Men's Basketball '11 - '12

[Dave in Green]

Darn! VCU apparently bought the line that the Zips are a sweet 16 team, and Shaka came up with special training to prepare the Rams for their trip to Akron:VCU undergoes surprise SEAL training

[Districtballer]

Darn! VCU apparently bought the line that the Zips are a sweet 16 team, and Shaka came up with special training to prepare the Rams for their trip to Akron:VCU undergoes surprise SEAL training

Haha ESPN picked up on it as well in addition to the CBS article: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballn...-seal-treatmentThey'll be doing water exercises tomorrow in the James River. There should be a video feature on Hell Week coming out by VCUAthletics and I'll share that for your viewing pleasure. Here are some pictures of the exercises so far: Day 1: http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/20...otos/0001/indexDay 2: http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/20...otos/0002/indexWe're going to be pretty good according to people who would know. Better than maybe I was expecting. Our game should be a good one!

[akzipper]

MODERATOR EDIT: {Unnecessary comment deleted .. other fans are welcome here.}Looking at our Schedule we're going to be 7-9 heading into MAC play. Just by the guesses as to who we play in the 2k tournament.for the rest of the OOCJohn Carroll - WHiram - WDetroit - WWVU - LMT - WCSU - LArkansas PB - WFlorida A&M - WYSU - LNC A&T - WVCU - LMarshall - L

[akronzips71]

MODERATOR EDIT: {Unnecessary comment deleted .. other fans are welcome here.}Looking at our Schedule we're going to be 7-9 heading into MAC play. Just by the guesses as to who we play in the 2k tournament.for the rest of the OOCJohn Carroll - WHiram - WDetroit - WWVU - LMT - WCSU - LArkansas PB - WFlorida A&M - WYSU - LNC A&T - WVCU - LMarshall - L

WOW talk about negative vibes. We are gonna be GOOD this year.

[ZachTheZip]

Winners win, whiners whine. Whiners should stay out of the JAR. We have enough old curmudgeons yelling at us for making noise or standing after a big play as it is.And we will NOT lose to freaking YSU or Marshall. Please.

[Districtballer]

Winners win, whiners whine. Whiners should stay out of the JAR. We have enough old curmudgeons yelling at us for making noise or standing after a big play as it is.And we will NOT lose to freaking YSU or Marshall. Please.

Marshall's going to be good this year. They are the favorite in C-USA over Memphis this season. Losing that game is a definite possibility. It'll be easier to beat VCU than it will be to beat Marshall next year. I think they would take us to be perfectly honest. I agree, no way you lose to YSU and I do think VCU is beatable this year with so much turnover. It seems the preseason pubs are giving us top 50 love, but until the young talent pans out on the court it's just hype. We have one proven piece in Brad Burgess and the rest are a bunch of guys who showed great promise and a lot of upside, but that's it. I'll be able to better say once I see them play in a real game against other D1 teams. For now, I say we lose the Akron game. When you have 10 freshmen/sophomores, that's the safe bet. The fan in me says we beat you, the reasonable objective part says probably not. Cleveland St. loses Norris Cole but return some nice pieces they had around him. It remains to be seen if they can win without him though. I saw them play Old Dominion in the Bracketbuster and I think he went off for something like 40 and they still got blown out. Their whole game revolved around him. I can see you guys pulling that out. Detroit has a takeover type of guy in Ray McCallum and a solid big who transferred from Indiana in Eli Holman. Depending on McCallum, you may or not win that game. If he's on, you probably lose. That's speaks more to the talent that McCallum is then anything about Akron. He's damn good. That's a toss-up in my mind because without him, they are very beatable. I agree that that the WVU game is likely a loss. I could see you guys going 10-2 with losses to West Virginia and Marshall next year. It's really not that much of a stretch in my mind.

[Dave in Green]

Winners win, whiners whine. Whiners should stay out of the JAR. We have enough old curmudgeons yelling at us for making noise or standing after a big play as it is. .....

Zach, this old curmudgeon will help you shout the old wet blankets out of the JAR. If they want everyone to stay quiet and seated, they should be attending a symphony orchestra performance somewhere.

