dboze

Dave, I can tell you from Zeke's standpoint that the LBJ factor did not have much of an impact. His decision was based more on the quality of the education, the university (campus) and the coaching staff of Akron. The LBJ factor is an added bonus.

A. Payne's Oho Red AAU Team will be playing in the King James Tournament @ U of A the weekend of April 25 - 27. He will probably have his official visit sometime in April but I know he will also be here during the King James AAU tournament.

I agree and believe that he will start before we get into MAC Conference play. This kid has great hands, is mobile, and has a nice touch (as stated by Dambrot). Once he gets the right coaching his offense will begin catch up with his defense. After watching him play, he has the tools to be a good scorer.

I checked with a friend who is a D-1 Coach and he stated that High School Seniors are allow to play in 2 All-Star games.

I agree. I think we may be expecting a bit too much from a true-freshman Zeke. He'll be good, no doubt, but still developing. Which is completely natural; we have to be patient. He may not hit his stride right away. None-the-less I expect he'll fit right in and be a contributor next season (though, honestly, I had the same high expectations for Steven Sweich).I do agree that we cannot expect too much from a true freshman. After watching Zeke play a few times in AAU and during the season, he is a better scorer than most people think. I believe that the Coaching staff will work on this part of his game prior to the season. If he can give us 5 - 7 points a game with those 6 - 7 rebounds per game as a Freshman. I would be excited.

I agree but I've seen McKeesport play. When you have guards that go 1-on-1 and jack up 3's, you can demand the ball all day long and still not get it. That's been the issue with the team all year long. Most people say 'he needs to demand the ball'. But when the guards don't even look inside and the coaches don't demand the team to utilize their post players, its useless.

Zeke not only finished with 11 points but 16 rebounds 7 blocks and 3 assists.

Check out this pre-season article on Zeke Pittsburgh Trib Article

Let's try it again...Zeke in Action

AAU Highlights of Zeke from the ESPN Website. The great thing is that the kid he is abusing is Chris Braswell who was offered a scholarship from Georgetown a year ago. Zeke in Action

WOOOO!!!!!! WELCOME TO THE ZIPS, ZEKE!!!! :wave: :wave:ITS OFFICIAL..ZEKE signed his letter @ 1:15 P.M.!!!!!!!

shhhh...from my sources, I heard there's a big meeting @ Mckeesport High School today at 1:00 p.m. Maybe the fax will come soon after hmmmmm

This was in today's the Pittsburgh Post Gazette:How's this for instant, just-add-water recruiting: Confident junior-college cornerback Chaz Russell committed Monday to West Virginia and expects to practice there next Tuesday.Chaz Russell Commits

You have to remember that ESPNU does not regualarly attend AAU events and their ratings of players are usually WAY off base. Scout and Rivals attend all of the top AAU events and do a great job of rating the players. Scout/Rivals were at the King James Tournament, Pitt Jamfest, LBJ Skills Academy, West Va. Jamfest and the other major tournaments. These are the more accurate ratings. They are the scouting services that you see courtside. If rare that ESPNU takes the time to watch the players actually play.

Here's an interesting click from Rise Magazine...Akron's men's basketball team had a pretty good year in 2008, making it to the MAC finals and earning a berth to the NIT. Still, it's somewhat surprising to find a player at the LeBron James Skills Academy, which features 80 of the nation's best players, who has committed to the Zips. As coaching legends Roy Williams, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Calhoun and Jim Boeheim watched their recruits, Akron coach Keith Dambrot got to watch his pledge, Zeke Marshall, a 7-foot rising junior from McKeesport (McKeesport, Pa.). It's safe to say that over the next year, plenty of coaches from power conferences are going to come after Marshall. He's still pretty raw offensively, but is already a force on defense and can run the floor like few 7-footers his age can. But Marshall was emphatic that his commitment is firm. "You have players committed to Arizona, North Carolina, huge schools like that and they're making fun of me because I committed to Akron, but I don't care what other people think," Marshall said. "I'm not going back on my decision because I did commit. Most schools that are big now needed someone to represent them. You need good players to attract other good players." If Marshall refines his offensive game, he'll be a no-doubt ACC talent in the MAC. The Zips can't wait for Signing Day 2009 to get here.http://www.risemag.com/main.cfm?actionID=g...&startrow=1

Please don't get 'thin' confused with skinny. If you look at Zeke's arms, you can clearly see the muscle tone and definition as compared to earlier in the AAU season. Look at Kevin Garnett, he's a very thin 7' footer and very effective.I definately agree that he needs to add weight/muscle.Once he gets to Akron and on a college level conditioning program, he will add the muscle/weight. We don't want Zeke to loose his speed and agility by putting on too much weight. Adding muscle weight and strength is going to be the key to his success on the college level.

