Zip Watcher

Who's running for the hills? The Zips .. or their fans? Wow. No way in the world this team starts mailing it in. They lost one game out of their last 8, and only 2 of their last 11, and fans think they've got no chance to win a road game against a team they beat solidly early in the season, when we all will agree, the Zips were no where near as good a team as they have been the last month or so. Have a little faith in the guys. If you don't think they want it more than you do, then you're a fool. As far as the Q, it's in the conference by-laws that the tournament will be renamed the Akron Invitational after the Zips make their 5th final in a row. They're comfortable there. 10-3 the last 4 years. Pretty darn good if you ask me. B) Go Zips!

Good points.

Go Zips! Play Akron Basketball tonight, and this will go your way. B) Go Zips!

OU fan trying to soften up the Zips?

This isn't far enough to the end of the year, Can't should be the last game of the season. Rivalry games should always be that last game...ALWAYS. +1 Especially when there's a bowl bid or division title on the line, as there will be soon. No better way to win the East than by pounding your rival.

You guys can keep bickering about what Steve is and isn't all you want. I think it's simpler than you're making it: I see a winner in a Zips uniform. I see a guy who has generally done what the coaching staff has asked of him. And at times willed his team to win. I see a guy who delivered us a MACC title 2 years ago. A guy who shoots lights out at the Q. Stevo has been clutch for the Zips for the past 3 seasons. We've not had many guards that are better in the past 15 years. I can probably count those on one hand. We've had dozens of guards who aren't fit to carry his gym shoes. Thanks for your meritorious service to the Zips Nation Steve. B) Go Zips!

Being real here for one second, I reflect back to how well the KD-coached Zips offense worked when run through Jeremiah Wood in the post. OK, now I'm back to my usual unreal self ..... +1 Some of our best offenses have been with a big post scorer. This season might be our best balanced offense between inside and out. Wood's senior year, they struggled a bit with balance. This current run has shown really good balance. Zeke will be fine. He'll be way better than fine. He shows glimpses all the time. Even when his O isn't going down .. he's still a factor on defense. His foul trouble is still a concern. The right thing to do, as shown by the results was to make him more of the weak side guy and ride the hot hands (and veterans) in the post. It's working. I was amazed at the difference in treatment McCrea got as compared to Zeke on Saturday. McCrea much more physical .. and as grabby as anyone else .. and if he had 2 fouls called, I don't remember them. Zeke will hang 20 on someone again in the next 2 weeks. B) Go Zips!

I disagree about having Can't State early in the season with one caveat. When the Zips are struggling and won't be competing for a title, and you're sure of it .. which hopefully won't be often. Then I say have the game early. However, when the Zips are where they belong, near the top of the East every year and in the Bowl conversation .. there's no better way to get to the title game or firm up a bowl bid than to have the opportunity to pound your rival, who generally sucks at football, at your house in the final game of the year, lined up with the other rival games in college football. If the season doesn't have potential .. and you're scrambling to sell any tickets .. but the game early. But when this program is where we all want it to be, and it will be soon .. the Wagon Wheel game belongs at the end of the season. Go Zips!

+1 What he said. Go Zips! B) B)

