GoZips Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Western Michigan tanked early against Ohio. At half time WMU concocted a plan that nearly won the game for them. Double team DJ Cooper nearly every time he touches the ball on offense. This simple plan nearly took down OU. Had the deficit (seventeen) been a little smaller or the game a few minutes longer WMU might have pulled the upset. The Zips brain trust watched the WMU/OU game from courtside. Hopefully they spotted the double teaming and the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip Watcher Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 I couldn't disagree more. The games where the Zips have doubled Cooper he has killed it with assists. Think back to the last time OU won at the JAR. He had 16 assists or so, leading to 38 points. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Single team Cooper with a bigger player (Harney) and make him a shooter. I'd rather see DJ go for 20 with under 5 assists. B) B) Go Zips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyzip84 Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 We didn't see any extended zone from the Zips last night. I expect to see at least a little of that tonight, with Harney out front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hip Zip Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 In the what could have been dept. Q hawking DJ all night would be pretty effective but Harney will do a good job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatwad Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 I'm actually interested to see Melo on DJ at times tonight. It seems to me that Melo was always faster than Alex on the defensive side of the ball. He and Cooper could go at it like two little gnats tonight. Obviously Harney is going to have to be ready as well but his length could bother DJ somewhat (I hope...). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZipGB8 Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 I'm actually interested to see Melo on DJ at times tonight. It seems to me that Melo was always faster than Alex on the defensive side of the ball. He and Cooper could go at it like two little gnats tonight. Obviously Harney is going to have to be ready as well but his length could bother DJ somewhat (I hope...). The only thing with that is, when OU runs high ball screens around the key with Cooper handling the ball and getting guys like Offutt and Baltic open for shots, Cooper gets his assists because it makes Zeke or Tree come out and defend too far. This is why I think we need to mix it up with a 2-3 zone more often to keep them unbalanced. But I know Dambrot coaches with his gut and he like man to man with Zeke and Tree in the game because of toughness and because they alter shots. If you have Harney guarding Cooper, Cooper will get around it somehow or continue to throw up 3's from Wadsworth. Harney isn't exactly the quickest perimeter defender, he doesn't fight threw screens as quickly as Melo or Walsh. But I guess it's whatever would keep the coach happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quickzips Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Zips won't double Cooper. They haven't doubled much of anyone all year. The big differences between Akron and Western are length and athleticism. Western has to double to make up for the fact that they are smaller and less athletic. Akron will throw out a bunch of big, long, athletic defenders and try to play Cooper straight up. As in every other OU/Akron matchup this year it really is as simple as OU's perimeter game against Akron's bigs. If OU gets rolling from beyond the arch they will likely win. If Akron can feed the post and get Zeke, Tree and possibly Harney into 12-15+ points they will likely win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burrdie Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Was at the game, awesome. No question Zips can take OU. Cooper just needs to be challenged. melo is fast but Nick is agressive. I like what Melo is doing in such a short time, one week. He will go on to be a great player for the Zips. It is not lack of talent that will hurt them it will focus and getting their head in the game. The foul shots showed their head was not in the game. No excuse for the foul shooting other than concentration. I know they can win Go Zips, ladies and men!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 I couldn't disagree more. The games where the Zips have doubled Cooper he has killed it with assists. Think back to the last time OU won at the JAR. He had 16 assists or so, leading to 38 points. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Single team Cooper with a bigger player (Harney) and make him a shooter. I'd rather see DJ go for 20 with under 5 assists. B) B) Go Zips! Agreed 100% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quickzips Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 The key to defeating Cooper isn't doubling him out front. It is throwing a wave of long, athletic defenders at him throughout the game. Cooper was completely stagnant all night. He just couldn't get any space to operate with Harney, Tree, Kretzer and Zeke defending him most of the game. Too bad it took the Zips until this year to figure it out. Could have maybe had another title last year. Not that I'm complaining too much after the amazing night we had tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 How much do you think you could have won on this prop bet? Carmelo Betancourt will outscore DJ Cooper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Z Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Great D on Cooper last night, they put everybody on him, Zeke, Tree, Harney. Cooper had to be frustrated. I would have never bet he would have scored under 10 points last night. Great coaching move, great execution! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatwad Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Great D on Cooper last night, they put everybody on him, Zeke, Tree, Harney. Cooper had to be frustrated. I would have never bet he would have scored under 10 points last night. Great coaching move, great execution! Coach Dambrot is a genius. Tree was picking up Cooper in the halfcourt for most of the night and he had no idea what to do. Unbelievable. The Melo vs. Cooper prop bet made me laugh. Even better Cooper also had 5x the turnovers Melo did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 KD has mentioned before that we have big men with the ability to switch on the ball screens out top and cover him one on one. He confirmed last night that this has been the way we have been defending him for the last 4 contests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Cooper looked like a lost little kid on the court last night. You could tell in the second half how badly he wanted to get off a few long bombs, and he couldn't even get a clear look from 30 feet out with all the long bodies on him. That's what Cooper would face every night in the NBA, which is why he's never going to get there. Any NBA scouts who were at the Q or watching on TV got a clear demonstration of how Cooper's performance would be affected by playing against NBA-size players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Cooper looked like a lost little kid on the court last night. You could tell in the second half how badly he wanted to get off a few long bombs, Good observation and placing a time on it. It looked to me that KD went into the game with the strategy he wasn't going to let OUs best player beat him. Hats off to #30 for OU because he played a great game against every big man we threw at him. In fact, he took it to Zeke a couple of times and scored in a way not many people do, but at the end of the day #30 wasn't going to beat us. Cooper was always the threat and the Zips had a 40 minute strategy for him. It seemed that KD was willing to sacrafice #30 scoring in the first half in order to get to the second half where the Zips could get a lead and test Cooper et al on tired legs to hit three point shots. It worked. OU played the second game the night before and was physically and mentally tired. Bad shots, bad defense, bad passing, etc. defined OUs game last night. The Zips steady play throughout and fatigue were two key components in the game last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quickzips Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Cooper looked like a lost little kid on the court last night. You could tell in the second half how badly he wanted to get off a few long bombs, and he couldn't even get a clear look from 30 feet out with all the long bodies on him. That's what Cooper would face every night in the NBA, which is why he's never going to get there. Any NBA scouts who were at the Q or watching on TV got a clear demonstration of how Cooper's performance would be affected by playing against NBA-size players. I was waiting for Cooper to go into hero-ball mode all second half and it just never really happened. Like you said, he couldn't even get a clean look from 30 feet like he sometimes likes to do. It was a great defensive performance all around by the Zips in that second half. The idea that Cooper was an NBA prospect was always a little far-fetched, but the coffin is clearly shut on that now. He may get an invite to summer league, but most likely he'll have to go to Europe to get a pay-check as a professional basketball player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zipmeister Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 If you haven't viewed the you simply must. It's priceless. The expression on both player's faces suggests that they were not pleased with the outcome of the contest. Early on, Reggie is more interested in trying to remove an earwig from his ear than answer a question. By the end of the conference, they won't even put the camera on him as he mumbles a response to a question. Priceless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZoner Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Ha ha! Young adults are devastated! Hilarious! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bUAkronG Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Ha ha! Young adults are devastated! Hilarious! still 100 times classier than booing an injured player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZoner Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 still 100 times classier than booing an injured player. That wasn't cool either. Still, two wrongs, right, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 That wasn't cool either. Still, two wrongs, right, etc. You really think those are comparable? Being happy to end your rivals' careers (on a message board) and booing an injured player? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bUAkronG Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 You really think those are comparable? Being happy to end your rivals' careers (on a message board) and booing an injured player? Thank you. All the crap Keely talked earlier in the season and I'm supposed to have sympathy for him for losing to us for the third time? Not hardly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 still 100 times classier than booing an injured player. And our dance team... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZoner Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 And our dance team... You don't have a leg to stand on there. Akron fans booed the crap out of their opponent's dance teams. And I wasn't comparing booing Betancourt while hurt to taking joy in the press conference. I've just been there in that room with the players right after their careers have ended, so I can feel the emotion. It's not something I'd make fun of. If an Ohio fan had done that, I'd say the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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