Dave in Green

Steve French told Dambrot that in the post game interview. Dambrot's reply - "Why don't you tell the guys that on the bus ride to K.e.n.t. Sunday?"Maybe I'm missing something, but that makes it sound as if that's what KD has been trying to tell the players, they aren't listening, and he wants someone else to reinforce his message. It makes no sense at all that KD can't get players to shoot earlier in the shot clock, unless KD is so hard on them when they miss that no one wants to risk feeling his wrath.If that's the case, then the only solution is for KD to back off a notch on the player criticisms. No one else can do that for him.

I understand that defensive basketball is all about minimizing the number and quality of shots taken by opponents, and that one part of a total defensive game is running the shot clock down on every offensive possession to use up more of the game clock and give the opponents fewer possessions in which to score. I can't argue with the defense the Zips apply on the defensive end. They generally do hold their opponents to low shooting percentages, and the pressure generally results in many steals and turnovers. This is all good, even if some may find it ugly to watch.The part I'm having trouble with is running the clock down on the offensive end. My impression is that the Zips players sometimes do better when they set up quickly than when they spend a lot of time dribbling around the perimeter and allowing opponents to set up their defenses to contest a shot they know is coming in the last few seconds of the shot clock.I'm wondering if it might not be better to have a hybrid defensive philosophy where the focus remains the same on the defensive end, but where more plays are run earlier in the shot clock on the offensive end. This is not the same as getting into a wide open offensive game, where the Zips might get blown out by teams that thrive on run and gun.One of the problems of always shooting late in the shot clock is that it's too predicatable. It allows the defense to be loose for 30 seconds, and then clamp down and contest the shot they know is coming. It also builds pressure on the offensive players that they are on deadline, and so they have to force something up to beat the shot clock. Could that be part of the reason that the Zips' perimeter shooting percentage is so poor?I think a less predictable offense could serve the Zips well. Go ahead and continue to walk the ball up and run the shot clock down on some plays. On others, drive the ball upcourt in a hurry, get the defense off balance and find an open man to shoot early in the shot clock. And on other possessions, start slowly but trigger a shot 15-20 seconds into the shot clock.That might be a way to not only make Zips games more watchable, but also result in more wins.

The refs may have helped keep it close for awhile, but the Zips were doing pretty well on their own at allowing OU to stay closer than they should have. Overall, the refs were not as big a factor as they have been in other games.The Zips had problems with the zone in the first half, but adjusted just enough in the second half to pull away. They fired away from outside in the first half and shot miserably. In the second half, they finally pounded it inside. B McKnight was deadly on his short-to-medium-range jumpers, and also made some nice kickout passes to the open man. He also played hard and smart on the defensive end, and is becoming more than just a shooter. If this continues I think he deserves strong consideration as most improved player on the team.But if we're going to talk about individuals, Nate Linhart showed in his final home game why he is so important to this team. He just had all the right offensive and defensive moves at just the right times to carry the team forward when other players seemed to be too tentative and unsure of themselves. I was especially concerned that Hitchens appeared to be lost at times. But KD said in the postgame interview that Hitchens was under the weather, so maybe the bug he had a couple of weeks ago is lingering. Keep your fingers crossed that he gets well, because the Zips will need him to live up to his big game reputation in the MAC tournament.At times Tillman looked like he could take over the game. But the Zips defense adjusted and started picking off the lobs inside. Tillman is talented, all right, but it's not translating into OU wins.The Zips get big credit for outrebounding OU 33-25, and continuing to shoot well from the free throw line. As long as they can't hit from the perimeter, they cannot afford to be outrebounded or miss their free throws.At this point of the season, this team pretty much is what it is. They aren't going to be making drastic changes, so it's all going to come down to focus and effort. I really believe the players are all trying hard, and maybe they're trying a little too hard on those outside shots. If someone can relax enough to start hitting consistently from outside and loosen up the defense inside, the Zips could be tough to beat.

Prior to the new football stadium, it would have made for an interesting discussion to propose dumping football when the Rubber Bowl became uninhabitable, investing millions in a fabulous basketball arena and focusing on becoming a national basketball power. I doubt that anything would have come of it, because football fans outnumber basketball fans by a bunch, even when the football team is losing and the basketball team is winning. But it's pretty much a moot point now that millions have already been invested in a new football stadium.As far as the MAC being at a low point this year, I think even the most cursory research of college basketball over the last 10-20 years will show numerous examples of conferences rising, falling and rising again. The Zips could find themselves bailing out on the MAC just as it's starting to rise again, and end up in a conference that's just beginning to fall.

