Congratulations

[CrazyZip]

Congrats to the Zips. Third place out of 8 mediocre teams.Gonna be a long season...

[skip-zip]

You have to WIN tournaments like that. Although, the way they scheduled the times has me ticked off too.We played a team in the consolation game that played Thursday, and early on Saturday. And we had to play Friday, and late on Saturday. Thank God we pulled it off. I'd never go back there again if that's the unfair disadvantage that we'll get in the scheduling.So anyway....here we go again, same as last year. Because we have few legitimate teams on our OOC schedule, we HAVE to win. And now, we'll be saddled with a loss to Portland State come tournament time, just as we had to bear the loss toe University of Arkansas - Little Rock last year.So now I ask, what good did we do ourselves, come March, by scheduling mediocre teams, and then losing. It's not good.

[Let'sGoZips94]

I'm sorry, but that was a hard tournament with the Alaska trip first of all and second of all, our times were stupid. Waking up at 12:00 A.M. on a Saturday night eastern time to listen to the Zips is All though we lost to Portland St., I think we still stand a chance if we win the games like Bingmington at home and Temple (which by the way is a ? as to how good they are) and Wyoming. You win at Winthrop and I think we should be feeling good going into conference play. As for now take it game by game and always laugh at Can't when they loose to Detroit at home on a 3 at the buzzard :lol:

[akronzip12345]

I'm sorry, but that was a hard tournament with the Alaska trip first of all and second of all, our times were stupid. Waking up at 12:00 A.M. on a Saturday night eastern time to listen to the Zips is All though we lost to Portland St., I think we still stand a chance if we win the games like Bingmington at home and Temple (which by the way is a ? as to how good they are) and Wyoming. You win at Winthrop and I think we should be feeling good going into conference play. As for now take it game by game and always laugh at Can't when they loose to Detroit at home on a 3 at the buzzard :lol:

Yeah, I agree the times were shady.Just a correction, K-ent lost AT Detroit...it's still a loss though, Detroit isn't a easy team. I'm personally kinda nervous about K-ent because they beat Hampton (which is pretty good) and Coppin State by 20+Should make for a good match up this season!!!!! On another note with football, did anyone notice Wester Mich. beat Iowa??? Go Mac beating Big Ten.

[skip-zip]

You can't have "bad losses" when you try to get into post-season tournament when you are an "Akron". And much like last year, that will be viewed as a "bad loss".Sorry.

[ZippyRulz]

Right. There went any chance of an at-large bid to the NCAA, in our 2nd game of the season. Probably the NIT as well. Now the rest of the regular season means nothing except tuning up for the MAC tourney in 4 months.

[ZachTheZip]

Right. There went any chance of an at-large bid to the NCAA, in our 2nd game of the season. Probably the NIT as well. Now the rest of the regular season means nothing except tuning up for the MAC tourney in 4 months.

It was like that anyway. KD knows that the MAC will not get a 2nd bid to either tournament. He scheduled specifically to prepare us for the MAC teams we will play in the tourney. Akron could have had 29 wins last year and still not gotten an at large NCAA bid, and because of the way the idiots select the NIT based on name only we wouldn't have been in that either. At least we won't play any teams that will blow us out and get our starters injured just before conference play starts, like some teams insist on doing.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Losing game #2 sucked. It was like the UALR game last year. But it is too soon to say it was crippling. We just need to ride the storm out until Steward gets healthy, and hope that when Roberts and McKnight are ready in mid-December we start hitting our stride. I think this team will be a LOT better in January than it is right now.

[skip-zip]

I'm merely pointing out that when you put together the kinds of OOC schedules that we are putting together, you HAVE to win those games. If you're not going to win those games, I'd much rather have played higher-level teams to increase our SOS. I'd be shocked if the strategy is, as uakronkid suggests, that we "know" we have no chance to get an at-large bid to any tournament, so we're just playing out the season to prepare for the MAC tournament.

[GP1]

I'd be shocked if the strategy is, as uakronkid suggests, that we "know" we have no chance to get an at-large bid to any tournament, so we're just playing out the season to prepare for the MAC tournament.

