Dr Z

One thing is clear after the first full week of Zeke Marshall's college basketball career with the Akron Zips: His career will be a marathon, not a sprint.And even though Marshall is the Mid-American Conference's highest-rated recruit since Rivals.com began posting its top 150 national players in 2002, he is still a freshman.Friday, after five officiated eight-minute scrimmages against his teammates, he had two rebounds, two points and no blocks. He did not get his first rebound until the third session, and his second came in the last."It has been pretty much what I thought: an adjustment," Marshall said."The game is faster, it's harder and you have to run longer. I have to compete. Everybody wants to come after me. I have to answer back."Part of Marshall's problem has been an ankle injury that only recently healed to the point he could practice.Another part is that his teammates, coming off a MAC championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance, aren't just going to hand over their playing time to him."These guys don't want him to take their minutes," Zips coach Keith Dambrot said. "Before you can beat their guys, first you got to beat out our guys. Let's be fair to the kid."Seven-footers are rare in the Mid-American Conference. The past two -- Chris Kaman at Central Michigan and John Edwards at Can't State -- were nowhere near Marshall's level as a recruit.Yet Kaman became an NBA lottery pick, going sixth to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2003. He is entering his seventh season with the team.And Edwards played two seasons in the NBA, with Indiana and Atlanta, and currently plays professionally in Europe. Both were centers on the last two MAC teams to win a game in the NCAA Tournament. Neither started as a freshman.Akron returns its top four players to a team that earned the school's first NCAA Tournament bid since 1986. Now, winning a game or two in the tournament is the objective.History says Marshall's presence can help make that happen, even if he is not a starter.Edwards' coming-out party was as a sophomore reserve on Can't State's NCAA Elite Eight team in 2002. He averaged 11.8 minutes per game off the bench that season, until Can't played nationally ranked opponents. Then Edwards averaged 14.7 minutes a game. His size under the hoop kept defenses honest, even though his production (3.3 points, 2.1 rebounds per game) was meager.Marshall's impact with the Zips and on the league will not be measured by his early practices. As his career advances, his shot blocking, rebounding and scoring may rise dramatically as he will have three or four years to become the dominant big man most envision."You know he's going to get better," Dambrot said."He's got a ways to go. And I haven't been hard on him yet. The good thing is, we can win without him."Source

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SourceThe Akron Zips dominate the voting for the Mid-American Conferece preseason basketball media polls with coach Keith Dambrot's Zips being the overwhelming pick to finish first in the MAC's East Division, the overwhelming pick to win the MAC Tournament and landing two players on the preseason All-MAC East Division Team. The Zips picked up 19 of the 24 first-place votes. The Zips, who finished tied for third in the MAC last season, 23-13, 10-6, return four of five starters and 12 of 13 letterwinners from a team that won the MAC Tournament last season then advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Zips lost in the first round to Gonzaga, but look to a bright future as they replace 6-7 Nate Linhart with 7-0 Zeke Marshall, a consensus Top 50 recruit, plus its two All-MAC performers. Pollsters named 6-5 junior Brett McKnight (11.2 ppg) and 5-10 sophomore Anthony (Humpty) Hitchens (8.8 ppg) to the first team. Picked to finish a distant second in the MAC East was Can't State, with Can't State senior Chris Singletary (12.2 ppg) being named to the All-MAC team. The MAC West is projected to be a tight race with Central Michigan being the favorite followed closely by Northern Illinois. Interestingly, CMU has no All-MAC selections.MAC East Division Preseason Media Poll1. Akron – 190 points (19)2. Can't State – 108 points (3)3. Buffalo – 97 points (1)4. Miami -- 78 points5. Bowling Green – 54 points (1)6. Ohio – 32 pointsMAC West Division Preseason Media Poll1. Central Michigan – 113 points (10)2. Northern Illinois – 102 points (4)3. Eastern Michigan – 94 points (3)4. Ball State – 87 points (3)5. Western Michigan – 79 points (4)1. Toledo – 29 points(1st place votes in parentheses)Tournament Winner: Akron (19), Buffalo (2), Northern Illinois (1), Can't State (1), Bowling Green (1) East Division All-MAC Preseason TeamKenny Hayes, G, Miami Brett McKnight, F, Akron Rodney Pierce, G, Buffalo Chris "Sucker Punch" Singletary, G, Can't State Anthony “Humpty” Hitches, G, AkronWest Division All-MAC Preseason TeamDavid Kool, G, Western Michigan Jarrod Jones, F/C, Ball State Brandon Bowdry, F, Eastern Michigan Darion “Jake” Anderson, G, Northern IllinoisCarlos Medlock, G, Eastern Michigan

I know this is not apples to apples, but it's close. Here is how a SB coach is handling a similar situation, this is from Sunday's post game conference: Question: Do Rashard’s fumbles make you reconsider him starting? Mike Tomlin: Not at this point no. Not at all.

