Exhibition Opener

[Quickzips]

Surprised this thread hasn't been started yet considering the expectations for this years group and the downright crummy performance on the gridiron again this year.Let's be honest here. John Carroll is not likely to have much of a chance in this one. Like most exhibition games, this should be more about KD getting plenty of playing time for everyone, trying different combinations, and seeing what he has against a different opponent as opposed to intersquad scrimmages. Here is what I will be looking for out of this years squad:Is Zeke Marshall ready to take the next step? We've seen glimpses of the potential that made Zeke the most heralded recruit in MAC history, but we've yet to see him put it all together, particularly on the offensive end. You can expect Zeke to look good against an overmatched John Carroll team. The question I have is with his comfort level. Will we see a more decisive, aggressive Zeke on the offensive end of the floor, or will we continue to see the tenative, unsure Zeke when the ball is in his hands?Can Alex Abreu handle the pressue of being the man? Alex had some of his worst games of the year last year when he was inserted into the starting lineup and asked to play more minutes. Physically he did not look ready for it. Does Alex have the conditioning and the mental fortitude to handle being the trigger man for 25-30 minutes a night? Without another true PG on the roster he better be. How will the new guys fit in? These exhibition games usually give you a pretty good indicator of where all the newcomers are at. If a guy plays early and gets 15-20+ minutes you can expect that he will have a chance to be in the rotation during the season. If a guy doesn't get minutes until the second half and sees mostly garbage time, you can expect he is in line for a redshirt. You have to expect that Walsh and Gilliam will play, as neither are eligible for a redshirt. But what of Nick Harney? Demetrius Treadwell? Blake Justice? Do we have anything in Josh Egner? Let's be honest, Egner's redshirt year was wasted for the most part last year. He showed some potential at times, but didn't get enough minutes to make a fair evaluation. In the little time that he played he showed great energy, but had a tendency to look like he was right on the edge of being out of control. Without Brett McKnight and Mike Bardo there are plenty of minutes to fill in the frontcourt. It would be nice if Egner could step up and take a good chunk of those minutes.Is Michael Green worth the roster spot? In the little we saw of him last year before the redshirt came, Green looked a step slow and a pound light to be playing at this level IMO. Reports on him have been positive so far this offseason, but the SF spot looks to be one of the most competitive on the team. If Green gets any playing time at all this year, he is going to have to earn it.Can Quincy Diggs live up to the potential? We all saw those moments last year when Q made you salivate with what this kid is capable of. But we also saw the moments that made us all pound our heads into the wall. The physical part of the game is not the issue with Q, it is the mental side of things. Can he eliminate the mental mistakes and the tendency to get frustrated and lose his cool, or will his head keep him from reaching hs full potential?Senior leadership. The Zips lost a lot of it this offseason, but the presence of Nik Cvetinovic and Brett McClanahan gives me reason to believe that we have enough guys in the locker room to take care of business. Nik passed up the opportunity to make a living in his home country, with his family and his fiancee by his side to return for his senior season. This group of guys better not let down one of the more well liked Zips in recent history.

[Dave in Green]

