Quickzips

"Dambrot said he's got a good idea of the starting lineup. Cvetinovic and McClanahan will line up with junior 7-footer Zeke Marshall, sophomore point guard Alex Abreu and junior forward Quincy Diggs." Article also says that Kyle Peterson is going to get significant playing time. No offense to Kyle, but I very much doubt he see's anything more than mop up time. Of course, with as good as we are supposed to be this year that could mean him getting 10+ minutes a game (just stirring the pot here).

If we are going to be speculating about rotations here is what it looks like to me so far. Starters: PG - Alex Abreu: If you would have asked me a few months ago I would have said there was a much better chance of seeing Brian Walsh here, but all reports are that Abreu has re-committed to his physical endurance and his picked it up a notch on the court. If he can provide the kind of stability that he seemed to in the Carleton game he is our starting PG, end of discussion. SG - Chauncey Gilliam: Another spot that if you had asked me a month or two ago I would have had a different answer (Brett McClanahan). Chauncey looks to have a diverse skill set and seems to already have the defensive skills that you know KD loves. At 6'5" 235 with the ability to slash to the basket or knock down shots from outside he provides a matchup nightmare for most teams. SF - Quincy Diggs: Sorry GoZips, I am not buying the 6th man role for Q. I can see him rotating between 2 or 3 positions, but I don't see him coming off of the bench. He's clearly earned a considerable amount of trust from KD in a very short period of time and coach isn't going to keep a guy like that on the bench to start a game. Only thing I could see changing this is if the wrist injury lingers for a very long time. PF - Nik Cvetinovic: Senior, multi-year starter, emotional leader. While I like Egner and am intrigued by Tree, I don't see anyone else who provides nearly as much to this team as Nik does. You don't convince a guy to give up a potential pro contract in his home country to come back for his senior year only to move him to a bench role. C - Zeke Marshall: I don't think anyone can really argue this one so I won't even bother explaining it. Backups: PG/SG - Brian Walsh: Like I said above, I could have seen him starting if you had asked me a month or so ago. SG/SF - Brett McClanahan: I would expect to see him as the 6th man getting significant minutes. Arguably the best 3 point marksman on the team, his skill set will come in handy with all the slashers we have on this years team. SF/PF - Nick Harney: Of the true freshmen he seems to be the furthest along in his development and the most ready to contribute right now. I don't know if he will get a ton of minutes, but I think you will see him on the floor enough for him to make an impact. PF/C - Josh Egner: Apparently the staff sees him being able to play the backup C minutes and with his ability to play at the 4 as well you have to expect him to get minutes. Should provide some shot blocking and rebounding off the bench and the video from Canada shows a much smoother offensive player than I saw in limited action last year. Other: Deji Ibitayo - I honestly see him redshirting this year. There is quite a bit of depth at the wing positions, and I didn't really hear a lot out of him from Canada that gives me the "you have to play him now" impression. Blake Justice - See Deji Ibitayo. Michael Green - Nothing I have seen or heard on him gives me the impression he will be in the rotation this year. I hate to say it because he seems like a good kid, but he could probably stand to transfer down a division. Demetrius Treadwell - Tree is the wild card in my book. There is talent there, but there also seems to be a lot of holes in his game. I really don't know where to put him right now.

Wow, color me embarassed on the Ennis/Rico timeline. Ohh well, you win some you lose some. In regards to McAdams, he looks like a relatively solid commit, but I have to admit, I am getting puzzled by the recent rash of SG/SF types committing to the Zips. To me right now SG and SF are the two deepest and most talented positions on the team both for the short and long term. You have Walsh, Gilliam, Deji, Justice, Harney, Green and Diggs who can all play at least one of the two positions. Now we are going to add Kretzer and McAdams to the mix. Makes you wonder where all the playing time is going to come from.

I recall there being a relatively significant gap between Ennis reneging and Rico committing. IIRC Ennis committed very early and then backed out of his committment before the 09-10 season. At the end of the 09-10 season when the Zips had some players leave the program (most notably Humpty Hitchens) Rico and Q were brought into the fold. I could be wrong on this as well, but that is how I remember it going down.

