Gonzaga of the East?

[Z.I.P.]

I would like to believe as much as anyone that Coach Dambrot and his entire ohana (as we say here in the islands) are about to turn the corner and become not just the dominant basketball program in the MAC, but become a top-25 program which reloads rather than rebuilds. Maybe Zeke Marshall is the nucleus and the catalyst for the move that Keith talked about at his swearing-in ceremony after taking over from Dan Hipsher: becoming the "Gonzaga of the East".I love the idea, frankly, of aiming high (whoops, I AM an Air Force man after all), and trying to jump over entire leagues, rather than just beat Can't "next year". But we also need to pursue our goals realistically. I personally believe we are now just a bit ahead of the rest of the MAC overall (regardless of who might be favored to win in 08-09) in terms of future potential.Out recruiting has clearly made the jump to being at the top of the league, and not just with Big Zeke -- his presence will put our 09 class head and shoulders ahead of everyone in the MAC, but our 08 class is probably already a step ahead of the other contenders.Now, if we want to achieve that big goal, we might look at how Gonzaga itself got where it is now. GU has had -- a quick look shows -- six players in the 00's who have made at least honorable mention all-America. The are/were: Dan Dickau, Rony Turiaf, Adam Morrison, Derek Raivio, Jeremy Pargo and Josh Heytvelt (all-WCC first team, maybe not HM A-A?). Turiaf I don't think played HS ball in the US, did he?Would anyone be interested in looking up where these players were ranked as high school recruits, before joining coaches Monson and/or Mark Few with the Zags? I beliebe Morrison was an elite HS player. Was he as highly regarded as ZM?

[ZachTheZip]

Zeke said it best himself. "You need good players to attract other good players."It's a snowball effect, and I think that Romeo and Dru were the ones that really got things started.It's just my opinion, but I think that before we start trying to become the "Gonzaga of the East", we should try to at least win the MAC. We haven't been to the NCAA tournament since the days of Bob Huggins when we played in the OVC.We're on our way, but we need to continue taking small steps toward improvement, and not shoot straight to the top and become a one-hit wonder team like so many mid-majors have done in the past.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Tough to be "The Gonzaga of the East" when you haven't had an NCAA appearance in 22 years.GOTE is a nice, longer term goal. But it is flat-out silly to put that label on us at this time. Look at the names ZIP posted...and he didn't even mention John Stockton. We have...Dru and Travis...on a summer league team.We need to step up to be GOTE, and it will take some time. Are we on the right track? Sure. But a lot of work lies ahead.

[Zip Watcher]

I think the foundation has been laid and the Zips have a plan that can get them there, or above being GOTE.I do think that there are some big differences in being GOTE that make it more difficult for KD than it was for Monson & Co.1. When Gonzaga really blew up on the national stage, it was YEARS after Stockton had graduated to the NBA. So Stockton was in the league and supported his team in ways he could. These are probably intangibles, but it would have helped Monson sell the Zags to recruits upstream of the typical WCC team. Now there are similarities to that situation w/ LBJ & KD. But we're only a few years into the LBJ influence, and it may take a little bit of time to get there. LBJ & the things that he does on campus and in the JAR will help turn the tide.2. Location. GU is in Spokane, which is an isolated city far away from pro sports. Now Wassou is not too far south in Pullman, but the Bulldogs do NOT play in the shadow of any pro franchises that hold the hearts and purse strings of the available regional fanbase. I think this is a factor .. getting crowds and support may have been easier in their setting than it is in Akron.3. The League. The MAC of today, even it it's current state is twice the league that the WCC was when GU started it's dominance and long string of NCAA appearances. It was a much easier door to kick in for them in the late 90's than it is for UA to kick in now. That doesn't change the fact that KD has to get through that door .. but I think it's a factor that it's harder for him to get through than it was for Monson. And once Monson got through, success begat success and the recruiting built .. snow ball started rolling down hill .. you get the picture. They got there, I get it .. but the first one may have been easier than the Zips next one. I do think once they get there, the same continuation can happen here. Roster depth and stability seems to provide that chance.This can happen in the next few years. If the Zips were to break through and win the MAC this upcoming season with 10 or more underclassmen and Zeke on the doorstep ... look out, because very quickly the discussion will turn from being GOTE to just being the first Akron and leaving thoughts of GOTE in the gutter.Go Zips. B) B)

