Dave in Green

Zips have just been given a promotion above mid-major status: Akron proves to be more than mid-major

Moderators: Please delete this thread before someone from WVU sees it.

Trying to add a screen capture for the first time. EDIT: Just can't figure out how to make them appear full size instead of reduced.

This thread is very poorly timed. This is the kind of thread you want to post the week of the West Virginia game when WVU is monitoring these boards, and have everyone on message that it's really questionable whether Zeke will be able to play against the Mountaineers.

Statistical D.I.G pooh-poohing our #1 ranking? Did I log on to bizarrozipsnation.org by mistake? Not at all. It's not pooh-poohing at all to note that the Zips are the only team to have won on the road. In fact, it's a high compliment. All the early games that have been played have had supposedly lesser teams playing at bigger school arenas in front of hostile crowds. The only "lesser" team that has won under those difficult conditions has been the Zips. Feed all that data into the RPI program, and the computer spits out the totally objective mathematical result that the Zips are currently the best college team in the country. Dr Z, you might also want to do a quick screen capture at the following website. Even though the Zips have only played one game and some teams have played two, Zeke currently leads the country in blocked shots with 5, and Rico is second in the country in steals with 6 and first in the country in steals per game. This will all start changing tonight and tommorow with all the college games on tap. Also, check other stats on this site. Rico and Zeke are 1-2 in the country in defensive win shares, Zeke is #2 in the country in field goal percentage, etc., etc. Season Leaders

We're Zips fans, and Zeke is our Zeke. We all want to think the best about him. But the reality is that the competition to get into the NBA is brutal. A real eye opener is to see what someone who specializes in evaluating potential NBA talent has to say about every detail of Zeke's game. Interestingly, Jonathan Givony posted an updated evaluation of Zeke's game on Draft Express just two days ago (Nov. 9). Reading this gives an idea of what Zeke has to accomplish in his next two years. Of course, Givony is just one person. And it's also interesting to note the recent tweets in the lefthand column where Givony tweets: Watching Akron-Mississippi State on ESPNU. Zeke Marshall looking better than I gave him credit for in my scouting report today. Another of the tweets suggests that the best case for Zeke is to be a Ryan Hollins, the 7-foot, 230-pound center currently playing for the Cavs (if the NBA was playing). Anyway, read the following and see what you think: Zeke Scouting Report on Draft Express

Tyson Chandler is about the perfect NBA model for Zeke, not only because their styles of play are similar, but also because of their size. Chandler is 7-1, 235 pounds, which I believe is virtually identical to Zeke. Chandler's success in the NBA at that height and weight proves that Zeke does not have to bulk up from where he is now in order to go head-to-head with the NBA heavyweights. The thing about Chandler is that he's physically strong and he's a warrior. He plays with great passion and intensity, and doesn't get pushed around easily despite his weight disadvantage to other NBA centers and power forwards. I think that Zeke has the physical tools to be a Tyson Chandler-type player in the NBA. The question is whether or not he really wants it. Zeke would really have to dedicate his life to basketball and spend countless hours on physical conditioning. The reward if he made it in the NBA would be many millions of dollars. But there are no guarantees. Zeke could give it his best and still fall a little short. There are thousands of talented kids going after those few hundred NBA player jobs. If Zeke doesn't make it to the NBA, he'll still be able to have a fulfilling professional career as he has other interests and options.

That's what happens when you're the only team in college basketball with a road win.

@ZIPCODE, if Webster's was the only source of information in the world, you'd be right. Fortunately, we live in the information age where millions of sources of good data are available to anyone who knows how to enter proper search terms into Google Search. I'm sure you're savvy enough to enter the terms sixth man basketball into Google Search and see for yourself that GoZips and I are not so dumb as to make something up that can be so easily cross-checked.

Let's give credit to the Zips for making MSU look like a mid-level MAC East team last night. That doesn't mean that MSU is going to play the whole season like a mid-level MAC East team. MSU is expected to be a mid-level SEC team, with enough talent to be a higher-level SEC team if they get their act together. Zips fans should be all too familiar with slow season starts, because we've suffered through our share. Here's an interesting trivia fact about little DIII Hiram: They are not the lowest division team in this season's 2K Sports Classic. That honor would fall to Indiana-Kokomo, which has games against Valparaiso and the University of the District of Columbiia in the Valparaiso Subregional. This is the first season of basketball for Indiana-Kokomo, which hopes to be accepted as an NAIA program next season. This season, Indiana-Kokomo belongs to no division of any sanctioning organization. While Hiram won't pose much of a challenge for the Zips, it will offer us all an opportunity to give them a big cheer for what they accomplished in Mississippi.

