COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Dials wins over fans at Akron
Ex-Buckeye still tough, likable player
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Mark Znidar
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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Nick Dials might be one of the few people on the University of Akron campus who doesn’t understand why he has become the people’s choice.
While walking to classes, he has received "that-a-boys," pumped fists and pats on the back.
"One guy even came up to me and said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to quit playing so hard because you’re going to get yourself hurt again and we won’t have you for the MAC Tournament,’ " Dials said. "I can’t play any other way. That’s how you win games. I get some bumps and bruises, sure, but I don’t understand what the fuss is."
Dials gets the crowd pumped in James A. Rhodes Arena because, at 6 feet 1, 175 pounds and with a baby face, he looks like a pickup-game player undressing the big boys with his runaway-train style. He dives for loose balls, takes charges, goes inside for rebounds and beats the press.
"They’ve never seen anything quite like him around here," Akron sports information director Gregg Bach said. "He’s just so tough, and they appreciate that. They really go crazy."
Ohio State fans had the same kind of appreciation for Dials two years ago when he walked on to the team. He played so hard and so well — he started nine of the 19 games he played in and averaged 4.5 points and 2.1 assists — that coach Jim O’Brien put him on scholarship for one year.
The country-boy-makes-good story ended, however, when O’Brien couldn’t promise Dials that the scholarship would be renewed in 2004-05. If a more talented high-school senior came along, he was told, the full ride would go to that player.
Rather than gamble on having to pay full tuition, Dials called Akron coach Keith Dambrot about transferring. Akron recruited him when he was scoring 2,180 career points, the 20 th-highest total in Ohio prep history, at Willard High School.
"It was a tough decision, but it’s what I had to do," Dials said. "I know coach O’Brien was angry. He wanted me to stay. But I knew we could be special at Akron. I also wanted to win more."
The Zips (13-3, 6-0) will face Ohio University (11-3, 5-1) at 7 tonight in Athens on an eightgame winning streak and tied for first place in the Mid-American Conference East with Kent State. Dials averages 10.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists and has made 31 three-pointers.
"Nick is an awfully tough guy, a high-quality kid who plays at a high level," Dambrot said. "You get a transfer and sometimes you get other people’s problems. That’s not the case here. Our guards, Nick and Dru Joyce, are why we win. Those are two coaches on the floor."
Dambrot and fans want to see what Dials will be like when he’s 100 percent. In May, he suffered a torn ligament and cartilage in his left knee playing pickup ball.
Doctors told Dials that he would be out eight months. He worked out three times a day and was ready for preseason workouts.
The only problem from the injury, Dials said, is wearing a brace.
"I’d like to get rid of that thing," he said. "I’ve gone through four or five straps diving for balls. It’s a hassle coming out of the game for repairs. I’m not all the way back. I just do my best."
Dials could be doing the same at Ohio State.
"I watch Ohio State on TV every so often," he said. "I want to keep up with Ivan Harris. He was my roommate. Then there’s Terence (Dials). I always liked him. I’ve played in a few open gyms with Tony Stockman. But, no, I don’t think about it. I’m at Akron and we’re winning. This is fun. This is exciting."
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