Quickzips

Just going to comment on a few things that have been brought up here. I think Zeke's struggles offensively last night had a lot to do with a more concerted effort on the part of our guards to push the tempo off misses and take the ball to the basket in the half court set. It didn't seem like we played nearly as much of that slow-down, half-court, dump it down in the post game as we have for most of the year. Personally, I'm just fine with that. I've said it a couple of times already this season, this team is not good enough in a half-court situation to win a lot of games. If we want to win we need to push the tempo and look to break guys down off the dribble. Zeke is just going to have to learn to adjust to that. KD is probably right that Diggs has NBA potential, and he had a great game last night, but he still has a LONG way to go. The big thing for him is going to be playing on the road. It seems like when we are at home he has pretty good games, when we go on the road he is invisible or worse. I like the attitude he brings towards rebounding, his ability to start (and finish) on the break and his hustle on the defensive end. He needs to work on his decision making in the half court and his jump-shot. I heard the comment from Mix about Brett McKnight tonight as well. If my wife wasn't asleep I would have been screaming at the TV. Dude is a lot of things on the basketball court. Unselfish isn't one of them. I was actually pretty impressed with McNees' game last night. You could have knocked me over with a feather when he finished at the rim on that fastbreak pass from Diggs. That is a shot I've seen him miss over and over and over in his career here. It has taken until midway through his senior season, but it looks like Steve might actually be starting to figure out that there is more to the game of basketball than 3 point shooting. To Zach's comment, I actually do think the Zips played a pretty good game last night. On defense you had to know that Whitfield and Ward were probably going to get theirs, but they didn't allow anyone else for Western to get going. You can't shut down everyone, but if you can avoid letting the no-name role-players beat you you usually stand a good shot at winning. The Zips haven't done that at all this year, but they did it last night. On offense there was a lot more movement and a lot less hoisting up bad shots. We still took more 3's than I'd like to see us take, but they were usually timely and usually taken by an open man. When the 3's weren't going in early in the game we adjusted and made the effort to take the ball to the hoop. It got Nik going and everyone else fell into place. For most of the year when the 3's aren't going early we have tended to jack up more 3's to try and shoot our way out of it only to dig ourselves into a big hole that we have to shoot more contested 3's to try and dig our way out of. Were there things we could have done better? Of course, but for the way this team has played this season I'll enjoy last nights performance and hope that it is a sign of things to come and not just an outlier in an otherwise crummy season.

Pretty solid game for the Zips tonight. Started a little slow, but didn't let that linger. They had a bit of trouble late when the Broncos started pressuring, but they figured it out relatively quickly. To be honest I wasn't sure that the Zips had an 80+ point game in them. Very nice night for Nikola, Diggs, McKnight and Abreu. Probably the best job of defending the 3 point line that I've seen from the Zips in 3 years. If that team shows up night in and night out we can dig our way back into the MAC race. Unfortunatly if we know one thing about this Zips squad its that inconsistency is the name of the game.

Can we play Toledo a couple more times just to build up some confidence? Not the greatest game in the world by the Zips, but certainly nice to see this group jump out to an early lead on a clearly inferior opponent and never let them in the game for once. Hopefully this can get a little momentum going for us, but the way this season has gone so far, I'm not holding my breath.

NOT a free video. Have to sign up and pay a minimum of $5.95 to access the game.

I was honestly a little surprised that wasn't called a flagrant. There wasn't much motion for the ball on it, it was just a blatant shot to the back. Not sure why you do that to a guy like Bardo who is pretty much known as the worst offensive player in the conference.

ZEKE ZEKE ZEKE Go with your strengths. He is almost impossible to stop if you get him the ball down low. ZEKE ZEKE ZEKE I thought tonight was an almost ideal night for Zeke for where he is right now. They established him as an offensive threat early and went back to him at key moments throughout the game. He isn't a guy you can force feed the ball every trip down the floor right now. Defenses get wise to that and start throwing 2 and 3 defenders at him from all angles as soon as he gets the entry pass, often resulting in a turnover. He'll get to the point where you can do that with him, but for now, I like using him the way we did tonight.

More of the 1-3-1 zone please. More of Diggs taking on the defensive assignment on our opponents best perimeter player please. More pushing the tempo in transition please. More establishing Zeke early in the game and going to him throughout please. More good shooting nights like that from McNees please. More Roberts, McClanahan, Diggs and Abreu attacking the basket and not settling for so many long jumpers please. I know it wasn't against the greatest opponent, and it wasn't exactly a clinic that the Zips put on out there, but there were definitly some bright spots to build on out there.

