Mt. Union exhibition game

[MDZip]

Nice start for Zeke - knows how to finish around the basket, a nice rebound, an assist and possibly a block in his opening few minutes. Good for him.

[MDZip]

Six different Zips have hit three pointers in the first half. If that is an indicator of the season, if we can hit from the outside and have Zeke in the middle - wow!

[bUAkronG]

Zips look solid in the first half. Our depth is definitely going to take us far this year. We are stacked at the guard position. 45-17 at the half for those who wonder. Only 3 of 6 from the line though. That can't continue. I'm getting some decent pictures too so expect those later.

[RowdyZip]

Zips look solid in the first half. Our depth is definitely going to take us far this year. We are stacked at the guard position. 45-17 at the half for those who wonder. Only 3 of 6 from the line though. That can't continue. I'm getting some decent pictures too so expect those later.

Steve French has stated that it's a rather large crowd for, especially for an exhibition. Can anyone verify?

[MDZip]

Man, five blocks for Zeke so far!

[bUAkronG]

Yeah there is a pretty decent crowd here. I'm terrible at estimating but I'd say around 2K? Zeke looks in top form.

[zippyfan34]

Zeke has dropped in a couple baby hooks so far. I think he has 14 points. Not expecting him to average that this season but I was cautiously optimistic about his offensive impact this year but I think it will be better than I expected. I think he averages 7-9 points this year, could be more but I see with our depth and talent he won't get a ton of looks.

[tbozeglav]

Zeke has dropped in a couple baby hooks so far. I think he has 14 points. Not expecting him to average that this season but I was cautiously optimistic about his offensive impact this year but I think it will be better than I expected. I think he averages 7-9 points this year, could be more but I see with our depth and talent he won't get a ton of looks.

Honestly, I think we have enough depth offensively that his point average won't matter terribly this season. All we need him to do is plug up the lane and swat balls.

[MDZip]

Couple of interesting things from KD after the game - 1) I guess he's pretty high on Zeke too since he said if he puts on 20 pounds of muscle, we'll be seeing a first rounder and 2) he spent a lot of the interview pumping up the soccer team, saying he wants 4000 people out at the soccer games. Pretty cool.

[UAZips]

Nothing like sitting at home during a blizzard, listening to the Zips handle a team they should handle. Go Zips!!!

[ZachTheZip]

Couple of interesting things from KD after the game - 1) I guess he's pretty high on Zeke too since he said if he puts on 20 pounds of muscle, we'll be seeing a first rounder and 2) he spent a lot of the interview pumping up the soccer team, saying he wants 4000 people out at the soccer games. Pretty cool.

About Zeke, I'm surprised that KD said that. He usually goes the Paterno route and downplays anything positive.And about the soccer game, I would also like 4,000 people at the games but that won't happen unless we double the seating capacity.

[bandzip]

Just got back from the game. I think 2k is a pretty generous estimate for attendance, though I'm definately no pro at estimating crowds. Zeke had three blocked shots within about 5 seconds. I'm not sure if they all showed up on the stat sheet but the place went CRAZY! You could see from the stands how just his presence shifted the game in Akron's favor. KD had some crazy line-ups in there. Beginning of the second half they put Zeke and Bardo in, along with our taller guards and C. McKnight. NO ONE in the MAC will be able to score on that defense. Zeke and Bardo completely shut down the inside. I know Mount is DIII but I think this game served as a good way to get the confidence up for the team. The Rowdies "Stick with Football" chant was classic. I liked what I saw from Sullivan, he was always thinking and always involved in every play. He'll make a great point guard soon. On the downside, Humpty seemed to be off all night. Had a couple turnovers and took a lot of horrendous shots along with a few turnovers. Sweich was still making some pretty lame mistakes when he was playing in junk time and KD was letting him hear about it. I wouldn't expect to see him much during the season. Other than that the team looked absolutely fantastic. Can't wait until the first home game!

