wadszip

Let me jump in with everybody who is saying that 3,800 is a slap in the face. If they ever go forward with that plan, it's the end for Akron hoops as we know it. Why build 3,800 when there are already at least two guaranteed games that will draw 5,000 plus in the current, inadequate, facility we have (Can't and Ohio, don't see either rivalries going away)? And like others have said, 3,800 is not much less of an average than what the team currently draws. Does the administration also already forget that last year, the team drew 4,400 for a 3-20 Northern Illinois team? http://espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=320422006 I admit, I don't know the details about that game (maybe half those seats were given away, and I do remember a bunch of kids being there), but still, at 3,800, you can't even give out those ticket to youth leagues anymore. Not that that's the goal anyway, but if you think long-term, even giving out 1,000 tickets to a game to kids who may end up liking the product, going to your school and then becoming die-hard fans down the line, it's still well-worth the short-term "loss" of not "selling" those tickets. And, if it's true that nothing has been raised for a new arena, than what the hell is Jim Tressel doing to justify is 250,000 or so a year salary? I thought his No. 1 athletic goal was to raise funds for a new basketball arena? If nothing has been raised, then the university is only 250,000 further away from being able to have a venue that fits the quality of the product that KD is putting on the floor. I hope that's not true. If so, that's beyond a joke. Finally, if it's the case where the university can't get this done on its own, I don't see how anybody can justify not working with the city/county/whoever to get something done. I know there are sentiments to having it on campus, but if the university can't think big enough to make it happen, lets do it downtown, which isn't as bad as even the people who are dead-set on it being on-campus make it out to be. I'm just one person, but of the Akron football games I've been to at Infocision (on campus), I've still parked downtown, went to an establishment there pre-game, walked up Exchange to the stadium for the game, and then walked back down Exchange and went to the bars afterward. It's not a big deal. It's one thing if there was a gap between downtown (or if it was a 5 mile walk), but there isn't. It's all connected. Hell, even in 2002, about half of my classes at UA were technically in downtown. And that was when virtually none of the residential was down there. Now, more residential is there, making downtown/campus even more connected. I hate to bring up Can't as an example, but a university that can connect downtown to campus has major plusses. Why do you think Can't/Can't State is undergoing hundreds of millions of dollars to renovate their downtown to connect the two? It's not like UA even has to transform the entire area to make that happen ... the two already are connected, and downtown Akron, simply based on the sizes of the cities, is better than downtown Can't to begin with. An arena in downtown would be a blip on the radar compared to what Can't/Can't State has had to spend in order to bring the two entities together.

Another pattern over his entire career is that once the Zips get into MAC play (or if they go to Valparaiso), the refs tend to do whatever they can to take him out of a game.

It actually dropped us four spots. Akron was at No. 34 coming into the game, still not bad. But unfortunately, there are a lot more "NIU-like" teams coming up on the schedule, so outside sweeping Ohio, not too much move for Akron to make a big move there.

I agree with this. It just doesn't make sense to make it 1,500 when the team already draws more than that to begin with. Seems like a failed marketing plan.

I'm with you on having to rely more on the streams. Usually, I've been able to get to more than half the games in years past. This year, I've made it to two, and may only be able to make it to two more (Ohio and Can't, only because I'm using personal time off those days) due to a change of work schedule. It's frustrating to have to rely on such a bad product. Usually, I fight through the lagging and the humming noises. But there are games like Coppin State where it is just unbearable (and it helped that it was a blowout). It's not like I'd rather be watching on a stream (especially this year), but it's the only way I can see this team on most nights. Hopefully, the university takes into consideration that there are die-hards that are forced to rely on the stream, and they put in the effort into upgrading that product.

St. Mary's is also a home team, according to: http://espnbracketbusters.com/site/compone...t/article?id=15

That was the best part about yesterday's game. Much better operation than the one Akron runs when it comes to the streams. Half the Akron ones, you're lucky to see 1/4 of the game due to the constant lagging. I had to give up on the Coppin State stream midway through due to that reason. I saw about 3 actual minutes of the first half. Though that may be the school's ploy to get people to the JAR.