Somebody tell me again about how Brett McKnight is "our best offensive player?"

I have no idea what we are trying to accomplish out there right now. We've got two plays to run on offense apparently right now. Iso for McKnight and everyone watch him take a wild, off-balanced layup attempt that misses badly or hoist up a 3 from wherever you are standing.

Memo to the Zips, Silas can and will shoot the ball from anywhere on the floor. Stepping out and guarding him would be advisable.

Do they have to show a replay of EVERY made NIU shot while the action is still going on?

Zeke needs to demand the ball and our guards need to get it to him in situations like Saturday night. He was getting great position in the post pretty much every trip down the floor and BG had nobody with the size and athleticism needed to guard him, but yet again we went with the pass around the perimeter for 25 seconds then jack up a long jump-shot or pass to a double-teamed Cvetinovic or McKnight and watch them slop up a layup attempt offense that helped lead to that 3 game skid. Luckily we realized the opportunity Zeke had JUST in time to be able to win the game.

Are we going to have too many players next year? If Nik stays with the program and the two non-qualifiers both are eligible we will have one too many players to give scholarships to (barring any unforeseen transfers).

**It becomes more and more evident with each ignorant rambling post, not only how little you understand about the game... but that you know even less about the individuals you so negatively obsess about. if you took even a portion of the time you waste on your pompous "intellectual" and "valued" comments to open your eyes and ears to the individuals and game that you purport to be such an "expert" of, you might actually have something of value to say... and may be surprised that noone and nothing is as you have created it to be in your arrogant mind. Even sadder than your warped perception of reality, is that you feel the need to broadcast your unwanted opinion to all within earshot. Was that directed at me or GoZips? Either way, its pretty uncalled for.

Updated to include 6'10" PF Eric Truog from Bainbridge Ohio.

A few Sunday AM thoughts on last nights game. Abreu had probably his worst night in a while. He was forcing a lot of passes at some pretty terrible angles and he didn't seem to be looking to score himself hardly at all. I don't know if it was the zone defense BG is so committed to or what, but hopefully this will be an outlier for Alex and not the sign of a trend to come. I thought McNees had a much better game on the offensive end. His shot looks to have settled down a little bit. That said I will take issues with two things from last night with Steve. First is the fact that after 5 years in this program, most of which as a PG, he still has absolutely no idea what to do on a fast break. Again last night he got the ball leaking down the floor off a BG turnover, tried to drive to the hoop with an off-balanced defender on him and badly missed the layup. Second was the absolutely boneheaded move of fouling a 3 point shooter late in the game when BG was trying to extend it. Your a senior Steve, you should know better than that. Let the guy have that shot and get ready to secure the long rebound. Nitro was a mixed bag. I thought he actually played decent defense on Thomas in the first half, but in the second half he came out and grabbed 3 quick fouls in like the first two minutes. I think that was a big issue that lead to the long scoring drought. He wasn't the offensive threat that he has been in past games either. Nikola had a pretty frustrating night on offense, but had one of his best defensive nights of the year. BG's big guys couldn't get anything going last night and Nik was a big part of that. That said, the offensive performance was pretty bad. He didn't seem to be on the same page as the guards at all last night. I was impressed to see him finally dunk the ball on a fast-break. Now if we could get him to do that on one of those moves where he loses his defender in the post. Zeke was a big part of closing out the game. With about 5 minutes left our guards finally figured out that he was getting great position in the post every time down the floor and they started getting him the ball. He scored on a couple of consecutive trips that helped us to get the lead back. His defense was also pretty good last night. Not as much of the reaching over the back trying to deny entry passes and not nearly as many stupid fouls. That said, we need the big fella to start hitting more of those FT's. Daryl Roberts was obviously the key to last nights win. Without his big 3 from out of the deep corner (I was sitting directly across the floor from that and actually watched the ball go over the corner of the backboard) and his excellent FT shooting down the stretch the Zips don't win that one. I watched him in warmups and he was hitting everything. Knew right then that he would have a big night if we got him the ball enough. Brett McKnight was terrible last night. He couldn't hit the broad side of a barn if it was two feet away from him. His jump-shot was WAY WAY off all night. Everything was clanking off the back-rim. Diggs had his ups and downs. Had a real nice move to JUST beat the shot clock before the half for a bucket, but also had a few bad turnovers. Bardo was effective in the few minutes he got. I liked seeing us run a play for him on offense in the first couple minutes he was in the game. I'd like to see us do that more often if for no other reason than to make defenses have to account for him a little bit and not just sag off of him because he isn't known as a scorer. I thought the crowd was pretty good considering the frostbite inducing temperatures and the 3 game losing streak. Still way too many empty seats in the lower bowl, but the people who were there were into the game and seemed to make a big impact down the stretch. Still far too many 3 point shots for my liking. Yet again the Zips shot better than 40% of their FG attempts from beyond the arch. I just don't see that as a continuing recipe for wins for the Zips. You can correctly space the floor and keep defenses honest without taking that many deep jump-shots. I was particularly annoyed by this last night because Zeke was getting great position all night against guys who were 5+ inches shorter than him. Would have liked to have seen us throw the ball into him a little more and not settle for so many long jumpers. Zips also need to cut down on the turnovers. I think that has been the biggest issue for them with these recent struggles. They got lucky last night and that BG turned it over even more than the Zips.

