Quickzips

The short answer is no.As of right now we had two scholarships to offer for 2010 (due to the graduation of C.McKnight and Conyers). Both of those scholarships have verbal commitments attached to them (Egner and Green). If I'm thinking correctly in order to pick up Euton we would either have to rescind an offer to one of those two or we would have to have another player leave the program. I suppose it is possible that one of our guards would look to transfer out. We do have a log-jam at the guard spots right now and it wouldn't be a total surprise if one of the talented youngsters saw the writing on the wall as far as playing time. The other possibility I could think of would be if Daryl Roberts isn't granted or doesn't want (his commitment to the program has been a question in the past) his extra year of eligibility for '10-'11. I think that goes over about everything. Hope it helps.And the scholly opened up due to Andrew Parrish transferring?...[edit] Ah, I should have read a bit further down. I guess Roberts got the scholly vacated by Parrish?That is correct. Roberts is now on scholarship due to the transfer of Andrew Parrish.

Personally I see the guard rotation working out like this. Humpty and Roberts start. They made up a good, although undersized backcourt last year and it would be foolish to break that up at this point. McNees comes off the bench. I'm not 100% certain if he replaces Humpty or Roberts. I hear the debate all the time whether he is a PG or a SG to me he's a Combo Guard. He's certainly not the best ball handler and distributor on the team, but at the same time he's more effective when the ball is in his hands than he is playing off the ball. If Steward is healthy and isn't too rusty from missing the last two years he will backup Humpty and McNees plays the 2. McClanahan is probably going to split his time between the 2 and the 3. When we want to play a little smaller he'll slide to the 3, if we want a bigger lineup on the floor he'll play the 2. Probably only sees 10-15 minutes of game action a night. If that. Sullivan's playing time is going to depend mostly on Stewards health and ability. If Ronnie is hurting or just not capable of playing at a high level anymore after all the injuries then Alex will get more playing time as the primary backup at PG. If Ronnie can make a good comeback then Alex may be limited to garbage minutes.

The short answer is no.As of right now we had two scholarships to offer for 2010 (due to the graduation of C.McKnight and Conyers). Both of those scholarships have verbal commitments attached to them (Egner and Green). If I'm thinking correctly in order to pick up Euton we would either have to rescind an offer to one of those two or we would have to have another player leave the program. I suppose it is possible that one of our guards would look to transfer out. We do have a log-jam at the guard spots right now and it wouldn't be a total surprise if one of the talented youngsters saw the writing on the wall as far as playing time. The other possibility I could think of would be if Daryl Roberts isn't granted or doesn't want (his commitment to the program has been a question in the past) his extra year of eligibility for '10-'11. I think that goes over about everything. Hope it helps.

Actually he sounds like exactly the type of player we could really use. Here are a few excerpts from his ESPN recruiting bio.He is a big, strong, wide body, with great hands and a soft touch around the basket.shoots the ball well with effective range out to the three point arc."Sacrifice to get a teammate open," "lay some wood," "Knock his socks off," all phrases that coaches use to encourage players to set screens in an offense. Most players find a way to "slip" the screen and get them selves a shot. Whichever college is lucky enough to land Euton for next season, will not ever have to worry about getting shooters open with this "wall" of a man at their side. He is flat out nasty inside the lane as he bangs, seeks out contact on both ends, and can finish through it. he is a very good rebounder on both ends of the floor.He is also exceptionally skilled big man with a high basketball I.Q. He is an excellent shooter who can stretch the opposing defense to the NBA three-point line. He handles the ball easily and likes to face up from the perimeterEuton is extremely productive as a player. He can put the ball on the floor, can finish in traffic and is a very good rebounder. Euton has a very high basketball IQ and really knows how to play.http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/...cruitId%3d46149But your right Zipmeister, who needs widebody banger who is an exceptional rebounder on both ends of the floor, sets devastating screens, finishes well in traffic, has a high basketball I.Q. and can step out to the 3 point arch with regularity?

Word is that in addition to Stevie Taylor, 6'8" PF and 2010 recruit Dakotah Euton was on campus over the weekend. Euton originally committed to Kentucky in 2007, but won't be going there now with the coaching change. Scout has us offering him a scholarship already. Certainly interesting to hear about this, particularly since both of our 2010 scholarships are already verbally claimed.

