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Yep, that was the week that Antino had to grow from a kid to a man very quickly. He was amazing. And don't forget, Pat was playing his best basketball that year, but was limited to like 10 min. a game with his own injury. So, I think Big Dog got a lot out of that experience as well. You're right about the format. We had to win 3 games, and then faced a very rested Buffalo who had been sitting all week until Friday. We had no chance.

The year we were decimated by injury. Actually, watching that team win 3 games in a row to get us to the MAC Semifinal was one of the gutsiest and most exciting weeks of basketball that I have ever seen a Zips team play.

We can't lose 3 in a row. Just can't.

Congratulations for making the 3 hour trip to luxurious Ypsilanti to watch the Zips. I used to make that trip years ago, but haven't been there in awhile now. I just can't find the motivation to go to that place anymore.

That made me laugh.

No doubt. It's a little bit of a different challenge. Actually, EMU has played that same zone for years, and I think we did a better job of patiently breaking down their zone that night than we've done in a long time. He wasn't really playing a High Post, per se, like you would in a man-to-man. He was just posting in the middle of the zone. I don't want to get into the technical aspects here. But keep in mind that EMU utilizes a Stretch 2-3 most of the time, so they actually usually do a good job of covering the shooters. I was just using that as an example of a recent great shooting night.

I would have accepted that. I don't normally like any call being made at that juncture. Especially in this case since he really didn't even "shoot" the ball. He ran into Big Dog, and threw the ball. If it had been a no-call, the ball would have probably landed somewhere harmlessly, and the game can end. But the defender who was under the basket really had no choice in this case with a full-speed, hard-charging guy entering the paint. You have to take the charge or you're going to give up a layup, just like you would at any other juncture during the game. That's true. And therefore I often wonder why more coaches don't call for pressure in the back court in these situations.

Sorry for getting to this so late. But I wanted to comment on this after I looked at it several more times. The first thing some people need to understand is that a Charging Call does not require a defender to be standing with his arm straight up in the air. Watch all of the charge/block calls during an entire basketball game that happen all over the floor. That verticality that's talked about is the standard used when a guy is elevated shooting the ball, and the defender is trying to block it. Plus, if you look at it several times, Big Dog's arms never make contact with the offensive player anyway. It's a moot point. It's 100% a charge. He's standing still, and takes the contact from the offensive player running straight at him. Easy call.

He was a bear in practice too. I swear, Keith really earned his salary in the years he was here. He wasn't a saint in High School either. But damn, he could perform. I'm sure the coaches, players, and the fans who knew more about him and his history had a love/hate relationship with him.

I hear that. And when he started missing, he kept shooting. Hard to shake his confidence, I guess. Some of his shooting streaks have really helped us at times this year. But the opposite has been true as well, like last night.

Not bad 3's. Any missed 3's. I think some teams have seen how our perimeter people have reacted this year after missed shots, and they have taken advantage. I've seen this happen more times than I've ever seen it happen in the past. It's not just fast breaks. Even when the numbers weren't there, many have used missed 3's w/long rebounds to get into the half court quickly and use the brief open spacing to make passes and create offense. It's hurt us.

A point that should never be forgotten.

I don't think I'd use that word. It makes it sound like the success has stopped. Instead, the success keeps repeating itself every year. I like to describe it as we keep hitting a Ceiling.

That absolutely can happen. You aren't likely to gain any conditioning when you are at the end of February, but you surely can adjust rotations of players like I have suggested. I think the dilemma for Keith is always whether to sacrifice ability/trust for more energy. It's a balancing act.

Yes, which means that if we had not dominated the league the way we did, he'd have even more MAC Tournament victories because we would have played in more Quarterfinals. Let me also add that a couple of times, we actually had to play a Home Game plus a Quarterfinal game. And both of those times we won the Title. So, we were 4-0 on two separate occasions in the tournament during Keith's era.

Funny. Well, lets take a look. 11 straight trips to the MAC Tournament Semifinal (an All-Time MAC Record) 9 of 11 of those trips were to the Title Game. Can you name us a coach in the MAC right now who wouldn't like to have his own 12 year history in March include that?

For what it's worth, I wish losses didn't affect me as much as they do. I can't help it. Yes, 1986 does feel like the last century. I was still in school at Akron, and Buchtel Avenue was even still a 4-lane one-way thoroughfare. Ah, the memories. .

I like your post, but you aren't going to get me to take these games less seriously. Sorry. I just can't do it. I'm too invested in Akron Athletics, emotionally and otherwise. But on your other point, I have always been someone who emphatically reminds everyone on this site that college athletes often do not perform like you want. They're kids, for God's sake. But, the problem right now with Akron, like every highly successful program, is that the bar is now set really, really high. If it weren't for that, you wouldn't be seeing the posts you're seeing today. If this was Keith's first team, everyone would be rejoicing in our season right now. But it's not 2004 anymore. Everyone expects so much more. Oh, by the way, we've now played in 4 D-1 NCAA Tournaments in this Century. Are you forgetting about 1986?

I love our coaches, but there's so much more that can be done in this particular situation. Besides the offense/defense switch at the end of games, they could also be strategically attempting to switch him in right before our own offensive possessions, and out right before our opponent's offensive possessions, whenever possible, during all of his rotations throughout the entire course of a game. It also saves him numerous trips up the floor in a game, and that might help a lot with the late-season fatigue that everyone is seeing with him.

A little pep talk is needed here today I guess. But a little perspective is appropriate as well. 12-3 with a 2 game lead with 3 games to play puts you in a pretty coveted position. True. But if these 3 games go the wrong way, it turns into a catastrophe. If they go the right way, we improve over last year with a team that lost 3 very productive seniors. That would be fantastic. But I don't think any of us can predict what will happen in these 3 games now.

Add the 36% to the 14 turnovers, and you've had a bad offensive night. So yes, you're right that most teams will lose a game like that. The offense has struggled more lately, which makes the fantastic game at EMU an even greater mystery. But I can tell you that a team full of good shooters does not suddenly become bad shooters. The problem is a little deeper in there somewhere, and hopefully our coaches can make the corrections to get our offense rolling more consistently again.

A lot of unpredictability right now. But I don't see us losing to Kent twice this year. However, I'd sure rather get the win at Buffalo this week as a bounce-back game (can we actually lose 3 in a row?), and cut down the nets at home next week after the Miami game.

Man, I don't know where this is going, but I see some strange things. 1) After everyone thought that Free Throws would eventually be our demise, we hit 28 of 33 over the last two games, yet we LOSE both games. 2) A little over a week ago, we think that our offense is starting to fall apart with our new emphasis on defense, yet we put up 87 points with a 22/9 asst./turnover margin in one of our best offensive performances of the year on the road at EMU. 3) After Buffalo was seemingly on an unstoppable run, they get hammered at home by Kent. I know people like to react emotionally, but we didn't suddenly become an "average" basketball team. Average D-1 teams don't put together 22-6 records. But we are struggling to put everything together at the same time consistently. We're not going to probably shoot 35% and turn the ball over 14 times in a game again this year. But will something else happen that costs us a title? I'm simply looking for this team to show that they have the potential to put it all together at the same time. They have 3 games to do that. And in the process, it would sure be nice to lock up the MAC title and get that part out of the way. Then get Big Dog 5 days of much-needed rest. Then, fasten your seat belts for the usual free-for-all in Cleveland. It won't be the dream season that had good promise just a short time ago, but we've still got much to play for.

Josh is definitely OUT for tonight. Just in case nobody heard that.

Oh Boy. Ugly.