KD and our program

[Valpo Zip]

Comparing the last 4 years of our program to the previous 2 decades, it is clear that KD is great upgrade over his predecessor(s). The question is how ambitious are we? would we be happy with the relative success of KD being an upgrade over Hipsher or are we targeting MAC championships and NCAA bids?We were certainly the best MAC team last year and we deserved to go dancing but we didn't. Are we going to be the best MAC team anytime in the near future or are we just going to be a decent MAC team that competes but come short.We can talk about fan support, the JAR needing upgrade and the MAC refs hating us or so many other dilusional excuses. It mainly boils down to the players we are putting on the hard wood. KD's relative success was mainly based on his ST-V/Lebron connection. He brought it 2 recruits in Romeo and Dru and added J-wood who played against them in HS. We also were lucky in bringing Dials who was unhappy at OSU. These were the core of our relative success. Now KD has a real test to pass, was this relative success a fluke based on his St-V connection or was it the foundation of a greater success?I love and support KD as much as the next guy but looking at the last few classes, I am keeping my fingers crossed.2003: Romeo, Dru, J-Wood Probably the best class in Zips history. A2004: Dials, Cedrick, Quade, Bubba Good class, not as good as the 2003 though. B2005: Linhart, Rybak, Conyers Below average, Linhart is the only "inconsistent" contributor D2006: McKnight, Bardo, McNeese, Roberts 3/4 redshirts, incomplete. 2007: B. McKnight, Swiech, steward 2/3 redshirts, IncompleteAny thoughts?

[skip-zip]

sk..that's a pretty fair analysis. We don't know where we go from here. Romeo is gone, Dru is gone, and Wood and Dials are about to be gone. And surely, that was the core of our winning ways the last few years.I have said this many times on this board, but I am not yet convinced that there is a significant number of guys ready to be productive come next November. I sure HOPE I am wrong. I like the thought that KD will stay here, and will bring continuity to the program. That does help recruiting. But, are the recruits coming along quickly enough to make us continue along on this path next year? Not sure. But I am betting on a down year, unfortunately.I do disagree with your assessment of a lack of success over the previous couple of decades. I was a student during the Huggins era. And we did have some tremendous success during that time. In fact, we ran off a string of 20+ win seasons during that time as well. And made it to one NCAA, and two NIT appearances during that time.Maybe you weren't quite referring to the Huggins era when you said "the last couple of decades".

[RACER]

if winning 20 plus games a year is a down year then im all for it.i just dont understand why jd gets free pass in having one good year in which we were just over .500.kd wins 20 games every year and the fans complain.

[zen]

if winning 20 plus games a year is a down year then im all for it.i just dont understand why jd gets free pass in having one good year in which we were just over .500.kd wins 20 games every year and the fans complain.

I'm going to throw in one of my oddball psychological theories. I think that people around here innately understand how competitive football is and how hard it is to be successful consistently even when you have all the pieces in place. I don't think people subconsciously lend that type of respect to basketball. I think they feel like you can get lucky with a few talented guys and ride it anywhere... as if it doesn't take a lot of planning, preparation, practice, and dedication.

[GoZips]

