Quickzips

I really don't understand what this whole conversation is about. Do you guys really want KD out? Do you really think Waters is coming to Akron? What exactly are we trying to prove here? In all honesty this is one of the more pointless conversations I've seen on these boards recently.

Not ready to predict the end of the world for Can't yet (though by reading their board some of their fans seem to be). They still have a lot of talent in that backcourt and their frontcourt deficiencies will at least be masked a bit by everyone else in the MAC having the same problem. The thing that I would be concerned about right now as a Can't fan is that they don't look to be playing like a team at all. They look more like a group of individual players each trying to take over the game on their own. We've seen some puzzling OOC performances from Can't teams in the past, but you always looked at it and felt that they were pushing forward as a team and learning from it. This year they seem to be forcing the issue and not really learning much from it. I don't know if it is the coaching change, the high risk recruiting strategy, the graduation of two very good frontcourt players or what it is, but this Can't team suddenly seems very mediocre. Not to mention the fact that the defending conference POTY looks like a shell of his former self. The MAC truly is wide open this year. I like how our guys seem to be learning and adjusting every game. If we can keep that up through the MAC schedule anything is possible.

Your thoughts on the Miami game is kind of directly related to what kind of basketball you like to watch. If you enjoy a tactical, slowed down, every possession matters, defensive, Greg Popovich type of basketball you'll absolutely love a Miami game. If you prefer a high flying, run run run, Mike D'Antoni offensive explosion you'll want to rip your eyes out.

I personally think it is still too early for Hoops Power Rankings. The schedules are so different from team to team that it is hard to get a gauge on what is really going on in the conference. I personally don't feel like Buffalo is the top team in this conference. I've seen this story line from them before. Picking up a win or two against some tournament level midmajors and giving a big name school a run for their money in the OOC schedule, then they fold down the stretch. Miami to me is probably the team to beat right now, but that is going to depend on them keeping Bramos healthy. Can't is still struggling to figure out life after Q and, although Evans saved them from embarassment the other night, there still isn't a large enough sample size to see what long term effect he has on that team yet. Plus they are adjusting to a new coach, as is Ohio. BG hasn't lived up to the hype much. The West is, well, the West. And as far as we are concerned, our strengths and weaknesses have been hashed out enough on this board. One thing that really sticks out to me so far this year though is just how much the MAC is missing some of the dominant big men that we had the last few years. I can't help but wonder if the OOC record for the MAC would look a little better if you plugged in Wood, Q, Pollitz, Williams, Reitz, etc. The MAC is certainly there for the taking. It is going to depend on who learned the most from their OOC experience and who can put it all together and make a run for 3-4 days in Cleveland.

Valiant effort by the Zips, but it looks like its gonna fall short. Dug themselves too big a hole in the first half. Humpty, McNees, Linhart, Roberts, the McKnights have all had big 2nd halves, but Eric Maynor has been everything he was advertised as and more. Without Maynor the Zips blow VCU out of the gym. Guess that's the difference you get with a talented superstar in his senior year.

Zips trying to claw their way back into this thing. Got it down to single digits now.

Zips falling apart. VCU's pressure is getting to us and our guys are turning it over. Down 9 now. Got to turn this thing around. Rebounding is killing us again. I thought we had that figured out by now.

Not a bad start for the Zips. Up 9-6 at the first media TO. Linhart has 6 points from almost exactly the same spot, McNees added the other 3. If those two can continue to get in on the scoring I like our chances. VCU looks to be sleepwalking a bit and the refs (MAC refs) are calling fouls about every time someone breathes on someone else (no surprise there).

