Zip Watcher

Ask the coaching staff who won the OU game for the Zips, and then report back.

WOW! A great get. Is this the first new coach hired by Mack for a team sport (other than the golf coach)?Didn't Mack hire Jody Kest?

Who's saying that? I think there's some feeling he will miss this season .. but he seems the heir apparent at the point for the next few years.Do tell if you've got some knowledge that he may yet play this season. He's not yet been listed as a redshirt.

Good thoughts skip .. I think I understand your perspective a bit better.First off, I'm an engineer .. it's in my nature to see the solution first .. so keep that in mind. A couple of thoughts here:- I do think McNees will be ready to do that at the 2-guard spot .. I think he's going to transition to Dial's role .. and give us a shooter from the SG spot that can handle the ball. By your description above re: Travis/Joyce .. Steve is playing those types of minutes now. As freshman, Travis and Joyce only played about 24mpg, per the stats archive at GoZips .... Dot Com.- I also think that CMcKnight will be there. Can't prove it .. but that's what I think.- Conyers is there now .. his contributions are on the defensive end. Having a lockdown defender is a big contribution. He needs to get more comfortable in the offense .. but we're a defense first team, and he's already a solid contributor there.- I think the dynamic of the roster & rotations will change, where we're not looking to have guys log 30-35 minutes. Right now, only Wood and Dials are @ 30mpg .. and barely. So I think that the concept is that we get a little quicker .. press a little more .. and look to have 9 guys playing 20+ minutes, instead of having 3 play 30ish.Lastly, I don't think it will happen by November .. nor does it need to. November / December are for gearing up for the conference run. So there WILL be some rotation uncertainty in Puerto Rico (fingers crossed here) .. but it's January & February that matter .. and by then, I think we'll have figured out who's ready.Again .. I think it's a step back, reload thing. I certainly don't see the Zips coming out of the gate 20-0 (regardless of the schedule). By the end of the year .. they ought to be pretty good.

CMU may have the best player in the conference in Watson .. the Zips need to be careful on the perimeter. They handled him at the Q with a 30 point win .. but this year he has a few more friends.This isn't a walkover.

Look .. we know where the toolshed is .. you can leave the posts over there .. because due to your trolling, and flamebaiting .. you won't be posting on here for awhile.Happy trails.

Not scared at all .. not in the least. Intrigued, but not scared.Do I think we're going to go 14-2 in the conference next year? Probably not .. but we didn't last year, and probably won't this year. I also don't see us going 8-8 .. I split the difference and see 11-5.It might be a step back year, but I don't see it as a complete rebuilding job. More of a reload.Consider that 4 returning players are averaging over 12 minutes a game .. with 2 others (Roberts / Bardo) approaching 10 minutes / game. B. McKnight will see much more time in the next 6 games and may force his way into the rotation (now 4 mpg). We will have returning:1 forward who has pretty much started for 3 years (Linhart).1 swing man who has been an integral defender for a year and a half (Conyers)1 post player who is gradually getting more confident & increased minutes (C. McKnight).1 guard who's averaging about 20 minutes a game and is already one of our better shooters (McNees)I expect that Roberts will end up averaging about 15-20 mpg from here on out, so that will give us 2 guards with legitimate minutes during a contending season under their belt. Bardo will probably not get to 10 minutes, but he'll have been in the program 2 years. B. McKnight will be in the rotation, so I think that he'll end up with Roberts and the other 4 guys above by the end of the year.So that will be 6 guys coming back (7 if you count Mike) that will have played what I consider real minutes on a conference contending team. They're not just playing mop-up time .. they're in the rotations long before games are out of reach. 2 of the guys (JC & NL) are the key defenders on the team NOW .. and they'll be back. One of the guys has become a key backcourt handler in the biggest games (McNees .. even with the Can't State game), and this is year 1 for him. The real key will be whether or not Roberts & BMcK force themselves into the equation this season.Now if you consider that KD likes an 8 or 9 man rotation, that leaves 2 spots for incoming guys to fill and contribute in. From position breakdown:5 - Probably going to be CMcKnight, with Bardo4 - B. McKnight / Conyers some minutes here.3 - Linhart / Conyers2 - McNees (I think he moves in to Dial's role next season)1 - RobertsIncoming guys need to shore up the backcourt and give a little scoring depth at the 4 spot.Who's coming in next year:PG - Steward will have a year in the system & all that potential.PG - Hitchins is on his way to 1st team all stateCG - Sullivan seems to be a tweener .. maybe more of a pointSG - Brooks has played a solid year of mid-major ball and will have a year in the systemSG/SF - McClanahan - big shooting guard, maybe SF?F - Cvetinovic - 6-7 seems to be scoring and rebounding well.C - Parrish - depth at the 5 if he's ready.C - Swiech - heavily recruited .. look for more body change, and a good understanding of the systemNo one thinks that the Guards coming in are going to be Nick Dials or Rashon Brown on day 1 .. that's nonsense. But ask yourself if KD will get 3 contributors (15+ minutes/game) out of the above list of 8 "newcomers" to the active roster. Without ANY of the new guys .. the Zips go 8-8 .. but add in 1 point guard and maybe a shooting swing man to the equation & it might be a different story.I do think the offensive flow might look different w/o Wood. The challenge will be to find the successful rotations without trying to force a guy to play Wood's game. Maybe the inside out game will just look a little different with the McKnights facing up on their man? So we might not be as strong next year inside, but we'll also be a little bit quicker at the perimeter next season .. so we press more and look for a little less of the isolation half-court set success we're having this season.My feeling is that the early season may be rocky .. and that the upside is high.The beauty of it all is that the talent is in good hands. And one other thing .. should next year's team end up near or at the top of the conference with 12 or 13 guys in their 1st / 2nd years .. it's on .. and the ZIps will be getting some separation from the conference.First things first though .. 17 or so games left with this team.

