Nik Cvetinovic

[Akron1]

According to Elton in the PD, Nik is coming back for his senior year.

[Dr Z]

Nice find Akron1, I didn't click on that story since it seemed to be about the Vikings. This could have been a story by itself if someone interviewed Nik about it!?!?

He’ll be back: Akron men’s basketball coach Keith Dambrot confirmed earlier this week that 6-8 power forward Nik Cvetinovic will return for his senior season, which should make the Zips, winners of the MAC Tournament, and two-time winners over rival Can't State last season, odds-on favorites to win it all in 2011-12.

The Zips did lose one player to transfer, 6-8 Dakotah Euton, but that will be offset by a pair of experienced transfers in 6-5 swingman Chauncy Gilliam from Maryland-Baltimore County, and 6-4 point guard Brian Walsh from Xavier.

[Quickzips]

Best news we've had around here since the end of the season. I don't think there is anyone on zipsnation who really wanted to see Nik leave with one more year of eligibility left. With the Serb the Zips have to be the odds on favorite going in to next season. This will be his team next year from a leadership standpoint. Should be a fun season.

Sucks that we won't get to see how Euton pans out, but I can't really blame him. There has to be a lot of disappointment with how his freshman year was handled. Now that you have Nik back his prospects for playing time looked bleak again next year. All indications at the end of the year were that Josh Egner was ahead of him on the depth chart anyways. Not to mention the expected additions of Treadwell and Harney. Probably best for both parties to move on. I think the bigger question now is whether or not Treadwell and Harney will both be put on scholarship. If either or both have to pay their own way for a year or so (ala Daryl Roberts) it could open up a late scholarship or two for the Zips this year.

[Zipmeister]

Nice find Akron1, I didn't click on that story since it seemed to be about the Vikings. This could have been a story by itself it someone interviewed Nik about it!?!?

He’ll be back: Akron men’s basketball coach Keith Dambrot confirmed earlier this week that 6-8 power forward Nik Cvetinovic will return for his senior season, which should make the Zips, winners of the MAC Tournament, and two-time winners over rival Can't State last season, odds-on favorites to win it all in 2011-12.

The Zips did lose one player to transfer, 6-8 Dakotah Euton, but that will be offset by a pair of experienced transfers in 6-5 swingman Chauncy Gilliam from Maryland-Baltimore County, and 6-4 point guard Brian Walsh from Xavier.

Does it take both Gilliam and Walsh to offset the loss of Euton? Just how slow of foot are these guys?

[Captain Kangaroo]

Does it take both Gilliam and Walsh to offset the loss of Euton? Just how slow of foot are these guys?

Euton was a sloth...on the rare occasion he got off the bench during garbage-time, the kid moved like he was an 80-year old who'd moved piano's his entire life.

Maybe he was injured...who knows.

I believe his departure evens-out our scholarship situation? It will be interesting tonight to learn if there are any other newcomers-of-note (as hinted by Frenchy at season's end).

[ZachTheZip]

Glad to see Nik is coming back. Our frontcourt is going to be pretty impressive.

Our scholarship situation is a little confusing. We graduated four seniors on scholarships and had one transfer leave. That means 5 scholarships are open. We have two incoming freshmen and two players who sat out academically. But we also have the two transfers who were on the roster. If both transfers were on scholarship last year, that means we still have one 2011 scholarship to give. Does anyone know if our transfers were on scholarship or if they had to pay their own way last season?

[Hilltopper]

I would imagine that we may find out more tonight about who is coming and going.

[Zip Watcher]

Glad to see Nik is coming back. Our frontcourt is going to be pretty impressive.

Our scholarship situation is a little confusing. We graduated four seniors on scholarships and had one transfer leave. That means 5 scholarships are open. We have two incoming freshmen and two players who sat out academically. But we also have the two transfers who were on the roster. If both transfers were on scholarship last year, that means we still have one 2011 scholarship to give. Does anyone know if our transfers were on scholarship or if they had to pay their own way last season?

It is my understanding that one of the transfers paid his own way this academic year.

Go Zips!!

B) B)

[Quickzips]

Glad to see Nik is coming back. Our frontcourt is going to be pretty impressive.

Our scholarship situation is a little confusing. We graduated four seniors on scholarships and had one transfer leave. That means 5 scholarships are open. We have two incoming freshmen and two players who sat out academically. But we also have the two transfers who were on the roster. If both transfers were on scholarship last year, that means we still have one 2011 scholarship to give. Does anyone know if our transfers were on scholarship or if they had to pay their own way last season?

