http://blog.cleveland.com/plutoblog_impact/print.html?entry=/201... Akron's Keith Dambrot, Cleveland State's Gary Waters are major midmajor successes: Terry Pluto By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer on December 20, 2012 at 5:54 PM, updated December 20, 2012 at 11:43 PM Print View/Post Comments In 1989, Keith Dambrot walked out of Ben Braun's office, and Gary Waters walked in. Braun was the head coach at Eastern Michigan. Dambrot had been an assistant under Braun for three years. Dambrot was 30 years old in 1989 and dreaming of being a head coach. So he left for Division II Ashland. To replace Dambrot, Braun turned to a 39-year-old Waters, who had spent the previous 15 years as an assistant at the Division II level. If you look at their basketball backgrounds, there would be no clue Waters would have 300 career victories. Or that Dambrot would own 297. Or that at age 61, Waters would have just signed a seven-year contract to keep coaching at Cleveland State. Or that at age 54, Dambrot would have a 10-year deal to remain coaching at Akron. "It's pretty amazing -- for both of us," Dambrot said. "I was a baseball player in college. I had a problem and was out of college coaching (for 11 years) in the middle of my career. Gary came from little Ferris State. "It's not like we had big-name coaches in our corner who gave us jobs. We had to work our way up." Waters and Dambrot were both in a reflective mood as their teams prepared to play Sunday at 2 p.m. at Akron's Rhodes Arena. "Keith has done an amazing job at Akron," Waters said. "It's a lot like what we faced at Cleveland State. Both are city schools. When we took over, the programs had been losing and not many fans cared." Waters was convinced he could win at CSU because he had won at Kent State. In his five seasons at Kent 1 of 5 1/5/13 2:41 PM http://blog.cleveland.com/plutoblog_impact/print.html?entry=/201... (1996-2001), Waters took the Golden Flashes to their first NCAA Tournament in 1999, and did it again in 2001. "I wasn't sure anyone could win consistently there," Dambrot said. "But Gary did, and they've been tough ever since -- no matter who is the coach." Dambrot has led Akron to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances (2009, '11). The Zips' only other NCAA appearance was in 1986 under Bob Huggins. They had won only one Mid-American Conference tournament game before Dambrot took over as head coach in 2004. The money offer This spring, Dambrot was offered a long-term deal worth $700,000 annually to coach at Duquense, his father's alma mater. "I just didn't want to leave Akron," he said. "I grow up here. I went to school here. I have watched the program grow. And the Gary Waters is in his seventh season coaching the men's basketball administration has done some good things to team at Cleveland State and has a record of 129-86 (.600) with the keep me happy." Vikings. Lonnie Timmons III, The Plain Dealer Dambrot's base salary is $400,000. Also, it was Akron that gave him a chance to return to college coaching. In 1993, he was fired as head coach of Central Michigan after using a racial slur in a team meeting. "For five years, I couldn't even get a high school job," he said. Dambrot then was hired as head coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary. After three years, former 2 of 5 1/5/13 2:41 PM http://blog.cleveland.com/plutoblog_impact/print.html?entry=/201... Akron head coach Dan Hipsher hired Dambrot as an assistant. "[Akron] gave me a second chance," he said. "I'm grateful for that." So when Duquense called, he hesitated. "Keith was smart not to take that job," Waters said. "If he did, it would have been purely for the money. It's not an elite school in that conference (Atlantic 10). Other than the money, it would have made no sense for him to go there." Keith Dambrot is in his ninth season coaching the men's basketball team at Akron and has a record of 189-91 (.675) with the Zips. Follow the money John Kuntz, The Plain Dealer Waters said he made that mistake in 2001, leaving Kent State for Rutgers. He was lured by the thought of coaching in the Big East and on the East Coast. But a man who grew up in Detroit and only coached in Michigan and Ohio discovered that New Jersey was a new basketball world, one where he was not especially welcomed. "When I came to Cleveland State (in 2006), I got at least 50 calls from high school coaches saying they were glad I was back in the area," Waters said. "When I went to Rutgers, I got one call." Waters had three winning seasons and a record of 79-75 in his five years at Rutgers. That was a good run at Rutgers, with a 20-win season in his third year being the most in 11 years. But the chemistry was bad with the administration, and Waters left in spring 2006. A desperate Lee Reed called. He was the athletic director at CSU, where Mike Garland had a 21-60 record over the previous three seasons. Reed worked in the athletic department when Waters was there. Waters and his wife, Bernadette, were anxious to return to the Midwest, and they liked Northeast Ohio when living in Kent. "Gary was the perfect guy for that job," Dambrot said. "If he couldn't turn that program around, no one would." Waters said this is his final coaching job. If he stays for all seven years on his contract, he will be 68. He has a base annual salary of $340,000 with reasonable incentives worth another $100,000. CSU received the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for 2011-12 as the Vikings ranked in the top 10 percent 3 of 5 1/5/13 2:41 PM http://blog.cleveland.com/plutoblog_impact/print.html?entry=/201... among Division I colleges on the Academic Progress Report. All 19 seniors to have played for Waters have earned their diplomas. "I know Keith does a good job off the court with his kids, too," Waters said. "That's something you can do when [the coach] stays in the same place." Are they spoiled? Waters was 10-21 his first season (2006-07) with the Vikings. The next year, they were 21-13 and went to the National Invitational Tournament for the first time in 20 years. Dambrot was 19-10 his first season with the Zips (2004-05). They next year, they were 23-10 and went to the NIT for the first time in 17 years. Waters has been to one NCAA Tournament (2008) with CSU and three NITs. Dambrot has been to the two NCAA tournaments and three NITs. "Fans don't like to hear this, but I think they've gotten spoiled at both schools," Dambrot said. "Now, they expect Gary and I to make the NCAA every year -- and maybe win a game in the tournament -- for it to be considered a success." CSU is in the Horizon League. Butler left the league and odds are the only Horizon League team to make the NCAA will be the one that wins the conference tournament. "In the MAC, you have to win the tournament to go to the NCAA," Dambrot said. "We've been to the MAC tournament finals the last six years. We won twice, lost the other four. And when we lose, we don't go." Waters mentioned that Akron lost to Ohio (64-63) in last season's MAC final, but didn't receive an NCAA bid. "And Ohio went to the Sweet 16," he said. "Akron was good enough to be in the NCAA." Both coaches mentioned that it's easy for a fan base to forget how far the two programs have progressed. "I know that some people aren't happy that we're 5-4 right now," Dambrot said. "But we usually do start slow. And the fact is, what counts in the MAC is how you finish." CSU is 7-4, but this is Waters' youngest team. The only senior is Tim Kamczyc. CSU's best player is sophomore Anton Grady, who is expected to miss the rest of the season because of knee surgery. "I still think we can have a good year," Waters said. "But it's not going to be easy." 4 of 5 1/5/13 2:41 PM http://blog.cleveland.com/plutoblog_impact/print.html?entry=/201... Basketball never is at Cleveland State and Akron, no matter how the coaches have made it look. Sponsored Links View/Post Comments Related Stories Zeke Marshall hits 1,000-point mark as Akron Zips rout Coppin State Akron Zips lose to No. 16 Creighton, 77-61 © cleveland.com. All rights reserved. 5 of 5 1/5/13 2:41 PM.