Why do you have to talk that way about other programs? Is it because Akron is the worst team in the worst conference in D1 so it makes you feel better? It's a fact that iCoach is driving away players in maas (he even drove away the "Rudy" award winner) - the fact that they won't see the field is not the issue, the issue is why are all these kids leaving. For every kid that leaves, there is probably at least one other kid that wants to leave but can't since they are on scholarship. The kids that left are thinking they can either stay with a program they hate and possibly see their grades suffer, or transfer to a quality school and still play the game they love. Remember, the main reason for going to college is to learn, not play football. The focus should be on education first, not athletics. So when your attitude about the athletics effect your performance in the classsroom, it is time to move on. For over 99% of these players, this will be the last football they play. Wow...don't get your panties all in a bunch there, killer. The fact is, these kids are transferring to lower divisions. Whatever your feelings about the MAC, if they were so good they could still go to Youngstown State, Delaware, Montana, etc. My guess is either THEY realized, the coaches realized or a combination of their and the coaches realization was this= you are not good enough to play FBS football..even in the MAC!!! Believe it or not, some kids choose a school not because they play D1 football but because of other factors - outrageous I know - but it happens. For you to say these kids aren't good enough to play FBS football just shows your ignorance - but we knew that by reading the first line of your reply. I wish more kids would consider more than just football when deciding where to go. They probably have parents like you telling them - "Hey, Akron is D1 football - you have to go there instead of that other school that you like so much". Some kids just want to play football in college and have a better chance contributing for a longer period of time at a level lower even though they are capable of playing at a higher level. Furthermore, the majority of a teams roster is made up of players that will not see significant playing time - you still need these players to contribute in practice. Seems like the kids aren't buying into what iCoach is trying to sell them. I guarantee you Akron will again not have enough players for a traditional spring scrimmage and we will see another offense vs defense scrimmage. I will be curious to see how many will be on the spring roster. I said that is my GUESS that they came to that realization. I am just looking at what I see. Not speaking in definites here. I'm not about to get in a pissing match with you about this. Kids leave colleges every year for many different reasons. Fair enough. But, as an example, Tate Forcier left Michigan and is going to...Miami (and not the one in the MAC). And, guess what= he looked like an FBS QB last year. So he is probably in the division he belongs. 2 of the players mentioned are going to schools that play, arguably, a much lower level of football than Akron does. Great...if they are more comfortable there...more power to them. Do they get scholarships to play there? Hmm...I am not 100% certain, but I am pretty sure Pioneer schools do not offer scholarships. If this is better for them, their families, etc...great. Sorry, but I am not about to bust on Ianallo and the coaching staff just yet. As someone mentioned in this thread or another, there were many that lambasted Auburn for grabbing Chizik a couple years ago. And, "closer to home", we had Miami (OH) with Haywood at 1-11 go on to win the MAC. He, of course, then went on to do some bad things...but that really doesn't matter does it? Or, maybe it does. Ianello might win 7 games at Auburn just because he can recruit talent there. Doesn't make him a good coach or may be it does. How many quotes can be contained in a single post? It's like a literary Turducken. I'm thinking at least seven. You don't know what you're talking about.

+1 for that. Was cool to see him and say hi. My boy was pumped that he was there.

Nice win by our guys. Brief thoughts: - Felt like the first half was pretty ugly for the Zips .. but to go into the half up 2 after an up and down performance was a good sign. - Zeke had a better game .. settled down a bit and went after the ball. Stepping back from him offensively a bit isn't the worst thing in the world, given the way Nik & McK are rolling at the minute. - For the past few seasons, Miami hasn't really been able to guard the post. It's their weakness, and the Zips do a good job of exploiting that weakness. The Redskinhawks just don't go deep enough to defend the post for 40 minutes. It wouldn't break my heart to see them again in CTown. - Nikola has to be playing himself up to 1st Team All-MAC .. he's having a great season. Whatever he did to settle his emotions and play with passion and focus needs to be shared with Zeke for different reasons. ZM is hard on himself and needs a little amnesia after missed shots and ticky tack fouls. He just needs to go out and play through it. Sometimes I think he's harder on himself than KD or any of the coaches. Lighten up big fella. - McNees with a "quiet" 14? Seems like he's rolling pretty well now, and able to comfortably switch between the 1 and the 2 with AA on the floor. - Rotations are looking good. A solid 9 deep with not many minutes over 30 for any players. That will help keep them fresh and (hopefully) healthy down the stretch. A look over at the minutes distribution for Miami reveals a few guys playing heavy minutes. - The balance is getting pretty good among the guys, and you can sense from courtside that they believe they're going to pound the other team. While running the offense, there's not much uncertainty .. they're in pretty good sync right now on both ends of the floor. Nice run of poultry .. now for some BEEF! Buckle up for the ride, it's looking like it's going to be a great one. B) Go Zips!

+2

You know who the donor that funds this event is, right?

Great news indeed. It's becoming a habit up there. Go Zips! B)

The other question I have is this: If these guy's numbers are hung in the JAR rafters, why are 3 or 4 of the numbers still in use on the court? What's the point?

Zips are having a great run of dining on poultry lately. Tonight is no different. I see a big game coming from Zeke tonight. Opens up the outside for the shooters. Zips dine well on their 4th bird in a row .. cover the spread. Go Zips! B) B)

We'll see if it makes a difference. Go Zips!

It hasn't yet been noted here .. but anyone else wonder why the Zips return to playing Akron Baskeball coincided with Zips Win! moving back to the North GA seats? Inquiring minds want to know. Go Zips! B)

You said if we win we'd have a bye period. Buffalo also had to lose to make it work. You are correct. I'm sorry .. maybe I missed something, but last night's win gives us a bye? Wow! Is the tournament this week?

Jimmy was the man last year.

