Quickzips

Only good thing they hace said all night about Akron. I beg to differ, these announcers have been more knowledgable and un-biased than a lot of the announcers I've seen from other opposing teams and conferences. They know every players name and pronounce it right and they are pretty informed when it comes to our strengths and weaknesses.

And there is the Zips collapse. We're about 2-14 in the second half, Zeke is on the bench with 4 fouls and the Golden Gophers have finally found the bucket.

Much better night tonight than Sunday for the Zips hoopsters. Going into the half up by 5 against the #20 Golden Gophers. Keep it up Zips.

I hate to bring this up at this point but the rumors ofPorter moving on are coming to the surface again. It is now being said that he is heading to NC State. What do you guys who are close to the program think about all this stuff? I am concerned every time I hear this stuff as my grandson is a verbal commit for 2011. I'm admittedly a newbie when it comes to the soccer side of things, but logic would tell you that if he turned down an MLS deal after last season to stay at Akron (as has been widely reported) he probably isn't going to be taking another college job somewhere. Now what happens if the MLS comes calling again or if the USMNT comes calling again is anyones guess. I personally have no idea if Caleb would take the "we've won a championship here, time to move on to another stage" philosophy or if he would rather build a dynasty in the college ranks. I think the quotes in ESPN's article indicate that he would rather stay here and build a dynasty, but he certainly wouldn't be the first coach to come out with quotes like that and then bolt.

Like many other things about Zeke, it all comes down to potential.

Funny because as I remember it the Info project wasn't announced until well after Lolla hightailed it out of here. Not that it matters, he's at Louisville now and Akron has moved on with Caleb Porter. The results yesterday speak for themselves.

The comments about OSU are simply a part of this board. Always have been, always will be. As others have pointed out around here, the mentality of the local community with this sense that collegiate sports begin and end in the state capital drives a lot of the negativity. You can only take so much of the degrading remarks about our University from people who have no affiliation at all with the Buckeyes before you become jaded and angry. Now that we have a significant accomplishment on our resume, you better believe there will be many amongst us looking to rub it in those people's faces. If you don't like it, don't read the threads.

Zeke's ceiling is as high as Zeke wants it to be. He's got just about everything physically that the NBA looks for in big-men now days. He can run the floor, jump out of the gym, has long arms, is a true 7'0". About the only thing he doesn't have is enough bulk to play 30+ minutes per game night in and night out for 82 games in the NBA, but he's getting there. If he really wants it, and he continues to work hard he shouldn't have any problem with the physical end of the game Where Zeke's problem lies is the mental and psychological part of the game and to a certain extent, fundamentals. For all the talk about how great he has been "catching a pass and hitting an open man outside" I haven't seen it. In fact, the first part of that equation, catching a pass, is probably one of his biggest weaknesses. Far too often we are watching Zeke work extremely hard to get in position underneath and the guards patiently waiting for him to get there only to dump the ball down to him and have it bounce off of his hands. I also have rarely seen him pass the ball out of the post to an open shooter. I don't know where this whole idea that he is a great passer out of the post came from, but as far as I am concerned it is a complete myth. Beyond that, the mental part of his game just isn't there a lot of times. He is getting more comfortable out there, but you can still see the wheels turning all the time. He doesn't play the game instinctively at all, even on the defensive end. He often allows himself to be taken out of the game by early foul trouble and when he does come back in he usually looks lost and out of sync. Maybe the most important of all, he is going to have to learn that good defense doesn't begin and end with blocking shots. All of these things are issues that Zeke is going to have to want to work on for him to reach his ceiling. If he wants it, he can absolutely be a dominant 25 point 10 board 5 block guy night in and night out for us by the time he leaves here. But at this point, he is a rollercoaster ride who shows glimpses of the brillance that could one day become and nights where he simply makes you want to pull your hair out.

Damn, too many chances there and Meves comes up big. Zips are gonna take this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL L!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Browns stunk it up against Buffalo, the Zips Hoopsters are crapping their pants against Temple, but none of it will matter once the Zips hoist that championship trophy!

I didn't realize at all how tough a schedule Temple has played. They have to be looking at this game in much the same way we look at the cupcakes on our schedule the last few years. This is going to be a big test for the Zips. I know I for one will have the game-tracker on in the background while I'm watching the soccer championship game today.

