NWAkron Posted March 9, 2023 Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 1 minute ago, The Hip Zip said: Damn right. He could have stayed here and become a legend. Instead he uprooted his family and chased the dollar. I have little respect for his legacy. A 20 win legend. When he left, the program was stagnant. Wasn't going to get better. Hopefully, this thread will down and move down the que and not be resurrected many more times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted March 9, 2023 Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 I thought it was telling the year KD sat his Duquesne team down after the season and told them that it was going to be "his way or the highway for the next season" and a good portion of them chose the highway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted March 9, 2023 Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 I don't get the need to s*** on Dambrot. This thread doesn't have to be a Dambrot vs Groce thread. One can appreciate the foundation Dambrot built for the program while also enjoying what Groce is achieving. After all, without Dambrot showing that Akron could be a winning program, Groce probably doesn't risk his reputation as a coach to come here. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted March 9, 2023 Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 Just now, kreed5120 said: I don't get the need to s*** on Dambrot. This thread doesn't have to be a Dambrot vs Groce thread. One can appreciate the foundation Dambrot built for the program while also enjoying what Groce is achieving. After all, without Dambrot showing that Akron could be a winning program, Groce probably doesn't risk his reputation as a coach to come here. I don't think most of us are ****ing on KD. There's just a feeling amongst some that after 6 years it's time to move on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted March 9, 2023 Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 Just now, clarkwgriswold said: I don't think most of us are ****ing on KD. There's just a feeling amongst some that after 6 years it's time to move on. I don't disagree with that. There are just some that feel the need to resurrect this thread whenever Duquesne goes on a losing streak or gets eliminated from their conference tournament. Really there are two times that this thread should be resurrected. Once when he officially retires. Another when Akron hangs his name from the rafters. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akzipper Posted March 9, 2023 Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 4 hours ago, kreed5120 said: Duquesne really ramped up spending on the basketball side. They paid Dambrot significantly more than their previous coach. They gutted their arena and pretty much replaced everything new. I have to imagine their plan was to be a top 3-5 team in the A10 with 1-2 tourney appearances by now. I wouldn't say his tenure has been a complete disaster, but I have to imagine it has fallen short of what they expected. I was at their arena back in 2008 for a game and it was very underwhelming. Felt very similar to some D2-3 gyms I have been to. The renovations were a huge approvement aesthetically but almost makes it look smaller. Like what BG has. I think the Zips are in a better spot with Groce as a coach. We waited a long time for KD's teams to make the leap and it never happened. I'd expect Dukes fans (if there are any) to be waiting a long time as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip JD Posted March 10, 2023 Report Share Posted March 10, 2023 4 hours ago, The Hip Zip said: Damn right. He could have stayed here and become a legend. Instead he uprooted his family and chased the dollar. I have little respect for his legacy. I greatly enjoyed the home environment KD brought back to Akron. The JAR had not rocked like that since Huggins. KD built a premiere mid major program that unfortunately ended with several years of heartbreak in the MAC tourney. After multiple years of being the #1 seed but failing to get it done for the automatic trip to the big dance, I think he was telling the truth when he went to a team that was in a 3 bid league (at least it was when he arrived). His family is from Pittsburgh and his son transferred to Duquesne to finish his soccer career so I don’t blame him. The money was not that big an increase if my memory serves correct. It was time for both him and program to go in new directions. I think the whole of ZNO (minus one or two cranks) agrees Groce is the best coach for the job. Let’s just enjoy what we have and leave KD in the past. Go Zips! 