johnnyzip84

Moss might not be 100%?

Duh on my part - if I would have read the article carefully, Reggie states that his last dunk was against WMU in the tourney last year.

It would be great to see him continue to make moves like that, because (as you say) we all know he's capable. I do seem to recall him making a similar play (baseline dunk) last year against WMU when the Zips were running out to a big lead. Does anyone else remember this, or am I confusing it with another game?

Just wanted to see if another fish might take the bait.....

Hmmmmmmm

Here’s hoping Big Dog and Kwan enjoy their time spent closer to home. Zips will need a good defensive showing out of Nyles tonight. I look for another tight game. Zips 61 Sweaters 59

Sorry, but I don't ever recall ESPN broadcasting a MAC Saturday game, so I doubt we'll see any this year. I realize for you (not having the Zips on TV very often), it's not such a good thing - we'll make it up to you when you manage to visit Lot 9, I assure you! But for the small, but loyal, local fan base this is exactly what the Dr ordered. I'm stunned. Maybe the MAC is concerned with their crown jewel of a stadium going to waste?

After taking over as #1 GK in the latter half of 2014, Evan looks forward to keeping his spot in 2015. He got off to to nice start with the Impact's 2-2 away draw at Pachuca in CONCACAF Champions League play. He'll face a big challenge in Montreal next Tuesday for the return leg.

I had a chance to speak with TB last weekend and I believe he said the team was starting spring practice the week before spring break and taking the week of spring break off. They would then resume practices until the spring game, but I don’t recall if he told me the date of the game or not (I know, I’m a lousy reporter). We may be able to deduce this however with the information at hand: Spring break is from March 23 to March 29.A college is allowed to hold 15 spring practices, including a spring game. Schools are also permitted to have separate days during which activities are limited to required conditioning activities and/or watching film. These 15 practices must be completed within a period of 34 consecutive calendar days. Exceptions to consecutive days are university-sanctioned vacation and examination days, and days with inclement weather, restricting the possibility of practice. Only 12 spring practices may permit physical contact, none earlier than the third practice session. Tackling is allowed in eight of the twelve contact sessions. Up to three of the eight tackling sessions may be devoted to 11-on-11 scrimmages. The optional spring game counts as one of the three scrimmage days.Between Jan. 1 and the first date of preseason practice, a university conducts its offseason conditioning period. An institution designates eight weeks in this period as discretionary time for the student-athlete. The eight weeks must be broken up into segments that contain seven consecutive calendar days. The discretionary time period must be placed on file in the school's athletic department before Jan. 1. Mandatory team conditioning, film review and weight training can also be completed outside of the student-athlete discretionary period. These activities are limited to eight hours per week, with only two hours allowed for film review.Thus, spring practice will start on March 16, but those 1st few days will not have contact. If I recall correctly, they had a similar situation last year (spring break interrupting practice) and I believe they went 1 week before break and 3 weeks after break. Based on this, I think April 18 is the most likely date.

I preface this by saying I’d much rather be contending for a #1 seed, with Noah still able to play, than the scenario I will offer. But that’s obviously not reality. I’ve agreed with Dr Z in the past when he would lay down the argument that a deep NIT run could be more beneficial to the program than a one-and-done in the big dance. Many teams have taken significant leaps in seasons immediately following NIT success. There is something to getting on a successful roll as a group that can have a lasting effect. Given the relative youth of the 2014-2015 Zips, I am beginning to think that forcing them to play more MAC tourney games (instead of gaining a bye to the semi-finals or finals) could be better for them in the long run. They’re young, still lacking in experience in certain areas and enjoy considerable depth even with Noah out (fatigue should not be a major issue). Of course, this scenario only has a chance to be beneficial if they can string a few wins together. That only becomes likely, in my view, if they can right the ship over the last three games. If they can beat OU and somehow split the 2 roads games, they may be able to get some confidence back (has to be at a low point). This renewed confidence would be welcome fuel heading into the MAC tourney. They wouldn’t necessarily have to win the tournament for it to be an overall positive experience for the program heading into 2015-2016. It’s just a thought.

I agree with CK’s 2014 Bowden football analogy with regards to accessing KD’s coaching performance this season. There’s no way you can stamp “success” in any way, shape or form to a season that ends on such a prolonged, downhill plunge. But…..If continuing to lose a bunch down the stretch basically negates any claim (including my own) that the 2014-2015 season is perhaps KD’s finest coaching job here at UA, then a most unexpected win at U@B must surely be considered as doing the opposite – reinforcing the claim. Unfortunately I think the hurdle up there is just too great, resulting in KD losing 4 in a row for the 1st time as UA head coach. Although I expect some fight out of the Zips. Zips 66 Bulls 70

I tend to agree - all directional school hoop programs were not created equal.