Per the postgame show last night & I think it's the right call:Since it was a double technical (one on each side), it becomes a jump ball scenario, reverting to the possession arrow. Hence, they shoot the PF shots first, then the T's and then Can't got the ball on alternating possession.

Dude, you're on extremely thin ice, as you post this garbage on a forum provided in part by the cash, hard work and effort of Dr. Z himself. Questioning his loyalties due to an objective opinion about the game is bush league. It belongs over with the small minded folks at some of the other boards in the conference. Take it there. FACT. Lamont Simpson made ZERO calls against the Zips in the Dayton game. He wasn't even AT the game. If you learn to read one day, you'll find that his brother Lamar reffed the UD game and NOT Lamont.My suggestion is that you settle down .. it was an emotional loss .. you're a big fan, and it boils over .. we get it. But lay off this "I'm a bigger fan than you" crap. There's lots of fans here .. some more objective than you on some days. Get over it .. others will have a different opinion than you. There's no place here for this garbage.Capice?

So all humor aside w/ the twins pictures and all. What does everyone think tonight?I took a little detour into the toolshed this afternoon to see what they're thinking about the game. Not too many concrete ideas, but a few guys have posted thoughts on how to beat UA. I don't think they've seen the Zips too much, but we're all amateurs, right?My thoughts:- The Zips must defend agressively and get after the ball. Absolutely NO reason to think that won't happen. I don't remember the last game where the Zips had significan break downs defensively. The last 4 minutes of Winthrop maybe .. but generally they have been either very good, or downright scary on the defensive side of the ball. Keep the defense going, and the game will be in play for the Zips.- Wood must touch the ball early & often. I DON'T think he needs a ton of shots. I DO think he needs touches. It will be interesting to see what Christian does w/ the defense. OU had a little success w/ Leon on Wood 1on1, but Can't State doesn't really have a body with the strength to pull that off. If Wood touches the ball 25 possessions or more, I like the ZIps' chances.- Can't State has to pick their poison. Much has been made here and elsewhere about "the Zips live and die by the three" .. I couldn't disagree more with that statment. The Zips take 3's at the right time. Usually, due to the agressive double teaming of Wood, the 3's are wide open with feet set. A team will shoot 40% when they're open from out there. We're 17 games into the season. It's reasonable to say that our percentage isn't swayed by extraordinarily hot shooting nights .. that's what we shoot. We have good shooters and they're open.- Defensively, I expect KD to let Wood guard Scott, and put Jimmy on Q. Keeps Wood from the early foul trouble inside and puts one of our best defenders on Q. Jimmy doesn't give up too much size / strength wise in that matchup, so I'd take my chances there early on.- On the other end, I think Christian HAS to put Q on Wood. Scott may be too light for that duty, and Parks and Garcia simply aren't in their rotation unless there's big foul trouble about. I would expect the double team to come early and often.This game is won or lost on how well the Zips defend, and whether or not Wood can get the pass out to the open guy, or rotated over to the open guy. Keep the turnovers down and get the ball to the open man. Can't State will have to pick its poison tonight. Let JWood abuse someone in single coverage, or leave a shooter open and hope he doesn't find them. I like our chances.Other thoughts: Top 3 producers from the last trip to the MACC are back (Wood, Dials & Middleton). Linhart is now healthy (not last year) and will play more. Also: Mincy and Scott are the only 2 Can't State players to have beaten the Zips (per Record Courier) .. an amazing stat if you ask me. Tells us alot about the roster stability at Can't.My take: flushes choose to double team Wood early and often. Q plays less than 25 minutes w/ foul trouble. Wood has 5 assists .. Zips hit 9 of 23 from outside. No UA guy has more than 15 points, but 5 guys score 8 or more.Zips 72 - 64Should be a good time .. Go Zips.P.S. Look for OU to drop a game at UB tonight.

