Can't Game

[zipsbandman]

Well, that just about sums it up for me. Any thoughts?

[Guest Neighbor]

Sore loser pretty much sums it up for me.

[Zipster Jr]

Didn't get off to the usual fast start. Mainly because the Golden Flushes came out pressure man-to-man from the start and then backed off as the game wore on... we couldn't build any momentum.

24 -- Brought his game tonite. Most of the others looked nervous and tentative until it was too late.

We lost -- but man, talk about bad refs. No calls were awful -- both ways... Can't fans have to be wondering too... Looked like freakin' rugby out there.. are we allowed to check players in basketball ... cause it looked a lot like hockey tonite...

So we lost to the most successful program in the MAC in the last 6 years.

They didn't run away and hide from us... we battled them to the end... gotta love this team...

And... lest we forget.. this is only Coach Dambrot's first year A.H. (After Hipsher).

It's only going to get better from here on..

Go Zips! Keep the Faith. Keep fighting.

[zipsbandman]

Seriously though, Can't really brought their A game tonight. They are going to be a team to watch come tourney time. The loss was a heartbreaker, and I'm sure Dambrot was about ready to get Lebron suited up out there. Boy did I miss Jeremiah Wood in the inside tonight. I have not looked at the stats yet, but it looked like Can't controlled the boards pretty much throughout the game. Shots were not falling for our shooters, and it made for a tough night. Once again, the team fought to the end, and that's all we really can ask for. I say we take it out on Toledo now.

[Guest zip supporter]

this pisses me off, i was in the cheering section and yeah there were too many no calls. the refs screwed us in the first half. there was only one ref (baldie) who was blowing the whistle for the first 8 minutes and nothin went our way. we needed to rebound tonight at the offensive end but we didnt. bubba needed to score but didnt. dru joyce missed a few key shots but i still love them and so does lebron. man that guy is loyal. and i never liked nate gerwig anyways. all he had to do was jump over the chair but he took out an old lady. that sunna ma b****. i feel the pain of that man next to her. i expect to see a big crowd against toledo who is making a run.

[Guest zip supporter]

i also hated seeing gold shirts once again at our place. and this is bizarre but how did the f***in Can't state students sneak in to our cheering section? the police needed to do their job. they needed to go back to the countryside and learn to read and write. i just cant wait to play them in football again.

[axeme]

I want Hipsher back.

Very impressive, but from what I'd heard, I wasn't too surprised. I think KD nailed it when he said that experience in big games vs. little experience in big games was the difference. That and bench depth seemed to be the biggest factors. Neither team shot well at all, but the D was intense pretty much throughout and there were not a lot of shots in rhythm to take.

The Zips are a force to contend with and it pains me greatly to say this, but I enjoyed the way they played. I'd go see them play anyone. Like a breath of fresh air compared to the previous regime.

Travis? He's an All-Mac player.

Tough, physical game, but that's the way they are played down the stretch and in the tourneys.

I think you guys match up well with UT, and while it helps us if you lose, I kind of wish you would take them to the woodshed.

See you in a couple of weeks.

[Big Zip]

I may be in the minority, but when it comes to experience in big games and singling out players in the post game show -- I think KD should have kept his mouth shut and thought about the other person without big game experience -- KD. It's a close game you have three fouls -- you may need to foul to extend the game late and you need to have the foresight at the four minute mark to get to the bonus -- so you are ready late. On top of that to fire all your TOs away and not save any for late -- causes problems in a close game too. I was very surprised to here KD single out kids on the air like he did -- just didn't seem like a good move to me. For what it is worth -- this is the first time I've thought all year he didn't outcoach the other team. You live and you learn.

I loved the toughness and play to the buzzer mentality of this team. They are real fun to watch -- I can't wait to see this team get more experience and develop of the next few years. Great game overall -- would have loved to have seen a replay of the out of bounds play where Collins dove for the ball.

[antizip]

What a great game! Here are some random thoughts.