I see a cup filling as opposed to emptying. There are several factors involved in building a long term successful program. Coach Dambrot's approach is builtaround bringing in quality high school recruits. Some coachs such as Jim Christian rely on JUCO transfers. That approach is short term and has to renewed eachrecruiting season. But, it works well most of the time.Relying on high school recruits is a long term process where the school and the coach build on the past performance. It is a method that is designed to entice apotential recruit to want to come to the school.This method has to compete with a number of other quality programs. It guarantees that those players fresh outof high school that can play right out of the box will sign with the best program available to them. Coaches like Dambrot are left with selling the vision to kids thathave to be developed. That is why Mike Bardo, Steve McNees and others have to red shirted to give them an extra year to learn and mature.Unexpected events also play a role. Darryl Roberts missed a year because he was immature and failed to complete his high school courses on time. Darryl has great potential not only as a player, but as a citizen as well. I am pleased with his growth. Ronnie Steward, doubly needed because Roberts misfired, goes downwith hip problems. Painful and cost a medical red shirt year.Generally speaking, there are plenty of quality guards available. The dearth lies with big men. The number of really good big men is much smaller than guards andsmall forwards. The thin ranks of big men does not bode well for schools trying to improve if they have a history of losing. nee: Akron of the Crawford andHipsher eras.Neither Bardo or Swiech are polished big men. They have to be molded into first line players. Its a bit of a crap shoot. Zeke Marshall has plenty of shortcomings, but is still better than Bardo or Swiech. Thus, Akron is pursuing Marshall with vigor. Zeke's short comings just might make him available if otherschools find better players to fill their open slots. Personally, I believe that Swiech is going to be a stud player for the Zips. Can Bardo reach that level?The incoming class of 2008 is easily the best class of the Dambrot era.Nikola Cvetinovic is a 6'-7" wide body with outstanding "numbers". Nik could play in the current rotation right now. Nik is not a wing man. He is a banger.Anthony Parrish is a 6'-8" wide body with maturity problems. Andy was benched in February for not doing his classroom work. It sank in at least enough thatAndy poured in 27 points in a recent tournament game. Parrish is a likely candidate for red shirting.Alex Sullivan is a 5'-11" point guard largely regarded as the best point guard on Ohio. Alex shoots the lights out. He penetrates and scores. More importantly,Alex leads. He is a team leader. He will likely transfer this leadership straight onto the floor at Akron. I strongly believe that Alex will be a starter as a freshman.Brett McClanahan is a 6'-4" combo guard that was nominated for the McDonald's All America team. Brett carries a weak team on his back. I have to believethat Brett is tough as the coal miners he grew up with. At six-four Brett would fit well in the third guard slot.Anthony "Humpty" Hutchens is a 5'-9" (maybe) point guard. Like Alex he is a team leader, a penetrator, a stud player. Humpty pours in the points. He knowshow to slash and play defense.Dambrot now has a beautiful stable of guards. Zeke Marshall coupled with the McKnights and Steve Swiech would give the Zips a front line that would over powermost of the MAC and nearly any team the Zips could potentially schedule.

[Captain Kangaroo]

if winning 20 plus games a year is a down year then im all for it.i just dont understand why jd gets free pass in having one good year in which we were just over .500.kd wins 20 games every year and the fans complain.

I thought the fans on this board were very tough on JD this year. Justifiably so. And if we get 20 wins in hoops this year, and lose in the MAC quarter's or semi's, KD will get a little heat on the board too. Justifiably so.There's no favoritism.

[RootforRoo44]

Honestly, i thought i was the only person who thought that KD is being outcoached A LOT this year. I'm not Bobby Knight but my God, a few of his moves recently have been more than questionable.

[Dr Z]

I'll save my criticism until after the MAC tourney, but it is time for KD to step up.He better have his team ready. 3 wins baby, that's all we need...

[Zip Watcher]

To me, this is the dumbest thread ever posted on ZN.O. It's garbage. You're getting spoiled and you need a little more patience. Next year will be the FIRST season where all the players were signed / recruited to play for Keith (I know he was the lead recruiter .. but Quade was signed to play for Hipsher). Let's be realistic here.Go Zips.

[Zip_ME87]

This is a great thread. It is time for the coaching staff to step it up and not only make better decisions themselves, but help the players make better decisions at crunch time.

[skip-zip]

I think some of us are commenting about different things here....Some are talking about the future, in general. But my comments were mostly about next year.I appreciate what GoZips says about the incoming freshman class, and the reshirted Swiech and Steward. This probably indicated that we might have another top-notch team in a few years. But in order to not break our current run of success, some big things need to happen between now and November.Nate will be the only senior next year. His immediate supporting cast looks pretty shaky right now in terms of having at LEAST another 2-3 more players that we are sure are ready to make significant contributions, every game. I'm not thinking that it can't happen. But, what I am seeing at the moment doesn't indicate that we are going to reach that point soon enough.

