GoZips Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 I have not seen this much "smoke" since the day I was behind the Peterbilt with bad rings. Enjoy.2008-09 Athlon Men's Basketball article and prediction on the Zips in the MAC East..5. Akron (24-11, 11-5)The Zips have had some good luck and some bad the last couple of years, winning a bunch of gamesbut finding little postseason love. Two years ago with 26 wins, there was nothing, and last season,despite 23 wins and a berth in the MAC title game, only the NIT came calling. That would bea great destination for Akron this year, since the Zips' three top scorers are gone, and there arebig needs throughout the lineup. The arrivals of six newcomers should help, but maybe notquickly enough for Akron to be a MAC contender.The frontcourt will be the scoring focus, at least early on, as senior Nate Linhart and juniorChris McKnight try to reach into double figures on a consisent basis. Though both 6'7", they havedifferent games. Linhart likes to shoot outside, while McKnight works inside. Expect 6'8"freshman Andrew Parrish to help out defensively, although he can face and fire, while seniorJimmy Conyers can help off the bench close to the basket. Sophomore Steve McNees will likelyrun the point, with freshman combo Alex Sullivan helping out and sliding to the 2 to supportjunior Darryl Roberts, a strong perimeter shooter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 Athlon does absolutely NO research beyond the top few teams in the country and a few lower teams with fanbases large enough to mount a visible complaint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziptrumpet87 Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 They are pretty clueless. No mention of BMcK, Bardo and SS... McNees will most likely not be at point with all the talent coming in, Roberts experience last yr, and the departure of Dials and Ced leaving the 2 spot open. If this team can gel and not turn the ball over, they have every chance of competing for the MAC title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valpo Zip Posted September 23, 2008 Report Share Posted September 23, 2008 My grandma could have written a better report about the zips than this guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootforRoo44 Posted September 23, 2008 Report Share Posted September 23, 2008 This is absolute rubbish. But who cares honestly, we all know that with the talent we have THIS YEAR we can win. We have a pretty darn talented team that is only going to get better. Once we are the power that we are going to become, we will shove it right back in these idiots faces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72 Roo Posted September 23, 2008 Report Share Posted September 23, 2008 This is absolute rubbish. But who cares honestly, we all know that with the talent we have THIS YEAR we can win. We have a pretty darn talented team that is only going to get better. Once we are the power that we are going to become, we will shove it right back in these idiots faces.Damn! I like that! Pretty well sums it up when you are dealing with writers who don't do their homework. We'll be OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeaglet1 Posted September 23, 2008 Report Share Posted September 23, 2008 Just curious but... I see they picked Akron 5th in the MAC East, what were the rest of the standings? I'm guessing Buffalo for 6th, OU for 4th, then who knows (I have a tough time paying for pre-season magazines. I usually just read them when waiting for my flight in the airport newstands) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoZips Posted September 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2008 I have my own ideas as to why this article is chuck full of misinformation.Some coaches just love to poor mouth their program early in the year. "We ain't no good this year.""We have too many injuries." "We are very young." On and on and on it goes.That smoke probably (although not confirmed) came from the basketball coaching staff.Athlon's predicted order of finish for the MAC East:1. Cant Skate2. Cry Ami3. BUGS4. Ohio5. Zips6. Buffalo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Z Posted September 23, 2008 Report Share Posted September 23, 2008 It will never cease to amaze me how much credibility people put in something just because it is printed in a magazine or newspaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RACER Posted September 28, 2008 Report Share Posted September 28, 2008 the only spot that concerns me is point guard.i trust in kd if he says we will be ok at the point.we can move mc neese over to the two spot.our front line should be fine.this will be an interesting year.after that we bring in the highest ranked playerprobably in mac history.the mac better get akron this year because after that mac teams or going to be in trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valpo Zip Posted September 28, 2008 Report Share Posted September 28, 2008 the mac better get akron this year because after that mac teams or going to be in trouble.They won't get anything believe me. I am not expecting us to win the division or anything but we will be pretty competitive. Those so called analysts predicting us to be a doormat will eat their words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted September 29, 2008 Report Share Posted September 29, 2008 the only spot that concerns me is point guard.i trust in kd if he says we will be ok at the point.we can move mc neese over to the two spot.our front line should be fine.this will be an interesting year.after that we bring in the highest ranked playerprobably in mac history.the mac better get akron this year because after that mac teams or going to be in trouble.Don't worry about PG. Humpty was a better PG last year as a senior in high school than either Dials or Ced (bless those guys; they're both natural 2-G's.) If we had Humpty running the point last year we would have beaten UMass in the NIT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyzip84 Posted September 29, 2008 Report Share Posted September 29, 2008 I'm pretty sure that the MAC pre-season polls released by the conference are based on media input, so we might expect to see the Zips picked pretty low when those come out as well. The funny thing is, IF you had the COACHES making these predictions there is NO WAY they would pick UA in the 4th or 5th spot. THEY know better. From all accounts (as Blue & Gold mentioned) Humpty should step right in and perform at a high level. I'm more concerned over who will make up for the inside presence of J Wood. Still, I'd be shocked if KD doesn't have this team in the top half of the MAC East by season's end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip Watcher Posted September 29, 2008 Report Share Posted September 29, 2008 Don't worry about PG. Humpty was a better PG last year as a senior in high school than either Dials or Ced (bless those guys; they're both natural 2-G's.) If we had Humpty running the point last year we would have beaten UMass in the NIT.Given that Humpty may well not be our best PG option going into the season, even with his background .. that position will be fine this year.This team will score a ton of points this year. The defense will make or break the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zips Win! Posted September 29, 2008 Report Share Posted September 29, 2008 This team will score a ton of points this year. The defense will make or break the season.Are we sure about this? Some of our best scorers are not necessarily our best defenders, so if KD continues to play the guys who play the best D, the offense and scoring may suffer.Sometimes you just have to outscore your opponent.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip Watcher Posted September 29, 2008 Report Share Posted September 29, 2008 Sometimes you just have to outscore your opponent.. Hey Win! .. what did KD say when you told him that?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zips Win! Posted September 29, 2008 Report Share Posted September 29, 2008 Sometimes you just have to outscore your opponent.. Hey Win! .. what did KD say when you told him that?! That it wasn't going to happen.So I ask again, if some of our best scorers aren't playing as much because they are sitting due to not playing defense, will we really be able to score a ton of points? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckzip Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 This team will score a ton of points this year. The defense will make or break the season.Are we sure about this? Some of our best scorers are not necessarily our best defenders, so if KD continues to play the guys who play the best D, the offense and scoring may suffer.Sometimes you just have to outscore your opponent..I thought the object of the game was to always outscore the opponent. Even if we only give up 20 points, we will lose unless we score 21. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoZips Posted September 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 Offense without defense usually results in a loss. Akron has a few "shooters" that play weak defense.You simply can not score twenty points and have the player you are guarding score twenty-five.If takes solid defense along with good offense. The UMass game was lost because people did notget back on defense in the second half. That ended the season.I am amazed that people are criticizing a coach who has a 92 win, 38 loss record over the past four years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BirdZip Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 Offense wins games, Defense wins championships. It's a cliche for a reason.The thing about a guy who is great on offense but poor on defense is that when he has an off day, he's totally useless. If McNees has an off day on offense, do you want him in there? No, because he doesn't bring anything to the table on defense. If Linhart isn't hitting, you still want him in there becasue he can shut someone down. If you hold someone to 10 points below their average, it's the same as if you scored 10 extra points.How often do good shooters have off shooting days? Quite often, and different areans etc. can affect it as well. how often do good defenders have off days? Can't really think of an example. Good defense is more stable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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