2014-2015

[Dave in Green]

Quickzips, theoretically I see what you're getting at about Tree needing space in the paint to be more effective on offense. In reality, I can't see a wing with a growth spurt taking over the starting center position from two accomplished players who've been true centers as long as they've been playing basketball. I liked what I saw Kwan doing in the paint in the one open gym I've attended so far this year. But what I saw does not equate to starting center over Big Dog and Pat. If Tree needs more space in the paint, that can be worked out by better teamwork with Big Dog or Pat moving away from the bucket when Tree's ready to drive, and then sliding back into the paint to go for the rebound on Tree's missed shots.

[Quickzips]

I get what you're saying Dave, except for one thing. I personally would not use "accomplished player" to describe either Johnson or Forsythe.

Pat has largely been a disappointment since he got here. He had a few good games early in his first year, but floundered as the season went along. He had every opportunity to lock down the starting C position last year, and he couldn't do it. In fact, there were times when you had to wonder why he was even in the rotation.

Despite Pat not playing well Isaiah averaged less than 14 minutes per game last year. He only scored in double digits twice (and failed to do so at all in the conference season). Overall, his 2013-14 average stat line reads 3.8 points, 2.8 boards, .9 blocks, 49.5% from the field, 59.5% from the line and only 13.4 minutes per game. His biggest flaw is well known, and that is conditioning and athleticism. To put it mildly, he is a boat-anchor in this era of teams that are looking to play more of an open court, spread the floor kind of game. Not exactly my definition of accomplished.

Now, is Kwan an "accomplished player"? Of course not. So that leaves (in my mind anyways) three players with serious question marks that you could potentially put in at the C position. With that being said, I can't make my decision on who I want in the lineup based solely on history. There has to be something more that goes into it.

We all know that for KD the effort that each of these guys puts in during the offseason, and throughout the season in practice (and specifically on the defensive end of the floor) will be a big factor.

To me the other big factor is who fits the best with the rest of my lineup. If I'm KD and I look up and down my roster the first thing I notice is my all-MAC, player of the year candidate at PF. I want to do everything in my power to maximize the impact he can have on the game. In my opinion, the best way to do that is to surround him with other players who can space the floor. Whether those are guys like McAdams and Kretzer who are great long distance shooters or guys who can slash to the hole from the wings (or both) those are the guys I want on the floor. I want Tree to have as much space to operate in the post as I can give him. I simply can't see doing that by having him log big minutes with Johnson or Forsythe on the floor.

[Dave in Green]

Of course I meant that Pat and Big Dog were accomplished centers in HS whereas Kwan has no history playing center. I agree that none of them have yet demonstrated great accomplishment at the college level, where they have a total combined experience of only four seasons. All three need to be given a fair chance to show what they can contribute to the team in various scenarios this season. I can see where there'd be times where you'd want to play small ball without a true center on the floor. But few mid-major teams have the luxury of two big (6-10 and 6-11) HS all-star centers on the roster, and you don't want to waste that opportunity by not giving them a fair chance.

So while I agree it's worth experimenting with an untried center (Kwan) playing outside the paint to see how it works, clearing the lane to create more open space for Tree on offense is only one aspect of the total game. By itself it's not enough to convince me that Pat and Big Dog should be demoted to the end of the bench before the season has begun without giving them opportunities to show what they can contribute to overall team effectiveness on both offense and defense.

[Dr Z]

I like your thought process QZ. I would guess the coaching staff's priorities differ. Like everyone else, I really hope that the PG situation is polar opposite from last season. I also hope some "veterans" take it upon themselves to up their work habits away from practice time. We will be good in the Mac, we need to be great.

[UAZip0510]

UAZip0510, have you actually seen Antino in person? As I mentioned in the Summer Session(s) thread, before seeing Antino I assumed he would be a good candidate for a redshirt due to his low weight equating to a lack of strength and energy. I was surprised to see that he carries a lot of well-defined muscle on his lean frame, and doesn't appear to be lacking strength and energy. It looks as if he's already been spending a lot of time in the weight room.

Nope, just basing this off of pictures I've seen and the usual build of a freshman point guard.