[GoZips]

I just finished watching a replay of the VCU game on ESPN-U.The two announcers had nothing bad to say about either team. They seemed delighted that two top shelf programs were going at each other tooth and nail.I saw nothing either at the game or on the replay that bothered me about how KD coached the game. The Zips were in it to the wire. The only questionablething I noticed at all was Nate Linhart. Nate under achieved two games in a row. Could Jimmy Conyers or Brett McKnight done better? Conyers gives excellentdefense at the price of zero offense. Brett is just the opposite. Since Nate plays great perimeter defense I have to believe that Nate stayed in the game to coverMaynor and Shuler (#24), VCU's other great guard.The announcers stated repeatedly that both teams were playing at tournament level. They were amazed at Jeremiah Wood's performance. I agree on both counts.The replay clearly proved an early post game observation of mine. The Zips got thoroughly hosed by the CAA referees. The TV announcers even pointed outseveral miscues these characters committed. Missed fouls committed against Akron, traveling not called and the wonderful held ball call late in the game where Natewas the only player with his hands on the ball and trying to call time out. Nice. The no call goal tending by Anderson on a Wood soft hook was replayed a coupleof times. It was clearly goal tending. The fans were going berserk. Sanders hard foul on Wood that staggers Wood sideways, again, no call. As I reported before,the loose ball carom off the VCU player out of bounds was a beauty. The TV announcers called it as out of bounds off the player and quickly changed the subjectwhen the ball was awarded to VCU. That one happened right in front of me.VCU is a really good team. On a neutral court with fair referees, they lose to Akron nine times out of ten in single digit differentialsI defend KD because he is doing a good job. Perfect, naw. But a ton better than any Zip coach since Huggins. KD is the man. I believe. I believe. I believe.Yep, I'm pimping for KD.

[skip-zip]

I clearly remember all of the situations you mention. It's nice to know that they looked the same on tv as how we were seeing them at the game. Now, I would normally not be someone who would think that a bad call here or there changes the outcome of a game. But, when all of the calls go against ONE team????? And when many of them happen at a very critical part of the game?????I'm sure it's just a "coincidence" that every one of these calls (or lack of) favored VCU, and they just happened to be their own officials. Right.

[Zips Win!]

I clearly remember all of the situations you mention. It's nice to know that they looked the same on tv as how we were seeing them at the game. Now, I would normally not be someone who would think that a bad call here or there changes the outcome of a game. But, when all of the calls go against ONE team????? And when many of them happen at a very critical part of the game?????I'm sure it's just a "coincidence" that every one of these calls (or lack of) favored VCU, and they just happened to be their own officials. Right.

Enough with the complaining about the refs! Yes, I thought the last 5 minutes or so was terrible......but I also thought they did a solid job the first 35 minutes. They let both teams play.....Our inept offense and horrible shooting cost us the game. Nate was 1-8 and JWood was 4-13. We missed numerous point blank looks and even threw up several air balls. I do like the hop in Ced's step. Two weeks ago I called him out for his terrible play. He's been his old self the last three games. Unfortunately we cannot say the same for Nate. He took a bunch of ill-advised shots.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I clearly remember all of the situations you mention. It's nice to know that they looked the same on tv as how we were seeing them at the game. Now, I would normally not be someone who would think that a bad call here or there changes the outcome of a game. But, when all of the calls go against ONE team????? And when many of them happen at a very critical part of the game?????I'm sure it's just a "coincidence" that every one of these calls (or lack of) favored VCU, and they just happened to be their own officials. Right.

There is a reason why ESPN stipulates that the "away" teams referee the two arranged games. If the refs were irrelevant, they'd simply let the local conference refs do the games. And for the record - We lost because we shot horribly. Not because of the refs. OU's game featured refs from the same conference, and somehow OU overcame.

[skip-zip]

True...I thought we played horrible. But, in a game that close, a number of calls going one way can definitely change the outcome.

