Dave in Green

Wilson is a preferred walk-on, so he wouldn't be considered a redshirt. And we don't yet know for sure if Ivey will be academically eligible for a scholarship or if he will have to complete his freshman academic year before being eligible to play, like Tree and Nick. If the latter is true, the Zips would still have a scholarship to give and an opportunity to make a major impact on next season's team with a transfer who might be eligible to play immediately or a talented true freshman. On the Abreu situation, I think it's best to assume he's not returning and plan around the players who are expected to return. Planning for now around the players we have confidence will be eligible, the key questions are how much season-to-season growth will we see from the returning players, what adjustments will be made for the loss of Q and what will Aaron and BJ bring to the team. BJ was the highest-rated player in this season's incoming class. From what I've seen in practice, he's fearless driving to the bucket and is strong enough to finish. I don't know if he has the outside shot that Q developed, but he could at least take up some of the loss of Q's ability to drive the lane. From what I've seen of Aaron in practice, I really like his motor and his attitude. Even though he wasn't a highly rated prospect, i think he has more of a Tree-like intensity than anyone else currently on the team. His skill set is different from Q's, but in combination with BJ the two of them could fill at least part of Q's shoes. If nothing else, the team chemistry is likely to change with Q gone. Q is mercurial, always pushing the limits and going back and forth between brilliance and unforced errors. If BJ and Aaron are more consistent, it may help stabilize the team and encourage more consistent performance. Looking at the non-redshirt freshmen, from whom you'd expect the most growth between seasons, Kwan is a talented player in search of an identity. He's a wing mentality in a power forward body. You look at him and think he's capable of banging in the paint. But his preference is to be a spot-up shooter. That's not all bad. Having a 6-9 guy who can consistently hit from outside puts a major stress on defenses. Most MAC teams don't have players who can defend against 6-9 outside shooters. It just means you need other players to bang in the paint. The main thing Kwan needs to work on is D. He has to give up fewer points than he scores. That bring us to Big Dog. He's already being talked about as a force to be reckoned with in the MAC. He steadily improved throughout his first season as a true freshman to take over as starting center. No one in the MAC can push him out of the way, and few can put up more than token resistance when he backs his way into the paint for the quick spin and layup. With his ability to reliably catch and handle the ball and accurately pass to open teammates, much of the Zips' offense could be built around him. Big Dog and Pat give the Zips the best center combo in the MAC. Along with Tree, they're all bangers who could rule the paint. If Big Dog remains the starting center getting most of the minutes, perhaps Pat could back up Tree at the 4 for the few minutes each game that Tree sits. Given their progress to date, I think it's almost guaranteed that Jake and Reggie will be even better next season as juniors. Both have shown the ability to be more than just 3-point shooters, and I think their roles will expand more next season. The biggest improvement this season was from Deji. He evolved from cringeworthy to one of the Zips' most consistent players at the end of the season. The energy he brings to the team should not be underestimated. If he remains on this upward curve, he could be one of the Zips' top players as a senior. Melo and Nyles were expected to handle the point, and they did get better as the season went on. But they couldn't do it without Q's help. It would be fantastic if both players worked hard in the off-season to become better all-around players. But that can't be counted on. Most likely Melo will return as a true PG who can run the offense pretty well and play tough D but can't consistently score. And most likely Nyles will return as a combo guard who's more of an undersized, streaky shooting guard who has problems running the offense. That would mean the Zips would need someone to replace Q's role as a ball handler. Tree is both the rock of the team and the Achilles heel. His ability to power the ball to the hoop should result in lots of field goals and free throws. But his inability to hit free throws means that opponents will increasingly use the hack-a-Tree strategy. If the Zips can't adjust by getting the ball to open players when Tree is double- and triple-teamed, next season will be no better than this one. I left Nick for last because he's such an enigma. As I just pointed out in the WMU game thread, Nick is a great talent whose stats have remained pretty flat over his three seasons, and his shooting performance has actually deteriorated. I'd originally hoped that he and Tree were close enough that they would have great chemistry together on the court. But we've seen only occasional flashes of that. If Nick doesn't return next season with a sense of purpose and intensity, I see him slowly fading to the end of the bench as hungrier players eat into his PT. This season when the Zips D collapsed on other teams' players with the ball, the result was too often a well-coordinated pass to an open teammate for an easy bucket. That's the kind of offensive teamwork the Zips only rarely showed. However it happens, next season the Zips need to develop better team chemistry and more consistency. They need to mesh together as a team instead of individuals taking turns making plays. It's time to play down Tree or any other individual as the team's star and make the team the star.

