Dave in Green

@Zip2Go, good point on Washington. I was mainly focusing on the point that Zeke is moving up higher in that particular mock draft based on more input from NBA executives. Here's a fair evaluation of Zeke from his Portland workout today: And here's a series of photos from the workout at this link. I'm pretty sure that's Zeke wearing #34 in that leadoff flying slam shot. He's definitely in the shot with one of the Trailblazers staff.

Isaiah's HS coach said that he had worked extra hard to get in shape for his senior season and had been running five miles a day, which is a lot for a big man like him. In college, Isaiah will not have the luxury of allowing his weight to balloon in the off-season. Even though he's proven that he has the willpower to work that weight off, it's not healthy to be gaining and losing so much weight all the time. From what I've read about Isaiah, I'm betting he will be up to the challenge and will work himself into shape and stay there.

Perhaps a little confirmation for GameChngr44's point that there is a growing buzz about Zeke among NBA teams: Fox Sports Ohio's Sam Amico last week in his NBA Mock Draft v2.0 projected Zeke being selected #57 by the Phoenix Suns. In v3.0 this week, "with more input from league executives," Amico projects Zeke being selected #54 by the Washington Wizards. So Zeke's stock is apparently on the rise with the league executives Amico is talking with.

Fixed it for you.

I agree that it's not in anyone's best interests to want Abreu back on the team for a variety of reasons. But I do wish him the best of luck in having a productive future outside of the Zips basketball team. If the prosecutor responsible for ensuring that Abreu received appropriate punishment for his crime had good things to say about the manner in which Abreu conducted himself, and if the judge suspended the sentence and put him on probation, that suggests to me that he is not some kind of evil criminal to be forever shunned by society. If I saw him on the street today, I'd walk up to him, shake his hand and thank him for all the good he has done and tell him I hope he would go on to accomplish great things in his life.

I can honestly say at this very early stage that I did not see any obvious redshirts among the freshmen. I'll try not to be overly optimistic, however, as I had pretty high hopes for the class of 2010-2011 (Josh Egner, Dakotah Euton and Michael Green), and they all failed to live up to expectations. From what I saw today, my initial thoughts are that the UA program is attracting a generally higher level of recruit in the last couple of years than in previous years. But the four new freshmen still have a lot to prove under game conditions before they become anointed. Let's see how quickly they adapt to D-I college play worthy of an NCAA tournament invitation.

Had a chance to watch a Zips practice today and thought it might be useful to start a new thread for an ongoing discussion on how all the players are developing through pre-season practice. All the returning players from last season looked healthy and rested today. I didn't really see any significant changes in anyone's general performance. But it's still early in the practice season, and most of the drills were pretty basic. Most of my attention was on Q and the incoming freshmen. I spent a lot of time watching Q and just kept shaking my head at how good his game looks. First of all, despite sitting out a season, he appears to be in the best condition of all the players. He worked out hard and fast throughout his time on the floor, but never seemed to run out of breath. He must be living in the weight room. Second, he has even better moves to the basket than I recall from the last time he played. And finally, his 3-point shooting was outrageously good. I joked that he looks like he's been taking lessons from Jonas. Q is intense and focused. The four freshmen were all impressive. They're all big, athletic and pretty sound on the fundamentals for raw freshmen. They were learning new drills and all caught on quickly. Isaiah Johnson is huge, even next to Matt Futch! But he has a smooth, soft shot, inside and out. When the freshmen were practicing 18-footers from the side, Isaiah was using the glass a lot and hitting a higher percentage than I expected. He's impressive. As GoZips has noted, Kwan Cheatham has definitely added some weight and no longer looks like a rail. He has a nice outside shot that he probably developed as a shooting guard before his growth spurt. B.J. Gladden just arrived yesterday and today was his first practice. He's built like a smaller Tree and appears to be both strong and agile. Of the four, Aaron Jackson appeared today to be the most intense. He's really quick for his size, and has nice hang time on his jumpshots followed by a really quick release. We'll get a better idea of just how good the freshmen are after they start scrimmaging with the veterans.

Akron folks will be used to this: Cody Zeller, Mike Muscala, Rudy Golbert and Steven Adams all get interviewed on the Timberwolves channel at NBA.com after today's workout in Minnesota, but Zeke gets dissed. Maybe someone close to Zeke will let us know how he did against the "bigger name" dudes.