I don't believe both transfers were on scholarship last year. If I am thinking correctly the scholarship situation looks like this (remember we can have 13 players on scholarship each year)

Abreu

Cvetinovic

Diggs

Egner

Ibitayo

Justice

Gilliam

Green

Marshall

McClanahan

Walsh

*Harney

*Treadwell

If Harney and Treadwell qualify and are given scholarships immediately we are full up. If one or both of them fails to qualify or isn't given a scholarship immediatly we could have an open scholarship or two. It all depends on Nick and Demetrius getting it done in the classroom and KD deciding whether or not those guys are deserving of a full ride or if they will need to pay their own way a year or two.

If we do have a scholarship or two available I would like to see us try and find a JUCO C who can come in and spell Zeke and/or a JUCO PG who can serve as the backup to Abreu (I won't be completely sold on Walsh as our backup PG until I see it in person).

[ZachTheZip]

Glad to see Nik is coming back. Our frontcourt is going to be pretty impressive.

Our scholarship situation is a little confusing. We graduated four seniors on scholarships and had one transfer leave. That means 5 scholarships are open. We have two incoming freshmen and two players who sat out academically. But we also have the two transfers who were on the roster. If both transfers were on scholarship last year, that means we still have one 2011 scholarship to give. Does anyone know if our transfers were on scholarship or if they had to pay their own way last season?

It is my understanding that one of the transfers paid his own way this academic year.

Go Zips!!

B) B)

If one did and one did not, then the scholarships are all set, assuming everyone qualifies.

[Blue & Gold]

Do we have any new information or updates from those able to attend tonight's basketball celebration?

[Dave in Green]

While I enjoyed the evening's activities and spoke with a number of people, I have to say I didn't really hear anything new that hasn't already been discussed on ZN.O. Maybe someone else did and will share it here.

I did get a kick out of Steve McNees stretching out his remarks as if he didn't ever want to leave. He made it very clear that he loves UA, loves the locker room, loves the bus rides, loves his teammates, loves everything about Zips basketball. His parting comment was that he hopes KD will someday hire him as an assistant.

[skip-zip]

While I enjoyed the evening's activities and spoke with a number of people, I have to say I didn't really hear anything new that hasn't already been discussed on ZN.O. Maybe someone else did and will share it here.

I did get a kick out of Steve McNees stretching out his remarks as if he didn't ever want to leave. He made it very clear that he loves UA, loves the locker room, loves the bus rides, loves his teammates, loves everything about Zips basketball. His parting comment was that he hopes KD will someday hire him as an assistant.

I was especially touched by his emotion when he talked about the great sacrifices made by his family to support him. He's a class act, for sure.

[GoZips]

While I enjoyed the evening's activities and spoke with a number of people, I have to say I didn't really hear anything new that hasn't already been discussed on ZN.O. Maybe someone else did and will share it here.

I did get a kick out of Steve McNees stretching out his remarks as if he didn't ever want to leave. He made it very clear that he loves UA, loves the locker room, loves the bus rides, loves his teammates, loves everything about Zips basketball. His parting comment was that he hopes KD will someday hire him as an assistant.

Steve is finishing up his Master's. That probably makes it tough to offer him a Grad Assistant position.

Not clear on this. GA's can only be GA's for two years. Thus, Willie McGee is probably seeking a

coaching job. That opens a GA spot, but, can Steve be a GA already possessing a Masters?

From what Steve told a group of us he is currently looking at the high school ranks as a possible

starter job. Where ever he lands he will succeed and do well.

I thought that I was the only one who thought his shot block at the end of the Cant game was his

signature statement. Turns out that several folks thought the same. Even KD spoke about how high

Steve skyed on that block. It had to be a foot more than his listed thirty-one inch vertical.

I spent several minutes with a number of players and former players. Jeremiah Wood misses us,

and solemnly promises to finish his degree. Cedric Middleton was as dapper as ever and teaching

youngsters basketball. Perhaps someone can find him a bonafide job that can support him.

D-Robb was delightful to chat with. His future plans are not developed. Like the others he looks

for great success for the Zips.

Spoke with Nick Harney. He was the tall kid in a Zips basketball tee shirt busing tables. Nick is

one impressive young man. He is more man than boy. Look for him to have an immediate

impact next season. He is well spoken and strongly goal oriented. Did not see Treadwell;

though I was told that he is doing just as well as Harney. Two stud players that will help

take the Zips deep into the NCAA tourney.

Talked with Chauncey Gilliam and his parents. Chauncey is ready to play. His mother is as rabid a

fan as I am. I am looking forward to having her in our section. Brian Walsh was surprisingly shorter

than I expected. Michael Green on the other hand is huge. Alex is all smiles and just happy to

be here. I think he knows the point is his.

