Captain Kangaroo

Michael Jackson had great footwork. But he couldn't dribble worth a damn.

Local newspaper article on his signing

Sorry to hear he's having breakfast with Wistercil, but it's cool that he'll be meeting with Bowden. Funny conversation from several years ago, when Mike Thomas was AD: AD: "Hi Jason. We noticed you've never really donated to UA before. Would you like to become a little more involved with your alma mater?" JT: "Sure. No one's ever asked me before." Unreal that he was an all pro for several seasons before anyone from UA contacted him. Great to see Bowden reaching out.

You should check out Steve Czaban on Sirius 94/XM 208. I just found he's back on the air/satellite this morning. Something good to listen to when Stern is a re-run.

Very thorough column from a Tulsa newspaper on the at-large chances of ORU, and a history of recent at-larges and near-misses.

Maybe...but to the NIT.

Are his chances of making a shot from 2 feet away any better than 21 feet away? If we can get a 2-for-1 deal, maybe KD should give Ms. Delice Coffey a call and arrange a joint session with Nik & Nitro?

The Zips are in WMU's heads. Haven't we won something like 10-of-11 vs. them? They choked it away at the end, and Zeke and Q carried us. It's nice to have confident players on the floor when the other team is fielding chokers who don't know how to close a game out.

Didn't we make up a 5-point deficit, and subsequently win the game during that exact span? Offensively, those guys were atrocious. But they are seniors who know how to win these types of games. And they play hard D. Of bigger concern is Harney, who is defensively a big liability. He was slightly better this game than EMU...at least he put his hands up a couple times to block the passing lanes. But for the most part his arms are at his sides, he avoids contact and gets beat off the dribble. As nasty and aggressive as Tree has become, Harney has gone the opposite way. He's gotta step it up.

10 points in an entire 1st half. By a #9 seed. Could you imagine trying to defend that selection, and seed, if it were an at-large? THAT would be silly.

I remember Fat Tub of Goo Stainbrook trying to kick a Zip in the shins last year (Zeke?). Man, did WMU prove themselves to be a bunch of sore losers in that game.

Thank God they didn't get an at-large that year...it would have ruined any MAC program's chance at an at-large bid for eternity.

JSF said 2006, not me.

They lost every measuring stick OOC game that season. Their loss to the Zips in March wouldn't have helped their cause either. That K.e.n.t. team would certainly have been in the at-large conversation, but ultimately they wouldn't have made it. And judging from their Pitt beatdown in the tourney, they shouldn't have made it. And don't get me started on their follow up "appearance" vs. UNLV. Something like 40-10 at the half?

Had we beaten VCU and/or CSU, we had a legit at-large shot. It is fun to see the Zips in the at-large conversation. Short-sighted Zips fans have long opined "The Zips will never get an at-large...the only thing that matters it the MAC Tourney...the MAC hasn't had an at-large in 10+ years...wah wah wah." The MAC hasn't seen a team as talented and deep as this Zips squad in 10-or-so years. The Zips, or any other MAC program, are a decade+ removed from serious at-large discussion because, quite frankly, they didn't deserve to be discussed. If this team didn't contract the Marsupial Suspension Flu in December, an at-large possibility would be very real. It's nice to finally be in the discussion. Look for real, serious NCAA at-large Zips banter in 2012-13. Especially after a couple NCAA tourney wins in 2012.

It was only for ESPNU. ESPNU is the devil. BTW - I made the trip to Athens last year. A handful of Zips fans joined me. I doubt there would have been many on-hand this February 25th (Saturday night). Wonder if The Keith Dambrot Show will still promote it as being held on the 25th? Smart money says "Yes."

