BirdZip

Inspired by recent play, the U of A announced today a new helmet design will be revealed at the BG game this Friday:

Birdzip will be there with the family. Going down Thursday and extending the stay until Thanksgiving.

I don't know, the Zags come to mind...

Sometimes I think the University could give some of you guys $1Million and you'd complain because it wasn't in the right denominations.

High school players are selfish. For Zeke to be an effective scorer they need to pass to him. Otherwise it's all on rebounds. Also, Zeke would seek out his teammates to get them involved rather than take everything himself. (A "Zeke and Destroy" mentality, you might say.) Zeke was also likely double- and triple-teamed routinely in HS. At UA, if they do that, when he kicks it out, our guys will actually make the shots. He doesn't have to score massively--helping others score is just as good. Be effective enough to draw the defense. If they don't collapse, Zeke scores. If they do, kick it out and just as well.Zeke won't be showing up on ESPN every week for his massive stats this year, but he'll be tough. 7 Feet tall, humongous arms, and the guy can move!

Zeke is what folks call has a high side, please do not think you out recruited Penn State and Pitt. Zeke is who he is, if he starts, he will get pushed around like a little kid, his up side is in his junior senior year.The Green of Envy certainly looks good paired up with your Red. Kind of reminds me of Christmas.Is Zeke going to come in here and light up the world from the moment he steps on the floor? Probably not. I'm realistic enough to know that he's probably not going to be giving us 18 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks right from the get go. I agree that he is far from a finished product. But to imply that Penn State and Pitt didn't really want him, or that he isn't going to have an impact for us until his junior and senior years is plain old, simple, unadulterated, jealous ignorance.Agree--your block average is way too low...

I love a good Larry Bird reference...

I have no idea on the score, but I'd be willing to bet that Zippy does not ride anything motorized this week and his head stays intact.

I can't help but agree. When I was driving through Mentor the other day, I recall commenting to my wife how amazing it is that all of the houses are mansions, the streets are paved with gold, and diamonds grow on trees. Truly the beverly Hills of NE Ohio.And I also must agree that if your parents do have money, regardless of who you are, surely they would hand it over when you told them your pot supply was running low.

Charlie Weis might be available next year...

Looks like it's a good thing we added Morgan State after all, otherwise U of A wouldn't have been involved in the Info opener.

I am not a student of the NCAA rules, so please help me understand. If 15,000 in attendance is required, how are we still Division I?

Anybody have any idea how you actually "win" the tournament if all games are preprogrammed?Is the third game Saturday or the 22nd?

Do you have a link or is this insider info? I don't see anywhere online where the field has been announced.I recall last year claims that the Zips would be playing in a Mississippi State tournament (or something like that) and we end up in the Legends Classic, so I'll hold off on making my reservations until it's official.

And Tim Carroll standing next to them, behind Ced. I've heard of two teams moving in the same direction, but this is ridiculous!And I think that's Jerry Springer in the background, over "Nate's" shoulder.

<br /><br /><br />Zeke hit a three in the LBJ AAU game I was able to catch last year. And he looked completely comfortable in doing so! Nice, easy, smooth stroke - like it ain't no thing! The MAC trembles at the mention of Zeke's name!Not that I would have any idea, but they're probably easier when you can look down at the basket when you shoot.

Perhaps Boals can talk Thad Matta into a 1-and-1 with Akron in the future.And I love Cedrick, but I'll not be happy unless the replacement is someone with prior experience and also someone who can work with the big men.Translation for RACER:perhaps boals can talk thad matta, into a 1and1 with akron in hte future Ilove cedrickbut I'll not be happy unless, the replacement is someone with prior experience and also someone who can work with the big men

If Akron does manage to sign Adreian Payne, anyone have the skills to hijack the new Info scoreboard and have it continuous play the end of Rocky II?"Yo, Adreian, WE DID IT!"