If this is the strategy, I don't find fault in the logic. In fact, I think there are a lot of teams that look at it the same way. There are probably some programs like Duke, UCLA, etc. that know they are going to make the NCAA and spend all year preparing for March. Unfortunately, the college basketball regular season has become almost insignificant to the tournaments. Knowing they have no shot at an at large bid makes spending the year preparing for the MAC Tournament the logical move. Akron is going to win more than they lose so they are guaranteed a good season. The only question comes down to whether or not they can make the NCAA Tournament or not.

[zipfan 81]

Losing game #2 sucked. It was like the UALR game last year. But it is too soon to say it was crippling. We just need to ride the storm out until Steward gets healthy, and hope that when Roberts and McKnight are ready in mid-December we start hitting our stride. I think this team will be a LOT better in January than it is right now.

How does everyone know that Steward is going to be "all that"... remember he is a freshman also. It sounds like once he is heathly everything will be great, which I really don't believe.... you can't just rely him

[Zips Win!]

Losing game #2 sucked. It was like the UALR game last year. But it is too soon to say it was crippling. We just need to ride the storm out until Steward gets healthy, and hope that when Roberts and McKnight are ready in mid-December we start hitting our stride. I think this team will be a LOT better in January than it is right now.

How does everyone know that Steward is going to be "all that"... remember he is a freshman also. It sounds like once he is heathly everything will be great, which I really don't believe.... you can't just rely him

Not only did losing game #2 suck, but it seemed like the more things change, the more they stayed the same.We can't hit key free throws, our defensive rebounding is awful- we lead the country in not getting defensive rebounds off of MISSED FREE THROWS and we still need to find a go-to guy. Milum hoisting threes is not the answer.

[GP1]

we lead the country in not getting defensive rebounds off of MISSED FREE THROWS

This is an amazing statistic. Not in that we give up the rebounds........it's amazing in that somebody actually tabulates the statistic. Coming in last in the freaking country is just nonsense. Getting that rebound should be a given.I saw Charlie Coles once take out a kid for missing a free throw and yelled at him for missing it for a minute or two. In the past, KD has worried a lot about defense. He should start punishing players for not putting the little orange ball through the orange ring at critical points in the game.

[ZipAlumn]

we lead the country in not getting defensive rebounds off of MISSED FREE THROWS

This is an amazing statistic. Not in that we give up the rebounds........it's amazing in that somebody actually tabulates the statistic. Coming in last in the freaking country is just nonsense. Getting that rebound should be a given.I saw Charlie Coles once take out a kid for missing a free throw and yelled at him for missing it for a minute or two. In the past, KD has worried a lot about defense. He should start punishing players for not putting the little orange ball through the orange ring at critical points in the game.

With the understanding that it was high school basketball and twenty million years ago, the best practice I've ever heard of was the one we had to go through every practice. During a practice scrimmage if someone missed a free throw, they moved down to the 2nd team for a while. If they were on the 2nd team they sat out for a while. At the end of practice (when everyone was dead tired) we had to shoot 20 free throws and for every one we missed we had to run a couple laps. As a team we had something between 80-85% free throw average.

[RACER]

you cant reply on one guy but the pg is where we are weak right now.if steward can come in and ply some min it lets middelton play the two.one guy in b-ball can have a huge impact.dru joyce came in as a freshman and took over the pg.also there was anther kid from akron that went right to the pro's skipping coll-bball.either you can play or you can't.does not matter what class you are in.

[skip-zip]

Sorry. Playing the entire season for only ONE opportunity to make the NCAA tournament would be really, really bad logic. Especially when that one opportunity can dissappear in the blink of an eye? Didn't last year's ending prove that to us?

[ZachTheZip]

Last years ending proved that we really have only one chance, and that's winning the MACC. Nothing else will get us into the postseason, not until the rest of the MAC teams start improving. Akron had the best RPI out of all MAC teams last year. Many were 200+ and really dragged down the rest of the conference. It's all about conference affiliation, it doesn't matter how good you are if your conference is crap, you won't get in unless you win it. That's why KD is scheduling teams that emulate MAC-level teams and MAC style of play. To prepare for our ONLY chance of going dancing.

[GP1]

Sorry. Playing the entire season for only ONE opportunity to make the NCAA tournament would be really, really bad logic. Especially when that one opportunity can dissappear in the blink of an eye? Didn't last year's ending prove that to us?