1) I don't think everyone was watching the same game. I recorded the game and watched it when I got home. Fox Sports guys Mike & Mark kept saying how tight the refs were calling the game. "lots of touch fouls" I think the refs were afraid DJ III might try to beat on Nate more. What is up with your fan and the chair (was that Hip courtside)?

2) RT can really dunk the ball. Class move when RT tried to kick Kevin Warzynski on the ground.

3) Can somebody get DJ III something to wipe his tears. Could he cry more about calls not going his way?

4) Can't State tried hard to give you guys the game. Nice move under the basket Cutley.

5) What happened to KD's run and gun play?

See you 02/26/2005

[Guest Russ]

Bubba and Cedrick did nothing to help us win last night, we needed 3's last night, why night bring the player off the bench who shoots them for god's sake? We played everyone else, and speaking of that, why put Nick Meyers in for 1 minute and Quade for 2 minutes, what is that about?

[Captain Kangaroo]

Random Thoughts:

Great to see such a huge crowd show up. As all of us have been screaming for years...have a competitive team in Akron and the fans will show up! Suck, and we've seen they won't.

BW-3's was a mob scene before the game. Right there you can see the side benefits of having competitive teams. Community businesses begin to flourish. I couldn't imagine the vitality of the Spicertown area with a winning hoops team + winning football team with an on-campus stadium!

The sellout was true. My friend got turned-away at the door (he did eventually sneak in).

Heavyweight battle all the way. Every other MAC team the Zips have played at the JAR got blindsided by the Zips pressure D and wilted. To Can't's credit, when Akron hit them in the face (figuratively) Can't hit them right back...and then some.

I thought Can't played with poise...great spacing...dogged D...the entire night. I give them all the credit.

Can't played Creighton, Boston College and Floride State this season...you could tell the big, raucous crowd was something they were used to. We weren't, as a team, nearly as prepared for a game like this.

Dambrot should have begun fouling earlier. It cost us.

Dambrot should not have taken Joyce out on the last play because he had 4 fouls. If Joyce is in, I doubt they get that breakaway dunk at game's end.

Stupid play by Can't to dunk at game's end. It gave us a chance to tie it.

Bubba is pretty ineffective when defenders play him tight.

Middleton played like a Fr. Hope he grows from this one.

Futch was awful. In his mind, he's Nick Goddard. In my mind, he better keep his butt in the paint and try and emulate Wood. We don't need our 6' 8" guy hanging out at the 3-point line hoisting bricks in a tight game.

Travis was awesome. He's got some lightning fast moves to the hole. If he can develop any kind of an outside game, he will be unstoppable over the next couple years.

Mario Collins...what were you thinking? 17 seconds left...down by 3... and a panic drive to the hole, bouncing it off your foot? I love Mario at game's end. To date he had been solid, hitting clutch shots, playing great D...he turned int Ali Kart last night. Too bad we wasted all our time outs...we sure could have used one at the 17 second mark.

The "good" Mc Fadden showed up last night! We needed him. He and Travis kept it close.

We never could get that "one break" to put the pressure on Can't. Joyce's layup rolls off, Peterson steps on the line, Peterson's bunny rattles out...

Bubba and Middleton now know what the rivalry is all about. I hope they bring their A-games to the match up in Can't. It's obvious Can't's guards will.

Overall, we played hard and fairly well. Can't played hard, and a little bit better.

My son told me this morning that it was ok the Zips lost, "'cause they win next time."

I said: "Sometimes you eat the bear...sometimes the bear eats you." He looked at me kinda funny.

[axeme]

Can't played Creighton, Boston College and Floride State this season...you could tell the big, raucous crowd was something they were used to. We weren't, as a team, nearly as prepared for a game like this.

Capt.,

Well, we played FSU in Corpus Christie and had a raucous crowd of 500, I believe, so I don't know what that prepared us for, except perhaps a game at YSU. But we did play Marquette down to the last possesion on their floor in front of 13k, so I guess it evens out. BC and Creighton were nuts, though we had the BC crowd pretty quiet until the end. Had a tough crowd at Old Dominion, too, actually. They are really rolling this year in the Colonial--20-3, I believe.

