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This Is STILL Our Year...


sgm405

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Rome and Dru are gone.Cedrick Middleton is hobbling, Nick Dials is worn down, and Jeremiah Wood is out at least four weeks...maybe for the season. Road games at Miami and OU loom ahead, as well as a home matchup with Can't State. After that comes the MAC Tournament - top teams all around, single elimination. ...and I firmly believe that we'll end up the MAC Champions and finally go dancin'. I know, I know...the odds are against us. But for some reason, I see Wood and Middleton making it back, giving everything their bodies have left out on the floor. I see youngsters Darryl Roberts, Steve McNees, Mike Bardo, and Brett McKnight stepping up when the time is right. I ssee our fans stepping it up a notch to provide an even bigger 6th man...I see the team surviving three close games in the MAC Tourney, and finding a way to win each one. I still believe...because even though my brain says that we're too banged up, too young, too inexperienced...my heart says that they'll somehow find a way. I still believe that it'll happen this year, and still believe in this team...do you, Zips fans?

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Man, I wish I felt like you! Honestly, I'm a bit demoralized right now. I'm thinking Wood is going to put on a lot of weight while he's out and not be half the player he was earlier in the season when he finally comes back. And Cedric looks as if he's been hurting for most of the year now. I love our youngs guys, but, man, I just don't think this is our year. I'm still gonna be at Tuesday nights game cheering all night long! But in the back of my mind, I've got to be honest, I really have my doubts. But I hope you're right!Go Zips!

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Man, I wish I felt like you! Honestly, I'm a bit demoralized right now. I'm thinking Wood is going to put on a lot of weight while he's out and not be half the player he was earlier in the season when he finally comes back. And Cedric looks as if he's been hurting for most of the year now. I love our youngs guys, but, man, I just don't think this is our year. I'm still gonna be at Tuesday nights game cheering all night long! But in the back of my mind, I've got to be honest, I really have my doubts. But I hope you're right!Go Zips!
This could be a silver lining. "IF" these guys can ll be healthy by MAC tournament time, they will be able to win. Then the younger guys will have some good game experience. Positive thinking. :D
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Seems to me that the Zips are not down nearly as much as people perceive. First off, Cedric has been on the wounded-in-action list all season. Most of his minuteshave long since been gobbled up by Steve McNees and Darryl Roberts. When Ced appears on the floor it is largely a psychological boost. I think he will see almost no floor time against NIU.The big hurt is losing Jeremiah Wood. I studied the men on the floor pattern KD used at Ball State. I think the coaching staff has already found out how to plugin the right bodies to make the team on the floor strong without J-Wood. The "if" factor is not Bardo or Chris McKnight. Its Jimmy Conyers. If Jimmy keeps hishead in the game the Zips will do just fine. Jimmy needs to contribute fifteen minutes of hustle, not ten minutes of sulking. Play hard Jimmy. You have a largefan base that longs for you to succeed. Me, included.

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I agree. This is still our year and we can still go dancing.In fact, i belive that the J-wood thing may be a blessing in disguise. After loosing to Can't and CMU, we all knew that we will not get an at large (some of us gave up on that after the loss to winthrop), so if we're not getting an at large, the only games that matter are the ones at the Q.From now until then, let's develop our underclassmen for next years.

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From now until then, let's develop our underclassmen for next years.
Screw that -- Do whatever it takes to win THIS season! The MAC East is still there for the taking, and it would be a disservice to the seniors to put this team in a "rebuilding" mode, even for one game.No - You don't run Dials and Middleton into the ground. But you don't stick Bardo out for 30 minutes just for the sake of giving him "experience" either.Like Dambrot alluded to in the post-game Saturday:Bubba left, and Middleton stepped up his gameWood got hurt, and Travis stepped up his gameWood is out, and C McKnight seems to be stepping up his gameThis is an opportunity for a youngster to seize. We need someone to step up and be an impact player for the rest of the season. Regardless of how the season plays out, we will not go into The Q with a bullseye on our back this season. It'll be fun to be the underdog for the first time in a while.
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I agree with Capn 'Roo "This is an opportunity for a youngster to seize. We need someone to step up and be an impact player for the rest of the season." All of these young men were stars at the high school level. This is their time to step up and show their stuff that got them here. They are needed - now.