The phone has not stopped ringing...the texts incessant...tweets...FaceBook...I am absolutely fed up with Ken Pomeroy and Jeff Sagarin hassling me over this week's "Harney20" calculation. I have half a mind to tell'em to go pound salt...but it just wouldn't be fair to all the others who have waited patiently for this week's number...should there even be a number. The answer is -- "Yes," there is a Harney20 value associated with the Western Michigan game. If Harney is a complete no-show, my CKalculator™ says the Zips will in fact lose in Kalamazoo. Nick's lacklustre performance Saturday night factored heavily into the WMU final value, as Harney20 is weighted towards most-recent performances. And the Zips showed Saturday that a disinterested, lethargic Harney performance can still yield a blow-out victory. Hence we see a lower-than-ever-previously-seen number. So without further adieu, I hearby announce the WMU Harney20 number is: >13. And note to ZN.o lurkers Pomeroy and Sagarin -- the CKalculator™ ain't for sale. At any price.

Over Christmas break I brought my Kiwanis hoops team to a Zips game. When placing my ticket order I asked, "Any chance we can sit in the north end student section?" The guy replied "No, those seats are reserved for students." My response was - "Have you ever seen the student section when the students are on break? It's e-m-p-t-y." The predictable response was - "We need to reserve all those seats for the students. Sorry." The end result was - At the game, I spoke to a sane person within the Athletic Department who allowed my 6 kids to fill some of the 80+ empty seats, and the kids had a great time. And I am grateful to this intentionally unnamed person. The moral of the story - With the exception of one person, UA would rather follow policy and have the lower seats empty than have anyone sit in them. The opposite policy - At the Zips/WVa basketball game, after the tip-off, the WVa game announcer stated "Everyone in the upper section - if you want to move down to a vacant lower seat, feel free to do so." And all the lower seats filled up. And no one was injured, died or was maimed. The fans were simply happy, and the game environment was improved.

Great info. Thanks!

Regarding attendance - If it is low this Saturday night vs. NIU, it's because The Zips Coaches Show promoted the game about 8 times...with a noon start time. Gheez....hope to see at least a couple of you around 7:30pm.

For those who want a sneak peek at ORU, they will be televised on DirectTV Channel 363 (religious channel - Golden Eagle Broadcasting) on Thursday (IUPUI) and Saturday (Western Illinois).

I didn't change my mind. #42 may never have another chance to score a college bucket. Both Harney and Tree had wide-open chances to give the kid the ball during the final two minutes, and elected to take it themselves. Tree's dunk was great, but bucket by #42 was what the remaining crowd, and the guys on the bench wanted to see. I hope they dish it off next time...assuming there is a next time.

I like it. And at the expense of repeating myself - the kid is playing GREAT basketball. Any negatives tossed his way at this time are just plain silly.

Personally, I have a concern that Tressel's presence overshadows, or detracts from some of the excellent coaches we have on-campus. The Tressel hire could be a great thing. If the guy gets us a windfall of donations that get us a hoops arena, a new conference, a dramatically-improved national visibility...great. If it's like the Celtics, with Pierce, Allen and Garnett, great. But if it's like Melo and Stoudemire...big names...no results...I'll pass. Proenza wants UA to be a 49,000 student University in 10 years. To get there, we certainly need to think bigger than ever before on all fronts. Hopefully Proenza realized that they need some out-of-house new blood and expertise to get there. On paper, Tressel should be that combination.

My thoughts on the column - Yeah, we need to grow up a bit. But immature teams don't win as many games as we've won on the road. Maturity is low on my list of concerns. Singling-out Diggs? Diggs has been awesome the past 6 weeks. If he jaws with the opposing bench, good. Larry Bird loved to talk smack. It's part of basketball. As long as Diggs doesn't get T'd up or suspended, I'm good with just about anything he feels gives him an edge. Zeke had a nice game against Toledo. It could have been better, but he had some huge blocks, "alters" and rebounds. And I'll disagree with Elton that his fouls, especially the final couple, were mandatory whistles...they were pretty iffy. The Zips need to quit taking plays off on defense, and quit committing unforced turnovers on offense. Then they'll begin romping to their capabilities. Until then, we'll just need to be satisfied with underachieving wins.