[Guest Golden Flash]

I was one of the happy Can't State fans who enjoyed the game from Akron's student section. What a great game to see from those seats! GO Can't!!

[Kflasher]

MAC bbs down for now.

A true classic last night no doubt. It sure was nice to see the JAR full. The place looked and sounded great. Nice job Zip fans for getting out to see your team. About 100-200 of us Ken't fans did what we could.

Ken't didn't really have their "A" game last night as a team but the guards brought it. Our interior "D" still needs some work. Way to many dunks for RT.

Kudos to the Zip's for battling to the end. They could have folded when Ken't worked up a ten pt. lead. No quit in this team. "Bring back Hipshire, Bring back Hipshire"!!!.

Mods: Nice default to Can't when you type in Ken't.

Anyway, we will see ya in 16 days at the MAC Center. Don't even think about ending our home winning streak which will be sitting at 11 when you invade.

[zipper]

Can't didn't bring their A game but neither did Akron, thus the close game and final score. Maybe we'll both bring our games in two weeks, but hopefully with a different outcome

Actually, I hope your home streak IS sitting at 11 when we get there. It's hard to keep those streaks up, and everyone's hoping to be the one to end it.

Be glad we couldn't make lay ups last night. Be very glad. If we had made half of our layups it would have been a different outcome. I'd like to be the first to inform you that, normally, in the Keith Dambrot tradition, this team doesn't miss easy shots. (Note to Zips: WHAT THE **** - MAKE YOUR LAYUPS!).

[Zip Watcher]

My thoughts:

- From what I've seen from Can't State on TV thus far, and I admit that last night was the first time I've seen them live, that was Can't's A game defensively. Excellent effort on both sides defensively, but Can't State really came and defended the perimeter well throughout.

- With the exception of Romeo & occasionally Peterson, I'm not sure any Zips player was able to free himself on his own to create a good shot. That's an indicator that this team is better than the individuals and that there is room for improvement. Can't State was a step quicker at almost every position. I did find myself wondering a little in the first time if Milum might have brought some quickness to free some stuff up ... young kid though. Goddard would have had every shot back in his face last night.

- Futch fell back into his "take the 17 footer" mentality last night & it really hurt us. Can't State was successful in forcing the half court game and dictating their tempo, and we needed some big guys to pound it in and force them to defend in the paint. Other than Travis, the Zips didn't do that. Both Cutlley & Warz had 2 fouls early and they really never went after them. Pounding it in woul d have opened things up outside a bit more. This was a game where JWood was really missed (I count this as the 3rd game that he'd have made the difference in a loss - WMU & Miami the others).

- Can't remember the last time I saw a team struggle this much to get open looks. Props to Can't State's D for taking Bubba and Peterson out of their games.

- Romeo continues to impress .. great game by him.

- In the second half, when the ZIps started their run, they went to the 1-1-3 .. maybe with about 9 minutes left? By my unofficial count, there were about 8 possessions when they used it, and Can't State never solved it. I believe 4 or 5 bad shots, a shot clock violation and some turnovers. I have to wonder why we didn't see that look earlier in the game. Similar to the other recent home games (UB, CMU, & BSU) .. it really stumped the opposition. I know that Can't State was in slow down mode, but they didn't get any good looks against the 1-1-3.

- The defense and some fouls probably came about a minute or 2 late.

All in all, it was a great game. Great atmosphere .. 5500 Zips fans .. wasn't that cool?! Good effort and intensity on both sides. I have no issues w/ the ref's last night, beyond the fact that they didn't give us the call when the Zips were TRYING to foul Warzinski. They hammered him and he walked .. no whistle for either infraction.

I think it's telling that in a game where both teams defended well and didn't turn it over excessively, the Zips were right there last night. Can't had to work for this one .. and Akron had opportunities to make it happen. I'm not sure how much credence I give to the "big games" theory. I think there were some bounces that didn't go the Zips' way (missed layups & solid looks by RT that just didn't drop in the first half) and they didn't convert on some easy opportunities.

I think an encouraging game, even in a losing effort. Losing to these guys sucks .. but we get another crack at them in a few weeks. The bottom line is that the Zips have been in EVERY game this season, with opportunities to win late. They're getting better every night.

