Pine Bluff

[bandzip]

Is Abreu's knee as bad as they keep saying it is? He's still playing in with 9 minutes left in a 30 point blowout. Frenchie said his mom is up from Puerto Rico for a few games so could that be why he's putting off the surgery?

[Districtballer]

Congrats on a dominating win. Keep it up guys!

[The Hip Zip]

Shame on the students, shame on most everybody. The Athletic dept could do themselves a huge favor by giving out freebies to the local schools, churches, and youth groups. Give 'em a taste of a nice product and they will be back. If the margin of victory comes from feeding off of the home crowd then we are screwed. That's enough from me. Don't get me really started but the program deserves so much more.

You can pass the shame to whoever you want but when it comes to fan support, the athletic department and especially this basketball program has no one to blame but themselves. If you build a team that can't win till March you'll get a fan base that doesn't give a damn till March.

I see plenty of mids with lesser credentials than us that come close to filling the place most of the time. The difference between fan support in the MVC and Colonial is light years ahead of us and the rest of the MAC

[The Hip Zip]

Congrats on a dominating win. Keep it up guys!

You're looking forward to a little RPI are you not Baller ??

[Dave in Green]

Hard to get too excited about this game. The Zips took it seriously enough on both offense and defense to bury UAPB early, so the game was never in doubt.

As predicted, Gilliam not only earned more PT (21 minutes) for his good effort against CSU, he got a start tonight and made the most of his time on the floor with great stats -- 7-9 from the floor, 2-2 on free throws, a rebound, an assist and a steal. On the flip side, he led the team in turnovers (3) and fouls (4). Again, he put effort into his D, and appears to be improving. I see him earning more and more PT as he continues to improve throughout the season.

Rico continues to have a substantial wrap on his knee, and it obviously affects his movement. But since he played fairly long minutes (21), it must not be too serious. Hopefully if he does have surgery it will be minor and he will be able to bounce back quickly.

Zeke is more and more confident in his offense. He's looking to shoot a fair percentage of the time rather than just kicking the ball out every time. He has a nice rhythm to his free throw now, and he's making a fair percentage. Tonight's performance makes Zeke the Zips scoring leader for the season with 95 total points and an average of 10.6 per game -- tied with Harney. Zeke's also shooting 64.8% from the field. He's much more of a complete player now.

Hope to see Harney back Saturday against Florida A&M. Definitely want to see him back against YSU on Monday. YSU played Buffalo tough Saturday, losing by only 8 points at Buffalo, so I expect the Penguins to play a little tougher than some might expect. Did anyone else notice that Buffalo's Javon McCrea was 14-17 from the field against YSU? Ouch!

[akronzips71]

ZEKE was awesome. He is really starting to look like a pro prospect. By the end of this year he will be a force to be reckoned with if he keeps improving.

[The Hip Zip]

Hard to get too excited about this game. The Zips took it seriously enough on both offense and defense to bury UAPB early, so the game was never in doubt.

As predicted, Gilliam not only earned more PT (21 minutes) for his good effort against CSU, he got a start tonight and made the most of his time on the floor with great stats -- 7-9 from the floor, 2-2 on free throws, a rebound, an assist and a steal. On the flip side, he led the team in turnovers (3) and fouls (4). Again, he put effort into his D, and appears to be improving. I see him earning more and more PT as he continues to improve throughout the season.

Rico continues to have a substantial wrap on his knee, and it obviously affects his movement. But since he played fairly long minutes (21), it must not be too serious. Hopefully if he does have surgery it will be minor and he will be able to bounce back quickly.

Zeke is more and more confident in his offense. He's looking to shoot a fair percentage of the time rather than just kicking the ball out every time. He has a nice rhythm to his free throw now, and he's making a fair percentage. Tonight's performance makes Zeke the Zips scoring leader for the season with 95 total points and an average of 10.6 per game -- tied with Harney. Zeke's also shooting 64.8% from the field. He's much more of a complete player now.

