Quick Survey: Walsh or Nitro ?

[The Hip Zip]

Who's better at the 2 ?

I'm down with Walsh

[GoZips]

Who's better at the 2 ?

I'm down with Walsh

Brian Walsh is the back up point guard. Who would play the point?

Granted, Walsh has a hot hand at shooting early on. And, I, for one,

believe he will continue to score prodigiously. The current rotation

is just fine.

More difficult at this point is where is Chauncey Gilliam? He is a no show

with a ton of skills and talent.

p.s. Deji Ibitayo is NOT going to be playing this season. He and Blake

Justice will be red shirted barring any unforeseen injuries, etc.

[mes102]

Who's better at the 2 ?

I'm down with Walsh

Brian Walsh is the back up point guard. Who would play the point?

Granted, Walsh has a hot hand at shooting early on. And, I, for one,

believe he will continue to score prodigiously. The current rotation

is just fine.

More difficult at this point is where is Chauncey Gilliam? He is a no show

with a ton of skills and talent.

p.s. Deji Ibitayo is NOT going to be playing this season. He and Blake

Justice will be red shirted barring any unforeseen injuries, etc.

Nick Harney

[The Hip Zip]

At this point yes, he does back up Rico. Just wanted opinions on who you think is the best natural 2 guard

[GoZips]

Who's better at the 2 ?

I'm down with Walsh

Brian Walsh is the back up point guard. Who would play the point?

Granted, Walsh has a hot hand at shooting early on. And, I, for one,

believe he will continue to score prodigiously. The current rotation

is just fine.

More difficult at this point is where is Chauncey Gilliam? He is a no show

with a ton of skills and talent.

p.s. Deji Ibitayo is NOT going to be playing this season. He and Blake

Justice will be red shirted barring any unforeseen injuries, etc.

Nick Harney

What are you smoking? Pass it around.

Actually, if people noticed, Quincy Diggs handled the point on a few possessions

in the Hiram game.

As of now there does not seem to be a clear delineation as to who is playing what

position half the time. It is one helter-skelter line up on the floor most of the

time. In both the Mississippi State and Hiram games the Zips often had FOUR

forwards on the floor with either Zeke or Alex taking the fifth spot. Go figure.

[Dave in Green]

@GoZips, help me out here. I fail to see a major problem with Gilliam. He only got to play 7 minutes against MSU but hit 2 of 3 from the field and looked like the same Gilliam we saw playing in Canada. He had an off shooting night against a much weaker Hiram team, going 0-6 from the field.

Every Zips player will have a number of off-shooting nights before the season is over. Nitro, for example, is only 4 of 19 from the field in the first two games. But we know he can and will produce a much higher shooting percentage for the season.

Have you seen a deeper problem with Gilliam's performance in the first two games that I've missed?

[mes102]

What are you smoking? Pass it around.

Actually, if people noticed, Quincy Diggs handled the point on a few possessions

in the Hiram game.

As of now there does not seem to be a clear delineation as to who is playing what

position half the time. It is one helter-skelter line up on the floor most of the

time. In both the Mississippi State and Hiram games the Zips often had FOUR

forwards on the floor with either Zeke or Alex taking the fifth spot. Go figure.

It was a joke In the last couple minutes of the game last night, Harney was bringing the ball up the court...that's why I mentioned it...my friends and I got a good laugh when this happened last night...

[Quickzips]

Nitro and Walsh are two drastically different players IMO.

Nitro is more of a one trick pony on the offensive end where the 3 ball is his primary weapon. We've seen occassional mid-range jumpers and drives to the basket, but that really isn't his forte. Not saying this is a bad thing. With the amount of slashers and post players we have on this team you need a guy who can knock it down from 3 in order to space the floor. I think that is a big part of the reason why he is going to continue to start and see a lot of minutes.

Walsh is a more diverse offensive player. He is capable of bringing the ball up the court and triggering the offense on a regular basis. He's shown a nice mid-range game and some pretty impressive moves going to the basket off the dribble so far. While he is a capable 3 point shooter, there is more to his game than that. Without a backup PG on the roster Walsh becomes a pretty ideal choice. In all honesty, right now he is the 6th man and is bringing a lot of things to the court that GoZips has argued for Q being the 6th man.