Lastly I spoke with Quincy Diggs. Like Harney Q is immediately likeable, goal oriented and

not overly serious about himself. He joked about his temper and the need to harness all that

energy. Q set a long list of goals for himself. You can find it on the dry erase board in coach

Weigand's office. Q knows that developing as an outstanding defensive player is key to earning

his minutes. He also likes the idea of being that sixth man we so badly need. He sees that

it gives him the opportunity to play multiple positions which is something he enjoys. I was

asked to name the greatest sixth man of all time by a Zips coach. The answer is John Havlicek.

Surprisingly, Quincy knows who Havlicek is. Knocked my socks off.

The rotation has to be awesome. Front court key players: Zeke, Nik, Josh and Demetrius.

Back court in no particular order: Diggs, McClanahan, Abreu, Walsh, Gilliam, Harney.

It is going to be a fun year.

Oh, and if Bardo does not marry Candy ... he's nuts.

[K92]

Thank you Gozips for the awesome update.

[Hilltopper]

Great post GoZips! I'm starting to think that the sixth man might be Q's best chance to make a big impact for the Zips.

[Dave in Green]

Good stuff, GoZips.

Just a couple of additional observations. Tree was walking around with Q early in the evening. Q is listed at 6-6 and looks it. Tree appeared to be a couple of inches taller than Q, and looked to be a little bulkier than Harney. That figures, as their listed HS heights and weights were 6-6, 195 for Harney and 6-7, 210 for Treadwell, and they're probably both still filling out. Tree has been quoted as saying he'd like to be 6-8, 240. It looks as if he may be close to 6-8, and his body type may be able to handle 240. Seeing Jeremiah Wood there reminded me of how much the Zips miss his playing style. If Tree can approach that, he would obviously be a big boost for the Zips.

You mention Harney playing in the backcourt, and that's a new one for me. Everything I read about Harney's HS game is that he's an athletic small forward who's a good slasher who primarily scores within 17 feet, and that his jump shot is not as good as his work around the rim. He's also supposed to be a good rebounder, which is something the Zips could use more of. So Harney's HS strengths point more toward frontcourt than backcourt, and the Zips appear to have greater need in the frontcourt than the backcourt.

[Quickzips]

I've been under the impression that Harney would be more SF and Tree would be more PF. I don't expect to see either of them playing too much on the wings. If Tree is up to 6'8" and 240lb I actually wouldn't be surprised to see him play a little bit at C. We have such a wealth of depth at the PF position, and nobody to really back up Zeke at C. KD is going to have to get creative in order to get all of these guys (Nik, Egner, Tree, Harney) some playing time, and moving one or more of them to the backup C position would seem to be a good way to create playing time and give Zeke a few minutes of rest.

Everything I hear about Diggs' commitment to improving this offseason sounds very positive. I think a lot of us forget that this kid was just a 19 year old true sophomore last year. I think sometimes people just assume that because he transfered in he must already be a few years removed from high school, but with everything that went down at New Orleans that isn't the case. If Q really does have the work ethic to achieve some of those goals the sky is the limit for this kid.

[Dave in Green]

Quickzips, just want to be clear that Tree doesn't look to be up to 240 yet. That was just one of his wishes in HS -- that he wanted to grow from 6-6, 210 to 6-8, 240 in college. From seeing him next to Q, I'm guessing he's now close to 6-8 and maybe 220-225.

I don't see not having a backup true center as a major problem. True centers aren't that common in college. Many colleges don't even have one true center, and have to rely on one or more power forwards. Those that do have one true center have to rely on a PF when their center is on the bench. There were times last season when both Zeke and Bardo were on the bench and the Zips were without a true center on the floor.

Thanke to the Serb returning for his senior season, the Zips do appear to have enough good-sized forwards that they can have a competitive lineup on the floor when Zeke is resting on the bench. The Zips will also have enough good-sized guards that having three guards on the floor would not represent a major height deficit from playing three frontcourt players and two guards.

[Quickzips]

Thanke to the Serb returning for his senior season, the Zips do appear to have enough good-sized forwards that they can have a competitive lineup on the floor when Zeke is resting on the bench. The Zips will also have enough good-sized guards that having three guards on the floor would not represent a major height deficit from playing three frontcourt players and two guards.

Pretty much what I was getting at with the idea to play Tree some at C. Sorry if I didn't come across as clear as I could have. One thing is for sure, with all the talent we seem to have on the roster right now, KD is going to have some interesting decisions to make regarding playing time next year.

[GoZips]

When I listed Harney as a back court player notice that I also included Brett McClanahan.

I suppose you could consider the small forward (Harney's position) as either part of the front

court or part of the back court. I just wanted to distinguish that the power forward and center

positions are front court.

Flip a coin to determine if the small forward or often the third guard is fore court or back court.

