Quickzips

This is where I think having Nik back is going to pay off the biggest. With Nik back in the fold, plus Josh Egner seemingly ready to take on more minutes the pressure isn't nearly as great on Harney and Tree. We can give these guys some time to acclimate to the college game (and in this case to organized basketball period) without having to rush them into major minutes where they are being relied on to make significant contributions. Especially at the beginning of the season anything these guys can give us will be gravy. I would expect KD to treat them much the same way he handled Q this past year. Slow but steady minutes to start off the year with an increasing role as the season goes on if they prove they can handle it.

Michigan played quite a bit with 4 guards and 1 big..and, actually, 5 guards at times. I think this year might be a year where KD actually gives big minutes to 4 guys= Zeke, Nik, Abreu and Q. Foul trouble will definitely affect some of that, but I think these 4 will be on the floor a great deal this year. Heck in a lot of ways you just described the 2010-2011 Can't State team. For the most part they were Justin Greene and 4 SG/SF types.

Pretty much what I was getting at with the idea to play Tree some at C. Sorry if I didn't come across as clear as I could have. One thing is for sure, with all the talent we seem to have on the roster right now, KD is going to have some interesting decisions to make regarding playing time next year.

I've been under the impression that Harney would be more SF and Tree would be more PF. I don't expect to see either of them playing too much on the wings. If Tree is up to 6'8" and 240lb I actually wouldn't be surprised to see him play a little bit at C. We have such a wealth of depth at the PF position, and nobody to really back up Zeke at C. KD is going to have to get creative in order to get all of these guys (Nik, Egner, Tree, Harney) some playing time, and moving one or more of them to the backup C position would seem to be a good way to create playing time and give Zeke a few minutes of rest. Everything I hear about Diggs' commitment to improving this offseason sounds very positive. I think a lot of us forget that this kid was just a 19 year old true sophomore last year. I think sometimes people just assume that because he transfered in he must already be a few years removed from high school, but with everything that went down at New Orleans that isn't the case. If Q really does have the work ethic to achieve some of those goals the sky is the limit for this kid.

Two updates. The Zips have offered Walsh Jesuit SG Evan Moore. Michigan PG Chris Harrison-Docks has committed to the Butler Bulldogs.

I don't believe both transfers were on scholarship last year. If I am thinking correctly the scholarship situation looks like this (remember we can have 13 players on scholarship each year) Abreu Cvetinovic Diggs Egner Ibitayo Justice Gilliam Green Marshall McClanahan Walsh *Harney *Treadwell If Harney and Treadwell qualify and are given scholarships immediately we are full up. If one or both of them fails to qualify or isn't given a scholarship immediatly we could have an open scholarship or two. It all depends on Nick and Demetrius getting it done in the classroom and KD deciding whether or not those guys are deserving of a full ride or if they will need to pay their own way a year or two. If we do have a scholarship or two available I would like to see us try and find a JUCO C who can come in and spell Zeke and/or a JUCO PG who can serve as the backup to Abreu (I won't be completely sold on Walsh as our backup PG until I see it in person).

Best news we've had around here since the end of the season. I don't think there is anyone on zipsnation who really wanted to see Nik leave with one more year of eligibility left. With the Serb the Zips have to be the odds on favorite going in to next season. This will be his team next year from a leadership standpoint. Should be a fun season. Sucks that we won't get to see how Euton pans out, but I can't really blame him. There has to be a lot of disappointment with how his freshman year was handled. Now that you have Nik back his prospects for playing time looked bleak again next year. All indications at the end of the year were that Josh Egner was ahead of him on the depth chart anyways. Not to mention the expected additions of Treadwell and Harney. Probably best for both parties to move on. I think the bigger question now is whether or not Treadwell and Harney will both be put on scholarship. If either or both have to pay their own way for a year or so (ala Daryl Roberts) it could open up a late scholarship or two for the Zips this year.

Good news on Harney and Treadwell if it is true. I suspect we will start to know more in the next few weeks here as the semester winds down. Gotta get through finals alright before you can lock anything up. As for Euton, I don't know what to make on that. Certainly can't blame him for wanting out after the debacle that was his freshman season. At the same time I think he would have had some real value on this team in the coming years as KD will likely be looking for a new "stretch" big man.