Pretty good article. Couple of complaints:The article still has Andrew Parrish suiting up for us this year, even after he transfered out a few weeks back. I don't necessarily think Chris McKnight will be our interior scorer. Chris has always seemed to favor the midrange game a little more. I think Cvetinovic is going to develop into more of our interior scorer as the year progresses.I don't think you will see Brett McKnight in the starting lineup. We have seen it for the last couple years that Brett is better coming off of the bench. Combine that with his back problems that are probably going to limit his minutes, KD's emphasis on defense and Conyers better defensive game and I think you will see Jimmy starting at SF with Brett staying in his more comfortable 6th man position.The complete lack of Brett McClanahan mentions is puzzling. More than likely just an oversight on the part of the author.Personally, I'm really looking forward to hoops season. This team has all the makings of a team that can make a very nice run. Experience, talent, depth. Heck our depth alone is going to be a nightmare for the rest of the MAC. When you can run out 11 guys (Humpty, Steward, McNees, McClanahan, Roberts, Conyers, B.McKnight, C.McKnight, Cvetinovic, Bardo and Zeke) with the kind of talent and experience that we've got you can really wear a team down. Just think of all the possible lineup combinations in there. Want to shut down a team on defense? Humpty, Roberts, Conyers, Cvetinovic and Bardo/Zeke. Need some instant offense? Humpty, McNees, B.McKnight, C.McKnight, Cvetinovic. Want to play small ball? Any three of Humpty/Steward/McNees/Roberts and the McKnight brothers. Want to match up with some bigger teams? McNees, McClanahan, B.McKnight, C.McKnight, Zeke. The possibilities are endless. Not to mention you've still got he untapped potential of guys like Sullivan and Swiech. Man it is going to be a great season.

I remember hearing something about a path being made to somewhere that was paved with good intentions.Good intentions only get you so far Mrs. Brookhart. At some point your husband has to put a team on the field that can win more ballgames than it loses.

Drew Lavender would beg to disagree.Listen, I know it is unusual to see guys that small in D1, but everyone I keep hearing from says Taylor has the talent to do it. On top of that, you have to remember this is a 16 or 17 year old kid. Theres a good chance he could be a few inches taller by the time he graduates in two years. He already has offers from quite a few D1 programs, including us, so apparently quite a few people think he has what it takes to play at this level.

Yes, we have two guys (Montgomery and Harris) who are plenty capable of taking over on an interim basis.

Your right GP1. All Brookhart needs is better players. Wait, he recruited all these players didn't he? And he coaches all of them doesn't he? I agree that a lot of it is on the players, but when you see the same damn thing over, and over, and over, and over again year after year its stops being just the players. Ultimatly JD is the guy that has to be accountable. For his entire tenure here we've been mediocre over and over again. A team that can hover around .500 at best. Maybe thats good enough for you. It isn't good enough for me any more. I'm tired of watching crappy football. What I saw today, and what I've seen most of the last five and a half years (and even before that under Lee Owens, no GP, this isn't my first year watching Zips football) is crappy football. I'm sorry, I like JD as a person, but he's not the right coach for this program.

Terrible puntingLack of discipline (see dead ball personal foul penalties)Turnovers in big gamesLack of halftime adjustmentsAbsolutely terrible run defenseDefensive backs who are giving up a good 6 inches to the WR's they are trying to coverTrying to call trick plays at puzzling timesKickoffs that don't even sniff the goal lineInjuries piling upMediocrityThis University deserves better. That beautiful new stadium deserves better. We, as fans deserve better. I hate to be a knee-jerk reaction fan, but it's pretty clear after three sub-.500 years and the crap I witnessed out on that field today that J.D. Brookhart isn't the guy to captain this ship.

According to scout.com 2011 PG Recruit Stevie Taylor is going to be on campus tomorow. Wonder if we'll spot him at the Info for the big football game. Stevie is an undersized (5'6") but apparently very talented PG out of Gahanna Lincoln High School (same school as 2009 MAC Tournament MVP Nate Linhart). I know we're pretty well set at PG right now, but he's on a lot of MAC team's radars. I'd kind of like to keep their hands off of him.