Looking over the box score a couple of things stand out: As pointed out earlier, Tree REALLY has to work on his FT shooting. There is no way you can leave a guy on the floor at the end of a reasonably close game who shoots that poorly from the line. Good thing we aren't exactly hurting for depth at the forward positions. For that matter the entire team needs to work on FT shooting. 12-25 as a team, YUK! Not only did Gilliam lead us in scoring, he did it with a very efficient 7-10 from the field, 1-1 from 3 and 2-2 from the line. I was concerned that maybe he would be a volume scorer who can get a lot of points, but needs a lot of shots to get there and isn't terribly efficient. From this small sample size that doesn't seem to be the case. I'm liking what I'm seeing in the videos and in this box score from Egner. I had my concerns that maybe he was just going to be a high energy guy that wasn't particularly skilled. I've seen some nice basketball moves from him in the videos, and this box score looks pretty good for him. 21 minutes, 14 points, 6 rebounds, 6-8 shooting, 2-2 from the line. Need to cut back on those 3 TO's though. I was starting to get a little worried about the lack of news about Brian Walsh, but he's starting to show up more in the highlight reels and his box score looks pretty good for only getting 12 minutes. Zeke with only one rebound in 20 minutes concerns me a bit. I suppose you don't get as many rebounding opportunities when your guys shoot 56% for the game, but the opponent only shot 33%. I know Zeke is more shot blocker than rebounder, but I want to see more of an effort from him on the glass. I am not as concerned about the lack of assists. I've read on a number of occassions that international scoring is MUCH more difficult to register an assist than it is stateside. I wouldn't put too much stock into the assist numbers. It is pretty clear that KD is sticking to his guns on wanting to mix and match guys on this trip without a set rotation. All 14 guys registered minutes and 11 of them got to double digits with nobody registering more than Justice's 22. That said, it is difficult to draw a whole lot more out of the box score when you have such a limited sample size from each guy.

Few things you notice real quick from that video: Zips have a lot of guys who can get off their feet. I counted at least 4 or 5 guys who dunked the ball from basically a standstill. Haven't seen that kind of ability from the Zips in a long time. Blake Justice has a very good looking shot. Very smooth, good release, good follow through. If the team needs another 3 point gunner this season I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him get minutes. I already knew this from last year, but I am really going to enjoy the next three years watching Alex Abreu. He may be little, and he may get himself into trouble from time to time out there, but he has an electric sense about him with the ball in his hands that is just a joy to watch. That behind the back spin move in the early portions of the video was just beautiful. Sheridan was entirely overmatched. Nowhere was that more evident than when one of their forwards grabbed a rebound only to have Egner easily rip the ball from his hands and finish an easy layup.

Sure looks like KD is more interested in the new guys, at least he was today. Gilliam, Harney, Egner, McClanahan, Justice and Ibitayo all in double digits scoring.

Just FYI, the tallest player on Sheridan's squad is 6'5 and they do not offer athletic scholarships in the CIS. I wouldn't take too much from the score, the Zips should roll in all of these games. Carleton is one of the premier Canadian programs however and should put up a good fight. They are about D2 level in talent as they get a number of D1 transfers who don't pan out in the States. Not a bad test at all, but a lot of these programs are scrubs compared to Division 1 players. Sheridan has forwards in the 6'2-6'4 range which is more along the lines of bad high schools in the states, but is quite the norm north of the border. I'd like to hear more about how the players picked up the coaches schemes, team chemistry, and fluidity on the court. Things like how the bench played, which groups of players played well together, and who started are good things to take from these games. As any D1 coach will tell you, these trips are much more about the practices than the games, which have little benefit in and of themselves. The final score of the games may not mean a whole lot on this trip, but I guarantee you that if this had been a 55-54 nailbiter it would be all out panic mode here at the ZNO. Glad to hear that Zeke had a good game, although it is hard to imagine a bad game for him going up against a bunch of 6'5" and under guys. Interesting starting lineup. I presume Harney started at the PF spot. I really doubt it was Nitro or Q. Not sure what this says about Egner and Tree, but I had always been under the impression that Harney was more of a SF.