[zip37]

In addition, Gonzaga does not have the expense of football and other sports to fund.With ball ammubition lock and load, and of course

[GP1]

Here are some questions I would like you guys to ponder about Zeke. Is he the guy who is going to make the Zips great right now? Is he the foundation for a team that will be great after his time at Akron?Zip Watcher could chime in on this one as he went to school at UCONN, but Zeke could be Akron's Cliff Robinson or Chris Smith. UCONN didn't win anything with these guys, but they were the foundatioin for the future of the program that included Don. Marshall, Donny Marshall, Ray Allen, etc. that took the program to another level after they got it winning in a very tough conference.Instead of putting pressure on Zeke to make UofA Gonzaga while here (I think that is unfair), I would rather look at him as the solid foundation for the future of the program. If it happens while he is at Akron, even better. One player really didn't do anything for UCONN. It wasn't until they were able to use the minor success from one player to attract better players years down the road that the program really took off. It may take more than Zeke's four years at Akron.

[ZachTheZip]

Here are some questions I would like you guys to ponder about Zeke. Is he the guy who is going to make the Zips great right now? Is he the foundation for a team that will be great after his time at Akron?Zip Watcher could chime in on this one as he went to school at UCONN, but Zeke could be Akron's Cliff Robinson or Chris Smith. UCONN didn't win anything with these guys, but they were the foundatioin for the future of the program that included Don. Marshall, Donny Marshall, Ray Allen, etc. that took the program to another level after they got it winning in a very tough conference.Instead of putting pressure on Zeke to make UofA Gonzaga while here (I think that is unfair), I would rather look at him as the solid foundation for the future of the program. If it happens while he is at Akron, even better. One player really didn't do anything for UCONN. It wasn't until they were able to use the minor success from one player to attract better players years down the road that the program really took off. It may take more than Zeke's four years at Akron.

We've already had the small successes, starting with Romeo and Dru. Their accomplishments would seem laughable at a major program: 1 NIT appearance in four years, no conference titles, no NCAA appearances, ect. but the foundation they created has allowed for a sustained level of relative success. The recruiting classes have steadily become more talented, the wins have kept coming, and we have made incremental steps towards where we need to go since they first came here: two post-season wins, one win against a "major" program in a tournament, two back-to-back appearances in the conference championship game, increased attendance/interest.I'm not going to put the tremendous pressure of transforming a team that hasn't been dancing in over 20 years into a "Gonzaga"-type school in just four years. I do, however, expect the program to take further steps towards legitimacy as a basketball power. It seems like there are only two steps left to take towards that legitimacy: winning the MAC tournament, and winning a game or two in the Big Dance. I believe Zeke can get us there, surrounded by the great talent we already have. It's a snowball effect, and I feel that Zeke is a huge catalyst in getting things rolling. We may not become a "Gonzaga" in his time here, but we will take a major step foward thanks to him.

[skip-zip]

I just have a problem with people predicting the future growth of a college basketball program, and basing that on players who have not even stepped on campus yet, let alone practice or play in a single game. Zeke appears to be a great recruit for a MAC school. Only time will tell.Speaking of recruits who have not stepped on campus...I was hanging out recently with some old area high school coaching buddies of mine, most of whom are very in touch with what is going on at Akron since they have players that get attention from the Akron staff. They shared a few things with me about what they are hearing, and one of the things that caught my attention was our crop of incoming guards. What surprised me a bit, since I keep hearing so much hype on here about these guys, is that the words "project", "needs development" and "redshirt" are being mentioned with their names. They are telling me to expect to see Ronnie Steward running our offense for the next several years. I guess this is how things are shaking out at this point. We'll see how it all unfolds. I just think that many people on this site (including me) have sort of forgotten about Ronnie, and what a prized recruit he was for us, with all of the hype that has surrounded the successful recruiting of guys like Sullivan and Hitchens the following year.