More later ... I'm going to watch the tape tonight or tomorrow I think.

Go Zips!

[Guest Russ]

Goddard would have had every shot back in his face

Like Bubba did? I am so glad you know that, thank God we didn't put him in! Seriously, what would it of hurt, no other guard was doing much, everyone else had a chance, all's I am saying give him a couple of minutes, see what happens. Why not, no one else was on, and why put Quade in for 2 minutes, whats anyone going to do for 2 minutes, leave him in for awhile....

Dambrot also should not have blamed some of the kids afterwards, he needs to take the blame himself for this one....

[Z-Pouch]

A lot of good comments on the board.

A couple of thoughts that crossed my mind that weren't mentioned.

- Talk about A games and who brought and who didn't - I know most of the Can't fans I know are saying they played terribly and so are some on the Akron side - my thoughts, I compliment the defense on both sides - good/great(?) defense can make some games and teams look pretty ugly. When all shots, passes, screens and rebounds are contested, the game's not that easy. I credit both teams defensively giving Can't an edge.

- Interesting that a shot here or there - which we all can recall - and this game goes to Akron. Would that have meant that Can't choked in a big game ? Other then Collin's play at the end, I'm not sure I would talk much about choking. Coming back from 10 when you could have just folded, shows me something about this team again.

- Why were there no open looks on the perimeter ? See above Def. But I'd like to add that for Akron atleast, a number of our open three's in the past several games have been in transition before the defenses get settled into a half court game. Can't did a good job in transition taking away those open looks. Akron tried many times to push the ball and ended up in a half court game. While we are getting better in a half court set, most UA runs this year have been on break outs and quick trigger sets.

- I'm with ZW, while I thought we would win fairly easily at home, I'm hardly discouraged by this effort. We are up and coming, getting better each game -- it does no good to peak in early February. There is plenty of time to gain more experiance and work things out by the first week of March. The main thing we cannot give up over the next several weeks is a first round home game. Personally, I think this team needs the experiance of a 1st round game (A Tournament WIN) rather then a bye.

- All this talk of KD's post game show, I missed it but it seems as though something must have been lost in translation. The KD Iv'e heard always steps up for these kids and takes on his own accountability. And if he did say something down the players accountability path -- Aren't they ? It's time to toughen up and if thats how he wants to accomplish it, GOOD, next time we might not get killed on the boards in the first half.

[Guest Old Coach]

Memo to all of the Wadsworth folks,

Nick is a great kid, he can shoot when wide open, but he is never going to get more than a few minutes a game.

Please save the posts after every loss and accept that he is a practice player who can score when no one is guarding him.

[Big Zip]

And if he did say something down the players accountability path -- Aren't they ? Z-Pouch

Z-Pouch I thought it was unanimous on this board that nobody longed for the days of Hipsher humiliating the players and trying to break them down, by outing them. Are you telling me that is the part of Hips coaching you enjoyed? I'll agree they are accountable, but why do it on the radio -- why not sit down with them and talk to them about it. His words about Mario were about him dribbling the ball of his leg at the end -- making it tough to win. Don't you think Mario felt bad enough about it already -- now his coach is singling him out after the game? This was only a three point loss and as a poster before said -- we could all point to a missed shot or blown play that could have got the three points or four. Why single anyone out? Not to mention -- KD didn't seem to take any of the blame himself.

[Z-Pouch]

Are you telling me that is the part of Hips coaching you enjoyed? I'll agree they are accountable, but why do it on the radio -- why not sit down with them and talk to them about it.

BZ - Once again, I didn't hear the comments but it really suprises me that KD would be as blatent as indicated. He seems to be a players coach so I'm just more surprised then anything that it's coming across so negative. I was thinking along the lines that he sighted a couple of incidents in the game and named the players (to me, that's not all bad) but nothing malicious or dealing out any blame (that's definately unnecessary as any game is made up of many parts). If there was no mention of the timeout abuse, shame on him. In the end, he overcoached and should have taken responsibility - he put the players in a tough situation without the TO's.

