UofAZIPS.com Blog

MEN’S SUMMER BASKETBALL PREIVEW

Akron head basketball coach Keith Dambrot says the Zips will not only have the youngest team in the Mid-American Conference this season, but one of the youngest in the nation. That said, Dambrot still expects his Zips to win this year.

GoZips.com

Men’s Basketball 2008-09 Prospectus

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MAC FOOTBALL PREDICTIONS - DAY 2

The reaction to this week’s MAC Media Day continues to come in…

The Midland Daily News takes an in-depth look into the career of Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour. CMU, LED BY LE FEVOUR, PICKED TO WIN MAC…Midland Daily News

Central Michigan may now be “the man,” as The Morning Sun of Mt. Pleasant reports, but Western Michigan and Ball State are two schools that could rip that well-worn title away. MAC TO BE BALANCING ACT IN 2008.

Miami joins Bowling Green and Buffalo as the three teams “anointed” to lead the MAC East in 2008. So reports that bastion of journalism integrity, The Pulse-Journal of Liberty TWP Ohio.

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I’ll give the Pulse-Journal credit — they seem to devote a lot of coverage to the MAC, even if the story hook is old news, like the MAC produces good quarterbacks. QUARTERBACKS HAVE EXCELLED IN THE MAC.

Contact Don Olson at: donolson160@yahoo.com

HOME GAME TIMES ANNOUNCED FOR QUIRKY SCHEDULE

The University of Akron Athletic Department announced the home game times for the 66th and final season for the Zips in the Rubber Bowl.

I’ve said from the beginning that this schedule has its pros and cons. I like the fact that most games are on Saturday. However, once ESPN gets involved toward the end of the season, things get wacky, as usual.

Most of the home games, once again are played at night, with the exception of the Cincinnati game on September 27, which begins at 3:30 p.m. The next week, the Zips only travel to that school located in Portage County. Then, it’s back home to the bowl with a game against BG with a 6 p.m. kick off.

And what’s with two bye weeks in a row? You must really get pained into a corner to make a schedule like that. In all my years of watching Zips football, I can never remember a two consecutive weeks off. Of course, if the Zips are banged up pretty bad at that point in the season, the scheduler will look like a genius.

Another thing I don’t like about this schedule is that Akron does not play Miami. Instead, we see the Cardinals of Testicle Tech invading the Rubber Bowl (I couldn’t resist myself), the first time the Zips will play Ball State since 2004.

The September 20th game against Army in West Point will be televised by ESPN. Other than that, the Zips will only be on the four-letter network two other times during the regular season, which is probably the reason for the sanity in this year’s schedule.

However, kick off for the Thursday, November 13th game against Buffalo begins at 7 p.m. Good luck getting out of work in time to see the beginning of that one. The other weeknight home game is the previous Wednesday, November 9th against Toledo.

Since the Athletic Department is packaging season tickets for this and next season, it will be interesting to see if the incentives for first dibbs for seats in the new stadium will mean more butts in the seats at the Bowl this year.

Is the excitement beginning to build? We’ll see. I’ve been there since 1985 and don’t see changing that now. Hope to see you there!

2008 University of Akron Football Schedule

News Release from Akron Media Relations

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NIKE AND LE BRON TO DRESS THE ZIPS NEXT SEASON

“…The University of Akron is my hometown school.” LeBron James

Lets see how spiffy the basketball Zips look next season as they begin wearing Nike/LJ23 gear. Lebron and the University announced a partnership through the 2011. The remainder of the Zips athletics teams will continue their agreement with adidas until 2013.

” Because of my ties to the Akron Community, the University and Coach Keith Dambrot, it is important to me that UA is designated a Nike/Lebron James LJ23 school,” said James. “I want to be sure that Coach Dambrot’s guys look great head to toe.”

“This is just another example of LeBron’s commitment to the City of Akron, its University and our basketball program,” said Dambrot. “This announcement is important to us in many ways. It furthers our connection with one of the greatest players in the world.”