[Quickzips]

MODERATOR EDIT: {Unnecessary comment deleted .. other fans are welcome here.}Looking at our Schedule we're going to be 7-9 heading into MAC play. Just by the guesses as to who we play in the 2k tournament.for the rest of the OOCJohn Carroll - WHiram - WDetroit - WWVU - LMT - WCSU - LArkansas PB - WFlorida A&M - WYSU - LNC A&T - WVCU - LMarshall - L

From what I can see, best case scenario has us at 13-3, worst case scenario would be about 9-7. That is factoring in what we know of the 2K sports classic (Miss. State, Valpo., Duquesne and an opponent to be named later). I would break it down this way:As close to a sure thing victory as you can get:John CarrolHiramArkansas Pine BluffFlorida A&MYSUNC A&TUnnamed 2K sports opponent who will likely be a lower division schoolGames I expect to be competitive:DetroitMTSUCSUVCUMarshallValpoDuquesneGames we will be underdogs needing a significant effort to win:WVUMiss. StateTo me that is 7 games you should win, hands down. If we drop one or more of those 7 games you should expect to see this board go into meltdown. In an average season we ought to at least split the competitive games. That alone is another 3-4 W's putting us at 10 wins. If this team is as good as advertised, and hits the ground running, it should be more. Then you have WVU and Miss. State, which in most years you would be able to pencil in as two losses. However, again, if this team is as good as advertised...Needless to say, I think 7-9 is HIGHLY pessimistic. Quite frankly, if this team goes 7-9 in the OOC season it would be a significant disappointment, and you will likely see the KD detractors coming out of the woodwork.

[Doug Snyder]

Why are we considering John Carrol?? That is an exhibtion game. What am I missing??

[Quickzips]

Why are we considering John Carrol?? That is an exhibtion game. What am I missing??

Fair enough, but my point stands either way.

[Districtballer]

FWIW, Lindy's came out with their 2011-2012 college basketball preview and put out a top 40 preseason national ranking. Mississipi St. (30), Marshall (34), and VCU (39) made the list.

[johnnyzip84]

FWIW, Lindy's came out with their 2011-2012 college basketball preview and put out a top 40 preseason national ranking. Mississipi St. (30), Marshall (34), and VCU (39) made the list.

Thanks for the info! Nobody can scream weak schedule this year.

[Districtballer]

ESPN put out an article on some national sleepers this year and Marshall and Detroit both made that list: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball...lege-basketball

Marshall: The Thundering Herd haven't been to the NCAA tournament since 1987 but are knocking on the door after back-to-back 20-plus-win seasons. There's a feeling among Conference USA insiders that this program is ready to lift off. Second-year coach Tom Herrion returns his high-scoring backcourt of Damier Pitts (16.2 ppg) and DeAndre Kane (15.1), and the team also added 6-9 JC All-American Robert Goff, who was given his scholarship release following a coaching change at Oklahoma. Besides clear C-USA favorite Memphis, there is room for Marshall to go dancing at season's end.

Detroit: Now that Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack have left Butler, it's hardly a stretch to call Ray McCallum's Detroit squad the most talented team in the Horizon League. McCallum's son, Ray Jr., turned down a host of elite offers to play for his dad last season. McCallum's big man, Eli Holman, is a former Indiana prospect who followed the coach to Detroit and has developed into a bona fide low-post threat. Don't go predicting the demise of the Dogs just yet -- but keep a prudent eye on these talented Titans

[ZippyforPresident]

From what I can see, best case scenario has us at 13-3, worst case scenario would be about 9-7. That is factoring in what we know of the 2K sports classic (Miss. State, Valpo., Duquesne and an opponent to be named later). I would break it down this way:As close to a sure thing victory as you can get:John CarrolHiramArkansas Pine BluffFlorida A&MYSUNC A&TUnnamed 2K sports opponent who will likely be a lower division schoolGames I expect to be competitive:DetroitMTSUCSUVCUMarshallValpoDuquesneGames we will be underdogs needing a significant effort to win:WVUMiss. StateTo me that is 7 games you should win, hands down. If we drop one or more of those 7 games you should expect to see this board go into meltdown. In an average season we ought to at least split the competitive games. That alone is another 3-4 W's putting us at 10 wins. If this team is as good as advertised, and hits the ground running, it should be more. Then you have WVU and Miss. State, which in most years you would be able to pencil in as two losses. However, again, if this team is as good as advertised...Needless to say, I think 7-9 is HIGHLY pessimistic. Quite frankly, if this team goes 7-9 in the OOC season it would be a significant disappointment, and you will likely see the KD detractors coming out of the woodwork.