Technically speaking, the cupboard is not bare if there are a few cans of baked beans in it. The Zips' football cupboard obviously had more than a few cans of baked beans in it. But when you look at the number of quality players it takes to make a winning football team -- 11 starters on offense, 11 starters on defense, special teams and backups -- it's easy to see that a cupboard that's not bare might still not have enough to produce a winning football team. But it's unfair to blame it all on the players or all on the coaches. The Zips' cupboard may not have been as well stocked as other teams in the MAC, but the head coach also had no head coaching experience. It was not the greatest combination to begin with. The best hope was that the coaches and players would improve and overcome their early handicaps. We've seen some improvement in some areas, but not enough to affect the won-lost column.

A Quick Hit from Rush The Court compares Zeke to who? Big Zeke. Goodness, for much of tonight, the seven-foot Akron junior, Zeke Marshall, appeared to be a rawer version of Greg Oden at Ohio State. He certainly gave the Mississippi State guards fits in that he rejected and altered numerous forays into the paint tonight. The official stat line says that Marshall only had five blocks this evening, but his impact on the game was far more apparent than that if you saw how much trouble MSU had getting past him. Marshall could be ready for a breakout year in the MAC. Rush The Court

So, what does Arnett Moultrie think about Zeke? MSU forward Arnett Moultrie made just 2 of 13 shots, finishing with 8 points and 15 rebounds. Akron 7-footer Zeke Marshall blocked five shots and altered many more. "It bothered me a lot," Moultrie said. "I was worrying about finishing over him. That's why I missed so many easy buckets." Zips overwhelm zipless Bulldogs

Here's a short take from the middle of a roundup article in Dime that mentions last night's game and pays a nice compliment to Zeke as well as Q: Remember how we said Mississippi State was a sleeper to watch? Forget it. Pretend we never said it. They were awful last night, completely lackadaisical in losing to Akron 68-58. All you needed to know was to check out Renardo Sidney three minutes into the second half, standing at the top of the key and refusing to move or bend his knees or pretty much do anything but look like a pole. He’s just looked out of shape. Akron has a few players though: Quincy Diggs (19 points) is a very nice looking wing player, and Zeke Marshall (10 points, five blocks) is like the college version of Tyson Chandler. Dime

What a great, detailed analysis. The summary is awesome: We basically knew what to expect from Marshall as a stopper, and he still managed to exceed the hype with an impressive performance against a power conference frontcourt. ..... These two players are clearly on the NBA’s radar, and the pressure to perform will only intensify as the year presses on. But on this night in Mississippi, it was the small-school big man named Zeke who stole the show.

Absolutely love the lead on this Dawgs' Bite story: Fortunately their reservation for Madison Square Garden was guaranteed. But the Bulldogs would honestly recommend the 2K Sports Classic organizers now invite Akron as well to the event finals, after a 68-58 loss to the visiting Zips. State Gets Zipped 68-58 By Akron

Feds are already investigating possible violations of federal laws. Ed. Dept. investigating Penn State

The HLN being referred to is not the TV cable channel but the Horizon League Network. Since Valparaiso is a Horizon League team, the Valparaiso Subregional where the Zips will be playing Valparaiso will be broadcast on the Horizon League Network. I've watched games streamed on HLN, and the quality is pretty decent. I plan to hook my computer up to my big screen TV for the Zips game. At present, the Zips vs. Duquesne game is shown as being broadcast on HLN on the 2K Classic Tournament schedule, but is not shown on the HLN schedule. Hopefully that will change. 2K Classic Tournament Schedule & TV Schedule Horizon League Network Schedule

Merriam-Webster defines passive-aggressive as follows: being, marked by, or displaying behavior characterized by the expression of negative feelings, resentment, and aggression in an unassertive passive way (as through procrastination and stubbornness). From my personal observations on different internet forums, passive-aggressive is often inappropriately used to try to pin a negative label on those who state their opinions politely but firmly.

