Transfer from WVU -- Pat Forsythe

[Quickzips]

OH I agree. In fact, he grew an inch between junior and senior year, and has added something like 45 pounds.

It is quite possible he will be a true 7 footer before he is done.

Having two 7 footers on the court at the same time is just not something that the MAC is built for. It could be one heck of a year.

Having two 7 footers on the floor at the same time sounds all fine and dandy until you realize that one of them has to defend your opponents 4. With the proliferation of the "stretch 4" throughout the college and pro game you almost have to have one big on the floor who can defend out to the 3 point line. We all know this is not Zeke's specialty, and it really isn't where you want to see him defending anyways. Unless Forsythe has the lateral quickness necessary to get the job done out there all we would be doing would be creating a huge liability on the defensive end.

The other part of the equation here is, lets say Forsythe starts and plays 15 minutes at PF and plays another 10 or so at C while Zeke is out of the game. Now what do you do with Harney and Tree. Those are two talented 6'8" forwards that you only have 25 minutes to divide between. Sure you can probably play Harney a bit at SF (probably can't do so with Tree) but then you are taking minutes away from Chauncey and Q.

I know everyone loves the idea of two 7 footers on the floor at the same time, but I don't think we should be expecting to see very much of it. I think what we should be more excited about, at least for the time being, is having at least one 7 footer on the floor at all times.

[Dave in Green]

Darn you people. Don't you know that premature speculation is contagious, that it's commonly spread on internet forums and that there's no cure?

So now that I've been exposed to the disease, and on the fragile assumption that things will work out for the best, I'm going to jump into this hypothetical conjecturing about how it might play out if we should be so fortunate that Forsythe ends up at UA and even more hypothetically ends up playing this season.

Addressing Quickzips' points, Zeke is just fine guarding out to the 3-point line, as long as he's guarding bigs and not speedy little guards. Everyone complains that Zeke doesn't rebound that much, anyway, so if Zeke and Forsythe should end up on the floor at the same time, why not let Zeke guard a big out to the 3-point line while Forsythe guards the big closer to the basket? By all accounts out of WVU, Forsythe is a better rebounder than Zeke, anyway, so if they're in the game together, this scenario works out just fine for the Zips.

On the other hand, if the big that Forsythe is hypothetically guarding is the one out by the 3-point line, one of his strong points as described by WVU fans is his lateral quickness and foot speed. So he would also do just fine guarding a stretch 4 far from the basket.

The biggest problem as I see it is that Forsythe could not only share center time with Zeke, but also work well on the floor along with Zeke when having two 7-footers on the floor could be a devastating force. The reason this is the biggest problem is that it's too good to be true. It's about time now for someone to jump in and talk about the Akron/NEO curse that keeps great things like this from happening to our sports teams.

[akzipper]

I'm wondering how strong we would be with Zeke, Tree, and Forsythe on the floor at the same time....

[akronzips71]

I'm wondering how strong we would be with Zeke, Tree, and Forsythe on the floor at the same time....

Depends on how athletic this guy really turns out to be. Zeke is not aggressive on offense, which is why we needed the Serb to shoot. Tree goes to the basket, if this new guy can score, it would be a scary combination. It would also take the foul pressure off Zeke, because we would still have a big man if he fouls out. Which unleashes Zeke on defense.

[akzipper]

Depends on how athletic this guy really turns out to be. Zeke is not aggressive on offense, which is why we needed the Serb to shoot. Tree goes to the basket, if this new guy can score, it would be a scary combination. It would also take the foul pressure off Zeke, because we would still have a big man if he fouls out. Which unleashes Zeke on defense.

Agreed. Also people really shouldn't worry about Harney or Tree losing playing time, because in reality the transfer would just be taking his minutes right? I think we'll have a solid rotation, just need that one guy to step up and be a leader. It's something we've lacked for a long time, is someone who will completely take charge of the offense.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Anyone remember how raw Zeke was in his first year? Forsythe is essentially a 1st year player. A 7-footer too, which means he'll have some early growing pains.

The likely scenario is: Zeke will get roughly 25 minutes, and Forsythe gets somewhere between 10 - 15 minutes. KD will play Mad Scientist on occasion, playing both simultaneously. But Forsythe is not going to regularly take many, if any of Cventinovic's vacant minutes.

