Quickzips

I like both Nik and Dakota. We need a TRUE big man to backup Zeke. Someone that is bigger than 6'8" to complete at a higher level. Hopefully we can get a JUCO that is 6'10" or 6'11" as a legit backup at center if either one of them leaves or transfers. Quite honestly I don't care one bit if we get another 6'11" or 7'0" kid to backup Zeke. Give me a guy who is 6'8" and can play any day over some 6'11" stiff who is just lost out there. The MAC has seen far too many 6'11" stiffs who have no business in D-I basketball but get scholarships just because they are 6'11". I personally look at this as a pretty strong indication that Nik will return next season. I think like others in the past, and certainly more to come in the future, Dakotah has seen the handwriting on the wall that playing time just isn't going to be easy to come by. If these rumors are true, I wish him the best of luck. But if Nik is coming back he will take a lot of minutes at the 4 and 5 spots. Josh Egner is coming along and can play both of those positions. Then you have Harney and Treadwell who have to be chomping at the bit to get out there. The sky is far from falling if Dakotah leaves. I would have loved to see what he could bring to the table, but I don't think we are in any better or any worse position without him.

I totally disagree with the entire thrust of this post. Everything about the CBI and the CIT is small time. It is a tournament funded almost entirely by the individual schools that "participate." There is no media coverage for these "tournaments", they don't have any history behind them. Heck, 99% of college basketball fans probably can't even tell you the format of these "events" or how the "champion" is determined without having to go look it up. If anyone on here can name last years "champion" for these events off the top of their head I would be floored. If you want to question people's fanhood for not showing up to these games that is your decision. Personally, I can't fault anyone for not wanting to attend these games. Just because all of us aren't season ticket holders who attend every home game and travel to roadies whenever we can doesn't mean we aren't fans. Many of us simply don't have the money to do that. I know for myself and many others, we would rather save our money, not attend these joke "tournaments" and put that cash into going to another game or two next season.

Buffalo squeaks by Western Michigan 49-48 to advance to the quarter finals. Of note, the attendance at WMU was 1235. Hmmmmm, they love big time basketball in Kalamazoo. Less of a reflection on the Kalamazoo fans, more a reflection on exactly how much of a joke these CBI and CIT tournaments really are.

Couple of things played into the poor attendance this year. For one thing, the MAC had probably its worst season ever as a conference. By every statistical measure we were a very bad conference this year. You can throw a fancy wig and a cocktail dress and some lipstick onto a pig, but it is still a pig. Second, the MAC did a horrible job of promoting this event. Three years ago when Akron and Can't faced off in the finals the game was pretty heavily promoted despite the fact that we didn't know the matchup until late Friday evening. This year, there was very little fanfare heading into Saturday night. Finally, you can't underestimate the impact of the NCAA's being in Cleveland this year. Particularly with everyone pretty much knowing that the team from down south was going to be playing up here this weekend. To the casual basketball fan in Cleveland, in any other year, they may come out to the MAC tournament because it is the only tournament basketball in a convenient location. But chances are that same casual basketball fan is also a Columbus State homer, and once he knew "his team" was coming to Cleveland only a week later, well he would rather save his money. Sad, but that's how things are in this ridiculous state.

I have to admit, Deji intrigues me more so than pretty much any other prospect we have coming in. His physical tools and his skill set are something we simply haven't seen at Akron in quite a while. Not only that, but the scouting reports on him say he excels on the defensive end of the floor. We all know KD loves guys who give it their all on the defensive end. This kid could be in line for some early minutes.

Confusing. Maybe more so than any other year I've experienced of Zips hoops this year has been a really head scratcher. Brett McKnight's suspension kind of hung over the team through the OOC schedule. Then he came back and helped us to a big win over a good Can't team to open the MAC schedule followed by a lack-luster run through the first part of the East schedule. Then there was the couple of weeks wherein most of Zipsnation was ready to take a long walk down the Y-bridge (NIU, EMU). Then we seemed to right the ship and everyone was back on the wagon. Then came the blowout against OU and the disappointing loss to Can't. I know I wasn't the only one around here who had no idea what to expect from this group come tournament time. I for one figured there was a fair chance that we wouldn't even make it to Cleveland this year. I'm not ashamed to admit, this was the first year I did not buy my tickets to Cleveland in advance. I just didn't know what to expect from this team, and couldn't justify blowing money on games that I wasn't sure we would be in. Then we put together that magical run last week and now we are all feeling pretty good about the program again. It's been a wild ride, but at the end of the day I am proud to be a Zips fan and looking forward to next season.