Zach, Zach, Zach--7,485 posts and still not a good one. McNees--> <--ZN.O The guy only gives everything he's got for the past 4 years and some folks can't help but pile on every chance they get. When McNees is carrying this team in the Q again this year, I'll simply laugh to myself as those same posters talk about how important McNees was and that they always knew he'd come around. +10 What he said. 2009 MAC Title was as much due to McNees as any other Zips player.

When I last summarized my thoughts on the Zippers, they were win the basement looking up at the MAC East, with 2 losses against West bottom feeders, and in a fight to simply earn a home game. What a difference a week makes. The Zips now find themselves a bit closer to the top than the bottom, and the potential for a bye seems slighty more realistic. Still much work to be done fans, but they've pulled themselves together and actually looked like a KD coached Zips team the last few games. The last 2 against the best the West has to offer. So now, as our men pack up like John Candy and head back to the East, I offer my current assessment of my favorite team: The Good: Team Defense: To say the D has improved over the past 3 games is an understatement, IMHO. On the season the Zips are allowing 42% FG shooting and 33% from 3 point land. Also giving up 65 points per game. In the past 3 games (2 of which were against solid MAC squads who have multiple wins against the East), they've pushed those numbers down to 40% FG shooting, 17% on 3 pointers, and are only giving up 57 points per game. These are tangible improvements resulting from a clear improvement in effort and cohesiveness on Defense. They did give up some big individual performances against Ball State, but the perimeter D has been stellar the past 3 games. Just as we know that teams aren't just having the night of their lives when they shoot 50% from outside against the Zips .. so too do we know that they're not just ice cold. The D matters .. and it has been better. Offensive Execution: On the other side of the ball, the past 3 games saw corresponding improvements in offensive efficiency. The Zips have assisted on 2/3rds of their made FG in the last 3 games, with an A:TO ratio of 1.43. The shooting percentages are up, the total points are up over the season averages. Generally, most things are trending in the right direction. Special mention to Steve McNees who seems to be thawing out at the right time for the Zips. Nice to see him get going 2 games in a row. NI-KOLA: The best, most consistent Zips player this season, hands down. The guy is playing hard, shooting pretty well, taking fewer chances with the ball (more on that later), and really leading this team. It's been nice to see someone step forward to do that. Nice couple of games vs. WMU and BSU. Bardo: Mike is a factor, and is apparently way more athletic than any of us knew. His put back late in the half was key for momentum, and he rebounded well. 6 boards in 14 minutes Saturday .. 4 of them offensive boards. That's extra possessions and extra points. Nice work Mike. Stringing them together: I like that they've used these 3 games to start to string some things together. It isn't going to get easier in the coming weeks, but they can beat every team on the schedule if they play complete Akron Zips basketball. There's not a doubt in my mind. Winning the final appearance at Harold "Andy" Anderson Arena would be huge in the hunt for the bye, as it would tie them w/ BG while holding a 2-0 sweep of the Falcons. If you can get out there, I recommend it .. it's a throwback gym. I understand the need for improvements and progress .. but that was a great place to see a game when the BG students cared. Once upon a time, it was a great home court advantage. Zips need a win to come back home for a tune up against Creighton. The Bad: I've got nothing bad to say after the last 3 games. There are clearly areas for improvement for this team to become as good as they can be. Some of those items are individual in nature, some are team related. Suffice it to say, I'm