Let'sGoZips94 Posted July 21, 2012 Report Share Posted July 21, 2012 Ranking the early season college basketball tournaments. Akron is in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, which is ranked as a 'B'. Some very solid teams in the tournament. I like it a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zipmeister Posted July 21, 2012 Report Share Posted July 21, 2012 19 tournaments 146 teams 2 MAC teams (BG one of the 12 teams in the preseason NIT field not detailed in the article) The last # seems a bit underwhelming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akronzips71 Posted July 21, 2012 Report Share Posted July 21, 2012 This year there is no excuse for the standard Akron "slow start". All the pieces are in place and have game experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akzipper Posted July 21, 2012 Report Share Posted July 21, 2012 This year there is no excuse for the standard Akron "slow start". All the pieces are in place and have game experience. It happens every year, and we always have the same old "We'll be so much better next year" attitude. This is why I am expecting a slow start, it always happens no matter how "good" we think the team is. We ALWAYS play to the level of our competition and head into MAC play hovering around a .500 record, I see no reason why this season will be any different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted July 21, 2012 Report Share Posted July 21, 2012 It sure looked like it would be impossible to put last year into a "slow start" category with the opening road win at Miss. State. But unfortunately, we played some really bad games in the OOC after that. However, besides the Miss. State game, those bad performances were also mixed in with blowout wins against Detroit, Marshall and YSU, an OT game against VCU, and a near-win on the road at Cleveland State. I'll put myself in the category of "inconsistent" rather than "slow" in my opinion of last year's team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 It sure looked like it would be impossible to put last year into a "slow start" category with the opening road win at Miss. State. But unfortunately, we played some really bad games in the OOC after that. However, besides the Miss. State game, those bad performances were also mixed in with blowout wins against Detroit, Marshall and YSU, an OT game against VCU, and a near-win on the road at Cleveland State. I'll put myself in the category of "inconsistent" rather than "slow" in my opinion of last year's team. Do you think injuries and suspensions affected our start last season? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 It happens every year, and we always have the same old "We'll be so much better next year" attitude. This is why I am expecting a slow start, it always happens no matter how "good" we think the team is. We ALWAYS play to the level of our competition and head into MAC play hovering around a .500 record, I see no reason why this season will be any different. If we are at .500, with seniors Zeke, Diggs, Gilliam, Walsh (TBD)...with Tree and Abreu...Betancourt...potentially a 6' 11" transfer from WVa...Harney...if we can't win big-time in 2012-13....we just wasted a lot of money on a 10 year contract. This is the best assembly of basketball talent the Zips have ever fielded. No excuses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 If we are at .500, with seniors Zeke, Diggs, Gilliam, Walsh (TBD)...with Tree and Abreu...Betancourt...potentially a 6' 11" transfer from WVa...Harney...if we can't win big-time in 2012-13....we just wasted a lot of money on a 10 year contract. This is the best assembly of basketball talent the Zips have ever fielded. No excuses. I agree. The fans have been MORE than patient with this program since KD took over. Enough is enough. It's time to add some depth to the success of the program. If not next year, then when? I'm still the same believer in this group of players as I was after the Miss State victory last year. I love what I see. There is a ton of talent and it's up to them to put it all together next year. We need more of the program that beat Miss State and less of the program that pooped their pants in the MAC Championship game and against the seventh place Big Ten finisher in the NIT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 Do you think injuries and suspensions affected our start last season? The slow start can be explained by that. It doesn't explain the end of the season though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 The slow start can be explained by that. It doesn't explain the end of the season though. Our biggest problem as the season wore on was lack of point guard depth. After Abreu, there was no real PG to run the offense. Some bad decisions during crunch time of the OU and Northwestern games also hurt. But it is time to forget the past and move forward.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akzipper Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 If we are at .500, with seniors Zeke, Diggs, Gilliam, Walsh (TBD)...with Tree and Abreu...Betancourt...potentially a 6' 11" transfer from WVa...Harney...if we can't win big-time in 2012-13....we just wasted a lot of money on a 10 year contract. This is the best assembly of basketball talent the Zips have ever fielded. No excuses. ....same thing everyone said last year. I know a lot of us a homers, but like I've said every year we think we can do better than the last. But really we never live up to the Zipsnation expectations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted July 26, 2012 Report Share Posted July 26, 2012 Akron men's basketball to face Oklahoma State in Puerto Rico Tip-Off tourney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve1981 Posted July 26, 2012 Report Share Posted July 26, 2012 Akron men's basketball to face Oklahoma State in Puerto Rico Tip-Off tourney Hope you guys win the rematch from 2008 with Travis Ford. UMass fan here and while he helped us, he never talked about UMass basketball, just basketball. He has an abrasive style as you can see from this clip. http://www.news9.com/Global/category.asp?C...;clipId=3429090 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxpayer Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 Akron men's basketball to face Oklahoma State in Puerto Rico Tip-Off tourney Here's an expert's opinion on this tournament: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballn...-rico-tip-off-3 The current favorites are Oklahoma State or North Carolina State.....we play them both with a game AT NC State prior to arriving in San Juan and then open versus Ok State. The Zips appear to have themselves quite a hill to climb at the beginning of the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 Akron men's basketball to face Oklahoma State in Puerto Rico Tip-Off tourney Here's an expert's opinion on this tournament: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballn...-rico-tip-off-3 The current favorites are Oklahoma State or North Carolina State.....we play them both with a game AT NC State prior to arriving in San Juan and then open versus Ok State. The Zips appear to have themselves quite a hill to climb at the beginning of the season. NC State backed out pf that game. Now we open at Coastal Carolina instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wadszip Posted August 2, 2012 Report Share Posted August 2, 2012 Hope you guys win the rematch from 2008 with Travis Ford. UMass fan here and while he helped us, he never talked about UMass basketball, just basketball. He has an abrasive style as you can see from this clip. http://www.news9.com/Global/category.asp?C...;clipId=3429090 Why did you have to be so cruel to bring up that 2008 game? That should've been Akron getting the chance to ultimately play Ohio State in the NIT title game ...lol. I forgot Travis Ford was the coach of UMass then. Beating Oklahoma State will be tough, but hopefully their fans will be too caught up in football to travel to Puerto Rico. Add in that our starting point guard is from San Juan and our freshman backup PG is from 50 miles from there, at least it should be a defacto hometown crowd for Akron. Best of luck to UMass in Puerto Rico. Maybe we can piss everybody off and get a rematch of the 2008 game in the finals (I think that is where we would meet). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpsjugglerdude Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 OK State6'11" center suspended http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball...-phillip-jurick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 OK State6'11" center suspended http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball...-phillip-jurick Suspended from a bunch of fake games. They'll probably let him play against us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akronzips71 Posted August 8, 2012 Report Share Posted August 8, 2012 Averaged 1.6 points per game. Bring it on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akzipper Posted August 8, 2012 Report Share Posted August 8, 2012 Zeke plays better against centers close to his height. So wouldn't we want this guy to play?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Z Posted August 20, 2012 Report Share Posted August 20, 2012 Zips worth watching early in the morning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxpayer Posted August 20, 2012 Report Share Posted August 20, 2012 DR. Z, thanks for the link. I'll take the brief Zips mention as a compliment. I'm hoping the team gets in a day or two early and can outwork & shoot the cowboys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wadszip Posted August 21, 2012 Report Share Posted August 21, 2012 I still think that, while it's a "neutral court" game, the fact that the both the Zips' point guards are from within 50 miles of San Juan (and Alex being from right outside San Juan) is going to be huge for Akron. I can't imagine a scenario where the Zips won't be the de facto home team in every game they play down there with the locals. ... Being "Underdogs" with two local players in the mix. I bring that up again because, while the espn article gives the Zips love, it doesn't mention that aspect. From looking up the rosters of the teams in the field, no other team has one player from Puerto Rico on their roster. ... let alone two ... both of whom are basically from San Juan. I wish I could make the trip down there to add to the Latin atmosphere that I'm sure will greet this team. Personally, I hope Akron can make the PR tip-off an annual event. For one, with either Alex or Melo conceivably being around for the next four years (and that doesn't take into account whether KD will mine the island for another player in that time), it's a venue where the Zips can play top-notch competition in a place where the bulk of the fans should be rooting for the Zips. That's not going to happen in Akron, even if there is a new arena. Teams like Oklahoma State, Tennessee and NC State still aren't going to come up here (unless the game is at the Q). Might as well take advantage of this advantage the Zips have. Secondly, I need an excuse to visit San Juan in the coming years ... just can't make it work this year, lol. Lastly, It's a great recruiting tool. Puerto Rico produces some very good talent that is often overlooked by the bigger schools (Carlos Arroyo and Juan Berea have carved out nice pro careers, including several years in the NBA, and went to Florida International and Northeastern, respectively). And kids from Puerto Rico obviously should be interested in Akron, not only because of Alex and Carmelo, but lets not forget that Northeast Ohio (though mainly in Lorain and Cleveland) have one of the largest Puerto Rican populations in the U.S. at around 150,000. ... though the PR population in Summit County is growing pretty rapidly as well. It just makes too much sense right now for Akron to try to make this thing an annual event. Plus, I imagine the people in San Juan who put this together would be receptive. After all, they are trying to sell tickets. Unless you get a field of Duke, UNC, Kentucky, etc ... the best way to do that is to have a team that the locals can get behind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxpayer Posted August 21, 2012 Report Share Posted August 21, 2012 Wadszip - I too hope the Zips can capitalize on playing a couple of big boys on a neutral court and jump starting the season which apparently will have their toughest schedule ever. This tournament is a made for TV event; meaning the "audience" is TV versus local San Juan residents packing the place. The historical attendance at these games is low, I'd guess 2-3,000 a game in a 16-18,000 seat arena. It will be very interesting to see if Alex and Melo's presence on the Zips will translate into being the "adopted" home team, I sure hope so. This will be a major challenge for the Zips but one they are capable of handling if they stay healthy, confident and are as hungry as I think they are. As far as playing there every year, the organizers seem to rotate different programs and conferences into the mix. If A & M's presence brings in a couple thousand local residents to see them play it could obviously sway the powers that be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted August 21, 2012 Report Share Posted August 21, 2012 I hope that Alex and Melo's parents have been on the phones, calling up every relative and friend in the greater San Juan area and telling them to support us. Family ties can be pretty strong in Puerto Rico. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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