Hope to see Harney back Saturday against Florida A&M. Definitely want to see him back against YSU on Monday. YSU played Buffalo tough Saturday, losing by only 8 points at Buffalo, so I expect the Penguins to play a little tougher than some might expect. Did anyone else notice that Buffalo's Javon McCrea was 14-17 from the field against YSU? Ouch!

McCrea is a beast. He plays well in every aspect of the game. I expect him to advance to the NBA after his career at Buffalo. I still stand by my statement that the Bulls starting 5 is the best in the MAC but I expect that to change to us once we get a few miles on Tree, Harney Gilliam and Walsh.

[Hilltopper]

As predicted, Gilliam not only earned more PT (21 minutes) for his good effort against CSU, he got a start tonight and made the most of his time on the floor with great stats -- 7-9 from the floor, 2-2 on free throws, a rebound, an assist and a steal. On the flip side, he led the team in turnovers (3) and fouls (4). Again, he put effort into his D, and appears to be improving. I see him earning more and more PT as he continues to improve throughout the season.

At one point in the second half, Gilliam had the ball and was wide open for a three directly in front of the Zips bench. Instead of taking the shot, he threw a cross court pass that was intercepted by APB, leading to a break away layup. Dambrot screamed at the top of his lungs for Gilliam to "just take the damn shot already". Sure enough the next time Gilliam touched the ball he fired up a contested three ball, nothing but net. That put him at 7 points at that point in the game. He scored 10 more after that.

[The Hip Zip]

ZEKE was awesome. He is really starting to look like a pro prospect. By the end of this year he will be a force to be reckoned with if he keeps improving.

He was for sure. I hope this stretch of games at the JAR does wonders for his confidence.

[Districtballer]

Congrats on a dominating win. Keep it up guys!

You're looking forward to a little RPI are you not Baller ??

You know know it!

[The Hip Zip]

Congrats on a dominating win. Keep it up guys!

You're looking forward to a little RPI are you not Baller ??

You know know it!

I knew it all along but we owe you one. Hell, off of the top of my head I think we owe you three. You guys looked good against Richmond. After giving up some pretty easy shots in the paint early Shaka fixed that in a hurry. Continued success to the Rams ! When does Drexel get their guys eligible ??

[Zip_ME87]

It was a good game from the perspective that the Zips took it seriously and got the result they should have. Still a little more sloppy play than I wish we were seeing, but hopefully they'll work more of that out over the next 3 games before VCU shows up.

BTW, it was nice seeing Darlington Nagbe at the game last night. It's too bad that our camera guys don't recognize our pro Zips. I think D got on the scoreboard once just because they were focusing on some kids near him. Oh well, the Rowdie's gave him some much-deserved "love" near the end of and after the game. D was probably happier not to get too much attention, anyway.

[Quickzips]

ZEKE was awesome. He is really starting to look like a pro prospect. By the end of this year he will be a force to be reckoned with if he keeps improving.

I will remain cautiously optimistic about Zeke until I see him consistently stay out of foul trouble. And by consistently I don't mean 3 or 4 games in a row. It is going to have to be 10-12+ games without being saddled to the bench with foul trouble before I start to truly believe. Everything else about his game has come a long way, but he still has a bad tendency to draw too many silly fouls. He avoided it the last two games. Let's see what he can do the remainder of the year.

On a related note, I noticed that either KD, Zeke or both finally figured out yesterday that it makes no sense to have Zeke hedging on a guard 30 feet from the basket off the pick and roll. Zeke has picked up as many silly fouls that way as any other over his 2+ years here. Last night I don't know as I saw him move above the 3 point line on defense all night. Keeping Zeke closer to the basket and not sending him out chasing guards on the pick and roll is going to be a big help for him. His length becomes easy for an opposing guard to exploit for cheap fouls in those situations.

[Blue & Gold]

On a related note, I noticed that either KD, Zeke or both finally figured out yesterday that it makes no sense to have Zeke hedging on a guard 30 feet from the basket off the pick and roll. Zeke has picked up as many silly fouls that way as any other over his 2+ years here. Last night I don't know as I saw him move above the 3 point line on defense all night. Keeping Zeke closer to the basket and not sending him out chasing guards on the pick and roll is going to be a big help for him. His length becomes easy for an opposing guard to exploit for cheap fouls in those situations.

