Dave in Green

Well, there are other possible reasons. I hope it wasn't a drug test he missed, and I hope there was a legitimate reason for missing whatever test it was. Probation violations can send all the remorse and repentance expressed to the prosecutor and judge right down the toilet. In the absence of all the facts, I really want to give Abreu the benefit of the doubt.

No respect for the Zips from ESPN for the Diamond Head Classic.

I'd agree with you guys about Zeke's shooting if he had taken and badly missed a statistically significant number of shots. Hypothetically, let's say that Zeke had 54 field goal attempts in Orlando and made only 13 for a 24% shooting percentage. Now that would cause a lot of people to question whether Zeke was capable of making it in the NBA. Actually, lottery pick (#9 draft choice) and projected future NBA star Trey Burke was the Summer League player who was 13-54 from the field, and everyone is saying it's no problem, he just had a couple of off shooting games.

Am I the only person on ZN.o who actually watched the full video broadcasts of Zeke's games? Zeke took all of five actual shots in Summer League play along with two very difficult tip-in attempts on his teammates' missed shots. All of those shots were within an inch or two of going in. It's not as if he was missing the rim and backboard, as some of the other Summer League players were doing, including some on free throws! It appeared to me that with more training and experience Zeke would be fully capable of scoring in the NBA at, say, a Tyson Chandler level (10 points per game).

My guess on Lil Dog is BJ Gladden. From what I saw in last week's practice, he plays bigger than his height might suggest. One of the first things I ever read about Gladden was that one recruiting service evaluated him as an undersized power forward. After watching him, he really does appear to be a PF/wing hybrid. He reminds me a little of Chris Singletary with fluid moves to the basket but also with lots of strength. Big Dog also has fluid moves for a big, heavy center.

Well, after having finally watched Zeke's performance in the 76ers' final Summer League game, I saw something that I consider a greater indicator of where he stands right now than the total number of minutes the 76ers elected to play him. In the game where Zeke played the most minutes, the 76ers scored their only Summer League win. It was no coincidence, as Zeke's defensive performance had a lot to do with the win. It was classic Zeke shutdown defense from the time he entered the game. He altered shot after shot, and the Nets missed about the first 10 shots they tried to take over Zeke. The key point about Zeke's performance is not how many minutes he played, but what he did to Mason Plumlee, the talented 6-11 center from Duke who was drafted #22 by the Nets, and how that affected the game's outcome. Prior to Zeke entering the game, Plumlee was having his way with the other 76ers bigs. He started off hot, and when Zeke entered the game with 4:14 left in the 2nd quarter, Plumlee had scored 13 points on 3-6 from the field and 7-8 free throws. No one could stop his shot without fouling him in the act of shooting, and the Nets held a 41-31 lead. From the time Zeke entered until the time he returned to the bench with 5:25 left in the 3rd quarter, Plumlee was 0-8 from the field and 0-0 free throws. Zeke blocked or altered every shot Plumlee took without sending him to the free throw line, and the 76ers pulled back even on the scoreboard. As soon as Zeke sat down, Plumlee hit his next shot. Zeke returned to the floor two more times after that, and his defense was instrumental in securing the 76er's victory. On the offensive end, Zeke's first move to the bucket was rewarded by a perfect pass and layup while being fouled by Plumlee. His other three shots were all close but no cigar. As in the first game, one was an attempted tip-in of a missed shot in heavy traffic with lots of bumping bodies. The other two were medium range jump shots that both hit the top of the rim and just bounced off. His shooting was neither great nor awful. As in the previous game, he was more aggressive on rebounding but was not in good position to snag many. Also, as in the previous game, his speed up and down the court was more than adequate, and better than Plumlee's. The question now is whether or not Zeke made enough of an impression as a rim protector in his limited minutes to attract further interest from the 76ers or another NBA team. Looking forward to getting an update from someone in the know as soon as something can be said here.

