[Dr Z]

The Zips would be a stronger team with Zeke and Nik on the floor together for more than a couple of minutes a game.

That will happen when they figure out how to stay out of foul trouble.

[Dave in Green]

I only see one of the freshmen playing in their first year. The rest will redshirt. .....

Who gets all of Conyers' and C McKnight's PT?

[ZachTheZip]

I only see one of the freshmen playing in their first year. The rest will redshirt. .....

Who gets all of Conyers' and C McKnight's PT?

All of their playing time? Combined they play just 45 minutes per game thanks to KD's frantic substitution policy.

Nikola is now officially listed as a forward on gozips.com. He'll see more playing time with Zeke and Bardo at C. If he averages just 25 minutes a game, that's more than half of the minutes opened up by graduation. The rest can go to the freshman that doesn't get redshirted.

[Quickzips]

Who, if anyone redshirts will likely be based on how well these guys play when they show up, particularly on defense. We certainly will have minutes available in our frontcourt with the loss of Conyers and C.McKnight. Any one or all of these three guys will probably have an opportunity to earn playing time. Personally, my guess would be that Egner and Euton will see some minutes. Egner may eventually earn the chance to start as he will probably be the only pure SF on the roster. I'm really hoping that we aren't going to rely on McClanahan as our primary SF next year. It isn't his natural position and he really doesn't seem to be adjusting well to it right now.

[Dave in Green]

I'd agree that the Zips cannot afford to redshirt 2 of the 3 freshman forwards when they're graduating 2 senior forwards who represent a significant chunk of the Zips frontcourt scoring and rebounding. I'd also agree that Egner and Euton may be the ones who are a little more advanced and prepared for D1 minutes. But then I don't know as much about Green. It will be interesting to see how this plays out next season.

[zip37]

Thanks for the report, it was well written and informative. Mr. Green is doing well also as is Mr. Euton' AND THIS YEAR'S ZIPS, although the APSU & EMU games STILL bother me, but I will get over them, just not real soon

[Quickzips]

For whatever it is worth, my depth chart for next year would look something like this.

PG: McNees(with a lot of time at SG as well), Steward with a little bit of Humpty
SG: Roberts, Humpty, McClanahan
SF: Egner, B.McKnight w/ a little bit of McClanahan
PF: B.McKnight, Cvetinovic w/ a few minutes for Euton
C: Zeke, Cvetinovic and a few minutes for Bardo

Garbage minutes to Sullivan(if he sticks around), Sweich, Patterson, Oldham and whatever walkon we get to presumably replace Tim Carroll.

Redshirt for Green.

[Dave in Green]

Following is a little regular season statistical comparison between Egner and Henniger. Keep in mind that Henniger is the focal point of the Jackson offense and plays mostly a few feet from the bucket, while Egner plays mostly on the wing except when Henniger is on the bench. So Henniger gets more close-in, high-percentage shots as well as more opportunities for rebounds:

Player .................... Pts .......... FG % ..... Reb

Josh Egner ............ 13.3 ........ .568 ....... 7.5

Mark Henniger ....... 20.6 ........ .620 ...... 8.9

Neither player has a high enough number of assists, free throw percentage or 3-point shooting to appear on the list of top players in these categories.

In most of the discussions about the abilities of these two players, the following points are generally mentioned:

Henniger is more polished, steady and even-tempered, and is a better overall HS performer with good D1 potential.

Egner has more raw athleticism, explosiveness and volatility, and has more potential D1 upside if he has good coaching to polish his skills and channel his emotional energy.

Kind of ironic that Can't is getting the preacher's son and UA is getting the volatile one.

Canton Rep Article

Jackson plays Massillon in a sectional tournament game Friday, March 5, at 6:15 pm at the Canton Memorial Civic Center.

Special note: For those who are concerned about properly spelling players' names, even those going to Can't, Henniger is widely misspelled as Henninger. I had picked up the wrong spelling from a bad source, and have now corrected it in all of my previous posts.

EDIT: Rebounds were transposed and are now corrected.

[Quickzips]

So if I am reading all of this correctly these two recruits should help even out this great disparity in athleticism between the Zips and the flushes?

[Dave in Green]

I think it does help even out the perceived "athleticism gap." Egner is said to play above the rim and Henniger below the rim. It also helps even out the "thugism gap" to replace a certain graduating Can't senior with a preacher's son. But reducing things to too simplistic a level can be misleading. What really matters more is how all the players gel and work together as a team. I think Can't will benefit from having a cool, calm, stable player like Henniger to anchor the team, and the Zips will benefit from adding a more volatile, athletic player. But who benefits most will depend on how quickly each of the new players develops, and how they mesh with the rest of the team.