[ziprowdy]

maybe we should just not have reffs anymore, and just let the teams play the whole game...clearly this ref thing is becoming more controversial since the nba ref problem that happened...and rightly so...if a coach can come under scrutiny for his/her performance...a referee justifiably so should come under scrutiny for their performance as well...more so now the nba reffs should come under heavy scrutiny after what happened there...i mean did anyone see the lovely play by chauncey billups earlier this season...it was cool...he came off a high screen outside the 3 point line...caught a pass, dribbled once, then took 4 steps...and "nailed" about a 25-30 footer...thats great...the game sure has come far from it used to be...see that to me is bull shit...dont care what your name is, what your name is, who your married to, or who ya fucked last week...now obviously nothing of this magnitude happens in the ncaa...however, if things continue over the years as they have been the past couple decades...it could get ugly...i mean human error is one thing...the reffs ARE human they will make some mistakes...but why does it always seem fishy as im watching a game in the arena...sometimes things dont add up...so i think if were gonna rip the players apart and the coaches...we should be able to rip the reffs apart...some of us get fed up with hearing about how the reffs were bad and had a negative impact on the game...the reffs arent exempt from scrutiny...they play a big part in the game

[Captain Kangaroo]

maybe we should just not have reffs anymore, and just let the teams play the whole game...clearly this ref thing is becoming more controversial since the nba ref problem that happened...and rightly so...if a coach can come under scrutiny for his/her performance...a referee justifiably so should come under scrutiny for their performance as well...more so now the nba reffs should come under heavy scrutiny after what happened there...i mean did anyone see the lovely play by chauncey billups earlier this season...it was cool...he came off a high screen outside the 3 point line...caught a pass, dribbled once, then took 4 steps...and "nailed" about a 25-30 footer...thats great...the game sure has come far from it used to be...see that to me is bull shit...dont care what your name is, what your name is, who your married to, or who ya fucked last week...now obviously nothing of this magnitude happens in the ncaa...however, if things continue over the years as they have been the past couple decades...it could get ugly...i mean human error is one thing...the reffs ARE human they will make some mistakes...but why does it always seem fishy as im watching a game in the arena...sometimes things dont add up...so i think if were gonna rip the players apart and the coaches...we should be able to rip the reffs apart...some of us get fed up with hearing about how the reffs were bad and had a negative impact on the game...the reffs arent exempt from scrutiny...they play a big part in the game

Overall, the game was refereed fine. It was hardly the poster child for a robbery. Did the guys blow a call here or there? Yes. But it is pretty weak to lay blame for our woeful offensive performance on them.Did you watch the Pitt WVA football game back in November? THAT game was the poster child for a robbery attempt. And Pitt overcame and won. If hit one more three in that game, the refs are a moot point. We had our chance to win, and didn't come through.

[RACER]

if the basketball teams had two losing seasons in a row everyone on this board would want kd fired.look at the last two football coaches.owens and faust took almost 20 season before they were fired.football for whatever reason football coaches get a free pass.they can have plent yof losing seasons, and keep there jobs.the guy wins 20 games every year,and the fans complain.if kd were to leave who would you get to replace him.any mac coach that has a good year is gone to the power conferences.i guess we could go back to the good old daysof hipsher,and c.crawford.i think the b-ball fans have been spoiled by kd winning right away.

[Valpo Zip]

Racer, where do you exactly see people wanting KD fired? I certainly do not see it.

[unZIPped]

I totally agree with a couple of the above posters. Zip fans have become SPOILED!I've done a little research and I think you guys just need to appreciate WHAT we have, WHILE we HAVE it! I surely hope KD does NOT read these boards. From what I was able to piece together, here are some facts to consider:1. In the 28 years that UA has been D-1, besides Dambrot & Huggins, there have only been 4 winning seasons.2. When KD took over the program, there hadn't been a winning season in 5 years.3. UA didn't have a post-season game since 1989 and KD was the only coach in UA history to WIN a post-season game.4. The complaints about him this season kill me. Do you realize UA was picked 4th in the East PRIOR to the injuries! I believe he has earned his coaching wings this season, simply due to the fact of how much he has had to overcome. He is one step away from another 20 win season WITH A TON OF INJURIES! That, to me, is a great coach.5. Do you think we will ever get a coach with as much passion for this University as KD? This guy actually WANTS to be here. I hope to God, that he doesn't read this board and all the criticism. I wouldn't blame him one bit for "looking" elsewhere. The guy would give his right n*t for the basketball program, yet we are so quick to find fault and negativity.6. He went to the Elite 8 in College Division 2 and won two state championships in high school.7. He has almost 200 wins in his college coaching career.8. When Hugs was here, he was in an easier league with an easier schedule.I have been following UA basketball for almost 50 years and I have never been more proud to be a Zip.

