UAZippers

My old high school football coach used to have a favorite saying when asked about officials: "Referees aren't biased, they just all suck. If they were any good they would be giving up their Sundays instead of Fridays." Obviously this is another level up, but it still applies. The "good" officials are in the NBA and there is a whole lot of complaining about them even at that level. Referees at this level get minimal training, terrible pay, and bad travel schedules. I have always respected officials because there is no way that I would put myself through what they do. If it really was an issue to the NCAA, there are many solutions but they would all require more money to be spent, so they won't happen.

I honestly don't see what you saw from their freshmen that showed that they were so far ahead of ours? Delonte Brown: Had a nice game, scored about 10 points right away and then trailed off and finished with 17. Nick Sebande: Scored 12 points by shooting 33% from the field. Jalen Adaway: 6 points Isaih Colemen-Lands: 6 points Michael Ritchie: didn't play. I didn't plan on only posting points scored, but when I looked at the box score nothing else jumped out at me either. The only player who truly killed us was Ringo and he is not a freshman. Am I missing something? Miami is a team that is carried by their one very good, Junior guard. Their big, Sophomore center also gave us problems because we had one guy eligible over 6'7". One freshman had a pretty good, not even great, game against us and it proves that our new guys suck? We have had our freshman have multiple just as good if not better games than Brown had. Is it just because they beat us in this one game on their home court? This is an honest question.

16 steals in a quadruple double! This tweet was 'liked' by Rob Fulford, I hope he can bring it home. I really want this kid on the Zips.

Lucas Smith is getting the start today! JG putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to playing the hardest workers.

In terms of actually scheduling the classes, this should actually make things simpler and easier to look at. The 50 minute classes with 15 minutes between caused weird start times due to classes starting every 1 hour and 5 minutes (7:45, 8:50, 9:55, ...). 75 minute classes allow classes to start every 90 minutes at only the top and bottom of the hour (7:30, 9, 10:30, ...). 3 hour lab sessions also will now fit into the usual time slots instead of just being scheduled seemingly randomly. As other people have said in the thread, it was only intro level courses and specific majors that have ever really scheduled classes on Fridays even before this change. This change is probably negative for science majors, but I can't imagine that they would make the change with no foresight into how they plan on making labs work in the new structure.

This week is a national cancer awareness event for all of college basketball. Its called Suits and Sneakers, or something similar.

I have no idea where to best put this, but it is looking more and more likely that the NCAA is going to get rid of the rule, for both football and basketball, requiring transfers to sit out for a year before becoming eligible for their new team. I remember a lot of people on this board talking about how much they disliked that grad transfers can play immediately when we were discussing Antino and Noah this past off season and this a another step further from that.

This is a tough game, but winnable. EMU seems to be the exact same type of team that they have been for a few seasons now: incredibly athletic and skilled, with no team chemistry and a lackluster coach. There is no excuse for a team as talented as EMU to be 1-3 in conference play. James Thompson might be the best player in the MAC and he seems to have matured a bit; I only see one technical on the season after averaging about 300 the past couple of seasons. They have a really good transfer from Robert Morris in Elijah Minnie, he is another big man that the Zips will have to find a way to contain. Outside of those two, Tim Bond, a MAC all-defense team member last season, is a great player as well. Looking at their roster, somehow they are actually younger than the Zips. They have 8 freshman this season and only one senior (Bond).

Whole bunch of whistles already again this game.

I'm not a huge fan of how it looks either. I do love how we are trying to innovate and not just jump on a trend though.

You think we will get a home game?

Ok, how much would you have bet someone if they said that Kostelac would make the first shot for the Zips tonight? I would have lost a lot of money.

That is as easy of a MAC schedule as I could have possibly hoped for. No Toledo or Western Michigan and NIU/Central Michigan at home. This is a schedule that if Akron wants to be considered a top MAC team, they go no worse than 6-2. There are only three games that should be toss ups: OU and EMU on the road and NIU at home.

The key for tonight is how well the Zips contain Willie Jackson, a guy who, if I'm remembering correctly, barely chose Missouri over the Zips out of high school and was rumored to be transferring to Akron before ultimately ending up at Toledo. The rockets were not a very good team before he became eligible a few weeks ago, but have been on a tear since he joined the starting lineup.

Height means nothing when the guy looks completely lost every time he steps on the court. I don't know why you feel that just having a tall person would drastically change the team's outlook. I had as high of hopes for him before the season as anyone else on this board, but he has done NOTHING to show that he deserves to play any meaningful time whatsoever. He is slow, awkward, and cannot seem to find the flow of the offense, let alone guard his man on defense. Its ok, there are very few freshman centers that are able to compete at the D1 level and most of those are playing for top 25 teams.

Even if we do suck as you say, why should Kostelac be the one to get the minutes? It's not like he is behind a bunch of seniors who are leaving after this season. He lost all of his minutes to a sophomore and one of his fellow freshmen. Next year, I expect him to be even further back on the depth chart with the addition of Riak. If the goal is to give time to future contributors, then I believe that the minutes are being divided perfectly.

I agree, I'm not happy with .500 football from my coach that is now in the latter part of his first decade with the team.

What awful defense by every player on the court.

Zips announce 12 signings, including reannouncing Eric Bentley and Reggie Corner Jr.. Bentley, Corner, Hall, and White are early enrollees. http://www.gozips.com/news/2017/12/20/football-signing-day-release.aspx

Which might be true, but doesn't mean that the Zips don't need a new OC. If Bowden is calling the plays then they need to convince him to give it up and hire someone who can be more effective.

They do have a punter!

Maybe, also possible it wasn't offered to him. Kelley is back next year, might as well give him some reps in case we ever need him.

I agree. I loved it. It's a killer's mentality. I'd much rather have a coach who does that rather than one who runs it up the middle every time on 3rd and 11.

You can say that, but I think the Zips were a not good football team this year who way over performed in games when they absolutely needed to. Is it his fault that the team is not great talent-wise? Yes. Is it due in large part to his coaching that they overcame the talent difference so often? Yes. What i hope to see (but doubt will happen) is an extension with a clause that increases salaries for his assistants fairly substantially with the condition that he removes some of the coaches currently in place. Particularly Milwee and Jeff Bowden.

I would be stunned if Bowden didn't get an extension. He brought a not great team to our second ever MAC championship appearence. I want to see a lot of change from the Zips in the offseason, but I doubt a change in head coach will be one of them. It would also be a huge mistake to let him coach a lame duck season. That is a good way to ruin recruiting for years to come.