Hopefully Forsythe is Bardo 2.0 this season, pushing Zeke in practice, giving energy off the bench, and hopefully adding a little more offensive punch than we've come to expect from a Zeke-sub. And when Zeke gets in foul trouble, it should be much less of a drop off at the 5 spot than replacing Zeke with Egner or even Tree.

[Hilltopper]

Anyone remember how raw Zeke was in his first year? Forsythe is essentially a 1st year player. A 7-footer too, which means he'll have some early growing pains.

The likely scenario is: Zeke will get roughly 25 minutes, and Forsythe gets somewhere between 10 - 15 minutes. KD will play Mad Scientist on occasion, playing both simultaneously. But Forsythe is not going to regularly take many, if any of Cventinovic's vacant minutes.

Hopefully Forsythe is Bardo 2.0 this season, pushing Zeke in practice, giving energy off the bench, and hopefully adding a little more offensive punch than we've come to expect from a Zeke-sub. And when Zeke gets in foul trouble, it should be much less of a drop off at the 5 spot than replacing Zeke with Egner or even Tree.

This sounds like what I would expect from KD based on past history. Forsythe is going to have to earn his minutes.

[skip-zip]

This sounds like what I would expect from KD based on past history. Forsythe is going to have to earn his minutes.

I agree with you about his history with new players. But, this could be different. We are talking about a guy who was already contributing early in his freshman year at a far bigger program.

I don't want to discredit Bardo. I loved the guy. But, I think I would be disappointed if this guy doesn't become far more than just a reincarnation of Bardo.

[Zipmeister]

Anyone remember how raw Zeke was in his first year? Forsythe is essentially a 1st year player. A 7-footer too, which means he'll have some early growing pains.

The likely scenario is: Zeke will get roughly 25 minutes, and Forsythe gets somewhere between 10 - 15 minutes. KD will play Mad Scientist on occasion, playing both simultaneously. But Forsythe is not going to regularly take many, if any of Cventinovic's vacant minutes.

Hopefully Forsythe is Bardo 2.0 this season, pushing Zeke in practice, giving energy off the bench, and hopefully adding a little more offensive punch than we've come to expect from a Zeke-sub. And when Zeke gets in foul trouble, it should be much less of a drop off at the 5 spot than replacing Zeke with Egner or even Tree.

In his first year?

[scottditzen]

Having two 7 footers on the court at the same time is just not something that the MAC is built for.

Now why did a referees whistle just go off in my head when I read this!!!!

[Captain Kangaroo]

I agree with you about his history with new players. But, this could be different. We are talking about a guy who was already contributing early in his freshman year at a far bigger program.

He contributed early...against the softest part of WVA's schedule. The equivalent of the Zips' John Carroll, NC A&T, etc. gauntlet.

Forsythe hasn't played meaningful basketball minutes since high school. He's transferring into an entirely new program and system. He's not going to set the world on fire when he arrives. He'll have moments when he teases you...but as far as being a consistent 20m/g contributor, odds are it won't happen until 2013-14 at the earliest.

I certainly could be wrong...but him setting the world on fire on a deep, veteran team like the 2012-13 Zips would be unprecedented.

[ZippyRulz]

Now why did a referees whistle just go off in my head when I read this!!!!

Right...the MAC refs would get dizzy and pass out from blowing their whistles so much..

[Dave in Green]

Word out of Morgantown is that Forsythe was expected to be the first big off the bench this season as a medical redshirt freshman, and a starter next season as a sophomore. First big off the bench for a big-time program like the Mountaineers under Huggins ought to translate to more than a few minutes per game with the Zips. In any case, it's all hypothetical at this point.

[akzipper]

Word out of Morgantown is that Forsythe was expected to be the first big off the bench this season as a medical redshirt freshman, and a starter next season as a sophomore. First big off the bench for a big-time program like the Mountaineers under Huggins ought to translate to more than a few minutes per game with the Zips. In any case, it's all hypothetical at this point.

One would hope this is the case. But I think most of us are getting ahead of ourselves. We don't even have an official announcement that he is a Zip, and even if he is I doubt he will be suiting up next year.