[GoZips]

Its pretty naive to think that the referees had no influence on the outcome of the Akron-VCU game.Did Akron shoot well? Perhaps not. Probably not. Still, they were in the hunt to the end. A butcher does not have to put a brick in his scales to tip the balance inhis favor. Nor does a referee have to be blatantly biased. It only takes a degree of shading to one side to tip the scales. I maintain that the CAA officials wereunjust. I thought so at the game. By half time I thought they were calling a fair game. That all changed during the second half. And it was not just in the lastfive minutes of the contest.In fairness, I thought that only two of the officials were favoring VCU. The third official, while he made a couple of calls that were questionable, did not seem tobe biased. I even complemented him as he left the floor. The other two surely heard me refer to their illicit parentage.The solution for these Bracket Buster games is to use officials from a neutral conference. In the Akron-VCU game use Missouri Valley or Horizon officials.I watched most of the B/B TV games. In a few of them the home fans had several displays of incredulity over calls. The two worst were the Cleveland State-Maristgame where even coach Gary Waters got upset. The other was the Cant-St. Mary's game. While the officials could not tip the balance Marist's way, it seemedfor a time that the MAC officials favored Cant. However, in crunch time Cant just out hustled St. Mary's.One point of interest that caught my attention was a comment by an announcer. He pointed out that Chris Singletary "committed a HARD foul". Which the announcerstated sometimes happens. He further pointed out that there was nothing illegal about Singletary's hard slam to a vulnerable St. Mary's player going for a lay up.The St. Mary's fans LOUDLY disagreed with the announcer's assessment. Later the same announcer (color man) mentioned a couple of times that Singletary"seemed to enjoy" hitting people with a lot of force.UnZIPped, great post. I concur. KD is the man.

[skip-zip]

I prefaced my remarks about the officials by saying that I usually do not think that a bad call here or there will untimately influence the outcome of a game.However, this game had so many bad call (or no-calls), most of which were at a critical time, and all of them favored one team. Plus, it was a slowdown kind of game where every possession was critical, and the game went down to the wire.Just ONE bad call could influence a game like this....but 4 or 5 ??

[RACER]

unzip you are right on the money.somezip fans take winning for granted.

[Zip Watcher]

I totally agree with a couple of the above posters. Zip fans have become SPOILED!I've done a little research and I think you guys just need to appreciate WHAT we have, WHILE we HAVE it! I surely hope KD does NOT read these boards. From what I was able to piece together, here are some facts to consider:1. In the 28 years that UA has been D-1, besides Dambrot & Huggins, there have only been 4 winning seasons.2. When KD took over the program, there hadn't been a winning season in 5 years.3. UA didn't have a post-season game since 1989 and KD was the only coach in UA history to WIN a post-season game.4. The complaints about him this season kill me. Do you realize UA was picked 4th in the East PRIOR to the injuries! I believe he has earned his coaching wings this season, simply due to the fact of how much he has had to overcome. He is one step away from another 20 win season WITH A TON OF INJURIES! That, to me, is a great coach.5. Do you think we will ever get a coach with as much passion for this University as KD? This guy actually WANTS to be here. I hope to God, that he doesn't read this board and all the criticism. I wouldn't blame him one bit for "looking" elsewhere. The guy would give his right n*t for the basketball program, yet we are so quick to find fault and negativity.6. He went to the Elite 8 in College Division 2 and won two state championships in high school.7. He has almost 200 wins in his college coaching career.8. When Hugs was here, he was in an easier league with an easier schedule.I have been following UA basketball for almost 50 years and I have never been more proud to be a Zip.

Good perspective .. great post. Thanks for taking the time.Go Zips!