Dr Z

Charting Area commits (Plain Dealer) Pertaining to the Zips: Jerome Lane  Firestone  RB/LB  6-3, 210  3  Akron   Zips are looking at him exclusively as an outside LB.  Deon’tae Moore  Kenmore  LB  6-1, 215  1  Akron  Was the Akron City Series defensive MVP as a senior.  Drew Barksdale  Solon WR 6-0, 160 2.5 Boston College Considered Ohio, Akron and Air Force; brother Tres plays at Michigan State.

Hard to believe a fax machine is still used for this!?!? When was the last time you sent a fax? Zips Football Twitter

I agree. I'll be impressed if our top four players average 30 minutes like they did against OU. If they don't, I can see us winning by 5, if they do...blowout. Please start the game fast tonight Zips.

Not much new for ZN fans, but that's not who the interview was intended for. Jeff started off thanking Keith for the jersey with his twitter handle on it and stressed what a good idea the marketing campaign was. He said he has the jersey hanging on the wall and has some bet with someone about wearing it to the final four. KD told him to get in shape if he's gunna wear it. Jeff asked Keith about Zeke, and KD immediately changed the subject and started talking about Tree & Nick being suspended at the beginning of the year and how it cost them the Oklahoma St and Coastal Carolina game. He then went back to Zeke giving him high praise. Zeke has progressed each year. This year he is stronger, and a much better offensive player. He is shooting at a high percentage, and he can do 25 pull ups, and bench 300 pounds. Laterally he is the best big man in the country. Mateen asked about being a successful team, and having a bullseye on your chest each time you play. KD said the team is comfortable with that, and they are built like a high major because they are big, and stronger than most. They talked about how hard it is to schedule good teams and how the bracket buster helps. Keith wants the bracket buster reformatted to include just good teams. They finished the interview by (of course) asking about LBJ. Give me your best LBJ story. Keith...I'll tell you this about LeBron, he makes his teammates better in big games. He would score 12 in an easy game to get his team involved, if I needed him to go out and score 30, that's what he would do. Good interview for basketball fans that are not Zips fanatics. KD did a nice job promoting.

Somebody should tell him we are down by 18 before the tipoff. On the other hand, better he show up at the end of the game, than the beginning. His social media jersey should read @Finisher. Darn, that would have been a good thread topic. #MissedOpportunity

18.5 point favorite tonight.

He has some stars & offers for people that like that sort of thing

For what it's worth, Katz just said OU got the toughest draw.

North Dakota State @ Akron 7 pm Feb 22 Bisons W/L I'll put the early line at Bisons +5

Riding a 3 game skid... The Zips are most difficult to beat at home, boasting an 11-0 record at James A. Rhodes Arena. This is bad news for CupcakeMU, which is 1-7 on the road.

I agree, you earn respect in March, win an NCAA game. I've said it for years. I really don't care about national respect, but I do think this team is deserving of local respect due to the potential they have. After winning the Western game, I was very disappointed in a team (not just the kids, staff too) that I was hoping would have success at post season play and I didn't see it that night. After the BG & OU game, I have seen a team (players & staff), that look like they are ready to compete in bigger games. That's what excites me. Now we need to figure out how to play the first 10 minutes of a game like the second 10 minutes of a game.

1,882 followers now. As a comparison TheSBLights have 15,208 followers!?!?

This is the message that played before the game.

I would guess info would be provided here when available. As of Feb 1 GoZips.com says online orders will be available "next week."

Seeing Joe win the Super Bowl MVP made me think about him being third string behind former Zip Luke Getsy and Tyler Palko at Pitt. I forgot that former Akron coach Walt Harris also had a hand in his time at Pitt. Interesting article on Flacco from Pitt perspective.

* You know who "DAZIPMAN" is, and you think he is "DA BOMB"

“All I think about is a national championship,” he said. “It might sound crazy, but I don’t think we have anything to envy from anybody in the country. We’re full at every position. We’re big. We’re strong. We have guard play. We have shooters. There is nothing we really lack, other than confidence.” --Alex Abreu Love the attitude! Especially from the guy that will have a LOT to do with how far we go.

I'm shocked that people are surprised by Ellen's Zips reporting. This has been going on forever. He's at a pretty advanced age, and should be near retirement. Hopefully the Zips help prove him wrong. As far as writers, George is doing a nice job covering the Zips, I care more about what he writes.

Not a fan of individual awards in a team sport.

I like the minutes played yesterday. Tree 36, Alex 33, Zeke 30, Harney 27. I thought this was cool too.

No matter the cupcake schedule, keep winning and you can't get ignored with a headline grabbing winning streak. This is a good time for marketing to help out our cause. A lot of teams in the nation have easy schedules, only one has 13 wins in a row...and counting. Central, Miami, Eastern, BG...can they ignore us after 17?

Oklahoma St...some irony.

What if they are the same?

Like most stats, these are misleading as well. The human eye analysis tells he has improved more than what the numbers (.3) reveal. The best thing that Zeke has accomplished this year is learn when to foul (be aggressive), and when not to foul. He has played in more quality minutes in games because he has not been in foul trouble as much. He can now be more aggressive during crucial moments of the game. Of course the whistle still blows on a few anticipation calls, but there is not much he can do about that. I think I wrote at the end of sophomore year that the best thing he could do to help his team is to lay off defensively three or four times a game when he is out of position. It seems he has learned that. I also think Pat being able to give quality minutes helps his cause. KD doesn't have to get him back in there to "stop the bleeding." I remember at a presser after a game last year (or the year before) KD saying Zeke is going to be tough when he leans to stay in games. I think he has learned. I hope this thread doesn't jinx him.