Dakotah Euton: 6'8" Josh Egner: 6'7" (seems bigger than that) Nick Harney: 6'7" Demetrius Treadwell: 6'7" If Nick leaves those are the guys who will be fighting for his minutes. I think we will be alright in terms of size in the frontcourt, and the fact that we will be getting bigger in the backcourt and on the wing will help as well.

Some obvious points to consider about the new players for next season: * Walsh (Xavier) and Gilliam (Maryland Eastern Shore) already have college experience and have been out of HS for multiple years. * Harney and Treadwell will have had a full season off after HS graduation to physically develop and to develop their games. * Justice and Ibitayo will be fresh out of HS. So I think it's fair to assume that: * The two players with previous college experience are most likely to be the most immediate contributors, similar to what Q contributed to this season's team. * The two players who will already have a full year of schooling at UA and who most observers credit with having superior athletic skills are less likely to be considered for redshirts and potentially able to have impact with the team. * The two players who will be fresh out of HS are likely to be the least developed and most likely to be considered for redshirts. What will actually happen is dependent on many variables beyond the above. It is going to be interesting to see what happens with the rotation next year. You know Zeke, Quincy, Alex, Nitro and Nik (if he returns) will see significant minutes. You have to expect that the two transfers will also get their fair share of run. That puts you at 6 or 7 guys already "set" into your rotation. If you base things off of an 8-9 man rotation, which is what KD has traditionally gone with, that leaves 2 or 3 spots left. KD has sounded very high on Josh Egner lately, and I have to expect you will see him get more minutes. Particularly when you look at the fact that we have to replace McKnight, Bardo and possibly Nik. Now you are down to only one or two spots left in your rotation and you've got Ibitayo, Justice, Harney?, Treadwell?, Green and Euton to fill those spots. I can make a compelling argument for any one of those guys getting time. Ibitayo sounds like he can be that longer, more athletic 2 guard who can defend similar types of players that we have been looking for over the last few seasons, but will there be enough playing time on the wings for him with Q, Walsh, Diggs and Gilliam? Justice is, by all accounts, a knock down shooter who can really score the basketball. With the loss of McNees and Roberts, our backcourt may need a boost in terms of outside scoring punch. Do Walsh and Gilliam fill that need sufficiently, or could we see Blake play as a true freshman (I could see either or both of these guys redshirting btw). Harney and Treadwell in my mind are basically the same player right now. Allegedly immensly skilled offensive players who are huge question marks due to their lack of time in organized ball and their academic situations. If one or both of them make it in here and just light it up in practice KD may have to completely reconsider his rotations at the 3 and 4 spots. Green is the guy who I can least see in the rotation. He's primarily a 3 man from what I've been able to see in warmups and whatnot, and you already have McClanahan, Diggs and Gilliam who can and will see time at that position. Euton could be a bit of a wildcard. KD traditionally seems to like his pick and pop, outside shooting big guys, and Dakotah really fits that bill. I just don't know if there is enough talent there to stand out given all the other frontcourt options we should have. I don't know about you guys, but I am already pumped for October.

I honestly can't see Egner tranferring. KD has spoken very highly of him, lately. Every indication is he will be in line for significant minutes next year. Especially with McKnight, Bardo and possibly Nik out of the picture. I'm sure both guys are frustrated with the situation this year, but I think if you are Josh Egner you can see a light at the end of the tunnel. I would be very concerned about Dakotah Euton though. Hardly a peep was said about him down the stretch last year, and I don't think anyone really knows where he stands in the program right now.

I would also be a little concerned about Dakotah Euton. There is going to be a log-jam at his position if Nik stays and Harney and Treadwell both get eligible. Conceivably he could be burried pretty far down the depth chart.

