Dave in Green Posted November 16, 2012 Report Share Posted November 16, 2012 Forgot to mention that I told someone before the game that I expected Zeke to do well. Why? Because he was going head-to-head against a pretty decent big instead of a bunch of swarming midgets. Zeke is always at his best when he plays against a challenging big. UNCA center D.J. Cunningham, at 6-10, 240 pounds, entered the game as UNCA's second leading scorer and rebounder. Against Zeke (and Pat), Cunningham was 1-9 from the field and had only 3 rebounds in 34 minutes. He was pretty much neutralized. Sometimes we Zips fans get down on Zeke for not appearing to be NBA material when he doesn't dominate against lesser competition. But what NBA scouts are looking at is how he performs against other potential NBA bigs. For example, one of the keys to the Zips upset win over Mississippi State last season was that Zeke shut down Arnett Moultrie. The 6-11 Moultrie was drafted in the NBA's first round after being the only player other than number one draft choice Anthony Davis to average a double-double (points and rebounds) in the tough SEC. Point is, NBA scouts are all aware that Zeke is fully capable of shutting down bigs like Moultrie and Cunningham. If Zeke doesn't do quite as well against guys who will never play in the NBA, what's the difference to an NBA team? They're looking for draft choices who match up well with other NBA draftees. And that's where Zeke really shines. So keep an eye on how Zeke performs in other games this season where he's matched against a quality big, because that's what the NBA scouts will be looking at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quickzips Posted November 16, 2012 Report Share Posted November 16, 2012 Been very busy with work this week. I haven't seen any of the games, nor had much of any time to get on here for updates. Just getting caught up now. Looks like we missed a big opportunity yesterday against OkSt, but apparently bounced back today against Asheville. Anyone care to give me the readers digest version of this week in Zips hoops? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akronzips71 Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 Been very busy with work this week. I haven't seen any of the games, nor had much of any time to get on here for updates. Just getting caught up now. Looks like we missed a big opportunity yesterday against OkSt, but apparently bounced back today against Asheville. Anyone care to give me the readers digest version of this week in Zips hoops? Simple. Thursday we were missing Harney and Tree. Tree especially, because he makes those perimeter shots a higher percentage, in the sense that he gets us second chances on misses. 18 straight missed FG attempts. But Tree gets us back probably 5 or 6 of those, and maybe we get a couple of put backs. And that was the margin. Today we had our Razzle Dazzle back. This was the TRUE Zips team. And yes, some guys had an off day yesterday. It happens. We still took a quality Major to OT. Without Razzle and Dazzle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 Sucks knowing we'd be 3-0 without that dumb suspension, with a shot against Tennessee today. Great performance all around this afternoon. This is going to be a really good team this year. We would have had a great chance to make a statement for an at-large with a couple big Ws in this tournament, but it wasn't meant to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akronzips71 Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 I have to agree with you, at least about Thursday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 Watching this Penn State-Providence game, and it's awful. Just awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 I'm not watching, but I see the score is 40-39 with a minute and a half left. I hope you mean by "awful" that both teams look like the Zips could rip them up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 I'm not watching, but I see the score is 40-39 with a minute and a half left. I hope you mean by "awful" that both teams look like the Zips could rip them up. Penn State plays an old-school Charlie Coles style of basketball. Providence only six players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 Going to OT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 So, an ugly game vs. PSU and a wear them out with an 11-player rotation vs. Providence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 So, an ugly game vs. PSU and a wear them out with an 11-player rotation vs. Providence. Yeah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 And they're in OT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 Looks like Providence plays a 2-3 zone D and scores in transition. Also looks like that's who we'll be playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 Just noticed the halftime score -- 16-14. Charlie Coles is smiling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 If nothing else, I've learned that Dan Dakich is a great color commentator. He's really the only reason this game is semi-watchable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akronzips71 Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 I watched the OT. We can beat them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 PSU it is. Coach Dambrot knows how to handle a Charlie Coles offense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lumberjack Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 Well, the performance after halftime certainly put to rest from this thread the master of Zips doom and gloom. Lots of kudos to all the players who contributed to this win. But Chauncey deserves a special shout-out after all the grief he was taking for not appearing to perform up to par while he was battling through his injured knee. Imagine what he could do if he was 100%! This brings up an interesting point. With Tree and Harney back, I wasn't expecting Kretzer to start. But after starting and once again playing long minutes, it appears as if he's achieved something that's exceedingly rare on a Coach Dambrot team -- earning a starting position as a true freshman. That starting wing/small forward position used to be Chauncey's. But today's results were spectacular with Chauncey coming off the bench and providing a big energy boost. The big question is whether or not Chauncey can be happy coming off the bench or if he's going to feel like he was "demoted." I'd really be interested in lumberjack's take on this. Is it more important to Chauncey to be a starter or to give the team a big boost off the bench as Q did last season? I believe this was a planned KD maneuver to bring a spark off the bench I believe...Similar to Diggs I guest..How Chauncey feels about this I guest time will tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 My favorite moment during the game was when Chauncey hit a three and was on fire and ran down the court and gave the crowd a "cat who swallowed the canary" grin. We loved it. What a great little redemptive moment for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyzip84 Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 My favorite moment during the game was when Chauncey hit a three and was on fire and ran down the court and gave the crowd a "cat who swallowed the canary" grin. We loved it. What a great little redemptive moment for him. BTW, I really appreciate your commentary during the tournament Unfortunately, work demands prevented me from seeing any of the on-court action. I think if the Zips can take care of business against PSU, the ship will have been fully righted just in time for the remainder of the early season schedule (which still offers a few opportunities to impress). Looking forward to seeing the full squad in the JAR soon! Go Zips!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted November 18, 2012 Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 I believe this was a planned KD maneuver to bring a spark off the bench I believe...Similar to Diggs I guest..How Chauncey feels about this I guest time will tell. Chauncey was back in the starting lineup today and played well. Not sure it's clear yet whether there is an advantage to the team having him start or be the spark off the bench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 UNC-Asheville is taking on NCState tonight. At the half they lead the #16-ranked Wolf Pack by 3, 37-34. We beat UNC-Asheville by 19 in Puerto Rico. Just thought this might be of interest to some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 I'm beginning to think that NC State is not as good as advertized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 Final score: NCState 82 UNC-Asheville 80. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 There's no doubt in my mind that a full-strength Zips team could have beaten Oklahoma State, Tennessee and NC State in PR. Doesn't mean they would have, just that they would have had a reasonable chance. But it's all pure speculation at this point. We'll have another chance to see how good the Zips are when they play Creighton, #14 in the AP poll and #12 in the coaches poll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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