[Quickzips]

Just got back from the game. My thoughts.First, you have to remember that this is a DIII school, and as the Mt. Union fan sitting next to me reminded me, not a very good one. Everything we saw tonight has to be taken in that context. Still a very good showing.Zips had a lot of trouble last year beating zone defenses. Tonight was a totally different story. Mt. Union came out playing a 2/3 zone. Zips were patient. Moved the ball. Found the soft spots in the zone and busted them. Three point shooting from McClanahan early on was deadly. Roberts, Humpty, McNees and even Conyers got into the act. Very encouraging to see.Zips defense was smothering all night. Mt. Union got nothing off inside. It wasn't just when Zeke was on the floor (more on that later). The entire game they clogged the lanes up and made life miserable for the Mt. Union players. Once the three pointers started dropping it was all over for Mt. Union. They started to abandon the zone and we just murdered them inside. Nikola, Chris and Zeke punished them inside all night long. Our offensive rebounding was amazing. We really attacked the offensive boards very well. I don't have an official count, but we probably had 15 or more second chance opportunities and we converted a lot of them. These guys work really hard on the glass. It's a sign of a very good team.Thoughts on individual players/combinations:Not real sure I like the starting backcourt of Roberts and McClanahan. Neither is really good at initiating the offense. First two possessions were very bad turnovers. We settled down after that though. Really have to have Humpty, McNees or maybe Sullivan on the floor at all times to run the point.I might be the only one, but I am a little disappointed in Brett McKnight. I keep waiting for him to stop trying to play 1 on 5 on the offensive end and to show some consistent effort on defense, but it is never really there. He was slow on his rotations all night and he forced shot after shot after shot. He's still a black hole on offense. Once the ball gets into him in the lane it is rarely ever coming back out. Regardless of how the defense converges on him. Brett needs to figure this out quick, because that 3 spot is clearly our weakest position right now. On the plus side Conyers looked better tonight. He didn't look like he was panicing when the ball came to him on offense and he continues to be a pretty good wing defender. He may push Brett for playing time if Brett doesn't pick it up.Humpty needs to learn what to do with the ball once he penetrates into the big boys. Again tonight he had a couple of times where he knifed into the lane, got in too deep and slopped up a crazy layup attempt that ended up bouncing off the bottom of the rim. He's either going to have to get the shot off earlier, learn to pass out of those situations, or pull the ball back out and reset things. He's an incredible athlete, and he can make those drives just about any time he wants too. He just needs to get better at decision making once he gets into the lane. Chris McKnight is clearly the leader of this team. Was one rebound away from a double double tonight when we shut him down in the second half. He's not without fault. In particular he took a few too many 3's early in the game. But once he realized those weren't falling, he got his butt down low, got under the basket and made some very pretty plays. If he can bring that kind of effort consistently it will go a long way for this team.Nikola was Nikola. Energy, energy, energy. Had some pretty post moves and played within himself all game. Rock solid and you can put him at any of 3 positions really without much of a problem. My choice to replace Nate as the "glue guy" for this team.McClanahan looked a lot more comfortable. He was stepping into his shots and knocking them down with confidence. Defense looked pretty good although he still relies on his hand a little too much at times instead of moving his feet to stay with guys. Not a whole lot to report out of Roberts and McNees.I hate to say it, but watching Sweich, I really think he would be a lot more helpful in Mt. Union Purple and Black than he's ever going to be in Akron Blue and Gold. Had some decent minutes in garbage time. He can rebound. Thats for sure. But he's still too foul prone to really make an impact for this team.Hmmmm....I think I forgot someone...................Ohh YEAH!Zeke! So far, two big . Anyone who had any delusions about this kid redshirting please go get your head examined. I know it was just Mt. Union, and they had no one who could match up with him, but....damn. For those of you keeping track of stats at home that was 14 points on 5-6 shooting, 4-6 from the line, 2 dunks, 2 jump hooks, a putback layup off a missed free throw from Chris McKnight, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 8 (yes EIGHT) blocked shots in 14 minutes.. The series in the second half where he swated three Mt. Union shots on one possession was a thing of beauty. Not only does he block shots, his presence alone alters a lot of shots. I can't tell you how many Mt. Union shots didn't even hit the rim b/c their guys were so worried about Zeke coming in and getting the block. He also looks a lot better on the offensive end than I expected. That jump hook in the lane is going to be deadly. Really only made one mistake on that 18 foot jump shot that he rushed after it deflected away from Humpty. Other than that there is really nothing to complain about. This kid is going to be real special for us. I can't wait to see how well he develops.Feeling real good about this team right now. I know it was just Mt. Union, but good teams crush inferior competition. Tonight we crushed the Purple Raiders.