[blueandgold]

Hopefully Forsythe is Bardo 2.0 this season

If this happens, consider it a wasted scholarship. I'm sorry, Bardo was a good kid and all, but I would cringe everytime he stepped on the floor. I knew we would have no offense for that time period. We're trying to move forward, not backward.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Hopefully Forsythe is Bardo 2.0 this season

If this happens, consider it a wasted scholarship. I'm sorry, Bardo was a good kid and all, but I would cringe everytime he stepped on the floor. I knew we would have no offense for that time period. We're trying to move forward, not backward.

I will explain "Bardo 2.0" as succinctly as possible -- Bardo was very valuable in practice, and he was a 6' 9" wide body that beat on Zeke heavily during practices. Mike also gave us a 6' 9" body to lessen the effects of losing Zeke for fouls or simply giving him a breather. We missed that last season.

"2.0" (instead of 1.1) is because Forsythe is a bigger body (than Mike), with seemingly better offensive skills. But he will still be essentially a 7-foot freshman. If he can give us a little more in 2012-13, in minutes and points than senior Bardo gave us 2 seasons ago, and toughen Zeke up during practices, we should all be pretty happy.

Obviously we'd expect the numbers to continuously improve over his following 3 seasons, and his career numbers to exceed Mike's by a fair amount.

I do not see Forsythe averaging 14 points, 12 rebounds and 25 minutes for 2012-13. Half of that would be huge.

[taxpayer]

Mr. Bardo and his type are invaluable to programs. Good person, good student, good teammate and a servicible player. The Zips could use a banger of his size this year as Tree is the only Zip even remotely close to being able to bang and physically impose himself on opponents as needed. Personally, I can't wait to see what the off season has allowed Tree to progress his game to. He is a rare player who can run as well as bang, I believe he'll be much more of a factor this year over last year when he was a pleasant surprise.

As far as Mr. Forsythe, let's hope the rumors are true concerning his transfer to UA, possible hardship ruling to allow him to play this year and to his prowess on the court. The interesting thing to his potential addition is he is allegedly another big athletic player added to the mix of our current roster. The Zips will be able to run more on O and D with Nick's graduation.....this is going to be fun to watch.

[tpsjugglerdude]

Let's look at the future as well...we are getting a 6 11 guy who gets to learn from Zeke for a year. I hope some of Zeke's defense rubs off on him. He will be the main guy the following 3 years.

[Akron1]

http://medinagazette.northcoastnow.com/201...-w-v-for-akron/

[Dr Z]

http://medinagazette.northcoastnow.com/201...-w-v-for-akron/

...will continue his college basketball career with the Zips, but must sit out the 2012-13 season under NCAA Division I transfer rules.

...was granted a medical hardship waiver by the Big East for a fifth season of eligibility at WV. That status will not transfer with him to the Zips.

...will be paying for his studies during his initial season at Akron...prime candidate to be back on scholarship in the fall of 2013 with the Zips.

...had offers from many other universities, but this decision really wasn’t about basketball

VERY informative coming from a Medina newspaper, beating Akron's best to to the punch.

[Dave in Green]

That clears up a lot of the questions.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Let's look at the future as well...we are getting a 6 11 guy who gets to learn from Zeke for a year.

I would think Zeke will learn a few things from Pat too.

[BirdZip]

...was granted a medical hardship waiver by the Big East for a fifth season of eligibility at WV. That status will not transfer with him to the Zips.

This article serves to remind me how much I don't understand about college athletics. The conference decides if a medical hardship is granted, not the NCAA? Seems odd to me--opens the door to a conference routinely giving their best players extra time if desired for the strength of the conference, which translates to more money for the conference. Is that correct? And if so, can the MAC just turn around and grant him one?

[Hilltopper]

This article serves to remind me how much I don't understand about college athletics. The conference decides if a medical hardship is granted, not the NCAA? Seems odd to me--opens the door to a conference routinely giving their best players extra time if desired for the strength of the conference, which translates to more money for the conference. Is that correct? And if so, can the MAC just turn around and grant him one?

The Fat Lady ain't sung yet. Stay tuned.

[skip-zip]

I would think Zeke will learn a few things from Pat too.

Absolutely. I think the most immediate benefit is that Zeke will finally get to train and practice next season against a very formidable 6'-11" basketball player, and improve his chances of delivering us a great Senior season. We can worrry about how well Pat progresses later.