What he said .. This topic (Thomas) has a very short leash in my mind. VERY short.Don't embarass the Nation tonight.

That's odd .. sitting out due to transfer rules doesn't usually mean "no practice" .. I understand the "no travel" .. etc, but usually a transfer sitting out is able to participate in all practices / team drills .. etc.It's the academic sit-outs that have no practice permission during their time away.Hmmm ..

I've been wondering about Brooks. He is still on the roster, but doesn't seem as visible on the sidelines. Is he still around and practicing?And won't Brooks be just a Sophomore next season? The transfer year can eat up his redshirt season. He didn't redshirt @ Niagra before playing this year did he?

At the luncheon last week (I know .. slow to get the notes out), I asked about Jimmy specifically, and was told that they expect Jimmy to get his 4th year back. I think the phrase was "barring an unforseen disaster" .. or something like that.Everyone says that Jimmy is doing really well in the classroom.

I believe you're mistaken sir. Isn't that Da'Von Moore?

Has anyone seen a BB team rankings based upon Sagarin and not RPI?

I'm not sure why everyone is talking about getting the Vikings in the BB game. Per This official ESPN page .. Cleveland State is a home team.Seems like VCU would be a decent opponent. It would be good to get Drake back in here .. but I think they don't typically give teams the same game as a past matchup (hence, I'd be surprised to see Drake, Niagra or Nevada).

I was asking myself the same thing .. after all, I've heard he once got busy in a Burger King bathroom.

Count how many possessions they used the 1-3-1 last night, and report back.I'm thinking of a very low number .. wasn't a factor.

Check out the last play for OU if you have a chance on DVR.Leon had worked himself to very good position against Wood .. they were bodying up pretty hard, and Leon had Wood sealed off to the outside. A bounce pass to the lane or a lob over top, and it's likely Leon dunks home the game winner.2 guys were well guarded up top, but Michael Allen was all alone on the opposite wing with 4.5 seconds left. Bubba had plenty of time for a skip pass across .. McNees was shading to the top of the key and Allen was "dancing without a partner" Bubba jacking that shot was entirely unneccessary. One good pass, and OU has a much higher percentage look.

It's enabled .. I upped the max size to 50k, it was 20k .. maybe that was it ..Try it again and let me know.ZW

There was 1 NCAA Tournament team from the MAC. That was Miami. That makes Miami the defending MAC Champs.The Zips' last conference title was 1986. OVC.

Changed to 96 x 96 .. not sure if you'll need to re-upload or not, but that's the new limit.

The possibilities that lay out for the Zips if they can take care of business this week are pretty amazing. So amazing that we should dare not discuss them until Monday.

I must be on a island or something .. because I'm pumped about the 9PM start and (psuedo)national TV game. Seems like we usually break out the whooppin stick on ESPN .. remember the WMU game last year?And for me, 7pm weeknights are sometimes very difficult to get to on time. Living / working in Cuyahoga .. it's tough to round up the troops and get dinner & to the game in 1 hour. So I don't mind the change for this week. Looking forward to having some time at the bar before the game to ease into it .. and not be rushing my a$$ off to get there. I am leaving the wife & kid behind .. school night and all .. but I like the 9PM once in awhile.This is a HUGE game for us .. there's a real chance to be playing for a 2 game division lead next week @ Can't State if the Zips take care of business on Thursday night. We need a good crowd. I hope we get it.