[Dave in Green]

Right. I hope you get a chance to see the Antino who showed up at the JAR to compare against the photos you've seen. All his HS photos I saw led me to believe he was a skinny little kid in need of a redshirt year full of serious conditioning. The Antino I saw live at the JAR does not look like the kid in the HS pictures. He has a great motor to go along with his quickness and speed. He's still lean and wiry, but with much greater than expected muscle definition that was not hinted at in any of the HS photos like the one below, which is about a year old and is the highest definition photo I could find of Antino.

[UAZip0510]

I disagree with almost every part of that lineup.

1) Playing Tree and Johnson together for significant minutes is a problem in my mind. Tree is most effective from about 12 feet in, but he needs space to operate down there. Johnson is almost exclusively a low-post scorer. When he is in the game you can almost count on two extra bodies clogging up the lane for Tree (Johnson and whoever is defending Johnson). It limits the effectiveness of our best player (Tree) to put him on the court with a guy like Johnson. I've taken some flack for it on here before, but I still maintain that Kwan at C gives us the best compliment to Tree.

2) Deji by no means "found himself" last year. He had a couple of good games here and there, but he was wildly inconsistent overall. To the point that he was benched for a good part of the season. He is going to have to take a major step forward for him to start for the duration of the season.

3) I'm never a fan of taking a 6th man of the year and putting him in the starting lineup because of it. Take a look at the Spurs with Manu Ginobli if you want to see what having a great 6th man, and keeping him in that role, can do for you. I would rather see Reggie start at SG as our designated 3 point shooter in the starting lineup and bring Jake off the bench. On top of that, with the injury history that Jake is building up, I expect that we will want to monitor his minutes pretty closely.

4) I actually think Aaron Jackson will be solidly in the rotation by the time the season roles around. In fact, I can see him as probably our second our third man off the bench.

5) As Dave said, I think you very well may see Antino push Betancourt for PG minutes. Melo is going to have to show he can score the basketball enough to at least make defenses account for him. If not the two freshmen are going to push him out of the rotation.

If I had to put together a rotation right now:

Starters:

PG - Robotham

SG - McAdams

SF - Gladden

PF - Treadwell

C - Cheatham

Rotation:

1st off the bench: Kretzer

2nd off the bench: Johnson

3rd off the bench: Aaron Jackson

4th off the bench: Betancourt/Antino Jackson

5th off the bench: Forsythe

6th off the bench: Ibitayo

Odd Man Out: Evans and whoever of Betancourt/Antino Jackson doesn't take the backup PG minutes

1) Why is playing Tree with Johnson a problem? Didn't he play his first two seasons next to another big man who spent a lot of time down low? Furthermore, Kwan has never played center, does not project as a center, and does not stretch the floor enough to give credibility to the idea of opening up the paint for Tree (Kwan shot .283 from the field last year - worst on the team).

2) From 2012-2013 to 2013-2014, Deji's field goal percentage rose from .329 to .466, his three-point percentage went up from .233 to .394, and he played outstanding defense when called upon. Given that I believe Dambrot wants to keep one of Kretzer/McAdams coming off the bench and the lack of experienced options, Ibitayo will start Day One. We agree that Gladden will take over at some point in the season, but not day one...KD isn't starting two freshmen on day one.

3) Jake isn't in my starting lineup because he was 6th Man of the Year, he's in my starting five because he deserves to be. He's a better all-around player to me than McAdams, so I'd like to see him starting.

4) Agree on Jackson having a chance to break the rotation...just not right away.

5) I think Melo's defense is a bit underrated. I think they'll give Antino a chance to develop for a year as a redshirt before taking on backup PG minutes the following year.

[UAZip0510]

Right. I hope you get a chance to see the Antino who showed up at the JAR to compare against the photos you've seen. All his HS photos I saw led me to believe he was a skinny little kid in need of a redshirt year full of serious conditioning. The Antino I saw live at the JAR does not look like the kid in the HS pictures. He has a great motor to go along with his quickness and speed. He's still lean and wiry, but with much greater than expected muscle definition that was not hinted at in any of the HS photos like the one below, which is about a year old and is the highest definition photo I could find of Antino.

I believe he's more built now (I'd hope so). I still think they'll give him a redshirt to develop his body further and allow his game to grow. We'll see though.

[GoZips]

People, it is nice that you are "hawking" your favorite players. That said, playing them out of position solves little.

Kwan just does not yet have the heart or the skill of a big man. He behaves like what he is, a tall small forward.

