Basketball Outing

[Zip Watcher]

Been meaning to post some notes on the Hoops golf outing at Raintree, but have been OTR & hadn't gotten to it. Nothing earth shattering, but here goes:- About 100 golfers attended the event. An unofficial report had the number of former players @ 26 of those 100.- Former players in attendance, that I saw & recognized included: Bosley, Andrick, Byron Thompson, Rashon Brown (I think), Andy Norman, Joe Jakubick, Carl Schwartzinger (sp?), Russel Holmes, McFadden, Jawanza Moore .. I'm sure there were many others. Sat at dinner with one from the late 70's, but never got the name. Super nice guy.- Former hoops player in attendance that wasn't a Zip: Larry Nance.- All coaches & many AD staff around and quite accessible during the event, both before and after the golfing, during dinner. Coaches visited our foursome on more than one occassion & had the change to chat briefly with KD & Hunter. Nice folks all around. Every time I see him, I'm more and more convinced that this IS KD's dream job. I don't think he goes anywhere .. barring a total withdrawal of support by the U, the community or both.- Raintree in nice condition for the event .. much nicer than I anticipated to be honest.- Meal was probably the best food I've ever gotten at a golf outing. Nice side of beef @ 1PM. I lingered awhile, but I think I was out of there around 2:15 or so.- ZW's group was -7 through 11 holes, and then the wheels fell off and we scrambled for 7 straight pars to finish the round. One member now struggling with a sore back from carrying my sorry ass. I believe that 58 (-14) won the event.- Prizes weren't why I was attracted to the event, but they appeared sufficient. The 2006/07 signed ball would have been nice for the office bookshelf, but no luck with that.- Long drive markers and closest to the pin markers were labeled "Akron U" when we arrived at them on those holes .. upon our departure, I think all were relabeled "University of Akron." A little pet peeve of mine & I never attended the U. Go figure.- Steward was in town on his official visit that day / weekend, so there was a buzz about the impending commitment. No current player contact @ the outing. Not sure if it's an NCAA rule, but probably a good idea.- KD spoke for about 5-10 minutes during the dinner. Spoke about continuing to move upstream, and establishing the program long term. Emphasized the need to be bringing in great HS players (I infer that means we won't be seeing too many JUCO's under KD's watch) to be here for some time and grow and perpetuate what the program's about. Talked about getting bigger and more athletic at every position .. not just the need for some big post players .. getting bigger @ the guard & SF positions. - It's clear this guy's target doesn't lie in winning the conference every year. That's a low point below his targets. I like the style & motivation .. and think he's right in aiming so.- Keith also hammered home GP1's constant point. A lot of the success of a program has to do with the fans .. getting support from the community .. filling the building .. supporting extra events that benefit the kids .. etc. It's not just KD / JD / CP / JK and their staffs .. the fans & community need to step it up.A nice event .. I'm looking forward to making it an annual thing. Hope you'll consider it too.Go Zips.

[Z.I.P.]

Nice report ZW. Mahalo for that. Let KD know the Aloha Section Alumni are ready to do next year's event at Turtle Bay. Palmer Course OK?.

[Z-P]

Nice report D..............This is the earliest I've ever been trolling around on the BB side.........to me the FB season is ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