1981 grad

Offensively, we did not look very smooth and our offense did not produce like it did at Can't and against Northern Illinois. Our defense was great. Kwan played an outstanding defensive game and had some key rebounds. He was holding the ball at the end of the game and the Western Michigan player kept reaching in attempting to get the ball. Clearly, a classless move. Kwan kept his cool until the guy would not stop. Bad ending to the game and the players did not shake hands. Weird stat of the night. We only scored 5 two point baskets. Those four 3 point baskets in a row won the game. Bad news is that KD did not use Arron Jackson and almost all of our guys played between 25 and 30 minutes. I hope they have something in the tank for Can't. Looking forward to Can't but will need to play better offensively than tonight. Go Zips!!

The MAC promotion is not valid on all tickets. It is only for the seats in the corners that I think were 24 so that would lower them to 12.

I think if any team had a chance to 4 games in 4 nights it would be the Zips. We all complain about how our favorite players do not get enough minutes (Diji) but that should work to our advantage in the tournament. The player who logged the most minutes during the course of the season, 30 minutes per game, Robotham, is not playing. All of the guys now playing are averaging around 20 minutes per game. Reggie and Antino had several games where they played 10 minutes. If the Zips keep playing good ball like the last 2 games they should be competitive and then anything can happen including a Zips win.

The Zips played an almost perfect first half. This is the second game in a row where they played at a very high level. The first 2 possessions Antino made 2 very difficult shots as the time clock was expiring. Each game he gets better. That seem to set the tone for the game. Diji was amazing. He was driving to the basket and was to strong for his defenders to handle and made numerous baskets going to the hoop. Big Dog and Kwan had very solid games. This is the second game in a row that Kwan was in double figures and he had 3 offensive rebounds. Playing down low is helping his rebounding. Less may be better. Each of these guys knows that they are going to be playing 20 or more minutes no matter what they do. They are relaxed and getting into the flow of the game. Antino looked a little tired at times but Kretzer and Reggie are in amazing shape. We shot over 50%. Although we had 16 turnovers, a lot of those came in the last 10 minutes when we went to 4 corners. Malcom had 3 turnovers. Looking forward to Wed. Zips catch a break and have the late game. More rest for the team.

It would be nice if anyone on this team would learn to take mid range jumpers. The mind set seems to be 3 or bust. I blame the coaches for that. Our forwards such as the Serb or Chauncy Gilliam did not rely on the 3 ball.

Kwan had a solid game at Can't and scored several inside baskets. The first half is the best I have seen him play all year. He did not score in the second half. I have said it numerous times that Kwan needs to learn to score inside the 3 line to be a consistent double digit scorer. Hopefully, he will come up big tonight.

I really like the way we played at Can't and I think if we carry that over to the game on Monday we should have a good chance at winning. I like how Antino was working the give and go with Big Dog. He fed Big Dog some great passes. Antino played a solid game and yes, he was the go to player a crunch time when we needed a basket. He seems to get better every game and that is encouraging. Here are my keys to the game. Reggie and Kretzer continue to shoot the ball well. We get some inside scoring from Kwan, especially when Big Dog is on the bench. Diji stays out of foul trouble. That T was just dumb. The offensive foul was a bad call since they were letting it go all night. Antino continues to get better. Go Zips!!

I just looked at Sunday's Beacon Journal and saw and ad for the Canton Charge Fridays game. They are having Mascot Mania and giving out 500 T shirts for Friday's game. What is our AD, Tom Wistercell doing to promote Monday's Game?

I also lump Reggie and Kretzer together because offensively their games are so similar. They do not have a post up game, do not have quick moves to the basket, almost never back door or make quick moves to the basket without the ball, never drive to the basket, and cannot create their own shot. Essentially, they are wing players who shoot the 3 ball. When you look at the season stats, Reggie has taken 151 shots, 131 have been the 3 ball. Kretzer has taken 129 shots, 104 have been the 3 ball. KD has always had wing players as part of his offense and that is their role Now the problem this year has been without Tree and Harney, we now have an overabundance of players who also like to shoot the 3. Kwan 127 of 242 have been 3 ball Arron Jackson 52 of 82 have been 3 ball Evans 88 of 145 have been the 3 ball. That is why we are ranked 3rd in the nation in shooting the 3. The good news is now that we are down to 8 players, Reggie and Kretzer now seem to have the confidence of knowing that if they miss their 3 ball they will not get yanked and it has improved their shooting. Those guys have been consistently scoring the last 3 games with the short roster. If their good shooting continues we may be winning some games in the tournament especially with Antino, Big Dog, Diji and Kwan getting some inside points.