KC has done a nice job off season of improving his size, bulk and conditioning. Still, Pat blows him up down on

the blocks. KC is probably a year away from playing inside. We may see Kwan get minutes in the blocks against

weaker opponents as the coaches develop his skill set. This does not mean he is a bonafide post player. It just

means he is learning.

Opening inside space for Tree comes by forcing our opponents to guard our guards. Last season opponents

rarely bothered to defend our guards. Why? Because they could not shoot. Both of the freshman guards can

and will shoot the lights out. Opponents will not have the luxury of double teaming Tree. Both BJ and Aaron

have size, motors and attack the basket. If either of them play good defense the guard issues are resolved.

Let's not band-aid fix our problems. Instead, let's use the fresh talent to make the team better.

Akron's coaching staff is one of the best in the business. So, please, when they don't do it "your way" relax

and enjoy the results.

D.I.G. saw one open gym and reversed his analysis. These freshmen ARE the real deal. Take the time to go

watch the games on Sundays down at Walsh.

[GoZips]

Duplicate post.

I really dislike this new version of ZipsNation.

What we kindly refer to as a POS

[skip-zip]

Maybe not my own starting lineup, but I think after all of this time, I know how Keith will go with his experience to start the season.

These are the only 8 options.

Tree

Big Dog or Pat

Kretzer or McAdams

Deji

Betancourt or Evans

If I saw Cheatham, Gladden, Jackson, or any freshman or newcomer in the starting lineup on day one, it would speak volumes in terms of how much they had impressed KD during the pre-season.

[UAZip0510]

People, it is nice that you are "hawking" your favorite players. That said, playing them out of position solves little.

Kwan just does not yet have the heart or the skill of a big man. He behaves like what he is, a tall small forward.

KC has done a nice job off season of improving his size, bulk and conditioning. Still, Pat blows him up down on

the blocks. KC is probably a year away from playing inside. We may see Kwan get minutes in the blocks against

weaker opponents as the coaches develop his skill set. This does not mean he is a bonafide post player. It just

means he is learning.

Opening inside space for Tree comes by forcing our opponents to guard our guards. Last season opponents

rarely bothered to defend our guards. Why? Because they could not shoot. Both of the freshman guards can

and will shoot the lights out. Opponents will not have the luxury of double teaming Tree. Both BJ and Aaron

have size, motors and attack the basket. If either of them play good defense the guard issues are resolved.

Let's not band-aid fix our problems. Instead, let's use the fresh talent to make the team better.

Akron's coaching staff is one of the best in the business. So, please, when they don't do it "your way" relax

and enjoy the results.

D.I.G. saw one open gym and reversed his analysis. These freshmen ARE the real deal. Take the time to go

watch the games on Sundays down at Walsh.

Bingo. Zeke and Tree didn't have a problem co-existing inside because we had Abreu and Walsh who were both high-level shooters from outside. Last year, not so much.

[Dave in Green]

Skip, I always appreciate your basketball analysis, and I think you nailed this one. Coach Dambrot will always begin the season starting the veterans even when a younger player is exceptional at his position. Even Zeke didn't start his first game as a freshman. PF Nik Cvetinovic started at center while center Zeke Marshall sat on the bench. Zeke didn't start at center until his 4th game as a freshman.

I don't expect that to change next season. The veterans will start the early games and the newcomers will sub in. One clue will be the PT of the newcomers in the early games. Zeke didn't start his first game at UA, but he did play 24 minutes off the bench -- an early sign of what was to come. GoZips will have a good feel for what might happen as he attends all the practice sessions. He can't always say everything he wants to say, but he'll drop some clues about who he thinks is looking like they might be a candidate for long minutes as the season goes on.

I should add that I probably put less weight on who starts than many on this forum. I look more at who plays the most minutes in each game and who's on the floor at the end of close games. Those are the players the coach tends to rely on the most. Any newcomers who break into that category should be clearly superior options to the veterans at their positions.

[skip-zip]

Skip, I always appreciate your basketball analysis, and I think you nailed this one. Coach Dambrot will always begin the season starting the veterans even when a younger player is exceptional at his position. Even Zeke didn't start his first game as a freshman. PF Nik Cvetinovic started at center while center Zeke Marshall sat on the bench. Zeke didn't start at center until his 4th game as a freshman.

I don't expect that to change next season. The veterans will start the early games and the newcomers will sub in. One clue will be the PT of the newcomers in the early games. Zeke didn't start his first game at UA, but he did play 24 minutes off the bench -- an early sign of what was to come.

