Zip Watcher

Some thoughts heading into tonight's game at Miami:- I'm not convinced that Miami won't defend their regular season title. They control their own destiny to at least force a tie. I wouldn't put it past Charlie to get that done.- One Zips win or an OU loss seals up the bye for the MAC tournament. I can't tell you how happy I'll be to have that ticket in my packets go unused.- With 4 to play at 18-6 (sans Denison), I think that 2-2 should put the Zips safely in the NIT. They certainly need to hold serve the first game at the Q, but I have to believe a 21-8 or 22-7 team gets the NIT bid that last year's 19-10 didnt get. NCAA will be nice, but NIT would do this team a world of good also.- With that said, I think they will probably do better than that. I think they will protect the home court and come away with 2 victories (Can't will be VERY tough though), and a split on the road is feasible.- This season we've all been aware of how far the Zips have come since 03-04. The Nevada game showed clearly how far the Zips have yet to go. The size, quickness and athleticism of the Wolf Pack destroyed the Zips. In order to make any kind of postseason run, you need to be able to combat that. I do think the Zips had an off night, while the Pack was on fire .. but even an on night against the Pack doesn't win that game.- Sometimes our quickest players are the best players for a given situation. They might not be our most seasoned players, but the quicker ones can help in those types of games. DJ was simply not a factor in the Nevada game, where Cedric was more effective. Cedric will and can take the ball inside on anyone we've played this year. He's fearless & extremely athletic and strong. That's not to say he always makes the best decisions, but he's our best penetration threat with the ball .. and our best perimeter defender, IMHO. He's not Rashon Brown yet, but I'll tell anyone who asks that I think he's our best all around guard.- Milum seemed comfortable with the pace of things at Nevada. He might be a project, but you can't deny his physical hops & quickness. Defensive instincts seem to be there. I see him contributing the next 2 years.- Preston is our best player right now. He's a huge matchup problem for probably anyone in the league, except Nate Peavey (of MU). 6-9 who can drive a little and elevates on a jumper with good percentages inside and out. Reminds me now of Yost or whatever that guys name at WMU was. We'll go as far as Rob can take us this season. I also think he'll get paid to play ball for awhile. If Phillips can do it, Rob can do it better.- With a strong finish by the Zips, Travis could very well walk away as MAC POY. I think it would be great for him and the team, but he should be destroying this league with his skills. I have a rant about that, but I'll save it for later. Cliff notes: USE THE GLASS & become a 25 point, 10 rebound guy.- I think that KD is doing a greatjob this season, and I have a theory about DP. DP has so much gas left in the tank (knees) and KD isn't going to risk that against a non-conf. opponent during the stretch run in the MAC. With the defense that Miami is going to play, I look for DP to have a solid outing as he did in the JAR. Down the stretch in the next 4-8 games, look for DP to become more of a factor.- The MAC is a really really AVERAGE D-I conference this year. Akron and Miami are above average within the league, and Can't appears to be the best at this point. Winning by 18 at Anderson .. they have to be that good. You don't accidently come out of Anderson and Millet with double digit wins on the road. Props to Jimmy C for taking what looked like a punch bowl situation for flush fan and turning it into a nice season.- I'm very excited for the next few weeks, and NO outcome is going to bring me down. I think this team is nice .. best we've had in 20 years .. but I'm starting to get a sense for how nice the team in 2 years will be. The athleticism will increase & the talent will follow that. Assuming that KD continues to get the buy in that he has with this team (& last year's) .. this team is only headed up. We'll look back in a few years and wonder how the 05-06 team won 24 games. The wait from March to November might kill me this year.- It's really great to see a team this late in the season still focused on group effort and winning together. US - WE - TEAM. Nice to have another senior class go out on a strong note. That's 2 in a row and we should all be very proud of RP, DP & MF. I know I am. For anyone who reads the SportsGuy on ESPN, I've developed a corrollary I call the Jawanza Moore Effect. I'll expound on that later in the week.-Remember This: THIS IS ONLY YEAR 2 OF THE DAMBROT ERA. This is NOT year 18 of the post-Huggins era. It is the second year of a rise back to where the Zips belong .. not another year of just waiting for it to happen. Enjoy the ride Zips fans!Thanks for sticking with me on a long post. Go Zips!

I know this hasn't been discussed much here, but I don't think the importance of this weekend for the Athletic Department can be overstated. This is a very unusual and powerful opportunity to demonstrate UA's first rate facility and it's ability to manage it effectively around a major conference championship. Don't think for a minute that Mack and the boys are overlooking that fact. This is a relationship builder and an opportunity. I don't know the reason behind this hosting opportunity, and whether or not it had to do with scheduling difficulties at all the Big East facilities. It would be really cool for this to come back on a regular basis. Get these folks comfortable w/ UA as a good facility destination.Regardless, should be a good weekend for area hotels & restaurants.

