Ibitayo a No-go

[Captain Kangaroo]

Back up PG position now up-in-the-air

[GP1]

Terrible news.This presents KD with a lot of challenges as PG is a critical position in college basketball. There are a lot of guys who could fill in, but how well they can play at that position is a question. A question could also be, how many minutes per game can they expect the #1 PG to play throughout the season if nobody is stepping up as a solid back-up? The second question sort of goes to "freshness" at the end of the season and MAC Tournament time.

[Zip Watcher]

This is potentially a huge blow. From what I saw in August and at an early practice this month .. seemed like Deji was making it hard for KD to redshirt him. And a 6-3 PG w/ 6-9 reach would have been great to have off the bench on D.This is one reason it's great to have depth and battles at every position on the roster. Odds were the Zips weren't going to have the healthy run they had last year go on forever (no games missed by any player due to injury).Go Zips!

[Dr Z]

Biggest question in my mind...does this effect (team's) GoZips goal of the sweet sixteen or not?

[Dave in Green]

We had a good discussion about Ibitayo potentially being a backup PG in his commitment thread back in 2010:Ibitayo Commitment ThreadBut I didn't realize that he had worked his way up into the position of being the Zips' leading candidate for that position. I was under the impression that Walsh was still the most likely option for backup PG.

[Zipmeister]

Biggest question in my mind...does this effect (team's) GoZips goal of the sweet sixteen or not?

My opinion is that while unfortunate this injury will not significantly influence our chances of finishing in the sweet sixteen. I reached this conclusion by reviewing the thread to which you provided a link and noticed that "I" did not appear to be a major factor. I had not realized before your post that this was a team goal. I thought it was a remote possibility suggested by a hyperfan.

[johnnyzip84]

The decision on whether to redshirt him or not certainly just became much tougher. I’m sure a lot will depend on how the other backup PGs perform early in the schedule. Unless their performance is horrendous, I’d be hesitant to possibly rush his rehabilitation and risk prolonging or exacerbating the injury. If the backup PG play is at least “acceptable”, I’d lean toward the redshirt.

[GoZips]

LOL, "hyperfan" ( a euphemism for some one who cares about the Zips) sticksto his guns. This is going to be a really, really good Akron team.I see a lot of smoke. While Deji Ibitayo is a sweet player with huge potential he waslooking at a red shirt before his injury last Monday, Yes, he injured himself on Monday.There are just way too many bodies capable of playing point for Deji to be in the mix.Think. Alex Abreu is our point guard. Alex will play at least twenty-five minutes a game.Twenty-eight to thirty is more likely. Brian Walsh can easily play the remaining minutesas could Quincey Diggs. Both men are talented and skilled players.What is going to happen is Deji is more than ever headed to red shirt as he will miss themost critical practice time between now and the first few games of the season. This alonewill set him back on the learning curve. Not good for him or the Zips.Dambrot wants to have as many options as possible. The loss of Deji takes away avaluable option.May be its just me, but I never saw any indication that Deji was being groomed to bethe back up point guard. On the other hand, I saw a lot of effort invested in BrianWalsh working the point.

[Doug Snyder]

LOL, "hyperfan" ( a euphemism for some one who cares about the Zips) sticksto his guns. This is going to be a really, really good Akron team.I see a lot of smoke. While Deji Ibitayo is a sweet player with huge potential he waslooking at a red shirt before his injury last Monday, Yes, he injured himself on Monday.There are just way too many bodies capable of playing point for Deji to be in the mix.Think. Alex Abreu is our point guard. Alex will play at least twenty-five minutes a game.Twenty-eight to thirty is more likely. Brian Walsh can easily play the remaining minutesas could Quincey Diggs. Both men are talented and skilled players.What is going to happen is Deji is more than ever headed to red shirt as he will miss themost critical practice time between now and the first few games of the season. This alonewill set him back on the learning curve. Not good for him or the Zips.Dambrot wants to have as many options as possible. The loss of Deji takes away avaluable option.May be its just me, but I never saw any indication that Deji was being groomed to bethe back up point guard. On the other hand, I saw a lot of effort invested in BrianWalsh working the point.

+1

[Dave in Green]

If Carmelo Betancourt is as good as many believe he is, whoever plays backup PG to Rico this season will probably only have a one-year assignment in that role. I suspect that Betancourt will be the backup PG next season as a true freshman unless he has a harder time than Rico at adjusting to college ball.