The two methods of making the NCAA Tournament are:1. Win your conference tournament2. At large bidWhat we learned last year was we are not going to get #2 for even the NIT. The only logical solution is to play for the MAC Championship and to spend the year preparing for the tournament. This doesn't mean losing games, it just means preparing the team for those three games in the winter. Actually, every team is trying to peak at the end of the year. Can it vanish in the blink of an eye? Of course, but we have to play the hand dealt. We are not in a good position.

[skip-zip]

Great discussion....good thoughts.I just think it's bad logic to throw away that other opportunity. Sure, our conference affiliation doesn't help much in giving us the SOS that we need, but we do have one area where we DO have control over our SOS, and that is in our OOC schedule. A better OOC schedule also helps recruiting, which would ultimately elevate your program as well.Ok, so we go and schedule a few premier teams on the road, and we lose. Those losses have no impact on our conference record, or our MAC tournament seed, AND they increase our SOS. So, why not play them? Plus, I like those games, and think you should play a few of those games early in the season, if for no other reason than to get a measurement of how well your program is progressing. Plus, if you play a competitive game, or pull off an upset, it gets noticed...NATIONALLY. Which once again helps your recruiting. As far as the NIT goes, they invited Toledo last year because they deemed them to be the regular season MAC champ. So, there is certainly something to play for by having a good regular season.

[g-mann17]

Great discussion....good thoughts.I just think it's bad logic to throw away that other opportunity. Sure, our conference affiliation doesn't help much in giving us the SOS that we need, but we do have one area where we DO have control over our SOS, and that is in our OOC schedule. A better OOC schedule also helps recruiting, which would ultimately elevate your program as well.

Yes let's go and schedule, Purdue, Duke, and Ohio State. Also let's schedule Georgetown, UConn, and Memphis. Now...Let's all wake up. No high RPI team is going to play us for two reasons. We will expect at minimum a 2 and 1 (3 year deal), and there is a chance they could be upset. That is a lose, lose, lose situation for any team that has a respectable RPI. They will avoid top Mid Majors (which despite the lack of a tournament bid last year, this team is quickly becoming) because then they lose the status quo. Oh I forgot there is a third reason. We have an arena that barely holds 5500 people, and poor quality facilities overall (locker rooms etc).What is best, is that we find a way to get to the dance, and then make some noise. Then we become a team that has to be played.

[skip-zip]

g-mann....These schools ARE scheduling mid-majors (Can't State played at Duke last year). Just go and look at some schedules of the major schools.The debate isn't over whether they will schedule you or not, because they will, and they do. The debate is whether we should play these games, and what benefit they give to our program.

[ZachTheZip]

KD refuses to schedule any team that will not give us a return home game. That means that teams like Duke and OSU are out. Why should schools treat your team with respect when they are willing to settle for a almost-assured loss with nothing in return, except for "exposure", exposure for what you really are: a team with no self-respect? So we have that 1 in 1000 chance of beating them on the road, big deal. It's one less home game for the fans and the seniors. The players like this policy, and every single "big" school has this policy. Why shouldn't we do the same?

[skip-zip]

Try that argument with the Can't State players who took Duke DEEP into the 2nd half during an early season game last year. AND it was on national television. I guess that leaves you with two choices. Play those games, or refuse to play those games and NOTHING changes. I know which one I would pick.

[g-mann17]

Try that argument with the Can't State players who took Duke DEEP into the 2nd half during an early season game last year. AND it was on national television. I guess that leaves you with two choices. Play those games, or refuse to play those games and NOTHING changes. I know which one I would pick.

How did losing to Duke help Can't last year with their tournament chances? Hmm....I'm sorry but I agree with KD's decision to not play a team unless they get a home game in return.

[skip-zip]

I respect your opinion...But as the saying goes...."do what you've always done, and you'll get what you've always got"I'm an old man, so I've been around this basketball program going all the way back to the Bob Rupert era. I've seen us get snubbed by tournament selection committees many times. And there's plenty of better tournaments than the one we played in this past weekend. And that's in addition to all of the times I've seen the NCAA and NIT snub the Zips. The mentality of the selection committees (both preseason and post season) has not changes in the past 30 years, so you have to take steps to elevate yourself to that level (i.e. upgrade your schedule, which helps recruiting and increases your SOS). But beyond that, my original point was this.....If you are going to follow the scheduling philosophy that we've followed the past two years, than you HAVE to win those games. The UIC loss and the UALR loss killed us last year, and this year's loss to Portland State will stick out like a sore thumb to anyone looking at our resume this year.