My Starting Line Up

[GoZips]

This was pulled on me. So, now I pull this on you.My starting line up is: Jeremiah Wood in the post. Romeo Travis at power forward Quade Milum at the wing Cedric Middleton at shooting guard Nick Dials at the pointYour task: Replace any of these starters with your starters using the current 2009-2010 squad.Then the hard part: Prove your player is better than mine.

[Let'sGoZips94]

This was pulled on me. So, now I pull this on you.My starting line up is: Jeremiah Wood in the post. Romeo Travis at power forward Quade Milum at the wing Cedric Middleton at shooting guard Nick Dials at the pointYour task: Replace any of these starters with your starters using the current 2009-2010 squad.Then the hard part: Prove your player is better than mine.

J-Wood in the postRome at the PFNow here's where it could get interesting...If you want small, put D-Rob or Humpty at the wing spot. D-Rob gives us another guard who's under control. Humpty gives u speed and a shooter. If you want big, you put Zeke on the wing. He'd play the Cavs spot for Z, knocking down a 10-15 ft. jumper and possibly getting inside for some dunks. If you want athletic, put Jimmy Conyers at the Wing. IMO, Jimmy at the wing is the best option out of the 3. You have a slasher and shooter. C-Note at SGDials at PGThese guys are better because Quade wasn't all the impressive. He was tall, but he wasn't very good. All I can say is, if you take the four besides Earth-Quade, and add some of the team now, we'd be making some serious runs in the NCAA tourney.

[ZachTheZip]

You want me to compare the current starting lineup with only two seniors to one made up of five seniors?OK, here goes. Nik Cvetinovic in the postChris McKnight at PFBrett McKnight at wingSteve McNeese at SGHumpty Hitchens at pointHow do I know this line up is better? These players won the MAC championship. They went to the NCAA tournament. None of the players you listed did that.

[RootforRoo44]

This was pulled on me. So, now I pull this on you.My starting line up is: Jeremiah Wood in the post. Romeo Travis at power forward Quade Milum at the wing Cedric Middleton at shooting guard Nick Dials at the pointYour task: Replace any of these starters with your starters using the current 2009-2010 squad.Then the hard part: Prove your player is better than mine.

This is a no doubter here in my opinion. 5: Zeke Marshall 4: Jeremiah Wood (where he should have been in the first place if we would have had a "Zeke") 3: Romeo Travis/Jimmy Conyers (it's a toss up, because Wood would is better at the 4 than Romeo but Jimmy is pretty close at the 3.) 2: Cedrick Middleton 1: Nick DialsSorry Zach but the whole "they won the MAC tourney thing" doesn't work for me. There are still guys on that team a few years ago that are better than what we have currently. If C Middleton doesn't miss the free throw, they go to the NCAA tournament as well, with a better chance at winning a first round game. Also you cannot tell me that Nick Dials isn't better than any guard we have on this team right now.

[skip-zip]

You want me to compare the current starting lineup with only two seniors to one made up of five seniors?OK, here goes. Nik Cvetinovic in the postChris McKnight at PFBrett McKnight at wingSteve McNeese at SGHumpty Hitchens at pointHow do I know this line up is better? These players won the MAC championship. They went to the NCAA tournament. None of the players you listed did that.

Sorry, I just have to note how much I detest this line of thinking...So, if this were football, you would have picked Dilfer, Hostetler or Brad Johnson at QB over Marino? Because Dan never won a Super Bowl?

[Dr Z]

So, if this were football, you would have picked Dilfer, Hostetler or Brad Johnson at QB over Marino? Because Dan never won a Super Bowl?

Yes, it don't mean a thing unless you win that ring! Winners win, losers lose.

[wadszip]

This was pulled on me. So, now I pull this on you.My starting line up is: Jeremiah Wood in the post. Romeo Travis at power forward Quade Milum at the wing Cedric Middleton at shooting guard Nick Dials at the pointYour task: Replace any of these starters with your starters using the current 2009-2010 squad.Then the hard part: Prove your player is better than mine.