stoked enough about the progress seen last week at the JAR, that I for one am not going to waste too much time on the negatives. They're there, we all see them .. so I'm going to quickly skip over them and keep hope that the Zips awakening we're seeing continues. The Ugly: Only one entry today qualifies: Not Dr. J In addition to all his excellent play and leadership, Nikola provided us one of the better comic relief moments of the 2010-11 season when, for a brief moment late in the first half, he simply forgot he wasn't Dr. J. It must have been his 2nd or 3rd steal of the game out top, and he heads to the south basket with only one trailing defender. A layup and perhaps a dunk is assured when Nikola, feeling good about his game (as we all do) takes off for the rim from what must have been 10 our 12 feet out on the left side of the lane. Had he made it there, it might have been one of the most spectacular put downs in recent JAR history. However, even the most casual fan around me could sense he had left the runway too early in his approach. I haven't reviewed the tape yet, but judging by the play-by-play, the ball didn't make it above the rim, or to the rim .. or near the rim .. it doesn't even appear as a shot attempt. He adjusted course in mid-air, but to no avail. Reminded that he was NOT Dr. J .. Nikola fell to the baseline grabbing his ankle in an apparent career ending injury. Thankfully for all involved, it was the dreaded ankle stinger, and not much more. Whether there was extremity pain, or merely bruised pride, we may never know. But now we all know that Nikola Cvetinovic is NOT Dr. J. Thanks for that Nik. And a few Comments More ... The current seedings are posted here and elsewhere, and you can see the Zips have risen from 11th to 6th in recent updates. With a game @ BG on Tuesday, the opportunity exists to make that 5th. The bye is in play for the Zips, but they have to find a way to beat a good team on the road. Because with BG, OU & Can't State remaining on the road, they likely need at least one of those games to get into the top 3 in the East. I think things will play out in the usual fashion with the top 3 in the East securing the free pass .. so that's where they need to be. Interior passing can improve even more than it has. We counted 3 occasions in the second half alone where a big was alone on the weak side, and the Zips failed to recognize it in time for the easy hoop. It was a different guy with the ball each time, and the guy open underneath each time was different .. so it wasn't a case of lack of confidence in any one player .. it was simply missing the open man. These types of things will further help the chances of the Zips if they start to take advantage of them. Few MAC schools have 2 capable big men .. the Zips have 3 or 4. This needs to be a strength. Rotations seem to be settling in the past few games. Combining Diggs & Abreu gives KD an up tempo lineup which has shown to tire out the opposition. In general, I think something that has worked for the Zips this season is pushing the tempo when available. Not Doug Moe style with no D and reckless abandon, simply taking advantage of any and every opening in the full court, and even making openings here and there. Diggs & McNees had a nice 2 on 4 break that yielded an old fashioned 3 point play in the 2nd half. In both the last 2 games, I think fatigue affected the opponent more than the Zips. In the last post, I finished by saying I thought the Zips could get to 6-5 coming back to the East, but it would take some progress and improvement on a possession by possession, half by half basis. Well they got there, and now I'll say I think that 10-6 in the MAC isn't impossible for the Zips. They need to win their home games and beat 2 of 3 on the road. Well they've beaten 2 of the 3 at home this season, and the 3rd team has struggled at home a bunch this year. The opportunities are here. The Zips need to take care of business at home also. If the team that played last week is what KD can build upon in the next 3, the Zips will be fine. B) B) Go Zips!!