I watched the coach’s show last night, and I have to say the segment with Tim Campbell (Director of Strength and Conditioning) was one of the more informative pieces I have seen. His revelation on how Pat Forsythe was slow to “buy in” to the merits of the program, only to turn that around this past off-season and become its greatest benefactor, was particularly enlightening given Pat’s huge leap forward (overall) on the court this year. Tim stated Pat increased his vertical press by 30% over last summer! It’ll be interesting to see the physical difference in Pat next year. KD also acknowledged a few of the things that have been said recently on ZNo: The team takes too many 3’sIf Kwan gets back to focusing on defense and rebounding (he has done a better job of this lately), his offense will come to him (the 3’s will fall more often when not focusing on them)He wanted to use that 6th foul on Juice Brown with less time remaining on the clock (plan was for around 5 seconds left), but the inexperience of Antino apparently caused him to jump the gun (no mention of a possible 2 for 1)

I’d like to clarify why I think the 2 for 1 was the correct strategy, especially last night. Getting a shot off with 10 seconds left on the shot clock as opposed to getting a shot off within the first 10 seconds of the shot clock are two different things. In the former scenario, the defense knows with certainty when the last few seconds are ticking down and they can take some chances (for example, sending 2 or 3 guys to a shooter knowing there’s not enough time for another pass). In the latter, the defense doesn’t know your strategy (i.e. 2 for 1 or not) so they can’t take those kind of chances at some arbitrary moment into the shot clock. I said especially last night, because I think you have to consider the opposition when making these decisions. Juice Brown has made shots like the game-winner he made last night numerous times in his career. That’s why I really wanted a decent chance for at least 2 shots (and a desperate heave with 1.7 seconds left doesn’t qualify) - I was pretty sure Juice would do his part.By the way, KD can coach here as long as he likes from my perspective. I simply disagree with the end-game strategy last night, that’s all. He’s done a really nice job with the team this year.

As the voice of Lee Corso would say numerous times on the on NCAA video game, "I'm not second guessing, I'm FIRST guessing" - I mentioned to ZipsWin! before our second to last possession that I want us to shoot in the 1st 10-15 seconds into the shot clock. I did not want to burn the whole clock and hand control of the game to Juice. That's exactly what we did. Few coaching decisions are as cut and dry as clock management. Unless KD ordered an earlier shot and the team did not execute his plans, I believe he made a big mistake by not going 2 for 1 in that instance. And since nobody brought it up in the post-game interview, I am inclined to think he did NOT order a 2 for 1. The effort was there tonight - I can't find fault there. I'm a little concerned about team confidence at the moment however. We'll see how they can recover.

I sure hope I'm wrong, but I have to agree with EA on this one: Zips 73 Rockets 75

Effectively trading Creighton for Loyola (Ill.) really hurt the MVC's relative strength.

Looks like they did a really nice job, K92 I especially like the gold shirt with the white Z logo. Sincerely, Ivan Drago

I was waiting to see if Captain Obvious might chime in first before I addressed the lack of crowd noise. Because they haven't been winning or drawing all that well lately, there simply weren't many K.E.N.T. fans there last night. That definitely takes away from the tension in the air. Also, to clarify my stance with Kwan I never said I didn't want him taking 3 pointers. It's not so much the quantity that I have an issue with - it's more the timing and situational awareness. He's probably my favorite player right now, so I'm just hoping he keeps working on all aspects of his game.

The fact that he was among the Dean's list honorees last night can't hurt his chances. I'm not sure his style fits into TB's recent vow to emphasize the running game more in 2015 however, unless Alexander is eventually expected to shoulder that burden on his own (or with help from Hundley etc.).

Like it often happens with younger players, I believe Kwan has fallen into the trap of focusing too much on scoring. This has lead to him forcing the issue and taking some ill-advised shots. He also seems to be allowing his frustration to get the better of him at times. I even wonder if he's starting to get a reputation with some officials, because the "moving" pick call against him was puzzling to say the least. I'm not at all against Kwan shooting threes, but they need to be more in the flow of the game while taking game situations into account. A case in point was the three he attempted from the top of the key when the Zips really had a 5 on 4 opportunity with the Can't defender making a desperate lunge at Kwan from behind while he was shooting (probably causing him to rush his shot). With the defender well behind him as he approached the arch, there was clearly a chance for an easier shot or pass closer to the basket. Kwan has made HUGE strides as a defender and rebounder. I believe if he continues to focus on these and not so much on his shot, the offense will come back to him naturally. The guy is such a gifted player, I think the sky remains the limit for him.

Was thinking the same thing OR his Spartan "offer" was as a preferred walk-on (hence the temporary silence)?

That's definitely somewhat of a wild card. We're not really sure how our young Zips will respond to this type of atmosphere. That's why I look for Deji, Reggie and Jake to make big contributions tonight. The Zips will get to 60 1st. Zips 70 Opponents 62

As is often the case (but it's likely to be even more so without Hall) Zips should have a big advantage inside. UA stepped up the defense and rebounding in the 2nd half against U@B. Hopefully, they'll come out of the gates with that same intensity.

Former Detroit Lions assistant John Bonamego will be the Chips coach when UA plays CMU in 2015.