[Doug Snyder]

I have to say....it is way more interesting and enjoyable to be debating which player should get playing time. Especially when those players are true freshmen. In the past, it seemed we had only a few key players and we were looking for guys who could provide minutes without embarrassing us or hurting our chances of winning. The roster, from top to bottom, is filled with guys who can help us win. The next few years will be exciting years for Zips fans. If we can find a replacement for Zeke over the next 2 recruiting seasons, we will have a long run of high level basketball. Will be fun to be a Zip fan. It will be interesting to see where we are rated in the "Mid-major tp 25" when the season starts and where we end up. I don't think many outside Akron realize how good we can be.I met KD's father in a restaurant in Berlin last week. I commented that Keith always seemed to overachieve with the talent he had but this year was a little different...expectations are much higher and the team much more talented. He cautioned me that the team will be very young and inexperienced. He was a genuinely nice man...easy to see why KD is a man of high character. GoZips has mentioned the same thing about youth and experiance. Although most teams are better at year end...our improvement will be far greater than most. IMHO...expect good things from this team.

[GoZips]

I have to say....it is way more interesting and enjoyable to be debating which player should get playing time. Especially when those players are true freshmen. In the past, it seemed we had only a few key players and we were looking for guys who could provide minutes without embarrassing us or hurting our chances of winning. The roster, from top to bottom, is filled with guys who can help us win. The next few years will be exciting years for Zips fans. If we can find a replacement for Zeke over the next 2 recruiting seasons, we will have a long run of high level basketball. Will be fun to be a Zip fan. It will be interesting to see where we are rated in the "Mid-major tp 25" when the season starts and where we end up. I don't think many outside Akron realize how good we can be.I met KD's father in a restaurant in Berlin last week. I commented that Keith always seemed to overachieve with the talent he had but this year was a little different...expectations are much higher and the team much more talented. He cautioned me that the team will be very young and inexperienced. He was a genuinely nice man...easy to see why KD is a man of high character. GoZips has mentioned the same thing about youth and experiance. Although most teams are better at year end...our improvement will be far greater than most. IMHO...expect good things from this team.

Berlin, Ohio or Berlin, Germany?

[Doug Snyder]

I have to say....it is way more interesting and enjoyable to be debating which player should get playing time. Especially when those players are true freshmen. In the past, it seemed we had only a few key players and we were looking for guys who could provide minutes without embarrassing us or hurting our chances of winning. The roster, from top to bottom, is filled with guys who can help us win. The next few years will be exciting years for Zips fans. If we can find a replacement for Zeke over the next 2 recruiting seasons, we will have a long run of high level basketball. Will be fun to be a Zip fan. It will be interesting to see where we are rated in the "Mid-major tp 25" when the season starts and where we end up. I don't think many outside Akron realize how good we can be.I met KD's father in a restaurant in Berlin last week. I commented that Keith always seemed to overachieve with the talent he had but this year was a little different...expectations are much higher and the team much more talented. He cautioned me that the team will be very young and inexperienced. He was a genuinely nice man...easy to see why KD is a man of high character. GoZips has mentioned the same thing about youth and experiance. Although most teams are better at year end...our improvement will be far greater than most. IMHO...expect good things from this team.

Berlin, Ohio or Berlin, Germany?

Downtown restaurant in Berlin, Ohio. Don't remember the name but Keener says it is famous.

[yazan07]

What, did everyone just forget about Kyle Petersen all of the sudden? This is his breakout year for sure, I think he can even give Rico a run for his money at the starting spot. lol jkBut really, I thought the whole plan was for Walsh to be the backup PG. And I still don't see how without redshirting the freshmen there will be enough minutes for everyone. Even if both of them redshirt, seems like there is still a chance of one or two guys not really getting to do too much.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Getting out of "Sky is Falling" mode for a second or two, a torn meniscus is not a big deal now-a-days. Elton mentioned he could be out for 1 month, which wouldn't be catastrophic....get a few games under his belt in December, and he's good-to-go for the MAC season (Deji, not Elton).This could be much Abreu about nothing?

[GoZips]

What, did everyone just forget about Kyle Petersen all of the sudden? This is his breakout year for sure, I think he can even give Rico a run for his money at the starting spot. lol jkBut really, I thought the whole plan was for Walsh to be the backup PG. And I still don't see how without redshirting the freshmen there will be enough minutes for everyone. Even if both of them redshirt, seems like there is still a chance of one or two guys not really getting to do too much.