That conversation was not documented as it occurred on the front steps of the Q, but it was witnessed by at least three other adults, all of whom are posters on this board, myself being among them. So, while not officially documented, I can vouch for Zips Win! that GW said it.

No, such an assumption would be irrelevant. We are assuming that you have a limited amount of money, just as the University has a limited amount of scholarships.

100% agreed. Roberts is a proven commodity. He gets the scholarship. You can't take away what the kid has earned.You're not taking a "potentially good 4 year player" over a CERTAINLY good 4 year player. The second would be a CERTAINLY good 1 year player. I think Darryl's huge to this team, but there are other members of this team too. Don't the younger members deserve to have done what's best for the team going into the future?Another thought. Let's say your son gets married. Being the good, loving parent, you blow tons of coin on an all out party--best wedding ever. Six months down the road he starts running around with losers, cheats on his wife, and ultimately leads to a divorce that was all his own doing. Then, 2 years down the road, he's straightened himself back out and is getting married again. However, your daughter is pretty close to being engaged too. Are you dropping $20,000 more on your son's second wedding, or holding onto it for little sis's first?

I was being somewhat facetious about the banner, etc., but if you think there aren't expectations coming in, that's crazy. It's what fans do. Expecting the worst is too much Cleveland-mentality for me. I expect nothing less than next year, and look forward to Zeke cutting down the net without using the ladder.

There is a thread in the Basketball Recruiting area about Adreian Payne strongly considering Akron as his choice. If you want to ensure he and others don't follow Zeke's lead, sit Zeke on the bench. If you want to start an influx of great talent to follow Zeke, play him and let him dominate.Even if Zeke doesn't immediately come in and be effective, his presence will make everyone else more effective. You will have to respect him on both O & D, and that relieves pressure off of everyone else.If the rules allow, start selling the coming of Zeke now. Break out the 40 foot banner. Buy some ads on local television that "he's coming" and, only later, tell them who you're talking about. Build an excitement. Build an interest. And don't worry that he won't pan out--he's 7', athletic, and has his head on straight--and he'll be playing in the MAC.Start him, play him, and win.

This just baffled me. There were times when both teams were, say for example, shooting 8-16. One team it had the percentage as 50% and the other team 47%. It was goofy. It cannot be that hard to fix.I never buy concessions there so that is not much of an issue for me, but that cannot be that hard to fix either. My guess on the Stats board would be that its ancient history as far as the hardware goes, most likely late 70's or early 80's technology that was never really a computer, but a console. No automatic calculations, nothing more than the operator putting a number in a box on a screen. It seems that its not really a priority to the folks who manage the JAR. As for the concessions, I looked into trying to make a bid to run the concessions a few years ago when I had a food and catering company. When I found out that the bidding consisted of pulling a # out of thin air and sending a check for that amount to the university as their "profit" up front, I backed away. No % of sales or other formulas, they get the $ even if you lose money as the operator. As an example, if you want the consessions for football, you would have to submit a bid for say $25k profit for UA. If you win you send in your check and then hope that the weather and a dozen other factors go your way in order to recoup your $25k before you make even $1. That why you won't see any real business running the concessions at the JAR.On the Stats board, I have to believe it's a calculation and not someone entering a number. I was trying to crack the code toward the end of the season of just how those numbers were being generated. At one point, I thought maybe the 3FG were being double counted as attempts but not makes, only on the top line, but didn't manage to verify it--ran out of games. I'm such a nerd.On the concessions, if you really do have to commit to a certain upfront UA profit, I would think then that whoever is running it would be busting their humps to maximize sales to ensure they get their profit. They're certainly not. You see this at both basketball and football--not enough people working there, lines backing up, and the one person in the booth wants to talk to their buddy who just got their hot dog. When you finally do get up there, God help you if you order more than two things--you worry about an aneurism until the worker decides to pull out the calculator. I say, hire grad students who need the money and fire them if their performance is poor. That implies the person running it actually gives a crap.