ESPN Men's Basketball

Updated: November 5, 2009, 12:08 PM ET

Team preview: Akron

Blue Ribbon Yearbook previews the 2009-10 season, exclusively on Insider

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Blue Ribbon Yearbook

Editor's Note: ESPN Insider has teamed with Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook to provide a comprehensive look at all 334 Division I teams. To order the complete 2009-10 edition of Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, visit www.blueribbonyearbookonline.com or call 1-877-807-4857.
(Information in this team report is as of Oct. 1.)

COACH AND PROGRAM

These are good times at Akron, where hopes and expectations might be at an all-time high. Not only are the Zips coming off their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1986 -- finally breaking through after losing the MAC championship game the previous two years -- they lose just one player from that team and he's being replaced by a national Top 100 recruit.

"It's interesting," said coach Keith Dambrot, an Akron native who enters his 16th year as either a student or a coach at his alma mater. "[The NCAA bid] was probably something that was really needed for our fan base. We had had two NIT teams. We won 26 games in 2007, but lost [the MAC title game] on a last-second bank shot and didn't get anything. So we kind of got the monkey off our back."

This is not to say the Zips' intriguing NCAA experience -- they led fourth-seeded Gonzaga at halftime and still owned a one-point edge with 10 minutes left before going cold and losing by 13 -- gives them the impression they're well on their way to another NCAA bid.

"Our guys definitely know we were 9-8 at one point in the year," Dambrot said. "We're not a great team. We're smart enough to understand that."

PLAYERS

But the Zips are good enough and deep enough to become a great team, especially if someone can replace the numbers and intangibles put up by the graduated Nate Linhart. The honorable mention All-MAC small forward averaged 10.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game and earned the league's defensive player-of-the-year honors.

Dambrot hopes junior forward Brett McKnight (11.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg), who earned the MAC's Sixth Man-of-the-Year Award while spending most of his time at the four can fill Linhart's spot in the lineup.

"This year the question is, 'Can we move Brett to the three?' " Dambrot said. "Then we'll be better. But he has to show he can defend and rebound like Linhart."

That's not the only way Dambrot has challenged the 6-6, 245-pound McKnight, who played just 21.3 minutes per game last year but developed into the Zips' leading scorer on an ultra-balanced team.

"He's one of the most talented guys we've had, but he hasn't gotten into condition," Dambrot said. "And Brett's gifted offensively, but he's inconsistent. He'll get 29 one night [like he did against Kent State on Jan. 24], then four points the next [like he did against Youngstown State on Jan. 26]."

If McKnight can handle the small forward spot, then that makes it a little easier to sort out the other positions. Dambrot has a good problem in that he must juggle 10 or 11 players of relatively similar ability.

"It's a little bit of a harder team to coach because we don't really know who will start," he said. "It's good because there's going to be competition for minutes, but it's bad because there's not really a go-to guy."

Dambrot's first case in point? Akron's three-headed monster at the point. Sophomore Anthony "Humpty" Hitchens (8.8 ppg, 2.2 apg) started 30 games last year, but the 5-9, 168-pound waterbug posted more turnovers (86) than assists (78) as he adjusted to the college game.

"He's a jet," Dambrot said. "He's a little more scoring-oriented than playmaking-oriented guy, but we think he's going to have a good year."

When Hitchens hurt his ankle at the end of the regular season, junior Steve McNees (5.8 ppg, 46 three-pointers) stepped in and earned All-MAC tournament honors. As evidenced by his shooting preference -- 133 of McNees' 180 shot attempts were three-pointers -- he's a combo guard who might see more time at the two.

Then there's snake-bit sophomore Ronnie Steward (3.3 ppg, 2.7 apg), who played in the first six games last year and made three starts before being lost for the season because of compartment syndrome. The 5-10, 175-pound Steward also missed his freshman year with a torn hip flexor. Dambrot is eager to see what a healthy Steward can do.

"We've got three good point guards," Dambrot said.

McNees is an option at shooting guard, but 6-0 senior Darryl Roberts (8.3 ppg, 49 three-pointers) is the incumbent after making 26 starts there a year ago. "He's an undersized two, but he's a good solid shooter with a good understanding of the game," Dambrot said.