Good point. Way to identify a possible trend. I'll look for a newcomer to play significant minutes early as a sign that someone could possibly unseat a veteran in the starting lineup next year.

[ZachTheZip]

Darius Hoisten has left to play for a DII squad in Georgia.

[Dr Z]

Here is a source on Darius.

[Dr Z]

"This year's schedule is a difficult one, providing us the chance to play multiple high-major programs and a pair of quality mid-majors at home," Dambrot said. "We are happy to have 16 homes games, including nine in a 10-game stretch, as well as having the opportunity to play in an ESPN-sponsored event for the third-straight season."

2014-15 Akron Basketball Schedule

Mon, Nov. 10 – Rochester College (Mich.)#

Fri., Nov. 14 – UMBC

Thurs., Nov. 20 – vs. USC (ESPN3)^

Fri., Nov. 21 – vs. Drexel or Miami (Fla.) (ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN3)^

Sun., Nov. 23 – TBD (ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN3)^

Tues., Nov. 25 – at Penn State

Sun., Nov. 30 – Bryant

Tues., Dec. 2 – Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Thurs., Dec. 4 – Western Illinois

Sat., Dec. 13 – Middle Tennessee

Tues., Dec. 16 – at North Dakota State

Sat., Dec. 20 – Bluffton

Tues., Dec. 30 – Marshall

Sat., Jan. 3 – Coppin State

Tues., Jan. 6 – Western Michigan*

Fri., Jan. 9 – at Toledo*

Wed., Jan. 14 – Bowling Green*

Sat., Jan. 17 – Central Michigan*

Wed., Jan. 21 – at Northern Illinois*

Sat., Jan. 24 – at Western Michigan*

Tues., Jan. 27 – Ball State*

Sat., Jan. 31 – at Bowling Green*

Wed., Feb. 4 – at Ohio*

Sat., Feb. 7 – Buffalo*

Tues., Feb. 10 – Can't State*

Sat., Feb. 14 – at Eastern Michigan*

Wed., Feb. 18 – Toledo*

Sat., Feb. 21 – Miami (Ohio)*

Tues., Feb. 24 – at Buffalo*

Sat., Feb. 28 – Ohio*

Tues., March 3 – at Miami (Ohio)*

Fri., March 6 – at Can't State*

source

Ken+ gets Kansas!

[zippy5]

Home OOC - Rochester, UMBC, Bryant, Arkansas Pine Bluff, Western Illinois, MTSU, Bluffton, Marshall, Coppin State. Blah

[Valpo Zip]

Anyone wants to guess what our home games average attendance going to be?

[MDZip]

Ken+ gets Kansas!

But they got them at Kansas. I think the Zips could take on those types of games but they'd have to play on the opposing teams court all of the time too. I'd like to see a bit stronger of an OOC schedule but the Zips really drew bad luck in the double crossover opponents from the west this year - they get Toledo and WMU twice. Ugh. Do not like the 18 game schedule, I thought the 16 game schedule where you play your own division twice and the other once was just fine.

[Dr Z]

But they got them at Kansas.

I would guess Kansas basketball atmosphere would be kind of cool. Some fans may look forward to that, and enjoy the trip.

[Roo]

That schedule just screams excitement for people to want to come and cheer on such a high level of basketball.................

Your average basketball fan is going to recognize maybe one or two of those teams. Many people don't even realize Marshall has a basketball program....

[GP1]

Bluffton and Coppin State are a couple of turds I'd rather not see floating around that late in the OOC schedule, but other than that I don't have much to complain about. The Charleston tournament is a huge opportunity for the Zips to prove themselves early against some solid competition. Then they come right back to PSU for some bottom Big Ten competition and have a good opportunity.

There is a good combination of guaranteed wins, not too many guaranteed losses and some evenly matched games. I like the OOC schedule.

I love WMU, Toledo and BG right out of the conference schedule gate. The last six games will be a real test as well.

This is a very competitive schedule for the Zips at all stages of the season (beginning, middle, end). They need to have a good pre season and be as prepared as possible early.

BTW, I always enjoy seeing Marshall on the schedule.

A good schedule as far as I'm concerned. Not great, but good.

[LZIp]

disappointing as usual. Insanity- doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

[Dave in Green]

Insanity is thinking that things you've never had any experience trying to make happen are "easy."