The announced partnership is great news for the basketball program. It can’t hurt recruitment to have a guy like Lebron hanging around. As for the new look, I’ll hold judgment until I see what Lebron has to offer.

Contact Don Olson at: donolson160@yahoo.com

AKRON GUARD IS NOW GUARDED

Rydell Brooks is no longer a member of the University of Akron basketball team.

Broke team rules? Nope.

Couldn’t make grades? Nope.

Attempted Murder, Felonious Assault and Carrying a Concealed Weapon? Yepper.

You see, the folks at the Hilltop frown on getting in a foot chase with police (allegedly) and shooting at them.

The University announced that Brooks has officially been expelled from school. So, instead of working out at the JAR Arena, Brooks is now sitting on his can in the Summit County clink under $1 million bond.

No real loss on the court. Brooks didn’t even play one second on the hardwood last year, and only played 18 minutes the year before. His career average is less than five points per game.

His basketball career seems to be over. If convicted, he can earn his degree from the College of Hard Knocks. Lets hope he gets his act together. Too bad he had to learn it the hard way.

UA Basketball Player Expelled Following Arrest…WKYC-TV

Akron Player is Expelled…Akron Beacon Journal

Miami Linebacker Picked Pre-Season All MAC

College Football Preview magazine has picked Clayton Mullins as one of the best players in the conference before the season even begins…Dayton Daily News

Miami Media Relations

Contact Don Olson at: donolson160@yahoo.com

LATEST SIGNING IS BLUE CHIP FROM FLORIDA

Kyle Petersen’s jersey is currently hanging in the rafters of Community School in Naples, Florida. Zips fans can only hope that the 6 foot 4 inch guard duplicates his career while wearing the blue & gold and playing in the JAR Arena.

The Zips announced that Petersen will be a preferred walk on to the team’s ‘08-’09 roster, which means he’ll have a spot on the team, but will not receive a scholarship — right off the bat anyway.

Petersen is not only a star on the hardwood, but he also performs in the classroom, graduating high school with a 3.8 grade point average.

His jersey was retired last month after he concluded a high school career that rang up 1, 217 points.

Petersen’s statistics are impressive. His senior year, he averaged 19 points with 5.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He also was selected all-state and player of the year for his high school’s division.

“Kyle is a very fundamental player,” said Akron Head Coach Keith Dambrot. “He’s a good shooter, averaging about 50 percent from the field as a senior, and has a great basketball IQ. I have no doubt that he will fit in with our current players and system very well.”

Petersen will join five others in the current recruiting class. On Monday, the Zips announced that Nikola Cvetinovic, Alex Sullivan, Andrew Parrish, Brett McClanahan and Anthony “Humpty” Hitchens have signed national letters of intent.

We are excited about our five new additions,” Dambrot said. “This class defines our recruiting philosophy of bringing in high character people, and high school players from winning programs who are also good students. We will graduate four talented scholarship seniors at the end of this season, and this signing class will address our needs when those players depart.”

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THE SUN GOES DOWN

Kent State may have Ray’s Place, but for decades, The Sun Bar & Grill has been the hot spot for University of Akron students. Long before Exchange Street morphed into the “Zip Strip,” The Sun was just about the only place to sit down with friends, order up a pitcher and play a nice game of pool. Now, it’s all gone.

The Sun will soon meet with the wrecking ball, as room is needed for InfoCision Stadium.

Sun Sets on College Bar…The Akron Beacon Journal

(photo: Ken Love/Akron Beacon Journal)

Contact Don Olson at: donolson160@yahoo.com

LOSS TO UMASS BRINGS SEASON TO AN END

AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — Ricky Harris scored 20 points and Massachusetts went on a 19-5 run to finish the game for a 68-63 win over Akron on Saturday in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament.The Minutemen (23-10) travel to Syracuse on Tuesday for a quarterfinal matchup. Massachusetts beat the Orange 107-100 in November.