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy87 Posted March 10, 2023 Report Share Posted March 10, 2023 Any discussion on KD needs to look at Akron KD vs KD now. KD built Akron's program with four-year players. His staff would find diamonds in the rough and develop them into really good players. Romeo Travis, Dru Joyce, Jeremiah Wood, Isaiah Johnson, Nikola Cvetinovic, Steve McNees, the McKnight brothers, etc - none of them were highly recruited out of HS. And they were so good at this that they reached the MAC Championship in 9 out of 11 years (and 7 straight) while reaching The Dance three times. "20 wins and that's it" is utter nonsense. He was a great coach here. But the college basketball landscape has changed over the last few years. With the transfer portal filled up every summer, 4-year players at mid-majors are becoming less and less common. NIL money is drawing players away from mid-majors even more now. His intense style probably isn't well-suited for an atmosphere where you have to re-recruit your entire roster every year either. I think, like many great coaches before him, the game has evolved beyond him. That doesn't mean he wasn't a great coach for us - he was - he revived Akron basketball. It's possible to be appreciative of his time here and wish him the best while simultaneously being excited for what Groce is building. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z.I.P. Posted March 13, 2023 Report Share Posted March 13, 2023 Dukes open the CBI as the 5 seed vs Rice. Looking at the bracket they should expect to make at least the semifinals! Good luck to our second favorite coach! 😊 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 Dermot Mulroney's playing KD 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z.I.P. Posted April 26, 2023 Report Share Posted April 26, 2023 It's a dynasty in the making! 😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akzipper Posted May 2, 2023 Report Share Posted May 2, 2023 On 4/26/2023 at 2:18 PM, Z.I.P. said: It's a dynasty in the making! 😀 This is probably the most embarrassing thing I've ever seen a school brag about. They won more than 6 games and had the third 20+ win season in 42 years? Congratulations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoZips94 Posted May 3, 2023 Report Share Posted May 3, 2023 On 5/2/2023 at 9:43 AM, akzipper said: This is probably the most embarrassing thing I've ever seen a school brag about. They won more than 6 games and had the third 20+ win season in 42 years? Congratulations. Gotta do something to boost program morale when you're paying the coach $1M+ per year to deliver subpar/mediocre results. After all, KD's Participation Trophy case is quite large. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted May 3, 2023 Report Share Posted May 3, 2023 40 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said: Gotta do something to boost program morale when you're paying the coach $1M+ per year to deliver subpar/mediocre results. After all, KD's Participation Trophy case is quite large. You have to start somewhere! LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akzipper Posted May 3, 2023 Report Share Posted May 3, 2023 Maybe if the Zips football team wins 4-5 games we can claim the same? I'd love to see a "#4 most improved team in NCAA" banner hanging somewhere around InfoCision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy87 Posted May 3, 2023 Report Share Posted May 3, 2023 5 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said: Gotta do something to boost program morale when you're paying the coach $1M+ per year to deliver subpar/mediocre results. After all, KD's Participation Trophy case is quite large. The way some of you talk about this man is wild to me. Most impactful head coach the program has ever had. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoZips94 Posted May 3, 2023 Report Share Posted May 3, 2023 1 hour ago, Zippy87 said: The way some of you talk about this man is wild to me. Most impactful head coach the program has ever had. Never appreciated the excuses for his failure to take us to the next level. Did not appreciate the state he left the program in. Did not appreciate the ceiling he put on Akron when he left for Duquesne. Absolutely appreciate the level to which he elevated Akron basketball, but the way he spoke (bitching about the JAR, MAC 1-bid league, fans, etc.) made it seem like Akron had the ceiling instead of Dambrot. Time is proving that the ceiling was actually over Dambrot, not Akron. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted May 3, 2023 Report Share Posted May 3, 2023 1 hour ago, Zippy87 said: The way some of you talk about this man is wild to me. Most impactful head coach the program has ever had. He was a very good coach at Akron. In a couple seasons he was undoubtedly the best coach in the MAC. He’s been good At Duquesne too. Nice person as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72 Roo Posted May 3, 2023 Report Share Posted May 3, 2023 3 hours ago, Zippy87 said: The way some of you talk about this man is wild to me. Most impactful head coach the program has ever had. You don't know Zip basketball history. This statement is a joke. You are overlooking the impact Tony Laterza, Wyatt Webb and Bob Huggins had while at Akron. What they did for the program was equal to or better than the improvement KD brought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy87 Posted May 4, 2023 Report Share Posted May 4, 2023 6 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said: Never appreciated the excuses for his failure to take us to the next level. Did not appreciate the state he left the program in. Did not appreciate the ceiling he put on Akron when he left for Duquesne. Absolutely appreciate the level to