Both guys are going to see plenty of minutes. Particularly if Deji and Blake are redshirting our backcourt isn't all that deep. To some extent having to debate between two talented guys like this is a nice problem to have. There are quite a few teams in this conference who don't have one guard with the skills of either of these guys.

[ksu sucks]

It's a good problem to have.

By the way, when you quote another post, please try to only quote the post you are responding to. It gets really hard to read a thread when the quotations keep adding layers upon layers.

[Dave in Green]

Nick Harney has immense potential, as GoZips informed us months ago. I had to keep reminding myself last night that he is the equivalent of a true freshman in only his second college game. He did not even get to practice with the team last season, as a redshirt freshman would have. Harney is listed as a sophomore, but that's only because he's an academic sophomore.

I liked the way KD played him at PG at the end of the game. It was basically dumping more responsibility on him to see how he'd respond. It also forced him to play long minutes at an unfamiliar position. You could see him starting to run out of gas at the end.

But, wow, does Harney have sweet moves, big hops and both a soft touch on his shots and an authoritative touch on his slams. Some of Harney's passes last night were almost Rico-like. I was just stunned at the length and accuracy of some of his passes. He seems to have a veteran's eye and judgment in what to do with the ball. I see KD continuing to give Harney new challenges to see all he's got in him.

Tree also played a long stint at the end, and was starting to wear down. Like most true freshman players, Harney and Tree will have to work on their conditioning in order to play longer minutes effectively. But what a pair of additions to the Zips.

I was at least a little prepared for Harney's performance based on GoZips' practice reports. But Tree is a different player from what I expected to see. Tree was extremely active on defense, chasing the pesky little Hiram players around the floor like a guard. He has quick feet and great hops. I saw no evidence of him slacking off in his efforts, but just starting to physically run out of gas near the end.

Tree had 6 rebounds in 14 minutes, which was second in rebounds per minute only to Egner's 6 rebounds in 9 minutes. The rebounding of these two players is critical in backing up the Serb's rebounding, as Zeke is always more focused on blocking and altering shots than in rebounding missed shots.

Walsh could indeed play well at the 2, which is his natural position. But he's badly needed to backup Rico at the point. At the end of the MSU game, Walsh and Rico were in together when MSU was pressing to get the ball back, and the two of them together played really well in keeping the ball away from the defenders and safely getting it upcourt.

This team is pretty special in a number of ways. Setting Zeke and Rico aside for a minute, the rest of the players likely to get significant PT are all between 6-4 and 6-8. They can all dribble and pass the ball at least fairly well. Unlike past Zips teams, there are no players that you cringe when the ball is in their hands, expecting it to be lost. In many ways they are interchangeable pieces who can all play multiple positions. They all seem to have at least decent shooting from different ranges. It is going to be hard for opposing teams to defense against an ever-changing lineup of multi-skilled players.

Again last night I was struck with how much these guys like to play together and how unselfish they are. The Serb was as loose as I've ever seen him. There are no ball hogs or "me first" guys there. They all want to get the ball to the player with the high percentage shot. There's no scowling or sniping at each other.

Individual abilities and skills aside, this is a true team in the best sense of the word. The sky is the limit for this group of players if they work their butts off to continually improve. This is a team that could develop into one capable of winning games in the NCAA tournament.

[Doug Snyder]

Everybody agreed we played a great game and great defense against Miss State. Nitro play 35 minutes and more than anyone else. Do you think there may be a correlation??

I will continue to put my money on KD to find the best rotation.

Walsh has definetly shown he deserved lots of PT. I believed that from the beginning...glad others are starting to realize his ability.

[Zip Watcher]

I've NEVER been as comfortable with a BB roster as I was last night watching the Zips. It's mind boggling to me how we can lose guys like McNees and Roberts who anchored the backcourt for as long as they did .. and just not miss a beat with the new rotations.

Gilliam seemed frustrated last night. I'm going to Vegas on him going off in one of the games at Valpo. We get him rolling .. and this can be a really special season. It'll happen soon.

B) B)

Go Zips.

[akronzips71]

Walsh was recruited by big time schools, and last night we saw why. He has great body control, and can hit from the outside. He will play lots of minutes. Period. He is a major-major player. The only question about him is consistency. Nitro is NOT consistent. When he is off, he is bad. Time will tell about Walsh.