I just saw the replay of the last shot on ESPN 3. I slowed it down and Brewer picks up his dribble 1 foot behind the 3 line, jumps into the lane and then take one step to the basket. I know that bad calls are part of the game but when you slow it down he actually takes 5 steps to the basket after he picks up his dribble. The refs swallowed their whistle. I wasn't sure if it was a travel because it was so fast but when you slow it down it is obvious. It still was a nice play by Can't and a mistake not to stop him before he got near the lane.

Went to the game and just like last year, great game, great atmosphere, bad result. KD indicated postgame that Reggie was suppose to double team the ball and it didn't happen on the last shot. Antino made a freshman result and kept backing up and gave him the lane. I thought we played great. Kwan played his best game of the season. I really believe these guys play better knowing that KD is not going to pull them if they make a mistake. Big Dog started weak but since he was the only true center he kept getting stronger as the game progressed. Antino is a gamer and made great pressure shots. Kretzer played great defense. We finally shot the ball well! It looked like the Can't player took an extra step on the last shot but I have not seen the replay. It sucks losing to Can't but if we play this well we may be able to win a couple of games and get to 20 wins.

I would rather him rest and play Monday or possibly Wed if he is close to coming back.

We may be shorthanded but each of the 8 scholarship players has scored in double figures. ( I remember Evans lighting it up at Cleveland State) The talent is there to win the game but the team needs to step up, including the coaching staff. The 2nd half in Miami they double teamed Big Dog as soon as he touched the ball and we had no answer. I am sure Can't will do the same and we need to respond with points. The good thing about this game is that all the scholarship players should get at least 20 minutes. Nobody should be afraid of getting pulled for making a mistake. I think Antino is a great competitor and have been very impressed with his play. I am hoping that we can have 8 players with 8 or more points. Looking forward to the game.

Is Pat done for the season or just the Can't game. The articles are not clear on that point. Is it possible that he would be available if Akron wins on Monday?

According to some posts, KD blames this loss on the refs. (I did not hear his post game comments) I have read several post where we blame our loss on who did not play, Harney and Tree (who haven't played all year) and no Robotham, Pat or BJ Gladden (who averages 3 points per game). But this team lost to a North Dakota State team that played 5 players almost 40 minutes the entire game. If any team had excuses to lose, it was North Dakota State. This team under KD has a winning tradition and has been fun to watch. What I saw at Miami was not fun to watch and we played ugly. One of the advantages of playing 11 guys all season is that guys should be able to step up and play when we have injuries. Aron Jackson had the opportunity to play big minutes. Went 0 for 5 and did not score. We won an away game when Pat was hurt and Big Dog won it at the foul line going 6 of 6. At Miami he had 6 turnovers. When they started double teaming him as soon as he touched the ball he stopped scoring. (He should be able to pass out of a double team) He had only one basket the entire 2nd half although he scored 4 free throws. Nyles Evans, senior starter, 2 points on 1 for 5 shooting. He was playing so much better at the start of the season. Why is he no longer penetrating and scoring? He went 0 for 3 from the 3 line. Kwan, 2 points in 18 minutes. Another player who is trailing off badly at the end of the season. This team has lost 5 of 6. I really think that this team relies when too much on the 3 ball but that is who we are. I have not given up on the season but win or lose would like to watch some good basketball. I am hoping that whoever is playing on Friday and Monday will play good sound basketball and play like a good KD coached team.

I watched the game and the refs were no worse or better than usual. We had the Miami announcers and they were shouting when the refs did not call fouls against the Zips. The guys who take the ball to the basket, Big Dog, Pat and Deji, have been getting to the line the whole season. The guys who stand on the perimeter and shoot the 3 ball are not going to get to the line. The 2nd half we had some really bad turnovers and shot the ball poorly. Miami made an adjustment of double teaming Big Dog as soon as he got the ball and we had no answer. It had nothing to do with the refs.

The Miami announcers were very accurate when they indicated that it was a very ugly first half. If the Zips were a good team they should have been up by 20. Miami could not score until one of our coaches gave them 2 points on a technical. You have to give credit to Kretzer and McAdams who scored a combined 23 points. However, Aron Jackson, Evans, and Kwan were only 2 of 14 and 0 for 8 from the 3 line. Once again we got killed at the line. We shot 6 of 13 and they shot 28 of 34. Our one guy who usually gets to the foul line, Deji, only played 15 minutes because of foul trouble. Very disappointing game from a fan perspective. We blew a 10 point lead in the second half and our offense looked pathetic the last 8 minutes of the game again. Big Dog could not pass from the double team and had 6 turnover. I do not understand why KD cannot design a set play to get these guys easy looks in the last 5 minutes. After the time out, the best we could do was Antiono going one on one and shooting a 15 foot jump shot. I am assuming that this makes the Can't game meaningless on Friday.