That will just about do it. Bring on Louisville!

Michigan is too dangerous for us to start sitting on the lead here. Need to keep attacking. Too much time left.

ZIPS LEAD!!! 2-1 from Kofi!

Wow, now that was a shot by Kitchen. Tied up!

I saw some of the Temple-Georgetown game, and Temple is really good. They are fast, aggressive, athletic and skilled. This will be a serious test for the Zips. This is what Zips fans (and really most of the MAC) have been clamoring for out of an OOC schedule for the Zips for year. Some challenging teams that at least give us a chance at an upset and not nearly as many cupcakes. It might not be ideal timing trying to work in all the new guys, but I for one am refreshed to have interesting games to pay attention to in November and December as opposed to watching us beat up on the Little Sisters of the Poor and the University of Phoenix Online. Not saying I expect it to happen, but just think about the possibilities that open up if we win these next two games. This is really the kind of schedule I want to see from us every year and I'll happily eat a loss or two here and there each year if we continue to see it.

Fixed that for you. For all the talk about how bad of shape Toledo's program is in lately, BG has been step for step with them in terms of crapiness this season. Their RPI is currently amongst the lowest in the nation and I don't think they've beaten a D-I team all season. After winning the MAC East two years ago Louis Orr's program is falling flat on their face in a hurry. Makes me all the more thankful that we have KD. He isn't without his faults, but he's kept us at or near the top of the conference for almost his entire tenure now, which isn't easy to do.

Playing BG twice is going to KILL us. They are amongst the bottom 10 teams in terms of RPI without many more chances to improve. It is going to take some big performances over these next couple weeks for the Zips to even stay in the top 75 by the end of the year. This conference simply isn't strong enough to support teams staying in the top 50.

I don't see what the big mystery is. Combine years of poor coaching hires, questionable recruiting strategies, seemingly yearly changes to offensive and/or defensive schemes that leave players trying to fill in in positions that don't necessarily suit their strengths, puzzling in-game decision making and utterly terrible special teams play and what do you get? A non-competitive football team. Doesn't take a brain surgeon and a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Beautiful new facilities will only carry you so far.

I really don't understand this. What exactly is going to change between now and January for these guys when they aren't getting any playing time? Is the D-I game really going to slow down much for them between now and January when they are only getting 5 minutes per night? I just don't see how that is possible. I said it earlier in the year and will say it again, not redshirting Egner OR Euton, one of the two, was a mistake. We could have had a pretty good nine man rotation with Abreu, McNees, Roberts, McClanahan, Diggs, Cvetinovic, Egner/Euton, Zeke and Bardo and still redshirted one of them, yet we are letting both of them waste away on the bench because coach isn't willing to give either of them enough minutes for them to develop. I may have to eat crow on this one if January roles around and both guys are playing 15-20 minutes and making major contributions, but I just don't see what is going to change. As far as Diggs goes, he has some serious work to do. He has shown flushes of that explosion off the dribble going to the rim, but he's too often out of control. He's made some very silly turnovers and offensive fouls this year by being way too aggressive and getting himself into horrible positions. I love seeing the aggressiveness, it is something we've all been looking for the last few years from the Zips, but there is a fine line between agressive and out of control. Nikola seems to be finding that line recently, let's hope Quincy finds it soon.

