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Summer Session(s)


GoZips

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Monday, June 9th, marked the start of individual workouts as authorized by the NCAA. Each player is allowed two hours of coached

practice per week. At Akron this broken into 3 forty minute sessions per set. This means these practices can continue for each summer

school session.

After just two workouts it is already clear that the Zips have GREATLY improved the point guard position. Both scholarship signees and

the preferred walk-on have demonstrated that they have excellent skills and will challenge for major minutes.

The incumbent, Carmelo Betancourt, has seen the writing on the wall. Melo has stepped up his game to meet the challenge.

It is much too early to render any judgment. Only thing I would say is that the fans of Boston College were choking on sour grapes when

they blew off Noah Robotham as a "two star" MAC level talent. At the end the two major schools competing for Noah were Oregon State

and Missouri. Neither are MAC schools.

Antinio Jackson is lightening quick. He also has a deadly "three" ball. The walk-on, Malcom Walters, is showing that he is skilled.

Pat Forsythe has filled out and is imposing. I heard him referred to as "The Undertaker". Kwan Cheatham is working with the bigs.

Thus far "KC" is taking the low post banging well. Kwan also bulked up nicely.

BJ Gladden added weight and upper body strength. Jake and Reggie are healthy.

Competition for minutes should be fierce.

Next step is recruiting front court players.

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Next step is recruiting front court players.

That is the one glaring issue that Harney's departure brings up. The only real bigs on the roster are Tree, Forsythe, Johnson, and Cheatham. If one or more of those guys goes down or misses any significant time we become a pretty small team.

Just a thought, but I wouldn't mind seeing some 3 guard lineups with Kretzer at PF and one of Tree, Forsythe, or Cheatham at C. I think you could go a little more up-tempo with a lineup like that.

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Gladden has added quite a bit of bulk during his redshirt season. He will be playing in the front court.

I was wondering if that would happen since he guarded Tree a lot in practice. Hopefully he can use his quicks to get by the taller defenders he might face if he is in the lineup at the PF position.

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First week of practice now in the book. Saw nothing to diminish the initial enthusiasm regarding the Freshmen point guards.

The point has to be run by a savvy, quick, skilled player that is a mixture of selfish and generous. Wednesday's open gym saw a point drive the lane on a breakaway, look to both sides, pull up and bury a 12 foot shot. Previously, the point was afraid to take such a wide open shot. These cold blooded shooters attacked and delivered.

The freshmen bring, savvy, cunning, quicks and the lethality of scoring off the dribble drive. They are quick. At this time I will not reveal who did what. It is way too early to make selective judgments. All three are better than what the Zips have enjoyed in recent years.

One thing that stands out is off the ball play. These guys know how to play the point and lead. Speaking of leading, Tree has been vocal and pushing his team mates. This is good to see.

No one is seriously hurt, though a couple are a bit banged up.

BJ reminds me of a slightly smaller Romeo Travis. Which is probably why hilltopper has visions of BJ going down low. I think that is a reach as he is even under sized for the three hole. Aaron is as bouncy and positive as ever. Big Dog is not as polished as we hoped. BUT, he is still a force. The big surprise in my eyes is the gritty post play Kwan is exhibiting. We sure need his bulk down low.

A week off up coming as its Summer Camp time for the kiddies. Clev-Akron pro-am play begins Sunday, June 15 at Walsh University.

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Had a chance to attend open gym Wednesday at the JAR and get a first look of the season at all the players but Deji, who was in class. Most of my attention was focused on the two new PGs. But I can confirm some of GoZips' observations. Pat definitely looks as if he's been hitting the weights. He looks more like a man now than a big kid. Kwan also looks a little more bulked up and seems to be more enthusiastic about banging bodies in the paint. We need that from him to compensate for the loss of Nick. BJ could also fill part of that role. In HS he was described by one recruiting service as an "undersized power forward." At 6-6 he gives away an inch or two to most D-I college 4s, but it looks as if he's added some bulk to the 215 pounds he was listed at last season. BJ plays a physical game in addition to being a good ball handler, and looks to be capable of backing up multiple positions.

Looking at Noah for the first time I really didn't see any surprises. He's about what I expected from all I've read and the videos I've watched. He has a pretty mature and polished game for a true freshman in his first college open gym. He reads the floor really well and is already hitting veteran players with pinpoint passes in their favorite shooting spots. Most of the time he appears calm and deliberate in setting up plays. But he has deceptive moves that allow him to quickly change gears and blow past defenders to get to the bucket. No single aspect of his game really stood out to me in this open gym. He just struck me as having a well-rounded game for having just enrolled in college.

Antino, on the other hand, was one surprise after another. I expected to see a skinny, fragile-looking little kid crying out for a redshirt. While it's true he lacks bulk, I was surprised to see lots of solid muscle definition. He looks like a flyweight powerlifter. Instead of being all skin and bones, he has a lot of visible muscle on his wiry frame. Then there's the speed and quickness factor. What I've read about Antino and seen in the videos didn't prepare me for what I saw. He's without a doubt the quickest and fastest Zips player I can recall seeing. The college game will not be too fast for him. He's also a ball of non-stop energy. His motor appears to be right up there with Aaron Jackson's. He's really hard to shake on defense because he uses his speed and quickness to constantly harass his man. After watching him break up a few plays I mentally nicknamed him The Disrupter. On offense Antino effectively uses his speed and quickness to break down defenses and create space for passing and shooting.

