Quickzips

true but I don't see Lebron winning a championship in his last year in cleveland...the Browns on the other hand will win the super bowl this year for sureAre you feeling ok? Spiking a fever? Maybe having a stroke?

Those of you looking for an "A" word that accurately describes Can't but not the Zips look no further. I was going to come in here today and post these exact thoughts in one of the myriad "Can't is more athletic than us" threads, but it looks like Dave beat me too it. Can't attacks relentlessly on both ends of the floor for 40 minutes. The Zips want to spend most of their time slowing things down and taking a little more finese approach. Unfortunatly for us the team that attacks has a lot larger margin for error than the team that sits back.

I don't have a problem with a sporadic JUCO or transfer here or there. But it has to be the right guy. For as much as I am upset about Can't waxing us last night, I couldn't stomach having a team that is made up primarily of JUCO's. Just too much turnover for me. Can't is only now starting to get some production out of Simpson and Henry-Ala and considering the hype he came in with Evans has been at least a mild disappointment for them. But they after two years, each of those guys is gone. Combined with the 4 year guys they are losing that is six rotations players they will lose this year. Can't has managed it, but I don't think very many programs can sustain that kind of turnover. I also don't want an Evans type JUCO. I'll lose a couple extra games a year before I'll watch a team make an NCAA run with a kid who has a rap sheet like that. There is a line for me, and it is well before that.Cap'n brings up a lot of good examples of transfers and JUCO's in the Zips past, but what is the biggest blemish on the program since KD got here? How about transfer student Rydell Brooks being arrested for shooting at the cops? It is a careful line you have to walk.

Because I'm seriously considering skipping the tournament after that uninspired crapfest. If that is how this team is going to continue to perform in big games, why should I bother? So make the case for me, is there a reason to go up to the tournament?

cks!

I will say it again. Malone might not have hurt our SOS from the perspective of they don't count towards it, but they also didn't help our SOS. When you factor in that we could have used that available game to put someone on the schedule who is a top 50-100 RPI team that maybe we would have had a chance of beating and hence helping our SOS and RPI....

I'm sorry but Bardo being hurt will actually help this team. I've been saying all year he hurts us more than he helps, it's sad but true. He can't play defense, he can't score. He's tall but thats all. The only thing he seems to have a talent in is dating girls on the dance team...As others have pointed out on here before. Bardo is good for pretty much one thing, coming into the game for 5-10 minutes and giving some good hard fouls. You see quite a few fouls when Mike is in the game, but not a lot of and-1's. If we have the same kind of whistle happy crew we normally get tonight, that could come back to hurt us.

At this point, regardless of the outcome tonight we are likely to see one of these two. If we win tonight we match up with the winner of the OU/Ball State matchup in the second round which at this point is likely OU, although Ball State is no slouch and is playing at home. If we lose tonight we take on the winner of NIU/EMU which will almost assuredly be EMU. Right now, the path to the NCAA's for the Zips looks like this:Win tonight:Thursday beat Ohio or Ball State (likely Ohio)Friday beat either Miami, Buffalo or Toledo (probably Miami or Buffalo, too close to call on that one)Saturday beat either Central, Can't, Northern, Eastern, BG or Western (most likely Can't)Lose tonight:Thursday beat Eastern or Northern (likely Eastern)Friday beat either Central, Bowling Green or Western (might as well just flip a coin on this one)Saturday beat either Can't, Miami, Buffalo, Toledo, Ohio or Ball State (again, most likely Can't)

This has always been the chicken or the egg kind of an argument for me. On one hand you have the journalists saying that they don't write about the MAC as much because nobody cares enough to respond or often even to read the story. On the other hand you have the die hard fans who say that the media sets the agenda and that if the journalists wrote more about the MAC then more people would care enough to read and respond to the stories. Both are valid points. The question is, which needs to come first, the chicken or the egg?