@Quickzips, you weren't the only one disappointed by Nick's performance last night. Nick didn't lose the game by himself. But even a slightly below average performance by him would have won the game. That got me to wondering how much he'd improved over the last 3 seasons. When I looked at his season-by-season career stats on StatSheet.com, I was stunned to see little improvement in most areas. Even worse, his shooting performance has actually deteriorated. Look at these numbers arranged from his first year through this season: FG% -- 52.2, 47.3, 47.9 3FG% -- 36.4, 23.5, 18.5 FT% -- 73.4, 67.4, 61.4 If that trend continues, it's unrealistic to think that he could be the solid 5th year senior the Zips desperately need next season. I think we were all dazzled when we first saw Nick's raw talent on display at the JAR and expected him to grow into a great Zips player. The lack of growth is terribly disappointing, especially given the fact that Nick is such a nice person. Very frustrating.

I doubt that the current financial situation at UA will allow them to purchase a home game in one of the lesser tournaments. Really, there's only one thing I care about at this point. Another win would continue the Zips' string of 22+ win seasons along with Duke, Kansas, Pitt, Gonzaga and tOSU. Of course we all understand that the Zips haven't faced the same level of competition as those other teams. But there are also many teams with weaker levels of competition than the Zips have faced who haven't been able to accomplish it. So it really is a big deal to win just one more game this season. I don't care what tournament it's in or who the competition is. I just want that 22nd win. So just get us in the CBI or CIT and challenge the team to win one on the road to keep UA in the company of Duke, Kansas, Pitt, Gonzaga and tOSU on at least one level.

I was sitting there in the first half with the Zips building a big lead and every Zips fan around me going wild, and I said out loud that I wasn't sure if I liked the idea of having such a big lead so early. I think this team is better at scratching and clawing their way back late than they are trying to protect a big lead. It's like the old football cliche about the prevent defense preventing you from winning. The Zips went from aggressive attacking on both offense and defense in the first half to a more tentative style in the second half, and WMU was more than happy to trade styles and become the aggressor. I don't know how much of that was due to the players and how much was due to the coaching. But the combination of coaching and players lost the winning formula in the second half. The Zips were not a great team this season. But they were good enough to beat WMU if they had played two halves of Zips basketball instead of just one. I'm disappointed, but already looking forward to next season.

We all knew the game was coming where free throws would sink the Zips, and this was it. Throw in the late, long, banked 3 just to add insult to injury.

The Zips defense will be important in this game as they are unlikely to shoot 60% from the field 2 games in a row. WMU is the only team that had 2 players (both seniors) on the All-MAC First Team, so you have to start with them. Guard David Brown averages 19.1 points per game and center Shayne Whittington 16.1. After them the next highest scorers average 11.8, 8.2, 6.4 and 3.6. With Brown and Whittington scoring about 50% of WMU's points, slowing one or both of them down would pay big dividends. The Zips have had spotty success slowing high-scoring guards, so great defense from Deji, Q and whoever else guards the 6-3 Brown would be a big plus. The Zips are one of the few teams in the MAC who can throw 2 quality centers at Whittington. Big Dog and Pat both size up well against the 6-11, 250-pound Whittington. They don't have to stop him, but slowing him down and making him work hard for his points would help a lot. Connar Tava, a 6-5, 235-pound freshman forward is the wild card. Their 3rd leading scorer is an athletic player with a good inside game who shoots better than 60% from the field. Tree will most likely get most of the minutes guarding him as WMU's other primary forward is not a high percentage shooter or high scorer. WMU is actually worse in turnover percentage than the Zips, and strong defensive pressure would help the Zips maintain that advantage. Despite having a dominant center, WMU is slightly below the national average in rebounding percentage. The Zips have an advantage in rebounding percentage, and maintaining that edge would be another key to winning this game.

Tree was pretty deadly when he brought the ball up the court and drove to the bucket before OU had a chance to set its defense. Having a power forward who can take it the length of the court, drive to the bucket like a wing and score consistently is an option most teams only dream of having. Q tweeted after a late-season loss that he needed to be turned loose earlier in the game. His wish was granted with less than 2 minutes left in the first half as he scored the Zips' final 5 points of the half and then the first 5 points of the second half. That 10 points over a 2-minute, 40-second span kept the Zips in the game when OU was threatening to pull away. Then there's Reggie. Earlier in the season he was criticized here for only shooting 3s and nothing else. Last night he faked treys, drove inside and once pulled up for an 18-foot jumper and another time shot the first floater I can remember seeing him try. He made both shots. In the 3 games since his return, he's hit 2-2 2-pointers, 5-7 treys and 7-8 free throws.

For his farewell performance, the MAC POY shot 2-13 from the field and 3-7 from the free throw line as his #3 seed team was upset by the #6 seed team, pulling a one-and-done in the MAC tournament.