[zipseuph]

I love the idea, frankly, of aiming high (whoops, I AM an Air Force man after all)

Well as an Army man I prefer the idea of suck it up and follow me

[Quickzips]

I know it's a great catch phrase and everything, but I'm honestly not worried about being, "the Gonzaga of the East." We need to focus on making our own legacy, not trying to mimick someone elses. This program is definitley headed in the right direction. We have a great coaching staff. I think one of the things that often gets overlooked with our program is the kind of stability KD brings. Not only is he a great coach, but he's an Akron guy through and through. Recruits coming in here don't have to worry about whether or not this guy is gonna bolt for TCU or Bradley in the next couple years. That spills over in to great recruiting which we are already starting to see. I hope and believe that Zeke is just going to be the start of a long line of blue chip recruits that fall our way. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the true test of Zeke's value to this program will be determined by whether or not he represents a new trend in Akron recruiting or simply a one time, stars line up kind of situation. The other big thing that could take this program further, and I have a feeling we will see it sometime in the next 5-10 years, is a new basketball ARENA. The JAR is the only thing that I can really see long term holding us back. We're not at that point yet. Heck, we haven't even been able to fill it regularly. I expect us to get to that point though, and when we do it won't be too long before we need to start looking at a bigger arena.

[GoZips]

I was hanging out recently with some old area high school coaching buddies of mine, most of whom are very in touch with what is going on at Akron since they have players that get attention from the Akron staff. They shared a few things with me about what they are hearing, and one of the things that caught my attention was our crop of incoming guards. What surprised me a bit, since I keep hearing so much hype on here about these guys, is that the words "project", "needs development" and "redshirt" are being mentioned with their names. They are telling me to expect to see Ronnie Steward running our offense for the next several years.

No one has forgotten Ronnie Steward. He is likely to be the lead point guard until such time as some one like Hitchens can sit Ronnie down. Hopefully that will be amajor task.As things stand today Ronnie Steward will be the point guard when the season begins. Ronnie was to be the starting point guard last season until the hip flexor took himdown. By the time Ronnie was healthy it was way late in the season and far too many missed practices. The original plan was Ronnie on the point backed up by theveraitile Steve McNees. Dials would have been the two guard. Middleton was comfortable with coming off the bench as the "sixth man". The later addition of DarrylRoberts was to be a plus. And, it indeed was.As for "needs development" ... bosh. Every kid I saw at LeBron's Skills academy "needs development". Few college players ever get beyond "needs development".For that matter, few NBA players get beyond "needs development".One incoming freshman has some maturity and grade issues. He likely will find himself "red shirted". I am speaking of Andrew Parrish a sweet six-seven bangerwho loves to rebound and block shots. While the Zips could use him this Fall his long range potential is worth investing a red shirt on.Due to the size (five true freshmen) of the incoming class along with the two freshmen who were red shirted last year (Steve Swiech and Ronnie Steward) we canexpect at leas two and possibly three of the freshmen to be red shirted. It is way too early to even guess who they might be. I have some thoughts on just whomwill be red shirted, but its not time to put my foot in my mouth.From what I have seen of the kids they are in great shape. A couple have added height (CMac and Nate for sure). Most have bulked up nicely. Bardo and Swiechlook like giant pro wrasslers. No one is going to move either of them off the blocks.I hope the high school coaches have a highly favorable opinion of the incoming kids. If they don't they are just plain wrong. I trust KD and his staff to find anddevelop talent. After four seasons I think it is safe to say the The Zips coaches are among the best in finding and in developing talent. They certainly have thehard earned respect of ALL the major-major college coaches I talked with during the LSA.Mid season last year I wrote that we would be pleased with Darryl Roberts and Brett McKnight when they came online. Was I wrong? Heck no. They were stellar.This season they both will be better. These guys came to play. They will earn their minutes.One player that intrigues me is Jimmy Conyers. I think Jimmy is about to have a coming out party. He can bang and defend. A pick up in his shooting game andhe can expect major minutes.In my opinion, the Zips are badly under rated. I wrote about this before. Watch the rags and media pick the Zips as a bottom feeder in the East. No one will pickthem higher than fourth. See where the Zips finish. My prediction is that the Zips will play well enough to get a first round bye and knock down over twenty wins.A trip to the NIT is with in range.