I disagree.What you described is how we have been winning, true. What I described is how I want to win. I think our potential to become a better/dangerous team exists with my "formula" This formula is dependent upon Zeke staying out of foul trouble. I think when he learns that, he will become offensively dynamic. Once that happens Steve is going to see a lot of open spot up 3's. IMO that is a deadly combination.Zeke will be a big part of us winning on the offensive end of the floor in the coming years, but he isn't there right now. For tonight's game, and for the big games next week we need to stick with what our strength is now. Tonight isn't the night to try to force him into being the offensive threat we want him to become eventually.

I disagree. Zeke isn't part of our strength on offense. Yes, he's taller than everyone else on the floor, but he is still too raw on the offensive end to consider him a strength on offense. Defense, sure, but not on offense. Our strength is a balanced attack down low using all five playeres in our frontcourt rotation combined with timely shooting from outside. Brett McKnight's post ups and turnaround jumpers, Chris McKnight's low post moves and putbacks on offensive boards, Cvetinovic's dribble penetration and baseline spins, Conyer's quick drives to the rim and offensive rebounding and Zeke's length. Then you get some open looks for McNees and Roberts and Humpty and try to get those guys going.

Can't is doing $400 million in campus upgrades at any given time each year? Sounds a lot more expensive than what Akron has done. What exactly are they getting for all of this? I don't travel to Can't all that much, but the few times I've been there I can never remember seeing any construction equipment or any improvements being made anywhere.

Its gameday. Time to get pumped up! This is the big one. Gotta put those thugs back in their place. My thoughts on what the Zips need to do to beat Can't.1.) Contain Rod Sherman. As I've said before, he's the toughest matchup for the Zips. Humpty can stay with him with speed and quickness but gives up too much height. McNees doesn't match up with him at all. Roberts isn't quite quick enough to be up to the assignment. Zips will probably have to guard him by committee, but we can't let him go off. Zips also need to make a conscious effor to force him to his left. He is at his best when he is penetrating the lane from the right and finishing at the rim.2.) Get the McKnights going early. KD has said it before, and the numbers play it out. When the McKnights play well, the Zips win. This is Chris' last home game, so you know there has to be motivation there. Brett has had big games against the flushes before as well. 3.) Get physical with Singletary. For as big of a wrecking ball as he is, he doesn't like his opponents to get physical with him. When teams get up in his grill and play him physical he tends to go into 1 on 5 mode to try to prove he's a better player or something like that. It disrupts the flushes offense and often gets the thug in foul trouble. 4.) Handle the flushes press. Can't likes to extend their defense a couple times a game and really put some pressure on you. The teams that have handled this the best have been the teams that have beat them. The Zips have had some success against pressing teams this year, but have had some tough times as well. Zips can't turn the ball over, but they also don't want to spend too much time trying to break the press. Look for the Zips to throw the homerun ball down to Cvetinovic, Conyers or the McKnights once or twice just to try to back Can't off.5.) Avoid the scoring droughts. Everyone around here knows the story. It seems like once a game every game the Zips will go through a prolonged scoring drought. In the first matchup this lead to a 19-0 run for Can't and pretty much sealed the game. The Zips can't afford those kinds of droughts in this big of a game. 6.) Hit your free throws. The Zips free throw struggles are well documented by now. The flushes aren't that significantly better from the line, but a sub-60% game isn't going to cut it. This game is sure to be physical, and there will be plenty of trips to the line. If the Zips can shoot 70-75% or better it will put some pressure on Can't to respond.7.) Strong defense at the rim. Can't has a lot of guys who are good at finishing around the basket. Zeke is going to be very important tonight. Strong defense at the rim and some blocked shots early will make Can't think twice before going down low. If you can make Can't into a perimeter shooting team they become a lot easier to beat.8.) Don't let Mike McKee get going. McKee is often the X-factor for Can't. When his shot starts falling, look out. In a lot of ways he is their Steve McNees. He has the ability to shoot an opponent out of the gym one night, then go 1-7 the next night. 9.) Feed off of the home crowd. Can't did this in the first matchup, the Zips have the edge tonight. The JAR is sure to be rocking. Use the sixth man to your advantage.10.) Don't piss your pants. The Zips have a tendency to collapse when the lights are on. There hasn't been a bigger game this year for the Zips. Sell-out crowd, cross town rival, national TV, championship atmosphere. The Zips have to stay composed for 40 minutes and maybe longer.And the X-factor 11.) Three point shooting. The Zips have been on a merry-go-round from 3 all year. One night they are hot, the next night nothing will fall. If the Zips have a good night from behind the arch they will likely win this game. Especially if McNees can get going early. If Steve gets in one of those zones from out there, no way the flushes can beat us.

