Dave in Green

Here's an interesting way to look at how OSU is handling the Tressel situation compared with how similar situations were handled at other schools: * OSU self-reported a violation of NCAA bylaw 10.1 (unethical conduct). * Since 2006, the NCAA has sanctioned 27 schools for violating bylaw 10.1, which requires coaches and others to be truthful and forthcoming about possible NCAA violations. * Of the 12 coaches involved, only one kept his job, while the other 11 either resigned or were fired by their schools.

Height is not the only physical factor in considering who is best equipped to spell Zeke at center next season. Weight is also an issue in not getting pushed around in the paint. Bardo was able to use his 240 lbs. to good effect against some of the heavyweight players the Zips have faced over the last couple of years. How do the four players mentioned above stack up based on their most recently published weights? Dakotah Euton: 6-8, 230 Josh Egner: 6-7, 200 Demetrius Treadwell: 6-7, 200 Nick Harney: 6-7, 190 Then there's the matter of body strength. Some of these players may need to hit the weights a little harder than others. Leaping ability to block opposing centers' shots is also a factor. We know Egner has big hops and Euton not so much. We don't really know how the other two compare. Finally, there are various skills that set a true center apart from a forward. At this point I don't think there's enough known about all of these players' sklls to know which might best relieve Zeke at center. There are other factors, as well. For example, Euton was a 40%+ 3-point shooter in HS. If he plays center on the offensive perimeter and knocks down 3s, he draws the opposing center away from the basket. That opens it up for the Zips forwards to focus on rebounding against the other teams' forwards. Lots of things to be considered.

I think GoZips is just posting constructive suggestions, and using strong wording because he has strong beliefs about his suggestions being the correct ones. Sometimes strong suggestions based on strong beliefs expressed in strong language can be misinterpreted as negative criticism. I don't think GoZips is trying to be negative in what he's saying here.

Not knowing for sure what the Serb is going to do complicates any speculation about next season. Maybe we need two parallel threads discussing next season -- one with the Serb and one without him.

Some obvious points to consider about the new players for next season: * Walsh (Xavier) and Gilliam (Maryland Eastern Shore) already have college experience and have been out of HS for multiple years. * Harney and Treadwell will have had a full season off after HS graduation to physically develop and to develop their games. * Justice and Ibitayo will be fresh out of HS. So I think it's fair to assume that: * The two players with previous college experience are most likely to be the most immediate contributors, similar to what Q contributed to this season's team. * The two players who will already have a full year of schooling at UA and who most observers credit with having superior athletic skills are less likely to be considered for redshirts and potentially able to have impact with the team. * The two players who will be fresh out of HS are likely to be the least developed and most likely to be considered for redshirts. What will actually happen is dependent on many variables beyond the above.

More importantly, did someone throw a switch on the forum software so that it no longer translates f l a s h into f l u s h, or did forum member F l a s h figure out a way to cheat the system without putting spaces between the letters? Or could it be when you have a punctuation mark after the word that it doesn't change the a to u in flash? Bingo!

True or not, it works for me.

I wouldn't worry so much about an Energizer Bunny like McNees playing close to 40 minutes. But Zeke and Bardo are obviously not physically capable of playing effectively for 40 straight minutes, as we've seen when they've played long stretches in other games and are left bent over, gasping for air. You could keep them on the floor for 40 minutes, but they'd slow down so much from physical exhaustion that they'd get eaten alive. It's much smarter for a coach to tell his players to give all they have every minute they're on the floor, with the understanding that they'll get subbed out when they start to run out of steam and lose effectiveness. KD is a smart enough coach to know when his players have reached their effective playing limits and need to be subbed out for a breather.

Thinking a little more about the height situation against ND, their starting lineup actually has at least slightly less of an advantage over the Zips than Gonzaga did 2 years ago: 6-11 Josh Heytvelt 6-11 Austin Daye 6-8 Micah Downs 6-5 Matt Bouldin 6-2 Jeremy Pargo 6-8 Nik Cvetinovic 6-8 Nate Linhart 6-7 Chris McKnight 6-2 Steve McKnees 6-0 Darryl Roberts Gonzaga had a height advantage at every single position, and yet the Zips played the Zags dead even for 32 minutes. By the way, all 5 starters from that Zags team are currently playing pro ball somewhere around the world, with Daye in the NBA. Those Zags may have been a slightly lower seed than ND is this year, but they were loaded with height and talent, and the Zips were not at all intimidated.

I had thought about Zeke and Bardo on the floor at the same time. But if they both sub out at some point, that leaves the Zips short all around. Might be better to have the two big guys sub in and out for each other, and maybe have a few overlapping minutes if the circumstances are right. If all the Zips play as hard as I think they're going to have to play to challenge ND, Zeke and Bardo might both be exhausted for the final minutes if they don't give each other a chance to rest on the bench during the game. Have to be really careful not to get either one of them in foul trouble, as the Serb is the only other Zips player who isn't shorter than most of ND's players.

