Winthrop Game Tonight!

[RootforRoo44]

a few pictures for the out of town Zips fans that never get to see anything:Can't kid trying to sit in the Rowdies section....He was removed by police quickly.

[RootforRoo44]

Free throws! We were actually making them.=========================================And I'm still not quite sold on the new jerseys...but I must say the warmups are pretty sweet==================================================

[Dave in Green]

Lots to like about the way the Zips played in this game, both as a team and as individuals -- defense, rebounding, free throw percentage, protecting the ball, etc.For me, the single most surprising performance was by Cventinovic. I was not at all prepared for the level of play he showed in all aspects of the game. One of the rarest combinations in basketball is a big man with strength, speed, coordination and intensity on both offense and defense. Nik appears to have all those qualities, plus all the major skills -- defending, dribbling, passing, rebounding and shooting. I wouldn't be surprised if he could play any of the five positions in a pinch, from center to point guard.I would have been impressed to see all of these qualities in a junior or senior. But from an unheralded freshman in only his second real college game? Wow! Way more than expected. And that's just for now. How much better can he get with experience?I hope to see a lot more of Mr. Cventinovic over the next four years.

[Quickzips]

One other thing I saw last night that I forgot to mention. We did a very nice job breaking through Withrop's full court pressure when they went to it. I know we've had problems in the past with that, but last night it didn't give us much trouble at all. If there is one thing that I am very encouraged by with this team its the fact that we don't seem to turn the ball over a lot. Withrop is a team that forces a lot of turnovers and last night they only came up with 7. Young teams have a tendency to turn the ball over a lot as they get used to playing w/ each other and playing at the D-I level. I haven't seen that from this group and that to me is very encouraging.I'm still waiting on our PG's a bit. You can tell that neither of them are fully comfortable running the show yet. It's not that they can't do it, but it isn't coming naturally. They are still thinking a lot and not making quick decisions. I suppose this also helps contribute to the low turnover numbers as we aren't rushing ourselves into bad decisions. Anyways, I think we have to be patient with these guys. It's going to take more than 3 games for them to get fully comfortable with running our offense. In the meantime, I guess McNees isn't a terrible option to take a few minutes at the PG. I still don't trust him bringing the ball up the court and he still plays only mediocre defense. Not to mention the fact that the best part of his game, his shooting, has been very suspect lately.

[Dr Z]

Nice job on the photos Roo44

[Captain Kangaroo]

Nice win by the Zips last night. We held a double digit lead for most of the second half. Any time Winthrop made one of their outrageous 3's...many of which were guarded well...we can back with a Winthrop rally killer.Overall, the team looked much better than I was lead to believe. They defended well very well and didn't let Winthrop get into a running game, which would have killed us.Nikola reminds me a little of Ryan Andrick...good inside hands, size and a nice short range game. He also plays with a lot of enthusiasm...I like him a lot. Roberts is really going to blossom this season. I LOVED his post-game interview. On his steal at the end of the game - "Coach Wiegand told us they'd try to roll the ball up, so I was waiting for it."On the pump fake that netted him 3 free throws - "Coach Boals said they like to jump out on the three's, so that's why I did it."You gotta love a kid as talented as him, who listens to the coaches so attentively. An interesting stat that Elton Alexander brought up a week ago - Nate Linhart's FT persentage has dropped in each of his three seasons. After his performance at the line last night, he's looking to continue the trend - Get it above 70% Nate!McNees looks improved as a ball handler...solid at the FT line...and still totally lost shooting 3's. His 3-pt FG percentage since the Miami game last year has to be below 20%. He's gotta do better.Chris McKnight played great. He didn't force anything...excellent job.Gotta go. Beat Pitt!

[Big Zip]

Could it be the distance change on the three point line that is impacting our three point shooting or McNeese? I know it wouldn't account for the end of last year, but this year?

[GoZips88]

Lots to like about the way the Zips played in this game, both as a team and as individuals -- defense, rebounding, free throw percentage, protecting the ball, etc.For me, the single most surprising performance was by Cventinovic. I was not at all prepared for the level of play he showed in all aspects of the game. One of the rarest combinations in basketball is a big man with strength, speed, coordination and intensity on both offense and defense. Nik appears to have all those qualities, plus all the major skills -- defending, dribbling, passing, rebounding and shooting. I wouldn't be surprised if he could play any of the five positions in a pinch, from center to point guard.I would have been impressed to see all of these qualities in a junior or senior. But from an unheralded freshman in only his second real college game? Wow! Way more than expected. And that's just for now. How much better can he get with experience?I hope to see a lot more of Mr. Cventinovic over the next four years.

Another plus regarding Cventinovic - he couldn't wait to play for Akron! I love that and that's one of reasons I'm with the others on this board who look forward to seeing Swiech get (earn) some time out on the floor.

[zip37]

The games can be heard on www.sportsradio1350.com [it's free].

[johnnyzip84]

Lots to like about the way the Zips played in this game, both as a team and as individuals -- defense, rebounding, free throw percentage, protecting the ball, etc.For me, the single most surprising performance was by Cventinovic. I was not at all prepared for the level of play he showed in all aspects of the game. One of the rarest combinations in basketball is a big man with strength, speed, coordination and intensity on both offense and defense. Nik appears to have all those qualities, plus all the major skills -- defending, dribbling, passing, rebounding and shooting. I wouldn't be surprised if he could play any of the five positions in a pinch, from center to point guard.I would have been impressed to see all of these qualities in a junior or senior. But from an unheralded freshman in only his second real college game? Wow! Way more than expected. And that's just for now. How much better can he get with experience?I hope to see a lot more of Mr. Cventinovic over the next four years.

Another plus regarding Cventinovic - he couldn't wait to play for Akron! I love that and that's one of reasons I'm with the others on this board who look forward to seeing Swiech get (earn) some time out on the floor.

That's GREAT to hear about Nikola Well at least ONE Serbian export appears to have a bright future today (see link) Link

[skip-zip]

Captain....Nate's lower FT shooting pct. often happens with college players who've had a career like his. He's a much more active part of the offense now, is being counted on to do many things he has not done in the past, plus can subsequently be a little more tired, or may have just gotten hammered under the basket when he arrives at the FT line. We even often see it with high school kids as their careers progress, and their roles change.

[RowdyZip]

[RootforRoo44]

haha no worries, we handled him real well and pissed him off when he was trying to sit down with the rowdies. We had a "I SUCK" sign with an arrow pointing down at him and held it behind him for a while until he noticed. He was a real dick to everyone and got really defensive when asked why he was wearing it.