Those of you who have been dreaming of Matt Rodgers under center just got your wish. Now lets just hope this doesn't turn into a nightmare.

Being a former band member I feel compelled to weigh in.Yes, the band part of Saturday's experience was lacking. I can't pinpoint what it was, but it wasn't the kind of performance I was expecting with Karriker back (I was in this group during the previous incarnation of Cajun rule and was really looking forward to his comeback).I know it has been suggested the opposite way here, but bring the flip folders back. I personally don't give two shits if the music is memorized or not so long as there is energy behind it. My experience always was the trying to memorize left me focusing more on trying to remember individual notes as well as my marching assignments and hindered my efforts to put some extra energy into the performance. Lose the announcer. The only thing the announcer should really every say is, "please rise for the playing of the alma mater/national anthem." I know our fanbase still isn't at the point yet where they instinctively know when to cheer and whatnot, but there are enough people around that do know what to do that the idea can get across. Having the announcer talking the entire way through "Let's go Zips" or "Win for Akron" or any other cheer related song is unnecessary and detracts from the real purpose of the song. If you really want to remind people of the cheer have it posted on the Video Board and the Ribbon Board.I don't know if it is possible, but thinking on how to improve the entrance to pre-game here. Would it be possible to stage the band on the sidelines as opposed to in the tunnel? What I'm thinking is have the drums and tubas in the endzone underneath the scoreboard. Half the band on the east sideline and half the band on the west sideline. The drums and tubas do a march out similar to what was done at the Rubber Bowl. Then once they are on the field the rest of the band does the run on followed by the fanfare/fight song and on through pre-game.The halftime music still needs a big upgrade in terms of song selection. I've always had a problem with the fact that we try to do so many medely's. Instead of trying to cram three or four songs into one routine how about we do one really popular, well known song start to finish. I think people start to get confused when they recognize the start of a song and start getting into it, then 20 seconds later we are on to another song. Just some suggestions.

Just my thoughts:Couldn't ask for any better weather. I'm sure the Athletic Department breathed a big sigh of relief when they saw sunny skies and 75 there. Weather is the one thing you can't control and when it goes south so does everything else.Stadium is beautiful. We got there early and I walked pretty much around the entire thing. Poked my head through a few entrance ways and I couldn't see a bad place to watch the game. The sound really carries well around the stadium. Sitting in the back row of the lower deck was particularly impressive. As the Zips made good plays and the upper deck student section came alive the aluminum stands really amplified things. Kudos on the design team for making this place imposing from that perspective.We entered the stadium about an hour and a half before kickoff and had absolutely no problem getting through the gates or finding a seat. Students who were upset about lines at the gate or a lack of seats, GET THERE EARLIER. When you try and come in 5-10 minutes before kickoff you're going to have to wait in line and you will struggle to find a seat. Concessions were nice. I would still like to see a little more selection, but it's hard to complain about that after the concessions at the Rubber Bowl.Wasn't it nice being able to enter the bathroom without feeling like you just entered a third world country?28,000 fans really look good in that place. I doubt there has ever been 28,000 people on that campus on a Saturday before. I hope to see this become a regular occurance.Parking and traffic from my perspective was a non issue. I don't know how it will work out during the Fri. night games when there are still some students on campus for classes, but when it is Saturday and the game is all that is going on it doesn't look like it will be an issue in any way.Now for a few complaints. These are mostly pretty minor and are all things that can easily be fixed:I noticed a lack of garbage cans around the stadium. There were a few, but if your going to have the kind of concessions we have you need to have a few more trash cans for people to throw out their wrappers, cups, etc.The bathrooms I entered only had 2 paper towel dispensers each. When you've got 20 something stalls and sinks in each restroom this could present a problem at some time.Section 116 was listed as Student Section seating. It was even listed as such on the ribbon board a couple times during the game. Yet students were ushered out of Section 116 in favor of GA tickets. Now it worked out alright once they opened up the endzone grass, but it was starting to become a problem as the rest of the pressbox side student section was pretty much at capacity while there were still quite a few open benches in 116. I don't know if they should make 116 GA or Student Section, but they need to decide one or the other and stick with it.That's about all I have for right now. Really looking forward to next week. It is so nice to finally have a stadium that we can look forward to attending. Can't wait to see a night game there too.