@skip-zip, as you know, I made several comments earlier in this thread on the fact that it didn't look good that Zeke wasn't getting PT. The comments you question were limited to observation of Zeke's performance in his limited time on the floor. Both are part of the overall picture from which everyone can draw their own conclusions. I still haven't had time to watch video of his performance in the last game, but here's what one observer had to say: Virtually every pre-draft evaluation of Zeke said that his value in the NBA would be as a rim protector, and he was able to confirm this in his limited PT. Most pre-draft evaluations also stated that Zeke would be a project. The only question now is if he showed enough to convince a team that his upside merits investment in the project.

@skip-zip, I thought I was pretty clear in my detailed evaluation of Zeke's performance in his first 8-minutes of Summer League play after carefully reviewing the video, and stand behind exactly what I said. I haven't yet had time to review video of his 13-minute performance in yesterday's game, but will do so sometime in the next 24 hours. Have you reviewed any of the video?

Another disappointing DNP for Zeke today. So in 4 games he has a total of 8 minutes of PT. Last chance in Orlando tomorrow at 4 pm when Philly plays Brooklyn. The Las Vegas Summer League also starts tomorrow, and I've seen nothing yet on whether Zeke has a spot on any of those rosters.

I have great respect for what Coach Kest has accomplished at UA and am glad to see her contract extended. Anyone who wants the best for UA has to be pleased to have such a quality women's basketball coach running the program. The relative small number of comments here generally reflects the relative popularity of women's versus men's sports, same as it's reflected in the number of fans who show up at women's versus men's games. It's just the way fans in general look at sports.

Coach Dambrot commented on the new NCAA summer practice rules in this 2012 ABJ article. And more details are given in this NCAA article.

@Z.I.P., GoZips can probably splain it better than me. But I think the NCAA changed the rules to allow a limited number of official practices during the summer months for players with coaches. As in the past, coaches are still not allowed to participate in open gym sessions.

Wasn't able to watch the live broadcast of today's game, but just finished the replay. Zeke only played 8 minutes in a pair of 4-minute stints. My first observation is that he had no trouble running the floor. He's fast enough to stay up with smaller players and easily outran the Thunder's highly touted 7-foot rookie, Steven Adams. Second, it appears to me that he's learned some new tricks on rebounding. His first rebound was off a missed free throw where he did a nice job of boxing out and snatching the ball. He aggressively went after rebounds much more so than at UA. None of his 4 rebounds was a gimme. He worked hard and had way more rebounds per minute played than anyone else on the floor. Zeke's first shot was off an offensive rebound where he quickly went up for a little 8-foot jumper that hit the back of the rim and rolled off the front. His second was about a 12-foot jumper that went off the side of the rim. His third was an attempted tip-in of a teammate's missed shot in heavy traffic with lots of colliding bodies, and it too rolled off. His shooting didn't look bad, just a little off. Both of his blocks were against 6-8, 260-pound power forward Ron Anderson, who played 2 seasons at Kansas State, 2 at South Florida and last season in the D-League. Anderson took the ball strong to the rim on two separate occasions and Zeke not only blocked both but took possession of one. Zeke easily had way more blocks per minute played than anyone else. Zeke also did a reasonably good job defending Adams, who got off only 2 shots against Zeke's defense. The first was a really short jumper that Adams shot high just over Zeke's outstretched arm. It bounced around the rim and went through. The second Adams shot was a short hook, again just over Zeke's outstretched hand, and this one bounced around the rim even more than the first before settling in. Adams got the bounces where Zeke didn't. Overall, I'd say that Zeke neither exceeded nor failed expectations. His shot blocking was great as expected, his shooting was a little off as many expected, and his rebounding was better than most expected. He neither guaranteed himself an NBA contract nor eliminated himself from consideration. After sitting the first 2 games, 8 minutes didn't give him a lot of time to show everything he's got. Hopefully he gets a little more PT in the next 2 games and gets some of those shots to bounce in instead of out.

I knu it was Dru and blu it. Now corrected. He had some fun stories about playing in Germany.

