Dave in Green

Kretzer down. What next?

Digging a deep hole.

Buffalo shoots 67.9% from the field in the first half? Zips must have left their D back in Akron. On the other hand, the Zips have only 1 turnover in the first half? What a crazy game!

Cool. Then you may have already noticed that TeamRankings has the Zips #2 in their list today of Most Likely Decent Upsets with a 35.7% chance to upset Buffalo, which is favored by 4.5 points.

@Balsy, if you like StatSheet.com, I think you'll also like TeamRankings.com. They present stats in a different way that's sometimes easier to read, and they also include info not shown on Statsheet.com. Check out the Zips info here and let me know what you think.

For those who enjoy obscure statistical twists, Buffalo showed up in a recent Ken Pomeroy blog entitled Starters Who Don't Play. He lists the 5 starters who play the least minutes and the 5 subs who play the most minutes. Under the latter is the following: So although the Bulls have a "standard" 3 frontcourt, 2 backcourt starting lineup, they quickly switch to 3 guards and play them the most minutes. The Zips have had trouble guarding quicker guards and have given up a lot of driving layups to them. So even though a lot of focus is on the Tree-McCrea matchup, the ability of the Zips to shut down Buffalo's guards will be important to winning this game. And speaking of the Tree-McCrea matchup, they may not be covering each other all of the time. At 250 pounds, McCrea is quite a load. The only Zips player in that weight class is Big Dog. McCrea has some pretty quick moves, and could use them to advantage against Big Dog. But he wouldn't be pushing Big Dog around in the paint the way he would other Zips frontcourt players.

Skip, thanks for your thoughtful response. On the plea deal issue, he was originally charged for both trafficking and for drug abuse marijuana relating to the single incident where he was caught. As you surely know from your family law enforcement connections, it's standard procedure to file multiple charges on the same offense to leverage the exchange of dropping one charge for a guilty plea to another charge. The other person in this case was charged with the same two offenses and had the same one dropped when he pled guilty to the primary charge. I think we all become a little smarter when many give their take on a situation that we all see a little differently. That's the benefit of collaborative discussion. For example, several different positive and negative interpretations have been presented of why he might have voluntarily admitted to previous incidents that authorities weren't even aware of. Since none of us really knows Alex that well off the basketball court, we can only speculate on which is more likely. And that's what keeps bringing me back to the fact that any decision on whether Alex returns is best made by those who know him best. The offense that was committed should not in itself determine the answer to that question unless there's an existing rule by the NCAA, UA or Zips team that automatically permanently disqualifies a student athlete for what Alex admitted to. Each individual case should be judged on its individual merits. Everything we've been discussing here and more will be considered in making a decision on Alex's status.

Skip, I feel your pain. I don't understand why more people don't get my point. But, seriously, I think you have an educated perspective on a lot of issues related to college basketball. I'd really be interested in having you address my point about Alex voluntarily admitting to transgressions that he wasn't even accused of.

Just to get one thing out of the way, by definition a mistake is synonymous with an error in judgment. Alex made an error in judgment in trafficking in an illegal substance. Since he admitted to multiple incidents, it could be said that he made several similar errors in judgment or he made a compound error in judgment. Call it a mistake, a compound mistake or several similar mistakes. The point being overlooked in that numbers game is that Alex was only caught and charged with a single offense. He voluntarily opened up to authorities when he didn't have to and spilled his guts on everything he had done wrong that the authorities didn't even know about. What does that say about him as a person? To me it says a lot more than a debate over how many mistakes he made. The real mitigating factor to me is that the substance in question was marijuana. Whatever anyone's personal views are on marijuana, reality is that there has been a sea change in attitude among the public to the point that the majority of Americans now believe that pot should be legal. Several states have already voted to legalize pot, and others are ready to do so. Technically, Alex committed a crime by selling pot in a state where it's currently illegal. In reality, it's easy to look at what's going on in the country and convince yourself that illegally selling pot is not really a major crime against humanity. This would be a whole different story if it involved hard drugs that almost everyone considers dangerous and life-threatening. And that's why I think it's important to try to understand all the fine details and try to put everything in a proper perspective.

@Balsy, yeah, there are always minor discrepancies in the way various sites report RPI. But they're usually pretty close. I used StatSheet.com to generate the numbers above as I've found them to be a pretty reliable source. You can go to this page and then use the Select Another Season option to see stats from previous seasons.

I want whatever is best for the Zips basketball team, the University of Akron and Alex Abreu. The best solution will not be an easy decision to make because it requires a thorough understanding and evaluation of all the circumstances, not just the partial circumstances that the public is aware of. Everyone from the top executives at UA to the coaching staff to the returning players have to be totally on board with whatever decision is made. If they all believe that Alex is truly reformed and worthy of a second chance with the Zips and UA, that's their decision to make. They should not be influenced by what they think some sports writer might write or some fans might say on a sports forum. They should be focused on doing the right thing for the right reasons based on all the circumstances.

Zips finished last season with a #49 RPI, their best ever. The previous seasons under Coach Dambrot they finished #60, #101, #98, #99, #79, #68, #74 and #60. So the Zips under Coach Dambrot have averaged about a #76 final season RPI. In the seasons prior to Coach Dambrot taking over, the Zips were averaging about a #200 RPI.

I think it's a 2-player race between McCrea and Tree, and I would love to see Tree win this award. There's still time for both players to strengthen their cases, including 2 head-to-head games. In addition to such factors as importance to his team, leadership and intangibles, I'm sure many of the voters will also do a stats comparison. With Tree leading the MAC in double-doubles, I thought he might be ahead of McCrea in some statistical categories. But looking at their numbers side-by-side, McCrea is ahead in virtually every area. Even in offensive rebounding, where Tree is a beast, McCrea's numbers are better. Hopefully Tree's other attributes will trump McCrea's stats.

