Captain Kangaroo

I think we are an MVP-less team.Linhart's play since mid-December has been solid. Offensively and defensively.Dials is doing a nice job both offensively and defensively. Especially considering he's got a 60% healthy Ced and two freshman as his running mates.Wood is pretty much our only force underneath. If he was gone, I shudder to think what our points-in-the-paint might be.If we're going to make any noise whatsoever in March, we will need someone else to step up.Was McNees really hurting (Achilles) vs. K.e.n.t. and CMU...or is he ready to handle heavy pressure from a quality opposing guard.Can Conyers contribute on offense at ANY level?Does KD play "Dr. Frankenstein" and try giving Bardo some extended time at the #4 position alongside Wood?Can either McKnight take some inside heat off Wood?Can Ced get healthy? He looked a little better vs. EMU...was it an illusion?What else can Roberts give us that we haven't already seen? A little dribble penetration would really help.Is KD going off Kevin Mackey's "40 Minutes of Hell," but dividing it by two? Do we see the Zips trying to "hold serve" in the first half of games, substituting liberally to preserve Wood/Dials/Ced, then unleashing the beast in the second half? Regardless of all the questions, we're a pretty good team. But to have any success in March we have to get a little healthier, and find a consistent contributor or two off the bench.

A lot of us go to BW-3's prior to games.

That's odd. I recall his name being listed as a Zips commit LAST year? I'm wondering if the same glitch that put Jarvis Givens on the 2008 list also is responsible for Roddenberry?

He sounds like Toledo material to me?

Justifiably so. It is a disease called "Vincehillaphobia." I have it too. Bowser is the real deal. Fingers are crossed that a PAC-10 school doesn't steal him.

What do you base that on?

The players basically stood around for the last 1:00. Why bother extending the game to put walk-ons in, if all they're going to do is dribble the clock out. The last minute wasn't all that stressful.If you put the scrubs in, and Goddard drills a 35 foot 3-pointer, the the opponent grouses all the same. Screw what the loser opponent fans are complaining about. Go on their board and tell them -- "Get better." Regarding the short leash -- I don't see it. When Hipsher was coaching, you'd see it all the time. Even when a player made a shot...if the shot wasn't the one Hipsher wanted he'd smack his hand on the court and yank the player at the first opportunity.B McKnight got yanked because he was utterly lost. I love the kid, but he still has a ways to go to figure out the overall "system."

Nice of Tom to give us a plug.

If giving transfers stars, like Ryan Bain, why not give 4 stars (Rivals) to Andrew Johnson, and Jeremy Bruce 2 stars (Rivals)? Let's see 'em Captain!Stupid work is getting in the way. I'll add Will Fleming and some stars tomorrow!Master List is Updated!

Word on the street is Dawson had a bad senior year, and many recruiters fell off his bandwagon. He had D1 scholarship offers in October, but he wanted to wait and see if he could get a BCS-level offer. It was a gamble on his part. In the end, I think he may end up with no D1 scholarship offers. Maybe EMU gives him one....but that's all I hear remain interested.It is too bad. By all accounts, he's a pretty stellar kid. Very personable and bright.

I could be wrong but we could potentially have an experienced set of WRs next year.Ryan Gardner (JC)- would make him a Junior?Deryn Bowser (JC)- would make him a Junior?David Harvey - is he in his 30s by nowGary Pride - can't wait to see him in the gameJeremy Bruce will be in the top 3.

This means our QB might actually have someone to throw to this coming season.Other than Harvey, can anybody recall a WR that come in as a freshman and made an impact?Schifino, and maybe Lavel Bailey?

For the record --These two have been on the list for a while. Gardner for a couple weeks, and Cooper for a few days. Their scholarships were already accounted for.

If giving transfers stars, like Ryan Bain, why not give 4 stars (Rivals) to Andrew Johnson, and Jeremy Bruce 2 stars (Rivals)? Let's see 'em Captain!Stupid work is getting in the way. I'll add Will Fleming and some stars tomorrow!