I was curious about this point that's been brought up a couple of times now so I did a bit of poking around. I'm not really sure where you get this 3:1 assist:TO ratio from. Now I'm not trying to compare your basketball knowledge to mine, I'm still relatively new to the basketball world and you apparently have a lot more experience than I do. But as I poked around a little bit I found a grand total of three NBA PG's who could claim anything close to a 3:1 career assist:TO ration. Those 3 were Chris Paul, Jason Kidd and Jose Calderon. The list of PG's who don't live up to those number includes former league MVP Steve Nash, former NBA finals MVP Tony Parker and an extensive list of pretty good PG's including Deron Williams, Mo Williams, Mike Bibby, Rajon Rondo and Andre Miller. I'm not saying there isn't room for improvement to Humpty's game, but with all of these good pro-PG's failing to achieve that 3:1 mark is it really reasonable to expect at freshman in college who has played in 9 games so far to hit that mark already???

CK I guess we just disagree as far as pressing the panic button. Personally, I see people look at the early disappointments of this team and the response by some people that we should make a fundamental change to our recruiting startegy and I see that as pressing the panic button. I've been as disappointed as anyone watching Penno's miracle and the throttling we got from Can't last season. And I certainly don't think KD's strategies are untouchable. There are quite a few things I would like to see improved on or done differently (free throw shooting, playing time for Swiech, more emphasis on our post game). Our recruiting strategy just isn't one of them.

I think some over at the Can't board would beg to differ that there isn't such a thing as a "rebuilding year." Many of them are looking at this year and even next year as a rebuilding year. Look, I'm not saying Can't's formula can't be successful long term. Yes, they have had the success and they have sustained it for a few years now. But there is no doubt that they do it on a dangerous road. When you have a group of guys (like this years freshman class) that will be together for 4-5 years at a time you build a lot of team chemistry and guys work better and better together. When you have a group of guys that will only be together 2 years, maximum you are constantly in a struggle to get teams to work together. Some years it works out for you, some years it doesn't. On top of that, there is a reason that these kids are going to JUCO's in the first place. I'm not saying they are bad kids or anything. Some of them are, other go the JUCO route simply b/c their grades aren't on par w/ what they need to play D-I hoops. So you have to ask yourself when you bring in one of these JUCO kids. Has he grown up after 2 years at a JUCO? Are his grades going to be better? Or is this something that is constantly going to loom over this kid? Look, I understand the desire by everyone to press the panic button just because our team hasn't looked as good this year as it has in past years. I get it. But if you go take a look at the Can't boards right now. With all of their JUCO's and transfers and high risk guys. You will find a pretty significant group of fans that are pressing the panic button there as well. Rethinking their strategy and wondering if they shouldn't be relying less on JUCO's and transfers and more on guys they can recruit right out of high school. This street runs both ways. Just think about that before you get too far down KD's throat.

If IF I were going to take a chance on a JUCO. The one that comes to mind is Ray Chambers. He's an athletic, skilled PF who has a good raport with our starting PG. The only question would be whether or not he's got his grades in line at the JUCO level to where he would make it to campus for us. As far as the Can't/Akron discussion goes, I see it as rather worthless. Can't lives life on the edge. They bring in JUCO's and transfers and character risks all over the place and for a while now it has worked for them. Akron is building a program with quality high school recruits. It might not provide the immediate results that you see at Can't, but we don't have to rebuild our roster every 2 years and we don't have to constantly worry about team chemistry falling apart due to bad attitudes. I've got quite a bit of faith in KD that his model is going to get us there in the next couple of years.

