Miscellaneous

After a ground-breaking 2006, the university athletics almost universally let its fans down.

Still, there were plenty of exciting moments. And, as you all know, 2007 promises greater prospects…

1. NIT appearance — In its first postseason game in 17 years, Akron ended the John Cheney era at Temple, downing the Owls 80-73 and delivering the program’s first-ever Division I postseason win. It was a coming-of-age game for Quade Milum, who showed what he had in store for next season by dropping 13 points and five rebounds over a taller front line. Akron then traveled to Nebraska to play Creighton, who outshot the Zips to win, 71-60.

2. NC State victory — Dennis Kennedy barely crossed the goalline before time expired, giving Akron its first win over an ACC school. J.D. Brookhart could have kicked a field goal for the tie, but he made the right call. Unfortunately, Akron forfeited all its momentum the next week when turnovers and poor kicking prevented Akron from winning at the eventual MAC Champion Central Michigan Chippewas.

3. NCAA Track championships — Akron sent six athletes to the national championships and four left as All-Americans. As a team, the men finished 49th and women came in 70th. Coach Dennis Mitchell lost three of those All-Americans, but three other NCAA qualifiers, Auston Papay, Randall Hafner and Natalie Sako, will return.

4. Kest’s torrid streak — When Jodi Kest arrived at Akron, who could have expected Akron to run off six straight wins and be 7-5 at this point in the season? Her rebuilding Zips have made progress each game this season. Two questions remain: Will they play this well during the MAC season? And will anyone show up at Rhodes Arena?

5. Resigning coaches – Mack Rhoades achieved his main goal in the first year of his term as Akron’s athletic director when Brookhart and Keith Dambrot signed similar extensions keeping them in the Rubber City until the next decade. Brookhart has excelled in recruiting. Dambrot has proven to be a defensive expert. Both certainly earned their raises.

Honorable mentions –

• Akron finally signed an elite big man in Steve Swiech — the 29th best center in the nation from Elizabeth, Pa.
• Zips receiver Domenik Hixon heard his name called in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. As soon as his ailing foot heals, he will catch passes from Denver’s Jay Cutler.
• The women’s soccer team started its season with seven straight wins. Catherine Byrne’s Zips could not keep that momentum as they went 4-7 in MAC play.
• Akron avoided punishment from the NCAA by surpassing the 15,000 average attendance at home games. That was actual attendance and paid attendance. Talking to members of the athletic department, meeting the goal was a significant accomplishment that had some people worrying.

Men’s basketball

You might see Quade Milum starting in Romeo Travis’ spot for the rest of the season.

According to the PD’s Elton Alexander, Travis actually lost his place in the lineup.

In Terry Pluto’s game story, Keith Dambrot said he likes the offensive boost Travis can provide off the bench. (By the way, for those of you who are convinced Pluto doesn’t care about the Zips, I heard last night that he requested to write the game story. A columnist asking to write a game story is rare.)

Pluto also talks about the development of Milum, who looked terrified on the court last year (with the exception of the Temple NIT win). Now it seems he has confidence with his hook shot and absolutely loves the put-back dunk.

In my conversations with Dambrot, I get the sense the coach wants something more out of Travis. He’ll gladly compliment Dru Joyce and even Jimmy Conyers. When it comes to Travis, it’s typically "Yeah, but…" Maybe he wants more effort from his preseason conference player of the year. Once he gets it, I’ll bet Travis reclaims his spot in the lineup.

• Akron’s RPI jumped 15 spots to 165. Next up is a Tuesday road game at No. 151 Youngstown State.
• The Zips can’t afford to look forward to Saturday’s game in Athens. YSU (6-7) boasts road wins over Central Michigan, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Kent State.
• I’ll provide a full breakdown of the Penguins in the next few days.

Men’s basketball

On a night I didn’t hear a single "defense" chant, Akron displayed plenty of it.

The Zips forced 30 turnovers and held Loyola Marymount to 36 percent shooting in their 92-52 win Friday night at Rhodes Arena.

Also in common Zips fashion, no one player carried the offense. Rather, eight players scored at least eight points.

Dru Joyce played sparingly due to strep throat. Despite the 40-point margin, the team felt his absence with 19 turnovers, compared to 19 assists.

I am confident to say Akron is ready for MAC play to begin. The offense has stuttered at times, but it is still one of the conference’s best. The defense is easily top-25 quality.