+1.

Though I tell myself there is probably an X's & O's reason that's above my head as to why Zeke runs out there, it, none-the-less infuriates me to see him put into a position where he is continuously exploited by the quick little guards up top. Just STAY NEAR THE PAINT, Zeke! To my simplistic way of thinking, running Zeke out beyond the 3-point line just isn't the best way to use his God-given strengths. In fact, it really puts him at a distinct disadvantage. For crying out lous, KEEP HIM DOWN LOW, KD! However, since this is so painfully obvious to me (a basketball 101 guy) I figure there just has to be a higher basketball I.Q. reason for it.

[lumberjack]

On a related note, I noticed that either KD, Zeke or both finally figured out yesterday that it makes no sense to have Zeke hedging on a guard 30 feet from the basket off the pick and roll. Zeke has picked up as many silly fouls that way as any other over his 2+ years here. Last night I don't know as I saw him move above the 3 point line on defense all night. Keeping Zeke closer to the basket and not sending him out chasing guards on the pick and roll is going to be a big help for him. His length becomes easy for an opposing guard to exploit for cheap fouls in those situations.

+1.

Though I tell myself there is probably an X's & O's reason that's above my head as to why Zeke runs out there, it, none-the-less infuriates me to see him put into a position where he is continuously exploited by the quick little guards up top. Just STAY NEAR THE PAINT, Zeke! To my simplistic way of thinking, running Zeke out beyond the 3-point line just isn't the best way to use his God-given strengths. In fact, it really puts him at a distinct disadvantage. For crying out lous, KEEP HIM DOWN LOW, KD! However, since this is so painfully obvious to me (a basketball 101 guy) I figure there just has to be a higher basketball I.Q. reason for it.

If i may I would like to comment on the hi low defense Zeke Marshall faces. First I must admit that I agree that Zeke should stay in the post but this is easier said than done. Different teams and the type of offenses they run forces Zeke out and has nothing to do with KD. On pick and rolls you want to force the ball around the outside parameter as oppose to letting the guard to penetrate the defense. On a pick which is designed by opponents to bring a strong defender out (Zeke) of the block allows the guard to penetrate the paint. Problem is in ideal situations you want the big man to switch to stay in the paint but there are two problems with that:

# 1 being usually a guard who is very quick and explosive and come off the pick can do major damage to the defense if he is allowed to turn the corner and penetrate the defense. And if Zeke doesn't step up then who else will be in that place at that particular time to do so?

Secondly, usually the guy setting the pick is the big man played by Zeke that can fake the pick up top and break for the basket looking for a backdoor pass or alley. If it is not guarded on the side of caution the back door is opened all night long..

So now to my point; in an ideal world Zeke can stay in the paint mainly in a zoned defense but is very unlikely due to the fact the defense and offense changes on both ends almost every time down the floor. So Zeke has no other choice but to play defense as it is handled to him. Fortunately for us APB had a smaller lineup and Zeke could play more conservatively...

[Blue & Gold]

On a related note, I noticed that either KD, Zeke or both finally figured out yesterday that it makes no sense to have Zeke hedging on a guard 30 feet from the basket off the pick and roll. Zeke has picked up as many silly fouls that way as any other over his 2+ years here. Last night I don't know as I saw him move above the 3 point line on defense all night. Keeping Zeke closer to the basket and not sending him out chasing guards on the pick and roll is going to be a big help for him. His length becomes easy for an opposing guard to exploit for cheap fouls in those situations.

+1.

Though I tell myself there is probably an X's & O's reason that's above my head as to why Zeke runs out there, it, none-the-less infuriates me to see him put into a position where he is continuously exploited by the quick little guards up top. Just STAY NEAR THE PAINT, Zeke! To my simplistic way of thinking, running Zeke out beyond the 3-point line just isn't the best way to use his God-given strengths. In fact, it really puts him at a distinct disadvantage. For crying out lous, KEEP HIM DOWN LOW, KD! However, since this is so painfully obvious to me (a basketball 101 guy) I figure there just has to be a higher basketball I.Q. reason for it.