Obviously these are very initial impressions. I'm not ready to anoit this edition of the Zips as a Sweet 16 team, though I hope they set a high goal like that for themselves. The unexpected loss of Nick along with Q will require improved games from more than one player. It's asking a lot for a true freshman PG to step in and run a D-I college team at a high level. Can Noah and/or Antino rise to the occasion? At least in this first open gym they both passed my eye test as true point guards who can handle the ball, feed their teammates and knock down shots. It will be fun to watch them develop over the summer and fall months.

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Yeah, no practice this week as the players are working the Summer camps.

Today's lesson:

Take the time to read Coach Kest's tweets and retweets. Many a valuable lessons to learn.

One that truly applies to college basketball: The Spurs passed the ball three hundred - sixty-seven times

more than the Heat did over the series.

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Yeah, no practice this week as the players are working the Summer camps.

Today's lesson:

Take the time to read Coach Kest's tweets and retweets. Many a valuable lessons to learn.

One that truly applies to college basketball: The Spurs passed the ball three hundred - sixty-seven times

more than the Heat did over the series.

And most of those were to another member of their team.
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Gladden has added quite a bit of bulk during his redshirt season. He will be playing in the front court.

That won't surprise me. I've always seen him as a body type that probably won't end up playing a guard spot or on the perimeter, even before he's supposedly "bulked up". But, I know he can shoot.

I picture him as a guy who might keep moving closer and closer to the basket as his career progresses, much like Brett McKnight.

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Folks, it is still way, way, way to early to speculate on who is starting, coming off the bench, getting red shirted, etc.

Practice this week was held at Central-Hower. The women held a girls camp in the JAR.

Speaking of the JAR; let us pray that little or nothing is spent on more lipstick for that pig. Enough unbroken seats, good locker rooms and excellent players lounges,new, improved lighting just this past season, almost no restroom facilities and concession stands that are never open,the venerable JAR is as good as it deserves to be.

Everyone is basically healthy. A few bumps and bruises. Currently no walking wounded. The three freshmen are in the best shape of all the players. Definite improvement in overall conditioning today verses three weeks ago.

The freshmen are playing their tails off. They learn quickly, show excellent skill sets; best of all, they shoot the lights out.

BJ Gladden has greatly increased his body mass. He reminds me of scaled down Rome. (Romeo Travis). Coaches say he reminds them more of Brett McKnight. BJ is doing all that is being asked of him. His stock is way up.

Tree is 100% Tree. Looking fine. Pat is back to full go and he has grown into a man. His bulk and moves remind me of Zeke his senior season. Dog is still slightly behind, but works hard. The Big Dog will get plenty of minutes. They are still working Kwan with the bigs. He seems a lot more comfortable in the blocks this year. Still, Pat is too much for KC to muscle.

Reggie and Jake are the best shooters we have. Both have great range and should score double digits most of the time.

Deji is reminding me of Jimmie Conners. Does many aspects of the game with finesse and toughness.

Nyles and Carmelo have major battles on their hands if they want minutes. But, do not sell them short. The competition is raising their game.

ESPN game at Penn State as part of the Charleston Classic. Seven home OOC games, three in Charleston means only three OOC road games. Slick.

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Seven home OOC games, three in Charleston means only three OOC road games. Slick.

What's the reasoning behind this? With the RPI formula penalizing home games (0.8 multiplier for home win, and 1.20 multiplier for home loss, and the opposite for road games), why try to avoid road games especially when teams in the past have struggled when faced with a large hostile crowd? I'd rather have them be battle-tested.

I do like having a game at PSU, especially with the possibility of it being a follow-up to a football upset.

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What's the reasoning behind this? With the RPI formula penalizing home games (0.8 multiplier for home win, and 1.20 multiplier for home loss, and the opposite for road games), why try to avoid road games especially when teams in the past have struggled when faced with a large hostile crowd? I'd rather have them be battle-tested.

I do like having a game at PSU, especially with the possibility of it being a follow-up to a football upset.

Rationale: Young Zips team. Two seniors, two red shirt freshman, two true freshmen. Since most of the games

are "buy" games, Most of the home opponents will be low majors.

The objectives are to score wins and season the young players. A grueling schedule is a disadvantage.

Schedule to build the players confidence, don't you think?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just caught up with the George Thomas update on the Zips that ran a few days ago. Confirming what GoZips has been telling us, Coach Dambrot likes his two new true freshman PGs a lot and also thinks BJ can handle the ball pretty well. Melo is still in the mix for PG time, but Nyles is being moved to shooting guard (where he'll have tough competition for PT). Coach Dambrot is expecting BJ and Aaron to help replace Nick and Q. A little surprise at the end of the story are the new numbers for Tree. Listed at 6-7, 235 pounds last season, he's now described as 6-8, 250. Coincidentally, that's the exact same height and weight as a player named LeBron who occasionally scrimmages with the Zips.

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Sunday, July 13 report from Canton.

A number of Zips played some Summer ball at Walsh University over the weekend.

I can not report on Saturday games as I was not there. Sunday got a chance to watch

most of the freshmen and redshirts. Impressive. BJ and Action Jackson put on a clinic

as their team crushed the opponent a hundred and seven gazillion to thirty seven, burp.

Kwan bombed in numerous long balls and still had an improving inside game. Antino once

again showed why you MUST guard him at all times. His three ball is NBA deadly.

Big surprise for me was the excellent floor play of grey shirt Jimond Ivey. This kid is the

complete package.

Last game of the day featured Sina King verses Taylor Rupurt. Taylor's team was a tad better

edging Sina and team by one point in double OT. Sina looks completely fit.

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