GoZips...Thanks for the updates. Zeke's Mom and I will be at the camp today for the 2:00 session and the Parent's appreciation portion of the camp. Hope to see you there!!

Zeke attended the Nike Big Man Camp that included the TOP 20 High School Big Men in the country. I don't have a lot of details but here is a link to some about the camp....http://inside.nikebasketball.com/news/elit...skills-academy/Roster link belowhttp://inside.nikebasketball.com/news/wp-c...e_HS_roster.pdfZeke is #12....

What were his rankings before this update? Don't tell me they actually went UP after verballing to a MAC school. I was under the assumption that going to a MAC school automatically reduced your ranking simply by virtue of going to a MAC school. :blink:There are 2 Major Scouting Services: Scout.com and Rivals.comScout.com has Zeke ranked #61 (#11 Center in the 2009 class) before he played the Pitt Jamfest and King James AAU tournament.Rivals.com has Zeke ranked #37 (#8 Center in the 2009 class). The rivals rankings came out today and were based on his AAU tournament play against some top ranked players.

What were his rankings before this update? Don't tell me they actually went UP after verballing to a MAC school. I was under the assumption that going to a MAC school automatically reduced your ranking simply by virtue of going to a MAC school. :blink:Rankings are based on the recruits High School, Camp, and AAU level play. College choices are not factored into the rankings.

You are correct. There are 2 top ranked scouting services: Scout.com has Zeke @ #61 (#11 overall Center 2009) -- remember, that was BEFORE the AAU Pitt Jamfest and King Jamees AAU tournament. Rivals.com just updated their rankings today based on his AAU play. They have him ranked as #37 (#8 overall Center 2009).

Psssssst...Don't look now but Rivals.com just updated there rankings. Zeke is the number #37 ranked player in 2009 and the #8 Center. http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/viewprospect...248&Sport=2btw -- Jamie Dixon was just found PASSED OUT on Forbes Avenue...He's ok...just needed to catch his breathe.

Here's another article about Zeke from hoopwise.com:Akron Gets Verbal From 7′0 Big MarshallZeke Marshall is already to be a defensive presence in the paint — the McKeesport HS center (09 class) is the best shot-blocker in his class. His offense is coming around slowly but surely. He’s a project worth gambling on to schools like Pitt, Virginia, Maryland and the like because of his athleticism, and then there’s the whole 7-foot-thing. But Marshall, according to an ACC assistant that scooped me about him last week, is a different cat. How different is now evident after the highly-sought big verbally committed to Akron in the last week. Marshall has to add some weight (he’s currently carries 205 lbs on his 7-4 wingspan) but he’ll be a dominating defensive presence in the MAC right away. Marshall can’t sign with the Zips until November and that will cause some sleepless nights for the Akron staff, but the kid sounds real committed. Props to Keith Dambrot and assistant Jeff Boals for working hard over the past year or two in establishing a relationship with the young man. Marshall, when Akron receives his LOI in November, will be the highest rated recruit the MAC has seen in many years.

Hey guys -- when Zeke was measured about 2 weeks ago..he measured 7' 0" 3/4....Talk about BIG!!!

Sounds very interesting. Couldn't be Zeke committing already could it?...I didn't think signing day was until the fall, so if he is already committed, an official announcement couldn't be made (right?). I'm guessing it's the release of this coming season's schedule.Trimmy...Basketball recruits can Verbally commit to a school at anytime. They cannot sign their 'binding' letter of Intent until November 1. An official announcement of a verbal commitment can come at anytime. Check out the Verbal commitments announced on Rivals.com and Scout.com. There are kids from the class of '2012' making Verbal announcements. This is the common thing for an athlete. Make an announcement of a Verbal Commitment. It helps to cut down the madness of the recruiting process. Most schools respect the verbal commitment and back away. But some 'wolves' will continue to recruit even though the athlete has already made their college choice. Sounds like Zeke is ready to end his recruiting process. 40 more minutes...Let's see what happens...