If Nik is for sure gone all that means is both of the non-qualifiers will get scholarships if they qualify. You get 13 scholarships each season. Next year without Nik: Abreu McClanahan Walsh Ibitayo Justice Diggs Gilliam Green Egner Euton Harney Treadwell Marshall Next year with Nik: Abreu McClanahan Walsh Ibitayo Justice Diggs Gilliam Green Cvetinovic Egner Euton Harney/Treadwell Marshall The real question becomes IF Nik stays, as Rasor's blog seems to hint he might, what becomes of the two non-qualifiers? You can certainly have one (or both) of them as non-scholarship players if you would like. Roberts didn't get a scholarship until last year. But if you are going to give a scholly to one, which one do you go with? Or do you leave both of them off scholarship and try to add a third recruit to the class or bank the scholarship until next year? It is an interesting conundrum, although one I am sure KD wouldn't mind having to face so long as it means Nik returns for his senior year.

Game was there for the taking. That is for sure. Simply can not miss that many big shots when a 2 seed is pretty much handing you an opportunity to pull off the upset. A lot to be excited about from this one though. Despite the fact that we are losing a lot of experience I think we have a TON of talent coming back. Zeke is right on the brink of taking that next big leap, Diggs has stepped up his game big time down the stretch, Abreu has shown a lot of talent for a true freshman. You still have a lot of young talent and some quality transfers on the bench that we haven't been able to hear from much all season. Like others have said, I think if Nik can somehow be swayed to stick around for his senior year, we should be able to do some serious damage next year. If not, we are still going to be a darn good team. The Zips are going to have a completely different look next year, and I for one am looking forward to it.

The NBA will be there for Zeke one day, but unless he goes off for a series of 25 point, 12 rebound, 8 block games in leading us to the Elite 8 it won't be this year. NBA teams are going to look at him and see a kid with a lot of physical tools that they like that still needs to become a more well rounded basketball player.

Hillarious! They may beat us sometimes on the field/court....but they can't ever....EVER beat Zippy. Had some beers with Can't fans at Hairy Buffalo on Friday. Not a bad group of kids. You can bet I was roo- ting for them vs. BSU for THE BEST CASE SCENARIO WHICH CAME TRUE. p.s. When the 10 hot girls from Can't State wear shirts saying "Screw the Roo" I find that flattering. I have a vivid imagination I suppose. There are 10 hot girls on Can't States campus?

Wouldn't be too bad until you consider exactly how close Notre Dame is. As close to a home game for them as they can get. It would certainly be a HUGE upset if we could get it done.

Lunardi currently has us as a 16 seed, but personally I think we could go as high as a 13 or 14. Current 13 seeds according to Lunardi: Princeton, Bucknell, Belmont, Oakland Current 14 seeds according to Lunardi: Long Island, Morehead State, Indiana State, Wofford Current 15 seeds according to Lunardi: St. Peters, UCSB, Northern Colorado, UNC Asheville Current 16 seeds (not play-in games): Boston U, Akron Current Play-in games: Alabama State/Hampton, UALR/Texas San Antonio For comparison sake here are the realtime RPI numbers for all of the above teams (Akron is right now at 117 and trending upwards): Princeton-47 Belmont-52 Oakland-53 Long Island-76 Morehead State-79 Bucknell-80 Indiana State-85 St. Peters-93 Northern Colorado-99 Wofford-109 Boston U-132 UNC Asheville-148 Hampton-163 UCSB-171 UALR-189 San Antonio-202 Alabama State-269 Just going off of these numbers we should be a fifteen seed at least.

Lunardi currently has us as a 16 seed, but personally I think we could go as high as a 13 or 14. Current 13 seeds according to Lunardi: Princeton, Bucknell, Belmont, Oakland Current 14 seeds according to Lunardi: Long Island, Morehead State, Indiana State, Wofford Current 15 seeds according to Lunardi: St. Peters, UCSB, Northern Colorado, UNC Asheville Current 16 seeds (not play-in games): Boston U, Akron Current Play-in games: Alabama State/Hampton, UALR/Texas San Antonio