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The heck with next year. I am sure the coaches are going to do what they can to win NOW. Like I keep saying, the positive could be that Jeremiah gets some rest. He would have been one beat-up dude at the end of the season if he had kept going like he was, and handling everything he was doing. IF he does return, and if he can contribute anything close to what he did when he was healthy, it would be a huge emotional lift for this team. Sure, anything can happen in the MAC tournament, but the bye is key. If not, we'd play 4 games that week, which is a decided disadvantage. Winning one of those road games @OU or @Miami would likely help us secure that #4 spot. Once again, I think that C. McKnight and Bardo need to combine for 10-15 rebounds, and 10-15 points in order to adequately compensate for Wood, and make people have to guard in the low post, which will open up some perimeter shots. If this does not happen, our guards will get blanketed, and it's all over. Chris did his part in the Ball State game, but Bardo needs to really start getting more aggressive.

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Good post sgm! When I heard Wood was gone for 4 weeks along with 2 of our other top seniors being banged up, my hopes kinda faded for this season I'm sad to say. But with the road win against Ball State, w/out Wood and Ced seeing only a few minutes and having to have other guys step up, my hope is now back and I still have faith that this could be our year! We still have some big games coming up that have already been mentioned (Miami, OU, and I will NOT lose to Cant again) and I think if guys start stepping it up when they're needed and we can maybe rest Ced and Dials a little bit so they're not completely gone by the time the tourny comes then I think we'll be ok. It's not as if the team has completely changed now or from last year, still the same guys. They have the talent and have it in them to get this done and we as fans have to also step it up and cheer them on. I'm a senior so this is my last year as a student to watch them play, so forget talking about next year already. I believe that we can continue winning now and go dancin'!!

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You guys misunderstood what i am saying. Read the beginning of my post, i said that this is still our year and we can still go dancing. I am not suggesting that we throw this year. when i say: Until then, let's develop our underclassmen, then refers to the MAC tournament, not next year.And captain, developing underclassmen and having underclassmen step up are IMO two ways to say the same thing.After all, the teams ranked 1 to 4 at the Q will all have similar chances to win the tournament. I will not stress over loosing at Ohio in the regular season if the Mcknights and Darryl Roberts get the experience to go back and knock Ohio in the tournament (with J-wood back.

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We're not smoking anything...just optimistic.I only object to what someone said about having most of the people still around that took us to a 26-7 records last year. Let's not forget that Dru and Romeo were not only great players, but were great leaders. Now we have Ced at 1/2 strength, Nick a little banged up, and Jeremiah out. Being entirely realistic, I think we all know that we now need some BIG contributions from some guys who have not really shown us that much yet. This won't get done with Dials and Linhart. We need C. McKnight to continue to give us somewhere around 10 pts. and 10 reb. per night. We need Bardo to at least be a huge defensive presence and grab some big rebounds. We need Quade and Jimmy to give us 100% every night. Multiple 3-pointers from Steve Mc and some solid ballhandling will be a necessity. And a few baskets a night from Roberts would be a huge plus. Oh...and we'll need Jeremiah. Even if he is not 100%.

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Bleacher Bum and GoZipsGo...that would truly make for a great story.The problem is...what else can Goddard really contribute besides a couple of 3-pointers, and then a return to the bench? I'm sure KD is well aware of how much of a liability he could be if left on the floor for extended minutes. But heck. I'll take those couple of 3-pointers, if he can come in and hit them. :D