I don't know about next year. Potentially a TON of new bodies in the rotation again for next season when you get right down to it. I think Zeke's senior year is going to be the best shot the Zips will have at making a deep run. It could happen next year, but we are going to need some big contributions from guys that we haven't yet seen, and that isn't something you can really count on. As far as the rotation, I think you can pencil in Abreu, McClanahan, Diggs, Cvetinovic (if he returns) and Zeke for significant minutes. I suspect you will also see quite a few minutes from the two transfers, Walsh and Gilliam. Assuming a 9 man rotation that leaves 2-3 spots in the rotation. The real question (particularly if Nikola is "busy" in Serbia) is going to be what happens with the PF minutes. We could potentially have nobody returning who has seen significant minutes, but four bodies ready to step in there with Egner, Euton and then Treadwell and Harney if they are qualified. I'm also hoping that we will see some of Deji Ibitayo next season as a 6'3" athletic SG who has a defensive mindset is high on the list of the Zips priorities. If I had to take my best guess today, I would look for a lineup like this (presuming no Nikola): Starters: PG-Abreu-Clearly the incumbent at PG. SG-McClanahan-With the addition of Gilliam, Walsh, Harney and others who can play SF I think Brett will move back to the 2 guard spot. SF-Gilliam-Bigger, more athletic and more of a natural SF than McClanahan. PF-Treadwell-Big-time scorer and a top athlete who should match up better with the new breed of PF's in the MAC. C-Marshall-Duh. Rotation Players: Walsh (PG/SG)-Rumor has it that Walsh is going to see the backup PG minutes next year Ibitayo (SG)-See above, Zips need some athletic ability and defensive toughness in the backcourt Diggs (SF/PF)-Should fit better with a team like this that will be built more to run. Euton (PF/C)-KD loves his big guys who can step out and hit the 3.

Not the prettiest game the Zips have every played, but the end result is all that really matters when you get a win to stop a 3 game skid. Hope this one gives the Zips a little bit of momentum going in the right direction headed into the Western tour. Major props to Daryl Roberts who almost single-handedly won the game for us at the end.

Sold out vs. butts-in-seats are two different things. While it's nice for the University to have those seats sold out every game it looks bad for the program when a third to half of them are sitting empty for the vast majority of the games.