I'll weigh in on Q here. Like others have already said, there is a lot of potential there, but he is still a ways away from a finished product. It's mostly on him to put it all together. A lot of the mistakes he made last year were simply mental. Playing a little out of control at times, or gambling a little too much. This is where I'd really like to see Nik back for another year, as I think Q could learn a lot from Nik in terms of playing on the edge, but still being under control. As far as the suggestion to move Nitro to the 6th man role and start Q, I couldn't disagree more. To me, you move Nitro to the starting SG spot and start Q at the SF spot. Nitro is our top returning 3 point shooter. The value of having a guy out there who can space the floor and knock down long jump shots is only going to be accentuated when you've got guys on the floor like Q and Abreu who look to attack the hoop and get to the basket. I personally think our best starting backcourt/wing combination will probably be Alex, Nitro and Q. I would hate to be a Zips opponent having to defend that. Alex and Q attacking the basket with a 39% 3 point shooter camped out behind the line waiting for kick-outs, plus Zeke and (fingers crossed) Nik. Good luck trying to defend that. Those are the guys I want out there to start the game. Now I don't know what to expect at this point from Walsh, Gilliam, Harney, Treadwell, Justice, Ibitayo, and to a certain extent Egner and Euton. Maybe one or more of those guys will show up and shake things up. But I know where we stand now, I want Alex, Q and Nitro on the floor together as much as possible.

At first I was pretty sure that the departure of Mr Pittis was just one more sign that the KD empire at Akron is crumbling, but it turns out that it's University policy that if we have someone on the basketball staff for three years and can't come up with a title for that person's position then they must leave. Best of luck to Cole. Make us proud. If we can survive the loss of guys like Shaka Smart, Jeff Boals and LaMont Paris, I think we'll be just fine without Cole Pittis.

If Nyles Evans decides to walk-on @ UA, do you think that would change our recruiting philosophy for next year? I doubt we would want to be relying too much on a walk-on with grade issues to shore up our PG position. In 2012 Abreu will be a junior, Brian Walsh (who is supposed to be seeing minutes at PG next year) will be a senior. Your only other two guards will be Justice and Ibitayo who all reports have being more SG. If you can get a top level PG to come in for 2012 you have to jump at that opportunity. I for one don't want to go through any more season of watching us try to convert SG's over to PG.

Updated to include Rozier who looks to be a very intriguing prospect. Already starting to see a trend with the offers for the 2012 class. Four of our eight known offers at this point are PG's (Harrison-Docks, Moore, Ridenour and Rozier).

I've said it before and I will say it again. I can handle losing teams. I'll go and watch a few games when the program is losing. What I absolutely can not handle are teams that aren't even competitive. I'm not going to spend my money to watch a team that is overmatched, un-inspired and un-competitive. Unfortunatly that is what we have regressed to ever since that one semi-respectable season in '05. There is no point in going to watch a team that doesn't have much of a shot to put points on the scoreboard, let alone win a game or two. Those of you who are still on the bandwagon for this team, enjoy it. I've been off it for a while. If that makes me a bad fan, so be it.

Stark County POY Nyles Evans is considering going the Prop-48 route at Akron. What is Prop 48? Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I think this is the route that Demetrius Treadwell and Nick Harney have going right now. Basically if you have academic issues qualifying you come in for a year and pay your own way while trying to get your grades up. You aren't allowed to practice with the team or anything like that, but if you make the grades after one year then you still have your normal five years to play four. On the plus side, Evans could be a very nice backup PG behind Abreu in a couple of years once he would be (hopefully) eligible.

In hindsight, McNees should have laid on the ground instead of putting a hand in the shooter's face. Just to eliminate the horrible, tragic "controversy." I love the Rasor blog, but sucking up to Ford and fabricating valor is pretty weak. I know he wants to be a sports writer one day...and you want to have Ford on your "Fave 5" in the unlikely event he's ever coaching at a major program (after the Bradley gig)...but come on.... Maybe it's just "Zips Fan's Guilt"... where a Zips fan is so used to losing these types of games they just don't know how to handle coming out on top? Could be a coping mechanism...I don't know... God Bless Steve "The Hacker" McNees Lost in a lot of the excitement following the championship game was the degree of difficulty on that block by McNees. Steve was at a bad angle and practically standing right on top of Rod Sherman when he released that ball. The block was absolutely clean. All ball. Go back and watch it on youtube, it really was a stellar play from Steve. As far as everything with Geno Ford, who the heck cares?