Tell me why Can't has more talent than Akron. I think we have some very talented players. My frustration with KD has been more about him not winning big games with what I consider having as much talent as the next guy in the MAC. Yesterday was one day and a great day. We need to strive to be this good all the time and string 2-3 years of MAC Championships together. This can be a great MAC program, but one day doesn't make it great. I wouldn't call it more talent, but a different kind of talent. Can't's talent lies in a variety of athletic guards and wing players who can handle the ball and break you down off the dribble combined with one very good post player, but they don't have a lot of guys who can shoot from long range and outside of Greene they have nobody who is a threat in a post up situation. Akron's talent lies in a variety of guys who can light it up from long range on any given night combined with a couple of pretty good post up players, and emerging seven foot shot blocker and now a couple of guys off the bench who have that ability to break you down off the dribble. Personally I think Akron is now the more balanced team as we can beat you in a variety of ways. You want to take the 3 ball away from us? We'll toss it down to Nik and Brett and Zeke. You want to swarm the post and take us out of the inside game? We'll light you up from distance? Add in the change of pace from Alex and Quincy coming off the bench and attacking the basket for good measure and we are a very difficult team to match up with when we get things clicking.

If we can get that kind of contribution from Zeke next year night in and night out all season long I think we are going to be in pretty good shape. You can't under-state the impact that losing five guys from your rotation will have, but you also can't put a price tag on the value of having a legitimate, game changing big guy. I hope to god that this doesn't end up like all the other times we've felt Zeke had his breakout game only to watch him struggle for the next three weeks. I hope this was really a corner-turning performance for the big fella.

So he was our Greg Jennings tonight? And something I don't think has been mentioned yet......how the heck did we survive shooting 47 percent from the free throw line? We survived because Can't only shot 52% from the line and we had the difference maker wearing #44 in blue. Something else to chew over, with the exception of one team, this entire tournament went chalk. The team that spoiled the fun? Our very own Akron Zips who took down the #3, #2 and #1 seeds in consecutive nights.

Amazing what happens when the refs realize they aren't the focal point of the entire game. A great, close, hotly contested, exciting basketball game breaks out. Who would have thunk it.

Courtesy the Plain Dealer

Great showcase game for Akron, for the MAC, and yes even for Can't State. Shows that even though the MAC has been down recently, there is still some good basketball to be played in this conference. If you are the MAC office you couldn't ask for much more out of a primetime game on national TV with a trip to the big dance on the line. For all the grief Zeke has gotten this year, it has to be a nice bit of redemption to be named tournament MVP after coming up one point and one block shy of a triple double. Think about that for a second. Nine blocks tonight. NINE. Without the big fella changing shot after shot after shot inside this game is a Can't blowout. Justin Greene is going to be seeing Zeke Marshall in his nightmares tonight. Sure he got 13 points tonight, but he had to take 16 shots to do it. If that is the Zeke we have to look forward to for the next two years it is going to be a heck of a ride. Major props also go out to Steve McNees, Brett McKnight, Daryl Roberts and Alex Abreu who all played a huge role in this one tonight. Steve absolutely put the team on his back in the first half when it was starting to look like Can't might give us a repeat of '08. He had a much more pedestrian second half, but that first half shooting performance really was something to watch. Brett McKnight redeemed himself quite well from airballing that free throw to hitting what will easily go down as the two biggest free throws of his Zips career to give the Zips the win. Roberts was huge down the stretch, his off balance floater in the lane with under a minute to go in OT was a thing of beauty. Abreu also came up with some big moments throughout the course of the game and gave the Zips a nice spark off the bench. Finally, want to say a big congrats to all of our seniors (and apparently Nik as well) who have played in their final MAC game. What a way to end it. Congrats Steve, Daryl, Brett, Mike and Nik.

Beating Can't was great. Doing it on national TV, in a closely contested game, even better. I want more. I want winS in the big dance. We've won the conference title before, time to take the next step. No better time than now. Lets go Zips. Make us proud on the big stage.

Quite frankly lost a good bit of respect for the Broncos program last night. To have Douglas go nuts like that was one thing, then to have Stainbrook intentionally lay out Roberts was another thing, but now to go to ncaabbs and the Broncos board and read them whinning about how the MAC has a great conspiracy to get Akron and Can't to the finals and how the refs were so biased and unfair against the Broncos, it is just embarrasing. To be quite honest, WMU should be thanking the refs for keeping the Broncos in the game. The foul issues down the stretch allowed Western to close in from the line, particularly after the under 4:00 timeout. And Broncos fans, please give up the "Bo Borowski hates Western" brigade. I can search every MAC fan site on the net and find a similar thread about Borowski. There isn't a fanbase in the conference that enjoys watching him call a game.