FearTheRoo Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 When we beat Ohio at the JAR earlier this season, I felt the second half was the best defensive performance I had ever seen a Zips team display. In my mind, it was incomparable to any game I can remember watching. That was rivaled by tonight's performance. I just finished watching it on TV after being there in person. I was so nervous about this game after the emotional week we had that I didn't even realize how big our lead really was with around a minute to go!!! I will also not forget a brief conversation I had with Zeke after the Can't loss last week. I simply asked him if his team was going to be ready for Cleveland. He said that would be and that he would take it upon himself to assure that they got past the emotions. He and KD did just that. I especially love Terry Pluto's quote (so much so that I placed it in my signature!): When it meant the most, the Zips did everything better. That includes the grit and concentration needed to re-tool the team to replace Abreu, beat rival Can't State on Friday (62-59) and then demolish Ohio 24 hours later. -- Terry Pluto GO ZIPS!!!! :champs: :champs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 My daughter and I got on the court afterward (with many others) and all the players were great. They were very patient in posing for pictures, signing autographs, etc., while still celebrating with each other. Great group of kids. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum: OU fans. We were in a section that was mostly green, and they started booing Betancourt as soon as he went down. They continued to boo the whole time he was down, then got louder when he got up. Keep it classy OU! I had THE worst OU fans behind me. Nothing is OU's fault. Geez. Anyway, couldn't be anymore proud of this team. Going through what they did, I thought they were ripe for Coop's picking, to be honest. Instead they completely dominated. Great night, great crowd. Just awesome all around. Congrats zips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 I thought the Zips did a few things tonight that made this a blowout: 1) Played the best defensive half of the entire season. 2) Found point production from an unlikely source (Walsh and Gilliam's 21 combined points). 3) FINALLY took clear advantage of their size in the paint against OU and produced a huge rebounding advantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip_ME87 Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 I am so proud of our Zips and how they handled so much adversity. I couldn't be happier for them. These Zips are a special group. I know someone posted the article about Jake Kretzer's heart issue in another thread, but I missed this article on March 13th on Ohio.com. I apologize if it was posted elsewhere, but I hadn't realized what Jake has had to deal with over this season. GO ZIPS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 You could clearly hear them booing on national TV. I hate when people make the cliche statement 'fan group x lacks class' but OU fans really test my limits. The classless idiots booed our dance team! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Veterans KD's most important move of the night last night had less to do with Xs and Os, and more to do with the deployment of personnel after halftime. He put his veterans in a position to make the team successful and they did. From a player and coaching perspective, it might have been the best second half of basketball I've ever seen the Zips play in a big game. It all came together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Z Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 ...and more to do with the deployment of personnel after halftime.Best thing that happened at halftime was the fact that we switched hoops. Best rim ever. Everything that touched the rim in the paint went in for OU first half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quickzips Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Veterans KD's most important move of the night last night had less to do with Xs and Os, and more to do with the deployment of personnel after halftime. He put his veterans in a position to make the team successful and they did. From a player and coaching perspective, it might have been the best second half of basketball I've ever seen the Zips play in a big game. It all came together. It was pretty obvious early in the second that Forsythe wasn't going to see the court (unless Zeke got into foul trouble) and Reggie probably wasn't either. 7 man rotation down the stretch with Melo, Walsh, Gilliam, Harney, Tree, Kretzer and Zeke and those guys had enough gas in the tank to get it done. Those other guys will have their chances in the coming years, but when this game was on the line we needed our veterans in there and KD knew it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJGood Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 It was pretty obvious early in the second that Forsythe wasn't going to see the court (unless Zeke got into foul trouble) and Reggie probably wasn't either. 7 man rotation down the stretch with Melo, Walsh, Gilliam, Harney, Tree, Kretzer and Zeke and those guys had enough gas in the tank to get it done. Those other guys will have their chances in the coming years, but when this game was on the line we needed our veterans in there and KD knew it. I agree with this. I am just still not sure that I wouldn't rather have Reggie in than Jake just for ball handling purposes. Other than that the two seem to be pretty equal and Jake may have more of a chip on his shoulder when it comes to playing OU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 It was pretty obvious early in the second that Forsythe wasn't going to see the court (unless Zeke got into foul trouble) and Reggie probably wasn't either. 7 man rotation down the stretch with Melo, Walsh, Gilliam, Harney, Tree, Kretzer and Zeke and those guys had enough gas in the tank to get it done. Those other guys will have their chances in the coming years, but when this game was on the line we needed our veterans in there and KD knew it. KD has always leaned on his veterans in these situations, so that's nothing new. But, Kretzer and Melo aren't veterans. And if they are, how do you categorize McAdams? KD simply had no choice but to play a few of the young guys that he trusted the most. If we had played the true "veterans" only, we would have been playing a very thin lineup last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Reggie still played 10 minutes with three rebounds, an assist and a block, so it's not like he didn't contribute. But I have to reiterate what a huge game that was for Melo being thrust into that situation. In another thread I mentioned that he had outscored Cooper 5-3, and someone said he had only one turnover to Coopers 5. He also had 3 assists to Cooper 6, out rebounded him 4-2 and two steals to Cooper's one. I don't think he could have come up much bigger and he ended up playing 27 minutes almost as many as Cooper's 33. What a huge, huge game from him. Hope that really boosts his confidence going into the NCAA's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quickzips Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 KD has always leaned on his veterans in these situations, so that's nothing new. But, Kretzer and Melo aren't veterans. And if they are, how do you categorize McAdams? KD simply had no choice but to play a few of the young guys that he trusted the most. If we had played the true "veterans" only, we would have been playing a very thin lineup last night. Without Abreu, KD really only has five "veterans" in Walsh, Gilliam, Harney, Tree and Zeke. Maybe he could have played them all 20 minutes in the second half, but that is asking