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Bleacher Bum and GoZipsGo...that would truly make for a great story.The problem is...what else can Goddard really contribute besides a couple of 3-pointers, and then a return to the bench? I'm sure KD is well aware of how much of a liability he could be if left on the floor for extended minutes. But heck. I'll take those couple of 3-pointers, if he can come in and hit them. :D
So put him in at like 4 minute spurts. Let him stand 25 feet back and fire it up. He will hit 3 out of 5 a quick nine points take him out and bring him back in at the end of teh half. It would be awesome. But it's never gonna happen. All he needs to do is work on his defense and well maybe be able to hit a shot that is less tahn 18 feet out.
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So put him in at like 4 minute spurts. Let him stand 25 feet back and fire it up. He will hit 3 out of 5 a quick nine points take him out and bring him back in at the end of teh half. It would be awesome.
I know that you guys are halfway joking about this, but that isnt how basketball works. Do you not think that other teams will catch on to THE ONLY THING THAT GODDARD CAN DO? Not to mention that he is the biggest liability on D that we have. He gives up more than he puts in. I know that fans would get 'a kick' out of it, but that sure isnt winning basketball. Now, I am not against putting him for about 5 min a game if we continue to be depleated. And it seems as though that we are not going to be healthy with Wood out, Ced with a half leg and back, and Dials with what I heard a muscle injury in his hip. But when you put Goddard in you have to have someone out there to give him direction. And the last home game was a good example of that. He was lost out there except when he was shooting the ball. The only way that he could be as effective is if we have leadership out there that can get him in the right spots and to help him along.
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I know that's not how basketball works but I just feel bad for the guy. The fans, well the rowdies, love him and he doesn't get any minutes. But that's how athletics work. but everyone has to respect his ability to shoot so they're gonna bring some one out to cover him so it opens up the inside a bit more. Any space could help these days. But we're really gonna need Bardo to man up like we all know he can. And Chris needs to keep stepping his game up like he has been. I just hope we make a good showing against VCU so we can get that respect we all know our boys deserve.

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if teams play zone then you can use goddard if the team is not hitting shots.you have nothing to lose at this point.with woods out we need to light the three ball for us to have a chance to win.i just dont see any teams playing zone against akron now with wood out.if i am vcu i play press d to shut down the three point attemps.

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So put him in at like 4 minute spurts. Let him stand 25 feet back and fire it up. He will hit 3 out of 5 a quick nine points take him out and bring him back in at the end of teh half. It would be awesome.
I know that you guys are halfway joking about this, but that isnt how basketball works. Do you not think that other teams will catch on to THE ONLY THING THAT GODDARD CAN DO? Not to mention that he is the biggest liability on D that we have. He gives up more than he puts in. I know that fans would get 'a kick' out of it, but that sure isnt winning basketball. Now, I am not against putting him for about 5 min a game if we continue to be depleated. And it seems as though that we are not going to be healthy with Wood out, Ced with a half leg and back, and Dials with what I heard a muscle injury in his hip. But when you put Goddard in you have to have someone out there to give him direction. And the last home game was a good example of that. He was lost out there except when he was shooting the ball. The only way that he could be as effective is if we have leadership out there that can get him in the right spots and to help him along.
What are you talking about? Lost out there? Even in Dambrot's interview he said Goddard can play defense so not sure where you got that? He only needs 5 minutes like you said on the floor, maybe 1st quarter, and 2nd quarter to get some points (he actually can do more than shoot the three, but never gets the chance), from what I hear, he is part of the rotation. If you saw Dambrot's quotes, he has said B McKnight has hit a wall..... we will find out tonite I guess, heck we need some help! 5 minutes wont kill us, and I still say that you can throw some others in too, Carroll maybe?
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So put him in at like 4 minute spurts. Let him stand 25 feet back and fire it up. He will hit 3 out of 5 a quick nine points take him out and bring him back in at the end of teh half. It would be awesome.
I know that you guys are halfway joking about this, but that isnt how basketball works. Do you not think that other teams will catch on to THE ONLY THING THAT GODDARD CAN DO? Not to mention that he is the biggest liability on D that we have. He gives up more than he puts in. I know that fans would get 'a kick' out of it, but that sure isnt winning basketball. Now, I am not against putting him for about 5 min a game if we continue to be depleated. And it seems as though that we are not going to be healthy with Wood out, Ced with a half leg and back, and Dials with what I heard a muscle injury in his hip. But when you put Goddard in you have to have someone out there to give him direction. And the last home game was a good example of that. He was lost out there except when he was shooting the ball. The only way that he could be as effective is if we have leadership out there that can get him in the right spots and to help him along.
What are you talking about? Lost out there? Even in Dambrot's interview he said Goddard can play defense so not sure where you got that? He only needs 5 minutes like you said on the floor, maybe 1st quarter, and 2nd quarter to get some points (he actually can do more than shoot the three, but never gets the chance), from what I hear, he is part of the rotation. If you saw Dambrot's quotes, he has said B McKnight has hit a wall..... we will find out tonite I guess, heck we need some help! 5 minutes wont kill us, and I still say that you can throw some others in too, Carroll maybe?
I know from the play that we see from him when he gets in. like tonight. he gets killed on D. and it didnt seem as though as he was part of the rotation tonight. fact is, 5 min max is what he can wish for. enough goddard talk.
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