Somebody REALLY needs a sedative. If you are getting this worked up about practices I have no idea how you are going to make it through the season without a massive coronary.

From what it sounds like, the goal of this summer is to speed up the learning curve. I've never been one to believe turnover in college athletics results in worse performance. If properly executed, turnover can be the best thing to ever happen to a good program. I believe the groundwork is being laid this summer and will result in turnover being great for the program. I don't believe the "goal" for Nov and Dec next year should be to have a solid RPI ranking, I believe the "expectation" should be to have a highly ranked team. The talent is there and the coaching is there. As fans, we need to raise our expectations of this program. We are not the little engine who could anymore. Next season could be better in many ways and I expect it to be. Let it be known, the Great GP1 is advocating for more Zips turnovers. If this becomes a problem in December or January I will be holding GP1 personally responsible. On a more serious note, I think that often times in life things are neither as good nor as bad as they may seem. This may well be one of those scenarios. I am cautiously optimistic that this team can achieve great things this year, but we are only about a week into summer practices. Let's not start crowning anyone just yet.

Zeke's post game has been erratic at best over the last two years. He rushes shots far too often and is far to quick to go to finess hook shots. He's looked tenative and shaky on the block for most of his two years here and has never shown the ability to consistently finish a layup around the rim. Those issues need to be resolved first. Having a C who can shoot the 3 ball is a luxury, not a necessity.

News flash: Zeke Marshall needs to worry about being able to consistently finish at the rim before we start trying to make him into a 3 point shooter. We are going to have plenty of guys who can take long jump shots.

You clearly don't watch many cable TV news programs.

So it wouldn't surprise you for the zips to be rated worse than BSU & Miami? Not based on what I've seen in the past out of some of these "rankings".

Not that I think it is a reflection of the type of team we have, but knowing the way the writers of these lists tend to work, it wouldn't entirely surprise me if we don't even make the top 144. These types of lists tend to take into account two main things, how you did the previous season, and how much you lost. While the Zips had another 20 win season and an NCAA birth, they were a 15 seed in the big dance and didn't even have a first round bye in the conference tournament. Plus we have a lot of roster turnover including losing our entire starting backcourt. I don't expect it, and I don't think it would be a reflection of how good this team is going to be, but it wouldn't completely shock me if we don't make the list.

He played for a tiny high school that didn't draw a lot of attention. I haven't seen any of the practices thus far, but I am a little skeptical on Justice. It is a big leap from high school to D-I college in the first place, to come from a really small high school division to D-I makes the leap all that much bigger. The D-I landscape is riddled with kids who could fill up the nets in high school, but never make it at this level. I want to see what this kid can actually do before I start calling him a key cog on a team with aspirations of making a deep NCAA run.

Best news I've heard in a while. If/when Zeke develops the strength to not get pushed around by the wide body types the sky is the limit.

Kretzer does play for one of the best AAU teams in Ohio, All-Ohio Red. Some of his teammates include:Shaker Heights Three Star PG Terry Rozier (Zips offer)St. Edwards SG Myles Hamilton (Reports had KD watching him last summer)Medina Four Star PF Kenny Kaminski (headed to Michigan State)Columbus Northland Three Star PF Jalen Robinson (headed to Dayton)Columbus Northland PF Devon Scott (headed to Cincinnati)Columbus Marion Franklin Four Star PF Elijah Macon (originally committed to WVU, but backed out)

Not a bad get if this one holds up (as opposed to Akbar), but I still want to see us get some size in here, and this isn't a guy who fits that. However if there is one thing I am concerned about for this team long term other than size in the frontcourt it is having some knock down perimeter shooters who can space the floor well with all the athletes we have been bringing in of late. Kretzer seems to fit that bill pretty well.