Yes, it was the Creighton game. Here is Akron's history 04: 82-78 (OT) loss vs. Drake 05: 74-68 win vs. Niagara 06: 88-61 loss at Nevada 07: 74-57 win vs. Austin Peay 08: 57-52 loss vs. VCU 09: 76-66 loss at Valpariaso 10: 70-53 loss at VCU 11: 76-67 win vs. Creighton 12: 67-61 loss at Oral Roberts Overall, the Zips are 3-6, which isn't good. On the bright side, Akron has had some nice opponents in this event, especially recently.

Thanks for the kudos (and Dr. Z and Root4Roo). Yeah, it seems that RPI is considered in the matchups, unlike the rating systems like Pomeroy and Sagarin, though it doesn't seem to be based strictly on RPI. IIR, the year we got Creighton, the Zips RPI was lower than several schools, but still got one of the marquee games. Seems like it is based half on RPI/half on name recognition. Also, I was just using Pomeroy as a guide since I think it's a better system to rank teams than RPI. It's actually scary to think that, if based on RPI, the Zips may end up with a Western Michigan-type opponent, in being one that has a grossly over-inflated RPI. Western is still No. 83 in RPI (Akron is 77 and Ohio is 157).

The Bracketbusters matchups are still about three weeks away from being announced, but from looking at the teams involved, it doesn't look like the Zips are going to get the type of big-time opponent we were hoping for. Here are the teams ranked in the top 100 on the home side and visiting side (per the current Pomeroy rankings: Home 1. Belmont (21) 2. Wichita State (27) 3. Akron (37) 4. St. Mary's (53) 5. Valparaiso (75) 6. Indiana State (82) 7. Northern Iowa (89) 8. Davidson (90) Away 1. Creighton (12) 2. North Dakota State (50) 3. Stephen F. Austin (55) 4. Denver (61) 5. Ohio (65) 6. Weber State (71) 7. Illinois State (76) 8. Detroit (87) I was hoping to land Wichita State (since Creighton is probably out of the question since the two teams had already played this year stemming from an earlier Bracketbuster matchup), but was disappointed to see that the Shockers are also a home team this year. Outside of Wichita State and Belmont (who are both on the home side) and Creighton (not likely to happen), the choices become pretty slim. Right now, it's very likely that Creighton-Belmont will be the marquee matchup. Both are top 25 in both Pomeroy and RPI, and both have some name recognition. After that, Wichita State and St. Mary's are probably the next two "biggest names" and are both also on the home side. Even decent MVC schools Indiana State and Northern Iowa are at home (more schools to cross off). Then, other premier mid-majors like Lehigh, Bucknell, Utah State, Louisiana Tech aren't competing. What you have left are schools like North Dakota State, Stephen F. Austin, Denver, Weber State and Illinois State. (Ohio, which I can see landing a marquee matchup against St. Mary's) is off the table, and so too is Detroit (since the two already played). Really, whatever matchup the Zips get, doesn't do much to turn the needle, though a couple of potentially decent matchups. Here's a look at those teams: North Dakota State (15-3, 6-0): Has two non division I wins; two of the losses were @ Indiana (87-61) and @ Minnesota (70-57). Other loss was @Green Bay (74-59). Their best non-conference win, however, may be an 83-80 OT win on a neutral court vs. Youngstown State ... the same YSU team that lost by 41 the other night at Detroit. They did beat conference foe South Dakota State (65-62) at home, which would be their best overall win. Stephen F. Austin (14-1, 5-0): Has four non-Division I wins, but has a solid road win @Oklahoma (56-55) and a decent road win @Tulsa (67-51). The lone loss was @Texas A&M (62-54). Nothing else is of any significance (well, they did just win by 11 at Oral Roberts, but its not the same Oral Roberts team the Zips saw last year). This matchup has some potential, and is way better than North Dakota State. Denver (9-7, 5-1): This doesn't do anything, and frankly, not sure how they are rated this high in the Pomeroy rankings. Their best win is at home against Mercer (69-40). The losses were @Iona, vs. Cal, vs. Colorado State, @Southern Miss, @Stanford, @Wyoming and @Louisiana Tech, so I will give them credit for the schedule, though the closest of those losses was seven points @Iona. They are 5-1 in the WAC, but have played the bottom feeders outside of La. Tech. I'll pass. Weber State (10-3, 5-0): Has a quality win @Dayton (62-61) and losses were @San Jose State (68-67 OT), @Utah State (65-55) and vs. BYU (68-58). Like Denver, Weber State hasn't played any of the better teams in the Big Sky (which basically means they haven't played Montana yet, and won't play themselves). Weber State, though, does have a little name recognition