The Buchtelite

Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Kiel Fleming

The University of Akron men's basketball team opens the 2007 regular season in the first round of the BP Top of the World Classic against South Carolina Upstate in Fairbanks, Alaska Friday night.

At tip-off, 251 days will have elapsed since the Zips' 2006 season came to a screeching halt last March.

Not a day goes by that returning members on this year's squad don't remember Doug Penno's three-pointer at the buzzer to win the Mid-American Conference Championship securing the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for Miami University.

Many of the players turned the disappointing end to the 2006 season into a positive start to 2007 by working tirelessly in the weight room and on the court during the offseason.

Head coach Keith Dambrot said that the team responded in the right way to the adversity, and that the coaching staff has pushed the players to continue to improve since the end of last season.

"Our guys have done the right things in the spring, summer and fall," Dambrot said. "We've probably pushed this team harder than we've ever pushed a team. Kids are pretty resilient. They've kind of let last year go, but they want to do well."

Preseason All-MAC selection senior forward Jeremiah Wood said that he is excited to get back on the basketball court and start another season, and is looking forward to building off of the success of last year's MAC East Division Championship.

"I'm just ready to be back out there," he said. "Last year's over. We had a good year. Now, it's time to make this year a better year."

Preseason All-MAC senior guards Nick Dials and Cedrick Middleton return with Wood as the team's most experienced players. Senior Quade Milum will be counted on as an everyday starter for the first time in his career, replacing 2006 MAC Player of the Year Romeo Travis.

The biggest question mark coming into the season for the Zips was who would become UA's starting point guard, after Dru Joyce completed his eligibility last season. Joyce had been a fixture at the position for the past two seasons.

Dambrot said that before preseason practices began, the coaching staff had envisioned redshirt freshman Steve McNees and true freshman Ronnie Steward splitting time at the position while competing for minutes.

That plan had to be adjusted when Ronnie Steward suffered a hip injury in practice. Steward will miss the start of the season, and the exact date of his return is not yet known.

Continued...

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