Nice way to break it down, QZ. I'd say your analysis is pretty spot on. Knowing that the Zips always seem to start kind of slow out of the gate some of those 2k sports classic games could prove to be quite a battle. But at least Marshall is at the end of the OOC slate, so the team should be a little more cohesive at that point. Hopefully the Canadian trip pays dividends and the team comes out firing on all cylinders right from the start. Having the extra game experience and practice time makes me feel a little better about facing Miss. State that early in the season.

[Districtballer]

Darn! VCU apparently bought the line that the Zips are a sweet 16 team, and Shaka came up with special training to prepare the Rams for their trip to Akron:VCU undergoes surprise SEAL training

Haha ESPN picked up on it as well in addition to the CBS article: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballn...-seal-treatmentThey'll be doing water exercises tomorrow in the James River. There should be a video feature on Hell Week coming out by VCUAthletics and I'll share that for your viewing pleasure. Here are some pictures of the exercises so far: Day 1: http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/20...otos/0001/indexDay 2: http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/20...otos/0002/indexWe're going to be pretty good according to people who would know. Better than maybe I was expecting. Our game should be a good one!

Here's Day 3 of the water exercises: http://vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2011-1...otos/0004/index...and here's a 9 minute video piece on the overall 3-day SEAL 'Hell Week':

I have no doubt this team may not be the most talented, but they are certainly one of the most fit and toughest squads out there.

[Roo]

Darn! VCU apparently bought the line that the Zips are a sweet 16 team, and Shaka came up with special training to prepare the Rams for their trip to Akron:VCU undergoes surprise SEAL training

Haha ESPN picked up on it as well in addition to the CBS article: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballn...-seal-treatmentThey'll be doing water exercises tomorrow in the James River. There should be a video feature on Hell Week coming out by VCUAthletics and I'll share that for your viewing pleasure. Here are some pictures of the exercises so far: Day 1: http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/20...otos/0001/indexDay 2: http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/20...otos/0002/indexWe're going to be pretty good according to people who would know. Better than maybe I was expecting. Our game should be a good one!

Here's Day 3 of the water exercises: http://vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2011-1...otos/0004/index...and here's a 9 minute video piece on the overall 3-day SEAL 'Hell Week':

I have no doubt this team may not be the most talented, but they are certainly one of the most fit and toughest squads out there.

Hate to break it to ya, but almost every team in America does that or something similar. Hell, I did it at DII NAIA.

[Districtballer]

Darn! VCU apparently bought the line that the Zips are a sweet 16 team, and Shaka came up with special training to prepare the Rams for their trip to Akron:VCU undergoes surprise SEAL training

Haha ESPN picked up on it as well in addition to the CBS article: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballn...-seal-treatmentThey'll be doing water exercises tomorrow in the James River. There should be a video feature on Hell Week coming out by VCUAthletics and I'll share that for your viewing pleasure. Here are some pictures of the exercises so far: Day 1: http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/20...otos/0001/indexDay 2: http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/20...otos/0002/indexWe're going to be pretty good according to people who would know. Better than maybe I was expecting. Our game should be a good one!

Here's Day 3 of the water exercises: http://vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2011-1...otos/0004/index...and here's a 9 minute video piece on the overall 3-day SEAL 'Hell Week':

I have no doubt this team may not be the most talented, but they are certainly one of the most fit and toughest squads out there.

Hate to break it to ya, but almost every team in America does that or something similar. Hell, I did it at DII NAIA.