+1

[Doug Snyder]

What, did everyone just forget about Kyle Petersen all of the sudden? This is his breakout year for sure, I think he can even give Rico a run for his money at the starting spot. lol jkBut really, I thought the whole plan was for Walsh to be the backup PG. And I still don't see how without redshirting the freshmen there will be enough minutes for everyone. Even if both of them redshirt, seems like there is still a chance of one or two guys not really getting to do too much.

+1

+1 unless we are expecting some transfers out.

[blueandgold]

LOL, "hyperfan" ( a euphemism for some one who cares about the Zips) sticksto his guns. This is going to be a really, really good Akron team.I see a lot of smoke. While Deji Ibitayo is a sweet player with huge potential he waslooking at a red shirt before his injury last Monday, Yes, he injured himself on Monday.There are just way too many bodies capable of playing point for Deji to be in the mix.Think. Alex Abreu is our point guard. Alex will play at least twenty-five minutes a game.Twenty-eight to thirty is more likely. Brian Walsh can easily play the remaining minutesas could Quincey Diggs. Both men are talented and skilled players.What is going to happen is Deji is more than ever headed to red shirt as he will miss themost critical practice time between now and the first few games of the season. This alonewill set him back on the learning curve. Not good for him or the Zips.Dambrot wants to have as many options as possible. The loss of Deji takes away avaluable option.May be its just me, but I never saw any indication that Deji was being groomed to bethe back up point guard. On the other hand, I saw a lot of effort invested in BrianWalsh working the point.

Redshirt him now. Why blow his Freshman year? We have a lot of depth already and by the sounds of things the players will be really fighting for minutes anyway. Plus, if I'm not mistaken, a redshirt can still practice with the team. This will allow him to recover fully without trying to rush him along and cause more problems. Once he is fully recovered he can practice and be even more prepared/polished coming into the 2012-2013 season and have four full years of eligibility.

[Dave in Green]

The Zips appear to be pretty loaded at the wing position this season.Nitro graduates at the end of this season, and next season will be the final for Q and Gilliam.There will be a need for more backup at wing starting next season and especially the following season.Ibitayo and Justice will both be called upon to help fill that growing wing void over the next two seasons after the current one.

[Quickzips]

SHADES OF RONNIE STEWARD.

Not quite. This is more of a normal everyday kind of injury that can happen from time to time. Nothing about Deji screams that this is going to be a chronic issue, or that it could be career ending. On the other hand, Ronnie's issues with compartment syndrome were pretty rare by all accounts, and for a while there they were chronic and looked to be career ending. As far as what to do with him now, if we truly don't have someone on our roster capable of playing 10-15 minutes of backup PG per game right now then I think you have to wait it out on Deji and try to get him ready for that role by the time conference play rolls around. However, I really doubt that we can't find someone to take those minutes from the combination of Walsh, Diggs or maybe even Gilliam, Nitro or Justice. I doubt very much that we see Deji this year. Use the redshirt, let the knee have plenty of time to rest, and welcome him back to the fold next season.

[GoZips]

What, did everyone just forget about Kyle Petersen all of the sudden? This is his breakout year for sure, I think he can even give Rico a run for his money at the starting spot. lol jkBut really, I thought the whole plan was for Walsh to be the backup PG. And I still don't see how without redshirting the freshmen there will be enough minutes for everyone. Even if both of them redshirt, seems like there is still a chance of one or two guys not really getting to do too much.

+1

+1 unless we are expecting some transfers out.

And who might that be?These kids are all aware that they have a special opportunity this season.Not likely anyone is going to leave. Championship and NCAA tourney ringsare hard to come by (except on e-bay).Bright and Ibitayo were expected to red shirt from the beginning. If a problemarises mid-season a red shirt can be "burned" easily enough.

[Zipmeister]

Getting out of "Sky is Falling" mode for a second or two, a torn meniscus is not a big deal now-a-days. Elton mentioned he could be out for 1 month, which wouldn't be catastrophic....get a few games under his belt in December, and he's good-to-go for the MAC season (Deji, not Elton).This could be much Abreu about nothing?

ouch.

[The Hip Zip]

We'll be OK, our depth is very much an asset.