It may be true that the #15 and #16 seeded teams only win about 2% of the time against #1 and #2 seeds. What about all of the #9, #10, #11, #12, #13 and #14 seeds that would be eliminated by going back to a 32-team format? American sports fans absolutely love the concept of upsets by giant killers. The biggest upsets are pulled off by the biggest underdogs. By definition, the less frequently it happens the bigger the upset. If there are 8 games each year between the 2 top-seeded teams and the 2 lowest-seeded teams (2 games x 4 regions), and 1 in 50 (2%) ends in a big upset, that averages out to once about every 6 years (50/8 = 6.25). That's just about right.

If you glance quickly at a snail, you might not think it's moving. But come back a few hours later and you'll find it's slowly crawled right out of sight. The national sports media's opinion of teams and conferences moves at a snail's pace. An opening round CBI/CIT victory produces about the same effect as quickly glancing at a snail. It will take many victories by many MAC teams over time to slowly change the national sports media's opinion on the MAC. But if the day ever comes that they do start talking about how the MAC has improved, they will mention many of the big regular season OOC and tournament victories as proof to back up their claim that the MAC has improved. It's a 3-phase process: 1. Start winning. 2. Continue winning. 3. Become recognized as a consistent winner. Phase 2 can't happen without phase 1, and phase 3 can't happen without phases 1 and 2.

Best story yet on Zeke. The more we learn about him as a person, the more reason to be impressed. Hopefully there will be fewer negative comments about Zeke's game performances seen on this forum in the future. He's obviously trying very hard to be the best that he can be, and he's slowly but surely getting there.

I recall a game at the JAR where an opposing guard stole the ball from the Zips and raced upcourt for a layup. Zeke chased him down from behind and almost caught him for the block. I was really impressed by Zeke's foot speed on that play.

It's always in your team's best interest to have every other team on the schedule do well in every game they play except when they're playing your team. High RPI is earned by playing and beating winning teams. When you wish for your opponents to lose to other teams, you are wishing for their RPI to be lowered, which in turn lowers your team's RPI. So it's in the best interest of the Zips team and fans, the Flushes teams and fans, and every other MAC team and their fans to wish each other to do well except when they play against your team. I'd love to be able to say that the Zips beat the team that won the NIT, and I'm sure that many Can't fans would love to be able to say that they came within one shot of beating a team that made a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

I thought Zipmeister had predicted that Akron and Can't were 11 miles apart.

Of course you can build a team if you go by the dictionary definition: Build (v.): To develop or give form to according to a plan or process. I think if you asked KD he'd tell you that he has both a plan and a process to develop his players into a cohesive, winning team, which precisely fits the definition of building a team. The only thing that gives building and rebuilding a bad name in sports is that everyone talks about it but not everyone is successful at it. If you keep hearing talk of a team building or rebuilding and never see positive results, it means those trying to do the building or rebuilding failed, not that the concept of building or rebuilding is erroneous.

I'd be disappointed if the Rowdies wasted their vocal chords on the bus trip over. But thanks for the reminder to bring ear plugs.

Anyone heard anything on the bus yet? Hilltopper and I were originally planning to drive over Friday morning and back Friday evening. But the more we thought about it, the more we realized that $50 per person on the bus is cheaper than driving, considering gas, tolls, parking, wear and tear on the car, etc. It would also be more relaxing. I wonder how many folks on ZN.O filled out the bus trip questionnaire by 8 a.m. this morning?

I did like Lunardi's admission that he underestimated OU against Georgetown last year.

Great news. Sounds like the 550 ticket allocation may cover most of those who want to go.

Building is simply developing and growing. Building is a process of improving from not doing your best toward doing your best. Building is an ongoing process because humans never reach a stage of perfection. Building is preferable to the alternatives -- regression or stagnation.

Are you sure they have your phone number or e-mail address? You were there when I made the phone call to the ticket office! And you think I pay attention when you're talking?

Are you sure they have your phone number or e-mail address?

Story: McClanahan savors NCAA experiences Best Quote: McClanahan locked horns with Coach Keith Dambrot during his first two seasons in the program. While there was never any danger of the former All-State first-team guard leaving, he admittedly didn't have enough "fight" in him for Dambrot's tastes. "Once you start learning how to respond to his style of coaching, you get better, as a player in his program and a person," McClanahan said. "I wasn't ready to play my first couple years here, and he told me that. He respects anybody who can hang tough with him. To be honest, he's similar to Coach Huggins in his coaching ways. He prides himself in breaking people down and making them tougher. He tests our manhood constantly. "You can't lay down and not show any emotion or fight, which is what I did my first couple years." Charleston Daily Mail