Fair enough. I haven't seen many national articles on other schools doing it, but that's probably just us being the flavor of the month. Regardless, our superior fitness/toughness level was on full display this past March when we ran off a bunch of BCS teams. A lot of those squads looked like middle-aged guys at a YMCA by the end of the game.

[Dave in Green]

If a lot of teams are doing what VCU is doing, then maybe VCU has a better PR department to get the national coverage. Of course there are the additional points that being a Final Four team helps get extra media attention, and, of course, the Navy SEAL connection is also good for media coverage in the wake of what they accomplished this year.

[Districtballer]

If a lot of teams are doing what VCU is doing, then maybe VCU has a better PR department to get the national coverage. Of course there are the additional points that being a Final Four team helps get extra media attention, and, of course, the Navy SEAL connection is also good for media coverage in the wake of what they accomplished this year.

Very true. The goal with these exercises is probably more team-building and mental than it is physical in nature. Those are intangibles that are tough to teach on the court. I think it's a cool thing that every team should do, and I hope Roo is right when he says it's common throughout college sports. It seems like a good way to forge unity, teamwork and mental toughness. I'm willing to bet Dambrot is no slouch with this stuff either. Those kids are working hard. You have to in order to be able to have the kind of success Akron's been having.

[tpsjugglerdude]

Our schedule is 100x better than OU's

http://www.ohiobobcats.com/sports/m-baskbl...skbl-sched.html

Did we ever figure out what the 4th game for the tourney is?

[GoZips]

Our schedule is 100x better than OU's

http://www.ohiobobcats.com/sports/m-baskbl...skbl-sched.html

Did we ever figure out what the 4th game for the tourney is?

This is a little difficult to explain. The tourney people mismanaged scheduling.

Akron is playing at Middle Tennessee as the fourth game. The up side of this

Akron and Middle signed a four game home-n-home contract. Thus, Middle

will be on Akron's schedule for the next four years.

BTW, Dayton is NOT on our schedule for 2011-12.

[Dave in Green]

The bad thing about scheduling Middle Tennessee State for the next four seasons is that their final RPI for the last four seasons has steadily fallen from 115 (2007-08) to 170 (2008-09) to 186 (2009-10) to 216 (2010-11).

So MTSU over the past four seasons has gone from the equivalent of a fairly strong MAC East team to the equivalent of a middling MAC West team.

I suppose this might be considered a fairly decent thing if MTSU replaces one of the 300+ RPI OOC games on the Zips' schedule.

[Zipmeister]

Our schedule is 100x better than OU's

http://www.ohiobobcats.com/sports/m-baskbl...skbl-sched.html

Did we ever figure out what the 4th game for the tourney is?

That is one pathetic OOC schedule. They should have a heck of a record to start the conference season.

[GoZips]

The bad thing about scheduling Middle Tennessee State for the next four seasons is that their final RPI for the last four seasons has steadily fallen from 115 (2007-08) to 170 (2008-09) to 186 (2009-10) to 216 (2010-11).

So MTSU over the past four seasons has gone from the equivalent of a fairly strong MAC East team to the equivalent of a middling MAC West team.

I suppose this might be considered a fairly decent thing if MTSU replaces one of the 300+ RPI OOC games on the Zips' schedule.

The good thing about playing MTSU for the next four years is that MTSU is on the up swing.

According to the The Sporting News "MTSU (16-16 overall, 10-6 Sun Belt) lost leading

scorer James Washington to graduation, but the Blue Raiders' experience runs deep with

six key returnees who logged significant starts last season. Leading the way is Jason Jones

(13.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg), a 6-6 wingman, and 6-8 forward J.T. Sutton (9.3, 5.0). Middle Tennessee

looks to be Florida Atlantic's top foe in the East (division), especially if transfers Torin Walker

(Oklahoma State) and LaRon Dendy (Iowa State) pan out."

Reads to me like they have reloaded quite well. MTSU certainly is a better opponent than a

300+ RPI team.

[Dave in Green]

@GoZips, that would be great if MTSU is on the rise and gets back closer to the 100 RPI level. I hope they win their conference and go to the NCAA tournament ,,,,, after they lose to the Zips.