I really think it takes a good balance of solid, stable players with good fundamentals along with highly athletic players to make a good team. The most recent U.S. Olympic basketball team benefitted tremendously by having a good mix of athletic superstars and low-key role players. I believe that's a good model for assembling a winning college basketball team.

[Z.I.P.]

I have good new for Zips fans. I went to a high school basketball game and saw a bunch of high school kids play, and one man. Seriously. There were a lot of baby faces out there, and one guy who looked like he was in his 20s. However you spell his name, Josh Egner is an impressive young player. I'll try to put down all my observations and thoughts.

First, Egner was playing hurt. Both his ankles were wrapped, and he was clearly limping. But he played every minute of the game. Mark Henniger, his talented teammate who is going to Can't, spent a few minutes on the bench each half resting. Egner looked like he had enough energy to play back-to-back games without a breather on broken ankles. He is one intense dude. He was by far the best athlete on the floor. In warmups he was way above the rim on his layups.

The next sign of his athleticism was when he took center court for the tipoff instead of his taller teammate, Henniger. Egner is a huge leaper, and easily controlled the tip. The Jackson offense was pretty basic: Henniger sets up inside, the ball is lobbed to him and he hits 3-footer after 3-footer over the shorter opponents. Henniger has a nice soft touch and good moves for a big man. I just don't know how well that will translate to D1 against players his own size. There's no question that Henniger is good. But he's not as intense as Egner, and my impression is that Egner would be more the kind of player that the Zips really need.

Egner's outside shot was off tonight, probably affected by his sore wheels. But he has a nice looking stroke, and I suspect he'd be good for the occasional 3. His real strength is inside, where he's a beast. He fought for the ball like a warrior, and when he got his hands on it, it went down hard. Real hard. On one breakaway, they hit Egner with a pass and he went up over the rim and slammed it so hard that the backboard was rocking. It was an NBA quality slam.

Egner also plays good defense. He's quick on his feet, and with his leaping ability, he's a devastating blocker. He really embarassed a couple of Green HS players with his perfectly timed blocks. And speaking of his feet, they're big. From way up in the stands you could see his feet were several sizes larger than anyone else on the court, including the larger Henniger. Don't know if that means that he has any growth spurts left or not. But even if he doesn't grow another inch, he plays taller than his height. He also has quick hands and got a few steals that reminded me of Linhart and Conyers. In fact, Egner strikes me as having a lot of the positive qualities of both Linhart and Conyers -- intensity, athleticism and smarts -- rolled into one package. Discussing Egner's intensity with one of the Jackson fans, he said that Egner had quite a temper. So he may have a little Cvetinovic in him, as well.

Coming back to reality, this was my first HS basketball game in more than 40 years. It's hard to tell how a player who looked so good against HS competition will be in D1. But Egner clearly made a good impression on me. He's kind of thin and wiry, so he's going to have to spend time in the weight room. But he strikes me as really tough. He not only plays above his height but above his weight. He's wiry strong, and had no problem moving heavier players around under the basket.

He definitely has a presence. The way he walks and carries himself was clearly different from anyone else on the court. He is a tough, hard-nosed player. The word intensity keeps coming back to me. He has that kind of intensity that was so obvious in Tyler Hansbrough. I'm not saying he's a Tyler Hansbrough, but he does have a little of that psycho look in his eyes.

I don't think I'm the only one who thinks that the Zips could use a good injection of this type of attitude. I'm really hoping that Egner will hit the JAR running and start contributing right away. I think that all Zips fans are going to really like this guy.

Yo DiG,

You got to rep the new hometown my man! Enough with the Polar Bears. How did our Bulldogs look? As a former freshman benchwarmer for the Orange and Black, I long for the olden days when Winter was a break from football, and a chance to beat Woodridge (twice even) to prevent having to play Canton McKinley in the opening round of the tournament.

[Dave in Green]

If you bleed Orange and Black, you don't want a blow by blow of what the Polar Bears did to the Bulldogs. Green HS has a decent varsity team, but not in the same class as Jackson and other powers. No future Zips players at Green HS, sorry to say.

[wadszip]

Following is a little regular season statistical comparison between Egner and Henniger. Keep in mind that Henniger is the focal point of the Jackson offense and plays mostly a few feet from the bucket, while Egner plays mostly on the wing except when Henniger is on the bench. So Henniger gets more close-in, high-percentage shots as well as more opportunities for rebounds:

Player .................... Pts .......... FG % ..... Reb

Josh Egner ............ 13.3 ........ .568 ....... 7.5

Mark Henniger ....... 20.6 ........ .620 ...... 8.9

Neither player has a high enough number of assists, free throw percentage or 3-point shooting to appear on the list of top players in these categories.