Goddard is a 3-point shooting "freak." But he isn't all that great a D-1 basketball player. You can't give a one-dimensional senior like him minutes in lieu of developing Freshman talents like Brett McKnight, Roberts or McNees.If Goddard is unhappy, he has an odd way of showing it. He's been on the team, as a walk on, for what...4 1/2 years (I believe he redshirted)? If he didn't like being part of the team, he would have quit long ago.

While it was a loss, it was one of the Zips better efforts against BCS competition. And, it was a great time. My favorite memory from the game was, on our first offensive possession, the guy behind me saying "What...is this 1942 or something? What's the deal with the little white running back?" I turned to the guy and said - "Mark my words, he'll put over 100 on you today." I forget what Hendry had that day, but is was something like 119 yards? I enjoyed that. Overall, Wisconsin people were very complementary of the Zips. Good folks.Picks from the game and tailgate:

That's an interesting question. I remember when Andy Hipsher played there was some hub bub about him being on scholarship because if he weren't, he couldn't get travel per diem and his hotel paid? Do I recall this correctly?Are you saying that the walk-ons on the team pay for their own hotels during team trips? :blink:Maybe it was just per diem, I forget. It was about 10 years ago that the topic arose. Can anyone add some insight here?

That's an interesting question. I remember when Andy Hipsher played there was some hub bub about him being on scholarship because if he weren't, he couldn't get travel per diem and his hotel paid? Do I recall this correctly?

I am hearing the same thing. I'd be surprised if he isn't included in the 2008 Zips class.

Personally -- I doubt he's in the mix. There are a scant few scholarships remaining, and those are being held in hopes that some "big fish" slip through the cracks (ie. a BCS school pulls an offer to a Blue Chipper). Or a Ryan Bain-like transfer arises.

Updated

Meet Coach Pfau

He's a 6' 3", 185lb WR that caught 62 passes for 1100 yards and 18 touchdowns...in a single season. He currently holds the Connecticut state record for most consecutive games played with a receiving touchdown at 13. He runs a 4.45 forty. I'm pretty excited that a kid like that is coming to UA.I'm not privy to any of his academic information, other that the single sentence written on the recruiting site, so I'll defer to JD's knowledge of the situation and assume the kid has a good chance of being successful with his classwork. JD knows he can't have another 2006 class again. And, the 2007 Zips class was excellent.BTW -- If there were a 6' 3", 185lb kid that ran a 4.45 forty, and had a 3.35 GPA and who wanted to come to UA I'm sure JD would have offered him.

I'll add one more thing --Back...oh...12-or-so years ago, the Beacon did a nice job covering the Zips. Even when the team was bad, the coverage was fair. Both recruiting, and on game days. Then, they made the decision to cut WAY back. I went through the proper channels and wrote the editor. They basically told me "F U, OSU sells papers and that's who we're covering."I figured it wasn't so difficult to contact people at UA and get the stories myself. The lack of discussion regarding Zips athletics (ie. on the radio), lack of print coverage, and the dearth of recruiting information were the main reasons why some of us hackers got together and formed this site. Sitting around bitching about it wasn't getting anything done. The people within the University have been VERY accomodating in providing information. Because of UA's market situation, they value the exposure our blog gives their respective programs. And they like forums that generate fan interest and excitement. The people that run this site are all married, employed and most have kids. This site is a hobby, but one we all take pretty seriously. If I post something on a recruit, you can be assured it was well-researched. I typically never post a source within UA because I don't want to be responsible for screwing up someone's career with a mistake. I'm an engineer, not a journalist. Most of the inside-scoop stuff I write is in the "Word on the street is..." venacular. That has proven to be the best way to handle things in the "blog" format.I'm glad a lot of you enjoy the site and enjoy the information. Like any hobby, it only costs money...but we do it because it is fun & it supports UA.

Because I wrote it.If you elect to believe Scout or Rivals info on UA over mine, that's your call. Or maybe you question it because it isn't in the Beacon? Either way, it's up to you where you choose to obtain your Zips recruiting info.