If i may I would like to comment on the hi low defense Zeke Marshall faces. First I must admit that I agree that Zeke should stay in the post but this is easier said than done. Different teams and the type of offenses they run forces Zeke out and has nothing to do with KD. On pick and rolls you want to force the ball around the outside parameter as oppose to letting the guard to penetrate the defense. On a pick which is designed by opponents to bring a strong defender out (Zeke) of the block allows the guard to penetrate the paint. Problem is in ideal situations you want the big man to switch to stay in the paint but there are two problems with that:

# 1 being usually a guard who is very quick and explosive and come off the pick can do major damage to the defense if he is allowed to turn the corner and penetrate the defense. And if Zeke doesn't step up then who else will be in that place at that particular time to do so?

Secondly, usually the guy setting the pick is the big man played by Zeke that can fake the pick up top and break for the basket looking for a backdoor pass or alley. If it is not guarded on the side of caution the back door is opened all night long..

So now to my point; in an ideal world Zeke can stay in the paint mainly in a zoned defense but is very unlikely due to the fact the defense and offense changes on both ends almost every time down the floor. So Zeke has no other choice but to play defense as it is handled to him. Fortunately for us APB had a smaller lineup and Zeke could play more conservatively...

Awesome post! Thanks for the knowledge!

[The Hip Zip]

Twas a time, not long ago, that we were not athletic enough to play a good zone. Guy's were just too slow sliding over on the wing. This is no longer the case. We have athletes 1 though 10 who have this ability so why not more zone to protect Zeke ?

[Dave in Green]

@lumberjack, I really appreciate your educated observations. You do a great job of pointing out that basketball is like chess, where each move on the court produces multiple offensive and defensive options, and the best coaches, players and teams are planning several moves ahead and constantly adjusting.

Teams that scout the Zips understand that Zeke is a key component of both the Zips offense and defense, so it's logical that they would employ tactics designed to neutralize him. Since there are countermoves to every move, it's up to KD and the coaching staff to train Zeke and the rest of the team to recognize and counter tactics other teams use to neutralize Zeke.

On defense, Zeke's presence in the lineup is so critical that they really can't afford to have him getting into foul trouble on a regular basis. Other teams understand this and do all they can to put him in a position where he's likely to be called for trivial contact.

So on defense, while Zeke and the rest of the Zips must react to the offensive moves that are thrown at them, there have to be multiple options on how to react. Some of those options will be more effective than others in keeping Zeke from getting drawn into the kind of situations where he's most likely to pick up unnecessary fouls.

At the very minimum, Zeke needs to understand that when he's drawn out of position and more likely to be whistled by a ref, he has to back off of his standard aggressive defensive mode, even if it gives the player he's defending a better chance to score. Ultimately, having Zeke on the floor at the end of a game is more important than giving up a few baskets in the middle of the game by playing slightly looser defense when he's drawn out of position.

[Blue & Gold]

On defense, Zeke's presence in the lineup is so critical...

You know, for all the depth we have, it's a bit ironic that we only have one true C and one true PG. We're an entirely different team when either Zeke or AA are on the bench.

[yazan07]

BTW, it was nice seeing Darlington Nagbe at the game last night. It's too bad that our camera guys don't recognize our pro Zips. I think D got on the scoreboard once just because they were focusing on some kids near him. Oh well, the Rowdie's gave him some much-deserved "love" near the end of and after the game. D was probably happier not to get too much attention, anyway.

He came over and talked to us after the game too. We talked to him a little about this year's Akron team, Portland, and MLS in general. He's such a down to earth dude.

[mes102]

Twas a time, not long ago, that we were not athletic enough to play a good zone. Guy's were just too slow sliding over on the wing. This is no longer the case. We have athletes 1 though 10 who have this ability so why not more zone to protect Zeke ?

The problem is that if opponents' start seeing us playing a zone, they're going to start playing faster tempo to try and attack us before we have a chance to get into our zone....which if we're not back fast enough, and Zeke is, he could pick up some fouls there...