Had a chance to see the Zips practice and scrimmage yesterday in the Central-Hower gym. It was my first chance to see Nyles Evans, and he left a good first impression. He's really quick, has good ball control, really zings no-look passes accurately and can both drive to the bucket and nail long 3s. He's going to give Melo a big challenge. It was really entertaining to see Big Dog and Pat Forsythe going at each other. BD does a great job of using his wide body to box out and grab defensive rebounds, while Pat showed a nice mid-range jumper. At the other end, BD showed some sweet moves around the bucket and drove one time like a wing for a huge slam. I can't imagine a defensive player stepping in to take a charge from Big Dog! Pat put good pressure on BD's shots, and had a couple of huge Zeke-like blocks on other players (not BD) driving to the basket. Focusing on the new players, BJ Gladden showed some of the moves he was noted for in HS. He is absolutely fearless driving like a wing to the bucket where he's a good finisher, and he fights for rebounds like a power forward. Aaron Jackson reinforced my initial impression of him from an earlier practice where I was struck by his intensity. He really hustles on both offense and defense with a style reminiscent of Nate Linhart. Biggest surprise to me was the performance of Kwan Cheatham. He really handles the ball well in traffic for a 6-9 freshman and he has a nice 3-point stroke. He could be a tough matchup, especially in the MAC. Coach Dambrot told the players prior to the scrimmage that he really wanted them to play hard, and they did. The four freshmen can all handle the ball pretty well under pressure, and played well against the veterans. But toward the end of the scrimmage, the freshmen started to wear out a little and the veteran players started running up the score. Q looked especially fit and was in non-stop overdrive. Dru Joyce took to the floor after the scrimmage, and it was fun to see his style of ball handling and shooting again. The last player on the floor at the end of practice was Nick Harney, practicing free throws and 3-pointers. He was deadly from outside, hitting about 2/3rds of his treys. If he can shoot anything like than under game conditions, I wouldn't worry about him firing away.

No games on the schedule this Saturday (13th), just Sunday (14th).

I'm in agreement with all those who were big LBJ fans until he made the bad decision on the way he announced his departure from the Cavs. For awhile I wished him bad luck. I thought he was going to relocate to South Beach and cut his connection to Akron. I slowly came around as he came around on realizing he didn't handle his departure in a classy manner. The main point is that he didn't ditch Akron. He continues to have loyalty to his hometown, and for that he's earned my loyalty as a fan. He's not perfect, but who is?

Michael Eric (6-11, Temple + Canton Charge in the D-League) is the only other center on the 76ers Summer League roster. He did a nice job today of setting up Zeke for a chance to prove he's the best center on the team. In 24 minutes today, Eric was 1-5 from the field and 0-0 free throws for 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 turnover and 0 blocked shots. If Zeke can't beat that, he's going to have a hard time earning an NBA roster position. The 76ers have tomorrow off and return at 1 pm Wednesday to play the Oklahoma Thunder. Go Zeke!

Has anyone ever changed their mind on LBJ, or is everyone locked into their position forever?

No Zeke yet today heading toward halftime.

It turns out that Isaiah Canaan is not a good example as Houston didn't play him yesterday because he's recovering from an ankle injury. But there are other uninjured players for various teams who didn't play yesterday but will likely play today or tomorrow.

@GameChngr44, that makes sense. I recall now from following previous NBA Summer League games that it's not unusual for some players to sit and some to play long minutes in alternating games. For example, Isaiah Canaan is given a good shot at making it in the NBA. But the Houston coach's decision was to not play him against the 76ers yesterday. Apparently teams like to evaluate a few players in long stints rather than all the players in shorter stints. The 76ers play the Pacers at 1 pm today, so hopefully this will be Zeke's opportunity to play long minutes and show everyone what he's got.

Sports can make people crazy. Sometimes we scream for a defensive player to take another player's head off. Sometimes we scream to kill the ref. In Brazil, they take it literally.

It's interesting how the 13 Zips scholarship players are spread among the various team rosters in this league: Steps Boutique = Harney, Ibitayo, Evans Atlantis Cap Mgmt = Q (2012 MVP), Melo, Johnson EBA Hoops = Tree, Kretzer, Cheatham Meli Mel's = McAdams, Forsythe, Jackson, Gladden I need a Zips basketball fix. I've got to get down to Walsh U and see some of these games.

I love the diversity on ZN.o.