I don't want to take anything away from JD, who by all accounts is a good and decent man. But a couple of technical points need to be made: Do we really know that it was JD's option to dismiss the starting QB prior to the first game, or did this rise to a higher UA executive decision based on the nature of the violation in which JD would have had no option? Also, we can't really credit JD for not publicizing the infraction, as UA employees are required by law not to publicly comment on the nature of serious student violations that would rise to the level of dismissal from the team. The above should in no way detract from anyone's good feelings about JD. Overall, I think we can all agree that some combination of what JD left behind and what Ianello has done with it has resulted in where the Zips football program is today. There's plenty of room for differences of opinion on what portion of responsibility can be placed on both the former and current head coaches. But as time goes on the responsibility continues to shift more to the current man in charge.

I'm with you on the lynch mob mentality, Doug. Many innocent people have suffered and even lost their lives at the hands of lynch mobs who went off without a thorough and impartial investigation. That's why we have the rule of law in this country. I also agree that local and state law enforcement officials have the primary responsibility here. But we can be reasonably certain from the information available that more than one state law enforcement agency may have fallen short in not following through on investigating Sandusky's association with a local charitable organization that worked closely with troubled youth. We still do not know who all fell short in what areas, and who in positions of power may have been part of any coverup. I'm sure that there are many good people in the State of Pennsylvania who are capable of handling this investigation. But if there's any doubt that anyone is in any way trying to protect anyone else from full disclosure, the feds can be counted on to provide impartial investigative backup.

All the starters but Zeke have nicknames -- Q, Rico, the Serb and Nitro. Two famous Zekes from the NBA Hall of Fame are Isiah Thomas and Jerry West (Zeke from Cabin Creek). Neither of them had Zeke in their formal names. They were adopted as nicknames. Zeke doesn't need a nickname. He's just Zeke -- the real Zeke.

Here's how I digg Q: He could be the 6th man because he fits the technical definition of the classic 6th man. As GoZips correctly notes, the 6th man is not the 6th best player on the team, but a multi-talented player who can play several positions and often plays more minutes than some of the starters because he's so valuable to the team while on the floor. Q would be a spectacular 6th man. But he's also a great starter and finisher. In other words, he can do it all. I'm certain that KD knows this, and I'm certain that KD will use Q wherever and however he thinks the team will benefit the most.

I hope that the "pimp" rumor in the audio about what happened at The Second Mile is not true. The situation is already bad enough without that. But when something is covered up for this long, it's hard to predict how rotten it might turn out to be at the core.A closer examination of the timeline and consideration of other details indicate the potential of a deep and widespread scandal that goes beyond PSU football and PSU in general.The first documented case of Sandusky's criminal behavior on PSU's campus was the first shower room episode in 1998. It was investigated by the State College Police Department, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, and the Centre County District Attorney's office. The results of those investigations almost certainly must have been shared with his employer, PSU, including the man for whom Sandusky worked, Joe Paterno.Within a year, Sandusky's surprise retirement announcement was made by PSU. Sandusky was only 55 years old, in the prime of his coaching career. He was named assistant coach of the year in 1986 and 1999, and was widely believed to be a leading candidate for a college head coaching job. No other school ever touched him after his premature retirement.Everyone at PSU who may have known of the 1998 investigations into Sandusky's inappropriate behavior with a youth on the PSU campus also knew that after his early retirement that Sandusky was devoting his full time to The Second Mile, working closely with troubled youths.In 2002 they were all reminded of Sandusky's inappropriate behavior with youths when he was caught in a PSU shower with yet another young boy. And they all still knew that Sandusky was devoting his full time to working with troubled youths at The Second Mile.Joe Paterno is listed by The Second Mile as a member of its honorary board of directors. In other words, Paterno lent the reputation of his name to be used by The Second Mile to make that organization more credible, which would have resulted in more youths being attracted to that organization. What did Paterno really know about Sandusky when he allowed the continued use of his name by the organization?But it goes beyond Paterno and PSU. The State College Police Department, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, and the Centre County District Attorney's office knew that Sandusky had a problem with youths, yet apparently did nothing to investigate his activities with The Second Mile.Everyone remotely connected with this needs to be investigated thoroughly and in depth by a tough, credible law enforcement organization. If the State of Pennsylvania lives and dies with PSU football, then perhaps a federal investigation would be appropriate.

Here's another preseason rating from just yesterday:ESPN Columnist Picks Zips to Win MACNote that he picks the Serb as the MAC's preseason MVP.He also predicts that two of the Zips' mid-major opponents this season, VCU and Detroit, will win their conferences.