Dave in Green

+1Bazillion It's football time. So, serious question here, not a dig: Who do you root for when the Zips play the Bucks? You've elected to put the "Buck" ahead of the "zip" in your forum name (Buckzip rather than Zipbuck). Is that a clue to which team you support in crunch time? As a graduate of another university, I'll admit right here that I'd have a twinge if the Zips happened to play against my alma mater.

You have to consider the circumstances. Q played his full freshman season at UNO and learned a lot there about college level play. He didn't immediately adjust to KD's system. It took awhile, but he definitely adjusted before the season was over. Egner was a true freshman with no college experience, and KD had other experienced options. Again, you have to consider the circumstances. Barring foul problems, Zeke's backup will most often be facing the opponent's backup center. How many teams on the Zips' schedule have true backup centers of any appreciable height? Most teams have a power forward in the 6-7/6-9 range as a backup center. With Egner's good hops, he should not be at a major disadvantage to any of them. Same with Tree. After those two and the Serb, the Zips are a little thin at the 4/5 position. But so are most of their opponents. One of the interesting things about this year's team is that they lost a true center backup in the 6-10 Bardo. The Serb is now the second tallest Zip at 6-8. On the other hand, the Zips' guards are, on average, taller this season. While Rico is still clearly the shortest player at 5-10, the next shortest Zip this season is 6-3. The net result is that the average of all Zips players is about the same this season even though there's a bigger drop off after Zeke. The best tall players are a luxury that generally migrate to the major power teams. The rest of the teams have to try to find shorter players who have enough hops and play hard enough to at least partially compensate for their lack of height. The Zips hyave definitely gained some big hops this season.