I don't know about Big Zips idea. I like it in principle, but I think it has a high potential to backfire with some negative publicity. The University started a similar program with parking permits 2 years back (only you really couldn't opt out) and there was quite a bit of outrage about it. Ultimately that has calmed down largely due to the fact that parking is a necessity for the vast majority of students, but when you are talking about a non-essential service like attending sporting events, and you start force feeding more fees (even just a $10 one) down students throats I think you have a high potential for backlash. I think probably a better idea would be to start getting the RA's at each of the dorm buildings more involved. When I was living on campus (and this was just a couple years ago mind you), there was hardly any involvement at all with the resident halls and the athletic department. I guarantee you if you set it up so that each home game was a particular resident halls designated "home game" (for instance the home game against BG could be the "Honors Dorm Game" or the one against Ohio could be the "Spanton Hall Game") and offer free pizza and tee-shirts and really promote that game throughout that particular residence hall in the week or two leading up to it you would probably see a nice increase in attendance. Work it early enough and show the students a good enough time and you will also probably get a lot of them back later in the season. Just my $.02.

My point in the comparisons is to go through the rotations player by player for each team and show that for the most part we have someone on our team at every spot in our rotation who can match up with each of Can't's players athletically. I realize that Conyers isn't always going to be guarding Singletary, or Greene on Brett McKnight or McNees on McKee, but to say that we don't have the horses to match up with Can't athletically is an overstatement. The only place I think Can't has a clear advantage on us is with Sherman.

Here is how I see the breakdown of players and athleticism between Can't and Akron.Rod Sherman vs. Humpty Hitchens: Edge Sherman. This is where I see the biggest difference between the two teams. Not that Humpty isn't a good athlete, and he is probably one of the better athletes on the team. Sherman is just taller and a different kind of athlete. Humpty is more speed and quickness, Sherman can flat jump out of the gym. This is probably the toughest matchup for the Zips.Tyree Evans vs. Daryl Roberts: Push. You can maybe argue that Evans has a slight edge here, but it isn't much. Evans diminishes whatever athletic ability that he has by being primarily a spot up shooter. Mike McKee vs. Steve McNees: Push. McKee is a streaky shooter who can change a game when he is on from behind the line. McNees is a streaky shooter who can change a game when is on from behind the line. Only real difference here is that McNees starts and is asked to handle the ball more than McKee who comes off the bench and play off the ball. Both are great long range shooters who are only adequate athletes.Randall Holt vs. Ronnie Steward: Not really enough info available to judge these two. Both look like about the same type of player. Smaller, quicker point guards. I suspect athletically there isn't a whole lot of difference.Chris Singletary vs. Jimmy Conyers: Push. Singletary is a decent athlete, but gets by more on brute strength and size than hops and quickness. Jimmy is actually probably more sculpted but a little smaller than Singletary, but he's also got better hops and is probably a little quicker. In the end there isn't a significant athletic advantage to either one in my mind.Justin Greene vs. Brett McKnight: Slight Edge to Greene. I don't think there is a huge margin here. Both of these players are adequate athletes who are better off running post ups in a half court set. Greene probably has a little better hops to him than Brett.Anthony Simpson vs. Nikola Cvetinovic: Push. Simpson is a good athlete who doesn't have great basketball skills. He's good for a few good games here and there, but has never had much consistency. Cvetinovic is a deceptively good athlete in his own right and is much more fundamentally advanced.Frank Henry-ala vs. Chris McKnight: Push. Both guys are just decent athletes. Strong and physical more than quick and explosive. Henry-ala is probably the better defender while Chris is better offensively.Brandon Parks vs. Mike Bardo: Push. These guys are essentially the same player. Big bruisers who aren't particularly athletic but can come in for 5-10 minutes a game and make sure there aren't any easy baskets around the rim.??? vs. Zeke Marshall: Advantage Akron. Nobody on Can't's team matches up with Zeke in terms of size and athleticism. The problem is that Zeke isn't polished enough as a player for us to properly take advantage of this mismatch.

