The Hip Zip

Just an outstanding defensive effort again ! I can not remember a game where we were more dominant inside going back over several years. It was very nice to see us win without depending on the 3 ball.One of the poorest officiated games I have ever watched at the Jar. When mild mannered homer Drew throws off his jacket and charges the floor you know it was bad ! Thank God we don't see Jerry Sauder much anymore as he spends most of his time over in the Horizon where the ref assignments were made as part of the return bracket buster aggreement. Between him and Dan Fouser, who also made the trip, the 2nd half was almost unwatchable. I don't know who the other ref was but he was just as bad.Despite it all, another great performance by the Zips and especially Jimmy C and Bret.

They said 10:30 tonight, right between the field house and the stadium. I am so proud of these guys and wouldn't miss it. I hope that others feel the same way and give up an hour tonight for our boys.

Thats just no way to lose a game much less the national championship. I dont want to date myself but I played with and against Michael Nanchoff's dad and uncle.Against them in high school and with them at UA under coach Dowdy .Back in the day they just kept playing until the issue was decided. Had that happened today I am confident we would have scored. We were the much better side in the 2nd half and overtime as well. I will take nothing away from Virginia as they are a fine team as well but when you play through the tourney without giving up a goal and lose something is just not right with that.I must admit that I shed a tear for our boys today. We deserved better. I encourage everybody to drive down and greet the team tonight. We have great kids and they could use some love.Prouder that ever to be a Zip !!

I'm sure that Brett was a great athelete at Nitro WV, but to me he just looks lost out there. As a Zip he's shooting the ball at about a 30% clip, if that, and that's just not going to get it done here. It's no accident that the team excelled in the 2nd half vs Niagara, it was in part because we stuck to a nice 3 guard rotation of Humpty, Roberts and McNees.I hate to say anything bad about the kid because he does turn in a great effort and his defense has improved. I hope that he develops into a great player but if he's going to play D1 ball at the 2 or 3 position he simply must shoot it a whole lot better than he is now. I think that Brett is pressing a bit right now and forcing shots. He needs to just relax a bit on the offensive end and let the game come to him. Hopefully, Brett will be OK but he is not one of our best three guards at this time.

Exactly my thoughts Dr Z and I think that you can be assured that TW is answering these himself. In my response there was a fact stated of a personal nature that only TW would know.It is not about the choice itself. NO we are not going to make the choice for TW. It is the fact that Mr. Wistrcill has made an effort to reach out to all Zip fans that is impressive, and using Youtube was a great way to do it. This gentleman is probably immersed in his job like never before yet finds the time to do this and answer fan emails at midnight.I really couldn't give a damn of what some of the negative guys here think or even it Tom indeed already has his choice selected. It's all about making the fans feel involved in the process and finding a method to make as personal contact with us that is possible. This is the stuff that builds bonds between a new AD and his fan base, especially important coming off of a season like that. I give TW much credit for going the extra mile at a time when it was needed the most.At least for now I will choose to give the benifit of the doubt to an AD that puts his face out there over a guy that sits behind a keyboard calling himself rumplesomething. If I am wrong, so be it.Carry on people, I'm a basketball guy anyway.

He did a vey nice job for us and I'm sure that he'll take the bull by the horns and get cranking it up right away.Best of luck down at CCU !

I have to respectfully disagree. After seeing TA&M play this past weekend, they are a top 20-25 team. I think our best game from last year would still make us double digit losers on the road. Let's keep it under/near 20, and I won't be disappointed.Damn it, we're going to go down there lace em up and play them tough. I'm getting tired of getting drilled by the big boys and I know that Keith is too. The Zips are going to be a live dog, take the points because I have a feeling that we are going to hang around with these guys.

I wonder if thats part of the Dish's multi sport package?? Very cool though, I'll find a way to watch it. This is a real test for our guys to say the least. I really think we hang in there and play them very tough. I say that because we can match up with just about anybody. We can go big or go small and go either way with success. Most of all it's really all about interior defense and rebounding. We have to keep Zeke out of foul trouble or at least to hang in there until deep into the game. If we can get out of town with a win it will really put us on the map. I'm getting a bit fired up about this one, I would love to be there.GO ZIPS !!!

I sent Mr. Wistrcill an email a couple of days ago describing the kind of guy that I would like to see come in. Tonight, at midnight no less, I received a very nice response from Tom. Not just a rubber stamp thanks, yada,yada, yada, but a personal response to the genuine questions and concerns that I have about the situation.While I am quite aware that my imput is minimal at best, I can't even begin to say how impressed I am that he has taken the time to really read our emails and address the concerns of Zip fans. I have faith that he will make the right call and we just might get this thing turned around sooner than some may think.Well done Mr. Wistrcill !