My main concern now is foul shooting. The Zips were 13 of 22 tonight. The season average is around 64 percent. The Zips’ opponents have shot about 70 percent. Just like an extra point in football, free throws are not part of the core concept of the sport, yet they can cost you victories. Romeo Travis, in particular, needs to start making the front end of a one-and-one.

I’ll have more on the game tomorrow.

Women’s basketball

Sarah Tokodi and the Zips dominated on both ends of the court to win their sixth straight against Niagara, a feat unmatched since 1981.

Tokodi finished with 26 points, six assists and four rebounds to help the 69-42 cause.

The Zips (7-5) also used solid defense to keep the Purple Eagles (8-5) to 26 percent shooting.

I think Akron has proven plenty in nonconference play. The real tests will come Wednesday against Bowling Green and Jan. 6 versus Kent State.

Men’s basketball

As I expected, the Zips are a huge favorite to beat Loyola Marymount tonight at 8.

Oddsmakers say Akron will win by between 17 and 18.5 points. Danny Sheridan agrees.

I’d be curious to see the spread if Matthew Knight and Brandon Worthy were healthy.

I think the spread is a good one. Akron should win by about 20 unless Adoyah Miller gets incredibly hot and none of the Zips’ 3-pointers fall. The over-under is 136. If you really want something to bet on, take the over.

Tonight will be the game we see Romeo Travis and Jeremiah Wood both play well. Without having much of a challenge defending Damian Martin, Dru Joyce will also have a big night. I’m always excited to see more improvement from Jimmy Conyers.

Prediction: Akron 83, LMU 64

• The Buchtelite’s Kiel Fleming started his own local sports blog. He gives the excruciating play-by-play, and says Akron wins 74-60.

Women’s basketball

Akron (6-5) will have a difficult test tonight at 5:30 in Niagara (8-4).

The Purple Eagles and Zips have played two common opponents, Cleveland State and Duquesne. Akron won both. Niagara split.

Look for this to be the most competitive game at Rhodes Arena tonight.

• The ABJ’s Michael Beaven wrote about the success the women have had this season, and the success they are likely to see in the coming years. In case you didn’t see the paper, this story was the centerpiece on the sports front. It included a really cool photo of Jessie Crooks by Ken Love.

Men’s basketball

Although it’s a long shot Romeo Travis or Dru Joyce will hear their names called next June, scouts are paying attention, possibly for a training camp invitation.

Adam Ferrise reports the Dallas Mavericks sent a scout to look at four of Nevada’s starters, as well as Akron’s two seniors. The Portland Trailblazers and Cleveland Cavaliers (Danny Ferry) also had representatives in attendance at Rhodes Arena on Saturday.

This is just my humble opinion, but these guys will get an invitation to camp. Their connection to LeBron James all but assures them of that.

• The ABJ’s Michael Beaven previewed Akron’s next game against Loyola Marymount. He talks about the Lions’ size, even without the injured Matthew Knight, who is out for a month after spraining his knee last week.

I’ll have more on the game tomorrow.

Football

Here’s a breakdown of how other MAC teams are doing this recruiting season according to Rivals.com…

Three-star (or higher) recruits…

• 3 - Akron
• 1 - Miami, Temple, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Toledo, Ball State, Western Michigan
• 0 - Northern Illinois, Ohio, Kent, Central Michigan, Eastern Michgan

Total points…

• Akron - 116
• Miami - 81
• Ball State - 44
• Northern Illinois - 42
• Ohio - 41
• Western Michigan - 37
• Kent - 33
• Temple - 32
• Central Michigan - 30
• Eastern Michigan - 24
• Bowling Green, Buffalo, Toledo - 17

Of course, these are only preliminary numbers. Signing day isn’t until February. We’ll see then if anyone can catch up with Akron.

By the way, Scout.com has Miami in the lead. That site, however, is way behind in updating Akron’s recruits. It only lists 10 of the 16 from Rivals.com. I’m not being biased; Rivals is just much better at analyzing this part of the country.

Men’s basketball

It’s a good thing Akron is playing Loyola Marymount on Friday at 8 p.m., rather than two weeks ago.

In its past two games, the Lions have seen their top two scorers, and senior leaders, fall to knee injuries.