When I last summarized my thoughts on the Zippers, they were win the basement looking up at the MAC East, with 2 losses against West bottom feeders, and in a fight to simply earn a home game. What a difference a week makes. The Zips now find themselves a bit closer to the top than the bottom, and the potential for a bye seems slighty more realistic. Still much work to be done fans, but they've pulled themselves together and actually looked like a KD coached Zips team the last few games. The last 2 against the best the West has to offer. So now, as our men pack up like John Candy and head back to the East, I offer my current assessment of my favorite team: The Good: Team Defense: To say the D has improved over the past 3 games is an understatement, IMHO. On the season the Zips are allowing 42% FG shooting and 33% from 3 point land. Also giving up 65 points per game. In the past 3 games (2 of which were against solid MAC squads who have multiple wins against the East), they've pushed those numbers down to 40% FG shooting, 17% on 3 pointers, and are only giving up 57 points per game. These are tangible improvements resulting from a clear improvement in effort and cohesiveness on Defense. They did give up some big individual performances against Ball State, but the perimeter D has been stellar the past 3 games. Just as we know that teams aren't just having the night of their lives when they shoot 50% from outside against the Zips .. so too do we know that they're not just ice cold. The D matters .. and it has been better. Offensive Execution: On the other side of the ball, the past 3 games saw corresponding improvements in offensive efficiency. The Zips have assisted on 2/3rds of their made FG in the last 3 games, with an A:TO ratio of 1.43. The shooting percentages are up, the total points are up over the season averages. Generally, most things are trending in the right direction. Special mention to Steve McNees who seems to be thawing out at the right time for the Zips. Nice to see him get going 2 games in a row. NI-KOLA: The best, most consistent Zips player this season, hands down. The guy is playing hard, shooting pretty well, taking fewer chances with the ball (more on that later), and really leading this team. It's been nice to see someone step forward to do that. Nice couple of games vs. WMU and BSU. Bardo: Mike is a factor, and is apparently way more athletic than any of us knew. His put back late in the half was key for momentum, and he rebounded well. 6 boards in 14 minutes Saturday .. 4 of them offensive boards. That's extra possessions and extra points. Nice work Mike. Stringing them together: I like that they've used these 3 games to start to string some things together. It isn't going to get easier in the coming weeks, but they can beat every team on the schedule if they play complete Akron Zips basketball. There's not a doubt in my mind. Winning the final appearance at Harold "Andy" Anderson Arena would be huge in the hunt for the bye, as it would tie them w/ BG while holding a 2-0 sweep of the Falcons. If you can get out there, I recommend it .. it's a throwback gym. I understand the need for improvements and progress .. but that was a great place to see a game when the BG students cared. Once upon a time, it was a great home court advantage. Zips need a win to come back home for a tune up against Creighton. The Bad: I've got nothing bad to say after the last 3 games. There are clearly areas for improvement for this team to become as good as they can be. Some of those items are individual in nature, some are team related. Suffice it to say, I'm stoked enough about the progress seen last week at the JAR, that I for one am not going to waste too much time on the negatives. They're there, we all see them .. so I'm going to quickly skip over them and keep hope that the Zips awakening we're seeing continues. The Ugly: Only one entry today qualifies: Not Dr. J In addition to all his excellent play and leadership, Nikola provided us one of the better comic relief moments of the 2010-11 season when, for a brief moment late in the first half, he simply forgot he wasn't Dr. J. It must have been his 2nd or 3rd steal of the game out top, and he heads to the south basket with only one trailing defender. A layup and perhaps a dunk is assured when Nikola, feeling good about his game (as we all do) takes off for the rim from what must have been 10 our 12 feet out on the left side of the lane. Had he made it there, it might have been one of the most spectacular put downs in recent JAR history. However, even the most casual fan around me could sense he had left the runway too early in his approach. I haven't reviewed the tape yet, but judging by the play-by-play, the ball didn't make it above the rim, or to the rim .. or near the rim .. it doesn't even appear as a shot attempt. He adjusted course in mid-air, but to no avail. Reminded that he was NOT Dr. J .. Nikola fell to the baseline grabbing his ankle in an apparent career ending injury. Thankfully for all involved, it was the dreaded ankle stinger, and not much more. Whether there was extremity pain, or merely bruised pride, we may never know. But now we all know that Nikola Cvetinovic is NOT Dr. J. Thanks for that Nik. And a few Comments More ... The current seedings are posted here and elsewhere, and you can see the Zips have risen from 11th to 6th in recent updates. With a game @ BG on Tuesday, the opportunity exists to make that 5th. The bye is in play for the Zips, but they have to find a way to beat a good team on the road. Because with BG, OU & Can't State remaining on the road, they likely need at least one of those games to get into the top 3 in the East. I think things will play out in the usual fashion with the top 3 in the East securing the free pass .. so that's where they need to be. Interior passing can improve even more than it has. We counted 3 occasions in the second half alone where a big was alone on the weak side, and the Zips failed to recognize it in time for the easy hoop. It was a different guy with the ball each time, and the guy open underneath each time was different .. so it wasn't a case of lack of confidence in any one player .. it was simply missing the open man. These types of things will further help the chances of the Zips if they start to take advantage of them. Few MAC schools have 2 capable big men .. the Zips have 3 or 4. This needs to be a strength. Rotations seem to be settling in the past few games. Combining Diggs & Abreu gives KD an up tempo lineup which has shown to tire out the opposition. In general, I think something that has worked for the Zips this season is pushing the tempo when available. Not Doug Moe style with no D and reckless abandon, simply taking advantage of any and every opening in the full court, and even making openings here and there. Diggs & McNees had a nice 2 on 4 break that yielded an old fashioned 3 point play in the 2nd half. In both the last 2 games, I think fatigue affected the opponent more than the Zips. In the last post, I finished by saying I thought the Zips could get to 6-5 coming back to the East, but it would take some progress and improvement on a possession by possession, half by half basis. Well they got there, and now I'll say I think that 10-6 in the MAC isn't impossible for the Zips. They need to win their home games and beat 2 of 3 on the road. Well they've beaten 2 of the 3 at home this season, and the 3rd team has struggled at home a bunch this year. The opportunities are here. The Zips need to take care of business at home also. If the team that played last week is what KD can build upon in the next 3, the Zips will be fine. B) B) Go Zips!! View the full blog post here.

Just saw this thing on GoZips.com .. seems you can ask Coach Porter a question on twitter and possibly get a video reply. So if you're interested in the amount of his dry cleaning bill or what his wife thought of the hair style .. and you're a twitter type .. check it out. Twitter Ask A Zip is here. Go Zips!! B)