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LOCATION: Akron, OH
CONFERENCE: Mid-American (East)
LAST SEASON: 18-9 (.667)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 12-6 (t-3rd)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 1/4
NICKNAME: Zips
COLORS: Blue & Gold
HOMECOURT: James A. Rhodes Arena (5,942)
COACH: Dan Hipsher (Bowling Green '77)
record at school 46-60 (4 years)
career record 172-105 (10 years)
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ASSISTANTS: John Pigatti (Dayton '85)
John Burns (Wittenberg '95)
Saint Crawford (Bowling Green '97)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 8-3-8-17-18
RPI (last 5 years) 209-289-229-134-99
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference first round.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Quite often the way to judge a team is by its ability to handle success. That's one of the concerns Akron coach Dan Hipsher has this season. Hipsher said the Zips have to realize where they came from and how far they have to go. How far is that? Well, the Zips were a three-game winner in 1995-96. Since then they've strung together seasons with 8, 17 and 18 victories. Last season's 18-9 record reflected the most victories by an Akron team in the 1990s. Even greater things are expected from a team that returns three All-MAC players and welcomes back the school's all-time leading shot blocker. "I think the measure of any team many times is not how you surprise people when you come from nowhere, but when you are one of the chosen ones, can you defend your turf?" Hipsher said. "Can you go in every night realizing that the opposition has great respect for you and defend what you've achieved? I think we'll walk into situations this year where people know Akron is coming to town. "The preparation will be great. I tell the kids all the time they're preparing one night for you and you're preparing 365 days to defend that turf, and hopefully you'll be better prepared."
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT B+ BENCH/DEPTH B
FRONTCOURT B INTANGIBLES B
Without a doubt, this could be coach Dan Hipsher's best team at Akron. In his fifth year, he has built a team that's ready to contend for the league championship and make its first postseason appearance since an NIT trip in 1989. Experience is plentiful with four seniors in the starting five. Three of those five Bosley, Ball and Andrick received all-league mentions. Factor in the return of Phillips and better depth and there's every reason to think Akron will make a run at the league championship.This team can score and play defense. Coach Hipsher's fiery competitiveness is an intangible that has rubbed off on the program. The MAC East is strong with Kent, Bowling Green, Marshall and Akron all returning most of their players. But Akron might have more veteran talent than the rest. |
Expectations understandably are high for Akron, which lost only one starter and significantly improved its depth with a good recruiting class. This might be Hipsher's most talented team yet. Senior guards Jami Bosley and Jimmal Ball, nicknamed the "Dynamic Duo," form arguably the MAC's best backcourt tandem. "They are two of the better players in this league," Marshall coach Greg White said. The 6-1, 220-pound Bosley (18.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.9 apg) was a first team All-MAC player. He finished third in MAC scoring behind departed seniors Wally Szczerbiak of Miami (24.2) and LaDrell Whitehead of Ohio (18.9). Bosley was the league's best free-throw shooter, sinking 155 of 180 (.861 percent). He led the Zips in scoring, assists and steals (57). On an exhibition trip to France this summer, where Akron went 5-1, Bosley had a 42-point game. Bosley looks and performs like a football player. "He's just a thick-built kid, kind of like a middle linebacker," Hipsher said. Bosley was at times unstoppable last season, deftly slipping around picks to pull up and nail a three-pointer or ducking under and through double-teams to bank in a jumper. He makes up for his deficiencies, and there aren't many, by playing with reckless abandon. "I'm not as quick as other players and I won't out-jump anybody," Bosley told the Columbus Dispatch. "I think out there. I take pride in hustling. I won't compete with you athletically, but I have to use what I've got." Ball (14.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.6 apg) at 5-10, 174 pounds, is more graceful than Bosley, with great quickness and a 35-inch vertical leap, which combined to make him one of the league's most explosive and exciting performers. He was chosen second team All-MAC and received an award as Akron's top defensive player. The Zips welcome back 6-6, 215-pound senior forward George Phillips, who appeared in only four games before he went out of the lineup with a knee injury. Phillips (5.