Blue & Gold

I'm surprised at how good this team looks. I'll admit, I thought we could flush this season down the drain when we lost Tree. I think this team looks better than any Zips team we've seen in a number of years, including the Zeke Marshall years. Forsythe has stepped up big time. He's much more offensively-minded than Big Zeke ever was. I love it. I love the fact he's only a junior. Very exciting. The vast improvement of Kwan Cheatham is just breathtaking. When I watch him play I simply can't believe this is the same Kwan who wore a Zips' jersey last season. Jimmy Conyers would be the only player I could think of that I've witnessed make a bigger leap one year to the next. Deji continues to get better and better every year. He's going to be one of the better players in the MAC this season. When we recruited him out of Chicago, I remember one recruiting service ranking him as the #1 most athletic player in the state his senior year. Well, Deji has worked and worked on his game and is now not only athletic, but a very skilled basketball player. Nyles Evans doesn't look like the same Nyles Evans we saw last year. Nyles can, and does, really help this team. Always glad to see a local player do well. I was in the camp that was a bit concerned with a seeming lack of player development within the Zips program. Well this year has really begun to change my mind on that front. Antino Jackson is going to be a legit D-1 point guard. (What a backcourt we're going to have adding Joshua Williams next year. We've gone from having no point guard to an embarrassment of riches.) Noah Robotham is simply a revelation. Best freshman I've seen suit up for the Zips since... Jimmal Ball. Not as explosive as Jimmal, but an even better point guard. MAC Freshman of the Year. BJ Gladden has definitely been underwhelming, but I feel he is going to be fine. He's big, strong, athletic. Game just has to slow down for him. It may not happen until next year. This 10-game stretch of light(er)weights should really help his confidence. Big Dog. I know he was hurt. But he hurt his wrist for crying out loud. That shouldn't stop you from jogging, sprinting, running stairs, doing wind sprints, treadmill, etc., etc. The rustiness of his basketball skills is understandable, but his lack of conditioning... Getting a little tired of McAdams. As has been astutely observed: a one-trick pony. Even I could hang around beyond the 3-point line & just launch a handful of 3's a game. Floor spacing? Okay, but other than that... I may even start Gladden over Reggie. However, I'm pretty sure Reggie will get into more of a groove as the season goes on & I'll eat my words. At least I hope so. Kretzer is similar, but he seems to be the glue that holds the team together. I really like his hustle, presence, body language & leadership. Anyway, the team looks very good. Ball movement has been great. I attribute this to having legit PG play and, dare I say it, not thinking we should rely on Tree.

I agree. After KD finally called the timeout, we then proceeded to go on a, what, 7-0 run? Should have been called 10-points earlier.

Thanks! Then this game will be a good litmus test for our young, Tree-less team.

Did this South Carolina team lose many seniors off of the team that drilled us twice last year?

It looked like Pat's initial success was a bit of a double-edged sword. Pat was dominating in the post & the Zips offense degenerated into simply feeding Pat the ball down low; not a bad strategy as you want to feed the hot man, but there was also quite a bit of standing around & watching Pat go to work. When Pat's shots started to fall short (though most were right there & good shots), the Zips were out of rhythm & Miami pulled away (they're an extremely well-coached team). The ball rotation has been much better without Tree in the middle. Now that it looks like Pat might step up this season, we've still got to keep moving without the ball & not get lazy, i.e., just watching Pat go to work down low.

It's up. Go Zips!

Is Watch ESPN a few minutes behind? I'm not seeing a live link for it.

Who are these players?

Then what happened in the 2nd half of the Ball State game? I believe I remember someone mentioning BSU switched into a zone defense in the 2nd half & Tommy just couldn't adjust. Was it really that simple?

Any insider updates on the YSU scrimmage?

I don't know why that would be, but I do know Anthony Clark is definitely a redshirt. He's a stud. Pretty certain Boxen is also a redshirt.

Chandler Kincade was/is supposed to be the QB of the future. But Tra'Von Chapman transferred in after we signed Kincade & is supposed to be a stud. He did look like a superior athlete during the one series he played in the spring game. I'd say he's more explosive than anyone on the Zips current roster regardless of position. He looks like an NFL-esque athlete, but we don't yet know if he can really play QB at this level. Kincade is supposed to be a true gunner.

I haven't been to observe practice, but I hear that A.Jackson is backing up Tree at power forward. Making him a 'stretch-4,' as his style of play is quite different than Tree's.

This is the responsibility of George Thomas. This story should have been written two days ago.

W if Pohl plays. L if he doesn't.

New Beats by Dre commercial all about Akron. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCOgaWSfxxs

http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/mac-soccer-western-michigan-1-akron-0-zips-suffer-first-home-loss-to-broncos-1.535270 From the ABJ. The Zips started the second half with five different players than had started the match. “I was trying to get guys in there that had a fresh mind,” UA coach Jared Embick said. “I wanted guys that watched the game to come in and play with some urgency.” ... “We needed to move the ball quickly, attack with speed and be stronger on the ball,” Embick said. “We were poor in a lot of the aspects of the game that we’ve been starting to become good at.”

Where's Aaron Jackson working in?

If we sell tickets that cheaply, the season ticket holders (who pay a fair price) would be pretty upset. But, we're getting the attendance we deserve. I used to get all riled up over the lousy attendance, but no more. I've been a Zips fan my whole life, and a die-hard since 1994. Save one good year, it's been 21 years of bad, bad, bad football. It's going to take a handful of successive successful seasons (MAC East championships & bowl game wins) to start to foster any real community pride concerning the Zips.

I watched a replay of the Pitt game last night & Isaiah Williams got beat pretty badly in that game for a big shot on Pohl. It happens to everyone; it's football. But my question is, Tommy Brown, probably being our best OL, why isn't he playing on Pohl's blindside? Isaiah Williams is a converted DL & hasn't held a starting job till this season, but he's playing Left Tackle - isn't that considered the most important position on the OL?

Also from the article: When Bowden took the Akron job, there were rumors that he was going to only stay a few years, win some games -- and then leave for something better. "I heard that," he said. Then he started to laugh. "You know what happened to the last five coaches before me?" he asked. "They got fired. How about we start to win and stay? How about we just worry about starting to win some games."

Amazing camera work! So much fun to look back through. Thank you!

http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/ua-football-zips-cody-grice-doubling-his-fun-1.530221

GoZips.com has Aaron Jackson listed at 6-8. Is that legit? He's listed as a G. If so, that seems pretty elite.