for those of us 30-and-older, who remember Harold "The Show" Areceneaux single-handily pulling off one of the greatest tournament upsets when he scorched North Carolina for 36 points in a 3-14 upset in 1999. They also knocked off a No. 3 seeded Michigan State team a couple years prior to that. Unfortunately, the name Harold Areceneaux is no different than Mouse McFradden or Bryce Drew at this point. Illinois State (9-8, 0-5): This is a solid team, despite the record. This game wouldn't do anything to impress the tourney committee (though is that really even worth thinking about at this point?), but could be another good test leading into the MAC homestretch. The non-conference losses are vs. Northwestern (72-69 OT) on a neutral court, @Louisville (69-66), vs. Wyoming (81-67). The league losses include two excusable ones @Indiana State (77-75) and vs. Creighton (79-72). Unfortunately, the other three MVC losses were too mid-to-low tier teams vs. Northern Iowa, vs. Drake and @Missouri State. The best non-conference win, like Weber State, was @Dayton (74-73). Like Weber State, it was a one-point win. Illinois State also won @Drexel in overtime (86-84). But Can't did also beat that disappointment of a Drexel team in overtime (66-62), so that may not be saying much (not even considering Drexel is 5-11). But Illinois State also beat Western Michigan by 22 points at home (just like Akron), so they must be just as good. The last part is tounge-and-cheek, but even with all that said, I think I'd take Illinois State over the rest of the options (minus Stephen F. Austin). Plus, it could be a precurser to a future MAC foe, if the Illinois State football fans get their wish. Overall, I'd rank the options like this: 1. Stephen F. Austin 2. Illinois State 3. Weber State 4. North Dakota State 5. Denver None do much, unfortunately. And I think Ken Pomeroy is on to something with his "luck" factor counted in his rankings. Of course, this is the year Akron has its most legitimate shot at playing in a marquee bracketbuster game, and do to bad luck, it's not going to be any better than in the past (and actually worse.) At least we had gotten VCU and Creighton in the past. Finally, and maybe it was even on here, that I read that ESPN is no longer going to do the Bracketbusters (at least in its current form) after this year. That's actually not a bad thing, per say. Having set home and away teams makes it tough to get premier matchups. My solution would be a 4-game, one-day event (all at the same neutral court) involving the top 8 mid-major programs in that given year (make it truly prestigious). Play it in some place like St. Louis or Kansas City (some place in the middle of the country). That would allow for members of the selection committee (and NBA scouts) to see all the top mid-majors in one venue, in one day, against quality competition. For example, this year, you could have (and I'll include teams that aren't participating) 1. Creighton 2. Wichita State 3. Belmont 4. Akron 5. Bucknell 6. St. Mary's 7. Utah State 8. Lehigh (or Ohio, Stephen F. Austin, Middle Tennessee State, etc.) You could then have: noon: Belmont-Lehigh 3 p.m.: Bucknell-St. Mary's 6 p.m.: Akron-Wichita State 9 p.m.: Creighton-Utah State Even if this is on ESPNU, you start the day off with the smaller schools that aren't likely to draw as much audience and lead into the games against the bigger state schools (or in Creighton's case, being Creighton). Belmont-Lehigh, both being eastern schools tipping at noon should still draw decent numbers because both are good teams. Then You'd have an East-vs. West matchup in Bucknell vs. St. Mary's (since the 3 p.m. start would be noon on the West Coast, it could also draw decent numbers). Then you get into prime-time with Akron-Wichita State (two larger, state schools in decent-sized markets). Again should pull decent numbers. Then finishing in prime time with your biggest name school vs. another that should draw well in Utah State, again being a larger state school that is in the western part of the country (true primetime there) should provide a decent audience. Will any of these matchups draw UNC-Duke type numbers, no. But should do well enough to outdraw a game between two middle-of-the pack Big 12 or SEC schools. Of course, that is just an example for this year, but its something that could be tweaked depending on the year and the teams involved. Actually, a setup like this would benefit Akron (or Cleveland State or Can't if deserving) more than most teams, since the Cleveland-Akron TV market is the largest in the country without a direct high-major school located within it. Due to pure population, it would make any of those schools attractive for this type of event.

