Out Of Gas

[RatFink]

Once again the Zips literally died the last ten minutes of a game.

This seems to occur in nearly every game. What is the problem?

Nine wins into the season the kids understand about winning.

Fourteen games into the season the conditioning should be excellent.

Dehydration? Good possibility. Its not one or two players bonking,

its the entire crew. Some one needs to keep a closer watch on

player fluid intake or lack there of during games.

Isn't that and assistant trainer's duty?

[Captain Kangaroo]

Once again the Zips literally died the last ten minutes of a game.

This seems to occur in nearly every game. What is the problem?

Nine wins into the season the kids understand about winning.

Fourteen games into the season the conditioning should be excellent.

Dehydration? Good possibility. Its not one or two players bonking,

its the entire crew. Some one needs to keep a closer watch on

player fluid intake or lack there of during games.

Isn't that and assistant trainer's duty?

I can't say I agree with your take.

I think the Zips have played fine at game's end, and their conditioning is not an issue. All players are visibly less flabby than last year and they play hard the entire game.

My take:

We played passive the final 10 minutes. We stopped pushing the ball...stopped shooting...and began hanging out near center court throwing cross-court passes. We were like the dog that caught the car...we got the 25 point lead...and had no idea what to do with it.

The first 30-or-so minutes of that game was the best basketball I've witness at the JAR in some time...at least by the home team. Even the first 5 minutes, when our shooting was horrid, the D was relentless.

The last 10 minutes was like a Hipsher team. Reminded me of Hip's squad's annual meltdowns against Buffalo. The difference was we won the game...and there were no F-bombs raining down on Joe Dunn and Steve French during the post game show.

It's a win. I'll take it. we're 7-0 at home. Credit EMU with playing tough and not quitting. Let's beat the Turd's in Huntington and get back on track.

[Guest anon]

Once again the Zips literally died the last ten minutes of a game.

Literally?

[Z-Pouch]

Far from complaining, I think that KD's coaching has done an incredible job changing the program and systems in a short period of time. BUT.....

My one concern is the Zips stalling/time consuming offense when they are trying to work the clock with a big lead. Where's the back cuts, screens and easy buckets ?? The best stalling offenses I have seen (from programs like Duke, NC, and so on with good coaches) are consuming time but ALWAYS looking for that easy basket when the other team over extends themselves or gets caght in a backscreen as they defense the stall. Why don't the Zips do this ? We seem to stall to get the shot clock down to 10 or so by making 10 DANGEROUS backwards passes till we are guarded by the mid court strip and then throw up a prayer. KD has to remember his overall philosphy -- always be pushing, always the aggressor, always take it the the other team -- even a stall can be offensive if you are looking to the hoop. There are a lot of easy baskets that can come off if you're excuting right. Lately, these stalls seem to be a throw back to Hipshers ways, I'd expect differently from KD -- maybe the execution is just not there yet to KD's stlye.

Hopefully everyone is starting to believe in this team, they have a ways to go but it's hard to complain much when you are 7-0 at home, making it look easy (except for a few lapses at the end of some games), and continually getting better as the year goes on.

This Zips BB fan is pretty happy and excited about the rest of the year. Who knows - we are a half game out of first in the East !!!!!!!!! (so is everybody else but who's complaining)

Now, we've got to show we can get one on the road. Go Zips

[fan37]

Rw teams fading at end of game or season comes from one or all the following.

Lack of mental toughness, lack of proper dicipline. conditoioning, or just plain giving up.

For example the man who over the past 9 yearas was paid as coach (nite that I did not

say coach). KD has to overcome all these problems--let"s ease off that would be a huge

job for anybody. Think how far KD and the team have come this season. GO ZIPS!!

[GoZips]

Z-Pouch I think you are quite correct about the improper use of a stall tactic. At one point Peterson and Travis did get a wide open look at the basket. But, Daryl's bad lob over Romeo's head ended in a turnover when Romeo stepped on the back line trying to haul in the ball. If executed well the fans would have gone nuts and EMU's run may have ended right there. But, the run continued and Coach Dambrot pulled a Hipsher and sank Peterson on the bench for the remainder of the game. First time I have been upset with a Coach D move since he became HC.

Finishing games seems to be a low point for the Zips. The Zips actually led four of their five road loses in the final ten minutes. Something is most definitely wrong. Both Cleveland State and Ohio also nearly over came huge Akron leads late in the game.

I am leaning toward RATFINK's view. The more I ponder it the more dehydration seems a likely possibility. I say this because the kids looked thoroughly whipped the last ten minutes of last night's game. Elton Alexander wrote that it took 35 minutes wall clock time to play the final four minutes of the contest. Lack of conditioning, lack of coaching would have been recoverable in that amount of time. But, unchecked dehydration only gets worse. And worse is exactly what the Zips exhibited.

I realize that leg cramps are a common sign of dehydration and we saw no leg cramps. But fatigue is also a dehydration indicator and we all saw tons of that. I plan to start watching the players at the bench more often to see if they are taking on fluids during the game.

Oh, and Ratfink is correct it is an assitant trainer's job to make sure players keep hydrated. As a long ago college FB player I can attest to that.

[zipboy]

My thoughts on the game.

1. It was good to see J Wood in warm ups and being a part of the team. He seems to be in good spirits, and I look for a strong recovery next year.

2. I went with a good friend from EMU. He sounded like me the last few years, can't stop anyone, always give up a wide open 3 when it counts, players regress while in the program. It's nice to be on the other side.

3. I liked DP's comment in the paper on how bad he felt. He also looked it after the alley oop. He knows that he screwed up and cares about winning. I don't think he was pulled for that one, it was the other 2 turnovers and that one in the last 2 minutes. He still is one of my favorites and he will rebound.

4. Nice game by Preston/Futch. They seem to have found their niche.

5. Romeo gets more and more confident. You could just see his eyes light up when #42 or #52 was on him 1 on 1. He is playing smart ball.

6. Did McFadden get about 10 offensive rebounds?

7. Our D is suffocating at times. Good D and decent 3 point shooting should put us over 500 in MAC play. Given the parity this year, I really would like a home game.

8. It's tough for me to get down for all the games, but from what I have seen, I am sold for buying a season ticket next year. In 3 years, it will be hard to get a ticket at the JAR.

9. How about more TV time for Rachel Rush? Yeow!

10. Darryl Garret, all MAC freshman team

11. Best chance for a road win is Wednesday. Gotta get it done. Go Zips!