Harney has huge upside, but won't play that much in critical situations, because he is still very raw and can be a liability for turnovers and dumb fouls. He needs time to grow as a player. By the time he is done, he might be all world. He looks a little like Q did last year.

Tree is a future starting forward, and I suspect that Egners role might be limited by these new guys. They are way more athletic.

Gilliam? I like him. He didn't look that good last night, but we know he can play.

The big challenge this year for KD is to figure who to play.

[Doug Snyder]

I've NEVER been as comfortable with a BB roster as I was last night watching the Zips. It's mind boggling to me how we can lose guys like McNees and Roberts who anchored the backcourt for as long as they did .. and just not miss a beat with the new rotations.

Gilliam seemed frustrated last night. I'm going to Vegas on him going off in one of the games at Valpo. We get him rolling .. and this can be a really special season. It'll happen soon.

B) B)

Go Zips.

To me...he looked to be pressing a bit. New guy...new team. It happens. I think all will be OK...he just needs to relax and let his natural instincts take over.

This really can be a special team. The next few games will be fun to watch to see if we have the mental toughness to keep winning on the road. I expect a few hiccups that we will have to overcome in these next few road games.

[Doug Snyder]

Walsh was recruited by big time schools, and last night we saw why. He has great body control, and can hit from the outside. He will play lots of minutes. Period. He is a major-major player. The only question about him is consistency. Nitro is NOT consistent. When he is off, he is bad. Time will tell about Walsh.

Harney has huge upside, but won't play that much in critical situations, because he is still very raw and can be a liability for turnovers and dumb fouls. He needs time to grow as a player. By the time he is done, he might be all world. He looks a little like Q did last year.

Tree is a future starting forward, and I suspect that Egners role might be limited by these new guys. They are way more athletic.

Gilliam? I like him. He didn't look that good last night, but we know he can play.

The big challenge this year for KD is to figure who to play.

I agree that Harney and Tree will not be in at crucial times. They will make youthful mistakes and more importantly...are terrible free throw shooters at this time. I expect that to change for next year though.

I don't agree that Tree is way more athletic than Egner. Egner has always been a very athletic guy with great hop. He is just not an accomplished offensive player and currently does not have those skills. I think Tree will be the starting PF next year but Egner will have lots of PT. He is a harder worker and has a defensive mindset...both appreciated by KD.

[GoZips]

@GoZips, help me out here. I fail to see a major problem with Gilliam. He only got to play 7 minutes against MSU but hit 2 of 3 from the field and looked like the same Gilliam we saw playing in Canada. He had an off shooting night against a much weaker Hiram team, going 0-6 from the field.

Every Zips player will have a number of off-shooting nights before the season is over. Nitro, for example, is only 4 of 19 from the field in the first two games. But we know he can and will produce a much higher shooting percentage for the season.

Have you seen a deeper problem with Gilliam's performance in the first two games that I've missed?

No, not a deep problem. Just looks like Chauncey looks lost out there.

I am positive he will shake it off and soon be ripping the cords. He is one

fine ball player. Have faith.

[GoZips]

Nick Harney has immense potential, as GoZips informed us months ago. I had to keep reminding myself last night that he is the equivalent of a true freshman in only his second college game. He did not even get to practice with the team last season, as a redshirt freshman would have. Harney is listed as a sophomore, but that's only because he's an academic sophomore.

I liked the way KD played him at PG at the end of the game. It was basically dumping more responsibility on him to see how he'd respond. It also forced him to play long minutes at an unfamiliar position. You could see him starting to run out of gas at the end.

But, wow, does Harney have sweet moves, big hops and both a soft touch on his shots and an authoritative touch on his slams. Some of Harney's passes last night were almost Rico-like. I was just stunned at the length and accuracy of some of his passes. He seems to have a veteran's eye and judgment in what to do with the ball. I see KD continuing to give Harney new challenges to see all he's got in him.

Tree also played a long stint at the end, and was starting to wear down. Like most true freshman players, Harney and Tree will have to work on their conditioning in order to play longer minutes effectively. But what a pair of additions to the Zips.