We've pretty much been discussing most of these things in other threads except how they might relate directly to John Carroll.I'll say that after watching a Zips basketball practice last week, they've come a long way since the last practice I saw prior to the Canadian trip. But there's also still plenty of room for growth, especially with the younger players.Anyone like me who took catnaps when the Zips were running their novacaine offense last season should get their naps in before this season's games. These guys were run, run, run, running their butts off in practice. Everything was moving so fast that I actually found myself more engaged in the practice than I was at some of the games last season. I think the Zips are going to be playing my kind of basketball this season. I'm really anticipating the return of Zips basketball this week as I love to watch fast-moving, aggressive basketball.One of the cool things about watching practice was to see Matt Futch playing hard D against Zeke. Matt was using his substantial body to move Zeke around while he was trying to shoot, simulating what Zeke will be facing from competitors this season. Zeke was handling it pretty well, so the experience against Matt is obviously helping. It was also nice to meet Matt for the first time. He's a great addition to the Zips' coaching staff in more ways than one.Overall, the Zips are going to be more athletic this season, but probably less disciplined, which will contribute to KD's aging process. This will lead to some spectacular moments as well as some frustrating ones. The athletic players are going to need to learn enough discipline to give them the right balance to be consistent winners.One thing I found interesting was the Serb's focus on outside shooting. He has obviously been practicing a lot on his outside shot, and it looks much better. He's not going to be a designated 3-point shooter. But there's no reason to hold your breath every time he shoots from more than 12 feet. He stayed long after formal practice ended working on that outside shot, so he's obviously serious about being a more complete player. His senior leadership will be important along with the other senior, Nitro.You can only tell so much from practice, though, so it's going to be educational to see how all the players perform against John Carroll. It's easy to blow off an "easy" game against a "weak" opponent like John Carroll unless you've paid attention to GoZips' post about D2 Seattle Pacific upsetting 16th-ranked Arizona in their first game of the season. When this was mentioned to KD, you could almost see the stomach acid flooding through his system.The best part of attending the Zips' practice was how KD came over and sat down with us after practice and spent a half hour discussing basketball. He's really a great person, and anyone who doesn't appreciate what he means to Zips basketball is just not aware of all the facts. KD's assistants are all wonderful people, as well. He brings in quality people as assistants and quality kids as players.Now we just have to work on winning that first NCAA tournament game.

[BirdZip]

Anybody know cost to get in? What about whether or not the ticket is included in the season tickets? I'm sure it's just a few bucks--just wondering since I haven't seen my tickets yet and it's getting kind of late.

[ZZZips]

Anybody know cost to get in? What about whether or not the ticket is included in the season tickets? I'm sure it's just a few bucks--just wondering since I haven't seen my tickets yet and it's getting kind of late.

I called the ticket office to find out if my season tickets had been mailed. The staff told me that the tickets arrived late last week. They are not mailing the tickets before the exhibition game. If you want the tickets before the John Carrolll game, you can go to the tickets office at Infocision Stadium during regular hours this week. The staff said they will have all of the season tickets packages at the John Carroll game. The ticket office will mail any remaining ticket pachages not picked up at the JC game. John Carroll tickets are included in the season ticket price.

[BirdZip]

Anybody know cost to get in? What about whether or not the ticket is included in the season tickets? I'm sure it's just a few bucks--just wondering since I haven't seen my tickets yet and it's getting kind of late.

I called the ticket office to find out if my season tickets had been mailed. The staff told me that the tickets arrived late last week. They are not mailing the tickets before the exhibition game. If you want the tickets before the John Carrolll game, you can go to the tickets office at Infocision Stadium during regular hours this week. The staff said they will have all of the season tickets packages at the John Carroll game. The ticket office will mail any remaining ticket pachages not picked up at the JC game. John Carroll tickets are included in the season ticket price.

Thanks. Very helpful. I'm an hour away so I'll pick up on game day.I wonder why the Ticket Office wouldn't send out an e-mail to season ticket holders so we understand the status. It's been a while, but I would think they'd have our e-mails or, if not, should ask for it for these reasons.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Anybody know cost to get in? What about whether or not the ticket is included in the season tickets? I'm sure it's just a few bucks--just wondering since I haven't seen my tickets yet and it's getting kind of late.

I called the ticket office to find out if my season tickets had been mailed. The staff told me that the tickets arrived late last week. They are not mailing the tickets before the exhibition game. If you want the tickets before the John Carrolll game, you can go to the tickets office at Infocision Stadium during regular hours this week. The staff said they will have all of the season tickets packages at the John Carroll game. The ticket office will mail any remaining ticket pachages not picked up at the JC game. John Carroll tickets are included in the season ticket price.

