Zip Watcher

Green is a pick & pop big. Good shooter, more quickness than Euton .. probably more strength.For about the 5th consecutive season, the Zips will enter the fall with the deepest roster *on paper* that they've ever had. The challenges of mixing the lineups up and finding the right mixes will be there for the staff again. There's no data to suggest they're not up for the challenge.I think perhaps ALL 13 of these guys are going to have to get their minutes the old fashioned way:and EARN them!Too much talent isn't a problem .. it's the makings of a team with a high ceiling. B) Go Zips!

The other thing at work here is that there's not a log-jam in the back court. The Zips graduated 2 big minutes guys in McNees and Roberts. While we might expect to see Nitro more at the 2 than the 3 this year, and we expect that Walsh will step in and contribute .. there still needs to be another guy if Nitro slides to the 3. In that case Walsh can't fill both Robert's and McNees' shoes.I for one was surprised at the build on Deji .. given the old YouTube videos, I sort of figured we be seeing a guy who was 6-3 and 165 soaking wet or something, especially with his hops. Not so. B) Go Zips!

Ibitayo may well surprise people with his 6'9" wingspan on his 6'3" frame.Although he doesn't fit the mold of taller, longer and more athletic, don't forget about Alex Abreu. He has shown the ability to be a pest of an on ball defender at times who can force opposing PG's into some bad decisions.I'm very curious to see what happens with Deji and Blake. This team is going to be stacked this year, and I really don't know where KD is going to find minutes for two true freshmen, but it will be very interesting to see what happens if one or both of them come in to camp and just light it up. Right now, I would expect to see those two redshirt, but who knows.My sources tell me that it will be extremely difficult to sit Deji.

Ibitayo may well surprise people with his 6'9" wingspan on his 6'3" frame.

My guess is that we won't see the 94' defense. I think the approach has been moderated a bit.Full court trapping press .. etc, generates some easy buckets. But it also gives up a LOT of easy buckets. I would argue anecdotally that the teams that are really good in the 94' full trap .. etc, aren't very good in the half court.In the system the Zips currently have, especially as they get leaner and quicker, they can be exceptional in the half court, and pretty good in the full court. I think what we'll see is the ability to press 3/4 to full in spots, when needed .. but that KD won't do it exclusively.Now, having a top notch shot blocker and some athletic 4 men means that we can pressure the ball at the perimeter more, and maybe take more chances, so I do expect to see that.What I think we'll see in the Zips will be an effort to run the ball with any and every opening given .. and some aggressive D in the half court, with 3/4 to Full press in spots. I don't think we'll go Mackey, Huggins @ UC or early Jim Calhoun. If the Zips can become top 30 in overall defense with good to great half court decisions .. they don't need to be giving up layups in a full court trap.As it was last season, the Zips averaged 2 more attempts per game than the opponent. And it wasn't KD's best defensive team. If they can leverage the increased athleticism to pry 3 or 4 more TO's away per game, that gap can be doubled, or even more. I'd say use the depth, energy and athleticism to become an elite half court defense, and get good at outlet passes and running the ball down teams throats on the fast break.It's going to be good .. and up tempo, especially with the ball. I'm really looking forward to it.My $0.02Go Zips B) B)

+1 on that game and the Tailgating.Thinking about the Rubber Bowl in general reminds me of the fact that my son (then 4 years old) refused to go in to the upper rim restrooms and asked if we could go out and use the port-o-potties.Re-read CK's final Rubber Bowl field storming note here. One of my favorite ZN.O posts of all time.

I agree. Dan went from being a loud, barking coach to being a dick. Stacey looked like Barkley in the second half that day. Did he have 30 after halftime?

I think Treadwell making posters out of LBJ and DWade this afternoon could be a great JAR moment. Make it happen Tree!

+1 Also a +1 to CK's mention of the Red Panda lady .. especially in the Miami game right after Steve had dropped 6 of 6 from outside in the first half.

Wow .. too many hotdogs .. MTSU indeed.

Morehead St. in 1986. Only title won in the building.

FYI, they do that all the time .. whenever and wherever it's possible. I'm not aware of any such requests being declined. Caleb & KD are out and about more than anyone knows.