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg) gives Akron another all-league candidate. Phillips, whom Hipsher said is "by far the best defender on the team," holds the school record with 92 career blocked shots. He gives the Zips a bigger body in the paint and shores up a defense that ranked ninth in the MAC (70.6 ppg). Two years ago, with a healthy Phillips, the Zips were third in team defense (67.6 ppg). Departed senior Jawanza Moore (7.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg) filled in admirably for Phillips. The Zips also lost guards Cornell Felton (2.5 ppg, 0.6 rpg), Adam Benton (1.4 ppg, 0.7 rpg), Ali Kart (0.3 ppg, 0.4 rpg) and Jake Schifino (0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg). At the other forward, senior Ryan Andrick (14.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg, .518 FG), an honorable-mention All-MAC selection, likes to throw his weight around. If any one stat underscores the importance of the 6-7, 240-pound Andrick it's this: With Andrick last year the Zips won 17 of 22 games. When Andrick was sidelined with an ankle injury, they were 1-4. A four-game losing streak in early January when Andrick was injured left Akron at 9-6 overall and 3-4 in the MAC. When Andrick came back, the Zips went on a tear and won six straight, including league road wins at Ball State and Central Michigan. "He's a guy who can play," Hipsher said. "We're just a better team when he's out there." Center Bruce Weinkein is the lone non-senior in the starting five. The 6-11, 220-pound junior matured significantly last season by improving his scoring by more than two points (7.9). He also grabbed 3.8 rebounds and blocked 32 shots. The shot-blocking tandem of Weinkein and Phillips could produce school-record numbers. Sophomore forward David Falknor (6.4 ppg, 1.2 rpg) is a deceiving player because of his height (6-7), bulk (245) and soft shooting touch. Falknor went 49 for 124 on his three-point attempts for an impressive .395 percent. He was only eight for 17 from inside the arc, so it's obvious where Falknor likes to play. Nate Schindewolf (4.2 ppg, 1.9 rpg) is a 6-5 junior guard who collected his points in only 13.5 minutes of playing time per game. Schindewolf excels in the classroom as an Academic All-MAC honoree with a 3.31 GPA in special education. Other returning players are 6-5, 220-pound sophomore forward Kirene Johnson (1.7 ppg, 1.6 rpg), 5-11 senior guard Andy Norman (1.1 ppg, 0.7 rpg) and 6-9, 240-pound junior center Klaas Zollner (1.0 ppg, 1.2 rpg) from Germany. Ohio's Mr. Basketball, 6-2, 190-pound guard Emmanuel Smith (28.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3.5 assists, 4.5 steals) from Euclid High School would have been a key freshman recruit, but will sit out the season while trying to gain academic eligibility. Smith is one of Akron's most heralded recruits ever. He was All-Ohio and Player of the Year in Division 1, MVP of the Lake Eric League Lake Division and won the Cleveland Plain Dealer's outstanding player in Northeast Ohio award. Smith was recruited by several Big Ten, Big East and ACC schools. "Emmanuel has the ability to score and to become a great all-around player," Hipsher said."He certainly fills our needs for when Jimmal (Ball) and Jami (Bosley) graduate. Emmanuel puts points on the board and could be a great defender." If Hipsher has to wait a year on Smith, he can use another recruit with whom he's very familiar right away. That would be the coach's son, 6-8, 195-pound Andy Hipsher of Hoban High School in Akron. A combo guard/forward, Hipsher (20.1 ppg, 9.1 rpg) led his school to No. 1 in the final state rankings for Division II. He was the Akron Beacon Journal Player of the Year, made second team all-state and received MVP honors both nights in the Ohio-West Virginia All-Star series. Forward Byron Thompson of West High School in Aurora, Ill, is a 6-6, 205-pound freshman. Thompson (13.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg) was chosen first team all-conference and all-area. He wears size 17 shoes. Transfer Marco Morgan's size (6-9, 240) will be helpful to a lineup which, with the loss of Phillips last year, lacked crucial depth. Morgan is a local product out of Massillon High School, and played at Moberly (Mo.) Junior College, where he started and averaged 10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds. He has been enrolled at Akron since spring, 1997 working to straighten out his academic situation.. Junior combo guard John Carson is a 6-1 transfer from Barton Co. (Kan.) Community College who averaged 11.4 points and 1.9 assists. He will back up Bosley and Ball. Carson played in 17 games for Cincinnati (3.1 ppg, 0.8 rpg) in 1997-98. As a high school player at Springfield (Ohio) South, he averaged 28 points.
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