Thanks. Very helpful. I'm an hour away so I'll pick up on game day.I wonder why the Ticket Office wouldn't send out an e-mail to season ticket holders so we understand the status. It's been a while, but I would think they'd have our e-mails or, if not, should ask for it for these reasons.

The University often struggles to appreciate what it's like to be a fan/customer.

[akronzips71]

Anyone know if there is a video feed?

[RowdyZip]

Anybody know cost to get in? What about whether or not the ticket is included in the season tickets? I'm sure it's just a few bucks--just wondering since I haven't seen my tickets yet and it's getting kind of late.

I called the ticket office to find out if my season tickets had been mailed. The staff told me that the tickets arrived late last week. They are not mailing the tickets before the exhibition game. If you want the tickets before the John Carrolll game, you can go to the tickets office at Infocision Stadium during regular hours this week. The staff said they will have all of the season tickets packages at the John Carroll game. The ticket office will mail any remaining ticket pachages not picked up at the JC game. John Carroll tickets are included in the season ticket price.

Thanks. Very helpful. I'm an hour away so I'll pick up on game day.I wonder why the Ticket Office wouldn't send out an e-mail to season ticket holders so we understand the status. It's been a while, but I would think they'd have our e-mails or, if not, should ask for it for these reasons.

The University often struggles to appreciate what it's like to be a fan/customer.

I bought my wife's season ticket last Friday in person at the ticket office and was told (even though it's GA) that I'd have to wait for them to come in the mail. I asked about the exhibition and the answer I got was not as definite. "They won't be mailed in time, but they might have them ready for you at that game."

[Derrt]

Off topic, but did anyone go to the scrimmage against Eastern Kentucky?

[Dave in Green]

From what I was told, the EKU scrimmage was closed.

[GoZips]

Off topic, but did anyone go to the scrimmage against Eastern Kentucky?

SPEAK, that scrimmage was closed to the public per NCAA rules.Here is what I learned today. Coach was pleased over all with the kids.Akron "won" the first half 38-10. No other scores were mentioned.The two teams played three 20 minute halves and three 12 minute periods.All the players we expect to be in the rotation played well. Additionally, Greenstepped up better than expected which may cause coach to extent the rotation.There were not a lot of details provided. Thus, I can not tell you stuff that I did not hear about. Coach mentioned several players by name and did notspeak negatively about any of them. All comments were positive.As tight lipped as Dambrot was, Kest made him look like a magpie. The ladiesscrimmaged St. Bonaventure in the JAR Saturday morning. Her commentsbasically were, "we are pleased with the ladies play."

[GoZips]

