Quickzips

Two things make this a little misleading to me.First off, the game went into overtime. Naturally the starters minutes are going to go up with those extra 5 minutes of play.Second, Florida State didn't have a lot of depth either. Now is this an excuse for us not to go to our bench? No, but it does show that we didn't necessarily need to to keep up with fresh bodies that our opponents were putting in. Florida State only played 8 guys and only 6 of them played double digit minutes. For contrast we played 10 guys and 7 went double digit minutes. I'd love to see more contribution from our bench as much as the next guy, but I can't blame KD for not doing it. McNees has proven to be a streaky player and when he's not on he can be a major liability on the floor. Quade gets more and more painful to watch by the game. Bardo still has a long way to go before he is ready to play major minutes. Roberts and B.McKnight are coming along nicely, but you've still got to be careful with guys who have only played half a season. Finally, at this point it is blatantly obvious that there is a big underlying problem with Conyers that is keeping him off the floor.

I'm not sure I understand what the complaint is then? Everyone whose been a Zips fan for more than 30 seconds knows that the Beacon Journal doesn't give a crap about us. That isn't going to change until the paper itself goes under or the Zips give them something that they absolutely can't ignore (a win against a midling ACC team in a tournament that noone cares about certainly doesn't qualify). Like you said, the Cleveland media will focus on OSU and CSU. The national media certainly doesn't care. We're on our own. Sad, but thats the way it is and thats the way it will continue to be. My prediction, another thread like this will be forthcoming after the UMass game on Saturday.

Honestly, I'm not at all surprised with the lack of coverage on a national or local stage. Noone on the national stage really cares about the NIT right now. They are more interested in breaking down what the 10 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA bracket eats for lunch after their morning walkthrough before a game against a top 25 opponent. The NCAA's are the cash cow, the NIT's are an afterthought. Thats just the way it is on the national level.As far as local coverage, or the lack thereof, well, quite honestly it isn't going to change until two things happen. First, the Akron Beacon Journal finally goes out of business and is replaced by a newsgroup that actually gives a damn about the local community. Second, the Zips stop pissing down their legs in the biggest games of the year. Win that game Saturday, or win the MACC a year ago and all that coverage you see on Can't right now, comes our way. Lose those two games in the manner that we did, and people continue to not care about this team. It's just that simple.

Rivals and scout star rankings are totally meaningless, especially when it comes to midmajor recruiting. This issue has been hashed out over and over again, especially in some of the football forums.

Heck of a game last night for the Zips.Florida State definitley did some things to make it easier on us. Especially with turning the ball over like it was their job. To be fair, the Zips forced a lot of those turnovers, but there were some in there that were just uncalled for on FSU's end. Specifically the one inbounds pass where the inbounder just threw the ball right over his guards head for an easy steal by Roberts. Either way, the Zips still had to take advantage of it and they did.By the same token the Zips did some things to keep FSU in the game. If the Zips cut back on the travelling calls, hit even 60-75% on their free throws and box out a little better on a few rebounds that game never goes to OT. Dambrot flat out out-coached FSU and our guys flat outhustled them. I don't think I was the only one waiting for another late game meltdown but Dials in particular wouldn't let it happen. I'm gonna miss that kid, even if he is playing way out of position this year.

I think I speak for the rest of Zipsnation when I say we'd LOVE to see Zeke in Akron blue and gold. This program is really building momentum over the last couple years and Zeke could be one of those pieces that could push us over the top into some serious NCAA tourney runs. Speaking as a student who came here 5 years ago as an undergrad and just this year started on graduate work, I have to say you won't find a program and a school quite like Akron anywhere else. If you're paying attention when you step foot on campus you can really feel the school growing and the athletic programs are a big part of that. For me when I came to tour here as a high schooler that was the first thing that stood out. That by coming here you really are a part of something as opposed to just being plugged into a University that is already there and has no real vision for the future. I know I wouldn't be the only one to welcome Zeke into the Akron family with open arms. We're all looking forward to it.

I don't think anyone is really down on Steve, but noone really knows exactley what we have in him yet. He wouldn't be the first player to redshirt a year and have a great career here and he wouldn't be the first person to bust out after coming in with high expectations. This is going to be a VERY young team next year. We're going to be developing a lot of these guys on the fly so to speak and Steve isn't going to be one of them. I'd love nothing more than to see Steve come in and give us 20-25 minutes at C, scoring 8-12 points per game, grabing 6-8 rebounds per game and playing tough defense inside. As far as people giving up on Steve for Zeke, I don't think anyone is doing that at all. At the MAC level you can NEVER have enough talented big men. Having a 7'0" (by the time he gets here if he comes) Zeke and a 6'9"-6'10" Steve along with a 6'10" Bardo gives this team a leg up on just about every other team in the conference down the road and I have to believe that KD could find enough playing time for all of them. I don't know about you guys but in 2 years I really like a lineup like this:G:McNees: 3rd year of experienceRoberts: 3rd yearHitchens: 2nd yearSullivan: 2nd yearSteward: 2nd yearF:Chris McKnight: 4th year of experienceBrett McKnight: 3rd yearCvetinovic: 2nd yearMcClanahan: 2nd yearParrish: 2nd yearC:Bardo: 3rd year of experienceSteve: 2nd yearZeke: 1st yearI don't see a whole lot of holes in that kind of a lineup. There's depth, there's quickness, there's shooting, there's inside presence. That lineup gives us at least two to three more years where we have a legit chance to make some tourney runs.

