Zip Watcher
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Last night, I took in Riverside's pasting of Chardon @ Euclid in the D1 Sectionals.My first HS ball game in a few years. It was ugly .. kindof like a scrum. I guess I've been spoiled watching the talent at the JAR the past 3 or 4 seasons.Thoughts on Sullivan:- I think he had about 23 or 25. He got pulled w/ 5 minutes left in the game and Riverside up by 30. That's when we left.- I would guess that he hit maybe 2 shots outside of 10 feet. One was a three .. maybe there was another, but most of his points came inside 10 feet .. on drives into traffic, breakouts, open layups.- He let the game come to him. This was a blowout within the first 5 minutes, so it probably isn't the best game to judge him on, since there was little or no urgency / intensity needed. It turned into a scrimmage pretty quickly, and Sullivan was content to play in the flow of a team game .. not really taking more shots than anyone else.- Riverside has a future NCAA DIII conference player of the year inside that just destroyed Chardon. I don't know what he ended up with, but the guy had something like 15 at the half I think. Nice gutty player .. really tough & good around the glass. But 6-4 with not much vertical. A pleasure to watch.- I think Sullivan may have had about 5 or 6 steals in the game. At least 3 times, he just sagged off his guy, and then stepped in front of a swing pass and off to the races. A couple more, he got his hand in on the dribbler and knocked it loose to a teammate.- He did show defensive tenacity and a willingness to get after it on the floor. I'd say at least tonight he was the best on the ball defender out there. Which we have to hope since we signed him.- He also really seemed to like taking the ball to the rack, and did so usually with ease. Chardon tried a lot of 2-3 and sagging zone to clog the middle, but it didn't help.From what I saw tonight .. this guy is a point guard, not a 2. But he didn't take enough jumpers to really heat up .. at least against Chardon tonight .. he was aggressive in attacking the basket first, and looking to shoot from outside second. I liked his defensive anticipation and intensity .. that will fit nicely. Did a little bit of cherry picking when the game was out of reach, but one or 2 of those in practice will put an end to it quickly.I don't want to say my expectations weren't met tonight .. but he wasn't exactly dominant. He didn't need to be ... Riverside crushed Chardon. Having said that, it was sloppy play .. and the ref's let both teams play .. many of the steals / turnovers forced by Riverside won't happen if they play a slightly better team.On the flip side, the only really dominant HS ball players I've ever seen were LBJ and Barbara Tuner (the MOST impressive HS ball player I've ever seen by a pretty good margin). And LBJ was the #1 pick in the draft .. and Turner had a nice career, starting 2 or 3 seasons at UConn. Those two were among the best in the country coming out of HS.Sullivan is solid, clearly athletic and intense. There are stories told of McNees having to be broken of bad habits learned while being the best player around in a suburban league .. I suspect AS may have a similar lesson coming. I like that we've gotten him, and look forward to have him help extend our perimeter defense, and perhaps bring another penetrator to the team.I think they play Madison on Friday .. they're in the same league and Riverside beat them 2 times already this season (just like Chardon). Assuming no let down Friday, they'll have up to 2 more games at Euclid next week against some Cuyahoga County opponents who will be less familiar. Should they get to the CSU Regional at the Wolstein .. I'll probably check him out again. I'd like to see him in a game where there's some pressure. There was none tonight.
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Hmmmm....You sound like an angry parent.Give some actual evidence that this happens "over and over." -
I was just thinking the same thing this morning.I think it's time to dust off the Ak-Roadies road trip to pay a visit to McKeesport in the playoffs.NB .. any chance you can figure out when & where they're playing?
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zipboy .. can you enlighten us for those who did not hear it?
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We lose pretty much all the tie breakers to Can't State.After head to head, it goes to best record against the top teams in the west.Can't State beat WMU .. the Zips didn't. Can't State is the 1 seed.At this point, they'd really have to implode to blow the reg. season championship.This is a very unlikely hypothetical question, but one can dream...What if we win out, and Can't can manage to lose another game than against us, we end up tied with Can't for first same records, split the season series, what's the next tiebreaker? -
And Eastern takes down BGSU .. also a little help.Go Zips!