Matthew Knight, a 6-foot-8 forward-center, averaged 17.2 points and 8.7 rebounds before straining his knee in a loss to Long Beach State on Friday. Brandon Worthy, a 6-2 guard, is out for the year after tearing his ACL during a win over Boise State on Dec. 19. He was averaging 18.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists.

You might be thinking this is good for Akron. Not really. For their RPI, the Zips needed Loyola to be better than 8-6 at this point in the season. And they hope the Lions can compete without Worthy and Knight, perhaps snagging a win over conference rival Gonzaga. Right now, Loyola Marymount has an RPI of 117 — which will still boost Akron’s No. 319 strength of schedule.

Of course, you’re wondering if Akron can lose. I don’t think so. Although much thinner, the Lions still have talent, however. Two seniors stand out: 6-5 guard Adoyah Miller, who led Loyola Marymount with 20 points against Long Beach and 23 against Boise State, and 6-9 center Derick Grubb, the team’s fourth-leading scorer at 5.8 points per game.

After the key injuries, LMU’s only weapon on offense is Miller, who is shooting 43 percent from 3-point range. He recently earned the West Coast Conference Player of the Week honors.

The Lions have struggled all season in shooting just 40 percent from the field, compared the their opponents’ 45 percent. Rebounding is another concern for LMU — even before Knight went down.

Behind solid point guard Damian Martin, the Lions are able to distribute and take care of the ball. If you want Martin to score, however, he’ll need a turn-by-turn directions to the bucket. He averages only 3.4 points in 28.4 minutes a game.

Unlike the game against Nevada, Akron should be able to play its game and win without adapting too much to LMU. But here is a challenge for Keith Dambrot and the staff: Run an effective offense against the zone. Nevada’s zone paralyzed the Zips’ ball movement and play calling in the second half. It certainly won’t be the last zone defense Akron faces, so I am excited to see what progress the staff made this week.

Regardless, Akron wins big. It’s time to start a new winning streak at the JAR.

Women’s basketball

Before the men’s game, I recommend coming to watch the women battle Niagara at 5:30.

The Zips (6-5) play exciting basketball. You’re likely to get your fill of blown layups and turnovers, but you’ll also see plenty of hustle plays from Jodi Kest’s Zips.

The team has a nice mix of outstanding underclassmen (Niki McCoy, Riana Miller and Sarah Tokodi) with the experience of Jessie Crooks.

• McCoy, a sophomore forward, is the MAC East Player of the Week.

Men’s basketball

After reading several of your e-mails, I think Zips fans have reached a consensus: Akron will only play in the NCAA Tournament by winning the MAC Tournament.

With an RPI of 197, the Zips will need a nearly flawless remainder of the regular season to be a bubble team. And as Ray Mernagh showed in his new book, 1 Chance 2 Dance, the selection comittee probably considers the MAC a one-bid conference.

The Zips had perhaps their last chance to make an argument against that on Saturday. Despite only losing by two, Akron lost respect in the Mid-Major Top 25, falling from ninth to 14th.

With the MAC, as a whole, lacking big wins this season, even a 14-2 or 13-3 conference record won’t impress the committee much. The Zips would need to couple that with a win over a big name in the Bracket Buster game and breezing through the remaining scheduled nonconference games against Loyola Marymount, Youngstown State and Duquesne.

In many ways, this team has exceeded my expectations. Jeremiah Wood is the same energetic rebounder and scorer that I remember before his knee injury. Nick Dials has looked better without his knee brace. Team defense has been excellent.

Unfortunately, the Zips lost three games by a combined 10 points. Those 10 points will likely be the reason Akron must win it all in Cleveland.

Either today or tomorrow, I will break down Loyola Marymount, Akron’s opponent on Friday.

• Dru Joyce is the MAC East Player of the Week.

Football

Andy Alleman said he didn’t get anything really cool for Christmas.

It was the day after when he received an invitation to the NFL Combine in the mail.

The event, Feb. 21 through 27, includes about 10 players at each position most likely to be drafted.

If you remember, Domenik Hixon was not invited last year, but the Broncos still drafted him in the fourth round.

Alleman might have even higher potential. NFLDraftScout.com lists him as a third or fourth rounder and the fourth-best guard in the draft. The site also says his stock is rising.

If you haven’t noticed, the Cleveland Browns could really use two guards. They will probably go through free agency for one, the draft for the other. You might see Alleman follow Charlie Frye north on I-77.

"It would be nice to go there," Alleman said. "Believe me."