Perfect! I figured that Zeke's unselfish attitude would carry over to putting a high priority on helping his teammates score. It's really great to know that he is such a wise young man with good, strong family ties. We'll all try to keep our expectations under control and not start pushing the Zips to schedule North Carolina or Duke in his freshman year.

Well, how am I going to argue with that?And on that note, I'll slightly rephrase my original statement to satisfy the semi-objective folks who frequent this forum:Taking into consideration such imperfect and fallible rating systems as preseason polls, RPI, and news media and fan pronoucements, the Zips have beaten some teams they were supposed to lose to, and they've lost to some teams they were supposed to have beaten, with the word "some" being defined as "an unspecified number or quantity."I refer any questions concerning the above to my legal counsel.

The Zips beat BGSU at BGSU and lost to BGSU at home. Who was supposed to win each of those two games?

"Supposed to" is synonymous with "expected to" or "predicted to." I seriously doubt that any major ranking system predicted the Zips as favorites going into every conference game they've won this year.Going all the way back to the MAC preseason poll, the Zips were predicted to finish fourth in the East this season. So from the beginning they obviously would not have been predicted to beat the teams ranked ahead of them or lose to those ranked behind them. But virtually every sports team at every level loses some they're expected to win and wins some they're expect to lose, and that certainly applies to the Zips.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2008-09 Mid-American Conference News Media Association Preseason Poll East Division 1. Can't State (16 first-place votes) -124 points2. Miami (6) - 109 points3. Bowling Green - 70 points4. Akron - 67 points5. Ohio - 66 points6. Buffalo - 35 pointsWest Division 1. Western Michigan (15) - 122 points2. Eastern Michigan (7) - 105 points3. Central Michigan - 79 points4. Toledo - 71 points5. Ball State - 55 points6. Northern Illinois - 39 pointsTournament Champion Votes: Can't State (11), Miami (7), Bowling Green (2), Eastern Michigan (2)

The more I think about it, the more I come around to the fact that the Zips have beaten some teams they were supposed to lose to, and they've lost to some teams they were supposed to have beaten. So I'm starting to be less concerned about where the Zips are seeded. I'm thinking the single most important factor going into the tournament is the attitude of the players, and not looking for the easiest path.

Blocking shots is only a part-time job. It's only needed on the defensive end. I'd like to hear what Zeke prefers to do on the offensive end. Hopefully he would say he'd much rather be passing to the open man and getting assists for his teammates' buckets than scoring tons of points himself. On the offesive end, I really think that Zeke's passing will be more important to the team than his scoring. He only needs to score enough to cause the defense to collapse on him when he gets the ball. Then it's just a matter of finding the open man. Wood was really good at finding the open man and kicking the ball back out. Zeke is half a foot taller than Wood, and will have a penthouse view for finding the open man.

It's important not to base a weight goal on the weight of others, but on the optimum weight defined by one's own genes -- skeletal structure, joints, musculature, etc. Additional weight that might help one hold position against a heavier opponent can have negative side effects on someone not built to carry that extra weight. The most important thing is Zeke's health. This is something that should only be determined by qualified medical professionals. Heavier players will play to their advantage, and Zeke will play to his advantage. Anyone can put on weight. Height and quickness are exclusive to precious few.

I would be shocked if this is a problem for the Zips next season. Any player who doesn't understand that running the ball through Zeke is the key to winning will have a hard time staying in the regular rotation.

Both Elton Alexander and Tom Gaffney have good stories on the game that pretty much match the sentiments expressed in this forum. I think the following two paragraphs in EA's story sum up the fans' frustration:As for Akron (18-11, 9-5 MAC), after playing with calm and composure one game earlier to gain a first-place tie, the Zips withered down the stretch with missed shots from point-blank range and fan complaints for invisible fouls. The last miss of a layup by Akron junior Chris McKnight was rebounded by BG with plenty of time to play.Instead of an instant foul, the Zips collectively stood while the home crowd was begging for a foul that never happened. The Falcons (17-11, 10-4) alertly tossed a full-court pass to a streaking Brian Moten for the game-sealing hoop.When a sports writer refers to "invisible fouls," it's a good sign that the fans were not imagining the refs' performance. But the part about the Zips collectively standing instead of immediately committing the foul was just the last of many mistakes that sealed the loss. http://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/in..._they_do_f.htmlhttp://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/40522282.htmlI just want to add that I make mistakes every day and get frustrated with myself. In spite of my frustration that the Zips are not more consistent, I still like this team a lot, and will be supporting them to the end. I already have my ticket for the MAC tournament, and will be there every day. I sincerely believe they can win the MaC tournament as long as they are learning from their mistakes, and play with all their hearts and all their smarts.

