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Ohio Basketball Topic
Topic: Terry Pluto's take on Ohio and Akron
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Bobcat Swag
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Posted: 4/9/2012 10:36 PM
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http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/index.ssf/2012/04/coa...

Good story. Coming from the area, I always enjoy Pluto's articles. Usually he sticks to the local NE Ohio colleges, but it's nice to see him take a look at the conference as a whole.
Brian Smith (No, not that one)
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Brian Smith (No, not that one)
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Posted: 4/10/2012 1:10 AM
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"My only concern is expectations [at Akron] have been raised so high," said Dambrot. "It's like some people expect us to win an NCAA tournament game every year.

I actually don't disagree with this quote by Dambrot in the spirit I'm sure he said it... after all, it's unrealistic to expect to win an NCAA game every year in the MAC. Heck, a lot of major schools don't win a game in the tourney every year. But if you make this statement, you should have AT LEAST ONE NCAA tourney win under your belt. I think Akron expects a -- as in one -- win in the NCAA tournament from him. Not every year yet.

It just surprised me he'd put this on the record. It sounds like he's saying Akron fans should be happy to get to the MAC championship game and happy to get to the tourney. That's not the next level that Pluto is writing about.
The Optimist
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Posted: 4/10/2012 1:21 AM
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The best part about OUr current group of players is their expectations for themselves.  
OUVan
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Posted: 4/10/2012 1:36 AM
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Brian Smith wrote:expand_more
"My only concern is expectations [at Akron] have been raised so high," said Dambrot. "It's like some people expect us to win an NCAA tournament game every year.


I think "any" year would suffice, Keith.
Cat4ever
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Posted: 4/10/2012 7:24 AM
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IMHO, sans flawed formularies and NCAA basketball committee bias, Akron would have been at The Dance this year along with OUr team ... and capable of winning a game (or two) along with OUr team. The Zips were a very good basketball team -- IMO the most "complete" team in OUr conference.
Eagle66
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Posted: 4/10/2012 8:44 AM
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I liked some of thew quotes in the article about making the MAC a league that shouldnt lose coaches to other mid majors.  I also wonder if Dambrot reached out to JC about the Duquesene job or if JC contacted Dambot.
Ohio69
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Posted: 4/10/2012 8:50 AM
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Brian Smith wrote:expand_more
"My only concern is expectations [at Akron] have been raised so high," said Dambrot. "It's like some people expect us to win an NCAA tournament game every year.


I have this same concern about Ohio Bobcat basketball.  Can the fan/student interest and excitement be sustained if we do not return to the NCAA tournament in 2013?  I have my doubts.
Ozcat
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Posted: 4/10/2012 9:35 AM
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Ohio69 wrote:expand_more
I have this same concern about Ohio Bobcat basketball.  Can the fan/student interest and excitement be sustained if we do not return to the NCAA tournament in 2013?  I have my doubts.

At this level?  Probably not.  But even with a NIT bid and early exit, we would still lead the conference in attendance the following season by a comfortable margin.

Great article.  Hopefully those two guys will be battling for years to come.  I'd love to see them get the MAC back to a 2-bid league.
Brian Smith (No, not that one)
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Brian Smith (No, not that one)
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Posted: 4/10/2012 11:44 AM
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Ohio69 wrote:expand_more
"My only concern is expectations [at Akron] have been raised so high," said Dambrot. "It's like some people expect us to win an NCAA tournament game every year.


I have this same concern about Ohio Bobcat basketball.  Can the fan/student interest and excitement be sustained if we do not return to the NCAA tournament in 2013?  I have my doubts.


Students? No. Unless you're a top 25 program in the sense that you're sitting in the rankings every week for years, I don't think students are interested anymore...and that applies to everything in life. If it isn't page one, they aren't going to care about it. A nation full of George Steinbrenners in a sense.

Everyone else? Yes. You can build a season ticket base to make sure you are putting 7,000 or 8,000 fans in seats every game, with huge gates on Saturdays. Ohio isn't far off from that now.
giacomo
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Posted: 4/10/2012 12:38 PM
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I heard through the grapevine that Dambrot has a clause in his contract that guarantees him a certain percentage of whatever the top MAC hoop salary is. Us upping the ante certainly helped him and he is getting a raise. It's probably the only reason he didn't bolt for Duquesne.
MedinaCat
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Posted: 4/10/2012 2:09 PM
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giacomo wrote:expand_more
Us upping the ante certainly helped him and he is getting a raise. It's probably the only reason he didn't bolt for Duquesne.
His son will be a senior at SVSM this coming school year. In the spring and fall you will find him at his son's soccer games/practice as a spectator and I imagine he tries to get to his b-ball games when it doesn't conflict with the Zip travel schedule. He is a family man and I believe a large part of why he stayed put(plus the fact that Duquesne is not a great job)
giacomo
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Posted: 4/10/2012 4:15 PM
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Duquesne isn't as bad as some might think. They have recently upgraded their facilities to include a basketball practice facility and Palumbo Center has all chairback seats. The pay is pretty good and it would include much more staff and staff pay than a typical MAC program. They fly mostly charter and the A-10 routinely gets 3-4 NCAA bids and a few NIT bids. They haven't won in years, so if you win, you're a hero. Plus, Pittsburgh has a very good quality of life and is just big enough to have lot's of things most college town don't have.
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