• Speaking of going pro, Elton Alexander wrote an interesting feature about Romeo Travis’ potential to be an NFL player.

Men’s basketball

The Buchtelite’s Dan Kadar and Kiel Fleming wrote their Christmas wish list in song format. I’ll post their melodies below.

You might have read these already. But much like major cable networks, I’m going with re-runs during holidays. Merry Christmas to you and yours…

Jingle Bells, rewritten by Kadar

An open fast break, O’er the teams they go, winning all the way. HaHaHa Bells on scoreboards ring, the M-A-C is tight, What a joyous ride, let’s beat Ohio in spite.

O! Let’s go Zips, let’s go Zips, let’s go all the way! O what fun it is to ride To a berth in the NCAA’s, hey! Let’s go Zips, let’s go Zips, let’s go all the way! O what fun it is to ride To a berth in the NCAA’s

A week or two ago, I thought that they might slide But after beating Oral, this team I’ll never chide; Quade is lean and lank, he dunks the ball a lot; Get into the paint and Joyce gets him his shot.

O! Let’s go Zips, let’s go Zips, let’s go all the way! O what fun it is to ride To a berth in the NCAA’s, hey! Let’s go Zips, let’s go Zips, let’s go all the way! O what fun it is to ride To a berth in the NCAA’s

A few weeks ago, the story I must tell I went out to practice, Dambrot sure can yell Don’t take it hard Rome, you’re the horse leading this sleigh You’ll leave here in glory, with a shot at the NBA

O! Let’s go Zips, let’s go Zips, let’s go all the way! O what fun it is to ride To a berth in the NCAA’s, hey! Let’s go Zips, let’s go Zips, let’s go all the way! O what fun it is to ride To a berth in the NCAA’s

Now the ground is white, win it while you’re here Beat up on Kent, and win the MAC this year Just get a Nevada win and you will be set Boy these Zips are good, I’d take them in a bet.

O! Let’s go Zips, let’s go Zips, let’s go all the way! O what fun it is to ride To a berth in the NCAA’s, hey! Let’s go Zips, let’s go Zips, let’s go all the way! O what fun it is to ride To a berth in the NCAA’s

12 Days of Christmas, rewritten by Fleming

On the first day of Christmas Akron needs to see A new quarterback for J.D.

On the second day of Christmas Akron needs to see Two b-ball wins against Kent, And a new quarterback for J.D.

On the third day of Christmas Akron needs to see Three star recruits, Two basketball wins against Kent, And a new quarterback for J.D.

On the fourth day of Christmas Akron needs to see Four receiver slots, Three star recruits, Two basketball wins against Kent, And a new quarterback for J.D.

On the fifth day of Christmas Akron needs to see, Five track and field All-Americans, Four receiver slots, Three star recruits, Two basketball wins against Kent, And a new quarterback for J.D.

On the sixth day of Christmas Akron needs to see Six terrific coaches not leaving, Five track and field All-Americans, Four receiver slots, Three star recruits, Two basketball wins against Kent, And a new quarterback for J.D.

On the seventh day of Christmas Akron needs to see Seven tournament wins, Six terrific coaches not leaving, Five track and field All-Americans, Four receiver slots, Three star recruits, Two basketball wins against Kent, And a new quarterback for J.D.

On the eighth day of Christmas Akron needs to see Elite-eight soccer appearance, Seven tournament wins, Six terrific coaches not leaving, Five track and field All-Americans, Four receiver slots, Three star recruits, Two basketball wins against Kent, And a new quarterback for J.D.

On the ninth day of Christmas Akron needs to see Nine baseball players winning, Elite-eight soccer appearance, Seven tournament wins, Six terrific coaches not leaving, Five track and field All-Americans, Four receiver slots, Three star recruits, Two basketball wins against Kent, And a new quarterback for J.D.

On the 10th day of Christmas Akron needs to see Ten Romeo Travis rebounds a game, Nine baseball players winning, Elite-eight soccer appearance, Seven tournament wins, Six terrific coaches not leaving, Five track and field All-Americans, Four receiver slots, Three star recruits, Two basketball wins against Kent, And a new quarterback for J.D.

On the 11th day of Christmas Akron needs to see Eleven stars on defense, Ten Romeo Travis rebounds a game, Nine baseball players winning, Elite-eight soccer appearance, Seven tournament wins, Six terrific coaches not leaving, Five track and field All-Americans, Four receiver slots, Three star recruits, Two basketball wins against Kent, And a new quarterback for J.D.