Yep, obviously, I posted that before the news came out. From what KD said tonight, it looks like Harney will start at the three, so we will see that Harney-Hutcheson matchup afterall. It'll be interesting to see how the minutes shake out. The loss of Chauncey hurts the huge depth advantage the Zips hold, but what it will do is open up more minutes for Nick and Tree (and Zeke and Forsythe), who all deserve more based on recent play. We'll also see more of Nick and Tree on the floor at the same time (maybe I'm not paying enough attention) but it seems like those guys have been subbing in for each other at the 4 spot. Also, giving Harney more minutes at the 3, gives the Zips a three-man rotation at the 4-5 spots between Tree, Zeke and Forysythe. Maybe we will see more of Zeke and Forsythe on the floor at the same time, something KD hinted to before the season, but really hasn't happened yet. Losing Chauncey hurts, especially since he is a much better perimeter threat than Nick, and hopefully he returns 100 percent down the stretch, because we'll need him, but this may not be devastating for the short term as it gives KD more leeway to tinker with the lineups, while at the same time giving all four of the "bigs" a couple extra minutes per game. Thankfully, we are one of the few teams in the MAC that can lose somebody like Chauncey (on top of losing Diggs) and still be competitive (if still not the favorite) against anybody in the MAC.

That rivals list is horrible. Just another reason to trust the Ken Pomeroy rankings more than any other in college basketball. And that's just not because Akron is ranked higher this year by him than in any other rankings (in past years, the Zips have been lower there than in RPI or other power rankings). Actually, even in the Pomeroy rankings the Zips had fallen from No. 46 (prior to the Pine-Bluff win) to No. 51 after the Coppin State win. I guess the Princeton win must finally be paying dividends, though, as the Zips have climbed back to No. 47. I'm guessing that is because Princeton moved up to No. 80 based on a win against No. 35 Bucknell, who was boosted by a 2-point loss at Missouri this weekend. Princeton beat Bucknell by 12 two weeks ago. Pomeroy has the MAC rankings like this: 47. Akron 64. Ohio 113. Can't State 172. Buffalo 175. Western Michigan 182. Toledo 198. Bowling Green 216. Central Michigan 230. Miami 268. Ball State 296. Eastern Michigan 310. Northern Illinois Unfortunately, outside of EMU (which probably wouldn't be knocked as much if they didn't lose every major game they played by 30-plus, outside the one home win against an average Purdue team), it seems about right. EMU, despite the losses, is probably more in the low 200 range. ... around the CMU, BG mark. Still, the MAC sucks this year outside of Akron and Ohio.

