Blue & Gold

I (mistakenly) thought the A-10 was losing it's luster when Xavier and Butler decided to join the Big East. But barely. It's still going to be a great basketball conference. In looking at the A-10 website: Charlotte Dayton Duquesne Fordham George Washington LaSalle UMass Rhode Island Richmond St. Bonnaventure St. Joseph St. Louis VCU They've got 13 schools. That's quite a few already. But after last night (and the results from our previous two trips to the NCAA) I'm thinking dominating the MAC is simply fool's gold. I'd be for a move to the A-10, even if it meant getting smacked around for a few years. But I'm depressed right now. Idk. Was last night a fluke? Or was last night a call for a change in perspective? [edit:] UMass is the only school with D-1 football. I know Charlotte is trying to go D-1 (right?). How does Charlotte plan on handling their football situation?

Never in a million years would I have seen this. I was telling people today I thought Akron had a really good shot at winning. Didn't this team beat us by 1 on a tip-in at the buzzer last year?

I hate this. For a number of reasons. What I hate most right now is the embarrassment. A lot of people think I'm a little weird for being a Zips fan anyway (when being an OSU fan is so easy). I was starting to get a few converts this year, but now this may just bring everything back to ground zero.

I'm shocked by how far we are from being competitive.

And the second figure against the stiffest competition the MAC had to offer - K.e.nt State (x2) & Ohio. In no way is Melo the playmaker AA was. However, he is a better ball-handler & won't try to do too much & get sloppy, like AA was quite prone to do. We'll see.

Wonder if we're inviting Green's Dan Fanelly to walk on? Fanelly was named D-1 1st-Team All-Ohio.

Great links! Thank you!

Umm, who is that? (Forgive me if I missed something obvious - I'm viewing this on my iPhone, so the screen's kinda small.)

I've heard from a Rector (not Ken) that Joshua's little brother (currently in 8th grade) may be even better.

Akron.com

Darius Hoisten

I wouldn't want Reggie or Kretzer taking more than 2 or 3 dribbles against havoc (of course they might surprise me). But I'd say both Reggie & Kretzer can handle the ball at least as well as Nic C. did last year - who helped bring the ball up against havoc. Tree, Harney, Reggie, Kretzer... they all are better ball handlers than Nic C. was. Melo is very quick and a better ball handler than AA was. Add that to 7' Zeke @ center court for a safety valve and we should be alright.

Great article by Marla Ridenour.

Where are you seeing this? I didn't get that from the above link.

Thanks.

Linky?

Three quotes from Walnut Hills' HC Ricardo Hill: "When he gets to college when they really put him on a weight program, he is going to be a monster." Isaiah dropped 20-25 pounds last fall. [HC Ricardo Hill] said Johnson went "from a good player to a great player" with the weight loss. "Offensively we try to push the ball up the floor. We will play a fast-paced game. We do have the ability to slow it down. We believe [isaiah Johnson is] the best big man in the state - so obviously we want to feed him." It's great to hear that Isaiah can apparently get up & down the court even though the article lists him at 6'9" & 270.

1 Timothy 6:10 How 1 Timothy 6:10 is often misquoted: "Money is the root of all evil." What 1 Timothy 6:10 actually says: "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

I like the matchup. They beat us by 1 in overtime last year; both Zeke and Tree are much better than they were last year. Also, while Melo is not the playmaker that AA was, Melo is the better ball handler, which might just be what we need. AA often tried to do too much & would get sloppy. CB will simply play within himself. Harney @ backup PG will be... interesting.

Thanks for the scouting report. Perhaps Barberton's Ken Rector was simply being a gracious winner and being just a bit overly gracious in his comments concerning Jeremiah? His comments really made it sound like he'd almost never seen anything like Jeremiah.

And next year... the MAC will be introduced to the best center in the state of Ohio - 6'9" 280-pound Isaiah "Big Dog" Johnson.

Oops, I spoke too soon. Apparently we've got a 6'8" PG.

NBA-size players? Check. We got 'em! #ThinkingBigger!

IMHO, AJ has a terrific build for a high school kid. He's built like a young Jimmy Conyers... only bigger. He's a good 6'6". He'll be yet another really good "wing" in our offense - running a PG, W, W, P, P. He looks like a typical KD-type of player; he's not going to average 20 PPG, but he could average 10. And with the ability to drive, dunk & hit the three, he's someone the defense will always have to keep track of. And with his athleticism, length and strength, I could see AJ being a monster defender.

^^^ For sure. ^^^ And exactly. Someone posted they wanted to see Tree @ 25 PPG. Not going to happen in KD's system. And that is a good thing. From our perspective, there's never too much pressure on a single player; from the opponent's perspective, they simply cannot focus on trying to shut down one man. Look how the system has survived the unavailability of Q & AA. We don't rebuild; we reload. Why? Because no one averages 25 PPG.