Captain Kangaroo

December 7th.

En Fuego Agua.

Oral Writing

I think you watched a different game than everyone else.

I think watching Malone play Bethune-Cookman would have been fun. The only interesting things I observed from this game were - 1.) I want to see if Ibitayo can perform against upper-tier competition. He's now proven he can provide serviceable minutes against lower-level teams. And that is a noteworthy step forward. Let's see how he does in the next two games. 2.) Diggs remains our most creative passer. If he could trade his high-dribble cuts to the basket...which always get stolen...for a few assists...I think he's still our best PG option. If he still wants to play the isolation guy at the top of the key, then forget it. Put him at the wing. 3.) Evans is playing with some confidence. His 3 stroke looks better and better every game. If he can simply manage the game at point guard, and hit his open looks, we can run a decent offense. 4.) How about the girl in the 6 inch heels and size 0 skirt behind the B-C bench? Nice warm up for tonight's game. ORU will be a good barometer of our 2013-14 potential. A win by 7+ would bode well for the future.

Hopefully it helps his Tree fro shooting.

I love this kid. I can't believe he doesn't have a D1-A offer yet. Great feet, great arm, winner...what else do you need?

Exhibition games, yes. "Real" games, no. Once you log 1 minute in a real game there is no turning back. Barring injury. No gray area.

I agree. Toledo is very solid too. The Decade of the Cupcake may be nearing an end?

Hey, I don't make the rules. Receding hairline is, by definition, Sherman Hemsley. It's the "Look-alike Law."

While not a statistic, I found it interesting that Malik Jackson won the on-campus "Sherman Hemsley Look-alike Contest" held last May.

Former Tiffin HC Keith Dambrot would probably agree with your rationale.

I think Kwan hasn't been playing for the same reason all the other Zips haven't been playing - the stupid "one-game-in-a-month" schedule. Barring injury, since he's played in a D-1 game this season, he cannot be red-shirted this season. If I were him, I might consider notifying the Zips trainer of some sudden, severe plantar facitis. I think we will need him in Hawai'i. I wish he could play point guard.

True. But now we're starting Ibitayo and Betancourt.

The Washington Generals of D-1 basketball arrive at the JAR Saturday night. Not a juggernaut by any stretch. Hope they don't press us.

If you stop in Fountain Hills I'll buy you a beer.

The issue has been addressed. Sports talk can resume.

Regarding my knock on CSU's intensity...I've seen a lot of these games over the years, and they have often been absolute wars. CSU didn't bring that "get-in-their-grill" intensity that I'd seen in the past. Dambrot brought his team in ready for a war. I think CSU took what is a rivalry game a little lightly. All the credit goes to KD and the Zips. And Waters and CSU deserve some criticism.

Thoughts on the CSU game are as follows: 1.) CSU played lazy. I went into the game expecting a backyard brawl, and I just saw a bunch of lazy schleps in CSU uniforms. Very disappointed. 2.) Is Gary Waters turning into Rollie Massimino Jr., collecting a nice paycheck and slacking off on recruiting? I was as big a fan of Gary Waters as his own mom, up until last year. That lame season gave me some concern. Maybe they pick it up as this season progresses, but the eyeball test tells me they will be mediocre again in the Horizon. 3.) What a fantastic place to watch a basketball game. The seats were like a Lay-Z-Boy recliner. All seats angled to give you a great view of the court. Beer sales. I wish we'd get rid of the JAR and play our home games @ The Wolstein Center. Share it like the Jets/Giants. 4.) Ibitayo had a serviceable game. If his 3-point push shot can find the twine at a 35-or-so percent clip, he can actually help our team. If it is 18-percent, or whatever it was last season, he can't. Yeah he's long, yeah he plays good D, but so does Diggs, and Diggs can reliably score. 5.) Harney actually hit a 3? Harney and Ibitayo's shooting form seems better suited 1954 than today, but if they go in I guess that's all that counts. 6.) Tree looked rusty. The effort was there as always, but he forced a lot of stuff. 7.) Dambrot moves substantially ahead of Waters in the battle for NE Ohio D1 coaching supremacy. You could have made a case for Waters having the title last season, based upon his overall breadth of work, but not now. 8.) If CSU had pressed us the entire game, would we have scored 30 points? If I am an opposing coach, and I have any sort of depth, I press the Zips the entire game. 9.) Welcome to Akron, Nyles Evans. Nice to see him stroking the wide open 3's. Ball handling still is a big concern, but he took a big step forward in fitting-in with the Zips on Saturday. Hope he can now exhale a bit and start playing basketball. Old-timers - does he remind anyone else of Aaron Beidleman? 10.) I wish Betancourt were better. 11.) Could CSU rotate any slower in their zone? What game tape were they watching to give us so many wide-open 3's? 12.) I'll guess there were 800 - 1,000 Zips fans in attendance? Pretty good showing for the Zips faithful. Bethune-Cookman should be a nice warm up for decent competition against Oral Roberts (won @ Tulsa) and Detroit (wins vs. James Madison, S Fla and Rhode Island).

Being an oldtimer here, I may be dating myself with this comment, but does anyone remember that "Back the Zips" campaign? It was a coon's age ago, but I still remember it. I thought it was pretty clever. I wish we'd do something like it again.

While people grouse about our point guard situation, I don't think they have turned the ball over in roughly 3 weeks? I'm sure we have the fewest turnovers in D-1 basketball over that span.

How would the bitter member of the venomous minority feel about such a statement?

Go Bucknell!

We've had some defensive talent in the past. But whatever we had was poorly utilized. Chase Blackburn's career at UA would be completely different had he played under Amato. Dwayne LeFall probably would have flourished too. Overall, this is the most talented defense we've had since Hilk/Motten/Clark were at LB. That was a great defense. Undersized starters of yore like Ricky Jackson, Mackey, Detweiler, Stokes...I don't know that they'd have seen the field much had they played in 2013.

I am confident T-Buck will seal the deal.