Sophomore Brett McClanahan (4.2 ppg) also belongs in the mix here. The 6-4 Nitro, W.V. native planned to red-shirt last year, but the coaching staff took it off after 15 games when he made big progress in practice.

"He already had good skill, but he really had no idea of what it took to play Division I ball," Dambrot said. "He's a big ol' country kid who looked pretty good during the spring and summer."

Blue Ribbon Previews

Take an Inside look at the MAC with Blue Ribbon's 2009-10 team reports:

Akron Ball State Bowling Green Buffalo Central Michigan Eastern Michigan Kent State Miami-Ohio Northern Illinois Ohio Toledo Western Michigan

McClanahan also can help out at small forward, where 6-5, 220-pound senior Jimmy Conyers (3.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg) could make an impact and give McKnight a run for his money.

"Jimmy always played behind Linhart," Dambrot said. "He's very good defensively and strong as an ox. Hopefully he pops in there and competes at the three."

Six-foot-7, 225-pound senior Chris McKnight (9.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg), Brett's older brother, figures to start at power forward or center again. The McKnights played together on occasion last year, and their combination of size and versatility had a tendency to mess up opponents' match-ups. "They're both good inside-out guys," Dambrot said. "They can pick and pop. Big guys can't chase them outside."

What will allow the McKnight brothers to see maximum playing time together? The same formula as last year.

"The more they rebounded and defended," Dambrot said, "the more they played together."

Sophomore Nikol Cvetinovic (4.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg) is another solid alternative in the post, and he can pop out to 16 feet and drill jumpers. The 6-8, 230-pound Serbia native made 21 starts last year, but he averaged just 13.4 minutes per game.

"He's very good with the ball, very quick for a bigger guy," Dambrot said. "He's very competitive and plays very hard."

Akron's top role player in the post is 6-10, 240-pound junior Mike Bardo (1.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg).

"He's very good defensively and just a winning guy," Dambrot said. "His numbers look stinky, but he helps you win. He doesn't have good rebounding numbers, but his guy doesn't rebound either because he blocks him out."

Bardo might need to provide all the intangibles in the world in order to protect his playing time from one of the most prestigious recruits in MAC history. Former Akron assistant Jeff Boals, who just moved to Ohio State's staff, latched on to 7-footer Zeke Marshall early and reeled in the McKeesport, Pa., product, who ranked as the Class of 2009's No. 61 prospect according to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index. One guru, Scout.com's Dave Telep, rated Marshall, who has a 7-5 wingspan, the nation's 35th-best prospect.

"He has loads of potential," Dambrot said. "He's like a blank canvas. He just gives us a dynamic that we haven't had. We've been a really good defensive team without blocking shots. He gives us the potential to be one of the 3-4 best shot-blocking teams in the country."

Sophomore center Steve Swiech (2.4 ppg, 1.1 rpg), who's 6-9 and 250 pounds and 6-8 redshirt freshman forward Andrew Parrish (owner of a 7-foot wingspan) lend depth and potential in the frontcourt.

Alex Sullivan, a 5-10 redshirt freshman Dambrot considers to be as good athletically as any of the team's guards, could make an impact in the backcourt as he learns to play.

Senior walk-on forward Tim Carroll, a 6-5, 215-pound senior, hurt his hamstring last year just as he started to get minutes as Linhart's backup, so he could be a factor again.

BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS

BACKCOURT: B-
BENCH/DEPTH: B+
FRONTCOURT: B+
INTANGIBLES: B

Akron returns 84 percent of its scoring and 78 percent of its rebounding from the second NCAA Tournament team in school annals. Throw in the limitless potential of 7-foot freshman center Zeke Marshall -- a prospect you just don't see in the MAC anymore -- and the Zips will be playing for the league's highest stakes again.

"If [Marshall] can become a good player, we'll take another jump," Dambrot said. "If he gets it right, he's going to be a pro."

For the most comprehensive previews available on all 334 Division I teams, order the "Bible" of college basketball, the 2009-10 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, at www.blueribbonyearbookonline.com or call 1-877-807-4857.