Danger when talking about big guys is always the same. There a 6'10" and above guys out there to be had. Too many of them can't play a lick of basketball, but will end up getting a scholarship to play the game somewhere simply because they are tall. This is especially true for overseas players where the game isn't necessarily as popular as it is here stateside and these kids aren't exposed to it at such a young age. Personally, if we have an extra scholarship to use up and the choice is between a 6'5" wing player from the states with long arms, a good jumper, ability to finish around the rim and all around athletic talent or a 6'11" center from Akmahdenijaniastonia who hasn't played much organized basketball and doesn't have a strong grasp of the fundamentals of the game, I'll take the 6'5" wing player every time.

Neither is exactly an easy task to put together. KD is the highest paid coach in the MAC right now as it is, and well he probably does deserve more in the larger picture of collegiate basketball, does the University have the $ to pony up if it comes down to that? Attendance is probably an even bigger hurdle. For all the theories that have been floated about quick fixes to get fans to the JAR, it really is a complex, uphill battle. You've got to fight a pretty fan un-friendly arena, a lack of quality OOC opponents willing to make the trip to said arena, a veritable whos who of terrible teams from inside the conference, a generally apathetic community, a lack of a solid tradition (at least in comparison to UD) of excellence.

Hardly looks like "targeting" to me. Personally, if you want to keep your thumb on the pulse on this one I suggest going over to the forum at udpride.com. That is the main hangout for Dayton fans. Hardly a mention on there of Dambrot. I doubt there is much interest either way.

I have a really difficult time seeing Dambrot leaving for someplace else. High-major teams are looking for young coaches with proven success in NCAA DI (think Shaka Smart). The Mid-majors that can outspend us are looking for young assistants from the big programs or young coaches from programs that are severely under-paying them (think Geno Ford). The key to all of it is youth. Unless you're a Coach K or Roy Williams or Jim Boehiem level coach you aren't going to see significantly bigger offers at the stage of your career Dambrot is at. Combine that with his connections to UA and I just don't see him going anywhere. I could be wrong, but I don't think I am.

Unfortunatley (or fortunately depending on how you choose to view it), guys like Caleb are the exception, not the rule. The vast majority of young coaches who achieve the kind of success that Caleb and now Shaka are having look at it as an opportunity to advance their career. Just how it is. Consider us very lucky to have a guy in Caleb who doesn't fit inside that mold.

If the tournament being in Cleveland is what is dragging the West teams down then quite frankly they all need to fire their entire coaching staffs and bring in some new blood. Come to think of it, most of them would be well advised to do so anyways. The demise of the West has a lot more to do with horrible coaching and subpar recruiting than anything else. Recruit some decent players and coach them up a little bit and you'll have more success come tournament time. Buffalo is just as far away from Cleveland as most of the West division schools, yet they've reached multiple championship games and usually have pretty good success at the Q. Winners win, losers make excuses.

Don't hold your breath. LeBron doesn't donate his own money to anything. He has enough pull with Nike to get them to pony the bill for some small charity events in Akron (bike-a-thon, etc.), but Nike isn't about to lay down enough money for naming rights to an arena in Akron. I've heard this pipe-dream that LeBron is going to come back and make the big donation to fund a new arena for his hometown team. It needs to end. The day that happens is the day in December when I jog naked through the center of campus with pigs flying out of my rear end.

Just look at WMU's Stainbrook. Euton can play D-I ball. He can transfer and still have three years to play. Stainbrook? Really? That is your example? A guy who doesn't have the physical endurance to stay on the floor, who Zeke pretty much abused in the semi-finals from a program that we have owned for the last half dozen years or so? Excuse me if I sound a bit elitist here, but this program can and should aspire to a lot more than Matt Stainbrook.

I think you pretty well answered your own question right there. If this goes down, I doubt it has anything to do with bad feelings towards our program or academics or anything like that. The majority of these situations come down to playing time.

That is what I'm trying to figure out. Apparently if we don't have two guys on our roster 6'10" or over there is no possible way for us to win in the MAC, let alone the NCAA tournament. Ohh wait....you mean 7 of the 16 remaining teams in the tournament do NOT have multiple guys 6'10" or over? Whats that? The number 1 seed in the tournament doesn't have one player on their roster listed at 6'10" or better? You can win in college basketball playing with guys who are 6'7", 6'8", 6'9" as your bigs. Some of you Cavs fans need to realize that this isn't the NBA where playing with a guy like J.J. Hickson as your starting Center is a recipe for disaster.