I was at least a little prepared for Harney's performance based on GoZips' practice reports. But Tree is a different player from what I expected to see. Tree was extremely active on defense, chasing the pesky little Hiram players around the floor like a guard. He has quick feet and great hops. I saw no evidence of him slacking off in his efforts, but just starting to physically run out of gas near the end.

Tree had 6 rebounds in 14 minutes, which was second in rebounds per minute only to Egner's 6 rebounds in 9 minutes. The rebounding of these two players is critical in backing up the Serb's rebounding, as Zeke is always more focused on blocking and altering shots than in rebounding missed shots.

Walsh could indeed play well at the 2, which is his natural position. But he's badly needed to backup Rico at the point. At the end of the MSU game, Walsh and Rico were in together when MSU was pressing to get the ball back, and the two of them together played really well in keeping the ball away from the defenders and safely getting it upcourt.

This team is pretty special in a number of ways. Setting Zeke and Rico aside for a minute, the rest of the players likely to get significant PT are all between 6-4 and 6-8. They can all dribble and pass the ball at least fairly well. Unlike past Zips teams, there are no players that you cringe when the ball is in their hands, expecting it to be lost. In many ways they are interchangeable pieces who can all play multiple positions. They all seem to have at least decent shooting from different ranges. It is going to be hard for opposing teams to defense against an ever-changing lineup of multi-skilled players.

Again last night I was struck with how much these guys like to play together and how unselfish they are. The Serb was as loose as I've ever seen him. There are no ball hogs or "me first" guys there. They all want to get the ball to the player with the high percentage shot. There's no scowling or sniping at each other.

Individual abilities and skills aside, this is a true team in the best sense of the word. The sky is the limit for this group of players if they work their butts off to continually improve. This is a team that could develop into one capable of winning games in the NCAA tournament.

This is as good a report on the Zips as I have read any where. Great job.

I am convinced that our four forward line up against MSU left them totally baffled.

Now one can argue that Walsh was the point guard when Alex sat. But, basically,

Walsh was playing as a forward along with the rest of them. When Alex was on

the floor there was little doubt we were running a single guard and four forwards.

This is a look I have not seen before from Akron. It is a great weapon.

[GoZips]

Walsh was recruited by big time schools, and last night we saw why. He has great body control, and can hit from the outside. He will play lots of minutes. Period. He is a major-major player. The only question about him is consistency. Nitro is NOT consistent. When he is off, he is bad. Time will tell about Walsh.

Harney has huge upside, but won't play that much in critical situations, because he is still very raw and can be a liability for turnovers and dumb fouls. He needs time to grow as a player. By the time he is done, he might be all world. He looks a little like Q did last year.

Tree is a future starting forward, and I suspect that Egners role might be limited by these new guys. They are way more athletic.

Gilliam? I like him. He didn't look that good last night, but we know he can play.

The big challenge this year for KD is to figure who to play.

akronzips71, keep an eye on Egner. You are under evaluating him if you

believe that Josh is not as athletic as his mates. Josh is Zeke's back up at center because

he can out jump any of his companions. Josh is a small/power forward being asked

to back up a quality seven foot tall center. He has a lot on his plate and will deliver.

[akronzips71]

Walsh was recruited by big time schools, and last night we saw why. He has great body control, and can hit from the outside. He will play lots of minutes. Period. He is a major-major player. The only question about him is consistency. Nitro is NOT consistent. When he is off, he is bad. Time will tell about Walsh.

Harney has huge upside, but won't play that much in critical situations, because he is still very raw and can be a liability for turnovers and dumb fouls. He needs time to grow as a player. By the time he is done, he might be all world. He looks a little like Q did last year.

Tree is a future starting forward, and I suspect that Egners role might be limited by these new guys. They are way more athletic.

Gilliam? I like him. He didn't look that good last night, but we know he can play.

The big challenge this year for KD is to figure who to play.

akronzips71, keep an eye on Egner. You are under evaluating him if you

believe that Josh is not as athletic as his mates. Josh is Zeke's back up at center because

he can out jump any of his companions. Josh is a small/power forward being asked

to back up a quality seven foot tall center. He has a lot on his plate and will deliver.

I am not knocking Egner. I saw how tree plays under the basket, and he is smoother and more aggressive. He could develop into a super player.

