GP1 Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 Akron has been coasting through a pretty below average MAC this season. The game today exposed problems in the team that don't get exposed in the MAC. Everyone is an All American against bad players. I believe they can make no changes and win the MAC if that is the goal. In order to win a game in the NCAA Tournament, I don't think they can start the same five guys they do. Slow starts kill any team in a big time game and that starting five lends itself to slow starts. Would any of you make a change based upon what you saw today? What would they be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valpo Zip Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 Akron needs a big guys coach. Dambrot cannot teach big guys and Boals replacement doesn't seem to be doing a good job. Smaller guys exposed Zeke big time today. Tree did not have a great game either. ORU bigs (although not that big) were trained to box out, rebound, and take charges. Our bigs did not even defend a back door or a pick and roll. This is not to say that the loss is totally on the bigs, not at all. But there will be days when your shots are not falling, you should not have days when you don't box out or do the right things. Also, if I was king, I would make Nitro pay back his scholarship and use that money to build a statue for Alex in front of the JAR. Alex's box score may not be that impressive, but if you're watching the games, you should know what this guy means to the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B4110 Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 The exact reason why the thred "coaching" was started by me the other day. It didn't take us to play OR for me to see the possible problems that lie ahead. i really worry about this. SINCERELY. i would hate to see such a talented team fall victim to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 Consistently slow starts are definitely a characteristic of this team. But I'm not sure that changing the starting lineup would make much of a difference. The guys who came off the bench didn't give the Zips much of a lift in the first half, so I doubt they would have done much better starting. I'd rather see KD change offensive and defensive schemes at the beginning of games as opposed to changing the starting lineup. Start off the game with less deliberate sets and play a little more helter-skelter. There are some high energy guys in the starting lineup and some high energy guys coming off the bench. But their energy is not unleashed when the coach instructs them to play slow-moving, deliberate sets. The biggest single change I'd like to see is for the Zips to have a less predictable game plan. Make each opponent wonder if they are going to be facing a slow and deliberate offense or a helter-skelter offense to open the game, and at unpredictable times throughout the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Z Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 Would any of you make a change based upon what you saw today? What would they be?Staff needs to prepare the team better. Too often we are behind early, make good half time adjustments, and wear the other team down late. Today, shots didn't fall late. We need to start better to become a better team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootforRoo44 Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 hey guys, we are 11-1 in the MAC...nothing to worry about...wining is all that matters...blah blah blah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoZips94 Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 I think for the MAC, keep things the same. But if KD wants to stick by his original statements and look beyond the MAC, winning more respectable OOC games and even some NCAA tournament games, he's going to have to change his philosophy up. Offensively: MORE MOVEMENT! We might be the most stagnant team to ever have an 11-1 conference record, along with a 19-8 overall record. We are way too athletic to just stand around and wait for an open shot, rather than moving around, setting screens and basket cuts to get that open shot. Defensively: Plant Zeke's butt in the paint and keep him there. Basically play a 4-1 zone. Teams beat us inside by drawing Zeke out to the perimeter, and KD let's it happen. Overall: RUN EVERY TEAM OUT OF THE GYM! 9-10 deep and we play a half court offense with a few fast breaks? Even on defense keep the energy high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 More Zeke. He's only here for 1.25 more seasons. Time to amp it up. He makes his free throws. No excuses for anything under 28 minutes. Except if the Zips are up by 20+. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UAZip0510 Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 More Zeke. He's only here for 1.25 more seasons. Time to amp it up. He makes his free throws. No excuses for anything under 28 minutes. Except if the Zips are up by 20+. In the VCU game Zeke played a season-high 37 minutes. Ever since that game, Dambrot's goal has seemed to be to play Zeke more. The problem is that too often, Zeke can't keep himself out of foul trouble. The Zips have played 14 games since the VCU game. Zeke has played less than 28 minutes in 8 of those games. In 5 of those contests, Zeke recorded 4 fouls. He only played 24 minutes against Eastern Michigan, but that was a 30 point victory. The only 2 games he has played less than 28 minutes in without being in foul trouble have been the Can't State and Bowling