I like what he has done with the program so far so I guess my prior comments were looking at it with rose covered glasses and giving him the benefit of the doubt. It's just seemed quite a bit out of his character.

As for Hip, come on now, we are all on the same page there.

[zipper]

I gotta say, I am not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. KD is going to take us to the promised land and we are complaining about his post-game comments? I think he does an excellent job post game - straight shooter and just the facts, ma'am. Much better than Hip. I didn't hear it the way you did, BZ, so maybe that's just your "really upset with the loss" take right after the game.

I kind of can't believe anyone is criticizing the guy already. I guess no good deed will go unpunished.

[Big Zip]

To say I'm criticizing him is kind of harsh -- I'm merely saying I didn't agree with his post game comments. As for my view of the post game comments -- your right -- it is my view. I can say I had an unbiased observer in the car with me -- a Buckeye fan -- who was equally as surprised.

I like KD a lot and actually thought the comments were out of character. I just thought there was plenty of blame to go around for this loss and to single out any specific incidents seemed a little odd.

No harm no foul -- I'll be there Monday cheering hard for a Zips win. I hope the game turns into a great learning experience they can put in the back of their mind for the future.

[Zipster]

I heard KD's post-game interview also. Personally, I don't think he was singling out anyone. He simply stated a couple mistakes that took place and how they just had to work a little harder to correct those mistakes in the future.

[Z-Pouch]

Funny timing on this ABJ game recap in which Can't coach directly blames players -- Probably not his best coaching move.

Falcons hand flushes first home loss of season

Warzynski, Edwin lead Can't State but miss key shots

By Gary Estwick

Beacon Journal staff writer

Can't - Kevin Warzynski scored 23 points in the second half Saturday afternoon, but his final field-goal attempt fell short of keeping Can't State perfect this season at the M.A.C. Center.

After helping the Golden flushes recover from a sluggish start, Warzynski missed a 15-foot jumper with 45 seconds remaining, and the Golden flushes lost 77-73 to Bowling Green.

``I'd rather play the way I played at Akron and win than play the way I played today and lose,'' said Warzynski, who scored two points during Wednesday's victory at Akron.

What the flushes craved even more than Warzynski's final shot was leadership at point guard.

Can't State coach Jim Christian blamed the loss in front of 5,483 fans on starter DeAndre Haynes and reserve Marcus Crenshaw. Neither player was able to run the team's offense, and with Warzynski scoreless in the first half, this was the wrong afternoon for offensive woes.

Can't State (16-8, 8-5 in the Mid-American Conference) never found a way to defend Falcons forward Josh Almanson, who scored from all over the court, finishing with 23 points.

It's a problem Christian hopes to solve before Tuesday's MAC game at Buffalo.

Haynes and Crenshaw had a couple of moments.

Haynes scored Can't State's first five points. Then, he disappeared. When he fouled out trying to rebound Warzynski's miss, Haynes had seven points on 2-for-7 shooting.

Crenshaw wasn't much better. He did score a 3-pointer with 13:04 remaining, as Can't State took its first lead of the second half. After that, Crenshaw continued to shoot and continued to miss. He finished 2-for-7 from the field with six points.

The loss came down to more than their offense, Christian said. He wanted leadership and execution. He needed poise and composure. He didn't get either.

``I can't tell you how many times tonight we called a certain play, and the point guard would go to the wrong spot,'' Christian said. ``Kinda throws the whole team out of rhythm.''

Maybe that's why the flushes seemed infatuated with 3-pointers and attempted 26. Christian's problem was less about the amount and more about the shot selection.

``We just fired up shot after shot,'' Christian said. ``We kept talking about it during timeouts. Try to get the ball back inside.''

It didn't happen.

Guard Jason Edwin scored 16 points. But with Can't State trailing 73-70 with 27 seconds left, he missed a layup.

The Falcons (14-7, 8-5) converted 5-of-8 free throws in the final three minutes.

Can't State's loss, coupled with Ohio's win over East Division-leading Miami, left the flushes and Bobcats (13-8, 8-5) tied for second behind the RedHawks (15-6, 10-3).