[RowdyZip]

Listened to about 3/4 of the game after having to skip out of this one. Payday is Friday and I'll be picking up the family pack that day.Rasor has an interesting final quote from Coach Dambrot on the liveblog of the game:"We have some guys that have told us that if they don't play, they will go somewhere else and play."Thoughts?

[ZachTheZip]

Rasor has an interesting final quote from Coach Dambrot on the liveblog of the game:"We have some guys that have told us that if they don't play, they will go somewhere else and play."Thoughts?

There is a logjam of talent. It wouldn't surprise me. To me, it's a sign of an improving talent level. I have nothing against anyone who wants to leave for playing time. We potentially have a 14-man rotation!And for the people who asked, the attendance was 1,053 for the exhibition. I'm hoping for at least 3.5k on Sunday, since there isn't a Browns game to compete against.

[bUAkronG]

Rasor has an interesting final quote from Coach Dambrot on the liveblog of the game:"We have some guys that have told us that if they don't play, they will go somewhere else and play."Thoughts?

There is a logjam of talent. It wouldn't surprise me. To me, it's a sign of an improving talent level. I have nothing against anyone who wants to leave for playing time. We potentially have a 14-man rotation!And for the people who asked, the attendance was 1,053 for the exhibition. I'm hoping for at least 3.5k on Sunday, since there isn't a Browns game to compete against.

lol I only was twice the actual in my estimate.

[WinZip]

Rasor has an interesting final quote from Coach Dambrot on the liveblog of the game:"We have some guys that have told us that if they don't play, they will go somewhere else and play."Thoughts?

There is a logjam of talent. It wouldn't surprise me. To me, it's a sign of an improving talent level. I have nothing against anyone who wants to leave for playing time. We potentially have a 14-man rotation!And for the people who asked, the attendance was 1,053 for the exhibition. I'm hoping for at least 3.5k on Sunday, since there isn't a Browns game to compete against.

lol I only was twice the actual in my estimate.

...might be better than my prediction of Zip's Football wins

[RootforRoo44]

I took some video at the game, got some decent clips of Zeke and everyone else. Made a quick little highlight video (God forbid the Athletic Department ever would do the same).Here's the LINKSorry i did it on Facebook, everyone should be able to view still. I just hate Youtube and it's quality downsizing/audio copyright flags.

[Hilltopper]

I hate to say it, but watching Sweich, I really think he would be a lot more helpful in Mt. Union Purple and Black than he's ever going to be in Akron Blue and Gold. Had some decent minutes in garbage time. He can rebound. Thats for sure. But he's still too foul prone to really make an impact for this team.

Steve is not a D-1 player. Last night really showed that he just doesn't have what it takes. He got beat by his man over and over under the basket for lay-ups. If he gets any meaningful minutes this season it will take a miracle. Its obvious that his teammates really like him, because they did everything they could to get him the ball on offense, but he is totally lost on defense. If the Zips played alot of Zone, he might have a chance.

[MDZip]

I took some video at the game, got some decent clips of Zeke and everyone else. Made a quick little highlight video (God forbid the Athletic Department ever would do the same).Here's the LINKSorry i did it on Facebook, everyone should be able to view still. I just hate Youtube and it's quality downsizing/audio copyright flags.

Nice job on the videos, my favorite was the Zeke block. He looked like he was about 12 feet of the ground.

[Jalapeño Zippy]

I took some video at the game, got some decent clips of Zeke and everyone else. Made a quick little highlight video (God forbid the Athletic Department ever would do the same).Here's the LINKSorry i did it on Facebook, everyone should be able to view still. I just hate Youtube and it's quality downsizing/audio copyright flags.

