Akron beats up Detroit

[wh]

Akron 81 Detroit 63.  Chase Simon had 27 for Detroit.  No one else had more than 7.  McCallum only had 6, which seems surprising given that Akron's strength is in its front court. 

Obviously, Detroit is not in a good place right now. 

[bbtds]

The fans at Detroit are trying everything to help their team. Witness this actual e-mail sent to the director of athletics.

Mrs. Gaither,


I sincerely recognize that you have high standards above and beyond the norm in today's high stake business of collegiate athletics. You have exemplified an enormous amount of professionalism and dedication to your job and should be respected for that. And you certainly go against what is going on with the Penn State's and Miami's of the world.

However, I am begging you to reinstate Eli and Blake. I know those kids pissed you off with their behavior, but please exhibit a level of compassion and understanding towards them. If they have not already done so, I sincerely apologize on their behalf for their childish actions.

Having a zero tolerance policy towards unethical, criminal, and otherwise detrimental behavior will continue to ensure that UDM's reputation as a tier 1 academic institution is maintained. Any actions which deviates from the University's mission should be assessed and dealt with appropriately.

But when implementing a punishment for program violations please consider the committed acts and ramifications as a whole. In the cases here, it appears that a brawl ignited at a party with Eli. It's not like he was on national t.v. rioting in a drunken rage and tipping trucks upside down. Whatever Blake's violations are, I'm certainly guessing they were not criminal in nature.

If there is anything else I can do besides apologize on their behalf, I will. I have been a fan of this program since 1994 and never have I seen this program so skilled. However, although I was excited about what I saw, the roster is so thin that I was literally biting my nails that none of the eight players would go down due to injury.

From Ray Jr. down to Evan (who looks much improved) - if any one of these players twisted an ankle or took an elbow to the face it could easily ruin this potential successful year.

The program is like a family and like any other family there are going to be members with a few issues. Eli is no different. The guy is a tad immature and has anger management issues, but at the same time he is working on getting his life turned around and demonstrated that by graduating this past summer. As for Blake although I don't know what his circumstances are, more than likely I will bet it's a maturity issue as well.

In short...... PLEASE, PLEASE, let them play. This is going to be a fun group to watch without those guys, but with them....it's going to be a memorable season.

Respectfully,

Hoops

http://www.detroittitans.com/staff.aspx?staff=5

Of course the other posters on their board did chastise "Hoops" for sending this e-mail. I'm sure the AD appreciated the enthusiasm but promptly deleted the email.

[valpotx]

That is so ridiculously funny!  I am sure if he weren't a multiple offender in his college career, he might have only been suspended for 1/2 a year there. 

[vuweathernerd]

what a hypocrite. they're basically saying, "i respect a zero tolerance policy, but can you please make exceptions for these two players?"

did they ever actually announce a punishment for holman? and does anybody know anything about what chris blake did?

[valpopal]

Apparently, Detroit couldn't even beat a depleted Akron team, which lost one guard (Abreu) to suspension and has another (Walsh) injured:

http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/zips-point-guard-alex-abreu-suspended-1.247376

Also, I thought the following from the article to be interesting:

"In the Valparaiso loss, UA was outscored 8-0 in the final four minutes to miss the chance to get off to a 3-0 start for the first time since the program joined the Division I ranks in 1980-81.

"In that game, center Zeke Marshall played only 11 minutes before fouling out. The Crusaders attempted 38 free throws on their home court and the Zips tried seven.

"'We played pretty well in that game. We just didn't finish well,' Dambrot said. 'Emotionally, it was hard because of the free-throw differential. That's not an excuse. That's a fact. Both of their big kids had zero fouls, which is almost impossible.'"

[valpotx]

Akron kept shooting from outside, which a good coach would realize.  Same reason why I am not complaining too much about the FT differential against OSU, we took a lot of outside shots.  Yes, some fouls could have been called, but we didn't take it to the basket as much as we had in other games.

[wh]

Apparently, Detroit couldn't even beat a depleted Akron team, which lost one guard (Abreu) to suspension and has another (Walsh) injured:

http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/zips-point-guard-alex-abreu-suspended-1.247376

Also, I thought the following from the article to be interesting:

"In the Valparaiso loss, UA was outscored 8-0 in the final four minutes to miss the chance to get off to a 3-0 start for the first time since the program joined the Division I ranks in 1980-81.

"In that game, center Zeke Marshall played only 11 minutes before fouling out. The Crusaders attempted 38 free throws on their home court and the Zips tried seven.

"'We played pretty well in that game. We just didn't finish well,' Dambrot said. 'Emotionally, it was hard because of the free-throw differential. That's not an excuse. That's a fact. Both of their big kids had zero fouls, which is almost impossible.'"

Not impossible at all Coach.  They only had to guard your center for 11 minutes.   