I'm not going to sugar coat anything just because I'm an Akron fan. I thought that UAPB was guilty of nothing more than being a tough scrappy team. They played very hard and are very physical. The Zips had better get used to it quick because threre are others on our schedule that play the same wayHumpty may have had a problem with their kid and indeed did have a discussion with the ref about it just before the play began. After the foul Humpty was very wrong to get into the guys face and and really should have been T'd up which could have cost Akron the game. After the game someone above suggested that Humpty went over to shake hands but that was not what I saw and we are three rows behind the bench. It's not like Humpty got in line with his teammates for the post game tradition. Hitchens stormed over towards their bench as soon as the buzzer went off and was intercepted by their coaches which was a good thing because it appeared that he was intending to start trouble again.The lack of poise of both Humpty at the end and our team down the stretch was shocking. When UAPB poured on the defensive pressue late in the game our guys looked like they were scared to death out there. This team has a very long way to go to be considered a good team. We have already proved that we don't have a go-to guy, our defense is spotty at best and we are not a mentally strong bunch at this point.The only real positive that I saw out there was a strong performance from Jimmy Conyers. He sparked the team to the lead in the first half with some very nice plays on both ends. His defense in the 2nd half was also a big factor which had a big part in our winning this game.I'm still waiting for McClanahan to shoot the 3 ball with some consistancy and the McKnight's to start looking just a little better than average bench players. I'm beginning to think that this may be a very average season for the Zips.

EMU has a shot to be a decent team. The frontcourt is very solid with Dobbins and Bowdry. If Medlock can regain the skills he displayed before his injuries, the Eagles will compete with anybody in this league. They have a very legit shot to win the west.

Heavy drinking and loud music may slow the healing process. I'll say Feb 1 at best.

I seem to recall beating a Fla St team from the ACC that was much better than the NC State team we played yesterday. There is no sugar coating this, we played poorly and may come home an 0-4 team.

Screw the other crap, start and give the bulk of the guard minutes to Steve and Humpty and we weill be fine. I am also inclined to give Conyers a few more minutes at the 3/4 to see if he can lock down some scorers.

I agree with much of your thoughts with the exception of our guards. I think we are better with McNees in place of Roberts. Steve brings great energy to the floor while Roberts does not show any emotion out there at all. I also think Steve shoots it as well, can play both spots and can run the offense which Roberts can not do.

I think that we all have to be patient with Zeke. The transition from HS to college ball is a big one and especially for a big man. No longer can they excel on the floor based on their size alone. The big guys now have to face the fact that there will be other big boys out there that can put the body on them. For many of them it's the first time that they have faced opponents that can guard them or keep them off of the glass.I recall watching CMU's Kaman early in his college career. He didn't even start and looked awkward and out of place out there at times. As time went by however, his total game caught up with his size and he's now entering his 7th or 8th NBA season. I do not think that its unrealistic to expect similar things from Zeke.Just be patient and don't expect too much too soon. In time it will happen, just don't panic if it doesn't happen right away.

Has anything on the GoZips.com site ever worked well? Has anything ever been done well?Well, not so much but the basketball ticket thing was pretty well done.The MAC in general suffers in this respect. Our conference could take some lessons from the Horizon league. They do a fabulous job of promoting all sports with free webcasts and great coverage. Though we continue to be season ticket holders here, I find that every year I become more of a fan of the Horizon league due to the great exposure of their sports. All home hoops webcasts are free and the execution is very well done. Any big time hoops fan could so themselves a great favor by checking it out. All you have to do is sign up.http://www.horizonleaguenetwork.tv/

Win or lose tonight I could not be more proud of this Zip team. I think its safe to say that this team has battled with heart and soul all season long and achieved far more than most expected. All that said, as long as we are there tonight, LETS KICK SOME ASS, I want that NCAA bid so bad that I've been a wreck all day.GO ZIPS !!!

Well, this is going to be a tough one. For those of you that did not see BG last night they were almost flawless. I was surprisied to see the Falcons play such a complete game, their improvement has been almost unbelievable. Nate Miller was a man anongst boys and really took the game over, OU just could not guard him.We really can't expect to toss in the three ball like we did last night but we can keep a body on Miller and force others to try to beat us. Our effort on the glass last night was as great as I can remember in a long, long time. We need to repeat that very same thing, box out and crash those offensive boards. Thats the key as I see it. Should be another good one.Akron 67BG 63GO Zips

Thanks O Zoner, got your twitter up too and following your updates

Any and all updates would be appreciated

Just how is BG just a 2 point favorite against OU thursday. This line looks like the gift of the year so I'm all in on the Falcons.Does anybody see this one any other way??

I won't comment on the officiating, I'll just say that this was a great gut check for our boys and they showed their character by making the plays that were needed to pull it out. My huge concern is the status of Humpty. If he can't go against the sweaters we might be done.Any updates?

I completely agree with that. It cost the league big bucks in attendance alone. Instead of getting a gate of 3,000- 5,000 x 4 they have drawn just above 5,000 the first two years. When you add in the expenses involved it just does not make sense.

They will this year with the Zips and Flushes playing. They should get a lot more than the 5,000 + they got the last two years. Although moves like this seem to beg for indifference