Jeremiah Wood led Akron (24-11) with 25, the most points scored by any Zips player this season.

“We played well in the first eight minutes of the game and the last eight minutes,” UMass coach Travis Ford said. “But we were able to make enough plays to win.”

Akron led 58-49 with 8:36 remaining. Chris Lowe, who scored 17 points, started the comeback with a jumper in the lane. UMass pulled within 58-55 with 4:48 left, but Akron’s Cedrick Middleton, who had 14, slowed the momentum with two free throws to make it 60-55.

Drives by Lowe and Harris made it 60-59, then Lowe made four straight free throws to put UMass ahead 63-60 with 2:52 left.The Minutemen made their free throws down the stretch to hold on.”I think guys just realized this was really our last home game.

We couldn’t lose this game and we didn’t want to lose this game, especially the seniors,” said Gary Forbes, who scored 11 and had a team-high nine rebounds.

UMass opened a 27-16 lead with 7:19 remaining in the first half. The Zips cut that to 34-31 at halftime, then opened the second half with a 13-5 run for a 44-39 lead.Wood, who had 18 of his 25 points in the second half, led the way as the Zips stretched their lead to 58-46.

“At the end of the game I thought we were just tired. It was kind of like being caught between a rock and a hard place,” Akron coach Keith Dambrot said.

GAME TOO LONG FOR ZIPS…Akron Beacon Journal

UMASS WINS A WILD ONE…The Republican (Springfield, MA)

REASONS TO FEEL PROUD OF SEASON…The Republican

UMASS TOO MUCH FOR ZIPS…Worcester Telegram & Gazette News

UMASS HIGH ON LOWE…Boston Herald

UMASS SET FOR REMATCH WITH SYRACUSE…UMass Athletics

MINUTEMEN SURGE LATE TO BEAT AKRON…Boston Globe

ZIPS LOSE TO UMASS, END LONG SEASON…UofAZips.com

MEN’S BASKETBALL LOSES TO UMASS…GoZips.com

Akron-UMass Box score

Video replays

UPDATED NIT BRACKETS

COMPLETE NCAA SATURDAY RESULTS

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UNIVERSITY OF AKRON’S DAMBROT TO SPEAK…Canton Repository

NEXT UP, UMASS

The Zips’ next opponent is UMass, which came in third in the Atlantic 10 behind Xavier and Temple. Their overall record is 22-10, 10-6 in conference play. The Minutemen are impressive. They are led by Senior Gary Forbes, who is averaging 20 points per game and was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year. UMass has three other starters averaging in double-digit points per game.

GETTING INSIDE

Massachusetts carved through Stephen F. Austin in the first round of the NIT.

The Minutemen scored an 80-60 victory behind 24 points from Dante Milligan. The outburst was just the second 20-point game of the season for Milligan, who averaged eight points per game in the regular season.

The Minutemen spent Sunday evening huddled together waiting for the possibility that they’d snuck into the NCAA Tournament. A week ago, an at-large bid seemed very possible, but with a loss in the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament to Charlotte, several other bubble teams were able to ease their way into the minds of the selection committee while the Minutemen were forced to play the waiting game.

Their dreams were shattered for the second straight season.

Massachusetts was placed in the same bracket at No. 1 Syracuse, a team the Minutemen beat on the road early in the season. A showdown with the Orange cold make for very entertaining basketball, as both teams love to run and boast extremely athletic talents on the floor.

With seven wins in their last eight games, the Minutemen appear to be one of the clear-cut favorites to win the NIT. Led by Atlantic-10 Player of the Year, Gary Forbes and Most Improved Player, Ricky Harris, UMass could make a major point to the NCAA selection committee that they were overlooked for a bid.

NOTES AND QUOTES

• UMass blew an 18-point halftime lead against Charlotte in the A-10 tournament quarterfinals. It was the biggest lead the Minutemen have blown this season. They are now 15-4 when leading at the half.

