Quickzips

I just don't know how we are going to come up with playing time for all these guys. I mean, we're already returning a 4 guard rotation and that doesn't even include Ronnie. Where are the minutes for Sullivan gonna come from? You have to imagine that Zeke is going to play next year and we already have Bardo, the McKnights, Cvetinovic and Conyers in the front court. Are there any minutes for Swiech and Parrish? Could we play with an 11 or 12 man rotation?

Here's the thing I've been wondering about lately. I know it is way to early to be thinking about this in the middle of a 7 game winning streak and with the MAC Tourney approaching and all that, but whatever. Who takes Nate's spot in the lineup next year? The two choices as I see it are Conyers and Brett McKnight as they both play the same SF position as Nate. Conyers is probably the better defender while Brett is clearly better on offense. Do you start Brett who is getting more minutes this year anyways and has improved his defense and decision making as the season has gone on, or do you start Conyers for his defensive abilities and let Brett continue to be the sixth man sparkplug off of the bench? Personally, I'm all for starting Jimmy and keeping Brett in the sixth man role where I think he is the most dangerous for us. Either way, we are probably going to miss a certain degree of what Nate gives us just from his versatility. A guy like Nate who can defend almost any position on the floor, hit some jumpshots and put the ball on the floor and take it to the rim is a guy who isn't that easily replaced.

I would say "life on the road in the MAC" in honor of Timmy O'Shea but, well, he's no longer there anymore. I don't know. OU is falling apart right now.

I just want the bye for the tournament. With our 10 deep roster, the way we play defense and a first round bye we would be damn tough in the tournament.

All this means to me is that we need to keep winning. Honestly, last nights results were the best thing that could have happened for us (would have been a little better if Can't had lost) and not just because we hopefully gain a game on Miami, but also because any temptation to take the West for granted should have vanished after those two games. You better believe that when we go up against NIU this weekend that KD will be pointing out that that team just took Can't to double overtime on Tuesday night. Right now I'm not THAT concerned about seeding for the tournament. Only that we end up with a bye. I think we need to go at least 5-2 down the stretch in MAC play to assure that.

Technically we have 9 games left as we are guaranteed at least one game at the MACC. Personally, if we go 4-5 down the stretch here I'm going to be very disappointed, and not just because we don't get that 20 win season.

Is it too early to call this recruiting class a success? I mean right now it looks like we have the makings of at least three solid contributors out of this class and we haven't even gotten a chance to see what Parrish and Sullivan can do yet. You've got Nik out there showing that he is going to be a real tough PF in this league. Then there is Humpty with his ability to break down defenses, hassle opposing PG's and score from anywhere on the floor, now you've got McClanahan who is finally rounding into game form and looks to have a really nice shot. With this group of guys, plus some of our young guys like Brett McKnight, McNees, Roberts, Sweich and Zeke added on top of this whole thing. The MAC better watch out.

The plate of cupcakes keeps getting bigger.Crazy as it might have seemed earlier in the season, this Zips team could very well go into the MAC tournament on something like a 12-2, 13-1, 14-0 type of run. This team is as dangerous as any group in the MAC right now. With three freshman stepping up and playing a significant role, the emergence of Chris McKnight as a consistent inside scoring threat, the deep 10 man rotation and the lock down defense that this team has played all season. I think we could easily make a run at the postseason.

Think I have my answers on Henderson. From Rasors Blog: At this point I'm not gonna get too excited about Henderson. I'm gonna cross my fingers and hope he gets through his full four years here, but so far our track record isn't exactly stellar with kids like this.

So whats the word on this Henderson kid? Seems strange that a 4 star, 313 pound defensive lineman would only have interest from two schools. Does he qualify? Is there some underlying attitude issue? Criminal problems? This kid seems to good to be true.Have to agree though, that if this is true and the kid is as good as advertised we have the makings of a really nice 4-3 defense.

Ahh, I thought I remembered something about this coming up before, but I couldn't find the thread. Thanks ZW.

