Zip Watcher

No need to feel bad about hating the Huskies. There's plenty of you out there. At times they can reflect all that is bad about big time college hoops. Jim C has done a good job there, but to determine that UC's men's hoops team is a collection of *student* athletes is a stretch in the most optimistic of terms. When I went directly from UConn to Purdue, the difference in programs was staggering. My first gig @ Purdue was tutoring in the athletic department, and the lengths to which Gene Keady went to make sure he was putting a team of students on the court really blew me away. Not all Rhodes scholars .. not at all. But there was this thing that you needed to be a "Purdue student" in order to be a "Purdue Boilermaker" .. big difference than what I'd seen a before @ UConn, though there were notable exceptions like Kevin Ollie and Donny Marshall. Off the topic at hand .. it's this issue that I think about when I envision Zips Athletics a few years down the road in a different conference either slightly or largely upstream from where they are now. The investment into the Info doesn't match with staying a mid-major @ the current level. It's indicative of a goal to take a step up in conferences. Perhaps that opportunity will come with the impending Big TelEveN expansion, who knows? But one of the things I like most about Zips hoops, and a big reason that these kids are the first (and generally only) team that I follow actively and root for, is that they're students. Guys like Schindewolf whom you still see around the JAR. Zeke's a student, these guys like Roberts & Conyers fighting to get on track and get the degree. It's not a happy utopia of dean's list guys. But it is a group of good guys putting forth the big effort to balance the books and the balls. I think I read or heard that the team GPA was over 3.2. That makes it easy to root for these guys and want them to do well. When they do as well as they are doing of late, it makes it even better. I wonder how that would change (or need to change) if the dominoes fell in the perfect order to find the Zips in an upstream hoops conference .. say playing UAB, Houston, WKU & Memphis .. etc. Can the program retain its makeup as a group of UAkron students? I hope so. {end manifesto} On the mid-major front, it's very interesting to me to see the top four of the final regular season Mid-Major Top 25. Go Teams!

Man...that really sucks for ZipWatcher. If Butler makes the Final Four, he doesn't get the $50.00 from woot? To be perfectly honest...Northern Iowa was ranked in the top 25 all season, so they exactly a mid-major either. That leaves St Mary's and Cornell. If Zach has any arguments to support these two not being mid-majors, woot might just be able to put the Ulysses S. Grant in the mail this afternoon? These are all midmajors .. and when one of them gets to the Final 4 this weekend, the payout is $500 (10:1 odds baby!).

Haha at this too! Had to look it up. This tourney and next before ZW owes w00t $50. Go Zips!! B) I hadn't forgotten... but as much as I hope one of the remaining four MM's wins two more this year, I think that you've already come as close as you're going to get to my $50 when Davidson was within two points (and got the last shot) of going to San Antonio. I tend to agree with you .. but hope springs eternal with 4 teams alive in different regions this year. Might be the best chance thus far. Don't forget about those odds!

Haha at this too! Had to look it up. This tourney and next before ZW owes w00t $50. Go Zips!! B)

Translation for w00t: "I better go check on how much time is left on my bet w/ Zip Watcher regarding mid-majors appearing in the Final Four."

I predict there will be helmets, pads and cleats worn by opposing teams on 6 occasions at the Info in 2010. B) B)

My opinion is that he's ahead of his time. A true visionary. The guy's a dancer, but many of his mannerisms and appearance contradict the immediate conclusion of an alternate view on life. I think this guy is like Chaz .. he's revolutionary. He's found a way to get closer to some action and he's decided he doesn't care what it might look like. And look who he sits with every game. Does the dance team only have one lockerroom?

So in honor of OU week here at ZipsNation, I thought I'd bring up a topic that was discussed at length @ the Q last week. Anyone who saw the OU dance team will understand the question and probably have an immediate opinion. ZN.O would like to know. There's one member of the OU dance team that's not like the others. So I ask you: Is that member Strange, or is that member a Visionary .. well ahead of the rest of us? Inquiring minds want to know.

No really, the guy's a kid!