I do believe that thoughtful people can make intelligent observations about things they haven't seen with their own eyes. But personal witnessing certainly adds an extra dimension. So here are my initial impressions of this season's Zips: My first thought from Saturday's practice is that the 3-point shooting exercise is a non-issue. It's just part of the regular drill that all players participate in, along with free throws, layups, etc. It's a nice stretch for the bigs to be shooting from beyond their normal range. It's not like KD is trying to turn them all into long-range bombers. Overall, the main thing that struck me is how different this group is from traditional KD teams. First, you've got three transfers, all of whom look to be capable of playing major roles. Q is back, looking more under control, polished and confident in both his shooting and passing. Walsh and Gilliam look like the college veterans they are, and seem to be integrating well with last season's returnees. Both are big, physical guards who can shoot from deep range or drive the lane. Walsh is a good ball handler who can bring it upcourt fast and hit the open man. He looks to be ready to play extended minutes at the point. Then you have the two highly athletic Cleveland forwards who had to sit out a year to qualify. What I saw in practice from Tree and Harney matches what the optimists have been saying. Harney is a little like Q in that he has quick moves and seems to really enjoy blowing by or soaring over defenders. Tree comes across as more intense and serious, especially on defense, reminding me more of Jeremiah Wood. Opponents will not quickly forget games where they've gone up against Tree. Both Harney and Tree appear to love to go after rebounds, which is seriously good news for the Zips. Then there's the 7-foot center with NBA potential. Zeke looks stronger, more experienced, more polished and more relaxed. He appears to be enthusiastic about the players around him. We won't really know how he will play under game conditions until the season starts. But that's true of all the players. Now add in the overseas duo of Rico and the Serb. Rico appears to be starting the season in better shape than last year, and is zinging his passes around with more authority and accuracy. He loves to lead the fast break, and he's surrounded by players who can run with him and finish big time at the rim. The Serb wasn't there, of course, as he's playing with the Serbian national team. With that international playing experience on top of what he proved he could do last season, it's fair to expect great things from the Serb in his senior season. The eight players above, who collectively represent more than half of the Zips roster, do not fit the mold of stereotypical Zips players. They are the type of athletic and skilled players that Zips fans have been saying for years on this forum that they wanted to see KD recruit. Well, they're here now, so why not give KD credit for doing what we asked and be a little more optimistic about the results of our recommendations? Beyond the above eight, there are also two more returning veterans and a redshirt. And while Nitro, Egner and Green may seem like more typical KD recruits than the eight above, they could all become major contributors. Nitro already proved himself last season when he took a big step up. If he elevates a little more for his senior season, he'll be a key player. Egner really impressed me in practice with his intensity and aggressiveness. His athleticism is right up there with Tree and Harney, as his sky high jams in practice demonstrated. Green has a sweet shooting stroke and made a couple of nice defensive stops. Last season we thought he was the odd man out. But he stuck with it and has improved while Euton hit the road. On top of the 11 above are two talented freshmen. I came to practice thinking that both Ibitayo and Justice would have to redshirt as there wouldn't be enough PT available. Now I'm wondering if a 13-man rotation is feasible. Both of these recent HS grads look sturdier than their 6-3, 180-pound roster stats. Justice has one of the nicest 3-point strokes I've seen, and Ibitayo has absolutely no fear in driving to the bucket. Beyond those strengths, both freshmen showed me that their overall games were already a little less raw than I expected. Perhaps the best news for Zips fans is that it appears we will no longer be able to complain about a slow-paced Zips halfcourt game. All of these guys can run, jump and score, and it would be foolish not to play to their strengths. I don't see KD ignoring defense and focusing on offense. But I do see these players being capable of scoring in bunches, which will be exciting and fun to watch. It's a lot easier to play a running game when you have lots of good players. I really see the possibility of a minimum 10-player rotation with the possibility that three more players have the potential to earn at least some PT depending on their development rate. The more Zips who play and the faster they run, the more they're going to run other teams with shorter benches into the ground toward the end of games. Now, for the pessimists, there are no guarantees. While it's nice that all these players looked so promising in practice, it doesn't mean they will look that good against tough opponents. And that's just individual player performance. Team chemistry will be criticial. How do all the pieces fit together? Will they all make good game decisions about when to pass and when to shoot? Will they have a slow start, get demoralized and underachieve? These are all real possibilities that happen to many college teams every season. Nope, no predictions from me yet on how many games I expect this team to win this season. All I can tell you from watching one practice is that there are no obvious underachievers in this group at this point. The potential is there for this team to be more like a Butler or VCU. But it's going to require a lot of things going right, and the odds are heavily against any midmajor doing what Butler and VCU have accomplished. For now, the only thing I'm certain about is that, win or lose, this will be a more entertaining team to watch.

Looks like a potential future Mr. Clutch for the Zips. And his resemblance to Nitro is uncanny, at least from a distance -- same hairstyle, similar size, similar facial features. I asked Hilltopper at the practice why Nitro wasn't in uniform. It took us awhile to notice that Nitro was in uniform on the floor. Then we thought McAdams was Nitro's brother before someone finally told us he was a visiting recruit.

Buckzip, Buckzip, Buckzp. You perceive underlying little digs where they don't exist. There's no reason for me to dig at you because so many others are doing it so effectively, and you continue to reward their efforts. If I was really such a smart and creative poster, I wouldn't be so foolish as to bother trying to offer a solution to a situation that all the participants are apparently enjoying so much. Please excuse my interruption, and carry on with the long ZN.O tradition.