You can call me Ray. Or, you can call me Jay. But you don't have to be calling me late for dinner.

[Dave in Green]

Basketball has really changed from when I first got interested in it back in the 1950s. Back then each of the five positions was clearly defined and compartmentalized. It used to be really simple to think in terms of one player as the center, one a power (rebounding) forward, one a small (shooting) forward, one a shooting guard and one a point guard. Now many of the players are much more multi-dimensional, and there are many more options available. My memory is failing me right now, but I recall seeing one college team this season that had a single frontcourt player and four guards on the floor for much of the game. Notre Dame essentially started what looked to me like a point/shooting guard and four forwards.

The bottom line in any sport is to win, and there's no fixed formula for winning. Smaller college programs especially have to be a lot more flexible, because they can't always get one each of the traditional five positions. So you just take the best you can get, figure out which players work best together on the court, and go from there.

One thing for sure about the Zips this season is that they have one pure point guard in Abreu and one pure center in Zeke. Beyond that, all the rest of the players can play multiple roles. The bigger forwards can play some center and the smaller forwards and shooting guards can all play wing. Some of the shooting guards can also function as PGs.

I have to believe that KD is going to have a lot of fun, as well as a lot of frustration, in trying to figure out who goes where at what time to give the Zips the best chance of winning.

[xu9697]

Basketball has really changed from when I first got interested in it back in the 1950s. Back then each of the five positions was clearly defined and compartmentalized. It used to be really simple to think in terms of one player as the center, one a power (rebounding) forward, one a small (shooting) forward, one a shooting guard and one a point guard. Now many of the players are much more multi-dimensional, and there are many more options available. My memory is failing me right now, but I recall seeing one college team this season that had a single frontcourt player and four guards on the floor for much of the game. Notre Dame essentially started what looked to me like a point/shooting guard and four forwards.

The bottom line in any sport is to win, and there's no fixed formula for winning. Smaller college programs especially have to be a lot more flexible, because they can't always get one each of the traditional five positions. So you just take the best you can get, figure out which players work best together on the court, and go from there.

One thing for sure about the Zips this season is that they have one pure point guard in Abreu and one pure center in Zeke. Beyond that, all the rest of the players can play multiple roles. The bigger forwards can play some center and the smaller forwards and shooting guards can all play wing. Some of the shooting guards can also function as PGs.

I have to believe that KD is going to have a lot of fun, as well as a lot of frustration, in trying to figure out who goes where at what time to give the Zips the best chance of winning.

Michigan played quite a bit with 4 guards and 1 big..and, actually, 5 guards at times.

I think this year might be a year where KD actually gives big minutes to 4 guys= Zeke, Nik, Abreu and Q. Foul trouble will definitely affect some of that, but I think these 4 will be on the floor a great deal this year.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I think this year might be a year where KD actually gives big minutes to 4 guys= Zeke, Nik, Abreu and Q. Foul trouble will definitely affect some of that, but I think these 4 will be on the floor a great deal this year.

Son of a gun...and my sources were telling me the big minutes in 2011-12 were going to Peterson, Oldham, Green and Ibitayo? Who knew?

[Quickzips]

Basketball has really changed from when I first got interested in it back in the 1950s. Back then each of the five positions was clearly defined and compartmentalized. It used to be really simple to think in terms of one player as the center, one a power (rebounding) forward, one a small (shooting) forward, one a shooting guard and one a point guard. Now many of the players are much more multi-dimensional, and there are many more options available. My memory is failing me right now, but I recall seeing one college team this season that had a single frontcourt player and four guards on the floor for much of the game. Notre Dame essentially started what looked to me like a point/shooting guard and four forwards.

The bottom line in any sport is to win, and there's no fixed formula for winning. Smaller college programs especially have to be a lot more flexible, because they can't always get one each of the traditional five positions. So you just take the best you can get, figure out which players work best together on the court, and go from there.

One thing for sure about the Zips this season is that they have one pure point guard in Abreu and one pure center in Zeke. Beyond that, all the rest of the players can play multiple roles. The bigger forwards can play some center and the smaller forwards and shooting guards can all play wing. Some of the shooting guards can also function as PGs.

I have to believe that KD is going to have a lot of fun, as well as a lot of frustration, in trying to figure out who goes where at what time to give the Zips the best chance of winning.

Michigan played quite a bit with 4 guards and 1 big..and, actually, 5 guards at times.

I think this year might be a year where KD actually gives big minutes to 4 guys= Zeke, Nik, Abreu and Q. Foul trouble will definitely affect some of that, but I think these 4 will be on the floor a great deal this year.

Heck in a lot of ways you just described the 2010-2011 Can't State team. For the most part they were Justin Greene and 4 SG/SF types.