Really hard to say much of anything about the Zips after 2 weeks. Week 1 vs. PSU we were totally overmatched and we seemed to know it. Week 2 vs. Morgan St. we totally overmatched them and they knew it. Just a few quick thoughts.Zips kicking game continues to have certain side effects. Namely nausea, heartburn, indigestion, diarehha, anal seapage, headaches, heart palpatations, cardiac arrest, death and erectile dysfunction. Can anyone remember the last time this wasn't so???Defense really clamped down after the first drive. Not sure how much of that was our doing and how much was the total ineptitude of Morgan State. Honestly, as much crap as Jacq gets around here, I think we ended up keeping the better of the CJ's.Loved what I saw from Dale Martin today. He was by far our most effective RB. Hope his injury wasn't too severe. Didn't look too bad when he came off the field, but tough to tell.I'll echo what others said about our running game. Please, ohh please, stop trying to run the pistol formation draw play. Line up in the I. Put any one of our RB's behind Tuzze and pound the ball at them. Deryn Bowser found some reliable hands in the offseason. He caught darn near everything thrown his way. If he can keep this up for the rest of the season we might be looking at a legitimate NFL prospect.For the love of god, someone please teach Jeremy Bruce that he IS in fact allowed to call for a fair catch.I personally watched John Stec booming 50 and 60 yard punts in warmups an hour and a half before the game. The one time he has to punt in the game. A 25 yard shank off the side of his foot. Remember that part about side effects from earlier?Thats about all I can come up with right now.

Wouldn't it be ironic if someone shanks a field goal and the ball crashes right through the roof of one of those things.

Count me as amongst those wanting us to go pass happy. Not just because PSU's weaker in pass defense, but also because they are stronger in run offense. They are going to game plan for a grind it out, run, run, run type of game. If we can jump on their young DB's early and gain some momentum, that strategy goes out the window. Penn State then has to start throwing the football to try to get back in the game. Guess what, they also have a core of very young and inexperienced receivers. Let's see if any of them have the hands in a tough situation.

I'm quite disturbed by this. I'm a student, but I work in a professional office where dress code is taken rather seriously. Shirts and ties and all that kind of stuff. Having a blue wrist band on for the next two weeks isn't going to come off too well for them. Whoever thought up this idea really ought to be fired on the spot. There are a lot better ways to advertise and ensure that student tickets are getting to students than to force them to wear an arm band for two weeks.

Not going to get too attached to this guy. He'll be out the door as soon as a bigger and better opportunity comes along. Not to say it is a bad hire. Right now he's probably the right guy for the job. Our facilities upgrades, with the exception of a potential new basketball arena, are all either completed, about to be completed, or late in the process of being implemented. We don't need a builder from that end of the perspective. What we need is a guy who can build on marketing the program to the general public. That seems to be Wistrcill's strong point. Good hire, just not going to get myself too amped up for his long term career at Akron.

I hate to be the first one to say it and open up the can of worms here, but...Can someone please explain to me again how JD has "learned his lessons" and is "improving his recruiting"? I understand last year was better, but this year feels like a major step backwards.

The problem with the rankings is that they absolutely do take into account quantity more than quality. You can ask any remotely knowledgable MAC hoops fan who the best recruit coming into the MAC this year is and not one of them will hesitate. It is Zeke hands down. OU and Miami have both brought in quality recruits as well, but nothing at the level of a Zeke. The fact is we got more bang for our buck than anyone in the MAC this year, but because we only had one scholarship to give we are getting rated below other schools that still brought in good players but noone near the caliber of our guy. Its a messed up system.

Sorry bout that. Thats what you get for skimming a post and not reading it fully I suppose.

Why is that surprising? A coach who has been sub-.500 for the last 3 seasons, opening a new stadium with high expectations. If anything I'm a little surprised his seat isn't hotter.

According to Rasor's blog Andrew Parrish is leaving the program to transfer to the University of Indianapolis. Daryl Roberts will receive his scholarship instead. Can't say I'm too surprised. With the McKnight brothers, Cvetinovic, Zeke, Bardo, Sweich and Conyers all up front and the two forwards coming in next year, his playing time was probably going to be limited. Would have been interested to see what he could do. Wish the kid the best of luck. Congrats to Daryl.