Bardo had 5 rebounds in 14 minutes, which wasn't bad. But, as happened last week, he was once again a few feet from the basket with no defender between him and the rim, and he flipped the ball up and missed. As I posted here last week, there is no reason for a 6-10 player not to go all the way to the rim and slam the ball straight down in a situation like this. It's not grandstanding. It's taking the higher percentage shot. A slam dunk can also fire up a team, and the Zips sure needed firing up in this game.I guess this proves the Zips coaching staff and players do not rely on my services as a consultant.

It was a combination of things. The refs were not so hot. They made a few questionable calls against BGSU, but unquestionably made more bad calls against the home team. That alone would have been survivable. But Coach Orr had his team well prepared for the Zips. They took the McKnights out of the game, and the Zips didn't adjust fast enough. They took away the Zips passing lanes, and the Zips didn't adjust fast enough. They threw up a defense that stopped the Zips both inside and out, and the Zips didn't adjust fast enough. And, finally, the Zips just did not execute crisply and intelligently. I think it was a case of being out-smarted, out-hustled, out-played and out-coached by a team the Zips should have beaten handily in spite of the refs.It's really frustrating for everyone. I'm not angry, but I am disappointed. I'm sure the players and coaching staff are, too. The Zips are doing better than was expected of them at the beginning of the season, so expectations have naturally grown higher. But they are now closing in on a Tuesday night game in the MAC tournament, and a game played like this one at the Q will be lights out.

I think it would have been less painful to have fallen and broken a leg this morning and spent the day in the emergency room than having travelled to the JAR today and witnessing what I saw.

In each of yesterday's 3 MAC West games, the team with the worse conference record beat the team with the better record by a single point:* BSU loses to NIU 56-55* WMU loses to UT 63-62* CMU loses to EMU 57-56

#8 NIU continues to heat up with a 56-55 win over #5 BSU.It's fair to expect a team that starts 2 freshmen, 2 sophomores and a junior to improve more over the course of a season than a more veteran team, and NIU has done exactly that in winning their last three conference games over Akron, WMU and BSU

On the subject of NCAA projections, for basketball fans who don't regularly read the football forum, I posted the following in a football/basketball thread entitled: The MAC Stinks, What Can Be Done About It?-------------------------------------------------------------------------An interesting data point to consider can be found in the current CBS Sports projecting the field for the NCAA men's basketball tournament (link below). At the end of the article they give a detailed breakdown of each conference whose champion earns a bid, including projected champion, at-large and on the fence entries.As expected, the MAC has "none" next to both at-large and on the fence.But here's the kicker: Of the 31 conferences listed, 20 are just like the MAC -- no at-large and no on the fence entries. So 21 of the 31 conferences can effectively be considered 1-bid conferences. This includes some conferences considered stronger than the MAC -- Missouri Valley, Horizon, etc. The much stronger Conference USA has none at-large and only one on the fence.Considering all of this, the challenge to raise the MAC to more than a 1-bid conference in basketball is huge. MAC football is much better off with multiple bowl teams every year already in place.http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/11233762

It really all comes to how one interprets "the past two seasons" and if EA was only counting those who actually played against Buffalo."The past two seasons" can be interpreted as the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 seasons, as this year's regular season is nearly complete, and EA did not specify the past two completed seasons.By that definition, and looking only at the regular 10-player rotation, we come up with this:* 1 has played the past 4 seasons -- Linhart* 2 have played the past 3 seasons -- C. McKnight and Conyers.* 4 have played the past 2 seasons -- Roberts, Bardo, McNees and B. McKnight* 3 are freshmen who have only played this season -- Hitchens, Cvetinovich and McClanahanSo the bulk (7) of the Zips regular 10-player rotation have in fact played in numerous big games over the course of the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 seasons.

The wins vs. strength of schedule thing is a sliding scale. The weaker your schedule, the more wins you need to impress tournament selectors, and the stronger your schedule, the fewer wins required. Theoretically, it should require roughly the same overall level of performance from a team to achieve the record required to impress the selectors regardless of schedule strength.

I really appreciate your "sad" use of time. Statisticians are my unsung heros. As an amateur statistician, I've wasted endless hours calculating "what if's." The older you get, the more you will appreciate that there are many sadder uses of time than crunching numbers.

OK, let me state it slightly differently: The Zips are in a 3-way tie for best record in the MAC, with tie-breakers to be applied at the end of the season if there's still a tie.

Sorry for being late, but I had a commitment I couldn't ditch. Finally jumped in the car and turned on the radio just in time to hear Buffalo blow the layup with 7 seconds left. I was screaming in the car!A truly amazing night with Buffalo, Miami and Can't all losing. Zips are tied for the conference lead with Buffalo and BG. Now we just have to protect the home court!