Dave in Green

Think 2010. Beas Hamga and Zeke could put on the show of the year at the JAR. Hamga has a 7-5 wingspan and a 9-6 standing reach. Below is a photo of Mr. Hamga that may get your attention.

Valparaiso may be one of the worst possible draw for the Zips this year. They're currently 9th in the 10-team Horizon League. But they've played a tough schedule, losing to North Carolina, Purdue and Butler. So they could play a lot tougher than their Horizon League position might indicate. The other side of the coin is that their top two and three of their top five scorers are seniors, so they'll be seriously reloading next year, and they could be much improved. They appear to have a serious recruiting class for 2010, with one player who should match up well against Zeke and an interesting guard from Australia:Crusader men’s basketball head coach Homer Drew announced today that Beas Hamga (Douala, Cameroon/Decatur [ill.] Christian), a 7’0”, 225 lb. transfer from UNLV, has enrolled in classes for the spring semester at Valparaiso University and will become eligible to play at the end of the fall semester for the 2009-2010 season. Hamga, who redshirted last year at UNLV and played in five games this season before being released by the Runnin’ Rebels, was ranked as the 26th-best player in the nation and fifth-best center in his class by Rivals.com coming out of high school and was a five-star recruit. Hamga averaged 13.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 7.0 blocked shots per game as a senior at Decatur Christian.Valpo men’s basketball head coach Homer Drew announced today that the Crusaders have received a National Letter of Intent from Ryan Broekhoff and that he will join the program as a freshman for the 2009-2010 campaign.Broekhoff, a 6’6”, 190 lb. guard from Frankston, Victoria, Australia, is in his second year at the prestigious Australian Institute of Sport. Named the Australian Junior National Male Player of the Year earlier this year, Broekhoff has twice been a member of Victorian state teams that won national championships, in 2007 with the Victoria U18 squad and in 2008 with the Victoria U20 squad. He was also named U20 national MVP in the latter championship. Broekhoff was also selected as a member of the Australian U19 Emus team that won bronze medals at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Germany and The William Jones Cup in Chinese Taipei.

In favor of Drake, they were expected to contend for the NCCA tournament this year, but have somewhat underperformed. Only one senior among their top five scorers, and a good recruiting class coming in next year. They play in a tough conference, and would definitely be a challenge for the Zips, both this year and next.

Here's my quick thoughts on order of preference:Drake is having a so-so year, but I like the fact that they're from the Missouri Valley conference, which gets a lot of love from sports media.Drexel is in the top third of the Colonial Athletic conference, which is pretty well regarded. James Madison is in the same conference, but a couple of notches behind Drexel.UW-Milwaukee is third in the Horizon League, just behind highly regarded Butler, though the rest of the conference is not so highly rated.Vermont is leading the America East, but that's not a conference that gets a lot of media love.UT-Martin is ahead of Eastern Kentucky, which waxed the Zips, in the modestly regarded Ohio Valley conference, so more potential downside than upside here.

I'd rather see the Zips underrated than overrated. It helps fight complacency and keeps a chip on your shoulder to try to prove the prognosticators wrong. I'm sure that skip-zip will agree with me.

Cameron Black II was also spectating at today's CMU game. Apparently there is more than a passing interest. His father, Cameron Black, is his HS coach. He's more of a rebounder and shot blocker than a scorer, which would fit right in with the KD philosophy of defense first.http://highschoolsports.cleveland.com/news...evelts-offense/

So far so good. The Zips take care of business, and OU loses yet another to the West. Looking forward to the new poll.

I really appreciate you sharing what Ronnie told you. Extremely optimistic about coming back from injuries is exactly what you want to see in a player. I really hope his longterm prognosis is good, and that he will end up getting four full years of play.

Elite MAC East teams shouldn't worry about those lowly MAC West cupcakes, right?

Skip, I went back and checked some of the info the public has been given on Steward.On Dec. 2, ohio.com reported that Steward would be "out about a month with a medical condition known as compartment syndrome." (I thought I remembered hearing "at least" a month, but on ohio.com it said "about" a month.)On Dec. 18, Tom Gaffney reported on ohio.com that "Steward is on schedule to return to the lineup in early January. Steward, a redshirt freshman and a key reserve, had a condition know as compartment syndrome. He had surgery on his lower right leg Dec. 1 and had the staples removed last Saturday. He was in uniform for practice this week but shot on the side and did not participate in drills." On Jan. 5, usatoday.com reported in Zips team notes that "The Zips expect to have redshirt freshman PG Ronnie Steward (compartment syndrome) back for Miami." On Jan. 12, Tom Gaffney reported on ohio.com that "Guard Ronnie Steward, who had surgery on his right leg for compartment syndrome, is still out, and no timetable has been set for his return."On Jan. 26, usatoday.com reported in Zips team notes that "Steward (compartment syndrome) still is listed "Out Indefinitely" in the press notes. He had surgery on Dec. 1 and was expected to return by mid-January."So we can see that the original prognosis appeared to be on track until about 6 weeks after the surgery, when "about a month" became "no timetable" and then 2 weeks later became "out indefinitely."On Jan. 17, in between those last two Steward updates, ohio.com reported that "Coach Keith Dambrot announced before the Zips played Bowling Green that he has taken the redshirt off Brett McClanahan."So there's a real logical progression to all of this.