SourceNews from Can't State basketball was not good Tuesday evening as word began to spread that 6-3 senior Chris Singletary's injured ankle from Sunday's scrimmage will likely sideline him at least until the start of the regular season, Nov. 13. Now, he might not be alone. Returning 6-2 junior guard Rodriguez Sherman suffered a dislocated elbow during Tuesday's practice that could keep him out as few as three or four days or up to two or more weeks. Head coach Geno Ford said he will not know Sherman's status for sure until some point Wednesday when X-rays have been seen by the doctors. "I do know he and Chris being out is not good,'' Ford said. Singletary and Sherman are key players at the two positions where the Golden flushes are thinnest. Sherman has been making the transition to point guard this season, after missing all of 2008-2009 due to knee surgery.

Those aren't thoughts.

I hope Rasor gets us some info on this. Especially when Zack Campbell boomed a 76-yard punt Saturday (3rd longest in school history) I blame this on coaching, not the kids. I might go with JT, but I agree, I hope he gets a shot with an NFL team. He should hire DH's agent. IMO the pros outweigh the cons. The most important thing to me in a season is wins. I'll say 4 point underdogs. If that was a Topic headline on ZN in early August, there would have been some angry posts. It's up to Nicely how much work he puts in, but we are already seeing improvement each week.I think the one good thing that may come out of this season is the invaluable experience he is getting this year.He'll be here next year, because he is guaranteed the job of starting QB.

Run the ball, and stop the run. It's one of the oldest clichés, yet I'm not sure this staff understands it. 234 yards rushing to ZERO.Which is worse, giving up 234 yards on the ground with this bs defensive scheme or producing no yards on the ground on offense?Maybe next year when you stop by we'll have a staff that can even those stats out. It's embarrassing.

I know this is old, but I just wanted to hear the kid speak and see what he looked like:

Glad to hear that. That has to be small proof that the on campus stadium is making some difference. Does he still talk about the shirt he is wearing that night?

I used to really enjoy watching his show, I'm just far enough away from Akron now that I can't pick it up anymore.Steve isn't afraid to say anything, and sometimes pays for it with a totally wrong comment. I can understand hiscomments about JD, but I just can't see him keeping his job. It would be the biggest surprise in Akron football to meif JD is the head coach of the Akron Zips next year. I hope Steve speaks about Akron more on his show, sometimes Iwas the only caller to ask about Akron and that would be the only time he would mention them. BTW It's the only radio/tv show that I have ever called into in my life. I always felt like Steve knew the Akron info, but had to be prodded/calledfor the viewer to get it. At some point and time in his life, Steve should get some kind of award from the U.

Ken+ is finding ways to win, the Zips are finding ways to lose. We NEED to find a way to beat Ken+, it's the ONLY thing that can salvage this terrible season.

A real punt! Thank gawd some coach is reading ZN.

I can't find the post this week where somebody is insistent that our defense is the 3-4 now. Anybody notice that Stams keeps referring to it as the 3-5? Who's right?

Congrats to PN16, hopefully many more to come in the next four years!

I thought of that too, but decided to go with football since the Zips football fan could use a small smile right about now.Look for a Xmas or Thanksgiving dance latter.

Pretty funny ad spots

I'm guessing Ellen wrote that sentence to get a rise (get noticed) out of ZN. Consider the source.

Patrick, DeVoe, Brian, Andre & Almondo Get Into It!?!?

I'm guessing since they don't have it at the college soccer store it's going to be tough online. Have you checked at campus and off campus Zips apparel shops?

Seems a little odd that Gaffney would write an article on PN16 today if he broke his ankle yesterday?

Sorry Tex, I'm stopping my football road trips this year at two. No mas.

Simply fix would be to give your source of information. Example 1: The 22 year old girl that was our tour guide suggested that you will not be able to sit on the hill. Example 2: A student (or whomever) told me that PN16 broke his ankle today at practice today. PS If the info about PN16 is true, get ready for the wa wa wa wild....I can't even type it.

11/4 cups heavy cream?I don't think I have that measuring cup in my drawer.

+1