• The 69-65 loss to Charlotte snapped a six-game win streak for the Minutemen.

• UMass is 29-27 all-time in the Atlantic 10 tournament, including 9-15 in the quarterfinals

Coach: Travis Ford, two years at school, two years in NIT (including this year).

Last Post-Season Appearance: Second round, 2007 NIT (W. Virginia 90, Massachusetts 77)

THEY’LL ADVANCE IF: UMass lives and dies by the 3-pointer. The Minutemen led the A-10 in 3-point attempts and makes while shooting a mediocre 36.5 percent. If Etienne Brower, Ricky Harris and Gary Forbes are hot, UMass could run the table in the NIT. With Chris Lowe at the point, you won’t find a more athletic group in the tournament.

Strategy and Personnel

If the Minutemen run into a talented, dominant big man, they’re doomed. As witnessed agains Ahmad Nivins and St. Joe’s, UMass has no answer inside for a big body that can finish near the basket. Nivins terrorized the Minutemen for 51 points and 24 rebounds in their two meetings this year.

Game Preview vs. Akron

The Minutemen will run and launch threes in transition. Another performance in the next round like the one Dante Milligan turned in against Stephen F. Austin could propel UMass to the quarter finals. Akron, seeding sixth in the region, comes off an overtime win at Florida State.

What the Zips must to do

The Zips are coming off a big win against Florida State after a disappointing loss to Kent State in the MAC championship game. As much as anything, the Zips needed to recover emotionally, and that’s exactly what they did against FSU. Akron must continue to work inside and out. They must continue to demonstrate their defensive swagger — for example, Florida State missed 10 of its first 11 shots.

(portions from Yahoo Sports)

Game notes from Akron Media Relations

Game notes from UMass Media Relations

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FLASHES MAKE MANY MISTAKES IN NCAA OPENER…Yahoo Sports

Kent State-UNLV Video Highlights

Box Score

Complete NCAA Tournament Scoreboard

NIT 2nd Round Scores

Contact Don Olson at: donolson160@yahoo.com

ZIPS CHALK UP BIG-TIME WIN

This one was for all those Zips fans who suffered through years of Bob Ruppert, Ken Cunningham, Coleman Crawford and Dan Hipsher. Since 1980, UA has played D-I basketball. We’ve scheduled one or two big-time opponents in addition to our Ohio Valley Conference or Mid-American Conference games — but we have never won.

The win against Florida State in the NIT is only the second post-season victory in either the NCAA or NIT in UA’s D-I history. In essence, this is the biggest win in our relatively short D-I basketball experience — outside of conference action.

Congratulations Coach Dambrot and the UA squad!

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AKRON UPSETS FLORIDA STATE IN FIRST ROUND…UOFAZips.com
ZIPS, DIALS RING UP SEMINOLES IN NIT…Akron Beacon Journal

DIALS HAS 13 POINTS IN OT AS AKRON BEATS FLORIDA STATE 65-60…The Plain Dealer

ZIPS SLIP BY ‘NOLES IN OVERTIME…The Plain Dealer

ZIPS TOP FSU IN NIT…Asbury Park (NJ) Press

ZIPS NEED OVERTIME TO OUST NOLES…News Observer (Raleigh, NC)

ZIPS GET FIRST WIN OVER ACC SCHOOL WITH 65-60 VICTORY OVER SEMINOLES…Miami Herald

ZIPS BOUNCE ‘NOLES FROM NIT…Times-Union (Jacksonville, FL)

PESKY AKRON ZIPS FSU OUT OF NIT…WCTV-TV (Tallahassee)

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The Zips next game is against UMASS, Saturday, March 22, at Noon on ESPN.

