023. He was the longest tenure MAC coach and the one with the highest pay. He had the freedom to hire his assistants and create ridiculous schedules year after year. These are the facts we have at hand. If you have any pieces of evidence that prove otherwise, please go ahead and present them. Coming here with a week old account with nothing but bashing our coach and AD does not earn you much credibility. 

 

Williams wanted to make a major sports hire to boost his own resume/ego. It came down to Dambrot being easier to remove than Bowden due to a number of factors.

 

The people on ZN who were bashing Dambrot sounded like immature teenagers venting after their crush broke up with them. Dambrot never wanted to leave Akron, especially not for another mid-major. In the end, the environment created athletic department left him with no choice.

[skip-zip]

12 hours ago, Zip44 said:

 You all need to know that Keith did not want to leave. It was not about his salary.

 

This is indeed correct.  I have stated it previously.

 

People should at least be able to put 2 and 2 together on the first part, knowing that he had turned down other lucrative offers, and had already turned down Duquesne on multiple occasions.   

[Let'sGoZips94]

3 hours ago, ZachTheZip said:

 

Williams wanted to make a major sports hire to boost his own resume/ego. It came down to Dambrot being easier to remove than Bowden due to a number of factors.

 

The people on ZN who were bashing Dambrot sounded like immature teenagers venting after their crush broke up with them. Dambrot never wanted to leave Akron, especially not for another mid-major. In the end, the environment created athletic department left him with no choice.

 

- Dambrot left on his own. As @Valpo Zip stated, his contract was still good through 2023. There was no "removal". 

- Nothing I've seen suggests that Williams has a major ego. He seems like a very good person. 

- The people "bashing" Dambrot want the program to hit that next level. 

- He supposedly never wanted to leave, especially for another mid-major, yet did.

- What environment was created in the Athletic Department that left Dambrot with no choice but to jump ship?

 

3 hours ago, skip-zip said:

 

This is indeed correct.  I have stated it previously.

 

People should at least be able to put 2 and 2 together on the first part, knowing that he had turned down other lucrative offers, and had already turned down Duquesne on multiple occasions.   

 

Asking honestly and seriously, what other offers did Dambrot have during his time with Akron? I only remember Duquesne on several occasions. 

[Zip44]

On 12/9/2017 at 3:25 PM, LZIp said:

8 games into the season and KD has the Dukes at the 5-3 mark. Zero wins against a team with a pulse yet, including losses to both very average inter-city rivals. He should win out the rest of the OOC, as it was literally filled with low-majors outside of Pitt, Robert Morris, and Cornell. I have a feeling he will be in for a rude awakening come conference play.

Tell me again about that rude awakening Dambrot will get in conf play.  3-1

who has the rude awakening? Groce at 0-3

[Zip44]

15 hours ago, lilroodude said:

 

- Dambrot left on his own. As @Valpo Zip stated, his contract was still good through 2023. There was no "removal". 

- Nothing I've seen suggests that Williams has a major ego. He seems like a very good person. 

- The people "bashing" Dambrot want the program to hit that next level. 

- He supposedly never wanted to leave, especially for another mid-major, yet did.

- What environment was created in the Athletic Department that left Dambrot with no choice but to jump ship?

 

 

Asking honestly and seriously, what other offers did Dambrot have during his time with Akron? I only remember Duquesne on several occasions. 

Williams had all year to follow through on promises to Keith & Basketball program. He knew Keith could get major offers & took no steps to keep him until right before the Kent Champiionship game. They came to an agreement quickly - most importantly to upgrade JAR, offices, bball dorm,... money was coming in. But nothing was put in writing. That is all he asked for. Even on the 11th hour he ageeed to stay if they put their terms & promises in writing. 

How many of you would take a job without the terms in writing.

Williams just blew it. Refused to put it in writing

 

[zippy5]

KD made very good money for the MAC and had more job security than any MAC coach. Was signed for 6 more years. I think his contract was fair and he didn't deserve more than what he already had coming to him. I appreciate KD and am thankful for all he did, and I can't wait until we're done talking about him here. Go Zips.

[skip-zip]

36 minutes ago, zippy5 said:

I think his contract was fair and he didn't deserve more than what he already had coming to him.

 

Read the posts.  It wasn't about more money for himself.  

[ZachTheZip]

52 minutes ago, zippy5 said:

I can't wait until we're done talking about him here. Go Zips.

 

That won't happen for decades. Zips fans really didn't stop talking about Huggins until Dambrot had put the program at a similar level and sustained it for a number of years. Until we hire a coach that can do the same or surpass it (something we're nowhere near), we'll continue to talk about Dambrot.

[zippy5]

5 minutes ago, ZachTheZip said:

 

That won't happen for decades. Zips fans really didn't stop talking about Huggins until Dambrot had put the program at a similar level and sustained it for a number of years. Until we hire a coach that can do the same or surpass it (something we're nowhere near), we'll continue to talk about Dambrot.