Green games. He was ineffective in the BG game, and Dambrot rolled with the bench crew for much of the 2nd half in the Can't State game. Zeke's Last 14 Games 28+ Minutes Miami, Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Buffalo, OU, Miami Under 28 Minutes Oral Roberts - 27 minutes - 4 fouls Northern Illinois - 14 minutes - 4 fouls Eastern Michigan - 24 minutes - 2 fouls (Zips were up by 20+) Toledo - 24 minutes - 4 fouls Ball State - 27 minutes - 4 fouls Marshall - 23 minutes - 4 fouls Bowling Green - 24 minutes - 2 fouls Can't State - 21 minutes - 2 fouls I think the plan IS to play Zeke 28+ minutes. However, for Dambrot to do so, Zeke has to do his part in staying out of foul trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burrdie Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Hi There, Well I have been reading lots of comments regarding the OR game. Personally, I think the bottom line is the coach or coaches.Just a few questions Why is such a talented team not playing to potential? Why is there such a slow start? Why can we not play with the big boys. Our team has really never been challenged in the MAC so there is a false sense of accomplishment. Tree needs to play more under the basket. IF Zeke cannot do the job then tree should. I cannot believe after 3 years of play Zeke has not learn how NOT to foul. I would play him until he fouls out, maybe then he will learn to keep his hands up. As soon as he brings them down a foul will be called. I just don't think KD can play with the big guys. Check out Bradley, not doing so well. A 20 game year is misleading when you see who we play. Again a false sense of what is really happening. Hopefully everyone has learned something from this experience. I love the Zips and know they can do better.In the VCU game Zeke played a season-high 37 minutes. Ever since that game, Dambrot's goal has seemed to be to play Zeke more. The problem is that too often, Zeke can't keep himself out of foul trouble. The Zips have played 14 games since the VCU game. Zeke has played less than 28 minutes in 8 of those games. In 5 of those contests, Zeke recorded 4 fouls. He only played 24 minutes against Eastern Michigan, but that was a 30 point victory. The only 2 games he has played less than 28 minutes in without being in foul trouble have been the Can't State and Bowling Green games. He was ineffective in the BG game, and Dambrot rolled with the bench crew for much of the 2nd half in the Can't State game. Zeke's Last 14 Games 28+ Minutes Miami, Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Buffalo, OU, Miami Under 28 Minutes Oral Roberts - 27 minutes - 4 fouls Northern Illinois - 14 minutes - 4 fouls Eastern Michigan - 24 minutes - 2 fouls (Zips were up by 20+) Toledo - 24 minutes - 4 fouls Ball State - 27 minutes - 4 fouls Marshall - 23 minutes - 4 fouls Bowling Green - 24 minutes - 2 fouls Can't State - 21 minutes - 2 fouls I think the plan IS to play Zeke 28+ minutes. However, for Dambrot to do so, Zeke has to do his part in staying out of foul trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akronzips71 Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Some of you guys are acting like KD is iCoach. One of the most successful coaches in school history. Give me a break. And play Tree and Zeke together. They make a good combo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hip Zip Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 16th youngest team in the nation. Anybody here ever consider that ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akronzips71 Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 16th youngest team in the nation. Anybody here ever consider that ? They are too busy knocking the coach for being 11-1 in the MAC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CincyZip Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 4-21 from three. ORU fought us with a 2-3 Zone. That will not happen too often. We are fine, just got to get shots to land. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 They are too busy knocking the coach for being 11-1 in the MAC. I agree. This lynch mob mentality MUST cease. It is absolutely insane around here. Worst fans in the world. What is it... 98 "for" and 2 "against" firing Dambrot? You and I are the only rational people on this site. Thank God for us. How was your ESPN2 video feed? Acceptable quality? Wish we'd have played Iona. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Some of you guys are acting like KD is iCoach. One of the most successful coaches in school history. Give me a break. And play Tree and Zeke together. They make a good combo. I said this in another thread, but will repeat it again. I trust that KD knows that he's doing, and can do this better than the rest of us. At the same time, this is a sports fan forum, and questioning coaching decisions will be a part of that, no matter how well the team is playing. As I said earlier, playing Zeke and Treadwell together is very risky. Right now, Treadwell is Zeke's replacement on the floor. Burn too many of Treadwell's minutes, and Zeke gets in foul trouble, and we're in a real pickle. Until we can develop another capable big man, I don't see that changing. Speaking of Zeke, when he picked up that 3rd foul early in the 2nd half, he did a great job of playing until the next normal rotation without another foul. It may have been a gamble for us, but this was not the kind of game where we could have afforded to sit Zeke, and play Treadwell for extended minutes because of the way they were