My game thoughts morning after:Sat about 2 rows behind Zeke. Wow does he pass the eyeball test. Still filling out that 7'0" frame, but he is every bit of that 7'0". Nice kid. Was very cordial to all the well wishers that came over to greet him. Look forward to seeing him on the court.Humpty's confidence is growing every game out there. That is certainly BAD news for the rest of the conference. He's going to cause some opponents nightmares this year. He just has so much confidence in his own abilities that you can't help but be impressed. It was nice to see him take charge of the team at times tonight. Any time we needed someone to step up and make a play there was Humpty knocking down a 3 or getting out on the fast break off a steal. This kid is going to be a special player for this program.Another very nice game from Conyers. He's still a little jittery on the offensive end at times, and there were times where I thought he had a good shot and passed it up, but he doesn't force things either which is very good. His athleticism is a huge benefit for us. Plays lock down defense (maybe even as good as Nate) and always seems to be in good position to grab rebounds. He's definitley a guy that needs to be getting 20 minutes plus every night.Speaking of forcing things on the offensive end...when is someone going to teach the McKnight brothers to pass out of a double team. Both of them take more ill advised shots in the paint when they draw multiple defenders to them. This is where we really miss Wood. His ability to pass the ball back out of the post when help came was uncanny. Chris and Brett just have that mentality that they have to force the shot up and it leads to too many bad possessions.I was VERY impressed with our ability to fight through A&T's full court pressure. For such a young team I don't think I saw us make one mistake all night against A&T's pressure defense. It was really nice to watch everyone work together like that.A few interesting lineup notes. First was the start at SG going to walkon Eric Coblentz. Roberts and McNees got more minutes, but you have to wonder about how much confidence KD has in those 2 at this point. The other interesting thing was the 3-4 minutes in the 2nd half where we played with 4 forwards (Conyers, Nate and the McKnights) and one guard (either Humpty or McNees). Conyers was playing the 2 guard and did a very nice job. The lineup really seemed to do well together. I expect to see more of that as the season goes on.Overall not much to complain about. We ran into a buzzsaw in the 1st half where A&T couldn't miss a shot if they took everything from half court on their knee's, but the guys hung in there and pulled away in the end.

I'm not sure what he's getting at here. He says we should look at a JUCO or an at-risk high schooler to supplement Zeke in this class. Does he not realize that we have only one scholarship to give (presuming that all of the indications are correct that Conyers will get another year)? That part of the article just doesn't make sense. I hope KD doesn't go down that road. It's a great way to build short term success but eventually it will bite you in the ass. Exhibit A: The 2008-09 Can't State Golden flushes.

For the time being Carrol won't be getting that many minutes do to what looked like a pretty serious hammy injury last night.I wouldn't be surprised to see Coblentz get a few more minutes the next couple of week with Ronnie out. I think the problem there (as it usually is with walk-on's) is depth. This year especially we've had a bit of a logjam in the backcourt.

The greatest thing about tonight was seeing that never give up attitude. This team could have easily cashed it in late in that 2nd half when Niagra was up 9. Especially after their experience in the Legends Class...Sham. They didn't. They clawed their way back into the game, made the plays they needed to when they needed to and got on the bus with a W. This team is still a work in progress by all means, but if these guys can keep that kind of an attitude they will get there sooner than later.

Zips just grew up tonight in a big way. Could have folded in the middle of that 2nd half when Niagra had all the momentum. Instead they scrap their way back into the game and pull it off at the end. Wasn't without a cost though as Chris McKnight looks like he suffered a pretty serious wrist injury, Humpty was limping at one time in the 2nd half (but still took control of the team down the stretch) and Tim Carroll injured his hamstring. Could this be a turning point for this team this season?On another note, there is NOONE I want shooting FT's at the end of the game other than Daryl Roberts.

I think if you stagger when you put in Brett and when you put in Humpty (Brett coming in on one substitution, Humpty the next) it is most beneficial. That way every time you rotate guys in you have a sparkplug coming in. Those two guys (along w/ maybe Cvetinovic who I think should be starting) are our sparkplugs. As for Humpty, he'll get there. I don't doubt that. He's going to have to learn to play more in a system than improvising. I get the impression he was allowed a lot of freedom in High School because of his superior athletic talent. At this level, his athletic talent really isn't all that superior to other guards. He's got to learn to take that talent and work it into KD's system. If he does he has the makings of a very effective guard.