So if I am reading all of this correctly these two recruits should help even out this great disparity in athleticism between the Zips and the flushes?

Wouldn't that make our opponent forty percent more athletic than us if they had two more athletic players on the floor than we did? Seems like an advantage if it were true.Where are you getting 40% from? Each team has 13 scholarship players and around 16-17 players overall taking into account walkons. If only two of your players are better athletes than the other teams, at best you are around 15%. Even if you are going by an average 8 man rotation that is only 25% of your roster that is more athletic than your opponent.

Someone tell me what I am missing here in terms of Can't's vastly superior athletic ability. The only guy on their team that I don't think we can match is Rod Sherman and that is just because Humpty and Ronnie are about 5-6 inches shorter than him.

I think it is pretty safe to say this thing is going to be a sellout. Looking forward to it. This is going to be the kind of atmosphere we should have in the JAR most ever game.

The article does have some good suggestions when it comes to marketing the team more, particularly to students. But like I said earlier, when it comes to the proposal to increase the designated student seating area, there just isn't a lot of reason for the AD's office to do that. It isn't like it costs that much to join the Rowdies (last I checked annual membership was $10). The seats they get offer a lot more than you regular general admission seats (chair backs if you do decide to sit down, not having to look around the track railings, being right on the floor). Yet they can't fill them most of the time. I know we are very limited by the overall crappiness of the seating layout in the JAR, and it is largely on the AD's office to drum up student support so that those seats do get filled, but still. Until the Student Section we have now is filled on a regular basis, and there starts to be more demand for good student seating, I don't think you will see major renovations to the JAR to increase student seating.

Not sure what motivation the AD's office has to expand the student seating section when the Rowdies can't even fill the 176 seats they have right now on a regular basis. Basic economics, supply and demand. Demand is obviously not high enough for the GREAT seats the Rowdies already have, so why would they increase supply?

Not saying I don't trust KD, but this whole "we aren't ready to schedule tougher yet" thing kind of seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy. You schedule a bunch of mediocre to crummy teams and beat up on them and you look all big and bad, but you never really play a lot in terms of good teams so you don't get the experience on how to approach those games. Naturally you lose them because your guys haven't been in that situation before and then you can come back and say, "see, I told you we aren't ready to play those big games yet." I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now, but if we get to Zeke's junior or senior year and we are still seeing the same kinds of schedules I'm going to have some big time questions.

Can you read?I have no problem reading, what I have a problem with is the fact that I've been attacked over and over again on this thread for expressing my opinion of the NIT. Apparently until I admit that the NIT is a great consolation prize and certainly something to be proud of and excited about some people won't drop it.

I continue to fail to see a big gulf in opinions here. My interpretation of what others are saying (which could be wrong) is that no one is "excited" about the NIT, but everyone is glad that the NIT is there as a consolation prize in case the Zips fail to make the NCAA tournament. I wouldn't describe that as being "excited" about the NIT, but that's just my interpretation. A consolation prize is better than nothing, but nothing to get overly excited about.Consolation: a source of comfort in a time of suffering, grief, disappointment, etc.Dude, give it a rest man. Is your ego that wrapped up in being right that even after I've conceeded to simply agree to disagree you have to keep this going? Do you really need to have the last word that bad. Alright then, you are correct. The NIT is a big deal. It is definitly something to get excited about. I can't wait until the NIT selection show. I hope we get a first round home game. Hopefully against the last team that got left out of the NCAA's. I really think Akron can make a deep run in the NIT this year. I'm talking Final 4 in New York type deep. I can't wait. I'm stoked. There, you happy?