And more from CBS Sports on Buffalo in March Madness: Mid Major Bracket Busters:http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/messages/thread/13278859

It's official now. CBS Sports projects Buffalo as a 14 seed in the South regional of the Big Dance:http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/11233762

It sure makes a heck of a lot more sense to burn McClanahan's redshirt if Steward is a candidate for a medical redshirt than if he's going to be back this week.

You couldn't ask for a better source than that, and you have to like such a positive attitude. But I doubt he would be back for a game before he works himself back into shape. Is he even practicing with the team yet? Last time I saw him at a home game he was still not even in uniform.

I believe the original prognosis on Steward was that he would be out at least a month.The comment someone made on Steward coming back against YSU was very questionable after the team had said there was no timetable for his return.If McClanahan turns out to be a fast learner, he will be just fine by the time the MAC tournament comes around. If he's a slow learner, then this will give him a head start on next year.In any case, activating McClanahan at mid-season is a contigency plan. By definition, a contingency plan is not as optimal as the original plan. But it should be the best available option given all the circumstances. I'd say this team has demonstrated that it could greatly benefit from the addition of a high-percentage 3-point shooter. I think this move offers the best opportunity for the Zips to win the MAC this year.

Seems like we're getting into semantics here. Statistically a team might be favored to win each of 6 individual games. But statistics also say the favored team doesn't always win. So if a team is favored in 6 games, chances are something might happen to turn 1 or 2 of those likely wins into losses. Likewise, a team favored to lose 6 individual games has a fair statistical chance of winning 1 or 2 of them for various reasons.We all want and hope for the Zips to win every game. Some people are putting the emphasis on the statistical fact that the Zips are favored in all 6 games against MAC West opponents. Others are merely pointing out the realities of statistics. I don't see a problem with any of the above.

I'd be content to see a 15 or 16 seed Zips team have an opportunity to play a team like Pitt in the first round, and perhaps have a chance to put together a whole game like the 2nd half the Zips already played against Pitt this season. A strong showing against a high seed in the first round is a good way to start earning national respect.

Oops. I used to be good at math, but miscounted on this one. That 3-3 record is an even bigger warning not to expect this year's Zips team to sweep the weak West. It's not impossible, just not likely.

Pretty close game for the best team in the MAC.Meanwhile, Can't destroys EMU, 68-46.

Last year the Zips were 4-2 against MAC West teams in the regular season.

CK, I appreciate your efforts to put all this in writing, and agree with your assessments. Last night's YSU game reinforces the Zips recent rise. They are now playing much smarter and with more confidence. That's what I saw in Buffalo's team when they beat the Zips. They played really well as a team, crisply moving the ball around until they found the open man, getting high percentage shots and crashing the boards. The Zips now appear to be on a similar trajectory, and MAC tournament results will depend on which team develops the most cohesiveness over the next couple of months. If they continue improving, I don't think it's unrealistic to hope for the Zips to enter the MAC tournament as a 3 or 4 seed. But the MAC is less predictable this year for sure.

Thanks for your participation here, and all the best to YSU for the rest of the season. You can't believe how many weak second halves it took for the Zips to finally put together what they did in the second halves against Can't and YSU in the last two games! It's a tough learning process to learn how to finish close games against quality opponents. The Penguins could break through at any time.The Zips veteran players did come through tonight. But I think the story of the night is the continuing emergence of Cvetinovic. I'm pretty sure this was his first 20+ minute game, and I see more in his future. Early in the second half, he was tied with Linhart for most Zips points and rebounds. Once again the guards were cold from the field and the front line was hot. Getting the frontcourt more involved in the offense is paying dividents in rebounds, as well, as the Zips won tonight's rebound battle.It's getting easier and easier to believe in this Zips team, because I think they are believing more and more in themselves.

Bipolarism is great! At least, that's what the other side of me says.

"Take out" is an ambiguous athletic term. The most negative meaning is the intent to take an opposing player out of a game by causing physical harm. But it's much more commonly used to imply applying a tough, focused defense on a player to take him out of his normal game rhythm and shut him down.

Skip, I think you hit the key factor. The Zips didn't just settle for long shots. They worked hard to get the ball inside, and got good results out of it. Even though they were outrebounded, they were working hard to go after rebounds. The inside passing and shooting is what we've been waiting for all year. Team McKnight (Chris + Brett) was brilliant all day in all aspects of the game. B. McKnight's scoring should not overshadow the fact that he played a complete game -- passing, rebounding, defense. This is the B. McKnight the Zips need to finish the season strong.I also agree with everyone else's analysis of the individual players. The guards generally shot poorly, but the forwards were way over 50% from the field. The team as a whole played their usual good defense, and I hope they learned today that they can win games by letting their front court players carry more of the scoring load.The way the Zips played today really inspired my confidence. Like Quickzips, I was not as worried as usual when Can't caught up in the second half. I thought the Zips had it in them today to come back from that and close the game. They didn't get hesitant and tentative toward the end. They were aggressive and made intelligent plays. I want to see more of this!