For my money:Starters:Steward: Not shooting the ball particularly well, but it seems as if the team has a better flow when he's on the floor.McNees: One would think Roberts here, but I actually like him coming off the bench and leading the 2nd unitLinhart: Duh!C. McKnight: Probably our best offensive weapon for the first unit.Cvetinovic: It's hard to keep a guy with his attitude and hustle on the bench. Seems to have the attitude and body to be our best rebounder and isn't incompetent on the offensive end by any means.1st Substitution:Roberts and B.McKnight in for McNees and Cvetinovic: Brett brings in our most consistent scoring punch and he seems to play his best when his brother on the floor. Roberts seems like he's best suited to play that role that Cedrick did for so many years, leading the 2nd unit. Could take Steward off the floor instead of McNees if Steve's shot is on. Cvetinovic gets a breather as I hear he is still working on conditioning.Lineup: Steward, Roberts, Linhart, B.McKnight, C.McKnight2nd Substitution:Humpty and Bardo in for Steward and Linhart: Humpty's talent is obvious, but he's got to learn to calm down and play under control. He should still get minutes, but I don't quite trust him starting yet. Bardo only really gets the nod here because of his height. So far he has been frustratingly inconsistent. I'm going back to my initial assessment of him that he's never going to be more than a 10-15 minute a night guy. Needs to plant his behind in the paint, wait for the ball to come off the hoop and go get it more and stop worrying about everything else. Steward gets a blow b/c he's the obvious guy for Humpty to replace and Nate comes out to save his legs a bit for when we need some good defense down the road.Lineup: Humpty, Roberts, B.McKnight, C.McKnight, BardoFrom there I think you give Conyers a couple minutes subbing in for Chris. I have nothing against Jimmy, but his defense isn't THAT good to make up for the fact that he looks like a scared third grader in gym class on the offensive end. He almost looks like he cringes every time the ball comes his way. After that you start rotating the starters back in. Rinse and repeat.

4 point play for EKU, they're up 8 w/ under 3 to go. Looking like a tough loss for the Zips tonight. Definitly a learning experience.

Zips back to w/in 1 on a Hitchens steal and a layin w/ a couple McNees 3's. Would love to sneak outta here w/ a win. Learning experience for the Zips. Sounds like EKU is throwing some weird zone's at us.

Having been paying that much attention (going back and forth b/w listening to the Zips and watching LeBron and the Cavs dismantle the Knicks).We have a Steve Swiech sighting. 4 points 3 rebounds in his first college action.

Excuses are like assholes, every Zip has one and they all stink.I've heard every excuse in the book for this defense. We don't have the personel to run it yet. Wait til some of the freshmen start showing up. We have too many injuries. We don't have the key guy playing Rover. Well they do force a lot of turnovers. They played well against Ohio State a year and a half ago.It's time to stop with the excuses. This defense has sucked. Let me repeat that and make it as clear as I possibly can. SUCKED. You can continue to make excuses for the defense, or you can make changes. It's time to make a change.

Just as I expected, either outright ignoring us or focusing on the Zeke factor.

One other thing I saw last night that I forgot to mention. We did a very nice job breaking through Withrop's full court pressure when they went to it. I know we've had problems in the past with that, but last night it didn't give us much trouble at all. If there is one thing that I am very encouraged by with this team its the fact that we don't seem to turn the ball over a lot. Withrop is a team that forces a lot of turnovers and last night they only came up with 7. Young teams have a tendency to turn the ball over a lot as they get used to playing w/ each other and playing at the D-I level. I haven't seen that from this group and that to me is very encouraging.I'm still waiting on our PG's a bit. You can tell that neither of them are fully comfortable running the show yet. It's not that they can't do it, but it isn't coming naturally. They are still thinking a lot and not making quick decisions. I suppose this also helps contribute to the low turnover numbers as we aren't rushing ourselves into bad decisions. Anyways, I think we have to be patient with these guys. It's going to take more than 3 games for them to get fully comfortable with running our offense. In the meantime, I guess McNees isn't a terrible option to take a few minutes at the PG. I still don't trust him bringing the ball up the court and he still plays only mediocre defense. Not to mention the fact that the best part of his game, his shooting, has been very suspect lately.