[motowntitan]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a post with so many facts wrong in one thread:

bbtds: That post was written by one knucklehead- and he even acknowledged that he wanted someone else to send the e-mail.  At which point he was laughed away.  ERROR= Please don't use the word "they" to refer to the entire fan base based on one knucklehead.

valpopal: "Detroit couldn't beat a "depleted" Akron team"   ERROR=We just lost Nick Minnerath for the season- We have 8 players on our team as of this moment, and one is a freshman point guard that was probably supposed to redshirt this year.  We are the most depleted DI team in the nation.

vuweathernerd: "they're basically saying" ERROR= please don't take one what person said and then use the word "they" to imply all of us.

wh is the only one that was correct in saying "Detroit is not in a good place right now"

I am not trying to justify any of the actions of any player that is NOT playing at this moment.

Coach is trying to make a point- Would you rather have him Jeter these guys?


   

[vuweathernerd]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a post with so many facts wrong in one thread:

bbtds: That post was written by one knucklehead- and he even acknowledged that he wanted someone else to send the e-mail.  At which point he was laughed away.  ERROR= Please don't use the word "they" to refer to the entire fan base based on one knucklehead.

valpopal: "Detroit couldn't beat a "depleted" Akron team"   ERROR=We just lost Nick Minnerath for the season- We have 8 players on our team as of this moment, and one is a freshman point guard that was probably supposed to redshirt this year.  We are the most depleted DI team in the nation.

vuweathernerd: "they're basically saying" ERROR= please don't take one what person said and then use the word "they" to imply all of us.

wh is the only one that was correct in saying "Detroit is not in a good place right now"

I am not trying to justify any of the actions of any player that is NOT playing at this moment.

Coach is trying to make a point- Would you rather have him Jeter these guys?

i'm going to defend myself here. i only used the word "they're" because (while i can guess), i do not know the gender of the poster.

[valpopal]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a post with so many facts wrong in one thread:

valpopal: "Detroit couldn't beat a "depleted" Akron team"   ERROR=We just lost Nick Minnerath for the season- We have 8 players on our team as of this moment, and one is a freshman point guard that was probably supposed to redshirt this year.  We are the most depleted DI team in the nation.

I'll defend myself as well against the "knucklehead" who came on the board tossing out false accusations: The fact that Detroit has lost a player doesn't change the correctness in my comment: "Detroit couldn't beat a depleted Akron team." My comment is basically the same as the one he acknowledges is correct, that "Detroit is not in a good place right now," since my comment is accurate and speaks to the current weak state of Detroit's team.

[StlVUFan]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a post with so many facts wrong in one thread:

valpopal: "Detroit couldn't beat a "depleted" Akron team"   ERROR=We just lost Nick Minnerath for the season- We have 8 players on our team as of this moment, and one is a freshman point guard that was probably supposed to redshirt this year.  We are the most depleted DI team in the nation.

I'll defend myself as well against the "knucklehead" who came on the board tossing out false accusations: The fact that Detroit has lost a player doesn't change the correctness in my comment: "Detroit couldn't beat a depleted Akron team." My comment is basically the same as the one he acknowledges is correct, that "Detroit is not in a good place right now," since my comment is accurate and speaks to the current weak state of Detroit's team.

Just guessing here, but I suspect your statement would carry more significance if it wasn't for the fact that Detroit is also depleted.

See, if Detroit is at full strength, then your statement would really mean something.  But since they're depleted too, it's tantamount to saying, "Gee, Detroit can't beat Akron."  True, but hardly noteworthy.

[valpopal]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a post with so many facts wrong in one thread:

valpopal: "Detroit couldn't beat a "depleted" Akron team"   ERROR=We just lost Nick Minnerath for the season- We have 8 players on our team as of this moment, and one is a freshman point guard that was probably supposed to redshirt this year.  We are the most depleted DI team in the nation.

I'll defend myself as well against the "knucklehead" who came on the board tossing out false accusations: The fact that Detroit has lost a player doesn't change the correctness in my comment: "Detroit couldn't beat a depleted Akron team." My comment is basically the same as the one he acknowledges is correct, that "Detroit is not in a good place right now," since my comment is accurate and speaks to the current weak state of Detroit's team.

Just guessing here, but I suspect your statement would carry more significance if it wasn't for the fact that Detroit is also depleted.

See, if Detroit is at full strength, then your statement would really mean something.  But since they're depleted too, it's tantamount to saying, "Gee, Detroit can't beat Akron."  True, but hardly noteworthy.

So Detroit is depleted as well. That is a given that we all know and was already noted in this thread. I didn't think it needed to be said again. We were also depleted when we played Akron, so much that we added walk-ons to the team, including one intramural player. In fact, it is possible the same Detroit team will be the one we face: Minnerath is not coming back, and we don't know about Holman.