[Doug Snyder]

Twas a time, not long ago, that we were not athletic enough to play a good zone. Guy's were just too slow sliding over on the wing. This is no longer the case. We have athletes 1 though 10 who have this ability so why not more zone to protect Zeke ?

I understand we want to protect Zeke and keep him in the paint. Here are some things to consider:

1. A good man to man is the more difficult defense to beat.

2. To be fair to Zeke...he needs to learn to play man to man if he is going to succeed at the next level.

3. When Zeke goes for the block on shots 6-8 feet or more from the rim...he is out of position to get a rebound. If we don't get the rebound and the other team puts it back in from close range...we lose the impact of Zeke altering shots. We need a coordinated effort and strong play form Tree and the Serb to be really good and effective. We should get better as the team gets to know each other and they learn what to exect from KD and their teammates.

I think mixing zone and help schemes are beneficial and KD will know whenis the right time. But I think this team is not as experienced or does not have as high of "basketball IQ" as past teams. That will dictate going a little slower as guys learn the system playing with each other and understanding their roles. The good thing is we have lots of solid players and they are good guys who have the ability to learn. Now..we will see about their desire over the next few months.

[skip-zip]

ZEKE was awesome. He is really starting to look like a pro prospect. By the end of this year he will be a force to be reckoned with if he keeps improving.

I know people are still waiting for the big breakout after 2+ seasons. Some went out on a limb after the January Ken+ game last year, thinking that was the moment, and they were wrong.

I'm again seeing glimpses that make me want to believe that he's getting much better, and more consistent. But, last night was not one of those examples. To me, that was just a guy doing what he should be doing when he's a head taller than most of the defenders that are competing against him. But, I still think it could be encouraging if he starts to put up big numbers against those inferior teams anyway, since he hasn't always done that in the past.

More Game Thoughts:

Nice to see 20+ assists in a game. That;s the way it should be. Shows me we're working together to score points.

I'm getting more and more dissapointed with what Brett and Nik are showing as seniors.

I'm seeing more and more up and down individual performances. Not one player on this team is good from game to game right now. Hopefully, that means we just have a ton of depth, with anyone being able to produce on any given night. We'll see.

[Dave in Green]

..... I know people are still waiting for the big breakout after 2+ seasons. Some went out on a limb after the January Ken+ game last year, thinking that was the moment, and they were wrong.

As one of the "wrong" from last January, I've revised my thinking on Zeke. He may get up for big games as he did against Can't last January and also in the MAC tournament against Can't. But I don't believe we will ever see a single breakout game where he suddenly shifts into another gear.

I believe that Zeke is the type of player who comes along slowly and methodically -- continuous improvement, so to speak. I think he'll keep on slowly improving all aspects of his game right on through the end of his senior season.

[The Hip Zip]

Twas a time, not long ago, that we were not athletic enough to play a good zone. Guy's were just too slow sliding over on the wing. This is no longer the case. We have athletes 1 though 10 who have this ability so why not more zone to protect Zeke ?

I understand we want to protect Zeke and keep him in the paint. Here are some things to consider:

1. A good man to man is the more difficult defense to beat.

2. To be fair to Zeke...he needs to learn to play man to man if he is going to succeed at the next level.

3. When Zeke goes for the block on shots 6-8 feet or more from the rim...he is out of position to get a rebound. If we don't get the rebound and the other team puts it back in from close range...we lose the impact of Zeke altering shots. We need a coordinated effort and strong play form Tree and te Serb to be really good and effective. We should get better as the team gets to know each other and they learn what to exect from KD and their teammates.

I think mixing zone and help schemes are beneficial and KD will know when is the right time. But I think this team is not as experiences or does not have as high of "basketball IQ" as past teams. That will dictate going a little slower as guys learn the system playing with each other and understanding their roles. The good thing is we have lots of solid players and they are good guys who have the ability to learn. Now..we will see about their desire over the next few months.

Can't debate, all decent points. I agree that we will roll it out later. The same tactic was used late last season and a couple of opponents were nothing short of dumbfounded. That's why he's the coach and I'm the fan.