Great video, now how long did that take you? You say quick, but come one, seriously? Our athletics department is waaay understaffed to get one of those done.

[RootforRoo44]

I took some video at the game, got some decent clips of Zeke and everyone else. Made a quick little highlight video (God forbid the Athletic Department ever would do the same).Here's the LINKSorry i did it on Facebook, everyone should be able to view still. I just hate Youtube and it's quality downsizing/audio copyright flags.

Great video, now how long did that take you? You say quick, but come one, seriously? Our athletics department is waaay understaffed to get one of those done.

Yeah that literally took me 5 minutes and i wasn't even on my own computer so i just used Windows Movie Maker. I'd love to get my hands on all that raw footage that Athletics has. Honestly anyone on here that is in the athletic department, hook me up!

[Dave in Green]

The opponent was obviously weak, so all of the Zips players should have looked pretty good. For me, the key point of this exhibition was seeing with my own eyes how the "new guy" looks on court. I tried to watch Zeke's play objectively, and imagine how he would do against bigger, more skilled D1 opponents.What I walked away with was the certainty that in his first time on a collegiate court in front of fans that Zeke clearly demonstrated that he already fits in the Zips regular rotation. His level of play in all aspects of the game is at least passable, and in some areas at some times was much better than passable. I don't recall any Zips player I've ever seen play any better in their first game as a true freshman.The defensive part of Zeke's game is where the highest expectations have been. With 8 blocks and at least another 6 altered shots in 14 minutes on the floor, I don't know how anyone could ask for more than a block or altered shot a minute. Given this, some of the smaller, less talented teams who challenged or even beat the Zips last season will be in big trouble this season. What I saw last night convinces me that the Zips will be upset fewer times this year by lesser teams. Having Zeke on the defensive end will be like having the Great Wall of China between shorter players and the basket.On offense, I was impressed by his quick, crisp passing. But the biggest surprise was his heat-seeking-missile approach to the basket when he caught the ball inside. There was no hesitation, no lowering of the ball for shorter opponents to knock it out of his hands. He went to the basket with speed, authority and accuracy. He is a true inside threat on offense.Of course he will not look this good against stronger competition right away. Bigger players are really going to be trying to push him around under the boards. And the fact that the smaller Mount Union players were able to foul him and keep him from following through for the slam suggests that he doesn't yet have the strength to pound it down through a foul. It will take time to develop strength and become familiar with the many different aspects of playing at a higher level. But if he wants it badly enough, you can see the potential all over him just waiting to be unleashed.I was especially impressed how all the other players related to Zeke during the game. You could see that everyone was really trying to help him adjust and build his confidence, especially Humpty. While it's been published that the veteran players will have to adjust to a newcomer getting all the attention, it looked to me as if the other players already know that the quicker they can help Zeke develop, the better they are all going to be, both individually and as a team.Perhaps most importantly, nothing I saw last night took away from all the early expectations of Zeke being a team player and not a "me first" star. He really seems to fit well with the team and KD's team-first approach.It is going to be so much fun to watch Zeke and the whole team grow this year. I can't believe there are any serious basketball fans in the Akron area who would not want to come to the JAR and enjoy watching something very special.

[Dave in Green]

Since Steve Swiech's shortcomings are often posted on this forum, I think it's only fair to point out what he did right. He tied Chris McKnight for team leadership in rebounding with 9. Swiech got his 9 in just 14 minutes compared to 21 minutes played for McKnight. Swiech also had 2 blocks, 1 assist and was 1 of 2 from both the field and the free throw line. Whatever his shortcomings and his future may be with the Zips, he deserves credit for his overall performance in this exhibition game.

[Valpo Zip]

I second the comments about Swiech and also i feel that the "well deserved" Zeke attention made us overlook another newcomer in Sullivan.Alex showed me a lot of great positive things. If it wasn't for Zeke's debut, i know he hould have received a lot more attention but oh well.