[Quickzips]

I was hanging out recently with some old area high school coaching buddies of mine, most of whom are very in touch with what is going on at Akron since they have players that get attention from the Akron staff. They shared a few things with me about what they are hearing, and one of the things that caught my attention was our crop of incoming guards. What surprised me a bit, since I keep hearing so much hype on here about these guys, is that the words "project", "needs development" and "redshirt" are being mentioned with their names. They are telling me to expect to see Ronnie Steward running our offense for the next several years.

No one has forgotten Ronnie Steward. He is likely to be the lead point guard until such time as some one like Hitchens can sit Ronnie down. Hopefully that will be amajor task.As things stand today Ronnie Steward will be the point guard when the season begins. Ronnie was to be the starting point guard last season until the hip flexor took himdown. By the time Ronnie was healthy it was way late in the season and far too many missed practices. The original plan was Ronnie on the point backed up by theveraitile Steve McNees. Dials would have been the two guard. Middleton was comfortable with coming off the bench as the "sixth man". The later addition of DarrylRoberts was to be a plus. And, it indeed was.As for "needs development" ... bosh. Every kid I saw at LeBron's Skills academy "needs development". Few college players ever get beyond "needs development".For that matter, few NBA players get beyond "needs development".One incoming freshman has some maturity and grade issues. He likely will find himself "red shirted". I am speaking of Andrew Parrish a sweet six-seven bangerwho loves to rebound and block shots. While the Zips could use him this Fall his long range potential is worth investing a red shirt on.Due to the size (five true freshmen) of the incoming class along with the two freshmen who were red shirted last year (Steve Swiech and Ronnie Steward) we canexpect at leas two and possibly three of the freshmen to be red shirted. It is way too early to even guess who they might be. I have some thoughts on just whomwill be red shirted, but its not time to put my foot in my mouth.From what I have seen of the kids they are in great shape. A couple have added height (CMac and Nate for sure). Most have bulked up nicely. Bardo and Swiechlook like giant pro wrasslers. No one is going to move either of them off the blocks.I hope the high school coaches have a highly favorable opinion of the incoming kids. If they don't they are just plain wrong. I trust KD and his staff to find anddevelop talent. After four seasons I think it is safe to say the The Zips coaches are among the best in finding and in developing talent. They certainly have thehard earned respect of ALL the major-major college coaches I talked with during the LSA.Mid season last year I wrote that we would be pleased with Darryl Roberts and Brett McKnight when they came online. Was I wrong? Heck no. They were stellar.This season they both will be better. These guys came to play. They will earn their minutes.One player that intrigues me is Jimmy Conyers. I think Jimmy is about to have a coming out party. He can bang and defend. A pick up in his shooting game andhe can expect major minutes.In my opinion, the Zips are badly under rated. I wrote about this before. Watch the rags and media pick the Zips as a bottom feeder in the East. No one will pickthem higher than fourth. See where the Zips finish. My prediction is that the Zips will play well enough to get a first round bye and knock down over twenty wins.A trip to the NIT is with in range.