On the 12th day of Christmas Akron needs to see Twelve more months of the Zips winning, Eleven stars on defense, Ten Romeo Travis rebounds a game, Nine baseball players winning, Elite-eight soccer appearance, Seven tournament wins, Six terrific coaches not leaving, Five track and field all Americans, Four receiver slots, Three star recruits, Two basketball wins against Kent, And a new quarterback for J.D.!

Men’s basketball

Keith Dambrot had just signed a five-year contract extension. His team had a shot to take a top-25 team to overtime.

Yet he was clearly upset after the game. Why? The attendance.

Terry Pluto talks about the problem in his column today. Dambrot suggests giving tickets to every kid in the city. It sounds like a terrific idea to me.

Something the former athletic department understood was making an investment in the fans, even if it means suffering in the short run. They paid to take 9,000 fans to the Motor City Bowl. Did that make economic sense? Of course not. But it had to play a part in Akron meeting the NCAA’s requirement of averaging 15,000 fans at the Rubber Bowl this season.

UA certainly should not forget the suburbs. Growing up in Stow, I never heard much about Akron sports, except reading the occasional Pluto column. Here’s what you do… Pick a high school or two each home game, excluding Kent State and OU. Provide each student with a ticket voucher he or she can redeem at the gate.

It’s worth a shot. To see the endzones so empty last night was depressing. Also, what’s the deal with the AK-Rowdies? By bringing a total of about 50, they are not making a case to keep the seats behind each hoop.

• In Tom Gaffney’s game story, Nevada coach Mark Fox says he was pleased with how well his zone defense worked.
• And here is Elton Alexander’s game story.
• Kent State lost to Youngstown State last night 62-58. The ABJ’s Stephanie Storm writes the team was still tired from its grueling game at Duke earlier in the week. I don’t want to say "I told you so" just yet. But with losses to Cleveland State and YSU, the Flashes certainly haven’t looked like a team that reloads.
• I do believe, however, that KSU will give Akron two good games and the Flashes will be above .500 in the MAC. As a buddy from OU suggested last night, the MAC will come down to the Zips and Bobcats.

Men’s basketball

As a Zips fan, you should be content with the team’s effort tonight.

Nevada won, 73-71, snapping Akron’s 21-game winning streak at Rhodes Arena. Dru Joyce missed a runner at the buzzer to tie the game.

But the team played well and proved it can compete with the nation’s elite.

Like Akron’s loss at Illinois-Chicago, free throws were an issue. The Zips were 14 for 23, compared to the Wolf Pack’s 18 for 21.

Both teams kept turnovers low, but a few from Joyce stand out as basically being unforced, such as an uncontested pass when Nick Dials wasn’t looking. Joyce made up for it with 23 points to lead the team.

Dambrot showed incredible faith in his defense in the last minute. Down two with about 43 seconds left, he opted to play defense, rather than foul. I think 90 percent of coaches would foul, but Nevada is a strong foul shooting team. Still, it almost paid off.

Give credit to the coaching staff for adjusting to slow Nevada’s superstar Nick Fazekas, who disappeared in the second half. Jeremiah Wood played admirable defense on Fazekas.

I also liked how they attacked the 6-foot-11 future pro in the paint. I don’t know why Keith Dambrot abandoned that play, especially when the offense stagnated in the last 10 minutes of the game. Dambrot used more substitutions than I have ever seen in a basketball game. It looked like a hockey game with the line changes.

Nick Dials and Cedrick Middleton had subpar games, combining for 11 points. Romeo Travis, who scored 11, also will leave this game off his highlight reel.

Just as I thought Jimmy Conyers would win the small forward starting job, Nate Linhart had the game of his season. His shooting was nothing special, but he scrapped for several rebounds and won many hustle plays. Conyers was solid in the first half, but really needs to be more confident.

Danny Ferry and LeBron James were in attendance. Other than that, fan support was lackluster. The crowd was loud, but the game was far from a sellout. One positive: Tonight was the first time fans in the expensive seats showed a pulse. My suggestion is to pregame. Rowdiness increases with beer. Maybe load Tommy Evans Lounge with a keg. Distinguished alumni can become AK-Rowdies with some keg stands of Milwaukee’s Best aka The Beast.

I’ll have more on the game tomorrow.