For me, this doesn't change a whole lot for how I feel about Ohio ... a talented team that took care of business at home against a team they should've blown out. True, I wasn't expecting a 37-point win, but thought the Bobcats would win that game by 20-plus. It was kind of like the Cleveland State game for us, in that a good team took it to a bad team (that had a somewhat of a name cache). What that win confirms is that it is still all about Akron vs. Ohio in the MAC. Who has the advantage right now? I'm not sure. Akron should kill them in the post, where as OU has the ability to kill the Zips on the perimeter. While, having the post advantage is more ideal over the long haul, a team with good perimeter play conceivably is in a better situation in a one-game scenario. However, I think the Zips' guard play is potentially good enough to offset whatever advantage OU has there, compared to Ohio's disadvantage against Akron in the post. Unfortunately, the early-season struggles on both sides will prevent the MAC from being a two-bid league, even though if both are going at the end of the year, both are tourney-caliber teams.

Thanks for sharing your input on WMU. Obviously, I'm an Akron fan, but I agree there isn't an edge at any position for WMU in this game. Even if Harney vs. Hutcheson is a push (I'd give the nod anyway to Harney the way he has played recently), they probably won't be matched up on each other much unless KD changes up the rotation or Hutcheson slides down to the 4 (correct me if I'm wrong, but Hutcheson is mainly the 3 and Paul the 4, correct?). Harney and Tree have almost exclusively played all the minutes at the 4 (Tree @ 22 and Harney @18 per game). It'll be either Chauncey Gilliam (6-5, 230) or Jake Kretzer (6-8, 210) matched up on Hutcheson. Actually, that makes it a better matchup for Hutcheson, but I'll still take the Zips combo in a 40-minute game. Kretzer has the length to bother him, while Gilliam has the strength and quickness advantage. Overall, the more I look at it, just don't see how this is close if the Zips come to play. PG- Abreu vs. Ritchie: Ritchie has a size advantage, but that's it. Abreu is better at all facets of the game, and Abreu has shined against PGs with the same size (but more skill) than Ritchie in the past. SG- Walsh vs. Pokley: This could be relatively close. Both guys have the ability to knock down the 3, though, again I'll give the overall edge to Walsh since he can score inside the arc (47 percent compared to 29 percent by Pokley ... and Walsh has more attempts from inside). SF- Gilliam vs Hutcheson: Again, this will be relatively close, since Gilliam is slumping right now. But if he can get back to the way he played offensively last year (or even earlier this year), I'll give him the slight advantage. It's still as push at best. While Hutcheson's pure scoring averages look decent, he's getting it on a lot of volume, and low percentages. PF - Treadwell vs. Paul: This looks to be an interesting battle on the glass, as both guys are very good rebounders. It's a wash there. While Paul is averaging slightly more points (and playing more minutes per game), Treadwell has the offensive advantage. He's trending up, while Paul hasn't shot the ball well as of late ... over the past five games, Treadwell is shooting 61 percent from the field compared to Paul's 41 percent. Overall, the advantage goes to Treadwell. C- Zeke vs. Wittingham: From the way Wittingham has played, this should be the best battle Zeke has all year in MAC play, since Da'Shonte Riley has no offensive game to speak of. Still, as well as Wittingham has played, there is still no way he has an advantage on Zeke (who has also been dominant lately). Over the past five games, Wittingham has put up an impressive line of: 16.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 1.2 assists, .4 steals, .564 shooting percentage and .783 FT percentage in 30.8 minutes per game. Very good numbers against solid competition. In the same span, Zeke has averaged: 16.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 assist, .6 steals, .750 shooting percentage and .786 FT percentage in 23.2 minutes per game. Give Zeke 30,8 minutes in that span and he's at 23.2, 9.7, 4.2, 1.4 and .8 per game. Granted, the level of competition the two have faced favors WMU. Still, as good as Wittingham has been, Zeke has been just as good, if not better (at this point, Zeke can put up numbers on anybody, and the MAC is going to find out, this isn't the offensively challenged Marshall of the past). Still, starter-per-starter, WMU should hold its own. The Zips don't have a position where it's an absolute mismatch, outside of Abreu (but backup PG is the biggest weakness). On a homecourt, I'd give the Zips a 5 or so point advantage. But, since nobody starts five guys 40 minutes per game, where the Zips should dominate is bench play. There really isn't much argument that the Zips' top three off the bench ... Harney, Kretzer and Forsythe are all better than anybody coming off WMU's bench. And if needed, the Zips can go 11 deep compared to 8 deep by WMU. The Zips backups should present a 10-plus point advantage over WMU's over the course of a game. Overall, it's should take a great performance from WMU and a mediocre-to-bad performance by Akron for this to be close. Hopefully, the Zips come out to prove that they are the team to beat in the league and pull-away for a 15-plus point win, which, no offense to WMU, is completely possible, if not expected. EA3, appreciate you stopping by. I've never had an issue with WMU, and it's actually one of the few MAC teams I root for to do well. I respect Steve Hawkins (though, as been pointed out, I slipped and called him Dan ... ala the former Boise, Colorado football coach). WMU generally has a bunch of hard-nosed kids who aren't dislikable (outside of Stainbrook, who was a complete goon). Regardless of what happens Wednesday, I'm rooting for you guys to have a great season, and to win the West, which looks wide open right now with Toledo's banishment (and struggles) and EMU showing that they still are EMU.