First off, this is a fan forum. If the fans don't have an opportunity to come on here and debate things like this then this site goes away, and we start to widdle away at a decent chunk of our already meager fanbase. That said, I'll try to provide a few of the changes that I would make if I were coaching this team and why I would make them. I am not a basketball coach, never have been, never will be. I don't play the game either, I am merely a fan, but I have an opinion and I am entitled to express it. Lineup change #1: Quincy Diggs is my starting SF. He has the length and athleticism that we need on the wing and is a more capable defender than McClanahan for some of the bigger, more athletic SF we are starting to see. Lineup change #2: Brett McClanahan is my starting SG, moving McNees to the bench. Steve is struggling mightily this year, and nothing we have done for him so far seems to be working. IMO he needs to start coming off the bench for a while until his shot starts to come back. McClanahan also provides us some much needed size in the backcourt on the defensive end. Lineup change #3: Josh Egner is going to start taking Mike Bardo's minutes in the rotation. I am going to have him playing some PF and some C coming off of the bench. Bardo isn't doing terrible out there this year by his standards, but he has never provided us with much in the minutes he is on the floor and with it being his final year you really aren't developing him for anything down the line. Egner is clearly not ready for big minutes yet, but if he can handle the 8-10 minutes per night that Mike plays and make things a little difficult for opponents with his athleticism on the defensive end I think it would be a positive change. System change #1: I am going to extend the defense to full-court, every possession. This team doesn't have the lateral quickness to guard teams for 25-30 seconds in the half-court every time down the floor. What we do have are quite a few guys who are adept at forcing turnovers by poking away the ball, getting in the passing lanes and/or trapping. I may not pressure and trap every possession like there are two minutes left and I'm down by 3 possessions, but I'm not going to just let opponents walk the ball up the court either. We have some depth on this team to be able to keep guys fresh. Let's start using it. System change #2: I am going to start pushing the tempo more on the offensive end. I don't want to see the ball walked up the floor anymore. Especially when Abreu is on the court. I'm not going to go Mike D'Antoni, seven-seconds or less style, but I don't want to see the ball just barely making it across the timeline and then getting passed around the perimeter for 20 seconds before forcing up a long 3 anymore. System change #3: I'm taking away some guys green lights on the three pointers, starting with Abreu and I'm also probably doing it for Diggs and to a certain extent McKnight. There is no reason for any team to be taking 40% of its shots from beyond the arch. Unless you are just deadly accurate as a team from out there you are only setting yourself up for a lot of missed shots and run-outs the other way off of long rebounds. Sorry if I have offended anyone by this post. I don't want to sound un-grateful for what we have had with Zips basketball over the course of the KD-era. I just feel that this particular unit is under-performing and that we aren't playing to our strengths in some areas right at the moment.

Makes you wonder what goes on in practice? I'm sorry to quote a Steeler's coach so much, but it's what I know. I'm paraphrasing coach Tomlin in a press conference from a few weeks ago. "if you saw Polamalu practice at the beginning of the week, you wouldn't even think he is going to start for you that week, he is bad at practice, but when it comes game time, he knows how to turn it up to another level most players don't reach" Point being, we need the players on the floor that are gamers, not practice superstars. Has everyone forgotten his last two performances? He was really out of his element the last time he saw the floor at the JAR. He quite simply might not be ready. Agreed, Egner hasn't looked good at all this year in the minutes he's been on the floor. Everyone seems to be in awe of his athletic ability, but nobody seems to want to acknowledge that in the minutes he has seen he's been running around on the floor like a chicken with his head cut off. This is a situation of a kid who REALLY needed a year to sit and learn but was forced into action due to other circumstances (the McKnight suspension) when he clearly isn't ready.

To me this could present a big problem for this team. There isn't a strong leadership personality on this unit from what I've been able to see. McNees is struggling so bad with his game right now that I don't think his voice would perk up many ears even if he did try to be that guy. Roberts has always been an in-the-background kind of roleplayer. McKnight will certainly have a hard time taking on that role after missing 1/3 of the season due to suspension. Bardo isn't that kind of guy. The closest thing we have to that guy right now might be Cvetinovic, but to be honest, he needs a good calling out as much as if not more so than anyone on the team right now. Zeke is too mellow and reserved to take on that role. McClanahan has never given me that team leader impression. I doubt you are going to see it come from either of the newcomers that are in the rotation. If I could have only one thing back from the Romeo, Dru, Dials, Middleton, Wood, Linhart years it would be the great leadrship that those guys provided. Whether it was Romeo throwing the coaches out of the locker-room at halftime during a tournament game for a players only meeting, Dru's steady hand or the hardnosed, lead-by-example attitudes that guys like Dials and Nate brought, I would love to see that for this team.

You go ahead and give up on them in January. Most of us will not. Go ZIPS! I'm not giving up on this team, but at the same time I can't say that what I am watching is a good team. This is the worst defensive team we've seen in the KD era and it is trending worse every week on that end of the floor. If that doesn't get remedied soon this team is not going to make a lot of noise in March. Can we get it turned around? Yes, but nothing we have been doing so far has been helping.

I think at this point we just have to accept that this is not a very good team.

4 fouls on Brett McKnight. Julian Mavunga killing us inside.