I couldn't agree more about this. As I type this, I'm looking at a generally unused hurlee and sliotar that sit in the corner of my office.We could get in a league with other schools that play this .. you have to figure that Fordham, BC, Iona .. maybe Manhattan have club teams.I've had the opportunity to witness this sport in person one time @ in County Galway .. B flight adult level, and it is AWESOME. It's not a game that you can pick up as an adult since there are some instinctual behaviors that if you don't have them, you might get killed. But talk about a fast pace game that requires athleticism, quickness, endurance and precise hand eye coordination.Hurlers (all amateurs by the way) are probably the toughest athletes in the world, IMO.I have a list of sporting events that I have to take in live before I go to the dirt nap. Among them was a Ryder Cup, which I crossed off last year (Thanks to KF.lasher!). Final Four would be cool .. but attending the All Ireland Hurling championship is the top thing on my list. Wifey and I are hoping that it might fall close to the Ryder Cup next September so we could grab both events on a weeklong trip.Great post ASA!

I would vote for football, but you don't have it included.

Mrs. ZW happens to be a BG alumn, so this was an easy convincing job for me.

Actually, the forum DOES have a General section .. just gotta scroll down a little.So I have moved this topic to the right forum.Zippy rules. Children love Zippy. My kid (15months) totes his beanie Zippy around like it's his best friend.The manacing Roo should remain as it is .. something lurking that you never really see. It's much more effective as an abstract idea .. sort of an unknown.

My theory:When you have a college team that has wavered between pathetic and mediocre for 18 years, people simply don't go "bananas" overnight. We're 16-5 in February, not 31-2 in March.If the Zips make it to the finals at "The Q" everyone will be shocked to see 10k-12k Zips fans packing the arena. Those fans will come to the JAR the following season. For now we simply have to live with the nominal increases we've seen thusfar. 12k sound crazy? In mid-October, how much weed would you have been accused of smoking if you predicted the Zips would bring 15,000 fans to a road game of ANY sort? Bales and bales of the stuff. The Zips fans are there...waiting...BTW: The TV game vs OU and the Can't rematch will put our attendance in the MAC upper-half by season's end. What he said. :macc:

Congratulations on your 4 NCAA victories. That's in the history of the school, isn't?Please come talk to us when you reach the 20 NCAA win plateau.Tradition runs deeper than 7 years.

Is he really getting interest from Miami, given the class of RB down there? Maybe they're looking at him as an athlete?

Any news on this guy? Rivals is still listing him as a UA guy, but no LOI?

Per ESPN, the Zips are playing @ Nevada for the Bracket Buster.It will be on one of the ESPN networks, time & channel TBA.Here's the Link!

I LOVE to see this "we" coming from msopher!BE the ROO

My hope is for a visit w/ the Jaspers @ Manhattan .. I could totally take a weekender to the Island. Never mind that it's in the Bronx.

This sounds to me like a nice hire, even if it did take a couple of months.This guy's been living and breathing soccer at the absolute top of the heap for over 10 years. Key recruiter for a team that's been to 4 recent College Cups. Knows & recruits the best talent in the nation.This is a step up for the UA program and a nice get. This program is primed to become one of the best in the country and a guy with this type of experience should keep things going nicely. My hope is that we didn't lose any players as a result of the delay. Recruiting wise .. the impact is difficult at best to really gage.Nice work committee, UAM & MR on this one. Lolla built something nice here & we'll see if this guy can turn it into something great.

I've got a full car headed out there on Sunday.Great place to see a game if the students show up in force.

Hey Topper,You getting a MAC PAC for 550? .. just got my renewals and they're hitting me for 600 for each PAC.I think they're jamming me since I got away with the goods & gear at last year's sessions.Let me know if you don't get any bites. I'm keeping steady at 3 PACs this season again, but there may be renewed interest & I might be able to get someone to split with you.ZW

That might be 3 in a row at the MACC for BG. I'm certain it's at least 2.

Super easy to get to. Plan on 2:15 from UA.Go N on I77 to the OH TurnpikeTake the Turnpike (I80) West to I75 (I think it's exit 59, but it's well marked for I75).Take I75 south about 20 minutes to Bowling Green.Follow the signs. The arena is somewhat near the center of campus.After the game (or before) .. ask someone how to get to Jed's downtown .. go get some fireballs (trust me).

I'm down with this. Not into shooting myself .. but I think it's cool to have a few 'non-traditional" sports. It's definitely old-school stuff. Like lacrosse or something. Hope they have a nice season.