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Easy Win .. easy. Don't let this lead you to "the program is headed down" .. they were bad last night. No argument. But look at the roster .. look at the players .. we're no-where near the quitters. These guys are struggling .. but they're not quitting.No comparison to the quitters in my mind...... Looks like the program is headed back to those days...Seniors playing like crap, teams shooting the lights out, Zips making excuses and well, losing to as Bill Walton would say " A HORRIBLE TEAM".
A very good question. I'm looking forward to finding out more @ BG on Saturday. See you there?Save the excuses....Middleton just plain stinks, Milum is lost, Dials is mostly out of position and we are in trouble...If we can't beat NIU, who can we beat that is left on the schedule? -
If that were the case, we would have been playing 2 on 5 last night ...On second thought .. maybe we were. If you give up 80+ at home .. you're not guarding anybody.....it's becasuse he can't (or wont) guard anyone right now. KD was quoted as saying he wont play people who don't play D. -
I was really looking forward to another Joe Dunn / Dan Hipsher style press conference last night.Joe Dunn: Gosh Dan, it seems like everyone has their career shooting night against the Zips.Dan: You, know it seems that way Joe .. we just keep running into the hot shooters, don't we.Alas .. no HC on the radio .. would have liked to hear KD's thoughts.They might just have shot 65% because they were either 3 feet from the rim, with no contest .. or standing wide open, with nary a defender near them. The Zips are not very good defensively right now .. check that .. they're horrible defensively right now. With far less talent, 2 or 3 years ago, KD was able to field a good defensive effort night in and night out .. what's changed this season?Is it just injuries in the back court? Depth? ???one of the reason they shot 65% was because our defense was terrible.we let them get inside for easy shots numerous times,and did not defend the perimter.they shot great but we did not help ourselves by playing bad defense.scoring 88 on our home court was a pathetic performance by the zips defense. -
What he said. I think that post hits things spot on.Other questions I have:1. If Jimmy Conyers is your best "on-ball" defender, and he's certainly one of the top 2 or 3 (Linhart .. ?? .. Bardo .. Roberts??), why does he not play more when you're giving up 65% ... SIXTY-FIVE PERCENT! If you tell me that it's because he's not a contributor on offense .. then I'd like to ask:2. If you're going to mail it in defensively by not playing your best defenders (see #1 above), and channel the coaching doctrine of Doug Moe, then why are 2 of your better scorers (McKnights, C &No doubt KD is great for the program but tonight, he was Tim O'Shea. That was his worst coaching job since taking over by a long shot. I'm still scratching my head over the substitutions or lack of throughout the game. I guess I understand sticking with your seniors to some degree but at some point when guys are hurt (Middleton) and unproductive/lost (Milum), you have to go to others for extended periods and let them play. I thought Roberts, B McKnight and even C McKnight were well on their way to stepping up tonight untill they got nailed to/lost on the bench the last 10 minutes. In general, the players didnt have it tonight and we needed KD to find the right rotations and step up guy for a victory. Instead of finding it, he looked confused and pulling players in/out at random to the point that no one was able to get into the flow of the game. And can someone tell me why no one is allowed to drive to the basket on this team - McNees, Roberts, Linhart can all slash to the basket but we are always so concerned about setting up the perimeter offense. You have to have some allowance for penetration in the offense by someone other then Dials. To me, Kd is just not making very good adjustments to life without Wood.I dont want to hear about losing Wood...losing Middleton.....Dials playing on one leg......losing Joyce....losing Romeo. It's all unfortunate but get on with it and play some of the other talent for extended time loosening the leash alittle and letting others heal up for the MAC Tourney. Maybe a little more confidence and work in the younger guys would go a long way (the Roberts/B McKnight/McNees combo actually put us back in the game). We cannot limp into the tourney with nagging injuries and have any realistic shot. As for Quade playing well tonight - I must have watched a different game and missed all his blocked shots on the interior. He was a non factor.
stapled to the bench for the last 10 minutes after giving you some inside punch? In the four possessions he touched the ball NIU had no idea what to do with Brett last night. None whatsoever. The Zips could have gone Tarver with him last night and probably pulled the game out.Seems like you can't have it both ways. You either win with defense .. and play those that are going to defend. Or you have to try and outscore people by putting points on the board while knowing you're not at your best on the defensive side.Last night, it appeared to me that the coaches made choices that limited their offensive productivity at the same time they didn't shore up or help the defense. Namely, stopping the penetration. We picked the wrong side of the equation on both sides of the floor.Definitely an off night by the coaching staff (among other things). Probably their worst effort ever @ UA. I'm certain it's a rarity and an isolated incident.Trouble in Rubber City at the moment, Zips fans.Go Zips.