That is the point of my comment: Detroit is a weakened team that couldn't beat a depleted Akron, a team we beat even when we were weaker than we are right now and Akron was at full strength. I think that is what makes it noteworthy.

[bbtds]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a post with so many facts wrong in one thread:

bbtds: That post was written by one knucklehead- and he even acknowledged that he wanted someone else to send the e-mail.  At which point he was laughed away.  ERROR= Please don't use the word "they" to refer to the entire fan base based on one knucklehead.

It always seems ironic to me when one fan from a message board tries to say that another fan from that message "doesn't count." Because that fan/poster is a "knucklehead" he doesn't count as a real fan of our team. The Valpo board is full of posters we would not like to count but they do regularly post on our board. setshot comes easily to mind. He's part of the board whether we like it or not. We deal with him. In my post I pointed out that "Hoops" was chastised by the other posters on the Detroit board. You are forced to deal with him. Why does he suddenly not count as a Detroit fan? As far as the word "they" it never was used once in my post.

[valpopal]

Detroit lost tonight at home to Youngstown State, the first upset of the new season (Vegas had Detroit favored by 10 points), which also reveals the current weak condition of the Detroit team.

[StlVUFan]

And WSU just blew their game against CSU.  Had the ball with the score 43-43 with about 30 seconds to go in regulation and Harmon or somebody poked the ball off a Raider knee and into the backcourt for an over-and-back violation, then they let CSU drive the lane with about 4 seconds to go.  The shot was no good, possibly altered, but somebody forgot a blockout assignment and a CSU player tipped in the rebound with 0.3 seconds to go.  WSU ran an interesting misdirection play on the inbounds, and if the hail mary had been just slightly less strong, it might have even worked, but no dice.  45-43 CSU.

The visitors are 2-0 in HL play so far this season.

Geez, low-scoring affair at The Cell

[sectionee]

Wow..I think the csu close win is the shocker here since Detroit is so depleted. Let's keep those road victories coming!

[FWalum]

It doesn't look like Detroit is going anywhere soon.  Perhaps McCallum should think about transferring to a BCS school while he can still salvage his NBA career.

[swiftmutiny]

According to Detroit's message board, Eli Holman has been reinstated.

[historyman]

According to Detroit's message board, Eli Holman has been reinstated.

That is huge news for Detroit. The rest of the HL must hope Eli doesn't go off and slug an opposing player or maybe even a teammate and injure them enough to send them to the hospital like he did the fraternity member.

[valpotx]

It is absolutely ridiculous that he was reinstated at all this year.  He does not deserve to be playing after what he has done in his college career outside of the court...

[valporun]

It is absolutely ridiculous that he was reinstated at all this year.  He does not deserve to be playing after what he has done in his college career outside of the court...

It shows you the ethics and morals of the Detroit-Mercy administration, athletic director, and Ray McCallum that this was even allowed to be discussed. With Detroit being on ESPN2 tomorrow night for the Dick Vitale Court dedication, I would be ashamed to be associated with the current program, even if Dickie V put Detroit into any kind of basketball discussion in its past.

[valpopal]

Holman is back and Detroit is putting the hurt on Western Michigan 50-24 with 4 minutes left in the first half.

[valpotx]

Well the one positive is that they should beat some more non-conference opponents to raise the HL RPI.  Negatives are that he shouldn't be playing, and now more competitive

[motowntitan]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a post with so many facts wrong in one thread:

bbtds: That post was written by one knucklehead- and he even acknowledged that he wanted someone else to send the e-mail.  At which point he was laughed away.  ERROR= Please don't use the word "they" to refer to the entire fan base based on one knucklehead.

It always seems ironic to me when one fan from a message board tries to say that another fan from that message "doesn't count." Because that fan/poster is a "knucklehead" he doesn't count as a real fan of our team. The Valpo board is full of posters we would not like to count but they do regularly post on our board. setshot comes easily to mind. He's part of the board whether we like it or not. We deal with him. In my post I pointed out that "Hoops" was chastised by the other posters on the Detroit board. You are forced to deal with him. Why does he suddenly not count as a Detroit fan? As far as the word "they" it never was used once in my post.

I'm sorry- but when you used the word "Their" it implied "They" or "Them" as well.  Please review your original post line 1, words 2 and 10.  "fans" plural, and "their". 

My point was that he doesn't come close to representing a majority of our fan base.

Regarding the other issues, I'm happy to come to another board, have disagreements, and everyone kept it civil- and no one even banned me!

Best of Luck Saturday night against Oakland.  You guys and CSU are our last hope of being a two bid league.   

[bbtds]

No matter who is responsible Holman is back playing with the Titans and Detroit is a much much better team with Eli. You scoffed at "Hoops" but that is the result. The objective of the e-mail was completed successfully.