Surprised this thread hasn't been started yet considering the expectations for this years group and the downright crummy performance on the gridiron again this year.Let's be honest here. John Carroll is not likely to have much of a chance in this one. Like most exhibition games, this should be more about KD getting plenty of playing time for everyone, trying different combinations, and seeing what he has against a different opponent as opposed to intersquad scrimmages. Here is what I will be looking for out of this years squad:Is Zeke Marshall ready to take the next step? We've seen glimpses of the potential that made Zeke the most heralded recruit in MAC history, but we've yet to see him put it all together, particularly on the offensive end. You can expect Zeke to look good against an overmatched John Carroll team. The question I have is with his comfort level. Will we see a more decisive, aggressive Zeke on the offensive end of the floor, or will we continue to see the tenative, unsure Zeke when the ball is in his hands?Can Alex Abreu handle the pressue of being the man? Alex had some of his worst games of the year last year when he was inserted into the starting lineup and asked to play more minutes. Physically he did not look ready for it. Does Alex have the conditioning and the mental fortitude to handle being the trigger man for 25-30 minutes a night? Without another true PG on the roster he better be. How will the new guys fit in? These exhibition games usually give you a pretty good indicator of where all the newcomers are at. If a guy plays early and gets 15-20+ minutes you can expect that he will have a chance to be in the rotation during the season. If a guy doesn't get minutes until the second half and sees mostly garbage time, you can expect he is in line for a redshirt. You have to expect that Walsh and Gilliam will play, as neither are eligible for a redshirt. But what of Nick Harney? Demetrius Treadwell? Blake Justice? Do we have anything in Josh Egner? Let's be honest, Egner's redshirt year was wasted for the most part last year. He showed some potential at times, but didn't get enough minutes to make a fair evaluation. In the little time that he played he showed great energy, but had a tendency to look like he was right on the edge of being out of control. Without Brett McKnight and Mike Bardo there are plenty of minutes to fill in the frontcourt. It would be nice if Egner could step up and take a good chunk of those minutes.Is Michael Green worth the roster spot? In the little we saw of him last year before the redshirt came, Green looked a step slow and a pound light to be playing at this level IMO. Reports on him have been positive so far this offseason, but the SF spot looks to be one of the most competitive on the team. If Green gets any playing time at all this year, he is going to have to earn it.Can Quincy Diggs live up to the potential? We all saw those moments last year when Q made you salivate with what this kid is capable of. But we also saw the moments that made us all pound our heads into the wall. The physical part of the game is not the issue with Q, it is the mental side of things. Can he eliminate the mental mistakes and the tendency to get frustrated and lose his cool, or will his head keep him from reaching hs full potential?Senior leadership. The Zips lost a lot of it this offseason, but the presence of Nik Cvetinovic and Brett McClanahan gives me reason to believe that we have enough guys in the locker room to take care of business. Nik passed up the opportunity to make a living in his home country, with his family and his fiancee by his side to return for his senior season. This group of guys better not let down one of the more well liked Zips in recent history.

Wow, you sure put a lot on the plate.What this exhibition game amounts to is an opportunity to play against an opponentthat is not on the same wave length as your players. Meaning: our player can notpredict what the opponent will do. Thus, creates plays that our players have torespond to.Zeke Marshall is a load. He has "manned up". Zeke will own the middle most of the time.Zeke had seven blocks against Eastern Kentucky as rumor has it. EKU is a lot tougherthan JCU. Alex is our starting point guard. He has worked exceptionally hard during the off seasonto get stronger and have more endurance. He owns that position. He is a heck of alot better at the point than last year's starter. There are at least two other men whocan handle the point. Both Brian Walsh and Quincey Diggs can handle the point just fine.Additionally, both Deji Ibitayo and Blake Justice can handle point if called upon. Lestwe forget, Nikola Cvetinovic also has actually ran the point in real college games. Not to mention that he played point guard on the Serbian team that won a gold medal.The new guys are learning the system and mostly absorbing it well. At this time do notexpect any of the new players to break into the starting line up. In time, some will.Nick Harney and Demetrius Treadwell will both be in the rotation and get plenty ofminutes. Expect both freshmen to snag red shirts unless we lose a back court player.Expect Egner to back up Zeke. His role is critical because Treadwell is not up to speedjust yet. Remember, both Harney and Treadwell are freshmen who sat out a year.Their day in the sun is in the future.Chauncy Gilliam will ably replace Brett McKnight. Book it. Think we will miss Bardo's strong defensive performances. This is the area that Josh has to cover now.Michael Green is slowly playing his way into the rotation. He can flat shoot the ball.Frankly Mike is a back up player that we need.Quincy Diggs is going to have a break out year. He plays his butt off. He works hard.Best of all, he cemented himself into a bonafide three ball shooter. Will he keep his coolin games? Not sure. Have not seen him lose it during practice. Time will tell.Most people on this board know that I hope to see Q play the sixth man because hecan play three positions well. His shooting and dribble drives will impress. He waspretty good last year. He is a boat load better this year. Wait until you see histhree ball jump shot. SWEET. Do not worry about "senior" leadership. Nik and Bret will deliver. Better still, thisis Alex Abreu's team to lead. Alex is up to the task. Give him a chance.