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No .. at the coaches luncheon a couple of weeks ago, it was indicated that Adidas would probably be retained for all sports other than men's hoops and that the LBJ group may be brought in on men's hoops. I don't know if it was a certainty or not.
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Of course .. it's always possible the ABJ misquoted him, and he actually said:
I'll Be BACK!! -
Woody says: I Shall Return!!!I don't know about you .. but that could go down as one of the great quotes in Zips history .. tremendous leadership there.Get well Wood!Go Zips
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Please...Put Bardo and C. McKnight in, they will do just fine, you also have Carroll tooGive some time to McNees, Goddard, B. McKnight and Roberts, throw Sallee in there tooYou guys act like these guys have no clue, some of them (Sallee and Goddard have been there from 3-5 years) when they get in, hell doesnt freeze over....I'm nervous now. Wood is out. Ced might not play. Dials is hurt. Unless we have several underclassmen suddenly transform into leaders or at least solid contributors, we're in some deep trouble.
Good post .. maybe your best ever.Go Zips!
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I think it's safe to say that today's bad news is a punch in the gut for all Zips hoops fans. It's bad on so many levels .. losing a team MVP / league POY candidate in the stretch run .. seeing Jeremiah lose more time to his knee .. the general struggles of this senior class to find their way to good health for a chance to build further upon last season. Mostly, I'm disapointed for JWood. The guy is already the best big man ever to play at UA in the D1 era .. there's probably not much debate about that. But for him to work as hard as he has to become the player he is, with his great play down the stretch last season and early this season .. it's heartbreaking for him to have to go through this.So we all wish him the best .. a speedy return to good health, and hopefully a half a dozen more games in the Blue & Gold of the Zips before it's all said and done.But in the meantime, where does that leave the Zips?The short answer? It leaves the Zips needing some of next year's contributors to become contributors .. and FAST. KD himself has mentioned in his postgames and pressers that he struggles to mix the new guys in .. it takes him a little time to build up trust in the new talent. We've seen that with McNees, Roberts & B. McKnight. But even to a certain extent .. it's happened a bit w/ CMcK also. Some of it is his TO problem .. but sometimes, it appears hard for KD to just put him out there and play him. Even in the past few games, when we were told pregame that Wood & Middleton were to see limited action .. they ended up playing 20-30 minutes. It's hard to go away from what you trust .. especially when they're warriors.Well .. times change.Chris McKnight just became one of the top 3 options in the Zips offense .. like it or not. Timing isn't too bad, since he's coming off one of his best performances on Wednesday night. But now the Zips & Chris have to find his offensive game more consistently .. I say "find his game" because it's clear that there's more of a face up component to it than JWood. We can NOT seek to squeeze him into Wood's touches and shots .. it won't work. The Zips have to adapt to what Chris can give the team in the flow of the offense and his skills.My guess is that BSU is watching tape of Travis tonight .. because that's maybe more representative of the type of attack that Chris brings. There's a sense of deja vu for me here. It's been discussed in our "next season" thread .. but recall back 37 months ago when JWood originally went down against OU with his ACL. In the second half of that game, Travis really stepped up. I think we may have won that game .. but in the coming weeks & months, Romeo took it upon himself to improve and try and pick up some of the slack on the glass after Wood went down.Deja vu all over again?Chris had 18 in the game against WMU when Wood played his last 10 minutes for awhile. There's a bunch of folks out there that think Chris is a program builder .. a key component of continuing the climb to the top of the conference & midmajor ranks. I'm certainly one of them .. and always have been. We don't get Chris to come here without the efforts of Romeo and Dru and Jeremiah. But he might have a bigger upside than all of them IN TIME. I think we're going to see some of that in the next several weeks.The good thing here is that he's not going to be relied upon for everything. We still have experienced talented players around him in Dials, Linhart & Middleton. Chris isn't going to be the starting point of everything like Wood was earlier .. but I look for him to grow up fast with the increased minutes.Also:Younger brother Brett and Mike Bardo are now going to HAVE to contribute 15 minutes to the cause consistently. One is an offensive unknown and the other a defensive risk .. but between them, the Zips are going to have to play through the growing pains. I'm comfortable with it .. I think about what else was on the bench 3 seasons ago when Wood went down .. and after Travis, it was pretty thin. We have more options today than last time.All of us that have discussed the front court next season .. and wrung our hands about the loss of Wood going into November now have nothing to worry about for next year. These guys are going to have lots of game & big game experience coming into next year. The question is: how well can they step in and fill the gap right here and right now. And how well can KD & staff adapth the offensive flow to the new rotations.With my blue & gold glasses on, I still see Wood playing at least 4 more games in Zips colors. Now that doesn't require that CMcK lead us to 6 straight wins in his absence. It requires that the young front court players grow up quickly in the next 6 to become solid contributors that when added to JWood @ his return become that alternate post threat we've been looking for all season.I think we know an at large birth isn't coming the Zips way .. the team needs to improve and prepare for the 2nd week in March @ the Q. Nothing more and nothing less. Get ready to win games at the Q. With some effort and good bounces, hopefully they can maintain the bye .. but that margin is pretty thin. Probably need to be 11-5 to secure a bye to the quarters. That means holding serve at home and picking up 2 roadies .. not impossible.The future is now. Sieze the day and all that stuff ... Go Zips!
