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Games 4, 5 & 6- Cayman Islands Classic Basketball Tournament


clarkwgriswold

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The 2-1 Zips head to the western Caribbean next week to participate in the Cayman Islands Classic Basketball Tournament.  The tournament features LSU, Rhode Island, Illinois State, Tulane, Nevada, Kansas State. Western Kentucky and Akron.

 

The Zips open up against Western Kentucky.  Western stands at 3-0 with wins over Eastern Kentucky, Kentucky State and the University of Indianapolis.   

Western Kentucky, finished last season at 19-13 overall and 11-7 in C-USA.  This year's squad was chosen by the coaches in Conference USA to finish second in the league (behind UAB).  Junior guard Dayvion McKnight McKnight (16.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 5.5 apg- last season), senior center Jamarion Sharp (8.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 0.3 apg- last year) and Boise State transfer 6-6 6th year guard Emmanuel Akot were named the All-Conference USA preseason team.  WKU features two Kentucky Mr. Basketballs in McKnight and Kentucky transfer 6-6 junior guard Dontaie Allen. WKU also features the aforementioned Sharp, a 7-5 senior center who led the nation last year in blocked shots at 4.62 shots per game.   He was also the tallest player in NCAA Division I last season.

 

Western's size and athleticism will pose a huge challenge to the undersized Zips.

 

I'll try to work in other opponent previews as bracket moves forward.

 

Edited by clarkwgriswold
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Iron sharpens Iron. Last time the Zips went to the Caymans, they had a new-look team with a lot of transfers and came away with a couple close losses to great teams and a nice win over a down St. Bonaventure team. We have already seen some of this group's potential--beating a great South Dakota State team while behind in just about every statistical category. If they can put together a full 40-minute game and get a decent game out of Hunter, and Hankerson performs as he did on opening night, the sky is the limit in this tournament. With that said, WKU is a very good team and presents a wildly difficult matchup for the Zips. I would expect similar challenges as we saw against Mississippi State.

 

 

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Not adding WKU to the MAC was a stupid, STUPID decision. 

 

This is going to be a very tough game. Great opportunity to right the ship after playing like PCCCC (Portage County Community College Crap) these past 2 games. Bottom line: we need to make shots. If we don't make shots, we might as well head to the beach. One thing I will say. I like that we have a week off before this game. Going from SDSU (tough opponent, hard fought game, and OT to boot) to MSU within 5 days as the first 2 games of the season... I'm not surprised with how dead we were in the second half against MSU and how flat we were yesterday against Morgan State. I expect a better shooting performance on Monday. 

 

WKU hasn't played anyone this year. Their only legitimate win came against Eastern Kentucky by 6. They most recently beat the Greyhounds of U Indy 68-50.

 

The next opponent will be one of LSU or Illinois State - it doesn't get any easier. 

Edited by Let'sGoZips94
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6 hours ago, ZZZips said:

I travel to Grand Cayman on Sunday.  I heard that this year the number of fans and team family members taking the trip is down significantly from our last trip to this tournament.

 

Any one else on ZN.O making the trip?

i think last time they offered seat on a chartered flight with the team.  Also, the travel (even pre-covid)to Cayman was a pain, especially coming back.  

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10 hours ago, Reslife4Life said:

Of course this tournament is streaming on the dreaded FloHoops...

FloHoops screwed me last year.  I cancelled and they charged my credit card for 2 more months.  If you subscribe it might be best to use a store bought credit card with a certain minimum.  If you charge it and cancel, make sure you get a confirming e mail.

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On 11/16/2022 at 12:23 PM, ZZZips said:

I travel to Grand Cayman on Sunday.  I heard that this year the number of fans and team family members taking the trip is down significantly from our last trip to this tournament.

 

Any one else on ZN.O making the trip?

 

Go figure ... disposable income a problem?

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