Always good to read your posts here, Districtballer. On every sports forum there are trash talkers and there are straight shooters. You've always been a straight shooter here, and I always feel as if I've learned something after reading one of your posts. You give a really good, detailed assessment of VCU's current team. Anyone who thinks Shaka's teams are going to fade with the graduation of a star or a few strong players is fooling themselves. He's proven that he has the ability to attract good talent to VCU and get the most out of them on a consistent basis, so I always expect the Rams to be tough. I was pulling hard for VCU in the NCAA tournament after the Zips were eliminated. You pointed out the question marks for your team this season, and you also seem to be aware of all the question marks the Zips have. We are fortunate to have Zeke Marshall back for two more seasons, and hoping this is the season he fully realizes his potential to become a dominant center. We are also fortunate that power forward Nick Cvetinovic is coming back for his senior season instead of turning pro in Serbia. We think last season's backup PG, Alex Abreu, has the potential to be similar to your Joey Rodriguez. But we have many transfers and inexperienced young players who will have to fit in quickly for the Zips to be competitive early in the season. But I think you already know all of this, as you appear to be a good student of opposing teams and have probably read our discussions about this year's team on this forum. At this point, having attending only one of the Zips early practice sessions, I'm encouraged. The potential to be better than last season is definitely there. I believe this edition of the Zips may have more individual talent than any past Zips team I've seen. But they have to fully realize that individual talent, and more importantly they must mesh together as a team. I'm really looking forward to seeing how they match up against a talented young team led by a coach who's proven he has what it takes to take a midmajor to the Final Four.

It's a sports forum. People talk trash. Outside of the tOSU sports forums, there are probably millions of sports fans talking trash about tOSU on thousands of different sports forums. Your favorite team is never going to be treated fairly on other teams' sports forums. There's no defense for it. When someone tries to respond to trash talk, it only tends to generate more trash talking. Anyone who wants to see less trash talking about tOSU on this or any other forum should just: LET IT THE HECK GO! WALK AWAY FROM IT! IT'S COUNTERPRODUCTIVE TO TRY TO FIGHT IT! Like everything else, it will fade with time, and it will fade faster if the flames aren't stoked.

Hilltopper and I have decided to head up to this morning's practice, as we just can't resist the opportunity to see the Zips' new designated 3-point shooter in action. We also heard a rumor that the coaches are going to let Rico play a little center and practice power slams.

Zeke is not a project. Zeke is on the verge of demonstrating that he can be a complete college center with NBA potential. If he develops a decent outside shot along with improving his ability to finish at the rim, he would become a huge offensive weapon for the Zips. Not only that, it would also greatly increase his chances of having an NBA career. I'm all for what the coaches are doing, not only for the Zips' sake the next two seasons but for Zeke's longterm future.

Discussing the Zips preseason ranking is worthless and irrelevant? It happens every year on ZN.O about every sport. Similar discussions are going on right now in the football and soccer forums. You got a case of the grumps about this one for any reason in particular?

I'm fairly impressed by the insight of the writer (Joel Welser). From his detailed comments about Miami and Ball State, it actually sounds as if he's spent more than a few minutes looking into the teams. It's important to note that Welser still ranks Miami 3rd in the MAC after losing Ballard, Winbush and McHenry. That's arguably a comparable loss of talent to what the Zips suffered, and the Zips certainly ranked higher than Miami at the end of last season. I wouldn't be surprised if last season's MAC regular season champs (Can't) and MAC tourney champs (Zips) are ranked right next to each other somewhere in the 90s. I expect the order will be dictated by just how impressed Welser is with the Zips transfers and first-year college players, who some of our forum members have seen in practice and appear to be impressed with. I'm really more interested in what Welser has to say about the new Zips players than where he ranks us in the top 144.

The best ranking number for a Zips team in recent years that I can find is from the 2004-2005 season, when the Zips finished with an RPI rating of 60. So, for me, that's the magic number that needs to be beaten to qualify the current edition of the team as the strongest in recent years. So, after the Zips finished last season with an RPI of 101, do the optimists believe that a better-than-60 RPI is a lock for 2011-2012? Would the pessimists bet against it? Obviously, all the numbers can be thrown out the window if the Zips underperform during the regular season, then catch fire in the MAC and NCAA tournaments.

There's a pretty big gap between number 145 and Top-16. Just a guess here, but I'll bet most people reading this thread believe that the current edition of the Zips will finish the season somewhere between numbers 16 and 145. Splitting the difference right down the middle would put the Zips at about number 80. Optimists will see the Zips somewhere between 16 and 80 while pessimists will see them between 80 and 145.