[Blue & Gold]

Remember, both Harney and Treadwell are freshmen who sat out a year.Their day in the sun is in the future.

It sounds as if you've cooled off a bit on Nick Harney?

[GoZips]

Remember, both Harney and Treadwell are freshmen who sat out a year.Their day in the sun is in the future.

It sounds as if you've cooled off a bit on Nick Harney?

Not in the least.Harney is coming along quite nicely. Consider that Nick is a first year college playerwith a lot of talent and no experience. Quincy Diggs is an experienced third yearplayer who has proven himself on the court. Thus, Q deserves to start ahead of Nick.My point is that Nick Harney has a huge up side and will own the small forward inthe future.I am not Keith Dambrot. Nor do I have his coaching experience. I can discern bothQuincy and Nick's skills. My personal analysis is that Harney has as much or moreskills as does Quincy. Now, take nothing away from Diggs; he can play. Plus, Q hasgame experience at the college level. It would be foolish to put him behind Harney.I have stated many times that I would love to see Quincy play the sixth man becauseof his personal skill set. Q is adept at three player positions. That is rare. Being ableto play two positions well is a talent that most players can not do.It is not entirely skill set another important factor is can a player handle being thesixth man? I can not answer whether or not Quincy can. In my opinion I stronglybelieve that Quincy can do it. But, does he want to?It takes time to "get it". Diggs gets it. Both Treadwell and Harney are not there just yet.

[johnnyzip84]

Charlie and the RedHawks have a bit of trouble with Steve Swiech and the Cal Vulcans.

[FromdaBurgh]

OK...soooooo...guess what family.....OOOOOoo.....I got something to tell yyyoouuuu guys!!!! So, I "heard" that a certain mom, had this really cool convo with a "certain player" and when she asked this "certain player" (we'll call him "PLAYER X) about how they played in the scrimmage, Player X said that "he played really well and was pleased with his performance". But wait there's more.....so this same little birdie told me, that when "mom" had asked Player X about his expectations for the season, Player X was super hyped and was really excited and said that "how he ended the season is how he is going to start the season...and go from there". Now, listen you all...this is hush, hush secret agent info here...so don't be going around spreadin any rumors and things like that. Just know, that if you read this message, it may self destruct in 35-45 minutes!!! BOOM!!! BANG!!! POW!!!!

[johnnyzip84]

OK...soooooo...guess what family.....OOOOOoo.....I got something to tell yyyoouuuu guys!!!! So, I "heard" that a certain mom, had this really cool convo with a "certain player" and when she asked this "certain player" (we'll call him "PLAYER X) about how they played in the scrimmage, Player X said that "he played really well and was pleased with his performance". But wait there's more.....so this same little birdie told me, that when "mom" had asked Player X about his expectations for the season, Player X was super hyped and was really excited and said that "how he ended the season is how he is going to start the season...and go from there". Now, listen you all...this is hush, hush secret agent info here...so don't be going around spreadin any rumors and things like that. Just know, that if you read this message, it may self destruct in 35-45 minutes!!! BOOM!!! BANG!!! POW!!!!

Combining Mission Impossible with Batman is TV genius! Can't wait to see Player X (and the rest of the Zip alphabet) this year!

[Hilltopper]

OK...soooooo...guess what family.....OOOOOoo.....I got something to tell yyyoouuuu guys!!!! So, I "heard" that a certain mom, had this really cool convo with a "certain player" and when she asked this "certain player" (we'll call him "PLAYER X) about how they played in the scrimmage, Player X said that "he played really well and was pleased with his performance". But wait there's more.....so this same little birdie told me, that when "mom" had asked Player X about his expectations for the season, Player X was super hyped and was really excited and said that "how he ended the season is how he is going to start the season...and go from there". Now, listen you all...this is hush, hush secret agent info here...so don't be going around spreadin any rumors and things like that. Just know, that if you read this message, it may self destruct in 35-45 minutes!!! BOOM!!! BANG!!! POW!!!!