[Derrt]

Nitro

I can't wait till Chauncey, Brett, Walsh, and Q have a great shooting night. I hope this happens at the VCU game

[Valpo Zip]

To answer the survey question: Nitro. Because KD is loyal to his hard working players and Nitro has been a good "soldier" for 4 years.

Reading the comments Gozips and others made about practice, I expected tree to be a big frame but not much basketball skills. I was kind of expecting to see a freshman Bardo or Futch. I couldn't have been more wrong. Tree is extremely similar to Romeo Travis his freshman year. Same footwork, same rebounding abilities, and defensive prowess. When he spends some time in the system, Tree should develop the mid range jumper and will end up another Romeo by the end of his career.

My only minor disappointment, if any, yesterday was Egner. Not that Josh did anything wrong but because I felt that his teammates did not trust him. I saw him multiple times posting up in a great position and asking for the ball where Rico or Walsh look away or just hoist a three. The two baskets Josh scored were from a steal under the basket and an offensive rebound, I would have loved to see him get the ball in the post, I was really looking forward to see if he can go to work with it.

[Dave in Green]

Egner was not a primary scoring threat on his Jackson HS team. His primary responsibilities were defending and rebounding. But he occasionally came up with big scoring games when his team really needed it. He's likely to be one of the last scoring options on the floor when he's playing, but will get his share of points off of steals and offensive rebounds, and may have the occasional scoring outburst.

The Zips have lots of scorers this season, but really need rebounders. So I'm OK with Egner staying focused on that. But I'm sure we will see at least a few plays for Egner like the tosses to Zeke above the rim. Egner can jump so darn high that when Zips fans finally see him throw one down from the top of the backboard they're going to fall out of their seats. Zips fans really haven't seen what Egner is capable of doing yet. He needs more PT to show what he's got, but there are a lot of good players fighting for PT on this season's team.

This team is so flexible and multidimensional that I think we'll see a lot of different looks over the course of the season. I can see the lineup and style of play changing against different opponents depending on the other teams' strengths and weaknesses.

I really don't even have an answer to the survey question about Walsh or Nitro because I want to see all these guys play a lot of minutes. I like each and every one of them for the different skill sets they bring to the floor. I do think as the season goes on that we'll be less and less likely to see 30+ minutes from any one player. As each of the new players proves they can be trusted on the floor for extended minutes, I think the PT will be divided up more equally among the top 10 or so players.

[GoZips]

Nitro

I can't wait till Chauncey, Brett, Walsh, and Q have a great shooting night. I hope this happens at the VCU game

And I can't wait until they all have a great shooting night the same night.

And, I hope it comes at West Virginia.

[GoZips]

To answer the survey question: Nitro. Because KD is loyal to his hard working players and Nitro has been a good "soldier" for 4 years.

Reading the comments Gozips and others made about practice, I expected tree to be a big frame but not much basketball skills. I was kind of expecting to see a freshman Bardo or Futch. I couldn't have been more wrong. Tree is extremely similar to Romeo Travis his freshman year. Same footwork, same rebounding abilities, and defensive prowess. When he spends some time in the system, Tree should develop the mid range jumper and will end up another Romeo by the end of his career.

My only minor disappointment, if any, yesterday was Egner. Not that Josh did anything wrong but because I felt that his teammates did not trust him. I saw him multiple times posting up in a great position and asking for the ball where Rico or Walsh look away or just hoist a three. The two baskets Josh scored were from a steal under the basket and an offensive rebound, I would have loved to see him get the ball in the post, I was really looking forward to see if he can go to work with it.

Good post. Good observations.

Treadwell has developed into a D-1 college player much quicker than

anyone anticipated. He brings a new dimension to the game for Akron ....

MUSCLE. Let us hope he enjoys muscling opponents.

[BirdZip]

My concern with Chauncey on Sunday was on defense--he seemed like a fish out of water. Offense was just a bad game, but defense was somewhat worrisome (on Saturday).

I noticed too Egner's being open but not hit. Could be that he often displays hands like bricks so players may be a little hesitant to pass it in. Egner is athletic, but you can watch Tree for 10 seconds and see that he is amazingly athletic. Even though he missed the dunk, the lob to Tree was my favorite play of the game becasue of how amazing he looked doing it.