which he elevated Akron basketball, but the way he spoke (bitching about the JAR, MAC 1-bid league, fans, etc.) made it seem like Akron had the ceiling instead of Dambrot. Time is proving that the ceiling was actually over Dambrot, not Akron. Not sure time has proven anything about Akron's ceiling. I love Groce and believe in him, but our ceiling hasn't changed...so far. Hopefully that's coming, though. Concerning the state of the program, it was in good enough shape to attract Groce to it (Boals wanted the job, too, FWIW). Do you think those guys would've been pursuing an opening at, say, Western Michigan? We only had two down-ish seasons after he left, which isn't much compared to most mid-majors that lose a long-tenured coach. KD wasn't perfect. Sometimes he was too honest. But he was a damn good coach that elevated our program from a mostly middling MAC team that hadn't won much since the 80's to a top mid-major consistently in contention for the league title. I think we probably needed a change and believe Groce can take us to that next level eventually, but that doesn't mean we have to diminish the important work KD did in front of him. 5 hours ago, 72 Roo said: You don't know Zip basketball history. This statement is a joke. You are overlooking the impact Tony Laterza, Wyatt Webb and Bob Huggins had while at Akron. What they did for the program was equal to or better than the improvement KD brought. I know plenty about Zips basketball history. Personally, I don't think lower division accomplishments match up in terms of impact to being able to build a consistent winner at the D1 level. As for Huggins he was obviously fantastic, but I don't think he was here long enough to have sustained success that truly elevates a program over a long term. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akzipper Posted May 4, 2023 Report Share Posted May 4, 2023 (edited) 15 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said: Never appreciated the excuses for his failure to take us to the next level. Did not appreciate the state he left the program in. Did not appreciate the ceiling he put on Akron when he left for Duquesne. Absolutely appreciate the level to which he elevated Akron basketball, but the way he spoke (bitching about the JAR, MAC 1-bid league, fans, etc.) made it seem like Akron had the ceiling instead of Dambrot. Time is proving that the ceiling was actually over Dambrot, not Akron. This. He padded the schedule with cupcakes to get to the 20 win mark, then give us a false sense of hope that our team was a lot better than it was. Just to fall apart when it really mattered and he bailed for a worse school. I don't care what conference Duquense plays in or how much they are paying him. They are a god awful program. He wanted an easier path to the tournament. So far it's not working out for him. Edited May 4, 2023 by akzipper 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted May 4, 2023 Report Share Posted May 4, 2023 26 minutes ago, akzipper said: This. He padded the schedule with cupcakes to get to the 20 win mark, then give us a false sense of hope that our team was a lot better than it was. Just to fall apart when it really mattered and he bailed for a worse school. I don't care what conference Duquense plays in or how much they are paying him. They are a god awful program. He wanted an easier path to the tournament. So far it's not working out for him. The conference is also going in the wrong direction for him. I think someone else hit on this. In his last year at UA and in his first year at Duquesne they had 3 teams make the tourney. This year they had one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy87 Posted May 4, 2023 Report Share Posted May 4, 2023 2 hours ago, akzipper said: This. He padded the schedule with cupcakes to get to the 20 win mark, then give us a false sense of hope that our team was a lot better than it was. Just to fall apart when it really mattered and he bailed for a worse school. I don't care what conference Duquense plays in or how much they are paying him. They are a god awful program. He wanted an easier path to the tournament. So far it's not working out for him. Our non-conference schedules haven't looked much different to me under Groce. Also not sure how a program that played in its conference championship game 7 straight seasons and 9 out of 11 underachieved. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoZips94 Posted May 4, 2023 Report Share Posted May 4, 2023 1 minute ago, Zippy87 said: Our non-conference schedules haven't looked much different to me under Groce. Also not sure how a program that played in its conference championship game 7 straight seasons and 9 out of 11 underachieved. We won 3 out of 9 under Dambrot. We never really sniffed a W in the Big Dance in the 3 appearances we made (Notre Dame wasn't good). The 7 straight Finals appearances were a blast, but coming up short twice as often grew old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWAkron Posted May 4, 2023 Report Share Posted May 4, 2023 seriously, people, let him go already. for the love of god! 2 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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