Amazing stat of the night: Coach Dambrot said in his post-game interview that this season's team, which has been much maligned for making so many turnovers, actually averaged fewer turnovers per game than last season's team. Much as I trust Coach Dambrot, you know I had to fact check him on that one. So, without further commentary, here are the raw numbers: 13.9 turnovers per game = 2012-2013 Zips team 13.2 turnovers per game = 2013-2014 Zips team

The foul disparity is a little bogus. OU was called for 22 PFs and the Zips 15. But 4 of the OU PFs were called in the last 47 seconds when they were deliberately fouling and sending Zips to the line for 2 foul shots. Take those out and the difference was not significant. It sure is painful to sit through these games where the Zips trail the whole way. There's just not a lot to cheer about or get excited about until the end. But boy is it fun to celebrate wins after spending a whole game wondering if a win is possible. I guess it's just a characteristic of this team that you have to get used to. You have to learn not to get worried when the Zips are behind because they usually find an unexpected way to claw their way back. Who would have imagined what Melo did over those last few minutes? I think I'm more worn out than the players, but looking forward to seeing what the Zips come up with against WMU. I saw Coach Dambrot sitting in the stands watching the Buffalo/EMU game as we left the Q, and I just looked at him, shook my head and kept slapping my hand against my heart as if it was jumping out of my chest. He just smiled.

Just got home from the Q in time to see that EMU upset Buffalo. Wow.

It's official. Jake's warming up. Any minutes he can play would be great.

It turns out that there is one other school that uses a Z-word for their team nickname -- the Eastern New Mexico Zias. But it's only used for their women's teams (the men's teams are the Greyhounds), and ENMU is an NCAA D-II school that isn't really on the national radar. UA could own the Z identifier in college sports if they wanted to. Wiki list of college sports team nicknames

Quarterfinals is still the correct term when 2 of the top 4 seeds get byes in the round before the semifinals. More importantly, from GT's story:

The only other Z-word I can think of being used in association with college sports is the Arizona Wildcats being referred to as Zona. Xavier has made great use of being the only school with a name starting with X to become widely identified with the single letter X. With enough focus, UA could take ownership of the single letter Z in college sports with sports media and the public. It's really rare for anything to be identified with a single letter, and the Zips are well-positioned to do that. With Akron Zips spanning the alphabet from A to Z, there's no end to the marketing opportunities.

EMU holds NIU to 13 points in the second half to advance.

Surprising halftime score -- NIU 35, EMU 24.

I was expecting the Kitties. Over the previous 5 seasons the Zips and the Kitties have owned the MAC tournament. Both teams know what it takes when it really matters. Tomorrow night's game determines which one gets to defend the honor of the old guard against the upstarts. The Zips earned a tough win in Athens while the Kitties rolled the Zips at the JAR with Nick, Jake and Reggie all sitting. At full strength the Zips have what it takes to win at the Q. If Jake sits it gets a little tighter.

I don't know if it's true or not, but someone said awhile back that the Zags of Gonzaga may be the only other college sports team in the country that has a nickname that starts with Z. That's only for basketball, and I don't think they've actually used Z on their uniforms. I think a big Z is a pretty unique and striking athletic symbol.

If it were me, I would have correctly pointed out that things can always be worse...they can also be better...or they can remain the same.

I could have sworn I put a link to Hustle Belt in my first post. But I just noticed it wasn't there, so I added it for those who couldn't find the blog. I did a little research on the blog's author, Bryan M. Vance. He just graduated with a journalism degree from OU, which may explain why he disses the Zips, and is currently looking for a real journalism job. I think he's eminently qualified to write a blog, because, well, isn't everyone?

UA is not the future of MAC basketball, according to Hustle Belt. They say the Zips' time in the spotlight is over, and that Toledo, Buffalo and OU are going to rule the MAC in the near future. They make strong cases for why these three teams will dominate. The only passing mention of the Zips is to credit Big Dog as a potentially good true center. No mention of first team all-MAC Tree. No mention of MAC 6th Man of the Year Jake. No confidence that the Zips can compete with three teams that are rapidly reloading with talented transfers. What does everyone think of this analysis? What's Next: The Future of Mid-American Conference Basketball

What a great addition to the Zips soccer program. As I was reading through his accomplishments, it reminded me of Coach Bowden bringing Coach Amato to Zips football as associate head coach and defensive coordinator.. Coach Embick and Coach Chappel together have to be one of the most impressive combinations in college soccer.

My understanding is that Jake has been at practices but not taking part in any activities that could include contact, such as scrimmaging. That's consistent with someone who still has symptoms of a concussion. There's no harm in practicing things like shooting. But you don't want to take any risk of another blow to the head while still experiencing symptoms. The only way he plays at the Q is if all the symptoms have cleared up and a physician signs off on his recovery, which from a mild concussion generally takes "several weeks to several months." Thursday's game comes 3 weeks and 1 day after he suffered the concussion in Buffalo.