Zips4life Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 Ok, now that I'm over my absolute fury and embarrassment and thinking clearly, I'd like to propose this to you guys. Could it be that losing and going to the NIT instead of the NCAA be a blessing in disguise?? I know we all wanted to go to the big dance, and we deserve to be in the big dance as both players and fans, and it would've been a big step to go to the dance, BUT..... looking at the field for the NIT, I think we could very well win the whole thing. Now we'd all like to think that we could've made some noise in the tourney, but in all probability we would've been a one and done or at best been gone in two, with minimum national coverage. If we go and win the NIT however..... that puts the Akron brand under a much broader national spotlight. Technically I think it would be much bigger for the program to win the NIT than to be one and done in the tourney. An NIT championship could be a launching pad for a national program under Dambrot, as that's how Calipari really got the ball rolling again at a down Memphis program a few years back. What do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YsamRSam Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 I agree doing good in the NIT could be huge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zips fan Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 No! I don't think their is any way to spin this as a positive. In terms of national exposure, everyone follows the tournament and those in the NIT follow the NIT. I think our odds of making the sweet sixteen are equal or better than winning the NIT. In a one and done tournament anything can happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippyrifle32 Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 like they say... 1st in the nit is 65th place overall. and we were saying the same thing last year when we went to the nit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoZips Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 Zips4Life you make excellent points. I agree.What sticks in my craw and in a whole lot of other folks is the poor free throw shooting.Our guys were just "chucking" (an NBA term) the ball up instead of concentrating.I wonder if any one of them actually understood the value of a single point in a game.Just one made free throw and the worst case would have been a tie at the end ofregulation.All of these players have learned a lesson for life. If you do something half-assed itwill eventually come back to haunt you. It did.With this lesson burned into their brains and hearts, the Zips just might be one of thetoughest teams to face in the NIT. Its a second chance and we need to make themost of it.Last point, some one mentioned that there should have been a technical foulassessed at the end of the game for storming the floor. I agree. That thought crossed my mind as I drove down I-77 with my own broken heart.What's done is done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 like they say... 1st in the nit is 65th place overall. and we were saying the same thing last year when we went to the nit Winning the NIT means that we were the best team in the country to not get an at-large bid. That would make us the 34th best team in the country which sounds about right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipster44278 Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 A couple thoughts. Obviously NIT doesnt compare to dance but it sure beats going home doesnt it?? Dru and Rome deserve another game or 2( or 4) and Zip fans deserve a chance to say goodbye or at least hear a complete post game show on the radio. Also, isnt a good showing in NIT the best (only) way to get in preseason NIT for next year- which is our best way to upgrade schedule! And finally, our spot in NIT probably knocks Can't out (Toledo is in). btw- NIT pairings are on ESPN 2 tonight at 9!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoZips88 Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 NIT isn't where we want to be but I think the additional games are a good chance for our underclassmen to get some valuable experience in a playoff environment. Good luck Akron - we'll be watching at 9PM tonight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valpo Zip Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 Going deep/Winning the NIT definitely gives a message to the whole nation and opens a lot of doors for the future both in terms of recruiting and earning the respect of the polls/committee for next year. One very important thing to do in the NIT is what gozips88 said. I always felt that the one thing KD could improve is developing underclassmen. We all know that we have an amazing group of 2 seniors and 3 juniors and i know that we will still be good next year but i am not sure about the year after it. For a midmajor to earn respect, you gotta be consistent and have great teams year in year out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zipgrad1990 Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 like they say... 1st in the nit is 65th place overall. and we were saying the same thing last year when we went to the nitThis my pet peeve people always say about the NIT - rights to be the 65th (66th if you consider the play in game) best team. It assumes the other 64 (actually 65) are better than those teams which are in the NIT. This is just not true. With automatic bids for conference tournament winners and upsets in the conference tournament, not even the best team in a conference gets in. Especially among the conferences with only 1 bid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zip81 Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 I think going deep in the NIT would be great.Rather than not going to the NCAA...my big regret is not winning the MAC Championship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 I would agree that winning the NIT would be better than being knocked out early in the NCAA.But....that's a big IF. Winning the NIT is not easy. Most of the teams are other bubble teams that did not get into the NCAA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmyboy Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 The loss was a sort of a blessing. every team had to start somewhere,and making the nit 2 years in a row is the building block for us zips. the committee will notice if we win a few games (or the whole thing) in this tourney, an will give us more of a consideration next year. Next years team will be just as good if not better then this years. we will have dials,wood,middelton,milum back... plus the additions of bardo,mcknight X2, steward and swift (not sure if that is his last name, but the big kid from PA that signed with the zips)* It isnt often that you see a HS PG average 8 assists a game like steward is, so that shows he likes to pass and is a team first guy.* If the Big man we signed is as good as advertised, then we will be fine down low... IN WOOD I TRUST! We will have one of the best front and backcourts in the MAC next year IMO.* Now we can start getting these other guys who come off the bench ready for next year, if they play in the NIT games or not. We could easily be a team that is 7-8 men deep next year, if not more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BirdZip Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 OK. THat settles it. Not a blessing.MAC Refs--> <--AkronNCAA--> <--AkronNIT--> <--Akron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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