Sorry if this has been posted before but I couldn't find it. What is the lowdown on this kid? Rivals lists him as a 5'9" SG from Garfield Heights who signed a LOI with the Zips for 2009. Who is he and where is the scholarship coming from? Any ideas?

I have no problem with Zips fans enthusiasm in wanting to chalk up a few of the cupcakes from the MAC West as surefire wins. Now if the team starts taking that attitude....that is how letdown games happen. With the youth and inexperience of this team these guys need to treat every game like it is their last. Really, all teams probably should, but this team in particular is still developing that winning attitude and it starts by approaching every game with the same high level of intensity.

Desmond Rorie

Here is the dirty little secret. We aren't. We are far from a veteran team. Coming into this season we only had two guys on our roster that had more than one year of consistent playing time. This team is finding it's stride. They are learning how to win games and this group as a whole is going to make some noise down the stretch in the MAC.

Zips not playing a very good game, but still leading by 2 at the half. Cvetinovic is having a bit of a coming out party w/ 6 points and a few nice boards in there. The McKnight brothers have been in foul trouble most of the half and Nik has picked up the load inside. The refs are making this a painful game to watch. These guys are worse than MAC refs.

I've seen some poorly officiated games, but this is ridiculous. Zips are getting mugged and nothing is called. Zips breath on the Penguins a little too hard and its a foul.

Zips having some foul trouble so far. And they are shooting too quick. Not getting good possessions. Rushing a lot of shots. Good thing YSU is 2-8 from the FT line so far.

Gotta say, this is one of the better online feeds I've seen.

I'll buy these rankings. I think it's clear that Buffalo has the edge in the East right now through the first go around of divisional play and that the East is the stronger conference. Thus, Buffalo has to be number one. OU, Miami and the Zips seem to be hard to rank. Both have had some good moments and some bad ones. I think I would probably put OU and Miami ahead of us right now based on the head to head matchups, but both games did go into OT and neither team has been that impressive otherwise. Can't and BG are clearly at the bottom of the division right now. As far as the West goes, Ball State and Western were the class of that side of things through the first 5 games, but I expect it to be a blood bath from their prospective once the cross-divisional games begin.

This Zips team is going to live and die by the continued development of the McKnight brothers in the post. If those two can continue scoring in double digits pounding the ball inside it is going to loosen everything up for the Zips, make the outside shots a lot easier and put a lot more pressure on opposing teams to try and break down our great defense. If we go back to shooting too many contested perimeter jump shots early in the clock we will be right back where we were a couple weeks ago. Make no mistake about it, the McKnights are the key to this team down the stretch. The MAC is still very winnable. Let's make some noise this year, then welcome Zeke in and make even more noise next year.

Fisher probably would start for this team, the problem I have with him is he's the defending MAC POTY and he doesn't even look close to being the best player in the MAC. Probably isn't even the best player on that team. He's playing PG right now (I'm not really sure why as they have a veteran in Mincy who admittedly is a terrible shooter but is a pretty nice ballhandler) when he's really more of a SG in a PG's body. For a senior he still does a terrible job protecting the ball. He has his entire career when teams pressure him. Down the stretch yesterday he was absolutely abysml. It was like he was trying to will his team back into the game but instead of working within the offense and setting up his teamates he was hoisting up some UGGGGLLLLLLLLLY shots. His last 4 or 5 shots weren't even close. A couple of them barely got rim. He's looked that way for most of the season from what I understand. Not exactly what I expect to see out of a defending MAC POTY.

Good point, forgot about that. Unless he comes from the Mansfield Penetentary, he's not really Can't State Material.

Found this Youtube video of Cameron. Seems like a pretty good offensive player whose pretty active on the boards. Has a pretty nice touch around the basket. His jumper is kind of funky looking but seems to be effective. Certainly would like to know more about him. Would be pretty nice if we could go into Can't's back yard and steal one from them.

If only someone would have lost control of the bulldozer, backed it down the street and plowed through the plasma center as well.