Let's talk about the MAC opener. I'll be the first to admit, I thought Western Michigan was going to a cellar-dweller in the West. They lost four of their five top players from last year in Flenard Whitfield, Demetrius Ward, Mike Douglas and Matt Stainbrook (even though he was in the doghouse much of the year, he still was one of their top players ... and the ugliest, most annoying player in college basketball). But Nate Hutcheson is back, and Dan Hawkins is one of the better coaches in the MAC and has the Broncos playing well. With that said, I like that we get what appears to be a better than expected team to open league play, and at home. Still, this should be a 10-plus point Akron win. 1. Akron shut down Hutcheson last year, though part of that was due to Quincy's defense. Still, between Kretzer, Harney and Gilliam, the Zips still have the size to bother him. 2. On top of Hutcheson, the Broncos next two top scorers are also bigs in Shayne Wittington and freshman Darius Paul (not the matchup teams in the MAC want against the Zips). The combo of Zeke and Pat should contain Wittington (who has played well), and Harney and Tree seem to match up well with Paul, who from looking at the stats, seems to have hit a wall. He's shooting 36 percent from the field since December 1, including 0-14 from 3-point range. 3. The Zips are deeper 4. The Zips are at home 5. The Zips have owned Western Michigan, winning the last 10 in the series. Last year was close in Kalamazoo, but that was thanks to the play of Douglas, Whitfield and Ward, all who are no longer there. Since Western Michigan has played well, including a nice road win at South Florida, this is a game the Zips can come out of the gate and let the rest of the MAC know who the team to beat is. I know talk doesn't mean much, but from reading the MAC BBS board, the general talk is that this league race is up in the air (because Akron and Ohio's "struggles"). The Zips can make an early statement by handling business in a week.