a lot. KD had to go with at least one or two of the younger guys, and I think he picked right. You had to go with 'Melo for ball-handling purposes, and he played well enough in the first half that I'm sure KD trusted him running out in the second. Kretzer vs. McAdams was a tough call, but you could tell all year that, even though KD likes them both, he prefers/trusts Jake a little bit more. Jake is a little tougher physically and plays a little better defense at this point, which was what the second half was all about for us. Either way, last night wasn't really about Jake, 'Melo, Reggie or Pat. It was all about Zeke, Tree, Chauncey, Nick and Walsh. You look back at all the big moments last night it was pretty much those five guys who were getting it done. Like I said, the youngsters will get their opportunities in the coming years. Last night was all about the veterans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Melo performed beyond expectations for 27 minutes. He looked a lot more comfortable on the floor than I've seen him before. He may be mentally coming to grips with what he has to do to keep the Zips' season going. I know he got a leg cramp again, and was on the bench having his calf iced. But I'm not sure if the cramp came due to extended playing time or the fact that a Kitty player collided with Melo's leg a second before he went down on the court, which may have triggered the cramp. As well as Melo was performing, it's risky to use up all of his minutes early in the game. If Melo goes out with leg cramps too early in a game, it puts a huge burden on Harney, who was looking pretty worn out near the end of last night's game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoZips94 Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 I couldn't believe it was a 19 point victory. With about 4-5 minutes left, the Zips were up by 12-16 at times, yet I found myself STILL holding my breath, bracing myself for "Cooper Heroics." As soon as we went up by 21 with minutes to go, and Cooper continued to miss shot after shot after shot, I exhaled and started to go crazy. This team is special, VERY special. What a way for Zeke, Chauncey, and Walsh to finish their MAC careers, PUMMELING the Bobkittens in the MAC Championship Game. I am very excited to see what this team can do in the tourney. All year, I've been telling my friends/family/other people, "They can win some games, trust me." Well now I, along with all of ZipsNation, will get a chance to see what this team can really do. Congrats to Akron. The Lady Zips made it to their first ever MAC Women's Championship Game and made an impressive showing. Then the Men follow that great showing up with winning the MAC Men's Championship Game by 19 points over OU. I am incredibly proud to be a Zip. GO ZIPS! I BELIEVE WE ARE MAC CHAMPS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mivid12 Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 WOW! Congrats to all....HOWEVER.....NOT DONE.....GO ZIPS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akronzips71 Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 I have to admit that I was against Melo starting, but he seems to have come of age. And Harney is really not good at the point. I noticed that he is way too casual with the ball. And did anyone else notice - when he dribbled towards the corner he was all hunched over to protect the ball. That is really why 6'8" goes don't usually play point - those high dribbles are easy to slap away. Harney is way more effective as a forward. Looks like Melo owns the point for now. Someone needs to feed him twinkies at the half to get that blood sugar up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akronzips71 Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Best thing that happened at halftime was the fact that we switched hoops. Best rim ever. Everything that touched the rim in the paint went in for OU first half. Normally I would say that you are kidding, but in this case I agree. It did seem like shots did not drop on the other end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quickzips Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 I have to admit that I was against Melo starting, but he seems to have come of age. And Harney is really not good at the point. I noticed that he is way too casual with the ball. And did anyone else notice - when he dribbled towards the corner he was all hunched over to protect the ball. That is really why 6'8" goes don't usually play point - those high dribbles are easy to slap away. Harney is way more effective as a forward. Looks like Melo owns the point for now. Someone needs to feed him twinkies at the half to get that blood sugar up. All valid points, but we really don't have a better option as the backup PG right now. Melo can't play 40 minutes without cramping, so we need someone coming off the bench to spell him. We tried a week ago with Deji and it was a huge disaster. We tried this weekend with Harney and won two games against arguably the two hottest teams in the conference going into the weekend. I suspect KD will run with a similar lineup in the big-dance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippyfan34 Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 I have to admit that I was against Melo starting, but he seems to have come of age. And Harney is really not good at the point. I noticed that he is way too casual with the ball. And did anyone else notice - when he dribbled towards the corner he was all hunched over to protect the ball. That is really why 6'8" goes don't usually play point - those high dribbles are easy to slap away. Harney is way more effective as a forward. Looks like Melo owns the point for now. Someone needs to feed him twinkies at the half to get that blood sugar up. We don't win Friday without Harney playing about 20 minutes at the point. Is he perfect, no, neither is Melo. They both bring different attributes which benefit the Zips. One thing we can do with Harney is a 1-4 set and let him back down a smaller defender to about 10 feet and shoot over them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akronzips71 Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 All valid points, but we really don't have a better option as the backup PG right now. Melo can't play 40 minutes without cramping, so we need someone coming off the bench to spell him. We tried a week ago with Deji and it was a huge disaster. We tried this weekend with Harney and won two games against arguably the two hottest teams in the conference going into the weekend. I suspect KD will run with a similar lineup in the big-dance. I agree that Harney will be the backup. I just think we need to get as many minutes out of Melo as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Don't know why there's a problem with Harney being hunched over while dribbling when he's closely guarded. The hunched over dribble worked pretty well for this guy: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Yeah, get off of Harney. He is fine. Him taking on the task of playing Point Guard should be praised, not criticized. I was happy with everybody's play last night. GO ZIPS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZoner Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 I have a feeling Districtballer isn't rooting for you anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Feel bad for dambrot and shaka. Their defense is gonna cause problems with our PG situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Districtballer Posted March 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Feel bad for dambrot and shaka. Their defense is gonna cause problems with our PG situation. Uhhhh yeah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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