I'd like to reappoint my original point. But I guess it's pointless to point out the point and then feel disappointed when the point becomes a plane and takes off on its own.

Great interview. I love Q's attitude about overcoming adversity and using it as motivation to accomplish good things. Q's focus and maturity will help the team as much this season as his basketball skills.

Confirmation that Zeke will not get a chance to work out against Cody Zeller tomorrow in Minnesota:

GP1 makes a good point that the Abreu situation is complicated by the fact that it involves marijuana, something that some believe is the devil's weed and others believe is less harmful than alcohol. That discussion is best left to the OT forum and does not belong in the Akron Zips Basketball forum. For this forum, we might consider that NASCAR legend Junior Johnson -- author Tom Wolfe's The Last American Hero -- once spent a year in an Ohio prison for running bootleg liquor for his father, a lifelong bootlegger who spent more than 20 years in prison. Junior was not pardoned for his 1956 bootlegging conviction until decades later when President Ronald Reagan issued a pardon in 1986 after Junior's many good deeds finally overcame his one-time arrest and conviction. The only point I'm making here is that Abreu may at some point in the future be pardoned by all Zips fans. But it's not going to happen in the next year or two while he's still eligible to play college ball.

After three consecutive 1-11 seasons, I'm OK with Coach Bowden trying to jump-start the program with a limited number of talented transfers. Talented HS players are more likely to sign up for a college program on the rise. I would not be as receptive to large numbers of transfers over the long run, which would not be necessary once UA becomes a more viable destination for larger numbers of talented HS players.

I hope everyone read that last article I linked to in my previous post. Abreu sounds a lot like someone who was not just trying to get a light sentence, but someone who genuinely wants to make amends for his mistake. For those of you with kids, consider how he directly addressed that subject:

It's possible that more details may yet come out in his co-defendant's (Austin Durgala) portion of the case. But there are already quite a few details in this ABJ story. Abreu obviously impressed the prosecutor:

My wife says it's crochet and not knit. Very creative.

Nah, D was not one of Abreu's stronger points.

@Captain Kangaroo, you should play golf more often. Lots of good news there.

One thing's for sure -- GoZips hates being called a hater.

Bigger name players Shabazz Muhammad (UCLA) and Trevor Mbakwe (Minnesota) get quoted in this Sacramento Kings post-workout story. But Zeke shows well in the video, especially when he nails that one long hook under pressure.

Abreu pled guilty to one count of trafficking in marijuana, a third-degree felony. There will be no more opportunities to cheer him in a Zips uniform again. I'll cheer for him to learn from his big mistake and make the most of the rest of his life.

It's really official now. GoZips just called from the JAR to let us know that Q is practicing with the team, and he looks to be in great shape. He said the freshmen are up next, and this will be his first chance to see them practicing. Hopefully GoZips will give us a full report before the day is over.

Sacramento added to bring the list to an even dozen. Dallas Mavericks May 31 Detroit Pistons June 2-3 Houston Rockets June 5 Phoenix Suns June 6 Sacramento Kings June 10 Minnesota Timberwolves June 12 Portland Trail Blazers June 13-14 Los Angeles Lakers June 17 Chicago Bulls June 18 Charlotte Bobcats June 19 Philadelphia 76ers June 21 Indiana Pacers June 22

Ed Isaacson's NBA Draft Blog has a pretty balanced evaluation of Zeke and his NBA draft chances. Isaacson is based in New York City, and this appears to be pretty objective and not an overly optimistic report from a local type. At the end of the evaluation, Isaacson's concludes: The Case For...Zeke Marshall

Many also have long and fruitful lives after retirement. It's luck of the draw that you start with the genes that you're dealt. Then environmental factors come into play. Finally, there are choices we make about our diets and other lifestyle factors. It all adds up to the final reckoning. In Charlie Coles' case, his health problems were well documented long before his death. He may have expired in the middle of a basketball game if he hadn't retired. I don't think retirement had much influence at all on his expiration date. I started missing Charlie Coles the minute he retired. I miss him more now. But there are so many good Charlie Coles stories to tell that they'll be with us for years. There are already so many being posted that it's hard to keep up with them. Here's just one of many.