The 3-point shooting was way worse than the foul shooting (though I guess you can say after the 0-10 start there, they did hit 9 of their next 23). The foul shooting really wasn't that bad when you consider Tree (a 50 percent shooter) was right on his average (5-10), then a walk-on missed all 4 of his in the final minute. The rest of the team was 9-11, and of those 11, Deji and Harney went 7-8 (two guys who haven't exactly been money from the line so far this year.) As fans, we're just going to have to live with 50 percent from Tree this year (as with the rest of his game, though, this is something that should improve as time goes on), and since he alone attempted 40 percent of the team's total, it really wasn't that bad. If it was 14-25 and say it was Alex, Zeke and Walsh shooting them, then I would be concerned. With that said, the 3-point shooting is becoming a real concern. If the wings aren't knocking down shots, this team is going to see teams sag down in a 2-3 zone (which Coppin State played a ton of tonight ... hence the 23 attempts). Most of the looks were wide open, a good team knocks down at least 40 percent of those (and Walsh and Kretzer did do that, so I'm mainly pointing the finger at McAdams and Gilliam here). But since those two guys are in the rotation, they are going to have to start hitting those shots if this team wants to reach its full potential. This was a game where you put the current front line out there along with some of the undersized shooters we've had in the past (Dials, Roberts, McNees, Middleton, etc.) and it would've been a 40-plus point blowout. Those guys, while hampered overall due to size, would knock down open looks. Overall, while I still like what our current bigger wings can do, they have to start hitting the 3s (especially the wide-open ones) at a more consistent basis, and that still goes for Walsh, too. If not, this team will be vulnerable to the zone (got away with it tonight just because Coppin State wasn't any good). The wings have to help out what is truly becoming a high-major front line with they way Zeke, Forsythe, Tree and Harney have all been playing. P.S. Dave, I'll end with this, and not like it really matters, the Zips were winning this game going away regardless of who did or didn't play on Coppin State's roster. But who knows what Murray would've done (just from looking at his numbers, he appears to be a Tree-like player, only 2 inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter (but with a little more range). Not sure how much he would've helped, especially since that may have meant the Franklin kid (a 30 percent 3-point shooter on the year) wasn't launching 11 and knocking down 6 of them. Like I said, who knows, I'm just glad the Zips have handled business against the teams they should've beat with ease (Pine Bluff, CSU (without Grady, this CSU team is horrible), Texas Southern and Coppin State) and controlled almost the entire game against a solid Princeton team. There is work to be done, but the Zips seem to be in a lot better shape entering MAC play than they were a year ago, with a better roster to boot.

Congrats to Zeke for the honor ... He's bringing the skyhook back! Liked that the MAC site highlighted that huge shot.

Yeah, that's the one. I didn't see it online when I went to look for it.

Good stuff. It's clear just by the eye test that Zeke has taken his offensive game to a higher level, just backs up what we've seen.

Coastal Carolina has two D1 wins (5 overall), but they were against Akron (although depleted) and by 23 points over Clemson.

If anybody read the Canton Repository today, there was a short blurb on Nyles Evans committing to Akron, with a couple of quotes from his high school coach Randy Montgomery (who apparently doesn't follow the UA basketball team at all). I don't have it in front of me, but Montgomery (paraphrasing) said: "Nyles is going to be a great addition to the team. They have good players throughout the roster, but if there was one position they aren't as strong, it's point guard. Nyles will step in there." I guess if only having an All-MAC PG (who is a junior) is a weakness, this team is in very good shape. Of course, this is a coach talking up his player, but had to chuckle when I read it. Although, I do think that Evans could bump Carmelo out of the rotation next year, then Evans and Melo sharing duties in 14-15, with Melo taking over over the full-time starting gig his senior year. I would post the link, but the story wasn't posted online.

Just a guess: Justice and Deji will transfer.

You were around in the days of Fifth Avenue HS? You definitely are an old fart ... that school sounded old to me when I was a kid 20 years ago Seriously, though, you're right, I was going off of Clancy's NFL weight, so during his college days, he and Tree were closer in size. Still, Sam Sr. was a freak. I witnessed him at 35 or 36 years old and 290 pounds (still not an ounce of fat on him) throwing down windmill dunks. It's actually scary to think how good he could've been if he actually played football (and you are probably right about him not playing in HS). I do agree though with you and Dave that Tree, if ultimately choosing football, could go the Antonio Gates rout, and become a dangerous TE. He has the size, hands and speed to be a big-time threat. Still, he has too much potential in basketball to even think about a profession change. Plus, even if Tree isn't quite NBA caliber, he could carve out a long career overseas in a high Euro League and make a very good living (see Jimmal Ball). This is all fun speculation, but it seems that B4110 has this pegged. Tree is a basketball player, and has the potential to become a very good one if he keeps working on his game (the skills are there, it's all about refining them). Since this thread is about Tree, I came across this video from the summer. It has Tree, Alex, Nick, Deji (in sandals) and some other local guys ... Brad DuPont (the glue guy on the Jackson team that won the state title with Egner and Henniger), Porrini (I know Akron fans love to hate him, but he's really a good, personable guy) and Devonte Beard (who played at SVSM and went to Siena, and apparently transferred to Walsh). While a summer league game, this video just shows more of the immense potential Tree has (also Harney at that).

