Forsythe Adds Much Needed Depth

[dboze]

Article on Pat Forsythe...

[Dave in Green]

Good analysis of how Pat helps Zeke, Tree and the rest of the team be more effective.

[GP1]

Each time I've seen this kid play, I like his game. He has some good offensive moves and gets his shoulders square to the basket in order to make a shot with a good chance to go in.

[Dave in Green]

Comparing Pat's senior season HS stats to Zeke's suggests that Pat was more of a shooter and rebounder while Zeke was more focused on swatting shots:

Zeke = 14 points, 9 rebounds, 8 blocks per game.

Pat = 22 points, 12 rebounds, 6 blocks per game.

When Pat takes over the center position next season, the Zips may lose some of the defensive intimidation Zeke creates. But Pat should make up for that with higher scoring and rebounding averages than Zeke. It will be interesting to see how that will affect the Zips offensive and defensive schemes next season.

[wadszip]

Comparing Pat's senior season HS stats to Zeke's suggests that Pat was more of a shooter and rebounder while Zeke was more focused on swatting shots:

Zeke = 14 points, 9 rebounds, 8 blocks per game.

Pat = 22 points, 12 rebounds, 6 blocks per game.

When Pat takes over the center position next season, the Zips may lose some of the defensive intimidation Zeke creates. But Pat should make up for that with higher scoring and rebounding averages than Zeke. It will be interesting to see how that will affect the Zips offensive and defensive schemes next season.

I'm just messing with you Dave, but those 6 blocks per game obviously show that Pat isn't a defensive force. lol.

I'm not from Pittsburgh so can't vouch on the level of competition Zeke went up against, but being from Cleveland, I can vouch for the level of competition Pat went up against. His senior year, he had (I believe) 6 games against Strongsville (Aaron White, Iowa), Medina (Kenny Kaminiski, Michigan State) and Garfield Heights (a school that has as much D1 talent as any in Ohio). The fact he put up those type of numbers considering the level of competition bodes well for him (It's no wonder Bob Huggins wanted him at WVU).

Overall, I agree that Pat will never become the shot blocker Zeke is (if so the Zips suddenly have had the two most prolific shot blockers in league history on the same team), but putting up 22 and 12 against the level of competition he has faced in high school, shows his immense potential. As Akron fans, we should feel very lucky to be able to replace Zeke with Pat (and still have Tree for potentially two more years on top of that). Just a sick amount of front-line talent that isn't going away anytime soon.

Oh, and the team has Isiah Johnson coming in... Sucks to be the rest of the MAC

[tpsjugglerdude]

If we are going to compare their high school stats lets compare their freshman stats since that is against college competition. Zeke is on top and Pat is on the bottom with stats through the Toledo game.

MIN 16.8 FG% .471 FT% .466 REB 3.9 AST .5 BLK 1.7 PF 2.1 TO 1.5 PTS 5.1

MIN 13.7 FG% .493 FT% .559 REB 3.4 AST .4 BLK 1.1 PF 1.7 TO 1.2 PTS 4.7

[wadszip]

If we are going to compare their high school stats lets compare their freshman stats since that is against college competition. Zeke is on top and Pat is on the bottom with stats through the Toledo game.

MIN 16.8 FG% .471 FT% .466 REB 3.9 AST .5 BLK 1.7 PF 2.1 TO 1.5 PTS 5.1

MIN 13.7 FG% .493 FT% .559 REB 3.4 AST .4 BLK 1.1 PF 1.7 TO 1.2 PTS 4.7

When adjusted on a per minute basis, Pat is better. But let's not forget that Pat did have a year in a major college under his belt, before coming to Akron. So, not quite an apples-to-apples comparison.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Oh, and the team has Isiah Johnson coming in... Sucks to be the rest of the MAC

I think about that sometimes...Miami had such a great basketball tradition, and a great fan base. Great for the MAC. Now they suck. CMU has absolutely sucked since Kaman left. EMU has sucked since the Boykins/Dial/Head teams. K.e.n.t. has been eroding for years. Ball State has sucked since Theron Smith/Bonzi/Lonnie Jones.

All those schools went from Great to Suck.

Jack Welch should write a book about them.

[tpsjugglerdude]

When adjusted on a per minute basis, Pat is better. But let's not forget that Pat did have a year in a major college under his belt, before coming to Akron. So, not quite an apples-to-apples comparison.

Pat played 80 minutes at WVU. But, he did have time to grow in the weight room, etc. Does anyone know how long he was injured while at WVU?

[Dave in Green]

I'm just messing with you Dave, but those 6 blocks per game obviously show that Pat isn't a defensive force. lol. .....

Humor is good. But let's look at their HS senior season rebounds and blocks from a percentage basis. Pat's 12 rebounds per game is 33% better than Zeke's 9, and Zeke's 8 blocks per game is 33% better than Pat's 6. So you could say they were equally close on rebounds and blocks. The biggest gap was in points scored, where Pat's 22 per game is 57% better than Zeke's 14. Of course there were differences in the roles that their HS coaches wanted them to take with the team, differences in level of competition, etc. So stats are only good for rough comparisons.

The main point I was trying to make is that Pat was a big scorer in HS, which indicates that he may play a bigger role in the Zips' offense in his final three seasons than Zeke did over the course of his career. Pat is nowhere near as tentative on offense as Zeke was in his first couple of seasons. He appears to enjoy shooting as much as rebounding and blocking. So I suspect that their career rebound and block averages with the Zips may end up closer together than their scoring averages.

[zippy5]

stats are only good for rough comparisons.

Dave is that you?

[The Hip Zip]

Love his footwork for a guy his size and it should do nothing but get better. The cupboards are full at UA and I'm lovin' it.