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2017-2018


UAZip0510

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Updated 5/14/17

 

On Scholarship: 13

Open Scholarships: 0

 

Isaiah Williams / Jaden Sayles 

Daniel Utomi / Eric Parrish

Emmanuel Olojakpoke / Mark Kostelac 

Jimond Ivey / Craig Eubanks / 

Malcolm Duvivier / Torrey Patton / Marquelle McIntyre

 

Loren Jackson (transfer, must sit out 17-18)

Deng Riak (transfer, must sit out 17-18)

Eric Hester (transfer, must sit out 17-18)

Edited by UAZip0510
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I think Big Mike is a key to next year's success.  It's a shame he was injured and basically totally wasted a year of eligibility & development.

 

We'll be smaller, but more athletic next year with the additions of Eric Parrish (6'6" wing) & Isaiah Williams (6'7" wing/PF).

 

PG: Noah / Antino / TDM

2G: Ivey / Josh

W: Utomi / Parrish

PF: Williams / Olojakpoke

C: Hughes / Sayles

 

I really hope we try to play a more up-tempo game next year.  I thought we were a much better team this year when we'd push the ball up the court.  IMHO it's always better to try to get a bucket before the defense is set.  Gonna be a learning curve next season adapting the offense to the post-Big Dog era.

Edited by Blue & Gold
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Maybe the smallest front court as far as I can remember? However we'll have a stable of guards and wings. I'm assuming this is by design, so I'm guessing we'll be playing with a little more tempo next year. Which is fine with me because that's when we were at our best this year. 

 

We are losing two important pieces. Big Dog was such a luxury to have someone to get the ball to when in trouble and know you're getting a good look from close. Kwan made us unstoppable when he was hot. Unfortunately that wasn't as often down the stretch. Utomi should slot right in and hopefully not provide much of a drop off.

 

Ivey really came into his own in my opinion. I'm looking for him to compete for MAC POTY next year. Between him, Josh, Antino, Noah, TDM we have some great options. I don't know anything about the newcomers. 

 

It's a bummer thinking that we need to get the whole way back to Saturday night at the Q. Go Zips

 

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6 minutes ago, zippy5 said:

Maybe the smallest front court as far as I can remember?

Quite possibly.

Big Mike: 6'9"

Jayden Sayles: 6'9" (though I wouldn't be surprised if he comes in at 6'10" this summer)

Olojakpoke: 6'8"

Isaiah Williams: 6'7"

7 minutes ago, zippy5 said:

It's a bummer thinking that we need to get the whole way back to Saturday night at the Q. Go Zips

Crazy to think about.  

 

I really hope we kick our away non-conference schedule up a couple notches.

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Here's how I choose to look at it:

 

We all know what we have with experienced players.  Our overall experience level is probably no different than it's been any other year.  So, the x-factors will be the following:

 

1) Forget about Utomi.  He's going to be a big contributor.  But, who's going to have (hopefully) a Conyers or Deji-type rise during the off season between Michael, Poke, or Aaron?

 

2) Are we going to have any Newcomer who makes a significant contributor right away to help us win a few more games?  We usually always have one of those guys.  From B. McKnight all the way to Noah, Antino and Utomi.  And next year, I think we'll need that guy more than most years.  

 

If those 2 thing happen, we're one of the Top few teams in our league once again.  If not, we're looking for a late season rise and a MAC tournament run from one of those less-than-usual positions.  But I think the crap about having a "non-winning" season is ridiculous.  We still have way too much experience than that.  We're still a competitive MAC team next year, regardless.  

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Skip, I love your posts. You have more than enough sanity to balance out the rest of us. Next year may not be great for us, but it also won't be horrible. We do need someone to step it up next season. For my money that is big Mike, but only towards the end of the season.

 

The loss of Josh will not affect us. He could only shoot the 3. His D was nonexistent. He could not dribble and his decision-making was flawed. With quickness being an issue he needs to be at a lower profile program. I wish him well and will always consider him a Zip. I am impressed with all the posts praising his character.

 

Keith needs to go back to fundamentals and instill discipline in his teams. That will gain us more wins than any new player we could recruit.  

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Big Mike is the key to the Zips season.  Poke can be a contributor, but he doesn't have the body to bang for extended periods.  Even if Big Mike comes through, they still don't have a strong 4.  I guess it's Utomi's job, but he's really more of a 3 and will never carry much of the rebounding load you hope for from a 4.  A resurgence from Aron Jackson would be nice, but I don't think we can count on it after he regressed this season.

 

I hope we see a more up tempo offense and some pressure defense, maybe even an occasional zone (gasp!) to mix things up.  As a part of pushing the ball more, I'd love to see the ball in Antino's hands more.

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I typed and deleted, typed and deleted, typed and deleted... so many interchangeable parts next year.

 

Like others have said, Big Mike is the key.  If he steps up we're fine, if not, we're in trouble.

 

I think incoming freshman post Jordan Sayles has the potential to be a really good one.  He's 6'9", long and explosive.  He was just so-so in high school & sometimes put up anemic numbers that made you scratch your head... but his team was bloody awful, so I'm guessing other teams just focussed 100% on Sayles & made other people beat them, which they almost never did.  

 

But we're going to have a lot of long athletes on the wings, all between 6'4" - 6'7".

 

Ivey (6-4)

Utomi (6-6)

Williams (6-7)

Parrish (6-6)

Eubanks (6-5)

 

That's quite an arsenal of pure athleticism that I'm excited to see run the floor.  I hope KD turns them loose & we play much more uptempo than we did this year.  

 

Much more uptempo.  

Much more uptempo.  

MUCH more uptempo.  

 

Put any THREE of those guys on the court along with ONE point guard and ONE post player and LET THEM RUN AND PRESSURE THE BALL.  

 

Bench crew: Aaron Jackson & Ty Dalton.

Edited by Blue & Gold
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I'm not going to spend a ton of time analyzing this team yet because there's a chance Josh isn't the only transfer and other players could enter the picture.  

 

Here's who our top competitors are losing:

 

Kent: Jimmy Hall, Deon Edwin, Jon Fleming

 

Ohio: Antonio Campbell, Kenny Kaminski, Drew Crabtree

 

Buffalo: Raheem Johnson, Blake Hamilton, Willie Conner, David Kadiri

 

Central Michigan also loses Marcus Keene, who declared for the NBA Draft.  

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13 hours ago, UAZip0510 said:

I'm not going to spend a ton of time analyzing this team yet because there's a chance Josh isn't the only transfer and other players could enter the picture.  

 

Here's who our top competitors are losing:

 

Kent: Jimmy Hall, Deon Edwin, Jon Fleming

 

Ohio: Antonio Campbell, Kenny Kaminski, Drew Crabtree

 

Central Michigan also loses Marcus Keene, who declared for the NBA Draft.  

:wave::wave::screwks::wave::wave:

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