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Zeke and the NBA Draft


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GMs and NBA Scouts don't pay too much attention to the bench press, except for when they have pre-conceived notions about a player being weak.

All of the players were tested at the workout. Its a normal part of the process. Nothing to do with a player and pre-conceived notions.

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Great input from everyone. Mavs date corrected. Philadelphia 76ers added. I would think that NBA teams always pay attention to the bench press. Some guys who look strong may fall short on the weights, and some who appear weaker may surprise. Lots of comments on various draft sites from "experts" who've seen Zeke on TV and think he looks skinny and weak. The weights don't lie. Zeke has NBA strength. How to appropriately use that strength in the NBA can be learned.

Dallas Mavericks May 31

Detroit Pistons June 2-3

Houston Rockets June 5

Phoenix Suns Friday, June 6

Portland Trail Blazers June 13-14

Los Angeles Lakers June 17

Chicago Bulls June 18

Philadelphia 76ers June 21

Indiana Pacers June 22

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So I was in DC last weekend with a couple other UA friends for the Timbers/DC United match (plenty of Akron there). While we were walking by the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, all three of us in Akron gear, a guy came up to us (a college-aged kid, probably about 6'9" wearing basketball warm-ups and a pistons hat, so he I'm assuming he either plays somewhere or is just a basketball fan) and asked us "Hey do you guys think Zeke Marshall will get drafted??" We all immediately said we sure hoped so. He then said something like "that dude's a beast. I hear he's been working hard. I hope to see him get picked." Pretty cool that a random guy in DC not only knew about Zeke and Akron, but was interested in his draft stock.

Just thought I'd pass that story along. I really wish I would have asked where the guy was from, and if he played anywhere. Oh well.

I was also in DC with some friends that weekend! Went just for a visit. I wanted to go to that United-Timbers game but couldn't really persuade my group. How awful is Dc United this year? Just atrocious. Would've liked to have made it out though.

Oh and go Zeke! I'm also pushing for the one more Zip in Portland thing

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Mike & Mike talked a good bit this morning about the Heat and how they have no one to match up with Roy Hibbert. So even if the Heat advance, they'll be addressing this issue in the offseason.

As Hibbert is obviously getting a lot of attention and most leagues tend to be copycat, perhaps big men will get more attention in the coming draft. So hopefully this link works, but it's a comparison of Roy and Zeke's senior seasons. I'd say Zeke matches up very well.

Roy / Zeke

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Mike & Mike talked a good bit this morning about the Heat and how they have no one to match up with Roy Hibbert. So even if the Heat advance, they'll be addressing this issue in the offseason.

As Hibbert is obviously getting a lot of attention and most leagues tend to be copycat, perhaps big men will get more attention in the coming draft. So hopefully this link works, but it's a comparison of Roy and Zeke's senior seasons. I'd say Zeke matches up very well.

Roy / Zeke

It is a good comparison but against different competition. One was against Big East teams, the other against the MAC.

So you don't know what it would look like if it was reversed.

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@GameChngr44, Timberwolves added below. One question: Who gets all of Zeke's frequent flyer miles? :D

@Legend Of Zippy, good comparison with Roy Hibbert. One thing about professional sports is that teams tend to have their draft influenced by what's working today. That is, if a team wins the NFL championship with a running game, there's more temptation for teams to go for running backs in the next draft to try to replicate the winning team formula. In the NBA, championship performance by a team with a dominating center tends to make teams more likely to draft big centers in the next draft. So Hibbert's success against the Heat is generally good for Zeke.

@akronzips71, it's true that different SOS makes direct comparisons between two players' stats less accurate. That 2007-2008 Pitt team had an SOS of #36, while the Zips' SOS this past season was #135. Also, Hibbert played against larger, more talented opposing centers on a more regular basis. On the other hand, many of Zeke's best performances tended to be against the few teams the Zips played that had big, talented centers. Zeke seemed to have more trouble against smaller players who he likely would not face in the NBA. Zeke has more to prove out of college than Hibbert did, so it's good that so many NBA teams are giving Zeke a chance to show what he's got in private workouts. The important thing is to show that he's close to being NBA ready and has a big upside.

Dallas Mavericks May 31

Detroit Pistons June 2-3

Houston Rockets June 5

Phoenix Suns Friday, June 6

Minnesota Timberwolves, June 12

Portland Trail Blazers June 13-14

Los Angeles Lakers June 17

Chicago Bulls June 18

Philadelphia 76ers June 21

Indiana Pacers June 22

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That is, if a team wins the NFL championship Super Bowl with a running game, there's more temptation for teams to go for running backs in the next draft to try to replicate the winning team formula.
Remind me again, when did that happen?
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Zeke is Mr. Popularity. Will be interesting to see when word starts leaking out about how well he's doing in the workouts. Bobcats added below.

Also, Zeke is ranked #48 of all the players in the draft in a Win Share Model calculation that's been good at predicting the performance of NBA players based on their college performance. Note that only 56 potential draftees have projected win shares. Players from #57 down are all rated as zero. In the Bust Or Star ranking on this site, Zeke is ranked #36 of all players in the draft with a 12% chance of being a starter and a 36% chance of being a bench player. Both of these suggest that Zeke is at least a solid second round draft choice. Link

Dallas Mavericks May 31

Detroit Pistons June 2-3

Houston Rockets June 5

Phoenix Suns Friday, June 6

Minnesota Timberwolves June 12

Portland Trail Blazers June 13-14

Los Angeles Lakers June 17

Chicago Bulls June 18

Charlotte Bobcats June 19

Philadelphia 76ers June 21

Indiana Pacers June 22

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Lets just say that...the "buzz" is getting louder and louder about the 7 footer from UA, who didn't go to Portsmouth and wasn't invited to Chicago or Brooklyn but who has some MAJOR OFFENSE and is WAY STRONGER than PEOPLE thought! Nothing like shutting the mouths of the naysayers! Another GREAT workout in the books! Was told that he has the MOST WORKOUTS out of ALL OF THE DRAFT PICKS!!!!

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Lets just say that...the "buzz" is getting louder and louder about the 7 footer from UA, who didn't go to Portsmouth and wasn't invited to Chicago or Brooklyn but who has some MAJOR OFFENSE and is WAY STRONGER than PEOPLE thought! Nothing like shutting the mouths of the naysayers! Another GREAT workout in the books! Was told that he has the MOST WORKOUTS out of ALL OF THE DRAFT PICKS!!!!

It is Brooklyn's loss.

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The news keeps getting BETTER AND BETTER AND BETTER! Keep thinking he won't get drafted! Can't wait to see the look on some peoples faces in about 3 weeks time! :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

I think the vast majority of Zips fans are hoping like hell that he gets drafted. We all want to continue to follow his career.

But the NBA draft is just so maddening. Every year fans watch and scratch their heads over picks. We hear more about "upside" than we do actual production on the court. To me "upside" means, "this guy can't play basketball, but maybe someone can teach him." I'm still trying to recover from the Cavs drafting Christian Eyenga.

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