Captain Kangaroo

No “e?”

Who on this year's Zips team would start ahead of Xerius Williams, Christian-Jackson, Cheese and Banks? No one. Freeman would start over Riak. Record-wise, this Zips team is right where it should be considering its talent level. It's a good team. Not a great one.

Gonna be tough...a MAC team hasn't played in it since 1996.

I remember at a Zips football golf outing about 13 years ago Mack Rhoades was standing next to JD Brookhart and told the gathering - "We aren't thinking about winning the MAC, we're thinking beyond the MAC!" How'd that work out? Come next October the Zips will very likely have beaten one FBS football program (BG, twice) in the last 4 calendar years. Our basketball team is probably #4 in the MAC, and soccer is now mediocre. Conference ascension probably shouldn't be on the AD's agenda at this time. The MAC is fine. We have plenty of bowl opportunities now. And the competition is good. I'll happily settle for 4-5 football wins next season and take it from there.

The year's Zips team is a flawed one. Other than Freeman, who can you bank on? Freeman - double-double every night, brings it on both ends of the floor. Plays within himself. A joy to watch, always. Ali - Too indecisive. He's at his worst when he dribbles too much. If he tries to back someone down in the paint, it's an almost guaranteed turnover. Might score 32...might score 5. Casteneda - shooting 29% over his last 4 games. Formerly a 90% FT shooter, shooting at a 60% clip over his last 7 games. Dawson - Hustles, defends, but he's a role player. Clarke - Slowly improving, but can't be counted for anything other than spot duty night-in-night-out. Aziz - Improving. But still a role-player. Tribble - He's like Dawson, but less of an offensive threat. Wynn - 8 minute per game role player, at best. Trimble - sprinkles a few stellar nights of insane 3-point shooting amongst a sea of highly forgettable 2022 efforts. Not a great defender. Can't create his own shot...just looks to hoist it from 24 feet most of the time. These are the dog days of the MAC schedule. Driving 5 hours in the snow to play a horrible Bronco team, on a Tuesday night, after a bitter home loss to your rival, can't be a party. But that's part of the deal. The championship teams fight through it. Kent, OU and Toledo are better than the Zips this year. But we can beat them on a given night. We could also lose to Duquesne if we played like we did last night. Man, that was one horrible effort in Kalamazoo.

Pray that Freeman doesn’t foul out!

His shooting percentage drops by 15% every second he holds the ball. He needs to be decisive! btw- Did we keep Maishe Daily or Trimble this season?

Why can’t Castaneda shoot free throws anymore?

April 30th is the latest Spring Game date I can remember? I'll take it.

QB Coach Interview High on Irons, and the Zips.👍

No panties in our shantys! All sorts of ice fishing related drink specials around town last night. We have the “Tom Wistercill” of mayors in our town.

I think they were too busy queuing up Kent highlights on the JAR big screen to realize Joe was in the house.

Big section of Brazilians next to us chanting LEZ GO ZEEPS…LEZ GO ZEEPS! Might go sit with them…they’re having a blast!

Beer sales tonight have exceeded those for the entire year already.

Trimble has been a conundrum this season. He's played 20 games. In his twelve worst shooting games, he's 16-90 from behind the arc, for a ghastly 17.7 %. In the other eight games he's a sizzling 38-69...good for 55%. The best thing about Freeman is - he brings it every...single...night. If his shot is off, he still rebounds and defends at a high level. When Trimble is off...he's WAY off...and with the volume of shots he takes it seems increasingly tough to keep him on the floor hoping he turns it around. Clarke, Dawson and Tribble are all playing their best ball of the season. I think Trimble needs to find his stroke if the Zips are to win a championship this season, and reach their full 2022 potential. His 3-point season average is 34%, which is sub-par for a "shooter." And 60% of the time, when the final buzzer sounds he's shot below that average. 1/3rd of his season's 3's came in two games (BG + Marshall). It's fun when he hits those 26 footers. Hope he gets back on track tonight.

I dunno...there's enough of a body of work to begin the conversation. He's going to have 500+ points and 500+ rebounds going into next season. And 80+ blocks. With his best years ahead of him, that projects pretty well.

I’ll give him Top 20. He was no slouch.

I think when all is said and done, Freeman’s numbers will merit a Top 10 all time ranking. He’s only going to get bigger and better. And he’s not going to do something stupid to curtail a great career.

Having it televised, on a Friday night, doesn't help in drawing a crowd. But I'll agree COVID has killed our attendance. It'll take some time to get it back up post-COVID too. Sucks, because we may have our best basketball coach ever...and have seen two of the Top 10 Zips players ever...and perhaps the best Zips basketball team ever...and few fans will have seen them work their craft in-person.

I heard an interesting stat while watching the Loyola/Bradley game tonight. There were 430 seniors that took advantage of getting an extra “COVID Eligibility Year.” Of those, only 30 stayed at their original university. Of those 30, 4 are from Loyola Chicago. Didnt know where to place this, so I created this thread.

I like Smigel. He’s 14-16 inside the 40 in his 3 seasons…but only 2-7 from 40 and beyond. If one of the new kids has a big leg, and is reliable inside the 40 too, I guess they could take the job.

I hope some Zip steps up and gets in Carry’s grill the entire game.

Freeman is going to be a Top 10 all time Zip. He’s awesome every night. Wonder if he can develop a jumper in the off-season?

Great ball movement by the Zips so far.

Mumpfield update