In most of the discussions about the abilities of these two players, the following points are generally mentioned:

Henniger is more polished, steady and even-tempered, and is a better overall HS performer with good D1 potential.

Egner has more raw athleticism, explosiveness and volatility, and has more potential D1 upside if he has good coaching to polish his skills and channel his emotional energy.

Kind of ironic that Can't is getting the preacher's son and UA is getting the volatile one.

Canton Rep Article

Jackson plays Massillon in a sectional tournament game Friday, March 5, at 6:15 pm at the Canton Memorial Civic Center.

Special note: For those who are concerned about properly spelling players' names, even those going to Can't, Henniger is widely misspelled as Henninger. I had picked up the wrong spelling from a bad source, and have now corrected it in all of my previous posts.

EDIT: Rebounds were transposed and are now corrected.

A friend of mine has been following the Jackson program for the last four years. I've been asking him about the two players. A lot of what you said is spot on. After last year, he was convinced Egner had the higher upside of the two. However, from talking to him, it sounds like Henniger has improved tremendously. He raves about how smooth Henniger's game is. Henniger has also been carrying the Jackson team (while Egner has provided that nice second option.) He still loves Egner's upside, but seems less convinced that Egner will turn out to be the better college prospect. But that's not to discredit Egner. I think it more has to do with him now believing both will be very productive college players.

With all that said. I was critical of the program's lack of athleticsim after the VCU loss. Egner will bring an above the rim game. That's something this program needs. So I wouldn't trade the two if given the chance. I asked my friend if he thougth Egner's above the rim game can translate to the college level (or is he just dunking over, for the most part 6-1 high school kids). He thinks Egner can. He said it is tough to find a comparision, but said he may be a slightly less athletic Rex Chapman. He wasn't trying to compare their overall games, Egner is at least 2 or 3 inches taller, just jumping ability.

If we can even come close to getting somebody who can leap like this, we're in great shape

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lYnWsCUvg0...feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwLCwfOu1q4...feature=related

P.S. Part of the reason Henniger is more polished is because he is a 4-year varsity player. Egner really came out of nowhere his Sophomore year and then starting turning heads last year.

P.S.S. I think your premise of building a team around a few athletic superstars and some solid role players is valid. But using the 2008 Olympic team is a horrible example of that. When it's all said and done that team will have 9 Hall of Famers (LeBron, Kobe, Wade, Dwight Howard, Bosh, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Carmelo and Jason Kidd), two Hall of Very Good players (Boozer, Michael Redd) and one role player (Tayshaun Prince) ... though you can argue Prince belongs in the Hall of Very Good category.

The Spanish team, which gave the U.S. all it could handle, is a better example of that. Superstars were Pau Gasol and Ricky Rubio ... with solid role players like Calderon, Marc Gasol, Rudy Fernandez, etc.

[Hilltopper]

Yo DiG,
You got to rep the new hometown my man! Enough with the Polar Bears. How did our Bulldogs look? As a former freshman benchwarmer for the Orange and Black, I long for the olden days when Winter was a break from football, and a chance to beat Woodridge (twice even) to prevent having to play Canton McKinley in the opening round of the tournament.

Don't let Dave mislead you, the Bulldogs are on a roll.

http://www.ohio.com/sports/high_school/86504652.html

COPLEY TWP.: The boys basketball teams at Green and East play contrasting styles, yet both were effective Thursday night in Division I sectional finals at Copley High School.

Green defeated Barberton 72-52 in the second game, mainly by using a half-court offense, and East beat Nordonia 70-36 in the first game by deploying an up-tempo offense and disruptive defense.

Green (14-8) and East (15-6) advance to play each other in a district semifinal game at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Copley.

http://www.ohio.com/sports/prep_stats/86504632.html

Tournament Scoreboard


Thursday's Results
Copley Division I Sectional
East 70, Nordonia 36
Green 72, Barberton 52

[Dave in Green]

Hey, I said Green HS had a decent team. But with a 14-8 record, you just can't put them in the same class as Jackson and other powers. Congrats to Green for winning a round or two in the state tournament.

On the subject of role players in the 2008 U.S. men's Olympic team, it does sound absurd when you name all those great NBA players and say some of them were role players. But that's exactly what the coaching staff said they were going to select. Redd, for example, was brought in exclusively for his 3-point shooting. When you pick a dozen players from the top basketball league in the world, it's hard to think of any of them as role players. But the coaching staff looked at several of them in that light for the specific roles they were selected to play on the Olympic team rather than as all-around great players.