Really good point, CK. HS size is irrelevant in AAU competition. The best from the small schools get to play against the best from the big schools. A small HS player who can perform well against top big HS players in AAU won't be at a disadvantage in going directly from small HS competition to DI college competition. The following link about how Blake Justice performed in AAU competition a couple of years ago was posted in an earlier Justice thread: Justice's return helps fuel Team CBIZ at the Bill Hensley Memorial Run ‘N Slam

I hope that Justice's talent transfers well from a small HS to the DI college stage. It makes me recall Nick Goddard, who shot the lights out at Wadsworth HS. He didn't lose his shooting eye at UA, but the rest of his game beyond 3-point shooting doomed him to the end of the bench. Of course, Goddard was a walk-on and not a scholarship player, so expectations are obviously much higher for Justice.

What I want to know is if Tim Carroll is a dreamy-eyed optimist or if he's generally a pretty realistic guy. Because if he's generally a pretty realistic guy, this is a pretty stunning statement.

Some good video from, judging by the posting date, what must have been his sophomore season here: beRecruited.com Video His dad (Brad) maintains the information on his beRecruited.com player info page: beRecruited.com Player Info

Can't student majoring in criminal justice rode in a police cruiser as part of a program to allow citizens to have the police experience. A bulletproof vest disappeared from the police station. Police recalled this guy talking about bulletproof vests. Surveillance tapes showed a suspicious lump under the guy's shirt as he exited the station. They went to his apartment and found him exiting his car with the police bulletproof vest under his arm. He invited police into his apartment. There they found fire, military and security uniforms and i.d.s. Also, guns, knives, brass knuckles, etc. When they looked closely at his car, it had flashing police lights built into it like an unmarked police car. He's now getting extra credit from Can't for his criminal justice class project to demonstrate what happens when you steal equipment from a police department. OK, that last line was mine and was not in the story.

Good story, Zach. The point about "maximizing resources" fits right in with the recent announcement of UA winning the Excellence in Management Cup. That award was also based on "maximizing fiscal resources." That's a great accomplishment for a university, especially during tough financial times. This will serve UA well in the future.

I wonder if Walsh increased his vertical leap by using the same program that Egner used to increase his hops in HS?

So anything other than last place exceeds expectations. Time to start earning some respect.

This is impressive. UA didn't just pull out a squeaker here, but won by a substantial percentage over #2. Can't also deserves credit for finishing third after winning the Excellence in Management Cup last year, giving the MAC two straight championships and two of the top three positions this year.I'm sure there will be those who pooh-pooh this accomplishment as trivial. But in an era when big money rules, economic efficiency is the only opportunity for less well endowed schools such as UA to compete with the heavyweights.I like the following line in the story:Other championship cups do not address natural competitive advantages given to universities that have higher operating budgets and play more sports, and thus have more opportunities to win championships.

What ZN.O really needs is a poster who graduated from both UA and Can't, and who could serve as an advocate for the Golden Felons when they are unfairly treated on this Zips fan forum.

Boiled down to its most simplistic terms, the NCAA ruling essentially says that responsibility for all of tOSU's indiscretions lies with Jim Tressel, and that the university has not in any way contributed to any of Tressel's transgressions.Juries also found O.J. Simpson and Casey Anthony innocent, and many people disagreed with those verdicts. So it's no surprise that many people have doubts about the NCAA's verdict on tOSU.No one really knows what kind of winking and nodding may or may not have gone on between Tressel and tOSU behind the scenes. If we can't know all the facts, we are left to believe what we want to believe.Given all the above, there's absolutely nothing wrong with cynics believing that Tressel did exactly what tOSU encouraged and expected him to do from the day they recruited him as their football coach.And there's absolutely nothing wrong with tOSU fans and supporters getting angry and upset that anyone could be so cynical as to believe the above.And there's absolutely no end to the debate, because no one outside of those who were directly involved really knows what happened.

I'm not sure that everyone wants to do exactly the same thing for this game. I suggest we all ride up separately on motorcycles.