WMU

[GoZips]

Quincy can improve his game immensely simply by keeping his shots inside fifteen feet.

Beyond the arc he is horrible.

[RootforRoo44]

I think we are still seeing too many occassions where he drops passes, gets the ball knocked away, or puts up an awkward shot. It could be a matter of his teammates not having enough confidence in his ability to finish.

Confidence in Zeke is not the problem.

He is 3rd in the conference in field goal percentage: 3.MARSHALL, Zeke-UA........ SO .542 (54%). He shot 5-5, 3-4, 2-4, 3-6, 4-5 in the past 7 games. I'd take those stats any day. He shot 5-13 and 2-6 in those other 2 games during that stretch.

Zeke has 13 turnovers in the past 7 games; less than 2 per game. Nik has 11. The numbers speak for themselves.

This issue is that he teammates look at him for 5 dribbles then decides to give him the ball. By that point the defense has made the adjustment.

Better guard play on entry passes, etc. is the answer....

+1

[RootforRoo44]

Quincy can improve his game immensely simply by keeping his shots inside fifteen feet.

Beyond the arc he is horrible.

I agree, and i couldn't believe that one three-point attempt in the corner by the WMU bench. The one where he had 12 seconds on the shot clock and he stepped back and faded away from behind the line. Ridiculous.

[BirdZip]

Can't remember if it was Reghi or Mix that said it, but one of them said something along the lines of "I just think (McKnight) needs to be a little less unselfish and start taking more shots." I about fell off the couch.

Brett struggled offensively once he got one shot away from 1,000 points. And as soon as he hit it he knew that put him over 1000. A little disturbing that he knows exactly where that line is, but maybe now that it's behind him his mind will be clear and he can just play.

Nik played great but if he could develop some court vision when he drives, he'd be deadly. Several times as he was driving a teammate was wide open for a lay-up, but Nik can't or won't see them and pounds it off the bottom of the rim instead.

[Blue & Gold]

Can't remember if it was Reghi or Mix that said it, but one of them said something along the lines of "I just think (McKnight) needs to be a little less unselfish and start taking more shots." I about fell off the couch.

I heard that too. It was Mix. I just figured he hasn't seen B-Mac play often enough to realize that the last thing B-Mac needs is to be a little less unselfish. He probably just doesn't realize that Brett's struggling w/ his shot right now.

[Quickzips]

Just going to comment on a few things that have been brought up here.

I think Zeke's struggles offensively last night had a lot to do with a more concerted effort on the part of our guards to push the tempo off misses and take the ball to the basket in the half court set. It didn't seem like we played nearly as much of that slow-down, half-court, dump it down in the post game as we have for most of the year. Personally, I'm just fine with that. I've said it a couple of times already this season, this team is not good enough in a half-court situation to win a lot of games. If we want to win we need to push the tempo and look to break guys down off the dribble. Zeke is just going to have to learn to adjust to that.

KD is probably right that Diggs has NBA potential, and he had a great game last night, but he still has a LONG way to go. The big thing for him is going to be playing on the road. It seems like when we are at home he has pretty good games, when we go on the road he is invisible or worse. I like the attitude he brings towards rebounding, his ability to start (and finish) on the break and his hustle on the defensive end. He needs to work on his decision making in the half court and his jump-shot.

I heard the comment from Mix about Brett McKnight tonight as well. If my wife wasn't asleep I would have been screaming at the TV. Dude is a lot of things on the basketball court. Unselfish isn't one of them.

I was actually pretty impressed with McNees' game last night. You could have knocked me over with a feather when he finished at the rim on that fastbreak pass from Diggs. That is a shot I've seen him miss over and over and over in his career here. It has taken until midway through his senior season, but it looks like Steve might actually be starting to figure out that there is more to the game of basketball than 3 point shooting.

To Zach's comment, I actually do think the Zips played a pretty good game last night. On defense you had to know that Whitfield and Ward were probably going to get theirs, but they didn't allow anyone else for Western to get going. You can't shut down everyone, but if you can avoid letting the no-name role-players beat you you usually stand a good shot at winning. The Zips haven't done that at all this year, but they did it last night. On offense there was a lot more movement and a lot less hoisting up bad shots. We still took more 3's than I'd like to see us take, but they were usually timely and usually taken by an open man. When the 3's weren't going in early in the game we adjusted and made the effort to take the ball to the hoop. It got Nik going and everyone else fell into place. For most of the year when the 3's aren't going early we have tended to jack up more 3's to try and shoot our way out of it only to dig ourselves into a big hole that we have to shoot more contested 3's to try and dig our way out of. Were there things we could have done better? Of course, but for the way this team has played this season I'll enjoy last nights performance and hope that it is a sign of things to come and not just an outlier in an otherwise crummy season.

[FOQD]

If you guys do your research Diggs was a great 3 point shooter in high school, he my be struggleing now but he can only get better from the field. I like how he runs the floor he could possibly run as PG if he was allowed to.

[ZippyforPresident]

I agree that Diggs has a decent stroke, but it seems like his 3 point opportunities should be more limited to when he's wide open and the shot is totally uncontested. The stop and pop long range stuff is better off left to Roberts, McNees and McClanahan. I'd like to see more of an isolation set up for Diggs and see if he can't take some guys one on one slashing to the hoop. He'd have a much better chance at finishing around the rim at 6' 6" than Abreu at 5' 9". I mean, if he does have some of that guard skill set why not set some plays up for him at the top and see what happens? Worse case scenario he drives too deep and dishes to Zeke who dunks it .

Looking forward to Saturday. Preparing for the worst but hoping for the best with all that I have.

[Dave in Green]

At UNO, Q made 13 of 41 3-point shots for a 31.7% average. So far at UA he's 11 of 30 for a 36.7% average, and his 2-point field goal percentage is 47.4%. Hitting 36.7% of 3s is the equivalent of making more than 55% of 2-pointers, and anytime a player's 3-point shooting percentage is effectively better than his 2-point percentage, it's hard to complain that he's taking too many 3-point shots.

McKnight currently leads the Zips with a 3-point shooting percentage of .390, followed by McClanahan's .375, Roberts' .371, Diggs' .367, Abreu's .348 and McNees' .306. Diggs' .367 is well above the Zips' .348 team average.

Remember that whenever you ask a player to focus on one type of shot to the exclusion of others that you're telling the defense they don't have to guard that player for the type of shot he's not likely to take. That makes the player easier to guard and more difficult for him to score. The best case is to mix up shot selection to the point that the defense never knows what the player they're guarding is going to do next.

All this tells me that Q should keep right on shooting 3s at the appropriate time, even though it's more entertaining to watch him blow past people on his way to the basket.

[ZachTheZip]

At UNO, Q made 13 of 41 3-point shots for a 31.7% average. So far at UA he's 11 of 30 for a 36.7% average, and his 2-point field goal percentage is 47.4%. Hitting 36.7% of 3s is the equivalent of making more than 55% of 2-pointers, and anytime a player's 3-point shooting percentage is effectively better than his 2-point percentage, it's hard to complain that he's taking too many 3-point shots.

McKnight currently leads the Zips with a 3-point shooting percentage of .390, followed by McClanahan's .375, Roberts' .371, Diggs' .367, Abreu's .348 and McNees' .306. Diggs' .367 is well above the Zips' .348 team average.

Remember that whenever you ask a player to focus on one type of shot to the exclusion of others that you're telling the defense they don't have to guard that player for the type of shot he's not likely to take. That makes the player easier to guard and more difficult for him to score. The best case is to mix up shot selection to the point that the defense never knows what the player they're guarding is going to do next.

All this tells me that Q should keep right on shooting 3s at the appropriate time, even though it's more entertaining to watch him blow past people on his way to the basket.

What that all tells me is that McNees needs to stop shooting the ball.

[RootforRoo44]

At UNO, Q made 13 of 41 3-point shots for a 31.7% average. So far at UA he's 11 of 30 for a 36.7% average, and his 2-point field goal percentage is 47.4%. Hitting 36.7% of 3s is the equivalent of making more than 55% of 2-pointers, and anytime a player's 3-point shooting percentage is effectively better than his 2-point percentage, it's hard to complain that he's taking too many 3-point shots.

McKnight currently leads the Zips with a 3-point shooting percentage of .390, followed by McClanahan's .375, Roberts' .371, Diggs' .367, Abreu's .348 and McNees' .306. Diggs' .367 is well above the Zips' .348 team average.

Remember that whenever you ask a player to focus on one type of shot to the exclusion of others that you're telling the defense they don't have to guard that player for the type of shot he's not likely to take. That makes the player easier to guard and more difficult for him to score. The best case is to mix up shot selection to the point that the defense never knows what the player they're guarding is going to do next.

All this tells me that Q should keep right on shooting 3s at the appropriate time, even though it's more entertaining to watch him blow past people on his way to the basket.

What that all tells me is that McNees needs to stop shooting the ball.

To be fair, McNees has looked a little better the past three games. And it's not like he's shooting a lot of shots, he's only taking around 5-7 a game.

Though he should be taking those 5-7 shots off of the bench, allowing Diggs and McClanahan to both start. (Nitro at the two guard)

[zipboy]

This was the best performance since Can't last month. Defense was strong again and ball movement was good as well. McNees looks more comfortable getting the bulk of his minutes at PG, Nik played the best all around game that I have seen, and everyone contributed. Ball State is big on Saturday.

[BirdZip]

What that all tells me is that McNees needs to stop shooting the ball.

Zach, Zach, Zach--7,485 posts and still not a good one.

McNees--> <--ZN.O

The guy only gives everything he's got for the past 4 years and some folks can't help but pile on every chance they get. When McNees is carrying this team in the Q again this year, I'll simply laugh to myself as those same posters talk about how important McNees was and that they always knew he'd come around.

[Captain Kangaroo]

What that all tells me is that McNees needs to stop shooting the ball.

Zach, Zach, Zach--7,485 posts and still not a good one.

McNees--> <--ZN.O

The guy only gives everything he's got for the past 4 years and some folks can't help but pile on every chance they get. When McNees is carrying this team in the Q again this year, I'll simply laugh to myself as those same posters talk about how important McNees was and that they always knew he'd come around.

His return to starting PG coincides with with our recent turnaround.

That, Nik putting up consistent #'s on a nightly basis, and our return to get-in-their-grill perimeter defense.

[Zip Watcher]

What that all tells me is that McNees needs to stop shooting the ball.

Zach, Zach, Zach--7,485 posts and still not a good one.

McNees--> <--ZN.O

The guy only gives everything he's got for the past 4 years and some folks can't help but pile on every chance they get. When McNees is carrying this team in the Q again this year, I'll simply laugh to myself as those same posters talk about how important McNees was and that they always knew he'd come around.

+10 What he said.

2009 MAC Title was as much due to McNees as any other Zips player.

[johnnyzip84]

Bottom Line: The Zips are down by 3 with 9 seconds left in a MAC Tourney game in Cleveland. Of the current players on the roster, who do YOU want shooting the ball? I know Steve’s had a rough 1st half of the season, but I’ll still take my chances with him when the game (and season) is on the line.

[zipsfan13]

Bottom Line: The Zips are down by 3 with 9 seconds left in a MAC Tourney game in Cleveland. Of the current players on the roster, who do YOU want shooting the ball? I know Steve’s had a rough 1st half of the season, but I’ll still take my chances with him when the game (and season) is on the line.

+1

[ZachTheZip]

Bottom Line: The Zips are down by 3 with 9 seconds left in a MAC Tourney game in Cleveland. Of the current players on the roster, who do YOU want shooting the ball?

D-Rob.

[GoZips]

The guy you want shooting the ball down three with nine seconds to play is BRETT McKNIGHT.

The season statistics bear this out.

Oh, and the statistics show that Alex Abreu is far and away a better point guard than Steve McNees.

Personally, I love having Steve on the floor; at the shooting guard. The problem is that Steve has

it in his head that he is the point guard and when he is moved to shooting guard he sulks, mopes

and under performs. Steve needs to get past that. The Zips need him.

Although I do not have stats to back it up I sense that Steve shoots the three ball a lot better when

he is operating as a point guard. Its that mopey, dopey, "I donna wanna be no two guard" attitude.

Oh, and for the person that picked D-Robb. A far better choice than Steve. Remember this from your

childhood. Might Casey struck out.

## SUMMARY GP-GS Min FG% 3PT% FT% R/G A/G STL BLK PTS/G

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

04 MCNEES, Steve....... 25-25 31.8 .332 .309 .685 2.4 2.7 22 2 8.7

05 MCCLANAHAN, Brett... 25-24 27.0 .425 .373 .875 3.9 1.4 24 3 11.0

11 ABREU, Alex......... 25-15 19.9 .352 .329 .740 1.5 3.6 36 2 6.5

12 ROBERTS, Darryl..... 25-10 26.7 .416 .370 .930 2.7 1.8 19 1 8.6

13 CVETINOVIC, Nikola.. 25-25 28.1 .444 .000 .717 7.0 2.0 33 4 11.9

23 MCKNIGHT, Brett..... 18-0 17.2 .440 .413 .700 3.1 0.8 8 1 9.2

[Dave in Green]

McNees' performance can be measured in great detail through his charts on statsheet.com. The shooting percentage graph shows that he has just been through the worst extended shooting slump of his 4-year playing career. It also shows that in recent games he has pulled out of the slump and is now trending up closer to his previous 3-year average. Had McNees "quit shooting" a few games ago, he wouldn't have had a chance to break out of his slump toward the end of the season when it really counts.

The points average season trend chart shows that only in his freshman season did his scoring drop off near the end of the season. Over the last three seasons, his point scoring has risen toward the end of the season.

Everyone knows that McNees is not an all-star player. But there aren't any current all-stars sitting on the bench waiting to replace him, either. McNees is a good veteran combo guard who can both shoot and run the offense. It's possible that Abreu and/or Q may eventually be better all-around guards than McNees. But it's highly unlikely that will happen before McNees graduates.

McNees has proven over the years that he deserves to start and finish games, especially toward the end of the season.

McNees at statsheet.com

[Dave in Green]

..... Oh, and the statistics show that Alex Abreu is far and away a better point guard than Steve McNees. .....

Depends on what stats are being considered. A thorough direct statistical comparison between McNees and Abreu on statsheet.com shows that they're fairly closely matched, with each doing better in some categories than the other.

In the important Offensive Rating category, which measures total player impact on scoring, assists, rebounds, turnovers, etc., McNees rates higher than Abreu, 98.4 to 91.8.

I like Rico. He's going to be a great asset to the Zips this season and, hopefully, the next three as well. He's definitely more of a pure PG than McNees. But he's a relatively inexperienced freshman and McNees is a senior who's been there and done that. Also, McNees tends to peak toward the end of the season, as he's been showing the last few games.

Overall, McNees is the best guard to lead the Zips right now, with Abreu playing an important supporting role.

McNees-Abreu comparison on statsheet.com

[skip-zip]

..... Oh, and the statistics show that Alex Abreu is far and away a better point guard than Steve McNees. .....

Depends on what stats are being considered. A thorough direct statistical comparison between McNees and Abreu on statsheet.com shows that they're fairly closely matched, with each doing better in some categories than the other.

In the important Offensive Rating category, which measures total player impact on scoring, assists, rebounds, turnovers, etc., McNees rates higher than Abreu, 98.4 to 91.8.

I like Rico. He's going to be a great asset to the Zips this season and, hopefully, the next three as well. He's definitely more of a pure PG than McNees. But he's a relatively inexperienced freshman and McNees is a senior who's been there and done that. Also, McNees tends to peak toward the end of the season, as he's been showing the last few games.

Overall, McNees is the best guard to lead the Zips right now, with Abreu playing an important supporting role.

McNees-Abreu comparison on statsheet.com

Amen. I don't think this is even a question anymore. And it looks like our coach feels the same way. If we are going to win the MAC title this year, it's going to be behind the leadership, floor direction, experience, and ability of Steve McNees.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Stats schmats.

The Zips are playing better with McNees as the starting PG. Abreu is playing better since he's been coming off the bench.

No links necessary. Look at the wins.

[RowdyZip]

Stats schmats.

The Zips are playing better with McNees as the starting PG. Abreu is playing better since he's been coming off the bench.

No links necessary. Look at the wins.

Bingo. I think we sometimes forget the successes we've had under Mr. McNees for the last 4 years.

Oh yeah...and THIS was just added on MAC-Sports.

In case you don't feel like clicking, ESPN2 has picked up the finale @Can't.

[zippy5]

In the past 2 years, Steve, and the Zips, have played their best ball when he was running the point. I'll leave it at that.