After last year I'm just glad to have 3 legit point guards coming into the fold. Granted, they are all young and don't have the experience, but odds are that at least one of them will be able to step up and lead this team for the next 4 years. Dials did a commendable job last year, but you could tell it was a little bit like trying to force a square peg into a round hole. I still think McNees is more of a 2 guard and with Steward, Hitchens and Sullivan coming in this year and Dials and Cedrick no longer around to play the 2 I really hope that he plays more over there. I'm VERY intrigued for down the road seeing Parrish and Zeke out there. You wanna talk about a shot blocking duo? That combo would be a nightmare for opposing post players.As far as redshirts go, I have to believe that one or two of the guards would be included in that redshirt list. With Steward, Hitchens, Sullivan, McNees, Roberts, McClanahan and even Conyers (who I also think should be playing more 2 guard than SF, especially with Nate and B.McK at SF) the numbers just seem to indicate that one of the freshmen (Hitchens, Sullivan or McClanahan) will redshirt. Sullivan seems like an obvious choice because Ronnie is certainly going to get playing time and I think Hitchens is just too talented to let him burn a year on the bench. McClanahan might be another one. Parrish may be another redshirt candidate to allow him to focus on academics. I really think that either him or Cvetinovic will have to see some playing time though. We're rather thin behind C.McK at PF.The other thing I'm real interested to see is just how good the Swiech/Bardo combo can do inside. The MAC and particularly the MAC East lost a LOT of good post players this year (Ohio/Williams, Miami/Pollitz, Can't/Quantance, WMU/Reitz, Akron/Wood). I think the team that can find a consistent inside threat the quickest will have an edge up on the East race. Ohio already has a bit of an edge with a veteran like Tillman, and I think we've got a little edge too based on how well Chris came along last year. That will definitley be something to watch though.

[skip-zip]

Quickzips...I think you might be right about the redshirt. From the people I know who have seen both Sullivan and Hitchens play, they are all pretty unanimous that Hitchens, at least offensively, appears to be more prepared to play at the D-1A level sooner. GoZips...if you noticed in my post, I included myself in referring to those who may have somewhat forgotten about Ronnie, considering all of the hype about the newest incoming class. I agree with you when you indicate that we should all hope that Ronnie never losses that job. That would mean that things are going well.

[GoZips]

July. It is way, way too early to predict just who is likely to get tagged with a red shirt. Here's some thoughts.With two red shirt freshmen (Ronnie Steward and Steve Swiech) coming online and five incoming true freshmen it seems logical to "load" balance the team. Add in theone scholarship (Zeke) in 2009. That makes eight players. Let's split that group into two equal parts. That is, four players in each. Since there are two existing redshirt players that leaves room for just two of the current five incoming players. Red shirt three of the five for next year. That gives four players per year.Of the five incoming freshmen two are front court players (Cvetinovic and Parrish). Seems logical to red shirt one of these two. Then red shirt two of the three incoming guards (McClanahan, Sullivan, Hitchens).This balances the future recruiting four and five years in the future.Preseason injuries and grades will contribute to determining who sits out a year.

[Zip Watcher]

Zip Watcher could chime in on this one as he went to school at UCONN, but Zeke could be Akron's Cliff Robinson or Chris Smith. UCONN didn't win anything with these guys, but they were the foundatioin for the future of the program that included Don. Marshall, Donny Marshall, Ray Allen, etc. that took the program to another level after they got it winning in a very tough conference.