I need to throw my .02 in on the JUCO ideas I see being tossed around. I don't like it. The only reason it is even an issue right now is b/c Can't just won the whole thing with a bunch of JUCO's. Last year when we beat them 3 times and knocked them out in the semi's noone was crying for us to start recruiting JUCO's, but b/c the shoe was on the other foot this year there is a faction of zipsnation that wants us to change recruiting strategies. The fact of the matter is it is a dangerous short term strategy for building a team that is difficult to sustain. Can't has done it for a few years in a row now, and you have to at least give some props to them for being able to, but for every Can't out there having success with JUCO's there is an Ohio who ends up with a bunch of overrated streetballers who never develop. I'll take KD recruiting quality high schoolers who can get it done on and off the court every day of the week over going for broke on a bunch of JUCO's. All indications seem to be that the strategy is starting to pay off long term with better recruits coming in each year. You can take your JUCO's and go watch Can't or OU if you want, I'm a Zips fan and I like how KD is recruiting.

I'm still down in the dumps over last night, but what are you gonna do. I know we have an NIT game now, but really, after the snub we got last year, it's hard to care about that game, so for the most part I'm moving on.Next year is going to be interesting. Like a couple people have said already, this isn't going to be the Zips we are used to seeing play. I'm very excited to have some speed at the point guard position with guys like Humpty and Steward. I personally think having a point who can consistently push the ball up the court is a huge bonus for any team. That said, those guys have all of zero games of college basketball experience. They are going to need time to develop.I really think we need to groom McNees into that 6th man position. I don't think he's ever really going to be a guy you can rely on for 30 minutes or so as a starter, but he can play that microwave role off the bench if utilized properly.The two guard is going to be another interesting factor. We've been a bit spoiled with Dials and Middleton the last few years, but with those guys gone, someone will have to step up. Again, we run into a problem with experience. Roberts seems like the most likely candidate from the get go, but even he has limited experience. By all indications Sullivan and McClanahan seem like great talents, but they are going to need some time to develop.The one place where I think we're going to be ok at is the one place that earlier this year we were all so concerned about and that is the SF. You've already got Nate there who can contribute on either side of the floor every night. Then you've got Brett McKnight who seems to have earned a lot of trust from KD and will only get better as he, you guessed it, has time to develop. Conyers seems like the odd man out here, which is a shame considering the high expectations many of us had for him.I'd expect Chris McKnight to start at PF and see the majority of the minutes. He really started to come around the 2nd half of the season and is really the best frontcourt option we have right now. This is kind of going to be "his team" over the next couple of years and he'll need to establish that early on in the season. I like the depth we have here Parrish and Cvetinovic, but again, these are guys that will need time to develop (do we see a theme here?). You've also got Brett and Sweich who I think could play some 4 if needed.The Center spot is where I'm most worried. Bardo at his best is never going to be much more than a 15 minute a night guy, which is fine if we had someone who could cover the other 25. Sweich, with all the talent he supposedly has is still an unproven commodity. Can he cover those other 25 minutes or so or will we have to play small a lot? Again, it's going to depend on how Steve develops.Next year is really the year that I won't have any problem with a poor OOC schedule. This is not the type of team that you take on the road vs. top 25 opponents a lot. They are going to be a young team that could be very fragile mentally. I don't have any problem staying at home and scheduling a bunch of cupcakes next year. Too tough of an OOC schedule could negatively impact this team for a long time.One thing that is going to help this team out, is that a lot of the main competitors are losing key players particularly in the frontcourt (Reitz, T.Pollitz, Quantance, Williams). The MAC is probably going to look very different next year. Should be interesting.

I need a reason to hate Can't????

Two years ago the knock on this program was that we couldn't even win a game at the Q. We got over that hump.Last year the knock on this program was that we couldn't even get to the finals. We got over that hump.This year the knock on this program has been that we choked our chances away in the finals. Tonight is the night to get over that hump.Can't isn't invincible. They can be beat just like any other team. I really hope we learned some things from Sunday. We have to have the intensity on the court, but it has to be controlled intensity. Don't get so amped up that you force things. Play within the offense, but be aggressive. Get out and pressure the ball in the backcourt on Can't. Force them into some turnovers. One more game. One more hump to get over. LETS GO ZIPS!!!