I'm not sure when Zeke will be drafted, but I'm pretty sure at least 2 of the 2011-2012 Zips will spend some time in the NBA.

I wouldn't mind opening the pipeline a bit more for the second coming of Ramon Ramos also. Doesn't need to be limited to PG's does it?

Gilliam has 2 years remaining. But Walsh has 3. Walsh played 2 at Xavier IIRC. Don't make me post an endzone gnome pic! En español, tres años? Wow. That wasn't my understanding at all. He must have gotten a medical hardship for his Freshman year at Xavier. It's pretty clear he was at Xavier for 2 seasons (even refers to his red-shirt Frosh year). That's great he'll have a full 4 years in the program here. I'll update the graphic sometime soon.

Seems like he's going to prep-school it this upcoming year, and join the Zips next season. I believe AA did the same. I wonder if their are any PR bigs in the stable?

Gilliam has 2 years remaining. But Walsh has 3. Walsh played 2 at Xavier IIRC.

Just because.

Thank you for your comment Mr. Gray. Not so fast my friend! Are you certain that it isn't "grey"?

I'd be half-way to dying a satisfied Zips' fan. I've always wanted to see the basketball team make the Sweet 16 and the football team crack the Top 25. (No football jokes, please ) WHOA!! No kidding. Dissappointed if we don't make the Sweet 16? GoZips...love the optimism. But, can you show me at least one basketball expert who is willing to say that the Number 6 team in the MAC last year, that lost 4 pretty key players to graduation, is going to emerge as one of the Top 16 teams in the country? Only one MAC school played in the NCAA tournament, and they most certainly didn't finish 6th in the games that counted in Cleveland, so I'm not sure what the 6th place team has to do with anything.

Renovate it to become a comfortable band box with seating right on top of the floor. Make it a harder place to play than it already is. Give the students straight shot sections from floor up .. when they fill them .. give additional space down low on the sides by the corners. Make it small tight .. with better bathrooms and more concessions (upstairs). Then go out and hang a banner ... the place can become one of the most feared arenas around. We need top flight facilities in the back of the house, and improvements in the front .. not a new arena. Go Zips! B) B)

Tournament MVP's may be more V? Boyce? Linhart Marshall

Fascinating that the poll omits the two guys I would have voted 1 - 2. #1 Jeremiah Wood #2 Rashon Brown Now ranking best Zips hoopers when it comes down purely to winning, I have to consider Linhart, McNees & Roberts. For now, I say Woody. It WILL change in the next couple of seasons though. Go Zips!

Something to keep in mind here .. is that this article ISN'T about rookies. It's about "new to the MLS" .. including several futbol veterans.

Remember, RPI and SOS are purely math-based and not opinion-based. Time to check out the statistical facts at statsheet.com : Miami's RPI absolutely did not drag down the MAC's overall SOS but pulled it up as Miami finished the season with the 3rd highest RPI in the MAC behind only Can't and UA, as well as the #1 SOS in the MAC. The SOS of the 9 lower-ranked MAC teams (75% of the 12-team conference) all benefitted from playing Miami with its higher RPI. And 4 of those 9 lower-ranked MAC teams had better overall won-lost records than Miami but worse RPI because they played weaker non-conference opponents than Miami did. I can't actually believe that I'm going to do this .. but ... I think you guys are missing Zach's point. He's not saying that Miami's RPI dragged down the MAC. I think what he is trying to say is that Miami's scheduling philosophy had a negative impact on their RPI, and by extension, the MAC's RPI. Had Miami scheduled a *little* lighter on the road games against high majors they weren't going to beat, and won just a few more out of conference games, their RPI would have been HIGHER than it was, and therefore, the rest of the league would have seen a corresponding bump in SOS and RPI by playing a Miami team with a higher RPI. Having said that .. Miami is not the problem with the MAC's rpi .. Zach is just grasping at the concept that a better w/l record gives you higher RPI, and Miami could have improved their RPI with more wins. Bottom line, blaming the teams at the top of the MAC, like the author of TFA and Zach are doing isn't really productive. Go Zips!