I really appreciate you being a responsible adult and honoring a student's right to privacy. Everyone can agree that whatever any player does to deserve a suspension from the team is something that player needs to straighten out in his life. We can also agree that any player who lets down the team needs to work hard to regain the trust of his teammates. We fans have all expressed in different ways that it's important to us that the Zips maintain high standards. It's up to the players and coaches to make that happen.

Funny thing, when OU beat the Zips to win the MAC tournament in the 2009-2010 season and went on to upset Georgetown in the first round of the NCAA tournament, the Kitties came to the Q as a 9-seed with a 7-9 regular season record in the MAC.

I've spent hours searching for everything I could find on the internet about Jimond Ivey. My gut tells me he's worth a gamble as a late bloomer who could develop into a major contributor. The only problem I have is that all the good reports about him are as a 2 guard or wing. I just can't find anything about his PG abilities. That's not to say he couldn't play the 1 at the D1 college level. But it's a big gamble for next season when he's a true freshman. The current situation is that the Zips have 2 PGs (Melo and Nyles) who need to be supplemented at the point by a wing (Q), who's in his final season at UA. Since Q will not be available to backup the 1 next season, the scenario is that either Melo and Nyles will handle the position without backup or someone else will take Q's spot as a backup 1. I just can't find anything that gives me any confidence that Jimond can do that at a high level as a true freshman. So I'm left to wonder if this is the ultimate solution to the PG situation at UA next season or if there's something else percolating?

@UAZip0510, I disagree with one part of your post. Being a recent graduate certainly could make one better connected to the student rumor mill than someone who's not a recent UA student. So that brings into question how connected the UA student rumor mill is to reality. Those of us who've been out in the real world a little longer have come to learn over the years that the "he said, she said" factor is occasionally educational but mostly misleading. If the matter of Nick's transgression is pure speculation, then why not play the odds? My observations over the years have been that a large percentage of indefinite suspensions for college basketball players are related to academic issues. That's why the suspensions are not for a specific time or a specific number of games. They're indefinite because the student has to prove over time that he's resolved his academic issues. Being pure speculation, of course, there's no way of knowing if that's the case in this instance. But it at least makes more sense from a statistical point of view than some of the more imaginative speculations. And as long as were speculating here, I wonder how the folks who run this forum would treat this discussion if it was one of their kids who was being speculated about? We all live in glass houses, and those who throw the biggest stones the hardest often live among the most broken glass. But the most important point I keep coming back to is what @Hilltopper said: This is a private matter within the team. Coach Dambrot is responsible for the team, and we either trust him to do the right thing or not. I would certainly be concerned if anyone who actually knew Coach Dambrot as a person didn't trust him to do the right thing. That's obviously not the case here.

Apparently he's a combo guard who can play both the 1 and the 2. Triple Double Prospects had a nice review of his play in which they said they were impressed with his combination of athleticism and skills.

A 6-4 PG would be quite a change for the Zips. Sounds like another late-blooming sleeper. If the NCSA site is to be believed, he averaged 30 points and 6 assists per game for Elite-Skills in AAU.

vig·i·lan·te noun \ˌvi-jə-ˈlan-tē\: a person who is not a police officer but who tries to catch and punish criminals Examples of VIGILANTE <the danger of these self-appointed vigilantes is that they sometimes go after innocent people>

I see there's not a lot of interest here in this game. I think we're all suffering a hangover from last season's 19-game winning streak. This season's team is more up and down. They were up just enough tonight to beat a so-so NIU team. Nothing to get too excited about other than the fact that EMU beating Toledo and OU beating Buffalo creates a 3-way tie at the top between the Zips, Toledo and WMU at 9-3. This is a nostalgia trip to the way it was in previous years when the Zips weren't dominant but were just good enough to get a good MAC tournament seeding, earn a trip to the championship game and have a fair shot at earning an NCAA tournament bid. I'm still not sure how well the season will end for this team. But I like watching college basketball and winning is better than losing, so tonight was good.

It gets worse. GT also reported today that Reggie will be out 2-3 weeks with mononucleosis.

Thanks for reminding me not to assume that everyone understands that. The standing joke around here used to be that Can't players who committed major mayhem might be required to sit out the first 5 minutes of 1 game while a Zips player suspected of a minor infraction would have to sit out several games. Newer Zips fans wouldn't be aware of that. Then there's the familiarity factor with Coach Dambrot. Those who've had many hours of conversations with him over the years are likely to have a better feel for just how strict he is than those who only know him from reading news stories. On a related matter, Toledo's leading scorer, Justin Drummond, was booked for DUI last Saturday. When you consider the number of innocent people killed or maimed every year by impaired drivers, that's a pretty serious offense. His basketball punishment? Toledo Rockets Justin Drummond Suspended One Game for DUI

I was shocked by the foul on Reggie. I agree with Coach Dambrot that there were some especially bad calls late in the game. But the bottom line is that I don't think the game should have been that close that those calls made the difference. I agree with those who say that the Zips don't play together like a team. Since I've seen teams coached by Coach Dambrot actually play like teams, I'm inclined to believe it's more the personalities of the current players that just aren't meshing. There are too many individuals on this team and not enough team players. If they don't get it together, they will lose more games exactly the way they lost this one.

One of Nick's 3 suspensions was the dreaded NCAA paperwork suspension that also took Tree out for the first 2 games last season. I wouldn't count this the same as the others. But anyone who can't stomach any suspensions for any reason probably shouldn't be following college sports. I understand that college chess teams have almost no team suspensions, so that might be better to follow for those with zero tolerance.