Why would you ever have to make this choice? Linhart can take Kool out of the game man to man .. we don't need to double Kool. If you need to double Reitz, you do it from somewhere else, and force someone other than Kool to make the shot.I don't think this is that type of pick poison thing at all. We attempt to take Kool out of the game, and force Reitz to find someone else to take the open lookI don't have quite as much confidence in Linhart as some on here. I've seen him lock down on the opponents best perimeter player (last night and against Dayton are the two best examples I can think of), but I've seen his struggle on the defensive end too. Until he gets to the point where he can bring that clamp down defense every night I'm always going to be worried about him. Don't get me wrong, he's a great role player for us and I love the hustle and energy he brings, but I'm not quite into the MVP thing that goes around for him. If he clamps down on Kool again tonight and can take him out of the game w/out us sacrificing anything inside, definitley a big advantage for us.

This is kind of a pick your poisin kind of game for us. You can either try to stop Reitz inside or you can try and shut down Kool on the outside. I don't know which way you try to go. Logic says you try and shut down the inside game and make them beat you from the perimeter, but I'm not sure if we have the bodies to man up on Reitz all night long. Kool is their facilitator and if you can keep him in check maybe it cuts down on the touches for Reitz and contains him to a certain degree in the process.As Cap'n already stated, bench production will be the key. If we can continue to get production out of guys like B.McKnight, Roberts, McNees and Company I think we'll be ok. If not, then we are really gonna need Nick, Cedrick and Wood to have career style games.

At the end of the day, people remember teams that make it to the NCAA's (want a good example, take a look at bobcatattack and how longingly they talk about their '05 appearance). Noone cares if your in the NIT, regardless of how far you go. Does anyone even know who won the NIT last year? Without looking it up.

He did? Could have fooled me. <note: sarcasm, I did see him out there>As far as Conyers goes, if what was said about his refusing to come in is true I'd be willing to bet a fair chunk of change that he won't be on this team next year. Whether he transfers or gets kicked off the team, that kind of shit won't fly.

It doesn't necessarily have to be Linhart, but some people not named Dials, Middleton or Wood are going to have to step up each day for us to win this thing. Yesterday it was Nate, Brett McKnight and Daryl Roberts. Tonight???

During the OU postgame last week KD said that Jimmy had gotten into his dog house. Didn't specify as to what happened, but apparently he isn't out of it yet. It's too bad. The kid has some talent, but he just hasn't been able to put it together.Speaking of disappearing players, has anyone seen Quade Milum lately? I thought he was still on the team?

From what I watched, I really think Miami can give Can't a better game tomorow night than OU could. OU is so soft mentally it isn't even funny. Miami might not be a great athletic team, but they aren't going to fold up like a cheap suit at the first chance they get. How sweet was it to watch Bubba throwing up brick after brick after brick that second half. Real steal O'Shea made prying that kid away from us. Great player he's been for them. Won them so many games. Ice water runs through that kids veins.

Time to implement the suicide watch in Athens. O'Sham's team is showing yet again how mentally weak they are. Miami is outplaying them in just about every phase of the game and they are doing it w/ Tim Pollitz having one of his worst games of the year. Ohh and good old Bubba has been bricking 3's most of the 2nd half.

I have to believe playing 2 games in as many days is going to start catching up to CMU's jumpers at some point here. They can't keep shooting from behind the arch that hot. Vandelay's blog has this to say, "If this were a boxing match I wonder if Akron just took the best couple of punches that Central had to throw at them, yet stayed on their feet." I think thats a pretty good analogy.

CMU is hot from behind the arc. Gotta stop that.

Don't you mean you expect WMU to win the WMU/EMU matchup?My bad. Yeah. Damn directional Michigans always get me confused. As much as I'd love EMU to win that one, I do expect WMU to win it.

The only game I DON'T think is in too much danger is WMU/EMU. I expect EMU to win that.Central has beaten us before and they are a pretty good team if you let them be.Toledo is a tough matchup for Can't. They may not have the depth to match up, but they have athleticism and have beaten them before.Ohio/Miami is a big rivalry game and is a game that will really depend on which team shows up. We all know about the inconsistencies Ohio has, but Miami can be just as Jekyl and Hyde.

Looks like this could end up being the first big upset of the tourney so far. Anyone have any insight as to what is going on up there? I have to believe Miami is probably just running into a buzzsaw with Buffalo hitting a lot of tough shots. Miami is never going to score a lot of points themselves, but they also don't give up a lot of points. If they are losing like this you have to assume that Buffalo is just hitting a lot of shots. I could be wrong though.

Reports are suspension for disciplinary reasons.