Missed this earlier & thought I'd comment on this now.GP1's right .. the Huskies didn't win jack with Chris Smith, or Cliff Robinson (aka Uncle Spliffy) as it pertains to NCAA. When Smith was not yet there & Spliff was a junior, they knocked off Columbus State for the NIT title. Two seasons later was known as the "Dream Season" in CT for a long time. In 1990, UC finally broke through and won the Big East Tourney, and advanced to the Elite 8, where Laetner beat them on a last second shot after a Tate George turnover. In the Sweet 16 that year, they blew up some brackets with the length of the court inbounds pass from Scott Burrell to George for a turnaround buzzer beater to beat Clemson.Prior to 89-90, UC had won a total of ONE game in 8 conference tournaments. ONE. Cliff was a big player and has been a good pro, but the program build really came after him. He enabled the recruitment of Smith, Burrell .. and then Smith was a lead in to the freshman class of 1991-92 which had 6 or 7 guys, including Donyell Marshall, Kevin Ollie, Donny Marshall and 3 other guys (Rudy Johnson, Nantambu Willingham, Brian Fair) who were all highly regarded coming in. It's these guys who really turned the program up stream, with Donyell leading the way. I'll maintain to this day that the 93-94 team which included Donyell and Ray Allen would whip either UConn title winning team had Calhoun learned how to finish games. Through the early & mid 90's, UConn would get up big in tournament games, milk leads .. and then squander them late. Even when Rip Hamilton & co. broke through .. they had some scares in games with a big lead that they had to win late. The Washington game comes to mind.When you get right down to it, they had great players (Marshall was unanimous consensus All American) but the program didn't know *how to win* .. they had to learn that lesson first. Sound familiar?Back to the Zips:I in no way want to place undue pressure on any one individual or team to live up to comparisons .. but this is the summertime and there's speculation to be had, so here goes:- If we consider the UC comparison, the Zips are ahead of where UConn was in 1988. Prior to 88 UConn had 10 years of 1 conference tournament win, Zero NCAA tournament appearances, and ONE NIT appearance in which they went 1-1. In the past 4 seasons, the Zips have won 6 conference tourney games, and gone 2-2 in 2 NIT appearances. In FOUR years. Certainly the conferences have differences, but the fact is UConn was recruiting in an environment when they had national TV exposure .. played GTown & Cuse 2 times per season .. and they couldn't muster much.- Now GP1's question: I think that Jeremiah Wood, along with Travis, Joyce, Middleton & Dials represent Akron's Cliff Robinson and Chris Smith. These are the guys that have shepherded the Zips from absolute mediocrity to expecting to have success in conference tourney games, and winning in the NIT. None of them are going to have a 20 year NBA career, I agree .. but relative to what Spliffy did for UConn .. I think Wood is the best example. He's been here as the team bought into a new system, learned how to win .. learned to defend the home court. And the 5 of them won nearly 100 games in 4 seasons.- As to who is Donyell Marshall & Ray Allen? That's anyone's guess. I think it could be Zeke .. he has high major talent, upside & size. He's on the fringes of being HS All American. But this class coming in may as a group represent the 91-92 class for UConn. Several guys .. a whole lineup of talent .. major talent infusion throughout the roster. It may take a year or so for the class to exceed the results of the prior class (as it did Donyell & co.) but when they get the ground underneath them, the upside is much higher.- If KD & co. can land one more top 50 recruit in the class of 2010, then I think the table is set. It's probably set already, but if the Conyers & CMcKnight spots are filled by guys capable of coming in and competing for court time right away .. the moving of recruiting upstream will really have taken hold. All made possible by Wood & Co., with some LBJ effect. Zeke is the first top flight guy .. and that makes him the recruiting equivalent to Donyell (no relation that I know of) .. whether the on court impact measures up will be the fun of the next several years at the JAR.

[GoZips]

Zip Watcher, good and interesting post. I can not speak about UCONN as I have never followed themclosely. One point you made is something I have been pondering for some time. While the coachingstaff says that they are a wing forward away from having all the pieces in place, I wonder if the Zipsactually have all the pieces as you suggested.Nikola Cvetinovic is bigger and more powerful than he first seemed to be from a distance. Up closethis kid is a beast. He could well be the back up to Chris McKnight at power forward. I wonder ifNik and CMAC along with Nate Linhart could make up the Zips front court this year.The back court is awash in young talent.Where does this leave Brett McKnight; whom coach Dambrot predicted would be the Zips leading scorer in 2008-08? Personally I think if Brett moves to wing and after Nate he is the Zips wing man fortwo years. Now we know that Brett is a wing man. However, Brett is just a slightly smaller version of thegreat Jeremiah Wood. Brett is not the rebounder that Wood was. If Brett picks up his rebounding itbecomes nearly impossible to keep him off the court.I am curious how Mike Bardo and Steve Swiech fit into the plan. Both have strengths and weaknesses.Bardo saw a fair amount of playing time last season. Swiech is an unknown per actual game minutes.Do the Zips go to a line up that includes a true center before the arrival of Zeke?