Thoughts?View the full blog post here. -
Three years later, my boy & I feel the same way:
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Harvey completing a degree would be the best day in JD's coaching tenure.Well, Harvey would have a year back and Rogers would have a year of experience. It could happen. -
So the Byrd fellow goes to HS w/ a certain Zeke Marshall if I read this right.Hmmmm ...
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HUGE game for a couple of reasons. #1 - Need to keep pace w/ Can't State & OU just to keep pace.#2 - Would be nice to go on a roll in the next few and steal some of these road games#3 - This game may well determine the seeding / division title & the NIT bid. Should the Zips end up in a 3 way tie w/ Can't State & OU, and have all 3 teams go 1-1 against the other 2, the record against the top teams in the West come into play. Can't State has already beaten WMU. UA needs to follow suit.I say the Zips are snapping out of it .. CM looked pretty quick on Saturday. WMU doesn't have the perimeter athleticism that OU & Can't have .. and shouldn't be able to cause the same disruption.Wood gets 25 touches in the low block during the first 20 seconds of the shot clock tonight.Zips 70-65.Go Zips.
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CK, you got inside dirt on that start time?I'd offer to buy GM fans a beer before the game, but 11am starts kinds put a damper on it. Maybe BW-3's afterwards?
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GZ .. for the benefit of all here .. can you please share a source for this claim?Odd, Nik is rated as the third best HS player in Virginia. Not third best in his conference, not third best in his division, but third best player over all in Virginia. -
It's precisely this sentiment that is causing you problems around here. You seem to believe that you're somehow beneath playing the Zips. With the "we got hosed" attitude .. you better well come in here and beat the Zips .. because you're acting like it's an inconvenience.Two other things:The Zips are 21-10 all time in NCAA tournament games. Look it up. We've been D1 for less than 30 years .. but it doesn't mean there isn't history and tradition here. Basketball didn't start when we moved up.And lay off the Governors .. they're welcome friends around these parts. And by the way .. they've provided a bigger upset than VCU in the NCAA .. don't be so quick to dismiss them. Look it up. VCU fans would do well to be considered fans as good as AP's.Just saying...trust me, we got hosed with this matchup and deserved better. You won't help us whether we win or lose. -
Ok .. well I was citing current scoring averages per ESPN. Certainly your roster does look young overall.You can snoop around here and find lots on what the Zips have coming back next year if you like. In fact, we have an incoming frosh from your neck of the woods (statewise anyway .. I have no idea where VES is in respect to VCU). Check the thread in recruiting about Nikola Cvetinovic .. he appears to be having a pretty good senior year.We lost our 2 "best" players last year also .. btw.
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At the moment, I wouldn't worry yourselves too much about the Zips next year .. they'll still be pretty good. Besides, VCU will be losing 3 of their top 4 also. I think it's a good matchup. Perhaps we should play this year's game first.Hope you can make it up to the WOODshed for the contest.Go Zips.Then the fact that you lose 4 of 5 top scorers from your team next year makes the return trip at VCU a game that most of our fans would not be really excited about.
Big Game
in Akron Zips Basketball
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I like the "Ban Mollaut" post .. he's easily their most objective & well though out poster .. but that post was funny.Ban Mollaut
:lol: