Open Letter to Zeke

[Dave in Green]

RootforRoo44, if you're saying that some players are easier or more difficult to coach into a certain style of play than others, then I'm with you 100%. A basketball player's performance is a combination of the player's inherent physical ability and inner drive to improve his performance along with the quality of the coaching he gets. So Zeke's failure to perform at a consistently higher level than many fans expect is some combination of all that. If Zeke was 6-feet tall, we probably wouldn't even notice him riding the end of the bench. But since he's 7-feet tall, we automatically have higher expectations for him.

It sounds like you want to place more of the responsibility on the coach than the player. I can't do that because I don't know what percentage is related to coaching, what percentage is related to Zeke's inherent physical ability at this point in his life when he's still physically growing, and what percentage is related to that inner drive of how badly Zeke really wants to be an all-star basketball player. If the coach had total control over all those elements, then I'd say it was totally the coach's fault. But that's not the way it works.

One thing we know is that Zeke is a late bloomer who's behind the development curve for other college players his age who started playing basketball much earlier in life and have made basketball the focal point of their lives. We know that Zeke is a nice kid who tends to be a little shy and has many interests in life beyond basketball. We know that he would rather help his teammates than be the focal point of the team. Maybe if Zeke truly believed that becoming the focal point of the team would be the best way to help his teammates, he'd be willing to take on more of that role. Who knows?

I don't know what to do other than to have patience that the light will go on somewhere and stay on. We certainly saw Zeke's light go on in the Can't game, and in my case I mistook that for the light going on and staying on. Maybe that will happen in the MAC tournament, maybe next season, or maybe never at all. Even with the best coaching, there's no guarantee that every 7-footer is going to become a consistently great basketball player.

[Captain Kangaroo]

The stupidity within this thread makes me ill.

[dboze]

The stupidity within this thread makes me ill.

A quote from macsportsonline says it all - "And can we lay off Zeke Marshall? He's not the second coming of Tim Duncan, but his numbers are much improved over last year (he sports a 101.4 offensive rating this season as opposed to 86.4 last year) and all indications are that he is going to be very, very good his last two years."

MAC Sports Online

[Captain Kangaroo]

The stupidity within this thread makes me ill.

A quote from macsportsonline says it all - "And can we lay off Zeke Marshall? He's not the second coming of Tim Duncan, but his numbers are much improved over last year (he sports a 101.4 offensive rating this season as opposed to 86.4 last year) and all indications are that he is going to be very, very good his last two years."

MAC Sports Online

Chris Kaman doubled his offensive numbers from year #2 to year #3. That's the way it goes with 7-footers.

People are stupid.

[Quickzips]

So KD is qualified to coach a power forward into being an effective post to run the offense through, but doesn't have a clue as to how to coach a true center into being an effective post to run the offense through?

Yes...exactly. He has no clue how to run the offense through a true center like Zeke...i think this is plainly obvious to anyone watching a few games. Zeke is the most under utilized player in the league in terms of his offensive ability.

I think what is plainly obvious is that Zeke is not ready to have the offense run through him. It is plain as day to anyone watching that as soon as the ball touches Zeke's hands he is thinking. It has been that way all year. It makes him hesitant and indecisive which are two traits you can't have from the guy you are running your offense through. How much of that you want to attribute to KD and how much you want to attribute to Zeke is open for interpretation, but for right now Zeke simply isn't there. KD has come to this realization too and that is why we aren't trying to run the offense through Zeke as much anymore.

[UAZip0510]

Comparing Zeke Marshall to Chris Kaman is just silly. Kaman's sophomore numbers were much better offensively and he actually rebounded like a center...he also had at least 20 lbs on Zeke.

Listen guys, Zeke's a great representative for UA. He's got a great head on his shoulders, and seems to care about more than just basketball, which is refreshing to see. On the court though, I'm just not sure he has "it". He doesn't play with passion or fire, even defensively. When the coaches challenge him, he drops his shoulders and tilts his head back in frustration. Half the time, it doesn't seem like he wants to be out there.

He has a chance to be a very good defensive player around the rim next year and the following year, and will represent the team wonderfully, but I think that's about all we should expect. He's not going to the NBA (does he even want to?) and he's not going to dominate the MAC. The sooner we accept that, the better you'll feel about him.

[Dave in Green]

Comparing Zeke's sophomore season to Kaman's sophomore season is silly? Well, it's true that Kaman had better stats in some areas. But it's also true that Zeke has better stats in other areas. When it comes to Offensive Rating, they were pretty darned close -- Kaman at 103.6 to 101.7 for Zeke.

Kaman's sophomore stats certainly didn't rise to the level of a can't miss NBA player.

Here's the direct comparison for anyone who's interested in doing a detailed comparison in all categories:

StatSheet.com

[UAZip0510]

Comparing Zeke's sophomore season to Kaman's sophomore season is silly? Well, it's true that Kaman had better stats in some areas. But it's also true that Zeke has better stats in other areas. When it comes to Offensive Rating, they were pretty darned close -- Kaman at 103.6 to 101.7 for Zeke.

Kaman's sophomore stats certainly didn't rise to the level of a can't miss NBA player.

Here's the direct comparison for anyone who's interested in doing a detailed comparison in all categories:

StatSheet.com

Kaman - 11.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.6 BPG, .614 FG%

Marshall - 8.8 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.2 BPG, .526 FG%

Zeke has more blocks per game, but Kaman was better in everything else...and Kaman had 20 lbs on him, which is extremely important to consider.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Comparing Zeke Marshall to Chris Kaman is just silly. Kaman's sophomore numbers were much better offensively and he actually rebounded like a center...he also had at least 20 lbs on Zeke.

Both MAC centers. Both 7-foot. Both in the same relative era (not comparing anyone to Wayne Embry or Nate Thurmond). I think the comparison is valid, at least to people who know basketball.

Check out John Edwards' stats. Another valid comparison. Another recent MAC 7-foot center who played in the NBA. Zeke's stats are better.

Beyond that stated above, my original post highlights Kaman's production growth from year #2 to year #3. It was clearly not a comparison of their respective Sophomore seasons.

Check back with me next season at this time, and I'll show you that Zeke's ppg and rpg will have doubled from his Sophomore season. And you will have learned.

[yazan07]

Check out John Edwards' stats. Another valid comparison. Another recent MAC 7-foot center who played in the NBA. Zeke's stats are better.

I checked out his stats. Looks like he cheated on his wife when she was dying of cancer and there is a high possibility that he used funds raised during his 2008 presidential campaign to keep his mistress quiet about the whole ordeal. Hopefully Zeke doesn't have to do anything like that to make it to the NBA

[UAZip0510]

Comparing Zeke Marshall to Chris Kaman is just silly. Kaman's sophomore numbers were much better offensively and he actually rebounded like a center...he also had at least 20 lbs on Zeke.

Both MAC centers. Both 7-foot. Both in the same relative era (not comparing anyone to Wayne Embry or Nate Thurmond). I think the comparison is valid, at least to people who know basketball.

Check out John Edwards' stats. Another valid comparison. Another recent MAC 7-foot center who played in the NBA. Zeke's stats are better.

Beyond that stated above, my original post highlights Kaman's production growth from year #2 to year #3. It was clearly not a comparison of their respective Sophomore seasons.

Check back with me next season at this time, and I'll show you that Zeke's ppg and rpg will have doubled from his Sophomore season. And you will have learned.

Because I don't think Zeke and Kaman compare I don't know basketball?

Chris Kaman - 7'0", 255 lbs

John Edwards - 7'0", 270 lbs

Zeke Marshall - 7'0", 218 lbs

The height is the same, but Zeke's 37 lbs lighter than Kaman was, and 52 lbs lighter than Edwards was, which means he has a completely different body frame than both. That's a big deal when you're talking about big men. It also means that Kaman and Edwards had easier times gaining position down low, boxing out opposing big men, and using their size in general on both offense and defense. Zeke has trouble getting position down low on offense, and gets pushed around by smaller (but bigger) posts all the time. If Zeke comes back as a junior and weighs 240-250, I'll agree with the comparison. Until then, the comparison isn't a good one aside from a few similar statistics.

I'm not saying Zeke can't/won't get better. The potential is definitely there. I'm just saying that it's just as likely that he turns into a nice, but not great college player. He'll surely get a shot at the NBA because of his height alone. I just don't think he sticks like Chris Kaman has.

I'm remembering why I don't post here much. Instead of Zips fans agreeing to disagree, we have to puff our chests out and insult each other. "And you will have learned"...lol...alright chief.