That was my point

[LZIp]

Spill the beans, fan boys. If not, shut up and go root for Duquesne. I don't even know why you read this board anymore Zach. You were the one acting like an "immature teenager" proclaiming you were no longer a fan after Groce was hired. Sounds like KD is the one with the ego if he just HAD to have it in writing . Yeah, he really wanted to stay here. What a BS excuse.

Edited January 13, 2018 by LZIp

[LZIp]

And to put a stop to all of the sucking-off going on in here, Duquense has not beaten anybody of note. The A-10 seems to be down this year. Obviously Duquesne's recent history is a lot worse than ours, but there is something to be said about the upper-classmen they have on the team as well as the the all-rookie team player from last year. I would argue Akron's cupboard was most certainly barer looking at this year in a vaccum (which you should).

[Let'sGoZips94]

I'm not buying that Dambrot wanted to stay here, and I'm certainly not buying that Williams forced him out. The locker rooms, weight room, etc., were all upgraded. The JAR was/is going through a transition with the painted bleachers, new video board, etc. He can cry about the Info all he wants, but football is where the money/revenue is at in the NCAA. A new football stadium to replace a crumbling one was a necessity. Did the University maybe error on the budgeting for it? Possibly, but that's life. Dambrot was one of the higher if not the highest paid coach in the MAC, and was well compensated for the level of success he had achieved in his time here. Nothing he had done in the final years of his time here warranted any sorted of extra compensation. 

 

I think Dambrot saw some writing on the wall that caused him to jump ship to Duquesne. I think he knew this year was going to be a transition year regardless of if he had stayed or not, and that his value as a coach as at a high point. I think he saw that the A10 could be down, and now was his time to get into Duquesne, especially at the $1M price point. I also think he could hear the whispers about a stagnant program at Akron, feeling the pressure to either win in the NCAA tournament or leave. 

 

There were a lot of excuses used during his time here to create an illusion that outside factors were holding him and the program back. The MAC being a one-bid league, the JAR, and the fact that bigger schools wouldn't come play us in the JAR. They grew old and empty with the mounting pile of letdown losses. I also don't like the complaints about the JAR, and the supposed complaints about the offices/basketball dorms. I struggle with a college coaching making six figures - it's an academic institution first and foremost - let alone one that makes nearly $1M a year and complains about the financial backing of the program. The JAR isn't perfect, and we've all wanted either a major renovation or new arena, but in the end it doesn't make sense unless the finances are there. I've said it in other threads that Dambrot could have made a huge statement by saying he would donate a portion of his salary as the foundation for a new arena/JAR renovation. 

 

That is my explanation of my critical dialogue directed at Dambrot. Call me a "basher" or whatever you want, but I'm an Akron fan first an foremost. I'm grateful for growth of the program under Dambrot, and always have been. 

 

Two things. 

 

- The Can't/Akron Championship Game last year was brought up. Just in case anyone forgot, we lost that one with a flat performance.

 

- I would still like to know what major offers Dambrot had that he turned down. I would additionally like to know what Dambrot's reputation around the college basketball landscape truly was, if anyone has any inside info on that topic.

Edited January 13, 2018 by lilroodude

[K92]

I would just like to add to LRD’s post that Keith’s feelings were hurt by the comments made on this forum.  That was probably as big of a factor as anything in his leaving if the truth was known.  Oh, and the money.

[LZIp]

15 minutes ago, lilroodude said:

 I've said it in other threads that Dambrot could have made a huge statement by saying he would donate a portion of his salary as the foundation for a new arena/JAR renovation. 

Spot on. Akron's financial issues are well publicized. His supposed "demands in writing" have or are being met without him here. Keith has made and will make plenty of money to live more than comfortably for the rest of his life assuming he's managed it properly. Him making a donation would have made a strong statement, and something that is hard to believe wouldn't have been done if it "wasn't about him".

[LZIp]

15 minutes ago, K92 said:

I would just like to add to LRD’s post that Keith’s feelings were hurt by the comments made on this forum.  That was probably as big of a factor as anything in his leaving if the truth was known.  Oh, and the money.

I can believe it. His daughter and wife seemingly scour the internet to note anything negative said about him. I don't know if he reads the stuff himself, but I'm sure he hears about it. You are (were) a public employee making bank coaching a game being played by amateurs. Suck it up buttercup!

Edited January 13, 2018 by LZIp

[Valpo Zip]

How many new accounts will be created this week to come here and tell us how horrible Williams is and how Dambrot didn't want to leave?

Dambrot had the best job in the MAC. He was making top salary and great freedom to hire and schedule the way he pleases. His job security was up the roof and he would have had his job for as long as he wanted (even past 2023).  He CHOSE to leave Akron and is making $1M per year. He stole 2 players from our team and some incoming recruits that he had recruited on Akron $$$. But you want me to believe that he is the victim and Akron is the bad guy?! 

 

[ZippyforPresident]

Coach D's Dukes now 13-5, 4-1 in conference after Three OT Thriller.