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UPDATED NIT BRACKET

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Contact Don Olson at: donolson160@yahoo.com

ZIPS VISIT TALLAHASSEE IN ROUND ONE OF NIT

The first thing you notice while reading the Florida State game notes, is that they’re damn-sure-fire high on themselves…

“LOOK FOR FLORIDA STATE TO…
…Defeat Akron and advance to the second round of the post-season NIT for the third consecutive season. The Seminoles defeated Butler in the first round of the 2006 NIT and bet Toledo in the first round of the 2007 NIT;
…Defeat Akron and win its 20th game of the season. It would mark the third consecutive that the Seminoles had won at least 20 games in a season and be the first time since the 1990-91, 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons that Florida State had won at least 20 games in three consecutive seasons;
…Defeat Akron and win its sixth consecutive opening round game in the NIT. Florida State has never lost a first round game in the NIT.”

Gee, I hope they don’t mind if we show up to play the game.

A look at the Seminole schedule fails to impress. Early in the season, they beat up on non-conference weaklings. Every time they played a quality ACC team, or non-conference foe, they lost…including 69-66 overtime loss to Cleveland State.

The FSU game notes boast that they have never lost a first-round NIT game. Let’s hope the streak ends this year.

The winner of the FSU/Akron game plays the winner of the Stephen F. Austin/UMass contest.

The Akron game will be televised on ESPN Classic.

Go Zips!

MEN’S BASKETBALL READIES FOR FLORIDA STATE IN NIT…GoZips.com

UNDERDOG ZIPS IN NIT TO WIN IT…Akron Beacon Journal

Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer opines on how much of a relief the NIT bids are for Akron and Cleveland State

In his blog, Mike Rasor asks the musical question, “Who is Florida State?”

Game notes from Akron media relations

Game notes from Florida State media relations

NIT Brackets

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They may be great on the court, but in the classroom, it’s a different story. The Associated Press reports that the top seeds in the NCAA Tournament are not exactly ready for the Dean’s list.

Contact Don Olson at: donolson160@yahoo.com

ZIPS TO PLAY FLORIDA STATE IN FIRST-ROUND NIT ACTION

Righting a wrong from last year, the NIT has awarded the Zips a bid. Akron will play Florida State Tuesday night at 9 p.m. The game will be televised by ESPN Classic.

Funny, the Zips get an NIT bid with a 23-win season, when last year, they were denied a post-season bid with 26 victories. Was this year’s schedule that much better than last year’s? Is the NIT making up for a mistake from 2007? Who knows? Doesn’t really matter now. But it just goes to show you how the NCAA has screwed up the NIT since taking over in 2005.

Now, the Zips are off to Florida. A quick turn-a-round from the MAC Championship game.

Florida State is 19-14. This is the third consecutive year that they have played in the NIT.

ZIPS LAND SPOT IN NIT AFTER LAST YEAR’S REJECTION…The Akron Beacon Journal

AKRON TO FACE SEMINOLES IN NIT…The Plain Dealer

OHIO STATE, AKRON GET NIT BIDS…The Canton Repository

FLORIDA STATE, FLORIDA, EACH OPEN AT HOME…Herald Tribue (Sarasota, FL)

SEMINOLES, GATORS GAIN CONSOLATION WITH NIT INVITES…Sun-Sentinel (Orlando, FL)

MEN’S BASKETBALL EARNS BID TO NIT…GoZips.com

AKRON TO PLAY FLORIDA STATE IN NIT…UofAZips.com

FLORIDA STATE PLAYS HOST TO AKRON IN FIRST ROUND OF NIT…Seminoles.com
NIT Brackets

NIT Web site

KENT STATE DRAWS UNLV IN TOURNEY…Akron Beacon Journal

KENT STATE GOES DANCING…WKYC.COM

KENT STATE WINS SECOND TITLE IN THREE YEARS…C-M Life
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113 DIVISION I POST-SEASON BIDS, AND WESTERN MICHIGAN ISN’T ONE OF THEM

Not the NCAA, not the NIT, not the CBI. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports today that Western Michigan’s basketball team will be sitting on their BUTTS during March Madness.

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QUICK EXIT FOR BRONCOS…Western Herald

Contact Don Olson at: donolson160@yahoo.com