OK I think I've settled down enough to post some thoughts on last night's game.Game Thoughts:- Props to OU for hanging in there early and gutting it out at the end. They got it done defensively, plain and simple. A win they needed to have, and they got it. Not pretty offensively, but enough. Nice work.- Quickness of OU was obvious and a strength for the kittens. I don't think however that it was something the Zips couldn't overcome. They just didn't. - Not the best performance by UA in just about any regard. I thought they looked loose and confident on defense early, and the middle of the game, they were solid. At the end, say the last 5-8 minutes, they simply STOPPED attacking the basket. Not too many opportunities presented themselves when the Zips had 5 guys standing on the perimeter while a guard dribbled the ball 40' away from the rim. No real chance at offensive glass in that situation.- Defensively, the first 10 minutes were good, and the remainder looked pretty disorganized, which is unusual for a KD team. OU found it easy in the last 2/3rds of the game to penetrate and dish to Leon inside for easy baskets. Early on, the Zips did a good job on the help and denying the entry, but later on, there wasn't much interference for OU to contend with. Their baskets were often times way too easy.- Late in the game, my cable must have gotten fuzzy because I could swear I saw 3 or 4 possessions of Andre Sims dribbling out the first 25 seconds of the shot clock near the time line. That couldn't have been Dru Joyce .. must have been Sims. Strange thing to be doing when you're trailing in the game.- If everyone is at the perimeter, even when a guy drives and draws a double team, is there anyone there to drop it off to for an open look? Generally not, and that hurt the Zips last night.- Williams had 4 fouls late in the game & was never challenged in the paint on defense. He was never in danger of fouling out. The Zips never went after him.- Zips struggled as a whole with the unforced errors. 16 turnovers are a ton to overcome on the road.- As a whole, I thought the backcourt had a tough night. It won't happen often that all 3 guys struggle. This must then be related to OU & the fact that they did a nice job defending.- Anyone else notice that very little good happened on offense when Linhart wasn't in the game? More on NL below.- You can't convince me that letting Joyce go 1 on 3 and throw up an off-balanced runner was our best offensive option, against zone or man, late in the game. That's pretty much what they did the last 2 minutes of the game. I don't know if it was because no one else was moving away from the ball, or it was the called play, but it was painful to watch.- This was a winnable game on the road. Would have been nice to get this one, but OU wanted it more, and defended to prove it. This was a game the Zips could have won with Defense and Discipline .. and near the end of the game I thought they had neither. These teams appear to be evenly matched. They have vastly different strengths, but as teams, they're pretty close .. final score would back that up.Thoughts on the Coverage:- I guess there's a reason that Bob Donewald isn't coaching in the MAC.- I hope our ONN crew of Phelps & Co. don't come off as bad as these OU guys. They probably do, but I hope not. After the first 15 minutes, my wife insisted we get French & Dunn on and use the DVR to sync them up with the video on ONN. The announcers added nothing of value for me watching the game. Someone in the OZone needs to slip the play by play guy a note that he doesn't need to yell into his mic all the time. The sound guys can help with that.- Video coverage was crappy too. At least 4 steals or baskets were missed because we were looking at the OZone (nice section by the way) or some cheerleader who shouldn't be baring the midriff and should probably not watch the replay of this game.- Generally, it was nice that it was on .. but some times the production work made me wish it wasn't on. Very hard to watch a close game with Larry, Daryll and Daryll screwing around with the Zoom and camera controls.General Team Related Notes:- King Zip said it well, as did KD: Losing Jimmy and JWood for the year set this team back a ton. A little more size in there last night and the Zips could have fouled out Leon, which would have impacted the outcome.- I think that Romeo could be a GREAT MAC player, but right now he's average at best. In some ways, he's taking a step backwords this season. Way too much time is spent telling the refs what calls they're missing. That time could be sent destroying oponents in the paint. I have another rant on how he can be MAC MVP .. maybe I'll post it later.- I like the season Futch is having. I think he's progressing and is having a solid year to followup last season.- Aside from last night, I think Cedric is most improved and the biggest impact carryover guy.- Linhart might be the best basketball player on the team. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to Nate for lack of confidence after the Denison game. We stuck around to see him and Rybak play extended minutes, and I'll admit that I wasn't optimistic about the frosh class after that game. Nate, you've proved me wrong ... way wrong. By the end of the year, this guy will be one of the keys to the success of this team.- Can't just keeps winning. They must be the best in the league to go and win in Dekalb and Miami. Zips aren't at this point .. we saw that last night. They're a good team that should put up a good fight for a bye. They won't win every game, but they should be in position to do so every night.- Last night's game was probably the toughest game situation of the season (even the rest of the way). I think going to Can't is a little better because of the proximity and having some Zips fans in the place. I have a gut feeling Oxford will be tough, but not like this. The issues will be different against MU. Athleticism probably won't be the biggest problem.- That's all for now .. back on the horse on Thursday to try and keep pace, since I give UB no shot at beating Can't.- Geeze .. just looked at how long this is. If you've read this far, you need a job or hobby. Thanks for reading about mine.

What Pouch said.The injury occured in the first half against OU at home last season. There was no cheap shot involved on the play .. in fact there wasn't even a foul. 2 guys going hard for a board & JW came down wrong.$*IT happens.

JP, you might be on to something, but we're talking about 2 different seasons. The team that knocked of Toledo (ranked 17th? at the time) was Ball's sophomore year (Bosley's first) I think. The quitters were 2 years later.

GraffZ06, a member over in the litterbox, did some digging and analyzing of current stats in the MAC. He describes a productivity index that takes into consideration all tracked statistics to judge a teams (and players) productivity on the court.I think this is a very interesting train of thought .. and I hope it's a telling statistic for tonight and the rest of the season.Clicky the Linky

The only real possiblility I can imagine is back during the year of the quitters. That season, they started the MAC season 8-1 and were running away with the league until they took a crap mentally and finished 3-7 in their last 10 games.Outside chance there was a vote there, but I'm guesing and talking out of my GoZips! Let's get another at the Convo. And get some help from Miami.