EXACTLY. A true Zips fan cannot be against this because regardless of if we would have made it this year with it or not, (we wouldn't have) we still would have a better opportunity and how could anyone be against that?! You and Zach's statements of absolutism get a little tiring for me, but I can see your argument. I think I am a true Zips fan .. and I'm against it, in part because I'm a 2x BCS alumn. Fact is, way too many marginal BCS teams make the tournament already. I think the suggestion that adding 32 teams to the mix will help the smaller conference is way presumptuous. There's very little to suggest that it's similar to just merging the NIT to the NCAA. When the NCAA goes 96 teams, are they going to take those autobids from the NIT and honor them? No way. Those bids are going to more and more marginal big conference schools. Can't State would likely have been in, but in a normal year (say Toledo a few years ago, or BGSU last year ..) those regular season autobids are going POOF in a grown tournament. If they want to grow the tournament to 96 to give more opportunities, I think that's fine. But I think you need to make the play in games feed into the 7,8,9 & 10 games and be played by marginal BCS schools that didn't win their regular season or tourney titles. Make them earn it. The biggest reason I'm against growing the 64/5 team field is that every team in the nation already has an opportunity to win the NCAA title. Simply win your conference tournament and keep winning 6 more times, and you can use the ladder and scissors. With the lone exception being the IVY League, all teams start fresh around 1 March and have the chance to be standing tall the first week in April. What I think would be interesting would be to make the NCAA tournament field = 2 * the # of Conferences (that's 32 * 2 = 64). Mandate that every team have established tie breakers to declare a regular season champion. Every conference also has a post-season tournament (this is Championship Week) .. blow out the coverage of Championship Week. Every champion, regular and post-season, gets into the dance. When a single team sweeps both titles (like Butler for example), that opens up an at-large bid. This gives some weight and value to the regular season in all league, and gives each league an equal opportunity of multiple bids. Most of all .. every team in the Nation is on a level playing field regarding a chance to play for the national title. The big schools will never allow this to happen .. but it's what I would do if I were King. Just as in FB Bowl season, I don't believe you should be an NCAA National Champion if you're not the Champion of your league. Go Zips! B)

Gene also made it a habit to got to one MAC school each year. Not always the bad ones .. I can remember the Boilers going into CMU when they were solid, and WMU also. I think the Purdue AD was bullish then about playing road OOH games in the midwest. FB and MBB used to do it about once a year.

Wow .. TWC must have dropped it. I know when we were still on Adelphia, we had it .. that pretty much blows. Good thing 2 of the Championship games will be at the JAR. Watch them in person. B) Go Zips! ... let's get one tonight!

I think it does.

Brown was IMHO the best player of the last 20 years to wear the Zips uniform, followed closely by Wood. None of the other guards are close to Rashon.

I hate to add to the already incredible pressure on the team, but they should know Wednesday is my birthday, and a Zips Win would certainly make things as merry as another Guinness. Go Zips! Certainly. Zips Win! always makes things merry as a Guinness.

That, and the CMU coach has been wining and dining the kid's mom for years.

Probably 4 here.

Maybe we can start a home & home rotation w/ Utah St. ... get it in sync with Wyoming, so that it's a 2 game West swing each year.

Heck of a lot better looking at an all decade from this decade than it would the 90's. 1st Team: PG: Rashon Brown SG: Cedrick Middleton SF: Nate Linhart PF: Romeo Travis PF/C: Jeremiah Wood 2nd Team: PG: Dru Joyce SG: Nick Dials SF: Jimmy Conyers PF: Chris McKnight PF/C: Rob Preston I'm using players that have completed (or nearly completed) their careers @ UA .. so Jimmy & C McK are included, but I gave no consideration to Zips who will or could return next season.

I predict he'll be outplayed in the championship series by another big.

So all three Zips signees are still playing at the Sweet 16 level. That's the sign of bringing in winners. Anyone have a sense of Jackson's or Coffman's chances of making the Schott so we can see them on TV?

10 or 11 games will be on HDNet. Not this week's game @ the JAR. 2nd round games on TV will be announced later. You can count on the Zips road game in the championship series to be on HDNet. Go Zips!

One big benefit to this is it keeps the team in action, practicing & playing. Anything to extend the season for Zeke, the other youngsters and seniors is a good thing. It will have benefits for the future.

Well..Dave..according to the link u provided..the CIT is closed and WE aren't in it...looks like the CBI or nothing at all. I "PERSONALLY" think we will be in the CBI with a game being played either Wed or Thursday...just my OPINION!!! I personally really hope to see our boys play some more hoops. Especially Jimmy C & the fast developing Game Changer. Anyone up for 5 more wins? Let's Go Zips!!

FYI. The discussion about the evil moderators and our fascist conspiracy to suppress counter opinions has been split off and moved to the Board Comments Forum.It's not about hoops .. so it's not in the hoops forum.Go Zips!