rebounding against us. The lack of fresh bodies in teh frontcourt could have turned that into a 25 rebound advantage for ORU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoZips94 Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 To clarify my post, I do NOT want KD fired. However, he has yet to win those big, season changing games outside of the MAC. I was just suggesting what I felt he should to do accomplish that goal he stated to be more than the MAC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hip Zip Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 4-21 from three. ORU fought us with a 2-3 Zone. That will not happen too often. We are fine, just got to get shots to land. It almost reminded me of the ND game last year in the sense that ND really didn't do much to beat us, we beat ourselves with horrid shooting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 It almost reminded me of the ND game last year in the sense that ND really didn't do much to beat us, we beat ourselves with horrid shooting. Speaking to a buddy of mine post-game, we both agree the Zips didn't play "inside-out," like coach Peters explained our offense. We played "outside-out." Way too few touches by Zeke. Way too easy to defend. Way too conducive to bad 3-point shooting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hip Zip Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Speaking to a buddy of mine post-game, we both agree the Zips didn't play "inside-out," like coach Peters explained our offense. We played "outside-out." Way too few touches by Zeke. Way too easy to defend. Way too conducive to bad 3-point shooting. Even though KD was quick to say that ORU took away the inside I do tend to agree with you. They did do a pretty good job of smothering Zeke but quick inside /out passes could have been executed. Seems like we saw much more of that in our offensive game last year and very little of it this year. Still, we had a lot of wide open outside looks that came up short. Good post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 It almost reminded me of the ND game last year in the sense that ND really didn't do much to beat us, we beat ourselves with horrid shooting. I felt like it was a repeat of the Notre Dame game in many ways also. It's not that often that we miss so many uncontested shots in a game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 After all of the complaints on ZN.o over the years about the Zips' weak scheduling, one thing for which we can give KD credit is finally putting together a tougher strength of schedule. Over his first 7 seasons, KD's SOS averaged about #172 or 50th percentile among all D-I teams. This season the Zips final SOS is projected at #107 or about 30th percentile. SEASON ---- SOS 2004-2005 -- 134 2005-2006 -- 186 2006-2007 -- 217 2007-2008 -- 159 2008-2009 -- 174 2009-2010 -- 166 2010-2011 -- 170 2011-2012 -- 107 (projected) There's not much that can be done about the SOS within the MAC, which is at least decent in the East but really poor in the West. But the Zips' out of conference SOS this season is currently ranked #43 in the country. That's a stronger OOC SOS than national powers such as Syracuse, Kentucky and tOSU. So even though the Zips win-loss record isn't any better than previous seasons, it's been done against higher-ranked competition. That's recognized by the fact that the Zips' RPI is currently rated higher than ever -- #65 even with a 19-8 record. Their previous best RPI was #67 in 2006-2007 with a 26-7 record. So while it's fair to criticize what we perceive as going wrong, we should also acknowledge that not everything is going wrong. When playing at full strength, this Zips team has performed better against tougher competition than any previous Zips team. They aren't quite where we want them to be and they're surely not quite where they want to be. But the season is far from over and they still have a chance to learn from their mistakes and get it together for a final run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootforRoo44 Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 The amount of excuses being made for this team is insane. Fan forums are for second-guessing the coaches/team, and this team has certainly earned criticism for several things this season. Everyone needs to stop defending Dambrot like he's Jesus Christ or something...chill out, if you're his daughter or wife, you probably shouldn't be on Zipsnation.org. KD's a great coach, but he's certainly not above being questioned. That being said, ORU was as much about missing shots as anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 ..... Everyone needs to stop defending Dambrot like he's Jesus Christ or something ..... That sounds like the polar opposite of: Everyone needs to stop attacking Dambrot like he's the devil or something. I wasn't aware that anyone was doing either of the above. Did I miss something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gczip22 Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 To clarify my post, I do NOT want KD fired. However, he has yet to win those big, season changing games outside of the MAC. I was just suggesting what I felt he should to do accomplish that goal he stated to be more than the MAC. you do realize we beat a top 25 team on the road this year, right? we also have 4 wins over teams in the top 100...(8 wins over top 100 if we win out) this board is ridiculous... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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