This one is easyWoodTravisConyersMiddletonDialsThe only debate is whether to replace Middleton with somebody else. That doesn't have anything to do with skill, he is easily better than any of the current guards, but he flourished providing a spark off the bench. But under your scenario, there isn't anybody better suited to replace him. Maybe you can go big with Wood, Travis, McKnight, Conyers, Dials. But I think McKnight is a horrible fit at SF (he would just bog down the paint) and Conyers doesn't shoot the ball well enough to be a SG.

[GoZips]

This was pulled on me. So, now I pull this on you.My starting line up is: Jeremiah Wood in the post. Romeo Travis at power forward Quade Milum at the wing Cedric Middleton at shooting guard Nick Dials at the pointYour task: Replace any of these starters with your starters using the current 2009-2010 squad.Then the hard part: Prove your player is better than mine.

This one is easyWoodTravisConyersMiddletonDialsThe only debate is whether to replace Middleton with somebody else. That doesn't have anything to do with skill, he is easily better than any of the current guards, but he flourished providing a spark off the bench. But under your scenario, there isn't anybody better suited to replace him. Maybe you can go big with Wood, Travis, McKnight, Conyers, Dials. But I think McKnight is a horrible fit at SF (he would just bog down the paint) and Conyers doesn't shoot the ball well enough to be a SG.

Wadszip, Not bad. I used the same argument and got toasted. People forget that by the timeQuade was a senior he was a pretty darn good player. He could leap like a kangaroo, blockedshots, dunked (remember those high light films?), rebounded and shot free throws well. What I wastold was that Jimmy is just a bit less valuable than Quade was. The other four are locks.For the person who pointed out that the current team won a MAC championship they forget that the heart and soul of that team was Nate Linhart. And, guess what ... he is sorely missed.

[ejcool27]

This was pulled on me. So, now I pull this on you.My starting line up is: Jeremiah Wood in the post. Romeo Travis at power forward Quade Milum at the wing Cedric Middleton at shooting guard Nick Dials at the pointYour task: Replace any of these starters with your starters using the current 2009-2010 squad.Then the hard part: Prove your player is better than mine.

This one is easyWoodTravisConyersMiddletonDialsThe only debate is whether to replace Middleton with somebody else. That doesn't have anything to do with skill, he is easily better than any of the current guards, but he flourished providing a spark off the bench. But under your scenario, there isn't anybody better suited to replace him. Maybe you can go big with Wood, Travis, McKnight, Conyers, Dials. But I think McKnight is a horrible fit at SF (he would just bog down the paint) and Conyers doesn't shoot the ball well enough to be a SG.

Wadszip, Not bad. I used the same argument and got toasted. People forget that by the timeQuade was a senior he was a pretty darn good player. He could leap like a kangaroo, blockedshots, dunked (remember those high light films?), rebounded and shot free throws well. What I wastold was that Jimmy is just a bit less valuable than Quade was. The other four are locks.For the person who pointed out that the current team won a MAC championship they forget that the heart and soul of that team was Nate Linhart. And, guess what ... he is sorely missed.

Speaking of Linhart he would be my 3 with middleton, dials, travis, and wood.....you need a guy who plays like that who doesn't want to lose and does everything to win. Also, a leader on and of the court

[Districtballer]

I just want to say as a guy who watched the Zips the last 3 years, I really loved Jeremiah Wood's game. The guy could play despite his relative height disadvantage. The kid was a warrior and I'm sure he's doing well overseas wherever he's playing. He had a ton of heart.

[ziptrumpet87]

I just want to say as a guy who watched the Zips the last 3 years, I really loved Jeremiah Wood's game. The guy could play despite his relative height disadvantage. The kid was a warrior and I'm sure he's doing well overseas wherever he's playing. He had a ton of heart.

Amen to that. I miss his passion for getting the rebounds.

[OZoner]

Jeremiah's playing in Finland and doing well, for those curious.

[Quickzips]

I'm assuming this is some kind of Dambrot-era all-star team thread? If so I will go with this:C-Zeke Marshall: The only true Center with any kind of descernable talent Dambrot has had. Outside of him we have had a bunch of PF's playing out of position (Wood) and scrubs (Bardo) at Center. Tough position to recruit at this level.PF-Jeremiah Wood: When healthy, Wood was an unstoppable force. It's a shame that he always had to deal with those injuries. Truly the "Shaq of the MAC" in his day.SF-Nate Linhart: The definition of a glue guy. One of the best perimeter defenders this league has ever seen. Offensively he was often awkward and sometimes even difficult to watch, but overall was usually pretty effective.SG-Nick Dials: This is a tough one for me. Cedrick Middleton is certainly deserving. Nick gets the edge because he started the majority of his career and also took on the role of PG in his senior year when nobody else stepped up.PG-Dru Joyce: The only pure PG Dambrot has had. Hard to argue with the school's all-time assist leader.Bench/Rotation Guys:PF/C-Rob Preston: Big Country is the type of player I hope we are getting with Dakotah Euton. A big guy who could get after it on the boards but created matchup nightmares with his ability to step out to the 3 point line and knock down shots.PF-Romeo Travis: Got all the hype at the position, even though Wood was always the better player. Still, a scoring machine with diverse talent on the offensive end.SF-Jimmy Conyers: Until this year I never would have guessed I would have been putting this name down here. Conyers has done enough this year to warrant a spot on this list.SG-Cedrick Middleton: Dials and Middleton has to be one of the better SG combinations the conference has ever seen. I don't think I've seen another player work as hard at his craft as Cedrick. PG-Anthony "Humpty" Hitchens: Still young, but Humpty is an explosive player. Pretty much the opposite of the calm and calculated Dru, Humpty is a wrecking ball who pesters bigger guards on the defensive end and has a knack for the big moments and the big shots on offense. I really have no idea where all the Quade Milum love is coming from. He is what I am fearful of Zeke turning into. An incredible athlete whose lack of basketball skills often made him a liability on the floor. He fell out of the rotation at times in his senior year for a reason. He was never all that good.

[RACER]

zach makes a good point.none of those guys won a mac championship.you can say all those guys were better players,butthey never made it to the ncaa.nate was a good player,but this team won 20 games without him already.it's not likethis team collapsed without him.

[OZoner]

No, it's not a good point. The Wood/Travis Zips would swat last year's team aside like a gnat. Last year's team won a tournament against a historically weak MAC. The Wood/Travis/Joyce team finished higher in a better conference. They would have run roughshod over the last year's MAC.

[Dave in Green]

Here's the comparative RPI ratings of recent Zips teams and the MAC competition they faced:2004-0546. Buffalo 52. Miami58. Ohio 69. Can't 77. Akron 97. Western Michigan 105. Toledo 109. Bowling Green 120. Ball State 185. Northern Illinois 237. Marshall246. Central Michigan 267. Eastern Michigan2005-0648. Can't71. Akron 84. Miami99. Ohio 126. Northern Illinois 130. Buffalo 148. Toledo 195. Western Michigan 254. Ball State 256. Bowling Green 306. Eastern Michigan 315. Central Michigan 2006-0767. Akron 87. Can't 92. Miami 94. Toledo 105. Ohio 150. Western Michigan 226. Central Michigan 234. Eastern Michigan 237. Buffalo 242. Bowling Green 274. Ball State 301. Northern Illinois 2007-0821. Can't72. Miami75. Akron 76. Ohio 119. Western Michigan 184. Central Michigan 187. Toledo 201. Bowling Green 237. Eastern Michigan 268. Buffalo 296. Northern Illinois 297. Ball State2008-0981. Miami89. Buffalo99. Akron138. Can't157. Bowling Green184. Ohio262. Ball State297. Central Michigan301. Western Michigan317. Toledo318. Eastern Michigan328. Northern Illinois2009-1053. Can't97. Buffalo 107. Akron 133. Ohio 149. Miami156. Western Michigan 164. Bowling Green 175. Ball State 200. Central Michigan 211. Eastern Michigan 255. Northern Illinois 327. Toledo

[Dave in Green]

Couldn't resist playing around with those numbers. Following is the average, low and high RPI of the top 5 teams in the MAC over the past 6 years. The Zips have been the most consistent with the smallest spread between low and high. They have the potential to be the only MAC team to have a top 100 RPI for all six years if they have a strong finish to this season and raise their current 107 RPI.Team RPI Average Best WorstCan't ........ 69.3 ... 21 ... 138Akron ....... 82.7 ... 67 ... 107Miami ....... 88.3 ... 52 ... 149Ohio ....... 109.2 ... 58 ... 184Buffalo ... 144.5 ... 46 ... 268