Quickzips Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Just picked up this tidbit from one of the Beacon Journal blogs.http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/varsity_letters/Apparently top-25 recruit Adreian Payne will be visiting campus in the next few weeks. Definitley a good sign from where I am sitting. If nothing else the interest isn't just a one way thing. If anyone gets any kind of word on when the big man is going to be on campus, we may need to organize a completely random Zipsnation get together outside the JAR one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Sweet. Everyone should check that blog out, I guarantee you'll like it. I just posted a link to this blog about an hour ago when starting another thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Lord have mercy! Read this selection from the Rivals.com article referenced in the Varsity Letters blog and tell me KD doesn't already have our program at a level it's never been and isn't taking our program to a level of which we only had pipe dreams!While he didn't mention a school list, places such as Akron, Cincinnati, Dayton, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Memphis, Miami, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Xavier, and many others have all at least been in contact with the big man.When asked which schools he plans to visit soon, Payne said, "I'm not quite sure yet because I haven't narrowed it down yet. I will probably narrow it down to 15 and then go from there after I take my visits."He then later added that he has a specific visit on tap soon. "I am going to go visit Akron in a couple of weeks."Outside of the visit to Akron, nothing else seems set in stone. Already Payne visited Xavier and Dayton during the basketball season, and return trips to those schools isn't out of the question.I'm hoping Adreian has the opportunity to meet Zeke. They both seem much more mature, humble and intelligent than your average high-level basketball player. I think they'd really click. Adreian would fit right in with our group of players - genuinely nice, humble guys who just so happen to be able to flat-out ball! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quickzips Posted March 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 This has to be a good sign for the Zips that he's making us his first official visit. This would be an absolutely major coup for the coaching staff if they could talk this kid into coming here to play alongside Zeke. Those two up front would allow us to not only destroy the MAC, but make some serious noise on the national scene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dboze Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 A. Payne's Oho Red AAU Team will be playing in the King James Tournament @ U of A the weekend of April 25 - 27. He will probably have his official visit sometime in April but I know he will also be here during the King James AAU tournament. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 I watched the WKy/Illinois game after the Zips/Gonzaga tilt. Western Kentucky had great guards and two very capable centers. One was more of an overall beast, the other more of a shot block specialist (a higher-skilled Quade Milum). If the Zips want to take the next step, they need to get Zeke another big man threat. Payne could well be that guy. Cventinovic could be that guy too, depending upon how he fills-out. Zeke is a big piece to the puzzle, but if we want to be a 2-deep NCAA team, we need another high-quality post guy. I like it that we're recruiting with that in mind. Now we need to land one.A final note on Cventinovic - I remember watching Wally Sczerbiak in his freshman year at Miami. He had a very similar build to 2009's Nik. He also scorched the Zips for 6 three's during their JAR appearance, so he was a different kind of player. It will be really interesting to see which way Nik develops over the off-season. Does he become a Ryan Andrick-esque, low post threat? Or does he focus on his strength & shooting and go the Wally-esque 3-position route? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zips fan Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 I am really excited about Payne visiting campus. We have a great young group currently that should be in contention for a MAC title year in and year out. The addition of another national level player would establish the Zips as team above the MAC. We would be able to discuss our NCAA seed during the final weeks of the basketball season rather than see if we win the tournament. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 The team still plays at the JAR every day, minus the coaching and support staff. It's just the players pushing themselves further on their own. Maybe he could play a pick-up game with them or something. I don't know the rules regarding what they can and can't do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatwad Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Threads like this make my day.Blue and Gold... where did you get your quotes there? Did you get that from the "members only" section of the article on rivals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Threads like this make my day.Blue and Gold... where did you get your quotes there? Did you get that from the "members only" section of the article on rivals?Yeah, I have a Rivals.com all-access membership. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinZip Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 And the dreaming continues... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpsjugglerdude Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 April 18th is the official visit via Rasor's blog. So he will be here 2 weekends in a row! Even better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatwad Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 And the dreaming continues...I'm pretty sure that was a lot of people's thinking toward Zeke as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 It's interesting that when quality players sign with major basketball schools, the programs tend to get a lot of credit for the performance of the team. But when quality players sign with schools that don't have a long record of winning at the national level, more credit for the team's performance is given to the players. One great player alone might not be enough to lift a smaller program to national prominence. But several highly ranked players going to the same school can have a huge impact on college basketball.UA is on a roll right now, with the conference championship, the competitive game against Gonzaga and the signing of Zeke. Running through all of this is the LeBron factor, as noted in the national stories on UA being in the NCAA tournament, and most recently on 60 Minutes.I'd sure like to know just how much effect LeBron's association with the City of Akron and UA has on the minds of the country's top high school basketball players who aspire to be the next LeBron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quickzips Posted March 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Just as another point. Rasor claims that he sees Akron's odds as 1 in 5 on getting Payne. I don't know if Mike has any of his famous "inside information" on this one or not, but that seems to correspond to what I am seeing on some of the A-10 message boards from Xavier and Dayton fans that say his short list is down to five. Xavier, Dayton, Cincy, Akron and West Virginia. <-Quickzips dreaming about Zeke and Adreian tearing it up in the JAR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinZip Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 And the dreaming continues...I'm pretty sure that was a lot of people's thinking toward Zeke as well.Just so you don't get the wrong idea, by dreaming I meant drooling over the possibility. Nothing negative.Though when you put it that way, I don't wanna get my hopes too high either. There's no doubt he'll get to visit a program thats building. (Just have KD, Zeke, and Lebron meet him at the stadium)...Ok now I'm dreaming... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyZip Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Wow, I've been quiet a while on this subject but now it really seems as if this kid is made in the mold of Zeke. Perhaps this is the beginning of making us the "Memphis of the MAC" rather than the "Gonzaga of the East" as so many like to aspire... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatwad Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 And the dreaming continues...I'm pretty sure that was a lot of people's thinking toward Zeke as well.Just so you don't get the wrong idea, by dreaming I meant drooling over the possibility. Nothing negative.Though when you put it that way, I don't wanna get my hopes too high either. There's no doubt he'll get to visit a program thats building. (Just have KD, Zeke, and Lebron meet him at the stadium)...Ok now I'm dreaming...Haha, my mistake. I misinterpreted your original writing.. Dreaming about the possibility is a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dboze Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 I'd sure like to know just how much effect LeBron's association with the City of Akron and UA has on the minds of the country's top high school basketball players who aspire to be the next LeBron.Dave, I can tell you from Zeke's standpoint that the LBJ factor did not have much of an impact. His decision was based more on the quality of the education, the university (campus) and the coaching staff of Akron. The LBJ factor is an added bonus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Z Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Clubber Lang predicts...just replace the word "fight" with "Zips" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z.I.P. Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Lots of news on Adreian on here (Raised by his Grandmother, and may want to stay close to home):http://bearcatnews.com/recruiting/bio/383/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinZip Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 So I had a bit of time to poke around online and thought I would research this guy. Looks like he is raw talent, the type that could have quite a few turnovers but turn around and beat you every time with pure athletic ability. Dayton seems to be his top choice cus one of his friends signed there (almost like a package deal huh) and it's close to home. He wants to major in business, pointing out that academics is also a major factor in his decision. Lastly, he wants that connection and closeness with the coaching staff and team. Dayton seems to be most worried about OSU and XU picking up this guy, pointing out that he is waiting to hear from OSU, and has attended a few Xavier games. Lastly, some posters seemed to think he was slightly overrated. They referenced ref friends who said they were unimpressed. General impression is, however, that he's improving. The conclusions I drew (from others opinions ) are that while he may be a disposable talent at XU, Dayton fans are pretty much penciling him in their lineup. OSU seems to look like an option, and UKentucky as well. Didn't see much about Cinci. The fact that we're not mentioned probably only means the fans aren't aware of our potential. I don't count us out for a second, but Dayton looks like they have the advantage realistically.Here are some reasons I could see Payne coming to Akron:He wants to stay close to home: Adrein is being raised by his grandmother. So she can attend games it is vital he is relatively close to home. Coming from Dayton this seemingly works against us, but most college kids want a little space. Hmm maybe a 3 hour buffer *Rank: UD, UC, X, OSU, UA, UK He wants to go somewhere where he feels comfortable: Adrein visited OSU some time ago and stated the campus is way too big and he prefers a smaller campus. I'd say that gives Akron some hope, with what is in my opinion a gorgeous campus. He stated that he liked the size of UD’s and X’s campuses. *Rank: UA, UD, UC, X, UK, OSUHe wants to play in the NBA:Well the first time I read this I thought, "self this is not something Akron is known for" but as I thought about it more, if Payne were to come here the uproar would be enough to get him attention. Then, when we're "dancing with the stars" one can only imagine. *Rank: OSU, UK, UA, UC, XU, UDHe wants to connect: I think after hearing what Zeke said about the coaches and team, I feel quite confident that ours are top-notch. Also, I have a feeling his grandmother is very important to him. The coaches seemed to make a good impression on Zeke's mom, I imagine they could do the same.*Rank: UA, (and the rest)Visits:I'm sure one of the most effective recruiting tools occurs when a player becomes a fan. I know that he has visited several of the closest schools, in addition to attending an OSU football game. Chances are he came away quite impressed. Interestingly, he is planning his first official visit to Akron and will get to play in some games here. We have our chance to make an impression too.*Rank: UD, OSU, X, UA, UC, UKalright thats good enough... *all rankings are my opinion and are based on one hour of reading His coaches have advised him not to verbal to or sign with any school until late his junior year, and he has a TON of respect for his coaches. He will not verbal to UD right now, upsetting UD who feels they discovered him and his talents. In the end, I wouldn't rule out the grandma factor. She's supposedly living in Dayton and raising 6 foster kids.Chances are what grandma says goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 How does Calipari going to UK affect this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dboze Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 How does Calipari going to UK affect this?Based on reports that Payne wants to go to a smaller school, I don't believe it has any impacts. Kentucky doesn't fit the profile of the type of school he's looking to attend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksu sucks Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 The more I think about, the more I believe the zips have the upper hand. The biggest ace in the hole we have is our programs policies on recruiting. KD recruits kids with a strong family background for a reason. If this kid comes to Akron and his grandmother likes how important family is to our program, you'd better believe we will have a good shot.And as far as majoring in bussiness, I hope someone let's him know UA has one of the top Bussiness programs in the country per Bussiness Week magazine.Ultimately, you just have to have let the kid decide. Just like Zeke, some kids just "click" with a certain program. Let's hope that Akron clicks with Payne as well.Note: Lets get someone affiliated with the hoops team to drive down to Dayton and give the kid's grandma a ride to the home games! That might take away Dayton's obvious "close to home" advantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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