Bought the feed and thus far it is great. Best streaming I have seen

The stats on the GoZips.com can be misleading. During our 4 game losing streak we had leads with less than 5 minutes remaining in the Miami and Buffalo game. We were tied twice in the Toledo game under 5 minutes. We did not finish close games during our losing streak in 3 of our 4 losses. Gozips. com also indicates that we are 2nd in the MAC and 11th nationally in made 3 pointers. Reading that stat would make you believe that we are a great 3 point shooting team. However, we are 3rd in the nation taking 3 points shots but ranked 160th in the nation in 3 point made percentage. None of our guys are even close to being in the top 50 for 3 point percentage. We are at best "average" in shooting the 3 ball even though it seems to be the emphasis of our offense.

A big game for the Zips: Can we get a top 4 seed? Can we maintain our string of 20 win seasons? Can we get a road win? KD indicated in his post game show that he has given the keys of this team to Antino Jackson. He liked the way he played in the Ohio game and really like how he has improved his defense. Antino has certainly improved greatly over the course of the season. If he gets really good, it improves the chances of the Zips winning immensely. In the Ohio game we were successful because we finally shot the 3 ball well in the second half. We also got 19 points from our wing players, Kretzer and McAdams We had a 10 point or more lead in the final 5 minutes and the game did not come down to the final minutes. It will be interesting to see if KD starts the twin towers again. They had difficulty handling the press last time we played Miami. We need to keep the turnovers down. Early in the season that was a problem with Antino but he seems to be playing much better under control. The best way to break a press is quick passing and quick transition points. Hopefully we have learned from our defeat at their hands and will play a better game. Go Zips!

Hilltopper, your premise that it is easier to play against the second unit may be a valid one. We brought Reggie and Kretzer off the bench to play against the 2nd unit and they score a combined 19 points. When is the last time that happened? It may be better to bring your players who are struggling off the bench to get them more confidence. The stats do not lie and when you look at MAC play, Deji is shooting 49%, that is third behind Pat and Big Dog. He also has more offensive rebounds in MAC play than Kwan and has played less minutes. His scoring has increased in MAC play where many of our players have reduced scoring in the MAC. KD cannot afford to bring his arguably best or 2nd best player off the bench. (Do Labron, Love, and Kyrie come off the bench?) We lost 4 games with Deji coming off the bench and won with him starting. Keep him a starter.

Kd indicated on his postgame last night that if we win out that we can tie for first in the MAC. Is this correct?

Start Deji- we win! Actually, the starting lineup of Big Dog, Pat, Antino, Evans and Deji did not start well and we were down 7-0 and losing 9-6 at the first time out when the subs came in. However, this starting combination played a little over a minute in the second half and went on a 6-0 run. KD did not put Deji in the game in the second half until 14:08 of the second half and the score was tied at 35. When he left the game at the 1;44 mark of the game they were up 12 points. This team plays better when he is in the lineup. I would still start him because I believe you should start the game with your best guys. I thought the Zips really played well with Pat, Antino, Evans, Deji and Aron Jackson. It will be interesting to see if KD uses this same starters at Miami.

The last time I started a game thread was against Marshall and we won. So I thought I would open the topic. Deji is the only 4 year player and I went back in the archives to look at the recruiting class his freshman year and it included, Tree, Harney, Blake Justice, CJ Oldham. I guess technically Deji is the last man standing. I think everyone would agree that Deji has improved remarkably this year and is having a great year. I thought Evans also improved greatly this year but has had a few games lately where he just not gotten a great deal of minutes. I thought he played well in Buffalo and hopefully will have a great game on senior night. Congratulations to Deji and Nyles. Hopefully, we can make can get rid of this losing streak. I would like to see more of Gladden and Aron Jackson. If we are going to make a run in the tournament we need these freshman to step up. Finally, this is a weird season in that even though we have 7 MAC losses, we have only been blown out in the game at Toledo. Even our better teams have had nights when they got blown out. This team still has a chance to turn it around!

If this was not senior night, my starting 5 would be Deji, Antino, Pat, Big Dog, and B.J. Gladden. Since it is senior night I would start Evans instead of Gladden or Big Dog. I think that Kwan has been playing better coming off the bench so I am going with the twin towers. I am also going with Gladden because when you look at minutes played, his scoring is just as good as Reggie or Kretzer. Finally, I think KD is a great coach. Having watched the Hipsher and Coleman Crawford years, he has done wonders with this team. However, my understanding of this forum is to express my ideas of what I like or dislike about this team. I do not like KD's idea of the 6th man spark plug off the bench when the team is struggling to score. He did it last year with Q. He finally started Q and it improved the team. It is time to abandon that idea with Deji. He is playing too well to come off the bench.