Combining Mission Impossible with Batman is TV genius! Can't wait to see Player X (and the rest of the Zip alphabet) this year!

I'm thinking more likely it was player Z.

[mes102]

... ...oops!! I think I gave it away...

[Dr Z]

....and said that "how he ended the season is how he is going to start the season...and go from there"

Someone needs to put this quote next to an action photo of him on the side of a building in Akron pronto!...I mean if you want to actually get a lot of fans at the games.

[ZachTheZip]

Charlie and the RedHawks have a bit of trouble with Steve Swiech and the Cal Vulcans.

The Vulcans are a team to follow early on. not just because of Sweich, but because they play two of our opponents in the pre-season. It will be interesting to compare this game to how they do against VCU.

[FromdaBurgh]

To any person on this board, who took my post about the tickets in any other manner than what it was intended to be, which was a (JOKE)...let me CLARIFY MYSELF...I have NEVER ASKED nor has ANYONE from the Akron Zips ticket office EVER given me any sort of SPECIAL TREATMENT above and beyond what I or any other parent would receive. My intent for making that JOKE was simply to say that I want to keep my FABULOUS PARENT SECTION SEATS and if by chance I have to PURCHASE any extras I can get them in the same section..so that my guest can watch the game with me!!! It is very unfortunate that there are people on this board...who would take such a trivial comment that was TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY meant to be FUNNY and certainly not taken so SERIOUSLY to such an extreme that I just don't desire to make any further comments on this board! It's unfortunate and just plain RIDICULOUS!! But it is what it is! If you all see me at a game, stop by and say hi...other than that I won't be saying ANYTHING ELSE on this board....SEE YA LATER FAM!!!

[Captain Kangaroo]

To any person on this board, who took my post about the tickets in any other manner than what it was intended to be, which was a (JOKE)...let me CLARIFY MYSELF...I have NEVER ASKED nor has ANYONE from the Akron Zips ticket office EVER given me any sort of SPECIAL TREATMENT above and beyond what I or any other parent would receive. My intent for making that JOKE was simply to say that I want to keep my FABULOUS PARENT SECTION SEATS and if by chance I have to PURCHASE any extras I can get them in the same section..so that my guest can watch the game with me!!! It is very unfortunate that there are people on this board...who would take such a trivial comment that was TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY meant to be FUNNY and certainly not taken so SERIOUSLY to such an extreme that I just don't desire to make any further comments on this board! It's unfortunate and just plain RIDICULOUS!! But it is what it is! If you all see me at a game, stop by and say hi...other than that I won't be saying ANYTHING ELSE on this board....SEE YA LATER FAM!!!

I have two guesses as to the offending party.Let me guess...someone PM'd you?People are stupid. My apologies from the Moderators for whomever was an idiot. We do what we can.

[Dave in Green]

Gamechngr44, what would really be unfortunate would be for you to allow one misguided reaction from one forum member to cause you to disappear from this forum. You have lots of friends here who totally get your wicked sense of humor and understood you were joking about the ticket situation. I know I speak for many when I say I hope you will think this over and reconsider, as we would really miss having you here with us, especially during the basketball season to lead cheers for the team.

[FromdaBurgh]

To Captain and DIG...no WHOEVER the person and/or persons were, they contacted the COACHES and told them because I got a call from the "THE OFFICE" and was told that my comment "could have negative "compliance" implications".....and I'll leave it at that! While I want to be really, really pissed....I guess its no different than a pro athlete who has to be mindful about what they are saying because we know how "people" LOOOOVVVEEE...to twist and turn words around! Oh well, this is only getting me prepared for the "BIG DAWGS" one day! Thanks to EVER YOU ARE!! You did me a favor!!! MUAH!!!!