I personally don't care one bit who we play in Canada. The big boost is the extra time together with the team. That alone is going to pay off for us as the season progresses. The fact that we are playing someone else and not just having to beat up on ourselves is just gravy.If that is the case about Akbar then good ridance. We don't need kids in this program who look at us like some JUCO stopover on their way to a big 6 powerhouse. Sorry to hear about Josh's concussion, hopefully it is nothing to serious and he can get some good work in in Canada with the guys. I think we are going to need some contributions from him this year. Hopefully it is nothing that lingers.Dying to see what the OOC schedule ends up looking like. Though I fully expect this team to bring another Conference Tournament trophy back down I-77 in March, I do hope that the OOC schedule is tough enough to give us a reasonable shot at an at-large, just in case.

Let me clarify a little bit more, as I posted above, the biggest guy (not including Zeke and Nik) currently on our roster and/or in our known verbals is 6'7" (Egner, Treadwell and Harney are all listed there). Nik graduates this year, Zeke the year after. I understand that 7'0"+ true C's aren't exactly a dime a dozen, and have no expectations that we will be able to land someone the caliber of a Zeke whenever we so please. I would be perfectly fine with a 6'9" or 6'10" power forward who can nominally play the "Center" position at this level. I don't see that guy on our roster, right now for when Zeke leaves. That is why I am ok with Akbar de-verballing. If it opens things up to find that kind of player then I am perfectly fine with it.

We still need a center..not another undersized PF.I am not disappointed in this at all. I hope KD will go out there and find a true big now.I forget...how tall were Butler and VCU's centers? Butler had a 6' 11" kid that played about 20mpg, and Matt Howard was 6' 8".VCU didn't have any 7-footers.KD needs to find another rebounding machine. Then we're set.Butler's center is 6'11"" with a 6'9" backup.VCU has a 7'0" center and lists three 6'9" forwards.The point I would like to make is that after the 2012-13 season we have nobody on our roster or in our signed or verballed commits who is over 6'7" and I am not sure that we have anyone who is really a "rebounding machine" either. The Zips are going to HAVE to address this sooner rather than later. I would much rather have a guy in here during that 2012-13 season who is 6'9", 6'10" plus who can learn a little bit behind Zeke than try and find that guy after Zeke is already gone. Heck even if we have to redshirt a kid I would be alright with that. I guess I've gotten a little spoiled, but I don't like the idea of the biggest guy on our team being 6'7".

Not to take anything away from Akbar, but with the depth and youth we have the next couple years at the SF and PF positions I'm not entirely disappointed by this. The Zips are going to be in need of a C to start grooming behind Zeke and using that last scholarship on a big man makes a lot more sense to me. Of course you have to find a guy who actually has some skill, but that is another conversation entirely. Good luck to Mr. Akbar, wherever he may land.

8K-10K is probably a bit optimistic IMO. CSU and Akron (sadly) just don't draw that well individually to begin with. CSU only drew a little over 12K to the Q this past season to play Ohio State, and we all know how much Clevelanders will fall all over themselves for anything Scarlet and Grey (granted they do so in football a lot more than hoops, but the point remains). A lot of it will depend on the circumstances. If that game is one of the first few of the season you will probably see 5-6K. If the game is later in the OOC season and both teams have had strong showings out of the gate you could push 8K. If both teams stumble out of the gate you may only see 3-4K. Even those numbers may be optimistic. These two teams only drew 2,716 to the JAR this past season.

Really should be closer to 7:Jarekious Bradley - Aggravated Burglary (July 13, 2011)Eric Gaines - Disorderly conduct (September 26, 2011)Carlton Guyton - Unauthorized use of motor vehicle (December 15, 2010)Randal Holt - Drug Possession (June 20, 2011)Robert Johnson - Disorderly conduct (September 26, 2011)Justin Manns - Disorderly conduct (May 8, 2011) and violation of restrictions (March 18, 2011)Michael Porrini - Driving under suspension (September 7, 2010)Some program they are running over there.