Container Top
Homes   Jobs   Cars   Shopping
Search

Events Calendar

EVENT SEARCH:

In This Section


Most Read Stories


Blogs:


Pets:
Dogs' Bark: Not fair! Study shows pups get jealous

The Heldenfiles:
Who Will Get the Michael Media Treatment Next?

Patrick McManamon:
More on Varejao

Akron Zips:
Opponent outlook: Kent State

Browns Bulletin:
Quick thought on Browns rookies

Tribe Matters:
Wedge challenges relievers

Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth test showed marijuana

Kent State Sports:
Men's Basketball Scheduling update

Cleveland Cavaliers:
Andy’s Signed According to ESPN

All Da King's Men:
Does Medicare Have Lower Administrative Costs ?

Blog of Mass Destruction:
CIA Did Mislead Congress

Akron Law Café:
Breaking Story: CIA Lied to Congress about Secret Program

Varsity Letters:
East basketball update

See Jane Style:
Oh Baby!

Car Chase:
Where do We Go from Here?

Let's Talk Real Estate:
Closings….Not the Good Kind!

Ohio Travels with Betty:
Margy inquires-when is a Taste of Hudson?

Sound Check:
LeVert II live performance Saturday night — "Dedication" album due July 13,

HRLite House:
DDI One of Best Places to Work

Akron Gamer:
First 24 'Guitar Hero 5' songs announced

Young UA set for road battles

Zips seeking consistency before MAC schedule begins Jan. 10 at Miami

By Tom Gaffney
Beacon Journal sports writer

The maturation process for the University of Akron basketball team moves to New Jersey this weekend.

The Zips (3-1) conclude play in the Legends Classic with a game against Eastern Kentucky on Saturday night and a game against host Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday night, both in Hackensack, N.J.

Zips coach Keith Dambrot, whose team has six freshmen or sophomores in its 10-player rotation, said these are the type of November games needed to prepare for a more rigorous December and beyond.

''We just need to keep playing, getting better and getting ready for the hard stretch coming up,'' Dambrot said. ''Every time we go out, you can see us getting better in certain things. We are not great by any means.''

After the New Jersey experience, the Zips will have road games at Niagara, Virginia Commonwealth, UNC-Greensboro and Rhode Island and a home game against Dayton in preparation for the Mid-American Conference season, which opens Jan. 10 at Miami.

''We have some beasts coming up; we have a nasty schedule coming up, but that will be good for us,'' Dambrot said.

It will be good, because Dambrot said, ''The one thing I can tell you is that we have been consistently inconsistent.''

That should be expected, because UA is breaking in two freshmen — Ronnie Steward and Anthony Hitchens — at point guard and is relying on sophomore Mike Bardo and freshman Nikola Cvetinovic inside to complement some of the veterans.

A prime example of the Zips' inconsistency comes from sophomore forward Brett McKnight. He was 9-of-15 from the floor in scoring 23 points on Nov. 1 in an 86-67 loss to Pittsburgh. Then, on Tuesday night, he was 1-of-8 for five points in an 81-37 demolition of overmatched Urbana.

The inexperience and inconsistency of his Zips has Dambrot happy that the MAC sched
ule is six weeks away.

''This team needs this more than any team we have ever had,'' said Dambrot, who is in his fifth season as coach. ''They need to be put through some tests and some battles to get ready for the MAC season.''

Before playing the Zips, Eastern Kentucky and Fairleigh Dickinson will meet Friday night.

Eastern Kentucky (2-2), a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, is coming off a 91-43 victory over Division II Thiel in another Legends Classic game. Senior guard Mike Rose (21.8) leads the Colonels in scoring.

Fairleigh Dickinson (0-3), a member of the Northeast Conference, has had a rugged early schedule, losing to No. 4 Pittsburgh (86-63), Washington State (55-33) and Mississippi State (84-58).

Senior guard Eric Moore (9.7), a transfer from the University at Buffalo, is the team's top scorer.


Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.

 

The maturation process for the University of Akron basketball team moves to New Jersey this weekend.

Get the full article here.


Story tools

Email  Email   Print  Print   Save  Save   Reprint  Reprint   Popular  Most Popular   Reprint  Subscribe

Share this story

AddThis Social Bookmark Button


kentsucks

Posted 12:51 PM, 11/29/2008

lets go zips, pull it out
















Most Commented Stories