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2017 6'11 C Mark Kostelac IMG Academy


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Welcome to Akron indeed. Mark is a very good signing but let's not put too much on his shoulders right away. He will still have to adapt to the college game and even in the MAC it will be quite a challenge for a freshman. He needs time to develop his game, strength, and BBall intelligence. But make no mistake I sure as hell am glad he's a Zip. Nice going coach Groce!

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9 hours ago, 72 Roo said:

Welcome to Akron indeed. Mark is a very good signing but let's not put too much on his shoulders right away. He will still have to adapt to the college game and even in the MAC it will be quite a challenge for a freshman. He needs time to develop his game, strength, and BBall intelligence. But make no mistake I sure as hell am glad he's a Zip. Nice going coach Groce!

 

He is 6'11" 260. Shoots threes and reverse layups. Yes, he will be a frosh and need to develop, but I predict a better first year than either Zeke or Big Dog. He has the right size and sure looks athletic.

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29 minutes ago, akronzips71 said:

Yes, he will be a frosh and need to develop, but I predict a better first year than either Zeke or Big Dog.

 

Did you even catch that you said those two things together?

 

I'm far from being the biggest Zeke supporter here.  But he was MAC All-Freshman, had a double/double in his first career start, and led the MAC in blocks as a freshman.  I'll hope to get that from this guy as a Senior.  Read what some of us are seeing about the guys he's playing against in those videos.  There's a reason why this guy didn't go to college after he graduated from high school.  These kinds of guys are the ones you hope will develop into something in maybe a few years.  

 

I hope you weren't the same guy who predicted that Swiech would dominate the MAC.

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10 minutes ago, skip-zip said:

 

Did you even catch that you said those two things together?

 

I'm far from being the biggest Zeke supporter here.  But he was MAC All-Freshman, had a double/double in his first career start, and led the MAC in blocks as a freshman.  I'll hope to get that from this guy as a Senior.  Read what some of us are seeing about the guys he's playing against in those videos.  There's a reason why this guy didn't go to college after he graduated from high school.  These kinds of guys are the ones you hope will develop into something in maybe a few years.  

 

I hope you weren't the same guy who predicted that Swiech would dominate the MAC.

 

I don't even know who Swiech is. Probably before the Zips got an actual video feed LOL.

I understand all that is being said. But like someone said, you can not teach height.

And in the videos he does seem to have some moves and be able to jump. Zeke was a bit of a Klutz his first two years, and was always more of a defender than an offensive player. Still one of our greats of course.

And it was I who called BD a boat anchor. OK, I eat those words.

But this guy seems pretty athletic. And yes, I also wonder how a guy this size can not be on the radar. It is strange.

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I think this is a VERY nice addition. It fills a gaping hole in the roster - a big. What I like most is how athletic he is. He seems to always be moving, which should help prevent the offense from becoming stagnant. He also seems to stretch the floor nicely with his shooting ability. I don't remember the last athletic big we had. 

 

3 hours ago, zzx said:

 

Did he say he had a Kevin Durant injury? Is that why he didn't go anywhere after high school?

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10 hours ago, mes102 said:

On a side note, those Zippy cookies must have closed the deal on this one :thumb: :tomato:

Damn right.They work every time. When confronted with their awesome power recruits are helpless. Rumor has it that they are the main reason JG came to Akron.

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As @clarkwgriswold pointed out these are highlight reels. I don't know how anyone can claim he would be better than Zeke off of a 3 minute video. There are certainly some things to like, but as others mentioned there is some reason only us and Iona offered him. There is obviously some hole in his game that has driven away more and better offers. I'm not going to speculate how good he will or won't be until he is on campus practicing against D-1 competition. 

 

I'll be cheering for him to succeed. What he does have that Zeke and Big Dog didn't was an easier path to earning playing time.

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2 hours ago, akronzips71 said:

I don't even know who Swiech is. Probably before the Zips got an actual video feed LOL.

 

Some would contend that we STILL do not really have a video feed.  :lol:

 

He was a Center out of Pittsburgh that got a lot of attention when he came here, hardly ever played, and ended up doing a graduate transfer to a D-II school.  Great kid.  He was on the roster during our 2009 title year.  

 

2 hours ago, akronzips71 said:

I understand all that is being said. But like someone said, you can not teach height.

 

That's what makes it even more puzzling to me that he wasn't getting any offers.  Like I said, it seems like just about everyone takes chances on these kinds of guys because of their size, even if they are completely raw, talent wise.  

Edited by skip-zip
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14 minutes ago, mes102 said:

I could be wrong about this, but Kostelac's game seems to remind me a lot of when Groce had Ivo Baltic at OU.

 

I thought the same thing, but Baltic didn't have near the physical stature that Mark has. Baltic was 6'9" 215 lbs soaking wet. Mark is a solid 6'11 260-270 lbs. 

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1 hour ago, Jalapeño Zippy said:

I think this guys game will be similar to Nathan Boothe's game from Toledo a few years ago.


Forgot about him. I had tunnel vision on the players Groce had at OU. I think Kostelac being a lot like Boothe is a MUCH better comparison than mine. Good call. Out of likes.

Edited by mes102
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