Good breakdown. This won't be a a cupcake like the last three teams (and yes, Cleveland State at this point is a cupcake), but the Zips should win. Without seeing Princeton, I'm guessing they are a team that tries to use their size as their biggest advantage, which is something they won't have tomorrow. The only size mismatch will be at PG, where Alex will be guarding a player five inches taller. Since Alex plays like he is 6-3, I'm not concerned with that. Also, it's interesting that this game was picked up after the Marshall return game fell through. Well, Princeton is ranked higher than Marshall in both the Pomeroy rankings (88-167) and RPI (163-217).

I grew up playing with Sam Clancy Jr., and Sam Sr. would be at all our practices (it was the year after he retired after playing for the Colts). He was in his mid-to-late 30s, and he was still an athletic specimen. We'd get him to start dunking after our practices and he'd throw down reverses and windmills like it was nothing. In short, I love Tree (by far he has turned into my favorite player on this team), but he would have to gain 50 pounds (Sam Sr. was 6-7, 285) and not lose an ounce of athleticism even to have a chance at the NFL (and that's even if he likes football). That's not a knock on Tree, but Sam Clancy Sr. is/was so freakish, his situation is so rare, I don't think it is realistic. Plus, I believe Sam Sr. did play football in high school, something Tree didn't do. I think Tree's future is definitely in basketball. In fact, I think he has as the same type of potential that Sam Clancy Jr. (who was an All-American at USC and played a year or two in the NBA) had. Clancy Jr. had his dad's size , but not quite the athleticism. In fact, I'd say Tree is the better athlete than Clancy Jr. was at the same age. Sam Jr., being a basketball player his whole life was more skilled. But if Tree continues to work on his game, there is no reason to think that he can't at least get a sniff at the NBA. As for Tree, the more I watch him, the more I think he can be Paul Millsap-esque ... undersized, but big-bodied 4, who makes up for the lack of height with a quick first step and a face-up game .... the ability to either knock down a 15-footer or put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. They both also have a nose for the ball. After watching Tree the last year and a half, I can't help seeing similarities in their games (obviously, Tree much, much more raw than a 6-year, borderline all-star NBA vet): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mxYnNPnR6w http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mxYnNPnR6w I'm not saying that Tree is the next Paul Millsap, but just watching those clips vs. what we are seeing out of Tree this year, you can see the similarities. Finally, since I never saw Millsap at Louisiana Tech, I decided to look up his college stats to see how they compare to Tree's. Millsap, in his freshman year, played 35.1 minutes per game and averaged 15.6 points, 12.5 rebounds, .7 assists, .9 steals and 1.7 blocks per game. He shot 58.7 percent from the field and 64.1 from the line. When matching Tree's freshman stats on a per-minute basis, it's not too far off. Tree, at 35.1 minutes, "averaged" 15.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. He shot 49.7 from the field and 49.4 from the line. Sophomore year, Millsap played 36.6 minutes per game and averaged: 20.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1.1 steals and 1.9 blocks per game. He shot 57.5 percent from the field and 60.1 percent from the line. Tree (on a minute-per-minute basis so far) is at: 19.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, .9 steals and .2 blocks per game. He is shooting 63.9 percent from the field and and 50 percent from the line. Of course, this is what Millsap actually did vs. what Tree would've done playing the same minutes (and the sophomore numbers are not even half complete), but even with that said, there is some correlation that can be drawn since the two guys are almost the same size, have the same type of game and both played a mid-major schools. Just something to think about.