Captain Kangaroo

I will probably arrive 5 game-minutes late, so I'll miss our starting 5. I don't think it is a big loss. In fact, it'll probably help my blood pressure to miss it.

An epic decision. That's not a Charlie Frye "Superman T" is it?

+2

Certainly one of the best non-tourney wins of the Keith Dambrot era. The back-to-back MAC Champ Zips get everyone's best shot, so pulling off a double OT win in Athens is about as good as it gets. The win certainly reinforces what we saw in Cleveland last March - the the Zips can beat anyone in the MAC, even without Abreu. That said - For the "Think Bigger" crowd, I think our performances against upper-tier mid-majors and BCS-tier opposition since Abreu's departure shows we aren't exactly ready for an ACC invite either. "Performing Bigger" (beating noteworthy teams outside the MAC) is probably on the back-burner until Abreu is adequately replaced. Back on topic - when Tree, Harney and Q are on their game, we can overcome a lot of shortcomings against MAC competition. When Kretzer and McAdams are hot too, the Zips can be unbeatable. I like that Harney and Forsythe stepped up. I hope it is a trend. Harney has always played his best when he starts. I think Forsythe enjoyed not facing a "BCS big" like he has so many times this year. Diggs makes his share of mistakes, but continues to offset them with clutch plays and hustle. Evans (who was that guy we saw vs. Oregon State?) and Betancourt make more mistakes, and are not offsetting them with any good ones. After CB's 2nd reach in foul within about 20 seconds, Frenchie yells "YOU CAN'T KEEP DOING THAT!!" into the mike. Glad we're not the only ones getting frustrated. Again - great win by the Zips. It really showed the potential for a supremely successful MAC season. Perhaps it even showed the benefit of playing such a tough non-conference schedule...I don't know that we'd have the grit and confidence necessary to pull off such a big road win if we'd have played our traditional early OOC cup cakes. Beat Miami. And then send a message to the MAC with a throttling of Toledo on Saturday. And on a completely unrelated note - Many of us were surprised when Elton Alexander had BG in his "Top 5 in Ohio." His buddy Louis Orr hasn't won squat in his way-too-long tenure at the Stroh's Light Center. Elton also didn't have the Zips rated in his Top 10, let alone Top 5. Where's BG? Where are the Zips?

The affected parents are coaching their kid's basketball games on Saturday morning. For those without kids, I can pass along that Saturday mornings are usually full of kid's games, music/dance lessons, etc. Football and basketball games in the morning are not family-friendly. Ask me in 5 years, when my son is off to college, and I won't be grousing. But at his point in my life, missing an all-too-rare non-cupcake opponent at the JAR due to an 11am tip-off kinda sucks. You guys from the south are way too sensitive. Have some sweet tea, some pork cracklin's, scratch on a washboard and relax.

I see we've got an 11am start time so we can be on the coveted ESPNU? Sucks to be me. My basketball team takes the floor at noon. I hope there are other families out there who don't get to attend due to their kid's Saturday morning activities. It'll make me feel better.

1.) I wish racer wouldn't go on opposing team's boards and post. 2.) OU fans seem far more interested in discussing punctuation and grammar than college basketball.

Beacon Column

If you have DirectTV, they are offering free ESPN Full Court this week (through Sunday). OU/Akron is included.

Here is a NE Ohio (Akron, in fact) recruit that probably would have fared well in the MAC.

Mentioned as offering a couple of the state's top recruits Who was the last Indiana player of note on the Zips roster? Reggie McKenzie?

In Bowden's master plan "win by a little, then win by a lot." We began winning by a little at mid-season. It would be nice to take care of the lower-echelon MAC programs comfortably, No more nip-and-tuck games vs. UMass...and whip K.e.n.t. by a lot.

Wonder how UAB's recruiting class will be this season?

I was afraid of that. Between Bowden and Tressel we probably have more coaching "contacts" than any school. I have complete faith that we'll land a T Buck-level replacement very quickly. But the interim period, however short, might cost us Washington. Bowden's gotta be on the phone with him showing him some "love" and keeping the kid in the loop regarding the candidates/hire.

I thought he did an outstanding job. Our DB play was as good as I've seen it sine the Vincent/Lyons/Wolf days. T Buck got the best out of the guys he had. Freeman may even have a pro career. Good luck, T Buck.

If you want my honest assessment...I think McAdams is rushing his shot. He's a catch-and-shoot guy, so he needs to get it off quickly. But he is rushing his shot too much at the expense of accuracy. I mentioned in the Hawai'i tourney that Kretzer's form is off. His shot is typically text book. But I see his elbow and arms drifting to the side on his follow through. That could be due to being off-balance. Or it could be due to him shooting from distances too far from the hoop...the further away you are, the worse your form becomes. If I'm McAdams, I start pump-faking more, sliding to the right, and hitting my shot more in rhythm. If I am Kretzer, I focus on my footwork and balance, and I start taking shots closer to the line. And for both - if the outside shot isn't falling, drive to the hole. It is amazing what a couple lay-ups can do to improve the confidence in your outside shot. Slumps are common to all sports, and are contagious. And these guys are obviously slumping (we know they are capable of hitting the "3" at a 35+ % clip). Once one of them figures it out, the other will follow.

Tough to get an assist when the guy you're passing the ball to cannot hit the open look.

General Observation: Over the past few seasons, opponents would marvel at the fact that the Zips could substitute a 2nd wave of players that was still better than their own starters. That is not the case this season. Specific Observation: McAdams, Evans and Kretzer need to get on track. Our entire offense is predicated on them hitting the open 3. When they are chucking bricks from 23 feet, Tree gets pissed down low. When Tree gets pissed, he saunters. When Tree saunters, and we hoist up 23 foot bricks, we get run out of the gym. Our point guard deficiencies are well known. But our outside shooting woes have officially surpassed the PG woes in my book. OU will beat us by 30 if Evans, Kretzer and McAdams don't start hitting their open shots. Several teams will.

Joins a growing list of Akron assistants that return to UA. His o-lines under Owens were always good. I wish the circumstances of his hire were different, but I am glad he's back at UA. Look forward to seeing him once again at the golf outing.

Offered by the Zips and Temple If he signed (long ways away) he'd be the 3rd WPa QB on our roster.

Divide each of those stats by a factor of 2 and I think he'd fit right in with the Zips.

#1 #2 #3

I vote for Rob "Big Country" Preston because he is Joe Dunn's all-time "Zips Offensive POTG" selection leader. If you are Player of the Game 58 times in your career, you gotta be the best.

I agree. But how can the MAC upper-echelon still be so bad in comparison to the so-so teams they faced in bowl competition? Is a great MAC program still a bottom-feeder in the big picture of D1-A football...can't beat the weakest BCS bowl-level programs, nor the upper-echelon non-BCS teams? Why is there no really great MAC football team? Miami and Marshall of the early 2000's were legitimately great. Now our MAC football "flagship" NIU looks a lot like the Zips men's basketball team. Whips the cupcakes...gets wins against BCS bottom-feeders...but fails against mid/low level BCS programs. As good as MAC football quality-of-play was this season, why no "legit" Top 25 teams? Has the MAC simply improved from horrible, to "almost competitive"? Is the MAC as a whole, in the midst of Bowden's "Lose big, lose by a little, win by a little, win big" process? Is the NCAA happy that they can parade out MAC programs as the Washington Generals during bowl season, and get the remainder of college football some feel-good, season-ending wins? 0-5 begs the questions.

If six is unacceptable, then what's seven?