(03-28-2017 11:18 AM)Bull_Is_Back Wrote: Wow... Some serious salt over on Zipsnation. They were taking a dump all over Duquesne a couple of days ago..
And why wouldn't people dump all over Duquesne (BTW, can't count me in on the zipsnation crowd, since I haven't said a word there).
Outside of A-10, what does Duquesne have going for it?
Great local recruiting base? Name me the last big-time recruit from the Pittsburgh area. It's probably Zeke Marshall, or DeJuan Blair. That's now going back almost 10 years since his recruitment started. In fact, Dambrot had as many NBA players from his own backyard who wanted to come to Akron but weren't offered (C.J. McCollum and Larry Nance Jr.) than the entire W. Pa. region has produced in the past 10 years.
Out of the shadow of a bigger program? Well, Pitt (which hasn't exactly relied on in-region recruiting to build its profile) is right next door.
Local media? I see some on Zipsnation talked about how the Pittsburgh media has covered the hire makes that job bigger than Akron. ... Well, because it was a hire between professional football season and the start of MLB. Plus, how much does local media really mean if you're a second-tier school in your own league, who is second-tier in your own city and located in a city that doesn't produce much talent, anyway? Hell, the Terry Bowden hire made Cleveland media waves when it was announced.
I do understand the personal connection Dambrot has to Duquesne, and I understand that Duquesne is investing in the program. I also understand his frustration for the perceived notion that the MAC is simply a "one-bid league."
However, part of the reason the MAC has been a one-bid league is because of his lack of taking what has been the marquee team in the league to anything other than a bunch of MAC title game appearances and first-round knockouts. So, part of that is on his shoulders. Especially since, it's not like he started whatever MAC East arms race there is to begin with. Gary Waters (Kent) started that; it led to Akron hiring Dambrot; led to Ohio getting more serious about it's coaching budget; and all that led to Buffalo building what it has/is built under Hurley/Oates.
I'm not going to wish any ill-will toward Dambrot, but if he thought he had it rough at Akron, he's going to have it twice as rough at Duquesne. ... He has less of a recruiting base (unless he thinks he can draw Philly area kids to Duquesne ... kids that could go to LaSalle if they dream of the A-10). In Ohio, to get a better tier of recruits, he is now definitely competing against Dayton, Xavier and the rest of the MAC (combined) ... along with Cincinnati and Ohio State. But he now has to sell them on an out of state school with no tradition.
Basically, I don't see how this is going to work for him, other than he's 58 years old and sees that he has $1 million a year coming for the next seven ... so not a bad retirement plan. More power to him for that.
For Akron, the program is at a crossroads for sure. The university lost its high floor, low ceiling coach for ?????. If they are willing to invest in the program at the same level they invested in it under Dambrot, things will be fine.
If they decide to go the cheap route (and finances may dictate that), then the program could be in for some trouble.
But lets just say the school is serious about maintaining its hoops program, there is a lot more upside (even in the MAC) than there is at Duquesne and Akron could come out of this ahead in the long term.
Akron still has all the same negatives (that KD liked to play up). But it also has some positives that I don't think KD acknowledged enough:
1. Talent: Northeast Ohio (due to the LeBron in the early 2000s) has taken major strides in becoming a H.S. hoops hotbed. Just this past weekend, all four state champion schools in Ohio came from within 40 miles of the UA campus (and Kent's). Over the past decade, look at the overall amount of talent the state has produced, it definitely trends towards the northeast part of the state.
2. Success: You have to credit Dambrot for this, because despite whatever failures he has had in MAC tournaments, he makes up for in consistency. Coaches at least know this can/will be a stable position (and probably now be a stepping stone like Kent or Ohio) if they win.
3. Location: Yes, Akron and Kent compete against each other (and there is YSU and CSU locally), but there is not a major program within 100 miles. You have to go to Pitt (east), Ohio State (South), Michigan (north) to find the nearest high-major. To the west, what is it ... Indiana/Northwestern/Wisconsin? Unlike, say Miami, which is in the middle of a ton of marquee teams, you don't have that in Akron.
Personally, I hope Akron can land former assistant Lamont Paris (Wisconsin) then bring in Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School head coach Dru Joyce III as a top assistant. If they can do that, and Paris gets higher offers, it could set up similar to what Buffalo has had to deal with when Hurley left and they turned things over to Oates ... or even a bit like Akron when they turned things over from Hipsher to Dambrot (who was one-year removed from the HS ranks ... also at St. Vincent-St. Mary)