You want an argument? Fine; I will give you one. Steve McNees is the shooting guard. It seems that he has not yet fully accepted his new position. I could be wrong, but, it sure looks like Steve is fighting to remain the point guard. That must not happen or the Zips repeat last year. Steve is going to continue having the green light to shoot the ball. Sooner or later (sooner preferred), he is going to hit his stride and be productive points wise. Steve is an excellent all round player who brings intensity and a winning attitude to the Zips. Just give him time. This is a huge change for him. I believe that as a team player and a winner, Steve will be playing great ball at the shooting guard position soon. A shooting guard must be without conscience. That is, he must have the attitude that his next shot is going in. That he has missed ten in a row cannot phase him or alter his attack. Akron's success this season depends on Steve playing the shooting guard position well. Abreu is not a shooting guard. Alex is a point guard and a good one. Darryl is a true combo guard that can play either position. Granted, Roberts is a better shooting guard than point guard. Akron is extremely thin at the guards. The best fourth guard is surprisingly, Nikola. However, as well as Nik is playing down low it would be insane to move Nik up top at this time. Now, some of you might find my statement regarding Nik as crazy, it is not. Nik has played the guard spots in practice on a number of occasions. There is a reason for this. Remember Pardo of Gonzaga? His size allowed him to simply go over the top of Steve. Not pretty. Nikola would stop Pardo in his tracks. As for the kids. The only way they develop is to play them. What? You expect these mid-major caliber freshmen to be instant super stars? In due time, in due time. Remember, too, that one freshman had his red shirt burned because of unforeseen events with regards to Brett McKnight. Starting Abreu in the Detroit game and now the UIC game gives him the experience and confidence he is going to need for the up coming games against quality opponents. That coach (KD) is a crafty dude hell bent on winning. Put your trust in him. While I agree with you that Steve needs to accept turning over some of the PG duties to Alex I don't agree with much more. The fact is that Steve is NOT an all around player. His defense is passable, but he is far from a lock down defender, he isn't going to score off the dribble, he doesn't have much of a mid-range game. What he is is a very streaky shooter who can bury a team when he is hot from long range and can get the Zips in to a lot of trouble when he isn't hot and he's allowed to try and shoot himself out of the slump. That is what we saw a bit last night as the shots clearly weren't falling for him, yet he was allowed to take nearly 1/6th of the teams shots. Maybe I want it both ways a little bit in saying that when Steve is hot he should have the green light to put up as many shots as he wants to but when he's not on we need to move to different options, but what the heck. I want my cake and I want to eat it too. There are plenty of teams around the country that win ballgames without having their SG lead the team in shot attempts, and you will never convince me that Steve AVERAGING 12 shots per night is a recipe for Zips success.

Two games worth of shooting stats from McNees. In the game Wednesday against Detroit: 2 of 4 from the field, 2 of 4 from three, 4 of 6 from the free throw line for 10 points in 28 minutes. In the game today against UIC: 2 of 10 from the field, 2 of 7 from three, no free throw attempts for 6 points in 32 minutes. Wednesday we pretty well manhandled a better Detroit Titans team. Tonight we barely escape by the skin of our teeth against UIC. Someone want to argue with me again that we need McNees to be taking 12+ shots per game? If Steve is hitting his shots he can have all the three's he wants, but if his shot isn't off we HAVE to find another option. Luckily for us tonight the Zips found Nikola in enough time to squeek out a win. The only other thing that can really be taken from this game is that something has to change with the three freshman forwards and it has to change now. Quite frankly, it has to change yesterday. Between them they played 16 minutes, took (and missed) 3 shots and scored 0 points. On a night when we desperatly needed some people to step up these guys were mostly glued to the bench and apparently nobody had the green light to shoot. If we are going to recruit these guys, then burn their red-shirt years we have to trust them to play and get over this whole short leash syndrome that we seem to constantly have to deal with from KD. If these guys weren't ready to play then we should have red-shirted them and let C.J. Oldham play some minutes. I'm sure he could give us 16 minutes with no points and 4 boards, which is what we got out of Dakotah, Josh and Quincy tonight. I love ya Coach D, but you recruited these guys, you made the decision to burn their redshirt years, let them play a little and let's see what they have.

35% from 3 point range really isn't all that good of a percentage. Your elite 3 point shooters are going to be shooting 40% or better from out there. 35% is actually rather average. That said it really doesn't tell the whole story with Steve. He's much more of a streak shooter. We've all seen games from him where he gets hot and is pretty much unconscious from behind the 3 point line and we've seen just as many games where he can't buy a bucket. On the former nights I've got no problem with him putting up as many 3's as he wants. On the later, I don't even want him taking those 8 shots. Thats where things need to average out. With such a large percentage of Steve's shots coming from behind the arch, and with 4-5 other capable 3 point shooters on the squad, if Steve is taking 12 shots per night the team as a whole is probably taking close to 30 3's a night. That is not a recipe for the Zips winning ballgames, especially when you consider that on average we are going to get around 70 shot attempts per night (and that may even be a bit of a high estimate).